Football Wrap Week 5B: Mark Sanchez and the USC QB Curse

I start this week’s NFL wrap with a proclamation.

Mark Sanchez has thrown for less than 50 percent of his passes in every start this year. His passes were inaccurate Monday night. His decision-making was suspect. At this point, there’s nothing that says he should be keeping his job. But he is because the alternative is a cult hero in Tim Tebow who isn’t much better.

I don’t care if Sanchez went to two AFC title games and has no help around him. He’s not a NFL starting quarterback right now and he’s barely a capable game manager. But to be honest, it’s not his fault. It’s the USC QB curse.

In the 10 years that USC has been relevant, all of their quarterbacks haven’t panned out well in the NFL. Matt Leinart? Mentally wasn’t ready despite his gifts. John David Booty? Barely got any burn. Sanchez is next in line and unless something changes, so is Matt Barkley.

Football Wrap Week 12: The Return of a Urban Legend

So Urban Meyer returneth eh? The man who wanted to spend time with his family, leave college FB for health issues and enjoy his ESPN gig has come back to do it all again for his first love. That’s college for ya.

First things first, I always respected Meyer. He and Pete Carroll are the best coaches of the last decade and Meyer was great at 2 schools in the BCS era. But the lionization of him came with people overshadowing his faults and the fact that if any other coach had that many arrests at one program as he did at Florida, they’d be looked at sideways.

(Case in point, Jimmy Johnson is arguably one of the greatest and smartest football coaches of the last 25 years. Yet people think of The U as a program full of Black thugs and arrogance and remember the Cowboys running wild. Meyer has somehow escaped that. )

That said, he’s going to make Ohio State dominant again, which won’t be that hard. That’s still a top-5 job in college football and he’ll bring some athletes out there.  The Big 10 won’t be as hard as the SEC so he’ll be all good.

But here's the big if - when Ohio State gets NCAA sanctions courtesy of Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor and Co., will Meyer will be the perfect coach to boost morale and keep folks happy? And considering he left Florida after his worst season there, he can be considered a front-runner if there ever is one. And what if his health is another factor - if Florida stressed him out, what about being home? Ask Ken Griffey Jr. how returning home to Ohio worked out. 

I hope he stays healthy. The pressure of winning at OSU will be worse than Florida or maybe Florida prepared him well. Either way, it's going to be interesting to see what happens.

NCAA Tidbits

Shoelace vs. Braxton Miller – can’t wait for Round 2 next year. Glad the Big 10 got to see some modern quarterbacking at work. Shoelace is showing that he’s a better passer and I’m excited to see what he’ll do in a bowl game. Congrats to Michigan finally beating Ohio State. 

Only Georgia stands in the way of LSU v. Alabama Round 2. But after seeing Arkansas and Auburn push up daisies this past weekend, it’s clear the SEC is super overrated this year. Just as I predicted.

Your Heisman Finalists in Virgo's Opinion: Robert Griffin III, Trent Richardson, Case Keenum. Hate to say it but Matt Barkley can finish above Andrew Luck too. It doesn’t matter because it’s no bearing on A. Luck’s NFL projections.

Speaking of which, shut up to the folks who saw Luck is overrated. I watched Stanford play several times this year and he still showed why he has great poise, size, IQ, decent speed and an incredible arm. Just because other QB’s have risen up doesn’t mean he’s overrated, it means he’s not head and shoulders above everyone by that much.

He did, however, prove, that coming back one more year means folks will dissect you more and karma will be a witch. See Sam Bradford, Matt Leinart, Jake Locker and the list goes on….

NFL Tidbits

San Diego has lost six in a row. Dallas is playing better in November. The roles have reversed since my teams faced off in 2009 when I said the Chargers are what the Cowboys should aspire to be.

Now it looks like Romo is finishing games better after he led a last minute drive to beat Miami while Phillip Rivers looks handcuffed to protect him from himself. My teams are going in reverse and while I still swear Rivers is hurt, that whole team is mentally stunted. Dallas, on the other hand, looks motivated and hungry and ready to seize the division.

It's strange. But hopefully this will lead to Norv Turner finally getting clipped. 

Houston Texans may be the best snakebit team in the league. Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, Mario Williams and now Matt Schaub have missed several games due to injury. Now Matt Leinart is on the shelf. Go figure.

Don't be upset Jason Avant, I do this to everybody. It's what I do.

Eagles are unraveling worse than the Magic Carpet when Jafar turns it into a ball of yarn in Aladdin. Tom Brady did his surgery and picked them apart like it was bird hunting season.

Props to Stevie Johnson for maturely handling the aftermath of his celebration by owning it. It was a little low but after I saw it, it was pretty funny. However, he didn’t cause his team the game with it compared to him dropping a few passes in the 4^th. But when will folks learn one play in the first half doesn’t affect a game?

