American Sports Thread

[Oraisteach]

Whoops! Two quick FSU TDs--quick implosion by the Cavaliers. 

[Muck Savage]

Ouch AZ, Palmer gone for the season could spell trouble. 49ers starting to get some defenceive players back and Seattle getting into a trot would be a pity to see them lose out if that is the way it spins out.

[AZOffaly]

Yeah, Palmer gone is a bad one, but if there's one thing this team has shown it is that it is resiliant. Don't forget Stanton won two games as a starter when Palmer's neck/shoulder nerve kept him out. He also came into the game last night down 14-10 and led an 89 yard drive, throwing on every down, to take the lead back. Stanton is a decent backup.

It does put a lot more pressure on the defense, and I'll be worried about Larry Fitz now. Palmer loves throwing to Fitz. Stanton is comfortable with the likes of John Brown.

8-1 is a great start for the Cards. Pity the Niners won last night, because if they had fallen to 4-5 I don't think they'd have caught the Cards. 10-6 or 11-5 is still a viable target even with a backup QB..

[AZOffaly]

In the NCAA playoffs, it won't be Michigan State anyway. Saturday was brilliant in the College Football. So many games between ranked opponents, and it's going to be really fascinating to see what happens between now and the 7th of December when the final polls are announced.

CFP #3 Auburn was beaten at home by unranked Texas A&M in another classic, and typical, SEC ambush. It's hard to see a way for Auburn into the playoffs now, at 7-2, but they'll have a huge say in who does get there, because they play Alabama and Georgia still.

#4 Oregon beat #17 Utah handily in Utah, and that will rubberstamp them into the PAC-12 championship game. They surely can't lose at home to Colorado or away to Oregon State. Obviously Oregon State is a rival, but Oregon are at a much higher level than them. That should mean Oregon get into the PAC-12 Championship game, but who will they play?

The answer might be down in the south west as #9 ASU held off a rally from #10 Notre Dame. ASU looked like they were going to absolutely dismantle ND, as Everett Golson had a nightmare, but the Irish stuck in there brilliantly, and actually got a 24 point lead back to a field goal deficit, in the 4th quarter. They even botched a field goal, and ASU looked seriously on the ropes. Then the Devils went on a fantastic march down the field to regain the initiative and a 10 point lead, and actually closed it out with a Pick Six and a garbage time TD as well to win by 24. That's the end of the road for Notre Dame, but it opens up a lot of possibilities for ASU. They will surely move up in the rankings, but more importantly it sets them up for a shot at Oregon in the PAC 12 title game, if they don't blow it before then. Watch the banana skin in Tucson though. They should beat Washington in Tempe, but they have to go south to play Arizona in the last week, and if they lose there, you open up all sorts of tie breaker scenarios to represent the PAC 12 south in the Conference Championship. If they stay clean it will be Oregon v ASU as both 1 loss teams, with the winner surely being in the top 4. If ASU loses, and it's a 2 loss team playing against Oregon, Oregon would have to win to have a PAC 12 team in the final 4 I think. The dark horse may be UCLA. I don't know how the tiebreaker would work if Arizona beat ASU, but UCLA have a fairly decent body of work this year and I suspect they'd get it because they've beaten the Arizona schools. They've lost to Oregon and Utah, but have beaten ASU away, and Arizona at home. They finish with USC and Stanford, and could well end up ruining the PAC-12 party if they play Oregon and beat.



The BIG10 more or less sorted itself out on Saturday as Ohio State went into East Lansing and handily took care of Michigan State. That basically means that if the Big 10 wants a team in the final 4, Ohio State has to win out, and hope for some sort of hiccup elsewhere. They had a horrible loss at home to VA tech, but in fairness that was the second game of a season that they had planned for their star QB Braxton Miller. Him going down in pre-season was a huge blow, and I think they'll be rewarded if they win the Big10 with 1 loss. Put it like this, if Miller was there, and they were to finish 12-0, I don't think it would be a question.

