Since I don't have much time for blogging this weekend, I'll hit the locals for this weekend.
-The Beloved Cougars are on the road in Martin Stadium, as the Idaho Vandals are the official home team. First, UI really needs to get over this obsession with matching Boise State. The Vandals, as they currently stand, have no business being a D1 football team, and this "home games at WSU" are just ludicrous. On the field, the Cougs have an overwhelming advantage in speed and talent, and should paste Idaho pretty good. The questions will be at QB: Will either Josh Swogger or Alex Brink use this opportunity against an overmatched team to take control of the job? I certainly hope so. To make life worse for the Vandals, it's an even-money bet that WSU's defense will score more than Idaho's offense.
-The Tolerated Huskies open the PAC-10 season against another slumbering former powerhouse, the UCLA Bruins. While the Huskies had last weekend off due to an absurdly early bye week, UCLA recovered from their opening weekend debacle against a good-but-not-great Oklahoma State by going on the road and crushing a terrible Illinois team. I think the Huskies have a shot at this one. UCLA hasn't shown any ability to stop the run, giving up 634 yards on the ground against the Cowboys and Illini. I think this could be a breakout game for Kenny James, provided that Casey Paus can stop making stupid turnovers. It's Paus' game this week, as Isaiah Stanback might be shelved with a bum ankle.
-On the NFL front, the Beloved Seahawks are on the road in the Deep South again this Sunday, this time at Tampa Bay. Everyone in the Seahawk office would be happy with a 1-1 split in their first two games, but this one is very winnable. The Bucs looked old and slow, and particularly so on offense last week against Washington, while Seattle looked young and fast on defense against New Orleans. Seattle should be able to harass Brad Johnson at will, as the Buc O-Line looks terrible, and their slow, slower and slowest receiver corps should be shut down by the Seahawks talented young secondary.
In an unrelated note, the fact that Giant coach Tom Coughlin had the audacity to fine four of his players for not being early to a team meeting just stuns me. Like Len Pasquerelli says in his column on the subject, if you want guys to be in the office by 8:25, make the damned meeting start at 8:25. The NFL has to overturn this stuff. You also have to wonder why Coughlin hopes to prove here? Is he worried that his Giants won't hate him as much as the Jags did? Don't worry Tom, they will.
Posted by Frinklin at September 17, 2004 09:24 PM