(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens game analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

Here we go.

“The ELITE 15″…

1. There’s college football…and then there’s Alabama.

I guess things didn’t work out for this guy…

The team may have lost, but this was AWESOME…

Also feeling stupid? LSU QB Zach Metten-Rae-Jepsen…

Let’s check in on a man who is the second best coach in his own division…

Wanna see Kirk Herbstreit play with Lee Corso’s trunk? Of course you do…

Next up for Alabama? Johnny Football…

Elsewhere in the SEC, this.

2. How did I spend my Sunday night? Oh, just watching this postgame video of Chuck Pagano and crying.

Oh man.

Also, these types of throws are making people wil’ out about Andrew Luck. I get it. A quick reminder that Andrew Luck plays indoors. That’s all.

In defeat, Reggie Bush tallied a TD on a play that reminded of a guy who used to play for USC a few years back…

3. The Pittsburgh Steelers just refuse to make things easy on the Ravens…again.

And say whatever you want…this was an incomplete pass.

Also, this shouldn’t have been a flag on Ryan Clark either. I’m not trying to apologize for the Steelers (in fact, I was glad both calls went against them). Had they lost, they would have lost and I would have said they deserved to lose. That’s the way it works in the NFL.

Also-are you a Ravens fan considering voting for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan? This is the man you’d be voting for…

4. Despite what the computers might say, I think we all know Oregon is the 2nd best team in the country.

We’ll get to Collin Klein in a second, but Kenjon Barner PROBABLY moved to second on the Heisman Trophy list (ahead of Manti Te’o) in the Ducks’ win at USC…

The Trojans lost their third game of the season, but it’s hard to blame their quarterback. Unless you’re former USC RB Marc Tyler…

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, UCLA blew out Arizona a week after Arizona ran over USC. But UCLA’s win came with their assistants looking like this…

5. And I think we all know Kansas State is the 3rd best team in the country.

They looked really good against Oklahoma State Saturday night…

Also, here’s this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfmFwIGUEb8

Elsewhere in the Big 12, did this final 2 point conversion in West Virginia-TCU actually happen?

(Since I don’t like WVU…I don’t care if it did or didn’t. I’m just glad they said it did.)

(Continued on Page 2…)

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(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens game analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

“The ELITE 15″…

1. And after Week 8, we have a new Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

Which is partly because after being crowned “King of Football”, Geno Smith has gone missing. But it is much more because Kansas State’s Collin Klein picked up the scepter and RAN IT IN FOR FOUR TOUCHDOWNS AGAINST WVU.

Of course, the one he threw to Tyler Lockett was just the prettiest…

The Wildcats take over the “on pace for the BCS title game” role and Klein goes to the top of the Heisman list. West Virginia goes…

“BACK! BACK! BACK INTO THE WOODS!”

2. Christian Ponder is both the quarterback of a 5-2 football team and has a lovely girlfriend.

(His girlfriend is ESPN’s Samantha Steele. I guess this would have been more effective if you knew that in advance.)

Ponder was helped greatly in topping the Cards by RB Adrian Peterson who is might be? good again.

Also, Cards RB LaRod Stephens-Howling had over 100 yards and a TD, so that sound you here is EVERYONE switching William Powell for him in their leagues. That was the only good news for Arizona Sunday…well other than the news that they had surpassed Felix Baumgartner’s record for the longest freefall.

3. I know the Colts won, I just care significantly more about the fact that Chuck Pagano came home from the hospital.

But the highlight of the affair in Indianapolis was a Greg Little touchdown catch. Wait, I couldn’t have possibly said that right. It was a Greg Little touchdown catch.

And since he did that, Josh Gordon figured he’d make up for the normal output the Browns get from Greg Little…

Wow. And good for Coach Pagano. Now…does he have any advice for the guys he used to coach?

4. Navy should never stop making motivational videos.

It worked AGAIN this week before Navy came back to shock Big Ten foe Indiana in Annapolis. I understand why it works. These are REALLY good…

The Hoosiers are known for hoops, but there was greater basketball royalty on the Navy side Saturday…

5. Apparently coaching a team that never stops kicking ass makes Will Muschamp really angry.

(In fairness, Wyoming coach Dave Christensen last week was less than impressed. Language NSFW.)

South Carolina was in this one for awhile, at least right up until the first play…

ESPN’s College Gameday was in Gainesville Saturday, which lead to Lee Corso doing this…

(Corso later…)

And they introduced us to Tarin Moses, Gators cheerleader and girlfriend of UF QB Jeff Driskel. We should learn more…

Speaking of Driskel, this.

THIS sign was relevant since South Carolina was in town…

Elsewhere in the SEC, this.

