Growing up as a football fan in the 80s and 90s, you could rely on two things (for the most part), that the Superbowl game itself would suck, and that the commercials would be entertaining.
Well, that's been turned on its head lately. I don't know if I like this new regime. When the game sucks, and the commercials kick ass, it gives you plenty of time between commercial breaks to do other stuff and enjoy the company of those gathered in the communal activity of not really watching a boring football game.
But now, with tense fourth quarter action, the game is actually the focus of the evening, and that just feels wrong somehow.
Congratulations to the Steelers, they fought hard, they might have gotten a few breaks from the officials, and but for one boneheaded throw by Warner, they probably would have lost, but the final score had them up 27-23, so in the end they become the first franchise to collect their 6th title in the Superbowl era. They capped off an impressive season with an impressive win, and Arizona demonstrated that despite being awful at times this season, they did belong in this game, and played well enough to beat most teams, just not Pittsburgh this evening.
And to all you creative types, come up with better ads next year, this latest crop sucked, you can do better.
Showing posts with label NFL 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFL 2008. Show all posts
01 February 2009
18 October 2008
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation, Week 07, The Picks
Week 7, you know the drill, 5 games on L.A. air, five immodest picks (and probably some pissing and moaning about which games are picked by FOX and CBS).
San Diego (3-3) at Buffalo (4-1) my pick San Diego even
Buffalo's for real, but I think after beating up on New England, San Diego should be able to rattle off a few victories against good teams. Buffalo doesn't stack up well against with teams with solid QBs and versatile receivers, which is exactly what San Diego has. San Diego's defense should be able to hold Buffalo at bay, so a relatively easy victory for the Chargers in this one.
Dallas (4-2) at St. Louis (1-4) no line (uncertainty about Romo's status)
No line, so no pick, instead I'll pick the game that FOX should be showing, instead.
New Orleans (3-3) at Carolina (4-2) my pick New Orleans +3.0
Seriously, why aren't they showing this battle instead of that sorry Rams crap? New Orleans looked good against a bad team last week, can they do the same against a good team? I think they can. Carolina has been getting the job done, but I think the Saint's offense does too many things well and their defense is improving, so they should be able to post an impressive win on the road against a division rival.
NY Jets (3-2) at Oakland (1-4) my pick NY Jets -3.0
CBS and FOX still behave as if Oakland and St.Louis have local followings. Idiots (or I should say, Eeeeeeeeediotsss!!!). Jets, in a laugher, Oakland has quit, they'll probably go 1-15.
Seattle (1-4) at Tampa Bay (4-2) my pick Tampa Bay -11.0
Seattle is awful, Tampa Bay, pretty solid. Lot of points to give up, but that's OK, since the Seattle defense will give up plenty of points, and the Tampa Bay defense will probably score more points themselves than the Seattle offense. Tampa will roll over the sorry Seahawks. But why the hell would anyone watch this when the Sox and the Rays will be engaged in a game seven, anyway?
Denver (4-2) at New England (3-2) my pick New England -3.0
New England is going to struggle this season, but after getting embarrassed Sunday in San Diego, they won't let Denver come into town and beat them. Also, Denver, despite their record, not all that good.
I feel good about these picks, I don't think most of these games will be watchable, but sometimes there's better things to do with a Sunday than watch crappy football (watching good football, beats doing most other things, though).
San Diego (3-3) at Buffalo (4-1) my pick San Diego even
Buffalo's for real, but I think after beating up on New England, San Diego should be able to rattle off a few victories against good teams. Buffalo doesn't stack up well against with teams with solid QBs and versatile receivers, which is exactly what San Diego has. San Diego's defense should be able to hold Buffalo at bay, so a relatively easy victory for the Chargers in this one.
Dallas (4-2) at St. Louis (1-4) no line (uncertainty about Romo's status)
No line, so no pick, instead I'll pick the game that FOX should be showing, instead.
New Orleans (3-3) at Carolina (4-2) my pick New Orleans +3.0
Seriously, why aren't they showing this battle instead of that sorry Rams crap? New Orleans looked good against a bad team last week, can they do the same against a good team? I think they can. Carolina has been getting the job done, but I think the Saint's offense does too many things well and their defense is improving, so they should be able to post an impressive win on the road against a division rival.
NY Jets (3-2) at Oakland (1-4) my pick NY Jets -3.0
CBS and FOX still behave as if Oakland and St.Louis have local followings. Idiots (or I should say, Eeeeeeeeediotsss!!!). Jets, in a laugher, Oakland has quit, they'll probably go 1-15.
Seattle (1-4) at Tampa Bay (4-2) my pick Tampa Bay -11.0
Seattle is awful, Tampa Bay, pretty solid. Lot of points to give up, but that's OK, since the Seattle defense will give up plenty of points, and the Tampa Bay defense will probably score more points themselves than the Seattle offense. Tampa will roll over the sorry Seahawks. But why the hell would anyone watch this when the Sox and the Rays will be engaged in a game seven, anyway?
Denver (4-2) at New England (3-2) my pick New England -3.0
New England is going to struggle this season, but after getting embarrassed Sunday in San Diego, they won't let Denver come into town and beat them. Also, Denver, despite their record, not all that good.
I feel good about these picks, I don't think most of these games will be watchable, but sometimes there's better things to do with a Sunday than watch crappy football (watching good football, beats doing most other things, though).
The Results, Week 06, Weekly NFL Related Humiliation
Hmmm, 3-2 isn't terrible, I'll take it. Did better on the seasonal picks with a surprising 10-4.
Woohoo!!! Oakland 3 New Orleans 34 my pick New Orleans -6.5
So, either New Orleans' (3-3) defense finally showed up, or Oakland's (1-4) offense is truly awful. Also, Drew Brees is on a record setting pace for yards in a season, but doesn't seem like he can keep this up over the next 10 games. New Orleans looks like a team that might make the NFC Finals again, but plenty of teams have looked good against Oakland, so judgement remains reserved. Oakland, less said the better, can we keep them off L.A. air for the rest of the season, please?
D'oh!! Chicago 20 Atlanta 22 my pick Chicago -3.0
Atlanta (4-2) might be good? Chicago (3-3), mediocre at best, they still have a strong defense, but they aren't scary right now, and their offense is crappy. Devin Hester has turned himself into a decent receiver, so there's a bright spot for them, anyway. And Matt Ryan is playing a lot better than any rookie QB has any right to even dream of playing. Hard to imagine this team keeps this up, but stranger things have happened (and this has been a strange season so far).
Woohoo!!! Dallas 24 Arizona 30 my pick Arizona +4.5
That was a fun game to watch, anyway. Dallas (4-2) might not be so good. Arizona (4-2) look to be a shoe in to win their craptacular division. Arizona is a sexy team right now, a good enough defense, and a ridiculous array of weapons on offense. Dallas is in disarray at the moment, and Romo's damaged pinkie won't help.
Woohoo!!! New England 10 San Diego 30 my pick San Diego -4.5
San Diego (3-3) dismantled New England (3-2). San Diego is going to have a tough go over the next 8 days, tomorrow they play in Buffalo (who aren't half bad), and then have to travel to London to face New Orleans (yeah, doesn't make much sense to me, either). New England has the look of a team in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in a long while. Their defense is slow, and their QB sucks. There's no way they can be consistent as long as Brady is out. But I don't want to hear any complaining coming out of the yaps of New Englanders, Boston still has the Sox and the Celts, so that should be enough for any city, but unless they reload on defense and lose the aging LB corps, they'll have trouble even with Brady back next season.
D'oh!! NY Giants 14 Cleveland 35 my pick NY Giants -7.5
The real NY Giants (4-1) finally showed up. I knew they suck, just took them a few weeks to discover it themselves. Cleveland (2-3) might have salvaged their season with this victory, depends if the Derek Anderson who played on Monday continues to show up (and Braylon Edwards continues to hold onto his passses).
So that was the week that was, could get interesting in the next few weeks as some teams falter (Dallas, NY Giants, and others rise, New Orleans, Atlanta).
Totals so far...
Seasonal 50-38
Weekly 17-13
Woohoo!!! Oakland 3 New Orleans 34 my pick New Orleans -6.5
So, either New Orleans' (3-3) defense finally showed up, or Oakland's (1-4) offense is truly awful. Also, Drew Brees is on a record setting pace for yards in a season, but doesn't seem like he can keep this up over the next 10 games. New Orleans looks like a team that might make the NFC Finals again, but plenty of teams have looked good against Oakland, so judgement remains reserved. Oakland, less said the better, can we keep them off L.A. air for the rest of the season, please?
D'oh!! Chicago 20 Atlanta 22 my pick Chicago -3.0
Atlanta (4-2) might be good? Chicago (3-3), mediocre at best, they still have a strong defense, but they aren't scary right now, and their offense is crappy. Devin Hester has turned himself into a decent receiver, so there's a bright spot for them, anyway. And Matt Ryan is playing a lot better than any rookie QB has any right to even dream of playing. Hard to imagine this team keeps this up, but stranger things have happened (and this has been a strange season so far).
