Just wanted to post this because embarrasingly enough…..it happened about 10 minutes from my house:

Man Hit With Frozen Turkey Suspect In Two Carjackings: WRAL.com

Here’s the 911 Call-

Can things get any worse in Philly?  First, McNabb doesn’t understand overtime rules, then he gets benched…and now, this bit of embarrassment.  Found this over at FAN IQ.  They have a nice 3 picture set of the tackle.  If you didn’t see it over the weekend, realize that is Brian Westbrook’s jockstrap that Antwan Barnes is grabbing.  In all seriousness, this is the tackle the NFL should ban.

Brian Westbrook gets tackled by his jockstrap

Just a few more articles in regard to State’s victory over the Heels:

Too Early To Tell (WRAL.com) Butch Davis Responds to Tom O’Brien’s comments about NCSU being the best program in the State: “But before anybody anoints themselves, I’d say there probably needs to be some time invested into the programs, and then we’ll see what happens.”

From what I can tell, Butch is saying it’s too early to tell whether he is a failure or not….the jury is still out.  O’Brien backed up his comments again in the WRAL article.  Personally, in the PC, don’t say anything to offend the other team world, I like it that O’Brien made a statement like that.  Let’s me know that he’s willing to stick around and back it up…..much like he did this Saturday.

Wolfpack on the Right Path:  (Caulton Tudor, News & Observer): “When N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien on Saturday proclaimed his Wolfpack as the “best football program in the state,” there wasn’t a convincing counterpoint to be argued and certainly not by North Carolina.”

The Evolution of Andre Brown: (Technician)

Week 13 National Awards (Rivals.com)  Russell Wilson, Freshman of the Week

Six weeks ago the Dallas Cowboys lost starting QB Tony Romo to a banged up pinky finger.  They also lost the game to the Arizona Cardinals, 30-24.  Dallas, a team many had prematurely annointed as NFC Super Bowl representatives was all of the sudden in BIG trouble.

The media & rival fans didn’t let it slide.  All of the sudden, the Cowboys were toast.  Sure enough, they came out the following week & were promptly hammered by the lowly St. Louis Rams, 34-14.  Romo was all the talk as former Buccaneer Brad Johnson was awful in his place.  Little was made of other injuries the Cowboys had sustained.

Super rookie running back Felix Jones was out.  Starting cornerback (and their best) Terrence Newman…out.  Strong safety Roy Williams…..out.  Nickel back Adam Jones…suspended.  Starting guard Kyle Kosier…out.  Hell, they even lost their punter for the year.

The Cowboys would go on to eke out a 13-9 win over Tampa, before getting throttled by the Giants, 35-14.  Somehow a 5-4 Cowboys team was a terrible team if you listened to the media.  I decided to look at things in a more positive light.  They had a bye week coming up to heal.  Then a match-up with rival Washington….nothing like a win vs. an arch enemy to spark your season….then match-ups with not so great San Francisco & Seattle.

Dallas saw the return of Romo & Newman vs. the Skins.  Both played pretty well and had a huge hand in knocking off Washington, 14-10.  This weekend vs. San Francisco the offense finally awakened as they dealt the Niners a 35-22 defeat.  All of the sudden….Dallas feels good about themselves again…and wouldn’t ya know, a little adversity seemed to do the team some good.

Linebacker Greg Ellis:

“I’m going to put it to you this way: I like what I’m smelling from this team. All right? I really do. I like what I’m smelling from this team. … You can put that in big, bold print. You can use those words: I like what I’m smelling from this team. I like what I’m smelling from this team.”

Corner Terrence Newman:

“The early losses if you ask me are informative for us because we thought we were a better team than what we were. It showed we weren’t as good as we thought we were. Everybody had to come back out here and go to work. It was kind of a blessing in disguise. It makes us have to work. If we run the table we will be 12-4, you know.”

Shame on the media for burying Dallas.  They are 7-4, likely to be 8-4 after Thursday and will enjoy a LONG layover before the homestretch.  Keep in mind, it was the Cowboys who were sitting pretty last season at this point in the year while the Giants were battling for a playoff spot.  We all know how that turned out.

The Cowboys schedule down the stretch is brutal at best…At Pittsburgh, home vs. the Giants, Baltimore, and then at Philadelphia.  They’re gonna need to go 3-1 in that stretch, which I believe they can.  Felix Jones is not going to return & it’s looking like Kosier might not be able to go either.  I still like Dallas to make a run here.  Adversity can do a lot for a team.  Nothing has been handed to this bunch.  This isn’t last years team that cruised through the regular season facing few tests or feeling too good about themselves.  This bunch has learned they have to show up and play every week to win.

