Yes, we're back for more.
From the "Talks too much" studios, kick the tires and light the fires.
Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell watches his team before an NFL wildcard playoff football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) NFL power poll
Back by popular demand - thanks mom - our weekly power poll returns.
As Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell noted Sunday after his team fell to 0-3, no one gives trophies after three games. No Jim, they certainly do not.
That said, the numbers are dreary for Caldwell's Lions and the three other teams to start this season bagel-and-3.
Only three teams have started 0-3 and made the postseason since 1990, when the NFL moved to its current playoffs system. The last to do it was the 1998 Buffalo Bills, and the last 82 teams to start 0-3 have failed to make the playoffs.
Ouch-standing.
And to make matters even more critical this week, only one team - the 1992 San Diego Chargers - has made the postseason after an 0-4 start.
So, no they don't give trophies after three games, but we get a really good idea of who will compete for the trophies after three games.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates a touchdown run by running back Dion Lewis in the first half of an NFL football game Jacksonville Jaguars , Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) Top 5
1. New England Patriots (3-0). Tom Brady's numbers are off the charts - 72-percent completion percentage, more than 1,100 yards 9-0 TDs-to-interceptions - and he may not even be the most valuable player on his own team. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is on the shortlist of the league's biggest match-up nightmares.
2. Green Bay Packers (3-0). Say whatever you want about your grading metrics of quarterbacks, but Aaron Rodgers looks the part of as good a quarterback I've seen since a young Dan Marino. Rodgers is another Super Bowl title or three away from being on the shortlist of greatest quarterbacks ever.
3. Arizona Cardinals (3-0). Yes, the offense is averaging 42 points a game. Still, forget Seattle for a second, the best defense in the NFL may belong to another NFC West team. The Cardinals are salty and rank in the top five in points allowed, yards allowed and interceptions.
4. Denver Broncos (3-0). Denver may have something to say about which defense is the best. Yes, Peyton Manning has started slowly, but the Broncos defense has been changed games with 11 sacks and 10 turnovers forced.
5. Atlanta Falcons. (3-0). Say this for Atlanta and new coach Dan Quinn, they are resilient. Atlanta is the first team to start 3-0 after trailing in the second half of each of those wins.
Bottom 5
28. Miami Dolphins (1-2). A sleeper pick to challenge the Patriots in the AFC East, the Dolphins have been awful on the offensive line and the nine-figure addition of Ndamukong Suh has helped the team to all of one sack through three games.
In this Nov. 26, 2010, file photo, Auburn defensive lineman Nick Fairley (90) celebrates after sacking Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy (12) during an NCAA college football game in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Fairley was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 13th pick in the first round of the NFL football draft on Thursday, April 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)29. Baltimore Ravens (0-3). This one is puzzling, and if you had to pick a team to challenge that 0-for-82 streak of 0-3 teams, it would be the Ravens. Still, with a trip to Pittsburgh on Thursday, the season could be over on the first day of October.
30. New Orleans Saints (0-3). Injuries and age have the Saints staring at a rebuilding job. When you lose to the Bucs - at home mind you - it's time to do some rethinking.
31. Detroit Lions (0-3). Everyone expected the defense to slide a little after losing Suh and former first-round pick Nick Fairley, but the high-powered offense is lagging too.
32. Chicago Bears (0-3). Gross. Simply gross. Chicago had 10 possessions against Seattle. They had 10 punts.
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Tennessee coach Butch Jones claims responsibility for the Volunteers' inability to hold off Oklahoma in Saturday's double-overtime loss to the Sooners.More Butch
Give Butch Jones credit for this: Dude sticks to the message like a cult member.
He never deviates. He stays true to his original intent. He is amazingly consistent.
More times than not, those can be admirable qualities, especially in leaders.
This time, though, it's highly questionable.
As TFP UT beat ace Downtown Patrick Brown details very well here, The Butch was banging his coach-speak drum at high levels Monday.
Let's review:
He said the Vols played well enough to win Saturday in Gainesville. We agree with that.
He said the Vols staff coached well enough to win. We have issue with that.
Here's a quick review of the two monster losses for Tennessee this month.
In blowing a 17-3 fourth-quarter lead to Oklahoma, the Vols would have won the game if they had made any one of say eight fourth-quarter plays. Butch got - and deserved - some criticism for kicking the field goal on the first drive of the game. Most of the critical mistakes were made on the field in the fourth quarter, but Butch's decision - and the act that he makes more money in a year than most will ever earn - got a bunch of the heat, rightly or wrongly.
