It’s Sept. 11. We all know what that means.
Let’s pause and pray that our kids never know a day with that much collective memory or sadness for all of America. (Side note: Here’s today’s A2 column.)
God bless friends.
From the “Talks too much” studios, let’s make the magic happen.
NFL Power Poll
1. New England. We talk about the layers of greatness that the Patriots have achieved under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, and there are a lot of them. Defensively, however, the excellence of the Patriots is connected with one simple statement: Belichick is the best ever at taking away the opposition’s best option. The Patriots blanketed DeAndre Hopkins, who is the best wide receiver in the league no one talks about.
2. Minnesota. The most complete team in the NFL, and it may not be close. The Vikings are no worse than the second- or third-best defense in the league, and who has better skill position (WR1-WR2-RB1-TE1) dudes than Theilen-Diggs-Cook-Randolph? So the Super Bowl or bust it falls to Kirk Cousins, the monster free agent QB who is renowned for his “You like that” postgame rant in Washington. Side note: Cousins has patented the phrase “You Vike That.” So there’s that.
3. Los Angeles Rams. You Vike That, Jon Gruden? (Side note: Did you know NFL coaches making debuts with new teams went 0-7 in openers. Good times.) Anyhoo, a dominant second half paced the transient Rams over Gruden’s transient Raiders late last night. Welcome to the era in which Todd Gurley is Adrian Peterson of a decade ago. (Or the Adrian Peterson 2.0 of last Sunday. Wowser. Who saw that coming?)
4. Baltimore. Yes, the Bills stink. Yes, it was against Nathan Peterman. (Side note: Did you guys and gals know that Peterman married a girl who played soccer at Boyd-Buchanan? Nice tip from regular reader Ernie H.) Anyhoo, the Ravens are going to be a handful for everyone and on the shortlist of those teams mentioned when you speak of the best rosters – top to bottom – in the league.
5. New York Jets. Laugh if you must, but if we are looking at best and most dominant performances of week 1, the Jets are right there with anyone. Five picks from the secondary – Todd Bowles can flat coach some defense in general and some defensive backs in particular folks – and 39 rushing yards allowed on 15 carries. That’s stout. And let’s talk about the rookie. Sam Darnold – who we believed to be the best QB in the draft, by far – threw a pick six on his first NFL pass. After that, dude shrugged his shoulders, ran his fingers through his shaggy red hair and promptly went 16-of-20 for 198 yards and two scores after that awful start. It was pretty impressive to be honest.
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, center, talks with quarterbacks Marcus Mariota (8) and Blaine Gabbert during a preseason game.Not top 5
28. Tennessee. Name something – anything – associated with these Titans that makes you go, “Well, we know every week we will be able to do (blank) well.” Exactly.
29. Dallas. No we are not an NFL GM or scout or front-office type. But we have a couple of universal beliefs about rosters and projections. The difference between great quarterbacks and good quarterbacks is much wider and more meaningful than the gap between good quarterbacks and average quarterbacks. We’re looking at you Dak Prescott, and we’re still wondering whether you are good or average. When you believe you have the best O-Line in football and a dude like Zeke Elliott, he needs more than 15 carries. Finally, when someone named Cole Beasley is your WR1, well, that’s going to make life moving the ball and converting on third-and-8 tough in this league.
30. Oakland. Old skill players. Check. A gun-shy quarterback. Check. Getting rid of your best player because of salary reasons. Check. (And yes, Khalil Mack looked to be worth every penny Sunday night for the Bears.) The list of hurdles facing Chucky Gruden is sizable. Side question: Will Gruden regret his decision to get back into coaching? Discuss.
31. Arizona. Another first-year QB situation that will be played out in days or weeks rather than months. So the clock starts on when do we see Josh Rosen and can he work miracles for a team that managed 213 yards on 51 snaps and mustered only 14 first downs.
32. Buffalo. With all apologies to Mr. Peterman and his lovely former Chattanooga-resident better half, that was dreadful. Peterman went 5-of-18 for 24 yards and two picks. His QB Rating was 0.7, and when your QB Rating would not even get you a DUI, well, no es bueno. (And Peterman beat out rookie Josh Allen, who we thought was the worst of the QBs in the draft, in preseason.) The Bills attempted 33 passes for 98 passing yards (before sacks) and finished with 153 total yards on 55 plays.
Georgia receiver Mecole Hardman (4) during the Bulldogs’ game against Austin Peay at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. (Photo by Jim Hipple)State of college football
By an almost unanimous vote, last week’s overstated/stated/understated segment was a hit. So we’re back for chapter 2.
