Football Thoughts - Week 15

Whoa! What a week 15! The Colts win, the Pack lose, and CJ Spiller goes off because I decided to bench him!

Here are my random thoughts from the Sunday that was Week 15:

Packers - What the F? How did the CHIEFS, of all teams, figure it out? Well, before we rush to give them too much credit, let's first take into account the circumstances surrounding the Pack's first loss of the season. Yes, the Pack are without Greg Jennings, but according to conventional wisdom, that shouldn't have mattered. While it perhaps does not matter with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, I have to think losing your best receiver hurts your offense just a little bit--new guys are running Jennings' routes, other guys are running unfamiliar routes, it's an away game in a stadium that is traditionally a tough place to play, etc. So I think the loss of Jennings was a bit of a negative. Also, the Packers' O-line was decimated. Guys kept dropping like flies, one was carted off with a broken leg. Even so, you would think this wasn't a huge deal--the Pack's O-line was busted up all last year, and they managed to take the title then--in fact, aren't these the Packers that espoused the "next man up" mantra all of last year on their 6 game winning streak to the title? You would think this, of all groups, is somewhat immune to injuries. I think you stockpile the injuries issue on top of the fact that KC has a decent D, with DB's who can successfully jam receivers at the line and pass rushers who were able to get through a patchwork O-line for the Pack, and you all of a sudden had a perfect storm. That's why every play the Pack ran on offense looked like a complete shitshow--Rodgers scrambling around, getting moved off of his launch points, receivers' timings being thrown off by press coverage, Tamba Hali running roughshod all over the place. And BAM, a team that couldn't seem to score a TD for some 48 consecutive drives managed to get one TD and 4 FGs and knock off the Packers. And lo and behold, the rest of the NFC now has a roadmap and a prayer to reach the Super Bowl. Jam 'em, rush 4 or 5 on Rodgers every passing down, disrupt his timing, disrupt receivers' routes early, and hope like hell that you can get some pressure on the QB and force bad throws. Do that, and you have a passing chance of beating the Packers.

Romeo Crennel - KC's interim head coach put on a great audition for his GM on Sunday, solving the Packers and getting a HUGE home win for the Chiefs and keeping them alive in the AFC playoff hunt. Perhaps the best moment of the weekend was watching KC's players, defensive and offensive alike, drench Crennel in gatorade and rally around him. You could tell that he is a player's coach, and the Chiefs' players seem to love him and want to play hard for him. Good for a guy who, in my opinion, didn't do a bad job in Cleveland. My vote is for Crennel for that coaching job. Let's see what he can do.

Colts - Really, this is more a post about the Titans. How do you go into Indy and lose? It's not like Indy is a tough place to play--we know their fans bail on them when the team doesn't perform well (see: Indy's return flight from the loss in Super Bowl XLIV and all 4 fans who were there to greet them). So I can't imagine crowd noise was a huge factor. For a team that has been making a playoff push, played the Saints to a nailbiter last week, and have the athletes in place to win games, how do the Titans explain this loss? Good for the Colts, though--defense rose up, running backs did their job (205 yds rushing), and oh yeah, Curtis Painter didn't play. And whoa, Tennessee--19 rushes and 56 passes? That's the balance of a team that got blown out from the opening snap. There is no excuse to run only 19 times in a game that was closely contested for the majority of the game. Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker aren't THAT good. Run the ball, boys!

Broncos/Pats - This was a good game for about one quarter. The Broncos gashed the Pats' dreadful D for 133 rushing yards in the first quarter, jumped out to a 16-7 lead and then never got anything going the rest of the way. Clearly, the Pats decided to guard against the run and let Tebow beat them with his arm. Bold move by a shitty secondary, but it paid off. Also, turnovers crushed the Broncos early. What did we learn from this game? The Broncos' D really isn't THAT good--remember, they let Minnesota score 32 on them a couple weeks ago. We also confirmed that Tim Tebow isn't a miracle-worker. The guy can create and extend plays like a handful of other QBs in the league and there is no question he is a strong leader of that team. But he is a below-average (but improving) passer on a pretty mediocre team. Good thing for the Broncos that they play in the AFC West and STILL have a one-game hold on the division with two to play. Pathetic division.

Ravens - You are dreadful on the road. Flacco is doing his best 2006 Rex Grossman this year. Flashes of brilliance, flashes of feces. Last night was truly putrid. The INT to Spikes--how does he not see a LB camping out right in the middle of his passing lane?--was inexcusable, and the other dropbacks when he didn't throw a pick, he either held the ball too long or always settled for dumpoffs. Perhaps I should credit the Chargers' D more, but Flacco has been too inconsistent for me to be a believer in the Ravens this year. Especially now that the Ravens are looking at being a wild-card on the road instead of a 2-seed with a home game. And come on, Ravens' D--torched by Phillip Rivers, and his throws weren't even that good--he just had open receivers all night long. Dreadful performance by what we thought was a title contender. At least for this week, I'm no longer a believer in the Ravens.

