Editors' note: Every week, these two idiots will play a Pick 'Em NFL game. The object is for each editor to pick four seemingly even NFL matchups from the upcoming weekend, challenging the other pick to the winners. A running record will be tallied. Feel free to play along at home. Leave comments with your own picks if you want to go on the record. Standings (Last week in parenthesis).
Standings (Last week in parenthesis)
Ian 16-8 (3-1)
Saj 10-14 (0-4)
10:07 AM
What in God's name happened to you last week? You fell for two traps (Lions, Philly) but in the other two we both got completely blindsided (Chargers, Cardinals). When making the 2nd set of picks in any given week, a clear disadvantage, I like to go with games where I could see how the underdog could win, even if I myself wouldn't pick them. Last week was the first time this plan worked flawlessly. You, sir, have some work to do.
Does your comeback begin this week? Let's find out.
Arizona at Green Bay (Sunday, 1:00) stalwarts
NY Jets at Cleveland (Sunday, 4:15) *snickers*
Indianapolis at Denver (Sunday, 4:15) You can run in circles on this one
Dallas at Carolina (Sunday, 8:15) be careful
The Philly game? Trap? Absolutely not. If not for Ronde Barber (who did an excellent job on both those interceptions) and a freak 62 yard field goal from Matt Bryant (ESPN: "Nothing in Matt Bryant's career suggested he was capable of making the kick of his life.") Tampa Bay does what they should have done. And that is lose. As for the Lions game, I knew what I was doing. An impartial party takes the Jets there. But I'm not impartial nor do I have any integrity. F*** the Jets. F*** them.
Speaking of the f****** Jets, thanks giving me their game, again. I really appreciate it. I do. For you:
Atlanta at Cincinnati (Sunday, 1:00) If before last season you asked me who would blow out his knee first, Carson Palmer or Michael Vick, I would probably have bet my life savings ($102.45) on Vick.
Baltimore at New Orleans (Sunday, 1:00) Reggie Bush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not sure if that's enough exclamation points.
St. Louis at San Diego (Sunday, 4:05) Shawne Merriman: Steroid-abuser or steroid-abuser? Discuss.
Houston at Tennessee (Sunday, 1:00) Featuring the frontrunners for the Most Awkward Release by a Quarterback ESPY.
Go to town.
6:20 PM
I thought Tampa was going to win that game. They did win in some crazy, improbable ways, but they ended up winning nonetheless. As for this week, you gave me some good matchups, only one of which I feel comfortable picking. Good thing I have such an enormous lead, huh?
Game 1: Atlanta @ Cincinatti: These are the proto-typical 'above average' teams who probably aren't playing in their conferences championship game, but hold out hope that they might. They have 5-6 seed written all over them. I think Cincinatti is the slightly better team of the two, and here's why: First, their conference and division is better, so 5-6 seed potential means more for the Bengals than the Falcons. Second, Vick is definitely showing some of his deficiencies as an NFL quarterback. Third, the Bengals are proving to be more of a complete team than the Falcons, even if they can't handle physical teams as well. Atlanta relies on their speed, not their physicality. Fourth, Ocho Cinco is ready for a juego grande. The Bengals should handle the Falcons this weekend, especially on Cincinatti turf. Pick: Cincinatti
Game 2: Baltimore @ New Orleans: Is this the week the Ravens can run the ball again? Once they do, they'll be a contender. The problem, obviously, is that Jamal Lewis is playing like Richard Lewis (I honestly couldn't think of a better Lewis metaphor). Defenses are good enough to consistently win football games only if the offense can either A) run the ball well, B) throw the ball well, or C) do each so-so. Right now, the Ravens don't fit into any of that critereon. This road game against the upstart Saints can go either way, but it's on Jamal Lewis having a good game. It's too bad Jamal Lewis will use the sub-sealevel status of New Orleans as a justification to get high some time this weekend. Pick: New Orleans
Game 3: Houston @ Tennesee: Say want you will about the struggling Titans franchise, but they try hard every week. They played Indy really tough, then they beat Washington. Kudos to Jeff Fisher. They should grind this one out and feel good about going back to back...and then kick themselves come draft time when they're picking after the top 5 and miss out on a receiver for Vince Young. Pick: Tennessee
Game 4: St. Louis @ San Diego: Hmmmm... A borderline NFC playoff team on the road against a top 4 AFC team. Pick: San Diego.