The SEC is a mess. A brilliant conference, almost too good for its own good really. It's very possible that the SEC champion will be a 2 loss team. But because the conference is so strong, they will surely get at least the conference champion in there. If the Conference Champion ends up being an unbeaten Mississippi State team, then the SEC might well get 2 teams in, especially if Alabama beats Auburn, and loses just one more to Miss State.in the SEC though, who knows? I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Mississippi State lost at least once before the end of the regular season, and if they do, possibly at Alabama next week, then I think Alabama will win the SEC, unless they lose to Auburn in the Iron bowl. It's almost impossible to predict.

the Big 12 is another one that's slightly up in the air, but really this past weekend has put the spotlight on TCU and Baylor. Baylor have already beaten TCU, but TCU are probably the better team, and their out of conference schedule is a bit better than Baylor's, which is why TCU are ahead in the polls. Both should win out from here, and if they do it's hard to see how Baylor could overcome the deficit in the polls they have now. If Baylor do win out, they'll end up with wins over OKla State, Texas Tech and K State. TCU finish with Kansas, Texas and Iowa State.


I think you will have the SEC Champion, even if with two losses, but probably an undefeated Miss. State or a 1 loss Alabama.
I think you will have Florida State, unless they have a stroke versus Miami, Florida or BC.
I think you will have Oregon or ASU if they are 1 loss PAC 12 Champions, especially if it is Oregon.
Finally, I think the last place will be between a one loss Ohio State, a 1 loss TCU and a 1 or 2 loss Alabama or Mississippi State. (Maybe Auburn still, if they beat Alabama, and Alabama also lose to Miss State).

That last slot, if it is a one loss Miss State will go to them I think. If it's a two loss Alabama or Auburn, I think it will go to TCU.

It's going to be interesting though!

[AZOffaly]

Yeah, Palmer gone is a bad one, but if there's one thing this team has shown it is that it is resiliant. Don't forget Stanton won two games as a starter when Palmer's neck/shoulder nerve kept him out. He also came into the game last night down 14-10 and led an 89 yard drive, throwing on every down, to take the lead back. Stanton is a decent backup.

It does put a lot more pressure on the defense, and I'll be worried about Larry Fitz now. Palmer loves throwing to Fitz. Stanton is comfortable with the likes of John Brown.

8-1 is a great start for the Cards. Pity the Niners won last night, because if they had fallen to 4-5 I don't think they'd have caught the Cards. 10-6 or 11-5 is still a viable target even with a backup QB..

By the way, Chicago Bears WTF?? I watched it on Gamepass this morning over breakfast (condensed version). They were horrendous. Whatever was said behind the scenes there in the players meeting etc is not working.

[AZOffaly]

In the NCAA playoffs, it won't be Michigan State anyway. Saturday was brilliant in the College Football. So many games between ranked opponents, and it's going to be really fascinating to see what happens between now and the 7th of December when the final polls are announced.

CFP #3 Auburn was beaten at home by unranked Texas A&M in another classic, and typical, SEC ambush. It's hard to see a way for Auburn into the playoffs now, at 7-2, but they'll have a huge say in who does get there, because they play Alabama and Georgia still.

#4 Oregon beat #17 Utah handily in Utah, and that will rubberstamp them into the PAC-12 championship game. They surely can't lose at home to Colorado or away to Oregon State. Obviously Oregon State is a rival, but Oregon are at a much higher level than them. That should mean Oregon get into the PAC-12 Championship game, but who will they play?

The answer might be down in the south west as #9 ASU held off a rally from #10 Notre Dame. ASU looked like they were going to absolutely dismantle ND, as Everett Golson had a nightmare, but the Irish stuck in there brilliantly, and actually got a 24 point lead back to a field goal deficit, in the 4th quarter. They even botched a field goal, and ASU looked seriously on the ropes. Then the Devils went on a fantastic march down the field to regain the initiative and a 10 point lead, and actually closed it out with a Pick Six and a garbage time TD as well to win by 24. That's the end of the road for Notre Dame, but it opens up a lot of possibilities for ASU. They will surely move up in the rankings, but more importantly it sets them up for a shot at Oregon in the PAC 12 title game, if they don't blow it before then. Watch the banana skin in Tucson though. They should beat Washington in Tempe, but they have to go south to play Arizona in the last week, and if they lose there, you open up all sorts of tie breaker scenarios to represent the PAC 12 south in the Conference Championship. If they stay clean it will be Oregon v ASU as both 1 loss teams, with the winner surely being in the top 4. If ASU loses, and it's a 2 loss team playing against Oregon, Oregon would have to win to have a PAC 12 team in the final 4 I think. The dark horse may be UCLA. I don't know how the tiebreaker would work if Arizona beat ASU, but UCLA have a fairly decent body of work this year and I suspect they'd get it because they've beaten the Arizona schools. They've lost to Oregon and Utah, but have beaten ASU away, and Arizona at home. They finish with USC and Stanford, and could well end up ruining the PAC-12 party if they play Oregon and beat.



