Casey Pachall disenrolls from TCU but can return

FORT WORTH, Texas - Gary Patterson walked in to his weekly media luncheon press conference that featured an unusually large gathering and joked, "Must be a big ball game."

Playing Baylor is, but to the issue of QB Casey Pachall.

"No questions about the game? Since this is what you came for ... first off, a lot of thought," Patterson said. "This is what is going to happen. After a very long conversation with Casey and his parents, the chancellor ..."

Patterson said that Casey Pachall has dis-enrolled from TCU. Pachall is going to go an in-patient care facility. Patterson said he may be there already. Patterson said those programs last between 30 to 60 days.

Pachall had been indefinitely suspended since he had a DWI last week. The door is open for Pachall to return in the spring, to continue his course work at school and play for the Frogs.

"I don't think (suspending Pachall) one game or three games would have made any difference," GP said. "You have to change a kid's life. For us this was the best decision, for both of us. We both get a chance to heal. We are going to still try to win games; we won them before we had Casey Pachall as quarterback.

 

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Aggies carrying the Texas state football flag after an ugly weekend

The great state a Texas took a beating in the world of college football, and if it weren't for the Aggies the state that places such a priority on football would have had an o-fer weekend.

The Aggies rallied for a 30-27 win at Ole Miss to improve to 4-1, and are arguably the best team from this state after the best from Texas were mostly beaten from the out of staters.

Texas A&M 30, Ole Miss 27 in Oxford, Miss.
No. 8 West Virginia 48, No. 11 Texas 45 in Austin
Iowa State 37, No. 15 TCU 23 in Fort Worth
No. 17 Oklahoma 41, Texas Tech 20 in Lubbock
Rice 10, Memphis 14 in Memphis
Texas State 13, New Mexico 35 in Albquerque

North Texas played Houston and SMU played UTEP. Thank God Baylor had a bye. 

As of Sunday, the only two teams from this great state ranked in the AP Top 25 are ...
No. 15 Texas (4-1)
No. 22 Texas A&M (4-1)

Somebody do something!

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Gary Patterson speaks: Casey Pachall will be on the sidelines

Speaking with Sirius/XM Radio today, a few hours after it was announced that TCU QB Casey Pachall was suspended indefinitely for a DWI, TCU coach Gary Patterson said: "He is indefinitely suspended from competition until we come up with a good answer for him, how we are going to handle life and how we are going to do things. Is it one game, is it the rest of the season? I don't know what that answer is. Right now, I woke up this morning and this is what happened. 

"I have to get my team ready to play. Once I feel comfortable that happens, we'll deal with the Casey Pachall situation. He'll be on the sidelines but he won't play. He's not going to go home. It's, 'You put yourself in that situation so here is how we are going to do this.'"

That sounds like a man who is not going to kick Pachall off the team, but would like to try to teach him a(nother) lesson and punish him by using the one tool he has yet to exercise - not playing the game.

Is TCU screwed without Pachall as its starting QB? No. Are they going to win as many games with Trevone Boykin starting and Pachall watching? No way.

Don't buy Patterson's line of, "This actually opens the playbook for us," he told Sirius/XM today. "We have more offense in the game than with Casey Pachall in the game. He can throw all the throws."

Pachall is a veteran of many games, can run, and get the ball out of his hands fast. An offensive line that is far from polished needs a QB to make it look better than it is sometimes, and it is hard to believe Boykin is there yet.

Pachall was the best QB in the state, and perhaps the second best in the Big 12 behind Geno Smith. So even though Boykin may have a good arm and is a good athlete and is a good runner, he was not the starter for a reason. Don't be surprised if former QB turned WR Matt Brown goes back to QB and plays a snap or two.

Las Vegas has TCU as a 10-point favorite, and TCU should still be able to beat Iowa State without Pachall. After that? I suspect that is why Pachall will be on the sidelines. Winning at Baylor is not easy, even with Pachall playing. Hosting Texas Tech looks a lot harder today than it did in July.

"For me, kids screw up. There are team policies. There are university policies. There are rules. He knew what was in place," GP said. "Everybody is going to make this about Casey Pachall. The thing that head coaches do we don't make it about Casey Pachall. If I do that, I'm saying everybody else is not important."

Kids aren't stupid, and they know the value of the stud starting quarterback.

 

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Cowboys vs. Ravens - Noooooooo reason to worry

IRVING, Texas - Your Dallas Cowboys professional football club had a final practice today before a badly needed rest. What this team clearly needs is a break.

The Cowboys do not play again until they travel to play the Baltimore Ravens (3-1) on Oct. 14. BTW - the Ravens will be coming off a game in Kansas City, which some may argue is easier than a bye.

What does the NFL's second-lowest scoring team really not need to do in its next game? Play the Ravens.

Actually, this are not your Ravens Super Bowl-defense. A lot of the "Ravens defense" is reputation based on that crew. In terms of total defense today, the Ravens rank 23rd, but in points allowed they are tied for 10th. These aren't bums, but they are not the ideal opponent for an offense that has lost the directions to the endzone.

