“Here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are
As my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when September ends.” - Green Day
The Cleveland Indians ran a video montage at Jacobs Field playing this Green Day tune for their soon-to-be postseason run. It certainly was a joyous piece. One that gave fans hope that the season would end with a World Series title. It showed amazing catches, triple plays, and walk (or - in one memorable instance - run) off home runs. It was almost as if the song put us in a dream in which - when we woke up after September ended - the Indians would be ready for October (there are only one of these ‘Octobers’ by the way, just ask Dane Cook). The point is that as far as the Indians were concerned, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” symbolized a song that captured all of the great things that had happened in 2007.
After reading these lyrics I found myself thinking about the Browns - NOT the Indians. All you would have to do is change ’September’ to ’December’ and off you go. Unfortunately for the Browns, this song does not leave fans with that same warm giddy feeling the Indians montage brought us. Rather, it symbolizes us just wanting to get December over with, because it has given us nothing but heartbreak.
The Brownies entered December with a 7-4 record and hopes of claiming one of the two AFC Wild Card spots. Things were just going Cleveland’s way up to that point. No major injuries to speak of, a better than average offensive line, and amazingly - the ball just seemed to be bouncing in Cleveland’s favor - literally.
Jacksonville laid their claim to the first of those two positions by reeling off three consecutive wins when they mattered the most (that‘s what good teams do), including an impressive 29-22 road victory in Pittsburgh. That left one spot open. It was supposed to be our spot.
Supposed to be. As Forrest Gump so eloquently put it, “It (shit) happens.”
Indeed it did. It usually does with the Browns. This time however - unlike with some other previous years - we have no one to point the finger at except ourselves. All I heard was that the Browns had an easy schedule. 12-4 should not be that far out of the picture. The #6 seed was a practical lock. Cleveland can score on anyone. That’s all I heard. Fast forward four weeks and all of a sudden the Browns last regular season game does not mean anything. Not because the Browns have already clinched a birth in the postseason, but because our January fate rests solely on another team’s shoulders. With one week remaining in December, Cleveland had gone from a certain lock to “boy I hope Tony Dungy plays Peyton a lot” status. Destiny is no longer in the Browns’ own hands.
So why “Wake Me Up When December Ends?” Good question. I first thought of it following the Browns most recent loss to the hands of the lowly Bengals. Knowing that I would have to watch someone else control our playoff fate made me about as miserable as I was sitting at Cleveland Browns Stadium in the pouring rain for the season opener with Lucius. It’s not just being miserable and pissed off. It’s more than that.
Andy Dufresne once said, “Hope is a great thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.” Well, the feeling I’m talking about Andy would believe to be the worst of things.
Hopeless.
The crazy thing is the Browns still do have a chance. It’s simple in nature. The Colts just have to beat the Titans. That’s it. The big question is how long Dungy will play his starters. The word on the street is that he will play Peyton and Co. the first half and no more. Now, that’s not exactly hopeless. But it’s close enough for me.
I don’t want to watch the Colts-Titans game. I don’t want it to be on primetime Sunday night. I would rather just wake up the next morning and read about it in the newspaper. That’s when I started thinking about that Green Day song. It all began to make sense.
Let’s break it down.
“Here comes the rain again
falling from the stars”
This has a couple of different meanings. First off, as previously stated, Lucius and I sat in the rain watching Cleveland get absolutely killed by the Steelers in Week One. We had four frickin penalties on one play. You can’t make this stuff up.
For all of you English majors out there, eat your hearts out with this upcoming metaphor. “Here comes the rain again” symbolizes the eventual downfall the Browns were headed towards. We all felt it. We sat there each and every week wondering if this was the week where Winslow would be seriously injured, or if the referees were going to screw us, or god forbid, the Browns just absolutely stunk up the joint. It’s been this way the entire month, if not longer.
Enter the Bengals game last Sunday. Four INT’s by Derek Anderson. Playoffs taken out of our hands. Any true Browns fan was not surprised by any of this.
“Drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are”
The sad reality is that Cleveland is not a playoff team. I’m sorry. They just aren’t. Playoff teams win when they have a chance to clinch. Especially against a beat up team that is starting two rookies at safety. Yes, every team (including the Patriots) plays a bad game from time to time. Nobody is perfect (except possibly the Patriots). However, timing does play a role as to when teams can play bad. In big games, bad performances cannot be accepted. It’s called choking. And the Browns coughed up their chances in Cincinnati.
We’re “drenched” because of the rain from week one. Stay with me people.
“As my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost”
These Browns have exceeded expectations set at the beginning of the season. The thing is, expectations change. Sometimes they can change very quickly. Somewhere between the Browns 51-45 win over the Bengals in week two to their 8-0 victory in the snow against Buffalo two weeks ago, expectations shifted. We were supposed to go to the playoffs. Maybe even win a game. We still have a slight chance, but we will never forget what could have been.
“Like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast”
Twenty years ago the Browns were wrapping up an AFC Central crown and getting ready for a home playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Browns won that game 38-21. The next week they played in Denver for the AFC Championship. We all know what happened there. Back when a fumble was a fumble, Earnest Byner coughed it up at Denver’s one-yard line with a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds.
1987. Twenty years ago.
2007. Here we are now. It’s been a fun season. Better than most people thought. In the big scheme of things the Browns could very easily go 10-6 and NOT get into the playoffs. Had they been in the NFC they could be a #3 seed. That’s the reality.
“Thanks for the Memories” by Fall Out Boy will have to wait however until the season is completely over. For now, will someone please wake me up when December ends?
That’s all I ask.
Go Colts.
Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
2007 NFL Picks Week Fourteen
Even though NFL teams still have four games left until their playoffs, for fantasy owners this is the very last regular season week. Just one last chance to make a final playoff push in hopes of claiming the championship or, at the very least, make some of their entry fee money back. For Brady's Bunch, it has been an exciting season filled with many ups and downs. Let's take a look back.
The number one rule in Fantasy Football is you have to pick a creative name. Even if your team fails to win a game all season, you still get brownie points for picking the best name. I went with Brady's Bunch. It's a shout-out to Brady Quinn and the old television sitcom The Brady Bunch. I thought it would be perfect. Looking back I have no regrets over this name. My only fear is that I will get stuck using this name for my fantasy teams forever. Just yesterday I made a College Bowl pick'em entry and titled it Brady's Bunch. I need help.
With the fourth pick in our 12 team league Brady's Bunch selected Shaun Alexander instead of the guy I really wanted, Joseph Addai. It was a decision I would regret almost instantly. Ronnie Brown was a nice surprise with my 2nd round pick and then I got very lucky with selecting Adrian Peterson (the good A.P) in the 3rd round. Alexander turned out to be a bust all season long. However I felt like I could not bench him due to him being my #1 pick. Had I picked Addai my running backs would have looked like this: Addai - McGahee - Peterson. Not too bad.
Brady's Bunch made a trade four weeks into the season when we traded Peterson, Reggie Brown, and Big Ben for Peyton Manning, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Joey Galloway. At the time I felt as if this was a steal of a trade for me. Manning was the consensus #1 QB entering the year. Who was to say that Jones-Drew could not out perform a rookie running back the rest of the season? And Galloway became my #1 WR due to Andre Johnson going down with a knee.
Instead this happened: Manning lost Marvin Harrison and Big Ben has thrown more TD's so far. Peterson leads the league in rushing and might be the #1 pick in '08. Galloway had been unreliable at best but has been an improvement over Brown.
Would my team had been better if I did not make this trade? Hard to tell. I can tell you that my team has faced a very difficult schedule. That's the one special thing with fantasy football - you can't play defense. Technically you could post the 2nd highest score for the league every single week and not win a game. Now I know how LSU feels.
Anyways, Brady's Bunch was sitting at 3-6 not too long ago and feeling hopeless. However, after getting my team to sit down and watch Cool Runnings together, we have since reeled off four wins in a row, including beating the division leader last week to pull into a tie for first with just one week to go. Will my team keep the proverbial bobsled upright and race to the finish line with a medal? Or, will the sled crash heading into the final turn? Time will tell.
If Brady's Bunch wins (won't be easy this week) AND the team I'm tied with loses, then I'm in. It's that simple. I know you are all riveted by this, so I will keep you informed with how it goes. Back to business.
Congrats to Sara for going 10-6 last week and claiming the best record for week 13. The week 12 winner is not yet decided. Jeff and myself are still deadlocked after Arizona and New England both scored 27 points last week. This week we are taking a page out of Bizarro Seinfeld and picking the team that is going to score the least amount of points. Jeff went with the winless Dolphins while I'm backing the Carolina Panthers.
STANDINGS (after 13 weeks and one game)
1) Luke 115-78 (9-7)
2) Sara 106-87 (10-6)
3) Devin 101-92 (9-7)
4) Kevin 98-95 (6-10)
4) Jeff 98-95 (7-9)
6) Grothaus 96-97 (8-8)
6) Barnes 96-97 (8-8)
8) Bart 90-103 (6-10)
We're going straight through these picks (a strategy that seems to work in my favor of not talking about the games) and then leaving you with Jeff and Bart's thoughts. Enjoy.
Chicago @ Washington (-3) - Thursday Night
CHI: Devin, Kevin, Grothaus, Bart
WAS: Luke, Sara, Jeff, Barnes
Carolina @ Jacksonville (-10.5)
CAR: No one
JAX: Everyone
Dallas (-11) @ Detroit
DAL: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
DET: Bart
Miami @ Buffalo (-7)
MIA: Sara, Bart
BUF: Luke, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
New York Giants @ Philadelphia (-3)
NYG: Devin, Grothaus, Barnes
PHI: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Bart
Oakland @ Green Bay (-10.5)
OAK: Luke, Sara, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
GB: Devin, Kevin, Barnes
San Diego (-1) @ Tennessee
SD: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus
TEN: Sara, Kevin, Barnes, Bart
St. Louis @ Cincinnati (-7)
STL: Devin, Grothaus, Bart
CIN: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes
Tampa Bay (-3) @ Houston
TB: Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus
HOU: Luke, Barnes, Bart
Arizona @ Seattle (-7)
ARI: Grothaus
SEA: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes, Bart
Minnesota (-8.5) @ San Francisco
MIN: Everyone
SF: No one
Pittsburgh @ New England (-12)
PIT: Luke, Sara, Barnes, Bart
NE: Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus
Cleveland (-3.5) @ New York Jets
CLE: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
NYJ: Bart
Kansas City @ Denver (-6.5)
KC: Luke, Sara, Devin, Bart
DEN: Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Indianapolis (-9.5) @ Baltimore
IND: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
BAL: Sara, Kevin
New Orleans (-5) @ Atlanta
NO: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
ATL: Jeff
JEFF'S OUTLOOK FOR WEEK 14
"Jags keep rolling.
"Kitna won't have much to say after this game----Boys.
"Bills-but hoping Miami gets its first win today!
"Philly-the GMEN lost-barely but pulled out a win last week.
"Da Raiders---upset pick of the week.
"Go Chargers---help out the Brownies!
"Bungles--why--I have no clue--Palmer due for a good one?
"Bucs--Houston hurting without Schaub.
"Seattle--going to hit Warner's ribs--then Rattay at QB-yuk.
"Vikings getting better week by week.
"Pats--pound Pissburgh.
"Browns-a few makeup ref calls after last week would be nice.
"Denver but I don't like this call--KC could surprise.
"Colts-more dissension in Baltimore--I love it.
"Falcons-No BUSH in New Orleans."
BART'S THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK
"I am awful at picking games. I am in last place and none of my previous strategies have worked, so I have a new one. It is fairly low-level and I am already more confident in it than I am in trying to actually pick the games using logic. So here is, here is my new strategy for the rest of the year, it will save me time and thought. The first team listed is going to be heads on the quarter, the second team is going to be tails, which just happens to be a picture of a sailboat on the ocean in the foreground and a bridge in the background. I am not really sure why there is a random bridge in the middle of the ocean, but I will go with it because I am sure that someone out there knows more than me about bridges and oceans, I don’t claim to be an expert. Anyway that is my new strategy, it can’t go much worse than the old ones.
My thumb is now tired. Good luck to everyone except Barnes. Peace. Love. Turducken. Its two weeks late, I know."
There ya go. Enjoy week 14, we only have three more to go after this. GO BROWNS!!
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
The number one rule in Fantasy Football is you have to pick a creative name. Even if your team fails to win a game all season, you still get brownie points for picking the best name. I went with Brady's Bunch. It's a shout-out to Brady Quinn and the old television sitcom The Brady Bunch. I thought it would be perfect. Looking back I have no regrets over this name. My only fear is that I will get stuck using this name for my fantasy teams forever. Just yesterday I made a College Bowl pick'em entry and titled it Brady's Bunch. I need help.
With the fourth pick in our 12 team league Brady's Bunch selected Shaun Alexander instead of the guy I really wanted, Joseph Addai. It was a decision I would regret almost instantly. Ronnie Brown was a nice surprise with my 2nd round pick and then I got very lucky with selecting Adrian Peterson (the good A.P) in the 3rd round. Alexander turned out to be a bust all season long. However I felt like I could not bench him due to him being my #1 pick. Had I picked Addai my running backs would have looked like this: Addai - McGahee - Peterson. Not too bad.
Brady's Bunch made a trade four weeks into the season when we traded Peterson, Reggie Brown, and Big Ben for Peyton Manning, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Joey Galloway. At the time I felt as if this was a steal of a trade for me. Manning was the consensus #1 QB entering the year. Who was to say that Jones-Drew could not out perform a rookie running back the rest of the season? And Galloway became my #1 WR due to Andre Johnson going down with a knee.
Instead this happened: Manning lost Marvin Harrison and Big Ben has thrown more TD's so far. Peterson leads the league in rushing and might be the #1 pick in '08. Galloway had been unreliable at best but has been an improvement over Brown.
Would my team had been better if I did not make this trade? Hard to tell. I can tell you that my team has faced a very difficult schedule. That's the one special thing with fantasy football - you can't play defense. Technically you could post the 2nd highest score for the league every single week and not win a game. Now I know how LSU feels.
Anyways, Brady's Bunch was sitting at 3-6 not too long ago and feeling hopeless. However, after getting my team to sit down and watch Cool Runnings together, we have since reeled off four wins in a row, including beating the division leader last week to pull into a tie for first with just one week to go. Will my team keep the proverbial bobsled upright and race to the finish line with a medal? Or, will the sled crash heading into the final turn? Time will tell.
If Brady's Bunch wins (won't be easy this week) AND the team I'm tied with loses, then I'm in. It's that simple. I know you are all riveted by this, so I will keep you informed with how it goes. Back to business.
Congrats to Sara for going 10-6 last week and claiming the best record for week 13. The week 12 winner is not yet decided. Jeff and myself are still deadlocked after Arizona and New England both scored 27 points last week. This week we are taking a page out of Bizarro Seinfeld and picking the team that is going to score the least amount of points. Jeff went with the winless Dolphins while I'm backing the Carolina Panthers.
STANDINGS (after 13 weeks and one game)
1) Luke 115-78 (9-7)
2) Sara 106-87 (10-6)
3) Devin 101-92 (9-7)
4) Kevin 98-95 (6-10)
4) Jeff 98-95 (7-9)
6) Grothaus 96-97 (8-8)
6) Barnes 96-97 (8-8)
8) Bart 90-103 (6-10)
We're going straight through these picks (a strategy that seems to work in my favor of not talking about the games) and then leaving you with Jeff and Bart's thoughts. Enjoy.
Chicago @ Washington (-3) - Thursday Night
CHI: Devin, Kevin, Grothaus, Bart
WAS: Luke, Sara, Jeff, Barnes
Carolina @ Jacksonville (-10.5)
CAR: No one
JAX: Everyone
Dallas (-11) @ Detroit
DAL: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
DET: Bart
Miami @ Buffalo (-7)
MIA: Sara, Bart
BUF: Luke, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
New York Giants @ Philadelphia (-3)
NYG: Devin, Grothaus, Barnes
PHI: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Bart
Oakland @ Green Bay (-10.5)
OAK: Luke, Sara, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
GB: Devin, Kevin, Barnes
San Diego (-1) @ Tennessee
SD: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus
TEN: Sara, Kevin, Barnes, Bart
St. Louis @ Cincinnati (-7)
STL: Devin, Grothaus, Bart
CIN: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes
Tampa Bay (-3) @ Houston
TB: Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus
HOU: Luke, Barnes, Bart
Arizona @ Seattle (-7)
ARI: Grothaus
SEA: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes, Bart
Minnesota (-8.5) @ San Francisco
MIN: Everyone
SF: No one
Pittsburgh @ New England (-12)
PIT: Luke, Sara, Barnes, Bart
NE: Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus
Cleveland (-3.5) @ New York Jets
CLE: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
NYJ: Bart
Kansas City @ Denver (-6.5)
KC: Luke, Sara, Devin, Bart
DEN: Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Indianapolis (-9.5) @ Baltimore
IND: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
BAL: Sara, Kevin
New Orleans (-5) @ Atlanta
NO: Luke, Sara, Devin, Kevin, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
ATL: Jeff
JEFF'S OUTLOOK FOR WEEK 14
"Jags keep rolling.
"Kitna won't have much to say after this game----Boys.
"Bills-but hoping Miami gets its first win today!
"Philly-the GMEN lost-barely but pulled out a win last week.
"Da Raiders---upset pick of the week.
"Go Chargers---help out the Brownies!
"Bungles--why--I have no clue--Palmer due for a good one?
"Bucs--Houston hurting without Schaub.
"Seattle--going to hit Warner's ribs--then Rattay at QB-yuk.
"Vikings getting better week by week.
"Pats--pound Pissburgh.
"Browns-a few makeup ref calls after last week would be nice.
"Denver but I don't like this call--KC could surprise.
"Colts-more dissension in Baltimore--I love it.
"Falcons-No BUSH in New Orleans."
BART'S THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK
"I am awful at picking games. I am in last place and none of my previous strategies have worked, so I have a new one. It is fairly low-level and I am already more confident in it than I am in trying to actually pick the games using logic. So here is, here is my new strategy for the rest of the year, it will save me time and thought. The first team listed is going to be heads on the quarter, the second team is going to be tails, which just happens to be a picture of a sailboat on the ocean in the foreground and a bridge in the background. I am not really sure why there is a random bridge in the middle of the ocean, but I will go with it because I am sure that someone out there knows more than me about bridges and oceans, I don’t claim to be an expert. Anyway that is my new strategy, it can’t go much worse than the old ones.
My thumb is now tired. Good luck to everyone except Barnes. Peace. Love. Turducken. Its two weeks late, I know."
There ya go. Enjoy week 14, we only have three more to go after this. GO BROWNS!!
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
Thursday, December 06, 2007
I Was Scurred (Thoughts from ARI-CLE)
It’s been 96 hours since the event took place, but I think I’m finally ready to talk about the Browns-Cardinals game from last Sunday. I promised to do a running blog (which I did start but could not finish) and failed miserably. It was like being a Buckeyes fan during last year’s National Championship game. It started out great, but before I knew it, I was done. I was just not ready to do a Browns running blog. It was so bad that it took me until now before I could finally talk about the game. I’m over it now, and instead decided to just throw out some thoughts and observations from last week’s contest.
