UT Lives Strong and Wild NFL Weekend

Man three amazing games, one horrible collapse and one quarterback that will face questions all offseason is what we got from the NFL, but before we get to that there was a little change down in Austin.

UT Hires Charlie Strong

Well Strong was on the list of candidates that was circulating around the web for months, but there is no way in hell that he was number one on the list. Saban was the "all-in" bet, but when that didn't work out it was Plan B then ulitmately Plan C (Charlie Strong). Anyone saying that he was UT's choice is rewriting history or is a PR flack for UT. You don't have Mora, Briles etc. declining things if there aren't some conversations happening.

Ok, so he wasnt the first choice, but that does not make him a bad choice. What he accomplished  at Louisville in a very short time is really remarkable. And getting Bridgewater to play like he did at the end of this season and all of '12, he did what any good coach can do is rid the hot hand. Now before everyone gets all excited about Big East or AAC being the same as BIG 12, just ask West Virginia how that is working out. Its a completely different game. On top of that there are reports that Stong is not historically a open to the media type of guy. That's going to be pretty darn hard to be with your own ESPN channel with several hours of programming that the school is getting paid $20 million a year for. Granted the two folks who were behind that are gone, but unless there is some serious contract reneogtiations Charlie is in for some PR training.

End of the day, I think this is a strong hire (sorry) but certainly not a homerun. Guess we will see.

NFL Wildcard Weekend

The Battle of the Westlake Chaps fell to Foles on the TDs and QB rating (i think, that's a jacked up formula) but Brees, Payton and the running game earned the Saints their first road playoff win and a trip to Seattle.

If you were doing family stuff and were checking one the Chiefs/Colts game off and on (like me) you probably turned it off and only tuned back in the 4th qtr. When I tuned in from the car the Colts covered 90 yards in about 5 minutes and that's when you knew this game was over, and they were still losing after that score. Shame that the Chiefs fantastic season has to end and I feel sorry for the slaughter that Andy Reid will get for another collapse.

I can't imagine that the coverage and pressure of being the starting QB for the Bengals is the same as what Romo has to put up with in Dallas, but those are two QBs who can certainly have a long heart to heart about underdelivering in big games. And everytime Zimmer and his defense get his name on a coaching short list, something like the Chargers game seems to happen.

Did you know it gets cold in Green Bay this time of year? Hell it was 35 degrees in Dallas and that felt miserable, I can't imagine what that must have felt like for every linemen that had to put his hands down in that turf every play, let alone anyone a) making a hit or b) betting hit. But what a game. Green Bay was missing some parts all year, but managed to win the North and host a playoff game. However San Fran''s offense and special teams just had more ammo. And its great to see Crabtree making yards out there.

NATIONAL TITLE GAME

I have no clue how this is going. FSU has an amazing offense and defense and so does Auburn. I hate the press that the SEC gets, but you can't argue with success. I think that this will end up being a great game, but Auburn has used up a few years worth of good mojo just to get here so I'll take FSU with the win Alex..

Happy New Year and Welcome Back to Wisdom of the Crowd

Ah the joys of a new year and a new technology that eats an entire post. Well let me make this short and sweet. I'm back to writing this blog and unlike in the past when it was 100% Texas Tech Football, I will be sticking with sports, but covering a lot more (NASCAR, NBA, PGA, etc.) and even taken a stroll in other directions (current events, movies, books, who knows).

BOWL Recap:

Writing this during 1st quarter of Fiesta bowl and Baylor is down 14-0. Who had that in their pool?

Too many bowls to recap them all, but here are a few:

New Mexico Bowl - Thought the Cougars and Leach had this one in the bag and then an avalanche of poor plays came down and buried them. Hard way to start new year.

Alamo Bowl - This game pretty much summed up the final few years of the Mack Brown era, poor play calls, questionable personnel decisions and ultimately a team and staff that looked checked out. I believe that in a few years, UT will look back on the Mack Brown year's differently than they do right now. But due to egos of a few people (mack, deloss and donors) they really screwed up how to wrap this thing up in class. And why do you need a committee to hire a coach at UT? Except if you want to make sure nobody can solely be blamed if he doesn't win out of the gate.

Chik-fil-A Bowl: Two things that don't go with Aggies; second halves and defense. Well not last night. When A&M needed it most, the defense finally stood up and made some big plays. And whatever people think of Manziel personally and how well his play translates into the next level (I don't think it will), he was one hell of a college qb.

Holiday Bowl - WOW! all I can say is wow. Tech has now twice gone out west for this game and played over their heads and taken down a double digit favorite. Fantastic play by Webb and Amaro. Just all around a heck of a game.

NFL:

In case you're not from around here, you might have missed that the Eagles/Saints game has two former Westlake Chaps facing off against each other. That hasn't happened since the mid 79s and is amazing for two guys that were completely ignored by UT, Tech, A&M, etc. Nice scouting.

NO at PHI - Hard to win at Lincoln Field and the Saints stink on the road. That being said, after watching Foles panic with Dallas' pathetic defense, I expect Rex Ryan to send people at him all night from every angle possible. I look for Drew to pull it out and move on.

KC at Indy - Well this is what happens when you play in the same division as Peyton Manning. I think the Chiefs have this in the bag and probably can't hurt to be playing in a dome on wildcard week.

Chargers at Bengals - I'll believe in the Bengals and the Chargers when I see it. Bengals have all the parts, but Dalton is starting to look like Matt Schaub and that is not a compliment. I can't believe there are still tickets available for the first playoff game in Cincy in lord knows how long.

SF at GB - Aaron Rodgers is the man. But San Fran is getting better with all their people back on offense. the weather is going to be cold and miserable, i think SF's defense will come up in the end but expect it to be high scoring.

Phew, that's it for now. hope you enjoy it. share with your friends.