The BIG10 more or less sorted itself out on Saturday as Ohio State went into East Lansing and handily took care of Michigan State. That basically means that if the Big 10 wants a team in the final 4, Ohio State has to win out, and hope for some sort of hiccup elsewhere. They had a horrible loss at home to VA tech, but in fairness that was the second game of a season that they had planned for their star QB Braxton Miller. Him going down in pre-season was a huge blow, and I think they'll be rewarded if they win the Big10 with 1 loss. Put it like this, if Miller was there, and they were to finish 12-0, I don't think it would be a question.

The SEC is a mess. A brilliant conference, almost too good for its own good really. It's very possible that the SEC champion will be a 2 loss team. But because the conference is so strong, they will surely get at least the conference champion in there. If the Conference Champion ends up being an unbeaten Mississippi State team, then the SEC might well get 2 teams in, especially if Alabama beats Auburn, and loses just one more to Miss State.in the SEC though, who knows? I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Mississippi State lost at least once before the end of the regular season, and if they do, possibly at Alabama next week, then I think Alabama will win the SEC, unless they lose to Auburn in the Iron bowl. It's almost impossible to predict.

the Big 12 is another one that's slightly up in the air, but really this past weekend has put the spotlight on TCU and Baylor. Baylor have already beaten TCU, but TCU are probably the better team, and their out of conference schedule is a bit better than Baylor's, which is why TCU are ahead in the polls. Both should win out from here, and if they do it's hard to see how Baylor could overcome the deficit in the polls they have now. If Baylor do win out, they'll end up with wins over OKla State, Texas Tech and K State. TCU finish with Kansas, Texas and Iowa State.


I think you will have the SEC Champion, even if with two losses, but probably an undefeated Miss. State or a 1 loss Alabama.
I think you will have Florida State, unless they have a stroke versus Miami, Florida or BC.
I think you will have Oregon or ASU if they are 1 loss PAC 12 Champions, especially if it is Oregon.
Finally, I think the last place will be between a one loss Ohio State, a 1 loss TCU and a 1 or 2 loss Alabama or Mississippi State. (Maybe Auburn still, if they beat Alabama, and Alabama also lose to Miss State).

That last slot, if it is a one loss Miss State will go to them I think. If it's a two loss Alabama or Auburn, I think it will go to TCU.

It's going to be interesting though!

Meant to say, did anyone see that mental play in the Oregon v Utah game? Utah were winning 7-0, and they threw a long pass to a WR who was running into the endzone untouched. He started to celebrate a couple of yards too early and dropped the ball. For a split second nobody did anything, and then you could see the Oregon defender looking at the ref, who was not signalling TD, even as Oregon celebrated in the End Zone. Oregon picked the ball up and ran it back 100 yards for the TD!

[RealSpiritof98]

sick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-xHCITb2WM

AZ would you not be disappointed with a 10-6 finish from here for the Cards

[AZOffaly]

I would of course. They are 8-1. 10-6 means they finish 2-5. But what I'm saying is that even if that is what happens, you'd have a decent chance of a playoff spot. If Palmer wasn't injured, I think they'd be looking to finish 12-4 or 13-3 at this stage.

Drew Stanton is a good backup, but he's a backup. Larry Fitz might fall off productivity wise with Stanton, and Ellington might be the next lad to get injured because he's going to get more work.

They still have to play in Seattle and in San Francisco. They also have Seattle at home. That's 3 tough games right there with a backup QB. (Now mind you Stanton beat the Niners early in the year). They have Detroit and Chiefs at home as well, and Falcons and Rams away. I think 10-6 would be disappointing where we are now, but if the Cardinals were to be offered 10-6 at the start of the season, with all the injuries they have, that would be seen as a great season. There's a right good team being cooked there.

