You're the turkey (sports)
I would say this was probably a pretty average weekend for the teams that I am a fan of. I probably should be more upset with the Bears loss, but I just can't be. Here's why.
We just completed three games in a row in the Northeast. Coming into the season, we knew it would be our toughest road trip of the entire season. Even after the first week, I predicted the Bears would have the toughest time again the final team they played, whether it be the Jets or the Pats (I knew the Giants were first). Rarely do you see any team go into the Meadowlands and take 2 consecutive games. And then to still have one more game on the road up there is brutal.
The Bears should have won the game last night. The fumbled snap in the goal line was enraging. The blocked fg was a bunch of crap. I think the officials had it out for the Bears in the first half. First, the only reason there was any movement on the line on the FG play was because the Patriot player moved first. And it's illegal for a defender to draw someone to false start. Nice catch by the apparently blind officials. Second, the 'late-hit' call on Danieal Manning. Urlacher had shoved Dillon, but he HADN'T STEPPED OUT OF BOUNDS. It's tough for a late hit to come when the player is still IN PLAY. You could tell before the hit even came the official was going for his flag.
In addition to those screw-jobs, there was the 'unnecessary roughness' on Charles Tillman. Manning came away with the fumble recovery. But all he did after recovering the ball was lay there. Tillman got up and smoked a dude because he thought Manning was going to run, since, you know, HE HADN'T BEEN TOUCHED. Manning didn't run, not that he would have gotten much, but he wasn't touched until after Tillman had laid that dude out. So two unnecessary roughness calls go against the Bears while the ball was technically still live. Unbelievable.
That being said, something has to be wrong with Grossman. I don't understand how one game he can have pinpoint precision, and the next he turns the ball over 14 times. He missed a couple wide open receivers last night. And if he had placed the ball where Berrian was running just about any time last night, the game probably would have been a blow out. I'm not saying I want Griese to play, because I don't. You might as well have Brad Johnson out there. Hell, I'd rather have Orton, because at least he can throw the ball more than 14 yards downfield.
I forget the point I was trying to make. But last night the Bears sucked just enough to keep it close. And holy shit can we force a turnover. So in review, I'm ok with the loss. Let's just stop talking about it already.
Second, how about the Illini. For the first weekend since October the Illini football team doesn't lose (so what if their season is over) and the basketball team wins a big one.
Some people are probably going to say big deal, Illinois was the best team in that little tournament, they should have won. Well, you know what? We did win. And good teams win games they're supposed to. Have you heard of that Kansas?
Sidenote rant: Fuck Kansas. Did anyone see how ugly that game was with Florida? Taurean Green literally handed the game over to Kansas, and Kansas did their best to try to hand it back. Neither team looked worthy of a top-10 ranking in that one. I'm pretty sure Bradley-Illinois was much prettier.
Ok, back to Illinois. Who would have thought that Jamar Smith coming back would have been such a necessity? Trent Meacham, in the first game I've seen all year, looked overmatched. I'm hoping it was just a bad game, but it was tough. Jamar Smith though, what a catalyst. His shooting touch is incredible.
We still had trouble getting into the offense, Rich McBride still looks like he may be way too passive of a player, and B-kid (Carlwell) did miss that dunk. But Warren Carter appears to be emerging as quite the scorer, we all know (and were reminded) of what Smith can do from the outside, and I have a feeling having Calvin Brock be active on the boards is going to be huge.
I don't know if this team is going to be as deadly as I hope they will, but I definitely think this team is underrated, and hopefully we can be a deadly tournament team. Also, I would like to point out that Illinois has been playing the kinds of teams that surprise people in the NCAA tournament, so to say that they're playing cupcakes isn't necessarily true.
Also, we got a commitment from a freshman in h.s. over the weekend. More on this later.
We just completed three games in a row in the Northeast. Coming into the season, we knew it would be our toughest road trip of the entire season. Even after the first week, I predicted the Bears would have the toughest time again the final team they played, whether it be the Jets or the Pats (I knew the Giants were first). Rarely do you see any team go into the Meadowlands and take 2 consecutive games. And then to still have one more game on the road up there is brutal.
The Bears should have won the game last night. The fumbled snap in the goal line was enraging. The blocked fg was a bunch of crap. I think the officials had it out for the Bears in the first half. First, the only reason there was any movement on the line on the FG play was because the Patriot player moved first. And it's illegal for a defender to draw someone to false start. Nice catch by the apparently blind officials. Second, the 'late-hit' call on Danieal Manning. Urlacher had shoved Dillon, but he HADN'T STEPPED OUT OF BOUNDS. It's tough for a late hit to come when the player is still IN PLAY. You could tell before the hit even came the official was going for his flag.
In addition to those screw-jobs, there was the 'unnecessary roughness' on Charles Tillman. Manning came away with the fumble recovery. But all he did after recovering the ball was lay there. Tillman got up and smoked a dude because he thought Manning was going to run, since, you know, HE HADN'T BEEN TOUCHED. Manning didn't run, not that he would have gotten much, but he wasn't touched until after Tillman had laid that dude out. So two unnecessary roughness calls go against the Bears while the ball was technically still live. Unbelievable.
That being said, something has to be wrong with Grossman. I don't understand how one game he can have pinpoint precision, and the next he turns the ball over 14 times. He missed a couple wide open receivers last night. And if he had placed the ball where Berrian was running just about any time last night, the game probably would have been a blow out. I'm not saying I want Griese to play, because I don't. You might as well have Brad Johnson out there. Hell, I'd rather have Orton, because at least he can throw the ball more than 14 yards downfield.
I forget the point I was trying to make. But last night the Bears sucked just enough to keep it close. And holy shit can we force a turnover. So in review, I'm ok with the loss. Let's just stop talking about it already.
Second, how about the Illini. For the first weekend since October the Illini football team doesn't lose (so what if their season is over) and the basketball team wins a big one.
Some people are probably going to say big deal, Illinois was the best team in that little tournament, they should have won. Well, you know what? We did win. And good teams win games they're supposed to. Have you heard of that Kansas?
Sidenote rant: Fuck Kansas. Did anyone see how ugly that game was with Florida? Taurean Green literally handed the game over to Kansas, and Kansas did their best to try to hand it back. Neither team looked worthy of a top-10 ranking in that one. I'm pretty sure Bradley-Illinois was much prettier.
Ok, back to Illinois. Who would have thought that Jamar Smith coming back would have been such a necessity? Trent Meacham, in the first game I've seen all year, looked overmatched. I'm hoping it was just a bad game, but it was tough. Jamar Smith though, what a catalyst. His shooting touch is incredible.
We still had trouble getting into the offense, Rich McBride still looks like he may be way too passive of a player, and B-kid (Carlwell) did miss that dunk. But Warren Carter appears to be emerging as quite the scorer, we all know (and were reminded) of what Smith can do from the outside, and I have a feeling having Calvin Brock be active on the boards is going to be huge.
I don't know if this team is going to be as deadly as I hope they will, but I definitely think this team is underrated, and hopefully we can be a deadly tournament team. Also, I would like to point out that Illinois has been playing the kinds of teams that surprise people in the NCAA tournament, so to say that they're playing cupcakes isn't necessarily true.
Also, we got a commitment from a freshman in h.s. over the weekend. More on this later.
posted by Jtrouble at 10:24 AM
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