Bleacher Report - Articles by JT Stally

Week One Postgame: West Coast Rising

JT Stally — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:24:00 -0400

You don't have to watch SportsCenter every day or spend 12 hours in front of the television every Saturday if you want to keep up with college football. Let me do that for you, so you can check out my weekly postgame report all fall.

The postgame report is simple. We'll take an overview of the weekend in college football. Then, we'll have a 3-up, 3-down (for the sake of football we'll have Third-Down Conversions and Three-and-Outs) teams on the rise and teams on the decline based on the weekend's performances. Finally, we'll preview the week ahead and what implications lie in the upcoming weekend. I'll close with a rundown of my 1-25 rankings.

*Of note, all rankings are Associated Press as of the previous week, unless listed as "new, latest, current," etc. or "Coaches' Poll, Harris Poll," etc. During the upcoming week's "Gameplan" rankings are current.*

Play-by-Play: The Rise of the West Coast

For years now the SEC, Big 12, even the Big 10 have been widely considered better than any West Coast team not named the Trojans.

This past weekend, the West took a big step back into the national limelight:

— No. 3 Oklahoma's loss (14-13 to BYU) took down a big buck for No. 4 USC (56-3 win over San Jose State) in its hunt for the National Championship. With a road game at current No. 8 Ohio State this weekend, the Trojans can vault right into the discussion with Florida and Texas.

— The Mountain West's No. 20 BYU, as already mentioned, did themselves a huge favor in busting the BCS by defeating Oklahoma and jumped up to the No. 9 ranking. The Cougars have a challenging schedule, but home-field advantage is in their favor from now on. The four most difficult opponents remaining (Florida State, current #16 TCU, Air Force, and current #17 Utah) will all have to travel to Provo to face BYU.

— Perennial BCS wrecker No. 14 Boise State quieted the quack of No. 16 Oregon (and LeGarrette Blount, who we'll discuss later), 19-8. The Broncos have an easy road ahead, and the win will serve as the biggest print on their BCS resume come December. Moreover, Boise State's defense proved it can stop one of the more prolific offenses in country.

—No. 12 Cal absolutely destroyed the ACC's Maryland in a 52-13 blowout and showed for once it can be a contender, instead of a pretender.

— Coming off the most embarrassing season in the school's history (a winless 0-12 campaign), unranked Washington stuck with No. 11 LSU for four quarters before falling 31-23 to the 2007 National Champion.

Third-Down Conversions

Small-conference BCS busters — Current No. 9 BYU and No. 12 Boise State put together impressive wins against ranked teams to insert themselves in BCS discussions. BYU has put themselves in a position where, if they run the table, they'll most assuredly be given a BCS bowl berth.

In fact, BYU's schedule is such that it could even suffer a loss and remain in the talk. Boise State's objective is simple: it must win every game it plays. A BYU loss certainly wouldn't do BSU any harm either, as BYU is currently in front of the Broncos for a coveted BCS bid.

Pete Carroll's Football Factory — Not only did Carroll's true freshman Matt Barkley (15/19, 233 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) look like a total stud in his first start, but up north UW head coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Nick Holt have changed the mindset of a Husky team that went winless last year. Sark and Holt were both part of Carroll's staff before moving to Seattle this past spring. Also of note, former Trojan and 2009 No. 5 overall pick, Mark Sanchez, will start his first pro game this coming weekend for the New York Jets.

Alabama — The Crimson Tide ran the regular season table last year but were never really a part of the SEC Championship game in a 31-20 loss to Florida, and were then shown up in the Sugar Bowl against a fiesty Utah team. No. 5 Alabama controlled the tempo in a 34-24 win over No. 7 Virginia Tech. I'm not sold V-Tech ever deserved to be a Top 10 team, but I am convinced Alabama has moved on from last season's fall in the postseason.

Three-and-Out

Sam Bradford's Sooners — Coming into the season, the Oklahoma defense was supposed to lead the team despite an offense led by the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner (Sam Bradford). When Bradford went down in the first half against BYU with an injured shoulder, it was really up to the defense to carry the torch. To its credit BYU only grabbed 14 points, but the Oklahoma offense crumbled without its leader and the Sooners' title hopes were kicked out the door like a puppy that peed on the floor.

LeGarrette Blount Quacks Up — No. 16 Oregon's starting running back LeGarrette Blount guaranteed Boise State "an ass whippin'," and since he couldn't deliver it during the game he took the liberty of producing it after. Walking off the field, he punched Broncos DE Byron Hout (who had taunted him) in the face, and later needed to be restrained from going after BSU fans in the tunnel. Blount has been suspended for the season, but what will this mean for the Ducks?

Blount's punch was the only attack from an otherwise punch-less offense. Oregon's offense averaged nearly 42 points last season but was held to just 8 in Boise. Chip Kelly's transition from offensive coordinator to head coach has looked anything but smooth. The good news is the loss was out-of-conference, but this team doesn't look like the BCS team I said they could be a week ago.

Ohio State's Preparation — Critics questioned the choice for No. 6 Ohio State to schedule Navy in Week One before the Week Two matchup with current No. 3 USC. Navy runs a triple-option offense based solely on the run. USC runs a pro-style offense that often uses three wide receivers and just one running back. The questions turned into an interrogation after the game as the Buckeyes just barely snuck past the Midshipmen, 31-27. Thus, not only does Ohio State have to completely shift gears for USC, they certainly aren't riding any momentum after struggling to beat the Naval Academy in the Horseshoe.

Extra Point

Miami's 38-34 win over No. 18 Florida State was an instant classic, as illustrated by ESPN replaying it on ESPN Classic on Tuesday night. The teams exchanged leads right until the very end, and FSU finished two yards short of winning the game. It was great to see these two teams put on a show on national TV, just like old times. However, only time will tell if this was a showdown between two powerhouses rising back to prominence or if it was just an evenly matched game between two borderline Top 25 teams. I think the truth falls somewhere in between.

This Week's Game Plan

#3 USC at #8 Ohio State, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Everyone has been talking about this matchup for months. In fact, in Ohio they've had this game circled since last September. Last season when these two met, the build-up was the same for what turned into a 35-3 rout by the Trojans. This year, the Buckeyes have more things working in their favor: they're at home as opposed to L.A., Terrelle Pryor is the unquestioned leader of the offense, and USC's true freshman QB will make his first ever road start.

As was the case last season, I'll be fortunate enough to take in this game in person. It should be a different game from last season but, at the end of the day, the winner will be the same. Ohio State raised too many red flags against Navy, while Barkley looked as comfortable as sitting on the living room couch against SJSU.

USC 28, Ohio State 17

#18 Notre Dame at Michigan, 3:30 ET, ABC

The Fighting Irish have been fighting for credibility, taking a big step by drubbing a not-too-shabby Nevada team 35-0 last week. Now they'll have to go on the road against a prominent program similarly fighting to gain credibility that beat Western Michigan 31-7 last week.

Last year, this matchup was the fulcrum on which the teams' respective seasons tilted. After a 3-9 campaign in 2007, Notre Dame leveraged the 35-17 win to go 6-6 and win the Hawaii Bowl. Michigan, on the other hand, combusted and stumbled to a 3-9 campaign of their own.

