Week 10 Picks: Chad vs Jim

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

With the two of us disagreeing on 4 games last week, both teams had a chance to pull away or get back in the game. Unfortunately for Chad, we split, so we keep the 5 game difference. This week, we disagree on 3 games, so there will be at least a one game difference. Chad and I had solid 10-3 weeks in week 9, so we look to start a hot streak after mediocre results in week 7 & 8.

Impressive marks in college football

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Lost in the midst of the Cam Newton scandal at Auburn and the beatdown TCU laid on Utah last weekend is the fact that Hawaii absolutely dominated a pretty good team as well.

Hawaii came to the blue turf with a 7-2 record and a 5-0 league mark, averaging a shade over 39 points per game. What makes that even more impressive is the fact that Jeremiah Masoli was supposed to be their starting quarterback. For those who don't remember, Masoli was kicked off the team after getting caught stealing, graduated, then moved on to Ole Miss.

The Warriors were smothered by the Broncos and scored just seven points the entire game. They were shut out in the first half for the first time all season and had 196 yards of total offense.

With guys like Kellen Moore, Austin Pettis and Titus Young making the headlines by putting up somewhere around 50 points everytime they hit the field, it's easy to overlook the defense, but they are second in the nation in scoring defense behind TCU, second in run defense, ninth in pass defense and second in total defense behind the Horned Frogs.

The last big test for the defense and a chance to make a final statement for the BCS comes two weeks from now against No. 25 Nevada. Hawaii did hold them to 21 in the Wolfpack's only loss of the season, but Nevada is fourth in the nation in scoring with 42 points per contest. Will shutting down that team be enough to vault the Broncos over at least two other teams in the BCS standings? Most likely they'll still need some help.

Chris Maza is the owner of his own blog, Maza's Musings, and makes weekly contributions to Fan Fanatic Sports. Check out Maza's Musings for more sports insight and also, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Mazasmusings and 'like' him on Facebook.

Patriots better get their act together

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Are you still shaking your head after yesterday's disgusting Patriots game?

I am, but I'm also sort of chuckling.

Not because of the loss because those always sting, but in the way that it happened.

They got humiliated.

And people were starting to believe that this New England Patriots team was the best in the NFL?

What are they thinking this morning?

Yes, the Patriots are not as bad as they played, but they're also not as good as people think they are. They are somewhere in between, and that's not a bad thing, either.

Teams in the NFL do put up stinker games, but against Cleveland? Against the rat Eric Mangini? Shouldn't have happened.

Obviously, looking back on it now, the Pats took the Browns lightly. They played like it, too.

But those Browns played like it was their Super Bowl.

If you never watched a football game in your life, you would have thought that the Browns were the elite and the Patriots were a team at the bottom of the pack.

The Pats didn't do anything right. They were severely beaten in every phase of the game, including coaching.

But defensively, they just laid a major stink bomb.

Browns QB Colt McCoy is a rookie, but the Pats made him look like an All-Pro. They didn't put pressure on him, they couldn't contain him and they paid the ultimate price.

And while most of their attention was on stopping the run, the Pats couldn't do a darn thing against bruising back Peyton Hillis (184 yards, 2 TDs). Hillis, who would destroy a brick wall if he ran into it, made the Pats defense look like a Pop Warner team. He took their will away and completely punked them.

Well, the offense wasn't much better. How out of sync does Tom Brady and his cast of receivers and tight ends look? They are not on the same page and it's showing. Perhaps the one positive is that no-huddle offense, which they should have done earlier. They at least dictated tempo and actually moved the ball down the field. And one week after praising the Law Firm, I'm back to not being a fan. He didn't run hard and was a non-factor. Nine carries for 14 yards, not going to cut it. Perhaps this team should just drop back and pass (via the no-huddle) on every down?Use the short, 3-yard pass as a run. It's worked before, maybe go back to it on a full-time basis.

Any way you slice it, Mangini and his cast of former New England assistants completely outschemed mastermind Bill Belichick and his assistants. That'll eat at Bill for a long time ...and it should.

It was a total team collapse. This is the type of loss that can linger for weeks. And now the Pats enter the meat of their schedule -- at Steelers (Sunday night 8:20 p.m.), vs. Colts, at Lions (but don't automatically chalk that up in the win column) and vs. Jets -- for the next four weeks.

The Pats have a lot of work to do, obviously. Everyone -- coaches and players -- need to elevate their game and start putting a better product on the field on a consistent basis. If things don't change quickly, the AFC East division could slip away real quickly.

