OU defense smothers Kansas 35-13

Kansas put themselves in a hole early for the second week in a row and never recovered in a 35-13 loss to Oklahoma.

The Sooners defense forced three Todd Reesing first half interceptions, the first on the opening play of the game.  OU then drove fromthe 46 on 11 plays, but needed four tries inside the two to score on fourth and goal and take a 7-0 lead.

A 56 yard scamper by Jake Sharp on a shovel pass to the OU 20 had KU threatening to tie early in the second quarter but Dominique Franks stepped in front of Reesing’s pass to Bradley McDougald for a 85 yard pick six and a 14-0 OU lead. 

The revamped Jayhawk defense actually played much better against the Sooners than the score indicated, holding OU to 110 total yards in the first half.  But the ineffectiveness of the Kansas offense wore them down in the second half. 

The Jayhawks Jacob Branstetter hit two FG’s from 39 and a personal best 57 yards, the second closed out the half making it 14-6.

The turnovers and a dropped pass by Dezmon Briscoe on a sure TD just before the half cost KU in the opening half, but it was all OU the rest of the way.

The Sooners scored twice in the third quarter to take a 28-6 lead and Kansas could do little against the Oklahoma defense, which lived up to its reputation holding KU to 136   yards in the second half.

Reesing was held without a TD pass and just 226 yards in the air, but did run for a score late.  

The loss drops KU to 1-2 in the conference race with Texas Tech up next on the road.  Kansas has rarely played well there and now desperately need a victory in Lubbock. 

Cavaliers playbook for dummies (that's you Shaq)

Shaquille O’Neal says he’s having trouble remembering the playbook for his new team in Cleveland because he’s basically been playing in the same system for 17 years. The folks at www.waitingfornextyear.com have solved his problem.

Big game in a strange place in the Big 12 north

This week the Big 12 has what you’d call two marquee games and a third that defies explanation.  Let’s start with the later.

Two weeks ago, how many people were betting that the Colorado-Kansas State matchup was going to be for first place in the north division?  Be honest now.  No one did.  K-State had just given up 66 points in a loss and were facing a Texas A&M team that was playing fairly well.

Colorado was starting a new quarterback and had just one win in their first five games and were taking on unbeaten Kansas.  Now one of these two teams will have a leg up in the north race if they can win.  Hard to believe.  

After the way they responded last week, I have to put my money on the Wildcats and Bill Snyder.  He knows how to win big games in this conference and right now this one is huge.

Over in Columbia, the Missouri Tigers are trying to stop the bleeding after two straight losses with third ranked Texas coming to town.  Blaine Gabbert has struggled the last two weeks with his passing and it appears he’s going to have to continue to battle through his ankle injury the rest of the season.  

Colt McCoy has recovered from the flu, but is coming off a terrible passing day for the Longhorns after suffering a bruised thumb that is costing him his thumbnail.  We’ll see how he handles the ball this week. 

The Texas defense is just too fast for Missouri, particularly if Gabbert is still not completely mobile and I don’t see how the Tigers defense is going to contain the Horns.  They can’t afford to be put in bad position by turnovers and I just don’t see the Mizzou offense performing mistake free football right now.  Plus, they still haven’t shown they can run the ball.  

Earlier in the afternoon in Lawrence, the Jayhawks will be taking on an OU team that is reeling from three losses by just 5 points.  The Jayhawks have their own demons to exorcise after seeing their unbeaten season go down in Boulder thanks to self inflicted wounds.

The Kansas coaches keep moving players over from offense to plug holes defensively and this week freshman D.J. Beshears will start at a corner spot, redshirt freshman Lubbock Smith will take the lead at free safety and freshman Bradley McDougald will see time on both sides of the ball at safety and wide receiver.  While that may help the secondary, the Hawks need their defensive front to put pressure on freshman QB Landry Jones and force mistakes.  He’s no Sam Bradford.

The Sooners will be putting their outstanding defense up against one of the best offenses in the country.  If Kansas can rediscover their running game which was lost in the mountains last week, I think the Jayhawks will pull off a much needed win.

That stench you smell is the umpiring in baseball

Coming your way next baseball post season, instant replay.  You can put your money down now and expect some expanded form of instant replay will be instituted by commissioner Bud Selig by this time next year.

I’m not in favor of instant replay in baseball.  I think it will just slow down the game even more, which is already way too long when it comes to the playoffs and World Series. Human error is a part of the game.  It’s in the scorebook.  But the continued shoddy display by the umpiring crews is going to force Selig’s hand.

The ridiculously inept work (and I use the term work very loosely here) done in game four of the Angels-Yankees series is just more fuel for the fire.  Dale Scott’s blown call on a pickoff of Nick Swisher at second base, Tim McClelland’s blind man imitation on two calls at third, the worst being the rundown that caught Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano both tagged out while standing off the bag, only to have McClelland call just one runner out, was inexcusable.

This is the same Tim McClelland made famous by the George Brett pine tar game back in 1983.  Hang it up already Tim.  If you can't see a play three feet in front of you, you’re done.

