by  Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]

Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season.

Ya know, there is a lot to unpack here …

Actually, there isn’t. Just wanna fit in with all the douche-ness of those who use that annoyingly overused phrase now – almost to the level of “it is what it is” or “everything happens for a reason” or, the absolutely most moronic opener to any sentence, “at the end of the day …”

Seriously, though, there may be a few things to unpack after all.

For starters, any of the dopes out there who think Nick “Flower Child” Sirianni’s inspirational takes had anything to do with the Eagles beating Detroit … just take the rest of the season off. Because any semblance of brain mass you had already has.

Good grief, Eagles fans. Grow up, grow a set and stay the course with a take, any take, more than the knee-jerk reaction to next goddam positive play. The head coach is a goof, and you know it. Own it, deal with it and move on. Stop with the wishful thinking. It’s embarrassing.

Speaking of embarrassing, what gives with Minnesota? The Vikings have a frontline running back, a terrific receiving tandem and reportedly a defensive genius as a head coach. Their “weak” link is a quarterback whose passer rating challenges the greatest throwers of all time. So, how the eff are they 3-4 now, losing to a Dak-less Dallas on Sunday night to boot?

Not sure the New York Jets are better with Mike White instead of Zach Wilson at QB, but the former Western Kentucky signal-caller and his NYJ mates were looking sharper than any No. 2 overall pick in an overpriced suit with White’s 400-plus yard passing day and his blacked-out mates winning Sunday.

Interesting to see the Chargers’ Justin Herbert come back to Earth while facing a Bill Belichick defense. The kid remains light years beyond what size-a-like/sort of Trevor Lawrence will be, but … still, interesting. (Note: a lifelong Clemson fan here … but Herbert – not Lawrence -- always had the better goods.)

It’s easy to see why people like Carson Wentz as a player and a person … but, man, do people eff up with morphing the two. It’s not just in Philly. It’s everywhere … and it’s insane. People, he’s Checkdown Charlie – i.e., Sam Bradford. With better athleticism (thanks to Sam’s injuries) and far less throwing ability.

Many may do a double take at the idea Carolina would be willing to part with Christian McCaffrey in a trade for Houston QB DeShaun Watson, but – reality check – the Panthers RB has been tissue-paper-soft with injuries ever since becoming romantically linked with model/man killer Olivia Culpo.

Told you so about Dolphins QB Tuo Tagovailoa when he was still at Alabama. Guy has a candy arm and, unfortunately for him, a china doll body. Frankly, for me, he rates well below his younger brother, Taulia, currently at the University of Maryland. Like, not even close.

Hey, if we’re gonna lump Penn State’s James Franklin to any big-time college opening, how about a pro gig – like, say, Houston? David Culley certainly looks like a one-and-done there. That way Franklin can follow his PSU predecessor Bill O’Brien there, kinda like Butch Jones did Brian Kelly at Central Michigan and the University of Cincinnati.

by  Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]

Georgia is the only given.

When you get down to it, with a nation of face-painters and pom-pom-wavers awaiting Tuesday’s initial College Football Playoff Rankings for 2021 with bated breath, the Kirby Smart’s latest edition of Bulldogs are the only FBS team in the country that checks off every box.

From record to name value to strength of schedule to play worthy of style points.

They have the best defense in the country, as confirmed by every measurable available. They’ve beaten four ranked teams. Frankly, they’ve physically dominated every squad they’ve faced in starting 8-0.

OK, so they don’t have a Heisman candidate at quarterback. But reality has proven that Stetson Bennett is more the equal, if not the better, of uber-hyped USC transfer JT Daniels with running Georgia’s offense who brings a valuable athletic element to the equation – i.e., he can run, Daniels cannot.
 
In short, the Bulldogs will – and should – top the CFP poll when it comes out in a couple days.

After that, it’s a crapshoot.

Especially when it comes to the next three spots as the rankings really set the parameters of which teams have a legit shot to reach the national semifinals – the College Football Playoff.

The other three unbeatens in the Associated Press poll’s top 10 – Cincinnati, Oklahoma and Michigan State – all have flaws. Most notably with each are play NOT worthy of style points. Even in Saturday’s scintillating, 37-33 win against archrival Michigan in a matchup of top-10 teams, the Spartans pretty much played rope-a-dope, getting pounded for about 70 percent of the contest before landing a few shots and hanging there before the visiting Wolverines punched themselves out.

Sparty got outgained by 157 yards and was likely looking at a three-point loss if not for picking off an on-target toss by Michigan QB Cade McNamara on the Wolverines’ final possession.

