The Jock

by Tom Weppel

JAGUARS
Well, well, well…is it Sunday yet? Some Jaguars fans have gotten to where they almost don’t look forward to the boys playing anymore, for fear of what might occur! Its quite obvious now the Jaguars are not a good team, and they will not be in the playoffs this year. Their play overall is awful on both sides of the ball. They lack leadership, not only the field, but off. There is a clear absence of playmakers. You watch the team play, and you wonder what calls are being made and why by Offensive Coordinator, Dirk Koetter. You also wonder what the hell is going on with the Defense, considering Del Rio brought in a guy with a pretty good reputation in Gregg Williams. Only a year ago, most of the same personnel was doing a pretty good job shutting opponents down. Not anymore.
When you look at the Jaguars roster, you see a number of players with a lot of talent. What you BARELY see is character, personality, and intelligence. Obviously, the wrong moves were made, either with the Draft, Free Agency, or both. And it has all led to a squad that is failing.
This weekend, the Jags go up to Detroit to face the winless Lions. When you lose to a team who hasn’t won yet like the Bengals, it shows you simply cannot get things done in the NFL. And now, the Jags will play another winless team that I imagine is just licking their chops, getting ready for the Jags. Again, the Lions are a team with everything to gain and nothing to lose, just like the Bengals were last week.
For Del Rio and his boys, a win on Sunday would be probably the biggest they’ve had in a long, long time. The will feel relief, more than joy or pleasure. I promise you.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Another week, and another weekend of wild college football games and outcomes. There is nothing more in my thinking of what to expect. Of course, when you don’t have a playoff in place, what the hell difference does it make?
Give Florida credit for coming in and tearing up the Georgia Bulldogs. Their win essentially paves the way for a spot in the SEC Championship. If they continue their play on Saturday, they should have no problem with Vanderbilt in Nashville. The Gators are playing with all cylinders firing.
The other key game this weekend is in Baton Rouge, where the LSU Tigers host the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. This should be a fun game to observe, although LSU hasn’t been exactly what everyone thought they would be, having lost badly to both Georgia and Florida. This game will also focus on Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, who was previously took LSU to a National Championship only a few years ago.
Last week, Florida State had a chance to re-establish themselves at the top of the ACC football ladder. But they let it slip by losing to Georgia Tech. This weekend they will host Clemson, who comes in without Tommy Bowden at the helm. While the Seminoles are still a good team that will get into a Bowl game, they aren’t close to what they used to be.
Nationally, Penn State will go to Iowa and should be able to hold on to their undefeated season. The big game of the weekend is again in Lubbock, Texas, where the Texas Tech Red Raiders will host the Oklahoma State Cowboys, his should be a real shootin’ match, to say the least. And Southern Cal, still trying to prove their mettle, will host the Cal Golden Bears.
I think its fair for me to say now that the Michigan Wolverines SUCK! A team we are so used to seeing at the top of the Big Ten is absolutely awful! Their record now is 2-7, meaning they will NOT go to any Bowl game at all for the first time in thirty-four years! New Head Coach Rich Rodriguez hasn’t done a damn thing to help this school out. It is very possible they could lose their last three games, including this week at Minnesota, then against Northwestern, and finally at Ohio State. That would make Michigan finish at 2-10!
And the folks who are LOVING this, more so than any other group of people, are the West Virginia Mountaineer fans, who still feel screwed by Rodriguez for picking up and leaving town. The Wolverines can’t wait fro this season to be over with Rich Rodriguez leading the pack.