Kritik und Lob » n Meyer says he doesnt mind a scenario

Heres a measure of just how good things are going in Big D. One team can clinch a playoff berth this weekend: the Cowboys.Dallas visits Minnesota on Thursday night. With a victory and either a loss by Washington or a loss/tie by Tampa Bay gets the Cowboys into the postseason parade.Minnesotas defense should provide a decent challenge for rookie sensations Ezekiel Elliott, the leagues leading rusher, and quarterback Dak Prescott. If the Vikings can get some sort of penetration through the best offensive line in football, they could have a chance.But they must steer clear of falling behind against Dallas, something most Cowboys opponents havent avoided.The Cowboys are ranked atop the AP Pro32 as they go for an 11th straight win since their opening loss to the Giants, who they take on next week.Minnesota (No. 14 (tie), AP Pro32) has fallen on hard times since being the leagues last unbeaten team at 5-0 and now is 6-5 -- and a 3-point underdog at home.Dallas takes the first step toward that playoff clinching.COWBOYS, 24-16KNOCKOUT LEAGUE TIP: Havent liked anything weve seen lately from Houston, so put on those Cheeseheads and take GREEN BAY.No. 9 (tie) Detroit (plus 4 1-2) at No. 22 New OrleansA somewhat unusual selection for Pro Picks Best Bet, but Lions should cover, Saints should win. So ...BEST BET: SAINTS, 31-29No. 9 (tie) Washington (plus 3) at No. 25 ArizonaRedskins get the proper amount of rest -- and then some -- this time.UPSET SPECIAL: REDSKINS, 26-21No. 14 (tie) Tampa Bay (plus 3 1-2) at No. 21 San DiegoFar more interesting matchup than it appeared three weeks ago.CHARGERS, 28-27No. 23 Indianapolis (minus-1) at No. 28 New York JetsFar less interesting matchup than ESPN hoped.JETS, 24-22No. 24 Carolina (plus 6 1-2) at No. 5 SeattleA bit less interesting matchup than NBC hoped when schedule came out.SEAHAWKS, 23-20No. 16 Buffalo (plus 3) at No. 3 OaklandRaiders showed lots of grit last week, might need it again.RAIDERS, 23-17No. 6 Denver (minus 4) at No. 30 JacksonvilleTough spot for Broncos after that war with Chiefs? Probably not.BRONCOS, 20-10No. 4 Kansas City (plus 4) at No. 8 AtlantaTough spot for Chiefs after that war with Broncos? For sure.FALCONS, 26-16No. 18 Houston (plus 3 1-2) at No. 19 Green BayTexans seem as if they are chasing Titans despite leading AFC South.PACKERS, 24-16No. 27 Los Angeles (plus 13) at No. 2 New EnglandPatriots havent been real force in past month. That changes here.PATRIOTS, 33-13No. 20 Philadelphia (pick-em) at No. 26 CincinnatiBoth teams can look to 2017 now.EAGLES, 19-17No. 11 Miami (plus 3 1-2) at No. 13 BaltimoreBy far the most perplexing game this week.RAVENS, 16-14No. 7 New York Giants (plus 6) at No. 12 Pittsburgh2004 first-round QBs and Super Bowl winners Eli vs. Ben. Giants winning string ends here.STEELERS, 27-24No. 31 San Francisco (plus 4) at No. 29 ChicagoWont get many worse matchups than this one.49ERS, 14-13---Last Week: Against spread (10-6). Straight up: (11-5)Season Totals: Against spread (84-84-6). Straight up: (103-71-2)Best Bet: 6-6 against spread, 8-4 straight up.Upset special: 5-6-1 against spread, 5-7 straight up---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLLawrence Taylor Jersey . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Phil Simms Cheap Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/carl-banks-jersey-cheap.html . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Daniel Jones Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Darius Slayton Giants Jersey .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore.This is the time of year when teams fighting for spots in the College Football Playoff might be tempted to run up big margins in hopes of impressing the selection committee.Whether that strategy actually makes a difference is up for debate.Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who chairs the College Football Playoff committee, says the committee doesnt take margin of victory into account.We talk about how that team has performed each and every week, Hocutt said. We talk about `Was that a convincing win? ... I believe, in certain games a convincing win can be a 14-0 score, and in other games it can be a 35-7 score. I think in the game of college football, a convincing win can vary. But in no way do we incent margin of victory.Yet that didnt stop Louisville coach Bobby Petrino from bringing up margin of victory recently when he complained about his teams position in the rankings. Maybe I made a mistake, looking back at it, he said. (Against) Florida State, we shouldve kept all the starters in and scored 80 points and done that.Louisville beat Florida State 63-20 on Sept. 17, though the Cardinals playoff hopes suffered a major blow Thursday night when they fell 36-10 at Houston.Of course, scoring 80 against Florida State technically shouldnt have mattered to the committee if it isnt taking margin of victory into account. But how do the committee members not pay attention to the actual scores of games?I think they do to some degree, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. Thats probably the best way to say it. I think they take all of it into consideration. But its a very bright group that, in some cases, it probably doesnt matter too much to them, and in some cases it does.Jeff Sagarin, who has his own rating system to rank teams, says common sense shows that the playoff committee does factor in the scores of each game. Sagarin cited the 2014 season, when eventual national champion Ohio State leapfrogged TCU to earn the fourth playoff spot after trouncing Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten championship game.Their problem is if they ever verbalize, `Oh, we look at scores, then people will castigate them for encouraging teams to run up the score, so they have to pretend they dont, Sagarin said.Sagarin says his own ratings are based on who did you play, where did you play and what was the score. His rankings at the start of this week were virtually identical to the CFP rankings, with one notable exception.The CFP rankings had Clemson fourth and Louisville fifth, while Sagarins ratings reversed the order of those two Atlantic Coast Conference teams. Those rankings were done before Louisvilles loss to Houston. Both the CFP and Sagarin had Alabaama first, Ohio State second, Michigan third and Washington sixth.ddddddddddddYou get better accuracy predicting future games when you use the score, Sagarin said. Thats all I can say about it. If people want to ignore the scores, thats their business, but the committee, I dont think they do (ignore the scores).Alabama coach Nick Saban, whose team has appeared in each of the first two playoffs, says he doesnt believe margin of victory should be factored into the CFP rankings.I dont think that beating another team by an embarrassing score really should be something that (should be rewarded) from a sportsmanship standpoint or a common respect standpoint for the other team and their players and their families, Saban said. Thats not really something that should be a part of the game.But Hocutt acknowledged the committee discusses what constitutes a convincing win. How often has the eye test come up as a way to judge a team during the playoff era? Sagarin notes the frequent references to style points.Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher recalls the example of his 2014 team that went undefeated in the regular season but only earned a No. 3 seed in the playoff behind Alabama and Oregon, who had each lost a game. Florida State played several close games that year, and committee members often referred to the Seminoles lack of game control without specifically mentioning scores.We were undefeated, hadnt lost in two years, but game control, Fisher said this week. I havent heard `game control anymore. Did that one go out of the equation?Ohio State coach Urban Meyer says he doesnt mind a scenario in which the committee considers how well a team played without specifically analyzing the victory margin. Meyer was concerned that if the victory margin becomes an ultimate measuring stick, teams might start acting ...I guess the term is very unsportsmanlike.Im hoping the committee -- I have great confidence there -- just looks at the body of work, the strength of schedule and how they played, Meyer said.The dilemma in that approach is determining how a team played without considering victory margin. That backs up Sagarins notion that scores are taken into consideration, whether or not the committee says so.Its not something evil, Sagarin said. Scores reflect what happened in the game. Thats all.---AP Sports Writers Cliff Brunt, Joe Reedy and John Zenor contributed to this report.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Steve Megargee at www.twitter.com/stevemegargee ' ' '