To paraphrase Keith Jackson about this week’s USF-UCF game: “The fans of these two teams just don’t like each other.” USF-UCF: the War/Snore/Bore on I-4 - you chose the nickname. After two weeks at least half of you are still within three points of first place. If you missed the first two weeks, you’re still welcome to enter. The top three finishers at the end of the season will win gift certificates to Bulls Heaven worth $100, $50 and $25.
The fine print: To enter respond to the “comments†link below and answer the questions. First and last names (no initials), hometown and a valid E-mail address are required. Your E-mail address will NOT be published and only will be used to contact the winners. The deadline for entries is one hour before USF’s kickoff. Remember when posting your comment/picks it won’t post immediately and may take an hour or so, so be patient. Only one entry per person per week is allowed. Anyone using false names or E-mails will be disqualified.
On to week three. To spice things up, I’ll add a pick the score bonus (worth 5 points, if anyone can nail it exactly). Good Luck.
1-Pick USF-UCF winner.
2-Will USF score more or less than 24½ points?
3-Who will rush for more yards: USF or UCF?
4-Which figure will be greater: (A) Taurus Johnson’s receiving yards, (B) Ean Randolph’s punt return yards, (C) combined rushing yards for Ben Williams and Walt Smith, (D) USF’s penalty yards?
5-Pick Miami-Louisville winner.
Bonus: Pick USF-UCF winner and exact score (worth 5 points).
The long awaited, highly anticipated matchup (for UCF fans anyway) finally happens this afternoon. Here’s how I see it.
1-USF beats UCF 21-7. At last look, USF is favored by 1-2 points, but it won’t be that close. USF will dominate. The Bulls’ defense is much stronger than UCF’s defense and that ultimately will prove to be the difference.
2-USF scores less than 24½ points. It should be a low scoring contest and if USF gets an early lead, the Bulls will try to control the clock.
3-UCF rushes for more yards. With USF down to its third RB, the Bulls’ running game struggled last week against FIU. UCF will try to pound the ball against USF’s alleged weaklink on the defensive line. The Bulls can’t continue to rely on QB Matt Grothe being their leading rusher, can they?
4-USF’s penalty yards will be greater. After seeing what Taurus Johnson and Ean Randolph did last week, I’d be shocked if UCF coaches didn’t make sure they keep a close eye on those two. If I’m UCF, I just punt it out of bounds instead of kicking to Randolph. In what should be a highly emotional game, sometimes we tend to see more of the yellow hankies. I’ll go with USF’s proven record of penalties over the other categories.
5-Louisville beats Miami. For The Tampa Tribune’s college football preview section, I predicted the ‘Ville playing in the national championship game. If so, the Cardinals can’t lose to Miami. Louisville makes a huge statement today for the ‘Ville - and the Big East.
Blah blah blah blah blah. Doo wah diddy diddy mmmmbop. Umm, blah blah stutter blah pffft.
That’s what this column would look like if I didn’t at least try. It looks ridiculous, doesn’t it? Whether you think I did a good job (thanks, Mom!) or a poor one (the rest of you,) at least you know I showed up and gave it a shot.
On Sunday, the Bucs did not show up. Which is curious since it was a home game. No, the team that represented Tampa Bay was a bunch of guys who had apparently never played together before, never seen a playbook, and were possibly coached by Leeman Bennett. This “team” generated zero points, 163 yards of total offense, allowed more interception return yards than passing yards, and got kicked up and down the field by a squad never known for their offensive production. I would compare these imposter Bucs to the replacement squad of 1987, but that wouldn’t be fair to the scabs who at least scored occasionally and won a couple games.
Fans will be quick to blame Chris Simms, and they are right to do so. Though the offensive line was missing a couple starters and the backups were somewhat out of position (why start Sean Mahan at left guard when he played all 16 games in 2005 at right guard?) Simms usually had plenty of time to scan the field and find an open receiver. Except he didn’t scan the field. He dropped back, pointed at his target receiver, shouted “I’M PASSING NOW!”, and let the ball fly into the hands of a defender who jumped on cue. How else do you explain three batted balls (one for an interception) when an entire offseason was spent on teaching Simms how to stop staring down receivers and telegraphing his throws? And the times where he didn’t hold the ball too long, he made poor decisions and was off target. It’s not that Chris McAlister made an exceptional play on the pass intended for Doug Jolley; the ball was just woefully underthrown.
Speaking of that interception, did it look to you like the entire offense just gave up on pursuing McAlister down the right sideline? It seems like Cadillac had a shot at him, but broke off pursuit when it looked like a defender had an angle on him. As with the rest of the game, it looked like they just weren’t trying.
Simms’s receivers didn’t help him out much, either. Joey Galloway, the Bucs’ best receiver, had a pass hit him right on the “8” but couldn’t bring it in. That’s the only time a ball came close to Joey, who never make a catch this game. Most of the time, the Ravens dropped eight defenders and gave Buc receivers no chance to get open.