Woohoo!!! Dallas 24 Arizona 30 my pick Arizona +4.5
That was a fun game to watch, anyway. Dallas (4-2) might not be so good. Arizona (4-2) look to be a shoe in to win their craptacular division. Arizona is a sexy team right now, a good enough defense, and a ridiculous array of weapons on offense. Dallas is in disarray at the moment, and Romo's damaged pinkie won't help.
Woohoo!!! New England 10 San Diego 30 my pick San Diego -4.5
San Diego (3-3) dismantled New England (3-2). San Diego is going to have a tough go over the next 8 days, tomorrow they play in Buffalo (who aren't half bad), and then have to travel to London to face New Orleans (yeah, doesn't make much sense to me, either). New England has the look of a team in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in a long while. Their defense is slow, and their QB sucks. There's no way they can be consistent as long as Brady is out. But I don't want to hear any complaining coming out of the yaps of New Englanders, Boston still has the Sox and the Celts, so that should be enough for any city, but unless they reload on defense and lose the aging LB corps, they'll have trouble even with Brady back next season.
D'oh!! NY Giants 14 Cleveland 35 my pick NY Giants -7.5
The real NY Giants (4-1) finally showed up. I knew they suck, just took them a few weeks to discover it themselves. Cleveland (2-3) might have salvaged their season with this victory, depends if the Derek Anderson who played on Monday continues to show up (and Braylon Edwards continues to hold onto his passses).
So that was the week that was, could get interesting in the next few weeks as some teams falter (Dallas, NY Giants, and others rise, New Orleans, Atlanta).
Totals so far...
Seasonal 50-38
Weekly 17-13
11 October 2008
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation, Week 06, The Picks
I can do no worse than last week, so things are looking up! (bet some stock traders are saying the same thing)
Oakland Raiders (1-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-3) my pick New Orleans -6.5
If New Orleans hadn't blown last Monday's game against Minnesota with those numerous turnovers, they'd probably be two TD favorites in this. New Orleans looks like a bargain in this, they'll rebound from their mistakes, and the Cable Guy's NFL head coaching debut won't go so well, I predict. (I forgot to complain about the Raiders being on local air, seeing the Saints make up for it, they're my favorite team at the moment, even if they haven't lived up to their potential the past season and a half)
Chicago Bears (3-2) at Atlanta (3-2) my pick Chicago -3.0
Both these teams are 3-2?!? Whodathunkit? I expected both these teams to be 1-4 at this point, so I'm not sure which of these teams being half way decent is more surprising. Given the crap Atlanta went through last year, I'm leaning towards Atlanta, but Chicago's gotten surprisingly solid play out of Orton. The Bears defense and special teams will be the difference in this one, they'll disrupt Atlanta, and make the Falcons rookie QB, Matt Ryan, look like, well, a rookie QB.
Dallas Cowboys (4-1) at Arizona Cardinals (3-2) my pick Arizona +4.5
Maybe Dallas isn't so good afterall. I had them making the Superbowl this year, but now I'm not so sure. They only have one loss, but their four victories haven't been dominant, and they have vulnerabilities on defense, and the Arizona offense is well suited to exploit those soft spots. It'll be a shoot out. Both teams ought to put up scores above 30 points. So regardless of who wins, definitely bet the over 52.0 points on the total, that's the surest bet this week (just like last week's under on the TEN v BAL match up).
New England (3-1) at San Diego (2-3) my pick San Diego -4.5
San Diego's favored by more than a field goal in this game? Not going to stop me from picking them, but that's a bit surprising. Neither of these teams can beat Miami for some reason, but have looked decent against everyone else they've played. New England needs to keep the score low to win, and I don't think they can against San Diego. Beyond not wanting to drop down to 2-4, the Chargers have the extra motivation of their AFC Championship loss to help motivate them. I expect the Chargers to be fired up, and not only win, but pour it on and humiliate the Pats for the home town crowd.
NY Giants (4-0) at Cleveland (1-3) my pick NY Giants -7.5
Damn it, Damn it, Damn it. OK I admit it, the Giants don't suck. Not only do they not suck, but they're the best team in the NFL, and look like they have a solid chance to appear in back to back Superbowls. The Browns, on the other hand, do suck, and will get killed in this game. This will be lopsided, and ugly to watch, so don't, there's better ways to spend a Monday night than to watch this crap.
So those are my week 6 picks. No predictions on my predictions this week. Will do a top 5 team rundown again, though (in reverse order, to build suspense)
5) Carolina Panthers - They're a solid all around squad, don't make mistakes on offense and play well on defense, it should be a good enough formula to win their division, and make some noise in the playoffs
4) Dallas Cowboys - They remain in the top 5, at least until they get thumped by Arizona tomorrow...
3) Tennessee Titans - One of two undefeated teams remaining, they look like the team to beat in the AFC at the moment.
2) NY Giants - I can't bring myself to make them #1, sorry, can't do it, they caught the Redskins while they were still getting used to their rookie coach, and otherwise they've beaten up on creampuffs. I'm still not completely sold on them.
1) Washington Redskins - After stinking up the joint against NY Giants the first week, they've rattled off impressive victories, and are done with all their in division road games, which should be a huge benefit down the road. Even though the Giants are undefeated, the Redskins have the inside track on the division title in the best division in the NFL. As long as Campbell, and Portis play as well as they've been playing, they're the team to beat.
Oakland Raiders (1-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-3) my pick New Orleans -6.5
If New Orleans hadn't blown last Monday's game against Minnesota with those numerous turnovers, they'd probably be two TD favorites in this. New Orleans looks like a bargain in this, they'll rebound from their mistakes, and the Cable Guy's NFL head coaching debut won't go so well, I predict. (I forgot to complain about the Raiders being on local air, seeing the Saints make up for it, they're my favorite team at the moment, even if they haven't lived up to their potential the past season and a half)
Chicago Bears (3-2) at Atlanta (3-2) my pick Chicago -3.0
Both these teams are 3-2?!? Whodathunkit? I expected both these teams to be 1-4 at this point, so I'm not sure which of these teams being half way decent is more surprising. Given the crap Atlanta went through last year, I'm leaning towards Atlanta, but Chicago's gotten surprisingly solid play out of Orton. The Bears defense and special teams will be the difference in this one, they'll disrupt Atlanta, and make the Falcons rookie QB, Matt Ryan, look like, well, a rookie QB.
Dallas Cowboys (4-1) at Arizona Cardinals (3-2) my pick Arizona +4.5
Maybe Dallas isn't so good afterall. I had them making the Superbowl this year, but now I'm not so sure. They only have one loss, but their four victories haven't been dominant, and they have vulnerabilities on defense, and the Arizona offense is well suited to exploit those soft spots. It'll be a shoot out. Both teams ought to put up scores above 30 points. So regardless of who wins, definitely bet the over 52.0 points on the total, that's the surest bet this week (just like last week's under on the TEN v BAL match up).
New England (3-1) at San Diego (2-3) my pick San Diego -4.5
San Diego's favored by more than a field goal in this game? Not going to stop me from picking them, but that's a bit surprising. Neither of these teams can beat Miami for some reason, but have looked decent against everyone else they've played. New England needs to keep the score low to win, and I don't think they can against San Diego. Beyond not wanting to drop down to 2-4, the Chargers have the extra motivation of their AFC Championship loss to help motivate them. I expect the Chargers to be fired up, and not only win, but pour it on and humiliate the Pats for the home town crowd.
NY Giants (4-0) at Cleveland (1-3) my pick NY Giants -7.5
Damn it, Damn it, Damn it. OK I admit it, the Giants don't suck. Not only do they not suck, but they're the best team in the NFL, and look like they have a solid chance to appear in back to back Superbowls. The Browns, on the other hand, do suck, and will get killed in this game. This will be lopsided, and ugly to watch, so don't, there's better ways to spend a Monday night than to watch this crap.
So those are my week 6 picks. No predictions on my predictions this week. Will do a top 5 team rundown again, though (in reverse order, to build suspense)
5) Carolina Panthers - They're a solid all around squad, don't make mistakes on offense and play well on defense, it should be a good enough formula to win their division, and make some noise in the playoffs
4) Dallas Cowboys - They remain in the top 5, at least until they get thumped by Arizona tomorrow...
3) Tennessee Titans - One of two undefeated teams remaining, they look like the team to beat in the AFC at the moment.
2) NY Giants - I can't bring myself to make them #1, sorry, can't do it, they caught the Redskins while they were still getting used to their rookie coach, and otherwise they've beaten up on creampuffs. I'm still not completely sold on them.
1) Washington Redskins - After stinking up the joint against NY Giants the first week, they've rattled off impressive victories, and are done with all their in division road games, which should be a huge benefit down the road. Even though the Giants are undefeated, the Redskins have the inside track on the division title in the best division in the NFL. As long as Campbell, and Portis play as well as they've been playing, they're the team to beat.
