With so many things going on in sports, I figured instead of writing about just one particular topic, I would touch on a few that caught my eye during the weekend. With the Saints losing on Sunday, the main topic of conversation on “The Point After” was how could the Saints play so badly to the then-winless St. Louis Rams.
That’s easy, the Rams had nothing to lose and the Saints have too many people hurt to contend against any team in the league. At the end of the day, it’s not Jim Haslett’s fault, its Sean Peyton’s.
Defensively, Charles Grant is out, defensive end Will Smith obsolete, and Jason David not up to the $4 million hype. Drew Brees cannot do it alone either, but after watching what he can do when he’s on all cylinders and what happens when he’s off, should be a cause for concern.
After winning four straight games, the team is only a half game out of first place in the NFC South, but with not enough people going out on a limb to make predictions, I will.
The Saints have about a 25 percent chance of making playoffs.
With the next three games against the Texans, Buccaneers and Panthers, the only way they can make it is by winning the division and not slipping up to give Tampa Bay or Carolina a chance. Right now the team is at best 9-7 or 7-9, anything else will be a Thanksgiving and Christmas miracle.
If you’re a die-hard LSU Fan, stay away from national television and national newspapers for the next three weeks. Every national outlet will be picking against the Tigers in the national championship race, giving the edge to any one of the teams behind them in the BCS standings.
The one thing these outlets fail to realize is a watered down Pac-10 with Oregon is the third best conference behind the SEC and Big 12. It seems because media darling USC has proved to be the most over-hyped team in college history, the Pac-10 is much more competitive when it really isn’t.
Let’s look at the conferences: SEC: LSU, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State. Big 12: Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas. Pac-10: Oregon, Arizona State, USC.
The Tigers control their own destiny, any faltering between now and then and you can expect one of the worst championship match-up’s ever.
Staying with college, how great is it that Notre Dame is 1-9? There is nothing more encouraging than seeing the “nation’s team” struggling more than ever in their storied 100 year history.
For years, Notre Dame has done less with more than any team in this country and while the fair-weather fans and Irish apologists grew, little did they know that every school was slowly passing them up. Say what you will, but Notre Dame is the Bon Jovi of college sports.
Think about it, anytime you hear the Chee Weez, God forbid, when do you hear them play “Can’t Go Home” or “It’s My Life” and see the place go crazy? Exactly, never. But once the first few riffs of “Livin On A Prayer” start to play, the place goes nuts.
While Notre Dame kept living in the past, other teams were adapting to the new styles of play and didn’t have nearly the restrictions Notre Dame does when it comes to recruiting and institutional standards. Although, bad karma for firing Ty Willingham isn’t completely out of the question either.
Because of their contract with NBC, all the Irish have to do is win nine games and automatically get in a BCS bowl, I propose a new rule that says if Notre Dame loses nine games, the next season they have to join a conference and earn one just like every other team does.
To sum it up kids, the Saints are inconsistent, LSU has some work to do and Notre Dame stinks. How much more random can you get than that?
