The Week in Football: Mississippi State is Really Good, NFL Power Rankings, and the Return of My Angry Old Man

Another important and exciting weekend of football has almost come and gone, and it’s a shame. It’s nice to know that from Thursday night to Monday night, no matter what happens during my day, I can always come home, flip on the TV, and watch some football. It’s like a good friend that’s always there for you. Thank goodness for the Monday night game.

 

College Football

 

Mississippi State is Really Good

 

I was more shocked than a death row inmate in the electric chair that Mississippi State dominated LSU on Saturday. I couldn’t have envisioned a scenario where MSU would go in there and play as well as they did. LSU was 43-3 in home night games under Les Miles. When LSU scooped and scored on the first possession of the second half to cut the lead to 17-10, I thought, “Oh, Mississippi St just had a really good first half, but now LSU is going to start to open it up”. But they didn’t. Dak Prescott was the man all night, as he threw for 268 yards, rushed for 105, and scored three total touchdowns. Clearly, they are much better than I thought they were. However, I’m not going to overreact to one huge win and declare that they’ll win the SEC West. They have a bye week, followed by two home games against Texas A&M and Auburn, only two of the best 6 teams in the country. On November 15^th they travel to Alabama (ranked #3), and on the last day of the season is the Egg Bowl, one of the great college football rivalry names, against Ole Miss (ranked #10). So the schedule isn’t going to get any easier. Mississippi St doesn’t have as many athletes as any of those schools, and it wouldn’t shock me if they lost all four of those games. The league is just that good. And that’s the tough thing about the SEC. It’s hard every week when you have to go against great coaches every week like Les Miles, Nick Saban, Gus Malzahn, Mark Richt, Steve Spurrier, and Derek Mason (whoops, actually not Mason. In fact, you should be overjoyed when you see him on the schedule). Even Kentucky has a legitimate head coach. The schedule is just absolutely brutal every single year. So MSU might actually be really good. They might be the best team in the Big 10 if they were in that conference. But they aren’t. That’s just life in the SEC.

 

Virginia Tech is done as a Player at the National Level with Frank Beamer

 

Frank Beamer has done a great job at Virginia Tech. He made that program into what it is today. He’s the reason they are relevant on the national level. However, what I’ve seen from them the last three years has been nothing but mediocre. They’ve had back to back years at 7-6 and 8-5. This year, after one of the program’s biggest and most emotional wins in recent memory, the victory over #8 Ohio State in Columbus, they’ve followed it up with two losses at home to East Carolina and Georgia Tech. The Hokies have never recruited the best athletes in country, but they were always one of the best coached teams in the country, and they played Beamer Ball (great defense and special teams). Now, they don’t even do that. And they haven’t for the last 3 years. Beamer is 67 years old. I don’t think he’s too old to be the coach of a Division 1 program, but he has to lose a step at some point right? Maybe he already has. They still seem to be recruiting the same type of athlete, but they don’t look as well coached. They make way more mistakes now than they did five or ten years ago. Do Beamer and his staff just not spend as much time “coaching them up” as they used to? It wouldn’t shock me. They just don’t look as solid as they used to. It’s hard to have the same fire and intensity for something as you get older. Maybe Beamer is satisfied more easily than ever. He just might not have the energy like he did before. I’m not saying they should fire Beamer, but I don’t expect them to win a conference, or even a division title, again as long as Beamer is patrolling the sidelines.

 

The NFL

 

This week, I’ve decided to do something different with the NFL, which is power rankings, in reverse order, from 10-1. I’ll do this periodically throughout the season.

 

10. Detroit Lions (2-1)

 

Detroit has taken care of business at home, and that’s why they slide into the top 10. They dismantled the Giants in Week 1 and shut down Green Bay in Week 3. I like their physical defense, and at home, that offense looks really good. Reggie Bush looks 3 steps faster on that turf, and Matt Stafford goes from making decisions like a rebellious, angry, know-it-all 16 year old on the road to a wise old soul at home. He’s just way better at home. They’ve also got the best receiver in football in Megatron. I’d also feel better about this team if they didn’t have emotionless Jim Caldwell on the sidelines. Jim would probably react the same way to winning the Super Bowl as he would to being informed by doctors that he would have to undergo a quadruple amputation. Just that same, forward blank stare. Speaking of Caldwell, has there ever been a team in sports that has hired two complete opposites as head coach back to back? Jim Schwarz was like the Seattle’s 12^th man of NFL coaches. Caldwell is like the Jaguars fan base. He looks like he couldn’t care less.

