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Highlights of NFL, college and fantasy
Due to the ever-changing climate of football (professional, college, fantasy and otherwise), the following column will consist of random musings from one observer on the current state of the young, but already surprising, football season.
• USC’s surprising loss against Washington last weekend was due, in my opinion, mostly to the fact that Head Coach Pete Carroll has made the wrong choice at quarterback. Matt Barkley has been good, and I know he was hurt against Washington, so the result may have been different. But he also hasn’t been asked to do much so far, and although his game-winning drive against Ohio State was impressive, Barkley only passed on five of the drive’s 14 plays. Against Washington, backup QB Aaron Corp was not good. My question since Barkley was named the starter has been this: Why not Mitch Mustain? The senior led Arkansas to a great record in 2006, and has had much more big game experience than Barkley. I don’t know why he wasn’t named the starter in the first place. With a true freshman at QB, no matter how good he is, problems will arise and if all Carroll wants to do is hand the ball off, why not start the most experienced guy and let Barkley sit for a year?
• Everyone is talking about Florida struggling against Tennessee, but it shouldn’t be anything to worry about. While Florida Coach Urban Meyer was busy making excuses for the way his team played (several of his players had the flu while playing), he would have been better off saying nothing. It just made him appear worried and weak. An eventual SEC championship showdown with Alabama would be highly entertaining. If Alabama can beat #4 Ole Miss in a few weeks, they shouldn’t have problems with overrated #7 LSU and might be on its way to fulfilling a great national championship-caliber game.
• If not for the Buffalo Bills coming up with one of the most creative ways to lose ever conceived, the New England Patriots — many experts’ pick to win the Super Bowl this year — would be staring at 0-2. Last year, the Indianapolis Colts looked terrible for the first seven games with QB Peyton Manning coming off knee surgery, much like Pats QB Tom Brady did. They started 3-4 but ended up winning every game from that point, finishing 12-4. New England is looking at a tough four-week stretch starting this weekend against the Atlanta Falcons, who look much stronger than last season’s very good team. If the Pats can head into their bye week at 4-3, they’ll be dangerous to finish the year.
• I keep hearing about how Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo choked against the New York Giants at the billion-dollar “Screw You, Recession” Stadium, but at some point the Giants’ clear weaknesses are going to be exploited. So far, they’re impotent in the red-zone and their running game is close to inept (even though I have Brandon Jacobs on my fantasy team). Their front seven also looked awful against the Cowboys Sunday as Dallas put up 250 yards on the ground. And for all the flack Romo is getting, he still led the Cowboys on a touchdown drive to put them ahead late, forcing the Giants to drive for a winning field goal, despite being plus-4 in the turnover category. At plus-4 in turnovers, the Giants should have won by 17 or more. They might be in trouble if they can’t fix their problems in the coming three weeks, because their mid- to late-season schedule is very tough.
In the fantasy world, has anyone else noticed the slim pickins at running back? Outside of the top six or seven guys, who can you trust? Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore and Chris Johnson have been fabulous, but high picks Michael Turner, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Forte and LaDainian Tomlinson have each put up stinkers. Who expected Cadillac Williams and Julius Jones to round out the top 15? (I did, because I drafted both of them) Worse yet, if you had a late pick in your draft and went WR-WR in round one and two, chances are, you’ve been disappointed with at least one of them. Randy Moss hasn’t been himself, and Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald have been consistently okay. If you took a late-round flier on Willis McGahee at running back though, congratulations — you’re probably doing pretty well if you have that kind of foresight.
That’s it folks. Enjoy the coming weeks.
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