1) I picked Arizona in our pick’em league, so I had low expectations going into the game. Three things in particular flat out scared me about this game.
a) It was a road game - All season long Cleveland has struggled in road contests. They trailed Oakland 16-0 late in the 1st half before Joshua Cribbs went 99 yards for a kick-off return TD. They were shut out in the 1st half (20-0) against the Patriots with Derek Anderson throwing three INT’s. The winless Rams took an early 14-0 lead in week eight. It hasn’t always been a sluggish start either that has hurt the Browns. They had a 21-6 lead late in the 1st half against Pittsburgh but failed to score on offense for the remainder of the game, losing 31-28 in regulation. Baltimore scored 16 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to take a 30-27 lead with under a minute to go.
Yes the Browns could have easily won the Raiders game if Dawson’s field goal doesn’t get blocked. Yes they were only ten points down to New England with just a minute remaining in the game. Yes they came back and beat the Rams. Yes they won the Baltimore game in miraculous fashion. However, this doesn’t take away from the fact that Cleveland has, at times, been downright awful on the road. Enter Arizona. Like I said, I was scurred.
b) Too much playoff talk - I’ll admit, these Browns have exceeded expectations by about the same margin that Ronald Reagan pummeled Walter Mondale in the 1984 U.S Presidential Election (see I did pay attention during History class). Cleveland entered this Cardinals game with a 7-4 record including having won five of their last six. They were just one game back of a Pittsburgh team who still had to face New England. People were talking about how easy the Browns schedule was and how they should end up 12-4.
First of all, an easy schedule is only EASY if you take advantage of it. Yes, Cleveland doesn’t have to play Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, New England, Jacksonville, Tennessee, or San Diego, but that doesn’t mean they are going to have an easy time winning ball games either. Remember, this is the Any Given Sunday league. Nothing comes easy. The only team I would be SHOCKED to see lose would be the Patriots. The only team I would be SHOCKED to see win are the Dolphins. Everything else is up for grabs.
c) The Cardinals were facing a “must-win” game - Arizona lost a heartbreaker at home in overtime against the pitiful 49ers and entered the Browns game with a 5-6 record. The Cardinals were two games behind Seattle and a loss would have put them three games back with just four to play (in other words, they would have lost a chance to win their division). Also, as we currently stand there are five NFC teams with a 5-7 record. Three NFC teams boast a 6-6 record (including the Cardinals). Another loss to Cleveland would have meant they would be sitting at 5-7 with FIVE other teams, making it very difficult to climb into the playoffs.
It’s easy to sit here after the fact and pinpoint all of these reasons why I was afraid of this game, but these honestly were my feelings entering this week thirteen match-up. I’ve been wrong before (see Eric Wedge and the ‘07 Indians) but, unfortunately for me and the Browns, I was not wrong this time.
Back to the game itself.
2) Arizona did a great job of neutralizing Joshua Cribbs. Neil Rackers just did not kick to him. Yes the Browns usually started with great field position as a result, but you could get a sense that Cleveland was not able to maximize their weapons as well.
I got the feeling that Cribbs was starting to press as a result. That’s the only reasoning I could find after his muffed punt-fumble sequence. He didn’t have to catch that punt, but maybe, just maybe, he was trying to do too much. Cribbs did come through later with that brilliant two-point conversion play.
3) Too many turnovers. You just can’t expect to win any game in the NFL when you turn the ball over four times. It just doesn’t work that way. It’s amazing that they still had a chance to win in the closing seconds.
4) When you have a bend but don’t break defense it’s very hard to play catch up. Cleveland’s defense is not very effective at getting three and outs. Instead they are much better at letting the opposition drive down the field and then kick a field goal. When you are behind, like the Browns were all game, this works against you. It means that your offense has to basically score a TD every single possession, especially if it’s in the 2nd half. The Browns were not able to gain enough ground and ended up losing by six.
5) This team is young and at times immature. Leigh Bodden kicking the ball after the defense got a key stop, allowing Arizona to continue the drive and eventually score a touchdown. Simon Fraser with the head-butt after Cleveland had decent field position on their last drive of the game. It’s not just the young guys either. Jamal Lewis spiked the ball during the Ravens game which drew a fine and a 15 yard penalty. Great teams, scratch that, playoff teams don’t do that. Those need to stop now.
6) The referees were not very good handling replays throughout the entire game. They messed up Sean Jones’ INT (when the ball clearly hit the ground AND moved) and Braylon Edwards’ TD (he was clearly touched on the side before he hit the ground). Also, what took them so long on the Winslow play at the end of the game? They took a good five minutes trying to determine if Winslow got two feet in when it was completely obvious that it was not even close. Just a poor effort across the board.
7) In the long run this game should not kill the Browns. Let’s try not to overreact here. The Browns are sitting at 7-5 with four games remaining. If Cleveland can win both games at home (BUF + SF) while gaining a split on the road (NYJ + CIN) then they will end up at 10-6 and have a great look at reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Did I mention it would be the first time they reached double digit wins since 1994? I had just turned nine.
8) Not everything was bad. Here were the highlights for Cleveland last week.
a) That goal line stand late in the game by the Browns defense. It was a MUST that Arizona only get a field goal to give Cleveland a chance to win the game. Anybody else have flashbacks of the Falcons game five years ago? I couldn’t have been the only one.
b) Kevin Hunt sending me text messages after every key play.
- “Just so you know that play alone made me crack open a Keystone … BALLS!!” (referring to the Anderson INT returned for a TD)
- “This team is full of frickin idiots. Helmets, spikes and now kicks. They might have seven wins but they’re still idiots (you should know what play he is talking about here).
- “What in the hell just happened?” (pick a play)
c) That two-point conversion to pull Cleveland within three at the end of the third quarter. I was screaming for the Browns to just kick the extra point. I felt that there was too much time left in the contest to play the numbers game. I’m a believer in not going for two until you absolutely have to. However, if you have a play like the Browns did (one that the defense had not seen yet - and if all goes well should get you the conversion) then by all means, do it to it. Straight out of Adam Sandler’s The Longest Yard the Browns fooled the Cardinals and were just down 21-18 entering the fourth quarter.
d) Braylon Edwards. He is emerging into a star. He had great presence to keep running on that bomb at the end of the third quarter. He was going to keep running until someone told him not to (kind of like with his mouth last year).
e) The loss was against an NFC team. At this point in the season, with only four games remaining, it doesn’t hurt to sneak a look at the possible tiebreakers for the AFC Wild Card spot. Conference record is the 2nd tiebreaker if the two tied teams did not play each other. Cleveland is not playing either Jacksonville or Tennessee this year. Which means, even though it was a loss, it could have been worse, like this upcoming week against the New York Jets.
Go Browns.
Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”
1) I picked Arizona in our pick’em league, so I had low expectations going into the game. Three things in particular flat out scared me about this game.
a) It was a road game - All season long Cleveland has struggled in road contests. They trailed Oakland 16-0 late in the 1st half before Joshua Cribbs went 99 yards for a kick-off return TD. They were shut out in the 1st half (20-0) against the Patriots with Derek Anderson throwing three INT’s. The winless Rams took an early 14-0 lead in week eight. It hasn’t always been a sluggish start either that has hurt the Browns. They had a 21-6 lead late in the 1st half against Pittsburgh but failed to score on offense for the remainder of the game, losing 31-28 in regulation. Baltimore scored 16 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to take a 30-27 lead with under a minute to go.
Yes the Browns could have easily won the Raiders game if Dawson’s field goal doesn’t get blocked. Yes they were only ten points down to New England with just a minute remaining in the game. Yes they came back and beat the Rams. Yes they won the Baltimore game in miraculous fashion. However, this doesn’t take away from the fact that Cleveland has, at times, been downright awful on the road. Enter Arizona. Like I said, I was scurred.
b) Too much playoff talk - I’ll admit, these Browns have exceeded expectations by about the same margin that Ronald Reagan pummeled Walter Mondale in the 1984 U.S Presidential Election (see I did pay attention during History class). Cleveland entered this Cardinals game with a 7-4 record including having won five of their last six. They were just one game back of a Pittsburgh team who still had to face New England. People were talking about how easy the Browns schedule was and how they should end up 12-4.
First of all, an easy schedule is only EASY if you take advantage of it. Yes, Cleveland doesn’t have to play Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, New England, Jacksonville, Tennessee, or San Diego, but that doesn’t mean they are going to have an easy time winning ball games either. Remember, this is the Any Given Sunday league. Nothing comes easy. The only team I would be SHOCKED to see lose would be the Patriots. The only team I would be SHOCKED to see win are the Dolphins. Everything else is up for grabs.
c) The Cardinals were facing a “must-win” game - Arizona lost a heartbreaker at home in overtime against the pitiful 49ers and entered the Browns game with a 5-6 record. The Cardinals were two games behind Seattle and a loss would have put them three games back with just four to play (in other words, they would have lost a chance to win their division). Also, as we currently stand there are five NFC teams with a 5-7 record. Three NFC teams boast a 6-6 record (including the Cardinals). Another loss to Cleveland would have meant they would be sitting at 5-7 with FIVE other teams, making it very difficult to climb into the playoffs.
It’s easy to sit here after the fact and pinpoint all of these reasons why I was afraid of this game, but these honestly were my feelings entering this week thirteen match-up. I’ve been wrong before (see Eric Wedge and the ‘07 Indians) but, unfortunately for me and the Browns, I was not wrong this time.
Back to the game itself.
2) Arizona did a great job of neutralizing Joshua Cribbs. Neil Rackers just did not kick to him. Yes the Browns usually started with great field position as a result, but you could get a sense that Cleveland was not able to maximize their weapons as well.
I got the feeling that Cribbs was starting to press as a result. That’s the only reasoning I could find after his muffed punt-fumble sequence. He didn’t have to catch that punt, but maybe, just maybe, he was trying to do too much. Cribbs did come through later with that brilliant two-point conversion play.
3) Too many turnovers. You just can’t expect to win any game in the NFL when you turn the ball over four times. It just doesn’t work that way. It’s amazing that they still had a chance to win in the closing seconds.
4) When you have a bend but don’t break defense it’s very hard to play catch up. Cleveland’s defense is not very effective at getting three and outs. Instead they are much better at letting the opposition drive down the field and then kick a field goal. When you are behind, like the Browns were all game, this works against you. It means that your offense has to basically score a TD every single possession, especially if it’s in the 2nd half. The Browns were not able to gain enough ground and ended up losing by six.
5) This team is young and at times immature. Leigh Bodden kicking the ball after the defense got a key stop, allowing Arizona to continue the drive and eventually score a touchdown. Simon Fraser with the head-butt after Cleveland had decent field position on their last drive of the game. It’s not just the young guys either. Jamal Lewis spiked the ball during the Ravens game which drew a fine and a 15 yard penalty. Great teams, scratch that, playoff teams don’t do that. Those need to stop now.
6) The referees were not very good handling replays throughout the entire game. They messed up Sean Jones’ INT (when the ball clearly hit the ground AND moved) and Braylon Edwards’ TD (he was clearly touched on the side before he hit the ground). Also, what took them so long on the Winslow play at the end of the game? They took a good five minutes trying to determine if Winslow got two feet in when it was completely obvious that it was not even close. Just a poor effort across the board.
7) In the long run this game should not kill the Browns. Let’s try not to overreact here. The Browns are sitting at 7-5 with four games remaining. If Cleveland can win both games at home (BUF + SF) while gaining a split on the road (NYJ + CIN) then they will end up at 10-6 and have a great look at reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Did I mention it would be the first time they reached double digit wins since 1994? I had just turned nine.
8) Not everything was bad. Here were the highlights for Cleveland last week.
a) That goal line stand late in the game by the Browns defense. It was a MUST that Arizona only get a field goal to give Cleveland a chance to win the game. Anybody else have flashbacks of the Falcons game five years ago? I couldn’t have been the only one.
b) Kevin Hunt sending me text messages after every key play.
- “Just so you know that play alone made me crack open a Keystone … BALLS!!” (referring to the Anderson INT returned for a TD)
- “This team is full of frickin idiots. Helmets, spikes and now kicks. They might have seven wins but they’re still idiots (you should know what play he is talking about here).
- “What in the hell just happened?” (pick a play)
c) That two-point conversion to pull Cleveland within three at the end of the third quarter. I was screaming for the Browns to just kick the extra point. I felt that there was too much time left in the contest to play the numbers game. I’m a believer in not going for two until you absolutely have to. However, if you have a play like the Browns did (one that the defense had not seen yet - and if all goes well should get you the conversion) then by all means, do it to it. Straight out of Adam Sandler’s The Longest Yard the Browns fooled the Cardinals and were just down 21-18 entering the fourth quarter.
d) Braylon Edwards. He is emerging into a star. He had great presence to keep running on that bomb at the end of the third quarter. He was going to keep running until someone told him not to (kind of like with his mouth last year).
e) The loss was against an NFC team. At this point in the season, with only four games remaining, it doesn’t hurt to sneak a look at the possible tiebreakers for the AFC Wild Card spot. Conference record is the 2nd tiebreaker if the two tied teams did not play each other. Cleveland is not playing either Jacksonville or Tennessee this year. Which means, even though it was a loss, it could have been worse, like this upcoming week against the New York Jets.
Go Browns.
Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”
Sunday, December 02, 2007
2007 NFL Picks Week Thirteen
If college football is any indication for what we are in store with the remainding five weeks of NFL then Bart is going to wind up winning this whole pick'em thing. What a crazy Saturday that was fitting indeed for what was a ridiculous college football season from the very beginning.
Not only is it possible but now it is probable that a two-loss team will be playing for the national championship. Will that two-loss team be LSU, USC, Georgia, or dare I say Virginia Tech? I honestly have no idea and I really don't care. This is exactly what I wanted. I was rooting for Pittsburgh and Oklahoma last night and, at least for me, Christmas came early this year. Unbelievable.
Now, back to business. I don't plan on writing too much this week due to my running blog of today's Browns game. I practiced with two meaningless games and now I'm ready for the big time. A Cleveland Browns game. Saddle up and ride.
I'm on a two-week hiatus from these picks so I have a little bit of catching up to do. In Week 11 we saw the Browns win an improbable game against the Ravens and we saw myself post the best-ever record for a 16 game week. I went 13-3 and stretched my lead over Sara to nine games. Grothaus went 11-5 in week 11 to pull himself out of the cellar. Week 12 was not as exciting from the Browns perspective, but I was in attendance along with my dad and the Hunt's to watch Cleveland beat the Texans. Gus Johnson was on the call and I cannot wait to watch that on tape. Barnes, Jeff, and myself all went 10-6 last week setting us up where we currently sit. The standings reflect the 12 weeks we have completed thus far as well as the GB-Dal game on Thursday night. Devin, Bart, and Jeff were the only three to pick the Cowboys.
STANDINGS (after 12 weeks and one game)
1) Luke 105-72 (10-6)
2) Sara 95-82 (9-7)
3) Devin 93-84 (8-8)
4) Kevin 92-85 (7-9)
5) Jeff 91-86 (10-6)
6) Grothaus 88-89 (8-8)
7) Barnes 87-90 (10-6)
8) Bart 85-92 (5-11)
The tiebreaker question for week 12 was to guess the highest point total from the week 13 games. I was looking for a number but Barnes said he was picking Cleveland. I couldn't pass this opportunity up so we're going to switch it to teams instead of numbers. Jeff did not pick a team or a number so he gets Arizona. I'm picking the Patriots. Highest scoring team wins.
Oh, and I thought I would go ahead and get this out of the way early.
Kevin's Ballbuster Pick of the Week (2-5): Miami
The Ballbuster returns and he picks the winless Dolphins. Welcome to the life of Kevin Hunt my friends.
Onto the picks. We're being very brief here today and saving most of my time for the Browns-Cardinals blog. God help me.
Atlanta @ St. Louis (-4.5)
Bulger is not playing but there is no way I'm backing the Falcons on the road. Expect Steven Jackson to finally perform like the top three fantasy RB he was supposed to be all season today. Pick: St. Louis
ATL: Bart
STL: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Buffalo @ Washington (-6)
Tough one to pick here. Will the Redskins play inspired football in memory of Sean Taylor? Or will they flop after a very long and frustrating week? I have no idea. That's why I'm taking the points. Pick: Buffalo
BUF: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Bart
WAS: Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Detroit @ Minnesota (-3.5)
Detroit plays bad football on the road and good football at home. However they have failed to cover their last two home contests and I expect them now to play better on the road. I can't believe I'm doing this, but here goes nothing ... Pick: Detroit
DET: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Bart
MIN: Sara, Devin, Grothaus, Barnes
Houston @ Tennessee (-4)
This one all comes down to one player. Albert Haynesworth IS playing. The Titans will shut down Dayne and win this one convincingly to get back on track. Pick: Tennessee
HOU: Sara, Devin, Grothaus, Bart
TEN: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis (-7)
This is the biggest game of the day as far as the AFC is concerned. The Jags remind me of the Browns who always seem to have trouble beating the Steelers. Well, the Jags always seem to have trouble beating the Colts. I expect a close game but as far as Brady's Bunch is concerned, we need Peyton to win this one in a rout. Pick: Jacksonville
JAX: Luke, Sara, Devin
IND: Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
New York Jets @ Miami (-1)
How bad do the Jets feel right now? Underdogs to a winless team in week thirteen? That's ridiculous. This is one of those games where I feel the oddsmakers know something I don't. I would have thought the Jets to be favored or at the very least a straight up pick'em. For that reason only I'm taking the Dolphins. (It's like I'm trying to blow this lead) Pick: Miami
NYJ: Sara, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
MIA: Luke, Kevin, Devin
San Diego (-5) @ Kansas City
Taking the Chargers. I don't know why. In fact I KNOW I'm going to lose this one. Norv Turner works in mysterious ways. Pick: San Diego
SD: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
KC: Bart
Seattle @ Philadelphia (-3)
I wonder how many teams Shane Falco could start for? Would the Eagles be one of them? I mean McNabb's days are numbered there. Who better to "replace" McNabb than Falco? I also wonder how prison is treating the Reid boys? From what I heard it's better than living at their home. Pick: Seattle
SEA: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
PHI: Sara, Kevin, Barnes
San Francisco @ Carolina (-3)
Falco could start for BOTH of these teams. Pick: Carolina
SF: Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
CAR: Luke, Devin
Cleveland @ Arizona (-1)
This game scares me as a Browns fan. I really like this Browns team, but they have struggled on the road ALL season long. I hope I'm wrong with this pick ... Pick: Arizona
CLE: Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Barnes, Bart
ARI: Luke, Grothaus
Denver (-3) @ Oakland
I'm bringing back the Boring Game of the Week. This one takes first place. Pick: Denver
DEN: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
OAK: Bart
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-3)
This is a pretty big game for the Bucs. They won't be playing with Jeff Garcia (the modern day Shane Falco) which will hurt them. Pick: New Orleans
TB: Sara, Bart
NO: Luke, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
New York Giants (-2) @ Chicago
Don't know how many of you were watching this, but after the Mizz-OK game was out of hand late last night Brent Musberger could not stop talking about this NFL match-up. Your guess is as good as mind. I hope he retires soon. Pick: New York Giants
NYG: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
CHI: Bart
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh (-7)
Pittsburgh has done nothing to impress me the last several weeks. Cincy on the other hand, well they put up 35 last week. I like what I see here. This Bengal team is going to be a tough match-up for everyone these last five weeks. Pick: Cincinnati
CIN: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Bart
PIT: Sara, Kevin, Grothaus, Barnes
New England (-20.5) @ Baltimore
The Patriots are the biggest road favorite in the history of the NFL this week. The scary part is that I only think they need to put up 24 to cover this one. After a tough game this week, Belichick will be ready to pounce. Pick: New England
NE: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
BAL: Sara, Devin, Barnes
Jeff's Thoughts for the NFL - Week 13 Style
"St. Louis-Still better than Atlanta even without Bulger.
