A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
This week is most definitely the “Show-Me” week in college football.
We’ve come to the point in the schedule where everybody has entered, or is entering, conference play. Several teams, including the Missouri and Nebraska, are out to earn a little respect by taking on ranked conference foes.
Tomorrow night, the Tigers and Cornhuskers will do just that when they face off in Columbia on ESPN’s Thursday Night Football.
The new AP college football poll was released earlier today, and the top four are as expected — 1) Florida, 2) Texas, 3) Alabama, and 4) LSU.
But then it gets hairy.
Boise State won and slipped from fifth to sixth? Virginia Tech barely beat a team that lost to Richmond, and slides up a spot?
It’s the same in the coaches poll.
The bias against Boise State has begun.
They’re going to do all they can to prevent an unbeaten Broncos team from playing for a national title.
Ridiculous.
In what has seemingly been the year of upsets in college football, it’s been almost a guarantee that a highly ranked team will go down every week.
With three matchups between ranked teams this week, we know for certain that at least three ranked teams will lose. But again, that doesn’t mean the other ranked teams are safe, and more than one should be on upset alert this week.
As I sat in the Edward Jones Dome Sunday afternoon and watched the Green Bay Packers beat the hapless St. Louis Rams, I couldn’t stop a wandering eye from glancing up at the far side of the building.
There on the ring of honor, beside Rams greats like Marshall Faulk and Merlin Olsen, and other St. Louis football icons like Dan Dierdorf, were digital displays providing scores and stats from around the league.
Packers fans delighted in seeing the Minnesota Vikings trailing San Francisco late at home. Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre was having a yeoman’s day, completing 50 percent of his passes for a pedestrian 221 yards.
At the same time inside the Edward Jones Dome, new Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was hitting big plays to Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, and leading the Packers to a 36-17 win.
Rodgers had a sparkling passer rating of 126.9 by virtue of his 13-for-23 day with 269 passing yards and touchdown tosses to Driver and fullback John Kuhn. Rodgers also ran for a score, and picked up another 38 yards with his legs.
What the thousands of Packers fans in St. Louis were unable to see was the switch in Favre’s head they had grown so accustomed to seeing for 16 seasons get flipped.
The St. Louis Rams host the Green Bay Packers Sunday in their home opener. The Rams are winless through two weeks, losing 28-0 to Seattle, and 9-7 to Washington. The Packers are 1-1 following a 21-15 win over Chicago, and a 31-24 loss to Cincinnati.
Here is the TV and odds info for this weekend’s game:
There may be more Packers fans at the Edward Jones Dome than Rams fans with thousands of Packers faithful traveling to see their team. Couple that with disappointed Rams season ticket holders selling their seats, and you’ve got another version of “Lambeau South,” as the Dome was referred to two years ago when Green Bay came to town and left with a lopsided victory.
If the Rams expect to stay close and have a chance to win at the end, they must do these three things.
Where did the high-powered offense go?
Where is this vaunted Packers defense?
For the second straight week, the Green Bay offense was inconsistent. The defense, which bailed the Packers out against Chicago, couldn’t stop the run in their 31-24 loss to Cincinnati Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.
Bears castoff Cedric Benson looked like a Pro Bowler while gashing the Packers defense for 141 yards on 29 carries. It was pretty clear the Packers still have some issues against the run, and they’re still without first-round pick B.J. Raji, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.
The Bengals were also 9-of-14 on third down conversions as the Packers defense even allowed a third-and-34 conversion late in the second quarter.
Instead of punting from its own end zone, Cincinnati then had the ball near midfield. One play later Chad Ochocinco burnt Jarrett Bush for a 44-yard gain. That led to a controversial touchdown for Carson Palmer on a quarterback sneak.
The official who initially signaled for the touchdown had his vision of the play obstructed by Ochocinco. Although replays appeared to show that not only that the ball did not break the plain, but Palmer also fumbled as he raised the ball up over the heap of bodies.
Referee Ed Hochuli called it a touchdown, the first of two crucial mistakes he made. The second came in the game’s waning seconds.
With the Packers trailing 31-24 with 10 seconds remaining, Donald Driver caught his sixth pass over the middle at the Cincinnati 10. The Packers rushed to the line, and the ball was snapped with a second remaining, and before a pair of Bengals were able to get back on their side of the line of scrimmage. A flag was thrown, and the assumption was for offsides.
Instead, Hochuli’s crew ruled that tight end Jermichael Finley was not set and moved early.
