2023-24 NFL (Week 3)

Games I saw (some of):

Giants 12-30 Niners

The Niners were just better at everything. The Giants didn't have Saquon Barkley, never could get a pass rush going, they were never in this game. In fact, the score is closer than it looks. 

Titans 3-27 Browns

The Titans had no offense, just could not move the ball at all. The Browns D looked good and the offense was good enough to control the clock. The Titans better find a QB quick or their season is going to be over sooner rather than later.

Saints 17-18 Packers

The Saints were rolling along until David Carr left with a shoulder injury and from then on, the Packers found their mojo and scored 18 straight in the 4th quarter to pull it out. I'm pretty much in on Jordan Love, I think he's above average, but I still think the Packer D has trouble getting stops when need be. As for the Saints, they just fell asleep, they had this and they didn't control the clock and it got away from them. 

Colts 22-19 (OT) Ravens

The Ravens are weird, man, the Lamar Jackson era is one of the most puzzling I've ever seen: they have moments where they look like they could beat anyone anywhere, then they flounder around, fail to move the ball, don't get stops and I have no idea why the variance. Their highs are unnaturally high and they lows are far beneath them, I don't get their lack on consistency. As the Colts, man, I thought they had a shot at the #1 pick and I don't think that any more. They can move the ball on offense, they have really good special teams, their D makes plays and they have 2 fascinating QBs--I kinda like this team and this division is in play, keep an eye on the Colts!

Steelers 23-18 Raiders

The Steelers didn't exactly blow me away with this performance but they were better than the Raiders all night long. The Raiders had a nice run late but it took them forever to get anything going and their defense wasn't impressive either. I'm not that big on the Steelers, I think they're kinda overrated on both sides, but I can't excited about any part of the Raiders so far.

Eagles 25-11 Bucs

The Eagles weren't dominant but they were plenty better than the Bucs, who couldn't generate much offense. I think this is who the Eagles are: they will get control of games by halftime, build up enough of a lead and then slack to the finish. If/when they lose it'll be getting blitzed in the 1st quarter or they'll squander leads in the 4th quarter. As for the Bucs, meh, they're not awful and that division is winnable, so while I don't think they're out of it by any means, I don't see them getting good enough to be much of a contender in the NFC.

The rest of the slate:

Falcons 6-20 Lions

Would've expected more scoring in this game. The Falcons have a lot of weapons but no one to pull the trigger and the Lions are the Lions, man, up and down. 

Broncos 20-70 Dolphins

A 70-burger? Check out the Bronco stats, they're not bad, the offense played okay and were never at any point ever in this game. The Dolphins went to the house every time they touched the ball and, well, you ain't gonna beat a team that does that. The Dolphins have shown off plenty of offense so far and the Broncos have shown off, well, nothing, so this isn't as shocking a score as it probably should be. Just a really good for the Dolphins and a bad day for the Broncos. Nothing see here. 

Chargers 28-24 Vikings

The Chargers didn't blow it in the 4th quarter? The Vikings didn't pull a totally improbable W out of their asses? Huh....things are changing. 

Pats 15-10 Jets

Not exactly a resounding W but the Pats are better than the Jets (the Aaron Rodgers-less Jets, anyway), so this isn't surprising. If the Pats can put together a competent string of W's or the Jets can keep from getting pummeled week after week remains to be seen. 

Bills 37-3 Commanders

Good road W for the Bills, wake up call for the previously undefeated Commanders.  

Texans 37-17 Jags

What's this? That Texans rookie QB (Stroud) looks like the real deal and the Jags' D looks like a sieve. This is a surprising result, can the Texans keep it going? Can the Jags turn it around? Tune in and find out. 

Panthers 27-37 Seahawks

(Hmmm....switch the scores with the Falcons-Lions game and this makes more sense)

Bears 10-41 Chiefs

The Bears are not good, man. They may as well look to trade Fields since obviously they'll be drafting a QB next spring, no reason to give Fields the opportunity to accidentally be good in a Bears uniform. The Chiefs were just fucking around on this day, weren't even trying hard. 

Cowboys 16-28 Cards

What happened here? The Cards have been kinda miserable all year long and the Cowboys have been a juggernaut....so....what's this?

Rams 16-19 Bengals

Looks like the Rams could've won this, the fact that the Bengals are still rather sluggish and pulled out the W anyway is probably a positive development for them. The Rams struck me as a team that was mailing it in this year--and there's still time for them to do that--but so far, they are playing hard and putting up good effort (so when they're ready to trade Aaron Donald and Matt Stafford, that's the signal they are draft-devoted). The Bengals typically start slow and, well, it seems like they are slowly getting started. Can the Bengals sustain this or are they in for a long disappointing season? Not sure yet. 

2023-24 NCAA Football (Week 4)

Games I saw (some of (this weekend I went to a concert so I was bar-hopping most of Saturday, caught a wide variety of chunks of games, saw a lot while not seeing very much)):

(4) Florida State 31-24 (OT) Clemson 

The Seminoles were hardly dominant in this game, felt like Clemson was probably gonna pull it out and when they missed a late FG to take the lead, only then did it feel like Florida State had a shot. I dunno, Florida State was okay in this game, their pass rush made some plays, but their offense struggled and they gave up rushing yards. Clemson has been the top dog in the ACC for a decade or so now, I guess this is a momentous game in that the momentum could be swinging back to Florida State, this could be the ultimate get-right game and the Seminoles may have just exorcised that last demon and are ready to take over the world now....or maybe both Florida State and Clemson are kinda equally overhyped and neither is as good as we're supposed to believe. I'm still not sure about Florida State: good W for the program but not sure how indicative it is of their overall strength at the moment. 

