EZ's NFL Power Rankings

1. New England Patriots - One more game till perfection in the regular season. They still have to make it through the playoffs though.

2. Dallas Cowboys - The NFC title now will go through Dallas. Never fun to have to beet the Cowboys in Texas.

3. Indianapolis Colts - Warning to the rest of the NFL. The Colts are still the champs, until someone knocks Peyton Manning and company out of the playoffs.

4. Green Bay Packers -Should get one more shot against the Cowboys in the NFC title game. This team is for real.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars - This is one dangerous team when they put it together. Taylor and Drew are the best 1-2 punch at RB in the league. They can be formidable during January.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers - Some weeks they look great. but during those losses, they really look bad. Despite that, they can give any team trouble on any given week. Don't overlook these guys.

7. New York Giants - Eli is keeping this team in games, and they are turning them into wins. Considering I expected this team to flounder w/o Tiki Barber, and the Strahan saga, this is an impressive season for the G-Men.



8. Seattle Seahawks - Alexander is not the player he once was. If he was, this team would be a factor in the NFC race. Instead, they won a division with no competition, and will likely become a playoff washout.


9. San Diego Chargers - In recent weeks, this team seems to be getting their groove back. LT is still the best player in football, and Rivers is regaining his confidence. This team can make some noise over the next month.




10. Tampa Bay - True, their division was a joke this season, but that doesn't change the fact they won it easily. This team has their dance card punched for January, but the games will get tougher. Then we can see what they are really made of.

11. Tennessee Titans - A perplexing team at best, this Tennessee team struggles being consistent. That is not the sign of a championship caliber ball club. Regardless, they are now in the driver's seat for playoff position, and they are much better than I expected them to be.

12. Cleveland Browns - At the start of the season I called the Browns may surprise team of the year. I love what Anderson has done for these guys, and I am happy to see ol' Romeo getting some vindication. Regardless, they are not real players in the AFC race... yet.




13. Minnesota Vikings - The ground game in Minnesota is scary, and Jackson is showing why Coach Brad hitched his ride to him last year. If this team could play some better D, and stretch some opposing secondaries, they would become legit contenders.



14. Houston Texans - This team is on the rise in this league. I really like the D, and given one more year, Gary K may get the offense up to speed too. Once they add a real running game, the Boys won't be the only team in Texas.



15. Arizona Cardinals - Kenny W is trying real hard to get this desert story moving forward. They have a lot of talent. Regardless, this team still is underachieving. They should be better than this.




16. Washington Redskins - This team is wrought with tragedy. What happened to Taylor was awful. The fact they could put it behind them and play the Bills strong, then drum up a win against the Bears, says a lot about this team's character.

17. Philadelphia Eagles - Like George and Weesie, the Eagles are movin' on up. This team is playing good football right now, even when they don't pull out the W. Every time I think McNabb is about done, he shows up with some inspired play, and this week he again showed why the Eagles have him as their leader.

18. New Orleans Saints - A wonderful story last year, this team had to come back down to Earth at some point. Payton has still done something wonderful with this team though, and with another offseason, they could be challenging again soon.



19. Detroit Lions - Their free fall ended this week, so the Tom Petty award will get passed. Despite this, this team was at one time scary with Mike Martz's passing game. Unfortunately, the D is porous, and the running game needs a boost.




20. Buffalo Bills - I simply don't get this team. Their drafting has been an enigma. So has their play. They haven't settled on a QB, and outside of speedy Lee Evans, they have no passing targets. If not for Marshawn Lynch carrying this team, they would not even be this good.

21. Denver Broncos - This team still has one of the best secondaries in the game. Bailey, Bly and Lynch are still the real deal. Cutler has struggled in his sophomore campaign, and the inconsistency of the running game has hampered his development.

22. Cincinnati Bengals - Marvin's ballers have played much better the second half of the season than they did the first. Carson Palmer is a legit superstar quarterback. Unfortunately Rudi J has not had the same types of year as he had in the past. If he can bounce back, the team could contend again. If not, the team will need to look for his replacement.

23. Chicago Bears - Despite not having a real starting QB on their roster, they still managed to beat the Packers this week. Any given Sunday is right. Cedric Benson is a bust, and Lance Briggs can't wait to jump ship. For the Bears this could get worse before it gets better.




