Morning, hope this finds you well.
From the “Talks too much” studios, don’t forget the mailbag.
SEC dominates the AP poll
We have hit hump day.
Giddy up.
Our Wednesday whiparound of college football starts with simple fact that the SEC is the bee’s knees.
Yes, 10 SEC teams are ranked – including all seven in the SEC West – in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. Ten.
That also now means No. 2 Alabama will play nine opponents that were ranked at some point this season, and it could be 10 if the SEC championship falls properly. Top-ranked Ohio State may only play one ranked foe this year. Somehow this does not seem fair for two teams chasing the same spot at the end of the year.
It’s part of cost of being in the SEC, which certainly has its perks – i.e. $30 million checks in May – and a team like Ohio State can’t help the fact that Penn State gave up 10 sacks to Temple or that Michigan is still at least two recruiting classes from being Michigan again.
Just a thought, and when guys like Danny Kanell lament about the SEC, just examine the path each program has walked.
Speaking of paths, wow, Charlie Strong is taking a wild one in Texas.
From the files of desperation starts at the top, Strong has reassigned play-calling duties after the Longhorns got smoked by Notre Dame http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/25295015/charlie-strong-names-jay-norvell-new-texas-offensive-play-caller.
This does not bode well, and lands Charlie on a very warm cushion.
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FILE – This Aug. 9, 2014 file photo shows an NFL logo on a goal post padding before a preseason NFL football game between the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field in Detroit. In a two-year content and advertising deal announced Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, Twitter is huddling with the National Football League as it tackles the challenge of attracting a broader audience to its short messaging service. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, File) NFC preview
Tuesday we looked around the AFC.
Today, let’s do the NFC.
There are a slew of variables in the NFC this year hinging on sizable questions. Think of the teams that have championship-level pieces but top-10 draft pick areas of weakness.
Atlanta could have the league’s best passing game, and it could have the league’s worst pass rush.
Dallas has the best offensive line in the league and may be forced to count heavily on ever-brittle Darren McFadden to carry the ball.
Philly has a high-octane offense but it’s hard to image Mark Sanchez operating it at a high-level.
The two safest bets in the NFC are Seattle and Green Bay, and even those two powerhouses are without big-time playmakers with Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor holding out and Packers wide out Jordy Nelson out with an ACL tear.
So, when things are this up in the air, remember two things:
First, always err on the side of the team with the better quarterback. Second, if quarterback comparisons are close, look at the defensive line.
With those caveats, we’ll take Seattle in the West, Green Bay in the North, Philly in the East and New Orleans in the South. We’ll take Dallas and St. Louis as the wildcard teams.
With that, let’s take Philly over St. Louis and Dallas over New Orleans. Green Bay and Seattle hold serve in the Divisional round for a rematch in the NFC title game.
And in something that will be worth following all season, the team with home-field advantage wins that game, and in our view it will be Green Bay.
So there you go.
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Venus, left, and Serena Williams walk to mid court after losing a quarterfinals doubles match to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, of Russia, during the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Williams sisters
That was awesome.
Serena Williams beat sister and best friend Venus in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Tuesday night.
Serena, simply the most dominant athlete in sports today, is now two wins from the Grand Slam. She needed all three sets to topple her sister and it made for an emotional moment afterward.
In a sibling rivalry that is more about the sisterhood than the rivalry, there had previously been allegations that the Williams ladies were not always on the up-and-up when they played against each other.
This was far from the truth Tuesday in a match that has monster implications for Serena.
A Grand Slam – it would be the first in tennis since Steffi Graf did it in 1988 – would put and exclamation point on Serena being the greatest female tennis player ever.
Yes, Martina and Graf each have awesome resumes and claims in their own way, but Serena has been amazing, and to have this kind of dominant year at 33 is staggering.
Tuesday, she had to beat her sister to take another step on the journey, and it was a treat to watch.
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This and that
– OK, we knew the Braves were going to stink. Hey, a 5-0 shutout to the Phillies is rotten. But it’s not as painful as the implosion that is happening in Washington. The Nationals blew a six-run lead Tuesday as the upstart Mets stretched their lead in the NL East to a whopping six games. Wow.
– ESPN reported Tuesday that the DefalteGate punishments were linked to the lackadaisical efforts – and some say complicit – from the league in SpyGate eight years ago. Roger Goodell denied this http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25294528/roger-goodell-no-connection-between-deflategate-spygate, but it makes sense. It also makes us tired.
– Weeds weighs in on the Mocs bandwagon https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/columns/story/2015/sep/09/wiedmer-one-loss-not-enough-empty-mocs-bandwa/324099/. We see his point, but the timing of these season-opening setbacks hurts out-of-the-gate momentum. And if you want to poo-poo that and say “Who needs the casual fan” or something along those lines, that’s fine. But of the Chattanooga FC showed us anything this summer, it’s that the casual Chattanooga sports fan enjoys the event and is willing to jump on a winning bandwagon.
– This was awesome in its awesomeness http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25294788/watch-vince-wilfork-battles-carli-lloyd-in-hard-knocks-fg-contest. Yes, that’s Vince Wilfork kicking field goals against Carli Lloyd. God Bless America.
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Today’s questions
Happy Sept. 9 everyone. Or the 9/9.
That got us thinking (which is admittedly dangerous) but what’s the Rushmore of double numbers?
Wayne Gretzky has to be there right? Especially today.
But who else joins him?
And remember the mailbag.