teke184

Well, I figure Tom Coughlin's looking for a new job right about now... *I'D* pay to watch a reality show where Coughlin comes into Miami and tries to clean up the program the way he put his discipline in place in New York.

This is the second coaching staff and probably the 10th through 15th receivers they've put around this guy and he still can't pass. You can only blame the coaches and the receivers for so long before you come back to the QB as the person to blame. While Roddy White's dropped pass was an obvious one caught on film, I don't think it's representative of the problems with the team. I think what's more representative of the problem is that Vick has, on multiple occasions, thrown his coaches and his receivers under the bus through public commentary. Doing something like that undermines the coaches while losing the respect of other players in the locker room. It's not what a leader should do and, by virtue of being the team QB and having that huge contract, Vick is SUPPOSED to be a leader. You don't see Drew Brees throwing Terrance Copper under the bus because Copper fumbled against the Steelers to seal a loss. You typically don't see Tom Brady blaming the coaching staff when he throws an interception. (Brady HAS called out management over their refusal to pay his receivers enough to keep them in town, but that's different) You don't see Peyton Manning claiming that Tony Dungy's schemes are the reason that the Colts have yet to win a playoff game with him at the helm. That kind of "me first, it's never my fault" attitude that Vick is displaying is exactly what's wrong with the Falcons and why they'll probably never reach the Super Bowl with Vick under center.

Which major program looking for a coach ends up in the worse position next year, Miami or Alabama? I'd say that Alabama ends up worse off, as this is will be their fourth coach in five years because Francione bolted for A&M, Price got canned shortly into his tenure due to "morals issues" (strip-club visit), and Mike Shula got canned one year after a 10-2 effort with a Cotton Bowl win. Miami, OTOH, has had numerous incidents that showed Coker had lost control of the program after last year's Peach Bowl. It started with the LSU-Miami post-game brawl in the tunnel at the Georgia Dome due to some ribbing Miami native Dwayne Bowe of LSU gave some of his friends on the Miami team. Miami's players supposedly threw the first punches, but two of their own were knocked unconscious and sent to the hospital. (LSU benched Dwayne Bowe for most of the first game of the 2006 season for his part in the brawl. No disclosures were made on any Miami player suspensions / benching that I could find.) Coker's successor better be a disciplinarian who will work decisively to clean up Miami's "Thug U" reputation.

Wouldn't you take the one-time hit if backup QB Schaub can come in and win consistently like he's shown in the past? Vick's inconsistent as well as an off-field distraction right about now. Throw in comments he's made about the coaching staff and his own receivers and you'd have to wonder how well he's liked in the locker room right now.

What's the Over / Under on Vick having a new address by the start of next season?

The Super Chargers nearly lost to the friggin' Raiders. I'd say the Ravens are looking the best of everyone right now. As long as they can keep putting up points, they're fine.

Pats INT on the next play. Good job, Rexy.

Chicago gets a timely fumble recovery to give them new life with about 1:52 left.

SD intercepts the Raiders to ice that game, 21-14.

Actually, they can't get in that way... Michigan gets an automatic pick for being #2 if that happens, which means that no longer applies to any other teams. Even if it DID apply, the portion giving Boise a bid also applies, LSU would get in as #3 in the rankings, and Notre Dame would likely be in the Top 8 and get an automatic bid.

I think it's safe to say that San Diego seems to have gotten the best of Atlanta (Vick draft-pick trade) and New York (Eli-Rivers trade)...

INT by the Redskins with less than a minute left, looks like the Panthers are done for today.

The Saints have just about salted away a big win over the Falcons. Combine that with the Panthers being down late to the Redskins and it's a big day for the Saints in the NFC South.

1. If you want to go to the BCS, win your conference 2. If you want to get into the BCS as an At Large, improve your schedule or join a better conference (Good luck getting into the ACC, Big Ten, or SEC though) 3. The way the BCS contract is set up, only one non-coalition team is guaranteed a bid if they finish where Louisville and Boise are right now. That means that if Louisville stayed in CUSA and qualified, they could still get bumped by Boise if they were ranked higher and they'd have less chance of an At Large as a CUSA member than they would as a member of the Big East. 4. The big problem is that the Big East, despite looking good at the top this year, is seen as the worst conference out of the six BCS conferences. Louisville knew that when they jumped, as the only powers left at the time were Boston College (who was about to jump to the ACC), Pittsburg (who was riding the Larry Fitzgerald wave), and West Virginia. Considering that the Big East is seen as a weak conference, Louisville will want to pump up its OOC scheduling. They made a good effort this year on several of the games, but that backfired due to the opponents being of lesser quality than expected. Miami is traditionally a good choice, so they're hurt by the Canes having a down year. Kentucky is usually a shitty choice but, this year, they're miraculously bowl-eligible this year. (This is a rivalry game, so I won't fault them for it) K-State is usually good but was middling this year. Temple is pathetic year-in and year-out and this year was no different. Middle Tennessee is above average this year but a 7-5 Sun Belt team is rarely respected. If Louisville could dump the teams like Temple and Middle Tennessee in favor of a Notre Dame, a middle-to-top Big Ten team like Penn State or Purdue, or some middle-to-top ACC teams like Maryland, Virginia Tech, or Boston College, then they'd be taken more seriously. It probably seems as ironic as anything than an SEC fan is saying "pump up your OOC scheduling", but it's true given that the Big East has a poor *perception* since their three top teams bolted to the ACC. (I say "perception" because, according to Sagarin, the Big East is the #3 conference this year behind the Pac Ten and SEC, although the average fan doesn't see it that way.)

