by Tom Weppel
Random thoughts from a cluttered mind...
The Jaguars come back to Jacksonville this Sunday to face a Carolina Panther squad that has certainly struggled this season. Obviously, people are still talking about the Jags losing to the Colts again last weekend. They feel the Jags had a chance to win that came in oh-so-many ways, but the Colts played a more disciplined game, and they made the plays they needed to when they needed them. So it looks like Jacksonville will be going after one of the two wild card slots available in the post-season. They certainly have a prime opportunity to get one of those and then see what happens in the playoffs. As we’ve seen, anything can happen.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are a team in disarray. Last week they picked up a victory over a depleted 49er team. They have 44-year old Vinny Testaverde playing QB for them. Head coach John Fox has been successful with Carolina, until this season. This franchise is the equal nemesis of the Jaguars, since both started their lives at the same time. While the Panthers are not a great team, they are still very formidable, and the Jags will have to come back with a strong performance to pick up their ninth victory.
The marquee game this weekend will certainly be in Foxboro when the Steelers go in to take on the New England Patriots. We all saw a few weeks ago, when the other NFL team from Pennsylvania, the Eagles, actually gave the Pats a very nice run for their money. Now we’ll see how Pittsburgh performs against the team everyone is pointing to as THE team in the NFL.
Pittsburgh certainly has the talent to compete with New England. If they were to beat the Pats, they would serve notice that they indeed are a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, the 0-12 Dolphins are heading to Buffalo Sunday. It is possible for Miami to go without a win this season. The boys down South are not happy about any of this.
In the NFC, Green Bay will want to bounce back from their loss to Dallas by hosting the Oakland Raiders, while the Cowboys travel to Detroit to take on a slumping Lions club.
We all now know that LSU and Ohio St. will be playing in the BCS Championship in New Orleans on January 7th. While we have seen a plethora of upsets and losses by highly-ranked teams this season, especially all the #2’s, those games and outcomes have made this not nearly as glamorous as we have seen in past years, and it can further strengthen those who are wanting to have a concrete playoff system in place for college football, as opposed to the current system.
It is very fair to say that the Tigers and Buckeyes both had poor losses to taint their stature heading into this game. LSU has lost to Kentucky and Arkansas, both games lost in 3 OTs, while the Buckeyes lost AT HOME to Illinois. Those losses have brought the luster of their contest in January down a notch or two. Many are wondering whether LSU deserved to be in this game. Oklahoma and USC each only had two losses and felt as if they should’ve been considered to play Ohio State.
While this debate is in one way fantastic for college football as an industry, it is also harmful because it shows the process to determine a champion is still tarnished, to an extent. There’s no question a playoff could and would work, if it were put together the right way. When that will ever become a reality is beyond me.
This area is not a basketball hotbed by any means, so I thought it would be good to let everyone know that there is a damn good team down the road from us in Orlando called the MAGIC! These guys have already been making things happen in the NBA this year. It seems the alterations they made to their roster and coaching staff is making a huge difference.
During the off-season, the Magic got Rashard Lewis, who was a free agent, having previously played for the Sonics. He is now matched up on the baseline with forward Hedo Turkoglu and center Dwight Howard and the trio has become quite effective with their strong play.
During the off-season, Orlando also hired Steve Van Gundy to coach the squad. Van Gundy had previously been down in Miami with the Heat. It seems he knew what he was doing, because now he has the Magic boys playing some damn good basketball. As of last Sunday, they had a 15-4 record, having beaten the Celtics and the Lakers this year already. They have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, behind only Boston. If the Orlando Magic keep things going like this all season, they could indeed make a strong run for the Eastern Conference title.
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Lonnie Marts, Eugene Chung, Artis Gilmore, and Ron Duguay on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
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