NFL Playoffs, Recruiting, etc.

You know what I hate? When I'm standing in the lobby waiting for an elevator and someone comes up and repeatedly pushes the 'up' button that I've already pushed. Like when I did it, it didn't take? I also get peeved when I'm on the elevator going down. The lobby button is already illuminated, yet everyone that gets on the elevator feels the need to push the damn button. I wonder if they really think their push is going to get us there faster? Or maybe, the elevator had been confused, but now realizes our true destination...

Anyways...to sports.

Interesting matchups for tomorrow's games. Not sure about the rest of you, but the prospect of an all AFC West Super Bowl (yes, I know Seattle is no longer AFC) is intriguing. Think they can bring back Merle Olsen to do the game? Loved watching him and Dick Enberg on NBC 3 in Philly so long ago.

I think that both home teams should come away with wins, if a couple of things happen. One, Denver has to guard against a Plummer meltdown. Hand the ball off to your horses, throw to Smith and Lelie once in a while. Don't let Pittsburgh make Plummer the focus.

Seattle needs to find out some way to get WRs not named Jackson into the game. There is also the little matter of stopping Steve Smith. You know, it amazes me that WRs like Smith (Rod and Steve), Marvin Harrison, etc, continually get wide-open!! Last week, I swear Chicago forgot who this guy was. Giving up 400+ yards is bad, but when you get smoked for 200+ yards receiving by the team's #1, well, someone forgot to study. Predictions later...

Penn State is quietly putting together a wonderful recruiting effort this year. Scout.com has them ranked in the top 10, and they could end up top 5 given the decisions of about 3 other players. Looks like Hurricane QB prospect Pat Devlin is having second thoughts after the clearinghouse of coaches following the 40-3 drubbing at the hands of LSU. Seems the guy that recruited him was one of the ones let go. This week Devlin, a PA-native, is visiting PSU.

Recruits are only good if you can develop their talent in a time frame that makes them useful to the team. Looks like quite a few of this year's incoming class could find the playing field as true freshmen...is this Penn State?? I think it stems from the way that King, Williams, and Norwood handled themselves as FR this year. King made Dean's list, and all dealt with the pressure very well. They all also acted as recruiters, getting folks from Va and Md to come north.

Could be interesting. Look for MRob in the Senior Bowl, and a trio of Lions in the Hula Bowl tonight.

Oh, and best wishes to Poz on his recover.

This weekend's games:
Denver 23
Pittsburgh 21

Seattle 27
Carolina 20

For the Glory....

Happy New Year

Quite a hiatus, but I guess it's time to start looking at the BCS Bowls. Plus, I just got done watching the Eagles get beat by the Redskins. So that leads to some introductory comments.

First, the Birds played better than their 6-9 (soon to be 6-10) record for most of the game. The D played better than it had all season, save for the San Diego game. But, it came down to the fact that neither Mike McMahon nor Koy Detmer are serviceable back-up quarterbacks. Too many turnovers, too many poor throws. Now, I know that 90% of us could not name the back-up QB in Indianapolis (Jim Sorgi...from...The University of Wisconsin), or the back-up in Seattle (Senecca Wallace...from...Iowa State University). The NFL is a starters league. Few teams have the luxury of two guys capable of winning big games. The fact is, there has to be a better option than a McMahon or a Detmer. If not, well, then I would make sure my O-line is the best ever, so I don't need to worry about my QB getting hurt.

Anyway, I know that the Eagles have some work to do in the offseason, but I think they're going to be ok. On offense, Ryan Moats and Bruce Perry looked solid, and maybe...just maybe...Billy McMullen will start being the WR the Eagles thought they were getting in 2003.

On D, well...that could be a project. Two rooks started on the line, and looked ok. The LBs looked slow and tired. Dhani Jones is ok, but is too small to play the strong side. Trotter is a slugger, but he's not young anymore. Whatever happened to Keith "The Bullet" Adams? Is our recourse going back to Mark Simoneau? Think that may be a draft priority.

Around the NFL...I hate weeks when things are shored up. Kills my office pool, since I never know what teams will play their starters until I've already turned in my selections...stupid Bears.

Is there a better ball carrier in the NFL than Larry Johnson right now? Tiki Barber is cosmic, and Shaun Alexander is the rushing leader...but 9 straight 100 yard games, and a KC single season rushing record (even though he wasn't the regular starter until Nov)? That's just sick.

Speaking of sick...the college football bowl season has been horrible...awful...disgusting and, dare I say, boring? Sad when the best game to date is a toss-up between Michigan/Nebraska and Tulsa/Fresno St. I mean, come on Miami. At least show up. 40-3? Bet the fine folks at Chik-fil-a were happy to see that flop.

Looks like the curse of the BCS snub got to Oregon, too. A 10-1 season was marred with an ugly 17-14 loss to a mediocre Oklahoma team. Not sure that means that they wouldn't have given Notre Dame a good game, but they looked like they wanted to be somewhere else.

Looking forward to a wonderful day of football tomorrow. Hope it rains. I think the sleeper game could be the Iowa/Florida game. Lots of intresting twists on this one...could be good. Also think that the West Virginny/Georgia game could be one-sided. Not sure there is a team in the Big East that can compete with a powerhouse from the SEC. This game may expose the Big Least for what it is. Thank goodness their automatic bid to the BCS ends after next year.

The Orange Bowl is a couple days away, but already the butterflies are starting. I hope to write more on that tomorrow.

Let's look at some predictions:
Outback Bowl: Iowa 27, Florida 24
Capital One Bowl: Auburn 38, Wisconsin 20...Aubie is the best team playing right now.
Sugar Bowl: UGA 34, WVa 17
Fiesta Bowl: OSU 23, ND 20

More tomorrow, I hope.