06 October 2008
The Results, Week 05, Weekly NFL Related Humiliation
Ouch. 0-5!
D'oh!! Seattle 6 NY Giants 44 my pick Seattle +7.0
Seattle (1-3) suck. The only team they've been able to beat this year is the historically awful St. Louis Rams. The Superbowl Champion New York Giants (4-0)might not be half bad. I guess I have to admit that now.
D'oh!! San Diego 10 Miami 17 my pick San Diego -6.5
San Diego (2-3) aren't able to play consistently well. They let Miami (2-2) jump out to a big lead, and couldn't recover. They're still probably the best team in the AFC West, but that's not saying much. Miami might be a team to watch this season, they've beat two good teams in New England and San Diego.
D'oh!! Cincinnati 22 Dallas 31 my pick Dallas -16.0
Dallas (4-1) jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the 2nd quarter, had this game under control, then fell asleep. Cincinnati (0-5) almost came back, but they're still losers, and it still looks like an awful season for them, but they covered the spread, so they screwed up my pick, the bastards.
D'oh!! Pittsburgh 26 Jacksonville 21 my pick Jacksonville -5.5
I guess Big Ben isn't so injured afterall. Pittsburgh (4-1) are a hard team to figure out. They've been winning ugly, but they've been winning. Jacksonville (2-3) have to be disappointed to be 2-3 at this point, they're not playing up to their talent level at the moment.
D'oh!! Minnesota 30 New Orleans 27 my pick New Orleans -3.0
Minnesota (2-3) pulled off a small upset on the road. New Orleans (2-3) wasted a great effort by Reggie Bush (2 punt returns for TDs, 176 total return yards). On the plus side for the Saints, despite giving up 23 points (7 points were on a blocked FG for a TD), they played well. They held Adrian Peterson in check, and held the Vikings to 270 total yards, but 4 turnovers gave Minnesota too many opportunities. New Orleans dominated both sides of the ball, and had outstanding play from their Special Teams, and still lost, clean up the mistakes, and they look like one of the best teams in the NFC.
A perfect week of NFL picks, that'll keep me from thinking about heading to Vegas. As far as the seasonal picks go, those weren't as horrible at 6-8.
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 40-34
Weekly 14-11
D'oh!! Seattle 6 NY Giants 44 my pick Seattle +7.0
Seattle (1-3) suck. The only team they've been able to beat this year is the historically awful St. Louis Rams. The Superbowl Champion New York Giants (4-0)might not be half bad. I guess I have to admit that now.
D'oh!! San Diego 10 Miami 17 my pick San Diego -6.5
San Diego (2-3) aren't able to play consistently well. They let Miami (2-2) jump out to a big lead, and couldn't recover. They're still probably the best team in the AFC West, but that's not saying much. Miami might be a team to watch this season, they've beat two good teams in New England and San Diego.
D'oh!! Cincinnati 22 Dallas 31 my pick Dallas -16.0
Dallas (4-1) jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the 2nd quarter, had this game under control, then fell asleep. Cincinnati (0-5) almost came back, but they're still losers, and it still looks like an awful season for them, but they covered the spread, so they screwed up my pick, the bastards.
D'oh!! Pittsburgh 26 Jacksonville 21 my pick Jacksonville -5.5
I guess Big Ben isn't so injured afterall. Pittsburgh (4-1) are a hard team to figure out. They've been winning ugly, but they've been winning. Jacksonville (2-3) have to be disappointed to be 2-3 at this point, they're not playing up to their talent level at the moment.
D'oh!! Minnesota 30 New Orleans 27 my pick New Orleans -3.0
Minnesota (2-3) pulled off a small upset on the road. New Orleans (2-3) wasted a great effort by Reggie Bush (2 punt returns for TDs, 176 total return yards). On the plus side for the Saints, despite giving up 23 points (7 points were on a blocked FG for a TD), they played well. They held Adrian Peterson in check, and held the Vikings to 270 total yards, but 4 turnovers gave Minnesota too many opportunities. New Orleans dominated both sides of the ball, and had outstanding play from their Special Teams, and still lost, clean up the mistakes, and they look like one of the best teams in the NFC.
A perfect week of NFL picks, that'll keep me from thinking about heading to Vegas. As far as the seasonal picks go, those weren't as horrible at 6-8.
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 40-34
Weekly 14-11
04 October 2008
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation, Week 05, The Picks
Week 5 already, not much else to say, other than the usual griping about which teams get picked for Los Angeles air by FOX and CBS.
Seattle Seahawks (1-2) at New York Giants (3-0) my pick Seattle +7.0
Seattle has looked pretty bad, the defending champs are undefeated and have already equalled my predicted seasonal win total for them. Maybe they don't suck as bad as I expected them to. Their both coming off bye weeks, so have had plenty of time to prepare, I'm expecting NY Giants to begin a season remaining spiral of mediocrity and Seattle to improve a little, so this is a turn around game for both teams. I can't believe Fox is showing this crap instead of the much better Washington at Philadelphia battle.
San Diego Chargers (2-2) at Miami Dolphins (1-2) my pick San Diego -6.5
The Chargers seem to be on track now after blowing their first two games, and Miami is coming off their surprisingly easy defeat of New England. The trick plays that were effective against the old slow Pats defense won't work against San Diego's speedier LB crew. San Diego will control this and cover easily. CBS is choosing this game over the defensive battle of the decade, Tennessee at Baltimore, if any game has a chance of finishing an OT 0-0 tie, this is the game (surest bet of the week, under 33.5 total for these two teams, can't believe the line is more than 25). Both those defenses are playing very well, guess it's time to start looking into getting DirecTV.
Cincinnati Bengals (0-4) at Dallas Cowboys (3-1) my pick Dallas -16.0
Dallas has last week's disaster to recover from, and Cincy has a couple seasons worth of continuing turmoil to play through. Doesn't matter if Palmer plays or not, Dallas will destroy the Bungles.
Pittsburgh (3-1) at Jacksonville (2-2) my pick Jacksonville -5.5
Pittsburgh could easily be 1-3 instead of 3-1, and they're losing RBs left and right. Roethlisberger is a game manager, he's not a playmaker, without a solid RB in the backfield, he's dead meat. Pittsburgh's very solid defense won't be able to keep the game close, Jacksonville will put together their first solid game of the season and win with ease.
Minnesota (1-3) at New Orleans (2-2) my pick New Orleans -3.0
Vikings have moved the bal well, but haven't been putting up TDs. New Orleans can score, and score big, especially since their strength (passing) is Minnesota's weakness (pass denfense). This feels like a 38-13 type game with the Saints putting on a show for the hometown fans.
I know I have a 5-0 week in me at some point this season, this could be it, I feel really good about this picks (and if I go 0-5, this may get thrown down the memory hole).
Seattle Seahawks (1-2) at New York Giants (3-0) my pick Seattle +7.0
Seattle has looked pretty bad, the defending champs are undefeated and have already equalled my predicted seasonal win total for them. Maybe they don't suck as bad as I expected them to. Their both coming off bye weeks, so have had plenty of time to prepare, I'm expecting NY Giants to begin a season remaining spiral of mediocrity and Seattle to improve a little, so this is a turn around game for both teams. I can't believe Fox is showing this crap instead of the much better Washington at Philadelphia battle.
San Diego Chargers (2-2) at Miami Dolphins (1-2) my pick San Diego -6.5
The Chargers seem to be on track now after blowing their first two games, and Miami is coming off their surprisingly easy defeat of New England. The trick plays that were effective against the old slow Pats defense won't work against San Diego's speedier LB crew. San Diego will control this and cover easily. CBS is choosing this game over the defensive battle of the decade, Tennessee at Baltimore, if any game has a chance of finishing an OT 0-0 tie, this is the game (surest bet of the week, under 33.5 total for these two teams, can't believe the line is more than 25). Both those defenses are playing very well, guess it's time to start looking into getting DirecTV.
Cincinnati Bengals (0-4) at Dallas Cowboys (3-1) my pick Dallas -16.0
Dallas has last week's disaster to recover from, and Cincy has a couple seasons worth of continuing turmoil to play through. Doesn't matter if Palmer plays or not, Dallas will destroy the Bungles.
Pittsburgh (3-1) at Jacksonville (2-2) my pick Jacksonville -5.5
Pittsburgh could easily be 1-3 instead of 3-1, and they're losing RBs left and right. Roethlisberger is a game manager, he's not a playmaker, without a solid RB in the backfield, he's dead meat. Pittsburgh's very solid defense won't be able to keep the game close, Jacksonville will put together their first solid game of the season and win with ease.
Minnesota (1-3) at New Orleans (2-2) my pick New Orleans -3.0
Vikings have moved the bal well, but haven't been putting up TDs. New Orleans can score, and score big, especially since their strength (passing) is Minnesota's weakness (pass denfense). This feels like a 38-13 type game with the Saints putting on a show for the hometown fans.
I know I have a 5-0 week in me at some point this season, this could be it, I feel really good about this picks (and if I go 0-5, this may get thrown down the memory hole).