Texans - This was the first big "Uh oh" game for the Texans since they lost Schaub. The team has come back to earth with TJ Yates at the helm and laid a big egg at home against the lowly (but underrated) Panthers. As with the Ravens, I'm a seller of the Texans. Too predictably run-heavy, rookie QB in the playoffs--it doesn't add up to a Super Bowl run to me. Pats and Steelers are the two big horses in the AFC race at this point.

Eagles - Hard to believe that this team can win out, have a couple of things happen to the Cowboys and Giants, and actually WIN the NFC East and play a HOME PLAYOFF GAME. WHAT! The NFC East is doing its best NFC West impression this year. First team to 9 wins...wins! And the way the Eagles are playing with Vick back in the fold--I wouldn't count them out. As long as Dallas loses out (they play the Eagles at home and Giants away--wouldn't be surprised to see them lose both), and the Giants lose one (the Jets in Week 16?), the Eagles are in. That's a lot that has to happen, but hey, it's the NFC East, a division which no one seems willing to win.

Dolphins - Whoa! Reggie Bush lives! Good for you, Reggie. I still will take Darren Sproles over you, but as your biggest fan when you were in New Orleans, I wish you only the best!

Seahawks - This must be the most underrated D in the league right now. They are straight ballers. Brandon Browner should be heading to the Pro Bowl. They quashed a dangerous Eagles team and absolutely destroyed the Bears in Chicago yesterday. Quite a commendable win and late-season performance from a team that most had given up for dead at the beginning of the year.

Giants - News flash! The Giants won a game they were supposed to lose last week and lost a game they were supposed to win this week. In other news, the sun came up this morning! Eli, just when you trick everyone into thinking you are elite, you go and poop all over the field like this. What are we to do with you?

Lions - Ho hum, another two TD deficit erased in the fourth quarter to basically seal up a wild-card spot in the playoffs. I don't think anyone wants to play this team in the postseason.

Saints - Playing their best football of the year, but started off shaky yesterday with two lost fumbles in the first 3 possessions. Coming into the game, the Saints had fumbled 4 times all year, losing 3 of them. Both were best, by far, in the league. Even after the early brain farts, the Saints found their stride in the second half and scorched the Vikings before pulling the starters. Strong road win, albeit in a dome, for the black and gold. Drew Brees should now be garnering a whole lot of MVP attention. He is breaking records every game, and is on pace to eclipse Marino's record next week in the Dome. Better completion percentage than Rodgers (better even than his own record of 70.6% from 2009), more yards, three fewer TDs, five more INTs. But Brees has the talking heads all wondering who the NFC's best team is, which is quite a feat. I still think it's the Packers, only because they have the inside track to homefield advantage and have a more opportunistic, although porous, D. So for now, I'm still high on the Packers. Let's see how the Saints handle the Falcons on MNF next week. One win, and the Saints lock up the NFC South again. Good for them, and good for Sean Payton, who has made double-digit win totals the standard in the Big Easy.

The Heisman!

Here are my thoughts on the Heisman trophy, and how I think the voting should go on Saturday:

Winner - Robert Griffin, III, Baylor - I know the Heisman usually goes to "the best player on the best team" but that thinking is out this year. Not that Tyrann Mathieu and Trent Richardson didn't have phenomenal years; it's just that the level of play logged all year by RG3 was astronomical, and for some reason, not talked about. I'm not sure how many people actually watched Baylor games this year. To be fair, I didn't watch that many. But I'm sure a lot of people saw the barn-burner against TCU to open up the college football season. I came away from that game thinking two things: 1) TCU's defense is NOT what it was last year and 2) That Baylor QB can flat-out play--great arm, great legs, smart player. Sure, maybe Andrew Luck has the skill set most translatable to the next level, but that is not what the Heisman rewards (just ask Gino Torretta and Danny Wuerffel). It's about the best player in college football this year. RG3 has Jean Greyed the Baylor Bears, bringing them out of the ashes to a 9-3 record, with huge wins over OU and Texas this year (that's like Vanderbilt beating Alabama and LSU in the same season--it is, quite simply, not supposed to happen). Without RG3, I think Baylor doesn't win those games and a large handful of others. He has brought relevance to the Baylor name in NCAA football. Now, Luck did the same thing with Stanford, albeit a year ago, and simply continued his brilliance this year. So at this point, I am fine to leave it up to the stats. RG3 has a higher completion percentage, more yards, more TDs, and fewer INTs than Luck. That all means a passer rating 25 points higher than Luck. He has 700 more rushing yards, 7 more rushing TDs, and I would venture to say, more game-changing plays than Andrew Luck had this year. And they both played in strong BCS conferences (ie, NOT the Big East). My vote, if anyone cares, is for this guy. I mean, let's be honest, he put up stats that would be pretty strong if shared across TWO guys. Of course, if my soapbox isn't enough for you, maybe this is.

