I paid my taxes, why do I keep seeing Matt Millen on TV?

Perry's Perspectives -I Paid My Taxes, Why Do I Keep Seeing Matt Millen on TV?

You have to question why ESPN and the ABC television network would hire former Detroit Lions general manager Matt Millen so quickly after he was terminated by the NFL team. Did they think that a person such as Millen would be a hot commodity after assembling a team that was the first in NFL history to compile a 0-16 regular season record?

ABC did a good job of cleaning out their closet when they replaced Tony Kornheiser with Jon Gruden in the Monday Night Football booth earlier this year. Broadcasts often became difficult to endure when Kornheiser rambled on about Brett Favre or something else that had nothing to do with the game at hand. Gruden has a great personality and will appeal to both the person who watches football occassionally, but is also someone who garners a whole lot more respect from the astute football follower as well. The reasoning behind this is simple: Gruden is a winner as a leader, and Millen is a loser.  So what if Matt Millen calls a good NFL game, a ton of people can announce a decent sporting event. What separates a decent announcing crew from a great one is having a football mind in the booth that knows the game. Fox has it with Jimmy Johnson in the booth, and Troy Aikman calling games. Same with NBC with Tony Dungy in the booth, and Cris Collinsworth announcing Sunday night games.

Matt Millen was GM of the Detroit Lions from 2000-2008, and y... [More]

Perrys Perspectives: No clear No. 1 in NCF

We are now a few weeks into the 2009 college football season, and one thing if for certain: There is no dominant team that stands out above the rest. It seems as if every team ranked in the top five has a noticeable flaw.

Top-ranked and defending champion Florida still returns the heart of their squad in QB Tim Tebow, but they are missing their soul (wide receivers Percy Harvin & Louis Murphy, who are now in the NFL). No one has stepped up in Harvin's or Murphy's place, but the season is still very young.

#2 ranked Texas returned 16 starters on both sides of the ball, including QB Colt McCoy, so a huge season is a expected out of the Longhorns. However, I think that McCoy is worried about making a mistake or getting injured like OU's Sam Bradford (sprained shoulder, timetable to return appears to be Oct 3 against Miami-Florida). McCoy is not having fun in the huddle, you can see it in his eyes, and as a result, he is missing wide open receivers far too often this year. This is one reason that Texas has still yet to cover a game in three contests this season. You can expect Bradford to be back by the Texas game on October 17, will McCoy be back to his normal self by then?

Alabama is ranked #3 in both major polls, but they are a bit inexperienced on the offensive side of the ball, returning only four starters. The Crimson Tide lost three offensive lineman from last season, including Andre Smith. Very important stretch of games for 'Bama starting in Octo... [More]

Perrys Perspectives - NFL Week 1: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

NFL Week 1: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good: The Good teams don't appear to be as good as oddsmakers might have thought, especially teams in the AFC. The Steelers opened up the regular season campaign at home with a hard fought overtime win over Tennessee. The Steelers running offense looked horrenedous versus the Titans, and Ben Roethlisberger will need more support from his running mates if the Steelers want to hoist their seventh Vince Lombardi trophy in February. On Monday night, for 55 minutes, the Patriots did not even remotely resemble the squad that oddsmakers considered the clear cut team to win the Super Bowl.
The Bad: The Bad are not as bad as we thought. Lets start with the worst from last year, the winless Lions. Detroit didnt cover last week against the Saints and let Drew Brees throw for six TDs. This team will improve record wise no matter what, but they will give enough of a consistent effort throughout this season that will impress even the most skeptical Lions fan. The Kansas City Chiefs should really be commended for there effort against the Ravens, considering they didnt even have their starting QB Matt Cassel
The Ugly: I am amazed many subpar and selfish starting quarterbacks there are in the NFL. Jake Delhomme almost had a worse day in week 1 in the 38-10 loss to Philly (4 INTs) than he did in last year's 33-13 playoff loss to the Cardinals (5 INTs).  If JaMarcus Russell really wants to improve the Raiders chance of winnin... [More]

College fooball coaches need to hit the books

College classes have just began for many students out there. After one week of college football, it appears that the students aren't the only ones that need to do some studying.  A couple head coaches who really need to put in some extra homework are Rutger's Greg Schiano and Colorado's Dan Hawkins, who both lost embarrassing home contests on national television.

Lets start with Hawkins, who as a double-digit favorite, got
beat straight up by intrastate rival Colorado State at the first time at home since 1986. What made this loss so troubling to a Colorado fan such as myself is that CSU outgained Colorado in rushing yards 168 to 29.

Hawkins should be the first to take blame on this loss because of the offensive gameplan he allowed to happen. Colorado's Darrell Scott, who was the #1 ranked high school running back prospect in 2007, had a grand total of one, yes one carry for one yard. Coach Hawkins son, Cody, was last in the Big 12 in passing efficiency in 2008.

So what does the coach do?

He has his kid throw 41 times, despite an early interception in the
ballgame. I wouldnt be suprised if Darrell Scott decides to transfer and go somewhere else for his 2 years of eligibility. After all, how can you possibly do anything to help your team, when you only get to touch the ball one time a game?

Coach Hawkins will really be in hot water if his team loses to Toledo this week. Speaking of Toledo, Hawkins is on his
way ... [More]

Anyone Else Ready for Some "Meaningful" American Football?

The first week of college football is upon us, and I feel like a six-year-old child just a few days before Christmas. Not many things get me excited these days feeling like that kid during Christmas, but the start of the college football season is definitely something that stirs great emotion for me.

First of all, my alma mater, the Colorado Buffaloes get to begin their season with their annual game against their intrastate rival Colorado State, and its always an added plus to watch the Buffs try and put a damper on CSU's season.

Secondly, its a chance to try and make some money betting on these games, as its tougher for oddsmakers to set lines on opening games for college football teams, because the personnel for many of these squads is quite different this season.

Before the college season begins, I wanted to get everyone's opinions on a few topics for college football (I have included my answers below)

1) Who do you think will win the National Championship?

Texas. Longhorns' offensive line and special teams are noticeably better than Oklahoma's. Texas beats Florida

2) Name a darkhorse for this season.

Kansas. Like the Jayhawks to win the Big 12 North. They are stacked at the offensive skill positions (QB Todd Reesing, WR's Dezmon Briscoe and WR and former QB convert Kerry Meier).

3) Let's have your favorite play for the opening week of college football?

Michigan -13. With all the talk that Michigan had its ... [More]