Low twos also to Bob Costas and his reaction on Sunday Night Football. Reminds me of Joe Buck going crazy over Randy Moss and his fake mooning. When people defining what’s acceptable celebration, typically they overreact and 1) go off on guys who do it with style, 2) elevate certain players who keep it simple. There’s a place for both.  I’m all for hating guys who go way too overboard but at some point, we need reasonable folks to have enough influence to say lighten up.

You think they're scared of us yet? Nope? Guess we gotta keep winning and scoring with no mercy.

How is Green Bay 11-0 and still under the radar? I don’t think Denver in 1998 has this less pressure when started off 13-0 after winning the Super Bowl. They just keep winning and winning with no weaknesses and if that defense keeps playing well. Look out.

Let me give the kicker some. Shane Lechler of the Raiders had an 80-yard punt that was a thing of beauty. He just boomed it over Devin Hester’s head and Hester looked lost trying to handle it. Great stuff. 

Football Wrap Week 8 - False Gods, Overtime Luck and CLEMSON!!!! (Told Ya So)

Welcome to Week 8 where Philadelphia gave my Boys tricks and the Ravens rose from the grave behind Ray Rice. Here's hoping San Diego doesn't ruin my Halloween in the land of Kansas City.

1. How in the world did the Rams beat the Saints? I still can't believe reading that - no Sam Bradford, the Saints fresh off a 62-7 curbstomping one winless team and the Saints STILL lost?? The Saints were down 24-0 at some point. To paraphrase my dear friend LeAnn, maybe they unloaded too much and had nothing left.

2. It's a shame Cam Newton can't play defense or kick field goals. Nearly 300 yards, 3 TDs, no interceptions, one last minute drive and all for naught.

3. Somebody explain to me how the Bengals are 5-2?????? Did they play Youngstown State, Akron in addition to their NFL schedule.

4. Saw Tony Romo had 52 passing yards at one point in the 4th Quarter. That leash around my quarterback is getting shorter. *looks at Robert Griffin, Kellen Moore's stats a lil closer*

5. I'd like to end the Top 5 by thanking the Detroit Lions for reenacting the 1st century when they destroyed all in the Coliseum. In 60 minutes, they destroyed the Church of Tim Tebow in glorious fashion. For all the fans praying for their false god, they saw once again why he's not ready to be an NFL QB.

These heathens tried to create a trend out of Tebow praying after his comeback win yesterday. Sorry folks, I have no patience for making a trend out of someone praying and not acknowledge what I'm actually doing or who I'm honoring.

The Church of Tim Tebow will continue to be destroyed and disappointed until they come to their senses. Let Tim Tebow be a nice guy but until he becomes a good QB, he'll continue to be overhyped and ripe for the pickings. When you heathens wake up and see this, we'll accept you.

NCAA Tidbits

1. While I was busy covering a rare Saturday night HS football game, apparently USC and Stanford decided to keep their tradition of exciting games at the Coliseum. 2007 - Stanford's great upset while I was across town at the Rose Bowl. 2009 - Andrew Luck, Toby Gerhart and that Stanford D destroying USC in spectacular fashion.

And now, we had Triple OT with Stanford's good Luck transcending USC's mistakes. Forget Heisman moment, that was his NFL audition in showing that he could play from behind and lead his team to victory. Andrew Luck added one more notch to his legend and a week after the Game of the Year in East Lansing, the Coliseum just hosted another.

USC had a couple of brain farts in the end and I blame their head coach Lane Kiffin. It's his job to make sure his players know the timeout situation. It's his job to make sure his QB at least knows so he can relay it to his team. That loss is squarely on his shoulders.

2. DOWN GOES CLEMSON! Thank you Georgia Tech for reminding everyone why you can never trust Clemson after a hot start and for ripping a huge hole that's been waiting to tear.

Big ups to Tevin Washington keying Georgia Tech running wild (383 team rushing yards). And Clemson, your basketball team proved me wrong a few times. You may have a couple of ballers in Tajh Boyd and Slammin Sammy Watkins but your program is destined to disappoint until proven otherwise.

3. I've been having fun ripping Ohio State this year because of their karma in handling Terrelle Pryor. It's not personal to my Twitter folks who are diehard Buckeye fans, it's strictly business (c) EPMD. Yet I give them props for beating Wisconsin and proving the Badgers benefited too much from their home cooking.

(Speaking of letdown, Ummm Michigan State. Did you have to let Nebraska hurt you like that???)

4. Oklahoma State did something I hadn't seen before. Destroy a team's spirit after scoring two touchdowns. Went like this. Touchdown, forced turnover, Touchdown called back, touchdown on the next play. Game was over for Baylor before the 1st quarter was halfway over and all that mattered was how bad they'd be beaten.

5. Pac-10 news. Oregon's DeAnthony Thomas is really good and really fast. Happy to hear that Crenshaw HS' Black Mamba has 11 TD's already and is running away with the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year race. If you thought Andrew Luck had a big game vs. USC, wait til Thomas comes homes against his friends.

