Is Cam Newton better than Bo Jackson? Yes

There’s a debate raging around my parts here in the heart of the SEC – Is Cam Newton better than Bo Jackson?

Old-school War Eagle fans refuse to even consider it, while the younger generation believes what they’re seeing now could never be topped.


I’m caught in between, as a 30-something that remembers Bo more during his NFL days than when he was running over the SEC.

At Auburn, Jackson rushed for 4,303 yards during his four-year career. Newton has rushed 1,077 yards in eight games as a starter. That’s the most ever for an SEC quarterback in a season. We’ve got a month left in the season.

I’ve seen enough Auburn highlights of Jackson plowing people to know he was fantastic. But from what I’ve seen this season, Newton’s better. He’s the most dominant player on the field and it’s not even close.

At 6-5, 250, it looks like he’s not moving that fast, but defenders just slide off him or whiff completely.  He reminds me of Vince Young, but with more polished passing fundamentals.

So what do you guys think? Is Newton better than Bo? And will Newton be a good pro QB?

5 Stats to Know for Saturday

--In his two-year career, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones has thrown 10 touchdowns with 11 interceptions on the road, compared to 30 touchdowns and six interceptions at home.

--We’re seven weeks into the season and overs are still hitting 57.45 percent of the time. That means Unders will need to hit at least a 55 percent clip the rest of the season to get back in the normal 2 percent differential you see at the end of the season.

--Against conference competition, Sun Belt teams are averaging only 22.9 points per game, the lowest of any conference.

--Just like last year, away favorites are the best bet in the game, hitting at 52.6 percent clip. You’re picking from a bigger pool of winners when adding a couple to your card.

--In conference play, the SEC is averaging the fewest offensive plays per game with 64.


DP's favorite YouTube rock video of the week:






This is also proof that Jack White is one of the alltime great guitarists
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On 3: TCU-Boise title game?

1. I love Iowa today. The Hawkeyes’ defensive stats are remarkable. I just saw one go by on the ESPN ticker – Iowa has not allowed a team to convert a third down of seven yards or longer. That’s amazing to me. They’re allowing only 10 points and 62 rushing yards.

2. As good as Iowa’s defense has been, TCU’s D is even better. The Frogs have pitched two straight shutouts. Opponents are averaging only 46 offensive plays against TCU. No other team is allowing less than 55 offensive plays by their opponent.

3. Speaking of TCU, early BCS projections have the Frogs at No. 3. They’ve got a pair of Top 25 teams remaining on the schedule in Air Force next week and Utah on Nov. 6. Would the BCS big shots allow at TCU-Boise State title game?
Best of luck this weekend …  DP

Have you ever sexted?

I rarely text and would never even think of sexting. Mainly, because even in HD, they don’t make a wide-angle lens big enough to do me justice. But even if they did, sending someone a picture of my dong would never occur to me.

I just don’t get it. What satisfaction does the sender receive? Is it all in an attempt to see if the receiver will reciprocate?

Of course, I’m talking about Mr. Favre, who I’d like to thank for throwing a pick-six Monday night so the Jets could cover for me.

Old Brett allegedly is under an NFL investigation for texting a picture of what’s inside his Wranglers to former Jet employee Jenn Sterger. (Way overrated on the hotness scale, by the way). I don’t know the details: maybe Sterger encouraged it; maybe she didn’t. So I’m not going to judge Favre at this time.

But I’m wondering how common of a thing this really is.

Have you ever sexted?

Why I nailed Nebraska, Jim Croce and Octoberfest beers

I’m 5-11-2 in posted plays in my Cram Session column. I’m 37-40-2 in staff college football picks—despite looking like part of a Latin drug cartel in my picture. Needless to say, I’m not intimidating any bookies these days. It’s been a rough start to what I’ve always considered my best handicapping sport.

But last night I nailed Nebraska. I spent two hours breaking down the game, researched it thoroughly and even wrote a preview about it. I seriously considered Kansas State before deciding the Cornhuskers were the play, and a big play at that.

My reasoning was based on one key mismatch: Kansas State’s 102nd-ranked run defense vs. Nebraska’s fourth-ranked rush offense. Normally, I’m hesitant to base plays solely off of stats, especially just four weeks into the season. Stats are already figured into the line, so I don’t feel like there’s much advantage on wagering on the better statistical team. But I do like to go against teams that have accumulated porous stats against a porous schedule. Kansas State is the perfect example.

The Wildcats had surrendered almost 200 yards rushing a game against the vaunted ground games of … UCLA, Missouri State, Iowa State and UCF. Noting that, Nebraska became one of biggest plays of the season.

So “toot, toot” own horn.

Anyway … I find it valuable to find out... [More]

One game, for your soul –what do you play?

This is one of my favorite bar discussions – You’re playing the Devil for your soul. You get to pick the game. He picks a random opponent. What game do you choose to play?

My Oklahoma Sooner buddy would play the ice board on Mariocart. He was unbelievable. My Cornhusker friend would challenge his opponent to a contest to see who could spin a pillow on their finger longer. My Husker buddy’s a lock.

I would choose pool and like my chances. I’m rated a solid 6 in APA on nine-foot tables, for those of you who know what that means. The pool hall has been a regular hangout for me for close to 20 years. I built my game in New Orleans, polished it in Boynton Beach, Fla., and took it to what I consider a pretty high level in a midtown Atlanta league.

Don’t get me wrong -- there are tons of better players out there than me. But in a blind draw, I’m confident I’d be the favorite in at least 7 of 10 matchups.

I can’t say that about any other game.

What game would you choose with your life depending on the outcome?

Funny story about Jim Mora's foolishness

Thursday wasn’t the first time Jim Mora Jr. has made a fool of himself.

In case you missed it, the ex-NFL coach went on ESPN radio and patronized host Doug Gottlieb in an uncomfortable manner on Thursday. At one point, Mora snarked, “"Is this your first interview? Jesus Christ. What kind of questions are these?"

The ex-Falcon and Seahawk coach signed off with, “You were a real joy, thanks.”


It was ridiculous and made Mora seem, frankly, dumb, like he didn’t understand the questions so he turned it around on Gottlieb. But if you’ve ever heard some of the behind-the-scenes stories about Mora, it makes sense.

The following is second-hand info, but comes from a credible source – a writer who covered the team.

Toward the end of Mora’s stint with the Falcons, he organized a “team-building” outing. The Falcons were all  supposed to go to the movies together or something dumb like that.

Anyway, Mora had preached to the team all week about being on time for the outing.

When it was time for the movie, the team was all on the bus on time, except for DeAngelo Hall. D-Hall pulled up a few minutes late in his Lamborghini. Mora got off the bus.

The players thought he was going to rip into Hall for being late. Instead, Mora jumped in Hall’s Lamborghini and took off to the movie theater.

Now, that's great team-building.... [More]