Morning Cup of Coffee: A Daily Take on the Sports World

November 16, 2009 edition

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick must have lost his mind. How many teams go for it on fourth down inside their own 30 yard line, with a lead and just over two minutes left? I can't think of too many who would. Doesn't matter if his defense might have been gassed; just too big a risk.

That decision added to the mega drama of probably the best game of the NFL season thus far as Indianapolis Colts came back from a 31-14 deficit to win 35-34. Give the Colts credit. They did not panic at all. Peyton Manning would be my MVP as of today.

Does anyone know why the Tennessee Titans waited so long to put Vince Young back into the starting lineup? Along with fantasy league monster Chris Johnson, Young has provided the spark the Titans have needed and are on a roll. If this keeps up long enough to get into playoff contention that is great. But are they putting a much needed high draft pick at risk only to end up with a 6-10 or 7-9 record?

The shine is eroding off of Matt Ryan.

His sophomore slump has left Falcon fans fearing that the streak of no back-to-back winning seasons will stay intact. His decision making has been very poor, his patience to stand in the pocket strong has left and his arm strength has gotten weaker.

Outside of the strong arm, his issues sound very similar to those of Michael Vick. It will be interesting to see if Ryan's play will turn into another racial divide among Falcon fans as it was with Vick.

He's still a young quarterback but film study along with talent can make you a Peyton Manning. Film study with marginal or no talent makes you a backup. Let's hope for Matt's sake he can land somewhere in the middle.

Skip Bayless, where are you?

As soon as the clock hit zero you just know Chad Ochocinco was trying to call Bayless after his recent ragging of the Cincinnati Bengals. No one should be doubting the legitimacy of the Bengals now after they have went into Heinz Field and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers again and swept them for the season.

Hopefully Ochocinco will get another shot at Skip on ESPN. It makes for entertaining television.

Green Bay dominated the Dallas Cowboys. Nothing more can be said. I am surprised the Packer defense could play so well against a dangerous offense like Dallas, especially after giving up 38 points in each of the last two games. Outside of the gold standard franchises such as Indianapolis, New England and Pittsburgh most teams don't go on long win streaks. The league is just too tough.

Final NFL thought, Maurice Jones-Drew. You almost cost me a win in my fantasy league. Get your tail in the end zone!

Congrats to Michelle Wie for getting her first professional golf win yesterday.

It seems like her career is progressing just nicely, thank you. She has played well all year and was a stalwart during The Solheim Cup. Now that she is healthy and the tour players have finally accepted her into the sorority she seems to be in a much better place mentally.

I got a feeling 2010 will be a breakout year for her. The LPGA is wide open for someone to take the mantle. Might be Michelle's time to do that. She already is the logo for the tour.

My top five NFL teams this week:

1. Indianapolis
2. New Orleans
3. Minnesota
4. Cincinnati
5. New England

My top five College Football teams this week:

1. Alabama
2. TCU
3. Florida
4. Texas
5. Georgia Tech

Finishing my final sip of coffee:

Atlanta Hawks (-4) vs Portland Trailblazers

Not many games to chose from for tonight's events but I can't leave coffee in the cup! Hawks playing at home, on a high and could suffer a letdown from it's current success but this isn't last year's Hawks.

This year's team appears to be more focused and mature. I don't see them having a letdown. Anytime you play a playoff quality team from the West it's a big deal. I expect Atlanta to look at it that way and play well.

Until tomorrow morning live sports!