The Week That Was Week 4 in the NFL

Let the debate begin...again.

Brett Favre looked like the Brett Favre of old, throwing 6 (SIX!) touchdown passes.

Aaron Rodgers. Well, he's had better days.

Hopefully, by now, people know where I stand (and if you need a reminder, I'm standing behind the Packers and their decision to play Rodgers).

It's only one week and yes, if you look at the stats after four games, Favre numbers do look better. But I still think that Rodgers has played with more poise and has handled himself very well.

This debate will never end. Even if Rodgers takes Green Bay to a Super Bowl and even when Favre (finally) retires from the League. People will talk about this for ages (at least in Green Bay they will).

As of right now, Favre > Rodgers.

To the rest of the week:

• I was right about Denver, as the Broncos get pounded by Kansas City.
• Tennessee or Buffalo? Both are 4-0. What?!
• Goodbye Scott Linehan and (soon-to-be?) Lane Kiffin.
• Speaking of Favre's performance, don't forget about Kurt Warner's in the same game. It was like AARP Day at the Meadowlands.
• Too bad only three teams from the NFC East can make the playoffs.
• Sometimes, I still wish that Drew Brees was wearing lightning bolts.

Extra Point:

Back to Tennessee and Buffalo being undefeated. It's really hard to say which of these teams will continue their pace.

But, I'd argue that the Bills might have a better shot at winning the division and that taking the top spot in the AFC East is Buffalo's only way of getting into the playoffs.

The Titans are good and are probably better than the Bills, but the AFC South is still the best division in the AFC. If the Titans finished third in the South, they probably still make the playoffs.

Whereas, for the Bills, they have the Dolphins, the Jets and the Pats. Granted, the Bills are helped by the loss of Tom Brady. In any other year, I wouldn't expect the Bills to even contend. But no Brady gives Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch to taste the playoffs in their second year in the League.

Sure the Jets have Favre, but that team still makes me feel uneasy. And the Dolphins are light-years away from being a factor.

And remember, no one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.

Where Do We Go From Here? Part 2

No Pac-10 headlines this week. I feel I should give it a week off because there really was no buzz.

Sure, California redeemed the Pac-10 against the Mountain West by stomping on Colorado State, but other than Oregon State's upset of No. 1 USC, I saw who cares?

We'll care next week. Promise.

No more conference power rankings either. Why? Cause the rest of the year we're just going to see the mediocre conferences duke it out for spots 4-9. The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 are by far the better conference's in the country. The MWC is the best mid-major and the Pac-10 is leagues better than the ACC and Big East...combined.

So I'm not even going to bother with that.

But, who would have though nine top 25 teams were going to go down this weekend (three top 25 teams were going to lose, since there were three top 25 matchups)? How about four top 10 teams?

If you didn't think this was going to happen, then you're not living in the right century.

Many thought that last year was an anomaly, with so many upsets and so many teams ranked No. 2 going down throughout the year. It was crazy! It was a roller coaster. But it couldn't happen again, could it? Nah. The powerhouses were going to take control.

Ugh. Wrong.

The days where you can count on the perceived top 10 teams from steamrolling through their schedules are done.

Yes, teams can still go undefeated, but it will be and is harder and more unpredictable.

Parity (a four-letter word to some) is real. It lets teams like Vanderbilt be ranked in the top 20! It lets teams like Ole Miss beat No. 4 Florida. It lets teams like Oregon State own USC.

It's why teams in the mid-major conferences are able to beat teams in the BCS conferences and why teams like South Florida and Mizzou are in the top 10.

It's why the Mountain West was 5-0 against the Pac-10 before this week.

Parity. It's here. It's time for the "traditional" powerhouses to deal with it.

And, oh by the way, with all those losses by top teams, USC was able to stay in the top 10. I still would have voted them out of the top 25, but if the AP is going to put Oregon back in the top 25, I guess Southern California can stay.

But if I were voting, no Pac-10 teams would be ranked. At least for now.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I let the dust settle first before I went off about what USC's loss to Oregon State.

I decided to give it a day, because, well, I wanted to gather my thoughts.

There's something that my favorite blogger Dan Shanoff pointed out yesterday; nationally, Southern California is seen not as a choker, like our good friends at THE Ohio State University, but are seen as a team as so cocky and arrogant, that it can't take care of the games that it needs to get to the top of the mountain.

The Buckeyes might get their asses kicked in the big games, but at least they get to the big games.

The Trojans, they haven't had a chance at the BCS title since losing to Texas because USC has lost to Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford and now, Oregon State again, teams seen as inferior in-conference opponents.