(19) Colorado 6-42 (10) Oregon

Yeah, well, I told you the smackdown was coming for Colorado, wasn't sure when it would happen but I knew it would happen. Okay, it happened. Oregon was merciless in the 1st half, just couldn't help but run up points. Colorado's offense never got going and their defense got exposed again and again. Worth remembering: Colorado is already better than they were last year, if they go winless from here on out, it'll still be a great year for Colorado football. Can they recover? Oh sure, they're not this bad, in fact this beating may well bring a needed dose of reality and inspire them in coming weeks (or, well, maybe one more thrashing by Southern Cal and then they'll get back on track). As for Oregon, they looked good on both sides, they definitely came to play and they were definitely the superior team. Not sure how they stack up against the rest of the world, but they were ready for Colorado this week, no doubt. 

(6) Ohio State 17-14 (9) Notre Dame

Watched the whole 1st half (Buckeyes 3-0 at half) and none of the 2nd half (where all the action was!). Found it kinda interesting that they both got stopped on downs inside FG range and that Notre Dame missed their FG attempt, so the score at halftime could've/should've been 6-6. Point being: the two squads were basically even in the 1st half. And they each scored 2 TD's in the 2nd half, so basically even again. Feels like both squads are ready to blow people out for the rest of the season now. The Buckeyes play Penn State and Michigan and feel ready for both of those contests; Notre Dame plays Duke, Southern Cal and Clemson and I think they can certainly hang with all 3. Both of these sqauds look positioned to be there at the end of the year (are we going to 12 teams this year or next?). Good game, wish I'd gotten to see more (but I got no regrets). 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (3) Texas, (4) Florida State, (5) Southern Cal, (6) Ohio State, (7) Penn State, (8) Washington, (10) Oregon, (11) Utah, (13) Alabama, (17) North Carolina, (18) Duke, (20) Miami,  

(21) Washington State, (23) Tennessee

Won but did not impress

(12) Louisiana State. I am not in on Arkansas this year and it took the Tigers well into the 2nd half to finally get the stranglehold on them.  That's....uh....curious. 

(16) Oklahoma. I'm waiting for the tried-and-true Oklahoma offense to come rolling through and swamp opponents but that hasn't happened yet. Could be that Cincy at home is just a tough out but I think the Sooners could've won this match quicker and cleaner. 

(25) Florida. Didn't exactly run it up at home on UNC-Charlotte, a team I didn't even realize existed--and I lived in Charlotte for many years! I'm not saying the Gators can't beat Kentucky but it ain't the easy W it used to be and so far the Gators have not inspired confidence. 

Bad beat

(9) Notre Dame. Down to the wire with the Buckeyes is arguably the best L in college football this season.

(14) Oregon State. On the road in Pullman, a notoriously dismal place, is a tough place to get a W and they were in it til the end.  Not bad. 

(15) Mississippi. I know it feels like Alabama is beatable this year....until you get on the field with them.

(22) UCLA. @Utah is a tough place to play and the Bruins didn't get housed, not a bad performance.

(24) Iowa. Penn State is looking really good this year, the Hawkeyes kinda got pummeled but it could've been worse. 

Next week's intriguing matches

(10) Utah @ (19) Oregon State (higher ranked team on the road in conference is one to keep an eye on)

(8) Southern Cal @ Colorado (does Colorado bounce back here or next week?)

(22) Florida @ Kentucky (Kentucky has looked okay so far and Florida as looked kinda shaky, this one looks like more fun than usual)

(24) Kansas @ (3) Texas (will Texas cruise or is this a nail-biter?)

(13) Louisiana State @ (23) Mississippi (Ole Miss with back to back tough conference games, LSU hasn't been as impressive as you'd like, this one could get spicy)

Iowa State @ (14) Oklahoma (Iowa State on the road against ranked opponents have been a routine upset watch squad for years now; Oklahoma should probably win easily but the Sooner have yet to do anything 'easily' this year)

(11) Notre Dame @ (17) Duke (is Notre Dame gonna be down after a tough loss to Ohio State or will they be toughened up by tough L? I dunno, but Duke is about to find out)

2023-24 NFL (Week 2)

Games I saw (some of):

Vikings 28-34 Eagles

The Eagles strike me so far as a team that starts slow and finishes weak, but will likely dominate the shit out of the middles of games. They have to warm up into shape, then they pile up a lead and slack off. It makes everyone think they're not as good as they are, like they're letting lesser teams play them close. And while I suspect they won't cover as many spreads as they should, I suspect they ARE better than everyone else and will choke out most of their opponents. The Vikings are the same as they were last year, except it doesn't look like they're going to pile up the crazy amount of W's they did then. 

Packers 24-25 Falcons

I like that Packers offense but that defense couldn't make stops in the 4th quarter when they needed to and I wonder if that's what they'll look like this year: decent offense but the defense can't hold leads. We'll see. As for the Falcons, man, that offense is loaded and though I found Desmond Ritter to be as uninspiring a QB as I've seen in a while, even he might be good enough to get W's with this firepower. (Everyone's talking about the Jets going and getting a QB, why not the Falcons? If they had....I dunno....Derek Carr.....they'd be piling up points like nobody's business....Just sayin') So not sure what the takeaway is from this game: are the Packers good and let this get away? Or are the Falcons rounding into a high-powered offense and ready to win? Not sure on either side. 