This year, the game could again serve as a springboard for the winner and a wrecking ball for the loser. I think that's a little drastic on both accounts, and with their off-the-field issues behind them, Michigan proves Notre Dame still has another level to go before deserving its Top 20 ranking.

Michigan 31, Notre Dame 28

Clemson at #15 Georgia Tech, Thurs 7:30 ET, ESPN

Clemson started last season ranked ninth in the country but took a big hit to Alabama in Week One. They sleep-walked to a 7-6 season that concluded with a loss to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. That's a long way down for a team ranked with the preseason elite. The Tigers, supposedly a team on the rise in 2008, instead went heavily on the decline.

This season it's Georgia Tech that's supposed to be on the rise, but a 37-17 win over Jacksonville State gives no measurement on how good this team might be. Then again, neither is Clemson's 37-14 win over Middle Tennessee State.

The only thing we know for sure is that in an ACC that lacks a true powerhouse (Virginia Tech plummeted out of the Top 10 after a loss to Alabama), the winner of this game could make a big early-season move toward competing for the ACC title. The loser will likely fade into oblivion and wash up in the Gator Bowl on New Year's.

The matchup is made more compelling by appearing on Thursday night. Both teams have had significantly less time to prepare for this game, and it should be a disadvantage to Clemson to have to go on the road in the middle of the week like this.

Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 18

My Top 25

1. Florida
2. USC
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Penn State
6. Oklahoma State
7. Cal
8. BYU
9. Boise State
10. Ole Miss
11. Ohio State
12. LSU
13. Oklahoma
14. TCU
15. Virginia Tech
16. Miami
17. Utah
18. Georgia Tech
19. Georgia
20. Cincinnati
21. UNC
22. Missouri
23. Florida State
24. Oregon
25. Michigan State

Red Sox: The Peyton Manning of the AL East

JT Stally — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:04:00 -0400

When the three-game series opened up Tuesday, the Red Sox and Yankees were right where they had expected to be, running neck-and-neck a top the AL East, with the Yanks one-game in front of their bitter rivals to the north.

As always, the teams are in an even battle.

Except they're not.

After sweeping the Yankees to go up by two games in the division, the Red Sox are now 8-0 against the Pinstripes this year.

This is a change from protocol.

Historically, the Yankees have always dominated the Red Sox, after Boston's delinquent management Boston shipped most of its roster (including the infamous trade of Babe Ruth) that had helped them win four World Series in the 1910's to New York, the Yankees won 26 World Series. Until, 2004, the Red Sox won none.

In the 2004, the Red Sox had an epic comeback against the Yankees from a 3-0 games deficit to win the American League and ultimately win their first World Series in 86 years. And for the first time since the 1910's, the Red Sox gained the upper hand over the Yankees.

That was, until 2006, when the Yankees got some swagger back with what, both fan bases agree, can be called "The Boston Massacre." In a tight battle for the division, as usual, the teams entered a five-game series. Red Sox fans were optimistic that the second place Sox could take the division lead with a good series.

That didn't happen.

In fact, the Sox didn't win a game and were sent into a tailspin that forced them to miss their first (and only to-date) playoffs since 2002.

But, in 2007, the Red Sox again reined supreme.

They ended the Yankees nine-year string of division championships and went on to win their second World Series in four years, and last season, the Red Sox held onto that supremacy, when the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

In the offseason, the Yankees decided it was time to reload and build a winner again. They spent well over $400 million on just three free agents in an attempt to return to glory.

While the Yankees are playing just fine this season (34-26 entering Friday's play), they're considered far from successful because the Red Sox have flat out embarrassed the New Yorkers this season.

Fittingly, two of the three free agents (A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabathia) suffered losses in the most recent sweep, while, the third, Mark Teixeira, made the last out in the third game yesterday.

Tuesday, it made sense that Red Sox ace, Josh Beckett, could out duel A.J. Burnett. Wednesday night it wasn't surprising that the Red Sox did damage against a struggling Chien-Ming Wang.

But, Thursday definitely favored the Yankees, with C.C. Sabathia (who owns one of the richest free agent contracts in history) going against the back of the Sox rotation in Brad Penny.

The Yankees almost pulled off their first win, until the Red Sox lineup, which had been shut down all night, broke out for the three runs in the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon closed the door on a 4-3 win for Boston in the ninth.

At this point, the AL East this decade appears roughly equivalent to the Manning family:
The Yankees are like Cooper.

They were the best at the beginning, so they could bully around everyone else early on, but then they just became noticeably normal and nobody thinks they're tough anymore.

The Red Sox are like Peyton. Once they hit their full stride, they are are clearly the superior one in the group and have had the most success.

Keeping with the theme, the Rays would be like Eli. They're young and won something recently (2008-AL East/Super Bowl), but still nobody gives them any respect.

So, what happened? What went so wrong for the Yankees? How did they end up in a situation to be compared to Peyton Manning's older brother!?

It's simple: The Red Sox know how to build a franchise, the Yankees do not.

In this day of sabermetrics, prospect scouting, and minor league development, the Red Sox have truly mastered the system.

Going around the field the Red Sox drafted and developed Kevin Youkilis (1B), Dustin Pedroia (2B), Jed Lowrie, (SS-currently on the DL), Jacoby Ellsbury (CF), Jon Lester (SP), Justin Masterson (SP/RP), Jonathan Papelbon (CL), Manny Delcarmen (RP), and Daniel Bard (RP). Meanwhile, the Red Sox have maximized their farm system to trade for some other key players.

Josh Beckett (SP) and Mike Lowell (3B) were both a result of a Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez deal with the Florida Marlins.

In fact, when it comes to free agents, the big money the Red Sox have shelled out have caused the most headaches to club's fan base: J.D. Drew (RF), Julio Lugo (SS), and Daisuke Matsuzaka (SP).

This might explain why Yankees fans have had so many recent headaches themselves. The Yankees have insisted on signing their talent instead of developing it. (Please don't cite Joba Chamberlin here as a counter example, you ignorant Yankee fan! I just named nine Red Sox players they drafted and developed.)

Admittedly, the Yankees do have some homegrown talent on the field: 1990 draft picks, Jorge Posada at catcher and Andy Pettitte at starting pithcer; 1992 draft pick, Derek Jeter at shorstop; and, the uninspiring Brett Gardner in centerfield.

Can you hear the sarcasm jumping off your computer screen?

Other than that, most all of the Yankees have ended up in the Bronx because of the money: 1B, Teixeira; 3B, Alex Rodriguez; LF, Johnny Damon; RF, Nick Swisher; DH, Hideki Matsui; SPs, Sabathia, Burnett, and Wang.

Even players like Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, and everybody's least favorite player, Melky Cabrera, who have played all their games in pinstripes were undrafted signees.

Ultimately, the Yankees have come to rely too much on paying for championships.

In today's baseball world that just doesn't work anymore.

Look at Tampa, who (as previously mentioned) won the AL East and made it to the World Series last year, and you'll see homegrown talent.

Look at the team with the best record this season, the Dodgers, Manny Ramirez aside, that team is built mostly around homegrown talent.

Until the Yankees, take the emphasis off shelling out more money than any other team and instead focus on developing a minor league system that produces the majority of their team, they'll continue to lag far behind the Red Sox and wonder why they never make a championship run.

And, until then, I'll continue to compare them to Cooper Manning.

