NFL power poll
OK, we’ll start with a proud dad moment.
The (not-so) Lil 5-at-10 — he of the perfect ACT score and the looming decision between AU and Yale — has been bit by the fantasy football bug.
And by “bit,” think more Tsetse fly and African sleeping sickness than gnat, friends.
And he endured a wretchedly bad beat this week.
He zoomed to a huge lead on the strength of Christian McCaffrey, who, when healthy, is a fantasy football demigod, Davante Adams and Jalen Hurts.
He was up 80-plus points going into Monday night.
His opposition had — wait for it — Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Texans D and the Seattle kicker.
A monster 83-point showing on Monday left the Lil’ 5-at-10 with the “bad beat” angst as he returned from fall break.
Sports frustration is commonplace if he decides to head to AU, I suppose.
Let’s make like voters on Super Tuesday and get to the poll.
Powerful
1 Indianapolis (6-1). I think MC’s crew is a complete football team, and that has immeasurable value in a hard-cap sport. And to further secure their spot as a playoff front-runner, the Colts are already 5-0 against AFC foes. True or false, Daniel Jones is going to Daniel Jones at some point. (Or maybe this is who Daniel Jones always was, and his struggles were on the Giants.)
2 Philadelphia (5-2). If the Eagles commit to the pass — Jalen Hurts had a perfect 158.3 QB rating Sunday — this offense will be ever-tough to contain. True or false: AJ Brown and Devonta Smith are the best WR1-WR2 combo in the game right now.
3 Detroit (5-2). The Lions were a rash of injuries from being a Super Bowl contender last year, and despite their coordinators done R-U-N-N-O-F-T, they are right back in that circle again. True or false:Dan Campbell is the best HC in the NFL.
4 New England (5-2). Yes, I said it, and Drake Maye looks like HIM. True or false: The 2024 QB draft class will be historically viewed like the 1983 class that had Elway, Marino and Kelly.
5 Denver (5-2). There are a lot of teams in this next tier, but the Broncos have a legit defense, a young QB1 with loads of moxie and a Super Bowl champion HC. That’s a sound foundation. True or false: Bo Nix looks like HIM, too.
Powerless
28 Baltimore (1-5). Has the Lamar window closed? With multiple MVPs, he’s headed to Canton, but I have always thought Lamar Jackson was perpetually overrated. But maybe that’s me. True or false: Lamar will win a Super Bowl before he retires.
29 Miami (1-6). Yuck. I mean total yuck. And while DeShaun Watson’s franchise-wrecking contract is the league’s worst, Tua Tagovailoa’s four-year extension with a $53.1 million average per is in the team picture. The Dolphins are paying that kinda freight — his salary is almost 20% of the $279.2 cap number — for a guy that just got a vote of confidence as QB1 from a HC who likely will be out of a job before my kids go trick-or-treating. True or false: Miami needs to blow this up and trade everyone. You know, like the Marlins do every year.
30 New Orleans (1-6). Tough year for Pelican State football, you know? LSU is underachieving, and the Saints are another week or three from dropping the “S” and looking for those famous paper bags from back in the day. True or false: Alvin Kamara is a Hall of Famer.
31 Tennessee (1-6). How’d they ever win one? It’s a miracle. How big of a dark liquor drink did Mike Vrabel enjoy after his Pats pimp-slapped his former team Sunday in Nashville? Tennessee’s minus-96 scoring differential is easily the worst in the league. True or false: Cam Ward will be HIM somewhere else.
32 New York Jets (0-7). I know the Yankees are the Yankees, but NYC sports kinda suck, you know? The Giants are meh, the Knicks always underachieve. The Mets spent almost as much as the Dodgers to miss the playoffs. And the Jets are so dysfunctional even Auburn fans are sympathetic to their offensive constipation. True or false: Aaron Glenn last one season as HC in NYC.
World Series set
Wow, that got wordy. It happens. Sorry, Chris.
George Springer’s clutch three-run homer lifted Toronto to its first World Series since 1993.
It was a fun game. And it was a crushing blow for a Seattle team that remains the lone MLB club without a trip to the World Series.