6. And then the Patriots remembered that Rob Gronkowski played for them!

If you didn’t know this was a close game, the gifs would make you think this was a typical pathetic Jets effort in a blowout loss. There was Mark Sanchez kicking the ball out of the back of the endzone…

And Stephen Hill’s “what I had meant to do was…..” late in the 4th…

And then the game ended with a near perfect “Sanchez-ing”…

But before that there was actually a heck of a football game that featured two Gronk TD’s, including this one-which was awfully pretty…

Also, noted Drew Forrester mancrush Jim Nantz struggled at the end of this one…

7. And then Chris Johnson remembered that he was Chris Johnson!

He’s….ALIVE….

So do you NOT trade him to whatever team is in need of RB help? Or do you HAVE to trade him now because his value is greater?

Also, a nod to Bills WR Donald Jones, who went “Carlton Banks” creative for a dance that was WAY better than Gangnam Style in defeat…

(8-15 on Page 2…)

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(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens game analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

“The ELITE 15″…

1. The performance Towson authored in defeat at LSU is still very much worthy of the term “elite”.

On more than one occasion during the first three quarters in Baton Rouge I found myself saying “oh my God oh my God oh my God”. It was an amazing effort from the Tigers in Death Valley…

No matter what, it doesn’t mean this didn’t happen…

I remember taking a picture of the screen when Morgan State lead West Virginia 10-0 in the NCAA Tournament. Things went SIGNIFICANTLY better for Towson after their moment than they did for MSU.

2. Hey! Remember last week when the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons were the best team in their respective conferences? Like Sonny & Cher said, “the beat goes on”.

Want to see Danieal Manning make an interception return TD look like a kick return TD? Of course you do.

It’s probably worth taking a closer look at the block Jonathan Joseph laid on Nate Washington during the return…

Oh my. Houston stomped Tennessee, but you knew that was going to happen. Tennessee also lost quarterback Jake Locker for what looks like could be “several weeks” according to CBS. So they’ve got that going for them.

The Falcons-Panthers game was significantly more interesting. Carolina had a chance to pull the upset at the Georgia Dome but (first) Cam Newton fumbled the ball after what would have been a late 3rd down conversion (then) Ron Rivera decided not to go for it on 4th and short but instead give the ball back to Matt Ryan (and) Ryan did this from the shadow of his own endzone…

The Falcons would get a game winner from Matt Bryant to stay undefeated, the Panthers fell to 1-3. Matt Ryan’s thoughts are NSFW if you’re a lip-reader…

Earlier in the game, Cam Newton did THIS…

And I guess spending time in Atlanta has helped Dunta Robinson perfect his Tomahawk Chop…

3. Also from the “don’t forget we’re really good” category, I give you the New England Patriots.

The Pats were in a bit of trouble in the first half of this one, but then they remembered they were the Patriots and scored like 600 unanswered points. Was it 600? I think it was 600. Let’s ask Tom Brady.

By the way-I’m terrible at lip-reading. If you told me he was asking about whether or not Looper was any good, I would believe you.

Now Ryan Fitzpatrick’s reaction…

Maybe he just found out the new stadium is going up in Los Angeles and is getting excited about buying a home in Burbank.

Vince Wilfork nearly killed a man in this one…

And Rob Gronkowski made sure he didn’t miss another spike…

4. Since you started reading this week’s 15-7-0, West Virginia scored three more touchdowns.

WVU QB Geno Smith threw more touchdowns (8) than incomplete passes (6) Saturday against Baylor. He also threw for 656 yards and no picks. Try to keep up…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqDruveDZD0

How about that last catch from JD Woods to seal it? Geesh. You might not have seen it because your head was still spinning from the 133 points scored in the game.

Smith is your Heisman Trophy frontrunner and the Mountaineers are a sexy “dark hose” pick to make a run at the BCS Championship. The folks in Morgantown might want to make sure they have room for a third digit on the scoreboard.

5. Is it safe declare that the Urban Meyer experiment at Ohio State is already working?

First, we start with the fact that ESPN’s College Gameday was in East Lansing this week. It’s noteworthy. Here’s the singular best sign…

That’s just…so…exceptional. Mom and dad are proud of the education they’re paying for you to get at MSU!

The Buckeyes are 5-0 but can’t win anything. This will be an awkward storyline if the season continues this way…

And since the Big Ten stinks, I kinda have to assume it will. Oh and also, the Spartans coaches were complaining postgame that the game film they received from Ohio State wasn’t up to standards. It sounds like whiny bitching from sore losers, but I’ll let you be the judge…

I don’t really understand the issue. Of course, if they had sent the right video, the Spartans probably would have been able to figure out what the Buckeyes’ hand signals were all about…

6. And some weeks Peyton Manning really still IS Peyton Manning.

Remember what everyone said about the Raiders defense? They probably didn’t say enough. The guy most thankful for the asskicking? Demaryius Thomas. Otherwise this would have been REALLY embarrassing…

And for fellow Peyton Manning fantasy owners, this one is worth watching again…

7. The Chargers defense would have been an awfully good start in fantasy football this week.

Well, other than this Jamaal Charles run…

But the six turnovers, they were helpful. And since we’re talking about baked goods, thanks to whoever brought the Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding (I’m sorry I forgot who you are!) to Maritime Magic Friday night (an event to benefit Living Classrooms Foundation). Holy hell I’ve never had anything greater.