Alabama? Ohio State? Oregon? All have a loss.

That the Buckeyes have been ranked in the AP and coaches polls ahead of Oregon – the team that beat them, in Columbus, Ohio, no less – for weeks has been an eyebrow raiser already.

Wake Forest, which has proven to be the class of the ACC this fall, is unbeaten, too, but hadn’t even cracked the top 12 in either the AP or coaches poll prior to Saturday.

So, what gives?

If you ask me, it’s pretty clear-cut which are the best four teams in the sport, and, frankly, the next two after that.
In order: Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Michigan State.

HOT SEAT
With yet another loss to a ranked team, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is America’s favorite punching bag again. Not joining that fray here. His Wolverines lost Saturday to what seems to be this season’s chosen team to be blessed. Seriously. Not only was Sparty outperformed by Michigan, and still won, but it pulled the same act against Nebraska and Indiana earlier this fall. To me, no point in even killing him about the two-QB system he employed at Michigan State. Why? Because he had done that all season and arrived in East Lansing at 7-0.

No, to me the guy whose steering his program into the drink is Florida’s Dan Mullen. Take away Kyle Trask, a complete unknown who rose to Heisman finalist, salvaging the 2019 and 2020 seasons, all Mullen has done since a strong 10-3 campaign to start his reign in Gainesville is show a growing propensity for dumb comments and even dumber decisions. The Gators are 4-7 in their last 11 games, with two of those wins coming against non-Power 5 schools.

Oh, and Scott Frost is gone at Nebraska, which is now 3-6 following another lackluster loss, bringing the alum’s homecoming mark to 15-26.

Manny Diaz? He might not be in Miami, not after the Hurricanes’ inspiring 38-34 victory at Pittsburgh against the high-flying Panthers and QB Kenny Pickett, who had become a, if not THE, Heisman favorite coming into the contest.

TRENDING UP
Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III. The Wake Forest transfer has been good all season. Saturday’s 197-yard, five-TD performance, though, took him into another stratosphere. Right now, with Pickett and Pitt losing, he seems the Heisman favorite.

Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman. Arguably the most underrated player in college football. He’s accounted for 15 TDs and almost 1,300 total yards in the last three games, capped by Saturday’s 463-yard, five-TD effort in a 45-7 win against Duke.

Minnesota. Not for nothing, but the Golden Gophers sit atop the Big Ten West standings at 4-1 (6-2) and control their own destiny with securing a spot in the conference title game after winning their fourth straight. Perhaps coach P.J. Fleck isn’t just a sideshow after all.

TRENDING DOWN
Ole Miss QB Matt Corral. We can chill out on all the bromance stories between the kid and his coach, Lane Kiffin, now after the Rebels lost at Auburn to fall to third place in the SEC West and Corral was outplayed by oft-maligned (and oft-unfairly so) Bo Nix.

Penn State. The Lions were ranked fourth and dominating No. 3 Iowa midway through the second quarter in Iowa City on Oct. 9 … and then QB Sean Clifford went down – and PSU hasn’t been able to get completely up off the canvas since, even with Clifford’s return. Saturday’s loss was their third straight.

Texas. Only USC ranks in the same stratosphere of overhype as this program. Like PSU, has lost three in a row following a defeat at the hands of overlooked Baylor. The Longhorns are fifth in the Big 12 now.

HUH?
Oklahoma QB Caleb Williams. The freshman has been special for the Sooners, but hyping him for the Heisman? C’mon, he’s played three and half games thus far. Get real.

STAT MAN
Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong. The Cavaliers’ hard-charging lefty slinger had his second straight six-TD (four by air, two by land) effort – this time in a loss (66-49 at BYU) – and maintained his better than 400 yards of total offense average with 337 passing and 94 running.

by  Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]

The jig is up.

Seven games into his head-coaching career in the NFL and one thing is clear about Nick Sirianni: he’s not cut out for the gig.

Not now, probably not ever.

He was a bad hire by the Eagles’ highest ups, Howie Roseman and Jeffrey Lurie. A classic case of someone unqualified for the job on paper, and even less prepared for it in real life.

For that alone, Lurie would have every right to fire his right-hand man immediately, and, for that matter, he’d probably do those who care most about the Birds – their fan base – a great service by stepping aside and selling his multibillion-dollar entity.

Not that either of those things would ever happen …

But dropping Sirianni like a load of bad asphalt in short order could, and should, happen. The sooner the better. Why? Because he – not Roseman or Lurie – poses the most imminent danger to the Eagles.