Because of this letdown the last couple of years, I don't expect the pollsters to be very kind to USC. If I were voting in any of the polls coming out tomorrow, there is no way I rank the Trojans in the top 25. In effect, USC's BCS hopes are done.

But what does that mean for the rest of the Pac-10?

There are two different strains of thought within the conference itself.

The first and most prevalent, is that any other potential Pac-10 contender is screwed. Here are a few text messages I got from friends Thursday night: "Wtf? I have no idea," "Looks like (Mike) Riley owns the Pac-10," "Jesus Christ," "Is this really happening?" "Shit," "There goes the Pac-10's credibility."

The thought for a long time for teams like California, Oregon, Arizona State and any other contender in one single season has been that USC was going to beat them, USC was going to run the table, get into the BCS and the runner-up in the Pac-10 would go to that promise land known as The Rose Bowl.

That seriously was the case when the No. 4 Bears finished second to No. 1 USC in 2004, but got screwed by the the BCS system.

Now, with the Trojans' BCS title game hopes all but dashed, so is the rest of the teams' hopes of getting to the Rose Bowl. Why? Because we still all know that SC has all the talent in the world. A loss like this should refocus the Trojans and they should take out their anger on the rest of the Pac-10.

Another Rose Bowl appearance for USC seems all but inevitable.

But, to steal a phrase from Lee Corso, not so fast, my friends.

The second strain of thought and the one that is less prevalent is, well, if Oregon State can knock off the Trojans, then shouldn't anyone be able to knock off the Trojans?

We all are not sure that USC can run the table the rest of the season. Sure, all of its (what-should-have-been) toughest opponents play at the Coliseum: Cal, Oregon, Arizona State and yeah, even Ohio State payed them a visit earlier this year.

But if lowly Stanford can cut through the mystique of the Coliseum, then, should the likes of the Bears, Ducks, and Devils be able to too?

And for teams like Cal, Oregon and ASU, which don't have a loss in-conference yet, the goal is simple: they have to run the table, which includes beating the Trojans, and if they do, well, then the Football Monopoly in The Rose Bowl Game (to borrow a phrase from our friends in Westwood) is Over.

It's easier to type this out than to do it. But really, it's sport. Anything can happen.

And at this point, wouldn't it be refreshing to not see USC in the BCS, kind of like not seeing the Yankees in the playoffs or not seeing Brett Favre be a douche in Green Bay.

We can only dream.

ARE YOU KIDDING?!

Mike Riley owns Pete Carroll. OWNS!

I don't know what it is about Corvallis, Oregon and Resar Stadium. I don't know what it is about Oregon State. I don't know why Southern California can't win...there.

There must be something in the water.

Or, more likely, the Trojans saw this date and were like "it's only Oregon State." I know I would. So the let down came, no matter how much bullshit Carroll talked the week leading up to this game.

It was all that "it's one game at a time," "every game is the national championship," BULLSHIT!


Well, it wasn't bullshit. The Beavers upset the No. 1 team in the country. But to the USC players, all that talk that Carroll did, to them, after this performance, they easily believed that all that was bullshit.

It ain't bullshit.

Now, is everyone ready to watch the SEC champ play the Big 12 champ for the BCS title?

California, the Pac-10's Last Hope Against the...Mountain West Conference?

Not exactly. Oregon State gets to travel to Salt Lake City to play Utah on a Thursday night affair in a couple of weeks.

But I don't expect the Beavers to win that. The Utes look pretty good. So, California might be the last team in the good ol' Pac-10 that can earn a victory over, uh, the Mountain West Conference, when it hosts Colorado State this weekend in Berkeley.

Much of the talk the last couple of weeks is how good the Mountain West really is. The MWC, with its schools former members of the Western Athletic Conference (yeah, remember that huge thing in the 1990s?), has three ranked teams in the top 25 this week, one team ranked in the top 12 and owns a 5-0 record against the Conference of Champions (yes, the Pac-10 has the most national championships, of any conference, by far).

Pretty good credentials, no? I do admit, that over the last couple of weeks, I've ranked the Mountain West very high in my conference power rankings, ahead of four of the six BCS conferences.

But is the Mountain West better than the Pac-10? I wouldn't go that far.

And so, this takes me to a column ran in the Daily Cal today, that also suggests that the MWC isn't as good as the Pacific 10. Which has gotten into the inner circles of the Rams most ardent fans, as ramsnation.com has gone crazy, well not too crazy, over Andrew Kim's assertion that the Mountain West is still the Mountain West.