The post The 15-7-0 offers a hearty “RIP Defense” to the game of football appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens game analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

The “ELITE” 15…

1. Towson football continues to be a hell of a way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Let’s recap. Beautiful afternoon…great crowd…competitive game…key win over a conference rival…national TV. Yeah, all of that sounds good to me…

Here was the video shown at Unitas Stadium before the game. It honestly makes me want to go hit somebody…

But if Rob Ambrose REALLY wants to get his team fired up, perhaps he should go the lip-dub route fellow CAA coach (and former Baltimore Colt) Bill Curry went…

Righteous.

2. As of this moment, the Houston Texans are the best team in the AFC.

And also, the Jacksonville Jaguars are not particularly good…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txnPXpJ7_m8

The offensive numbers in this one for the Jags are absolutely staggering, by the way. Blaine Gabbert finished 7/19 for 53 yards (53 yards!), the Jags finished with 117 total yards of offense and did not convert a single third (or fourth) down attempt all game.

“Jaguars football: still inexplicably happening!”

3. As of this moment, the San Francisco 49ers are the best team in the NFC.

This was a big win for the 49ers, so they decided to turn to Alex Smith, Michael Crabtree and….ummm….Aziz Ansari? after the game…

Also, I’m sure a lot of Niners fans told Smith they wanted him to be more like Tom Brady, but I don’t think they expected this…

Also…apparently Owen Wilson is now a 49ers fan or something(?) and also decided that he wanted to do everything in his power to look like Eric Byrnes these days…

At least he wasn’t reading “Don’t Jump.”

Oh, and Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz got along just fine in the postgame, but that’s presumably because Schwartz wanted to see if Harbaugh could help him get the tail from out between his legs.

4. Manti Te’o went through a lot this week. Even if you don’t like Notre Dame like me, it’s hard to not be happy for him.

Both the girlfriend and grandmother of the Fighting Irish LB passed away during the week leading up to the game at Michigan State, making his effort all more emotional…

I can’t help but notice that ND’s big win came just days after “Rudy” Ruettiger threw out the first pitch before the Orioles won their 14 inning marathon against the Tampa Bay Rays…Oriole Magic rubs off?

Next up for the Irish is Michigan. Here’s Denard Robinson doing something quite cool against UMass Saturday…

And hey, at least Spartans LB Max Bullough still has his awesome tattoo…

5. So, Stanford pretty much just owns USC at this point.

Yup. So much for Matt Barkley’s “unfinished business” I guess.

Also, an excellent amount of Stanford trolling in this one. First, USC’s drum major was breathalyzed on the way in to Stanford Stadium…

Then came their own band leader…

Not bad.

6. Speaking of Stanford, there were a few moments where Andrew Luck looked like that other guy against the Vikings.

I mean, he ISN’T that guy (you know the guy we’re talking about…the guy who plays in Denver now) yet, but this wasn’t bad…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG5mwY-Fmgc

Hey, the Vikings did have ONE effective offensive play…

Whatever works, I guess. Congratulations to Chuck Pagano on his first win as a NFL head coach. May there never be one against the Ravens.

Oh, and I thought it was nice that the teams decided to give everyone a nice preview of Sunday night’s WWE Night of Champions Pay-Per-View…

Who says replacement officials can’t keep control of games? I mean, how were they supposed to see that after Donald Brown spit that green potion in their eyes?

I guess fans in “The Friendly Heart of the Midwest” are excited?

7. Eli Manning threw for a Tim Tebow season’s worth of yards against the Bucs.

510 yards? 510 yards? I mean, what the hell? Was he playing the University of Colorado?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jenI-bUCeWY

It looks like everything is fine, at least according to Tom Coughlin in his postgame handshake session with Greg Schiano…

U mad bro?

(Continued on Page 2…)

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(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens game analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

The “ELITE” 15…

1. It was way more interesting than it needed to be, but Maryland got a nice win Saturday.

Ryan Chell and I made the drive up to Filthy Saturday, and I will admit I expected much worse than what I got.

As Darren Pang would say, “holy jumpin’!” Perry Hills wasn’t great-but he made some nice throws. Marcus Leak was fantastic, and Stefon Diggs more than made up for an earlier fumble with that spectacular catch you saw there at the end of the game.

Most of us would have settled for just not giving up 12 rushing touchdowns like it felt like they did a year ago against the Owls. Instead we got Randy Edsall’s first EVER road win.

While I was in the “Illadelph” (to quote The Roots), I had a tasty chicken cheesesteak and a pretzel. I did not however get to stop at the place The Nasty One recommended, “Talk of the Town” for one of their steaks.