Bruce Gradkowski came in at the end of the game, but only to keep Simms from getting killed. Gradkowski coompleted exactly one pass and looked uncomfortable in the pocket that was continually collapsing under the weight of a Raven defense that simply never let up. This shouldn’t be seen as the beginning of a quarterback controversy. But a couple more performances like this from Lefty, and look for the poorly written “Make Simms sit” signs to start popping up in the stands at Ray Jay.
The Bucs have had bad quarterback performances before, though, and come out victorious through exceptional play of their defense. And this preseason, it looked like the Buc defense would be even better than last year. But from the first play of the game, the Raven offensive line dominated the Bucs and gave Jamal Lewis huge holes to run through and Steve McNair all the time he needed to pick apart a Buc defense that recorded no turnovers and only one sack. Not that they didn’t have the chance to get a turnover or two. The Ravens fumbled four times but recovered them all themselves. You could say the ball just didn’t bounce their way, but opportunistic Buc defenses of the past recovered those balls anyway. These Bucs just didn’t seem to… care.
Jon Gruden has to shoulder some of this blame, too. For a coach whose first words to the Buc faithful after a Super Bowl victory were “Pound that rock!”, there weren’t a lot of pounding plays called. The Bucs ran the ball only 13 times, Cadillac Williams only getting eight of those. Maybe Gruden didn’t have any faith in his patchwork offensive line… the Bucs’ first two offensive plays were bootlegs. When it was obvious that Simms wasn’t on his game, wouldn’t it have been smart to run the ball more? Even after Williams left the game with back spasms, Michael Pittman (who ran the ball very well last year) could have been used to wear down Raven linebackers and maybe keep a few guys out of coverage to help Galloway or Michael Clayton get open. Whatever the reason, the coach abandoned the running game and put the outcome in his quarterback’s hands. The same hands that only attempted 26 passes in the entire preseason. So much for the theory that resting your starters in the offseason keeps them fresh. Sore and ready seems to beat fresh and rusty.
This is only week 1. The Bucs lost to the Saints at home opening day in 2002 and that turned out pretty well. And you hate to call any game in the first month a “must win”. But with Atlanta and Carolina coming up before the bye, these games will set the tone for the rest of the season. And so far, the tone is pretty flat.
Took a swing by the Ice Sports Forum to see what was taking place and it’s easy to tell that camp is close to starting because there a number of new faces showing up for the informal workouts. Among them are Ryan Craig, Andy Delmore, Filip Kuba, Andreas Karlsson, John Holmqvist, Doug O’Brien, Mitch Fritz, Nikita Alexeev, Eric Perrin, Luke Richardson and Paul Ranger. Nothing real exciting took place today and it was VERY cold inside the building today so if you plan on coming out to camp at all, please, please, please make sure to bring a jacket with you - you’ll be sorry if you don’t.
There was a bit of a scare late in the workout when Ryan Craig took a puck off his right eye. It wasn’t too bad, however, as he wanted to keep playing but was told to come off the ice to get it looked at. Turns out to be just a slight bump that didn’t require any stitches and it won’t cause any problems for him.
Apparently it’s all about the tape. Following treatment and weight lifting, that’s what the Bucs’ players were getting ready to do - watch the tape of yesterday’s game.
I don’t blame them for not being in any hurry to review the 27-0 loss to Baltimore, but it’s a necessary evil.
Right guard Jeb Terry, who made his first NFL start against the Ravens, said the tape will be able to pinpoint the breakdowns on the offensive line. Coach Jon Gruden said one of the main problems in Sunday’s loss was the lack of communication, some of which can be attributed to the recent changes to the line because of injuries. Terry started in place of rookie Davin Joseph (knee sprain) and Sean Mahan started in place of Dan Buenning (ankle sprain).
Terry will remain the starting right guard until Joseph is able to return, which could be as soon as after the bye week. Buenning is expected to practice Wednesday and should play against Atlanta.
It wasn’t doom and gloom in the Bucs’ locker room today, though there weren’t a lot of players milling about. Chris Simms entered near the end of the open locker room session, but was off limits to the media. Simms speaks to the media on Wednesdays.
Katherine’s off to speak to the players. Stay with TBO.com as she posts updates on their reaction to Sunday’s loss.
The Bucs will tryout a handful of long snappers today because the status of Dave Moore is uncertain.
Moore suffered a rib injury against Baltimore.
Coach Jon Gruden joked that with the struggling offense, the long snapper could be the busiest guy on the team.
“It may be the best acquisition we make because we are going to punt a lot,” Gruden said.
Starting right guard Davin Joseph will miss his second straight game with a sprained knee.