College football is Alabama and everyone else. Stated. If Bama played anyone, anywhere, it’s impossible not seeing them be at least a touchdown favorite be it in Athens or Clemson, and that may be low. For the first time, Lord Saban has an offense that simply is beyond talented and is down right scary. Which means that teams now have to figure out a way to score 35-plus to have a chance to win. Against Alabama. Good luck with that.
Georgia won the East last weekend. Stated. And correct. Who’s got a chance to make up two games on these Bulldogs, who are right there with Clemson as the two best teams staring directly at Saban’s masterpiece.
Winner of Auburn-LSU will challenge Alabama. Overstatement, but not as much as one may think. The winner of Auburn-LSU will get the best SEC bowl spot not in the playoff. That said, the winner of Auburn-LSU will be in an interesting place if they finish the season with only one loss and it’s a close one against the rising Tide. Each already has an impressive neutral site win over a then-top-10 foe. And each plays Georgia. So a win Saturday with a win over Georgia and each could make a case for a playoff spot even with a loss to Saban’s horde. (As long as it’s not a trouncing like THE Ohio State took at Iowa last year.)
The SEC West is the best division in college football. Understatement. We think you could say the SEC West is the best division, top-to-bottom, in all of sports.
Kevin Sumlin is already on the hot seat at Arizona. Willie Taggert. Overstatement, for both, but man, it’s hard to imagine a rougher start for those two dudes. And to make matters even worse, it’s not like their former teams (Texas A&M and Oregon, respectively) are missing them one iota.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Sean Newcomb (15) throws a pitch in the first inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Scot Tucker)
Braves bouncing on
And the beat goes on for an Atlanta Braves bunch that now has a five-game lead in the NL East.
OK, what kind of odds do you think we could have gotten in April in Vegas on the Braves having a magic number of 15 on Sept. 11?
We’d think at least 50-to-1, considering the over/under for wins for this bunch for the season was 74.5. With last night’s 4-1 win over San Francisco, Atlanta is 80-64.
The bullpen pitched three hitless innings, backing a much-needed strong start from Sean Newcomb on Monday.
Add in the lift from slumping Ozzie Albies and Monday felt like more than just a win and more than just a half-game boost over the idle Phillies.
Are we expecting these Braves to make serious noise in the NL playoffs?
No not overly.
But defying expectations is high on the list of things this collection of young and enthusiastic Braves does very, Very, VERY well.
Just ask Vegas.
This and that
– Fantasy football update: Team Greeson secured a week one win. Michael Thomas is good at tackle football. That said, injuries continue to mount. We had Marquise Lee, who shredded his ACL. We have Leonard Fournette, who hurt his hamstring. We have Doug Baldwin, who took a doughnut last weekend after he hurt his knee.
– We tried to be as clear as possible last week about the Nike-Colin Kaepernick relationship. For the Swoosh, it was all about BID-ness, and for a large chunk of folks apparently, the Kaepernick BID-ness is good BID-ness. The ‘#ImWithKap’ jersey sold-out in minutes. (Side note: Original post said 20 percent of all profits would go to Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights campaign. Now, Kaepernick is saying all profits will go to the cause.)
– And speaking of BID-ness, Nike stock has gained back all losses from the initial debut of the Kaepernick ad.
– Excellent work here from Gene of Many Hats Henley on UTC quarterback Nick Tiano finding his groove with the Mocs. Good to see good things happening to a good dude.
– If you read only one other thing (beside the 5-at-10 of course) it should like be this on this day. That is excellent reporting and the details, even 17 years later, are mind-boggling.
Today’s question
True or false? True. It’s Tuesday.
In Rod Stewart’s song “Maggie May” – a sentiment almost every guy has had at some point – could Rod have stolen his daddy’s cue and made a living shooting pool? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek4cUOlxwgQ
Styles was a good friend to Teen Wolf.
Restaurants should always bring Saltines if you order soup.
Answer a few. Leave a few.
As for Sept. 11, well, it’s atop the list of everyone my age of moments in which you remember exactly where you were when you heard.
On this day in 1773, Benjamin Franklin wore these magical words, “There never was a good war or bad peace.”
Tom Landry would have been 94 today. Bear Braynt would have been 105.
Harry Connick Jr. is 51. Ed Reed is 40. Dude could ball.
Johnny Unitas died on this day in 2002.
Former UTC star Gerald Wilkins is 55 today.
Let’s do a Rushmore of best basketball-plying brothers.
Go.