Who's your money on? Rufus or Brutus?

If you haven’t watched the Youtube video, please have a look. It is one of the funniest things college football has seen since the referee tackling Stephen Garcia in 2008.

Point is, I think we need more mascot fights. I realize that what Ohio University’s mascot did was totally wrong and unsportsmanlike. It’s all about the context. Imagine being Brutus, Ohio State’s unwitting mascot, in this instance. You’re running out with the team and all of the sudden… BAM! You’re being tackled by a vicious looking fox mascot with malintent.

While this whole incident was quite unsportsmanlike and impromptu, how cool would it be if we actually had staged mascot fights before games? Nothing vicious, just friendly little mascot-boxing skirmishes. Imagine UF’s Albert being pitted against Smokey in a pre-game brawl. Now THAT, my friends, would quality mascot entertainment.

What say you?

Let’s get down to other business. Allow me to talk a bit about Brett Favre.

We all know Brett Favre is capable of playing better football. He just needs to stop thinking he's Jesus 2.0. I found this image appropriate.

Look, I respect Brett Favre and everything he’s done in the NFL for the past 20 years just as much as the next guy, but after all the offseason crap he’s pulled, excuse me if I’m a little short-fused with him and his piss-poor performance in Miami. C’mon man, if you’re gonna waffle all offseason and skip training camp, you better be darn good when you come back. But it’s obvious that this time, skipping training camp has really hurt Favre. It’s not like he doesn’t have the arm anymore. It’s just that he’s totally off-rhythm and he’s taking too many chances, as if to prove something. The Vikes aren’t going to be able to win games on his arm this year. They’re going to have to reel Favre back in, make him play disciplined football and ride Adrian Peterson til the wheels fall off. Oh wait, I forgot. Brad Childress (the Vikings coach, for those just tuning in) basically has no authority over Favre, because he spent all offseason begging Favre to come back. How’s it going to look when you beg someone to come back and then ride them for poor performance? It’s not going to look good. But by surrendering the authority and giving way to Favre, allowing him to be a primadonna, he essentially has no power right now. Bad move, man. It might only get worse from here.

Look, I think Favre still has the capability to be good, but he must first be disciplined and put in a better position to succeed. I just don’t think the Vikes have a way to do that at this point. And if Favre’s not reel himself in on his own, continuing to cost his team, it might be time to hang it up.

P.S. Tony Romo, please be glad Favre decided to lay a bigger stinkbomb than you today. I guess you and your 0-2 Cowgirl team will be fodder for next time.

All aboard the Sam Bradford train! I'm predicting he notches his first win against the stinky Raiders this week.

Atlanta v. Arizona
I fully expect that Atlanta will be able to rebound from a tough week-one overtime loss to the Steelers. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner should have a much easier time moving the ball against the Cardinals.

The Pick: Atlanta

Cincinnati v. Baltimore
I know Cincy came alive in the fourth quarter against the Patriots, but they were flat-out dead for the first three. Baltimore’s offense will be much more potent when not playing against the best defense in the league.

The Pick: Baltimore

Cleveland v. Kansas City
I’ve had a rule for the past four years of picking: Never bet on Kansas City. After watching both these teams last week, I’m breaking it this week.

The Pick: Kansas City

Dallas v. Chicago
Chicago won last week, but that offensive line STILL sucks and the task won’t get any easier blocking DeMarcus Ware.

The Pick: Dallas

Detroit v. Philadelphia
All hopes of Detroit winning any games this year went down with Matt Stafford. This Philadelphia QB controversy will be alive and well come Week 3, as Michael Vick will shine.

The Pick: Philadelphia

Green Bay v. Buffalo
Arguably the best team in the NFL playing arguably the worst team in the NFL … at home no less.

The Pick: Green Bay

Tennessee v. Pittsburgh
This is one tough match-up. In such a physical game, look to the trenches, where the Titans have advantages on both sides of the ball.

The Pick: Tennessee

Minnesota v. Miami
Miami, you had your chance to impress me last week, and you kept it close with the Bills. I know the Favres weren’t hot last week, but I’ll take my chances.

The Pick: Minnesota

Carolina v. Tampa Bay
I’m having such a hard time with this pick. So, I’m just going to go with my gut on this one.

The Pick: Carolina

Denver v. Seattle
Seattle was really good last week, and I’m impressed enough to take them this week, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this upset pick of mine goes the other way. Mile High can be a tough place to play, I hear.