1st Runner-Up - Trent Richardson, Alabama - The best player on arguably the best team in the country this year (yeah, I said it!). In a game where inches were hard to come by, Richardson lit up the LSU defense for 169 total yards on offense--something many teams couldn't accomplish this year. I can't count how many "Wow" runs Richardson had this year--the guy simply does not go down. Without Richardson, Alabama is clearly not the team it is today. Let's face it--everyone saw the LSU-Alabama game and saw how anemic the Alabama aerial attack was. Richardson brings balance, credibility, and intimidation to an Alabama rushing game that allow the Tide to open up downfield and make some big plays. A player who makes everyone else around him better? Trent Richardson's your guy. His numbers don't leap out as much as RG3's, but then again, he's playing in the SEC and let's also remember, Alabama played all of one close game this year. I'm sure Richardson saw a lot of fourth-quarter pine that sapped his numbers. Not the greatest speed I've ever seen, but he makes up for it with his violent style of running.

2nd Runner Up - Andrew Luck, Stanford - Not that the guy had a bad year, but nothing was record-breaking about it. I think we all expected him to be great, and he was. I think, unfortunately, Luck was the victim of the Tom Brady curse--everyone knows he's excellent, so we'll only notice when he is not excellent. This year, he was pretty consistently excellent. I just think that, when stacked up against RG3, Luck's season comes up just a hair short. Maybe the balanced offense Stanford offers has something to do with it--Stanford is running more of a west-coast style offense, so 373 attempts go for 3,170 yards; versus Baylor, who is not shy to stretch the field, and has 369 attempts go for nearly 4,000 yards. I don't think there is any question who would win if the two teams played--Stanford is more consistent, more balanced, and overall, just a better team. But I think RG3 is the better player. This year, at least.

3rd Runner-Up - Montee Ball, Wisconsin - Montee Ball has quietly put together a season for the books. And like RG3, no one seems to be talking about it. The guy is about to break a 20-year old record held by Barry Sanders (he just needs two TDs in the Rose Bowl to eclipse Sanders' record of 39 TDs in a year), who won the Heisman that year. I think, in general, the Big Ten gets a bit marginalized in the football lexicon. As a SEC homer, I won't shy away from the fact that I downright hate watching Big Ten football and don't find that many dynamic personalities, players, or teams there. This year, Madison has provided a nice respite from the usual rumbling pile of dust that generally defines Big Ten games. Russell Wilson and Montee Ball have added sex to the Big Ten, and Wisconsin is undoubtedly one of the most fun teams to watch in the nation. Ball also looks like he has the build and the quickness to be on many fantasy rosters in the near future--something of a Ray Rice/Frank Gore hybrid.

4th Runner-Up - Tyrann Mathieu, LSU - While LSU fans (this one at least) are happy to have a candidate at the presentation, I think everyone knows that this is where Mathieu will end up. Great season, and far more than you can ever expect from a 5'7" cornerback who wasn't even highly recruited out of high school. But, the problem is, great seasons are measured by stats and the Heisman is an individual award. Individual stats just don't really come easy on the defensive end, which is why we will always see QBs and RBs win the Heisman, and not DBs and DTs. It is clear that Mathieu raises the level of play of the LSU defense when he is on the field. And it is clear that Mathieu can change the entire feel of a game in 10 seconds--like he did against Arkansas and Georgia the last two weeks. But let's be realistic--he's a defensive player, and defensive players don't win Heismans any more. And there's also that whole synthetic marijuana issue...

The Assault Returns!

Ok, that's it. I've had it.

After a two-week Thanksgiving binge and new lows in self-esteem and personal body image, I've decided to really make a change for the better. Enough of this nonsense of weighing too much. This month, I'm vowing to lose 5-10 lbs and head into 2012 with a full head of steam to get back to my playing weight of around 180. I'm putting it in writing here so I can fully commit--you all can and should hold me accountable. This is going to happen. I'm sick of being pudgy and doughy, god dammit!

For a bit of background, I hit a low on Memorial Day, when I stepped onto a scale in a New York hotel and read 203. Talk about a wake-up call. At my leanest and fittest back in Seattle, I was at about 175, easily repping my own weight on the bench, and capable of running 2.5 miles in 20 minutes after a 45-minute lifting session. Even though I enjoyed the occasional pizza or all-night drink-fest with the boys, there was always a focus on fitness--arena soccer once a week, lifting regularly, running stairs behind the house in Seattle, 10-15 minutes of abs every night before bed. Because of my good habits then, I always prided myself on not being one of those guys whose weight fluctuates a lot. And then, something changed--location, priorities, lifestyle, something. And the love handles came screaming back and never left.