For all the tinkering and tampering and needling that the GM and owner may do, even on a daily basis, this is Sirianni’s team. He’s the one around the players all the time. He’s the one laying the foundation of everything they do. He’s the one who is showing them – gasp – his way.

It’s time to detour. Pronto.

Forget the 2-5 record – especially in this town, which can rationalize anything to fit into any kind of scenario or mindset – whichever one they feel most comfy with, from the apocalypse to sheer bliss or any place in between.

The reality is Sirianni not only is Exhibit A of In Over His Head when it comes to the demands of being a head coach and offensive coordinator, he is routinely proving himself to be mentally challenged at putting 2+2 together in the simplest of situations.

Sunday’s 33-22 loss at Las Vegas offered a perfect case in point. With the Eagles up 7-0 in the first quarter and the Raiders facing a third-and-five at the Birds’ 47 on their opening possession, Derek Carr completed a pass for two yards, which would have left Vegas in a fourth-and-three situation. The Raiders happened to be called for holding on the play, but – well, ya know – why accept the penalty to give them another crack at third down, albeit now needing 15 yards for a first, when they obviously would punt otherwise?

Only Sirianni knows … because he took the penalty, which pushed Vegas back 10 yards, and then watched Carr connect with Zay Jones on a 43-yard pass on third-and-15.

Just dumb, dumb, dumb.

Only by the grace of God, or a tipped pass, the Eagles avoided surrendering points as Avonte Maddox intercepted Carr three snaps later.

Given such good fortune, perhaps sticking with the running game – which had fueled a first-possession TD – would have been the smart thing to do then.

But Sirianni is too smart for the smart thing, apparently. He scrapped that from the repertoire on possession No. 2 and thereafter, even before Miles Sanders went down with an ankle injury.

On the bright side, at least no is fooled by his game plans. Including the opposition every week.

Not for nothing, but the 40-year-old communicates like a child as well. He’s immature in a neon-lights way – from the silly t-shirts to the ridiculous gameday visors, accessorized with markers and pins. Now, that could be seen as charming in a way, or even take the edge off in certain situations.

But the NFL is a big-boy business and at some point the individuals involved in it need to grow up.

For their own sake as much as anyone else’s.

Which is why the Lurie/Roseman think tank needs to put an end to its newbie experiment.

Whatever personnel decisions occur after that, so be it. This one, though, has to happen first and foremost.

Otherwise, this Sirianni silliness is bound to drag into the next regime of management.

​by  Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]

Maybe it is time to move on.

For all the good he has done in Happy Valley, stabilizing Penn State’s football program and returning it to national relevance, if not prominence – at times, at least – in the last eight years, James Franklin, perhaps, would be wise to seriously consider overtures from the University of Southern California and Louisiana State University to take over the head-coaching reins at either school.

Penn State fans have been trying to push him out the door for several years. So why not give them what they want?

With 50 fast approaching in February, and his (for now) No. 7 Nittany Lions fresh off a 20-18 loss to lowly Illinois on Saturday afternoon in front of a Homecoming crowd at Beaver Stadium, it almost seems appropriate that he’d pivot his mindset from enjoying (or, say, enduring) a lifetime stay in State College to starting fresh in Los Angeles or Baton Rouge.

You know, contingent on approval from his wife and two girls.

Truth is, despite his success, Franklin has never really gotten the Lions over the hump to being elite – like, say, a consistent top-five to top-eight program. In today’s world, the standard of greatness is reaching the College Football Playoff and Franklin and Co. have yet to make an appearance in one.

But the guy does have three 11-win seasons, three top-10 finishes and a Big Ten championship in his eight years at Penn State – which would match what Joe Paterno did in his final eight years at Penn State and surpass what Paterno did in the eight years prior to that.

That’s not exactly chump-change stuff for a coach, especially a coach with a commanding presence and star quality that allows him to recruit with anyone in the country.

Put it this way, one game, especially with playing a banged-up starting quarterback, that takes nine overtimes to result in defeat is not going to deter schools such as USC and LSU from pursuing him hard.

And the reaction Franklin has received from Nittany Nation after that game may make it easy to leave.

QUICK HITTERS
- Navy, despite just having one win all season, appears to be the litmus test for the top teams in the American. No. 23 Southern Methodist and Houston both passed, barely, earlier this season. Both, also, were far more impressive in surviving than No. 2 Cincinnati was in Annapolis on Saturday. The Bearcats, looking as mild as former No. 2 Iowa did before finally falling to its own conference rival in Purdue, got pushed around, outgained and seemed confused throughout before prevailing by a single score – just like SMU and Houston did. Only they finished plus-160 and plus-90, respectively, in the yardage department. Cincy didn’t even reach 300 for the game in finishing minus-40.