"Washington-playing their hearts out for Sean Taylor.
"Detroit-I hate betting against Minnesota but I don't trust them.
"Tennessee comes back from the embarrising Bengals loss.
"Indy-Marvelous Marvin to the rescue.
"Jets-Miami could have scored on the Steelers and let em off the hook---go Jets.
"San Diego--Chiefs getting better but the Chargers need this one big time.
"Seattle--Philly left it all on the table against the Patriots.
"San Fran--Gore picking up the yards lately.
"Cleveland--hope no let down in the desert, Browns defensive secondary the key.
"Denver--Oakland improving but not enough today.
"Saints--Jeff Garcia is that important? I guess so.
"Gmen---I lose all the time on them--might as well keep it up.
"Bengals---yeah I am saying my prayers on this one--Browns always need help.
"Patriots-thought about picking the Ravens like I did the Eagles but the Ravens can't score!"
Thanks Jeff!!
Okay, that wraps it up for this week. If you would like to contribute at all to my Browns-Cardinals running blog then either send me an IM during the game or a text message. On behalf of everyone here in this pick'em league I hope that Sara did well on her LSAT she took recently. Best of luck to everyone this week and GO BROWNS!!
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
Not only is it possible but now it is probable that a two-loss team will be playing for the national championship. Will that two-loss team be LSU, USC, Georgia, or dare I say Virginia Tech? I honestly have no idea and I really don't care. This is exactly what I wanted. I was rooting for Pittsburgh and Oklahoma last night and, at least for me, Christmas came early this year. Unbelievable.
Now, back to business. I don't plan on writing too much this week due to my running blog of today's Browns game. I practiced with two meaningless games and now I'm ready for the big time. A Cleveland Browns game. Saddle up and ride.
I'm on a two-week hiatus from these picks so I have a little bit of catching up to do. In Week 11 we saw the Browns win an improbable game against the Ravens and we saw myself post the best-ever record for a 16 game week. I went 13-3 and stretched my lead over Sara to nine games. Grothaus went 11-5 in week 11 to pull himself out of the cellar. Week 12 was not as exciting from the Browns perspective, but I was in attendance along with my dad and the Hunt's to watch Cleveland beat the Texans. Gus Johnson was on the call and I cannot wait to watch that on tape. Barnes, Jeff, and myself all went 10-6 last week setting us up where we currently sit. The standings reflect the 12 weeks we have completed thus far as well as the GB-Dal game on Thursday night. Devin, Bart, and Jeff were the only three to pick the Cowboys.
STANDINGS (after 12 weeks and one game)
1) Luke 105-72 (10-6)
2) Sara 95-82 (9-7)
3) Devin 93-84 (8-8)
4) Kevin 92-85 (7-9)
5) Jeff 91-86 (10-6)
6) Grothaus 88-89 (8-8)
7) Barnes 87-90 (10-6)
8) Bart 85-92 (5-11)
The tiebreaker question for week 12 was to guess the highest point total from the week 13 games. I was looking for a number but Barnes said he was picking Cleveland. I couldn't pass this opportunity up so we're going to switch it to teams instead of numbers. Jeff did not pick a team or a number so he gets Arizona. I'm picking the Patriots. Highest scoring team wins.
Oh, and I thought I would go ahead and get this out of the way early.
Kevin's Ballbuster Pick of the Week (2-5): Miami
The Ballbuster returns and he picks the winless Dolphins. Welcome to the life of Kevin Hunt my friends.
Onto the picks. We're being very brief here today and saving most of my time for the Browns-Cardinals blog. God help me.
Atlanta @ St. Louis (-4.5)
Bulger is not playing but there is no way I'm backing the Falcons on the road. Expect Steven Jackson to finally perform like the top three fantasy RB he was supposed to be all season today. Pick: St. Louis
ATL: Bart
STL: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Buffalo @ Washington (-6)
Tough one to pick here. Will the Redskins play inspired football in memory of Sean Taylor? Or will they flop after a very long and frustrating week? I have no idea. That's why I'm taking the points. Pick: Buffalo
BUF: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Bart
WAS: Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Detroit @ Minnesota (-3.5)
Detroit plays bad football on the road and good football at home. However they have failed to cover their last two home contests and I expect them now to play better on the road. I can't believe I'm doing this, but here goes nothing ... Pick: Detroit
DET: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Bart
MIN: Sara, Devin, Grothaus, Barnes
Houston @ Tennessee (-4)
This one all comes down to one player. Albert Haynesworth IS playing. The Titans will shut down Dayne and win this one convincingly to get back on track. Pick: Tennessee
HOU: Sara, Devin, Grothaus, Bart
TEN: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis (-7)
This is the biggest game of the day as far as the AFC is concerned. The Jags remind me of the Browns who always seem to have trouble beating the Steelers. Well, the Jags always seem to have trouble beating the Colts. I expect a close game but as far as Brady's Bunch is concerned, we need Peyton to win this one in a rout. Pick: Jacksonville
JAX: Luke, Sara, Devin
IND: Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
New York Jets @ Miami (-1)
How bad do the Jets feel right now? Underdogs to a winless team in week thirteen? That's ridiculous. This is one of those games where I feel the oddsmakers know something I don't. I would have thought the Jets to be favored or at the very least a straight up pick'em. For that reason only I'm taking the Dolphins. (It's like I'm trying to blow this lead) Pick: Miami
NYJ: Sara, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
MIA: Luke, Kevin, Devin
San Diego (-5) @ Kansas City
Taking the Chargers. I don't know why. In fact I KNOW I'm going to lose this one. Norv Turner works in mysterious ways. Pick: San Diego
SD: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
KC: Bart
Seattle @ Philadelphia (-3)
I wonder how many teams Shane Falco could start for? Would the Eagles be one of them? I mean McNabb's days are numbered there. Who better to "replace" McNabb than Falco? I also wonder how prison is treating the Reid boys? From what I heard it's better than living at their home. Pick: Seattle
SEA: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
PHI: Sara, Kevin, Barnes
San Francisco @ Carolina (-3)
Falco could start for BOTH of these teams. Pick: Carolina
SF: Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
CAR: Luke, Devin
Cleveland @ Arizona (-1)
This game scares me as a Browns fan. I really like this Browns team, but they have struggled on the road ALL season long. I hope I'm wrong with this pick ... Pick: Arizona
CLE: Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Barnes, Bart
ARI: Luke, Grothaus
Denver (-3) @ Oakland
I'm bringing back the Boring Game of the Week. This one takes first place. Pick: Denver
DEN: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
OAK: Bart
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-3)
This is a pretty big game for the Bucs. They won't be playing with Jeff Garcia (the modern day Shane Falco) which will hurt them. Pick: New Orleans
TB: Sara, Bart
NO: Luke, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
New York Giants (-2) @ Chicago
Don't know how many of you were watching this, but after the Mizz-OK game was out of hand late last night Brent Musberger could not stop talking about this NFL match-up. Your guess is as good as mind. I hope he retires soon. Pick: New York Giants
NYG: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
CHI: Bart
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh (-7)
Pittsburgh has done nothing to impress me the last several weeks. Cincy on the other hand, well they put up 35 last week. I like what I see here. This Bengal team is going to be a tough match-up for everyone these last five weeks. Pick: Cincinnati
CIN: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Bart
PIT: Sara, Kevin, Grothaus, Barnes
New England (-20.5) @ Baltimore
The Patriots are the biggest road favorite in the history of the NFL this week. The scary part is that I only think they need to put up 24 to cover this one. After a tough game this week, Belichick will be ready to pounce. Pick: New England
NE: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
BAL: Sara, Devin, Barnes
This week we didn't have Bart's Thoughts of the Week so instead, we are going to have Jeff's Thoughts instead. He always comes through each and every week with a comment for every game. This is what he had on his mind this week.
Jeff's Thoughts for the NFL - Week 13 Style
"St. Louis-Still better than Atlanta even without Bulger.
"Washington-playing their hearts out for Sean Taylor.
"Detroit-I hate betting against Minnesota but I don't trust them.
"Tennessee comes back from the embarrising Bengals loss.
"Indy-Marvelous Marvin to the rescue.
"Jets-Miami could have scored on the Steelers and let em off the hook---go Jets.
"San Diego--Chiefs getting better but the Chargers need this one big time.
"Seattle--Philly left it all on the table against the Patriots.
"San Fran--Gore picking up the yards lately.
"Cleveland--hope no let down in the desert, Browns defensive secondary the key.
"Denver--Oakland improving but not enough today.
"Saints--Jeff Garcia is that important? I guess so.
"Gmen---I lose all the time on them--might as well keep it up.
"Bengals---yeah I am saying my prayers on this one--Browns always need help.
"Patriots-thought about picking the Ravens like I did the Eagles but the Ravens can't score!"
Thanks Jeff!!
Okay, that wraps it up for this week. If you would like to contribute at all to my Browns-Cardinals running blog then either send me an IM during the game or a text message. On behalf of everyone here in this pick'em league I hope that Sara did well on her LSAT she took recently. Best of luck to everyone this week and GO BROWNS!!
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tennessee @ Denver - Running Blog
“I have no words.”
Whether it be on the playground, in the bars, or on television, I’ve seen plenty of crazy things in my lifetime. However, what transpired after the closing seconds of last Sunday’s Cleveland-Baltimore game goes straight to the top of my Insane/Unbelievable/Crazy/Surreal/
Ridiculous/Bizarre list. As the referees discussed whether Phil Dawson’s game tying 51-yard field goal actually DID go through the goal post I sat at Hunt’s house and the only thing I could muster was, “I have no words.”
Think about it though. I mean as a Browns fan I’ve seen some insane endings to football games but for one game to automatically go right to the top left me in sheer amazement.
Here are just a few of some games that only the Browns could be involved in.
- Opening Week, 2002 -
The Cleveland Browns kicked off 2002 with a home contest against the Kansas City Chiefs. In a defensive struggle, the Browns held on to a 39-37 lead with just 10 seconds remaining. Browns linebacker Dwayne Rudd, thinking he had made the game ending sack, celebrated prematurely by throwing off his helmet. The play was not over and the unsportsmanlike penalty set up the Chiefs to kick the game-winning field goal with no time on the clock.
- December 16, 2001 -
The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Cleveland Browns Stadium in mid December for an important AFC game. The Browns entered the game with a 6-6 record and needed a win badly to keep their playoff aspirations alive. Trailing 15-10 with under one minute to go and facing a fourth and two deep in Jacksonville territory, Cleveland quarterback Tim Couch completed a first down pass to Quincy Morgan. Cleveland then raced to the line and spiked the ball to stop the clock. However the referees declared that they had been “buzzed” from the replay official in the press box to review the 4th down play. The play was overturned even though Cleveland had seemed to get another play off, which would go against league rules. Outraged that their playoff dreams were now over and bitter about getting “screwed” by the referees, Cleveland fans began throwing beer bottles onto the field. It got to the point that the head referee ended the game with 50 seconds still left on the clock. The NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told the referees that they had to finish the game, so, everyone ran back onto the field and again got pounded with beer bottles.
- September 29, 2002 -
Cleveland traveled to Pittsburgh for an early AFC North showdown. Cleveland was able to rebound from the Dwayne Rudd helmet incident by winning their next two games. Sitting at 2-1, the Browns faced the winless Steelers. The score was tied at 13 after regulation and sent into overtime. The Steelers won the toss but Pittsburgh QB Tommy Maddox was intercepted by Andra Davis. Phil Dawson had a chance to win the game, but he missed on a 45-yard field goal. Pittsburgh marched down the field and attempted a 31-yard field goal. The Browns were able to block the attempt and it seemed would get another shot on offense. However, the Steelers recovered the block and the referees ruled that since the kick happened on third down AND the ball never crossed the line of scrimmage that the Steelers would get another shot at it. Well, they were successful on the 2nd attempt and the Steelers had their first of 10 wins on the season AND the first of their 3 wins against the Browns in 2002 alone.
And then yesterday happened.
"It's about time this organization and this franchise got a call." - Cleveland kicker Phil Dawson.
I could not agree more.
It has not been easy to be a Cleveland Browns fan, coach, or player recently. They/We deserved this. For one time, the Browns got a call. It was the correct call, BUT, the important thing was that the Browns got it.
It’s difficult to call this game a springboard to anything (that can only be determined until the season is over), but one thing is certain - IF the Browns make the playoffs then we can all look back at that one play and say it was the turning point. There’s a HUGE difference from being 6-4 and being on a two game losing streak at 5-5.
Sure the Browns have problems. Besides the Patriots every team has them. Cleveland has a defense that really does not stop anyone. However, entering Thanksgiving they are 6-4 (their best record on Thanksgiving since 1994 when they were 8-3) and just one game out of first place.
Will they make the playoffs? - Honestly, I have no idea. They do have a favorable schedule but that holds only if you take advantage of it. The best part is that I’m not worried about the playoffs. If they win games then it will take care of itself. I’ve never had more fun watching these Browns play. They will more than likely be the cause of my early death but it’s turning out to be one hell of a ride so far this year.
Here’s hoping these next six games are just as memorable as last week’s.
I wouldn’t want it any other way.
WHAT A WEEKEND
This past weekend I rode along with Hunt down to Athens for the weekend. It was the first time I had gone down to Ohio University since I left there this time last year. (For those of you that do not know, I will be returning to O.U. this coming winter quarter.)
It was great seeing those recognizable faces that I had not seen in such a long time. It was great meeting up with Guga and sharing our thoughts on Bo Outlaw. It was great seeing Barnes and the rest of the Gridiron Glory crew that still remains from my days spent there. It was great meeting new guys like G-Dizzle. It was great being there with Hunt and now his brother Brian and his sister Sarah as well. It was simply a great weekend.
Strictly on a sports weekend it was damn near perfect.
First of all, Ohio State defeated Michigan in one of the most boring games I can remember watching. This result did not bother me too much as I honestly don’t mind this Buckeye team as much as years’ past. Michigan, on the other hand, was exploited as the team they truly were.
The Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers each won setting up a #2 vs. #3 showdown next week. The winner will play for a chance to get in the BCS National Championship game. Gotta love that.
My fantasy team, Brady’s Bunch, was able to win again, putting my record at 5-6 entering the final three weeks of the regular season. Just as important was the two teams ahead of me in my division each loss, meaning I basically control my own destiny as far as making the playoffs.
I dominated in our pick’em league posting the week’s best record at 12-3 heading into tonight’s MNF game. I now have an 8 game lead over 2nd place.
Did I mention the Browns won?
Weekends like that don’t happen very often. With Thanksgiving coming up I have a lot to be thankful for.
TENNESSEE @ DENVER - RUNNING BLOG
Pregame - I’m listening to Barnes’ advice and trying to make this MNF running blog a weekly feature. We’ll see how it goes. With no fantasy match-up depending on this game I don’t have that aspect to tackle. However, in order to post our pick’em league’s BEST EVER weekly record of 13-3, I need the Broncos to cover their (-2) spread. Sounds like one Jason Elam field goal to me.
I am looking forward to watching Vince Young play. I haven’t really gotten a chance to watch him play live yet so I am anxious to see how he will perform tonight. I wouldn’t mind him flopping which not only would give me that 13-3 record but would give the Titans the same 6-4 record as the Browns.
If you don’t like South Park then I really don’t want to know you. In a recent episode that featured their Guitar Hero bit, Stan and Kyle run into Jay Cutler at a party. Stan walks up to Cutler and says, “My dad says that you suck, but one day you might be good.” I heart South Park.
I’m hoping to hear a Browns reference from their game yesterday. I’m also counting the number of “Patriots are awesome” references. I’m putting the over/under at around ten for the in-game crew.
Prediction for tonight’s game - Denver 24, Tennessee 20.
Time to saddle up and ride.
8:30 p.m. - I have no problem with Hank Williams Jr. signing “Are you ready for some football?” But, I don’t need to see him driving his GMC truck and walking into the bar. Completely unnecessary.
8:32 p.m. - That AFC South is absolutely loaded. Everyone won this week and the Houston Texans are currently in last place, at 5-5. The Texans would win the NFC South, and could win both the AFC + NFC West divisions.
8:35 p.m. - Tony Kornheiser does a nice piece on the two head coaches tonight. They both were assistants under George Seiffert at San Francisco and are the two longest tenure active coaches in the NFL. Jeff Fisher has been with the Oilers/Titans since 1994 and Mike Shanahan has been with the Broncos since 1995. It’s ridiculous to think that these two AFC teams have met only twice in the past 12 years.
8:40 p.m. - Titans get the ball first and pick up a first down with a nice 8 yard Vince Young scramble on 3rd down.
8:43 p.m. - Eric Moulds sighting! I have been wondering if that guy was still alive or not. Apparently he’s Tennessee’s 2nd WR. It’s safe to say the Titans like to run it a lot.
8:45 p.m. - I’ve seen him several times before but I still cannot get over how big Sam Adams is. That guy is at least four and a half bills.
8:46 p.m. - Denver plays great defense on the first two plays but again gives up another 3rd down conversion to the Titans. Young has converted three third downs in a row.
8:48 p.m. - Young fails to convert a fourth 3rd down and the Titans are forced to punt. Bring out Jay Cutler.
8:52 p.m. - The first quarter is just halfway over and I’m already getting bored. This was a much better idea when I had something relevant riding on the game. I might call it quits before halftime.
8:54 p.m. - Cutler must have been able to read my mind and fires a bullet to Brandon Stokley for a 48-yard touchdown pass. This Titans defense has looked offensive on that first drive. It took Denver three minutes to go 80 yards. Broncos take an early 7-0 lead.
9:01 p.m. - I caught Mike Tirico mid-sentence and I heard him say the number 749. I thought he was referring to Eric Moulds’ age. Apparently that’s how many career catches he has. I like my initial thought better.
9:02 p.m. - Tennessee looks like they are running uphill on offense. Meanwhile, Denver seems to be running downhill on both sides of the ball including special teams. Glenn Martinez takes Tennessee’s punt and returns it 80 yards for a touchdown. That 13-3 is looking very good right now. Denver up 14-0.
9:13 p.m. - Titans begin to drive down the field as the 1st quarter comes to an end. It’s very crucial that they come away with a touchdown on this drive. They do not have the fire power on offense to play catch-up.
9:18 p.m. - Titans answer the Broncos as Vince Young fires a touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs. Eric Moulds tries to remember what it feels like to catch a touchdown. Recent reports show that Moulds hasn’t scored a touchdown since Rob Johnson was throwing darts in Buffalo. 14-7 Denver. Surprisingly high scoring first half.