Ravens 27-24 Bengals

I felt like the Bengals were the superior team on both sides of the ball all the way through, not sure how they lost. The Ravens are surprisingly reliant on big plays: the offense sputters, then they pull out something crazy and suddenly they've got points when they were going nowhere. Not sure if they can keep that up all season (I suspect they cannot). The Bengals have everything they need on both sides, just need to tune it up and get it going....so when is that going to happen? They start slow every year, so I'm not ready to write them off, but I am ready for them to get going. Not worried about the Bengals (yet), not impressed with the Ravens (yet). 

Jets 10-30 Cowboys

Okay, I had the Jets starting 0-5 and I was planning on them having Aaron Rodgers....do you see where I'm going this? They got a nice unexpected W over Buffalo last week and good for them, but let us remember that the Bills always suck at NYJ and that last week's finished (with or without Rodgers) isn't that meaningful. What I'm telling you is: I thought the Jets offense was going to suck even when they had the QB of their dreams and without him, there's no way that they don't suck. The defense is good--annoyingly good if you consider that they're in full-on draft mode now! Point is: the Jets suck and were always going to suck and now with Zack Wilson back, it is painfully clear they are going to suck. Oh yeah: and the Cowboys are good. Micah Parsons reminds me of (*gulp*) Lawrence Taylor....yes, I know we're not supposed to say it or even think it, but I have to go that far back to find a defender that flat-out wrecked offensive backfields like this guy (he's already better than Kevin Greene, Cornelius Bennett, Derrick Thomas--those are Hall of Famers and I'd still take Parsons). The Cowboys offense is good not great, the D is definitely above average and the roster in general just looks solid and deep, I think they're a really good team--can we go ahead and pencil in their Eagles match-ups as the two best games remaining on the regular season schedule (....hmmmm.....too much? Nah, I'm sticking with it)? 

Dolphins 24-17 Patriots

Listen, man: when I saw Tua at Alabama, I thought he was the best college QB I'd ever seen in my life. But he had a weird rugged injury there and then another weird injury in the NFL, then last year became a concussion guy and as much as I always liked his talent, he is on a razor's edge and his career could end quickly. I'm rooting for him but I'm also kinda glad he's not on my team. So, with that preamble out of the way, Tua is really good and he's kinda perfect for this offense and the Dolphins are gonna be fun to watch all year long. Not sure about the D, but this team can win shoot outs, so the D is probably just a bonus anyway. As for the Pats, well, it was interesting to see how lackluster their running game is when it seems like that's what they're built to be. As for the defense, well, it's fine but doesn't seem world class or anything. This could be a long season for the Pats: they're not bad but they're in a tough division and they may play well and still lose a lot this year.  

Browns 22-26 Steelers

Okay, wait a second: the Steelers opened the game with a pick-6, closed the game with a scoop-and-score, and their one good offensive play was a 70-yard TD....take out those 3 plays and the Browns kinda dominated the shit out of the Steelers, no? So how did the Browns lose? Losing RB Chubb (probably for the season) ain't good, but they still should've won--still should've had a more dynamic offense!--and even though the D was pretty stout, they still come out with a loss. Not sure what I watched here. QB Watson has amazing moments (switching hands to throw off a defender, then switching back and drilling a receiver with a perfect pass is not something I've ever seen a QB do--and he did it TWICE in this game!) and yet somehow he still seems like the problem. Hey, man, Watson is the ultimate high risk/reward QB this year and I still believe in him (I think). As for the Steelers, I'm just not nearly as impressed with them as I'm supposed to be. 

The rest of the slate: 

Raiders 10-38 Bills

Wondering if the Bills still had it in them and, well, for one more Sunday, it looks like they do. The Raiders started well, then went nowhere, could be a preview of their entire season.

Seahawks 37-31 (OT) Lions

So the Lions win at KC but lose at home to the Seahawks? The Seahawks lose at home to the Rams and then win a shootout in Detroit? All right, I have no idea what's going on with either of these squads.

Chargers 24-27 (OT) Titans

Titans are built on ground game and defense and they were able to hold on against a Chargers team that moves the ball well but manages to blow it in the 4th quarter. I imagine this was a good game but the result seems about right.

Bears 17-27 Bucs

Yeah, the Bears are gonna struggle all year long. Not sure if the 2-0 Bucs are any good or just getting by, I guess we'll see. 

Chiefs 17-9 Jags

Feels like the Jags should've pulled this out, so did they blow it or are the Chiefs ready to roll? Not sure. 

Colts 31-20 Texans

Colts QB Richardson continues to impress, even though he got knocked out with a concussion in this game--fortunately, he and Minchew form the best 2-QB tandem in the league (which it seems like the Colts are going to need!). The Texans aren't probably gonna be any good but their rookie QB Stroud looks like he might be kinda good. For two crappy teams, I'm curious to see how they do it. (In the NBA I love youth-oriented rebuilding teams, but not so much in the NFL, so this is weird for me)

Niners 30-23 Rams

The Niners pulled it out in the 4th but can't help feeling like the Rams actually might be kinda good. 

Giants 31-28 Cards

Wow, what a comeback! Cards were up 21-3 early on, but the Giants just kept plugging away and the Cards couldn't hold up. Good W for the Giants. 

Commanders 35-33 Broncos

Another big comeback! The Broncos might run up points early and then fold late all year long, that might be what this team is. The Commanders are.....I dunno, they're 2-0, that's nice. 

Saints 20-17 Panthers

The Saints are gonna be okay, middle of the pack. The Panthers don't look good at all--and I'm not even into their rookie QB.