I admit it. The MWC is a pretty good conference...this year. In fact, I truly believe that it's better than the Big East--but only for this year.

But it isn't better than the Pac-10, despite previous reports.

Most of those berating Andrew Kim's column point to those three teams ranked in the top 25. They point to the fact that Southern California is the only team that is ranked in the Pac-10. They point out the 5-0 record against Pac-10 foes.

But who did those Mountain West Conference teams beat? Other than what I always knew was an overrated Arizona State, none of the teams that the MWC has beat-up on was expected to compete in upper echelon of the Pac-10.

Sure, UCLA upset Tennessee, but the Vols aren't the Vols of old. And the Bruins aren't the Bruins of old.

MWC top-dog barely escaped Seattle with a one-point win over Washington (when the game should have gone into overtime).

Stanford and Arizona? Please, they'll both finish in the bottom half.

And who have the top three teams in the Mountain West played so far that gives us any indication that those squads are any good?

BYU? Wins over the aforementioned Huskies and Bruins, D-I AA Northern Iowa and lowly Wyoming.

Utah? The two-years away from being a power again Michigan, conference foes UNLV and Air Force and pseudo-state rival and officially the worst team in the Division I-A football, Utah State.

TCU? New Mexico, Stephen F. Austin, the Cardinal and Southern Methodist.

Any of those teams in the top 25? The top 35? Top 50?

Yes, on the merit of three 4-0 teams, the Mountain West is better, right now, this week in college football.

But to say that the entire depth of the Mountain West makes it a better conference than the Pac-10, that's just crazy. Just because the three best teams are ranked doesn't mean that the rest of the conference is automatically better.

This isn't economics. There's no need for the Ronald Reagan tickle-down effect theory when it comes to the talent of a single football conference. And if that were the case, then wouldn't the Pac-10 be the best conference, because the Trojans are the best team in all the land?

That brings us to this week and the showdown for conference bragging rights (?!) when Cal hosts Colorado State. Because the teams that have been slayed by the Mountain West are not teams that you would think would rule the Pac-10, this is the only shot that the MWC has against a team of any merit in the Pac-10.

So, MWC die-hards are salivating at the prospects of the Rams beating California on the road.

But, can you really say that Colorado State has any chance of doing that Saturday?

CSU lost to in-state rival Colorado. CSU beat D-IAA Sacramento State by three points. Sure it beat up on Houston, but it's Houston. It wasn't like they were thrashing Washington or Stanford.

Why the Mountain West is collectively clinging and vicariously living for this game is because of an inferiority complex that the mid-major conferences have always had since the beginning of time.

The BCS conferences have the tradition, the talent, the money to compete at the highest level and all the attention. The mid-majors have been trying to beat that and gain that for decades.

It won't happen in one season. And it won't happen on Saturday.

Lightning in a Bottle

It's very interesting to see Darren Sproles run, cut and juke his way around defenders wearing the lightning bolts of the San Diego Chargers.

Just last summer, Sproles was coming off missing an entire year after breaking his leg. With LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner ahead of him on the depth chart, Eric Parker still around as one of the main return guys and new rookie sensation Antonio Cromartie creating a with his ability to run with the football, Sproles looked like a man without a team last year, even though he started fall training camp No. 1 on the depth chart as the Bolts' return guy.

If Sproles didn't win that job, he would have been cut, and another team in the League would have an electric running back.

Fast forward to this year, and after last week's game against Denver, and the way he played tonight against the Jets, Sproles has become invaluable for the Chargers--especially with Michael Turner in Atlanta now. Sure Sproles didn't have as great a game that he had last week, but he was still effective, giving San Diego the ability to pick up first downs on third downs.

LT isn't the same. He's still great, but I wouldn't expect the 2001-2006 Tomlinson to suit up for San Diego every Sunday.

But Sproles is a little bit different than what Turner was to LT as a backup. Sure, Turner can take it to the end zone as good as anyone, but Sproles, he's the type of hold-your-breath-and-don't-blink player that make the Chargers so dangerous, even without LT on the field.

And it's amazing to see that, especially since Sproles almost got cut last year.

I'm sure that everyone in the Chargers organization and every San Diego fan out there is relieved that Sproles is backing up LT (and that the team finally won a game tonight).

The Week That Was Week 3 in the NFL

I really don't care of Lane Kiffin gets fired or not. Good for him that he doesn't want to quit. A lot of people want to see him go. I think that Al Davis should give him a shot.

