smokinandjokin

I wouldn't have minded keeping Chris Thorburn and cutting Peters coming out of the preseason. Thorburn had a year in Rochester where he had something like 22G and 27A. This year in the preseason, they played Pittsburgh several times, and Thorburn fought in every game. Then when the roster cuts came, the Sabres tried to sneak him back to the AHL through waivers, and the Pens picked him up. He's got some grit, and is much more skillful and a better skater than Peters. Thorburn actually was a healthy scratch for the Pens game against the Sabres last Friday night, because the coach said he was too focused on hitting and wasn't concerned with the other parts of the game. How could a coach bench a guy for that?

Are you sure it's not 'douchbag'?

cough...2005 Draft...cough, cough.... Only three players selected from this football factory you call Ohio State. The first Buckeye taken was pick #47, kicker Mike Nugent...And the third was pick #101, Maurice Clarett...

I was debating between "This thread blows" and "Spot on."

Pete wasn't too bad: He guided the Patriots into the playoffs in his first 2 seasons, winning the AFC Eastern Division title at 10-6 in 1997 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs, then posting a 9-7 regular season mark in 1998. His overall record in New England was 27-21 in the regular season (including 8-8 in 1999) and 1-2 in the playoffs. He owns the franchise's second-best winning percentage (54.9%). The Patriots went 5-11 in 2000 in their first year under Belicheck. He went 6-10 in one season with the Jets, who proceeded to go 3-13 and 1-15 the next two seasons with Rich Kotite. In between those two jobs, he spent 2 years (1995-96) as the defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, who won the NFC Western Division title both seasons. The 49ers were 11-5 in the 1995 regular season when they had the NFL's top-ranked defense and then went 12-4 in 1996.

This thread blows.

I think Carroll is a MUCH better fit in the NCAA, and he seems to truly enjoy coaching at USC. However, a boatload of cash can cloud your thinking, as we have seen many times. I know if Miami comes correct with an offer, USC I'm sure will fire back with one of their own. The money will be big-time at either place. Carroll actually had a decent NFL coaching career. He just meshes better with college kids. I think Jim Mora would be a good fit in Miami.

Good points, all. That's why qualifying victories doesn't matter. The Big East played them, and they won. KSU beat Texas, and their other win against a plus-.500 team came against Oklahoma State, who was 7-6. They squeaked out a 1-point win against 1-AA Illinois State. I would hope an 11-2 team could handle them. The cumulative record of the teams Wake Forest beat was 53-72, not counting 1-AA Liberty. Syracuse (4-8), UConn (4-8), Duke (0-12), UNC (3-9), NC State (3-9), and Ole Miss (4-8) were six of their wins. Losses were to 8-5 Clemson and 10-3 Virginia Tech. I know they won the ACC, but let's not pretend that Louisville shouldn't have beaten them. West Virginia over GT was a nice win with Slaton not 100%. They had to overcome 28-10 and 35-17 deficits to do it...Again, though, most teams would have beaten GT, in my opinion. The matchups were top-tier Big East teams against 2nd-tier teams from the ACC and Big 12 (two of the weaker BCS conferences this year), and then second-tier Big East teams against barely bowl-eligible teams from the MAC and Conf-USA. Again, it doesn't matter...Even if they were supposed to win, there were plenty of other teams who were supposed to win and didn't. The Big East took care of their business. But I would've liked to have seen Rutgers vs. Cal or Texas, and WVU vs. somebody like Georgia or Auburn.

Nice job by the Big East...They can't necessarily pick who lines up across from them, the job is to go out and win the game. Which they did. I hate qualifying their victories with disclaimers- BUT.... They were the favorite in every game. USF (9-4) played 7-6 East Carolina from Conf-USA, Rutgers (11-2) played 7-6 Kansas State, West Virginia (11-2) scrambled back to beat 9-5 Georgia Tech, Louisville (12-1) beat 11-3 Wake Forest, and Cincinnatti beat 8-5 Western Michigan from the MAC. Not exactly shocking the world when Wake Forest is the stiffest competition. Apparently the Bowl recruiters feel that 11-2 in the Big East equals 9-5 in another conference.

Wow, I hadn't checked this thread in a while, looks like SnR and EiI had quite a little bru-ha-ha going on here. Sorry Silver, but I have to side with Exiled on this one: Everyone knows that Lampley only uses his left to set up his right.

I will be pulling for the Chargers (I really want to see a N.O. vs. S.D. Super Bowl) but if I'm going to bet, I can't imagine not taking New England. Brady/Belichick AND 5 points over Rivers/Schottenheimer??? You'd be nuts not to take that.