Over the last 6 months, I've tried to maintain my activity levels while watching a bit more what I eat--much less pizza, much less Thai food, but still, admittedly, snacking late at night, likely eating too much fat/carbs, continuing to eat out a lot, not hydrating enough, and definitely not hitting the weights as much as I like. While I've reined in some bad habits over the last 6 months and have lost 12 lbs to show for it, I know I can do better. It's high time to get serious.

Thus, I'm embarking on The Assault on the Handles, Part II, a.k.a, The Assault. Those who knew me in 2007 will remember The Assault Part I, which saw me go from 195 to 170 and ended with my getting engaged to TheFiancee, now known as TheWife. As you can see, The Assault only produces positive results. While I'm not looking to get re-engaged on this Assault, the intent is to feel better about my body, my fitness and my health, something that hasn't happened in a while.

The Assault began in earnest this Monday, December 5th, when I figured that over 4 weeks, losing 5-10 lbs is a reasonable and healthy goal. My thinking is this--run calorie deficits like mad, all month long, but run sustainable calorie deficits. None of this everyday starving myself and exercising for two hours and being miserable throughout nonsense. The goal is not to have a six-pack; rather, it is to foster habits that can continue for years to come. Gradual and permanent moderation in the diet, exercise that I find fun and refreshing and thus don't mind doing--that's the idea, because then it is repeatable. 28 days of running 500-1,000 calorie deficits means 14,000-28,000 extra calories burned this month. That is just shy of 5-10 lbs--a solid poopie on January 2 will get me over the hump, I'd imagine. Given that the weekends are generally spent out of town, or having guests visit, my plan is to run strong deficits on the weekdays, giving myself a bit of leeway on the weekends if I can't work out. But still, watching what I eat on the weekends. Eating out at restaurants is The Assault's kryptonite, so this is when I have to be vigilant and cautious. For a little more math, according to basal metabolic rate calculators, a 29-year old, 6-foot tall male weighing 190 should burn through about 1,990 calories a day just by existing. If I can restrict calories and exercise to a point where my net (calories consumed minus basal metabolic rate minus calories burned in exercise) is around -500 to -1,000 a day, I should be in business. One day at a time.

So here's how we're doing. Started Monday with an 80-minute squash session, keeping my calories to around 1,220 (!) for the day (1,220 consumed minus 1,990 basal minus 700 for squash equals -1,470). Tuesday, I took the day to recover (squash does a number on the legs), ate about 1,830 calories and by my calculation, walked roughly 1.5 to 2 miles at Costco, the mall, and the VA hospital, where I took TheWife her dinner; also did some push-ups and crunches before bed (1,830 consumed minus 1,990 basal minus 180 for walking and pushups/abs equals -340). Today, Wednesday, did a 90-minute squash session, while consuming 2,100 calories (2,100 consumed minus 1,990 basal minus 800 for squash equals -690). So, the first three days of The Assault have seen me run a deficit of about 2,500 cumulative calories, just more than 800 per day, and just shy of a pound. The plan tomorrow--gym for chest, triceps, and shoulders plus a 10-minute run; load up on protein, keep the fat and calories low-ish, and finish the night off with abs before bed; let's aim for another 1,000 deficit. As of this morning, I weighed in at 190.6 lbs. 10 lbs to go. I'll let you know what each day brings.

The plan, going forward: 2-3 lifting sessions per week and 2-3 cardio sessions per week, consisting of squash or running. 1-2 days of rest, keeping the calories low, around 1,200-1,500. And the quality of food will be totally different. Out with pizza, cashews, chips and dip, tacos, what have you. In with "masala corn," a simple dish of whole corn kernels sauteed with lemon juice, chili powder, and salt; in with fat-free yogurt and the old standby green bean curry, again a simple saute of green beans with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, chili powder, and salt; in with turkey burgers, which heat up on the stove quickly and are 200 calories, 35g protein, 6g fat, and very filling; in with homemade turkey sandwiches and baby carrots or baked Lays for lunch; in with Indian-style sauteed Brussels sprouts, which is just like the green bean curry; in with the old standby chop salad with romaine, green and red bell peppers, cucumber, broccoli, garbanzo beans, fajita chicken, light cheese, tabasco, and light ranch; in with tomato soup and toast. All foods that I find quite delicious, and that don't make me destroy the toilet at night.

So here we are. The Assault is in full swing. Stay tuned.