Power Rankings - Conference Championship Breakdown

I am extremely impressed by Bruce Pearl. And it’s not just because of his penchant to pose with talented Volunteer fans. It’s not even because he once bought me a beer in the Gasthaus Bar in the union at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee right after he got the head coaching gig there (I was hanging out there with friends, I congratulated him on the job, and wished him luck and he bought me a beer, shook my hand and went back to his friends – very classy). He suspended 4 of his players after an incident involving guns, drugs and alcohol. He dismissed senior Tyler Smith, and has kept senior Brian Williams suspended indefinitely while recently reinstating Melvin Goins and Cameron Tatum. While working with only 6 scholarship players and 3 walk-ons, Pearl rallied his troops for wins over then-top-ranked Kansas, Charlotte, Auburn & Mississippi (and they beat Alabama last night after Goins & Tatum returned). They’ve ascended to #8 in the rankings and are playing great.

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Memo to Jim Calhoun (& it also applies to Urban Meyer): Put your ego in check and hang up the whistle. Your health and being there for your family are much more important than anything you do on the field or court. Calhoun just took a leave of absence from his UConn basketball team for medical reasons supposedly not related to his battle with cancer or past heart issues. Coaches always talk about being smart, teaching their players to be better people, and to think about their teammates. Well, coach, your family is your most important team. Be smart, step down and get healthy. Neither of you needs the money or the fame more than your kids need their fathers.

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My official picks for the Conference Championship games this weekend won’t be made until Degenerate Friday, but it’s time to start breaking the games down. And since Wednesday used to be the day for Power Rankings of the NFL teams during the regular season, I figured the best way to analyze the games was to rank the different components of each team: Coaching, Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Receivers, Defense, & Special Teams. Then we’ll total up the rankings for each team and determine who has the talent edge.

Coaching

(1) Sean Payton, (2) Rex Ryan, (3) Jim Caldwell, (4) Brad Childress
It’s not the most distinguished group of coaches, with a total of 1 playoff win among them before this season (Sean Payton in 2006). Payton gets the nod because of his offensive creativity and the way Gregg Williams has transformed the Saints defense this year. Rex and his big talk have the Jets believing they are the best team in the league and that bravado has completely changed the attitude at their Jersey headquarters. Caldwell is untested, as we have no idea what to expect from him – he has Peyton Manning, so does he really need to do anything? And Brad Childress comes from the Andy Reid School of Choking, so there is no confidence there. If the NFC Championship Game is close at the end, expect to see Childress looking like Jim from American Pie when Shannon Elizabeth is taking care of herself: He has everything in front of him for a grand slam, but he has no idea what to do with it.

Quarterback

(1) Peyton Manning, (2) Brett Favre, (3) Drew Brees, (4) Mark Sanchez
Manning & Favre have combined for 2 Super Bowl titles and 7 league MVP awards. Brees has put up huge regular season numbers, and Sanchez is the rookie who has demonstrated tremendous poise thus far. If Favre can win the Super Bowl, he will be the only quarterback in history to win the Super Bowl with two different teams. If I have the ball, down 5 with two minutes left in the game, I want Manning under center for me – his intelligence, mastery of the offense and calm under pressure are as good as anyone since Joe Montana. Sanchez has played well in the playoffs, but you have to wonder how long he can keep it going. Sanchez is off to a Ryan Phillipe start to his career, with good movies - I Know What You Did Last Summer & Cruel Intentions, etc., tons of adulation, and he gets Reese Witherspoon. We'll see if he crashes back to earth like Phillipe, who hasn't been in a relevant movie since Flags of Our Fathers in 2006.

Runningback

(1) Jets, (2) Colts, (3) Vikings, (4) Saints
Given that the Vikings have Adrian Peterson, you may be surprised to see the Vikings so low, but despite Peterson’s angry style of running, he fumbles too much and has been held in check for 8 consecutive games. It’s hard to say he’s overrated, because he rushed for 1,383 yards and scored 8 TDs. He’s more like Penelope Cruz, because when she’s in the right role, she’s able to put her assets to work. The Jets have the best rushing offense in the league. Thomas Jones has been the most underrated running back in the league for the past 5 years (5 straight seasons of at least 1,100 yards). And rookie Shonn Greene is a battering ram and might be the sturdiest runner left in the playoffs. While Addai is not as explosive as Reggie Bush, he’s more reliable between the tackles and also dangerous as a receiver – did you know that Addai scored 13 TDs this year and had over 1100 total yards?