Thank you very much!

No Win(d)s For The Pirates' Ship

JT Stally — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:22:00 -0400

You need to walk before you can run; you need to grow wings before you can fly; and, in the case of the Pittsburgh Pirates, you need wind before you can sail.

Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh's lone All-Star representative in 2008, was traded to Atlanta last Wednesday. The Pirates' GM, Neal Huntington, recently explained his rationale for the trade to season ticket holders in an e-mail: "Tough decisions are not always popular. However, we have a singular focus on our goal of building an organization that can consistently compete for championships, not simply finish above .500."

That's honorable enough, but considering the team hasn't finished over .500 since 1992, I think most of those season ticket holders would settle for "simply finishing above .500."

In fact, if I was a season ticket holder (and God bless them, they truly need to be "die-hard" to hold tickets to show so saddening, not even a well placed Johnny Depp quip could cheer them up), I'd be pretty pissed that Huntington so easily dismissed the simplicity of finishing over .500.

Then, again, this is about the average wind speed in these doldrums. The Pirates have not finished within 10 games of .500 since 1999, when they went 78-83, and this deal won't put any air in the sails anytime soon.

McLouth was a complete player. He won a Gold Glove in 2008, while stealing 23 bases and belting out 26 home runs. At only 27, he was expected to build on that this season while serving as a figurehead for the organization. The Pirates finally appeared to take a step toward steering the ship when they extended his contract through 2011 (with an option for 2012) this Spring Training. His deal was a modest $15.75 million over the next three years, and Huntington said the decision wasn't about money.

Clearly, it wasn't about the money, Neal!

In fact, it's obvious that the financial ramifications weren't even considered in this deal, because, for a team with the lowest attendance figure in the league, trading your most popular player will most only cut down on your revenue!

Huntington's rationale was that by trading McLouth, it allowed the Pirates to promote top prospect Andrew McCutchen to the helm. True, but was the outfield really that jammed up by players like Nyjer Morgan, Brandon Moss, Craig Monroe, Eric Hinske and Delwyn Young that McCutchen needed to stay below deck? Seriously! Have you ever seen more of a rag-tag lineup who's who of "WHO!?" in your life!? Pittsburgh certainly didn't need to trade McLouth to find space for McCutchen to play in the outfield.

Huntington also stated that by bringing in these prospects, the team planned to "build and sustain a championship caliber organization" and listed the prospects the Pirates acquired as being tossed out in offers between Atlanta and San Diego for ace Jake Peavy last off-season. On further examination, it's easy to see why San Diego didn't accept these players. Pittsburgh would be lucky to "build and sustain" a fresh water sailboat for a youth regatta with the players in this deal.

Gorkys Hernandez was listed as a top prospect in the Braves system, but on further review, he's simply a direct downgrade from McLouth and he was only in Double A. While Hernandez, 21, is batting .316 on the season, he has no power (.387 SLG, zero homers), poor plate discipline (54 strikeouts and 15 walks in 212 at-bats), and misappropriated speed (10 stolen bases, eight caught stealing).

By comparison, McLouth smacked nine home runs with 29 strikeouts and 21 walks in 168 at-bats. He was also a perfect seven-for-seven on stolen base attempts and, since 2005, his 64-69 SB/SB Attempts is the highest percentage in the majors.

To top this all off, Hernandez plays center field! What are they going to do when they want to call him up to the big ship? Trade McCutchen!?

The player with the most immediate value to the Pirates in the deal is pitcher Charlie Morton. Morton had been dominating AAA with a 2.26 ERA and 1.02 WHIP and 62 strikeouts against just 17 walks. However, despite tearing up the minors, his 2008 stats are still a cause for concern. In 74.2 big league innings, he had a 6.15 ERA and 1.62 WHIP, striking out 48, while walking a whopping 41. Based on this season, those troubles could be behind him, but it's still a red sky in the morning ("sailors take warning").

The third player, Jeff Locke, is a landlubber at this point. He started 10 games this season for Class-A Myrtle Beach, posting a 5.52 ERA and a less than exemplary 1.60 WHIP. His upside, at this point, is that he's averaging nearly a strikeout per inning pitched, but it'd be unrealistic to expect too much of a splash in the Major League waters.

Still, while Locke is the most meaningless player in the deal, symbolically, he might mean the most to the Pirates. He symbolizes a long-term project that probably will never get fully unfurled in the wind.

First baseman, Adam LaRoche, spoke out against the deal: "If they feel like it's the best move for three or four years from now, great. Unfortunately, that does me no good. I've still got to be in here telling guys it's going to be fine with Nate [McLouth] gone. Well, you can only do that for so long until guys just kind of ... well, they know."

Yeah, we all know! You can't abandon the ship in the middle of the ocean, but it's hard to stay on-board when it keeps taking on water (unless maybe you're Kate Winslet in Titanic).

"You keep hanging on," LaRoche said. "Hanging on, and you've got to figure: How much longer until you sink?"

Evgeni Malkin: From Russia with Love

JT Stally — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:25:00 -0400

The Pittsburgh Penguins proved they were for real last season, but the 2008 Stanley Cup Final proved Evgeni Malkin was only human.

After amassing 47 goals and 106 points in the 2007-08 regular season, Malkin was held scoreless in the first four games of the 2008 Cup Final, as the Penguins fell to a 3-1 deficit in games.

When he finally scored his only goal of the series in Game six, it was too late for the Penguins to comeback against the Ford-tough Red Wings, who hoisted their fourth Cup since 1997.

To traditional hockey fans, it was just another shining example of a Russian superstar fading in the spotlight; but, to the Penguins and Malkin, it was simply a lesson learned.

Malkin came back this season knowing that he had something to prove, not only about himself, but about his country. He led the entire NHL with 113 points, but didn't win the MVP.

That prize went, deservedly so, to his fellow countryman, Alexander Ovechkin, who beat out Finalists Malkin and another Russian, Pavel Datsyuk from Detroit, for the Hart Trophy (MVP), after scoring 110 points and a league-leading 56 goals (10 more than any other player).

"Ovi" and Malkin are already two of the best players in the league, and, at ages 23 and 22 (respectively), it can only be speculated, just how much Russian they'll write in the NHL History books.

Already, they have redefined "Russian hockey player" in the dictionary. Russians (in comparison to North Americans) have always been stereotypically fast skaters that avoid contact at all costs and refuse to drop the gloves when the situation arises. They also have the reputation of playing small in big games.

While both players live up to the skating stereotype, Ovechkin has always shown that he's a unique breed, going as far as to engage, another Penguin and superstar, Sidney Crosby, earlier this season, and never letting anyone skate free when he's sees the opportunity to knock him down.

Malkin has been viewed differently; for the most part due to his debacle last year, when he became less visible than Casper the Ghost during the Stanley Cup Final. Not only didn't he score enough, he didn't even make his presence felt during that Final.

This year, Malkin entered the Stanley Cup with one more year of experience, but took far bigger strides in terms of his presence.

Pittsburgh was stymied in Detroit, but Malkin still weighed in on the only two goals the team scored in the first two games, scoring one and assisting on the other.

However, leaving Detroit with two losses was far from a success, and, at the end of Game Two, Malkin showed his true feelings when he dropped the gloves with Detroit's top center, Henrik Zetterberg, during a late-game skirmish.