Sunday-11:45 AM
Saj has had trouble with the Internet for a few days, so he has just relayed his picks to me via telephone. Arizona, Cleveland, Denver, Carolina. I would have taken Green Bay, the Jets, and Indy...but you know Saj and his craziness.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
NFL: Week 7 Recap
7:09 AM
I: I will say this: the Bledsoe interception was terrible. Just terrible. I was shocked, however, that he was lifted for the second half. After a rough start, which the whole country could see was due to a terrible Offensive Line, Bledsoe started moving that offense. The O-Line was so bad that they started rolling out Drew Bledsoe to buy him time, and he had success doing this. They were down 12-7 at half. Last week they had 3 points at half against Houston, and broke out in the second half. I am shocked that Parcells buried the Dallas season after 7 weeks, just to satisfy some unknowledgeable fans who think Tony Romo is the next Tom Brady. This just in: Backup quarterbacks with no playing experience should not be playing when a team is a contender. Take your lumps with your vet. It's why McNair and Brunell have jobs. Fans fell in love with the Romo story, and the fact that his name was Romo. If his name was Horowitz, he never would have endeared himself to Dallas fandom. I truly believe this.
Anyway, my point is, the winner of that game was in first place and they were only down 5 at the half after getting the last score of the half. To make that move then was unacceptable. Let Bledsoe finish the game, worst case you're 3-3 (though they had a better chance to win keeping him in there) then give Romo all week with the first team preparing for Carolina. Bad job by Parcells, and three second half interceptions showed this.
Thoughts on Week 7?
Right before Tony Romo called his first play from scrimmage, Mike Tirico pointed out Tony Romo's stat line: 2/2, 35 yds, 1 TD. But, as Tirico went on to say, these were not only his statistics for this season, they were the statistics for Tony Romo's ENTIRE CAREER.
I've had as much fun with "Romo Watch 2006" as the next guy, and Romo shuffling around the pocket like a windup Jake Plummer doll was great fun, but how in the world do you toss him into that situation and expect something good to happen. The score was only 12-7 at halftime and the Cowboys had done absolutely nothing in the first 20 minutes. The game was still within reach. It's sad that Bledsoe was the fall guy. Yes, there was the safety and the interception and Drew Bledsoe cannot be absolved of all blame here, but the real culprit was the Cowboys lack of a running game.
On the safety: when the Cowboys had the ball on their own one-inch yard line (great punt and coverage downfield by the Giants) they opted to throw on both first and second down. Why? Because the Cowboys had no confidence in their running game. Conventional wisdom says you run the ball there, and if the situations were reversed you can bet Brandon Jacobs would have charged through the line devouring three Cowboys and the referee while leaving, in his wake, an astronomical swath of destruction. It's not like the Giants were going to pack 11 guys in the box in that situation. If Julius Jones or Marion Barber breaks through that line you're looking at a replay of Garrison Hearst in 1998 when he took the ball, pretty much untouched, for 96 yards. Hard to imagine not getting at least a couple of yards to help out your punter.
And if you're committed to the pass in that situation, run the play in shotgun formation. Give your quarterback a better view of what's coming at him. Maybe you want to make the defense think run, but when Lavar Arrington is practically on top of the line of scrimmage and foaming at the mouth, a few extra steps can make a big difference. And speaking of Arrington, isn't it pretty standard that you find a way to block the twitching linebacker who's screaming, "I'm gonna break you in half, white boy"? Could you shift the line to make sure he doesn't tear Drew Bledsoe's head off? Maybe next time the Cowboys should let some 14 year old kid from El Paso picks these plays with his Playstation controller. Isn't the L1 button slide protection?
The interception on the goalline, on the other hand, was prototypical Bledsoe. But if the Cowboys could muster any yards on the ground, that second and goal from the four is probably second and goal from the two and that pass is never thrown. The Cowboys had so little faith in their running game that their first touchdown came on a Drew Bledsoe bootleg keeper on first down from the one yard line. They sent the slowest guy on the field around the right end on that play? That's like asking a man with no hands to hold your drink. Sure he can rest it between his nubs but it's not pretty and there's often spilling. (Sidenote: Last night's game had the two most exciting plays in football occur only 15 minutes apart: a safety and a Drew Bledsoe scramble for a touchdown. Not sure if this has ever happened before, I'm calling ELIAS to confirm).
