Last Place Update

November 8, 2011 – The 0-9 Indianapolis Colts have secured their first losing season since 2001, when they went 6-10.  It breaks a streak of nine consecutive seasons of 10 wins or more.  They are a game and a half ahead of the 1-7 Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams for the first pick of the 2012 draft.

The Colts got their rear ends handed to them by the Atlanta Falcons, losing 31-7.  Again, it begs the question, what would Indy’s record be if Peyton Manning was healthy?  A quarterback does not a team make, but Manning’s talents could have made a difference in several of the games.  But Manning doesn’t play defense and they’re trolling the bottom, too.

This week’s honorable mention goes to the St. Louis Rams.  I picked the Rams to beat the Arizona Cardinals, but they learned what many SEC teams already knew, that Patrick Peterson can score on special teams.  However, this is a game the Rams should have won, hence earning them the honorable mention.  Don’t worry, Washington.  A loss next week may earn you the honorable mention.

Hats off to the Miami Dolphins for getting their first win of the season.  They played the Kansas City Chiefs the same way they played the New York Giants, except they never let the Chiefs in the game, dominating them 31-3.

Next Loss

The Colts host the struggling 2-6 Jacksonville Jaguars.  Could this be an upset special?  Maybe, but until the Colts prove they can win, I’ll continue to pick against them.  They question is which quarterback will struggle more: Painter or Gabbert?  That may depend on Joseph Addai and Maurice Jones-Drew.  The nod goes to Indy to get its tenth loss and a strong lead in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.

The Dolphins host the Washington Redskins in humid Miami.  The Skins started fast, but have since collapsed.  This is my Upset Special.  Miami seems to be getting its act together and I’ll give Washington the nod to give Miami its second win.

The Rams go to the Dawg Pound to take on the Cleveland Browns.  Cleveland got rolled at home by the Houston Texans, but the Rams aren’t the Texans.  Cleveland’s wins came against losing teams, but I’ll go out on a limb and call a second Upset Special.  Cleveland doesn’t have a Patrick Peterson on its team, so they should get their second win.

Some BCS Top 10 College Football Series Trivia

November 7, 2011 – Here is this week’s BCS Top 10 series trivia.

The #1 LSU Tigers, fresh off their overtime win over Alabama, host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.  This is the first ever meeting between the two teams.  Western Kentucky once owned college football’s longest current losing streak and should lose to the Tigers.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders host the #2 Oklahoma State Cowboys.  Texas Tech leads the series 21-14-3, but Oklahoma State is 5-3 against the Red Raiders since 2003.  The highest scoring game in the series was a 51-49 Cowboys win in 2003.  The last time Texas Tech shut out Oklahoma State was 58-0 in 2000.  The last time Oklahoma State shut out Texas Tech was 13-0 in 1957.  The last tie game was 13-13 in 1956.

The #3 Alabama Crimson Tide invades Starkville to take out their loss against LSU on the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  Bama owns the series 75-17-3.  There isn’t too much good news for the Bulldogs, but their last wins against the Crimson Tide were in 2006 and 2007.  The last time Alabama shut out Mississippi State was 17-0 in 2005.  The last time Mississippi State shut out Alabama was 14-0 in 1941, the year after they shut out the Tide 13-0 in 1940.  Their last tie game was 7-7 in 1953.

The #7 Oregon Ducks visit Stanford Stadium to take on the #4 Stanford Cardinal in a Top 10 matchup.  The Cardinal leads the series 44-29-1, but the Ducks are 9-2 against Stanford since 1998.  The highest scoring game in the series was a 58-49 Stanford victory in 1997.  The last time Oregon shut out Stanford was 35-0 in 2003.  The last time Stanford shut out Oregon was 17-0 in 1974.  Their lone tie game was 7-7 in 1936.

The TCU Horned Frogs go to the blue field to take on the #5 Boise State Broncos.  Boise State leads the series 2-1, with all the meetings being bowl games, including last season’s BCS Fiesta Bowl game.  This is their first ever regular season meeting.  Neither team has ever shut out the other.

The #6 Oklahoma Sooners have a bye this week.  They take on the Baylor Bears next week.