Hochuli’s explanation was that time expired before the ball was snapped, which was false, but “even if the ball was snapped before time expired, there was a false start on the play, which requires a 10-second runoff. The game is over.”
The loss overshadowed a stellar performance from Charles Woodson, who picked off Palmer twice, returning one for a touchdown to give Green Bay a 21-14 lead in the second. He also led the team with nine tackles, seemingly being the only defensive player to show up to play.
Backup defensive backs Aaron Rouse and Jarrett Bush were both forced into more playing time because of injuries to starting safeties Atari Bigby and Nick Collins, who left early in the second quarter.
As poorly as the Packers played on defense, the offensive line was worse. Green Bay (1-1) managed just 89 rushing yards – 43 of which came on four Aaron Rodgers scrambles, and Rodgers was sacked six times. Five of those sacks came from Cincinnati defensive end Antwan Odom, who now has seven sacks in two games.
Odom abused the Packers line, especially after tackle Chad Clifton was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Whether he was lined up over Allen Barbre or Daryn Colledge, Odom was in Rodgers’ face the entire game.
Not helping Rodgers were the receivers, who dropped six passes as Rodgers finished 21-of-39 for 261 yards and a three-yard touchdown toss to Driver in the first. Driver led the Packers with six catches for 99 yards, but Greg Jennings was held without a catch.
The Driver score tied the game at 7-7 after the Bengals (1-1) scored on their opening possession. Palmer and Benson easily led them downfield, averaging 10 yards per play before a 5-yard touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles.
Woodson’s first interception set up a four-yard touchdown run from Ryan Grant, who struggled to find holes for the second straight week. He finished with 46 yards on 14 carries, a 3.3-yard average, and a crucial fumble that led to Cincinnati’s go-ahead score in the third.
The Packers special teams also struggled, giving up punt returns of 60 and 32 from rookie Quan Cosby that both led to scores. Mason Crosby also badly missed a 55-yard field goal.
Both teams played sloppy football. Cincinnati was flagged 13 times for 100 yards while the Packers had 11 penalties for 76 yards.
The Packers were a nine-point favorite, but the linemen were flat on both sides of the ball. With the St. Louis Rams and Steven Jackson next on the schedule, if the Packers don’t figure out how to stop the run, they could fall victim to another disappointing upset.
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* – Mike McCarthy photo credit: The Red Zone Report
If the New York Giants are going to spoil the regular season christening of Dallas’ new billion-dollar stadium, then Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw must bring their A-game.
Both teams won last week’s season opener, but the Cowboys were gashed by Tampa Bay on the ground for 174 yards in the 34-21 victory. Carnell “Cadillac” Williams picked up 97 yards on only 13 carries while Derrick Ward gained another 62 yards on 12 attempts. Each back found the end zone once.
If New York gets that kind of productivity, and the defense plays as it did against Washington, we could see an upset in Big D.
The G-Men have history against them, however. Dallas has won four of the last five meetings, and three of the last four in Dallas.
Here is all of the viewing information for this weekend’s game:
New York Giants (1-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
In last December’s game at Texas Stadium, Giants quarterback Eli Manning was sacked eight times, picked off twice, and did not throw a touchdown pass in the 20-8 Dallas victory. This is another reason why New York running game is so vital. Jacobs ran for 117 yards in last season’s Giants victory in New York, but the big bruiser missed the blowout loss in Dallas.
If the Giants are unable to get anything going on the ground, DeMarcus Ware and Co. will be able to pin their ears back and head right for Manning. Surprisingly, Dallas was unable to register a sack last week in Tampa after Ware led the NFL with 20 sacks a season ago. Tampa quarterback Byron Leftwich completed 61 percent of his passes and threw for 276 yards as the Buccaneers totaled 450 yards of offense.
For Dallas, the recipe for success is eerily similar.
The Cowboys have their own 1-2 punch in the backfield. Establishing Marion Barber and Felix Jones on the ground will open things up for Tony Romo. Dallas rushed for 118 yards against the Bucs, led by Barber, who had 79 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Romo enjoyed a superb opener, throwing for 353 yards and three touchdowns, including seven passes to Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams for a combined 221 yards. It’s clear that the Cowboys don’t miss Terrell Owens. Romo’s efforts this past Sunday made up for the lackluster defensive performance in the Sunshine State.
While Dallas’ defense was underwhelming in victory, New York’s unit overwhelmed Jason Campbell and the Redskins. They held the Redskins to 272 yards – 85 rushing – and forced two turnovers with three sacks, including 1 1/2 by NFC defensive player of the week Justin Tuck. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora, back after missing last year with a knee injury added a sack and a forced fumble of Campbell. He then returned the fumble 37 yards for a score in the 23-17 win.