The Results, Week 04, Weekly NFL Related Humiliation
That's right, another 4-1 week, it's almost as if I knew what I was talking about, or something. As far as the seasonal thing, that's going decently, too, with a record of 8-5 in week 04.
D'oh!! Green Bay 21 Tampa Bay 30 my pick Green Bay +1.5
The only "D'oh!!" of the week, Griese was terrible, but Rodgers nearly matched him in awfulness, so this game was decided by Tampa's rushing attack which rolled up some big numbers against a Packers defense that made Tampa's Earnest Graham look like a Pro Bowler.
Woohoo!!! Washington 26 Dallas 24 my pick Washington +10.5
Washington beat their division rivals in Dallas. They almost didn't hold on, but Campbell played well, and their defense stepped up. Also, Terry Owens ought to just shut up and play ball. They involved him in 20 plays and he still complained after the game about being under-utilized. WRs are unbelievable sometimes. The NFC East division is by far the best division in the NFL, top to bottom they're strong.
Woohoo!!! San Diego 28 Oakland 18 my pick San Diego -7.5
That was close. Chargers scored 25 points in the 4th quarter to win this, and if LT hadn't scampered for a long TD in the closing minutes, they would have just kneeled down after clinching the game and missed covering the spread. LT made a bunch of gamblers happy with that TD run (and a few pissed off who bet the other side). Oakland is a mess. They've got good players, but their organization is insane, Al Davis is insane, and with the firing of Kiffin, things will just get worse. Hopefully they won't darken the Los Angeles market airwaves again this season.
Woohoo!!! Philadelphia 20 Chicago 24 my pick Chicago +3.0
I stll think the Eagles are one of the better teams in football, but the Bears matched up well, and did just enough to win. Orton looked pretty good for Chicago, and having Hester back in the line-up was a big plus.
Woohoo!!! Baltimore 20 Pittsburgh 23(OT) my pick Baltimore +5.0
Pittsburgh pulled off the OT victory, but Baltimore covered, and that's what really counts. Baltimore should have held on to win this game, but they didn't. This was a costly victory for Pittsburgh losing tow key offensive players for the season. They'll be lucky to get to 7-9, and even though Baltimore lost the game, they should have the inside track on the AFC North division title.
Totals so far ...
Seasonal 34-26
Weekly 14-6
D'oh!! Green Bay 21 Tampa Bay 30 my pick Green Bay +1.5
The only "D'oh!!" of the week, Griese was terrible, but Rodgers nearly matched him in awfulness, so this game was decided by Tampa's rushing attack which rolled up some big numbers against a Packers defense that made Tampa's Earnest Graham look like a Pro Bowler.
Woohoo!!! Washington 26 Dallas 24 my pick Washington +10.5
Washington beat their division rivals in Dallas. They almost didn't hold on, but Campbell played well, and their defense stepped up. Also, Terry Owens ought to just shut up and play ball. They involved him in 20 plays and he still complained after the game about being under-utilized. WRs are unbelievable sometimes. The NFC East division is by far the best division in the NFL, top to bottom they're strong.
Woohoo!!! San Diego 28 Oakland 18 my pick San Diego -7.5
That was close. Chargers scored 25 points in the 4th quarter to win this, and if LT hadn't scampered for a long TD in the closing minutes, they would have just kneeled down after clinching the game and missed covering the spread. LT made a bunch of gamblers happy with that TD run (and a few pissed off who bet the other side). Oakland is a mess. They've got good players, but their organization is insane, Al Davis is insane, and with the firing of Kiffin, things will just get worse. Hopefully they won't darken the Los Angeles market airwaves again this season.
Woohoo!!! Philadelphia 20 Chicago 24 my pick Chicago +3.0
I stll think the Eagles are one of the better teams in football, but the Bears matched up well, and did just enough to win. Orton looked pretty good for Chicago, and having Hester back in the line-up was a big plus.
Woohoo!!! Baltimore 20 Pittsburgh 23(OT) my pick Baltimore +5.0
Pittsburgh pulled off the OT victory, but Baltimore covered, and that's what really counts. Baltimore should have held on to win this game, but they didn't. This was a costly victory for Pittsburgh losing tow key offensive players for the season. They'll be lucky to get to 7-9, and even though Baltimore lost the game, they should have the inside track on the AFC North division title.
Totals so far ...
Seasonal 34-26
Weekly 14-6
27 September 2008
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation, Week 04, The Picks
Week 04, already, 6 teams have byes, most of the match-ups suck, and once again the Oakland Raiders on local air, at least the Rams aren't.
Green Bay (2-1) at Tampa Bay (2-1), my pick Green Bay +1.5
I don't trust Tampa to win this one at home. Green Bay's main weakness is a banged up secondary, and I don't think Griese is the QB to take advantage of that, so if you have a team with a glaring weakness being opposed by a team without strength in that same area, advantage to the team that otherwise doesn't have any big deficiencies.
San Diego (1-2) at Oakland (1-2), my pick San Diego -7.5
San Diego's defense has been pathetic, but their offense is fearsome. Oakland is Oakland, and they've played well the pst two weeks, but they just aren't that good while the Chargers still look like a serious playoff threat. San Diego ought to be able to run up the score on a young Raiders squad in Al Davis v Lane Kiffin induced turmoil.
Washington (2-1) at Dallas (3-0), my pick Washington +10.5
Dallas has been rolling, and while Washington is 2-1, they haven't been that impressive looking getting there. So why pick the Skins? 10 points is too much to give up, I think the Cowboys will win, but they won't run wild over Washington. I think this will be a more defense oriented game than expected and the Skins will keep the score low, I expect a 23-17 like game, nothing fancy, a W for Dallas in the standings and a W for Washington against the spread, everybody's happy (except for fantasy football freaks who were expecting Romo, Barber and Owens to put up huge numbers).
Philadelphia (2-1) at Chicago (1-2), my pick Chicago +3.0
I still think Philadelphia is the 2nd best team in the NFL at the moment, but being good doesn't always win games. The Bears defense matches up well with the Eagles offense, and even though Da Bears are toothless on offense, a few scores on defense will make up the difference. Also, Matt Forte is going to run wild in his first Sunday Night appearance (notice how I parsed that, I know Chicago played in the opener, but I still don't like the idea of the season starting on Thursdays, also, how is it that Chicago has already been on NBC's Primetime NFL schedule twice?)
Baltimore (2-0) at Pittsburgh (2-1), Baltimore +5.0
Baltimore got an unexpected early bye week due to Ike. If they beat Pittsburgh they'll already be 3-0 in the AFC North. I think after the beating they took in Philadelphia that the Steelers (and more importantly, Roethlisberger) haven't fully recovered and are going to take another big time beating from the big time Baltimore defense. It won't be pretty to watch, but Baltimore's defense will be effective, and their offense will keep from making any mistakes, that ought to be enough to swing this game the Ravens' way.
Other than Oakland, I'm betting on every underdog this week. We'll see how that goes for me. Might be a good Sunday to do something other than watch football all day, none of the four games on local TV Sunday look all that exciting, three probably be will be close, but I don't expect them to be entertaining. If you watch, enjoy, and if you don't watch, enjoy the first Sunday of Autumn, and for The Chosen amongst you, on Monday have a Happy New Year 5769!
Green Bay (2-1) at Tampa Bay (2-1), my pick Green Bay +1.5
I don't trust Tampa to win this one at home. Green Bay's main weakness is a banged up secondary, and I don't think Griese is the QB to take advantage of that, so if you have a team with a glaring weakness being opposed by a team without strength in that same area, advantage to the team that otherwise doesn't have any big deficiencies.
San Diego (1-2) at Oakland (1-2), my pick San Diego -7.5
San Diego's defense has been pathetic, but their offense is fearsome. Oakland is Oakland, and they've played well the pst two weeks, but they just aren't that good while the Chargers still look like a serious playoff threat. San Diego ought to be able to run up the score on a young Raiders squad in Al Davis v Lane Kiffin induced turmoil.
Washington (2-1) at Dallas (3-0), my pick Washington +10.5
Dallas has been rolling, and while Washington is 2-1, they haven't been that impressive looking getting there. So why pick the Skins? 10 points is too much to give up, I think the Cowboys will win, but they won't run wild over Washington. I think this will be a more defense oriented game than expected and the Skins will keep the score low, I expect a 23-17 like game, nothing fancy, a W for Dallas in the standings and a W for Washington against the spread, everybody's happy (except for fantasy football freaks who were expecting Romo, Barber and Owens to put up huge numbers).
Philadelphia (2-1) at Chicago (1-2), my pick Chicago +3.0
I still think Philadelphia is the 2nd best team in the NFL at the moment, but being good doesn't always win games. The Bears defense matches up well with the Eagles offense, and even though Da Bears are toothless on offense, a few scores on defense will make up the difference. Also, Matt Forte is going to run wild in his first Sunday Night appearance (notice how I parsed that, I know Chicago played in the opener, but I still don't like the idea of the season starting on Thursdays, also, how is it that Chicago has already been on NBC's Primetime NFL schedule twice?)
