John’s Blog - Coast To Coast

I just wanted to wish each and every one of you a very, safe and Happy New Year 2008!  2007’s been a great year, but 2008 promises to be even better! 

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Four weeks ago, did anyone really give the Washington Redskins a chance at making the playoffs?  After the tragic loss of Sean Taylor and a tough 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills the following Sunday, the Redskins were left with a 5-7 record and with little hope of making the playoffs.  A hard fought 24-16 Thursday night win against the Chicago Bears got them to 6-7 and still with faint hopes of playing into 2008… A week later, a very convicing 22-10 win in New Jersey against Eli Manning and the Giants got them to .500.  Then came a dominating 32-21 effort last weekend in Minnesota against a Viking team that had won five straight games… At 8-7 and going into the final week of the regular season, the Redskins suddenly controlled their own playoff destiny.  All that was needed to secure the #2 NFC Wild Card spot was a win against the Dallas Cowboys at home on Sunday. 

The Redskins not only rose to the occasion they simply CONTROLLED every phase of the game, holding QB Tony Romo in check and rendered the Cowboys ground game useless as they could only manage a franchise record low of one yard rushing as a team in a 27-6 Redskins rout. 

On the offensive side, Clinton Portis contined to carry the memory of his slain friend with him, wearing a Sean Taylor shirt under his jersey.  Portis rumbled for 104 yards and two scores on 25 carries.  Santana Moss also had a huge game receiving, catching eight passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.  Todd Collins was again a steadying force at quarterback, completing 22 of 31 passes for 244 yards.  In four games now, Collins has completed 67 of 105 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns, most importantly without throwing an interception.  

Inspired and unified.  I think those two words probably best describe this Redskins team.  After making that huge mistake by calling back to back timeouts to ice the Bills kicker and turning a 51 yard field goal attempt into a the game-winning 36 yarder, coach Joe Gibbs has proven to be a resilient and steadying voice and force. 

Ironically, the Redskins will now face the team that I’ve probably picked on more than any other in this blog in 2007: the Seattle Seahawks.  Since winning their week one matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks failed to defeat another team with a winning record this season.  More than anything, the Seahawks are a team in search of an identity.  Coming into the season, people took them as a “run first, pass second” team with a good defense… With running back Shawn Alexander suffering through an injury plagued season, the Seahawk running game has been virtually non-existant.  QB Matt Hasselback has ignited the offense at times, but more often than not, that offense has sputtered.  Yes, the Seahawks are 10-6 and have the home field advantage for the Saturday afternoon game, but the Redskins are the team with all of the momentum, and right now there is not a team playing better football in the NFC… Are you excited, well I certainly am! Go Skins!

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The UCLA Bruins football team finally have named a replacement to Karl Dorrell, and to those of us who have followed Bruin football for a very long time like me, the name is a very familiar one. Rick Neuheisel is coming back to his alma-mater! Neuheisel quarterbacked the Bruins and led them to a 1984 Rose Bowl victory over Illinois. He also had successful coaching stints at Washington and Colorado before working the past three years as an assistant coach for the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s hoping that Rick can lead the Bruins to some better finishes in the coming years and lots of wins over those rival USC Trojans!

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The New England Patriots made NFL history tonight becoming the 2nd team ever to go through a season undefeated with a 38-35 win over the New York Giants at the Meadowlands in New Jersey tonight. Tom Brady also tossed his 50th touchdown pass of the year and Randy Moss caught his 23rd TD pass. Both set new NFL records. Congrats to the Patriots on their amazing 2007 season!

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The New England Patriots made NFL history tonight becoming the 2nd team ever to go through a season undefeated with a 38-35 win over the New York Giants at the Meadowlands in New Jersey tonight. Tom Brady also tossed his 50th touchdown pass of the year and Randy Moss caught his 23rd TD pass. Both set new NFL records. Congrats to the Patriots on their amazing 2007 season!

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Well, the week was a very busy one and I capped it off with my now monthly or so get-together at the Stornetta’s home for a friendly game of Texas Hold ‘Em poker… Five of us played for a little more than four hours and once again I came out on top!  Is it just coincidence that I’ve been doing better now ever since my friend Dave Dixon moved to Thailand?  I don’t know, but whatever it is, it sure is nice to win even if the stakes aren’t all that high.  And of course the camraderie and friendship along with the friendly joking and ribbing never get old!