9:30 p.m. - So Jason Elam attended Hawaii University? Would not have guessed that one. Is it safe to say he’s the best NFL player currently playing from Hawaii? Somewhere Ashley Lelie is fuming. Broncos kick a field goal and go up 17-7.
9:33 p.m. - No Maxine chip dip tonight. We’re going for a combination of Cheetos and Pringles. Maybe I’ll throw in a Nutty Bar if I feel daring.
9:40 p.m. - LenDale White does his best Tiki Barber impersonation and coughs up the ball. The Titans were moving the ball deep into Denver territory. Meanwhile, Cutler is looking real good.
9:44 p.m. - Shanahan is opening up the playbook tonight. Denver WR Brandon Marshall gets the ball on a reverse, pump fakes a Tennessee LB, (with absolutely no intention of throwing) and picks up 16 yards. I thought this Titans defense was ranked #4? Looks like these rankings are being computed by the BCS. Denver can run any play they want to at this point.
9:50 p.m. - Hawaii grad Jason Elam sneaks another field goal in as the Broncos take a 20-7 lead. A lot of talk about these two QB’s who were drafted just eight picks apart two years ago. After almost one half they are a combined 20/25 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns. Just your typical line for a QB like Bernie Kosar.
9:57 p.m. - Mike Shanahan gets burned on his ‘timeouts right before the snap of a field goal plan.’ Rob “Ma-ma-ma-my” Bironas misses his first attempt at a 56-yard field goal but is saved by Shanahan’s timeout. He then proceeds to drill the next attempt. We’re at halftime of an actually high scoring and entertaining game. Denver leads 20-10.
10:00 p.m. - No reference to the Browns or the Patriots during the in game crew. Like I’ve said before, this is a decent crew and I’m not surprised they haven’t had to mention either one during this engaging first half.
Halftime thoughts - I’m really looking forward to next week’s Browns-Texans game. First of all, we have the definition of a crew going down to the game. Lucius, Brian, Randy, Hunt, J-Ro, Big John and myself will all be in attendance. Secondly, it’s a game in late November that actually means something for the Browns. That will be a first for me.
Congratulations to C.C. Sabathia and Eric Wedge for winning the A.L Cy Young and Manager of the Year respectively. Both well deserved. Now the key will be re-signing Sabathia and adding a bat before next season gets underway.
Not wanting to toot my own horn or anything, but way back when, I came out with my college football preview I predicted that LSU and West Virginia would meet in the National Championship game. Doesn’t seem too far off now.
Just saw a commercial for Kuebler shoes. It was there that my buddies and I attempted to fix “The Beast” by taping electrical tape on the bottom of it. Go Browns.
10:13 p.m. - Second half is underway. Found out that Suzy Kolber reports on NASCAR events and is not with this MNF crew tonight. I bet Joe Namaith would give her a ride any day of the week.
10:23 p.m. - Jay Cutler throws his 2nd touchdown pass of the night, this one to Brandon Marshall going for 41 yards. I guess Stan’s dad was right. Denver 27, Tennessee 10.
10:28 p.m. - John Elway sighting. I hate that guy. Somewhere Bernie Kosar (probably drinking) is shouting obscenities.
10:29 p.m. - We have the Cleveland Browns reference. Score one for the good guys.
10:30 p.m. - These Titans WR‘s could travel to Asia and not catch SARS. This should come as no surprise. Eric Moulds is starting. I repeat. Eric Moulds is starting.
10:32 p.m. - Costly mistake by Glenn Martinez. Muffed punt is recovered by the Titans and they now have great field position inside Denver’s 30.
10:39 p.m. - A strange sequence of events. Vince Young appears to score a TD on a 2nd down run. Referees ruled that Vince Young was a yard short. Jeff Fisher hesitated about 15 times in a 10 second span and finally decided NOT to throw the challenge flag. The Titans run a play on 3rd down as Young gets tackled on a loss of one yard, setting up 4th and goal. Referees ruled that the 3rd down play never happened due to a timeout by Denver’s LB Nate Webster, yet there was no whistle or anything. Jeff Fisher then decided to challenge the 2nd down play and the referees rule it a touchdown. Bizarre, but fitting for this week in the NFL. Denver 27, Tennessee 17, A-Rod’s career playoff batting average .275.
10:48 p.m. - There’s no way I’m doing a running blog next week. Dolphins vs. Steelers. However, it would be nice to make a countless number of Cam Cameron, Teddy Ginn, and John Beck jokes. Now I’m actually looking forward to it.
10:50 p.m. - Tennessee’s defense is starting to make some noise. 3rd down sack of Jay Cutler has the Broncos punting. Turning point of the 2nd half has to be Martinez’s muffed punt.
10:57 p.m. - The Titans are just moving right on down the field. You can literally see the momentum changing hands. End of the 3rd quarter. Denver 27, Tennessee 17, Barry Bonds’ syringes - priceless.
11:00 p.m. - I haven’t mentioned his name yet but I’m falling in love with Joshua Cribbs. He’s the best special teams player in the entire league. I’ve seen him mature over the past couple of years and now he is a threat every time he touches the ball. He also has his own television show, ‘Josh’s Cribbs.’ What’s not to love? In other news Rob Bironas kicks his 2nd field goal of the game and now the Titans trail by seven. Big drive coming up for Denver.
11:06 p.m. - Andre Hall. That’s right, Andre Hall takes his first carry and runs 62 yards for a touchdown. This is what Denver does. Selvin Young gets injured and in comes Hall. One goes down and in comes another with zero drop-off. Denver back up by 14, 34-20.
11:12 p.m. - Big play for the Titans. 3rd down, deep in their own territory, down by 14. Young completes a pass but it is short of the 1st down. Three + out =13-3 for this guy.
11:25 p.m. - Tennessee gets the ball back quickly and now is moving down the field. However their drive hits a speed bump when Young tries to throw it to 749 yr. old Eric Moulds on two straight plays. Moulds drops the first attempt and then Dre’ Bly steps in front of the second resulting in an INT. As Tom Hamilton puts it, “Ball Game.”
11:28 p.m. - Rod Smith looks very old. It’s times like these I’m glad I don’t have a High Definition television.
11:37 p.m. - Vince Young has thrown for over 300 yards for the first time in his career. On his very next throw he hits Ian Gold over the middle. Too bad Gold is Denver’s LB. The Browns are now tied with the Titans at 6-4 for the 2nd AFC Wild Card spot. Meanwhile yours truly goes 13-3 and now has a nine game lead in first place.
11:40 p.m. - Cutler and the Broncos are in victory formation as they move to 5-5 and are in a 1st place tie in the AFC West with the San Diego Chargers. Final score - Denver 34, Tennessee 20.
We’ve had Rob Johnson, countless number of rips on Eric Moulds, Tom Hamilton quotes, Bernie Kosar drinking, a South Park reference, Joe Namaith taking Suzy Kolber for a ride, A-Rod‘s postseason stats, Barry Bonds syringes, a SARS mention, and a Kuebler Shoes commercial.
Welcome to the life of the running blog. You never know where it’s going to take you.
Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”
Whether it be on the playground, in the bars, or on television, I’ve seen plenty of crazy things in my lifetime. However, what transpired after the closing seconds of last Sunday’s Cleveland-Baltimore game goes straight to the top of my Insane/Unbelievable/Crazy/Surreal/
Ridiculous/Bizarre list. As the referees discussed whether Phil Dawson’s game tying 51-yard field goal actually DID go through the goal post I sat at Hunt’s house and the only thing I could muster was, “I have no words.”
Think about it though. I mean as a Browns fan I’ve seen some insane endings to football games but for one game to automatically go right to the top left me in sheer amazement.
Here are just a few of some games that only the Browns could be involved in.
- Opening Week, 2002 -
The Cleveland Browns kicked off 2002 with a home contest against the Kansas City Chiefs. In a defensive struggle, the Browns held on to a 39-37 lead with just 10 seconds remaining. Browns linebacker Dwayne Rudd, thinking he had made the game ending sack, celebrated prematurely by throwing off his helmet. The play was not over and the unsportsmanlike penalty set up the Chiefs to kick the game-winning field goal with no time on the clock.
- December 16, 2001 -
The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Cleveland Browns Stadium in mid December for an important AFC game. The Browns entered the game with a 6-6 record and needed a win badly to keep their playoff aspirations alive. Trailing 15-10 with under one minute to go and facing a fourth and two deep in Jacksonville territory, Cleveland quarterback Tim Couch completed a first down pass to Quincy Morgan. Cleveland then raced to the line and spiked the ball to stop the clock. However the referees declared that they had been “buzzed” from the replay official in the press box to review the 4th down play. The play was overturned even though Cleveland had seemed to get another play off, which would go against league rules. Outraged that their playoff dreams were now over and bitter about getting “screwed” by the referees, Cleveland fans began throwing beer bottles onto the field. It got to the point that the head referee ended the game with 50 seconds still left on the clock. The NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told the referees that they had to finish the game, so, everyone ran back onto the field and again got pounded with beer bottles.
- September 29, 2002 -
Cleveland traveled to Pittsburgh for an early AFC North showdown. Cleveland was able to rebound from the Dwayne Rudd helmet incident by winning their next two games. Sitting at 2-1, the Browns faced the winless Steelers. The score was tied at 13 after regulation and sent into overtime. The Steelers won the toss but Pittsburgh QB Tommy Maddox was intercepted by Andra Davis. Phil Dawson had a chance to win the game, but he missed on a 45-yard field goal. Pittsburgh marched down the field and attempted a 31-yard field goal. The Browns were able to block the attempt and it seemed would get another shot on offense. However, the Steelers recovered the block and the referees ruled that since the kick happened on third down AND the ball never crossed the line of scrimmage that the Steelers would get another shot at it. Well, they were successful on the 2nd attempt and the Steelers had their first of 10 wins on the season AND the first of their 3 wins against the Browns in 2002 alone.
And then yesterday happened.
"It's about time this organization and this franchise got a call." - Cleveland kicker Phil Dawson.
I could not agree more.
It has not been easy to be a Cleveland Browns fan, coach, or player recently. They/We deserved this. For one time, the Browns got a call. It was the correct call, BUT, the important thing was that the Browns got it.
It’s difficult to call this game a springboard to anything (that can only be determined until the season is over), but one thing is certain - IF the Browns make the playoffs then we can all look back at that one play and say it was the turning point. There’s a HUGE difference from being 6-4 and being on a two game losing streak at 5-5.
Sure the Browns have problems. Besides the Patriots every team has them. Cleveland has a defense that really does not stop anyone. However, entering Thanksgiving they are 6-4 (their best record on Thanksgiving since 1994 when they were 8-3) and just one game out of first place.
Will they make the playoffs? - Honestly, I have no idea. They do have a favorable schedule but that holds only if you take advantage of it. The best part is that I’m not worried about the playoffs. If they win games then it will take care of itself. I’ve never had more fun watching these Browns play. They will more than likely be the cause of my early death but it’s turning out to be one hell of a ride so far this year.
Here’s hoping these next six games are just as memorable as last week’s.
I wouldn’t want it any other way.
WHAT A WEEKEND
This past weekend I rode along with Hunt down to Athens for the weekend. It was the first time I had gone down to Ohio University since I left there this time last year. (For those of you that do not know, I will be returning to O.U. this coming winter quarter.)
It was great seeing those recognizable faces that I had not seen in such a long time. It was great meeting up with Guga and sharing our thoughts on Bo Outlaw. It was great seeing Barnes and the rest of the Gridiron Glory crew that still remains from my days spent there. It was great meeting new guys like G-Dizzle. It was great being there with Hunt and now his brother Brian and his sister Sarah as well. It was simply a great weekend.
Strictly on a sports weekend it was damn near perfect.
First of all, Ohio State defeated Michigan in one of the most boring games I can remember watching. This result did not bother me too much as I honestly don’t mind this Buckeye team as much as years’ past. Michigan, on the other hand, was exploited as the team they truly were.
The Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers each won setting up a #2 vs. #3 showdown next week. The winner will play for a chance to get in the BCS National Championship game. Gotta love that.
My fantasy team, Brady’s Bunch, was able to win again, putting my record at 5-6 entering the final three weeks of the regular season. Just as important was the two teams ahead of me in my division each loss, meaning I basically control my own destiny as far as making the playoffs.
I dominated in our pick’em league posting the week’s best record at 12-3 heading into tonight’s MNF game. I now have an 8 game lead over 2nd place.
Did I mention the Browns won?
Weekends like that don’t happen very often. With Thanksgiving coming up I have a lot to be thankful for.
TENNESSEE @ DENVER - RUNNING BLOG
Pregame - I’m listening to Barnes’ advice and trying to make this MNF running blog a weekly feature. We’ll see how it goes. With no fantasy match-up depending on this game I don’t have that aspect to tackle. However, in order to post our pick’em league’s BEST EVER weekly record of 13-3, I need the Broncos to cover their (-2) spread. Sounds like one Jason Elam field goal to me.
I am looking forward to watching Vince Young play. I haven’t really gotten a chance to watch him play live yet so I am anxious to see how he will perform tonight. I wouldn’t mind him flopping which not only would give me that 13-3 record but would give the Titans the same 6-4 record as the Browns.
If you don’t like South Park then I really don’t want to know you. In a recent episode that featured their Guitar Hero bit, Stan and Kyle run into Jay Cutler at a party. Stan walks up to Cutler and says, “My dad says that you suck, but one day you might be good.” I heart South Park.
I’m hoping to hear a Browns reference from their game yesterday. I’m also counting the number of “Patriots are awesome” references. I’m putting the over/under at around ten for the in-game crew.
Prediction for tonight’s game - Denver 24, Tennessee 20.
Time to saddle up and ride.
8:30 p.m. - I have no problem with Hank Williams Jr. signing “Are you ready for some football?” But, I don’t need to see him driving his GMC truck and walking into the bar. Completely unnecessary.
8:32 p.m. - That AFC South is absolutely loaded. Everyone won this week and the Houston Texans are currently in last place, at 5-5. The Texans would win the NFC South, and could win both the AFC + NFC West divisions.
8:35 p.m. - Tony Kornheiser does a nice piece on the two head coaches tonight. They both were assistants under George Seiffert at San Francisco and are the two longest tenure active coaches in the NFL. Jeff Fisher has been with the Oilers/Titans since 1994 and Mike Shanahan has been with the Broncos since 1995. It’s ridiculous to think that these two AFC teams have met only twice in the past 12 years.
8:40 p.m. - Titans get the ball first and pick up a first down with a nice 8 yard Vince Young scramble on 3rd down.
8:43 p.m. - Eric Moulds sighting! I have been wondering if that guy was still alive or not. Apparently he’s Tennessee’s 2nd WR. It’s safe to say the Titans like to run it a lot.
8:45 p.m. - I’ve seen him several times before but I still cannot get over how big Sam Adams is. That guy is at least four and a half bills.
8:46 p.m. - Denver plays great defense on the first two plays but again gives up another 3rd down conversion to the Titans. Young has converted three third downs in a row.
8:48 p.m. - Young fails to convert a fourth 3rd down and the Titans are forced to punt. Bring out Jay Cutler.
8:52 p.m. - The first quarter is just halfway over and I’m already getting bored. This was a much better idea when I had something relevant riding on the game. I might call it quits before halftime.
8:54 p.m. - Cutler must have been able to read my mind and fires a bullet to Brandon Stokley for a 48-yard touchdown pass. This Titans defense has looked offensive on that first drive. It took Denver three minutes to go 80 yards. Broncos take an early 7-0 lead.
9:01 p.m. - I caught Mike Tirico mid-sentence and I heard him say the number 749. I thought he was referring to Eric Moulds’ age. Apparently that’s how many career catches he has. I like my initial thought better.
9:02 p.m. - Tennessee looks like they are running uphill on offense. Meanwhile, Denver seems to be running downhill on both sides of the ball including special teams. Glenn Martinez takes Tennessee’s punt and returns it 80 yards for a touchdown. That 13-3 is looking very good right now. Denver up 14-0.
9:13 p.m. - Titans begin to drive down the field as the 1st quarter comes to an end. It’s very crucial that they come away with a touchdown on this drive. They do not have the fire power on offense to play catch-up.
9:18 p.m. - Titans answer the Broncos as Vince Young fires a touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs. Eric Moulds tries to remember what it feels like to catch a touchdown. Recent reports show that Moulds hasn’t scored a touchdown since Rob Johnson was throwing darts in Buffalo. 14-7 Denver. Surprisingly high scoring first half.
9:30 p.m. - So Jason Elam attended Hawaii University? Would not have guessed that one. Is it safe to say he’s the best NFL player currently playing from Hawaii? Somewhere Ashley Lelie is fuming. Broncos kick a field goal and go up 17-7.
9:33 p.m. - No Maxine chip dip tonight. We’re going for a combination of Cheetos and Pringles. Maybe I’ll throw in a Nutty Bar if I feel daring.
9:40 p.m. - LenDale White does his best Tiki Barber impersonation and coughs up the ball. The Titans were moving the ball deep into Denver territory. Meanwhile, Cutler is looking real good.
9:44 p.m. - Shanahan is opening up the playbook tonight. Denver WR Brandon Marshall gets the ball on a reverse, pump fakes a Tennessee LB, (with absolutely no intention of throwing) and picks up 16 yards. I thought this Titans defense was ranked #4? Looks like these rankings are being computed by the BCS. Denver can run any play they want to at this point.
9:50 p.m. - Hawaii grad Jason Elam sneaks another field goal in as the Broncos take a 20-7 lead. A lot of talk about these two QB’s who were drafted just eight picks apart two years ago. After almost one half they are a combined 20/25 for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns. Just your typical line for a QB like Bernie Kosar.
9:57 p.m. - Mike Shanahan gets burned on his ‘timeouts right before the snap of a field goal plan.’ Rob “Ma-ma-ma-my” Bironas misses his first attempt at a 56-yard field goal but is saved by Shanahan’s timeout. He then proceeds to drill the next attempt. We’re at halftime of an actually high scoring and entertaining game. Denver leads 20-10.
10:00 p.m. - No reference to the Browns or the Patriots during the in game crew. Like I’ve said before, this is a decent crew and I’m not surprised they haven’t had to mention either one during this engaging first half.
Halftime thoughts - I’m really looking forward to next week’s Browns-Texans game. First of all, we have the definition of a crew going down to the game. Lucius, Brian, Randy, Hunt, J-Ro, Big John and myself will all be in attendance. Secondly, it’s a game in late November that actually means something for the Browns. That will be a first for me.
Congratulations to C.C. Sabathia and Eric Wedge for winning the A.L Cy Young and Manager of the Year respectively. Both well deserved. Now the key will be re-signing Sabathia and adding a bat before next season gets underway.
Not wanting to toot my own horn or anything, but way back when, I came out with my college football preview I predicted that LSU and West Virginia would meet in the National Championship game. Doesn’t seem too far off now.
Just saw a commercial for Kuebler shoes. It was there that my buddies and I attempted to fix “The Beast” by taping electrical tape on the bottom of it. Go Browns.
10:13 p.m. - Second half is underway. Found out that Suzy Kolber reports on NASCAR events and is not with this MNF crew tonight. I bet Joe Namaith would give her a ride any day of the week.