But enough about the football game, how about the tension between Kornheiser and Theisman in the booth? I think this stems from the fact that Theisman is an idiot and Kornheiser isn't, but I'm not really sure. When they were talking about how Michael Strahan was approaching Lawrence Taylor's all-time Giants record in sacks and Theisman said something about being the victim of some of those, I was positively willing Kornheiser to say something like,"That reminds me, Joe, didn't LT violently sack you that one time and break your leg in three places? And wasn't that hit immortalized in the opening sequence of the Tecmo Super Bowl video game?" followed by Theisman grabbing him by the throat and calling him a bald, pencil-necked, weaselly, journalist bitch. If only I was better at mind control.
Not much else I want to say right now about Week 7. The overproduced circus that is MNF was entertaining enough last night to write volumes. Ian, please speak on the Philly game.
I agree with most of your Cowboy-Giants points, so we can put that to bed after you answer me this question: Does not smart money say the Giants win that division AND have as good a shot as anyone to get the 2 seed in the NFC? Does not smart money also say that the Giants, carrying the New York sports team torch, will get their fans unreasonably confident and abbrasive, followed by the inevitable collapse when it matters most, leaving their fans angry and still abbrasive?
The Eagles traveling to Tampa was a definite trap game for Philly. They're used to playing those huge NFC East games and are coming off a hard fought game in New Orleans. Tampa Bay is easy to overlook. Remember that the Bucs had been playing well for three weeks, they're the home team, they're still well coached, they shoot cannons at enemies, and Philly has yet to have a bye week to rest. (That bye week can't come soon enough, they're running out of gas and losing ground to the Giants.) So anyway, Tampa comes out like a ball of fire against a flat footed Philly team and jumps out to a 17-0 lead. McNabb starts to realize what's going on and turns it up a notch, teaming with Brian Westbrook to put up major yards and points in the second half to take a lead late. And then, of course, it takes a Matt Bryant miracle 62 yard field goal - one yard off the record - to win it. Stuff happens...usually to Philly fans.
My Power Rankings have four familiar faces, though faces 3 and 4 are both closing in on 1 and 2.
1. Chicago
2. Indy
3. Denver
4. Pats
My fifth team is not the Saints, as their record implies. I think those G-Men of New York are playing some great football, and would beat the Saints straight up. And even though I hate Dallas, I feel bad that they ran into Jacksonvilles, Philly, and New York when those teams were playing their absolute best football. Jax and Philly took a major tumble afterward their Dallas games, and early in the year the Giants stunk worse than the Bronx. Them's the breaks.
Does the Pats game in Minnesota worry you at all this weekend? It'd be unlike the Patriots to do so, but might they look forward to that Indy game the following week? Speaking of that Indy game, (watch now as I look past the Vikings) won't New England be favored to win that game. That is a run defense that Dillon and Maroney can exploit AND it's at Foxboro.
I won't prognosticate on the Giant just yet. While they've looked good these last few weeks the remainder of that schedule is still very difficult. Do they have as good a shot as anyone at that Number 2 seed? Sure, especially with Seattle relegated to a backfield of Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris for a couple of weeks. As for Giants fans there are two kinds: 1) Giants-Yankees fans and 2) Giants-Mets fans. Guess which I can't tolerate?
The Patriots in Minnesota is definitely a game we can't overlook. While nothing makes sense in the NFL, the Vikings did beat the Seahawks at Qwest Field (that 12th man gimmick has run its course) and they made a pretty good run at the Bears earlier in the season. The Patriots can run the ball with anyone, but the Vikings are no slouch in the ground game either (Note to Chester Taylor: after you make the Pro Bowl this season, make sure to take Steve Hutchinson out to a nice steak dinner).
On the Indy game: Thank goodness Peyton Manning had the game he did against Washington because I didn't want him getting his 400 yard passing jollies against the Patriots. Now that that's out of his system he's ready to be the same old Foxboro-Peyton in two weeks: confounded by Belicheck's blitzes and seethingly jealous of Tom Brady. I guarantee you his wife/girlfriend/Marvin Harrison is nowhere near as hot as Bridget Moynahan. And speaking of really attractive women dating sports stars, what's with the Kutcher-Moore relationships here? Brady is seven years younger than Moynahan. Tony Parker is seven years younger than Eva Longoria. And Alyssa Milano is 21 years older than the Florida Marlins organization. I guess star athletes choose not to settle down with the younger hot celebrities, and that bodes well for us studly sports bloggers (JBiel, whaddup?).