Anything anybody can tell me about this place?

I was a little disappointed we didn’t bump into Temple fan and friend of “The Reality Check” Bill Cosby at the game, but apparently he was busy looking dapper at UMass…

2. Rex Ryan and the Jets are perhaps the greatest trolls in the history of football.

The Jets didn’t just look BAD in the preseason, they looked like one of the worst teams in the history of football. They scored one offensive touchdown. They looked to have the offensive ineptitude of a JV football team, but at one of those schools where they only have like 300 students so the JV team is mostly made up of girls and kids that thought they were trying out for badminton.

And then, this.

I’m not as baffled as you. I’m significantly more baffled. I had sort of assumed the Jets were just going to panic and line Tim Tebow up at every position to try to set some sort of bizarre record because they cared so little about winning.

What the eff? I PICKED THE JETS TO WIN?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!!?

Heh. I knew it all along.  And you doubted.

Here’s what Thurman Thomas thought about the Bills’ effort…

But other than that I hear he enjoyed it. Before we move on, here’s Bills TE Scott Chandler knocking down Rex Ryan…

Here’s Antonio Cromartie flipping into the endzone…

And after the game Bart Scott announced a media boycott. Who says he didn’t learn anything from Ed Reed while in Charm City?

3. Most of the talk after Redskins-Saints is related to Robert Griffin III, but Billy Cundiff probably deserves a bit of attention himself.

About effing time someone started paying attention to RG3, don’t you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlSFtmr7vj4

The real question for the Skins? Is the former Heisman Trophy winner REALLY this good or did he play a dreadful defense?

The real question for the Saints? Can things get better or will not having their head coach prove to doom the season?

The other question? Will Nike be able to capitalize on adidas pitchman Griffin’s “Heart”?

I wish I could root for this guy. DAMNIT why did he have to be drafted to DC? For example, I’d LOVE to enjoy this…

…but clearly there’s no chance.

Oh and also! Billy Cundiff made all four of his field goal tries. That seems noteworthy for some reason, I just can’t think of why.

4. The SEC again emphatically proved to be greater than the Big 12. Wait. The hell? Missouri and Texas A&M aren’t in the Big 12 anymore?

I had just sorta figured a college basketball-style “Big 12/SEC Challenge” had been scheduled this weekend. I was as surprised as you.

The story of Georgia/Missouri was the jawing about “Old Man Football”. It was good enough to win…

Also, another look at Mizzou’s unis, please…

The story of Florida/Texas A&M was the Aggies forgetting they play two halves in college football still…

There was however this Ben Malena absolute BLAST for TAMU fans who want to feel better about things…

And since we’re here…did you happen to see the live broadcast of Midnight Yell Practice from Kyle Field Friday night on ESPNU?

There were 40,000 people there. To practice yelling. I have no words. I’m going to wear overalls to Maryland/UConn next week. And then there’s this…

5. Perhaps Mark Sanchez got a lesson in quarterbacking from Matt Barkley this weekend.

For like five seconds as it was storming in New Jersey Saturday there was a thought Syracuse could hang with USC. Nope.

There was a bit of a weather issue in the New York area Saturday (hell…in the Baltimore area too). You might have noticed it if you were watching the U.S. Open semifinal between Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych…

6. Jay Cutler is REALLY happy to have Brandon Marshall, but Matthew Stafford still has Calvin Johnson folks.

You know how good Calvin Johnson is? He had over 100 yards receiving Sunday and NO ONE noticed. No one except Matthew Stafford of course, who needed somewhere to throw the ball to help move past his THREE interceptions…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLSpaBwVE4M

What you missed in that highlight package? Cortland Finnegan chucked an ear pad from Megatron’s helmet to the Rams’ sideline. Dirty? Clever? Rhubarb?

Here’s a picture that shows the Lions cost Floyd Mayweather $100,000 during the first half of the game…

Meanwhile…in the Windy City…the Brandon Marshall experiment is working thus far. Who would have ever thought a tall receiver would be something a NFL team would actually want?

And if I were to ask you, “who is the longest tenured player in Chicago Bears history?”, what would your answer be?

Would your answer have been this?

That’s LS Patrick Mannelly, who began his 15th season with the Bears today.

Don’t worry. No one else has heard of him either.

7. Randy Moss was a difference maker at Lambeau Field. This is not a repeat of a 15-7-0 from 2003.

Quite the day in Green Bay for the Niners Sunday, especially K David Akers…

Well…I guess it was quite the day for everyone involved in the game that DIDN’T try to dunk the ball over the crossbar. I’m looking at you, Vernon Davis…

Here’s Jim Harbaugh’s reaction…

The Packers, Saints and Giants all lost at home on Week 1. Apparently “parity” isn’t just a well known Civil War battleship.