The Pick: Seattle

Oakland v. St. Louis
It’s time to ride the Sam Bradford train! Oakland looked flat-out terrible in their loss to the Titans last week. Here’s hoping for my upset pick’s sake that the trend continues.

The Pick: St. Louis

New England v. New York Jets
If you think I’m picking Sanchez and the Jets after the stinkbomb they laid in Baltimore last week, think again. The Patsies will have their way with the cocky Jets this week.

The Pick: New England

San Diego v. Jacksonville
I know Philip Rivers consistently proves he’s the biggest baby in sports, but the guy’s a darn good quarterback and he should be able to have some fun with the Jaguars weak secondary.

The Pick: San Diego

Washington v. Houston
I think Washington’s victory over Dallas had more to do with Dallas shooting themselves in the foot than being a better team. Give me the other team from Texas.

The Pick: Houston

The Gators are 2-0. Cue the loud cheers and the marching band. And they appear to have found a nice rhythm in the second half against USF. But now the real test begins — SEC football. And we kick off with a rival that is looking to beat us for the first time since Urban Meyer took over at Florida.

We don't have Brandon James anymore, but the sight of a white Gators jersey streaking through a sea of orange would be a welcome sight for Gator fans unfortunate enough to be watching this game in Rocky Top.

The Gators have some things going for them going into this game. We lead the nation in interceptions, we have a quarterback who can get the ball into receivers’ hands, and we finally figured out how to snap the ball. That’s always nice.

The Gators can beat Tennessee today, but there are going to be three key things the team will need to do in order to win.

1. Get out to an early lead
The Volunteers’ offense all predicates on their running backs. If the Gators can jump ahead early they will be able to take away Tennessee’s ability to run the ball, move the offense and play keep-away. It will also force them to throw into the Gators’ secondary, which we all know is one of the best in the nation. Not only that, but it will take away the noisy Tennessee crowd as well. The Gators will have a major mismatch to exploit if they can find a way to jump ahead early.

2. Run Defense
It kind of goes hand in hand with the concept of strategy No. 1, but the Gators have got to take away the run game. Even if they don’t get out to an early lead, they can make plays happen by shutting down the run and forcing Tennessee to throw. The Gators would do well to blitz early and often, penetrate into the backfield and get the QBs and RBs rattled. The name of the game really is to force Tennessee to pass.

3. Win the Turnover Battle
I expect this game to be a dogfight. If that’s the case, turnovers will make a world of difference in this game. The Gators will have to minimize their own mistakes and capitalize on the mistakes Tennessee makes. The Gators cannot afford to have a game where they turn the ball over more than twice. If that happens, I think they’re dead in the water.

A Quick Chris Rainey Note:
Okay, so I haven’t chimed in on the whole Chris Rainey situation yet. Bear with me as I do so. First of all, I just have to say, “How dumb can you be?” Really. I don’t really think his departure is going to hurt us THAT much (in fact, we seemed just fine without him in the second half of the USF game,) but what really hurts is that he’s just continuing to put this program in a negative light. The coaches can’t police the players. The players have to be responsible and smart enough to know that texting some girl “Time to die, bitch!” is probably going to get you in some hot water.

On that note, who thinks it would be awesome to have a Gators “Time To Die, Bitch” t-shirt made. That’d be a hot seller. I need to get on that.

Jay Cutler is going to be driven to drinking after his patchwork offensive line lets Ndamukong Suh run roughshod on him.

Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
Sorry, Buffalo, but I’ve got a feeling that your team is going to be the league’s worst this year. I also have trouble believing you’re going to be able to move the ball with the quarterbacks you have against Miami’s Mike Nolan-coordinated defense.

The Pick: Miami

Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
Here’s a shocker pick, but give me the Lions. I just have trouble believing this Chicago team, with offensive line remaining its weakness, will be able to hold a player like Ndamukong Suh at bay. If I’m right, Jay Cutler struggles mightily and the Lions come away with a close one.

The Pick: Detroit

Tennessee Titans @ Oakland Raiders
I’ll preface this by saying I’m a Tennessee homer, but it doesn’t take a Tennessee homer to see that this matchup favors the Titans. If there’s one thing you as a reader should know, it’s that I believe strongly that football games are won in the trenches. The Titans defensive line wreaked havoc all preseason, and I expect that trend to continue.

The Pick: Tennessee

Cincinnati Bengals @ New England Patriots

I’m having a lot of trouble with this one. On one hand, the Patriots have been extremely disorganized and disgruntled this offseason. On the other hand, they are still led by Tom Brady, who’s still throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Give me the Patsies over the T.O. and Ochocinco show.