Cowboys Team Report (Cowboys Feeling Good About Themselves)- Yahoo

UNC tailback Shaun Draughn explains that he still feels UNC is the better team over NCSU……even after receiving a 41-10 thumping this weekend.

Post game interview- Shaun Draughn (wral.com)

It all came together for North Carolina State Saturday as they trounced rival North Carolina 41-10 in Chapel Hill.

I could write a fluff piece about the game, complete with analysis of every play, highlighting all the scoring plays.  I won’t do that.

I don’t have to.  State just flat out trounced the Heels this weekend.  State EXPOSED UNC for what they really are….an average football team.  Will Heels fans PLEASE shut-up now with all the “winning the ACC” talk.  Please stop with the whole “we’re 8 points from being undefeated” nonsense….or if you want, just update it to “39 points”.

The Wolfpack looked sharper, hit harder, played faster, and just made play after play against the reeling Heels.  State’s offensive performance wasn’t that surprising….they could’ve scored more points were it not for a couple of dropped TD passes…Russell Wilson was once again fantastic, making plays with his feet & his arm in route to a career high 279 passing yards, 2 TDs, and 50 rushing yards.  The run game was just as effective as Andre Brown & Jamelle Eugene ran pretty much at will, especially late in the game.  On the Pack’s last real drive, Brown & Eugene ran the ball 9 consecutive times on the way to a Pack field goal.

As impressive, and probably more surprising was the NCSU defense.  They flew all over the place, created 6 turnovers, sacked UNC QB’s 3 times, and held Caroina’s receivers to few big plays.  The “under-manned” Pack defense looked like the more athletic team….they looked rougher and tougher than UNC.  Don’t get me wrong, UNC looks slick & fast in their uniforms…..but they certainly didn’t look as passionate as the Wolfpack.

UNC did have a chance.  They only trailed 10-3 at halftime, even after turning the ball over 3 times.  They answered a Wolfpack TD in the second half putting the score at 17-10 & were a defensive stop away from making it a ball game again.  Russell Wilson wouldn’t let that happen.  Wilson & the Pack offense overcame 2 holding penalties with a 12 play drive ending with an Andre Brown 2 yard TD run.  Holding pentalites back the Pack up twice during the drive, leaving them at 2nd & 20 & then later at 2nd at 17 but Wilson ended up converting both adversities into 1st downs.  State never turned back after taking the 24-10 lead & began piling on points the rest of the way.

It was the kind of performance, a statement performance, that teams practice and work all year for.  466 total net yards, 8-17 on third downs, a stellar defensive performance holding UNC to just 203 yards.  Total domination.  Suck it UNC.

For the record, I do think Butch Davis made a mistake in starting T.J. Yates.  The Heels offense looked lost and inconsistent.  Yates was hesitent & slow in the pocket and under-threw a few passes.  I doubt Sexton would have changed the outcome, but perhaps the Heels would have had more fire had he started.

Oh yeah, did I mention that Heels fans booed Yates off the field and openly booed their team several times??

Quotables:

NC State Coach Tom O’Brien:

“What it speaks to is we’re the best football program in the state, without question. We are the state university and we expect to be here. There’s no other way to put it. These games are important to us and we’re going to take them all serious. Especially if they are state rivals.” (This particular quote has UNC fans screaming foul as they feel that they are the best “program” in the State.  Maybe they are, but honestly, what exactly have they done to prove it?  Also, I found this quote especially pleasing because Butch Davis pre-game noted that this game should be looked at no different than other games.  Butch, if you don’t get that this game is important you don’t belong at UNC.

“As I told the team, we didn’t come this far to stop. Last year this team stopped after they beat North Carolina and thought that the season was over. That’s what we’ve got to guard against this week… we haven’t done all this work to get to this position.”

“Our kids really took the challenge today. I think it was a great effort on our part, especially to beat a team like North Carolina who has all those great athletes running around out there so well coached and everything. We have steadily gotten better, once we’ve gotten the little guys healthy and back on the field. We played really good against a great football team.” (Great quote there).

Owen Spencer:

“There was more red than blue.  Everybody kind of scattered after a while and we all looked and all you could see was blue seats and then you look to the left and all you see is red. They stayed there with us and they wanted to see the after game celebration. They wanted to sit here and enjoy it with us”

Kenan Empties as Wolfpack Throttles Heels Technician Online (NCSU Student Newspaper)

State Throws ACC in Disarray Greensboro News and Record (Sorry buddy, the ACC was already in

“disarray”)

Scout.com Photos

Pack Thumps Heels 41-10 in Chapel Hill (Scout.com/Pack Pride)

Ok, these are just cool.  Not sure what you would use them for, but for the price, they might be a lot of fun.  I originally found them at THINKGEEK, but after a little searching found them even cheaper at Wal-Mart of all places!  I’m not condoning buying anything from evil Wal-Mart, you can make your own decision there, but these night vision goggles look to work pretty well and are priced pretty low!

EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles (Wal-Mart)  $69.00

EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles (ThinkGeek)  $90.00

Related Articles

All of the Sudden, Program Finds Right Direction (Caulton Tudor)

ACC Standings (TheACC.com)

ACC Players of the Week, 11/17 (TheACC.com)

NCSU Trash Talking Thread (PackPride)

It’s that time again. The Wolfpack travels to UNC this week for a rivalry that is important locally….probably not so much on the national scene.

Figured I’d give my take on it. First of all, I love the direction that Wolfpack football seems to be headed in. It’s taken a little time, but Tom O’Brien has State playing a brand of football that any fan would be proud of. I really believe that teams (this is especially so in college) take on the personality of their head coach. O’Brien seems to be a calm, hard working, no nonsense type guy….I like to think that’s how the Pack plays. Gone are the days of Chuck Amato’s flamboyant under-achieving teams. This current version of the Pack plays solid, consistent football. Stupid penalties (personal fouls plagued Amato teams) seem to have disappeared. Turnovers are at a minimum. State runs the football…even when they aren’t running it well, they at least TRY to run. You never know week to week who is going to contribute. They are YOUNG. After a poor start, O’Brien resisted the temptation to remove red-shirts from several freshmen. Four freshmen have played, but only T.J. Graham (who has been phenomenal at times) played on offense. And then there’s quarterback Russell Wilson………..

Wilson is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. Wilson, the 5-11 redshirt freshman was a virtual unknown at the start of the season. He started the opening game vs. South Carolina and was promptly knocked out of the game after being sandwiched by two USC defenders. Wilson was hauled off on a cart after completing just 1 of 5 pass attempts for 12 yards. Wilson suffered a concussion and his availability was spotty for the next few weeks. He showed glimpses of his athletic ability that night, and then again later in a lackluster performance vs. Clemson.

Then came the ECU game. Another in state rival for the Pack, this seems to be the game where the light turned out for Wilson who came into the game for an ineffective Harrison Beck. Wilson led Pack to a victory with 210 passing yards & 3 TD. He’s looked completely comfortable ever since.

In fact, Wilson has thrown 175 straight passes without an interception. His totals are ROY worthy and possibly All ACC:

1270 passing yards, 12 TD, 1 INT, 234 rush yards & 3 TD. His rushing totals would be much higher but college statistics subtract rushing yardage for sacks.

Wilson is the perfect hybrid between scrambler & passer. He’s what everyone always wanted guys like Mike Vick to be. I’m not saying he’s got Vick talent, but Wilson has the ability and smarts to use his athletic ability to make plays rather than just take off. He runs when it’s called for…..not everytime he feels pressure. He runs to create time, giving his receivers extra time to get open. He’s got solid arm strength, excellent presense, and rarely seems rattled. He has Pack fans thinking positive, thinking 6-6 is a possiblity, and even perhaps a Bowl bid.

Of course, lots of things would have to happen to reach that 6-6 mark, and step one is to beat UNC. As hyped as I am about the future of this program, I just don’t think it’s going to happen. It’d be just too good to be true.

If you read this site, you know the situation that the Heels are in. They were sitting pretty going into this weekend, controlling their own destiny in regards to an ACC Championship Game appearance. The loss to Maryland was obviously a huge blow to the Heels. However, they can still salvage this season, and that begins with NCSU. A loss to State, despite what has been a pretty good season for UNC, would just be suicide for their fan base. This game, in the big picture, is MUCH more important to the state of UNC football than it is for State. If UNC loses, they not only lost their pipe dream BCS bid, but they lost to their hated rival down the street, Cow College.

Of course, UNC will never admit that State is their rival……in any sport. They’ll have folks believe that they have bigger fish to fry. I’m still wondering which fish these might be, as you actually have to GO FISHING to catch any fish.

I don’t envy the Heels. In fact, I’d rather be in the Pack’s shoes. Reasonable expectations. Understanding that winning takes time. Rock solid coach that isn’t getting offers from other schools. Remember when I mentioned teams taking on their coaches personality? Think about Butch Davis. The first thing that comes to my mind is HYPE. Butch Davis comes with a lot of hype. He’s a well known coach. However, when it gets right down to it, is he that good? Sure he turned around a Miami program that was in ruin, but he never got that National Title (blame the BCS if you want, but it’s fact). And yes, his recruits did end up winning a title after he left. Go figure, I’m not saying the guy can’t recruit, hell Chuck Amato could recruit. He tried the NFL. 24 wins & 35 losses later, UNC knocked on his door. The Heels had their big name. They were 4-8 last year, but had a lot of “close losses”….All of their losses this year have been “close”. I keep hearing that…they are competitive. So what. Last time I checked, they haven’t beaten ANYONE, minus UCONN. Davis’s team take on his personality, over-hyped and unproven.