24. Carolina Panthers - This team has had some injuries this year to contend with, but that is just part of the game. At the start of the season they looked good at the QB spot. Now they are calling my grandmother to see if she is available to take snaps.




25. San Francisco 49ers - Don't look now but look who is starting to put some wins together. That is right, here at the frenzy we are calling two straight a streak. Smith is still garbage, but what do you want when you use the first overall draft pick on a player out of Utah.

26. Oakland Raiders - A season after the number 1 pick, they are still not a good football team. JaMarcus will get some more help this year with another high pick, and Raider nation has next year to look forward to.

27. Kansas City Chiefs - Even LJ cant run against 8 man fronts all day. Brodie Croyle was never meant for a starting QB in the league, and Huard is nothing more than an adequate journeyman. This team has lost 8 straight, and somehow, they are not the biggest embarrassment in the game.

28. St Louis Rams - This is one of the best bad teams in the league. What a distinction. Kind of like being the smartest kid to ride the short bus. They need to do more to win, but they cannot do so until they all get healthy. No Bulger. No Wins.



29. New York Jets - I know they only have 3 wins, but I still think they are better than the Ravens. Why, unlike the Ravens, this team still managed to beat Miami. Now, don't get me wrong. The J.E.T.S still S.U.C.K. but just not as bad as those teams that follow.




30. Baltimore Ravens - How bad are things in Baltimore? They become the team that lost to the team that couldn't beat anyone. Their team is awfully banged up, but they still need to find a way to win. Their 9 straight losses makes this team the recipients of the Tom Petty, Free Fallin' award.

31. Atlanta Falcons - The worst part about this is it could get worse before it gets better. Not only are they losing games hand over fist, but they lose on the battle of big Tuna too. Hopefully Blank will hire someone who can bring this organization some stability.

32. Miami Dolphins - Ugly, ugly ugly. But at least they made the right move in enticing Big Willie out of retirement. He will provide the spark and stability this team has searched for since the days of Dan.

The Tuna Still has the Love

Last year, he left Dallas, his 4th team, in tremendous shape. So good in fact that a mediocre head coach (and amazing d-coordinator) like Wade Phillips can have the Cowboys playing the best football in franchise history. He left because he was tired. He left because he was ready to move on to Canton.

But now, only months after riding off into the sunset...again, the Tuna returns. Last week, when the Atlanta Falcons were thrust into further chaos by Benedict Patrino, owner Arthur Blank made a commitment to find and hire an individual who would bring stability to an organization so desperately in need. He went looking for football royalty. He spoke with deities like Bill Cowher, Jimmy Johnson, and Bill Parcells. And then it looked like the second courtship of the Tuna to Atlanta would end with the Falcons finally gaining some stability.

Just kidding. In wild and crazy move that in a season like this could only happen to the Falcons and Dolphins, Bill Tuna Parcells decides at the last minute to ditch the Falcons and takes the same position in Miami. Ah, the wild and crazy NFL. Well, here at the Frenzy we welcome back the Big Tuna. Good luck to him and his hapless Phins. And to the Falcons, buenas suerte.

And the Heisman goes to...

Maybe he deserves it. I mean, it is kind of hard not to like him. He also was the first 20-20 man in college football history, but really, is Timmy Tebow the best college football player in the country?

I simply don't think so. In a year of lunacy in college football, I guess this should be no surprise, and much of the country appears to support this choice, but I simply have a hard time calling Tebow the nation's best. Darren McFadden played his best football against the best opponents. Look at it this way... who almost single handedly beat LSU this year, McFadden or Tebow. And whereas Timmy T put up impressive numbers, Colt Brennan broke Ty Detmer's career TD record, and oh yeah, he did not drop three games this past season.

I know Tebow is a good college QB, but does he deserve to be the first ever sophomore to win the hardware? Lets compare. Tebow or Peterson. Two years ago, the nation chose to snub the deserving Peterson, but the justification was he was a sophomore, and Leinart was the best Senior. OK fine, but if that is the argument, then how does Tebow the sophomore beat out McFadden the Junior, and Brennan the Senior.