[magpie seanie]

Yeah, Palmer gone is a bad one, but if there's one thing this team has shown it is that it is resiliant. Don't forget Stanton won two games as a starter when Palmer's neck/shoulder nerve kept him out. He also came into the game last night down 14-10 and led an 89 yard drive, throwing on every down, to take the lead back. Stanton is a decent backup.

It does put a lot more pressure on the defense, and I'll be worried about Larry Fitz now. Palmer loves throwing to Fitz. Stanton is comfortable with the likes of John Brown.

8-1 is a great start for the Cards. Pity the Niners won last night, because if they had fallen to 4-5 I don't think they'd have caught the Cards. 10-6 or 11-5 is still a viable target even with a backup QB..

By the way, Chicago Bears WTF?? I watched it on Gamepass this morning over breakfast (condensed version). They were horrendous. Whatever was said behind the scenes there in the players meeting etc is not working.

To be honest I was not surprised - so much so that I didn't make any attempt to stay up late for the game which is unlike me. The defense has just imploded after a promising start and on offense I think the trust in Cutler and/or the coaching staff has disintegrated. Now I accept there is intolerable pressure on the offense as they go out thinking they have to score a TD on every drive but some of the play calling and Cutler's play has been very poor. The o-line has had injuries and hasn't been as settled as last year but the buck has to stop with the QB and despite all the weapons at his disposal and decent protection he isn't getting it done. I think they'll rally and make it to 8-8 or 7-9 but all they'll do is ruin other teams seasons cos their own is done. Disappointing.

[RealSpiritof98]

Could it be the Eagles year??

[J70]

Poor Sanchez was basically run out of NY.

Now look at him!!

Gino who??

[cadhlancian]

Carolina need to get rid of Cam Newton. A good athlete, but as far as playing the QB position as an actual QB, he's extremely limited. Not helped by a horrible O line, but still. He would have to be considered a bust at this stage of his career. So many of these hybrid type QBs have come on the scene in the last decade, yet it's still the big white wooden planks getting it done. Vick, Russell. Vince, RG3' Newton, Gino and to a lesser extent Kaepernick can all look great one day, and absolutely terrible the next 4! Still none of them close to Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Bree's and Big Ben ...

[AZOffaly]

I'm always saying that, and have done consistently. The mobile, read option QB that was in vogue is a grand short term thing, but the defenses in the NFL are so tough and fast that eventually that sort of QB is going to get figured out, and hurt. You have to be able to stand tall and fire a 30 yard pass down the field if you are going to be a great NFL QB. You need to be clever, and you need to be accurate.

If you can move around all the better, but a 6 step shuffle, or a duck and sidestep to avoid a rush is not the same as these lads whose natural instinct is to tuck it and run. You have to go through your progressions.

All that said, they can be effective, but I don't think they can ever be great. I don't think Cam Newton is done, but I don't think he's ever going to be an NFL great. You often hear things like the 'SEC is the NFL's ninth division'. It's absolute hogwash. I love college football, in fact a lot of the time I prefer it over the NFL as a 'sport', but the quality of the game is a million miles behind the NFL. Very few, proportionally speaking, college players make careers in the NFL, even of those who are drafted. In the NFL everyone is good. Everyone is fast and everyone is tough. At college a great athlete, a lá Cam Newton or RGIII will look like a superstar, and run the read option offense to great effect. That's why I'd worry a bit about Marriota too. He can throw a lovely accurate spiral though, so he might be the best 'running QB' tools wise we see coming out.

[gallsman]

Wilson not doing too badly in Seattle...

[AZOffaly]

Wilson not doing too badly in Seattle...

He's not, but he's not a superstar either. He's currently 14th in the NFL QB Ratings. Grand, but not exactly setting the world on fire. The top 10 are Rodgers, Manning, Rivers, Romo, Brady, Luck, Brees, Roethlisberger, Eli Manning (!) and Carson Palmer. If Russell Wilson didn't have the Seattle 'D' last year, I think he'd have been another 'good' NFL QB. I also think he's one run away from having a concussion or an injury and that will be the start of it with him too.