NFL Power poll
Want to know what's trending up? The AFC West, which has three unbeaten teams and the Chargers, who are two missed field-goal tries in the final seconds from potentially being 2-0 instead of 0-2.
Want to know what's trending down? Take a look at the NFL ratings. Sunday night's high-profile showdown between Packers-Falcons was the lowest rated prime time NFL regular-season game since 2008. Yes, the Fox national game between Denver and Dallas was up double-digits from its week 2 offering last year. But only games with the Cowboys are up compared to 2016 comparable.
And if the issues the Broncos exploited to hammer this Dallas bunch are real, get ready to see a bunch of Dallas games regardless of its record.
Powerful
1. Oakland. Yes, the Jets are terrible, but the Titans aren't and the Raiders have double-digit wins over each.
2. Kansas City. The final-quarter domination of New England in the opener still is a powerful statement. Let's ask ourselves if we're ready for Alex Smith - forever to be known as Checkdown Charlie - to be a Super Bowl contender.
3. Atlanta. This Falcons team is very well-constructed, and having Desmond Trufant back was a welcomed addition. Truly, this looks to be the most complete team in the NFC.
4. Pittsburgh. The most well-rounded offense that has A-plus parts in its four Bs - Bell, Brown, Ben and Bryant. If you offered up each team's QB1, RB1, WR1 and WR2, the Steelers certainly could stack theirs up against anyone. (Side note: The Falcons and Raiders - two teams ahead of the Steelers, mind you - may be the only ones with comparable quartets.
5. Denver. The Broncos crushed Dallas, and defensively they have a lethal combination pass rush and pass coverage. Heck, at times Sunday, it felt like the Broncos had 15 defenders on the field. The secondary strength of Denver allows them to press coverage so close to the line of scrimmage that in a league of checkdowns, the Broncos dare teams to throw deep. The Denver-Oakland match-ups will be a lot of fun down the road.
A Cincinnati Bengals fan watches from the stands as the team trails by a point in the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Gary Landers) Powerless
28. Cincinnati. Frustration is mounting for a Bengals bunch that expected to contend rather than confound. But here they are and the questions are mounting about whether the head coach is the guy and if the quarterback is the answer.
29. San Francisco. John Lynch has made a lot of moves that have earned high praise in his short time as the 49ers GM. Until he addresses the quarterback situation this team will be a regular in the bottom part of the rankings. Hey, tanking is the best play possible for this bunch.
30. Indianapolis. This bunch is bad, and that begs the question should the Colts consider tanking the season and keep Andrew Luck on the shelf for the entire year. Imagine this: With at least three quarterbacks expected to go inside the top five, if the Colts bag the year and get pick 1, 2 or 3 they could revamp a dreadful supporting cast around Luck. And considering they have the worst point differential in the league, think if they get the top pick. Deal the chance to draft Sam Darnold to the Jets or the 49ers or whomever and get multiple first-round picks and players. How bad are things for the Luck-less Colts? They are a home underdog vs. 0-2 Cleveland this weekend.
31. New York Giants. Yes, a dramatic fall, but did you know that dating back to last season, the Giants have failed to score more than 20 points in eight straight games. No running game and no offensive line equal long Sundays and Monday nights for Eli Manning, who was sacked five times in the loss to Detroit last night.
32. New York Jets. Wow, professional football in NYC is B-A-D.
Tennessee place kicker Brent Cimaglia (30) celebrates with head coach Butch Jones and teammates after he kicked a 51-yard field goal during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Florida, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)More on Butch
OK, as most would expect the majority of the chatter on Monday's Press Row was about Butch Jones.
Let's be clear, unless the wheels fall off - and that would mean loses to Bama, Georgia, LSU and Vandy at least - it's really hard to see a scenario in which Butch gets canned. (Side note: Weeds has a point in his commentary today that if the anger turns to malaise from the fan base, then UT AD John Currie could have his hand forced. Yes, angry fans is not an ideal place, but anger is way better than indifference, which can really derail a program way beyond botched conversion charts and not handing the ball to John Kelly inside the 10.)
And in truth, after our diatribe Monday in these parts and the back-and-forth on Press Row, we were prepared to move forward this morning. Then we read the quotes from Butch in his meeting with the media on Monday. These quotes are from the story TFP UT beat ace Dancin' David Cobb has in today's sports section.
On the possession that started first-and-goal from the 1 that did not lead to any UT points: "Quinten tweaks his knee and we didn't think it was fair for Jarrett to have to go in the game and do an underneath-center snap when he didn't have time in practice to do any under-center snaps," Jones said.
As Cobb wrote: It was unclear what Jones meant, since Tennessee's quarterbacks frequently are seen practicing under-center snaps during portions of practice open to media. And Cobb's words echo the images on social media refuting Butch's sentence. Regardless.
We have one more to focus on before our question.
