Despite this, football was still noticed in these parts over the weekend. First, the good.
Texas Longhorns 45 Oklahoma 12
Dr. Vince Young found a cure for the Stoops Curse — it’s called “Give me the ball and get out of the way.”
Young threw for 241 yards and three TD’s as the Horns (5-0) romped to their largest margin of victory in this hallowed series. Although Young is such an extraordinary player that he tends to attract most of the attention, the Horns’ defense was really the difference in this game as it absolutely manhandled an overmatched OU offense that could muster only 171 yards of total offense.
Probably the best evidence that the Stoops Curse is officially a thing of the past is Coach Stoops’ dubious decision to play injured stud running back Adrian Peterson, who “ran” ineffectively for 10 yards on three carries. That was a clear sign of desperation that reflects that things are getting a bit testy these days in Norman, Oklahoma.
By the way, the Horns will have their toughest game next Saturday since the Ohio State game when they host surprising Colorado (4-1).
In their most impressive performance of the season, the Cowboys crushed the Eagles 33-10 as QB Drew Bledsoe directed the Pokes’ to two early touchdowns and scores on six of their first seven drives and the defense shut down Philly QB Donovan McNabb and the NFL’s top offense. The Pokes host the Giants next Sunday.
After an unimpressive start to the season, the Coogs (3-2) had their second straight reasonably impressive performance in downing Tulane somewhere in Louisiana on Saturday afternoon. The Coogs — who have genuinely talented skilled position players — are developing a balanced offense that could be extremely difficult to defend as the season progresses. The Coogs host Memphis next weekend then go to SEC opponent Mississippi State the following weekend.
And now, the bad:
Titans 34 Texans 20
Can the Texans (0-4) really do this every week?
The answer is “you bet.” The Texans continued their downward spiral, converting none of their 13 third downs and managing just one touchdown long after the game had been decided. They are the only winless team in the league and are 0-4 for the first time in their four year history. To make matters worse, the Texans’ best player — Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson — left the game in the first quarter with a strained right calf and never returned.
Although 70,430 fans purchased tickets to the game, but only about two-thirds of those bothered to show up. Those that did endured Texans’ QB David Carr go 18-of-27 for 131 yards with an interception that Tennessee converted into a field goal in the fourth quarter. Carr was also sacked seven times, which brings the Texans’ sack total this season to 27. The Texans’ fans roundly booed the team beginning in the second quarter and the stadium was mostly empty by the beginning of the fourth. The only time the crowd really cheered was in the second half when an update of the Stros’ comeback against the Braves was announced and the remaining fans began to chant “Let’s go Stros!”
I saw and spoke briefly with Texans’ owner Bob McNair at the Stros-Braves game on this past Saturday night. I am glad that this good man is able to find some pleasant distractions from this mess. The Texans are on the nationally-televised game next Sunday night in Seattle, which could be very ugly.
In game that was not as close as the final score indicates, the Aggies (3-2) did their best imitation of the Texans in rolling over and playing dead in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday night. As Ag QB Reggie McNeal does his best imitation of Texans QB David Carr, the Aggie defense does not appear to be able to stop a hard-charging marching band at this point.
Of the Aggies remaining six games, the Ags look to have a good chance of winning only two of those games, and neither of those (Oklahoma State at home next week and Iowa State at home on Oct. 29th) are locks. What once looked like a promising season now has a 5-6 finish looking like a distinct possibility.
As one crusty football coach once put it to me: “That will go over about as well as a turd in the punchbowl in Aggieland.”
In one of the few games on their schedule that they could win, the Owls (0-4) defense rolled over and allowed a mediocre East Carolina team to do pretty much anything they wanted. The Owls get Tulsa at home next Saturday.
And don’t forget to check out Kevin Whited’s weekly Big 12 football review.
In their most impressive performance of the season, the Cowboys crushed the Eagles 33-10….
That was probably their most impressive performance since they lost Michael Irvin. As impressive performances go, it’s been a real drought in Dallas. đŸ™‚
Of course, the team is playing with matches by having Bledsoe shoulder so much of the load, but I’ve thought they needed to throw the ball down the field a little more to open the running game up. I just hope Parcells has the sense not to go overboard with it.
Should we start thinking of the unthinkable, the only NFL record that no team has ever been able to reach, the perfect 0-16 record? Just about every team we play down the stretch looks to be in contention, so nobody will be letting up on us – until Jan. 1, the last game of the season, vs. San Francisco. Luckily, its on the road, and even though they are terrible, its tough to disappoint loyal fans like the 49ers fans, so, I am thinking that the record just may be in reach for us.
I see the only four games in which the Texans will have a chance for the remainder of the season: Cleveland at home; St. Louis at home (STL is bad on the road and on natural turf); Arizona at home; and San Francisco on the road. Certainly, the Texans could lose them all and two wins out of those four games is probably asking to much from this team. So, 0-16 or 1-15 is probably the most likely result.
The Texans’ performance is indeed depressing, but let us Houstonians take comfort in the fact that if they continue on their present course, Vince Young may be back in Houston — as a number 1 draft pick for QB.
The Texans already have a quarterback with bad mechanics. Why draft another one?
If there’s a top pick involved, I’d be much happier with Matt Leinart.
Okay with the offensive line as it is, the type of quarterback that Houston needs is not someone with pocket presence. Albeit they need someone with mcuh much more talent and quality than Carr, Leinart may not be the answer.
What do Texans need? A playmaker at QB. And heart. Vince Young. Vince will make plays. Vince will bring a new character to the team.
He’s changed an entire college franchise around. Talking about bad mechanics? Please think before you write or talk.
Look at his numbers… aganst Colorado: 25-29 for 336 yards. 2 TDS. 57 Rushing yds and 3 TDs
Bad mechanics? Please. VY is the nest player in college football right now.