Stop the Bleeding

Another weekend, another blood bath, the streets of Vegas run red with it. HPBT got punched in the nose again by the gambling gods, going 1-3 in week three and dropping to 4-8 on the season. In a game where you need to win 2 out of every 3 just to beat the vig, there's a lot that needs to change. Good thing this is for entertainment purposes only.

The worst part of the weekend wasn't Iowa State doing exactly what I said they couldn't do and falling behind Army early. (Few things worse than sound handicapping that you don't follow.) The worst wasn't Oregon going up 13-nil on the Trojans before Reggie Bush and Co. scored 45 unanswered. The worst was Kyle Orton tossing four interceptions, to match his four completions, in the first half against the Bengals, not because Cincy covered big, but because I found myself actually caring about an NFL game for the first time in years.

After his success last week, following up a disaster in Week One, I thought Orton might just be good enough to guide this Bears offense. Apparently not, he looked scared to hell. Add this to the fact that the guy doesn't look like a quarterback, he looks like he just walked in off a farm in Iowa, which, I guess, he sort of did. (If he was from Nebraska, he would have played at Crawford High School. That's what he looks like, just pure farm ugly.) To complete the look, Orton brought the Dan Marino facemask out of retirement, the one where the top bar starts at about your bottom lip and ends somewhere around your nipples. Now I like the kid, even after 5 INTs this week, but he looks about as much like a quarterback as James Van Der Beek in Varsity Blues.

On the flip side of that, let's look at what Tom Brady, a guy who has never been accused of looking ugly, did in the fourth quarter against the Steelers. After the centerpiece of their defense, Rodney Harrison, tore every ligament in his knee, the Pats didn't panic, staying in the game. I have rarely felt as confident in a game's outcome as I did with Brady at the helm. He went 12-12 in the 4^th quarter alone for just a shade under 200 yards. The guy is unbelievable, he doesn't do anything spectacular, just does everything right. When the Steelers tied the score with under a minute left, I wasn't even fazed because I had Brady to get us there and Vinatieri to finish...and they did. Thank you New England.

While LSU managed to give last nite's game to Tennessee, thanks in large part to the stellar clock management of their head coach, their defense certainly looked tough for three quarters. They had 14 points and three turnovers at the half. Their coordinator? Bo Pelini. The guy who I wanted to take the helm at Nebraska after Frankie was run out of town. Let's recap, he shored up a shoddy Nebraska defense in his one year there, coached them to a bowl game victory, then was left at the altar for the head coaching job. Since then, he's been good enough to take the defensive reins at Oklahoma and LSU. Not good enough for Nebraska though...hmmm.

---

Make FREE PC-to-PC calls with MSN Messenger. Get it now!