Malkin was assessed an instigator penalty, a fighting major, and a misconduct penalty, getting kicked out of the game in the process. In other sports, flagrant fouls (basketball) or unnecessary roughness (football) penalties are usually deplorable, but that's not the way in hockey.

On the ice, in the middle of a series, this is a way of showing that you intend to keeping battling, and this is the message Malkin sent by going superstar-to-superstar with Zetterberg.

The NHL has threatened suspensions for "Message Sending" in the playoffs, and, in fact, Malkin's misconduct carried with it an automatic one-game suspension. However, the NHL fairly rescinded the suspension and allowed him to play in Game Three.

In this case, it would have been ludicrous to suspend one of the league's top players for such an altercation. (Sure, it seems biased to say a lesser player could have been suspended, however, if a lesser player had gotten in an altercation with Zetterberg it could have been viewed as a shot at trying to injure the Detroit star.)

In this instance, this was Malkin's way of stepping up to lead his team and showing by example that the Penguins planned on turning the series around. Last year, he never would have exuded this type of leadership.

In Game Three, the Pens followed Malkin's lead cracking a 2-2 tie with a goal midway through the third period, with an assist from Malkin, and finishing an empty netter to cap a 4-2 win. He had three points (all assists) in the game, which was the same amount of points he put up last season in the entire series.

It was much of the same in Game Four, the Russian jump started Pittsburgh just 2:39 into the game with his second goal of the series. Then, broke a 2-2 tie midway through the second when he blocked a shot by Detroit's Brad Stuart and took the puck the length of the ice on a two-on-one before feeding Sidney Crosby for the eventual game-winning goal.

The series heads back to Detroit Saturday night all balanced out. Detroit won two 3-1 games on its ice; Pittsburgh won two 4-2 games on its ice, but, despite the symmetry, the talk has revolved around the Russians: Malkin, whose increased level of play has tilted the ice in the Penguins favor; and, Detroit's Datsyuk, who plans to play in Game Five after nursing a foot injury to start the series, and whose return could tilt the ice back in the Red Wings favor.

Ultimately, in what has been a seesaw of a series, the team that ends up on top will likely be led by whichever Hart Trophy Finalist can out duel his countryman, which means the weight of Lord Stanley's Cup is on your shoulders, Mother Russia!

Mark Sanchez Should Have Listened to Pete Carroll

JT Stally — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:31:00 -0500

Remember when you were a kid and you wouldn't eat your vegetables, and Mom yelled at you to eat them, so you asked her "Why?" and she said, "Because I said so!"

Mom was right: those vegetables will make you a stronger human being and prepare you better for the real world. You didn't listen to her though, did you!? You wanted more hot dogs or Mac-n-Cheese cause hot dogs and Mac-n-Cheese tasted better and, in the extreme short term, they were much better than vegetables.

You didn't listen, did you, Mark Sanchez?

Thursday morning, Sanchez, as predicted by ESPN, declared his eligibility for the NFL Draft. After Sanchez spoke his piece, Trojan football coach Pete Carroll took the podium to tell reporters what he thought about Sanchez's decision.

I've been at USC and closely involved with the football team for four years. In that time, plenty of players have foregone NCAA eligibility for the NFL: Reggie Bush (2006-second overall pick), Winston Justice (2006-39th overall pick), LenDale White (2006-45th overall pick), Darnell Bing (2006-fourth round pick), Dwayne Jarrett (2007-45th overall pick), Chilo Rachal (2008-40th overall pick), the list probably could go on.

Pete Carroll almost always says the same thing. He usually talks about how he sat down with the player and talked about the pros and cons. He states that ultimately it was the player's decision, he supports the choice, and it was great having him in the program. I was in the room when he said this about Jarrett, who, with 192 rec. yards and no TDs in two seasons, clearly could have used another year in college, yet Carroll clearly supported "D.J." in his decision to turn pro.

So, when Carroll said about Sanchez, "We don't see this decision the same," something wasn't right. People that don't follow the program (if you voted Oklahoma over USC for the BCS National Championship game, that's you!) were quick to criticize Carroll by speculating that he was used to getting what he wanted, that he was trying to hurt Sanchez's draft stock, and that he was mad because it hurt his team's future. None of that's true.

Do you think it helped Carroll's program to lose Jarrett, who had caught for 1015 yards and 12 TDs in 2006 (the same year he lost Steve Smith [1083/9] to graduation)!? Certainly not, but he supported Jarrett's choice.

Carroll has coached in the NFL and NCAA, won two National Championships, coached three Heisman Trophy winners, and won the Pac-10 and gone to a BCS Bowl in seven consecutive seasons (winning six of those Bowl games). He always supports his players, and he doesn't waste energy campaigning for a ranking. So, when, once in a blue moon, Carroll breaks from the norm, you best listen.

Carroll's right! Sanchez doesn't have enough experience to give NFL scouts an accurate assessment of how great he can be. In a recent post, I said the same thing, Sanchez has all the talent in the world, but much of it still lies in potential. As Carroll says on his website, another year of college football would have unleashed that potential and proven him as a must-draft quarterback next season.

It also could have put some hardware next to the lone Rose Bowl Trophy in his NCAA trophy case.

Sanchez cited Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Matt Cassel, and John David Booty as people that he went to for advice about this decision. Which makes it only more surprising that after talking to four quarterbacks that chose to return for their fifth year to USC, he went out on his own to make this decision.

Palmer returned and won the Heisman. Leinart had accomplished everything: he'd won a Heisman, two National Championships, and was projected as the first overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers, and he returned.

Carroll went on to say that Sanchez is "going against the grain" and that "the NFL wants you to stay in school as long as you can...so that they can make great decisions [for their franchise]." Palmer, Leinart, Cassel, and Booty all did that; it would have made sense for Sanchez to do the same (especially since he'd only started for one year).

A lot of speculation revolves around the quarterbacks that chose to return to school, and the rise that gave Sanchez's draft stock. A fair point, but instead of going against the grain, Sanchez should have followed suit. Colt McCoy has started for three years and been a Heisman Trophy finalist; Sam Bradford has started for two years and won a Heisman Trophy; Tim Tebow has started for two years, won a Heisman Trophy, and been a part of two National Championships.

All three of those players returned to the NCAA and summed up what Carroll meant when he talked about giving the NFL enough information to make a great decision; Sanchez did not.

In fact, while some argue that Sanchez's coming out early helps his draft stock, I view it as a lack of confidence in his own ability in regards to his competition. If Sanchez were really good enough to go in the top five this year, I'd certainly hope he'd be good enough to go in the top five next year, after another season of vying for a Heisman and National Championship.

Sure, Leinart dropping from the projected No. 1 pick in 2005 to the No. 10 pick in 2006 goes against that theory. But, in Leinart's defense, it's still mind-boggling that the Titans drafted Vince Young over him.

While both have yet to earn their stripes in the NFL, Leinart's sitting behind a two-time MVP winner, Kurt Warner, who passed for a NFL-second best 4583 yards and NFL-third best 30 TDs this season; Young's sitting behind Kerry Collins (whose 2676 yards and 12 TDs in 16 games this season are similar to Leinart's rookie season when he went 2547/11 in just 12 games).

