Random Ramblings: Football 2014

Baseball is my sport, and the very best time of the year- October! - is upon us! Playoff baseball will soon take over my TV viewing time. I do admit that I have been watching a lot of football over these first few weeks of the season, of both the college and professional varieties. Football has been a part of my life since I was about 6 years old- first as a fan, then playing in the yard with neighborhood kids and my dad, then as a player and later as a coach. I understand the game. And while I prefer Saturdays over Sundays during football season (see 7 Reasons College Football is Better than the NFL) I tend to watch it all. With all of the off the field news these days, it just felt like a good time to write about some on the field trends. So here are some very random ramblings from this season...so far!

• Many of my friends who are Florida State fans were quick to credit their team with "coming together in adversity" in their victory over Clemson the other night. To their credit, the Seminoles did keep fighting and never give up. But let's be real here. Clemson should have won that game by at least 2 touchdowns. They gave the game away. FSU did not "persevere and win." The Tigers LOST. I'm happy for the Seminoles, although losing that game might have been the ONLY way to to teach Jameis Winston a lesson.
• Through the first 3 weeks of the NFL season, Tom Brady has looked like a very, VERY average QB and the Patriots in general, although 2-1, look very beatable. These things make me very, VERY happy!
• I am no Alabama fan (Nick Saban is forever on my bad list) but Amari Cooper, the wide receiver for the Crimson Tide, looks like a man playing amongst toddlers on Saturdays. He should win the Heisman (Quarterbacks Only) Trophy, but he won't. If he is not one of the first 3 players taken in the next NFL draft there should be an investigation.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars are awful- perhaps the worst team in the NFL. Unless that the dubious distinction belongs to my Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Neither team will win many (if any!) games and both of their stadiums will feature thousands of empty seats this year. I don't know if anyone could save the teams, but everyone in Florida knows who could still fill the seats. #TebowTime  
• It is entirely possible that the SEC West is the most dominant collection of college football teams we have ever seen under one banner. Any of 4 teams- Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas A&M or Alabama- could win the national championship. Mississippi State just beat then 8th ranked LSU in Baton Rouge. Any of those 6 teams could go unbeaten in the Big 10 11 12 Whatever Conference. If one of them goes undefeated in that division they should get to skip the new playoff and play the winner in one final game for the championship. 
• My early Super Bowl picks- Philadelphia Eagles vs. Denver Broncos. Peyton gets his second ring.
• Will Muschamp has kept his job at Florida because he is supposed to be a defensive genius. This past Saturday proved he is not. He also keeps hiring offensive coordinators who are the wrong kind of offensive. Once again this year, another new coordinator, same boring offense. From a school that gave us the creativity of Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, boring is unacceptable. And btw...I LOVE me some Steve Spurrier!!
• And finally...the Dallas Cowboys need to slow down. They're 2-1. If they win many more games early on they are going to have work hard the second half of the season to finish 8-8. And we know they will!

That's what I'm rambling about today. See you tomorrow!