Again, I am not anti-Tebow. I think the kid is a real solid football player, but he plays in a system designed to make the QB look good. When Spurrier was at the helm it was the same thing. Danny Wuerful won a Heisman for Spurrier, putting up ridiculous numbers in the process, only to show it was the system when he arrived in the NFL. Urban Meyer's last two QB's were an under achieving Chris Leak (pre-Meyer) who all of a sudden becomes a National Title winner, and Alex Smith who somehow became the first overall pick of the NFL draft... OUT OF UTAH !!!

Like the ol' ball coach, Meyer has a talent for making his QB's look good. He designs an offense that inflates their numbers, then passes off the kid to a pro team who finds out the kid lacks enough overall ability to be successful in the pros.

I guess all of this is moot. Tebow has the trophy. Me, well I just have a sour taste in my mouth.

What a Crazy Season...

Honestly, I cannot remember a time when college football was this crazy and unpredictable. From the beginning of the year, when the top 5 ranked Wolverines lost to D-II App. St, we were off and running. Number two in the nation was simply a nice name for "the next team to get upset." We have seen perennial powerhouse programs like Notre Dame get pounded. We have seen schools traditionally in the top 25 like Miami, and FSU, fight just for respectability. We watched as new programs like South Florida, and Connecticut emerge as new national powers.

What a crazy, upside down, inside out, season this has been. This year BCS really stands for Bowl Chaos Series. And, amongst all of this lunacy, you know what.... I love it. That's right. I absolutely love it. Parity is wonderful, and it is arriving in College Football for the first time ever.

The NFL and technology have combined to do what was once thought impossible. They have brought about an age in college football where any team, on any given Saturday, can beat anyone else. How you may ask. Well, I will tell you.

Today, the steaks of winning in the pro game are higher than they have ever been. There is more money in play, and less patients from fans, and subsequently owners, to bring home a winner, now. Because of this excessively competitive environment, teams are doing anything to gain even the smallest edge. This includes, heavily scouting schools that were once upon a time, passed by regularly.

With this change has come the expected shift in recruiting results. Years ago, when a top notch high school athlete was being recruited, the recognized nation powerhouses would remind the student that if he wanted any chance to play NFL football, he had to choose a big time program, or he would not get the exposure he needed to be drafted. Sure there was the super athlete who would still turn heads at smaller schools, but that was fewer and further between. If you were looking to become a professional, you needed the exposure that came from playing at your Notre Dame's, your Penn State's and your Oklahoma's.

Now this angle has evaporated. Smaller schools, more local to the athlete are competing more heavily because the student knows that to get noticed by the NFL, you simply need to bring it. Sure, there will always be the question about the competition level they played against, but each year it carries less and less weight. Why? Because of technology. With the millions of ways NFl teams have of evaluating a player, they are beginning to be able to compare what once was thought of as apples to oranges. Now these students at smaller schools can be evaluated on a play by play basis, just like those at larger schools. Between the internet and high definition filming and broadcast, these kids all get the same exposure, which before was impossible.

Just look at the results. Today, there are more and more impact NFL players coming out of smaller schools than ever before. Don't believe me? Just look. At the start of play today, December 2nd, the NFL 5 highest rated passers were Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Ben Rothlisberger, David Garrard and Brett Favre. Where did these 5 play their college ball? Michigan, Eastern Illinois, Miami of Ohio, East Carolina, and Southern Mississippi. Now, excluding Favre (who was drafted in 1904) all of these guys were drafted recently (ala, this century). What this means is that 25% of our list comes from traditional football powerhouse programs (Michigan), while 75% came from smaller, less recognized schools.

Still want more proof? Lets look defense. One of the most coveted defensive abilities is the ability to get after the opposing team's QB. If we examine the NFL five top pass rushers as of this week, we would be looking at these five guys: Aaron Kampman, Patrick Kerney, Greg Ellis, DeMarcus Ware, and Osi Umenyiora. Their schools? Iowa, Virginia, North Carolina, Troy State, and Troy State. Lets look at these schools a little closer. Iowa is a pretty big program, and they have been know to put out some talent. Virginia, more so, so. Not often labeled a National Power Program. North Carolina is much better know for their basketball prowess, although they have put out some pretty good defensive player this century. Troy State is a school that most of you couldn't find.... on a map.... of Alabama. Seriously, how many of you even knew it was in Alabama. Liars. Anyhow, what we see again, is that even if we add North Carolina and Virginia to the label of "Big Time", still 40% of the group is from small schools. Almost half. *Note to NFL GM's in need of a pass rush specialist, check out that small Alabama school. *

Folks, my point is that the College game that many of us fell in love with has changed. The chaos that we have been experiencing this year, is likely to be the beginning of something more, not the aberration that some have been claiming. The pro game has changed, and these changes filter down. Bottom line, is that those of us who graduated traditionally small schools now have something to look forward to. Even our small school can make some national noise, and we will, more and more often (Go USF Bulls !!!)