Joseph was injured during practice last week, but Coach Jon Gruden is hopeful Joseph could return after the Bucs bye week, which is at the end of the month.
If the rookie guard remains on that timetable, he would make his NFL debut against New Orleans on Oct. 8.
Gruden is also confident starting left guard Dan Buenning will be able to play against Atlanta. The team expects Buenning, who has been bothered by a sprained ankle, to practice Wednesday.
As for the back spasms that bothered Cadillac Williams in Sunday’s game, Gruden said he doesn’t think they will be a problem this week. But it’s an injury that kept Williams out of the beginning of training camp.
“Anything that happens to Cadillac is a concern,” Gruden said.
Starting middle linebacker Shelton Quarles said he will be ready to play against Atlanta on Sunday.
Of course, Quarles said the same thing last week. Barrett Ruud started in Quarles’ place against Baltimore after a groin injury that had been bothering Quarles flared up during pre-game warmups.
Quarles confirmed he would play this week as he left the Bucs training facility Monday, which happens to be his birthday.
Early Sunday morning at a Tallahassee hotel, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden renewed a tradition that dates back to when he first arrived at FSU: Breakfast With Bobby. Most sportswriters I know would prefer Brunch With Bobby, but about eight hours after filing a story from the FSU-Troy game Saturday night, off I headed for my first Breakfast With Bobby.
Before I even got to the hotel, I made a pit stop at a convenience store for some coffee. I wanted to be fully awake for Bowden’s usual colorful commentary and Southern witticisms. By the time the caffeine started to kick in, I had my notebook and pen in place as I chomped on a plate of biscuits and gravy waiting on Bowden. The recipe for Breakfast With Bobby is simple: On Sunday mornings after FSU home games, Bowden meets with writers who cover the team regularly to discuss last night’s game, next week’s game and everything in between.
The chat sessions usually last about an hour or so and when they’re over, Bowden departs for church. On Sunday, the topics included FSU’s woeful running game through two games, the upcoming game against Clemson, the days when Charlie Ward ran FSU’s spread offense, freshman tight end Brandon Warren’s great catch in Saturday’s game against Troy, FSU linebacker Buster Davis wanting to leave school during his freshman season, and of course, Saturday’s narrow victory against Troy.
Breakfast With Bobby II is a week away. I can’t wait. Those biscuits and gravy were really good, and Bowden wasn’t too bad either. We’ll give you a more detailed report next week.
You wonder how a team can go from division champion to whatever that was getting run over top of Sunday at Ray-Jay in the space of an off-season, but maybe we already knew. In times like this, you look back on all the things that scared you about the Bucs heading into this year because every fear came true in front of our eyes in a 27-0 loss to the Ravens.
Fear No. 1: Offensive line. There were extenuating circumstances (two starters were hurt), but it was over-matched by the Ravens’ defense.
Fear No. 2: Chris Simms is still too inexperienced. Well, I think he’ll be just fine, but you’d have to give credence to at least a little of the paranoia after watching him struggle. A lot of people wondered if his limited work in the exhibition season didn’t catch up with him (he said that wasn’t a factor), but whatever the problem he simply must play better.
Fear No. 3: Cadillac wasn’t ready. Here’s another guy who didn’t work out the kinks much in training camp, but you can discount at least part of his 8-carry, 22-yard day as a product of the one-sided score. The Bucs weren’t going to catch up by running. Then again, there were no holes for him to run through anyway (see Fear. No. 1).
Fear No. 4: The defense is getting old. The defense sure looked creaky on the Ravens’ opening drive, which took about 9 minutes and chewed up most of the first quarter. And where were the takeaways when the Bucs needed to force a turnover to get back in the game?
Fear No. 5: A lack of depth at receiver. They sure didn’t show much, did they? Lots of dropped passes and very few open targets for Simms to hit.
Fear No. 6: Standing pat wasn’t the way to go. The Bucs didn’t do anything significant during free agency and their top draft pick, guard Davin Joseph, missed the game because of injury. It didn’t take long to learn that this year isn’t last year, did it?
It’s one thing to lose. It’s another to get humiliated. Yes, it’s only one game - common sense requires that we say that. But is anyone else out there getting a bad case of the uh-ohs right now?
The Devil Rays released first baseman Travis Lee immediately following Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Athletics.
Manager Joe Maddon said Lee had become the odd man out with Ty Wigginton, Greg Norton and Kevin Witt in rotation at first base. In 114 games, Lee batted .224 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs.
“He has really saved us many times this season on defense,” said Maddon. “He’s got a uniqueness with his footwork, in a good way. And he’s got an uncanny knack for picking balls out of the dirt.”