Receivers

(1) Colts, (2) Saints, (3) Vikings, (4) Jets
This might have been the easiest groups to rank because Reggie Wayne is the best receiver in the playoffs, and Dallas Clark is the best tight end still playing. Add in Pierre Garcon, who is dangerously fast and smart (as evidenced by his strip of Ed Reed last week) and you have the most dynamic group to go with the best quarterback. The Saints have a ton of solid weapons with three guys getting more than 700 yards receiving (Colston, Henderson & Meachem) and weapons like Shockey & Bush. The Vikings receivers have really blossomed receiving passes from Brett Favre as Sidney Rice exploded for over 1300 yards and 8 TDs, and Visanthe Shiancoe had 11 TDs himself. And that doesn’t take into account the dangerous Percy Harvin, who gets involved in receiving, rushing and the kick return game. The Jets are at the bottom of this group because their #1 receiver got called out by his own father for dropping too many passes. I think that’s all you need to know about that.

Defense

(1) Jets, (2) Vikings, (3) Colts, (4) Saints
This was another easy ranking, as the Jets have the best defense in the league, the Vikings have the 2nd best rush defense, the Saints are not above 20th in any defensive ranking, and the Colts are in the top ten for scoring defenses. It will be a great chess match between the Jets pressure and Peyton Manning. The Saints have given up a lot of points and a lot of yards, but they are opportunistic, and it will be interesting whether Favre can keep his “Inner Hulk” in check and take what is there.

Special Teams/Kicking

(1) Saints, (2) Vikings, (3) Colts, (4) Jets
The Saints return game with Reggie Bush earns them this top spot as he is a threat to take any kick to the house. The Vikings are highly rated for their reliable kicker in Ryan Longwell. The Colts have a reliable veteran kicker in Matt Stover and a solid return man in Chad Simpson. The Jets have an accurate kicker, but have missed Leon Washington’s dynamic return game for most of the season.

OVERALL TOTALS (Lower is Better):
Jets = 16
Colts = 13

Vikings = 16
Saints = 15

So what does this all mean? Probably nothing. While there is a lot of analysis to still be read and researched before plopping down a mortgage payment at the window, it looks like I’m leaning towards a Colts and Saints Super Bowl. Peyton goes to battle against the team his dad quarterbacked for many years. Then again, it doesn’t look like the gap between the Vikings and Saints is very big, so maybe we’ll have a matchup of two great quarterbacks trying to get their second title.

Baseball is Broken - Not the Yankees

Congratulations to the Yankees on their 27th World Championship. Father time caught up to Pedro last night, and now we have to deal with the insufferable Yankee fans celebrating. But at least it’s better than Philly fans. I actually called the World Series right, predicting the Yankees in 6 games, which is amazing only in that it was the only series in the entire baseball playoffs I called correctly.

Now there are all the people screaming that they hate the Yankees because they spent their way to the championship. But you can’t hate the Yankees for playing within the rules as they are. Hate baseball for having the structure that allows the Yankees to just spend an unlimited amount on talent. And while they are the epitome of that flawed structure, what fan wouldn’t want an owner that could spend like the Steinbrenners? So it’s extremely frustrating because you won’t ever see the Royals, Pirates, Padres, Nationals, Orioles, or Blue Jays in the World Series again, but until they change the rules, why wouldn’t the Yankees, Sox, Mets, Phillies, Dodgers and Angels continue to spend like drunken sailors?

And I know it’s a tired argument, but if you look at the champions in baseball, since 1980, there have been 18 franchises that have won those 30 titles. For comparison, in the NBA, there have been 8 teams that have won those 30 titles, and that includes the Heat and the 76ers, which each won only one title. The NFL has been the picture of diverse champions, with 14 different franchises that have won the 30 Super Bowls since 1980. So I’m not sure that the salary cap is the cure for baseball.

In the meantime, teams like the Brewers, Royals, A’s, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays, Rangers, Reds have to try and do the best they can before players like Prince Fielder, Roy Halladay, Johnny Votto, Carl Crawford, Billy Butler, etc. become free agents and run off to the big spenders.

To quote the movie "Boiler Room" when Ben Affleck is talking to the new recruits, "Those who say money doesn't buy happines......doesn't f--kin' have any."