EZ's College Football Top 25

1. Ohio State (11-1) - Only in a season like this could a team that hasn't played a game for two straight weeks, catapult up 5 space to number 1 and a National Title game.



2. Virginia Tech Hokies (11-2) - They were #4 on my list last week, and the won the ACC title game. Right now I believe they should get the title shot.




3. Georgia Bulldogs (10-2) - Playing as well as anyone in the nation right now. Unfortunately, without winning their conference division, they cannot be allowed to play for the national title.



4. LSU Tigers (11-2) - It has taken 6 overtimes for this team to amass its two losses. Looks like the BCS will put LSU in the title game.



5. Oklahoma Sooners (11-2) - Stoops squad proved itself again by completely dominating the former #1 Mizzou Tigers. Will also get title game consideration as they won a very tough Big 12 this year.



6. USC Trojans (10-2) - Like the Dawgs, this team is red hot. Despite this I still cannot forget the beating the Pac 10 champs took at the hands of lowly Stanford. National Champs? Not in my book.



7. Missouri Tigers (11-2) - Last night they were a win away from a national title shot. Now, will be competing for a BCS at large bid. Still have to rank them ahead of Kansas because of the head to head only 1 week ago.



8. Kansas Jayhawks (11-1) - I know the faithful will agre about the team having only 1 loss, but was there anyone in the country who left last weeks game thinking Kansas was better than Mizzou? With Mizzou falling to 7, Kansas belongs at 8.





9. Florida Gators (9-3) - One of the big things I look at in my rankings is who do I feel would win a head to head battle. I think the Gators can beat almost anyone on any given Saturday.




10. Hawaii Warriors (12-0) - I know they are undefeated, but some of their wins were much closer than should have been for a top 10 team. Still, a win is a win... right?




11. Arizona State Sun Devils (10-2) - Erickson has done a great job with these kids. Can't wait to see what they do next season.



12. West Virginia Mountaineers (10-2) - A ten spot drop? Yup. They were drudged by a Pittsburgh team who wasn't even top 5 in the conference. This team does not win under pressure. Period.




13. Illinois Fighting Illini (9-3) - They have three losses, but they have made some great noise all year long. The beat up the Buckeyes and have stayed near the top of the Big 10 throughout.



14. Texas Longhorns (9-3) - They move up two spots as the Eagles and Vols show they were not as good as advertised.




15. Clemson Tigers (9-3) - They have only three losses in a conference that features LSU, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. They can flat out play.




16. Boston College (10-3) - I said I though this team was overrated. They played their hearts out against the Hokies. By the way, 10 wins is still impressive.




17. Virginia Cavaliers (9-3) - This team has had a great year. Senior Chris Long has been the man. Plus head to head against the Vols, I'd choose the Cavs.




18. South Florida Bulls (9-4) - Former #2 is still a very young team. Keep your eyes on this emerging program. Plus, just like the Cavs, I'd take them head to head over the Vols.




19. Tennessee Vols (9-4) - In my opinion they are the 5th best team in the SEC. That being said the SEC is super strong, and the Vols still belong in the top 20.




20. BYU Cougars (10-2) - I have a hard time arguing against a 10 win team. Having said that, they were 10 wins against a very weak schedule.




21. Connecticut Huskies (9-3) - Just like their conference mate Bulls, this young team is ready for national attention. Hurting in the AP because of the timing of their third loss.




22. Wisconsin Badgers (9-3) - Tough Big 10 schedule. Left it out on the field each and every week.




23. Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3) - Another player in the Big East mix. Now a national player too.




24. Boise State Broncos (10-2) - How would this team fare if they played in a real football conference?




25. Auburn Tigers (8-4) - This team does have 4 losses, but they play in one of the two best conferences in college football, and only lost to other top teams.