Eating Some, Um, "Eagle"

So I couldn't have been much more off in my prediction for last week's game. Instead of losing by 15, we won by 27. The defense looked great, definitely improving on not missing so many tackles - if we make it to a bowl game, it'll be because of our defense. And I owe Chris Crane an apology - he is not terrible enough to warrant the ripping I gave him last week. Yes, he still threw 3 picks and made some questionable decisions. And yes, I wouldn't be nearly as forgiving if we hadn't blown UCF out. But what I really think the kid needed was a confidence booster. It couldn't have been good for his mental morale to struggle so much in the Tech game, both during that game, and at the beginning of this one. Being benched for a few serieses in favor of Dominique Davis -who had the crowd calling for him all first half - couldn't have helped much either. But something woke him up during halftime, because he came out firing. You could almost sense a weight lifting off his shoulders when he scored the first TD off a play-action scramble, and it was all good from there. The two picks he threw in the 2nd half were more good plays by the DBs than mistakes by him, and he threw a brilliant TD pass to B-Rob to ice it. Davis was impressive for his first time out, he's going be a playmaker when his time comes. Also impressive was Montel Harris, rushing for 112 yards on 14 carries. He and Haden are going to be a great backfield in the next few years. Don't even get me started on Steve though - all I'll say is, I want to see Billy Bennett given a crack at being the FG kicker if another 24-yard chip shot conks off the uprights. For the game this week against URI, it's going to be a laugher. Davis will see his share of snaps, but Crane will continue his solid play from the second half of the UCF game. Haden (finally back), Jeff Smith, and Harris have a good day running, Crane is solid again with his arm and feet - we win easy 38-7, because Billy Bennett kicks a FG.

Oh and the Patriots - oh boy was that awful. Let me sum up it up like this - anytime you get burned on just about the same play 5 times for a TD, it's a sure sign you're going to lose.

Nothing Is Over Until We Decide It Is!...Sometimes...

To quote John Belushi - well, I already did, actually. His famous line from Animal House pretty well sums up my feelings towards Tom Brady's devastating knee injury.


I will admit, as soon as I saw Brady stay down clutching his knee, one thought and one thought only raced through my head - "Our season's over". Even though he got up and walked off with help - a fact, prior to the grim diagnosis, that several of my friends were quick to point out must mean he wasn't injured that badly - I knew better. My dad had torn his ACL playing soccer a long time ago, and not only drove himself home that night - he played the entire rest of the game. And since Brady's leg during the hit showed some hallmarks of "how to tear your ACL", I was steeling myself for the worst. After he walked off the field, I walked down the hall to my friends' room, fully intent on proclaiming our season over. But a funny thing happened in the 45 feet or so I had to walk - I realized that it wasn't. Sure, our preconceived notions of another possible perfect season and near-certain Super Bowl win were down the drain, but the fact remained that the Patriots are still a very good football team - even if Matt Cassell hadn't started a game since high school (although it's not his fault he's backed up two Heisman winners and one of the greatest QBs ever). We've still got Moss, we've still got Welker, we've still got Maroney, and we've still got one of the best front 7's in the NFL - we may not go 18-1, but I'd be willing to bet we easily win the division and make at least the AFC Championship. The Colts have not looked great so far, and neither have the Jaguars or Chargers, all of whom were supposed to contend with the Pats for. By comparison, the Steelers and the *surprising* Broncos have looked very good. Still, I think the Pats match up well against all 5 of those teams. Don't write them off yet.