Baltimore (2-0) at Pittsburgh (2-1), Baltimore +5.0
Baltimore got an unexpected early bye week due to Ike. If they beat Pittsburgh they'll already be 3-0 in the AFC North. I think after the beating they took in Philadelphia that the Steelers (and more importantly, Roethlisberger) haven't fully recovered and are going to take another big time beating from the big time Baltimore defense. It won't be pretty to watch, but Baltimore's defense will be effective, and their offense will keep from making any mistakes, that ought to be enough to swing this game the Ravens' way.
Other than Oakland, I'm betting on every underdog this week. We'll see how that goes for me. Might be a good Sunday to do something other than watch football all day, none of the four games on local TV Sunday look all that exciting, three probably be will be close, but I don't expect them to be entertaining. If you watch, enjoy, and if you don't watch, enjoy the first Sunday of Autumn, and for The Chosen amongst you, on Monday have a Happy New Year 5769!
26 September 2008
The Results, Week 03, Weekly NFL Related Humiliation
I didn't quite make it to 5-0 last weekend, will have to settle with a lousy 4-1 against the spread, instead (Oakland let me down by not being utterly horrible in Buffalo). The seasonal picks were a respectable 9-7 this week.
D'oh!! Oakland 23 Buffalo 24, my pick Buffalo -9.5
So, Buffalo (3-0) rallied and beat Oakland (1-2), but they didn't come close to covering the huge spread. They might be a decent team, have an easy schedule, and have the inside track on winning the AFC East, but they aren't ready to play like a heavy favorite and put away bad teams when they get the chance. It'll be interesting to see how they do against the spread with all the other lousy teams they play this season (having the AFC West and NFC West on their schedule this season is a huge advantage).
Woohoo!!! New Orleans 32 Denver 34, my pick New Orleans +5.5
Denver (3-0) is the worst 3-0 team in the league. It's not even close, another game they should have lost, but somehow won. New Orleans (1-2) is a solid offense tied to a lousy defense, and will struggle on the road this entire season (I think they'll win at home, though). They still might win their division, but it won't be easy for them. Denver's luck is going to run out, and they'll start losing these type of games. Fun game to watch, anyway, and Grammatica was a little punk for avoiding the press after missing the winning attempt at the end of the game.
Woohoo!!! Pittsburgh 6 Philadelphia 15, my pick Philadelphia -3.5
Philadelphia (2-1) might be the 2nd best team in the NFL right now (2nd only to Dallas). Great balance on both sides of the ball, they can beat you with the pass, the run, or with their defense (the Dallas game was an outlier, their defense is much better than it appeared against Dallas). I did not see them being so good this season, but they ought to go undefeated outside of their division, so even if they struggle against NFC East teams, they'd still finish 11-5 or 12-4. Pittsburgh (2-1) might be the best team in the AFC, but they can't score, with their defense, scoring won't matter much. They'll win a lot of games where the point total for both teams is under 25 points, just not last Sunday's.
Woohoo!!! Dallas 27 Green Bay 16,my pick Dallas -3.0
Dallas (3-0) continues to roll. If they have another solid regular season and stumble in the playoffs again, they'll earn Michael Wilbon's "September's Team" insult that he's been throwing their way. They look unbeatable right now, a great offense, tied with a good enough defense. Green Bay (2-1) didn't look terrible in getting beat, but they got beat, and beat convincingly. They're probably a decent team, but they probably shouldn't be planning on a return trip to the NFC Championship just yet.
Woohoo!!! NY Jets 29 San Diego 48, my pick San Diego -8.5
San Diego (1-2) didn't have to worry about last moment heroics this week. They crushed the Jets, and made Favre look like an old QB prone to making bad decisions. The Chargers' offense was rolling, and Sprouls is a fantastic weapon. There's still some questions on defense for this team, but they have the best offense in the AFC, and could easily be 3-0 right now. NY Jets (1-2) didn't look so good. Actually, they looked bad, very bad. Not much else to say about the Jets, I don't think they're a particularly relevant team this season with Buffalo most likely being the team to challenge New England for the AFC East title.
Week 4 is going to be a lousy week of football with terrible match-up after terrible match-up. Good week to enjoy early fall weather (unless you are in the rainsoaked Carolinas). After 3 weeks it's enough time to be able to gauge somewhat the relative strength of these teams. Here's my top 5 right now, (1) Dallas, (2) Philadelphia, (3) Tennessee, (4) San Diego, (5) Pittsburgh [I know the NY Giants are 3-0, but I refuse to believe they are any good, really]
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 26-21
Weekly 10-5
D'oh!! Oakland 23 Buffalo 24, my pick Buffalo -9.5
So, Buffalo (3-0) rallied and beat Oakland (1-2), but they didn't come close to covering the huge spread. They might be a decent team, have an easy schedule, and have the inside track on winning the AFC East, but they aren't ready to play like a heavy favorite and put away bad teams when they get the chance. It'll be interesting to see how they do against the spread with all the other lousy teams they play this season (having the AFC West and NFC West on their schedule this season is a huge advantage).
Woohoo!!! New Orleans 32 Denver 34, my pick New Orleans +5.5
Denver (3-0) is the worst 3-0 team in the league. It's not even close, another game they should have lost, but somehow won. New Orleans (1-2) is a solid offense tied to a lousy defense, and will struggle on the road this entire season (I think they'll win at home, though). They still might win their division, but it won't be easy for them. Denver's luck is going to run out, and they'll start losing these type of games. Fun game to watch, anyway, and Grammatica was a little punk for avoiding the press after missing the winning attempt at the end of the game.
Woohoo!!! Pittsburgh 6 Philadelphia 15, my pick Philadelphia -3.5
Philadelphia (2-1) might be the 2nd best team in the NFL right now (2nd only to Dallas). Great balance on both sides of the ball, they can beat you with the pass, the run, or with their defense (the Dallas game was an outlier, their defense is much better than it appeared against Dallas). I did not see them being so good this season, but they ought to go undefeated outside of their division, so even if they struggle against NFC East teams, they'd still finish 11-5 or 12-4. Pittsburgh (2-1) might be the best team in the AFC, but they can't score, with their defense, scoring won't matter much. They'll win a lot of games where the point total for both teams is under 25 points, just not last Sunday's.
Woohoo!!! Dallas 27 Green Bay 16,my pick Dallas -3.0
Dallas (3-0) continues to roll. If they have another solid regular season and stumble in the playoffs again, they'll earn Michael Wilbon's "September's Team" insult that he's been throwing their way. They look unbeatable right now, a great offense, tied with a good enough defense. Green Bay (2-1) didn't look terrible in getting beat, but they got beat, and beat convincingly. They're probably a decent team, but they probably shouldn't be planning on a return trip to the NFC Championship just yet.
Woohoo!!! NY Jets 29 San Diego 48, my pick San Diego -8.5
San Diego (1-2) didn't have to worry about last moment heroics this week. They crushed the Jets, and made Favre look like an old QB prone to making bad decisions. The Chargers' offense was rolling, and Sprouls is a fantastic weapon. There's still some questions on defense for this team, but they have the best offense in the AFC, and could easily be 3-0 right now. NY Jets (1-2) didn't look so good. Actually, they looked bad, very bad. Not much else to say about the Jets, I don't think they're a particularly relevant team this season with Buffalo most likely being the team to challenge New England for the AFC East title.
Week 4 is going to be a lousy week of football with terrible match-up after terrible match-up. Good week to enjoy early fall weather (unless you are in the rainsoaked Carolinas). After 3 weeks it's enough time to be able to gauge somewhat the relative strength of these teams. Here's my top 5 right now, (1) Dallas, (2) Philadelphia, (3) Tennessee, (4) San Diego, (5) Pittsburgh [I know the NY Giants are 3-0, but I refuse to believe they are any good, really]
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 26-21
Weekly 10-5
21 September 2008
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation, Week 03, The Picks
Time for some week 3 picks, 5-0 this week, for sure.
Oakland (1-1) at Buffalo (2-0) My pick, Buffalo -9.5
Really, the Raiders again?!? And it's the only early game, guess it's a conspiracy to get the folks of Los Angeles out and about in the morning, cause only the really hardcore couch potato football fans would seriously consider watching this garbage. Wonder how long its been since Buffalo's been an almost double digit favorite in a game? They'll cover, The Raiders are very bad, and Buffalo's probably not so bad.
New Orleans (1-1) at Denver (2-0) My pick New Orleans +5.5
This ought to be watchable, though the game over on CBS looks pretty good, too. The Saints are still a bit of a puzzle. Flashes of brilliance, but other times kind of crappy. Denver's got two Ws under their belt, and they're at home, but I think New Orleans will show up big on the road, and embarrass Denver.