The point being, however, if Sanchez doesn't think he's good enough to get taken before some of those quarterbacks, how does he ever expect to be better than them in the NFL? He should have come back to school and proved to everyone how good he really is.

Carroll tried to convey this to his quarterback, but he didn't listen. Just like we didn't listen to Mom when she told us to eat our vegetables. Now we're stuck chugging Odwalla shakes and eating Light and Fit yogurt for snacks, in hopes that it some how makes up for the years we ate nothing but hot dogs and Mac-n-Cheese.

Carroll cited a stat that of the "early-out," first round quarterbacks there's less a 50-50 chance of them having a successful NFL career (case in point: 2006 No. 3 pick, Vince Young). Sanchez better hope that his metabolism doesn't slow down before the hot dogs and Mac-n-Cheese catch up to him, or else he'll end up in that majority of could-have-beens that never got a healthy diet of the NFL.

The Early Bird Doesn't Always Get the Worm

JT Stally — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:31:00 -0500

To the surprise of some, Sam Bradford decided to return to college. To the surprise of most, ESPN broke, just hours after Bradford's announcement, that Mark Sanchez will declare for the NFL Draft Thursday.

Here at USC, the news that Sanchez plans to go pro is a shock, but at the same time not inexplicable.

Sanchez rarely made a dumb decision on the field this year and only time will tell if he's making his biggest blunder off the field.

In this case, the choice to go pro is similar to a calling for play action on 4th-and-short; it's not the safest move, but it definitely could result in a big gain.

With the news breaking shortly after Bradford's decision, the thought process is clear. With Heisman finalists Bradford, Tim Tebow, and Colt McCoy all returning to school, the quarterback pool in the draft will be a shallow one, much shallower than next year, when Tebow, McCoy, and Sanchez will all run out of NCAA eligibility and Bradford is likely to forego his senior season.

Sanchez isn't dumb, he knows his best chance to guarantee the big bucks is the 2009 Draft.

But, that certainly is not the best guarantee for success. Sanchez is said by many experts as the most talented quarterback of the whole lot and some have gone as far to say that he's the best quarterback to play for Pete Carroll at USC (which includes Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart), but he's not regarded that way...yet.

While Sanchez might have all the talent in the world, with only one season at starting quarterback, much of it still lies in his potential. He quietly put together a very impressive season with 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, but he was never seriously considered for the Heisman and fell just short of the chance to win a National Championship.

If Sanchez goes pro, he leaves behind a lot of accolades that he could conceivably have won in the 2009 NCAA season, guaranteeing himself as a top draft choice, and an immediate impact (think Matt Ryan) in the NFL.

In this instance, Sanchez passes on the opportunity to develop his full potential at the college level and come into the NFL ready to lead a team right away.

Only one year as a starting quarterback raises a lot of questions about just how good Sanchez could be and makes him ill suited to jump into a starting situation in the NFL next year, which means that he probably wouldn't get selected near the top of the draft by teams looking for a player to start from Day One. (He could be this year's Aaron Rodgers, who didn't start until his fourth season.)

Sure, Sanchez started 16 games in college, which is 16 more than, say, Matt Cassel started for USC. But Cassel was a last-round pick and, like Rodgers, it took him four seasons until he finally earned his due in the NFL.

Sanchez shouldn't wait that long; if he does, he should have waited the extra year in college to come out as a quarterback who could have started immediately. He's better than Cassel, he's better than Rodgers, but without another year to develop his game in college, people might not find that out for another four years.

I'll never fault a player for staying in college, but, if he falters at the professional level, I will fault him for leaving too early. Sanchez has plenty of incentive to return to USC and his family certainly isn't strapped for the cash.

If Thursday's announcement is to go pro, it will be based around perceived draft spot and according monetary bonuses, because no matter what Mark Sanchez announces, he probably won't reach his potential to start in the NFL until at least 2010.

"In All Due Respect:" The Case for the USC Trojans

JT Stally — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:56:26 -0500

Trojans, Pac-10 State Their Case

(Originally posted on Jan. 2, 2009 at jtstally.blogspot.com)

It was a frustrating season for the USC Trojans' National Title hopes. After dismantling the vaunted Ohio State Buckeyes 35-3 in early September and achieving the No. 1 ranking, the Trojans rode a little to high on their Traveller horse and played their only bad half of football.

On the road in Corvallis, USC surrendered a 21-0 lead to Oregon State at halftime. The Trojans regrouped in the third quarter, closing the deficit to 21-14, and even after surrendering a touchdown with 2:39 left to fall behind by 13, USC answered with a score and was an onside kick away from having the ball and the chance to win the game.

Alas, the Beavers scooped up the kick and ran out the clock for a 27-21 victory; it would be the only mark on USC's otherwise exemplary 12-1 season.

And, although it was only September, it would also be the only thing that kept USC from playing for a National Championship.

While the September loss was extremely disappointing, there was no way to know just how frustrating that bad half would be during the rest of the season.

Surely, the other power conferences' undefeateds would fall; and sure enough, they did.

Florida lost two days later at home to Mississippi.
Oklahoma stumbled two weeks after that in a double-digit neutral site loss to Texas.
On Nov. 1, Texas gave up 39 points and lost to Texas Tech; the Trojans ran its winning streak to five games, in which they gave up a total of 20 points and posted three shutouts.
Penn State lost its perfect season a week after Texas fell on the road against unranked Iowa.
Texas Tech was bulldozed by 44 in late November.
And, by the time, Alabama lost by 11 in the SEC Championship in the first week of December, it would have made sense for the Trojans to have made it back to the top.

Before losing to (currently) No. 17 Oregon, Oregon State had reeled off seven wins in eight games with their only loss coming on the road against (still) undefeated and (currently) No. 6 Utah and achieved a ranking as high as 17.

Even after the loss to Oregon ruined the Beavers' hopes of winning the conference, they remained ranked in the Top 25 in all three human polls (AP, Coaches, Harris).

Even so, that bad first half in late September on the road against a team that ended up being recognized as a Top 25 team was enough to wreck the Trojans in the National Title race.

Part of the reason USC never made it back into contention is that voters don't appreciate defensive dominance. Aside from the Oregon State loss, USC's defense gave up more than 10 points in a game only twice: at Stanford, when the Cardinal scored a touchdown with no time left to cut into a large deficit for a 45-23 outcome; and Thursday against Penn State in the Rose Bowl (which we'll talk about in a little while).

USC's defense shut out three different opponents, including two in a row. Against then-No. 5 Ohio State, then-No. 21 Cal (who averaged over 30 points/game), and Notre Dame (who didn't get a first down until that last play of the third quarter), USC yielded a single field goal.

Oregon's offense was seventh in the country this season, averaging 41.9 points/game; against the Trojans, it managed just 10 points, and the touchdown it scored would be the only one USC surrendered in six home games at the Coliseum.

In the regular season, USC finished first in points against at 7.8 points/game (TCU was second at 10.9), first in yards against at 206 yards/game (TCU was second at 215, Alabama was a distant third at 256). Giving up 1,474 yards in the air, the Trojans yielded the fewest pass yards by nearly 450 yards (New Mexico St. was second at 1,913), and they were fourth in run defense at 999 yards on the season.

Despite dominance truly as strong as the Trojan Wall, USC failed to get the recognition it deserved. The value of defense in college football can be summed up on ESPN.com, which fails to even list defensive team statistics.

