There has been a lot of debate this week on how the Patriots performed at the end of their blowout against the Redskins this past weekend.  I want to know what you think.  I know there are a lot of Patriot and/or Belichick haters out there so let me know what you think.

I am not a Patriots fan, but I do respect them.  I really enjoy watching them because they are so good in all aspects.  It’s easy to see they have very good coaching and a common goal.  I didn’t see anything wrong with the 4th quarter play calls in the game.  How do you want them to act?  Last time I checked there wasn’t a mercy rule in the NFL.  If you don’t want a team to do that to you, then play better.  It’s 4th and short in field goal range.  You have four choices.  1) Kick a field goal, 2) Run the ball, 3) Pass the ball, 4) Kneel.  They chose to throw the ball.  I don’t see anything wrong with that.  They are working on their game for future weeks and want to see what plays might work in certain situations.

The only thing I would have done different is maybe get Brady out of the game sooner.  They did that the previous week and Cassel performed very badly and they put Brady back in.  This week they waited a little longer and let Cassel finish the game.

All in all, if I was coaching that game I would have called it pretty much the same.  Tell me what you would do.

BMoney

I don’t understand the point of the NFL having a regular season game in London.  I thought it was fine when they would have preseason games outside of this country, but I can’t wrap my arms around why you would do that with a regular season game.

 First off, I think it’s too much of a distraction for the players.  Yes it’s an English speaking country, but you are still going overseas with passport issues, etc.  They are going to a place that will have a mostly impartial crowd.

This leads me to my next point.  It’s not fair to the home team fans in the U.S.  Were their season ticket prices scaled back this year to account for this game or did they also get a ticket for the game but had to provide their own transportation?  Either way there is one fewer home game for one team.

Apparently the memory of NFL Europa, or NFL Europe, or World Football League, or whatever it was, failing financially was short lived.  The NFL dropped this league because it was losing millions of dollars a year.  Therefore the next logical step is to have another game there.  I don’t get it.

I think Roger Goodell has done a good job thus far as commissioner, but please keep our American football here.

BMoney

Another big college football weekend where the top 25 will get shuffled again.  This has been a wild year to this point.  Both Michigan and Wisconsin were ranked in the top 5 earlier in the year and both were booted from the rankings with Michigan back to #19 this week.  South Florida was ranked #2 before their loss.  Only two undefeated teams left.  Major SEC matchups still on the board.  The top SEC team this year could have two losses.  Not really fair since they play in the toughest conference.  More reasoning for a playoff system in college football.

On to the picks.  We’ll start out east where #6 West Virginia is visiting #25 Rutgers.  Rutgers had a good showing last week and I really like Ray Rice, but I think the WVU offense is too much for the Ants to stop.  I like the Mountaineers here and I would definitely take the over.

 The Pac 10 has two huge games this weekend.  I hate the Pac 10 because they always have teams that decide to take a week off here or there but you never know when it’s going to happen.  The first big Pac 10 game has #9 USC traveling north to #5 Oregon.  The Ducks have been fun to watch this year with an electric offense.  At home I think they’ll be tough to defeat, but it should be a close one.  I’m taking the Ducks by 3. 

The other Pac 10 matchup of the week sees #18 Cal heading to the desert to battle #7 Arizona State.  I just can’t get behind ASU this year.  It’s typical Dennis Erickson success.  Do well early, finish poorly.  I think coach Tedford and Bears eat up the Sun Devils.  Cal-35 ASU-17.

The SEC game to watch happens when #9 Florida and #20 Georgia battle it out for the Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  I know to be PC I’m not supposed to call it that anymore, but then again I’m not PC.  This should be a fun battle.  The Bulldogs will come out fighting but they won’t have the stamina.  Tim Tebow heads home to Jacksonville and takes care of business, 27-24 Gators.

Finally, the Big 10 prime time matchup with #1 Ohio State going to Happy Valley to take on #24 Penn State.  This should be a typical hit ‘em in the mouth, Big 10 slugfest.  Both teams are physical and this one will probably come down to turnovers.  I’m not a big believer in the OSU offense, but defense wins football games and therefore I’m taking the Buckeyes 20-17 in a bruiser.

Enjoy this weekends games and tune in tomorrow when I tell you what I think about the NFL playing overseas.

BMoney

Well, the Rockies didn’t look too good last night getting pounded by the BoSox 13-1.  The Sox were hitting the ball hard and to the open spots.  The Sox have been hot so I don’t know if you can blame this on the layoff, but it sure didn’t help.  The Rockies gave up 11 runs with two outs.  The bullpen that has been so reliable this postseason was terrible.  Oh yeah, Josh Beckett’s not too bad either.

Tonight the Rockies need to get off to a better start.  Hopefully Jiminez can make the pitches with two outs that get the team off the field.  Rockies pitching hasn’t been used to seeing hitters that are as patient as the Sox hitters.  When batters are patient at the plate, you can’t give them extra opportunities with two outs or you’ll burn through arms in a hurry.  Find the plate and get off the field.  May the best team win.

In other sports, a big college football matchup tonight between #2 Boston College and #8 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.  This should be a good game between two very good defenses.  I think BC’s offense is better than VT’s but that doesn’t always matter.  There will be 65,000 screaming fans there tonight and I think they’ll see Boston success continue.  BC 24 VT 14.

There are lots of other great college matchups this weekend that I’ll review tomorrow.