2023-24 NCAA Football (Week 3)

Games I saw (some of):

South Carolina 14-24 (1) Georgia

Yes, South Carolina was up 14-3 and Georgia really looked lame in the 1st half. But in the 2nd half, UGA did their thing and pretty well stomped the Cocks. Not an overwhelming performance--indeed, kinda crappy for long stretches--but they got the job done on an SEC field and that's still pretty impressive. Not an inspiring performance but they can't all be classics; I've still got my eye on QB Rattler, curious to see if he sneaks back into that 1st round grade he had so long ago.

(3) Florida State 31-29 Boston College

Look, the score isn't awe-inspiring and it isn't exactly as if the Seminoles ran roughshod over BC, but I watched most of this game and it never felt to me like the Seminoles were going to lose. The score you see is because Florida State basically stopped playing in the 4th quarter (not a good habit to get into) and BC made a furious run at piling up some points on the way out. Again, never felt to me like BC even had a chance to win this game, though the score looks they might have. Impressive win for Seminoles? Well, no, but not scary either, just a lazy 4th quarter. 

(10) Alabama 17-3 South Florida

This game was a frustrating watch on TV. The weather was horrendous in the 1st half and the cameras were all static and made for weird switching between angles (WTF? Seriously, what was going on there? Did all the cameramen leave at halftime?). And in the 1st half, Alabama couldn't get any offense going at all and it really did feel like they might be in some trouble. But after half time, they only kinda sucked and South Florida never got much going either, so the result was never really in much doubt. But Alabama's first QB was pretty awful and then their 2nd QB was, too. Boy, the days of going from Jones to Hurts to Tua seem long gone, don't they? Alabama is still gonna be a good squad and a tough out but they clearly do not have the QB play nor the overall offensive performance that they've featured for the last decade or so. Throw in that Clemson looks like an emperor without clothes and UGA's ascendance appears to be complete. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (3) Florida State, (4) Texas, (5) Ohio State, (7) Penn State, (8) Washington, (9) Notre Dame, (12) Utah, (13) Oregon, (14) Louisiana State, (16) Oregon State, (17) Mississippi, (19) Oklahoma, (20) North Carolina, (21) Duke, (22) Miami, (23) Washington State, (24) UCLA, (25) Iowa

Won but did not impress

(10) Alabama. Easy to blame the lack of scoring on the torrential downpour in the 1st half and the lackluster quality of the field itself; but I watched the Tide trot out two QB's--TWO!--that sucked and that hasn't happened in decades. So the Tide escaped with a W on the road, good for them, but they've got real problems, the kind of problems they haven't seen in eons. 

(18) Colorado. Yeah, yeah, big rivalry game, both coaches were squawking all week, I get that this was a grudge match and everyone played hard. But Colorado has already put up a coupla nice W's, got good looking talent all over the field, if they were as good as we think they are, they would've mushed Colorado State into a fine thin paste and it does not appear that that happened.  

Bad beat

(Should Kansas State go here? Or Tennessee?  I don't think so)

Not so good

(11) Tennessee. Gotta win at Florida if you want to win the SEC. I thought this was a W for the Vols and they didn't collect. 

(15) Kansas State. Missouri has their moments but I don't think this year is one of their moments, not saying the Tigers on the road are a pushover but if the Wildcats had actual top 20 pretensions then they should've taken this one. 

Next week's intriguing matches

(4) Florida State @ Clemson (all right, 'Noles, this is your chance to really put the knife in and twist it, let's see how good Florida State really is)

(19) Colorado @ (10) Oregon (I'm telling ya: as good as Colorado has been so far, they can't be really be that good and the day will come when they hit the windshield like a fat mosquito; on the other hand, they clearly have enough talent to be a problem for good teams; so who gets what happening to them this Saturday? I'll be tuning in)

(22) UCLA @ (11) Utah (I suspect UCLA isn't actually that good, but Utah might not be either, so gotta keep an eye on this one)

(15) Mississippi @ (13) Alabama (is Alabama ready to smack down a team they routinely smack down or will their spotty QB play doom them?)

(14) Oregon State @ (21) Washington State (who knows? I suspect they've both overrated)

(6) Ohio State @ (9) Notre Dame (wow, had to go 6 games deep to get to the true marquis match? Sorry, about criticizing last week's soft slate, NCAA, you definitely made up for it this week)

(24) Iowa @ (7) Penn State (If the Nittany Lions are as good as we think, they should probably torch the Hawkeyes, but perhaps that's an unfair jinx....but still, they should roll the Hawkeyes)

2023-24 NFL (Week 1)

Games I watched (some of):

Lions 21-20 Chiefs

I wasn't as impressed with the vaunted Lions offense as the cool kids keep telling me I should be, but they were effective enough against the Chiefs on the road and that's not bad. As for the Chiefs, I can't help thinking their offense might struggle this year (okay, I'll admit it: I have the Chiefs not making the playoffs....yeah, yeah, I'm that guy) and without Travis Kelce--well, whadda you know?--they did struggle. Mahomes is still gonna be great but the cupboard isn't as full as it has been in recent years, not sure he'll be able to do it all himself. Oh, and the Chiefs were missing their best defender, too, so perhaps the sky isn't falling quite that fast, it could well be when they get their best offensive player and best defensive player back, maybe...decent chance that they'll be better. As for the Lions, hey, good W in what is I presume the toughest game on their schedule, so off to a good start. 

