Watch CBS News

Sports Agenda for Wednesday (10/9/13)

Top Stories:
The Dolphins are in trouble, even though they're on the bye week. The Canes are sitting pretty and already looking towards November. The big game this weekend for me is in Athens, Georiga and I'm feeling upset. Plus Texas' Mack Brown will make his final stand this Saturday, but will it be like Custer's?

Quote of the Day:
"People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society." – Vince Lombardi (quick someone take that to John Boehner!)

Miami Dolphins: (off this week)
It's taken me a while to process just how bad the Dolphins offensive line has become.
But it's just straight up awful.
We are all familiar with the fact that they are on pace to give up an NFL record 77 sacks this season.
Ryan Tannehill will be very familiar with the training room if he gets anywhere near that number this season. Frankly, he'll be on injured reserve if he approaches that number.
But check these numbers out for the running game after five weeks.
The Fins gained a total of 22 yards against Baltimore last weekend. 22 YARDS?!?!
Wanna see something worse? They've run the ball a total of 45 times over the last three games, that's 15 a game. Most good backs get 15 carries by themselves.
The Fins are averaging 69.6 yards per game.
And as football fans know, if you can't run the ball, the defense is going to go after your quarterback HARD.
Sure enough, that's what defenses are doing. They don't have to respect the run, so they blitz the QB until he is down about six times per game now.
I wanted to give Jeff Ireland credit for his offseason moves because I thought some of them were really good. Mike Wallace, Dannell Ellerbe, Phillip Wheeler, Brent Grimes.
But as anyone will tell you, the game of football is built from the inside out…once you have your quarterback.
Ireland built a great defensive line, no doubt.
But….outside of Mike Pouncey, the rest of the offensive line is a waste.
Tyson Clabo, who I thought had good football left in him, is making people long for Marc Colombo….and Colombo was a turnstyle.
John Jerry is on his 400th opportunity and looks like about a 400 lb man trying to keep up with everyone.
Jonathan Martin…no need to rehash this one. He's a backup at best…go watch the video of him getting lifted up and thrown on his butt by Terrell Suggs for a demonstration of this.
Incognito, well, he said if the line didn't improve they should be fired…well, looks like he's going to get his wish.
So now the Dolphins are left without options and are headed in the wrong direction.
Is there a solution?
Honestly, I don't think so.
The Fins can't trade for anyone because everyone else in the league values tackles like gold if they are any good.
Remember this too…at the time of the NFL Draft, here's what I said the Dolphins should do.
"Trade a second round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for Branden Albert and sign him to a long-term deal as your left tackle. Use your pick in the middle of the first round to draft tight end Tyler Eifert to play alongside of Dustin Keller this year and take over full time next year. Use your second round pick on a cornerback/secondary player. Use your third round pick on a guard/tackle."
Albert is a star in KC, Eifert is a star in the making in Cincinnati, and the Dolphins have no blockers.

Miami Hurricanes: (off this week)
Let's be honest, the Canes' next two games are simply warm-ups for the biggie on November 2.
Miami plays at North Carolina and then plays Wake Forest.
The Canes should be double-digit favorites in both games ahead of the biggie in Tally.
Let's look at that game for a second, the Canes vs. the Noles.
FSU is still on the rise and they completely dismantled Maryland and made the Terrapins look like Savannah State.
I think FSU could have scored 84 points if they had not taken their foot off the gas, it was that bad.
Funny thing is, before the game, everyone said FSU should be on upset alert and after the game, oh Maryland was overrated. (h/t to Jason Parker on that one)
Honestly, I think FSU, if they play like they did against Maryland can run any team in the country off the field.
I love the new defensive looks and how it's confounding opponents as they run a hybrid 4-3/3-4 look most of the game.
Plus, I think Jameis Winston should be leading the Heisman race with Aaron Murray hot on his heels and Tajh Boyd in third.
We'll learn a lot more about FSU next weekend when they play Clemson.
Make no mistake, if FSU handles Clemson easily, which is possible….Canes fans should be VERY, VERY WORRIED.
I know Miami is good, but the way FSU has been playing, I don't think Miami is that good.

Georgia Vs. Missouri:
Allow me to move away from South Florida sports for a second….
The second biggest game in the SEC this weekend, behind of course LSU vs. Florida, is Georgia vs. Missouri.
The Tigers are 5-0 for the first time since 2010 and could be ready to play spoiler for Georgia's SEC East title hopes.
Mizzou has a great offense keyed by quarterback James Franklin who is second in the SEC to a guy named Johnny Manziel in offense.
Georgia is banged up across the board on offense and will be without at least 60 percent of their offensive touchdowns when they play Mizzou on Saturday in Athens.
Georiga still has one of the best QB's in the nation in Aaron Murray and he can still win games almost through sheer will.
Now, Georgia struggled last week on the road against Tennessee and could have easily lost that game if not for a game-saving drive to end the game.
Missouri's defense, which is a bend-don't break style of defense will be sorely tested.
What I want to see is if Missouri's defensive line, which is one of the best in the SEC, can get pressure on Murray.
If they can collapse the pocket consistently like they did last week, look out.
I think it will end up being a shootout and that favors Missouri's health and plethora of skill players.
Also, watch to see if Mizzou can run the football. They are leading the SEC in rushing, I believe, or they're second, and that could help determine their offense's success.
Make no mistake, if Mizzou can win *holds hands together to pray* they move into the drivers seat in the SEC East along with Florida.
Both UF and Mizzou would control their own destiny to get to Atlanta.
But beating Georgia in Athens would be tough for Alabama, and we'll see if Missouri is ready to step up to a higher level of competition on Saturday.

Red River Shootout:
Well, we are about to see Texas head coach Mack Brown's last stand on Saturday morning for the Red River Shootout.
Brown is under heavy fire from all directions for his team's decline and the athletic program was zinged by SI.com for an overall decline yesterday.
Here's what Brown has to do to keep his job past Saturday:
Win, or lose an epically close game.
If Texas does what is has done of the last two years and gets absolutely mauled by Oklahoma, Brown is toast.
And let's be honest, Texas looks like it's going to get blown off the field based on its play to this point.
Two years ago, Texas lost 55-17 to Oklahoma. Last year, OU beat Texas 63-21.
If OU gets to 50 or 60 points this year and Texas is not at least at 45 points, I think Brown doesn't make it to Sunday at UT's head coach.
Let's face it, the real fun begins at that point where we all get to guess who will be Texas' next head coach.
Here's some names to remember: Chris Peterson, Boise State; Kirby Smart, Alabama; Will Muschamp, Florida; James Franklin, Vanderbilt; Art Briles, Baylor; Gary Patterson, TCU
If you want to create excitement, go get Art Briles and his Air Raid offense cause that would be hellaciously fun to watch with Texas' athletes.
Kirby Smart and Gary Patterson would be great hires defensively, along with Muschamp. The first is hungry for a head coaching gig and has been Bama's defensive coordinator for years. Patterson has built TCU.
The wildcards are Petersen, who has built Boise into a national power and Franklin, who has built a winner at Vanderbilt.
I'd probably hire Smart, if he'd be willing to do it. He's young, hungry, passionate, and has the pedigree of coaching under Saban and could build a winner.
One more name to throw out there…Charlie Strong at Louisville.
Bring in an African-American head coach at Texas to rebuild the prestige of the program? That could be one heckuva story right there. Both Texas and Texas A&M coached by African-Americans. That's would be awesome.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.