USC's offense finished with the thirteenth best offense at 37.5 points/game. Critics would remind me that Oklahoma's offense scored a national best 54 points/game, far more than the Trojans.

But, I'll remind critics that while USC's Pete Carroll shuts down his offense in the second half of a blowout to show some respect to the opponent, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops prefers to embarrass and demoralize his opponents for the sake of his ranking.

Case in point:

USC led both Washington State and Washington 42-0 at halftime. Against WSU, the Trojans attempted just one pass; against UW, they attempted three.
When Oklahoma led Missouri 41-14 in the Big 12 Championship, Stoops decided to plead his case to the voters in a way that Carroll never would, he threw on eight of 16 fourth-quarter plays and racked up three touchdowns in mercilessly thrashing the Tigers 62-21.

Stoops' offense made Big 12 defenses look like high school teams, which isn't overly impressive since that statement sums up the Big 12 defenses anyway. At the same time, Oklahoma's defense fit the high school stereotype.

Its 24.5 points against/game was good for 57th in the country, and 359 yards against/game was even worse at 65th. Think about it!? Twenty-four and a half points per game is more points than USC's defense gave up in 12 of 13 games this season; the only time USC gave up more was the 27 in the loss to Oregon State.

It's ridiculous that a team so inferior, like Oklahoma, could possibly try to stake a claim to the National Championship over a dominant team, like the Trojans.

Alas, that's the case, because aside from defense, USC was also penalized for being in a "weak" conference. The Pac-10 was revered as far inferior conference to the Big 12, and, thus, because USC played a "weaker" schedule, USC was believed to have been a lesser team than Oklahoma.

The Pac-10 was in the slow lane from the get-go this season after it went 0-4 against the Mountain West Conference on Sept. 13. This disaster weakened the conference's strength for the rest of the year, especially since the MWC isn't recognized as a power conference.

However, those losses were significantly over weighted in retrospect. Before being dethroned by the perfect Pac-10 this year, the MWC held the best record in Bowl games last year at 4-1.

It is undoubtedly better than any other non-power conference and could certainly make the case that it is better than some of the power conferences. Entering Bowl Season, the AP and Coaches Poll ranked three MWC teams in the Top 25, which is more than the ACC and Big East and the same amount as the Pac-10.

In fact, with the Coaches ranking Utah seventh, TCU 11th, and BYU 16th, only the Big 12 had more teams ranked in the first sixteen.

Utah has a chance to go undefeated against Alabama Friday night, and TCU (I already alluded to their vaunted defense) upped its stock with a win over then-undefeated Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl.

BYU fell to the Pac-10's own, Arizona, who was underappreciated all season and didn't lose a game by more than 10 points (which, just for the record, is how many Oklahoma lost by).

It's time to put these negative connotations toward the Pac-10 to rest. Even its harshest critics must finally fess up and admit that the Pac-10 is much better than everyone says it was. With USC's demolition of the Nittany Lions Thursday, the Pac-10 finished Bowl Season at a perfect 5-0, with three upsets.

Dec. 20: Arizona upsets No. 16 BYU 31-21 in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Dec. 27: Cal beats Miami 24-17 in the Emerald Bowl.
Dec. 30: No. 17 Oregon upsets No. 13 Oklahoma State 42-31 in the Holiday Bowl.
Dec. 31: Oregon State upsets No. 20 Pittsburgh 3-0 in the Sun Bowl.
Jan. 1: No. 5 USC beats No. 8 Penn State 38-24 in the Rose Bowl.

Fair enough to say, the Pac-10 was better than it was said to have been. Aside from USC's opening loss to Oregon State, it dominated the conference.

The aforementioned Arizona gave USC a run for its money, 17-10 in Tucson, and Cal kept the Trojans close in a 17-3 outcome (although, true to form for Carroll, USC ran down the clock on fourth down for a loss of downs at the Cal 15 instead of adding points).

Excepting those three games, USC beat the other six Pac-10 opponents by at least 20 points, including a 44-10 whitewashing of Oregon, who, with their win the Holiday Bowl, will finish somewhere near the Top 10 in the final rankings.

Non-conference, USC took on two-time National Championship loser, Ohio State, completely blasting the Buckeyes and ensuring they never had a shot at a third straight Championship appearance.

Meanwhile, it demolished Virginia on the road 52-7 (the Cavaliers had a sub-par year, but had been ranked in the Top 25 in 2007), and Hawaii Bowl Champion Notre Dame 38-3 (a game in which, as previously mentioned, the Irish didn't get a first down until the last play of the third quarter).

This non-conference schedule far surpasses that of Oklahoma's. Oklahoma did handle the Big East champion, Cincinnati Bearcats, but as mentioned previously, the Big East is an inferior power conference.

Despite being ranked 12th entering Bowl Season, Cincinnati was shut down 20-7 by Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, and during the regular season, they barely managed to sneak by Akron and Hawaii and were destroyed 40-16 by UConn.

Oklahoma's other two non-conference opponents were Chattanooga and Washington, who combined for a 1-23 record on the season.

Chattanooga went 1-11 playing an FCS [Div. 1-AA] schedule, with losses like a 42-7 one against 8-4 Elon (who didn't even play an FBS team). Chattanooga's only win was against Cumberland College (who, for trivia's sake, holds the distinction for worst loss in the history of American football, a 222-0 loss to Georgia Tech in 1916).

Washington finished the season at 0-12, which included losses to both Oklahoma (55-14) and USC (56-0).

All in all, it was inexplicable that the Trojans were not given the opportunity to compete for a National Championship.

Lee Corso said it so eloquently before the game Thursday's GameDay at the Rose Bowl: "They're getting screwed. They should be in Miami." If anyone doubted Corso, that doubt was laid to rest by halftime on Thursday.

Penn State managed to stick with the Trojans for a quarter, responding to a Damian Williams touchdown catch with a Daryll Clark quarterback scramble to tie the game at seven with four seconds left in the first quarter.

However, the second quarter belonged to USC and by the time the whistle blew for halftime, the Trojans had scored 24 unanswered points and led by a dominating 31-7 score. For all intensive purposes, the game was over.

Sitting behind the Penn State end zone, I noticed Penn State's once rowdy fans were quiet, and the Lions' band and cheerleaders had a look of defeat on their faces as they prepared for the halftime show.

The last straw came out when on the first play after a USC's touchdown with PSU trailing 24-7, Stephfon (a "ph" and an "f," isn't that redundant!?) Green took a screen pass from Clark on the first play and rumbled for 30 yards, only to fumble and have USC recover at the end of the run.

The Trojans got help from a 15-yard facemask penalty, and C.J. Gable rushed the final 20 yards up the middle for the Trojans' second touchdown in as many minutes.

Halftime prompted the talking heads to finally ask the question that everyone in the Trojan Family had been asking for weeks, "How is this team not playing for the National Championship!?"

To Penn State's credit, it put up a fight in the second half. After a scoreless third quarter, the two teams exchanged touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, and Penn State added ten points late to make the final at 38-24 look closer than the game ever was in the second half.

Still, the Trojans dominance was realized, but it was too little, too late for the team's National Championship hopes.