Week 9 Picks: Chad vs Jim

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's week 9, pretty much the halfway point of the season, and I still have a 5 game lead over Chad. With so many games to be picked, that really means nothing. This week we differ on 4 games, so there's a chance I could run away with it, or Chad could get right back in.

Thomas is still the No. 1 goaltender

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Do I hear the "Tuukka" chants off in the distance?

Yup, I sure do.

And it's quickly catching on since Tim Thomas didn't play up to his usual shutout ways against Washington Friday night.

I'm a huge Tuukka Rask fan and I did want the Bruins to trade Thomas away in the offseason, but I'm still on board with Thomas starting right now.

Maybe next week I'll change my tune when Thomas is giving up 4-5 goals a game, but right now the veteran is the right choice to start between the pipes.

I mean, Thomas has been gigantic in net. There's no denying that, either. Any team in the NHL wishes they could have ridden Thomas while he was simply white hot.

Remember when Thomas had three shutouts in his last seven starts? Oh, how quickly we forget.

Now, fans are remembering him allowing three goals in a loss to the Caps Friday night and two vs. Buffalo on Nov. 3. Shame on Timmy for letting the fans down!

Yes, fans are starting to feel that Thomas is losing his mojo. Maybe he is? But I still say don't yank him just yet.

He's earned the right to be the starter -- for now -- and he shouldn't lose that No. 1 label because he's been human in the last two starts.

Do you believe in BenJarvus Green-Ellis?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I really enjoy watching running backs who run hard, have a little juke in their step and make the right reads by following their blocks and quickly racing to daylight.

I've never thought that New England running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis has been that type of back (although there's no questioning that he runs hard).

Green-Ellis was a pleasure to watch yesterday, however.

The young back gave the Patriots what they've been missing all season -- balance. He ran like a guy possessed, desperately trying to secure that starting running back spot.

And, at least for one game, he'g got to be the No. 1 guy in the backfield.

The Law Firm rushed for a career-high 112 yards and scored twice to lift the Pats over the Vikings.

In a game that featured Brett Favre and Randy Moss, Green-Ellis stole the show.

He grew up a lot yesterday.

Green-Ellis did look like a different running back. While he ran hard and physical, he also showed some burst by bouncing to the outside and made it hard for the secondary to run him down.

Perhaps this was his coming-out party? Could Green-Ellis be the key piece that really makes this offense go? He could be, considering the Pats are no longer a quick-strike offense without Moss taking the focus away from Wes Welker and Co.

But if Green-Ellis continues to re-charge a quiet rushing attack, this offense will be extremely hard to defend.

While it's no secret that I haven't been a big fan of Green-Ellis over the years, he really showed me a lot of positives. I'm not going to completely take the bait just yet, but it's a great start to making me be a believer.

Oregon, Auburn deserve title shot

Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Hey, I know everyone wants the BCS to go up in smoke. I subscribe to the same notion.

But at the same time, I'm not going to say that another team should get screwed in order for it to happen. People seem to have gotten so caught up in their desire to see Boise State and TCU in the BCS title game that they've forgotten that a couple of good teams in front of them just might be championship caliber, too.

Oregon now sits at No. 1 after beating USC by three touchdowns. That's two convincing wins over ranked teams within their own conference this season that have helped them achieve an 8-0 record. Sure, they've got New Mexico and Portland State on their schedule, too, but they outscored those two by a count of 141-0. Isn't that the argument that fans are always making about Boise? They don't play the strongest schedule, but they throttle the teams they do play, then beat the ranked opponents that fall on their schedule?You can't have it one way and not the other.

Throw on top of that the fact that the Ducks have the most prolific offense in football, averaging a touchdown more a game than Boise with a tougher schedule, and you have to at least consider them one of the top teams in college football.

Auburn at No. 2 isn't quite as flashy, but is still as dangerous. The Tigers have beaten three ranked teams this season and have a very diverse offense led by a quarterback that just might be this year's Heisman winner. Not that winning trophies has anything to do with winning football games, but is illustrates the amount of talent Cam Newton has. People can say the SEC is overrated and in a lot of years they would be correct. This year is not one of those years, especially in the West division, where four of the five teams are ranked. Auburn has beaten two of them and also has beaten the best team in the East. They also beat Ole Miss at home, which anyone can tell you is not an easy feat.

So, yes, in the grand scheme of things, I would like to see the BCS die just like everyone else. However, if these two teams stay perfect, I don't see how you can deny them. They're just too good.

Chris Maza is the owner of his own blog, Maza's Musings, and makes weekly contributions to Fan Fanatic Sports. Check out Maza's Musings for more sports insight and also, be sure to follow him on Twitter @Mazasmusings and 'like' him on Facebook.