The post There’s absolutely no replacement for the 15-7-0 appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

10. G. Love & Special Sauce (Friday 8pm Rams Head Live); Bootsy Collins (Wednesday 7:30pm Baltimore Soundstage), Charm City Devils (Saturday 7pm Baltimore Soundstage); Smithereens (Friday 6:30pm & 9:30pm Rams Head on Stage); Rebelution (Sunday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring)

You can’t pay me to say something negative about G. Love. Unless you pay me with money. I’ll lie about anything for money.

I believe Bootsy Collins is a Cincinnati Bengals fan but I’m willing to look past that. I mean, the man did do this…

Charm City Devils are just…just awesome….

I saw Rebelution at Artscape once. Pretty good…

9. George Lopez (Saturday 8pm D.A.R. Constitution Hall); “Contraband” opens in theaters (Friday); Baltimore County Restaurant Week (Thursday-Monday)

George Lopez is only sorta funny sometimes and while Contraband might be okay I can’t tell you I’m really looking forward to it.

So let’s talk about Restaurant Week. As you know, Hightopps Backstage Grille in Timonium is one of my personal favorite spots in Baltimore County. What you might not know is that the breakout star of “Monday Night Live” for the 2011 season was the Santa Fe Fries…

I would have taken a picture of a full plate, but there was never a full plate. Never.

The post Top 10 Baseball Distractions appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

15 Positive Observations…

1. Matt Flynn may have just earned himself a boatload of money Sunday.

Perhaps Flynn’s success had much more to do with the Green Bay Packers’ scheme & wide receivers and even the Detroit Lions’ less than exceptional defense than the former LSU quarterback himself. But as he enters free agency, Flynn may have just made himself a viable option for teams that won’t enter 2012 with Andrew Luck on their roster.

Of course, 80 of his 480 yards and one of his five touchdowns came on this play to Ryan Grant. I’m pretty sure Ryan Chell could have made this throw…

The Packers can sit back and wait to find out who they’ll play in the divisional round while the Lions get to visit the Superdome next weekend. But I’d say it’s pretty much a toss-up as to who has the more difficult road ahead.

In an unrelated story, the Packers went with Pat Lee as their kick returner for the New Year’s Day game. He did something stupid…

And one more-here’s Packers LB Brad Jones handling a fan who ran out onto Lambeau Field…

2. The New England Patriots scored 49 unanswered points Sunday. I’m not really sure how to follow that up.

Much like the Fins a week earlier, the Buffalo Bills worked Charm City into a lather with hopes of ruining the Pats’ run to the Number 1 seed. Also much like the Fins, the Bills for some reason must have thought New England would quit when they fell behind early. But after spotting the Bills 21 points, the Patriots would go on to score the next 49.

But they can’t possibly win the AFC of course because their defense isn’t good enough.

Right.

You’ll see a lot of funny things in 2012. I’ll go ahead and guess that there won’t be many funnier than this Drayton Florence flop…

Also of note in this game was Bills WR Stevie Johnson, who exposed a “Happy New Year” message on an undershirt after scoring a touchdown…

It’s a shame Tom Brady didn’t have a “Happy 28 Point Beatdown” undershirt to respond with. For a semi-decent receiver, Johnson is about a full-fledged clown.

3. I still have no idea why he’s headed to Arkansas State, but Gus Malzahn made the Chick-Fil-A Bowl a lot of fun to watch.

Before departing his Offensive Coordinator gig at Auburn, Malzahn pulled out a bunch of tricks (including a Statue of Liberty Play of all things) to help beat Virginia in the Georgia Dome…

Elsewhere on New Year’s Eve Levi LaVallee and Robbie Maddison were doing extreme sport jumping of some sort on ESPN that may or may not have been amazing. None of us really know and none of us really bothered to watch. But technically it happened!

How did I spend my NYE you ask? At a place I can’t name because they aren’t a sponsor. They ARE however the home of Sweet Potato Tots and the “Billy Goat’s Gruff”…

It was a 14 out of 10.

4. There’s something about David Akers throwing a touchdown that I really enjoy.

I’d show you video of the play, but it’s not available on YouTube. Instead, those of you who REALLY wanna see it can check it out here and the rest of you can look at this picture of Elsa Hosk. We’ll all meet back at the local saloon.

The San Francisco 49ers clinched the #2 seed in the NFC thanks to their win over the St. Louis Rams. In Baltimore, we just want to say Thank You again. We can’t really say it enough.

The Rams will fire Steve Spagnuolo according to reports. Also according to reports, it will be cold this week.

5. Credit Gary Kubiak for not kicking an extra point Sunday. Now it’s time to go win a Wild Card playoff game.

The Houston Texans didn’t need to beat the Tennessee Titans Sunday for any tangible reason. They didn’t, thanks to Kubiak’s decision to go for 2 late (a decision that backfired after a Joel Dreessen false start and a snap sailed over the head of QB Jake Delhomme-who replaced a banged up T.J. Yates). Let’s take a look at the video board…

Earlier in the game, Bryan Braman made an awesome play…

The Texans host the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the postseason. If they win, the Texans visit M&T Bank Stadium in the divisional round. I would think most of us would be pretty happy with that matchup, especially considering the Steelers could be another option.

