Pigskin Football Guys

Here's the Deal Guys, We need You!

Pigskin_Stokes — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:43:00 -0700

As Bowl Season approaches hopefully we will have a Bowl Podcast Show up and going. You can email us at Mail@pigskinfootballguys.com with anything you want to know or want us to talk about. We will post the PODCAST here on our blog. We are working kinks out of the forums, but we also are going to need moderators. We will hand select some of you as you post on the forums. Please post as often and consistently as you can. As the season comes to a close recruiting and drafting will soon arise. If you hear something in your area about recruits or draft picks. Please post! The longest part of the year is going to be off-season. You guys have made this site what it is. We had a record day with 4,700 hits within the first month of existence. That is pretty unheard of for a blog sites. So we thank you for linking us up on forums, telling a friend or emailing articles. Please continue to spread the word!

So What is the deal with this Petrino Guy?

Pigskin_Webb — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:32:00 -0700

Since Bobby Petrino’s hire this week, I’ve been trying to formulate an opinion about what I thought of the hire and the coach. Here is what I have come up with: As far as character issues, Bobby Petrino is Houston Nutt. Petrino has lied time after time after time in regards to whether he is looking at going to another program, whether he is staying with a program, whether he has talked to different university officials. Etc. But my question is who hasn’t in today’s college football landscape? Les Miles told Oklahoma State fans that he wasn’t looking at going to another program and that he was happy in Stillwater. Then he jumps ship to LSU. But who could blame him? LSU had and has stockpiles of talent and play in the best conference. Of course everyone is familiar with the Nick Saban controversy. This has become commonplace among the coaching fraternity. Coaches will tell fans, boosters, players, and recruits what they want to hear at that time, knowing in the back of this mind that he either wants that big time job or that he wants to make the jump to the NFL or that he has been in contact with other AD’s or GM’s. Is it right? Not necessarily, but that is the type of world we live in now in the business, and it is a business, of college football. But let’s go back to Petrino. I think what he did to the Falcons was wrong and most objective football fan would tend to agree, except for the ignorant Arkansas fans who think that it was ok and justified. I can also understand where Petrino was coming from. Who wants to coach a team so disheveled and out of whack that it almost became a circus in the locker room? Of course you had the Vick fiasco, then you had DeAngelo Hall almost fighting one of his own coaches on the sidelines, Alge Crumpler publicly criticizing Petrino and the coaching staff, and at the Monday night game against the Saints, guys like Roddy White and Chris Houston (former Arkansas player) paying homage to Vick with eye black with #7 on them or shirts that say “Free Mike Vick”. Is this really necessary to deal with on an NFL team? Petrino should have no doubt faced the players in person to tell them of his decision and tell them how he felt, and the players to have that same luxury of letting Petrino how the felt. But Arkansas had an enormous sense of urgency. They had been turned down 3 times, which we know of, and they had to get a coach in order to stay on top of recruiting. At the same time, Petrino could have done what Charlie Weiss did when he took the job with Notre Dame while he was with the Patriots. He recruited when he didn’t have to be with the team, but still fulfilled his commitment to the team and their playoff run. This might not have even been an option, but just something to think about. Petrino has a chance to change the perception most of the college football world has of him. He can do this by fulfilling his contract, not looking for other job opportunities, before, during, or after the season, and being honest with recruits and fans. Earlier I said his character was similar to Nutt’s, but that is where the similarities end. Petrino turned Louisville into a national contender while he was there, leading them to a BCS bowl victory, which is something that Arkansas has never had. He was 41-9 in 5 years. He recruited top athletes in Michael Bush and Brian Brohm, among others. No one can argue with the type of coach Petrino is. He is widely considered as an offensive genius that can generate balance. See the two names mentioned above. Balance is what Arkansas desperately needs. With only 8 returning starters next year, his coaching skills will be put to the test early and often. Let us hope for the best for Petrino, on and off the field.

Top 5

Pigskin_Stokes — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:19:00 -0700

Patriots- they are dominating.