10:23 p.m. - Jay Cutler throws his 2nd touchdown pass of the night, this one to Brandon Marshall going for 41 yards. I guess Stan’s dad was right. Denver 27, Tennessee 10.
10:28 p.m. - John Elway sighting. I hate that guy. Somewhere Bernie Kosar (probably drinking) is shouting obscenities.
10:29 p.m. - We have the Cleveland Browns reference. Score one for the good guys.
10:30 p.m. - These Titans WR‘s could travel to Asia and not catch SARS. This should come as no surprise. Eric Moulds is starting. I repeat. Eric Moulds is starting.
10:32 p.m. - Costly mistake by Glenn Martinez. Muffed punt is recovered by the Titans and they now have great field position inside Denver’s 30.
10:39 p.m. - A strange sequence of events. Vince Young appears to score a TD on a 2nd down run. Referees ruled that Vince Young was a yard short. Jeff Fisher hesitated about 15 times in a 10 second span and finally decided NOT to throw the challenge flag. The Titans run a play on 3rd down as Young gets tackled on a loss of one yard, setting up 4th and goal. Referees ruled that the 3rd down play never happened due to a timeout by Denver’s LB Nate Webster, yet there was no whistle or anything. Jeff Fisher then decided to challenge the 2nd down play and the referees rule it a touchdown. Bizarre, but fitting for this week in the NFL. Denver 27, Tennessee 17, A-Rod’s career playoff batting average .275.
10:48 p.m. - There’s no way I’m doing a running blog next week. Dolphins vs. Steelers. However, it would be nice to make a countless number of Cam Cameron, Teddy Ginn, and John Beck jokes. Now I’m actually looking forward to it.
10:50 p.m. - Tennessee’s defense is starting to make some noise. 3rd down sack of Jay Cutler has the Broncos punting. Turning point of the 2nd half has to be Martinez’s muffed punt.
10:57 p.m. - The Titans are just moving right on down the field. You can literally see the momentum changing hands. End of the 3rd quarter. Denver 27, Tennessee 17, Barry Bonds’ syringes - priceless.
11:00 p.m. - I haven’t mentioned his name yet but I’m falling in love with Joshua Cribbs. He’s the best special teams player in the entire league. I’ve seen him mature over the past couple of years and now he is a threat every time he touches the ball. He also has his own television show, ‘Josh’s Cribbs.’ What’s not to love? In other news Rob Bironas kicks his 2nd field goal of the game and now the Titans trail by seven. Big drive coming up for Denver.
11:06 p.m. - Andre Hall. That’s right, Andre Hall takes his first carry and runs 62 yards for a touchdown. This is what Denver does. Selvin Young gets injured and in comes Hall. One goes down and in comes another with zero drop-off. Denver back up by 14, 34-20.
11:12 p.m. - Big play for the Titans. 3rd down, deep in their own territory, down by 14. Young completes a pass but it is short of the 1st down. Three + out =13-3 for this guy.
11:25 p.m. - Tennessee gets the ball back quickly and now is moving down the field. However their drive hits a speed bump when Young tries to throw it to 749 yr. old Eric Moulds on two straight plays. Moulds drops the first attempt and then Dre’ Bly steps in front of the second resulting in an INT. As Tom Hamilton puts it, “Ball Game.”
11:28 p.m. - Rod Smith looks very old. It’s times like these I’m glad I don’t have a High Definition television.
11:37 p.m. - Vince Young has thrown for over 300 yards for the first time in his career. On his very next throw he hits Ian Gold over the middle. Too bad Gold is Denver’s LB. The Browns are now tied with the Titans at 6-4 for the 2nd AFC Wild Card spot. Meanwhile yours truly goes 13-3 and now has a nine game lead in first place.
11:40 p.m. - Cutler and the Broncos are in victory formation as they move to 5-5 and are in a 1st place tie in the AFC West with the San Diego Chargers. Final score - Denver 34, Tennessee 20.
We’ve had Rob Johnson, countless number of rips on Eric Moulds, Tom Hamilton quotes, Bernie Kosar drinking, a South Park reference, Joe Namaith taking Suzy Kolber for a ride, A-Rod‘s postseason stats, Barry Bonds syringes, a SARS mention, and a Kuebler Shoes commercial.
Welcome to the life of the running blog. You never know where it’s going to take you.
Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”
Monday, November 12, 2007
San Francisco @ Seattle - Running Blog
Why did I decide to sit here and write a running blog of this seemingly pointless MNF game between the Seahawks and the 49ers? Good question and I got several answers.
First and foremost, practice. It’s no big mystery that I’m a huge fan of Bill Simmons so it only makes sense I would try and emulate him. I did it with Jordan and Agassi and now it’s with the Sports Guy. Hopefully this one goes a bit better for me than the former two did.
The beauty of fantasy football. What may seem to be a worthless game to most carries a lot of weight to me. My fantasy team, Brady’s Bunch, is currently riding a four game losing streak and is sitting at 3-6. Realistically I need to win out in order to make the playoffs. Thanks to Peyton Manning’s six (that’s right six) interceptions I trail Jared’s Flintstone Kid squad by 17 points entering MNF. I have 49ers TE Vernon Davis, Seattle kicker Josh Brown and the entire Seahawks defense. Jared has Seattle WR Bobby Engram. Should come right down to the wire. Frickin’ Peyton Manning. I think he needs to do another commercial. Anyways, moving on.
Lastly, I’m going to end up sitting on the couch watching this game anyways so I might as well try to do something productive. (I do have laundry going currently so hopefully I don’t miss Emmitt Smith quoting Jimmy V.)
Giddy up.
8:04 p.m. - Like I needed another reason to love Steve Young. When asked by Mike Greenberg if Peyton Manning’s awful game last night was just a matter of “every QB having a bad game here and there,” Steve shouted back, “I never threw more than three INT’s in a game, so be careful with ‘every QB.’” I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, I’ll take Tom Brady any day.
8:06 p.m. - I wish there was a way I could just use a CTRL _ to put in the time. Oh well. I gave Brady’s Bunch a great pre-game speech before tonight’s contest. I mentioned about how whatever happened in the past is forgotten. We can start all over tonight with a win. Keys will be keeping Engram out of the end zone, one TD catch from Davis, 10 points from Brown and the Seattle defense forcing some turnovers or maybe even scoring a special teams touchdown. It’s not a crazy scenario and a part of me actually likes my chances, which in turn scares me.
8:11 p.m. - I’m backing Marcus Trufant in the 2nd annual Monday night fishing toss contest. No way Brain Russell is winning this.
8:15 p.m. - Deion Branch won last year’s fishing toss contest between Seattle WR’s. This year they decided to go with the Seattle secondary. Deon Grant defeated Jordan Babineaux in a surprisingly exciting event which might outshine the actual game itself.
8:17 p.m. - Tom Jackson and Emmitt both declared the reason Shaun Alexander isn’t having a great season is because he got “paid.” Wow. Yeah, it has nothing to do with the fact that running backs only last four years, or the fact that he lost his fullback Mack Strong. Did I forget to mention that his offensive line is depleted as well? Yeah, go with the money angle. Thank goodness Chris Berman is there to say everything that I just wrote.
8:20 p.m. - ESPN’s Rachel Nichols just told us that Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck plans on using a towel to wipe his hands regardless if it rains or not. Glad you’re here Rachel.
8:22 p.m. - Wanted to give my condolences to Mike Nolan’s family. His father Dick, a former NFL head coach, passed away Sunday. I hope ESPN doesn’t go overkill on this. As the Beatles so eloquently put it, “Let it Be.”
8:29 p.m. - The spread for this contest is Seattle by ten. If they cover then I have the best record in our pick’em league. If the 49ers pull it off then Barnes and I will tie for week ten. Just another reason to be excited for this NFC West battle.
8:31 p.m. - This whole Hank Williams Jr. pre-game song and dance is getting a bit much. As Dr. Evil put it, “Honestly people.”
8:32 p.m. - No more than ten seconds in and we have a reference to Mike Nolan’s dad. I’m fine with this if they drop it right here.
8:33 p.m. - Frank Gore is back this week. A top 5 fantasy draft pick at the beginning of the season, he has been a bust so far. I’m hoping he keeps up this pace for the sake of my Seattle pick.
8:36 p.m. - Suzy Kolber is sporting the mullet look tonight. She looks better with Joe Namaith on her.
8:37 p.m. - Jim Mora Jr. who was just described as a “fiery motivator,” played an interview of Tiger Woods on 60 Minutes to get Seattle pumped up. Why wouldn’t he just bring in his old man? Playoffs?!?!?
8:40 p.m. - Drew Carey just raised the “12th Man” flag. Apparently he is a part owner of the new MLS franchise in Seattle. Sounds like a set-up for a Family Guy episode.
8:41 p.m. - Brady’s Bunch takes the lead 79-76 with the Seattle defense getting the early 20 points. Just stop the game now.
8:43 p.m. - Alex Smith just overthrew Yao Ming by about 10 feet. 49ers go three and out and I hope Engram forgot his stick-um.
8:44 p.m. - First play for Seattle, 12 yard pass to Engram. He is going to be haunting my dreams tonight.
8:47 p.m. - Time for some of Maxine’s chip dip, I‘ll be back in a bit. If you’ve never had it before imagine your favorite food and then multiply it by infinity. Seriously, it’s the real deal.
8:51 p.m. - Switched from the desk to the couch. If I’m going to watch this whole game I’m going to be comfortable. Hasselbeck is just flinging the ball downfield on every play.
8:54 p.m. - 3rd and 7 on the Niners 12. Need Josh Brown to kick an early field goal. Niners stop the Seahawks but then get a cheap roughing the passer call. Should have been three points for Brown, now it might be six points for Engram. Such is my life.
9:00 p.m. - Hasselbeck throws a touchdown pass to … Will Heller. Josh Brown tacks on the extra point and the Seahawks take an early 7-0 lead. Brady’s Bunch is up 80-77. Time for Vernon Davis to do something with his life.
9:04 p.m. - Alex Smith introduces the Niners offense and calls Vernon Davis, “The Turk.” That is the best thing Alex Smith has done for me yet. Oh wait, he just got sacked AND fumbled. Score one(or three) for the good guys. 83-77 B.B.
9:09 p.m. - Seattle fails on 3rd and 1 from the Niners four yard line. Bring in Josh Brown baby.
9:10 p.m. - Brown does his thing putting the Seahawks up ten and Brady’s Bunch up nine (86-77).
9:12 p.m. - Seattle’s stadium looks awesome from the blimp at night. If it wasn’t for the rain and the movie ‘Sleepless In Seattle’ I might actually want to go there one day.
9:15 p.m. - The Turk gets some action but only due to offensive pass interference and then a false start penalty on back-to-back plays.
9:17 p.m. - These 49ers are pathetic. Another false start brings up 1st and 30. It’s a shame they gave their first round draft pick to the Patriots. Unreal.
9:24 p.m. - End of 1st quarter and it’s time for me to fold the second of three loads of laundry. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.
9:40 p.m. - Back after laundry and surprise surprise, didn’t miss much. Engram caught two more passes and now has 46 yards receiving. Josh Brown had a 46 yard field goal negated due to a holding penalty. Seattle just punted and pinned the 49ers on the one yard line. Sounds like a 99 yard touchdown pass to The Turk.
9:45 p.m. - Direct snap to Arnaz Battle on third down didn’t work. Any sentence which includes Battle usually ends with “didn’t work.” Six minutes left in the 1st half and the 49ers have 32 total yards and zero first downs. I just gave myself a pat on the back for the Seattle Defense pick-up (Pats on bye).
9:49 p.m. - 48 yard pass from Hasselbeck to … D.J. Hackett. I’m pulling a Phil Hellmuth and dodging bullets right now.
9:50 p.m. - Maurice Morris does something Shaun Alexander hasn’t done in over a month and rushes four yards for a touchdown. Josh Brown tacks on the PAT and the Seahawks take a 17-0 lead. In the score that really matters B.B. has an 87-80 lead.
9:55 p.m. - Tony Kornheiser does a Howard Cosell impersonation and Julian Peterson sacks Alex Smith. By the way, I actually don’t mind this MNF crew (minus the sideline reporters of course). The 49ers are so bad they can’t even get a punt off without a delay of game penalty.
10:03 p.m. - The 49ers are going to have great field position with just under two minutes to go. After a fair catch interference penalty, they sit on the Seahawks 31 yard line. The Turk can smell the end zone.
10:04 p.m. - Another sack, another fumble, another turnover. No wonder Barnes quit being a 49ers fan.
10:06 p.m. - The 49ers are trying to set a record for the worst first half performance in the NFL. While trying to spike the ball to stop the clock the Seahawks catch San Francisco with 12 guys on the field. Bring out Josh Brown from 49 yards. Brown makes it, but AGAIN there’s another penalty on Seattle. Brown is now trying it from 54 yards, and of course, he misses it. This Seattle field goal unit is killing me. Six points they have taken away from me.
10:10 p.m. - End of half - Seattle 17, San Francisco 0 … Brady’s Bunch 89, Flintstone’s Kid 80.
Halftime thoughts - Instead of commenting on the halftime festivities, I’m taking this time to talk about other festivities.
The Cleveland Browns blew another lead against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reminded me of the Lou Brown comment in ‘Major League’. “One of these days we’re going to figure out how to beat those guys [Yankees].” Same concept here. Close but not quite yet. Not all is lost however for the Brownies. They are sitting at 5-4 and more than likely will actually be favored in their remaining seven games. Realistically they should end up somewhere around 10-6. That should be good enough for an AFC Wild Card berth. Time will tell.
Derek Anderson has been playing well but was below average in the 2nd half last week in Pittsburgh. Here is what the Browns SHOULD do with D.A. His contract is up at the end of the season and the Browns should exercise the team option and resign him. However, upon doing so, other teams will be able to try and trade for Derek Anderson but will HAVE to give the Browns a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick. This allows Cleveland a chance to get back in the 1st round of the draft. Also, if another team does not make a stab at D.A then you have him and Brady doing battle in training camp at the start of next season. Sounds like a win-win there.
Cleveland needs somebody on defense. Willie McGinist showed his age last week in a game where the Browns badly missed D’Qwell Jackson. Phil Savage addressed the offensive line and now needs to address the entire defense via the draft and through free agency.
I’m loving it when Romeo smiles. The world seems like a happier place to live in when he breaks out into a smile.
The Chicago Bulls have always been slow starters but my goodness. They lost by thirty at home against the Raptors. Unacceptable. I said last year that this team has “maxed out” their potential. They can only get so good with their current roster. They need to get Kobe ASAP.
10:24 p.m. - Back to the game. Give credit to the 49ers for trying something creative and kicking an onside kick to start the 2nd half. Unfortunately it didn’t work and the Seahawks take over from midfield.
10:28 p.m. - Maurice Morris does his best Shaun Alexander impression and fumbles. The 49ers show some sign of life and jump on the ball. Will The Turk catch a pass?? Stay tuned.
10:29 p.m. - Suzy Kolber’s hair is ridiculous. Somewhere Joe Namaith is laughing. He’s probably wasted, but he’s laughing nonetheless.
10:33 p.m. - Arnaz Battle tries to draw Seattle off-sides on 4th down and, well, I direct you to 9:45. Same story.
10:36 p.m. - It just wouldn’t be a game without a Matt Hasselbeck INT. Seattle has turned the ball over on their last two possessions. Nate Clements picks it off and returns it to Seattle’s 20. Frank Gore runs up the middle for ten yards. The Turk is ready to do some work.
10:39 p.m. - 4th and a yard from Seattle’s 2. I’m guessing San Francisco is going to go for it. At this point they have absolutely nothing to lose.
10:42 p.m. - The Niners go for it, and don’t get is as Frank Gore is stuffed in the backfield. Well, at least the 49ers are trying. They are failing, but trying.
10:43 p.m. - I just made an executive decision and decided to leave the 3rd load of laundry in the dryer until the game is over. Realistically that means I could have folded the clothes about an hour ago, but I’m more of a technical person.
10:46 p.m. - The Seahawks go three and out and are forced to punt. For the third consecutive time, the 49ers start with great field position, this time at Seattle’s 40. Drew Carey is joining the crew after the TV timeout. He better say something about Cleveland.
10:50 p.m. - We got the Cleveland Browns reference. That’s all I needed. Go Browns.
10:51 p.m. - 4th and 3 from Seattle’s 22 and the 49ers decide to go for it. Strange decision at best from Mike Nolan. Smith’s pass is incomplete and the Niners waste great field position for the 3rd time in the quarter.
10:55 p.m. - God awards His people. Three solid minutes of discussing Cleveland sports with Drew Carey. I would have missed that entire conversation if I wasn’t doing this running blog. Everything happens for a reason. Fan-tastic.
11:01 p.m. - Out goes Drew Carey and into the red zone goes the Seahawks. An Engram TD would make the next half hour way too stressful. End of third quarter. Seattle 17, San Francisco 0 … Brady’s Bunch 87, Flintstone’s Kid 80. One more quarter.
11:04 p.m. - Hasselbeck throws a TD pass to … D.J Hackett. That one made me jump a bit. Great pass by Hasselbeck. Josh Brown gives me another point and the Seahawks give me the best week ten record in our pick’em league. “Show me the money!”
11:07 p.m. - For some reason Steve Young is now in the booth. Does this happen every week? I’m willing to bet Steve is tired of listening to Emmitt.
11:08 p.m. - I’m convinced that The Turk is not going to catch a pass. Alex Smith is just downright awful right now.
11:09 p.m. - Arnaz Battle tries to catch a 3rd down pass and … you get the idea.
11:12 p.m. - Bobby Engram catches his fourth pass, this one going for only six yards. However, it’s another point for Jared’s team. 88-81 with just 12:30 to go.
11:16 p.m. - Seattle has 26 first downs … San Francisco has 4. Enough said.
11:20 p.m. - Seattle is going to punt with eight minutes to go. I need to avoid big plays by San Francisco that don’t involve The Turk in order for Brady’s Bunch to snap a four game losing streak.
11:23 p.m. - Notre Dame’s basketball team has as many wins as N.D’s football team. Alex Smith tries to hit The Turk but throws it six feet short. Smith needs bigger hands.
11:28 p.m. - Mark it down. The Turk comes through with his first catch of the game!! Reception goes for four yards. He needs at least six more yards to get me a point. The 49ers have strung a couple of plays together and now my fantasy score is 86-81. 6:13 to go.
11:30 p.m. - Arnaz Battle drops a third down pass, tries to get a pass interference call and, well, I don’t think I have to tell you how it ended.
11:36 p.m. - Another job for a promising broadcaster just got taken away when Mack Strong said he was pursuing a broadcasting career. That’s how it works. Seattle is punting with just under three minutes to play. I did some quick math and here’s how I can lose: San Francisco must score a TD and get 89 total yards. I like my chances.
11:40 p.m. - Mike Tirico points out that Alex Smith was a winner in high school. Smith just happened to have a running back named Reggie Bush on his team. I wonder if that helped at all?
11:44 p.m. - San Francisco turns the ball over on downs and Seattle takes over at the two-minute warning. The Seahawks are now in victory formation which means Brady’s Bunch earned a hard fought victory, improving to 4-6 on the season. The playoffs are still possible. Thanks for caring.
