From Mike C.
Dude, thanks for the 5-at-10. There are a few of us here at work who almost always do your Rushmore at lunch. We even try to guess what some of the ones that are are coming will be.
Like did you know that Friday was Adam Sandler's 50th birthday. What would be your Rushmore of Sandler movies? Thanks and keep up the good work.
Mike C. -
Thanks for the kind words and tell your co-workers thanks as well.
As far as Sandler Rushmore, well, know this: There are a lot of folks who love them some Adam Sandler. Dude has made hundreds of millions of dollars pretty much playing Adam Sandler. Bully for him.
We're not sure if there is a worse career catalog than Sandler's considering how bankable his projects are yet how terrible a run he had over the last decade. Check out his imbd page; it's rotten.
We'll go Waterboy, Billy Madison, Wedding Singer and Happy Gilmore.
And then try to forget the last 10 years.
Alabama defensive lineman Alphonse Taylor celebrates after the Crimson Tide beat Notre Dame to win the national championship in Miami in January 2013. Taylor, a fifth-year senior entering the 2016 season, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence.From Jomo
JG- How could you NOT talk about the Elephant in the room ? How bad the SEC did this weekend ? 6 non-conference losses, the only Power 5 conference that lost 2 games against non-Power 5 schools.....going 1-2 head to head with ACC, and 0-1 vs Big 10, 0-1 against the Big 12.....doesn't bode well, so far for the greatest conference of all-time, that ever existed, with the most money of any conference ever?
Jomo -
There are stats that can support almost every angle. Remember the old Twain saying, "There lies, damn lies and statistics."
For the most part, it was a less than SEC-like opening weekend, but if you are going to hit them for scheduling the likes of FSU, Clemson, Wisconsin, etc., after losses, how long will it be before we're faced with a slew of directional dates and money games again.
Going school by school, there were as many positive surprises as there were negative ones:
Alabama was better than expected, if that's even possible.
Arkansas struggled.
Auburn was better than expected, especially on defense and was in a one-score game with the ball and a chance to beat a team universally viewed as a front-runner for one of the four playoff spots.
Florida sleep-walked through its opener, which is kind of understandable.
Georgia was better than expected.
Kentucky was really good and really bad in the same, and blew a 35-10 lead, but remember the line on that game was line 4 or something, so it was expected to be close.
LSU was dreadful, and that may have been the most painful loss perception-wise across the league.
Ole Miss was up and down, but injuries had a hand in that, too.
Mississippi State was inexplicably bad, and suffered the worst statistical upset in the last five years.
Missouri was really about what we expected.
Tennessee was worse - way worse - than expected, and we'll see this week whether that was underestimating the Mountaineers over estimating the Vols.
Texas A&M may have been the bright spot of the entire league.
Vandy and South Carolina were what we expected. (Side note: Spell check on the computer tries to turn 'Vandy' into 'Candy' and there has to be a punchline in there somewhere.)
Was it a bad weekend for the league? Overall, yes, but we enjoyed the out-of-conference tests and challenges so much of week one, that it's a a double-edged sword to drop too much criticism on the league considering for the most part they scheduled a lot of tall orders.
The biggest blemishes in my mind were LSU (obviously) and Tennessee, because each of those has/had lofty expectations and goals.
As for the struggles, well, Jomo, you were not the only one wondering about it.
FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2014, file photo, Michigan defensive back Jourdan Lewis, right, interferes with Notre Dame wide receiver Corey Robinson as he attempts to make a catch in the end zone during the first half of an NCAA college football game in South Bend, Ind. A person familiar with the decision says Thursday, July 7, 2016, that Notre Dame and Michigan have agreed to resume their football rivalry. The person says the Fighting Irish will host the Wolverines in 2018, and the home-and-home series will shift to the Michigan Stadium in 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File0 From Peter
Jay - Love your radio show and the way you guys talk about a lot of different teams outside the south. As a Michigan fan, why do you think the SEC looked so bad on the openingSaturday? Thanks, and if you were going to do a Rushmore of college football helmets, Michigan is on there right?
