Handicapping the Heisman and NFL 3rd Quarter Grade Cards

I wish the powers that be would let folks know who the finalists are for the Heisman be announced sooner, handicapping it two days from the announcement is a pain.
Though the four finalists are worthy, they are flawed in their own way. As I handicap who I think will win, I'll also give you a knock on them. My beef with the Heisman folks is that they left a pair of players out of the finalist list who I think were much more deserving:

Pat White; JR QB, West Virginia
Ask any Mountaineer fan how much he was needed in the loss to Pitt. His play and leadership carried the Mountineers to the Big East title and a BCS berth. A crisp and efficient passer and an electric and dangerous runner, his play is the very definition of what the Heisman is, the most valuable player to his team and its success.

Kevin Smith; JR RB, Central Florida
The critics will be quick to point out that he played in Conference USA, but take a look at his stats and you will be blown away. Smith failed to crack the 100 yard mark once. He broke 200 yards five times, including 320 (You read that right) against UAB. Say what you want about the competiton but 2448 yards and 29 rushing TDS is nothing to sneeze at. Add 23 catches for 248 yards in and you have a solid back. The only person who rushed for more yards in a season? Some guy named Barry Sanders...someone told me that he might have won a Heisman and was a fair to middling RB.

Anyway, I've said my piece on who got left out now lets look at the dossiers on the Heisman Finalists.

Tim Tebow, Soph QB Florida
Why Tebow? The essence of the dynamic, unpredictable player. He can beat you with his legs or his arm and the numbers speak for themselves. 29 passing TDs and 22 Rushing TDs, unheard of numbers for a QB.
The knock: Tradition...the old guard is loath to give the most prestigous award to a sophomore. Many think that the three losses that Florida has is a millstone too.
Odds 5-2 (Bandits favorite)

Darren McFadden JR RB Arkansas
Why McFadden The hard charging runner is as subtle as a slegdehammer yet silky smooth with touchdown potential everytime he touches the ball. A finalist last year as a sophomore, McFadden is no stranger to the Heisman Hype. His 206 yards against LSU led to the upset of the then #1 team
The Knock: His inconsistent play (witness the 43 yards against Auburn) and his teams so-so play may hold him back. Also he hasn't really improved his numbers from last year.
Odds 3-1

Colt Brennan SR QB Hawai'i
Why Brennan: Look at the numbers: 4174 and 38 TD's. Add in that Brennan missed part or all of 2 games in compiling it and you are further impressed. The Rainbow Warriors big gun has carried them to an unbeaten record and a BCS Sugar Bowl bid. His numbers every week are almost unreal.
The Knock: Look at the numbers and then the competition. Hawai'i piled up big numbers against weak competition and the decent ones they played were on the island. Many think that Brennan is here because of his record breaking career. I like Brennan but I think the Heisman is a yearly award, not an lifetime acheivement plaque.
Odds 5-1

Chase Daniel JR QB Mizzou
Why Daniel: The gutty field general of the Tigers put up an impressive stat total of his own. Daniel threw for 4170 and 33 in leading the Tigers to their first Big 12 Championship game. The Tigers are playing in their first January bowl game since 1969.
The Knock: Aside from the Kansas game where Daniel was almost letter perfect, he has come up short in big games. Witness the pair of poor performances against Oklahoma and you have a rel big argument why Daniel should wait another year.
Odds 10-1

I think history is made as Tebow becomes the first Soph to win the award and many will begin to speculate that Tebow could join Archie Griffin as the only players to win multiple trophies.

Turning to tonights game we have a pair of 5-7 teams. Ordinarily that would get a stifiled yawn from most football folks, but since the NFL network has it, there is much hype. I'm not fond of Thursday Night games, the timing is just all wrong. But since Mr. Goddell says its so, its so. Both teams need this game to stay afloat in the weaker NFC playoff race.