The Pick: New England

Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants
As much as I’d love to say the Panthers are going to continue the destruction they unleashed upon the Giants last year, it’s tough for me to go with them after their garbage preseason performance. Give me the Giants, even if the Panthers do get Steve Smith back.

The Pick: New York Giants

Atlanta Falcons @ Pittsburgh Steelers
This week, we’re going to really see what Dennis Dixon is made of. If it’s anything like the Denver game, don’t expect much from Dixon. I think he has his peaks and valleys in this game, but it’s not going to be enough to lead the team past Matty Ice and the Dirty Birds. It’s time to rise up, Atlanta.

The Pick: Atlanta

Cleveland Browns @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Asking me to pick a winner in this game is like asking me if I’d rather get smacked across the face by a golf club or a tire iron. Well, of course, the answer is neither. But since I have to pick a team, give me the Brownies. I’m not sure I like the Bucs with QB Josh Freeman playing with a broken thumb and CB Aqib Talib suspended. It pains me to say this, but “In Delhomme I trust.”

The Pick: Cleveland

Denver Broncos @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Obviously, everyone’s a bit fixated on the Tim Tebow factor in this game. But this Denver defense is no longer led by Mike Nolan, and Kyle Orton is still their quarterback. Oh yeah, and they seem to have absolutely no running back worth mentioning. Give me the Jaguars in this one.

The Pick: Jacksonville

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans
Houston, I know you’re at home and all, and I’m-a let you finish. But Peyton Manning is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time.

… and you won’t have Brian Cushing.

The Pick: Indianapolis

Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams
The choice here is actually a lot tougher than you might think. Forgive me Arizona fans, but Derek Anderson doesn’t really strike me as the kind of guy that can lead his team to victory. That still won’t deter me from picking against the Rams, though. I am struggling with this one, but I feel as though the Cards still have enough talent on defense to shut down the Rams’ craptacular corps of receivers and come out with a close win.

The Pick: Arizona

Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Yeah, I know. You’re sick about hearing how Aaron Rodgers is the second coming. So I’ll spare you the lecture and just say that he will be able to help his team jump start the “We want Donovan McNabb back” bandwagon in Philadelphia.

The Pick: Green Bay

San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
It’s kind of hard to get excited about a team that’s quarterbacked by Alex Smith, and I really disagree with making Vernon Davis the highest-paid TE in the NFL, but that’s neither here nor there. What is here and there is that Patrick Willis and the 49ers’ defense are going to destroy the Seahawks’ lackluster run game and be the force that guides the Niners to an easy win.

The Pick: San Francisco

Soon to come… the Sunday night pick. Who will it be? Tony Romo and the Cowboys or Sexy Rexy (or McNabb) and the Shanahans? Stay tuned…

After a week of second-guessing coaching decisions and a senior center on the Rimington Trophy watchlist, we finally got to see something that Gator fans have been craving for since January: a solid performance.

After a 7-7 game going into halftime, something finally lit a fire underneath this team and they began to roll. Once they got rolling, the crowd came alive. And the Swamp never looked back.

Janoris Jenkins and Ahmad Black just love them some interceptions.

What you saw in this game (and mainly in the second half) was a perfect example of how the Gators’ offense is going to move the ball. We can play power run with Moody and Gillislee out of the I-formation, then kill you with Jeff Demps’ rare speed. On top of that, you have a QB who can really sling it. His name is John Brantley. I think we did a good job of mixing up all these elements.

What we’re learning about Brantley is that he’s not going to put up tons of yards through the air or anything, but he’s an accurate QB who will be able to move this offense. Honestly, that’s all I really ask for.

Another nice surprise from offense was Carl Moore. We’ve been talking about him for a LONG time now, and it’s about time that he’s putting it together out there on the field.

Pretty much the only criticism I have of the offense today is that John Brantley needs to do a little bit of a better job targeting various wide receivers. We have a number of guys who are just waiting to step up and make plays. He should be more willing to involve more than just his top-two wide receivers.

Defensively, there were positives and negatives. One of the big negatives was the way we came out and let South Florida completely tear us up on the ground in the first quarter. The positive was we were able to recover from that and shut them down in the second half.

I must say the thing that drove me the most crazy was how inept we seemed defending their running quarterback. That guy made us look silly trying to defend him. Fortunately for us, his running skills were not outdone by his passing skills.