In blowing a 27-14 fourth-quarter lead at Florida, the Vols would have won the game if Butch had made the right call or decision in any of about five or six scenarios:
UT's Jalen Hurd carries as Western Carolina's Fred Payne approaches Saturday, September 19, 2015 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.How do you not got for two? (And save the chart talk. First, after watching the replay, Butch instantly threw one finger into the air after Jalen Hurd's TD. Second, every chart everywhere says go for two up 12 that late in the game.)
How do you only get four plays in the final 81 seconds with two timeouts? Downtown tried to explain it here but when Butch says, "I thought we did a great job of managing the game and getting it down there and giving us an opportunity to win," it's hard to keep a straight face.
How do you call multiple fourth-down timeouts to allow the opposing team to rethink the situation and make the right call?
It's a tumultuous time for sure.
Butch's final quote in Downtown's story may have rang the most accurate:
You can't worry about the outside clutter and the outside distractions," he said. "We live in a week-to-week season. Love is conditional. I understand that. You just have to keep grinding your way through it. That's the only way I know.
"I understand that's part of the game, but I welcome that. I have big shoulders. Put it all on me so our players can go out and perform on Saturday.
Yes, love for a coach is conditional. Love for the program, though, is permanent.
It will be interesting to see how much love Big Orange Nation is still feeling.
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Golf season in review
There are a few of golf numbers we'd like to share with you now that golf has ended.
FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, file photo, Tiger Woods pauses on the fifth hole during the final round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. Woods announced he underwent a second microdiscectomy surgery on his back on Wednesday, Sept. 16. (AP Photo/Rob Brown, File) First, Tiger Woods is No. 299 in the world rankings, right behind Robert Rock and just ahead of Donghwan Lee. (Yes, that Donghwan Lee, not the other one who is spending more time lately working on his songwriting.)
How bad was the year for Tiger? He fell 267 spots in the rankings after ending last year as the No. 32 ranked player on the planet. His previous worst season-ending ranking as a professional was 33rd after 1996. A little more than 18 months ago - early March of '14 - Woods was still the No. 1 ranked player in the world.
His barebones stat line: 11 tournaments, 1 top 10 (a tie for 10th at the Wyndham) and four missed cuts.
Now, for new world number 1 Jordan Spieth. Dude had an old-school Tiger type year. He played 24 events, had 15 top-10 finishes and five wins.
Oh, and about the money. We mentioned yesterday that Spieth just capped the most lucrative on-course season in golf history.
He made more than $22 million playing golf this year, and according to this article Spieth earned $259,346 per competitive round he played, $13,908 per hole and a mind-numbing $3,623 per swing.
Buckets.
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This and that
- OK, how crazy is it that the top-selling jersey in the NBA last season and the top-selling jersey in the NFL right now are both Cleveland No. 23s - Joe Haden and LeBron James? (In case you were wondering, Michael Brantley wears No. 23 for the Indians and he's not in the top 10 of jersey sales.)
FILE - In this Wednesday, May 13, 2015, file photo, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry reacts after scoring during the first half of Game 5 in a second-round NBA playoff basketball series against the Memphis Grizzlies in Oakland, Calif. Curry has surpassed the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James for the most popular jersey in the NBA. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) - As MT informed us yesterday, Donnie Tyndall is now working at Tennessee Wesleyan. It's important to note that he's a volunteer and not getting paid until the NCAA stuff gets worked out.
- We mentioned earlier that Aaron Rodgers is pretty good at tackle football. He's pretty good at life too. He's becoming one of the best postgame interviews around - last week he tipped his helmet to Russell Wilson, this week telling Jamaal Charles that State Farm appreciates the "Discount Double Check" move Charles used after scoring. By the way, he's also dating Olivia Munn. Well-played sire.
- This is awesome in its awesomeness. Yes, that's the one-armed kid golfer doing a spot-on Happy Gilmore. You're welcome.
- Greg Popovich, God bless you. Hey, all we want is honest, thoughtful answers to fair questions. If you want to mock goofy questions, that's completely fair. Pop, like Steve Spurrier, will be truly missed when they hang up their whistles.
FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2013 file photo, Kenny Rogers, winner of the Willie Nelson lifetime achievement award, poses backstage at the 47th annual CMA Awards in Nashville, Tenn. Rogers said he is retiring from touring and will do one last worldwide farewell tour after five decades on the road. Rogers, 77, said in a video message on his website that he wants to spend more time with his two young sons and his wife, Wanda. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) ---
Today's question
Feel free to hit us with a True or False. It's Tuesday after all.
That said, we'll offer this: According to this story, Kenny Rogers has retired from touring.
That of course begs the question of the Rushmore of Kenny Rogers songs?