6. Texas A&M’s Ryan Swope is probably the best receiver you didn’t talk about this season.

Here’s video of the Aggies’ win over Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas. You voted it “the video I’m least likely to watch this week” in an informal poll I just took…

Here was Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald’s reaction when he found out I was going to show the highlights of the game…

7. For as much as we laughed at them this season, the Philadelphia Eagles look capable of being dangerous in 2012.

Of course, that’s the only if Michael Vick stays healthy…and we all know that’s a significant “if.”

The highlight of the day in Philly happened well before Philly kicked the tar out of the Washington Redskins. It happened when Skins OC Kyle Shanahan tried to pump his team up before the game. It was HILARIOUS…

Kyle Shanahan makes Cam Cameron look popular.

The post Let’s Back Our Way Into the 15-7-0 appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

15 Positive Observations…

1. Jerome Simpson is HOLY CRAP THAT TOUCHDOWN WAS SO AMAZING I DON’T KNOW HOW TO FINISH THIS SENTENCE.

The ESPY Awards are an annual event put on by ESPN that you’ve never watched from start to finish despite the fact that the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” promotes them for about 6 months.

And since you likely won’t be watching next July, I’ll prevent the suspense. Jerome Simpson’s TD catch for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Arizona Cardinals Saturday wins SOMETHING.

As our own Brian Billick said on FOX, “you don’t get style points in the NFL but that oughtta be worth eight.”

Or more.

Oh, and don’t look now but Cincy is playing great football just before they welcome the Ravens to Paul Brown Stadium next Sunday with the fate of the AFC North hanging in the balance. I don’t want to talk about that right now though. Perhaps never.

2. You just can’t help but be thrilled for Jim Schwartz and the Detroit Lions.

As someone who roots for a baseball team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1997, I know a thing or two about what it must have felt like for fans in the Music City to watch their team clinch a Wild Card spot in the final moments of their win over the San Diego Chargers Saturday night…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTwsmzTk7Lc

The Bolts were finally eliminated from the playoffs, which you would assume will lead to Norv Turner’s firing. They may or may not have already interviewed Bill Cowher for Turner’s job, and Jon Gruden may or may not be next.

In the meantime, if you’re going to lose at least do it with amazing hair like SD DE Antonio Garay…

3. Kellen Moore and Boise State deserved much better than blowing out an Arizona State team that didn’t bother to try before Christmas in Las Vegas.

It was the final win of a record-setting career for the Broncos quarterback, it was just really unfortunate it happened in this venue instead of in a BCS bowl, as America would have enjoyed watching them play a team that actually gave a s**t…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIXqNJhQPww

The win came as rumors swirled that Penn State was interested in hiring BSU coach Chris Petersen. In a related story, I am interested in being hired by Saturday Night Live.

Petersen obviously is not interested in replacing Joe Paterno in State College. And if you were living as large as this dude is, why would you take ANY job?

4. Cam Newton totally Cam Newton’ed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday.

In the Carolina Panthers’ win over the Bucs Saturday, Newton broke National Football League records for rookie passing yards (Peyton Manning) and quarterback rushing touchdowns (Steve Grogan). He did it in pretty spectacular fashion…

Things couldn’t be worse for the Bucs. Head coach Raheem Morris apparently “sent home” DE Brian Price after getting a 15 yard personal foul call and the team’s freefall continued on toward what looks more and more likely to be Morris’ ultimate firing.

I kinda feel bad for them. Perhaps I should offer some of my mom (the great Karen Clark)’s holiday stuffed shells…

Kick rocks, ham.

5. I don’t know if David Akers’ record for the most field goals in a single season should be considered “significant”, but he owns it either way.

Akers broke the record with FIVE field goals in the San Francisco 49ers’ win over the Seattle Seahawks, moving the Niners a step closer to clinching the Number 2 seed in the NFC.

The Seahawks’ slim postseason hopes may have disappeared, but Marshawn Lynch HAS THE GREATEST PAIR OF KICKS I HAVE EVER SEEN…

Perhaps Foster the People has a follow up ready?

But as amazing as they are, perhaps Under Armour & Brandon Jennings did one better with their “Rudolph” inspired kicks…

Okay…synthetic fur? I HAVE to get back into the shoe game.

6. You might have survived the insanity to get the Air Jordan XI Concords, but USC fans still got a better Christmas gift than you.

Matt Barkley returning to Southern California is confusing because we know he would have been a potential Top 5 pick in the NFL Draft, but we also know what could be ahead. Heisman Trophy, Pac 12 & BCS Championship hopes and bevies of hot chicks.

