NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Hipster Drew, Tebow, and Tits Edition

hipster

I don’t really have anything to rant or tangent about this week. I’ve been sick lately, and no one really wants to hear about me not being able to breathe or getting two new prescription inhalers to use. Yes, I am a nerd. I walk around listening to hipster music wearing glasses and keep an emergency inhaler in my backpack. [Editor's note: actual picture of Sick Hipster Drew Lange below.]

hipster-drew-lange-nfl-week-six-power-rankingsImage source: Monkey Jedi

At least I like football right? That’s got to count for something.

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Al Davis dead at age 82

al davis passed away

Wow. I don’t think anyone was expecting this today.

After seeing a couple of tweets from @ThunderTreats and @Deadspin I went to the Oakland Raiders’ website, and there, in giant letters was the following:

AL DAVIS

July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011

The Raiders family will issue a statement later today.

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NFL Power Rankings: Week 4

al-davis

This week’s power rankings are brought to you a few days late (due to actual school work) and courtesy of National Drink a Beer Day (due to Jerod’s tweets). Enjoy!

[Editor's note: For the record, this tweet was sent five hours before these Power Rankings were submitted.]

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2010 NFL Draft: Day 1 Recap

Well that was fun! One round down, six to go.

Let’s take a look back then move ahead and look at four more QBs who could be fun to watch this weekend.

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WWSC: Lane Kiffin – All Hat, No Cattle

[Editor's Note: What follows is the second in a new series of regular posts that you will start to see here on MSF called Wendell Willkie's Spam Cleansing (WWSC for short).

Throughout the day I participate in email conversations with friends about hot sports topics. One of my friends in particular is very active in these conversations. This is that friend.]

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Lane Kiffin… all hat, no cattle as my texas brethren would say.

How does Lane Kiffin score one of the premiere jobs in college football presenting a resume with more emptiness than wins?

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Top 10 Reasons Lane Kiffin Left Tennessee for USC

why-lane-kiffin-left

If you don’t have Twitter, ESPN, access to the Interwebs, or eyes and ears, you might not know that Lane Kffin shocked the college football world by leaving Tennessee for the head coaching position at USC left vacant by Pete Carroll’s departure for the Seattle Seahawks.

In the hours after the Kiffin story hit the Twittersphere, speculation ran rampant as to why Kiffin would leave Knoxville after only one year for L.A. (Okay, not really – it’s his dream job, he’ll get a lot of $$$, and he’ll be living in Southern California – but work with me here, it sets up the rest of the post if we assume that there is swirling speculation about Kiffin’s departure.)

In my endless quest to bring MSF readers the most hard-hitting and insightful sports information, I have put together the Top 10 reasons why Lane Kiffin left Tennessee for USC.

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I’ll Tell You This: The Meaning of Bradford’s Injury, ND’s Win, and Why the Jets and Lions are Making a Mistake

[Editor's note: This is the second installment of Big MB's weekly post entitled I'll Tell You This, in which he tells us all what in the sports world -- to quote the great Peter Griffin -- is grinding his gears. Enjoy...and stay tuned for an upcoming appearance by Big MB on the soon-to-be resume MSF podcast.]

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1. Sam Bradford

Sam BradfordThis past Saturday, Oklahoma was upset in new the Dallas Cowboys stadium by BYU. What’s worse is that last year’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Sam Bradford, injured his throwing shoulder on his way to the ground. Sooner Nation stopped breathing for a moment, however with recent reports it seems that the Sooner’s Slinger will only miss 2-4 weeks.

I’ll Tell You This: For all of you skeptics of Mark Sanchez and other athletes coming to pro sports early, and for all of you haters of high schoolers jumping to NBA, this is the case against you. Bradford decided to stick around one more year when he could have been the #1 pick last year. What if this was a career ending injury? Even though it’s not at this point, what if it severely affects Bradford’s play?  Bradford would possibly never get to live his dream of playing pro football. And worse, what would be his future profession after dumping all of his time into becoming an A-level quarterback?

2. Saving Weis?

Charlie Weis and all of South Bend (and those who support the Irish) may breathe just a little easier after Notre Dame pitched a shutout against Nevada. Jimmy Clausen finally looked like the quarterback that he has been hyped to be, completing 15 of 18 passes for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns.

I’ll Tell You This: No coach in sports is under as much pressure as Charlie Weis is right now. Notre Dame MUST win, and look good in doing so. However, this was Nevada. It’s the first week of the season. The team that should have won did. Next week brings bitter rival the Big Blue of Michigan. Someone shoot Charlie a text and let him know his job is still on the line.

3. Al Davis Strikes Again

Once again, Bill Bellicheck is a genius and Al Davis is a fool. This past weekend the New England Patriots traded DE Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a first round pick in 2011. Seymour is getting older and has seemingly started to lose a step, but is still an upgrade to a porous Raiders D-Line. However, the question remains: is he worth a first round pick?

I’ll Tell You This: There is not a soul on the earth that can honestly tell me that Al Davis made a good move, or ever will. Seymour is a “right now” type of guy, and Oakland is FAR from a “right now” type of team. There is no doubt that the Patriots will likely be picking top 5 in the 2011 draft, and that is something that no one in the entire NFL (save for New England) wants to see (and it’s possible that Al Davis won’t even live long enough to see). Al Davis needs to let go of this historic NFL franchise or they will never succeed. It’s definitely the black hole….a place where NFL players and winning go to die.

4. The Rookies

NFL rookies take the cake this year as both Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions and Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets will both get the starting nod at quarterback for their respective teams this season.

I’ll Tell You This: Although I think both guys are talented and will be good quarterbacks in the NFL, both teams are making mistakes starting them. Yes, some quarterbacks do well when thrown right into the mix (see Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts). However, in many cases it hurls what may have been a talented superstar into the cursed pool of the draft day flops (See Ryan Leaf, Joey Harrington, and David Carr). And some never can turn it around afterwards. Both teams have respectable veteran starters in Daunte Culpepper (Detroit) and Kellen Clemens (NY).  I can only hope for the sake of these two QB’s that they follow Peyton’s path to success and not Ryan Leaf’s path to America’s Funniest Home Videos.

5. The Knockout Heard Round the World

LeGarrette Blount held back from going into standsEveryone has seen it. Most of us saw it every hour for 48 straight hours on every sport program on television. And while for a fan of MMA like myself it was somewhat exciting to watch, America was once again taken aback by another sports thug when Oregon standout running back LeGarrette Blount sucker punched Boise State’s Byron Hout after Hout spouted a little trash talk to Blount. Blount made things worse by almost going Ron Artest-style on a couple fans on his way to the locker room. It took 4 or 5 police officers and building security to keep him from broaching the stands.

I’ll Tell You This: Although it is very sad to see a player throw away his career for lack of ability to keep his attitude in control, I do find it funny that the game started with both teams meeting at midfield for a handshake in light of “Good Sportmanship Week.” What I also find funny is that Blount ran his mouth ALL week before the game and then after getting held in check and to career lows, couldn’t take what he had been dishing out. The senior received a one year suspension, thus ending his college career. What will he do with his time off? Maybe he should give the Winnepeg Blue Bombers a call. He can hang out with Pacman Jones. They would make a cute couple. Canada can have him too.

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You can follow BigMB on Twitter by going to www.twitter.com/mylesb3269.