Virgo's Top 10: LSU, Alabama, OK State, Stanford, Boise State, Oregon, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech

Top 5 for this weekend

1. LSU-Alabama. Do I really need to explain more? No. 1 vs. No. 2. Two best defenses in the country and I give the edge to LSU because of QB play. Trent Richardson is going to have fits vs. that LSU front 7. This is the most hyped non-bowl game* since Alabama-Florida in 2009 and Ohio State-Michigan in 2006 and I'm sure it'll be a great one.

*Oregon/Stanford and Oklahoma/OK State are still two big games to watch as well.

2. Honestly, nothing else matters this week. Forget the rest of the Top 5. Watch Oregon vs. Washington, Oklahoma State probably expose Kansas State. But there's only 1 game to care about.

3. Ravens vs. Steelers. Once again. Nothing else matters. Sunday Night Football is going to be awesome.

4. The Colts march to 0-16 sees them hosting Atlanta. Taking bets now for a 30 point execution.

5. A shoutout to HS games. The annual Crenshaw vs. Dorsey game is Thursday. One of the great rivalries in Los Angeles where a divided neighborhood comes together. At my old paper, this game was the game that mattered and I loved coming up with different angles for it. Also a quick shoutout to the East LA Classic on Friday - 25,000 come out to support Garfield vs. Roosevelt and it's always one of the biggest games in the city.

Football Wrap Week 4: No More Blackouts

I’m still in a daze from my 5 year college reunion Saturday. The lack of sleep I got this weekend kept me from watching a lot of football but it was all worth it. Worth it to be back with my USD people and catch up in the city that gave us so many memories.

I’m starting off by saying that NFL blackouts suck. They suck and serve no purpose other than the NFL saving face of empty seats on TV. Maybe I’m still bitter watching the NBA potentially lose a season after a great 2010-11 campaign due to owner mismanagement but I couldn’t watch the Chargers Sunday because of the blackout.

The NFL has had a blackout policy in place since 1973. If a game is not sold out 72 hours in advance, the game is not available on local television.

It forces teams to do everything in their power to sell tickets. Yet it doesn’t address why fans aren’t coming to games. Fans aren’t coming because it costs too much. Fans who are there probably have to sell an arm, leg, rib and a kidney to afford tickets and are on waiting lists to sell livers to afford concessions.

Nobody wins with a blackout – teams lose money, fans lose the chance to see their teams. So I ask why it has existed for so long. Especially in a tough economic climate, we need to re-evaluate what can be done to lift it. Why punish teams and fans any longer.

I know I might be alone in thinking owners should care about the fans more. Sorry, I grew up in an era where owners tried to do right by the fans as well as their pockets. One day I hope the NFL sees the light and ends this process.

Let’s get to the tidbits.

Devin Hester, I remember watching you at the U shake folks silly. Now you have the most TD off punt returns in NFL history. I watched Deion do his thing for years. I watched Dante Hall. You are by far one of the best return threats in league history. Gale Sayers should be proud watching you carry on his legacy with the Bears.

Tampa Bay is a scary good combination. That last drive was brilliance. Josh Freeman making clutch throws, LeGarrette Blount making hard, powerful runs, that mix of youth and experience on defense and even a cameo by my fellow Torero Josh Johnson.  Young core that could do some serious damage.

Detroit is legit in every sense. Calvin Johnson is a grown man on another level. I have no other words for that Cowboys choke job. I’ll let my boy Primetime speak for me on this.

Aaron Rodgers. Wow. What a day. 6 total TD's And I’m still trying to figure out how he slid so low in the draft.

Pete Carroll really had his kicker out there trying a 61-yarder to win huh? That might be the most foolishly arrogant thing I’ve seen an NFL coach do in years and I’ve seen Carroll take gambles at USC before.

Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco – bad quarterbacking at its worst. Joe Flacco surprised me with his crappy numbers but Sanchez man. Dare I say he’s a product of great support instead of making success on his own?

College Tidbits

Stanford – The Best Team Nobody is Talking About. They destroyed my Bruins and I can’t wait to see them face Oregon again. And is there anything Andrew Luck can’t do after that 1-handed grab? Not just a pure passer but a great athlete too.

Clemson looks legit at 5-0. I want to see them in the ACC though. I never trust their basketball team and I can’t trust them yet. Tajh Boyd looks dope.

What’d I say about South Carolina? Could barely score against Auburn and lost ugly. Overrated.

Alabama and Trent Richardson deserves praise for knocking out Florida literally. Next up, LSU gets their go around with Florida Saturday. With a freshman QB starting, Gators are gonna end up looking like Dunn Persley from Sunday’s episode of Boardwalk Empire (maybe one of the best scenes that shows why Chalky White is such a magnetic character).

Wisconsin is No. 4 in the country and Russell Wilson looks like the next Cam Newton in terms of impact transfer changing a team’s identity. Unreal.

USC – University of Serra (HS) Cavaliers. Two WR’s from the same school having big days while the Trojan defense stays getting exposed. I know I’m a UCLA fan and it sucks knowing the best HS talent doesn’t always make it there but I’m a fan of kids I’ve covered first and I’m happy for Marqise Lee and Robert Woods.