I don’t know what was worse - my week two picks or USF’s running game against FIU. I went 1-4, only correctly predicting Matt Grothe wouldn’t throw for more than 230 yards. Most of you also struggled with the picks this week, except for these lucky eight - Doug Currier II, Columbia, S.C.; Kevin Ellerbrock, Wesley Chapel; Wayne H. Jacobus, Edison, N.J; Brandon Lang, Tampa; Jay Mize, Tampa; Brian Motroni, Tampa; Rob Schofield, Boston; and Sam Yanka, Sturbridge, Mass. - who all went 4-1.
Here are the corrected standings after two weeks:
8 points: Doug Currier II, Kevin Ellerbrock, Don Frashier, Davin Funt, Brian Motroni
7 points: Scott Allen, Greg Budzban, Jon Frashier, Scott Goldsmith, Wayne H. Jacobus, Brian Kennedy, Brandon Lang, Jay Mize, Derek Pratten, Steven Stacy, Sam Yanka
6 points: Todd Bever, Timothy Brittain, Jason Burkett, Ken DeCelles, Michael Mantei, James Risler, Ryan Roark, Rob Schofield, Brian Smith
5 points: Joshua Barrett, Derry Beck, Mike Berman, Jon Blair, Bob Bleakley, Paul Colee, Carina Geiger, Michael Harding, Jim Johnson, Alan Ledford, Perry Lerner, Brett McMurphy, Tom Owens, Jay Paules, Ronnie Townsend, Chuck Wagner, Mark Wentley
4 points: Justin Aultman, Kevin Brahm, Phil Canto, Craig Crowder, Josh Dillinger, Chad Fugere, Ben Galloway, Chris Harmon, Hector Jimenez, Dan Johnson, Scott Kirchner, Terry Lucas, Adam Mazzei, John Nowotny, Marcus Rodriguez, Jonathan Ruebeling, Brad Solomon, Paul T. White
3 points: Chuck Gerhart, Nathaniel Jacobson, David Lazar, John Nelson, Catherine Nowotny, Cedric Padilla, Doug Preston, Kathy Sawyer, Zonald Spinks, Julie Stacy, Eric Thomas, Lucas Wiseman
2 points: Bill Dickson, James Fishco, Adrian Gil, AnhVu Nguyen, Steve O’Neal, Chance Phillips, Terrell Swagger
1 point: Gary Arnold, Christopher Jett, David Strickland
0 points: Michael Rudowski
Here are the lineups for today’s A’s-Rays game, in which Tampa Bay’s offensive line will try to protect Jae Seo from Oakland’s revamped pass rush:
Athletics:
Jason Kendall, C
Mark Ellis, 2B
Milton Bradley, RF
Frank Thomas, DH
Eric Chavez, 3B
Jay Payton, CF
Nick Swisher, LF
Dan Johnson, 2B
Marco Scutaro, SS
Barry Zito, P
Devil Rays:
Rocco Baldelli, CF
Delmon Young, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Greg Norton, DH
Ty Wigginton, 1B
Jorge Cantu, 2B
Josh Paul, C
B.J. Upton, 3B
Tomas Perez, SS
Jae Seo, P
Tampa Bay’s prospect team dropped its second consecutive game, falling 2-1 to host Detroit Saturday at a rookie tournament in Traverse City, Mich.
For the second straight night the Lightning dropped a close game as the Red Wings scored the game-winner with 4:24 left in the third period. Tampa Bay fell in double overtime to the New York Rangers Friday night. Goaltender Kari Ramo made 25 saves in goal for the Lightning, which received their only goal in the second period from invitee Torrie Wheat to tie the game. P.J. Atherton and Marek Bartanus picked up the assists.
The Lightning are off Sunday but will return to action on Monday against Atlanta.
I had a flashback of Dan Marino cross my mind this weekend. Maybe it’s the cheesy weight loss commercials he’s doing now that jogged my memory. The memory was of an interview before his first trip to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Kansas City Chiefs. Arrowhead had a reputation for causing visiting QB’s trouble communicating with the coaching staff on the sideline because of the crowd noise – this before the advent of in-helmet communication systems. The interviewer asked Dan if he was worried about the noise confusing him and keeping him from hearing Coach Don Shula. Dan replied, “No I’m not worried at all. I’ve trained my ear to pick Coach Shula’s voice out above everything else. I know where he is on the sideline at all times and I look right at him when he speaks to me. No problem.†He showed a lot of wisdom for a young QB.
In a section of the Bible known as ‘wisdom literature’, the Book of Proverbs we’re taught, “If you accept God’s words and store up His commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand and fear the Lord.â€
Like Arrowhead Stadium back in the day, the world we live and move in offers up lots of noise and confusion. This text is one that speaks to us the benefit of training our ear to hear wisdom from God, training our eyes to spot God at work in and amongst all the chaos that we call ‘life’, and of developing an insatiable appetite for God’s presence.
With all that goes on around you at home, at school, in the workplace, among family and friends – how are you at hearing God in the mix?
Today’s text: Proverbs 2
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