- Would love to hype Pitt QB Kenny Pickett for the Heisman after yet another masterful performance that saw the Panthers completely shut the door on Clemson’s dominance in the ACC for now, but, man, Pitt’s uniforms outshone him. That mustard gold and royal blue pairing, with white trims, wow – it all makes for the sharpest look in the sport. (Please, no ridiculous Oregon comments.)

- Kidding aside, it’s kinda hard to go too crazy over Pickett’s 302-yard, two-TD passing day when a pair of QBs from fellow ACC schools went completely off: Sam Hartman went 23-for-29 passing for 458 yards and five TDs for undefeated No. 16 Wake Forest, and ran for a sixth score, while season-long stat monster Brennan Armstrong threw for 396 yards and four TDs and ran for another 99 and two to help Virginia reach 6-2 on the season.

- Yet another ACC signal-caller had himself a day as Garrett Shrader, in leading Syracuse to victory at Virginia Tech, threw for 234 yards and two scores and ran for 176 and three more.

- Not sure all the luster is off Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. His Cyclones just dropped No. 8 Oklahoma State from the ranks of the unbeaten and they are 5-2, with losses against ranked teams.

REALITY CHECK
For all the hyperbole – pro and con – about the new overtime rules that got put on full display at Penn State with nine mind-numbing sessions of mostly futility and young men walking from one end zone to another, the most telling part of the game was the Fighting Illini’s clear dominance in the trenches. Which, frankly, was shocking to see against a top-10 team, especially after their coach, Bret Bielema, had just ripped the offensive line and the recruiting efforts made there by the previous coaching staff headed by Lovie Smith a few days prior to the game.

Bielema backtracked a day later, of course, but the point was made … and either his guys responded to the challenge or Penn State’s players believed him.

Illinois RBs Chase Brown (33 carries, 233 yards, TD) and Josh McCray (24 carries, 142 yards) accounted for 148 more yards than Penn State’s entire offense just by themselves.

P.S.
We may wanna chill out there on all the "epic-ness" – and newness and rareness – of that nine-OT opus between the Illini and Lions. Princeton beat Harvard on Saturday in five extra sessions to cap an 18-16 inept-fest that, amazingly, was played more poorly than what transpired in State College. 

​Next up for the rules committee: Should rock-paper-scissors be added to overtime?

by  Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]
​
Heads may shake. Eyes may roll.
​
Blank stares may be most prevalent of all.

But, make no mistake, with word coming out Tuesday that six current members of Conference USA -- Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice and UT-San Antonio – took the first step to joining the American Athletic Conference by applying for membership, one thing should be clear:

Mike Aresco knows what he is doing.

Oh, maybe not in a harmonic, “let’s create regional rivalries that could tug at the heartstrings of longtime college football fans” kumbaya spirit, but in a business sense.

Take a look at the schools listed above that the AAC commissioner appears poised to welcome. They’re all located in large metro areas. UAB, Charlotte and UTSA are self-explanatory. FAU is near Miami, North Texas is near Dallas and Rice is in Houston.

Furthermore, these are schools that put money into football, which is the driving force for this latest round of conference realignment across the country – just as it was the last time, and the time before that. They all have quality facilities that are either spanking new (UAB’s pristine, 47,000-seat Protective Stadium just opened this fall), relatively new (Charlotte, FAU and North Texas have homes built within the last decade) or recently renovated (Rice Stadium got a whole new look in 2015; UTSA’s Alamodome had a touch-up in 2017).

With Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida – three cornerstone members of the current AAC – set to depart the conference for the Big 12, likely, in 2024, Aresco had to make a move. Opening the door to these six seems to be better than those hung up on the past or geography would instinctively feel.

UAB and Charlotte bring rising programs to the table, and UTSA finds itself ranked in the current Top 25.

Frankly, FAU brings about the possibility for a rivalry with South Florida – especially with the Owls coached by Willie Taggert, a former Bulls head coach – and North Texas is a natural one for Southern Methodist. Same with Charlotte for East Carolina. UAB could be a good one for both Memphis and Tulane.

In short, these additions to the AAC may not seem all that exciting. But they’re sound, they’re solid and, when you look beyond just the names, they make a lot of sense.

Now, if Aresco and Co. could get Army and Air Force to join Navy in the AAC as well, that would be even better. Coastal Carolina and Louisiana, a pair of up-and-comers who already rate legit on college football’s mainstream landscape, deserve courting, too.