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FOOTBALL THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

Because of a work a conflict at the home of the 2008 NL Central Division Champions, I wasn't able to watch much football this weekend. I saw bits and pieces of lots of games, but never actually got to sit down and watch one from start to finish. But I was still able to make some observations. So here are four things I noticed, both from college and the NFL:

1-My beloved Florida Gators are 3-0 and ranked fourth in the country. On Saturday they demolished former rival Tennessee 30-6 in Knoxville (I say former rival because the Vols have yet to win since Urban Meyer became the head coach at UF). All in life is good. Or so it appears. But really, after watching various parts of the game, I'm concerned with the Florida offense. The Gators have tremendous depth on that side of the ball, with seven or eight guys who run sub-4.4 40's. And they also have Tim Tebow, who just happens to be the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. But even with all these playmakers, the team struggles to score. Against Tennessee, Florida had only 243 total yards, which would be a disaster if they had lost. It helps that kick returner Brandon James is a mini-Devin Hester, and that the Florida D is playing at championship form. Still, to win the SEC, which has four of the nation's top eight teams, it's going to take a better attack than the one the orange and blue showed on Saturday.

2-I watched the second half of the Dallas-Green Bay game on Sunday night, without a rooting interest (My two least-favorite teams in the NFL). I was hoping it would be a shootout, similar to the Cowboys-Eagles game on Monday night. But neither offense really showed up. Tony Romo was OK, and it helped he had Marion Barber in his backfield. Aaron Rodgers made some nice throws as well, but he could never get the Packers offense really going. At the start of the season I picked the Saints to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, and right now, that looks like a weak pick (N.O. is 1-2). So I guess with the win, the Cowboys are now the favorite to reach the big game, but looking at it from a fans perspective, I sure hope not.

3-The best game I saw over the weekend was LSU-Auburn. This happens to be the game I saw the most of (all of the final three quarters), and I was really impressed by both team's defense’s. Obviously both Tiger squads are known for their D's, so it shouldn't have come as such a surprise. But these teams were playing fast, making great plays, and hitting really hard. When a big offensive play happened, it was a shock, because most plays reasuted in a bone crushing hit and very little yards gained. LSU won the game because of clutch QB play and some nice play calling, but I think if LSU and Auburn played ten times, it would be 5-5; They were that close to each other

4- Finally, the Bears. Much to my disappointment, I only saw the first quarter, sitting in the corner booth of a Mexican restaurant near Wrigley Field. And to more disappointment, they blew another fourth quarter lead, just like in week 2. I can't analyze the game, because I didn't see the majority of it. (I did get a first-hand account of the game from my 4-year old cousin, who was at Soldier Field. She reported that the mascot was cute and that there were lots of police officers on horses. So there's that....) But just by reading what happened, I'm already mad at Lovie and the team. Before the season began, I expected 6-10. Then they won at Indy in prime time, and everybody got all excited, thinking this was another playoff team. But now, after back-to-back blown 4th Quarter leads, it looks like they actually are the 6-10 team I predicted three weeks ago.

Finally, props to Lou, D-Lee, Big Z, Sori, the Riot, A-Ram, Demp, DRo, Geo, and all the other Cubbies for winning the division. It's been a magical ride thus far, but lets not get off so early this year.