Peter -
Great question, and yes Michigan is an easy pick, maybe even far left. We'd also go FSU (and sadly the Seminoles have tricked out the edges of one of the best uniforms in the country to the point that all the shapes and such are kind of distracting), Georgia's helmet, and while I've always loved everything about Auburn's uniform, we'll go USC. Although the throwback helmet Air Force will wear this weekend against Georgia State is called the "Air Power Legacy Series Sharktooth helmet" according to the school and it will not be topped this season.
As for the SEC struggles, well to be frank - or even to be Jay - it mostly falls on QB play, from LSU (more on that in a moment) to Tennessee to especially Auburn, which by all rights and circumstances outplayed Clemson at almost every position save Mike Williams and Deshaun Watson.
And for a league like the SEC to have far and away the most former players in the NFL and the most players drafted every year, the dearth of good-to-great quarterback play is a troubling trend, and not necessarily a new one.
A lot of the league runs spread-style systems, which magnifies bad QB play.
It also is more difficult to scout quarterbacks than likely every other recruiting position. How guys look throwing it in a 7-on-7 scenario or playing on Friday night against an overmatched foe does not give a real idea of how that QB will handle the fire and brimstone that is Bryant-Denny or The Swamp or Death Valley.
Take a guy like Jeremy Johnson, who everyone thought was going to be a monster. Dude does not like to get hit and has trouble in the moment; that's a couple big-time negatives in a league like the SEC.
From Kirk
How in the world in 11 years has Les Miles not recruiting a single decent quarterback?
Kirk -
Continuing the discussion on this is an interesting run. Also, can anyone tell college football season has started?
We had Scott Rabalais on Press Row earlier this week, and that very topic was discussed. (Side note: If you miss any of the excellence guests we get on Press Row from 3-6 weekdays on ESPN 105.1, you can hear them online at espnchattanooga.com.)
And to be fair, Miles and company have recruited some star-studded quarterbacks in their time there. Russell Shepard was the No. 1 athlete in the country as a East Texas quarterback and Ryan Perrilloux was the No. 1 quarterback in the country coming out of high school.
Each went to LSU and each underwhelmed, Shepard as wideout, multi-purpose guy and Perrilloux as a quarterback and as a person.
The real question around the league - especially for the three 'offensive' head coaches on the hottest seats in Miles, Malzahn and Sumlin - has not been as much luring the quarterbacks as it has been developing them.
It could be an Achilles' heel that may cost a couple of them jobs sooner rather than later.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, middle, kneels during the national anthem before the team's NFL preseason football game against the San Diego Chargers on Sept. 1 in San Diego.From Chris
Hey, I was wondering what do you think happens with the Kaepernick thing and if other sports will start following along? I enjoy the 5-at-10 every day in the morning and your radio show on the way home.
Chris -
Thanks for playing along on all the craziness, both here and the radio show.
We are seeing a few more joining Colin Kaepernick's protest and taking a knee, including Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall last night in the season opener. (It also forced a lot of social media hate toward Jets wide out Brandon Marshall, although he had nothing to do with anything.)
Kaepernick pledged $1 million to charities in his 'fight' to stop police oppression of minorities.
Earlier this week the coach of the U.S. hockey team headed to the World Games in the coming days said any player who sits during the anthem will sit for the rest of the day, meaning they would not play.
All the hand-wringing and circumstance is for everyone to decipher on their own.
Personally, I don't see the connection between respecting our country and its national symbol and the feelings of police oppression, but some would argue that as a white dude, I don't have the first clue about police oppression to begin with.
I think my biggest question right now for Kaepernick and those who are joining in the pregame protest is what is the end game? Is there some point - either tangible or perception - that real change has been met and can be measured or is Kaep not going to stand for the anthem ever again? (Side note: If his play doesn't improve to where he can beat out the Blaine Gabberts of the world, his sit-ins will be done in his recliner before games he watches on TV.)
So it goes, and we'll see how many more people participate this weekend.
Know this, the growing number of backlash folks who are claiming they will boycott the NFL until this is addressed is growing, too. Interesting times ahead for sure.
Enjoy the weekend friends.