Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Powder Rankings

I believe some of the voters for ESPN.com's NFL power rankings are on crack. I don't even know what league they watch.
There is only one ranking system on earth that makes less sense is the BCS (see my last post), so at least the power rankings don't determine any sort of major championship.
In the end, the overall rankings are basically right by my estimation, but some of the voters are completely off their rockers.
Let's take Matt Williamson of Scouts, inc., for example.
His rankings are as follows:
1. New York Giants- even though they lost to Cleveland.
2. Tennessee Titans- even though they are the last remaining undefeated team. I'll let that one slide.
3. Philadelphia Eagles- 5-4...enough said. Here's another stat, they're 0-3 against their division, which kills them in almost any tie-breaker.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers- That one makes sense.
5. Carolina Panthers- I don't think the Panthers are really this good, but everyone else does, so I'll let him have this one.
6. Tampa Bay Buccanneers-These guys are 6-3, but they've lost to New Orleans, Denver, and Dallas, who Williamson ranks 20,22,16, respectively. Basically, even he knows his rankings are nonsensical.
7. Washington Redskins- Even though they beat Philadelphia. Then again, so did nearly everyone else. Their only losses are to Williamson's numbers 1, 4, and a loss to the Rams in an emotional rebound game, yet they are ranked below Philly and Tampa Bay.
8. Baltimore Ravens- Overall, a decent team for a team who doesn't have a quarterback.
9. Arizona Cardinals- These guys are the slumlords of the NFL, ruling a division full of 2-7 opponents.
10. New York Jets- A 6-3 division leader with a hall of fame quarterback and talented runningbacks, yet they're behind 3 second-place teams and a third-place team.

And that's just the screwiness at the top. There are other spots down lower where I think he got tired of thinking.
There really isn't any reason for me to question these rankings, other than to say this: Why does Matt Wiliamson get to vote in such a highly-publicized poll and make so much money while I can't get a full-time job as any sort of sports writer?
I want some of what he's snorting.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Irony, anyone?

Pete Carroll thinks the BCS "stinks."
The same BCS system that, by virtue of pre-season rankings and hype always favoring his Trojans, gives his team the first crack at a number 1 BCS ranking. (See USC's mysterious jump over an undefeated UGA to number one circa, September 2008).
His team always forfeits their claim to an automatic title game bid by losing inexplicably to Stanford or explicably to Oregon State early in the season, but don't worry, Pete, you'll be back.
That said, he's calling for a playoff system in college football.
He has a point, as there are several questionable re-arrangements present in the most recent BCS rankings. (See Pat Forde on espn.com).
Thus, I see it necessary, or just plain fun, to predict what a playoff would look like if we merely substituted it for the current set-up, and predict the media surrounding each matchup.
Here we go...

FIRST ROUND
(1) Alabama vs. (8) West Virginia "Can the Tide's vaunted defense slow down the mighty Mountaineers? It's the Mountaineers versus Mount Cody (overly white chuckle from Herbstreit.)" Alabama wins, 31-17.

(2)Texas Tech vs. (7) Georgia Tech "In this battle of the Tech's, we know this: Texas Tech will have more yardage through the air, and Georgia Tech will have more rushing yards. Heck, both might get a shutout in their respective specialties (overly white chuckle from Herbstreit.)" Texas Tech wins, 42-21.

(3)Penn State vs. (6) Florida "Tim Tebow and the Gators look to contine the SEC's dominance over Big 10 teams in big-time games. I just hope the Nittany Lions haven't asked Ohio State for any advice (overly white chuckle from Herbstreit.)" Florida wins, 49-14.

(4)Texas vs. (5) USC "One thing that I think goes understated is how incredible USC is at (insert every possible factor of the game of football, excluding winning in Corvallis). Who's the underdog here? (overly white...you get the picture.)" Texas wins, 35-31.

SEMIFINALS
(1) Alabama vs. (4) Texas "This one should be a slobber-knocker, folks. That's all we got. No story lines, sorry." Texas wins, 24-21.

(2) Texas Tech vs. (6) Florida "Tim Tebow takes on his Heisman heir (Crabtree or Harrell, take your pick really). How will Texas Tech's aerial assault fare against an SEC defense?" Florida wins, 42-38.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
(4) Texas vs. (6) Florida "Thank God we get to say Tim Tebow some more. In fact, let's say it five more times... Tim Tebow, Tim Tebow, Tim Tebow, Tim Tebow, Tim Tebow. Oh yeah, Texas is here, too." Texas wins, 34-28.

So there you have it. That's how it would happen, if I'm any good at predicting, which I'm not. Tim Tebow.