Pittsburgh (2-0) at Philadelphia (1-1) My pick Philadelphia -3.5
I don't see Pittsburgh going into Philadelphia and beating their in state rivals with a less than 100% Roethlisberger. If it wasn't for that sore shoulder, I'd go with the road team, but the Eagles looked good while losing last week, and Pittsburgh looked so-so while winning, so I think Philly will win, and by more than a TD.
Dallas (2-0) at Green Bay (2-0) My pick Dallas -3.0
Green Bay has played well, and so has Dallas. I think the Cowboys just can do too much offense for Green Bay to keep up. Dallas ought to put up more than 35 points again this week. Green Bay will find their way into the endzone, too, just not as many times as Dallas.
NY Jets (1-1) at San Diego (0-2) My pick San Diego -8.5
The best way to put last two weeks behind them, is for the Chargers to run up a big score and make sure that any last minute heroics will defeat them three weeks in a row. If they continue to give the opposing QB all day to pick them apart, they could be in trouble, but not this week. Their going to score too easily on the Jet's defense for their own defensive problems to matter.
Other than CBS still thinking that the Raiders have fans in Los Angeles, looks like a good week to watch some football. Four out of the five games ought to be entertaining, if not competitive. I can see why they scheduled that game, though, their other choices were KC at ATL, HOU at TEN, CIN at NYG, and MIA at NE. The one game out of those that might be interesting (HOU at TEN), while being the most meaningful and competitive game available, neither team has a fanbase in Los Angeles, so they went with the west coast team.
Oakland (1-1) at Buffalo (2-0) My pick, Buffalo -9.5
Really, the Raiders again?!? And it's the only early game, guess it's a conspiracy to get the folks of Los Angeles out and about in the morning, cause only the really hardcore couch potato football fans would seriously consider watching this garbage. Wonder how long its been since Buffalo's been an almost double digit favorite in a game? They'll cover, The Raiders are very bad, and Buffalo's probably not so bad.
New Orleans (1-1) at Denver (2-0) My pick New Orleans +5.5
This ought to be watchable, though the game over on CBS looks pretty good, too. The Saints are still a bit of a puzzle. Flashes of brilliance, but other times kind of crappy. Denver's got two Ws under their belt, and they're at home, but I think New Orleans will show up big on the road, and embarrass Denver.
Pittsburgh (2-0) at Philadelphia (1-1) My pick Philadelphia -3.5
I don't see Pittsburgh going into Philadelphia and beating their in state rivals with a less than 100% Roethlisberger. If it wasn't for that sore shoulder, I'd go with the road team, but the Eagles looked good while losing last week, and Pittsburgh looked so-so while winning, so I think Philly will win, and by more than a TD.
Dallas (2-0) at Green Bay (2-0) My pick Dallas -3.0
Green Bay has played well, and so has Dallas. I think the Cowboys just can do too much offense for Green Bay to keep up. Dallas ought to put up more than 35 points again this week. Green Bay will find their way into the endzone, too, just not as many times as Dallas.
NY Jets (1-1) at San Diego (0-2) My pick San Diego -8.5
The best way to put last two weeks behind them, is for the Chargers to run up a big score and make sure that any last minute heroics will defeat them three weeks in a row. If they continue to give the opposing QB all day to pick them apart, they could be in trouble, but not this week. Their going to score too easily on the Jet's defense for their own defensive problems to matter.
Other than CBS still thinking that the Raiders have fans in Los Angeles, looks like a good week to watch some football. Four out of the five games ought to be entertaining, if not competitive. I can see why they scheduled that game, though, their other choices were KC at ATL, HOU at TEN, CIN at NYG, and MIA at NE. The one game out of those that might be interesting (HOU at TEN), while being the most meaningful and competitive game available, neither team has a fanbase in Los Angeles, so they went with the west coast team.
20 September 2008
The Results, Week 02, Weekly NFL Related Humiliation
I'm still distracted by other things, but I've nearly reached the Galactic Core, I've no hope of defeating the Grox, though, need to build a bigger empire on their fringe and then attack with lots of planet busters (that's Spore, talk, by the way, I haven't gone nuts).
Probably a good thing I didn't type up a results post right away, might have written some things that would have been mighty unpleasant. On the plus side, I was a surprisingly solid 9-6 with my Seasonal picks in Week 02, I've changed all the effected schedules due to Hurricane Ike postponing Baltimore at Houston, but I kept all the picks for the shuffled around games the same. My weekly total was a less than good 2-3, two of those I got wrong included getting Kiffin'd (who knew the Raiders would show up and play for their kid-coach?) and getting Hochuli'd (I predict, 'getting Hochuli'd will enter the vernacular presently).
D'oh!!! Oakland 23 Kansas City 8, my pick Kansas City -3.5
The Raiders (1-1) might win a few this season, Kansas City (0-2) is really bad, really really bad. Good thing I slept till noon last Sunday. Didn't see it, don't think I missed anything.
Woohoo!! NY Giants 41 St. Louis 13, my pick -8.5
The Giants (2-0) are going to have to be really terrible the rest of the season to finish 3-13 like I predicted. I still say they look like a 6-10 team, beating a listless Redskins and an awful Rams (0-2) team don't make them favorites to repeat as Superbowl Champs, yet. The less said about the Rams the better, hopefully they won't darken the airwaves in Los Angeles again in 2008.
D'oh!!! San Diego 38 Denver 39, my pick San Diego Even
This game I watched. It was the talk of all the sports chat shows. Lost in all the crap about the call was that San Diego (0-2) blew it before they got screwed. Denver (2-0) are off to a good start, surprisingly, San Diego would be 2-0 if games lasted 59 minutes instead of 60 minutes.
Woohoo!! Pittsburgh 10 Cleveland 6, my pick Cleveland +6.0
If defense wins championships, then Pittsburgh (2-0) might be in the mix this year. They play awfully well without the ball, and do just enough with the ball to hold on to a lead. Cleveland (0-2) weren't given any favors by the schedule makers starting the season in Dallas and then hosting Pittsburgh in week 2. If they don't put a couple of Ws on the board the next two weeks against the Ravens and the Bengals, then their season is about done.
D'oh!!! Philadelphia 37 Dallas 41, my pick Dallas -7.0
Now that was a game. 30-24 at the half with both teams trading big plays on Offense. Dallas (2-0) looks like the best team in the NFC, and Philadephia (1-1) might be number 2. Dallas should have covered the spread, but their turnovers cost them points. Fun to watch though, anad that's what really counts, screw the picks.
There are a bunch of teams with playoff aspirations that have started 0-2 (Minnesota, Seattle, Cleveland, Jacksonville, San Diego), they better win this week, or else they've got trouble. The only really surprising 2-0 team is Buffalo, and given that they host the Raiders, and travel to St. Louis in the next two weeks, they ought to be able to get to 4-0. The season really doesn't get going until about week 6, though, by then trends start to emerge, right now it's hard to know which victories were bad teams beating worse teams and which losses were good teams getting beaten by better teams.
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 17-14
Weekly 6-4
Probably a good thing I didn't type up a results post right away, might have written some things that would have been mighty unpleasant. On the plus side, I was a surprisingly solid 9-6 with my Seasonal picks in Week 02, I've changed all the effected schedules due to Hurricane Ike postponing Baltimore at Houston, but I kept all the picks for the shuffled around games the same. My weekly total was a less than good 2-3, two of those I got wrong included getting Kiffin'd (who knew the Raiders would show up and play for their kid-coach?) and getting Hochuli'd (I predict, 'getting Hochuli'd will enter the vernacular presently).
D'oh!!! Oakland 23 Kansas City 8, my pick Kansas City -3.5
The Raiders (1-1) might win a few this season, Kansas City (0-2) is really bad, really really bad. Good thing I slept till noon last Sunday. Didn't see it, don't think I missed anything.
Woohoo!! NY Giants 41 St. Louis 13, my pick -8.5
The Giants (2-0) are going to have to be really terrible the rest of the season to finish 3-13 like I predicted. I still say they look like a 6-10 team, beating a listless Redskins and an awful Rams (0-2) team don't make them favorites to repeat as Superbowl Champs, yet. The less said about the Rams the better, hopefully they won't darken the airwaves in Los Angeles again in 2008.
D'oh!!! San Diego 38 Denver 39, my pick San Diego Even
This game I watched. It was the talk of all the sports chat shows. Lost in all the crap about the call was that San Diego (0-2) blew it before they got screwed. Denver (2-0) are off to a good start, surprisingly, San Diego would be 2-0 if games lasted 59 minutes instead of 60 minutes.
Woohoo!! Pittsburgh 10 Cleveland 6, my pick Cleveland +6.0
If defense wins championships, then Pittsburgh (2-0) might be in the mix this year. They play awfully well without the ball, and do just enough with the ball to hold on to a lead. Cleveland (0-2) weren't given any favors by the schedule makers starting the season in Dallas and then hosting Pittsburgh in week 2. If they don't put a couple of Ws on the board the next two weeks against the Ravens and the Bengals, then their season is about done.