Bengals 3-24 Browns

The game reports and highlights might not focus how rainy it was all through the first half, when both offenses looked fucking awful. The Browns were able to move the ball in the 2nd half, whereas the Bengals just never got going. The Bengals offensive woes were a perfect storm of bad weather, wrong game plan and going up against a really good pass rush. I have the Bengals in the Super Bowl and I'm not worried, they a slow starting team, I expect them to be just fine by October. As for the Browns, well, QB Deshaun Watson is arguably the most intriguing risk/reward QB in your fantasy draft, but I'm all in on the Browns; I think Watson is going to be good and he will make the offense roll and I think the defense is gonna be real good. I expect both of these teams to go deep in the playoffs and I don't think this week means much of anything. 

Niners 30-7 Steelers

I was extremely impressed with the Niners on both sides of the ball, I have them in the Final Four, I'm expecting them to be good, but I was expecting a tougher contest in Pittsburgh and they dismantled the Steelers. The Steelers never got any offense going--not sure whether they suck or were just up against a tough D--but the Steeler defense looked fine (and still gave up 30 points). I know it's foolish to overreact to Week 1, but if you're still having second thoughts about Brock Purdy....well, I'm not, that dude can play and he is the right guy for this offense, I'm expecting the Niners to be good. As for the Steelers, the D is gonna be fine, not sure about that offense, though.

Cowboys 40-0 Giants

Whoa, whoa, settle down. Yes, the Cowboys are probably better than the Giants but I'd say it is unlikely that the Cowboys are this good or that the Giants are this bad. The Cowboys looked good, played hard, had the right game plan and they got all the breaks; the Giants looked tentative, sloppy and were supremely unlucky. This is just one game, people, don't get carried away. 

Bills 16-22 (OT) Jets

Kudos to the Jets defense, but let's be honest: Josh Allen straight sucked in this game. All three interceptions were terrible decisions on his part and fumbling the ball in the 4th quarter in NYJ FG position? Hmmmm....not good, man, not good for the leader of the team. But the Bills always struggle @ the Jets and even though the NYJ shiny new toy, Aaron Rodgers, got hurt instantly (and looks to be out for an extended period), well, the NYJ defense is still really good (and, honestly, I didn't think their offense would be that good even with Rodgers) and it'll keep them in games (just like last year). I think Buffalo is going to be fine, Josh Allen will have better days (he certainly won't have too many worse than this!) and I think they'll win more than they lose. As for the Jets, I wasn't in on them even with Rodgers, so going back to Zack Wilson isn't exciting but I don't think it makes them much worse. 

The rest of the slate

Panthers 10-24 Falcons

The Panthers might be the worst team in the league (and I wasn't in on Bryce Young even at Alabama, I sure ain't in on him with Carolina!); the Falcons offense looks like one of the funnest in the league, it'd be cool to see them pile up some W's.  

Jags 31-21 Colts

Yeah, that looks about right. The Jags should be pretty good this year and struggling on the road in a division game isn't the end of the world. As for the Colts, well, their rookie QB looks like a helluva player, but I doubt that'll translate to wins any time soon. 

Bucs 20-17 Vikings

Hmmmmm.....what's up here? I think the Vikings are going to be pretty good and I think the Bucs are going to be kinda awful, so why did the Bucs win at Minnesota? I have no idea. 

Titans 15-16 Saints

I suspect these two teams are similar: good on defense, pretty good on special teams, not bad on offense but weird at QB. The fact that these two dueled to a virtual draw suggests to me that I was right. 

Cards 16-20 Commanders

Kinda thought the Commanders would be better at home against a team that doesn't even look like its trying to win. Are the Cards better than we think or are the Commanders still a slopfest? 

Texans 9-25 Ravens

Yeah, that's about right. 

Packers 38-20 Bears

Yeah, that's about right. I think the Packers might be okay with Jordan Love. As for the Bears, I like Fields, I want to like him more, but I have no faith in the Bears as a team right now and I suspect they'll be pretty bad--even if Fields takes a step forward. 

Raider 17-16 Broncos

Yeah, that's about right. The Broncos should get better as the season goes on, the Raiders should be up and down (winning games they should lose, losing games they should win).

Eagles 25-20 Patriots

I suspect this game was closer than you think. The Eagles are solid on both sides of the ball but they've got a target on their backs they didn't have last year. The Pats never suck but they'll still be led by defense until they find the right QB (is Mac Davis the right guy? I dunno, but probably not). 

Dolphins 36-34 Chargers

Looks like a fun game. If the Dolphins can stay healthy, they can pile up points; but if they have even an inkling of trouble, they could get sideways in a hurry. The Chargers are the Chargers, man: even when they're great they'll figure out ways to lose games. 

Rams 30-13 Seahawks

Hmmmmm.....I kinda thought the Rams were gunning for the #1 pick, but they might actually be better than I would've thought them capable. In my pre-season picks, I had the Seahwks being pretty bad--like so bad I immediately suspected I had unnecessarily lowered them, but after this result, maybe not. Maybe they'll just revert back to being the bad team they were supposed to be last year. 

2023-24 NCAA Football (Week 2)

Games I saw (some of):

Nebraska 14-36 (22) Colorado

Felt early on like Nebraska might get a pass rush going (not really) and if they had a running game (meh, not much), they could've been a real thorn in the side of the Buffaloes. But none of that materialized and though this Colorado squad seems a little big for their britches (can't help feeling that they more they win, the more painful that smack in the face is gonna feel when it finally comes), they pretty well controlled this game through the second half. Another good W for Coach Prime.