But then again, I don't care if he's on the sidelines in Oakland or not.

It's not on Kiffin if the Raiders suck for eternity. It's on Al Davis. It's time for him to go. Davis isn't like Jerry Jones, who still pushes the buttons and shoves his team to the cutting edge (that new stadium is going to be fucking awesome).

Davis is the opposite. His team plays in an ugly stadium (which was actually all Davis' fault). He gets in the way of the coaches. And Davis doesn't live larger than life like the other uber-owners in professional sport (like Jones or Mark Cuban or Roman Abramovich).

He does thing detrimental to the club's well-being (on the field). Sure he'll make money, but no one likes the Clippers, so why should Raider Nation stay loyal to an inferior product?

Davis is totally out of touch. Like Matt Millen, it's time for the old man to go.

To the rest of the week:

• No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills. Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch...together. Who would of thought? And after the meltdown the Pats had against the Fish, then the 3-0 Bills look mighty good.
• Did everyone really think the Browns were going to win the division?
• Can Tom Brady play on one leg?
• Matt Cassel = Brett Favre, as of week 3.
  
• The Cowboys are the best team in the League.
• Aaron Rodgers still > Favre, as of week 3.
• Who's the most overrated 3-0 team? Denver? Tennessee? Buffalo? My vote goes to the Broncos.

Extra point:

Unless the Colts get their act together, this might be a totally different AFC this year. We'll see how the Pats do after their bye week, but with the top three teams for the old AFL struggling in the first couple of weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if we see a crap shoot for the top spot in the conference.

But what else does this mean? It means that the NFC is looking fucking strong.

What I'll Remember About Yankee Stadium

I've never been to that hallowed piece of ground in the Bronx that they call the House that Ruth Built.

I never got a chance to go see monument park or here the loud speakers blast "New York, New York" after a Yankees win.

I've never been to Yankees Stadium, but there is one moment that I'll remember for the rest of my life.

I was 12. People told me that the 1998 Yankees were a team of destiny. There's no way that my San Diego Padres, which have never won a World Series, was going to beat the greatest team in the history of baseball.

But there I was, watching Game 1 as a wide-eyed kid in a city that had gone bonkers for its baseball team (I had braces at the time and that entire season, the colors of the rubber bands on my teeth with Padres blue and orange).

And before my eyes I saw Kevin Brown pitch with efficiency. I saw Greg Vaughn hit two home runs. I saw Mr. Padre himself, Tony Gwynn, blast one over the right field wall and into the upper deck. I saw what many thought was unbelievable--the Padres had a 5-2 lead over this so-called team of destiny.

But the magic for the Padres was killed short thereafter. Tied 5-5, with the bases loaded, the count 2-2, Mark Langston on the mound, with Tino Martinez at the plate in the bottom of the 7th, with two outs, Langston threw what Padres pitching coach Dave Stewart has since said was a "pretty good pitch."

The pitch was covered the plate, it came by Martinez right at the knees, but Rich Garcia called it a ball. The count now was 3-2 and the next pitch Martinez blasts it for a grand slam. The Yankees never looked back in the series, sweeping my Padres.

I'll never forget that moment. I'll never forget screaming at the television, feeling let down by the system and this American League umpire screwing San Diego. I'll never forget how I felt after that game. It was as if we all knew that the Padres' one and only chance of stealing this series went by as fast as Martinez's ball left the park. We all knew San Diego wasn't going to win the World Series after one game. Because it was the Yankees and only shit like that happens to a team like that--a "team of destiny."

I know I wasn't the only one who felt like that or still feels like that.

So, I say good riddance Yankee Stadium. I never met you, but I never wanted to know you--especially after that game.

By the way, here's a YouTube clip of that very moment:

Overshadowed Kalou Saves Chelsea's Graces

Wayne Rooney. Wayne Rooney. Wayne Rooney.

When will you learn?

Sir Alex Ferguson did it again, with his tactical prowess, Manchester United took Chelsea out of their element at Stamford Bridge for most of Sunday's super matchup.

Usually backline attacking threats, Ashley Cole and Jose Boswinga, were pretty much ineffective in the attacking third for Chelsea, with their defensive responsibilities taking up much of their action.

And United's goal in the 18th minute was masterful. The Man U really should have taken three points from the Blues.

But Wayne Rooney. Oh you. Sure, Chelsea had opportunity after opportunity to a) take the advantage in the game (that's you Joe Cole) and b) equalize the game (that's you twice Nicolas Anelka).