Man, what a gut-punch loss, all things considered, as the Jays took games 6 and 7 to move on to face the Dodgers.
Gotta feel for the Mariners fans this morning, right?
Game 1 of the World Series is Friday, which means we’ll have high school football, college football, MLB Game 1, and NBA.
Lions, Tigers and Bears, oh my.
Open season
So Florida pink-slipped Billy Napier.
Auburn should have pink-slipped Hugh Freeze.
Wisconsin is almost assuredly going to pink-slip Luke Fickel.
The coaching carousel is going to be crowded.
So, of the jobs we know, here’s my order in terms of desirability of the big openings:
> Florida
> Penn State
> Arkansas
> Virginia Tech
> UCLA
> Stanford (and it’s only this high because of all the stories I see about Stanford football GM Andrew Luck)
> Oklahoma State
> Oregon State
Who’s moving where, and we’ll start with Florida.
You’d have to be Rip Van Winkle not to know that Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin is option 1. And 2, and maybe even 3, for the Gators.
Will he take it? If he does, Florida becomes a national power again in 12 months.
If he doesn’t, well, it’s a testament to the bottoming out of Gators football and the national narrative of coaches staying — with monster raises — in places that have a path and an NIL bankroll.
Ole Miss has that. So does IU, which has locked down Curt Cignetti for the foreseeable future.
No. 2 or whatever number falls if Kiffin says no multiple times to the Gators’ overtures, I’d kick the tires on James Franklin.
Seriously.
And know this: Penn State has to pay him — minus whatever he gets from his next job — $49 million in buyout money. So get creative and give him a seven-year job that pays him $1 million for the next four years — knowing Penn State is on the hook for the rest — with the added $8 million going to the NIL fund, and then his salary goes to $10 million as soon as he makes the CFB.
Or $20 million. It’s Monopoly money at this point.
Other names to know, and since it’s Tuesday:
› True or false: Eli Drinkwitz will leave Mizzou in this cycle.
› True or false: Shane Beamer would take the Va Tech job if offered.
› True or false: Rhett Lashlee will be at SEC Media Days next July as an HC somewhere in the conference where it just costs more.
› True or false: Former UCLA Coach Deshaun Foster was egregiously bad, since the Fightin’ Nicos are 3-0 after Foster’s dismal after an 0-4 start.
Discuss.
This and that
› What’s the story, Tony V? You California dreaming or staying at Rocky Top?
› The NBA starts today, and I gotta tell ya, I got nothing for that right now. Nothing. Moreover, when the face of your game misses opening night with sciatica, well, there you go. Also, when the biggest offseason storyline is the NBA’s return to NBC, which means the classic John Tesh theme song gets back in the spotlight, well, there you go again.
> If you head to K.C. anytime soon, and you have an extra grand laying around for a steak dinner for four, this Yahoo story says run right over to Patty Mahomes and Travis Kelce’s new steakhouse, 1587 Prime. True or false, you’ve had a meal that cost $250.
› With the litany of stinkers Disney has released of late, color me shocked that they passed on Adam Driver’s and his cohorts’ idea of “The Hunt for Ben Solo” was not added to the Star Wars universe.
> Rules, folks. Here’s Paschall with more on red-hot Alabama after an impressive 17-point win over UT last weekend.
Today’s questions
True or false, it’s Tuesday. Morning, Ernie.
And dear Lord, we got more than a few Ts or Fs above.
Here are two more:
› True or false, you will watch the majority of any single NBA game before Christmas Day.
› True or false, the SEC will have at least four new head football coaches at Media Days next summer.
As for today, Oct. 21, let’s review:
› On this day in 1980, the Phillies won their first World Series. I can still remember the Tug McGraw photo that was the cover of SI the following week.
›Alfred Nobel was born on this day in 1833. As JJ would say, he was “DYNO-mite.”
› Kim Kardashian is 45 today.
› Local boy made good, Kane Brown, is 32 today.
› “My Fair Lady” premiered on this day in 1964.
Rushmore of movie musicals? Does “My Fair Lady” make it?