D'oh!!! Philadelphia 37 Dallas 41, my pick Dallas -7.0
Now that was a game. 30-24 at the half with both teams trading big plays on Offense. Dallas (2-0) looks like the best team in the NFC, and Philadephia (1-1) might be number 2. Dallas should have covered the spread, but their turnovers cost them points. Fun to watch though, anad that's what really counts, screw the picks.
There are a bunch of teams with playoff aspirations that have started 0-2 (Minnesota, Seattle, Cleveland, Jacksonville, San Diego), they better win this week, or else they've got trouble. The only really surprising 2-0 team is Buffalo, and given that they host the Raiders, and travel to St. Louis in the next two weeks, they ought to be able to get to 4-0. The season really doesn't get going until about week 6, though, by then trends start to emerge, right now it's hard to know which victories were bad teams beating worse teams and which losses were good teams getting beaten by better teams.
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 17-14
Weekly 6-4
12 September 2008
Weekly NFL Related Humiliation, Week 02, The Picks
It's week two, we've gotten to see each team play against real competition, and a few teams have come out well, others look a lot worse than expected. Once again, picking the five games scheduled to be shown in the Los Angeles TV market, so that way I can watch as my humiliation unfolds. This week, it really sucks to be in the Los Angeles Market. CBS is showing nothing but AFC West teams, and the lone FOX game isn't much better. At least Monday night's game ought to be good.
Oakland at Kansas City (-3.5), my pick Kansas City -3.5
What vile nonsense is this? Can someone please explain to CBS that the Raiders are no longer in Los Angeles, and other than a few pockets of criminally insane folks (or just plain criminals), nobody wants to see the truly awful 2008 vintage Raiders stink up their TV screens. The Chiefs aren't much better, but they're at least a TD at home better than the Raiders at the moment, so this should be an easy victory for a lousy Chiefs team.
NY Giants at St. Louis (+8.5), my pick NYG -8.5
What vile nonsense is this? Can someone please explain to FOX that the Rams are no longer in Los Angeles, and other than, wait, I can't copy the rest of the above rant, cause I doubt there are any Rams fans left in Los Angeles, the Raiders still have a few fans, if only cause they like to play dress up and wear black, but the Rams are hopeless, and can't imagine anyone outside of St. Louis caring about them this season. I suppose this game is being televised cause it's got the defending Superbowl champs in it, but they still look like chumps to me this season, but they're not as big of a bunch of chumps as the Rams, so they should be able to cover, even against a big 8.5 point spread on the road.
San Diego at Denver (Even), my pick San Diego Even
Denver looked great on the road, and San Diego stumbled at home in their openers, but that was then, this is now. Denver gets a short week, with travel, while San Diego missed a bunch of scoring opportunities and should play better against a division rival. San Diego ought to be able to win this prett easily, Denver's defense is vulnerable, they just didn't look like it since Oakland failed to take advantage. Denver's offense also isn't very good if you can pressure Cutler, and even with Merriman out, San Diego's defense ought to be able to cause him trouble. Not a complete rout, but I don't expect this to be too close, either.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland (+6.0), my pick Cleveland +6.0
Cleveland are nearly a TD underdog at home against a Pittsburgh team that looked very good opening week. The smart play is to expect Cleveland to lose big again at home two weeks in a row, but luckily I'm not smart (when it comes to football picks). I have a feeling that Pittsburgh will have a bit of a letdown, Cleveland will pick things up, and bounce back from being manhandled by Dallas. Pittsburgh is a good team, but not as good as Dallas, and Cleveland isn't a bad team, so I expect them to make this a contest. Not sure that they'll win, but I don't see them losing by more than a field goal, so I'm going with the home team in Sunday night's contest.
Philadelphia at Dallas (-7.0), my pick Dallas -7.0
It'd be easy to go with the Eagles given the lopsided spread. The Eagles are too good of a team to be TD underdogs, even on the road. But Dallas looks really good, and even though Philly does, too, I think Dallas will be in control of this game, and this won't end up being a particularly close game. Dallas will have something to prove in this game and want to send a message, so I expect them to keep up the pressure on both sides of the ball. The Eagles have plenty of talent on offense and defense as well, but I think they'll still get overpowered by Dallas.
So, if I were in charge of NFL programming for CBS and FOX in the Los Angeles market, I'd have picked three different games. For CBS I'd have gone with Buffalo at Jacksonville in the early game, and New England at NY Jets for the late game. Those look more compelling than the AFC West matchups they're scheduling instead, and should be more competitive, plus the Brady-less Pats versus the Favre-ful Jets will be the dominate story line on ESPN Sunday night, so it'd have been nice to have that game televised instead of a ho-hum division game between SD and Denver. As far as Fox goes, New Orleans at Washington looks like a much more watchable pairing than NYG at St. Louis, but instead of seeing if the Saints can keep things going, or if the Skins can get their offense going after sucking against the NYG, we get to watch the Giants pound a very weak Rams team. I'd rather watch a competitive game instead of a slaughter, even if it's the Superbowl champs doing the slaughtering. I don't care what you did last year, I want to see the closest, best played games each week, not the games that happen to have a team that was good last year, or used to play in Los Angeles, or happen to play their home game in Southern California.
Unfortunately, CBS and Fox don't see things my way, so we get the matchups we get, and can either watch or not watch (I'll be in the not-watching category during the day Sunday).
Oakland at Kansas City (-3.5), my pick Kansas City -3.5
What vile nonsense is this? Can someone please explain to CBS that the Raiders are no longer in Los Angeles, and other than a few pockets of criminally insane folks (or just plain criminals), nobody wants to see the truly awful 2008 vintage Raiders stink up their TV screens. The Chiefs aren't much better, but they're at least a TD at home better than the Raiders at the moment, so this should be an easy victory for a lousy Chiefs team.
NY Giants at St. Louis (+8.5), my pick NYG -8.5
What vile nonsense is this? Can someone please explain to FOX that the Rams are no longer in Los Angeles, and other than, wait, I can't copy the rest of the above rant, cause I doubt there are any Rams fans left in Los Angeles, the Raiders still have a few fans, if only cause they like to play dress up and wear black, but the Rams are hopeless, and can't imagine anyone outside of St. Louis caring about them this season. I suppose this game is being televised cause it's got the defending Superbowl champs in it, but they still look like chumps to me this season, but they're not as big of a bunch of chumps as the Rams, so they should be able to cover, even against a big 8.5 point spread on the road.
San Diego at Denver (Even), my pick San Diego Even
Denver looked great on the road, and San Diego stumbled at home in their openers, but that was then, this is now. Denver gets a short week, with travel, while San Diego missed a bunch of scoring opportunities and should play better against a division rival. San Diego ought to be able to win this prett easily, Denver's defense is vulnerable, they just didn't look like it since Oakland failed to take advantage. Denver's offense also isn't very good if you can pressure Cutler, and even with Merriman out, San Diego's defense ought to be able to cause him trouble. Not a complete rout, but I don't expect this to be too close, either.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland (+6.0), my pick Cleveland +6.0
Cleveland are nearly a TD underdog at home against a Pittsburgh team that looked very good opening week. The smart play is to expect Cleveland to lose big again at home two weeks in a row, but luckily I'm not smart (when it comes to football picks). I have a feeling that Pittsburgh will have a bit of a letdown, Cleveland will pick things up, and bounce back from being manhandled by Dallas. Pittsburgh is a good team, but not as good as Dallas, and Cleveland isn't a bad team, so I expect them to make this a contest. Not sure that they'll win, but I don't see them losing by more than a field goal, so I'm going with the home team in Sunday night's contest.
Philadelphia at Dallas (-7.0), my pick Dallas -7.0
It'd be easy to go with the Eagles given the lopsided spread. The Eagles are too good of a team to be TD underdogs, even on the road. But Dallas looks really good, and even though Philly does, too, I think Dallas will be in control of this game, and this won't end up being a particularly close game. Dallas will have something to prove in this game and want to send a message, so I expect them to keep up the pressure on both sides of the ball. The Eagles have plenty of talent on offense and defense as well, but I think they'll still get overpowered by Dallas.
So, if I were in charge of NFL programming for CBS and FOX in the Los Angeles market, I'd have picked three different games. For CBS I'd have gone with Buffalo at Jacksonville in the early game, and New England at NY Jets for the late game. Those look more compelling than the AFC West matchups they're scheduling instead, and should be more competitive, plus the Brady-less Pats versus the Favre-ful Jets will be the dominate story line on ESPN Sunday night, so it'd have been nice to have that game televised instead of a ho-hum division game between SD and Denver. As far as Fox goes, New Orleans at Washington looks like a much more watchable pairing than NYG at St. Louis, but instead of seeing if the Saints can keep things going, or if the Skins can get their offense going after sucking against the NYG, we get to watch the Giants pound a very weak Rams team. I'd rather watch a competitive game instead of a slaughter, even if it's the Superbowl champs doing the slaughtering. I don't care what you did last year, I want to see the closest, best played games each week, not the games that happen to have a team that was good last year, or used to play in Los Angeles, or happen to play their home game in Southern California.