From Cobb again: "You have to forget about it," Jones said. "Unfortunately, it's a hard one to forget about, but you have to move on. We have a 24-hour rule so you can feel sorry for yourself and all of that, but when you report back today, it's all on how we proceed. It's all on UMass. There's a lot of positives from the game, progress that we made from game one to game two, and we'll continue to build on it. The great thing about it is, everything we talked about on improvement, it's all about the details. That's on us as a coaching staff, that's on us as players, and it starts with me. We'll leave no stone unturned, I can promise you that, and we'll be better for it.
That makes sense. You have to make sure one dreadful loss that should have been a win can't leave a residue that becomes multiple losses from the same inexplicable Saturday meltdown.
But what were the positives? And what are the details that Butch believes is the difference? OK, those are specific follow-ups that may or may not have made sense in the moment. We were not there.
Here, however, is the bigger-picture question on Butch Jones, head coach of the Tennessee football program: Does he do more harm to his rep among an angst-ridden fan base with his coaching or his quotes?
Disucss.
FILE - In this April 10, 2013, file photo, Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino speaks to fans during a celebration in Louisville, Ky. Louisville says the NCAA "abused" its authority when it disciplined the school for a sex scandal that could result in the loss of its 2013 national basketball championship. The school also says in a 68-page appeal released Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, that the governing body imposed "draconian" penalties and ignored the school's self-imposed discipline. Louisville banned itself from the 2016 postseason after its investigation uncovered violations. The Hall of Fame coach called the NCAA penalties "unjust and over the top in its severity" when they were announced on June 15. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File) Done with the one-and-dones?
ESPN's Marty Smith sat down with Rick Pitino and in myriad of items discussed came this item:
"I don't mind it," Pitino said of the current NBA setup that induces one-and-done culture. "I'm looking for my first one-and-done. I've had top-10 picks, top-20 picks, I'm waiting. I don't mind it. John Calipari and Coach K have mastered it, certainly. It's tough to play with freshmen. They have so much to learn at the defensive end. When I was at Kentucky I had seven high school basketball players told me they were coming, and instead they went to the pros out of high school. And by the way, I think that rule's going to change back to that. I think high school players are going to be able to go pro again."
Yes, you read that right.
High school kids going straight to the league. (Side note: Expect to hear the name Mitchell Robinson a lot more as this story makes the rounds. Robinson was the five-star center that shocked everyone and signed with Western Kentucky. That lasted about as long as a Kardashian summary of acting achievements. Robinson has left WKU and made it known he is training for next summer's NBA draft.)
Here's the big question about Pitino's assertion: Will it make the college game better?
It makes sense for the players, good or bad. But will it make college basketball a better game to watch?
We're not so sure, because some of the most entertaining teams we've had over the last decade were filled with one-and-doners.
Now those kids will have the chance to go straight to the league, and we won't get the memorable UK chase for 40-0 or the great Duke run to the title with a load of freshmen phenoms.
We're not sure college hoops will ever get back to the place it held in the 1980s and into the 1990s, but if the best are just going to springboard straight to the bench of the big boys, well, that feels like another hit to the college game.
This and that
- When asked about why Oklahoma collapsed in 2014, Baker Mayfield blamed Katy Perry. If something doesn't work out this year, it could be Nikki Minaj's fault. Or that pesky Lady GaGa.
- Speaking of strange college football twists, did you guys see that James Franklin called a timeout to ice the Georgia State kicker up 56-bagel with 11 seconds left?
- Today is talk like a pirate day. With that, shoutout to former Press Row guest Mike Leach, who has the Washington State Cougars cruising at 3-0 and ranked.
- Clayton Kershaw allowed his first grand slam as a big-leaguer Monday in a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia.
- Because a few of you asked, Keith Mitchell and Jonathan Hodge missed the cut in last week's Web.com event. Mitchell is currently 10th in the Finals 25 chase, falling six spots after the weekend. Hodge fell 17 spots to 31st by not getting a check. There are two tournaments left for Mitchell, a former Baylor School star, and Hodge, the former UTC standout, to secure spots in the top 25 and get PGA Tour cards for next season.
- And now this: German authorities said they had to use power tools to remove a 5.5-pound weight that a gym goer got stuck on his unit. Here's the story, and man, that guy must really love working out.
- Thought this was interesting. It details the chaos that could become the AL wildcard chase, which includes a very unlikely scenario in which seven teams tie with 81 wins for the final wildcard spot. Good times.
Today's questions
Hey, let's roll some true or false.
True or false, Eli Manning will get into the Hall of Fame.
True or false, doing away with the one-and-dones will hurt the college game.
TFP SEC ace David Paschall tells us here that Nick Saban believes Vandy should be ranked. That resume lends credence to that claim. True or false, Vandy will finish top three in SEC East.
As for this day in history, 70 years ago today Jackie Robinson was named rookie of the year. Man, what an American hero that dude was.
Jeremy Irons is 69 today. Jimmy Fallon is 43.
On this day last year, Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt.
Orville Redenbacher died on this day in 1995.
On this day 154 years ago the battle of Chickamauga began.
Three of well-received TV shows debuted on this day as Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) and Doogie Howser (1989) and ER (1994) were launched.
Let's stay with the last one. Rushmore of medical/doctor-based TV shows.
Go.