Cowboys-I am not a Cowboy fan, but Tony Romo has carried 3 out of 4 of my teams to the next round in Fantasy Football Playoffs. These guys are great. They out score you on both sides of the ball. All sides of the ball have stepped up at different times of the season to get the job done. Hamlin and Newman have been amazing. Ware has been awesome. Romo and his arsenal of receivers have dominated the opposing defense. Barber is a mad man and shouldn't come off the field.

Colts- It hasn't always been pretty and the finesse of teams past has been lacking. But THEY GET IT DONE. Addai has fulfilled and exceeded expectations becoming a dominant back when needed. Peyton while he is arguably the 3rd or 4th best QB in the league hasn't been himself the last bit of the season. However, Peyton is clutch and cool under pressure; don't be surprised if his peak is in the beginning of the playoffs.

Green Bay- Farve is having one of his best years ever and Grant has taken the reigns of the running game to the next level. Which for the Packers is just above serviceable. They have 3 sets of the best hands in football and not to mention Donald Lee who is showing himself to be a threat. Their defense struggled at times with dallas but the Cowboys have the best offense after you step way down from the Patriots. If they stay healthy, I wouldn't want to play them come playoff time.

Seattle- It's Up for Grabs but they've won 5 straight. Despite injury and an aging Alexander, they have found a way to get it done. If Hackett comes back in time for the playoffs they may be a team to reckon with. Seattle has found a Morris Solution beginning to peak its head. They have a great passing attack with Burleson stepping up. Other teams such as the Steelers, Charger, and even the 7-6 Vikings could make an argument for this spot but I feel like the Seahawks have played well enough to deserved this spot.

Arkansas Coach with No Extensions Attached?

Pigskin_Stokes — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:23:00 -0700

"ESPN is reporting

"Bobby Petrino abruptly resigned his position as coach of the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday, and multiple sources told ESPN he is negotiating an agreement to become the new coach at Arkansas. Petrino and his agent had been talking with the Falcons about his preference to return to the college ranks. The former Louisville coach was looking for an opportunity to break into the Southeastern Conference ranks, and Arkansas was a natural fit."

So is this for real Petrino? As we reported many coaches have used Arkansas as leverage. If you're reading and you're a hog fan give us your thoughts. I for one as a hog fan would be pumped. Having lived in Arkansas for a period of time, I feel like there are a lot of idiots up in Arkansas. I had a buddy labeled me a realistic Hog Fan because I didn't buy into the hog hype every year. That being said Arkansas should have been a Contender this year. As a season ticket holder I witnessed the mediocrity that was Arkansas Football turn into the team that could have been. And if you are honest with yourself, Hog fans don't get to feel like that often. "Could have been teams" weren't apart of my upbringing. SEC contenders rarely came along. After Houston Nutt got to Arkansas I got to watch my team win and contend. We by no means were a Florida or USC but we were a winning more than we were losing. We were beating Texas and to a true Arkansas fan that meant a lot. I think Nutt did more for Arkansas Football then anyone other than the D-Mac. This illusion that Big Coaches would want to come to a McFadden-less team is not hard for to dismiss. But I do feel like we are at a pivotal point. We need a coach who can get the job done. Big Name, small name, it doesn't matter. Do we deserve, better I think so. And Petrino just might be it!

Speed+ Talent+Good Coaching= SEC

Pigskin_Stokes — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:23:00 -0700

I've played sports my whole life and the one thing people always say is this. "You can't practices against speed if you don't have it." And the Big 10 doesn't have the speed. (speed is only one part of the game) In high school, we were a bunch of white boys playing basketball on daddy's dime against far superior talent. We had some good players, but we were slow. Granted we had some guys who had some speed and those guys I mean maybe two. We had a few guys go play at D1 levels in football and two of them are playing pro-ball. But our basketball team was slow. So slow that coach put 6 defenders out on the court multiple times to simulate the amount of speed we would be playing against. Now our football team wasn't the fastest but they won two state titles in 5yrs not bad for 2a school. And they weren't blazing any trails. Or burning a lot of people deep on sheer speed. They had great coach, great execution, and heart (bring the wood was their battle cry, so look out McFadden, they brought it a long time a go.) So my point is: You can still play a sport well with out speed. But why would you. It makes up for so many things!