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The sports world lost one of it’s great sportscasters yesterday in Stu Nahan. He passed away of cancer at the age of 81. Stu worked for many years in the same NBC Studios in Burbank that my late father did. As a youngster, I still always remember looking forward to the local news segment on Channel 4 and Stu’s sportscasts around 5:20-ish every evening. Stu was someone who the athletes always looked forward to talking to, and his of humor even made the tightest of athletes want to open up.

Stu was not only a local icon, he was very well known nationwide. Stu appeared in over 30 movies including the 80’s classic movie Fast Times At Ridgemont High. He was also the play-by-play announcer in all six Rocky films.

Memorial services for Stu are pending. He leaves behind his wife, three children and five grandchildren.

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The New England Patriots “only” beat on the Miami Dolphins 28-7 last week (no, they didn’t cover that 22 point spread)… as it marked the biggest battle in terms of disparity of records in NFL history. Next Saturday, the Patriots try to become the second team in NFL history to through a regular season undefeated as they take on the New York Giants. The Giants are already locked into the playoffs as the #1 Wild Card in the NFC and basically have nothing to play for.

The other NFC Wild card spot is still up for grabs, but the Washington Redskins took a HUGE step towards securing that spot with a 32-21 win over the Minnesota Vikings on the road on Sunday night. The win was their third straight and got them back into the top 10 of my rankings. The Redskins face a Dallas Cowboys team this Sunday who has nothing to play for as they have the #1 seed in the NFC all locked up.

Here are this week’s rankings with last weeks rank in (). Record is only one consideration. I also take into account strength of schedule, strength of victory (or loss) and other intangibles…

1.(1) New England Patriots (15-0)
2.(2) Indianapolis Colts (13-2)
3.(4) Dallas Cowboys (13-2)
4.(5) Jacksonville Jaguars (11-4)
5.(6) San Diego Chargers (10-5)
6.(3) Green Bay Packers (12-3)
7.( Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5)
8.(7) Cleveland Browns (9-6)
9.(13) Washington Redskins (8-7)
10.(9) New York Giants (10-5)
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11.(10) Tennessee Titans (9-6)
12.(12) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-6)
13.(15) Seattle Seahawks (10-5)
14.(11) Minnesota Vikings (8-7)
15.(14) Buffalo Bills (7-
16.(1 Philadelphia Eagles (7-
17.(16) New Orleans Saints (7-
18.(17) Houston Texans (7-
19.(19) Arizona Cardinals (7-
20.(21) Chicago Bears (6-9)
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21.(22) Cincinnati Bengals (6-9)
22.(20) Carolina Panthers (6-9)
23.(23) Denver Broncos (6-9)
24.(24) Detroit Lions (6-9)
25.(2 San Francisco 49ers (5-10)
26.(25) St. Louis Rams (3-12)
27.(27) Kansas City Chiefs (4-11)
28.(26) Oakland Raiders (4-11)
29.(29) New York Jets (3-12)
30.(30) Atlanta Falcons (3-12)
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31.(31) Baltimore Ravens (4-11)
32.(32) Miami Dolphins (1-14)
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Here’s to wishing everyone a very safe and Merry Christmas. I will be off to my brother’s place in a bit with my sister and brother-in-law just as soon as my morning coffee kicks in.

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I knew I was going to be getting my cash prize for winning one of the three CBS Sportsline fantasy baseball leagues I competed in this year in the mail soon.  Well, I just got today’s mail and lo and behold there was my $600 check for winning the one league!  And gosh, if Jake Peavy had managed to pitch just decently that final game of the regular season, well I could have won or tied for first in a second league… So close… but hey, I more than doubled my investment so I’m not complaining!  Winning cash is so much better than winning t-shirts.  Yes, I have a closet full of ESPN t-shirts from the fantasy baseball championships I’ve won over the years… next year I look forward to competing in even more CBS Sportsline leagues and winning a heck of a lot more <strong>CA$H MONEY</strong>!!!

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