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (4) Florida State, (5) Ohio State, (6) Southern Cal, (7) Penn State, (8) Washington, (9) Tennessee, (10) Notre Dame, (11) Texas, (12) Utah, (13) Oregon, (14) Louisiana State, (15) Kansas State, (16) Oregon State, (18) Oklahoma, (20) Mississippi, (21) Duke, (22) Colorado, (25) Clemson 

Won but did not impress

(17) North Carolina

Double OT to App State at home isn't making that top 20 ranking look so sturdy at the moment. I know: App State is usually pretty good and this is the kind of grudge match that Tar Heel fans should probably feel pretty good about, I'm just pointing out that a top 20 squad ought to roll a non-conference opponent at home and instead UNC was hanging on for dear life. Too early in the season for this to be too meaningful but we might look back on this one and say....yup.  

Bad beat

(24) Tulane

Kudos to Tulane for putting an SEC foe on the schedule. Not a bad L, in fact it might even look pretty good by season's end. 

Not so good

(3) Alabama

Struggled at Texas last year with the Heisman QB, flat out lost at home to the same squad this year....? First they finish #5 and now they lose a tough game at home...? The disgruntled writing is soon to be on the wall in Tuscaloosa. Boy, as soon as they find a better coach than Saban, you can bet he'll be sent packing!

(19) Wisconsin

Tough road game but I thought @ Washington State (a notoriously tough place to play) was one they had measured up. Could be that the Badgers shrug off this L and quietly rack up a positive season, but this could be a sign that they're not up for the Big 10 this season. We'll see. 

(23) Texas A&M

A&M and Miami are two of the tougher programs to judge over the last few years, not sure what to make of an L in Coral Gables. But I was expecting A&M to be better than Miami and they weren't, so that doesn't bode well for them. 

Next week's intriguing matches: 

(Dang....kinda skimpy already....we're in Week 3 and they're already giving us the Winterize-Your-Lawnmower Saturday?)

(14) Louisiana State @ Mississippi State (I dunno, these two usually make for fun football)

(8) Washington @ Michigan State (not great, but has upset potential)

(11) Tennessee @ Florida (meh, Vols should crush them, no?)

2023 US Open

Men's 

(3) Medvedev 3/6/3 - 6/7/6 (2) Djokovic

Medvedev never seemed ready to be in this match, he dropped his first serve and that was pretty much that. He rallied to a tie-break in the 2nd set and I thought he was going to take it, then on set point it was like he was forgot he was playing tennis or something, just flaked away his last service and it was all over. Then in the 3rd he put up no effort at all. Djokoic is so effortlessly awesome that we just assume he's going to win all the time but I think Alcaraz would've pushed him (as he did at Wimbledon), whereas Medvedev already looked as if he'd lost from the jump. Kinda lame Final really, since Alcaraz was watching on TV instead of hoisting the trophy. 

(1) Alcaraz 6/1/6/3 - 7/6/3/6 (3) Medvedev

Wow, I was shocked when Medvedev won that first set tie-break, it just felt like Alcaraz was going to roll up over him pronto, but Medvedev hung tight and was able to steal the tiebreak.  Then Alcaraz fell asleep to start the 2nd set and Medvedev was in the driver's seat. Alcaraz is the man right now, not sure why he flamed out so badly here because he was dominating early on, faltered, gave away a set and then was too deep in the hole to rally. I think he had a good shot at hanging with Djokovic in the final, not sure what happened against Medvedev because he should've won this match. 

Shelton 3/2/6 - 6/6/7 (2) Djokovic

I watched Shelton in his Round of 16 match and was impressed with his power game (BIG serve!) but in that match mostly what I noticed was how badly his opponent flailed. So when it came time for the young American upstart to go up against Djokovic, I didn't give him much of a chance. And Djokovic didn't either. He was spunky enough to get a 3rd set tie-break (nice work), but that was too little, too late. Shelton is interesting but I can't help thinking he overachieved this year and probably isn't quite ready to hit the top ten just yet. 

Women's

(6) Gauff 2/6/6 - 6/3/2 (2) Sabalenka

Sabalenka doomed herself with way too many unforced errors, if she could've stopped spraying her returns and stayed within the lines, I think she would've overpowered Gauff. But Sabalenka was wild, Gauff was measured and stayed within her game plan and though I think Gauff arrived here a little early, she is now a Major champion. Good for her! She's got real star power, a total cutie, amazing athlete, slyly good serve and her lateral quickness is going to keep her deep in tournaments for years to come. I think right here, right now Sabalenka is the more talented player, but in this Final she couldn't keep her game together (Russians, man, I'm just sayin'...) and I'm curious to see if Sabalenka can get back to the top (I'd say 50/50).  

(6) Gauff 6/7 - 4/5 (10) Muchova

Gauff was the better player, Muchova is a nice player but just doesn't have the quickness or staying power that Gauff possesses. Gauff was really impressive here, just sticking to her plan and getting it done. 

(17) Keys 6/6/6 - 0/7/7 (2) Sabalenka

I missed the first set, Sabalenka obviously had trouble getting started. But once she got going, Keys just couldn't keep up. Keys is a nice player but I think she was over her skis in this semifinal. 

2023 FIBA World Cup (Final)

1st place

Germany 83-77 Serbia

Germany was a cohesive team all the way through this tourney, never overwhelming but consistently solid. Denis Schroeder was their lodestar, Daniel Theis was the veteran dirty work guy (and even in int'l play, he still doesn't get calls!), the Wagner brothers were the offensive anchors of the team (I thought Mo was the better of the two, he seemed to be everywhere), and Isaac Bonga and Johannes Voigtmann gave reliable dirty work minutes off the bench. They weren't deep but in a tourney like this depth is just for injuries, not for rotation. I was impressed with the German game plan and their consistency, again, they weren't overwhelming but they never went away, they were never out of any game. 

