THROWING KNIVES: SO MUCH FOR PERCEPTION

by BD, No Where

As bad as I took it yesterday from the NFL I somehow managed to break even for the weekend thanks to a couple of College and baseball games. How in the hell did so many "playoff locks" turn into "playoff long shots"? The NFL and it's parity could be at work, or are other factors causing the falls from grace? Dallas confirmed their supremacy once again against St. Louis and that's all that needs to be said. The Mets wrapped up their meltdown yesterday and I'd say it safe to assume most of us are happy about it. Adding the Phillies and hopefully the Rockies to the playoffs makes them interesting. You can only watch the same team play every year for so long before you want to set fire to a stadium. Thankfully, my arsonist instincts will remain under wraps. The Eagles aren't back, the Lions just can't stop the deep ball. Something that didn't seem to interest the Bears as Brian Griese did his best to out-suck Rex. Let me tell you I love Erica Durance, she's the hottest Lois Lane in the history of Lois Lane's.

Flawed Perception: Part One
The San Diego Chargers (ya know, the city named after the whale's vagina) have somehow gotten off to a 1-3 start this season despite virtually zero roster changes to a 14-2 team. The one big difference you already know is Norv Turner. Could he really be that bad of a coach that he could turn a super bowl contender into a team that's looking up at the Raiders and Chiefs in their own division? Maybe. Or, is it the parody monster that's bitten the Chargers? I'm voting for Norv, of course. But in his defense Phillip Rivers has looked brutal thus far and the defense hasn't been quite as good as last year. The secondary especially.

Norv is the biggest culprit for a number of reasons though. Despite a 16-6 LEAD LT was only handed the ball six times in the second half. S-I-X!!! What the hell Norv? I don't even have him on any fantasy teams and this annoys me. It's the kind of thing that can get a coach stoned to death while walking to his car, let alone fired. QB guru? Sure, as a coordinator maybe. Rivers has looked like complete shit at almost all times and having him throw the ball 42 times is absolutely unforgivable in an offense designed to run the ball. If for some reason you hate LT, that's fine, give Turner the damn ball then. Rivers is their to manage the game and pass only when completely necessary. You seem to have forgotten he's in his second-year starting and still need to be handled as such. Here's the real kicker Norv-y, with just 24 rushing attempts you had less than the LIONS. That's right, the Lions. A team who's offensive coordinator couldn't tell you who his running backs are.

Perception may have been off here, but it's only because we all failed to perceive just how horrendous a coach Norv Turner is. I mean, c'mon even one of us basement dwellers couldn't turn a contender into a shit monster this fast. Even worse Norv, you bastard, you got me knocked out of my survivor pool!
Revised Perception: Season Over

Flawed Perception: Part 2
The Dingle Chicago Bears are about as penetrated as any team in the league is. They gave up an NFL record 34 points to the Lions in the 4th quarter yesterday en route to their third L in 4 games. Those 34 points included a INT return and an onside-kickoff return for a score. Something I can't remember ever seeing in my life. I, like many others, thought Grise would make better decisions and the Bears would up the carries of Cedric Benson and (the other) Adrian Peterson. Yet, somehow they managed only 22 rushing attempts yesterday against 52 passing attempts. When you factor in the 13-3 lead they held heading into the final quarter those numbers are blasphemous. Unlike the Chargers though, I greatly dislike the Bears and hope they somehow get to a point that Chris Leak starts.

But, what in the hell happened to this team? Did all those cannon's Rexy was unloading early last season lead to a Lovie of the pass? Those numbers are even more unforgivable when you consider the state of the once vaunted defense. Who's can count Tillman, Briggs, and Brown among their casualties thus far. Ball control is what this team needs. Not risk taking. Especially with all of those idiot QB's running around around. Can any of them even decipher the playbook? Or are they out there playing it like the school yard and aiming for whoever asks for the ball in the huddle? Who knows. All I know is the coaching on offense has been just as bad as the play on the field and finally the defense cannot make up for it. Is it parody? Not really, just another example of poor coaching, though the injuries on defense certainly don't help. Should be a fun season as only Devin Hester can sniff the goaline.
Revised Perception: Season Over

A few more revised perceptions for you...
Tampa Bay will run away with the NFC South.
Detroit will join Green Bay above the Bears in the final NFC North Rankings.
No one will win the AFC West as the NFL accepts a third wild card out of mercy for the fans.
The Browns will finish third in the AFC North. Who are they jumping?
Seattle will win the NFC West again. The defense appears to be back at that Superbowl level.
Trent Edwards will force JP Losman out of Buffalo.
The Dallas and New England Superbowl will end with a Stephen Gostowski FG.