The Big Ten is largely a smash mouth offense, hard nosed, at that. They do put up legitimate teams who play good football. The difference here is the type of game played. The Pac 10 is the only conference who can rival the SEC. The explosiveness of those two conferences towers over the Big 10. I agree with the theory "just cuz the best team is in your conference doesn't mean you are the best conference." But the SEC is the best conference.

I'll tell you why. They have the most talent. LA, FL, TX, and CA have the best high-school football programs in the nation. You can double check my stats but I'm pretty sure LA the state puts more players in the pros per capita than any other state. TX has top recruits every year go to the SEC. UF get the cream of the crop in its own state. I know there are great players all over the country. But the football in La, TX, and FL is just better. You won't find many programs that don't have players from one of those states. And the SEC get the best of them. USC is the only school that consistently steals TOP recruits from those states. But their success in the last 10 years was started by in state recruiting allowing; them improve. Therefore giving them a chance to regularly compete with the SEC in the fore mentioned states. The SEC is the faster conference, they bring in more talent, and they are the better conference.

This Weeks Goat of the Week Nominees

Pigskin_Webb — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:07:00 -0700

1. Baltimore Ravens – For the second straight week, a team has had the opportunity to beat the Patriots, and both times, mistakes have ended up costing them that chance. Last week, it was A.J. Feely’s late interception that put the nail in the coffin. This week, when looking at the Ravens, can you really put your finger on just one thing? Let’s start with the first half interception made my Ed Reed. An exceptional return man, Reed looked like he was going to set his team up to make a field goal, possibly even a touchdown before half to extend their lead. However, his lack of ball security cost them a turnover when Kevin Faulk tackled and stripped Reed preventing them from scoring. Next, and this is when the fun starts, Kyle Boller throws an interception into the middle of 4 Patriot defenders, when there was absolutely 0 Raven receivers in the vicinity. As a matter of fact, you could barely see a receiver on the replay. This again cost the Ravens precious points. The final drive: Patriots line up for a 4^th and 1 and Brady is seemingly stuffed at the line, HOWEVER, a timeout is called by the defensive coordinator, preventing the turnover on downs. FYI, only head coaches are supposed to be able to call the timeouts from the sidelines. Next, on another 4^th and short, Heath Evans takes the ball and gets stuffed, but a false start by the Patriots pushes them back 5 to set up Tom Brady’s scramble for a first down. On the next 4^th down, a hold by the Ravens secondary gave the Patriots an automatic first down and all they needed to score the go ahead touchdown. By the way, it was legitimate hold call. Lastly, the actions of Bart Scott were terrible. I understand the emotion of the game was at an all time high, but throwing the official’s flag into the stands was ridiculous. And claiming that the officials make those calls because the NFL wants the Patriots undefeated is absurd. If your team makes smart decisions early in the game, then the game wouldn’t have come down to the last drive. I’ll be interested to see what type of fine Scott gets for his actions and his words.

2. University of Arkansas – Since Houston Nutt resigned as Arkansas’s head coach and took the same position at Ole Miss, Arkansas has interviewed and talked with several coaches, including Tommy Tuberville, Charlie Strong, Joker Phillips, Ron English, Tommy Bowden, Gus Malzahn, Jim Grobe, and Lane Kiffin among others. I do not have an issue with the number of coaches that they have interviewed and talked with, because I want our school (I say “our” school because I am a fan) to find the best possible coach. My issue has to do with the number of coaches who have either rejected us entirely or just showed a complete lack of interest. Arkansas is not some 2^nd tier school academically or athletically. It is a school with well known former coaches and players, very successful teams of the past, yet we can’t bring a well known coach to the school now. What seems to be the biggest issue with Arkansas? In my opinion, it is the existence of John White and Frank Broyles in the administration. Though Frank is leaving at the first of the year, he will still be very much involved with Arkansas athletics. Coaches seem to be hesitant to come to a school where their most famous coach is still a very influential figure in the state and program. Let the new coach have complete control of the operations. Let the new coach make the big decisions. I don’t want Arkansas to continue to be used as leverage by college coaches to get raises and extensions. It is embarrassing to the school and the program. Arkansas does have a storied tradition, but the administration and IRRATIONAL fans have kept quality football coaches from wanting to come and bring further success to the program.

