A View from the Sideline

This is the right side

That was then...

This is now!
The Rematch
So, sure, the Horns and the Red Raiders meet every season, but last year’s
39-33 Texas Tech win was an all-timer. It may have been the best win in
Texas Tech history and it was the loss that cost Texas a shot at the Big 12
title and a national championship. Texas players have said they haven’t
even looked at the schedule, but trust me, they all knew when this one
was taking place: Saturday September 19th - This Saturday, boys!

Catch Lance Zierlein from 6 to 10 am daily, the Sean and John show, with Sean Pendergast
alongside John Granato. Listen to John Harris on show 3 to 7 PM daily. www.1560thegame.com
TENNESSEE (1-1) VS. FLORIDA (2-0) VEGAS SAYS: FLA -29
September 19, 2009 Stopping the Tebow-led offense is easy: take away Jeff
CBS 2:30 PM CST Demps. Whoa, whaaaa??? Yes, you heard me, take away
It’s a shame that during the Tim Tebow era the explosive running back Jeff Demps (and if you can do
Tennessee Volunteers have been a joke. Sure, in 2006 that, you can stop Chris Rainey as well) and the Gator
when Tebow was a true freshman and Chris Leak was offense is perhaps a level below “god-like”. There’s so
under center, the Vols made it competitive, but the last much discussion about Tebow, that many don’t realize the
two years have been an abomination - 89-26 combined key to the offense is the burst Demps has and the ability
score. he has to take every
But, this year’s single run to the
Tennessee Players to Watch different...the house. Contain Florida Players to Watch
RB #11 Bryce Brown Gators are actually Demps. Don’t let QB # 15 Tim Tebow
RB #2 Montario Hardesty mad at Tennessee. him hit the 14.7 LB #51 Brandon Spikes
FS #14 Eric Berry DE #8 Carlos Dunlap
Uh oh. Tennessee yards per carry
PR #7 Nu’keese Richardson CB #1 Janoris Jenkins
head coach Lane mark and you have
Kiffin ran his a chance.
mouth all spring and But, don’t let
summer long like the cocksure 12 year old who could Jonathan Crompton turn it over and kill any chance
write checks his butt couldn’t cash. But, the Gators insist you’ve got to win. RBs Montario Hardesty and Bryce
this isn’t about proving Kiffin wrong, but somehow, it is. Brown can pound 30 to 35 times, so let them and, well...

PREDICTION: FLORIDA - 38 VS. TENNESSEE - 17

...maybe? Okay, maybe, but, more than likely, maybe not. The Gators have started a little slowly in
each of the first two wins, but don’t expect that in this one. Head coach Urban Meyer won’t need
to rub it in, a thorough drubbing will work, especially with #15 on the sideline in the 4th quarter.

NEBRASKA (2-0) VS. VA. TECH (1-1) VEGAS SAYS: VT -4

September 12, 2009 The key for Virginia Tech is moving, or just occupying,
ABC/ESPN2 2:30 PM CST All-American DT Ndamukong Suh. He can completely
Who misses Darren Evans raise your hand? Virginia disrupt the Hokies blocking scheme and his battle with
Tech fans may have panicked early on during pre-season Sergio Render et al is the penultimate matchup this
camp when Evans went down with a knee injury. But, the weekend. Coach Bo Pelini may have thought his
Hokies proved last week, that the Ryan Williams- defense was soft, but with Suh on board, that isn’t true.
David Wilson combination might prove to be a bit
much for everybody, including the visiting Nebraska Nebraska QB Zac Lee has been a pleasant surprise,
Huskers. especially last week
against Arkansas
Nebraska Players to Watch Behind Williams’ State. He was 27 Va. Tech Players to Watch
QB #5 Zac Lee strong first half, of 35 for 340 yards RB #34 Ryan Williams
DT #93 Ndamukong Suh and four RB #4 David Wilson
RB #10 Roy Helu Jr. the Hokies jumped DE #6 Jason Worilds
S #4 Larry Asante to a big lead touchdowns. Most G #70 Sergio Render
against Marshall importantly, he
and didn’t look didn’t throw any
back. Wilson did the damage in a backup role, but picks. The Hokie
could see more carries this week to give Williams a blow. defense is opportunistic and will harrass Lee with a
This is the way Virginia Tech wants to win games - play variety of zone blitz looks and ‘robber’ coverage. If he
defense and run the football. But, with a little Tyrod gets off to a bad start, the Huskers could really struggle.
Taylor mixed in, the Hokies are dangerous on offense. The Huskers tackles must contain DE Jason Worilds

PREDICTION: VIRGINIA TECH - 28 VS. NEBRASKA - 17

This is what I love about Nebraska. Amongst the FAUs and the Arkansas State’s of the world, it’ll
take on a Virginia Tech on the back end of a home and home, while VT has already played Alabama.
That Alabama experience will be hugely valuable for VT. Virginia Tech will run the ball well and pick
off Lee a couple of times in a statement win.
HOUSTON (0-1) VS. TENNESSEE (0-1)
VEGAS SAYS: TEN -6.5 / 40.5
September 20, 2009
CBS 12:00 PM CST
I fully expect the Texans to come out in this one and
show a great deal of improvement with their running
game.  Last week the Texans had a very difficult time
keeping the Jets defensive linemen from getting
penetration and that lead to LBs running free.  The
Titans have a tough run defense, but they rely on speed
as well as physicality and the Texans tend to deal with
fast defensive lines better than strong ones.  If the
Texans don't run the ball well, the play-action game will
be a non-factor once again.  I also think you'll see the
Texans get Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels involved
early on in the game.  The Jets blitz packages confused
the Texans last week, but look for the Titans to rush just
four for much of the game.
 