Grab The Noose... Grab The Noose...
The Mets finished off their Minnesota bridge sized collapse yesterday as Tom Glavine failed to get out of the first inning. What a joke. Not only do they blow such a lead in the standings, but they do it in their own building. Losing 6 out of 7 to the Nationals, Cardinals and Marlins should make you want to dive off the apple. Step down from the ledge though Mets fans. This means your almost guaranteed to land a pitcher under the age of 47 this off-season.

Rockies-Padres
I'm firmly in my seat aboard the Rockies bandwagon, but it's hard to imagine them winning with a fully rested Peavy on the hill. That said, the Padres offense can make Chad Durbin look like Justin Verlander, so I'd say Josh Fogg is in good shape. Sicne I'll be rooting for the Rockies and it's in their ballpark I'll take them. I'm on my way to put $1 Million in monopoly money on it right now.

I'll get to all the other baseball playoff stuff tomorrow.

College Football
This week, #'s 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 21, and 22 all lost.

Here's the fallout: Florida and Oklahoma both managed to hold onto Top 10 spots at nine and ten. While Kentucky, BC, and South Florida all made their debut ahead of them. Also this week in the polls was LSU jumping USC in the AP. I considered this a little surprising because LSU struggled with Tulane into the third quarter. But, as someone who's voted LSU #1 for weeks in the EC Poll I can't complain.

Ducks Loss Doesn't Hurt
They make have lost on Saturday but Oregon still has a shot to make a splash this season when they welcome USC to Eugene. Fantastic game all around and I cannot wait to see both team match up with the Trojans.

Florida Loss Will Hurt More Next Week
To bes honest, I was fine with the loss given the way it happened. The only real problem is that a trip to Baton Rouge is up next and dropping two strait would knocked the Gators from BCS bowl contention all together. Something that seemed unlikely just a few days ago. The defense needs to improve though and Meyer needs to find someone he trust at RB as Tebow won't be able to run even that well against LSU.

West Virginia and Rutgers Join Louisville...
Among the Big East disappointments. Sure, USF is a good team, but WVU was supposed to be great and they were shut down by USF's D for the second consecutive year. Paging Ray Rice... Paging Ray Rice.. nothing eh? Oh well, Rutgers won't need him come bowl time anyway.

Finally!!!
Texas and Clemson both lost. Texas had been flirting with shocker for weeks and they managed to cash in a real special one. Losing by 20 to Kansas State, a team that knocked them off last year as well. Like Florida they'll lose again next week. Unlike Florida, however they'll fall out of the top 25 all together after falling from #7 to #19 this week. Clemson just hadn't looked good to me at all. Reminded me a lot of last year. G-Tech is the better team without a doubt, and now BC can be officially named the clear-cut #1 team in the ACC.

Oh, and Oklahoma
Really has no excuse at all. None. Their's no reason to blow a 17 point lead in the 4th quarter to Colorado. None at all. Lucky for them Texas isn't very good. Otherwise, they'd be in horrible shape. One thing's for sure those title dreams are long gone. Better start dreaming of the Sugar Bowl or whichever one gets the Big 12 winner because that's their ceiling.

I'll have the Weekend Box Office, and the MLB playoff preview, among other things tomorrow. Enjoy Heroes and I'll catch you all tomorrow.
Scoreboard - September 30th - 2007

NFL
Atlanta 26, Houston 16
Buffalo 17, NY Jets 14
Cleveland 27, Baltimore 13
Dallas 35, St. Louis 7
Detroit 37, Chicago 27
Oakland 35, Miami 17
Green Bay 23, Minnesota 16
Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 7
Seattle 23, San Francisco 3
Arizona 21, Pittsburgh 14
Indianapolis 38, Denver 20
Kansas City 30, San Diego 16
New York 16, Philadelphia 3

MLB - Relevant Games Only
Florida 8, New York 1
Philadelphia 6, Washington 1
Milwaukee 11, San Diego 6
Colorado 4, Arizona 3