3. BCS – This could probably appear on the list every week, but since I haven’t had a chance to talk about it this year, I figure why not put it on the list now. Since the Nebraska vs. Miami championship game, I have been in favor of some type of playoff system. Most reasonable college football fans I know are, but instead of talking about something that will not be done in the immediate future, I’m going to talk about something that could’ve been done this year. Sure I have a problem with Ohio State being in the national championship and LSU vaulting over 4 teams to the number 2 spot and Hawaii even being considered for a spot, but what bothers me the most is the fact that Kansas is in the BCS but Missouri is stuck in the Cotton Bowl. I know the Cotton Bowl is something to be proud of, but with the kind of season that Missouri has had, why don’t they deserve to be in one of the big games? Head to Head match up? Goes to Missouri - Division Championship? Goes to Missouri. What does Kansas have on Missouri besides one less loss? Missouri lost twice to BCS bound OU, while beating BCS bound Illinois early in the season in a big non-conference game, while Kansas’s toughest game besides the Mizzou game was Texas A&M and Oklahoma St. I know their non-conference schedule was “brutal” with Southeastern LA, Toledo, FIU, and Central Michigan, but what about the terrible conference schedule which didn’t include OU and Texas? Georgia was rewarded with a BCS game even though they didn’t win their conference or division. Illinois, the same thing. Why not Missouri? Missouri went from being number 1, to losing to a top 5 OU team, to getting kicked out of the BCS party. Just one more thing that is unfair about the BCS.

Thursday Features

Pigskin_Webb — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:12:00 -0700

1. Goat of the Week Nominees

2. Top 5 NFL and College Teams

Non-BCS bowls you don’t want to miss this year

Pigskin_Webb — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:07:00 -0700

Chik-Fil-A Bowl – Auburn vs. Clemson – These two coaches went from leading candidates for the Arkansas job, to getting long-term contract extensions. This will be a battle of Clemson’s offense featuring Cullen Harper, James Davis, and C.J. Spiller vs. Will Muschamp’s Auburn defense, led by Quentin Groves. If Auburn’s defense shows up against Clemson’s rushing offense like they did against Arkansas, it could be a long day for the Tigers.

Outback Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Tennessee – Tennessee is coming off a disappointing loss to LSU in the SEC Championship game and Wisconsin is coming off a disappointing season, where expectations were at an all time high. With a preseason ranking in the top 5, Wisconsin’s defense proved to be their downfall in conference. In their three losses, Wisconsin gave up an average of over 33 ppg while only scoring 16 ppg. Look for Tennessee to run and run often with Arian Foster and force Tyler Donovan to beat them with the pass and keep P.J. Hill contained.

Cotton Bowl – Missouri vs. Arkansas – Which Heisman Trophy candidate will have the bigger day? Chase Daniel has been superb all year and with Arkansas’s less than spectacular secondary, look for Missouri to score some points. Darren McFadden and Felix Jones will look to be as effective as Patrick and Brown for Oklahoma were in the Big 12 Championship game, and with the success of the running game all year, I don’t foresee that to be an issue.

Gator Bowl – Virginia vs. Texas Tech – Virginia gives up 18.8 ppg while Texas Tech puts up 41.8 ppg. So what gives here? Chris Long will give Texas Tech fits all day, but the Red Raiders will surely utilize double teams to control him, if that’s even possible. Graham Harrell will be looking for Crabtree and Amendola almost every play and since Virginia hasn’t played anyone with the type of high power offense that Texas Tech has, don’t be surprised if Texas Tech doesn’t reach close to their average in points.

Les Miles and Michigan

Pigskin_Webb — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:16:00 -0700

As most of you know by now, the source where I received the information regarding the LSU situation was wrong, way way wrong. There is now way around it. I trusted this source because of how close this person is to the LSU football program. But I have no hard feelings. I reported this information because of where we are located (Louisiana) and how big a story it was nationally. I didn't report it because I hate the LSU football program and wanted to spread gossip. As a matter of fact, I felt like every one of those circumstances would actually have been an upgrade to the program. But when it comes down to it, I could truly careless about LSU football, but I will continue to be objective when I talk about them. I thought this was some great information, it just happened to nearly all be wrong. As me and Jarod continue to operate this website, we'll continue to give our opinions regarding college and professional football, as opposed to reporting on information him or I receive. Thanks for visiting the site and please continue to give your opinions about what we talk about.