"I don't want to look at it as a problem," Cowboys WR Kevin Ogletree said today in the locker room as the players prepared to flee for several days off before they returned to work. "It's all still in front of us."

He means there are 12 games remaining, and plenty of time to win.

But how does a team with Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, DeMarco Murray and to a lesser extent even Felix Jones be this bad on offense? (Offensive line - cough, cough - offensive line).

"The majority of this is mistakes - untimely," Ogletree said. "They really, really magnify this. Like my biggest mistake is (the dropped pass that led to an int in the Bears game) was in the redzone. You can't have those."

Tight end Jason Witten sees the offenses' struggles in the last three games narrowed down to a "couple of plays" he said. "We did a lot of good things in that game (against the Bears)."

Define "good". The Cowboys' offense the previous three games has not been good.

The Cowboys offense has scored four touchdowns in the past three games. Their opponents have scored two touchdowns on defense, and one on special teams in that time.

"I have to play better," Witten said. "Everybody has to play better if we are going to beat those types of defenses (such as the Ravens)."

It would help.

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Dallas Cowboys "Get Real" Chat No. 3: The Giants game really happened

Thanks for checking in for this Dallas Cowboys Get Real chat to cover the wreck that was their 34-18 loss at home against the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Don't worry, it was actually much worse than the final score indicated.
 
Post your comment underneath and we can begin a discourse.

THE COWBOYS BEAT NEW YORK? NOT THE JETS, THE GIANTS? IN NEW JERSEY: After watching the last three games it does seem a bit amazing these same Dallas Cowboys traveled up East and defeated the Giants, 24-17.

The number decrease since then is amazing:

at NYG: 433 yards offense; Romo 22 of 29, 307 yards, 3 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 20 carries, 131 yards
at Sea: 296 yards; Romo 23 of 40, 251 yards, 1 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 13 carries, 44 yards
v. TB: 297 yards; Romo 25 of 39, 283 yards, 0 TD, 1 int; DeMarco Murray 18 carries, 38 yards
v. Chi.: 430 yards; Romo 31 of 43, 307 yards, 1 TD, 5 int; DeMarco Murray 11 carries, 24 yards

WHICH TEAM ARE THEY? The Cowboys have more matchup problems than you might think. The Giants were victims of their own unforced errors - dropped passes, etc. - the Seahawks out-physicaled the Cowboys, the Bucs were equally as ugly, and the Bears are much better defensively.

Despite an upgrade in talent here and there, the Cowboys simply don't look that much different than a year ago, and are playing like they are going to finish between 7-9 and 9-7.

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Cowboys Irrational Reaction - Who are we kidding?

So many things to choose from this latest disappointment made possible by the Dallas Cowboys professional football team.

Chicago Bears 34
Dallas Cowboys 18

The Clownboys are 2-2 entering the bye. After that, it's a trip to Baltimore where lots of teams with wretched offenses win football games. 

Where to begin with this steamling pile of Jerry's Secret?

1. Start with the owner.
2. Go to the team president.
3. Move down to the general manager.

4. The quarterback has eight turnovers in the last two games. Generally, that's not good.

5. The third year WR out of Oklahoma State looks like a rookie. Up, down, right and left. Dez Bryant, your career is calling. You may want to pick up.

6. The offensive line remains a total mess. Since running for 143 yards in the Week 1 win against the Giants, the Cowboys' running game has averaged 3.1, 1.7 and 2.9 yards per carry, respectively, in the following three games.

7. Defending Bears WR Brandon Marshall was deemed completely unnecessary, so much so he had a free route in the fourth quarter. Brandon had 7 receptions for 138 yards and a TD.

8. Cowboys WR Miles Austin had four catches. The Bears defense had five catches. A few of those picks were not on Romo, but enough of them were.

9. The original reason Jerry Jones hired Jason Garrett away from Miami to join Wade Phillips' staff in 2007 was because of his offensive mind, and he wanted him to call the plays.

10. The Packers, Cowboys, Patriots and Broncos are all 2-2. Plan the parade!

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Why TCU & Tech can win the Big 12

Amid the love fest for West Virginia QB Geno Smith and the success of Bill Snyder's Kansas State BoringCats, it may be time to consider Texas Tech as a threat. At a minimum they are at least better than Kansas and Iowa State.

Don't laugh - that is progress.

While West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Texas and Baylor are seemingly all built to out-score opponents, both TCU and Tech are structured more to make stops than those teams. Oklahoma should be better on defense, and probably will as the season progresses.

TCU is ranked 7th nationally defensively. At some point it comes down to stops.

TCU's reputation has been defense for a decade. Tech hasn't played defense for more than a decade.

The team that could not play defense last season and was forced to use kickers to play defensive back in 2011 (I might have made that up), is now slowing people down. Give some credit to defensive tackle Kerry Hyder. The young man is what we call, "A player".

Through the first four games of the season Texas Tech has the top ranked defense in the nation.
As Joe Biden would say, "Let me say that again - through the first four games of the season Texas Tech has the top ranked defense in the nation. Literally!"

The Red Raiders' defense is at least not a bad joke.