The #8 Arkansas Razorbacks host the Tennessee Volunteers in War Memorial Stadium.  Tennessee owns the series 13-3, but is 3-2 in the series since 1999.  They first met in 1907, then in 1971, and finally started meeting with some regularity in 1990, with the Cotton Bowl game that year.  Neither team has ever shut out the other.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons go to Death Valley to take on the #9 Clemson Tigers.  Clemson dominates the series 58-17-1 and the Tigers are 9-4 against the Demon Deacons since 1998.  The only time Wake Forest dominated the series was a 7-1 run from 1942-49.  The highest scoring game in the series was an 82-24 spanking by Clemson in 1981.  The last time Clemson shut out Wake Forest was 31-0 in 1979.  The only time Wake Forest shut out Clemson was 6-0 in 1936.  Their only tie game was 20-20 in 1968.

The #21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take on the #10 Virginia Tech Hokies in Atlanta.  This is a fairly new series compared to the others.  Virginia Tech leads the series 5-3 and is 3-1 against the Yellow Jackets since 2007.  Neither team has ever shut out the other.

Here are some historical scores for this week’s BCS Top 25 matchups played on November 7,

1908 – Wisconsin 5 – Minnesota 0

1925 – Georgia 34 – Auburn 0

1953 – Illinois 19 – Michigan 3

1959 – Michigan 20 – Illinois 15

1964 – Michigan 21 – Illinois 6

1970 – Michigan 42 – Illinois 0

1980 – Michigan 70 – Illinois 21

1998 – Wisconsin 26 – Minnesota 7

2009 – Stanford 51 – Oregon 42

Today in 2002 - Philadelphia Eagles vs Chicago Bears

Today in 2002, the Philadelphia went to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears in a Week 8 contest.

The first quarter went scoreless.  In the second quarter, Paul Edinger kicked a 30 yard field goal to put Chicago on the board.  The Eagles answered with a 5 yard touchdown run by Donovan McNabb.  The Bears responded in kind with a 6 yard touchdown run by Anthony Thomas.  Edinger kicked a 53 yard field goal and Chicago led at halftime 13-7.

The second half belonged to David Akers.  In the third quarter, he kicked field goals from 23 and 36 yards to tie the game.  He repeated the same performance in the fourth quarter, kicking field goals from 27 and 22 yards.  The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Chicago Bears 19-13.

For the Bears, Jim Miller passed 19-35 for 205 yards.  Anthony Thomas had 16 rushes for 52 yards and a touchdown.  He also had 4 receptions for 52 yards.  Phillip Daniels had 2 sacks and Brian Urlacher had 1.  Mike Brown had an interception.

For the Eagles, Donavan McNabb passed 18-33 for 209 yards and an interception.  He also had 9 rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown.  Hugh Douglas had 2 sacks and Blaine Bishop had 1.

The Bears went to 2-6 with the loss.  They finished the season at 4-12.  The Eagles went to 6-2.  They finished the season at 12-4 and lost the NFC Championship game to Tampa Bay 27-10.

Trivia

• This was Dick Jauron’s fourth season coaching the Bears.  He coached the team from 1999-2003.
• This was also Andy Reid’s fourth season coaching the Eagles.  He coached the team from 1999 and is still head coach today.
• The Bears’ wide receivers coach is now the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Todd Haley.
• There were five future or current head coaches on Andy Reid’s staff: Offensive coordinator Brad Childress (Vikings 2006-10),defensive backs coach Leslie Frazier (Vikings 2010-2011), linebackers Ron Rivera (Panthers 2011), quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur (Browns 2011), and defensive backs coach Steve Spagnuolo (Rams 2009-11).
• Rivera and Frazier were teammates with the Chicago Bears from 1984-85.
• Jauron played for the Detroit Lions from 1973-77 and the Cincinnati Bengals from 1978-80.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on November 3,

1968 – New York Jets 25 – Buffalo 21

1968 – Houston Oilers 27 – Cincinnati 17

1974 – Oakland 28 – Denver 17

2002 – St. Louis 27 – Arizona 14

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Philadelphia Eagles vs Chicago Bears - November 3, 2002

Today in 1947 - Los Angeles Rams vs Chicago Cardinals

November 2, 1947 – Time for another trip way back in NFL history.  Today in 1947, the Chicago Cardinals hosted the Los Angeles Rams in a Week 6 matchup.

The Rams got on the board first with a 92 yard touchdown run by Kenny Washington.  Los Angeles led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Elmer Angsman scored for the Cardinals with a 1 yard touchdown run.  The Rams answered with a 22 yard field goal by Bob Waterfield.  Los Angeles led at halftime 10-7.

After a scoreless third quarter, Angsman scored once again with a 21 yard pass reception from Paul Christman.  Chicago led for the first time 14-10 and sealed the win with a 31 yard field goal by Pat Harder.  The Chicago Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Rams 17-10.