Thursday's loss at the hands of the Trojans shouldn't be viewed as a failure by Penn State; Penn State was a good team that finished the season at 11-2. Instead, the win should be viewed as a statement from USC.

In four years working with the Trojans, I've never known Pete Carroll to make a statement directly about the National Championship, but on Thursday, as the voters questioned their decisions, he finally told everyone how he really felt and what they'd all come to realize.

When asked by John Saunders about the National Championship game, Carroll said, "In all due respect, those are two great programs; I don't think anyone can beat the Trojans this year."

King In The Cassel

JT Stally — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:45:00 -0500

During the off season, I'll have plenty of time to brood over the Patriots' playoff "snub" and point fingers at who to blame (coming soon: "Why I Loathe Brett Favre"), but in the immediate wake of a disappointing close to what should still be viewed as a successful season, I'd rather drink from the half full glass and tell who not to blame.

There is no postseason in New England, the Patriots season is over. 11 and five was not good enough for the playoffs, but Matt Cassel was good enough for New England.

When Tom Brady went down with a season ending knee injury just two series into the first game of the season, it appeared that the New England Patriots season could have been over barely after it started; it wasn't.

The Patriots' offense fell in the lap of fourth year backup, Matt Cassel, who hadn't started a football game since high school.

Cassel's season started slowly, passing for over 250 yards only once in the first six games of the season (259 vs. San Francisco in Week Five). However, as he became more comfortable and confident, Cassel hepled New England overcome the loss of their fallen king.

In the second half of the season, (excepting a forgettable Week 13 performance against the Steelers) Cassel might as well have worn Brady's number 12. In the final 11 games, he passed for at least three touchdowns in five games and had a passer rating over 100 in six of those games.

Ironically, Cassel's most impressive performance (in what is expected to be his final season in a Patriots uniform) came in a heartbreaking loss that can be pointed at as the biggest reason the Patriots aren't going to the playoffs.

In a Week 11, 34 to 31 overtime loss against the New York Jets, Cassel completed a career high 30 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The last pass he threw was a 16-yard rollout to Randy Moss in the corner of the end zone that (after the extra point) tied the game with one second left in regulation.

Had the Patriots won that game, that pass might have gone down in New England sports folklore as one of the more epic plays of all time. Aside from his passing heroics, Cassel also led the Patriots in rushing in that game with a carreer high 62 yards (which is more than Brady rushed for in his entire first season as a starter).

A week later in a rout of the Dolphins, Cassel tied his Week 11 statline with 30 completed passes for three touchdowns and a new high 415 yards. He also rushed for a fourth touchdown in the game.

Tom Brady's story will always be remembered. After Drew Bledsoe went down in Week Two of the 2001 season, Brady went on to lead the Patriots to an 11-5 record and guide them to the franchise's first Super Bowl Championship.

Matt Cassel's story follows an eerily similar plot, but, due to a disappointing outcome, it will be forgotten much quicker. Cassel also led the Patriots to an 11-5 record. However, unlike in 2001, when the Patriots beat out the Dolphins in the divisional tiebreaker, and ended up with a two-seed, this year, the Patriots lost the tiebreaker to those same Dolphins, and in a disappointing mathematical outcome, won't even get the opportunity to write Cassel's story a Hollywood ending.

Even so, the story should not be discredited. Cassel passed for 3,693 yards, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 89.4 passer rating, which all surpass Brady's first year stats of 2,843 yards, 18 TDs, 12 INTs, and a 86.5 rating.

In fact, Cassel's yards and passer rating were better than four of Brady's seven years as a starter, and his 11 INTs are lower than all of Brady's seasons excepting 2007, when he threw only eight. Cassel's 270 rushing yards also made him much more of a duel threat than Brady (who's career high is 110 in 2002).

Suffice to say, Cassel was suited to wear the crown that Brady had dawned for the previous seven Patriots' seasons. For all intensive purposes, Cassel replaced Brady statisically and put the team in a position, at 11-5, in which it earned the opportunity to play for a chamionship.

If not for an ill suited twist of fate (and the inconsistency of Brett Favre), Cassel would have the opportunity to lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl title, just as Brady had done in his first year.

Cassel had been playing his best football down the stretch (kind of like an anti-Brett Favre) and, with 40-plus points in three of the last six games, the Patriots offense had begun to approach the elite status it held in 2007. With a veteran team, led by a confident quarterback and a successful coach, the Patriots would have been a signficant force to contend with in the playoffs, and Matt Cassel could well have become a legend, just as his predecsor was.

That won't happen this season, but Cassel did the unthinkable this season in competenly replacing one of the most legendary quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. He might not wear the red, white, and blue next season, but he should always be regarded as royalty in New England; and he'll certainly have his opportunity to play for a championship somewhere.

A Harsh Reality in the AFC

JT Stally — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:55:00 -0500

Remember after week eight? The Colts were 3-4. The Tom Brady-less Patriots had just beat the Rams 23-16 and were the least inspirational 5-2 team in the NFL.

The week nine matchup between the two had been scheduled for Sunday Night Football in anticipation of the biggest regular season game of the year, but ever since the Patriots had lost Tom Brady and the Colts had lost the ability to win, the game had lost its meaning. The ugly 18-15 victory for Indianapolis only lessened the expectation that either team was still a legitimate contender in the AFC.

A two-team dominance has defined the NFL since the Patriots and Colts met in the AFC Championship in January 2004. The Patriots won that matchup and made three of the next five Super Bowls, winning two of them, while the Colts took down New England in 2007 to win a Super Bowl of their own.

The 2006 playoffs were the only time that New England and Indianapolis didn't face one another in the postseason, and, fittingly, it was the only year that neither represented the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Certainly, when the Colts managed to play just well enough to beat the Patriots on Novemeber 2nd, it was clear that the two-team dominance in the AFC was officially over...or so everyone thought.

That win was the first of an eight-game winning streak that the Colts are currently in the midst of. The Colts have played a paltry schedule with wins against the Browns, Bengals, and Lions (who are a combined 7-37-1), but that shouldn't obscure that the Colts are running wildly. Seriously, is there anyone that wants to play Peyton Manning when he's fully clicking with his stable of wide receivers!?

Actually, there is one man.

Bill Belichick.

The Patriots have struggled without Tom Brady this season, but after bottoming out against the Colts in Week Nine, repleacment Matt Cassel has helped New England fans forget about their fallen hero. Cassel did all he could with 462 all-purpose yards and three passing touchdowns in an overtime loss against the Jets in Week 11.

In Week 12, he tossed for 415 yards and three scores and also ran one in against Miami. After a Week 13 setback against the Steelers, Cassel has thrown eight touchdowns in three consecutive wins for the Patriots; two of which the Patriots scored 49 and 47 points.

With the Jets dropping a disappointing game in Seattle this afternoon, Cassel got much closer to leading the Patriots back the postseason (and to winning the AFC East) for the seventh consecutive season.

The Patriots must beat the Bills next week to make the playoffs, a high liklihood considering the Bills are 0-5 in the AFC East and rarely manage to get out of their own way. During that game, New England will be scoreboard watching; they'll need the Dolphins to fall to Jets in New York to take the Division or the Ravens to lose at home to Jacksonville to take the Wild Card.