 

9. Carolina Panthers (2-1)

 

Yes, yes, I realize Carolina got dominated like the opponent against a young Mike Tyson last night, but I still love their defense. It’s one the few physical and nasty units left in the NFL. I hate their offense though. I’d wish they’d open up the playbook a little bit more, though Cam Newton didn’t exactly have any time to throw the ball yesterday. Pittsburgh brought 5 or 6 guys on a blitz the entire game, and they’d get in Cam’s face and deliver shot after shot after shot. I mean, Cam took some blows last night. He didn’t even finish the game. They don’t have any great weapons on offense (Kelvin Benjamin is a talented player, but he’s not a franchise receiver yet), but that defense is still there. It will keep them in some games, and enable them to win some games that they probably shouldn’t. For now, they stay at number 9.

 

8. Chicago Bears (1-1)

 

I want to put the Bears higher, but I’ll keep them at eight for now, just because they’ve only played two games. I’m probably higher on them than most, but the defense showed me something last week, and I love their offense. There are a lot of people who don’t like Jay Cutler, but I’m a fan. His only problem has really been his inability to stay healthy, which honestly isn’t surprising, considering all the hard hits he took last week against the 49ers. They have two huge, physical receivers (Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery), which is even a bigger advantage in this, “We don’t care about defense, and are going to make every single new rule favor the offense” era of the NFL. If the offensive line can be a solid brick wall instead of a revolving door and keep Cutler from taking shot after shot to the sternum, I like this team to win the division. But I have my doubts about that, so I’ll leave them at number eight.

 

7. Atlanta Falcons

 

This might be a slight overreaction to their Thursday night thrashing of Tampa Bay, but I do like this team. The defense is just ok, but they’re going to be able to put up points on almost anyone. Matt Ryan is very good, and they’ve got 4 game breakers on the outside (Roddy White, Julio Jones, Devin Hester, and Harry Douglas). They went toe to toe with New Orleans, who I think are actually pretty decent despite their slow start, and won, and despite the fact that they were getting dominated by the Bengals in Week 2, they somehow managed to stay in the game for the most part. They’re at the Vikings and Giants the next two weeks. I wouldn’t be shocked if they’re 4-1 after five games. I like this Falcons team a little bit.

 

6. Philadelphia Eagles (3-0)

 

These next six teams are a step above all the others. I have Philly ranked at sixth because as much as I love that offense, I don’t like their defense, and they’re also a missed pass interference call away from losing to the Colts and being 2-1. I know that sounds nit-picky, but we’re in the top 6 now, and I have to be able to distinguish between all these teams somehow. Plus, I feel like they have the least impressive resume of the teams I have ranked above them. I like what Darren Sproles brings to that offense, and I’m happy to see Jeremy Maclin back having a great year after he tore his ACL. And Nick Foles is a solid QB. It’s hard to punch holes in a team that’s started 3-0, but I just don’t like them as much as the other five I have ranked above them.

 

5. Arizona Cardinals (3-0)

 

Arizona might have the best defense in the entire league. They’ve held their opponents scoreless in the 4^th quarters of the first three weeks. They’ve beaten the Chargers and the 49ers at home, and won in New York against the Giants. They have some game breakers on offense, and the O-line is solid. The only thing I don’t like is their quarterback situation, though Drew Stanton has been solid the last two weeks. Eventually they’ll get Carson Palmer back at QB though, who I actually like much better. They have a bye week coming up, and then a huge showdown in Week 5 against Denver. But as long as that defense plays like they have, they won’t have to worry about who they have playing quarterback.