 BMoney

Let’s hope the Rockies were more productive with their week off than their ticket office was.  Having eight days to come up with a plan on how to sell World Series tickets, the Rockies decided to have all tickets purchased online.  Being 300 miles from a Rockies ticket office, I thought this was good for me.  Unfortunately there was another 8.5 million people that thought the same thing.  The incredible number of hits to the servers crashed everything and very few people got tickets.  They think they have the problem fixed and tickets will go on sale online again today at noon.  I’ll let you know if we get tickets.

 Yes, the Rockies are still in the postseason.  Having had eight days off you may have forgotten about them.  They were the team that had to beat the Padres in a play in game to get to the post season.  They then swept the Phillies in three games and the DBacks in four.  They’ve won 21 of their last 22.  They were then rewarded with a short offseason.  Postseason baseball has become a joke when you only have a maximum of three consecutive days off in the regular season and then have eight off in the postseason.  I understand ratings and competing against other sports, but come on, this is rediculous.

Now, to the Series.  Rockies in five.  As the Broncos finish early with the Packers, the victorious Bronco fans can head up to LoDo and celebrate with the Rockies fans at Jackson’s.  Can you imagine being in LoDo that night if the Broncos beat the Pack on Monday Night Football, then the Rockies win the Series about one hour later?  That experience would be worth the price of admission right there.  Unfortunately there will be a few idiots that will need to turn over cars or start them on fire.  What is the point of this?  Anyway, back to Rox and Sox.  I have to hope this layoff will not hurt the Rockies, but that is yet to be seen.

The Rockies beat Beckett and Schilling in Boston earlier this year.  They can do the same now if they are able to keep Ortiz and Ramirez in check.  Both of them have a OBP over .500 in the postseason.  Keep them off base and victory is sure to come to Colorado.  Rockies win games one and two, drop game three (that’s because it’s the one I’m trying to get tickets to), take games four and five to claim their first World Series.

 Welcome to Rocktober!!  Go Rockies!!

BMoney

Being a big football fan, I’ve always known that if you had a good defense you had a chance to win.  I didn’t realize it was just as true for baseball.  The Colorado Rockies are the NL Champions and are headed to the World Series.  If you had said that a month ago in any sports bar in the country they would have laughed you out of the place.  Now after winning 21 of 22 games, sweeping the Phillies and DBacks they are only four wins away from being World Champions.

The big reason for getting in this position is defense.  I don’t know if anybody saw the stat TBS flashed up last night, but the Rockies have the best fielding percentage in major league HISTORY!  They are also 81-1 when leading after 8 innings.  Folks, these are impressive stats, especially for a young, inexperienced team.  I think Tulowitzki might be one of the best defensive shortstops in the history of the game and he’s only a rookie.  In the top of the 3rd he nearly throws out Owings at 1st while running, leaping, flying towards 3rd.  Granted it was a pitcher running, but he nearly threw him out.  That was a 45 yard throw fading away and it was on the money.  There are some NFL teams that would love to see him playing QB with arm strength and accuracy like that.  The next batter rips one up the middle about 8 feet in the air and Tulo jumps up, makes the catch, fires to 1st and almost gets Owings again.  Owings wound up coming around to score, but the effort and ability of Tulo is amazing.  The final out of the game was no lollipop either.  The 3rd basemen, Carroll, had a chance to make the play to throw Byrnes out.  I don’t know if Tulo called him off or if Carroll just realized that Tulo probably had a better chance, either way, another great play and perfect throw by Tulo.  If they could get him to hit a little, warm up the fat lady. 

Hats off to Matt Holliday for a great season and post season thus far.  He was awarded the NLCS MVP trophy.  I know he has played pretty well and is the front runner for MVP of the year, but I felt the MVP of the NLCS should have gone to Manny Corpas, the Rockies closer.  He did blow a save in game 2, but then managed to hold on for the win.  Corpas has had great control throughout both series and appears to be very confident.  When he came into the game in the 8th last night he started out painting the outside corner like he had all year.  He wasn’t getting strikes called so he just moved his pitches over a couple of inches and managed to dominate.  He has as much control right now as any closer could.

Finally, this 8 day layoff for the Rockies.  Depending on how the Series turns out, what Hurdle decides to do with his Rockies over this time will be greatly debated.  I for one think this is a good break for this team.  They are young.  Most of them have never been there before.  This time off will allow the thoughts of going to the World Series to sink in.  This way they are not over excited when the Series starts.  I think this team is confident, has great defense, and is pitching well now.  If the bats wake up, the might be a major broom shortage in Colorado.

Here’s the latest from Scouts, Inc. on ESPN.com on my favorite college football player. I don’t know if he’s an NFL talent or not, but I sure hope he is.  What does anybody else (preferably someone that has actually watched him play and knows what they’re talking about) think? - Padraic

Following from ESPN.com 

1. Chadron State RB Danny Woodhead

 

AP Photo/David G Pierre

Danny Woodhead was already on scouts’ radar before breaking the record.

“Congratulations to Woodhead, who became college football’s all-divisions career rushing leader on Saturday. The Division II star rushed for 208 yards on 34 carries, giving him a total of 7,441 career yards. He surpassed the previous record of R.J. Bowers, who finished his career at Grove City College in Pennsylvania with 7,353 yards. 

While college football fans are just now getting to know Woodhead, NFL scouts have been aware of his talents for a couple of years. Woodhead is undersized and has had some ball security issues in the past. However, he impressed scouts by running the 40-yard dash in the low 4.4-second range and he has enough versatility as a runner, receiver and return specialist warrant late-round consideration.  - Todd McShay, Scouts, Inc.”