Serbia was arguably the best team of the tourney with wins over Canada, Lithuania and Dominican Republic. And, for good measure, I thought Bogdan Bogdanovic was the MVP of the whole thing, with Aleksa Avramovic being a 1st team possibility. Until the 4th quarter of the Final, Bogdanovic was one of the most reliable filler-uppers in the tourney. (And that 4th quarter shows one of the main differences in the int'l game: with no in-game time-outs, its harder to get rest time for the stars because getting them back into the game is incredibly unpredictable; so in the Final, Bogdan was worn out but ended up spending too much time on the bench) In the Final, they hung with Germany until the 3rd quarter when the Germans went on a run and the Serbs just never could quite make it up. Good run, though, hell of a showing for the Serbs. 

3rd place

USA 118-127 (OT) Canada

Canada pretty well dominated the game for the first 3 quarters. Early in the 4th Canada had a 10-point lead and the Americans went on an out-of-nowhere 10-0 run to tie it up. Then Canada outplayed them for the rest of the quarter, until Mikal Bridges with under 5 seconds left had the most improbable 4-point play I've ever seen it to tie it up. Then in OT the Americans rode the high of the shocking comeback to....oh, wait, no the Canadians pummeled the Americans in the OT period, just making the extra 5-minute session an unnecessary waste of time. 

Canada was really good all the way through with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being an MVP candidate and Dillon Brooks deserving of a 1st team nod (did they even do that stuff in this tourney?). The rest of the team was good, they played well together and they reminded the world that Canada has plenty of talent (and maybe should've gone further). I didn't see the semifinal where they lost to Serbia, they would've been fairly evenly matched. 

USA had the expectations problem: they just expected to win though they didn't have the best team or the best plan. Also, I hate to be that guy but....over the last year I have soured quite a bit on Steve Kerr and as I never understood what he was doing with the lineups (re: the overall team strategy), I got to put most of this flame out on Coach Kerr. He was trying to force Brandom Ingram early on (did he even play in the 3rd place game?), starting Jalen Brunson didn't make sense to me, Josh Hart got too much playing time (with too little understanding of his role), he got the least out of Jaren Jackson and he made Walker Kessler completely disappear. What did Coach Kerr do that was good in the entire tournament? Oh well, it don't matter since I assume he won't be back anyway, just thought I'd get in some shots at the coach that I think is overrated (rather than the players). 

As for USA, I thought Halliburton, Bridges and Reaves were consistently good, Anthony Edwards was good but perhaps not quite the bust out star we thought he might be, Paolo Banchero was pretty good (but with the occasional disappearing act), Jaren Jackson was okay but maybe not the ideal fit for this squad, Brandon Ingram sulked like a movie star, Cam Johnson and Kessler and Bobby Portis kinda disappeared and while I like Brunson in a Knick uni, I never thought he was the right fit for int'l competition. 4th place is nothing to sneeze at and yet it feels disappointing--we ended up with 3 L's. 

 

Semifinal matches

Serbia 95-86 Canada

USA 111-113 Germany

Germany was just better than USA. Neither team ever had a major lead but Germany was the pace-setter pretty much throughout and USA could never catch up. 

5th place

Latvia 98-63 Lithuania

7th place

Italy 85-89 Slovenia

5-8 Placement 

Italy 82-87 Latvia

Lithuania 100-84 Slovenia

Suggestion: If this was a 16-team final, rather than 32, the two group rounds could rank all teams 1-16, which could be followed by a one-and-done style tournament that would be even more exciting. Also, by limiting it to the top 16, the best teams would get more tough games, more exposure and the one-and-done tourney would feature even more talented (and desperate!) squads. Just a thought, I know the int'l crowd loves ranking each team out and in this format that is the way to do it and generally I want to include more teams but for FIBA, the final tourney would be a lot more exciting with fewer teams playing a more furious style of tournament. Just a thought. 

Also, as always the problem with USA basketball is we worship the Olympics and don't give a shit about the World Cup. I think the Olympics should be a youth competition--or at least have a series of age-bracketed divisions--and the World Cup should be the real competition. But Americans watch the Olympics, so the big stars want to play for that audience (a bland, nationalistic, every-four-years kinda audience) rather than the real fanatics (the live and breathe basketball crowd). So we prefer spectacle and audience dynamic rather than actually trying to put the best team in the best competition. Oh well, we're America, we keep getting away with our dumb mistakes, so what good is learning?

2023 FIBA World Cup (Quaterfinals)

Lithuania 68-87 Serbia

The first quarter was amazing back and forth action but Lithuania's hot shooting just couldn't counter Serbia's ability to get easy buckets. Man, Serbia had so many dunks and layups, the Lithuanian defense just couldn't shore up protection in the lane and Serbia sliced and diced them up. A really impressive performance by Serbia, if they can keep the scoring going, they're going to be tough to beat. 

Italy 63-100 USA

USA's offense was rolling here, Italy just never had a chance. USA's defense, too, was really good, tight and in control. This was the best, most complete USA performance that I've seen so far. Italy played hard but this was like when a loaded Kansas squad comes up against a plucky overachieving Wisconsin-Green Bay or something: it was clear quickly who the better team was. It still seems plainly obvious to me that USA's best 5 is Tyrese Halliburtaon, Austin Reaves, Anthony Edwards, Mikal Bridges and Jaren Jackson (and I'm loving Paolo Banchero off the bench), still not sure what the fascination with Josh Hart is or the desire to make Jalen Brunson the tone-setter (when he strikes me as the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency guy); but the team as constructed may well be good enough to win it all anyway, so we'll see. 

