The Week That Was

Mondays suck but they are at least tolerable for the next few months because of the excitement that carries over from football weekends. Saturday was depressing as Notre Dame blew a game they should have won against Michigan. The main culprit for the loss is head coach Charlie Weis, who managed the game clock at the end like a 4-year old. Sure, RB Armando Allen was hurt on the first down run but who cares? We didn't need to score on that drive. We needed to run the ball two more times and make Michigan burn their timeouts. The referees were also atrocious. Allen had a touchdown called back despite their not being inconclusive evidence that he stepped out of bounds, which was what was necessary to overturn the initial ruling of touchdown. That ended up being a difference making play in the game as the Irish had to settle for a field goal instead on that drive. Hopefully, the Big 10 officials assigned to this weekend's home game against Michigan State are a tad more competent. The defense looked dreadful, which is discouraging after they looked so good against Nevada. The offense looks as good as it did in Weis' first two years when he had Brady Quinn, Darius Walker, and Jeff Smarzijda. There is still hope for a very good season, but a win at home against the Spartans on Saturday is a must.

Nebraska beat up on Arkansas State, making them 2 for 2 against bad teams. The defense played a little better this week, and QB Zac Lee was tremendous, throwing for 340 yards, 4 TDs and 0 INTs. This Saturday, Nebraska travels to Blacksburg, looking for revenge against the Chokies. I will have much more on this game in Thursday's Cram Session.

I was in football heaven yesterday as NFL Sundays returned. Not surprisingly, the Washington Redskins offense looked like poo with Jason Campbell under center, as the Skins fell to the Giants 23-17. The Giants were missing three starters but the Redskins still couldn't score an offensive touchdown until garbage time. I will be very happy when the Jason Campbell era is over. The San Francisco 49ers won a real tough game at Arizona and have given me some optimisim for this season. The defense manhandled Cardinals QB Kurt Waner, and 49ers QB Shaun Hill was clutch when he needed to be. The Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the Carolina Panthers and their sorry excuse for a quarterback, Jake Delhomme. Eagles QB Donovan McNabb suffered broken ribs but early word is he will play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. McNabb annoys me to no end sometimes but he is one tough hombre. The defense was the biggest concern for the Eagles coming into the season, but they looked great Sunday. They will face a true test against the offensive juggernaut that the Saints will be bringing to Philadelphia. The Minnesota Vikings struggled for a half with the hapless Cleveland Browns, before RB Adrian Peterson took over. Purple Jesus might not be good enough of a nickname for the amazing Peterson. Vikings QB Brett Favre managed the game, which is exactly what will be needed of him this year. They don't need gunslinger Brett, they need a smart Favre and hopefully he can do that. WR Percy Harvin showed some flashes of brilliance and is an exciting addition to the Vikings offense.