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Good win for the Titans, though it was one they should have won if they're serious about things this year. The defense was utterly dominant all day, Schaub was rattled from the first snap. The offense looked okay as Kerry once again managed the game well. He threw a pick, but with as aggressively as Heimerdinger was calling the plays that was no real surprise. Perhaps I'm overreacting a bit, but are the Titans the best team in the AFC right now? Even if so, I know it won't last all year, but they've looked very good through three games and the normal powers (Colts, Pats, Chargers) have all shown some serious weakness early on. That Super Bowl idea is actually looking more and more like it might be a realistic possiblity each week.

i'm not sure why so few teams in the nfl realize that the fastest way to build a great offense is to build a great O-line. They don't make for pretty coverboys unless your sponsered by Pizza Hut. I think everybody realizes that a great OL is the quickest way to a great O, but building one is easier said than done. The Cowboys have gotten extremely lucky with their OL. Adams was a 2nd rounder that wasn't supposed to be anything more than average, Kosier was supposed to be just an average guy with the flexibility to play multiple positions. Gurode was a C/G out of college and started out his career as a G with where he struggled, but he really found his groove when he was moved to C full time. Davis was a bust as a T and most people heckled the Cowboys for giving him so much money. Columbo was a guy that the Cowboys took a gamble on. His first year he spent with us was on the IR, but we let him rehab and ended up with a pretty RT. The coaching of Hudson Houck also makes a huge difference. That's a good point on Houck - I think the offensive line coach can make a huge difference in how good your O-line is, no matter the relative talent level. The Titans have one of the best in the league coaching the O-line - Mike Munchak - and I don't recall the last time we had a poor O-lineman. Even our backups and third stringers come in and play well.

Giants beat Cincy in OT! And I survive in survival football!

I just pick whoever is playing St. Louis. Hoping it works two weeks in a row It may be moot now (thank you Eli and Toomer), but what happens if a survival football pick you make ties? i'd assume it's a push and you survive Good stuff. Hope you're right.

I just pick whoever is playing St. Louis. Hoping it works two weeks in a row It may be moot now (thank you Eli and Toomer), but what happens if a survival football pick you make ties?

bah, double post.

As do I. :banghead: #-o As do I. F my life. 39 points in my league. :cry:

The only reason I think this'll be a game is that we have a good defense and there's still a chance Auburn can't run the spread offense. It looks like they started figuring things out against LSU, which means UT will likely be destroyed. Oh well... Maybe Jonathon Crompton will learn how to play the quarterback position before Saturday.

As do I. :banghead: #-o

Hey, at least it's better than Tennessee's. #-o

Tennessee, as expected, pretty much looked like crap. The defense actually played a good game, holding Tebow below 100 yards passing and Harvin below 100 yards receiving. Problem is, the offense was utterly inept. Montario Hardesty and Jonathon Crompton each fumbled on Tennessee's first two offensive possessions - resulting in Florida getting the ball each time. The personal foul penalty on UT's first drive was complete and utter crap, though. Even still, Hardesty has to be able to hold onto the football on a screen pass. Also, why in the sweet world did Phil Fulmer think it was even a little bit of a decent idea to punt the ball to freaking Brandon James? Kick the ball out of bounds - not to arguably the best punt returner in college football. That TD return by James was the dagger, in my opinion. The fans still could have gotten behind the Vols enough for them to turn the game around until Cunningham and Fulmer decided to punt the ball to James. I'm becoming very worried about whether Crompton's going to "get it." He hasn't shown much improvement since the UCLA debacle and even had no concept of the playclock or game clock Saturday. He was missing wide open receivers and making inexplicably dumb decisions all day long. Problem is, since we lost Casey Kelly to the Red Sox, there's nobody worth replacing him with. Nick Stephens and B.J. Coleman are nice enough backups, but I don't know that they're starters. This season is in danger of falling apart. EDIT: Let me add that Saturday only reinforced my opinion that Florida is the most talented team in the SEC and probably the second most talented team in the nation behind USC. They are an extremely talented and dangerous team. And it disgusts me to say that.

They definitely had a weaker run defense without him - hence why I feel good about the Titans/Colts game.

Here's the link. I have to think this is really, really bad news for the Colts defense. Last time they were missing Bob, they were pretty terrible. They also won the Super Bowl that year. There defense looked horrible until he came back in the super bowl and there defense looked entirely different. He actually came back at least for the playoffs, if not a game or two earlier. And their defense looked a ton better with him in there. I think it was like the AFC championship game maybe the game before. I think he was out until the playoff, but I could be wrong. According to ESPN's play by play logs, he played in all four playoff games, but not before. He played two games at the start of the season and then the final four in the playoffs.

Here's the link. I have to think this is really, really bad news for the Colts defense. Last time they were missing Bob, they were pretty terrible. They also won the Super Bowl that year. There defense looked horrible until he came back in the super bowl and there defense looked entirely different. He actually came back at least for the playoffs, if not a game or two earlier. And their defense looked a ton better with him in there.