Welcome to a BCS conference, Cabbageboy. BTW, this isn't the LSU fan in me being a dick, it's the Southern Miss alum in me being a dick.

LSU would go to the BCS for a few reasons. 1. National commentators are realizing that LSU played the most hellish road schedule in college football this year. There were only four away games, but they were at Top 10 teams Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Coming off of that 2-2 is very respectable. 2. The Rose Bowl would LOVE an LSU-USC matchup because of the 2003 title controversy caused by the computers sending USC to play Michigan and LSU to play Oklahoma. Fans on BOTH sides would be clamoring for tickets to this game, even three years late. 3. #3 in the SEC West is STILL a Top 10 team, as LSU, Auburn, and Arkansas will all end the regular season there. Can't say that about #2 in the Big East.

They pretty much get screwed. ND will be sent to the Sugar or Orange because of their drawing ability. LSU will likely be sent to the Rose Bowl because of the 2003 split title controversy, caused by USC missing out on the Sugar Bowl in favor of LSU and Oklahoma. Their only hopes are for ND to fall below the guidelines for a BCS At Large or Automatic Bid (unlikely) or for Louisville to be in a more favorable position for a particular At Large than LSU. (That is particularly unlikely since Rutgers would be in the Orange Bowl, meaning that Louisville would have to travel to the Sugar or Rose.)

I'd put my money on FIU... At least those kids have some fight in them. <badum-BANG>

Even if they did drop out of the top 8, SOME bowl was taking them as an at-large. It's Notre Dame. The way the contracts are set up, the only bowls that can take an "At Large" team instead of a contracted one are the Big East's bowls (Gator, Sun, Texas, PapaJohns.Com), the Poinsettia Bowl, and any bowl that can't fill its conference tie-ins (Motor City can't fill the Big Ten tie-ins, etc.). (The Big East's bowl contracts have typically had Notre Dame counted as a Big East team for the selection process, which is why they'll likely go to the Gator Bowl.) While it doesn't keep the Irish from bowling, it does put them in a decidely shittier bowl than if they were playing close with USC. I think he meant a BCS bowl was going to take them. They'll still get picked for one no matter what. Big money. It depends how far they drop in the BCS rankings and if the Sugar Bowl or Orange Bowl feels they need the boost in ticket sales. The Rose Bowl won't bring them out again after they just got thrashed by USC while the Fiesta is stuck with Boise State. I'd say the Orange takes them since the ACC (their permanent tie-in conference) looks so bad this year, no matter if the champ is Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, or Maryland.

I don't know which of those two is more staggering. I'd go with Rice at first glance. I'll go with San Jose State... Rice has always had the opportunity to go to a bowl if they ever went above .500, whether it was the old Southwest Conference, their prior home in the WAC, or their current home in Conference USA. San Jose State is in the kind of crappy mid-major conference that would be lucky to get a bowl bid for anyone other than the league champ.

"I heard it through the grapevine Dahlin', bout to lose my mind Honey, honey yeah"

Even if they did drop out of the top 8, SOME bowl was taking them as an at-large. It's Notre Dame. The way the contracts are set up, the only bowls that can take an "At Large" team instead of a contracted one are the Big East's bowls (Gator, Sun, Texas, PapaJohns.Com), the Poinsettia Bowl, and any bowl that can't fill its conference tie-ins (Motor City can't fill the Big Ten tie-ins, etc.). (The Big East's bowl contracts have typically had Notre Dame counted as a Big East team for the selection process, which is why they'll likely go to the Gator Bowl.) While it doesn't keep the Irish from bowling, it does put them in a decidely shittier bowl than if they were playing close with USC.

Funny, USC is exactly who we want if given the chance. However, I'd discounted the chances of it earlier because I didn't think there'd be a Michigan-Ohio State rematch.

The difference is that Auburn got KILLED in its two losses (against Arkansas and unranked Georgia), while LSU lost 7-3 to Auburn and roughly 24-10 to Florida. That trumps a head-to-head loss as far as some people are concerned. Also, the "whoever lost last" thing puts Auburn in a worse position, as LSU's last loss was 7 games ago, while Auburn lost in the last few weeks.

The CBS commentators noted that LSU played all four of their away games against teams that were Top Ten at the time. (Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas) They said in the same breath that, if Ohio State had that road schedule, they'd have a few losses as well. As for West Virginia, their At Large chances depend on the Orange Bowl taking them. I seriously doubt the Rose Bowl would take them due to distance alone, the Fiesta Bowl likely won't have the opportunity, and I doubt the Sugar Bowl takes them because they had them last year.