Billie

This Weeks Pick'em Results

Pigskin_Webb — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:05:00 -0700

Billie Jarod

College 5-3-1 5-3-1

Pro 5-11 10-6

Year Totals

College 19-8-1 16-11-1

Pro 23-25 30-18

Different Look at the BCS

Pigskin_Stokes — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:31:00 -0700

This is a good article by a pro-footballreference.com

The BCS Bowl Selections came out yesterday, and like almost every other year, many people are unhappy. I’ve got lots of random thoughts, so I figured I’d just start collecting them here.

No one got a bad deal here. Yes, if you root for Georgia, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma or USC (we’ll get to Hawaii later), you are understandably disappointed today. On Sunday morning you thought your team might luck into the BCS Championship Game, and in the end LSU and OSU took those two spots. But all four schools lost two games each, and had multiple blemishes on their resumes. This is *not* 1998 Tulane, 2000 Florida State or Washington, 2001 Oregon or Colorado, 2003 USC, 2004 Auburn, Boise State or Utah, 2006 Michigan or Boise State. The ‘04 Tigers probably have the biggest complaint in BCS history, and no one this year has much to complain about. The argument boils down to “we weren’t lucky enough to be selected”, hardly a sympathetic complaint. Each team had more than enough chances to make the title game.

The BCS has increased my interest in college football. Maybe it’s because I’m a math geek or maybe it’s because I like controversy, but discussing who the top two teams are is pretty fascinating. It’s probably not as fair as a playoff, but if it wasn’t for the BCS, we wouldn’t be talking college football this morning. Further, …

If the BCS never came about, here’s what we’d be looking at:

After showing my pro-BCS stance, let me now get to my biggest pet peeve with the BCS and the polls. No one really knows how teams are supposed to be ranked. This bothers me and perplexes me more than just about anything in sports. How can we have polls where there’s no guidance on how to rank the teams? While most rankings are easy, on the edges you really need some guidance. The big question is the retrodictive vs. predictive distinction: we don’t know what the rankings are supposed to be. Are the polls supposed to be designed so that the team ranked X is always a favorite in a neutral site over the team ranked X+1? Should the polls reflect who has accomplished the most to date? Should they reflect who has looked the best to date? Should they reflect which team we subjectively think is the best team in the nation? I’ve got no idea, and frankly, it’s impossible to rank the teams in a meaningful way until you know what you’re ranking them on.

I read this article, you can go to www.pro-footballreference.com to read the rest.

Posted by Chase Stuart on Sunday, December 2, 2007

This Weeks College Pick'em Games

Pigskin_Webb — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:54:00 -0700

This weeks schedule of games is not near as strong as what we had last week, but there are some good matchups, highlighted by the conference championship games.

Game	Line	Billie	Jarod	Result
Rutgers @ Louisville	-2.5	Rutgers - L	Louisville - W	41-38 Louisville
Army vs. Navy	-14	Navy - W	Navy - W	38-3 Navy
VA Tech @ Boston College	+4.5	VA Tech - W	Va Tech - W	30-16 VA Tech
Tennessee vs. LSU	-7	Tennessee - T	LSU - T	21-14 LSU
Oregon @ Oregon St.	-1.5	Oregon St - W	Oregon St - W	38-31 Oregon State
UCLA @ Southern Cal	-19	UCLA - W	UCLA - W	24-7 USC
Pitt @ West Virginia	-28.5	West Virginia - L	West Virgina L	13-9 Pitt
Washington @ Hawaii	-13.5	Washington - W	Hawaii - L	35-28 Hawaii
Arizona @ Arizona St	-7	Arizona State - L	Arisona St - L	20-17 ASU
Oklahoma vs. Missouri	+3	Oklahoma - W	Oklahoma - W	38-17 OU

This Weeks NFL Pick'em

Pigskin_Webb — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:52:00 -0700

We will have the rest of the games picked by Sunday.