11:45 p.m. - Ron Jaworski is counting down the number of days until he gets to call a New England Patriots game. I feel bad for this crew. They deserve better. However, I’m not going to cry too much about it because Gus Johnson deserves much better than what he gets.
11:46 p.m. - Ball game over. Seattle shuts out San Francisco 24-0. Seattle goes to 5-4 while the 49ers have lost seven in a row and are now at 2-7. It’s been real.
We’ve had the Beatles, Dr. Evil, Sleepless In Seattle, chip dip, The Turk, laundry, countless number of rips on Arnaz Battle, Major League, a Cuba Gooding Jr. quote, Gus Johnson, a mullet, Drew Carey, Joe Namaith and a fishing toss contest.
Welcome to the life of a running blog. You never know where it’s going to take you.
Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”
First and foremost, practice. It’s no big mystery that I’m a huge fan of Bill Simmons so it only makes sense I would try and emulate him. I did it with Jordan and Agassi and now it’s with the Sports Guy. Hopefully this one goes a bit better for me than the former two did.
The beauty of fantasy football. What may seem to be a worthless game to most carries a lot of weight to me. My fantasy team, Brady’s Bunch, is currently riding a four game losing streak and is sitting at 3-6. Realistically I need to win out in order to make the playoffs. Thanks to Peyton Manning’s six (that’s right six) interceptions I trail Jared’s Flintstone Kid squad by 17 points entering MNF. I have 49ers TE Vernon Davis, Seattle kicker Josh Brown and the entire Seahawks defense. Jared has Seattle WR Bobby Engram. Should come right down to the wire. Frickin’ Peyton Manning. I think he needs to do another commercial. Anyways, moving on.
Lastly, I’m going to end up sitting on the couch watching this game anyways so I might as well try to do something productive. (I do have laundry going currently so hopefully I don’t miss Emmitt Smith quoting Jimmy V.)
Giddy up.
8:04 p.m. - Like I needed another reason to love Steve Young. When asked by Mike Greenberg if Peyton Manning’s awful game last night was just a matter of “every QB having a bad game here and there,” Steve shouted back, “I never threw more than three INT’s in a game, so be careful with ‘every QB.’” I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, I’ll take Tom Brady any day.
8:06 p.m. - I wish there was a way I could just use a CTRL _ to put in the time. Oh well. I gave Brady’s Bunch a great pre-game speech before tonight’s contest. I mentioned about how whatever happened in the past is forgotten. We can start all over tonight with a win. Keys will be keeping Engram out of the end zone, one TD catch from Davis, 10 points from Brown and the Seattle defense forcing some turnovers or maybe even scoring a special teams touchdown. It’s not a crazy scenario and a part of me actually likes my chances, which in turn scares me.
8:11 p.m. - I’m backing Marcus Trufant in the 2nd annual Monday night fishing toss contest. No way Brain Russell is winning this.
8:15 p.m. - Deion Branch won last year’s fishing toss contest between Seattle WR’s. This year they decided to go with the Seattle secondary. Deon Grant defeated Jordan Babineaux in a surprisingly exciting event which might outshine the actual game itself.
8:17 p.m. - Tom Jackson and Emmitt both declared the reason Shaun Alexander isn’t having a great season is because he got “paid.” Wow. Yeah, it has nothing to do with the fact that running backs only last four years, or the fact that he lost his fullback Mack Strong. Did I forget to mention that his offensive line is depleted as well? Yeah, go with the money angle. Thank goodness Chris Berman is there to say everything that I just wrote.
8:20 p.m. - ESPN’s Rachel Nichols just told us that Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck plans on using a towel to wipe his hands regardless if it rains or not. Glad you’re here Rachel.
8:22 p.m. - Wanted to give my condolences to Mike Nolan’s family. His father Dick, a former NFL head coach, passed away Sunday. I hope ESPN doesn’t go overkill on this. As the Beatles so eloquently put it, “Let it Be.”
8:29 p.m. - The spread for this contest is Seattle by ten. If they cover then I have the best record in our pick’em league. If the 49ers pull it off then Barnes and I will tie for week ten. Just another reason to be excited for this NFC West battle.
8:31 p.m. - This whole Hank Williams Jr. pre-game song and dance is getting a bit much. As Dr. Evil put it, “Honestly people.”
8:32 p.m. - No more than ten seconds in and we have a reference to Mike Nolan’s dad. I’m fine with this if they drop it right here.
8:33 p.m. - Frank Gore is back this week. A top 5 fantasy draft pick at the beginning of the season, he has been a bust so far. I’m hoping he keeps up this pace for the sake of my Seattle pick.
8:36 p.m. - Suzy Kolber is sporting the mullet look tonight. She looks better with Joe Namaith on her.
8:37 p.m. - Jim Mora Jr. who was just described as a “fiery motivator,” played an interview of Tiger Woods on 60 Minutes to get Seattle pumped up. Why wouldn’t he just bring in his old man? Playoffs?!?!?
8:40 p.m. - Drew Carey just raised the “12th Man” flag. Apparently he is a part owner of the new MLS franchise in Seattle. Sounds like a set-up for a Family Guy episode.
8:41 p.m. - Brady’s Bunch takes the lead 79-76 with the Seattle defense getting the early 20 points. Just stop the game now.
8:43 p.m. - Alex Smith just overthrew Yao Ming by about 10 feet. 49ers go three and out and I hope Engram forgot his stick-um.
8:44 p.m. - First play for Seattle, 12 yard pass to Engram. He is going to be haunting my dreams tonight.
8:47 p.m. - Time for some of Maxine’s chip dip, I‘ll be back in a bit. If you’ve never had it before imagine your favorite food and then multiply it by infinity. Seriously, it’s the real deal.
8:51 p.m. - Switched from the desk to the couch. If I’m going to watch this whole game I’m going to be comfortable. Hasselbeck is just flinging the ball downfield on every play.
8:54 p.m. - 3rd and 7 on the Niners 12. Need Josh Brown to kick an early field goal. Niners stop the Seahawks but then get a cheap roughing the passer call. Should have been three points for Brown, now it might be six points for Engram. Such is my life.
9:00 p.m. - Hasselbeck throws a touchdown pass to … Will Heller. Josh Brown tacks on the extra point and the Seahawks take an early 7-0 lead. Brady’s Bunch is up 80-77. Time for Vernon Davis to do something with his life.
9:04 p.m. - Alex Smith introduces the Niners offense and calls Vernon Davis, “The Turk.” That is the best thing Alex Smith has done for me yet. Oh wait, he just got sacked AND fumbled. Score one(or three) for the good guys. 83-77 B.B.
9:09 p.m. - Seattle fails on 3rd and 1 from the Niners four yard line. Bring in Josh Brown baby.
9:10 p.m. - Brown does his thing putting the Seahawks up ten and Brady’s Bunch up nine (86-77).
9:12 p.m. - Seattle’s stadium looks awesome from the blimp at night. If it wasn’t for the rain and the movie ‘Sleepless In Seattle’ I might actually want to go there one day.
9:15 p.m. - The Turk gets some action but only due to offensive pass interference and then a false start penalty on back-to-back plays.
9:17 p.m. - These 49ers are pathetic. Another false start brings up 1st and 30. It’s a shame they gave their first round draft pick to the Patriots. Unreal.
9:24 p.m. - End of 1st quarter and it’s time for me to fold the second of three loads of laundry. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.
9:40 p.m. - Back after laundry and surprise surprise, didn’t miss much. Engram caught two more passes and now has 46 yards receiving. Josh Brown had a 46 yard field goal negated due to a holding penalty. Seattle just punted and pinned the 49ers on the one yard line. Sounds like a 99 yard touchdown pass to The Turk.
9:45 p.m. - Direct snap to Arnaz Battle on third down didn’t work. Any sentence which includes Battle usually ends with “didn’t work.” Six minutes left in the 1st half and the 49ers have 32 total yards and zero first downs. I just gave myself a pat on the back for the Seattle Defense pick-up (Pats on bye).
9:49 p.m. - 48 yard pass from Hasselbeck to … D.J. Hackett. I’m pulling a Phil Hellmuth and dodging bullets right now.
9:50 p.m. - Maurice Morris does something Shaun Alexander hasn’t done in over a month and rushes four yards for a touchdown. Josh Brown tacks on the PAT and the Seahawks take a 17-0 lead. In the score that really matters B.B. has an 87-80 lead.
9:55 p.m. - Tony Kornheiser does a Howard Cosell impersonation and Julian Peterson sacks Alex Smith. By the way, I actually don’t mind this MNF crew (minus the sideline reporters of course). The 49ers are so bad they can’t even get a punt off without a delay of game penalty.
10:03 p.m. - The 49ers are going to have great field position with just under two minutes to go. After a fair catch interference penalty, they sit on the Seahawks 31 yard line. The Turk can smell the end zone.
10:04 p.m. - Another sack, another fumble, another turnover. No wonder Barnes quit being a 49ers fan.
10:06 p.m. - The 49ers are trying to set a record for the worst first half performance in the NFL. While trying to spike the ball to stop the clock the Seahawks catch San Francisco with 12 guys on the field. Bring out Josh Brown from 49 yards. Brown makes it, but AGAIN there’s another penalty on Seattle. Brown is now trying it from 54 yards, and of course, he misses it. This Seattle field goal unit is killing me. Six points they have taken away from me.
10:10 p.m. - End of half - Seattle 17, San Francisco 0 … Brady’s Bunch 89, Flintstone’s Kid 80.
Halftime thoughts - Instead of commenting on the halftime festivities, I’m taking this time to talk about other festivities.
The Cleveland Browns blew another lead against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Reminded me of the Lou Brown comment in ‘Major League’. “One of these days we’re going to figure out how to beat those guys [Yankees].” Same concept here. Close but not quite yet. Not all is lost however for the Brownies. They are sitting at 5-4 and more than likely will actually be favored in their remaining seven games. Realistically they should end up somewhere around 10-6. That should be good enough for an AFC Wild Card berth. Time will tell.
Derek Anderson has been playing well but was below average in the 2nd half last week in Pittsburgh. Here is what the Browns SHOULD do with D.A. His contract is up at the end of the season and the Browns should exercise the team option and resign him. However, upon doing so, other teams will be able to try and trade for Derek Anderson but will HAVE to give the Browns a 1st and a 3rd round draft pick. This allows Cleveland a chance to get back in the 1st round of the draft. Also, if another team does not make a stab at D.A then you have him and Brady doing battle in training camp at the start of next season. Sounds like a win-win there.
Cleveland needs somebody on defense. Willie McGinist showed his age last week in a game where the Browns badly missed D’Qwell Jackson. Phil Savage addressed the offensive line and now needs to address the entire defense via the draft and through free agency.
I’m loving it when Romeo smiles. The world seems like a happier place to live in when he breaks out into a smile.
The Chicago Bulls have always been slow starters but my goodness. They lost by thirty at home against the Raptors. Unacceptable. I said last year that this team has “maxed out” their potential. They can only get so good with their current roster. They need to get Kobe ASAP.
10:24 p.m. - Back to the game. Give credit to the 49ers for trying something creative and kicking an onside kick to start the 2nd half. Unfortunately it didn’t work and the Seahawks take over from midfield.
10:28 p.m. - Maurice Morris does his best Shaun Alexander impression and fumbles. The 49ers show some sign of life and jump on the ball. Will The Turk catch a pass?? Stay tuned.
10:29 p.m. - Suzy Kolber’s hair is ridiculous. Somewhere Joe Namaith is laughing. He’s probably wasted, but he’s laughing nonetheless.
10:33 p.m. - Arnaz Battle tries to draw Seattle off-sides on 4th down and, well, I direct you to 9:45. Same story.
10:36 p.m. - It just wouldn’t be a game without a Matt Hasselbeck INT. Seattle has turned the ball over on their last two possessions. Nate Clements picks it off and returns it to Seattle’s 20. Frank Gore runs up the middle for ten yards. The Turk is ready to do some work.
10:39 p.m. - 4th and a yard from Seattle’s 2. I’m guessing San Francisco is going to go for it. At this point they have absolutely nothing to lose.
10:42 p.m. - The Niners go for it, and don’t get is as Frank Gore is stuffed in the backfield. Well, at least the 49ers are trying. They are failing, but trying.
10:43 p.m. - I just made an executive decision and decided to leave the 3rd load of laundry in the dryer until the game is over. Realistically that means I could have folded the clothes about an hour ago, but I’m more of a technical person.
10:46 p.m. - The Seahawks go three and out and are forced to punt. For the third consecutive time, the 49ers start with great field position, this time at Seattle’s 40. Drew Carey is joining the crew after the TV timeout. He better say something about Cleveland.
10:50 p.m. - We got the Cleveland Browns reference. That’s all I needed. Go Browns.
10:51 p.m. - 4th and 3 from Seattle’s 22 and the 49ers decide to go for it. Strange decision at best from Mike Nolan. Smith’s pass is incomplete and the Niners waste great field position for the 3rd time in the quarter.
10:55 p.m. - God awards His people. Three solid minutes of discussing Cleveland sports with Drew Carey. I would have missed that entire conversation if I wasn’t doing this running blog. Everything happens for a reason. Fan-tastic.
11:01 p.m. - Out goes Drew Carey and into the red zone goes the Seahawks. An Engram TD would make the next half hour way too stressful. End of third quarter. Seattle 17, San Francisco 0 … Brady’s Bunch 87, Flintstone’s Kid 80. One more quarter.
11:04 p.m. - Hasselbeck throws a TD pass to … D.J Hackett. That one made me jump a bit. Great pass by Hasselbeck. Josh Brown gives me another point and the Seahawks give me the best week ten record in our pick’em league. “Show me the money!”
11:07 p.m. - For some reason Steve Young is now in the booth. Does this happen every week? I’m willing to bet Steve is tired of listening to Emmitt.
11:08 p.m. - I’m convinced that The Turk is not going to catch a pass. Alex Smith is just downright awful right now.
11:09 p.m. - Arnaz Battle tries to catch a 3rd down pass and … you get the idea.
11:12 p.m. - Bobby Engram catches his fourth pass, this one going for only six yards. However, it’s another point for Jared’s team. 88-81 with just 12:30 to go.
11:16 p.m. - Seattle has 26 first downs … San Francisco has 4. Enough said.
11:20 p.m. - Seattle is going to punt with eight minutes to go. I need to avoid big plays by San Francisco that don’t involve The Turk in order for Brady’s Bunch to snap a four game losing streak.
11:23 p.m. - Notre Dame’s basketball team has as many wins as N.D’s football team. Alex Smith tries to hit The Turk but throws it six feet short. Smith needs bigger hands.
11:28 p.m. - Mark it down. The Turk comes through with his first catch of the game!! Reception goes for four yards. He needs at least six more yards to get me a point. The 49ers have strung a couple of plays together and now my fantasy score is 86-81. 6:13 to go.
11:30 p.m. - Arnaz Battle drops a third down pass, tries to get a pass interference call and, well, I don’t think I have to tell you how it ended.
11:36 p.m. - Another job for a promising broadcaster just got taken away when Mack Strong said he was pursuing a broadcasting career. That’s how it works. Seattle is punting with just under three minutes to play. I did some quick math and here’s how I can lose: San Francisco must score a TD and get 89 total yards. I like my chances.
11:40 p.m. - Mike Tirico points out that Alex Smith was a winner in high school. Smith just happened to have a running back named Reggie Bush on his team. I wonder if that helped at all?
11:44 p.m. - San Francisco turns the ball over on downs and Seattle takes over at the two-minute warning. The Seahawks are now in victory formation which means Brady’s Bunch earned a hard fought victory, improving to 4-6 on the season. The playoffs are still possible. Thanks for caring.
11:45 p.m. - Ron Jaworski is counting down the number of days until he gets to call a New England Patriots game. I feel bad for this crew. They deserve better. However, I’m not going to cry too much about it because Gus Johnson deserves much better than what he gets.
11:46 p.m. - Ball game over. Seattle shuts out San Francisco 24-0. Seattle goes to 5-4 while the 49ers have lost seven in a row and are now at 2-7. It’s been real.
We’ve had the Beatles, Dr. Evil, Sleepless In Seattle, chip dip, The Turk, laundry, countless number of rips on Arnaz Battle, Major League, a Cuba Gooding Jr. quote, Gus Johnson, a mullet, Drew Carey, Joe Namaith and a fishing toss contest.
Welcome to the life of a running blog. You never know where it’s going to take you.
Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”
Sunday, November 11, 2007
2007 NFL Picks Week Ten
We have reached double digits. I can distinctly remember being very excited to turn double digits in age as I felt it signified the starting point of growing up. These NFL teams are doing the same thing in the sense that they are "growing" into their identity that they have attempted to establish over the previous nine weeks. Playoff talk now becomes a focus and scoreboard watching for some teams becomes a weekly habit.
In honor of this monumental occassion of reaching double digits I have decided to mix it up this week. Every participant received their own space to make comments. Instead of grouping the comments together by game, I decided to group them by the individual who made them. For one, it's a nice change of pace and two, the Browns start in one hour. Each game will have a number which will correspond to the comments. Giddy up.
Congrats to Bart for going 10-4 last week and posting the best record. For the first time all season Bart has gone over .500. Also, congrats to the league as a whole. For the first time all year, just two players are not over .500. Like I said earlier, getting through the first several weeks are difficult and this league is a testiment to that statement.
STANDINGS (after nine weeks)
1) Luke 73-57 (6-8)
2) Sara 71-59 (8-6)
3) Kevin 70-60 (9-5)
4) Devin 68-62 (6-8)
4) Jeff 68-62 (9-5)
6) Bart 66-64 (10-4)
7) Barnes 62-68 (8-6)
8) Grothaus 61-69 (7-7)
#1 - Jacksonville @ Tennessee (-4)
JAX: Devin, Grothaus
TEN: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Bart, Barnes
#2 - Denver @ Kansas City (-3.5)
DEN: Luke, Barnes, Grothaus
KC: Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Bart
#3 - Buffalo (-3) @ Miami
BUF: Sara, Devin, Jeff, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
MIA: Luke, Kevin
#4 - Cleveland @ Pittsburgh (-9.5)
CLE: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin
PIT: Jeff, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
#5 - St. Louis @ New Orleans (-11.5)
STL: Luke, Jeff, Bart, Grothaus
NO: Sara, Kevin, Devin, Barnes
#6 - Atlanta @ Carolina (-4)
ATL: Luke, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
CAR: Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff
#7 - Philadelphia @ Washington (-3)
PHI: Luke, Sara, Jeff
WAS: Kevin, Devin, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
#8 - Minnesota @ Green Bay (-6)
MIN: Luke, Jeff, Bart, Grothaus
GB: Sara, Kevin, Devin, Barnes
#9 - Cincinnati @ Baltimore (-4.5)
CIN: Luke, Sara, Devin, Jeff, Bart, Barnes
BAL: Kevin, Grothaus
#10 - Chicago (-3.5) @ Oakland
CHI: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes, Grothaus
OAK: Sara, Devin, Bart
#11 - Dallas (-1) @ New York Giants
DAL: Kevin, Devin, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
NYG: Luke, Sara, Jeff
#12 - Detroit @ Arizona (-1)
DET: Everyone
ARI: No one
#13 - Indianapolis (-3.5) @ San Diego
IND: Everyone
SD: No one
#14 - San Francisco @ Seattle (-10)
SF: Devin, Jeff, Barnes
SEA: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Bart, Grothaus
LUKE
#1 - Jacksonville is starting Quinn Gray. QUINN GRAY ON THE ROAD!!