I mean, the guy can play Jason Mraz on the guitar. He must be dodging panties every day he walks around Los Angeles. Tough life there…

Of course, he’s also been filmed doing this…

7. I’ll ask for the 8th time. Can everyone please stop telling me about the New England Patriots’ defense?

With the Pats trailing the Miami Dolphins 17-0 at halftime Saturday, Facebook and Twitter were alive in Charm City with hopes of the Ravens still having a shot at the #1 seed in the AFC.

I however looked at my executive producer Ryan Chell and said “when Tom Brady decides to start playing I think they’ll be fine.”

They were. The Pats charged back from the halftime deficit to beat the Fins and are now a win away from clinching the #1 seed in the AFC. Apparently none of that is enough for owner Robert Kraft to get a high five…

Also, this looks like a good holiday film/way to make sure you don’t struggle in the red zone…

Of note for Miami, Reggie Bush remarkably ran for 100+ yards AGAIN in the defeat and we learned this weekend his mom does not want him to get back together with Kim Kardashian. That’s fine, I think Catalina Otalvaro would be a better catch anyway…

(Continued on Page 2)

The post The 15-7-0 is Italian. It’s Pronounced FRA-GEE-LAY. appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

(As a reminder, we don’t do Baltimore Ravens analysis here. We do PLENTY of that elsewhere. This is about the rest of the world of football.)

15 Positive Observations…

1. I just looked away for a second. How many more touchdowns did Drew Brees throw for while I was gone?

It was five during the New Orleans Saints’ win over the Minnesota Vikings and it was clinical. Have a look…

Two of them went to wide receiver Lance Moore, who REALLY wants to be a part of next season’s “Dancing With The Stars”…

I like it. I also like Darren Sproles. In this country we enjoy the success of very small people in football and very large people in football. I did a study about that last night. I asked myself.

By the way, Brees’ performance came a week after doing Sesame Street. Can we now send Joe Flacco there this week?

As far as the Vikes go, it will all be over in about two weeks. That’s all I can say.

2. The Seattle Seahawks have the look of a “team you don’t want to face in January.”

The good news (for NFC teams) is that it would take a miracle for them to get in, even after their win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field Sunday. They’re two games out of both Wild Card spots with just two games to go.

Bears WR Johnny Knox suffered a horrific injury in the loss that I’ll only post again because I know he’s okay…

Holy hell.

Marshawn Lynch ran for two TD’s. Could’ve used a second TD last week when I was still alive in my fantasy football playoffs, but that’s okay pal. You probably didn’t know.

Next year I’ll send you a letter in advance.

3. I’m sure someone won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl but I was much too busy staring at the awesome logo to notice.

When the University of Maryland was sentenced accepted to Boise a few years ago they played in something known as the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl. Other than Da’Rel Scott absolutely going off in a win over Colin Kaepernick and Nevada, it was rather lame.

And while “Famous Idaho Potato Bowl” might sound a bit goofier than “Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl”, only one bowl game includes chives in the logo…

4. Pat Angerer doesn’t just have a great name, he’s also a hell of a football player.

12 tackles and then both an interception and a forced fumble in the 4th quarter for the LB as the Indianapolis Colts FINALLY got in the win column against the Tennessee Titans. But the highlight of the day belonged to RB Donald Brown for THIS TD run…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQzRaONUXLo

Dan Orlovsky is absolutely NOT a good quarterback, but I have no reason to think he isn’t a good guy. I guess for that reason I’m happy he didn’t have go winless again. Of course his success was part of the reason Randy Edsall was able to get to College Park so maybe I should immediately take that back.

5. With Todd Haley gone, I feel as though I can actually be happy for the Kansas City Chiefs with their win over the Green Bay Packers.

Romeo Crennel may have clinched the permanent KC job as Tamba Hali crushed Aaron Rodgers to help the Chiefs hand the Packers their first loss in A YEAR. It was enough to make the Chiefs get all Gatorade bath-ey…

…the Packers looked vulnerable, but they also played with a VERY banged up O-Line. Unlike here in Charm City, perhaps this team could actually lose a loss before making a playoff run.

6. The Maryland Terrapins actually got some good news Friday. I hesitate in writing this because I’m afraid bad news will come before this gets posted.

I’m not even referring to the news that OC Gary Crowton had been “reassigned” within the athletic department. I’m taking about the fact that Kenny Tate and others were given an extra year of eligibility.

Speaking of the Terps, I saw something amazing Saturday. You knew we’d get to the Tim Tebow sketch on Saturday Night Live eventually, but I’m going to go to it here. Mostly because I noticed that former Terp Lance Ball had his name in the background. How freaking awesome is that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul2dhNaQgxM

Good for Lance.

7. Todd Bowles will forever be able to describe himself as a winning National Football League head coach.

Which is nice, because I’m not certain Bowles is going to be on any short lists to get gigs in the future. That being said, his Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills Sunday so he’ll always have that going for him.