I: I will say this: the Bledsoe interception was terrible. Just terrible. I was shocked, however, that he was lifted for the second half. After a rough start, which the whole country could see was due to a terrible Offensive Line, Bledsoe started moving that offense. The O-Line was so bad that they started rolling out Drew Bledsoe to buy him time, and he had success doing this. They were down 12-7 at half. Last week they had 3 points at half against Houston, and broke out in the second half. I am shocked that Parcells buried the Dallas season after 7 weeks, just to satisfy some unknowledgeable fans who think Tony Romo is the next Tom Brady. This just in: Backup quarterbacks with no playing experience should not be playing when a team is a contender. Take your lumps with your vet. It's why McNair and Brunell have jobs. Fans fell in love with the Romo story, and the fact that his name was Romo. If his name was Horowitz, he never would have endeared himself to Dallas fandom. I truly believe this.
Anyway, my point is, the winner of that game was in first place and they were only down 5 at the half after getting the last score of the half. To make that move then was unacceptable. Let Bledsoe finish the game, worst case you're 3-3 (though they had a better chance to win keeping him in there) then give Romo all week with the first team preparing for Carolina. Bad job by Parcells, and three second half interceptions showed this.
Thoughts on Week 7?
Right before Tony Romo called his first play from scrimmage, Mike Tirico pointed out Tony Romo's stat line: 2/2, 35 yds, 1 TD. But, as Tirico went on to say, these were not only his statistics for this season, they were the statistics for Tony Romo's ENTIRE CAREER.
I've had as much fun with "Romo Watch 2006" as the next guy, and Romo shuffling around the pocket like a windup Jake Plummer doll was great fun, but how in the world do you toss him into that situation and expect something good to happen. The score was only 12-7 at halftime and the Cowboys had done absolutely nothing in the first 20 minutes. The game was still within reach. It's sad that Bledsoe was the fall guy. Yes, there was the safety and the interception and Drew Bledsoe cannot be absolved of all blame here, but the real culprit was the Cowboys lack of a running game.
On the safety: when the Cowboys had the ball on their own one-inch yard line (great punt and coverage downfield by the Giants) they opted to throw on both first and second down. Why? Because the Cowboys had no confidence in their running game. Conventional wisdom says you run the ball there, and if the situations were reversed you can bet Brandon Jacobs would have charged through the line devouring three Cowboys and the referee while leaving, in his wake, an astronomical swath of destruction. It's not like the Giants were going to pack 11 guys in the box in that situation. If Julius Jones or Marion Barber breaks through that line you're looking at a replay of Garrison Hearst in 1998 when he took the ball, pretty much untouched, for 96 yards. Hard to imagine not getting at least a couple of yards to help out your punter.
And if you're committed to the pass in that situation, run the play in shotgun formation. Give your quarterback a better view of what's coming at him. Maybe you want to make the defense think run, but when Lavar Arrington is practically on top of the line of scrimmage and foaming at the mouth, a few extra steps can make a big difference. And speaking of Arrington, isn't it pretty standard that you find a way to block the twitching linebacker who's screaming, "I'm gonna break you in half, white boy"? Could you shift the line to make sure he doesn't tear Drew Bledsoe's head off? Maybe next time the Cowboys should let some 14 year old kid from El Paso picks these plays with his Playstation controller. Isn't the L1 button slide protection?
The interception on the goalline, on the other hand, was prototypical Bledsoe. But if the Cowboys could muster any yards on the ground, that second and goal from the four is probably second and goal from the two and that pass is never thrown. The Cowboys had so little faith in their running game that their first touchdown came on a Drew Bledsoe bootleg keeper on first down from the one yard line. They sent the slowest guy on the field around the right end on that play? That's like asking a man with no hands to hold your drink. Sure he can rest it between his nubs but it's not pretty and there's often spilling. (Sidenote: Last night's game had the two most exciting plays in football occur only 15 minutes apart: a safety and a Drew Bledsoe scramble for a touchdown. Not sure if this has ever happened before, I'm calling ELIAS to confirm).