#3 - Buffalo is a different team on the road. Phins get their first win today.
#4 - It can not be any worse than it was way back in week one. I expect this game to be close. Fortunately for the Browns, if they lose this game it's not that big of a deal as far as AFC Wild Card hopes.
#5 - Too many points for Steven Jackson.
#6 - I know I said I would back Maxine Hunt, but come on, Carolina has NO ONE at QB.
#8 - God bless Adrian Peterson. He is unreal.
#9 - This just in: Ray Lewis does not play offense. He's my 2nd most hated athlete and all he does is keep giving me ammunition.
#11 - Should be a good game between the best the NFC has to offer. I expect the Giants to play a lot better on defense and win a close game. The typical Tom Coughlin collapse is just weeks away.
#12 - Oddsmakers still have no faith in this Lions bunch. Again, I'm nervous because it seems with this spread that they know something I don't.
#13 - Colts are too good to lose this one. Chargers have been a flaky bunch all year, kind of like their coach.
#14 - ESPN wishes they could have this pick back. Ouch.
SARA
I'd just like to say that it feels good to be back, and I'm looking forward to actually being able to watch the games on TV!!! Watch out, everyone ... especially you Luke. Now I can actually make some educated picks!! Woo hoo!! Go BROWNS!!
#4 - CAN IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!?!?
#5 - This is a huge spread ... and it's awfully tempting. But no thanks, I'll take the Saints.
#10 - I like that new Justin Fargas kid as the RB.
#12 - Lions love the desert.
KEVIN
No Ballbuster Pick this week. It's been awful lately and I guess I can do just as well by actually picking. If I don't go .500 this week, it will return.
#2 - Denver is not Green Bay and, therefore, will not win at Arrowhead.
#3 - They (MIA) have to win sometime, don't they?? Might as well be at home. And I'm not talking about England. I mean, the place is called, "Wembley."
#4 - Hoping the Brownies can just keep it close.
#5 - I don't know, I just don't know...
#6 - Maxine Hunt Pick of the Week (3-1) - as made LIVE on OCR, Tuesday night. She went with Carolina because that's where she wants to go on vacation. She practically denied that she doesn't want to have a vacation in Atlanta for no real reason -- although Carolina is at home, so we'll give her a break. In other news, it's unknown whether Vinny Testaverde will play, but something tells me that if he starts, that would only make Maxine want to pick his team more.
#7 - Philly has to be one of the most ridiculous teams to watch at this point. Which is interesting for a team that scored 56 points in a game early in the year. Now they're talking about sitting Donovan McNabb for Kevin Kolb. Yikes.
#8 - Back the Pack 'cause the Pack is Back!! I'm starting to love Brett Favre almost more than John Madden. And yes, I realize how scary this really is.
#9 - As much as I hate Baltimore after that Monday Night Game, I hate the Bengals on the road even more. Recently reinstated WR Chris Henry could be the game-changer for Cincinnati, but I think he'll be rusty, at best.
#10 - Every week when I make the pick in the Oakland game, I type my answer, but call timeout in my head just before I finish it. Then I type it again. It usually ends up being the other team that I type the second time. I hate the Raiders.
#11 - Oddsmakers really want people to pick up on the Giants, I guess. I just don't trust them yet. I would rather not pick any games involving the NFC East.
#12 - Lions eat Cardinals. It's that simple. I guess the spread could be transferred into teeth in this example. So not only are cats eating birds, but the cats are getting another tooth with which to eat them. Can Detroit really win this many games??
#13 - No such thing as a hangover from losing to NE. They weren't talking about that game before it got there, they won't remember it now, either. The loss was mostly blamed on the lack of health on their team, so the Colts obviously don't care a whole lot about the regular season loss. The Chargers, meanwhile, got a beat down by Minnesota and helped the Browns exit the top slot in a bad spot inthe record books.
#14 - The Seahawks just lost to the Browns, but this season that doesn't seem like such a devastating defeat. Their problem was that they went too long with Shawn Alexander. Welcome in Maurice Morris as a starter and Seattle takes care of the 49ers. San Francisco is awful and I blame Matt Barnes and Emmitt Smith. Barnes abandoned the team and Steve Young's 49ers mojo has been all but obliterated by Emmitt Smith's being beside the former QB at the desk on ESPN. The only thing saving San Fran's year would be bulletin board material reading: Don't Quit, don't even quit.
JEFF
#1 - Titans -- not even sure about the Jags defense anymore.
#2 - KC -- yeah the Chiefs fans said their prayers - the Priest came back.
#3 - Buffalo impresses me SOMEWHAT -- Miami not at all ---- Buffalo
#4 - My heart says Browns -- my head says Steelers --- Pitt but it hurts.
#5 - St. Louis -- Jackson being back may keep Brees off the field.
#6 - Carolina -- Atlanta played well last week -- back to normal today.
#7 - Philly -- McNabb is so bad he is due for a HUGE week.
#8 - Vikings --- Peterson helps the Vikings control the clock.
#9 - Cincinnati -- yeah rooting for the Bunlgles here -- I must have a concussion.
#10 - Bears -- Raiders flopping QBs, RBs, only Janikowski "stable"?
#11 - GMEN --- I think the Giants defense will be the difference.
#12 - Detroit -- Kitna keeps em rolling.
#13 - Indy - Not a Phillip Rivers fan and Indy won't have a letdown.
#14 - SF -- only because of the points!!!!
So there you go. A new look at the picks and comments for our pick'em league. Bart chose to keep it strictly professional this week and just went with picks.
Quote of the week goes to Kevin for #14. Any time you give reference to Emmitt Smith and his absurd comments you will have a shot at quote of the week.
That's all I got for this week. Best of luck to everyone and go browns!!
"Read it, roll it, hole it."
Sunday, November 04, 2007
2007 NFL Picks Week Nine
It's hard to believe that the NFL regular season is half way over. In the next several weeks teams will try to seperate themselves from the middle of the pack to playoff contenders. In our pick'em however, there is very little seperation anywhere. Four games is the biggest gap between any two players. At the half way point it appears as if this is going to come down to the very last week.
The Grothaus Scandal of 2007 has been ruled upon. After getting feedback from the entire league, I have decided to give Grothaus three more wins which puts him in a tie for 7th place. Now if Grothaus goes on to win this thing by one or two I might have a mutiny on my hands. Staying with players in this pick'em I apologize to Mr. Normand. You are absolutely right, no more Jeff. I don't know what I was thinking. And lastly, with regards to Barnes, expect an e-mail and/or phone call sometime later today.
Okay, now that I got the business aspect of this post taken care of, I can move onto the pleasure side.
I thought it would be fitting to give half-way awards to not only the NFL players, but to players of this pick'em as well. Sit back and enjoy. The first annual Skywalker's are ready to begin.
MVP - Tom Brady. No surprise here. He is the best quarterback in the league and is on pace to throw 60 TD's and 4 INT's. He could take four weeks off and still be a sure bet for this award.
Offensive Player of the Year - See above.
Defensive Player of the Year - Osi Umenyiora. Basing this solely on one game earlier this year against the Eagles where he sacked McNabb six times.
Coach of the Year - Eric Mangini. Even though his Jets are at 1-7 he is the sole reason the Patriots are killing everyone.
Surprise Player of the Year - Derek Anderson. If the Pro Bowl started today, he would be the third QB in the AFC behind Manning and Brady. He has thrown the 2nd most TD's in the league and has the Browns sitting at 4-3.
Best Moment of the Year - Walking back from the Ravens-Browns game back in week four. It took seven tries, but I finally got to experience a Browns win. High fives and smiles from the masses was something I had never seen in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Worst Moment of the Year - Sitting in the poring rain with Lucius during the Steelers-Browns game. Opening day started with the most excitement I had ever seen before. And then the game started. It was over after the Browns had four penalties on one play. The rain just made it perfect.
Rookie of the Year - Adrian Peterson. This guy is for real. Joe Thomas has been great, but man, Peterson would have looked amazing in a Browns uniform.
Game of the Year - Dallas 25 Buffalo 24 - Week Five - It could have been the Browns-Bengals game from week two but this Monday Night game was incredible. The Cowboys rallied to win it as time expired when they had to kick the game winning field goal, twice.
Now, on to our pick'em league.
MVP - The New England Patriots. I mean come on, they are 8-0 ATS!!
Mr. Consistency - Yours truly. I hate to brag, but my worst week has been 7-9 back in week two. Every other week I've been over .500, no one else can say that.
Best E-mails - Kevin Hunt. Bart was a close second, but Kevin has come through almost every week from the other side of the world.
THE Best E-Mail - Bart Borer, Week Nine. He might offend some, but he has without a doubt the funniest e-mail I have ever received.
Person to Look Out for in the 2nd Half - Matt Barnes. This guy was at the top after two weeks, and then hit a rough spot. However, I could see him picking up steam down the stretch.
Mr. Reliable - Mr. Normand. He always comes through with his picks and always has a great comment for every single game. No one else can say this.
Biggest Controversy - Michael Grothaus, Week Eight. He simply forgot.
Best Radio Show Partner - Devin Frank. O.C.R Tuesday's @ 9 on WHEI 88.9 FM.
Best Fantasy Player - Sara Normand. I said so way back in week one, and she has not let me down. Her team McNabb It is good. Really good. Almost like the Patriots good.
Well that wraps up the first annual Skywalker's. Onto the picks.
STANDINGS (after eight weeks)
1) Luke 67-49 (8-5)
2) Sara 63-53 (6-7)
3) Devin 62-54 (8-5)
4) Kevin 61-55 (9-4)
5) Mr. Normand 59-57 (8-5)
6) Bart 56-60 (8-5)
7) Barnes 54-62 (8-5)
7) Grothaus 54-62 (4-9)
Washington (-3.5) @ New York Jets
How good are the Patriots? Well, they smoke the Redskins 52-7 and then next week the Redskins are favored ON THE ROAD by over a field goal. Just another way Belichick is sticking it to Mangini. Pick: Washington
As I currently write this, Kevin has not gotten his picks in. I'm headed to his house this afternoon, so we'll get them then.
Bart gets things started on a great note by giving the Jets something else to spell, "J-E-T-S!Suck! Suck! Suck! Should be the new chant in New York."
Mr. Normand tried, but could not think of a single reason to pick the Jets.
WAS: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
NYJ:
Green Bay @ Kansas City (-2.5)
I still do not trust these Packers. Especially coming off of a road Monday Night game. In Herm Edwards I Trust. Pick: Kansas City
Mr. Normand follows my line of thinking, "Green Bay hangover from Monday Night Football."
Bart puts things in perspective however, "I have to take a 6-1 team getting points to a 4-3 team." We'll see.
GB: Sara, Devin, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
KC: Luke, Mr. Normand
Arizona @ Tampa Bay (-3.5)
Going with the Bucs. Don't know why. I hate the NFC. Pick: Tampa Bay
Bart and I both agree when he says, "I dont really care about either of these teams, but I would like to live in either of these places." Absolutely.
Mr. Normand says, "Another great match-up of NOBODIES."
Does the NFC have to be represented in the Super Bowl?
ARI: Mr. Normand, Grothaus
TB: Luke, Sara, Devin, Bart, Barnes
Carolina @ Tennessee (-4)
Playing a hunch that the Titans will win by three. Call me crazy. Pick: Carolina
I think Devin is asking for a provisional pick when he says, "Vince Young rule (he must start)."
Mr. Normand says the Panthers are falling apart. I guess he is referring to the fact that Vinny Testaverde is STARTING. Wow.
CAR: Luke
TEN: Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
San Francisco @ Atlanta (-3)
The Falcons are favored by three? This is insane! The oddsmakers must know something that I don't. Seriously though, we have more players in this pick'em league than will actually attend this game. Pick: San Francisco
Mr. Normand does the correct thing by flipping a coin for this game with three total wins between them.
Bart has another great point, "I don’t think they (Atlanta) can score enough to cover, even when they are getting points." I love my friends.
SF: Luke, Sara, Devin, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
ATL: Mr. Normand
Jacksonville @ New Orleans (-3.5)
Keep riding the hot team until they let you down. Right now the Saints are on fire. Pick: New Orleans
Bart had plenty of options, but this came through as the quote of the week, "I had to throw some love to the Saints this week, it is the least I can do, because I will probably not make it to mass on All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation. I think I just got struck by lightning, which is weird because I am in an office, and it is nice outside. Yikes!"
Mr. Normand asks a really good question, "Drew lighting it up--who is the Jags QB anyway?"
I believe the answer is Quinn Gray. Yeah, I like my pick a lot more now.
JAX: Sara, Grothaus
NO: Luke, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes
Denver @ Detroit (-3)
The Broncos are just 1-6 ATS this year. While the Lions are 5-2 ATS overall, 2-0 ATS while being favored, and 3-0 ATS @ home. Numbers like that make this easy. Pick: Detroit
Sara hands out some hardware, "Jon Kitna wins my award for best Halloween costume ... he and his wife went as a naked man and drive-thru attendant as a tribute to one of the Lions coaches who got arrested for going through a drive-thru naked. I would've never expected this from this man." Is it too late to change my pick?
Mr. Normand senses a high scoring affair, with Kitna throwing a couple TD's. My fantasy team, Brady's Bunch would like to see those TD's tossed to Kevin Jones and Calvin Johnson.
DEN: Sara, Devin, Barnes
DET: Luke, Mr. Normand, Bart, Grothaus
Cincinnati @ Buffalo (PK)
For the first time all year we have a straight up pick'em. The Bills are 4-0 ATS at home this year. However they are throwing J.P. Losman out there this week. I can't back Losman. Not a chance. Pick: Cincinnati
Devin adds a comment that I cannot post. It involves asking "Who Dey?" And then answering said question. Lucius knows the answer.
Sara gives the Bengals the '07 award for team chemistry. I love it.
Bart, who is 2-0 when he does this, has another provisional pick, "The team that is wearing the darker jerseys. Both teams suck, the team that attracts the most sunlight with its jerseys will stay the warmest during the game which will in turn lead to victory."
Mr. Normand is enjoying the empty bandwagon in Cincy. I would imagine it's been quiet there in Cincy the last couple of weeks.
CIN: Luke, Devin, Barnes
BUF: Sara, Mr. Normand, Grothaus
San Diego (-7.5) @ Minnesota
The following scenario is all set to begin.
I start believing in this Chargers team.
They start looking good and covering games.
Norv Turner senses this and then when I start backing them, does something that makes absolutely no sense. For example, pulling LT in the 2nd half.
The Chargers quit on Turner.
Get ready folks. Pick: San Diego
Bart thinks the real coaching is coming from somebody else, "The Chargers are back, I think LaDanian Tomlinson may be doing the actual coaching now. Ron Turner is just a figure head, kinda like the Queen of England, they make a lot of money but don’t do any work." Yep, he said Ron Turner. Yes, these are my friends.
Mr. Normand says that the Chargers are finally starting to find the endzone on both sides of the ball.
SD: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
MIN:
Seattle @ Cleveland (-1)
Kind of a big game for this Browns team. If they have any hopes of making it to the playoffs they either need to win the AFC North, or probably have 10 wins at least. It needs to be seen if Derek Anderson can come through against a decent team. These next three games are going to be crucial. Home vs. Seattle, At Pittsburgh and At Baltimore. Gotta get this one. Pick: Cleveland
Sara comes through with yet another award, "It needs to be noted that the Browns get the award for playing New England the closest out of anyone through this entire season!!!! BROWNIES!" While this is true it may have something to do with Belichick and Crennel still getting along.
It should be pointed out that Sara is 7-0 picking Seattle games. Go Browns.
Bart sees bad things in this match-up for the Browns, "The Brownies are due for a let down, they haven’t won three in a row in 45652566325665365 years." It's true, I looked it up.
Mr. Normand is wishing for a time change in this game, and for good reason, "Wish it was at 1PM - will be at Quicken arena watching while waiting for Springsteen!!!" Doesn't get too much better than that.
SEA: Devin, Bart, Barnes
CLE: Luke, Sara, Mr. Normand, Grothaus
New England (-5.5) @ Indianapolis
They are calling it Super Bowl 41.5. It's the first time in NFL history that teams with at least a 7-0 record are playing each other. The winner will be in the driver seat for AFC home field advantage. The loser will still only be just one game back. I honestly think the Patriots are going to destroy this Colts team. Then, all the talk will shift to whether or not the Patriots will go 19-0. You will also then see a segment on ESPN matching up this Patriots team to all the great NFL teams of all-time. Kirk Herbstreit is already on record of taking the Patriots except if they would play the 2005 USC team. Pick: New England
Bart wants to pick New England but can't go against the Colts at home while getting points.
Mr. Normand is relieved to finally have a game that means something, other than the Browns of course.
Sara pours a glass of haterade for Bill Simmons, "I planned on picking Indi a couple weeks ago but I got embarrassed last week by picking Washington. I'm not making that mistake again. I blame Bill Simmons. After making all my picks I saw we made 9 of 12 the same ... Let's just say his wife is doing better than him."
NE: Luke, Sara, Devin, Grothaus
IND: Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes
Houston @ Oakland (-3)
Not picking Houston again until they get healthy. Andre Johnson is not coming back until week 11. Oh, did I mention I'm 8-0 picking Texans games? Pick: Oakland
Bart flipped a coin, which landed Heads. He picked Houston because they both started with an "h". What's not to love?
I seriously feel bad for Gus Johnson. He should be doing the Colts-Pats game. A game of that magnitude deserves Gus. Instead he is sittting at Oakland writing hate mail to Jim Nantz and Greg Gumbel.
HOU: Sara, Bart, Barnes
OAK: Luke, Devin, Mr. Normand, Grothaus
Dallas (-3) @ Philadelphia
Picking the Cowboys. Let the comments about Andy Reid's house begin. Pick: Dallas
Bart's got a good one about Reid's kids, "I think Andy Reid should start hanging out with his sons more, not so he can keep them out of trouble, but rather so he can let loose and have more fun. Just a thought, his sons seem like they know how to party."
It should be noted that authorities called Reid's house a "drug imporium." Now, I don't know what the levels of drug houses are, but I would think "imporium" would be high on that list.
Mr. Normand takes the high road (pun intended) by saying the Eagles need the win, but won't get it.
DAL: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
PHI:
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (-9)
The Ravens are 1-6 ATS. The only team that is worse are the Rams at 1-7. I'd love to take the points with this one, but I've been getting killed picking against the Steelers this year. Pick: Pittsburgh
Sara backs the Steelers and then hopes she is wrong for the Browns sake. Mr. Normand does the same.
Bart is thanking the Steelers for making the entire city of Cincy quiet for yet another week.
BAL:
PIT: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
That wraps it up for the picks. Like I mentioned earlier, I will be getting Kevin's picks soon.
Now I give the microphone to Bart. He said he spent four hours coming up with the following, and let me be the first to tell you, it was time well spent.