The Titans have proven in the past that while they are a
running team, they aren't afraid to trust Kerry Collins
with the passing attack and Collins is capable in that
role.  Last year in the Texans 13-12 win, the Texans came
into the game with a plan to blitz Collins between the
tackles.  Their rationale was that Collins wasn't evasive
enough to sidestep their blitzes from up the middle and
if he saw the pressure coming, he would be much less
likely to make good decisions.  The Texans gameplan
worked.  This time around, the Titans will be prepared
for the blitzes they saw last year, but I still believe that
they will lean on Chris Johnson and Lendale White to
win this game for them.
The Texans have quite a bit to prove after last weeks
pathetic effort and there is no question that they are
looking forward to showing fans and others around the
league that they aren't soft.  I look for the Texans to
have more success on offense that some expect, but I
also think that the Texans defense is in for a dogfight
against a very good Titans defensive line and a homerun
threat in Chris Johnson.

PREDICTION: TENNESSEE - 21 VS. HOUSTON - 16

BALTIMORE (1-0) VS. SAN DIEGO (1-0) VEGAS SAYS: SD -3 / 40.5

September 20, 2009 Ravens or they will find themselves in trouble by
CBS 3:15 PM CST halftime.  QB Philip Rivers is a tough player who can
The San Diego Chargers made it to the playoffs last year, make plays and he was able to keep his mistakes at a
but they were underachievers all along minimum last year which is critical.
the way.  The Ravens made it to the  
AFC Championship game last year On the other side of the ball, the
Fantasy Report
thanks to an overachieving team who If you have Darren Sproles and Ravens are opening up the playbook
played physically on both sides of the you are excited about the for Joe Flacco in his second year and
ball and who tested the mental and possibility of additional carries this they saw plenty of positives last week. 
physical toughness of every team they week, slow your roll.  The However, that was the Chiefs and this
played last year.  Chargers are going to have him is the Chargers and the Chargers are
share carries with Michael going to get after Flacco for much of
So are the Chargers tough enough? Bennett if Tomlinson can't go and the game if they don't establish the
Sproles has to take on the Ravens run early on. 
 
defense which won't be any fun
Football fans know that there isn't a for him at all.
huge drop off these days between If the Ravens don't run the ball, I
LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren don't think Flacco can pull it out
Sproles, but this one isn't going to be without a defensive touchdown. They
won or lost at the RB position and the Chargers know it.  won’t and the Chargers will get their second win.
The Chargers have to play physically early on against the

PREDICTION: SAN DIEGO - 20 VS. BALTIMORE - 16

 FANTASY/NFL NEWS AND NOTES
There are plenty of fantasy owners who think they are about to get over on everyone with their
waiver-wire pickup of either Pierre Garcon or Austin Collie as the new WR2 in Indy.  There
are some problems with that.  While Garcon is likely the the WR2, Collie will get plenty of snaps
too.  However, both guys will be options behind Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne so neither
guy will be prolific.

For owners off Greg Olsen who are freaking out because of his non-existent Sunday Night
Football performance, fear not. The Packers went out of their way to make covering Olsen a
priority. I expect Olsen to bounce-back (provided Cutler's had doesn't explode).

If I'm the Carolina Panthers brain trust, I'm meeting behind closed doors and trying to figure
out if there is anything that can be done about our QB situation.  Jake Delhomme was terrible
against the Eagles and did everything he could to lose that one.  Delhomme finished with 4
INTS and a fumble while finishing with a 14.7 QB rating.  That’s bad, but when you consider that
in his last game of 2008 he had 5 INTs and a fumble while losing to Arizona at home 33-13, you can
see why the Panthers might be panicking.  There are two calls that I would make tomorrow.  I
would call the Minnesota Vikings to see if Sage Rosenfels is available and I would call the
Kansas City Chiefs to see if Tyler Thigpen is available.

COLLEGE NEWS AND NOTES

I can’t tell you how impressed I was with Michigan QB Tate Forcier against Notre Dame. He
did a little bit of everything against Notre Dame, but most importantly, he established himself as
The Man for the Michigan offense. Michigan’s Pat White if you will. His 43 yard touchdown run
showed his blazing speed, almost as much as backup QB Denard Robinson, who was a Florida
HS sprint champion last year. His late touchdown drive and touchdown throw to WR Greg
Mathews showed his moxie and poise.

Michigan CB Donovan Warren is going to be the next Ty Law/Charles Woodson/Leon Hall.

He’s physical, quick and makes plays on the ball. Michigan DC Greg Robinson has to love what
that cat does on the field.

For all of the great players on the field on Saturday, though, Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd is
still the number one player on that field. What he does as a receiver is amazing - his body control,
hands, speed, power and determination are without peer. The Irish lost that game when he went
out of the game with a cut on his leg requiring stitches. Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen has
come a long way, there’s no question, but Floyd is a big reason why.

Also, get on the Kyle Rudolph bandwagon now, people. He’s going to win the John Mackey
Award going away with Jermaine Gresham out for the year.