Speaking of which, major league baseball needs to rework their deal with the umpire’s union.  The bottom 10 or 15% of all umpires in the grading system should be demoted to the minors or retired every year.  Quit rewarding incompetence.

By the way, baseball also needs to hold umpires accountable to the fans by showing controversial replays in the stadium.  You can see the calls on the TV monitors in stadiums, but not on the video boards, because umpires think they’re being shown up and will hold it against the home club.

Understand this umps.  Nobody came to the game to watch you do your job.  You get paid well.  Do your job well, do it quietly and go home at the end of the day.  To err is human, but to be consistently bad should get you fired.  

Anyone who remembers Joe Brinkman as an umpire might remember that he lasted 34 years in the majors.  For at least the last decade of his career, Brinkman would stand as far as 15 feet behind home plate while calling balls and strikes.  He couldn’t touch the catcher with a bat, but no one made him move up to where he could actually see the pitch.  They just put up with his incompetence.  

I realize I’m going on a rant here, but so be it.  If umps can’t do a better job than we’ve been watching this post season, I guess instant replay is the only solution.

Can Kansas fix what ails them against OU?

The meeting coming up on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence is one of two teams each seeking an identity on one side of the ball.  

For Kansas, they are looking for the defense to step up and play to the level that was expected of them when the season began.  For Oklahoma, they have to find offensive consistency with Landry Jones at the quarterback spot now that Sam Bradford is likely done for the season.

Against Colorado in the Jayhawks first loss of the season, the defense couldn’t stop a Buffalo offense being led by QB Tyler Hansen for the first time when the game was one the line and they had a lead. They also weren’t able to bail out the offense from two turnovers inside the five when holding them to a field goal just once would have made the difference.

Oklahoma is not the same offensive team with Jones in at quarterback and so far their running game hasn’t been up to the challenge when they’ve needed to step forward.  Against Texas in their loss last weekend, the Sooners had -16 yards rushing for the game.

While those units play will be critical in the contest, it will be great to watch the high flying KU offense against an OU defense Texas coach Mack Brown said had the best personnel in the country.  Defensive coordinator Brent Venables had Longhorn QB Colt McCoy confused with zone blitzes and last minute movement along the defensive front.  

Todd Reesing can expect to see more of that this week.  If OU is blitzing, Reesing will have to find his dynamic receiver tandem of Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe.   The past three weeks, Meier has had at least 10 catches each game.

Against Colorado, Reesing had 400 yards passing for the second week in a row but KU’s running game, which had averaged 189 yards per game finished with -8.  The Hawks will have to make the running game work to limit pressure on the QB.  This will be a huge test for the still young offensive line.

Pride will be on the line for both teams Saturday, but Kansas needs a win to stay in the thick of the Big 12 north race. 

Tank rolls on, Chiefs wonder what it's like to have a winning streak

Despite winning their first game of the season, the revolving door continues this week at Arrowhead Stadium.  Just two years removed from being a third round draft pick, nose tackle Tank Tyler was dealt to the Carolina Panthers for a reported 5th round choice in  2010.

Tyler had been beaten out of the nose tackle job by Ron Edwards making him expendable in coach Todd Haley and G.M. Scott Pioli’s minds.  With a roster spot now open, more changes are expected this week.

Running back Kolby Smith is eligible to come off the physically unable to performa list and from Haley’s comments, is likely to be placed on the roster.  He’s been out nearly a year after knee surgery, but can begin practicing this week.  He adds a dimension the Chiefs don’t presently have in the backfield and says he’s in the best shape of his life. 

The victory over the Redskins wasn’t pretty by any means, but a win is a win when you’re 0-5.  While it was certainly an improved defensive performance, you have to consider who they were playing and the struggles that Washington is having on the offensive side of the ball.

That said, earlier in the season Haley said his team was going to have to win ugly and he was right and he reiterated that this week.  Despite the failure to score TD’s against the Skins, he credited the Washington defense and blamed his own play calling for some of the problems in the red zone.  

The offense didn’t turn the ball over and had just two penalties in the game which brought a smile to the coach’s face, but Dwayne Bowe caught only 6 of 14 passes thrown his way, despite his 100 yard receiving day.  Matt Cassel continued to take a pounding suffering through five sacks.  I would like to see more three step drops in the passing attack.  The running game was actually a bright spot though and it came against a tough defense.

How the Chiefs will handle success remains to be seen.  Haley said he’s not sure and the players say the same about Haley, they don’t know what to expect from him. One thing we know for sure is that San Diego comes to town with a 2-3 record after their loss to the Broncos on Monday night and a team that was a Super Bowl favorite desperately needs a win to keep themselves in the playoff chase.

The trophy nobody wants

Did you hear the news?  The Heisman trophy isn’t going to be handed out this year.  It’s true.  The committee met over the weekend and said to hell with it.  No one wants it, so we’re keeping it in the closet this year.

You’re not really surprised are you?  Let’s review the top three candidates coming into the season.  Defending winner Sam Bradford went down in the first game of the year and then was lost again Saturday when re-injuring his shoulder.

Tim Tebow has had a sub par season and a concussion although he did play a solid game Saturday when the Gators had to have it or they’d have lost.