BART'S THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK
"First of all, I am not a man to toot my own horn very often (though I do toot quite regularly), but I am gonna have to say that my Nacho Libre costume was the best costume in all of Oxford last weekend. Also since I know there are some OU students in our group (past, present, and future, with Luke being the past and the future part of that statement), I was told that my costume would have been the best one in Athens as well, so I must have done something right. I am guessing that is was a mixture of a couple things. First I kinda look like Jack Black anyway, so that was a big help. Second, I grew and pampered a 100% all-natural mustache, that way I wasn’t just playing the part, I was BEING the part. Third, I did not wear a shirt of any kind throughout the whole night, so for all of you who don’t know my central region very well, I got to show off my sweet chest and stomach hair, which was very interesting in the mall and at a house party and at the bars in uptown Oxford. Last but not least, I was half of a handle into a bottle of rum before I did anything, so that may have been the biggest help of all.
To Kevin, I agree that we should stop trying to pick the Boring Game of the Week. Collectively we are a very big 0 for 2 in our picks, because each of our picks may have actually been the most exciting game of its respective week. We suck, there is nothing more to it than that.
As for the Grothaus situation, we should do one of two things. We should either make the 1-12 record stand because it seems as if Luke really tried to get a hold of him and lets face it, we do not need to be baby-sitted (sat?) anymore, we are all adults and we have one simple task for this each week and it is really not that hard. To be honest, it can be as simple as sending Luke a text that says “I pick all underdogs this week," that takes three seconds, maybe four if you have fat fingers like me and will usually give you about a .500 winning percentage. I only know this because I have done this, or a slight variation of this, three different times and I think my winning percentage for those weeks is actually higher than the weeks I try to think about each game individually. Anyway, my second option is that we give him those extra three wins and then kill him, so that way he doesn’t beat me by one win for second-to-last place at the end of the year.
Awards:
Diversity Award: Matt Barnes
Way-To-Complicated Ballbuster Pick of the Week Award: Kevin Hunt
Horrible Boring Game of the Week Picker Award: Kevin Hunt, Bart Borer
Consistently Knowledgeable Comments Award: Jeff Normand, Devin Frank
The I Have Way Too Much Free Time, So I Write A Really Awesome, Sarcastic, And Funny Blog Award: Luke Florence
No Comments Ever Award: Mike Grothaus
The I Stay Up Until All Hours Of The Day and Night To Watch Sports In The US Via Webcam Award: Sara Normand, Kevin Hunt
For those of you that don’t know this, Kevin Hunt is very short and isn’t going to get taller anytime soon. That is why I decided to give him three awards and everyone else just one. Since I can’t boost his eye level, I thought I would give his ego a boost.
Good luck to everyone except Barnes, not for any other reason than I don’t want to get last in this God forsaken contest of trying to pick which millionaire a-hole athletes are actually going to care about their job for any given week. I have come to the conclusion that it is like trying to predict the exact time that I am gonna take my afternoon dump, its hard to do because most of the time I don’t even know what I am gonna eat for lunch, which makes a big difference … I suck and I know it, I just needed a place to vent. Peace. Love. Hot Dogs."
That is exactly what I had in mind when I came up with that segment.
Best of luck to everyone, and until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
The Grothaus Scandal of 2007 has been ruled upon. After getting feedback from the entire league, I have decided to give Grothaus three more wins which puts him in a tie for 7th place. Now if Grothaus goes on to win this thing by one or two I might have a mutiny on my hands. Staying with players in this pick'em I apologize to Mr. Normand. You are absolutely right, no more Jeff. I don't know what I was thinking. And lastly, with regards to Barnes, expect an e-mail and/or phone call sometime later today.
Okay, now that I got the business aspect of this post taken care of, I can move onto the pleasure side.
I thought it would be fitting to give half-way awards to not only the NFL players, but to players of this pick'em as well. Sit back and enjoy. The first annual Skywalker's are ready to begin.
MVP - Tom Brady. No surprise here. He is the best quarterback in the league and is on pace to throw 60 TD's and 4 INT's. He could take four weeks off and still be a sure bet for this award.
Offensive Player of the Year - See above.
Defensive Player of the Year - Osi Umenyiora. Basing this solely on one game earlier this year against the Eagles where he sacked McNabb six times.
Coach of the Year - Eric Mangini. Even though his Jets are at 1-7 he is the sole reason the Patriots are killing everyone.
Surprise Player of the Year - Derek Anderson. If the Pro Bowl started today, he would be the third QB in the AFC behind Manning and Brady. He has thrown the 2nd most TD's in the league and has the Browns sitting at 4-3.
Best Moment of the Year - Walking back from the Ravens-Browns game back in week four. It took seven tries, but I finally got to experience a Browns win. High fives and smiles from the masses was something I had never seen in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Worst Moment of the Year - Sitting in the poring rain with Lucius during the Steelers-Browns game. Opening day started with the most excitement I had ever seen before. And then the game started. It was over after the Browns had four penalties on one play. The rain just made it perfect.
Rookie of the Year - Adrian Peterson. This guy is for real. Joe Thomas has been great, but man, Peterson would have looked amazing in a Browns uniform.
Game of the Year - Dallas 25 Buffalo 24 - Week Five - It could have been the Browns-Bengals game from week two but this Monday Night game was incredible. The Cowboys rallied to win it as time expired when they had to kick the game winning field goal, twice.
Now, on to our pick'em league.
MVP - The New England Patriots. I mean come on, they are 8-0 ATS!!
Mr. Consistency - Yours truly. I hate to brag, but my worst week has been 7-9 back in week two. Every other week I've been over .500, no one else can say that.
Best E-mails - Kevin Hunt. Bart was a close second, but Kevin has come through almost every week from the other side of the world.
THE Best E-Mail - Bart Borer, Week Nine. He might offend some, but he has without a doubt the funniest e-mail I have ever received.
Person to Look Out for in the 2nd Half - Matt Barnes. This guy was at the top after two weeks, and then hit a rough spot. However, I could see him picking up steam down the stretch.
Mr. Reliable - Mr. Normand. He always comes through with his picks and always has a great comment for every single game. No one else can say this.
Biggest Controversy - Michael Grothaus, Week Eight. He simply forgot.
Best Radio Show Partner - Devin Frank. O.C.R Tuesday's @ 9 on WHEI 88.9 FM.
Best Fantasy Player - Sara Normand. I said so way back in week one, and she has not let me down. Her team McNabb It is good. Really good. Almost like the Patriots good.
Well that wraps up the first annual Skywalker's. Onto the picks.
STANDINGS (after eight weeks)
1) Luke 67-49 (8-5)
2) Sara 63-53 (6-7)
3) Devin 62-54 (8-5)
4) Kevin 61-55 (9-4)
5) Mr. Normand 59-57 (8-5)
6) Bart 56-60 (8-5)
7) Barnes 54-62 (8-5)
7) Grothaus 54-62 (4-9)
Washington (-3.5) @ New York Jets
How good are the Patriots? Well, they smoke the Redskins 52-7 and then next week the Redskins are favored ON THE ROAD by over a field goal. Just another way Belichick is sticking it to Mangini. Pick: Washington
As I currently write this, Kevin has not gotten his picks in. I'm headed to his house this afternoon, so we'll get them then.
Bart gets things started on a great note by giving the Jets something else to spell, "J-E-T-S!Suck! Suck! Suck! Should be the new chant in New York."
Mr. Normand tried, but could not think of a single reason to pick the Jets.
WAS: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
NYJ:
Green Bay @ Kansas City (-2.5)
I still do not trust these Packers. Especially coming off of a road Monday Night game. In Herm Edwards I Trust. Pick: Kansas City
Mr. Normand follows my line of thinking, "Green Bay hangover from Monday Night Football."
Bart puts things in perspective however, "I have to take a 6-1 team getting points to a 4-3 team." We'll see.
GB: Sara, Devin, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
KC: Luke, Mr. Normand
Arizona @ Tampa Bay (-3.5)
Going with the Bucs. Don't know why. I hate the NFC. Pick: Tampa Bay
Bart and I both agree when he says, "I dont really care about either of these teams, but I would like to live in either of these places." Absolutely.
Mr. Normand says, "Another great match-up of NOBODIES."
Does the NFC have to be represented in the Super Bowl?
ARI: Mr. Normand, Grothaus
TB: Luke, Sara, Devin, Bart, Barnes
Carolina @ Tennessee (-4)
Playing a hunch that the Titans will win by three. Call me crazy. Pick: Carolina
I think Devin is asking for a provisional pick when he says, "Vince Young rule (he must start)."
Mr. Normand says the Panthers are falling apart. I guess he is referring to the fact that Vinny Testaverde is STARTING. Wow.
CAR: Luke
TEN: Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
San Francisco @ Atlanta (-3)
The Falcons are favored by three? This is insane! The oddsmakers must know something that I don't. Seriously though, we have more players in this pick'em league than will actually attend this game. Pick: San Francisco
Mr. Normand does the correct thing by flipping a coin for this game with three total wins between them.
Bart has another great point, "I don’t think they (Atlanta) can score enough to cover, even when they are getting points." I love my friends.
SF: Luke, Sara, Devin, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
ATL: Mr. Normand
Jacksonville @ New Orleans (-3.5)
Keep riding the hot team until they let you down. Right now the Saints are on fire. Pick: New Orleans
Bart had plenty of options, but this came through as the quote of the week, "I had to throw some love to the Saints this week, it is the least I can do, because I will probably not make it to mass on All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation. I think I just got struck by lightning, which is weird because I am in an office, and it is nice outside. Yikes!"
Mr. Normand asks a really good question, "Drew lighting it up--who is the Jags QB anyway?"
I believe the answer is Quinn Gray. Yeah, I like my pick a lot more now.
JAX: Sara, Grothaus
NO: Luke, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes
Denver @ Detroit (-3)
The Broncos are just 1-6 ATS this year. While the Lions are 5-2 ATS overall, 2-0 ATS while being favored, and 3-0 ATS @ home. Numbers like that make this easy. Pick: Detroit
Sara hands out some hardware, "Jon Kitna wins my award for best Halloween costume ... he and his wife went as a naked man and drive-thru attendant as a tribute to one of the Lions coaches who got arrested for going through a drive-thru naked. I would've never expected this from this man." Is it too late to change my pick?
Mr. Normand senses a high scoring affair, with Kitna throwing a couple TD's. My fantasy team, Brady's Bunch would like to see those TD's tossed to Kevin Jones and Calvin Johnson.
DEN: Sara, Devin, Barnes
DET: Luke, Mr. Normand, Bart, Grothaus
Cincinnati @ Buffalo (PK)
For the first time all year we have a straight up pick'em. The Bills are 4-0 ATS at home this year. However they are throwing J.P. Losman out there this week. I can't back Losman. Not a chance. Pick: Cincinnati
Devin adds a comment that I cannot post. It involves asking "Who Dey?" And then answering said question. Lucius knows the answer.
Sara gives the Bengals the '07 award for team chemistry. I love it.
Bart, who is 2-0 when he does this, has another provisional pick, "The team that is wearing the darker jerseys. Both teams suck, the team that attracts the most sunlight with its jerseys will stay the warmest during the game which will in turn lead to victory."
Mr. Normand is enjoying the empty bandwagon in Cincy. I would imagine it's been quiet there in Cincy the last couple of weeks.
CIN: Luke, Devin, Barnes
BUF: Sara, Mr. Normand, Grothaus
San Diego (-7.5) @ Minnesota
The following scenario is all set to begin.
I start believing in this Chargers team.
They start looking good and covering games.
Norv Turner senses this and then when I start backing them, does something that makes absolutely no sense. For example, pulling LT in the 2nd half.
The Chargers quit on Turner.
Get ready folks. Pick: San Diego
Bart thinks the real coaching is coming from somebody else, "The Chargers are back, I think LaDanian Tomlinson may be doing the actual coaching now. Ron Turner is just a figure head, kinda like the Queen of England, they make a lot of money but don’t do any work." Yep, he said Ron Turner. Yes, these are my friends.
Mr. Normand says that the Chargers are finally starting to find the endzone on both sides of the ball.
SD: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
MIN:
Seattle @ Cleveland (-1)
Kind of a big game for this Browns team. If they have any hopes of making it to the playoffs they either need to win the AFC North, or probably have 10 wins at least. It needs to be seen if Derek Anderson can come through against a decent team. These next three games are going to be crucial. Home vs. Seattle, At Pittsburgh and At Baltimore. Gotta get this one. Pick: Cleveland
Sara comes through with yet another award, "It needs to be noted that the Browns get the award for playing New England the closest out of anyone through this entire season!!!! BROWNIES!" While this is true it may have something to do with Belichick and Crennel still getting along.
It should be pointed out that Sara is 7-0 picking Seattle games. Go Browns.
Bart sees bad things in this match-up for the Browns, "The Brownies are due for a let down, they haven’t won three in a row in 45652566325665365 years." It's true, I looked it up.
Mr. Normand is wishing for a time change in this game, and for good reason, "Wish it was at 1PM - will be at Quicken arena watching while waiting for Springsteen!!!" Doesn't get too much better than that.
SEA: Devin, Bart, Barnes
CLE: Luke, Sara, Mr. Normand, Grothaus
New England (-5.5) @ Indianapolis
They are calling it Super Bowl 41.5. It's the first time in NFL history that teams with at least a 7-0 record are playing each other. The winner will be in the driver seat for AFC home field advantage. The loser will still only be just one game back. I honestly think the Patriots are going to destroy this Colts team. Then, all the talk will shift to whether or not the Patriots will go 19-0. You will also then see a segment on ESPN matching up this Patriots team to all the great NFL teams of all-time. Kirk Herbstreit is already on record of taking the Patriots except if they would play the 2005 USC team. Pick: New England
Bart wants to pick New England but can't go against the Colts at home while getting points.
Mr. Normand is relieved to finally have a game that means something, other than the Browns of course.
Sara pours a glass of haterade for Bill Simmons, "I planned on picking Indi a couple weeks ago but I got embarrassed last week by picking Washington. I'm not making that mistake again. I blame Bill Simmons. After making all my picks I saw we made 9 of 12 the same ... Let's just say his wife is doing better than him."
NE: Luke, Sara, Devin, Grothaus
IND: Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes
Houston @ Oakland (-3)
Not picking Houston again until they get healthy. Andre Johnson is not coming back until week 11. Oh, did I mention I'm 8-0 picking Texans games? Pick: Oakland
Bart flipped a coin, which landed Heads. He picked Houston because they both started with an "h". What's not to love?
I seriously feel bad for Gus Johnson. He should be doing the Colts-Pats game. A game of that magnitude deserves Gus. Instead he is sittting at Oakland writing hate mail to Jim Nantz and Greg Gumbel.
HOU: Sara, Bart, Barnes
OAK: Luke, Devin, Mr. Normand, Grothaus
Dallas (-3) @ Philadelphia
Picking the Cowboys. Let the comments about Andy Reid's house begin. Pick: Dallas
Bart's got a good one about Reid's kids, "I think Andy Reid should start hanging out with his sons more, not so he can keep them out of trouble, but rather so he can let loose and have more fun. Just a thought, his sons seem like they know how to party."
It should be noted that authorities called Reid's house a "drug imporium." Now, I don't know what the levels of drug houses are, but I would think "imporium" would be high on that list.
Mr. Normand takes the high road (pun intended) by saying the Eagles need the win, but won't get it.
DAL: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
PHI:
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (-9)
The Ravens are 1-6 ATS. The only team that is worse are the Rams at 1-7. I'd love to take the points with this one, but I've been getting killed picking against the Steelers this year. Pick: Pittsburgh
Sara backs the Steelers and then hopes she is wrong for the Browns sake. Mr. Normand does the same.
Bart is thanking the Steelers for making the entire city of Cincy quiet for yet another week.
BAL:
PIT: Luke, Sara, Devin, Mr. Normand, Bart, Barnes, Grothaus
That wraps it up for the picks. Like I mentioned earlier, I will be getting Kevin's picks soon.
Now I give the microphone to Bart. He said he spent four hours coming up with the following, and let me be the first to tell you, it was time well spent.
BART'S THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK
"First of all, I am not a man to toot my own horn very often (though I do toot quite regularly), but I am gonna have to say that my Nacho Libre costume was the best costume in all of Oxford last weekend. Also since I know there are some OU students in our group (past, present, and future, with Luke being the past and the future part of that statement), I was told that my costume would have been the best one in Athens as well, so I must have done something right. I am guessing that is was a mixture of a couple things. First I kinda look like Jack Black anyway, so that was a big help. Second, I grew and pampered a 100% all-natural mustache, that way I wasn’t just playing the part, I was BEING the part. Third, I did not wear a shirt of any kind throughout the whole night, so for all of you who don’t know my central region very well, I got to show off my sweet chest and stomach hair, which was very interesting in the mall and at a house party and at the bars in uptown Oxford. Last but not least, I was half of a handle into a bottle of rum before I did anything, so that may have been the biggest help of all.
To Kevin, I agree that we should stop trying to pick the Boring Game of the Week. Collectively we are a very big 0 for 2 in our picks, because each of our picks may have actually been the most exciting game of its respective week. We suck, there is nothing more to it than that.
As for the Grothaus situation, we should do one of two things. We should either make the 1-12 record stand because it seems as if Luke really tried to get a hold of him and lets face it, we do not need to be baby-sitted (sat?) anymore, we are all adults and we have one simple task for this each week and it is really not that hard. To be honest, it can be as simple as sending Luke a text that says “I pick all underdogs this week," that takes three seconds, maybe four if you have fat fingers like me and will usually give you about a .500 winning percentage. I only know this because I have done this, or a slight variation of this, three different times and I think my winning percentage for those weeks is actually higher than the weeks I try to think about each game individually. Anyway, my second option is that we give him those extra three wins and then kill him, so that way he doesn’t beat me by one win for second-to-last place at the end of the year.
Awards:
Diversity Award: Matt Barnes
Way-To-Complicated Ballbuster Pick of the Week Award: Kevin Hunt
Horrible Boring Game of the Week Picker Award: Kevin Hunt, Bart Borer
Consistently Knowledgeable Comments Award: Jeff Normand, Devin Frank
The I Have Way Too Much Free Time, So I Write A Really Awesome, Sarcastic, And Funny Blog Award: Luke Florence
No Comments Ever Award: Mike Grothaus
The I Stay Up Until All Hours Of The Day and Night To Watch Sports In The US Via Webcam Award: Sara Normand, Kevin Hunt
For those of you that don’t know this, Kevin Hunt is very short and isn’t going to get taller anytime soon. That is why I decided to give him three awards and everyone else just one. Since I can’t boost his eye level, I thought I would give his ego a boost.
Good luck to everyone except Barnes, not for any other reason than I don’t want to get last in this God forsaken contest of trying to pick which millionaire a-hole athletes are actually going to care about their job for any given week. I have come to the conclusion that it is like trying to predict the exact time that I am gonna take my afternoon dump, its hard to do because most of the time I don’t even know what I am gonna eat for lunch, which makes a big difference … I suck and I know it, I just needed a place to vent. Peace. Love. Hot Dogs."
That is exactly what I had in mind when I came up with that segment.
Best of luck to everyone, and until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
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