Manning was not spectacular against Washington, but was efficient, going 20 of 29 for 256 yards with one touchdown and one interception, completing passes to seven receivers.
That kind of efficiency begins with pass protection and a solid running game. Both teams have basically the same strengths. It’s just a matter of which squad can establish the ground game early, pressure the quarterback, and create a turnover – something Dallas has struggled to do the last few years.
The clubs have already begun the war of words, with Jacobs and Ware both saying they “hate” the other team. It would seem the passion on the field in this storied NFC East rivalry has finally caught up to the passion in the stands.
The passionate ones in the seats could be the difference in this game, if Dallas can feed off its crowd in the home opener. The Giants will do all they can to silence the expected sell-out crowd. That could be easier to do with their 260-pound tailback on the field.
With Jacobs in the lineup, this is a completely different Giants team, and New York just might be leaving Big D with a big W.
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* – Eli Manning – Dallas photo credit: New York Daily News
After all of the games are played Sunday afternoon, there will be one remaining – and it’s the oldest rivalry in the NFL.
The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears will meet for the 178th time Sunday night at Lambeau Field. It will also be the 21st time the two teams have met in the season opener.
The storied teams split last year’s series, with the Packers routing the Bears at home 37-3, while the Bears escaped with a 20-17 overtime win on a frigid December night at Soldier Field. (I should know. I was there.)
Before we break down the two rosters, here are the particulars for Sunday night’s Packers-Bears matchup:
Chicago Bears (0-0) at Green Bay Packers (0-0)
This year brings with it a lot of questions for both teams:
The questions go on, and most will be answered, at least in the short term, Sunday night.
The Packers have been downright dominant in the preseason, posting a 3-1 record — the same as the Bears — with the first-team offense scoring touchdowns on nine of 13 possessions. The Packers were 3-0 before dropping the backup-filled finale to Tennessee.
The Pack seem to have a slight edge at quarterback, mainly because Cutler’s effectiveness is a relative unknown with receivers such as Earl Bennett, Devin Aromashodu, Rashied Davis and rookies Johnny Knox and Juaquin Iglesias. The supposed top receiver for the Bears is Devin Hester, who is still learning the ropes on offense bytdefinitely trumps any return specialist the Packers have.
The Packers certainly have a huge edge is at wideout. Aaron Rodgers has a plethora of weapons, including Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson. Jennings, in fact, just might be emerging as the best player from the 2006 draft. Add Donald Lee and Jermichael Finley at tight end, and it makes the weapons pool even deeper for Rodgers.
The Bears have their own talented tight end in third-year player Greg Olsen, but neither Desmond Clark, Michael Clark, nor Kellen Davis give Chicago a 1-2 punch at tight end like Lee and Finley.
The running back edge belongs to Chicago, mainly because the versatile Matt Forte can flat out carry the rock and is effective catching passes out of the backfield. The second-year stud from Tulane ran for 1,238 yards last year to set a new franchise record for rookie tailbacks. Adrian Peterson is a nice change-of-pace back for Chicago, which recently lost Kevin Jones for the season.
Green Bay has plenty of runners, but none with the talent of Forte. Ryan Grant did eclipse 1,200 yards last year, but averaged less than four yards per carry. If he can get that number back up this year, the Packers will be all right. Spelling him in the backfield will be Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn.
Both teams have solid offensive lines, which they’ll need against the aggressive defenses they’ll see on Sunday night. Despite finishing the year 6-10, the Packers led the NFL in defensive touchdowns last season. Where they struggled was in the pass rush, something the new 3-4 scheme is supposed to remedy. Cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris are two of the best in the business, and safety Nick Collins was a Pro Bowl selection in 2008.
Chicago has another aggressive unit led by linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. If they can control the middle, the Bears can exert their will on pretty much any team. Green Bay’s backers are also good with Nick Barnett, A.J Hawk, Brandon Chillar, rookie Clay Matthews, and now Aaron Kampman added to the mix as an outside linebacker.
Kampman led the Packers with 9.5 sacks last season, his first year without registering double-digit sacks since 2005. If the Packers can get some pressure on Cutler, it could be curtains for the Bears.
It’s hard to overlook that Green Bay led last year’s game in Chicago 14-3 before imploding and handing the game back to Chicago. The Packers were clearly the more talented team last season, and look to be again this year.