Here's the link. I have to think this is really, really bad news for the Colts defense. Last time they were missing Bob, they were pretty terrible. They also won the Super Bowl that year. This is very true. If they struggle badly for 4-6 weeks while he's out, though, they may run the risk of not winning the division. The Titans are far better than in 2006 and can capitalize on extended struggles by the Colts this season. I definitely feel more comfortable about the Titans/Colts game right now - the first one at least.

Not a clue on that one. I thought it might be an incomplete pass initially, but if I had a whistle I wouldn't have blown it - too questionable.

The problem is, Krivsky hired Dusty - which negates much of the good he did. :D Seriously though, Krivsky did do some good things in Cincy and may have pointed them in the right direction.

I actually don't think he's that great, he's just the most well known. I've seen him make plenty of really bad calls. There's a handful of others who are much better. He's one of the better graded each year because he tends to ref big games. I will say, though, that I don't remember the last Super Bowl he reffed, so he's not in that echelon I suppose. Patriots-Panthers, I think. Thanks. I couldn't remember the last time I remember him in one and have no idea where to look. Wikipedia can be your friend, I guess. Past Super Bowl crews Hochuli's done it twice - as Kyle said the Panthers/Pats was his latest SB. He also did SB XXXII between the Packers and Broncos.

I actually don't think he's that great, he's just the most well known. I've seen him make plenty of really bad calls. There's a handful of others who are much better. He's one of the better graded each year because he tends to ref big games. I will say, though, that I don't remember the last Super Bowl he reffed, so he's not in that echelon I suppose. Patriots-Panthers, I think. Thanks. I couldn't remember the last time I remember him in one and have no idea where to look.

I actually don't think he's that great, he's just the most well known. I've seen him make plenty of really bad calls. There's a handful of others who are much better. He's one of the better graded each year because he tends to ref big games. I will say, though, that I don't remember the last Super Bowl he reffed, so he's not in that echelon I suppose.

It's a really tough call. I want Rich to get the no-hitter each time, but don't want to lose him for extended lengths. I'll never pull for him to allow a hit, but I don't cry when he allows one.

i had to read this a couple of times to make sure i wasn't missing something. i didn't think anyone, let alone a major league manager, could be stupid enough to IBB a lefty batter against a lefty specialist so that the lefty specialist can face a RH batter who hammers lefties. It almost seems like Yost just didn't care anymore. Either that or he's literally [expletive]. Or maybe it's both. This was so far out there and sounded so ridiculous I had to look into it a bit more. In fairness to Yost(I can't believe I just said that), Burrell batted .181 in August and he's batting .194 in September. His OBP is under .300 since July. Conversely, Howard is batting .354 in September with a .917 slugging percentage and has been spraying the balls to all parts of the field against both RHP and LHP . So you can see why he would rather face Burrell than the hot hitting Ryan Howard. The choice here was between career numbers versus recent numbers. Yost went with the recent numbers and it didn't work this time. Still. This doesn't take into account the studlines of Shouse against LHP. That's far and away the most egregious part of it. It's a pretty stupid move either way, but it's at least understandable with the recent numbers and if he had a righty (or lefty without extreme splits) on the mound. Given that he had a pitcher who specializes in getting lefties out, it's senseless to walk any left to get to a righty. I wonder if he said "to hell with it" and gave up. I heard Melvin had called him in at one point and asked Ned what he thought the problem was, and Ned said "I don't know. I really don't know." That's the talk around here anyway -- that when Ned had that conversation with Melvin, they both realized it was over. Very strong possibility there. And I, like others have said, am shocked that Ned Yost worked for years under Bobby Cox. Their philosophies seem so much different.

they're a little thin when it comes to pitching, and frankly, i'm a little worried about will white's arm after tossing 480 innings and 52 complete games. Sounds like Dusty's already had a hold of that pitching staff.

That's BS. Yeah, he blew that call terribly. But is it his fault that the NFL that incomplete passes aren't reviewable? He's one of the better refs in the league. He got one wrong. It happens. And I think I'm the last remaining Rams fan. I guess I know how the Lorax felt... (Good God, the Rams are terrible.) I don't think it's too much BS. He made a mistake in a pretty critical situation and probably cost the Chargers the game. With that in mind, I don't have a problem with him getting graded down. Now, he should still be in line for the playoffs and Super Bowl barring more mistakes. He is still one of the best out there. You can review incomplete passes. You can't review a play once the ref blows the whistle. The problem was he screwed up by blowing the whistle too soon. It's not the NFL's fault. Exactly, it's his fault. Had he not blown the whistle that quickly the play would have continued and the Chargers likely win the game. I think Hochuli's a great ref, but he made a mistake and deserved to get graded down for it.

Here's the link. I have to think this is really, really bad news for the Colts defense. Last time they were missing Bob, they were pretty terrible.