 

4. Denver Broncos (2-1)

 

The Broncos showed me something yesterday. I fully expected them to go into Seattle and get physically dominated, but that defense punched back, and Denver started to move the ball on the Seahawks at the end of the game. I thought the game was over when Cam Chancellor intercepted Manning, but Denver drove 80 yards with no timeouts left and less than a minute remaining to tie the game. They also weathered many potential storms, like Montee Ball’s early fumble and Manning’s aforementioned late interception to stay in the game. They showed me a toughness I didn’t think they had. One concern for me though is actually Manning. Since the next surgeries, particularly in cold weather, Manning’s ball has sort of fluttered through the air. Yesterday, a day in which weather wasn’t a factor at all, Peyton had some particularly weak throws, including the one Chancellor picked off. Granted, he had some strong throws, particularly on the last drive of regulation, but there were so many ducks and balls that lacked a tight spiral. He is close to 40 years old, so it’s understandable, but if he’s struggling to throw powerfully down the field on a warm day in September, imagine what it will be like for him on a cold January day with biting wind in the playoffs. It’s something to keep an eye on for sure.

 

3. San Diego Chargers (2-1)

 

I love the Chargers. That solid, physical defense, coupled with Phil Rivers, is enough for me. They’ve got two of the most impressive wins in the early part of the year, the win over Seattle in Week 2, and their cross country victory in Buffalo yesterday. They don’t run the ball all that well, particularly with Ryan Mathews missing the next few weeks with an MCL injury, and they might be without Danny Woodhead for the rest of the year, but I still love this team. Rivers is one of the best 5 QBs in the league. He’ll cover up some of those holes until Mathews comes back.

 

2. Cincinnati Bengals (3-0)

 

They’ve got a great roster, a great defense, and some awesome playmakers. The only question with Cincinnati is the same one they’ve had over the last 3 years, which is “Can we even win a playoff game with Andy Dalton at quarterback?” Honestly, I’m not sure. If Dalton plays well, they’ll represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. And I say that as someone who is a bigger fan of the Chargers than just about anyone. That’s how talented this team is. But we’ll have to see what happens when we get to January. The Dalton question is why I like San Diego better. I have doubts about Dalton playing well in a high pressure playoff game. I don’t with Rivers. I’ve seen Rivers go on the road in the playoffs and play great. I’ve seen him gut out a torn ACL and play against the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. I know he’ll show up and play well. I don’t know what I’m getting from Andy Dalton. For now, though, the Bengals are number two in my power rankings. But that might not matter come January.

 

1. Seattle Seahawks (2-1)

 

Seattle took Denver’s best shot late in that game yesterday, and still found a way to win. It’s not like they played their best either. They weren’t able to physically pound Denver like they’ve been able to do against so many teams before. And there were open Bronco receivers running everywhere during the 4^th quarter. Then again, they only really allowed the Broncos to drive on them one time the entire game, which was the last possession of regulation. I’d argue that Seattle just relaxed a little bit on that last drive, because mentally, they thought they’d already won after Cam Chancellor picked off Manning. Pete Carroll was celebrating on the sidelines like he’d won the powerball. I’m sure the rest of the team felt the same way. But then they had to go back out there, Manning made some nice throws, they lost some guys in coverage, and Denver scored quickly. But they composed themselves in the overtime period and drove down the field for the winning touchdown. That impressed me. If they get the one seed, and I think they ultimately will, I still don’t see any team going in there and winning in Seattle during the playoffs. It’s just so hard to deal with the cold weather, the crazy 12^th man, and the Legion of Boom. They’re going to get everyone’s best shot throughout the year, but they’re so talented I think they’ll persevere. For now, they’re still the best team in the NFL.

 

I saw my Angry Old Man the other day, and I could tell that he had been stewing on something for a long time. There is one sport that old angry people love more than anything, and he couldn’t help but yell and scream at me about.

 

This weeks Angry Old Man question is as follows, “Why don’t you ever write about baseball? It’s probably because all you dang kids these days only care about what’s hip and what’s fast, and you have no appreciation for a 4 and a half hour 1-0 baseball game. Also, when are you going to get your life together and stop disappointing me? That’s been a constant problem for you honestly”.

 

I’m sure many of you can see the anger in that writing. Sheesh. I shudder when I think about it. I’ll probably start writing about baseball as soon as the post season starts. I like baseball, and I’ve been monitoring things all season. But I have this approach when it comes to baseball, which is the Fox approach. Fox takes Joe Buck off the baseball stretch run and puts him on the start of the NFL season. Then, when the baseball playoffs start, Buck is back on baseball. So when Buck is there, that’s when I’ll write about it. I’ll have something baseball related in the next week or so. Until then, it’s going to be all football.

 

Like always, I appreciate anyone who read. Feel free to comment, and please share this with someone if you can.