Brain Dropping...CFB Hangover

Well, the college football regular season is officially over. And you thought that would blow most of our content! Jokes on you, we're still doing this. Brian released his NFL Power Rankings yesterday and I'm back with more random thoughts today. However, it is with a heavy heart that I write about something else for a change. College football just seems so much more interesting to me than pro ball does. There were some good games on Sunday, more than enough to fill the void of an empty Saturday but it just wasn't the same. Though I reveled in the fact that the Patriots were unable to make a last second comeback and chuckled that the Dallas Cowboys pulled...well played like the Cowboys to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, I missed the pageantry of college football. There were even upsets. Minnesota used two guys off the practice squad to run up 40+ on Philly. The Rams ambushed the Saints. And the Chargers beat Peyton Manning (which I always enjoy). There's just something different about it all. Maybe it's because the two teams I cheer for are out of it. Hell, I'm even cheering for the Falcons to lose in order to secure a better draft pick. I would never do that if the Dawgs were involved. Regardless, I'll continue to ween myself off of college football with meaningless bowl games and get into pro football with more meaningful playoff games. I'm sure you are all prepared to do the same.

1) It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - If you need proof, here's a video of a bunch of Santas beating the crap out of some guys after Santacon (whatever that is). Probably not safe for work.

Ahhhh. Takes me back to my childhood. (Just kidding family. I know it was really Easter Bunny fights we had when I was a kid).

2) The NBA Eastern Conference (It's Craptastic) - At this moment there are 3 teams in the NBA East with winning records: the Pacers, Heat, and Hawks. If the playoffs started today, the 8 seed would be a 9-13 Toronto team. Let's compare that to the Western Conference where only 5 teams have a losing record. There, the 8 seed would be Dallas who have a record of 14-10 (they'd be 3rd in the East). And people wonder why folks don't care about the NBA around here.

3) Where has all the defense gone -  I saw a stat yesterday that more points were scored this past Sunday in the NFL than any other Sunday ever (763). Yet, Herm Edwards was still preaching the need for a solid defense to win a title. Well, it's probably true. Seattle and San Francisco have a top notch defense. New Orleans is top 10. So is Carolina and Arizona. Wait. You know what that list tells me. The winner of the Super Bowl is coming from the NFC. Peyton Manning can't win consistently in the cold. New England has injury issues. The Bengals regained Bungle form on Sunday (plus their best defensive player is done for the year). Indianapolis has been inconsistent. The Chiefs don't have the offensive weapons. And the Dolphins and Ravens just don't seem like contenders. However, if the NFL has proven one thing it's that you just have to get in the playoffs to have a chance. I think Seattle is the best team and to be able to play at home almost assures them of a deep run, but strange things happen in the NFL playoffs. We'll see.

4) Coaching Carousel - Sure the CFB regular season is over but like the NFL, college ball is becoming year round. Bowls will fill the void starting this weekend but until then, Coaching News! So Saban stays put. Can't say I'm really surprised. Things at Texas would be no different than they would at Bama. An NFL job offer would still be intriguing though (Don't think that extension is iron clad). But I think Uncle Nick is staying put. Mack Brown, however, is not and this could open a big chain reaction. A few of the names popping up to possibly take the job in Austin include David Shaw at Stanford and even Jimbo Fischer at FSU. It brings into question just how good the Texas job is. FSU and Stanford are currently both Top 10 programs. Texas is not. But Austin is an amazing city and the resources the Longhorns command are 2nd to none (including their own TV network that no one has). But as Uncle Ben taught us, with great power comes great responsibility. Jimbo would be the most popular man in Tallahassee not named Bobby if he were to take home a victory. He also has very fertile recruiting grounds in the states of Florida and Georgia. Does he want the headaches that could go with a move to Austin? Same goes for David Shaw. He's got Stanford at the top of the PAC-12. California has plenty of talent to recruit and the fans in Palo Alto are far more forgiving than those Texas maniacs. The Longhorns aren't going to settle for just anyone. Whoever they end up with could cause quite a chain reaction. For instance, I don't think he'd leave if they win it all but let's say Jimbo does end up there. Don't you think Florida State would give Mark Richt a call? I think Coach Richt is all Dawg now but don't you think he'd be tempted to go back to where it all began for him? To play in the watered down ACC rather than against the SEC week in and week out and with a team that's loaded (including their Heisman trophy winning QB) for next season. Sounds better than having to replace your All-SEC world QB and playing another vicious schedule in Athens. Just something to think about moving forward.