One year ago Texas Tech lost at home against Iowa State, 41-7. On Saturday in Ames, Tech won 24-13.

"Two things speed on both sides of the ball and they were a different team physically," Iowa State coach Paul Rhodes today when I asked him the difference between Texas Tech last season and today. "Both in the interior and skill positions. They physically got after us. They smothered our receivers in the pass game."

Tech has not exactly played the NFC East. Winning in Ames is not like winning in Tuscaloosa, but this is progress.

"In this league you have to have as much speed as you possibly can. Totally different than the SEC," Red Raiders coach Tommy Tuberville said today on the Big 12 coaches' conference call. 'We are playing a lot better obviously. We are tackling better. We have more speed. We made it a priority to bring in height and speed. It’s an ongoing process to get up to speed to play Oklahoma State and West Virginia to play them every down."

There is no way Tech is going undefeated in these next five games ...

10/6 v. No. 17 Oklahoma (2-1) in Lubbock
10/13 v. No. 8 West Virginia (4-0) in Lubbock
10/20 at No. 15 TCU (4-0) in Ft. Worth
10/27 at No. 7 Kansas State (4-0) in Manhattan, Kan.
11/3 v. No. 11 Texas (4-0) in Lubbock 

... But if Tech continues to play physical defense and control some of the clock the Red Raiders are going to be in those games, and win a few of those.

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Baylor University: Defense need not apply

As much as I personally like Baylor head football coach Art Briles and his defensive coordinator, Phil Bennett, what happened today in Morgantown, West Virginia is not exactly new.

Baylor gained 700 yards on offense and lost.

West Virginia gained 807 yards. The Mountaineers passed for 656 yards. WVU QB Geno Smith pulled an RGIII and finished 45 of 51 for 656 yards with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. His QB rating was 3,343,355.34. Or something like that.

Since Briles took over at Baylor he has executed one of the most amazing coaching jobs in America by making the Bears a winner, and Baylor football nationally relevant. He has done so by scoring, and then simply praying the other team does not.

Briles arrived in Waco in 2008, and the numbers have risen on both sides of the ball ever since.

2008: 4-8. Baylor 28 ppg, opp. 29.3 ppg.; Baylor 376.4 ypg; opp. 393.2 ypg.
2009: 4-8. Baylor 20.8 ppg., opp. 27.2 ppg; Baylor 342.9 ypg; opp. 405.6 ypg.
2010: 7-6. Baylor 31.2 ppg., opp. 30.5 ppg.; Baylor 475.3 ypg., opp. 435.4 ypg.
2011: 10-3. Baylor 45.3 ppg., opp. 37.2 ppg; Baylor 587.1 ypg., opp. 485. ypg.
2012: 3-1. Baylor 54.3 ppg., opp. 39.8 ppg; Baylor 601.5 ypg., opp. 571.3 ypg.

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Bears & Cowboys QB in a cute baby, hot significant other battle

Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler continues to win the Jeff George Body Language Award, and he really does not compare too much with Cowboys QB Tony Romo but the two have a few things in common.

The two have cute baby boys.  And the two have what some may call attractive blonde B-list celeb significant others. This is what we call "hard hitting sports news analysis".

Romo is married to Candice Crawford, who was once a Miss USA contestant. Her brother, Chace, is an actor who had a role on Gossip Girl. Romo and Candice married a while back, and now have a baby son, Hawkins.

Cutler had an on/off relationship with reality TV personality Kristin Cavallari. They were engaged. Then they weren't. Now they are engaged again. Now they have a 7-week-old son, Camden Jack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Time to find out about Texas Tech & Baylor

Baylor and Texas Tech are 3-0, and despite their combined perfect records exactly no one is quite sure how legit the Bears and Red Raiders are. This is the weekend we get an idea of where these two teams are, and where they are going.

No. 25 Baylor plays at No. 9 West Virginia at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday. West Virginia is favored by 12.5 points.
Texas Tech plays at Iowa State at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The Red Raiders are favored by 2.5 points.

All four teams are 3-0.

Both games feel pivotal to the respective seasons for both Baylor and Tech. Win, and a winning season should be expected and a bowl invitation.

 The last time Texas Tech played Iowa State the game was in Lubbock, one week after the Red Raiders pulled off one of the great upsets of the 2011 season when they won in Norman against Oklahoma.

They followed that win against OU with a 41-7 home loss against the Cyclones that started a season-ending, five-game losing streak.

The Red Raiders are 3-0 having gotten fat against Northwestern State, Texas State and New Mexico. A 4-0 start would really help soften the incoming punch that is coming with the following five games, all against ranked teams.

No one doubts whether Texas Tech is improved from last season, but the degree. Are they good enough to go on the road and defeat an underrated Iowa State team? The defense has allowed a total of 30 points in three games, but can they stop the "real" teams?

Similar concerns exist for Baylor, which is 3-0 despite no longer having Robert Griffin III to play QB. The Bears are scoring - 51 points per game - but can they score against the "real" teams?

A win, or even a close game, for either will validate their respective 3-0 records.
A loss, especially a blowout, will indicate more losses are coming. 

 

 

 

 

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