For the Rams, Kenny Washington had 11 rushes for 145 yards and a touchdown.  For the Cardinals, Mal Kuntner had 5 receptions for 108 yards.

The Rams went to 3-3 with the loss.  They finished the season at 6-6.  The Cardinals went to 5-1, their only loss so far was to the Rams in Los Angeles.  They finished at 9-3 and won the NFL Championship.

Trivia

• There were 3 Hall of Famers present: Bob Waterfield for the Rams, and Charlie Trippi and head coach Jimmy Conzelman for the Cardinals.
  
• This was Bob Snyder’s only season coaching the Rams.
  
• This was Jimmy Conzelman’s 5^th season coaching the Cardinals.  He coached the team from 1940-42 and from 1946-48.
  
• There were a total of 11 turnovers in this game.  Chicago had 4 and Los Angeles had 7.
  
• A few people were or ended up being two sport players, the other sport being minor league baseball.  Conzelman played for the Rock Island Islanders in 1922.  Kenny Washington played for the Los Angeles Angels in 1950.  Cardinal left end Billy Dewell played for the Muskogee Reds from 1939-41.
  
• Conzelman played for the Decatur Staleys in 1920, the Staleys' inaugural season.  The Staleys became the Chicago Bears in 1922.  He was a player or player/coach for a variety of teams during his playing career from 1920-29.
  
• Snyder played for the Cleveland Rams from 1937-38 and the Chicago Bears from 1939-43.
  
• Rams end Red Hickey went on to coach the San Francisco 48ers from 1959-63.
  
• Waterfield coached the Los Angeles Rams from 1960-62.
  
• Cardinals end Pop Ivy coached the Cardinals from 1958-61, including their move from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960.  He also coached the Houston Oilers from 1962-63.
  
• Ivy’s teammate, guard/linebacker Buster Ramsey, became the first head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He coached the team from 1960-61.

Here are some historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week, on November 2,

1975 – Oakland 42 – Denver 17

1975 – Buffalo 24 – New York Jets 23

1986 – Denver 21 – Los Angeles Raiders 10

2003 – New Orleans 17 – Tampa Bay 14

2008 – New York Jets 26 – Buffalo 17

2008 – Arizona 34 – St. Louis 13

Game stats can be found on Pro-Football-Reference.com at Los Angeles Rams vs Chicago Cardinals - November 2, 1947.

Last Place Update

November 1, 2011 – The race for the first pick in the 2012 draft is heating up.  The 0-8 Indianapolis Colts still have a one game lead over the 0-7 Miami Dolphins in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.

Once again, the Colts claimed the Kings of the Cellar title for another week by a weak showing against the Tennessee Titans.  That’s what I get for picking them in an Upset Special.  At least Miami was in the game until the end. 

Speaking of the Dolphins, hats off to Reggie Bush.  He got his second 100 yard rushing game and when he ran, he picked his hole and went.  He only danced when he had to.  If he ran like that before, he would still be with the New Orleans Saints.  Although they once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, they played too well for an honorable mention this week.

Speaking the Saints, the St. Louis Rams, playing in their throwback uniforms they wore from the 1970’s through the 1990’s, upset the Saints to get into the win column for the first time this season.  Defensive end Chris Long owned Saints right tackle Charles Brown and was constantly in the Saints backfield like Rams defensive great Jack Youngblood once was when he played against the Saints.

This week’s honorable mention goes to the 1-6 Arizona Cardinals.  They won the first game of the season against the Carolina Panthers and went on a losing tear.  This week, they blew a 24-3 lead against the Baltimore Ravens and lost 30-27 on a 25 yard field goal by Billy Cundiff in the last seconds.

Next loss…

Indy hosts the 4-3 Atlanta Falcons.  No upset pick here.  They may keep it competitive, but Atlanta will get the win and the Colts will maintain its lead for the first pick in the draft.

Miami goes to Kansas City to take on the 4-3 Chiefs, fresh off their overtime victory over San Diego.  This has the makings of an upset special, but only if Miami was at home.  This could be a repeat of this past week for both teams, but the Chiefs will win at home and put Miami at 0-8.

The 1-6 Arizona Cardinals host the 1-6 St. Louis Rams.  Hmmm…this is a hard one.  Each team could have a letdown after what happened on Sunday.  I doubt Steven Jackson, by sheer force of will, would allow his teammates to take Arizona lightly.  So this loss goes to the Cardinals.