WATERCOOLER CHAT: KAEPERNICK PERFORMS FOR NINERS IN MNF, BIG 10 GETTING NEW TEAMS, EAGLE’S REID WON’T QUIT

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, it was a much anticipated Monday Night Football match-up between the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco 49ers.  A battle of two of the NFL’s best defenses, except it would also be a duel between back-up quarterbacks:  Jason Campbell for the Bears and 2nd year quarterback Colin Kaepernick for the Niners.  Unfortunately for Campbell, Aldon Smith and the 49ers defense absolutely gave him a typhoon of trouble.  Campbell couldn’t get anything going.  Meanwhile, Kaepernick looked like a robust starting quarterback out there, throwing for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He hasn’t locked up the starting gig just yet, but the Niners looked like a different team out there with Kaepernick and they won’t necessarily be quick to throw Alex Smith back into the mix.  San Francisco 32, Chicago 7.

In college football, while all eyes are on the BCS Championship, some other conference matters are brewing as well.  Teams have been flying from conference to conference for financial reasons.  They know that playing in certain conferences will get them more TV time, and thus more money.  The Big East and the ACC have been unpopular homes, and now it looks like Maryland and Rutgers are both looking to bail.  Where to?  The Big 10.  The Big 10 has been pretty putrid this year.  Ohio State is undefeated, but the level of competition in the Big 10 is rather porous.  Both Maryland and Rutgers think they could compete in the conference and also net some serious cash playing the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, and Nebraska — teams that attract TV attention.  It’s not a done deal yet, but it’s looking quite likely.

Finally, in some more NFL news, there is a lot of negative attention surrounding Eagles coach Andy Reid.  The Eagles have had one of their worst seasons in years, and in a city that demands perfection (i.e. Philadelphia) they want him out.  Michael Vick is already hurt, and it doesn’t look like rookie QB Nick Foles is going to lead them to the promised land anytime soon.  Fans want Reid to quit, officially marking the transition to a new Eagles era.  Remember, however, that Reid was responsible for more than a decade of successful Eagles football.  They were always competitive.  This year, Reid had a lot of personal strife as his son died of a heroin overdose.  That would get in anybody’s head, and surely that has affected Reid’s focus on his job. But Reid said he can’t quit, that that would be a “cop out”.  He said how could he quit when he’s asking his players to keep pushing.  It’s likely that the Eagles will move on from Reid after the season, but he at least deserves to the right to fight for the remainder of the season.

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