I know I'm not in Big Ten or SEC country, but it sure doesn't feel like there's a title game tonight....

I'm not sure of the names, but my girlfriend was watching it last night, and I caught the boardroom at the end. The guy who stayed looked like a total clown when Trump said "You're fired" to the other guy. He got a humongous goofball grin on his face and raised his eyebrows, and then pointed at the other tool and screeched, "He just said you got fired!!" I was expecting him to get down and say a prayer of thanks to Lord Donald our Savior and Redeemer.

I have believed since 2004 that if Eli's last name was Schwartz, he would not have been the #1 overall pick. He was well-developed for a college QB, but I didn't think he was a franchise builder. The whole copycat league was in full-boner mode for Peyton, and Eli was the beneficiary. I think he was worthy of a 1st round pick, but not #1 overall. And then to get drafted and force a trade? Remarkable. Eli is one of the last QB's in the league that I would want, just because he seems like a total toolbox. It's hard to rally for the guy who looks like he's going to cry, or throw up, or both. His "Aww shucks" country boy attitude would get old around Buffalo after losing 6 out of 7 in a playoff race. I think the NY media has been semi-restrained with criticism of Eli. He has not gotten a free pass by any means, but I think the coach has felt most of the scorn. 2007 could be much more difficult. No Tiki to hand off/dump off to, and no Coughlin to throw the blame at...The bullseye will be on Manning if the team underperforms again.

Belichick did look like a pud throwing that guy aside, but it can't be overlooked that the photogs are absolutely out of control. These photos exemplify a huge difference in the way the coverage of the NFL has evolved: Super Bowl I coin toss Super Bowl XXXIX pregame

This could very well be true. Leinart still has the chance to prove he can do it, but I could see your statement proving correct. Possibly a lot of 10-6 records but not a lot of playoff success. However, we won't know until we see it. At least with Leinart, he did it in a big time environment against the best competition in college, while Pennington played in the mountains for Marshall. Pennington should be commended for the way he's handled NYC, the media, the expectations, etc. But you're never going to win it all when your QB throws for 6 yards on 3rd & 13. Leinart doesn't have all the throws (that pick in the end zone vs. Texas last year comes to mind- a bit of a hanger) but I think he has a lot more pop than Pennington. But Leinart after two shoulder surgeries probably would look the same.

Yes! The stinky pinky! The thing is, he caught the snap too. He just fumbled it as he tried to put it down. If only there was a 60-yard Jumbotron on which we could watch that replay....

On a side note, the Cowboys have some of the more memorable mishaps in the sport's long history: -That guy dropping the pass in the end zone in the Super Bowl that couldn't have split his numbers any better -Leon Lett hotdogging it and getting run down by Beebe -Was it Leon Lett again? The guy who awkwardly slid in to recover a blocked FG against Miami on Thanksgiving, allowing the Fins to recover and give them a 2nd chance at the game-winning kick on the last play. -Tony Romo dropping a snap on a game-winning chip shot FG, then picking it up and looking like he had a clear path to the end zone (or first down) only to be caught from behind. Magical performances from America's team.

Yes agreed. I shouldn't have said I would've felt bad for anyone else, because a Dolphin or Pats blunder would've been just as exciting. But watching Parcells attempt to hold back his own vomit was extremely enjoyable.

The NFL is a very smart league. DC's needed a few games, but once they got some film on Romo, he started to look less like Steve Young, and more like an undrafted first-year starter out of Southern Northeastern Illinois State. You've got to assume Bledsoe is going to retire???

Are you sure? Pohl didn't quite bury his shot with the empty net wide open in front of him...

The Eli Face! He looks like a whiney little B word.

Not quite like my 9th birthday, when my father told me to get a job..."Allowance alone isn't going to cover your rent, boy..."

But !@#$ the Cowboys!!! Romo didn't have his cocky smirk on after that game! I have ESPNNews on the loop just so I can watch that play every half hour.

47-21 loss to Michigan: 24-48, 234 yds, 3TD, 3INT 44-24 loss to USC: 22-45, 274 yds, 3 TD, 0INT 41-14 loss to LSU: 15-35, 148 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT So, a 65% passer against Air Force and North Carolina dips to 50% or below against those teams, and it's receivers dropping passes? Hmmmm...And what about the INT's? Are we blaming the spike in those on the Stanford DB's dropping his bad passes? As for Vince, you know what he was talking about. Not Vince vs. 11. Take any QB on Earth...Brady, Elway, Vick...and put them on Texas for the '05 Rose against Michigan, or the '06 Rose against USC, and Texas loses those games. The skill set he showed in those games was irreplaceable, hence the term "single-handedly." He didn't let 6 dropped passes become his excuse.