Weekend winners
The Tennessee Titans. Wow, that was impressive, and Derek Henry looked like a monster friends. The Titans crushed the much-hyped Browns in week one, and Marcus Mariota looked pretty decent. (His numbers - 14-of-24 for three scores and 248 yards - were not as good as you may think, considering Henry took a screen 75 yards for a score to break the game open. Without that play, 13-for-23 for 173, or about 7.5 per attempt is more mediocre than meritorious.) That was in the week one micro sense. In the NFL macro, well, the Colts are going to be in trouble without Andrew Luck and the Jags lost quarterback Nick Foles for the foreseeable future with a broken collar bone, so why not these run-first, punch-always Titans?
LSU and Joe Burrow. Wow, the least discussed former power-program transfer portal QB who looks just like former SNL cast member Jim Breuer, lit up the Texas defense as LSU staked a strong claim to be right there with Georgia as the step-sitting tandem behind Alabama and Clemson. Burrow's final line: 31-of-39, 471 and four TDs. He has nine TD passes in two games. And one of the best stories I read this weekend details how Texas coach Tom Herman was the OC and lead recruiter at THE Ohio State for Burrow and was the one who talked Urban Meyer into taking him.
Dak Prescott. For all the offseason scuttlebutt and drama, Dak, who is looking for his big second contract, went to camp, put in the time and was ready to roll Sunday. With a better collection of receivers than he's had, a paid Ezekiel Elliott who should be motivated to be the most productive back in the game and one of the three best O-lines in the league, Dallas' offensive with Dak and new OC Kellen Moore looked pretty excellent.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. As the rest of the AFC Central stumbled from the gate - Uh, Cleveland, what the bleep was that? - the Ravens unleashed a perfect Lamar Jackson and swamped the Dolphins. Asked after the game about proving people wrong with his passing, Lamar said, "Yeah not bad for a running back, huh?" which is a pretty sweet troll job of Bill Polian and the rest of the NFL draft analysts who said Jackson would only make a mark in the league as a runner or receiver.
Rafael Nadal. Yes, the final match was without the much-wished-for-Nadal-Federer meeting in NYC, but Nadal's 19th career major was still impressive by every measure.
Moon River Festival. We went Sunday night and Brandi Carlisle was amazing. It was a great evening, and the event was run very smoothly. Kudos to all involved.
McCallie football. The Blue Tornado went to Nashville and beat Brentwood Academy, the former No. 1 team in the state. Been a while since Baylor or McCallie won a state title (Baylor has one in the 1973; McCallie won it last 2001), but it looks like the Division II rivals could be right there in the mix at the end later this fall.
The Patriots. Add the best wide receiver of his generation, who now has to be motivated and on the straight and arrow to continue playing in this league. Check. Roll out a diversified and dangerous offense, without said receiver and the one of the three best TEs of all-time after he retired in the offseason. Check. Display a defense that looks early-2000s salty and multi-faceted in holding the Steelers to a measly field goal., Check.
Weekend losers
The Tennessee Vols. Having gone back and watched the game a second time Sunday morning - hey glutton for punishment, right? - maybe this loss to BYU is not as bad as it seems. UT played better in spots. The Vols win the game if there is a not a cataclysmic secondary failure with less than 20 seconds left. The running game looked strong. All of those are good things. But the baselines here are a) Jeremy Pruitt is 5-9 through 14 games and that's with his seven or eight toughest games of this season still to come; b) Pruitt is supposed to be the DB whisperer, right, and the secondary has been garbage through two games; c) Jarrett Guarantano - no matter how he pronounces his name (Side note: It felt like for the majority of Saturday's broadcast, McElroy and that other fellow were mispronouncing it right?) - likely need to find his way to the bench. Simply put he can not read the field and, if that's the play calls that are one read and run, well, that's not good enough for a guy who has played this much football (unless of course the back-ups are really dreadful); and d) over/under on Saturday's crowd for a nooner with the Mocs may be 65K.
Everyone not named the Patriots in the Antonio Brown situation. What happens to us in the sports fandom realm when something that should be other worldly shocking comes as no surprise? Because, isn't that the best single way to describe the entire AB situation. Forces his way from Pittsburgh. Jon Gruden loves him and gives him a huge guarantee chunk of change. Freezes his feet. Melts down about his helmet and sues and threatens to retire. Gets into a scuffle with GM Mike Mayock and calls him a 'Cracker' (and yes, I'm going to use that anytime I possibly can). About to be suspended before a tearful apology to his teammates. Raiders void his guarantee dollars and Brown demands his release. Then he signs with Bill Bilicheck and the Patriots. (If Saban's postgame rant after a 52-point win was predictable, then how perfect was Belicheck's answer to Antonio Brown questions Sunday night?)