But Rooney, you're foul in the 80th minute gave Chelsea their change to pounce and they did. Off the foot of the craft Frank Lampard and onto the head of the overshadowed Salomon Kalou, the Blues were able to stay unbeaten at the Bridge in 85 games and stay unbeaten in the Premiership.

Rooney is one of the best footballers in the world. The problem is that he has an identity crisis. Sir Alex plays him everywhere. It's probably because Rooney can play everywhere. But in a game with this much pressure, I think it would have been best, for Rooney's mental stability, to keep him in one spot.

Rooney went from striker to back in the blink of an eye and then gave up the foul which lead to the Chelsea goal.

Kalou and the rest of the Blues thank you Rooney.

And how about this for Man U? That side has only one win in their six Premiership games. It's a long season, but quite a precarious start for the defending champions.

Conference Power Rankings: Week 4

East Carolina, kiss your BCS dreams goodbye. How did the Pirates beat Virginia Tech and West Virginia earlier in the year? Well, ECU was at home. But lose to N.C. State? Really? Really?!

The Pirates definitely don't belong in the BCS--at least not this year. But if Skip Holtz sticks around, then ECU will be crashing the party soon. Very soon.

The Pac-10 isn't a sorry conference. It's just the conference where USC plays.

Speaking of the Mountaineers, they are done. And I'm sure Ohio State was thankful to play Troy at the Horseshoe after being embarrassed by the USC Trojans last week.

And don't we all love SEC football?

Week 4 Standings:	Record	Winning Pct.
1) ACC	6-0	1.000
2) WAC	4-1	.800
3-t) Big Ten	6-2	.750
3-t) MWC	3-1	.750
4) SEC	2-1	.667
6) Big East	5-3	.625
7) Big 12	5-4	.556
8) Pac-10	2-2	.500
9) C-USA	4-6	.400
10) MAC	4-9	.307
11) Sun Belt	1-4	.200

Season Standings	Record	Winning Pct.
1) SEC	25-4	.862
2) MWC	19-4	.818
3) Big Ten	31-7	.816
4) Big 12	31-8	.795
5) ACC	22-9	.709
6) Big East	14-13	.518
7-t) Pac-10	12-12	.500
7-t) WAC	13-13	.500
9) C-USA	13-18	.419
10) MAC	15-25	.375
11) Sun Belt	7-15	.318

Power Rankings

1) SEC Last Week No. 1

• Key Wins: No. 3 Georgia over Arizona State
• Key Losses: Georgia Tech over Mississippi State
  

2) Big 12 Last Week No. 2

• Key Wins: Colorado over No. 21 West Virginia, No. 7 Texas over Rice
• Key Losses: Louisville over Kansas State, UConn over Baylor, Miami over Texas A&M, UNLV over Iowa State

3) Mountain West Last Week No. 3

• Key Wins: UNLV over Iowa State, TCU over Southern Methodist, Colorado State over Houston
• Key Losses: Tulsa over New Mexico

4) Big Ten Last Week No. 5

• Key Wins: Michigan State over Notre Dame
• Key Losses: Pitt over Iowa, Ball State over Indiana

5) Pac-10 Last Week No. 4

• Key Wins: Stanford over San Jose State
• Key Losses: No. 3 Georgia over Arizona State, Boise State over No. 17 Oregon

6) ACC Last Week No. 7

• Key Wins: N.C. State over No. 15 East Carolina, Georgia Tech over Mississippi State, Miami over Texas A&M
• Key Losses: none

7) Big East Last Week No. 6

• Key Wins: Louisville over Kansas State, UConn over Baylor, Pitt over Iowa
• Key Losses: Navy over Rutgers, Colorado over No. 21 West Virginia

8) WAC Last Week No. 9

• Key Wins: Boise State over No. 17 Oregon, New Mexico State over UTEP
• Key Losses: Stanford over San Jose State

9) Conference USA Last Week No. 8

• Key Wins: Tulane over UL Monroe
• Key Losses: N.C. State over No. 15 East Carolina, Boston College over Central Florida, No. 7 Texas over Rice

10) MAC Last Week No. 10

• Key Wins: Ball State over Indiana, Akron over Army
• Key Losses: No. 5 Mizzou over Buffalo, Maryland over Eastern Michigan, No. 16 Penn State over Temple, UL Lafayette over Kent State

11) Sun Belt Last Week No. 11

• Key Wins: UL Lafayette over Kent State
• Key Losses: No. 12 South Florida over FIU, No. 13 Ohio State over Troy