Game	Line	Billie	Jarod	Result
Packers @ Cowboys	-7	Packers - L	Cowboys - W	Cowboys 37-27
Falcons @ Rams	-3	Rams - W	Rams - W	Rams 28-16
Bills @ Redskins	-6	Redskins - L	Redskins - L	Bills 17-16
Lions @ Vikings	-4	Lions - L	Vikings - W	Vikings 42-10
Texans @ Titans	-3.5	Texans - L	Titans - W	Titans 28-20
Jaguars @ Colts	-6.5	Colts - L	Jags - W	Colts 28-25
Jets @ Dolphins	-1.5	Dolphins - L	Jets - W	Jets 40-13
Chargers @ Chiefs	+6	Chargers - W	Chargers - W	Chargers 24-10
Seahawks @ Eagles	-3	Eagles - L	Seahawks - W	Seahawks 28-24
49ers @ Panthers	-3	49ers- L	49ers - L	Panthers 31-14
Browns @ Cardinals	-1	Browns - L	Browns - L	Cardinals 27-21
Broncos @ Raiders	+3.5	Broncos - L	Broncos - L	Raiders 34-20
Bucs @ Saints	-3	Bucs - W	Saints - L	Bucs 27-23
Giants @ Bears	+1.5	Giants - W	Giants - W	Giants 21-16
Bengals @ Steelers	-7	Steelers - W	Steelers - W	Steelers 24-10
Patriots @ Ravens	+20	Patriots - L	Patriots - L	Patriots 27-24

Top 5 College and NFL Teams

Pigskin_Webb — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:41:00 -0700

College

1. Missouri – Proved on Saturday in front of a primetime national television audience that they are for real. Chase Daniel is no doubt in the Heisman trophy race. His performance showed what kind of special player he is. He goes to show everyone that it’s not all about size. He’s an NFL quarterback. But despite their ranking and performance against KU, they are still a 3 point underdog going into their game against Oklahoma. Though Missouri really impressed me, I still like Oklahoma with a healthy Sam Bradford in the Big 12 Championship game.

2. Georgia – Playing hotter than any other team in the country right now. Moreno at running back has been the difference maker down the stretch for the Dawgs. Since the Florida game, Richt has his players performing at an elite level. This was the one team LSU didn’t want to play in their former run to the national title. It doesn’t look like there is anyway for Georgia to play in the national title game, but I guarantee they would be a favorite against almost anybody. I wouldn’t mind seeing a Georgia/USC match up in a BCS game.

3. West Virginia – Easiest game left out of all the national title contenders (unless you count Ohio State). However, and it is a big however, being the number 2 team in the country has been the toughest job for anyone this year. White, Slaton, Reynaud, and Devine look near unstoppable and though Saturday’s game is nicknamed the “Backyard Brawl”, I can only picture one team doing most of the brawling. Putting up 66 against a Connecticut team that was only allowing 18 points a game says something, even though it is the Big East. Missouri/West Virginia national title game? I wonder how many prognosticators had that game before the season started.

4. Ohio State – This is another example of a team that didn’t play their way into this spot the last couple of weeks. But, they have only lost one game this year to a much improved and dangerous Illinois team. There will also be some that argue that the Illinois game was the only tough game they played this year. Akron, Youngstown St, and Kent St. doesn’t exactly scream out brutal non-conference schedule. Big 10 has been weak this year, considering the expectations it had at the beginning of the year (i.e. Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State), but going undefeated in a BCS conference should garner some National Championship consideration Athletic teams are seem to be their weak spot (Florida last year, Illinois this year). West Virginia would be a tough match up in January.

5. USC – They are playing like everyone thought USC would be playing all year. If I had had National Championship game wish, it would be USC/Georgia, as mentioned above. Their loss to Stanford still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but Booty was playing hurt that game and they were looking ahead. Booty seems to be healthy and back to playing like he did most of last year and Washington, Gable, Johnson, McKnight, and company are all contributing. Fred Davis is an absolute freak on the field and is their best receiver, despite playing the TE position.