Reggie Bush ran for over 200 yards in the Phins’ win, but was penalized for doing what ANYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE DONE after scoring a TD when it was snowing…

200 yards for Reggie Bush. Do we live in some sort of alternate universe???

The post Unlike Everyone Else, The 15-7-0 Remains Undefeated appeared first on We Never Stop Talking Baltimore Sports.

San Diego knows enough about the Cleat of Reality…he’s been visiting the Chargers on a regular basis for the last half-dozen years or so.

But for one night, the Cleat was applied to the Ravens.  Big time.

This year’s edition of the Baltimore Ravens might be good enough to make it to the Super Bowl, but they might also be not good enough to win a game in the playoffs.  It’s an odd thing when a team is 10-4 with two weeks to play and no one is still quite certain just what they’re capable of accomplishing.  And, if nothing else, the loss in San Diego only further muddied the picture as far as the Ravens are concerned.

Questions from Sunday night include these:

> Who were those two guys wearing #29 and #22?  Cary Williams and Jimmy Smith both needed to bathe in aloe vera afterwards. I know Smith is a rookie and all, but we need better than that from him down the stretch.

> OK, the Chargers did a terrific job on Terrell Suggs.  Fair enough.  Where, then, were the likes of Pernell McPhee, Paul Kruger and Jarret Johnson?  The Ravens got nothing — from any of them — and didn’t sack Phillip Rivers one time.

>  John Harbaugh wasn’t exactly Vince Lombardi on Sunday night.  With less than two minutes to go in the first half, trailing 10-7, Harbs elected NOT to use any defensive time-outs and the Chargers did their best to kill the clock before going in for a TD that made it 17-7 just prior to the half.  Memo to John:  You can stop the clock when YOUR team is on offense, that’s why you call your time-outs on DEFENSE.  And why would you punt the ball away with 12 minutes left in the game, trailing 31-7?  On 4th and 6 from your 40, don’t you go for it there?  Punting it away there was very un-Harbaugh like, I thought.  And I’m ALL for Tyrod Taylor getting some mop-up duty — I’ve called for it a bunch this year — but I don’t understand why you only give him one series at the very end of the game.  If you’re going to punt the ball away with 12 minutes to go, why not just let Taylor finish up there when you get it back with 7 or 8 minutes to play?

>  Billy Cundiff has to make EVERY kick inside of 40 yards.  Those are three-foot putts in golf.  You don’t make them all, but when you don’t, you lose.  And that’s what kicks inside of 40 yards represent.  Those are game-winning kicks.  You MUST hit them all. I can accept misses from 45 or 50 yards.  But not 36 or 37 yarders.  Cundiff needs to make those kicks or next August we’ll have some other feet trotting around the facility in Owings Mills doing battle for the kicking job.

>  Joe Flacco complained about the Ravens not getting any respect last week.  I think most folks agree that the likes of Tebow and Brady and the Steelers and the Packers get all the meaty publicity.  You know what they have in common?  Winning.  Flacco had his chance to help show everyone around the country that he and the Ravens are more deserving of respect…and he threw the ball to the other team twice in the 3rd quarter when he was trying to bring the Ravens back into the game.  It wasn’t all on Joe, of course, but as Flacco himself noted last Monday night when he was a guest on our Monday Night Live show, when you’re the quarterback, you get the bad rap if your team loses.

>  What’s with the Ravens stinking it up on the road this season?  Other than that walk-in-the-park in St. Louis in week three, the play away from home has been uneven at best and downright awful nearly half the time.  It’s one thing to lose on the road.  Most teams go in to the season hoping to go at least 4-4 away from home, and the Ravens are 3-4 with only a visit to Cincinnati remaining on their away schedule.  But the four losses thus far have been ass-beatings.  Sunday night’s debacle in San Diego was the worst total team performance of the John Harbaugh era, in my opinion.  That’s not good in week #14 of the season.

>  Sunday night once proved this:  The teams that win games are the ones who DON’T make mistakes.  Or, at least, make the fewest.  If I told you prior to Sunday that I saw the script for the game and the Ravens turn the ball over twice, miss a chip-shot field goal and give up seven sacks, what result would you have guessed?  A loss, of course.  Right.  That’s what happens when you throw two picks, miss a field goal and let the other team sack your QB seven times.  You lose.  Can the Ravens win their last two regular season games and go into the playoffs and clean up there, too?  Sure.  But they can’t play games like they played on Sunday in San Diego or they’re done.  All it takes is ONE game like that after January 1st and you’re cooked.  Sometimes, all it takes is one bad HALF of football and your season is over.

If you’re a Ravens fan, you have to balance out last night’s poor performance with the fact that the team is 10-4, relatively healthy and capable of beating anyone on any given Sunday.

The problem, as we’ve seen a few times too many this year, is that the Ravens are also full capable of producing the ugliest of efforts like they did in Jacksonville, Seattle and San Diego.

We’re not quite certain which team is going to show up.

And with two weeks to play, that’s not a good sign.

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