Green Bay wins its home opener by beating up on the Bears, 31-13.
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* – Brian Urlacher getting owned photo credit: Mouth Piece Sports
Just days before the St. Louis Rams open their 2009 regular season schedule in Seattle, the team made a surprising move Thursday morning that could send shockwaves through the locker room.
Veteran linebacker Chris Draft, the one member of the Rams most active in charitable events around St. Louis, was released by the club after refusing to take a pay cut.
“They said because of the their current salary cap situation, that down the line with the incentives they needed to pay to other players they’d end up being over the cap,” Draft told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It seems like there’s other people that that could have been directed to, that (a pay cut) wouldn’t have impacted that much. It’s a business decision; they feel like they have to do it.”
Draft did say that the club told him they’d re-sign him Monday if another team had not picked him up. That move would save the Rams nearly $400,000 against the salary cap.
The Rams asked Draft to take a $300,000 pay cut earlier in the week. He was due to receive just over $1.2 million, but was asked to play for the veteran’s minimum of $845,000. If re-signed by the club, Draft would get the minimum, minus a game check.
To replace Draft on the roster, the Rams re-signed linebacker Quinton Culberson. The third-year player from Mississippi State spent all of camp with the Rams before being cut last Saturday to get down to the 53-man roster limit. Culberson will see plenty of playing time Sunday as the Rams enter the game thin at linebacker, especially with Larry Grant nursing an injury.
The lack of depth makes Draft’s release even more of a head-scratcher, because Draft can play every position behind the line.
Thursday’s move overshadows what had been an optimistic camp, complete with enthusiasm and energy. According to the Post-Dispatch, quarterbacks Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller, and running back Steven Jackson are adapting well to Pat Shurmur’s new offense.
“It’s a fun offense, and it’s a proven winner,” Jackson said. “As we see time and time again, teams that run this kind of offense are among the tops in the NFL when it comes to offensive statistics.”
The offense has yet to be sharp in the preseason, but it will need to be against the Seahawks because it’s unknown how the defense will react without one of its most respected leaders.
As much as Barry Alvarez may want to avoid the topic, he may have to make a decision at the end of the year on Bret Bielema.
As Alvarez’s hand-picked successor enters his fourth season as Wisconsin’s head football coach, Bielema must halt a steady decline in the program. Bielema’s Badgers were 12-1 in 2006, capping the season with a win over Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl to finish the year ranked fifth in the nation. A year later the record slipped to 9-4 and Wisconsin lost 21-17 to Tennessee in the Outback Bowl.
Then came last year’s miserable 7-6 season that saw the Badgers barely scrape by Fresno State, one-win Minnesota, and I-AA opponent Cal Poly. The season also included a two-point loss to a three-win Michigan team, and ended with an embarrassing effort against Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl.
Every year under Bielema the Badgers have gotten worse.
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When he took over, they were a perennially ranked team. Now they enter the 2009 season just hoping to become bowl eligible.
Bielema is a defensive-minded coach, and was UW’s defensive coordinator under Alvarez. He must focus his attention on that side of the ball because Wisconsin has seen its points allowed average swell from 12 in 2006 to nearly 27 last season. Fixing that will go along way in reversing the downward spiral of Wisconsin’s record. It won’t be easy with just three returning full-time starters – safety Jay Valai, defensive end O’Brien Schofield and linebacker Jaevery McFadden – returning.
The inexperienced defense has talent though and is ready to accept the challenge.
“There are no excuses for us on defense to give up more points every year,†Valai told Madison.com. “We’d better reverse that trend because we have to. With the type of offense we have, we’re going to ground and pound and beat the mess out of you … so we’ve got to come through.â€
Wisconsin has loads of talent at the skill positions on offense, but will have to get consistent play from first-year starter Scott Tolzien. The junior beat out highly touted freshman Curt Phillips and last year’s starter, senior Dustin Sherer, for the job.
Wisconsin lost some starters on the offensive line, but the one thing that has always been a constant in Madison is a good, big, strong offensive front. The Badgers play power football, and the big uglies up front should be able to reload and clear holes for a stable of running backs led by John Clay and Zach Brown.
Clay is the official No. 1, but Brown is a good change-of-pace back that has the ability to take 20 carries a game. Also in the mix is true freshman Montee Ball, a super prospect from Timberland High School just went of St. Louis. Redshirt freshman Erik Smith has blazing speed and good hands out of the backfield – both good for a third-down threat.