NFL

1. Patriots – Just because of a close victory doesn’t mean anything will change. Did anyone else see how many dropped passes they had?

2. Cowboys – Looked extremely good against the Jets, at no surprise. If they keep getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers in Owens and Whiten then winning 14 or 15 games isn’t farfetched at all. What a match up this week against the Packers. Even though only 18 people will get to watch the game, I’m sure it will be something. Make sure you stay up for Sportscenter late Thursday night to catch the highlights. Playing in Big D is an obvious advantage and I look for the Cowboys to win in a close one.

3. Packers – It’s hard to believe that I would have 2 NFC teams in two of the top three spots. They have definitely played their way into this position. Last week I said they had found a little bit of a running game in Ryan Grant. Now it seems like Grant is a legitimate weapon in the Packers offense. This makes them not just contender for the NFC but for the Super Bowl as well. Their defense might be young, except for Woodson and Harris, but they have really stepped up their play throughout the year and their bump and run philosophy will either reward or burn them against the Cowboys receivers.

4. Colts – The score might have been 31-13 but it was another less than spectacular win for the Colts. I’m also not sure if any win against the Falcons could be considered a good win. But a win is a win, and they keep doing it. A huge test against the Jaguars this week, with the winner having the upper hand in claiming that division. Dungy is hopeful that they will be getting Harrison back in the lineup, and if that happens, look for the Colts to come out on top. It sure doesn’t hurt that their playing in Indy with all the “fake crowd noise”.

5. Jaguars – David Garrard is the only starting QB in the NFL this year not to have thrown an interception. Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor provide a lethal one, two punch. Their front four does well against the run, allowing less than 100 yards a game. However, the pass defense is what will give them problems, not just this week, but the rest of the season. No matter what, this game should no doubt provide some excitement this week and the best part about the game is that we’ll get to see it on CBS, and not NFL Network.

This weeks "Goat of the Week" nominees

Pigskin_Webb — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:40:00 -0700

Let me know what you think about the nominees this week

1. Eli Manning – Since he’s been in the league, he has been a complete roller coaster, but Sunday’s game topped them all. He had 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions, including 3, I repeat, 3 returned for touchdowns. Since his fiasco that took place on draft day with him saying he wouldn’t play for the Chargers and demanding he be traded to the Giants if drafted number 1, you never know what you are going to get with Eli. There are games when he looks like an all-pro and there are games when him and Grossman could compete on who could turn it over more. The weapons around him are sufficient, though Sunday he did not have Brandon Jacobs. This isn’t Atlanta or Miami where you don’t have anything to work with. This is not something that should be talked about ever year. Giants fans shouldn’t have to worry about what Eli will show up each game. Is Eli really the long-term answer for the Giants? Is there something he can do? New coach? Different brother?

2. Mike Shanahan – This is the second time in two weeks I have had a head coach on this list for doing something that could EASILY have been prevented on special teams. It was obvious in Sunday’s game against the Bears who was the better team. As long as you keep it out of #23’s hands, everything will be ok and you can go home with your “W”. So what in Shanahan’s right mind was he thinking kicking it to Hester on kickoffs and punts? Has he not seen Hester before? This guy ran a punt AND a kickoff back for a touchdown. He’s one of, if not the most electrifying player in football and you are going to kick it to him like he is some unproven rookie? Oh, and the final score of the game, Bears 37 Broncos 34 in overtime. You are a better coach than that Mike.

3. Pittsburgh’s Administration – For those that saw last nights game against the Dolphins, or as much as you could stand to watch, knows the type of condition that field was in. They had 4 high school football games on Friday and the University of Pittsburgh playing on Saturday. Knowing the field was in awful shape, the Steelers decided to just put an extra layer of sod on top of the other layer in hopes of, well I’m not sure what they were hoping to do. And I understood that they felt like this was the only way they could get the field into playing shape, if you could actually call it that. But at what point do you say to yourself, let’s take some money out of our operating account to invest in some field turf. If you’re going to keep hosting high school games and Panther games, a change needs to be made. The Steelers should apologize to their fans and the rest of the NFL for making them sit thru that type of game. Hopefully next year, this type of situation does not have to occur.