Colt McCoy has struggled due to interceptions and last week it was the flu and a badly bruised thumb on his throwing hand that caused his worst passing day in his career.

At least Tebow and McCoy still lead unbeaten teams.

The Notre Dame Jimmy Clausen campaign took a hit when he couldn’t lead the Domers to victory over USC.  Heisman winners pull those games out.

Anyone wanting to anoint Tony Pike of Cincinnati as the best player in the country, really needs to think twice before they speak up.  He’s having a nice season, but he’ll miss at least the next game with Louisville with an injured arm.

It became sexy to put Ndamukong Suh into the debate after ESPN announcers genuflected over him against Missouri.  Outstanding defensive lineman, yes, Heisman winner, no.

Case Keenum is a nice story down at Houston and he’s averaging 416 yards a game in the air, but the Cougars already have a trophy with Andre Ware for wicked stats back in the 1989.  We don’t want to do that again.   

Don’t even bring up Jacory Harris or Matt Barkley’s names.  Even with a loss to Colorado last week, Todd Reesing is a far better college QB.  He’s third in the nation at 330 yards a game in the air and an efficiency rating of 152.6 and I don’t think he’s the best player in the country.

After a 246 yard rushing performance against South Carolina, Alabama’s Mark Ingram get’s his name in the conversation because there are no other running backs that are stepping up.  He’s averaging 129 yards a game on the ground.

But right now, in this media hype driven world, Tebow is in the lead by default.  The trophy is sitting there waiting for someone to actually claim it.  Maybe they’ll start this weekend.

Figuring out the Big 12 North race is like playing scrabble with a dyslexic partner

I received an email this morning telling me that tickets to the Big 12 Football Championship will go on sale November 5th.  The question at hand though is does anyone have a clue who will be playing in it?

Last weekend made a mess of the north, so much so that Kansas State and Colorado are playing for first place next week.  These are two teams that had either just lost by 52 points a week ago or had just one victory on the season.  This scintillating matchup was made possible by the following.

First, Nebraska put themselves up for fraud alert after getting manhandled at home by Texas Tech in front of the second largest crowd ever to watch a game in Lincoln.  Ouch!  Bo Pellini had to go to a true freshman quarterback to get their only touchdown of the game.  The Huskers have now scored offensive TD’s in just two of 12 quarters played against BCS schools.

Kansas then choked on a bone against the Buffaloes Saturday night.  The Jayhawks have no one to blame but themselves for this one.  Two turnovers that gave the Buffs the ball inside the KU five accounted for 14 points in the 4 point loss.  Throw in an abysmal running game and now Kansas has to find a way to beat Oklahoma in Lawrence this Saturday or their title hopes are in deep trouble.

Iowa State even has themselves looking at getting back to five hundred in the league race if they can win next week against the Big Red in Lincoln.  Hey, not out of the question.

Heck, if Missouri can pull off an upset of Texas in Columbia Saturday night, they’re back in the race.

The only thing that was settled last weekend was that the Sooners are having an unlucky season of epic proportions.  Sam Bradford was knocked out of the game again in the early going and it doesn’t make much sense for him to try and come back this season.  Texas outslugged OU in a sloppy affair.  Colt McCoy was battling through the flu and the Longhorns did what they had to to win another game.

Tech’s win in Lincoln put them back in the race in the south and Oklahoma State’s win over Missouri has them unbeaten in the south, so if they can just make it through against Baylor next week, the Cowboys have Texas at home in Stillwater on Halloween night.   Spooky!  Got all that?  

Glad you did, because I don’t know what to expect next.

Hell has frozen over as the Chiefs beat Washington for first win

There was absolutely nothing pretty about it, but Kansas City has it’s first win in nearly a year after beating the Washington Redksins 14-6 on the road.  This was a game that featured nothing but field goals until the final seconds of the game .

The Chiefs put the first points of the game on the board with 5:39 to go in the half on Rookie Ryan Succop’s 39 yard FG.  In fact, Succop was the Chiefs offense with four field goals for the game.

Kansas City lead 3-0 at half after forcing two first half Washington turnovers and four punts.  Jason Campbell was picked off by Brandon Flowers on the final play of the half as the Skins tried to get something on the board after driving to the KC 36.

Former Chief Todd Collins took over for Campbell in the second half, but didn’t do any better against the kansas city defense, which held Washington to 265 total yards and seven first downs.

The game was tied 6-6 early in the fourth quarter when KC blocked a punt at midfield but couldn’t produce points.  They did game field position and that proved pivotal when Succop hit a 46 yard FG to give KC the lead with 3:36 to play. 

While the Kansas City offense did little in this game, QB Matt Cassel continued to not turn the ball over and running back Larry Johnson had his best day of the season with 83 yards on 23 carries.

The Chiefs still couldn’t convert on 3rd downs going 4 of 17 for the game.  After tacking on a filed goal for a 12-6 lead with 41 seconds to play, Tamba Hali sacked Collins for a safety and gave Todd Haley his first win as an NFL head coach and the Chiefs their first win since Nov. 3rd of last year. 

Now that a win is out of the way, KC gets to go for two in a row next week at home against San Diego.