Jacksonville has nothing but pride to play for, but the Jets will have a lot on the line as a Ravens loss and a Jets win would put them in the Wild Card (or the Division, if the Patriots lose), combined with the Dolphins playing in cold weather after a shootout with the 2-13 Kansas City Chiefs, and it's easy to see how the Jets will be the favorite for that game.

All in all, the Patriots don't control their own destiny, but a win would more likely than not send them to the playoffs.

Take Cassel's noticable maturity in the Patriots passing offense, combine that with the experience of Belichick and the Patriots in the playoffs, and this becomes a dangerous team. They could be a team that could upset a few teams and make a deep run into the playoffs...

If you don't see where I'm going with this, just ask the people in Indianapolis; they see it.

The Patriots and the Colts might not be the highest seeded teams in the playoffs like they normally are, but when it comes time for the playoffs, it's a guarantee that it won't matter to Tony Dungy or Bill Belichick's boys, especially since both are playing so well right now.

Both teams would have to win in the Wild Card and then go through Tennessee or Pittsburgh on the road in the Divisional Round, but an Indianapolis-New England AFC Championship game is not as far away as it seemed in Week Nine.

Both the Colts and the Patriots are rolling heading into the end of the season; both know how to win in the postseason; and neither would be surprised to meet the other in the AFC Championship.

The Titans and Steelers are great teams, but it's too early to say that the two-team dominance of the Colts and Patriots in the NFL is over. The Colts have clinched the playoffs and the Patriots are playing their best football to get in; if they both make it in, the rest of the AFC might be playing the third wheel again to a date in the AFC Championship game.

The Boys are Back in Town

JT Stally — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:15:00 -0500

...And so is the blog! It felt like the longest semester of my life, and it certainly was one of the longest droughts for my blog.

So, what should I write to bring readers back? Not the BCS that I have been so at odds with during a hair-pulling season at USC and could berate for hours. Not the NFL which is in full playoff chase right now. Not even the 23-2 defending champion Celtics. Nope, I am going with the Boston Bruins.

I am not crazy. I just think they are that exciting.

Back in the northeast, I got to attend my first Bruins game of the season on Thursday night. Last year, Boston announced it had a real basketball team in the NBA; it has certainly followed suit this year in regards to bringing a real hockey team to the NHL.

The B's set the tone earlyfor an old- fashioned Western shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just 36 seconds into the game a finally healthy Marco Sturm put home the first goal (he did not stay healthy for long, as he was hurt later in the period). Moments later, an early whistle took back what would have been a Chuck Kobasew goal, but David Krejci's first dangle of the night put the Bruins up 2-0 less than five minutes into the game and chased Vesa Toskala from the game, at least for the time being. Toronto tallied its first goal just seven minutes into the game, after which the team's seemed to be more interested in playing defense.

Somewhere between the end of the first period and the beginning of the second period, the novelty of defense wore off, either that, or Toronto's back up, Curtis Joseph, realized he is 41 years old and is too old for the game...

In any case, the Bruins came out firing—Marc Savard tipped in a Zdeno Chara power play blast just a minute and a half into the period. Then, David Krejci (three years old when Curtis Joseph first played in the NHL) one-upped his previous dangle: Blake Wheeler (also, three years old when Curtis Joseph played his first NHL game) took the puck the length of the ice against three defenders, then did a Gretzky turn and fed Krejci, who cut past Toronto's Lee Stempniak (causing him to drop his stick), headed for the goal line around lunging goaltender Curtis Joseph, who was clearly too slow for Krejci. As Krejci managed to sneak the puck around Joseph, back in front of the goal line and into the goal, before his momentum carried him behind the net. Two minutes later, Phil Kessel (two years old when Cujo first played in the NHL) sniped the has-been upstairs. The Bruins were up 5-1 less than five minutes in the second, and it appeared the route was on.

It was not, but the shootout was. In an eight minute span midway through the second period, the Garden from shaking with enthusiasm to shaking with fear as the Maple Leafs scored three consecutive goals to pull the blow out to a 5-4 game. Kessel appeared to restore order a minute and a half later with another snipe that Cujo lacked the speed or the eye sight to save (probably both). However, a late penalty on the Bruins led to a fifth Toronto goal, and the Bruins held on to a precarious 6-5 lead at the end of the second.

Down, but not out on the night, Vesa Toskala came back for more. It was not exactly clear if it was past Cujo's bedtime or he was just tired of getting run around the playground by a bunch of kids, but he had to feel better that by the end of the night Toskala would give up as many goals as he did.

The Bruins, also made a goaltending change after Tim Thomas had his worst night of the season, the five goals he gave up were the most yielded by the Bruins in any game all season. He had not given up more than three since opening night. The move paid off in the early going when Manny Fernandez made a spectacular save, sliding across the crease to save what would have been the tying goal from Jason Blake. Fernandez would end up turning away all 13 shots he saw in the period.

Meanwhile, the Bruins continued to have more trouble staying out of the net then the Irish do out of the bar. Michael Ryder roofed a fast break, power play shot midway through the third period, and Krejci stuffed home a 5-on-3 pass from Marc Savard to complete his first, and undoubtedly not his last, hat trick of his career.

Defensively, the Bruins yielded their highest total of the year at five, but offensively, they produced their highest total of the year at eight. Furthermore, they managed to extend their home winning streak to 12 games.

The thing I took away from this game, aside from that Curtis Joseph should have hung 'em up years ago (and I honestly thought he had until he came in the game), this Bruins team is gonna be something to contend with.

Nine of the Bruins skaters tonight were 25 or under.
The Bruins second goal Krejci from Kessel and Milan Lucic was set up a 22-year old from a 21-year old and a 20-old, as already stated, their fourth goal Krejci from Wheeler was a 22-year old from another 22-year old.
Three of the top four defenseman were 25 or younger (Matt Hunwick, 23; Mark Stuart, 24; Dennis Wideman, 25) [third line defenseman, Matt Lashoff is 22].
Assistant captain and first line center, Patrice Bergeron, is only 23(he has been in the NHL since he was 18).

This NHL will soon be run by the next generation (sorry, Cujo!). The Detriot Red Wings delivered a humbling reminder in last year's Stanley Cup that the next generation has not yet learned to win championships, but that reign will soon come to an end, and when it does, which young players will emerge as the next dynasty?

Will it by Sidney Crosby and Evengi Malkin in Pittsburgh?

How about Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin in Washington?

Maybe Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in Chicago?

Or...could it be the Boston Bruins!?

Go ahead, chuckle on the inside, but no one is laughing at Phil Kessel and his 16-game point streak that dates back to early November. Nobody is laughing at David Krejci and his +/- of +15 to go along with points in 12 of his last 13 games. Nobody is laughing at Milan Lucic; it is kind of hard to laugh at a guy that will beat your ass and score a goal while you stop your nose from bleeding.

As proven Thursday night, the Bruins have depth in net. Thomas and Fernandez are two and three respectively in goals against average and both rank in the top six for save percentage.

They have leadership at the point with Chara.

They are loaded with talent up front. Be it veterans like Savard (who leads the team with 34 points) and Sturm or young phenoms like Kessel and Krejci (who scored five of the eight goals on Thursday).

I had to see it to believe it, and I believe it! The Bruins are finally back. They have not put a quality product on the ice since before the lockout, but they are back, they are young, and they are certainly ready to roar.