The Badgers bring back nearly all of their pass catchers. Travis Beckum’s injury last year opened things up for Garrett Graham to become the featured tight end. Returning at wideout are David Gilreath, Isaac Anderson, and Nick Toon, son of former Badgers great Al Toon. What that trio can’t afford to do is drop passes, something that plagued the unit a season ago.
That’s the good and the bad. The yin and the yang. So what’s the prognosis?
Well, the schedule is managable.
Wisconsin opens at home Saturday with Northern Illinois, a 6-7 team a season ago. Then it’s two more home games against Fresno State and I-AA Wofford. So a 3-0 start is likely, but Wisconsin was 3-0 last year also.
Week four is the first real test, a home game against Michigan State, which is a team considered a dark horse to win the Big Ten. Win or lose, if the Badgers at least look crisp and focused against what is on paper a more talented team, then things could be looking bright. Last year’s contest in East Lansing was a 25-24 win for Sparty.
Another winnable game is in week five, but it’s also Wisconsin’s first road game. Minnesota was dismal last year, but the Badgers barely won to keep Paul Bunyan’s Axe – the best rivalry trophy in all of college football. Minnesota will be improved this year, so it will be no walk in the park inside the Gophers’ brand new stadium for the Badgers.
And this is when the schedule gets really tough.
Although Wisconsin played Ohio State tough last year, the Buckeyes still won, and a similar fate could await the Badgers this year. The Buckeyes are stacked and experienced.
The following week is homecoming in Madison, but it’s also against highly-touted Iowa. It sucks losing the homecoming game, but just think of all the comforting drinks that will be comsumed on State Street after the game.
So 4-3 is likely after seven games, but there might not be a loss on the schedule after that with home games against Purdue and troubled Michigan. The road contests are at Indiana, Northwestern and Hawaii.
A 9-3, or even an 8-4 record will reverse the trend of the last three years, and should save Alvarez from having to make a difficult decision.
Bret Bielema just might be able to stave off the “Fire Bret Bielema” calls for at least one more season.
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* – Barry Alvarez / Brett Bielema photo credit: Wisconsin Badger Sports Fan
* – Jay Valai photo credit: BadgerBeat.com
* – Brett Bielema photo credit: Wizard of Odds
[Editor's Note: This is the first offering from a new writer that we are very excited to bring aboard: Ronald Clements, a 10-year journalist who has covered Division I football, basketball and baseball, as well as the NFL, NHL and NASCAR. Ronald is a graduate of East Carolina University where he majored in broadcast journalism and was a Senior Sports Writer for The East Carolinian.
He also has experience as a blogger, having been a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a featured blogger for ESPN.com. Oh, and he was in the Marine Corps from 1992-2001, which makes him more of a badass than 99.9% of the people reading this and certainly more of one than the clown doing the editing here.
Ronald will be covering the Cardinals, Brewers, Packers and Badgers. His first post is below. Enjoy.]
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If the Milwaukee Brewers are going to somehow make an improbable run toward the playoffs, the final month of the season is the time to do it.
That run could start tonight when the Brewers visit NL Central leading St. Louis.
The Brewers and Cardinals tangle nine times in the next 33 days, and Milwaukee has six games against the second-place Chicago Cubs.
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Braden Looper goes tonight against his former team at Busch Stadium. He is second on the squad with 11 wins, trailing Yovani Gallardo’s 12.
The Brewers need Looper and Gallardo to be solid down the stretch. More importantly, Milwaukee needs the rest of the staff to break out of its disappointing season-long funk.
Carlos Villanueva was solid last year, but is 2-10 this season with an ERA over six. Manny Parra and Jeff Suppan both have losing records and ERAs hovering around six.
Most knew that the Brewers starters would struggle this year without Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. But after a strong start, who knew they would simply collapse around mid-May and never recover.
At this point, the playoffs are extremely unlikely, but one can hope. What should also be hoped for is simply finishing the season over .500. As it stands, the Brewers are two games below .500 (64-66) and 12 games behind first-place St. Louis.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, own a 10.5-game lead over Chicago – the largest margin of any division leader in the big leagues. The acquisitions of Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and John Smoltz have really worked out well for the Cards. Couple that with consistent starting pitching provided by Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainright and tonight’s starter, Joel Pineiro, and St. Louis has been on fire since the all-star break.
The Brewers aren’t out of it yet, and can make up some serious ground in the month of September. They’d probably have to win at least 10 of those 15 remaining games against St. Louis and Chicago to make the playoffs.
As much as I hate to say it, that just isn’t going to happen.
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