Latvia 79-81 Germany

Tight game for the most part, Germany had a burst of scoring early in the 4th quarter that gave them enough of a lead to hold off Latvia's furious attack down the stretch. Potential game-winning shot (courtesy of Davis Bertans) doinked away as the clock expired. Close game, Germany was the better team but just barely. Germany is nice squad but they strike me as losing focus at times, if they play for 40 straight minutes, they'll be a tough out but I feel like they're the 4th best team remaining; we'll see.

Slovenia 89-100 Canada

Close at halftime, but Slovenia kinda melted down in the 3rd quarter when Canada started attacking the basket and racking up frustration fouls. It struck me early on that a 10-point lead on either side could be insurmountable and in the 3rd period, Canada put that into practice, getting up by 16 and taking advantage of Slovenian frustration (eh, the refs kinda favored the Canadians, I thought). A tit-for-tat ejections of Dillon Brooks and Luka Doncic spiced up the post-game talk but petty much killed whatever momentum Slovenia might have been able to regain. Canada was the better team but the game was closer than the score looks. 

2023-24 NCAA Football (Week 1+)

Games I saw (some of):

Virginia 13-49 (12) Tennessee

I wasn't sure what to make of this result. I wasn't as impressed with Tennessee as much as I was unimpressed by UVA. The Vols are coming off a good season but they've got a new QB and I figured the Cavs would give them a tough game. The fact that that didn't happen suggests to me that UVA sucks more than that the UT is ready to play this year. I dunno, the Vols moved the ball and were never in danger in game, so perhaps I'm projecting rather than observing (though I was quite unimpressed with UVA, that I'm sure of). 

Colorado 45-42 (17) Texas Christian

Fun game! Wow, the 2nd half was non-stop back and forth action, amazing plays on offense, defense and special teams, both teams played well and made plays, but Colorado got the last score and TCU couldn't counter. I was expecting more from TCU and I wasn't expecting nearly this much out of Colorado, so the sheer shock of the action added to the electricity of the performance. While I walk away being really impressed by Colorado (I'd be kinda shocked Colorado if wasn't in the top 25 this week), I'm not ready to write off TCU, though clearly this was a disappointing open to their season. I'm looking forward to seeing how both of these teams look going forward. 

(5) Louisiana State 24-45 (8) Florida State

I was in and out of this game (weird car trouble made this weekend a bit of blur for me) but early on this was a grinding game where neither team really stepped up. Until the 4th quarter, when the Seminoles just kept stepping and stepping and the Tigers couldn't hang. Florida State over the last decade or so has been such an up-and-down squad that I'm never sure what to make of them this early in the season but they looked good, this is a good W. As for LSU, well, they overachieved last season which perhaps makes the expectations for this season a little too high; we'll see. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (4) Alabama, (6) Southern Cal (two W's already), (7) Penn State, (8) Florida State, (10) Washington, (11) Texas, (12) Tennessee, (13) Notre Dame (two W's already), (14) Utah, (15) Oregon, (16) Kansas State, (18) Oregon State, (19) Wisconsin, (20) Oklahoma, (21) North Carolina, (22) Mississippi, (23) Texas A&M, (24) Tulane, (25) Iowa

Won but did not impress

(3) Ohio State

If you had told me that Ohio State kinda struggled against Indiana, I would've expected a shootout, a 52-45 game that went deep into the 4th quarter giving a lot of Buckeye fans thrills and sweaty palms in equal amounts. But a 23-3 sludgefest where Ohio State has trouble moving the ball and giving up inexplicable turnovers--against Indiana?--that makes no sense to me. Either Indiana is transforming into a different type of team (one that prizes tackling and pass rush over flinging the ball in a high powered offense) or the Buckeyes have things to work out on the offensive side. Yeah, okay, it's the first week of the season and they did get a clear W in a conference road game, this isn't some embarrassment. But still I would've expected the Buckeye offense to look much sharper than it did and that alone gives me pause. We'll see, I suspect Ohio State will be fine but after one week, well, they clearly have some things to work on. 

Not so good

(9) Clemson

Ha! You lost to Duke! In your season opener! Aw, come on, man! Clemson for the last coupla seasons has had plenty of talent but suddenly forgot how to nail down games, how to dominate weaker opponents, how to move the ball fluidly down field. Now losing the season opener to the Blue Devils, well, I just don't know what's going on there. I thought last season it was their QB, but he just looked good getting a W for Oregon State, so....uh....maybe he wasn't the problem...? Not a good look for Clemson.

(17) Texas Christian

I could've put this in the Bad Beat category, but they were the National Runner-up last season going up against a team with a new head coach, new QB, new everything, so I was expecting TCU to give a better accounting of themselves. That said, I was impressed by Colorado--they were fuckin' good! And this was a fun game to watch, so this needn't be a death knell for TCU. But they definitely need to get back on the winning track.

Bad beat 

(5) Louisiana State

They actually played Florida State close until the 4th quarter, when all the play-making became incredibly one-sided. So is this a sign that the Tigers aren't ready to hang this season or that the Seminoles are really good? Not sure. For now, it looks to me like LSU just got caught up against a better opponent, so I call it a bad beat.  

Next week's intriguing matches

(11) Texas @ (4) Alabama (your marquis match up! The last time this will be a non-conference game, so each side can get a little loose here, each team can absorb an L, should be a fun one)

(22) Mississippi @ (24) Tulane (okay, could be fun, I have no idea what either of these squads are like but they're both ranked so somebody's getting knocked out)

(13) Notre Dame @ North Carolina State (the Irish have looked dominant so far and they might again, but the Wolfpack is usually a sturdy squad and I expect them to make Notre Dame work for the W)