Chicago (5-7) @ Washington (5-7)
Fed Ex Field; Landover, MD 8:15 NFL Network
Favorite Redskins by 3
Fast Fact The Bears lead this series 20-17-1 but the Redskins eight of the last ten meetings
The Redskins are still trying to work through the haze of Sean Taylor's death and funeral as well as a painful last second loss to the Bills due to horrible time out management. I can't believe that a Joe Gibbs coached team made the type of mental errors it did in that loss. Meanwhile, the Bears blew a 16-7 lead at home to the G-Men in a game that they should have rolled in. Though I have been a notorious Rex Grossman basher, his play has not been the root of the Bears troubles, an atypically soft defense is. The Redskins should be much much better than their 5-7 record indicates. They have had a notorious problem with coughing up late game leads. Who gets the nod? Its really too close to tell, and one can only draw off of emotion for just so long. The hard turn around for both teams should be tougher on a road team, though the Skins are having to gear up for another crucial game so soon after burying their teammate. I really want to give it to the home team by the slimmest of margins since they have a much stronger running game but I can't trust the Redskins secondary. As much as I knock Grossman, his big play ability and "the other" Adrian Peterson give the Bears a slight advantage even on the road
Pick-Chicago

Finally, as promised here are Bandits 3rd Quarter NFL Grade Cards

Head Of The Class
New England (12-0)
No longer a duh, the Pats have been dodging bullets as of late...or are the close games erasing the contention that they can't win tight ones???
Grade: A+

Principals List
Dallas (11-1) Green Bay, Indianapolis (10-2)
The Pokes are the class of the NFC and proved it by rolling over the Pack who will live and die with Brett Favre. Look for a clash of these two teams again with much higher stakes in late January. Knock the Colts all you want the defending champs are hanging tough.
Grade: A

Honor Roll
Pittsburgh (9-3) Seattle, Tampa Bay (8-4)
The Steelers are up this high because of their record, but their road woes will come back to haunt them. The Seahawks and Bucs lead their weak divisions but have put down challenges to their crowns well.
Grade: A-

Good Grades
New York Giants, Jacksonville (8-4), San Diego (7-5)
The Giants showed gumption in rallying to beat the Bears on the road while the Chargers are winning in spite of Norv Turner, but both teams will likely be playoff roadkill. As soon as you want to make the Jags an elite team, they come up short in a mettle proving game. But the Jags are the team no one wants to cross come January
Grade: B

Middle of the Class
Cleveland, Tennessee (7-5), Minnesota, Arizona, Buffalo, Detroit (6-6)
The Browns are winning the ones that they shouldnt and losing the ones they should have easy, but they have no real opposition to get a playoff berth. The Bills are here because they are too good to put in the remedial, but nowhere close to being a real contender. The morass of NFC teams at 6-6 teams will get sorted out soon. The Lions are being exposed as the fraud they are, The Vikings are suddenly looking formidable with a solid run game and good defense and I just cant figure the Cards out. They are looking like an NFC version of the Bills.
Grade: C

Remedial Course
Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Carolina, Houston (5-7)
The first two listed are fighting it out tonight and one will fall into academic watch status with a loss. The Eagles are the biggest enigma in the NFL, while the Panthers cant win at home, the Saints are being reexposed as one trick ponies and the Texans are stuck in the toughest division in the NFL.
Grade: C-

Academic Watch
Denver (5-7), Cincinnati, Baltimore, Oakland, Kansas City (4-8 ), St. Louis (3-9)
None of these teams are going anywhere, but they are still dangerous enough to wreck any of the above teams playoff hopes. The Broncos are another hot mess, while the disappointing campaigns of the Bengals and Ravens play themselves out. The Raiders, Chiefs and Rams are showing some potential but they still have much homework to make up.
Grade: D

Headed for Summer School
San Francisco, New York Jets, Atlanta (3-9)
All these teams are playing out the string
Grade: D-

Failing the course
Miami (0-12)
The Dolphins are in serious danger of an 0-16 season. The offense is non existant and you have the feeling that the defense quit a while ago. 35 years after the 72 Dolphins defined perfection and the Patriots are looking to match it, the '07 Dolphins are defining futility
Grade: F

The rest of Week 14's picks will be posted tomorrow. Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!