But enough about the football game, how about the tension between Kornheiser and Theisman in the booth? I think this stems from the fact that Theisman is an idiot and Kornheiser isn't, but I'm not really sure. When they were talking about how Michael Strahan was approaching Lawrence Taylor's all-time Giants record in sacks and Theisman said something about being the victim of some of those, I was positively willing Kornheiser to say something like,"That reminds me, Joe, didn't LT violently sack you that one time and break your leg in three places? And wasn't that hit immortalized in the opening sequence of the Tecmo Super Bowl video game?" followed by Theisman grabbing him by the throat and calling him a bald, pencil-necked, weaselly, journalist bitch. If only I was better at mind control.
Not much else I want to say right now about Week 7. The overproduced circus that is MNF was entertaining enough last night to write volumes. Ian, please speak on the Philly game.
I agree with most of your Cowboy-Giants points, so we can put that to bed after you answer me this question: Does not smart money say the Giants win that division AND have as good a shot as anyone to get the 2 seed in the NFC? Does not smart money also say that the Giants, carrying the New York sports team torch, will get their fans unreasonably confident and abbrasive, followed by the inevitable collapse when it matters most, leaving their fans angry and still abbrasive?
The Eagles traveling to Tampa was a definite trap game for Philly. They're used to playing those huge NFC East games and are coming off a hard fought game in New Orleans. Tampa Bay is easy to overlook. Remember that the Bucs had been playing well for three weeks, they're the home team, they're still well coached, they shoot cannons at enemies, and Philly has yet to have a bye week to rest. (That bye week can't come soon enough, they're running out of gas and losing ground to the Giants.) So anyway, Tampa comes out like a ball of fire against a flat footed Philly team and jumps out to a 17-0 lead. McNabb starts to realize what's going on and turns it up a notch, teaming with Brian Westbrook to put up major yards and points in the second half to take a lead late. And then, of course, it takes a Matt Bryant miracle 62 yard field goal - one yard off the record - to win it. Stuff happens...usually to Philly fans.
My Power Rankings have four familiar faces, though faces 3 and 4 are both closing in on 1 and 2.
1. Chicago
2. Indy
3. Denver
4. Pats
My fifth team is not the Saints, as their record implies. I think those G-Men of New York are playing some great football, and would beat the Saints straight up. And even though I hate Dallas, I feel bad that they ran into Jacksonvilles, Philly, and New York when those teams were playing their absolute best football. Jax and Philly took a major tumble afterward their Dallas games, and early in the year the Giants stunk worse than the Bronx. Them's the breaks.
Does the Pats game in Minnesota worry you at all this weekend? It'd be unlike the Patriots to do so, but might they look forward to that Indy game the following week? Speaking of that Indy game, (watch now as I look past the Vikings) won't New England be favored to win that game. That is a run defense that Dillon and Maroney can exploit AND it's at Foxboro.
I won't prognosticate on the Giant just yet. While they've looked good these last few weeks the remainder of that schedule is still very difficult. Do they have as good a shot as anyone at that Number 2 seed? Sure, especially with Seattle relegated to a backfield of Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris for a couple of weeks. As for Giants fans there are two kinds: 1) Giants-Yankees fans and 2) Giants-Mets fans. Guess which I can't tolerate?
The Patriots in Minnesota is definitely a game we can't overlook. While nothing makes sense in the NFL, the Vikings did beat the Seahawks at Qwest Field (that 12th man gimmick has run its course) and they made a pretty good run at the Bears earlier in the season. The Patriots can run the ball with anyone, but the Vikings are no slouch in the ground game either (Note to Chester Taylor: after you make the Pro Bowl this season, make sure to take Steve Hutchinson out to a nice steak dinner).
On the Indy game: Thank goodness Peyton Manning had the game he did against Washington because I didn't want him getting his 400 yard passing jollies against the Patriots. Now that that's out of his system he's ready to be the same old Foxboro-Peyton in two weeks: confounded by Belicheck's blitzes and seethingly jealous of Tom Brady. I guarantee you his wife/girlfriend/Marvin Harrison is nowhere near as hot as Bridget Moynahan. And speaking of really attractive women dating sports stars, what's with the Kutcher-Moore relationships here? Brady is seven years younger than Moynahan. Tony Parker is seven years younger than Eva Longoria. And Alyssa Milano is 21 years older than the Florida Marlins organization. I guess star athletes choose not to settle down with the younger hot celebrities, and that bodes well for us studly sports bloggers (JBiel, whaddup?).
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