Back to being in the Pack’s shoes. I’m happy with a 4-6 (2-4 ACC) record because I’ve seen improvement. I didn’t have my expectations set for the moon. State has a young nucleus and a defense that has at times been flat out bad. That young nucleus and a defense that is going to get better will lead to greener pastures. UNC on the other hand sits at 7-3 (3-3 ACC) and tied for 5th in their own division. This is a team that felt they were the best in the ACC. They have underachieved. Blame it on injuries, blame it on whatever you want, but facts are facts. UNC HAS to win this weekend to salvage their season. If State loses, they’ll still go into next year as a FACTOR in the ACC. State’s season has already been defined as trending UPWARD. UNC, which on paper has improved, is really just treading water. Man, expectations can be a pain. That’s what happens when you jump the gun on a team coming off a 4-8 season. A loss to State & the bottom falls out at Carolina.

I think State can compete with the Heels. The defense has been playing better and the offense just needs to be consistent. The timing just isn’t right. I’m guessing it will be close early. The Heels will eventually wear down a thin Pack defense and pull away in the 2nd half. I’ll go with….

UNC 30

NCSU 17

Karma baby, karma.

My first attempt at predicting fantasy studs & duds didn’t go too well.  I ended up going 4-6, with a couple of REALLY close calls.  I was much better at predicting fantasy duds than studs, which figures.

Anyway, here’s the results-

HIT PREDICTIONS:

Tyler Thigpen- Thigpen was my lone hit prediction that stood tall for me.  I figured he’d go for 2 passing TD’s and be effective running the football as well.

Stats: 19-38, 235 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 45 rush yards

Fantasy Points:  23.75

Tim Hightower- A huge bomb.  The Cardinals seem less than concerned about running the football.

Stats- 35 rush yards

Fantasy points- 3.5

Cedric Benson- Ok, who woulda figured that the Eagles & Bengals play to a freaking tie.  Anyway, Benson was serviceable at best this week.  A bust.

Stats: 42 rush yards, 6 catches, 32 receiving yards

Fantasy Points: 9.1

Hines Ward: Well, this hurts.  Ward missed falling into my stud category by 4 tenths of a point.  Still, he didn’t meet the standard, so I missed on this pick.  I really thought he’d pick up a TD this week.

Stats: 11 catches, 124 yards

Fantasy Points: 14.6

Owen Daniels: Total miss.  I was right, the Texans would have to fight to keep up with the Colts, they just weren’t involving Daniels.

Stats: 1 catch, 14 yards

Fantasy Points: 1.6

1-4 overall on my Hit Predictions…not too good.  I think you could have gotten better information from your mom.

Miss Predictions:

Joe Flacco: I knew he’d have a tough day against the Giants defense.  Turnovers killed him.  Nice day running the ball for Flacco which ended up barely pushing him out of miss status.

Stats: 20-33, 164 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 57 rush yards

Fantasy points: 11.6

Clinton Portis/Steven Jackson: Jackson didn’t play.  Portis ended up playing, but you were probably better off if you sat him.

Stats: Portis: 68 rush yards, 2 catches, 6 yards

Fantasy points: 7.8

Tampa Backs: I predicted none to hit.  Warrick Dunn ended up burning me. He might have made a nice flex option for someone.

Stats: Dunn: 53 rush yards, 4 catches, 65 yards

Fantasy Points: 12.6

Santana Moss: The Cowboys killer didn’t show up this week, as expected.

Stats: 5 catches, 29 yards

Fantasy Points: 3.9

Chris Chambers: Another no show for the dinged up Chambers

Stats: 3 catches, 21 yards

Fantasy Points: 2.7

Miss Prediction Totals: 3-2

Total Record For Week 11: 4-5

Looks like a group of Lions “fans” want to move the Lions to Los Angeles. I get it that the Lions haven’t won a playoff game since god knows when, but this is a team with a lot of history.  What’s going to happen to these same folks when the Lions finally do field a good team?  Will they cheer then?  What if the Lions moved to Detroit and never got a replacement team?  Fans like this are sickening.  Real fans that have stuck with the team will be rewarded someday with a winning team…these “move to LA” fans will undoubtedly be back on the bandwagon then.

I hate to even give this site love, but I think it’s worth a peak:

Los Angeles take the Lions

(Thanks Erik)