And here’s where I get into a bit of a lovefest with our defense.

First of all, Janoris Jenkins is a monster. This guy is just playing on an entirely different level than his competition. I feel that at this point, he’s becoming a better corner than Joe Haden ever was for us. His ball skills and coverage skills are great, but this guy has incredible physical ability, particularly getting vertical. He’s small, but the way he goes up for the ball, he can hang with A.J. Green and Julio Jones in man-to-man matchups. My favorite Janoris story of the day: After sacking USF’s QB, BJ Daniels, Janoris lines up against the receiver. He begins taunting BJ like, “I’ve got my eyes on you.” Daniels throws it up Janoris’s way. Apparently, Janoris did have his eyes on him, because he leaps with rocket shoes into the air and snatches the ball for what was essentially a game-sealing interception. Gotta love that kind of swagger.

Second of all, I really feel that if somebody decides to take a chance on Ahmad Black in the NFL, they’ll be making a good decision. I see a lot of Cortland Finnegan in him. He’s a safety in college and undersized for the pros. I feel that just like Finnegan, he can translate to corner. He’ll be aided by the fact that he actually originally was a corner who transitioned to safety.

Third defensive note of the day. Where was Jon Bostic in this game? He was out there just getting torched by USF’s runners. I just didn’t see that same tenacity and pursuit that’s made him such an awesome presence in the middle of our defense. It was like a scared freshman captured Bostic and stole his jersey. Or he just had a bad game. Either way, here’s hoping he can step it up in a big way next week.

I just can’t say enough about our defense, particularly about the way we go up and snatch the ball away. The Gators, in two games, have eight interceptions coming from six different players. I really think the fact that our defensive coordinator was an NFL secondary coach has a lot to do with that. I’m really glad that even though we lost a good DC in Charlie Strong, we were able to replace him with someone who clearly knows what they are doing.

That said, we’re going to need all the luck in the world going into a harsh road environment like Knoxville.

Oh, and P.S.: Thank you Jack Bauer for thwarting whatever evil terrorist plot people were afraid of at the Swamp. Just sayin’.

First of all, I think the Vikings had the right idea in this game. Lean on Adrian Peterson (who played well) and let Favre do minimal throwing. However, the only reason that it didn’t really work is because Favre was just so off their offense had no chance of being effective this game. There were throws he was making that reminded me of Gus Frerotte tossing the rock for the Vikings. Sometimes, I was thinking maybe Tavaris Jackson could have been a better option at QB today. It’s just hard to throw accurately when you can’t plant your feet that well. That’s something that Favre did struggle with. You’d see him throwing off of his back foot a lot. That’s not good form.

Second of all, where the hell was the Saints scoring this game? I counted on Brett Favre losing it for the Vikes, but I really expected the Saints to put up more points than a measly 14. They did well moving the ball, though. You really can’t fault their offense entirely. They did what needed to be done, especially putting themselves up seven points on the opening drive. The real goat here was Garrett Hartley, the Saints’ beleagured kicker. The guy couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn today. If they hope to be able to repeat a Super Bowl run, they’re going to need some clutch kicks from time and time. I have serious doubts as to whether or not this kid can deliver.

Vikings Pick Advice: I’d stay away from picking the Vikings at this point unless they’re playing a team with a low-ranked rush defense. Adrian Peterson is going to be what wins them games. That, their defense and a Brett Favre that doesn’t turn the ball over. That last part is what worries me.

Saints Pick Advice: They definitely looked a little shaky today, and defensive wins normally aren’t their style. They’re going to need to get better at capitalizing on their opportunities. I still think they’re pick-worthy, but you could definitely go against them when it’s a tougher opponent.

What I’m on here to bring you is my prediction for tomorrow’s showdown between the Saints and the Vikes.

So here we go.

Saints-Vikings Key Matchup – Brett Favre vs. New Orleans’ Pass Rush

Bobby McCray is no longer a Saint, but his ghost still haunts Favre's dreams.

I feel like this matchup with ultimately decide the outcome of this game. If the Saints and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams can continue to apply the kind of pressure they did during the playoffs last season, expect this to have an impact on Brett Favre’s ankle injury, especially if they start knocking him around a bit.

I predict the New Orleans Saints will win this game because their defense will be able to pressure Favre into getting rid of the ball early. Favre will want to avoid being hit by oncoming blitzers. We all know the Saints’ offense can put up points. It’s just a matter of making sure that the Vikings can’t do the same. I think the Saints defense is up to the task.