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This is not a flattering article on the Mike McCarthy and the Packers coaches. Ross Tucker basically lit up the coaching staff for not being more creative in their blocking schemes and for kicking to Percy Harvin when he had already been extremely good. I think the heat is getting turned up on McCarthy and definitely on Ted Thompson.

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Is it bad that I don’t believe that Brandon Spikes came to the coaches and wanted to suspend himself for the entire game against Vandy this weekend for the eye gouge against Georgia? I just don’t believe a word out of Urban Meyer’s mouth. The guy is a sneaky, arrogant, snake-oil salesman. My guess is he saw the backlash of his pathetic excuse for a penalty, and he decided to manipulate the situation to make his dirty player look better for the public.

Tuesday Ramblings - Batman, Cowards, Liars, Etc.

Manu Ginobli knocks a bat out of mid-air on Halloween night during a basketball game. However, what’s more amazing than his bat hunting is his bald spot in the back of his head. Dude is 28 years old and has the bald spot of a 60 year old. I mean, my forehead is expanding as my hair runs away from my eye brows, but not nearly as rapidly as Manu’s bald spot is attacking his head. Combine that with his deteriorating knees and ankles and maybe he’s like a Cuban baseball player and is actually 45 years old.

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So Brandon Spikes gets suspended for the first HALF of the game this week against Vandy for his eye gouge against Georgia? What a cowardly move by Urban Meyer. While Urban is a good coach, he’s a pompous d-bag as a person. For him to stand up there and lie that “we take this very seriously” and follow it up with a half game suspension? It’s like George Costanza’s “Was that wrong?” after diddling the maid in his office.

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Chase Utley is having a World Series for the ages. Unfortunately, it’s likely to be forgotten if the Yankees end up closing out the series. People tend to forget amazing performances by losing teams/people. But the dude is raking fastballs out of the park this series, with 2 more in game 6 last night. The best example was 2002, when Barroid Bonds hit 4HR, 13BBs, 22 Total Bases, 8 Runs, .700 OBP, and a 1.294 Slugging % - all among the top ten all-time in a single World Series.

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Not sure we’ll get to the point of a Game 7, but I’d say that Cole Hamels has created quite a firestorm with his comment that he just wants the season to be over. If you’re the other guys in the locker room, can you feel good if he takes the mound in a decisive game for the championship? You bust your arse all season and fight your way back from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series and then this joker is going to be the pitcher to determine whether you get a ring? And the fact that Brett Myers had to talk to him about his comments (whether or not it was “confrontational”) proves that the team is concerned he’s not all in, like the rest of them. Hamels could be on the fast track to the pitching career of Rick Ankiel – fast start, followed by even faster decline. Can Hamels play the outfield? The rumors are that his wife Heidi (originally of Survivor and Playboy fame) made him focus more on making money and doing endorsements than on improving as a pitcher. Then again, if the Yankees win in game 6, no one will remember that Hamels wanted to be a quitter.

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The Browns fired their GM, George Kokinis yesterday. Kind of like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. The question is whether it was a warning shot to Mangini or if it was Mangini throwing Kokinis under the bus? They have the 34th ranked QB in the league (there are only 32 teams), an old RB that already said he’s retiring after this season because he can’t take it anymore, and they traded their #1 WR after he got in a fight at a night club. They have the worst prospects for a turnaround than any team other than maybe the Raiders.

Now the fans are threatening to boycott the team and the owner has offered to meet with those fans that organized the boycott. Can you imagine how that conversation is going to go?

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Could the Oakland situation with Tom Cable get any worse? So far on Cable’s hit list…..a wife, a couple girlfriends and an assistant coach (allegedly). What’s next? And of course, when asked about it, he denied it. Until the police report was shown to him, then he suddenly remembered it, and remembered details including that it was an open hand. What a liar and a loser. I’m sure he feels like Roger Clemens and all these women must “mis-remember” what actually happened.

At least the Raiders used a big word in their statement about the situation to try and prove they aren’t idiots. “For reasons of privacy, we kept the basis for those dismissals confidential. We endured public OPPROBRIUM for the dismissals, all the while knowing our basis for them was appropriate.” What? I guess it means public disgrace or ill fame. And if that’s the case, the entire Raiders situation is an opprobrium.