Melvin Gordon. All the drama of AB may turn some folks off to a hold-out running back. Plus, it's not like the Chargers have the same attachment with Gordon as the Cowboys had/have with Elliott. And one of the bog dangers of holding out is letting someone else have tour spot. Enter Austin Ekeler who had 58 yards rushing, 96 yards receiver and two TDs. Absence in this case did not make the heart grow fonder.
Serena Williams. I think we all wanted Williams to find a way to win the U.S. Open, put a bow on having the most majors and close the chapter to the ugly 2018 finals match in NYC. Yes, loser tag for the GOAT is arguably a bit over the top, but you have to wonder how many of these chances she will get.
The Falcons and the Browns. Two very hyped rosters with a lot of promise. Each got walked to the shed Sunday. The Browns were sloppy, which raises a slew of questions about first-time head coach Freddie Kitchens. The Falcons were pushed around, and the offensive line was rotten, which has to be very disconcerting. Plus, remember this is a Dan Quinn who may have arguably the hottest seat in the league outside of D.C.
UK football. For all the good that Chas has trying to point out about the Wildats - a 10-win season in 2018, a quick start to 2019 and the thought of an SEC that other than Georgia is completely gettable - the loss of quarterback Terry Wilson stinks.
Let the games begin
There have been three ranked-on-ranked games through Weeks 0-2 in college football.
Auburn over Oregon. Burrow and LSU over Texas and Clemson over Texas A&M. This week's games are not that much better either. Heck College GameDay is going to Iowa State, and that's because Syracuse got slaughtered by Maryland. (The Terps should have made there extended list of teams that won the weekend.)
That's it. (And the 'parity is back in college football' line that a couple of College GameDay talking heads delivered this weekend were simply nuts. More on this in a moment.)
As for the gaming question, well, Nick Saban, who was clearly hot and bothered after a few hours in the Alabama sun, got a little riled about it.
Here's a clip to his rant.
"Why don't you call around" and find better teams for Alabama to play, "and we'll play anybody," was Saban's end to the rant. Side note: If I was said reporter, I would have spent all of Sunday evening and most of today fanning out across the country trying to set up an Alabama-THE Ohio State game or see if Texas would welcome the Tide to Jerry World. Seriously.
(He also covered how the students leaving early affects the program. And this rant was just as golden and at the end of the clip. He said every one wants to be No. 1 - "No one wants to be No. 4" - everyone wants to be the beast but no one wants to do what the beast does. That last one was great.)
We're open to some form of that, even if it would fiscally hurt a lot of mid-level or FCS programs who make their budgets meet with high-six- to low-seven-figure paydays for traveling for a whipping. Maybe a Group of 5 and no FCS and the rest Power 5 games.
Not sure Saban's idea of 10 SEC games will ever play out, and and let's be really honest here: Saban bangs that drum the loudest because he knows he has the deepest football team in the game and that depth would be a huge advantage if everyone's schedule got tougher.
As for parity? PUH-lease. Week 0 and 1 had the AP top 25 going 24-1, and that lone loss was Oregon, which lost to Auburn.
And it's not like there were a slew of upsets this week either.
This and that
- Speaking of more winners, three quick ones from college football. Uh, Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields seem to be fitting in quite well at their new locales. Also, Justin Wilcox is doing W-O-R-K at Cal, which upset Washington, which all but assures us that the Pac-12 will be left on the outside looking in at the playoff again.
- Bad beats: We mentioned Tennessee's debacle because it was a debacle and well, so you go. From this week's "That's why they call it gambling file" let's cover three or four quickly. The Vols' secondary implosion turned a 16-13 win into a 29-26 double overtime defeat. It also was a kick to the curlies for bettors who had the under 52. Wowser. The Auburn line went from 21 early last week to around 16.5 locally before kickoff and that field goal late in the fourth quarter that made it 24-6 was quite tasty for some. Arguably the worst beat of the weekend - and one that saved Vegas books a net loss Sunday - was the Eagles minus-10 over Washington. Philly led 32-20 before a TD pass with eight second allowed Washington the cover.
- The Fab 4 picks made entertainment last week. College rebounded with a 3-2 mark. NFL went 4-1. We'll take that. Our college mark is still a game under at 9-10. The NFL picks combined from the start of the preseason are a very stout 20-9, which
- Braves took three of four from the Nationals. Yes, Sunday was not great and yes, the thought of facing Max Scherzer three times in the postseason should worry every team in each league.
- Did you notice that three NFL players were ejected from games on Sunday. That's not a good look at all.
Today's question
Weekend winners and losers.
Go.
As for today, well, Sept. 9 - 9-9 - there are some options.
On this day in 1972, the controversial Soviet Union over the U.S. basketball game happened.
In 1956, Ed Sullivan welcomed some dude named Elvis to his little TV show and rock-n-roll landed on everyone.
We'll keep it simple on this day, the 53rd birthday for one Adam Sandler.
Rushmore of best careers after SNL from SNL cast members. Go.