Unfortunately, CBS and Fox don't see things my way, so we get the matchups we get, and can either watch or not watch (I'll be in the not-watching category during the day Sunday).
The Results, Week 01, Weekly NFL Related Humiliation
Meant to do this post Tuesday, got distracted by other things. As far as my Seasonal Humiliation, I'll update it also during these weekly results posts. My Seasonal Humiliation has started out at a perfectly mediocre 8-8, while my Weekly Humiliation has started out at a surprisingly unhumiliating 4-1. I screwed up on the lines I used, cause ESPN's website has added a confusing new feature of fan-created lines, but in the cases of the games I picked, the results wouldn't have changed one way or the other. In the future, I'll use the proper betting lines, rather than ESPN's new dumb gimmick. I expect my seasonal totals to get more and more humiliating, given that A) didn't account for injuries such as Tom Brady's B) Detroit is really terrible C) NY Giants may not be terrible D) Oakland might be historically awful (as in 0-16 bad) E) Pittsburgh may go 14-2 rather than 9-7 F) I don't think I've ever taken one of these lettered lists all the way down to "F" before G) It's a loooooong season. On with the weekly results . . . (you'll just have to trust me on the seasonal results, or consult the original posts, it's up to you, I've got a spreadsheet to make it easy to keep track of, but it's in excel, and I'm not going to bother to convert it to a google doc and post it on the web, I'm lazy, though not so lazy that I didn't create an excel spreadsheet to keep track of an entire season's worth of football picks)
Woohoo!! NYJ 20 at Miami 14, my pick NJY -4
Got it right, barely. The Jets tried to lose this at the end, but managed to hold on for the six point victory. I'm not so sure The Jets are that good, but they've just been helped out quite a bit with New England suddenly becoming very mediocre. There's still no hope for Miami this season, but give it a year or two and they might have something in South Florida.
Woohoo!! Tampa Bay 20 New Orleans 24, my pick New Orleans -3.5
It was a close game, and both teams looked good on both sides of the ball. Reggie Bush's spectacular 42 yard TD reception proved to be the difference, though. If New Orleans has that Reggie Bush playing for them this season, then that 12-4 and NFC Championship appearance looks ver possible. Also, Tampa Bay looks like a solid playoff contender, even with the usual Gruden-esque QB confusion that seems to be going on again this season.
Woohoo!! Dallas 28 Cleveland 10, my pick Dallas -5.5
Dallas controlled this contest the entire way, dominating both sides of the ball. Given their offensive performance, 'only' scoring 4 touchdowns might be a little worrisome for Dallas. They had a few fruitless drives, so if their defense doesn't dominate, they might find themselves in a tight game where they shouldn't be. It's hard to figure out what this means for Cleveland. They just got schooled by a superior team, doesn't mean they'll be bad this season, just means they aren't in Dallas' league at the moment.
Woohoo!! Chicago 29 Indianapolis 13, my pick Chicago +8.0
I was right despite being wrong. I thought Indy would win this one, but it'd be close. Instead Chicago looked great, and Indy looked mediocre. It's Matt Forte's world, we're just living in it. I still say Devin Hester should QB this team, though. He should be more involved in their offense, but for this one week, Kyle Orton didn't look terrible. I think Indy is as mediocre as they looked this week, and will struggle to be barely above .500 for the season.
D'oh!!! Minnesota 19 Green Bay 24, my pick Minnesota Even
Can't win them all (well, you can, but it's rare, and didn't happen this week). Minnesota struggled all game offensively, then woke up in the 4th quarter, but by then it was too late. Both these teams looke pretty good against each other, which could mean that they're both pretty good, or both equally mediocre. How they do against other teams will determine whether or not these are both decent teams, or not.
So, that was the first week of the NFL. Of course, the big story was injuries to Tom Brady and Vince Young. The Brady story is a season ender, while the Vince Young had the added twist of the whole calling the police to check up on their QB angle cause they were worried about his mental state, angle. I don't know what to expect in week two, hopefully some of the games televised hereabouts will be worth watching, week one's games were mostly forgettable (even the close ones). Beats watching baseball, though, even if both Los Angeles area teams appear headed to the playoffs (Angels are the first team to clinch, and the Dodgers seem in control, but they could still blow it, and nobody's dreaming of a freeway series, yet)
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 8-8
Weekly 4-1
Woohoo!! NYJ 20 at Miami 14, my pick NJY -4
Got it right, barely. The Jets tried to lose this at the end, but managed to hold on for the six point victory. I'm not so sure The Jets are that good, but they've just been helped out quite a bit with New England suddenly becoming very mediocre. There's still no hope for Miami this season, but give it a year or two and they might have something in South Florida.
Woohoo!! Tampa Bay 20 New Orleans 24, my pick New Orleans -3.5
It was a close game, and both teams looked good on both sides of the ball. Reggie Bush's spectacular 42 yard TD reception proved to be the difference, though. If New Orleans has that Reggie Bush playing for them this season, then that 12-4 and NFC Championship appearance looks ver possible. Also, Tampa Bay looks like a solid playoff contender, even with the usual Gruden-esque QB confusion that seems to be going on again this season.
Woohoo!! Dallas 28 Cleveland 10, my pick Dallas -5.5
Dallas controlled this contest the entire way, dominating both sides of the ball. Given their offensive performance, 'only' scoring 4 touchdowns might be a little worrisome for Dallas. They had a few fruitless drives, so if their defense doesn't dominate, they might find themselves in a tight game where they shouldn't be. It's hard to figure out what this means for Cleveland. They just got schooled by a superior team, doesn't mean they'll be bad this season, just means they aren't in Dallas' league at the moment.
Woohoo!! Chicago 29 Indianapolis 13, my pick Chicago +8.0
I was right despite being wrong. I thought Indy would win this one, but it'd be close. Instead Chicago looked great, and Indy looked mediocre. It's Matt Forte's world, we're just living in it. I still say Devin Hester should QB this team, though. He should be more involved in their offense, but for this one week, Kyle Orton didn't look terrible. I think Indy is as mediocre as they looked this week, and will struggle to be barely above .500 for the season.
D'oh!!! Minnesota 19 Green Bay 24, my pick Minnesota Even
Can't win them all (well, you can, but it's rare, and didn't happen this week). Minnesota struggled all game offensively, then woke up in the 4th quarter, but by then it was too late. Both these teams looke pretty good against each other, which could mean that they're both pretty good, or both equally mediocre. How they do against other teams will determine whether or not these are both decent teams, or not.
So, that was the first week of the NFL. Of course, the big story was injuries to Tom Brady and Vince Young. The Brady story is a season ender, while the Vince Young had the added twist of the whole calling the police to check up on their QB angle cause they were worried about his mental state, angle. I don't know what to expect in week two, hopefully some of the games televised hereabouts will be worth watching, week one's games were mostly forgettable (even the close ones). Beats watching baseball, though, even if both Los Angeles area teams appear headed to the playoffs (Angels are the first team to clinch, and the Dodgers seem in control, but they could still blow it, and nobody's dreaming of a freeway series, yet)
Totals so far . . .
Seasonal 8-8
Weekly 4-1
06 September 2008
Season Preview, An Entire Season's Worth of NFL Related Humiliation, OVERVIEW
Here are the links to all eight parts of my picks of all 256 games for the entire season (compiled before the first game on Thursday Sept 4th, any edits have been for errors I missed on first post, no picks have been changed, or will be changed, you'll just have to take my word on it, though). I'll post weekly updates each Tuesday, and I'll also be doing the usual Humiliating NFL Pick posts of 4 Los Angeles market televised games each week (unless I get bored with it towards the tenth week like I do every season).
Part 1, NFC East
Part 2, NFC West
Part 3, NFC North
Part 4, NFC South
Part 5, AFC East
Part 6, AFC West
Part 7, AFC North
Part 8, AFC South
As far as the playoffs go here are your NFC division winners, Dallas, Arizona, Green Bay, and New Orleans with Washington and Tampa Bay snagging the two wildcard spots. In the AFC I have New England, San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville winning their divisions with the NY Jets and Houston Texans as surprise wildcard teams. I have the NFC Championship game being New Orleans at Dallas with Dallas winning, the AFC Champsionship game being Jacksonville at New England with Jacksonville managing to upset New England in the miserable cold of Gillette Stadium in late January, with a season ending Jacksonville triumph in Tampa Bay at Superbowl XLIII.
For the most part I'm within 2 games plus or minus compared to the opening betting lines for season win totals (just scroll down, it's on that page towards the middle), with a few notable exceptions. NY Giants I expect to be terrible (though they managed to beat Washington, despite only one TD, and Eli Manning's propensity to overthrow his receivers, the line on them is 9, and I gave them 3 wins for the season (which I guess should be revised to 4 now that I screwed up on the Thursday night kick-off game, nothing in that game suggests to me that they won't be terrible, just Washington started out even worse, and I still think Washington will turn things around they just had rookie coach jitters the first week). The team that I deviate most on the high side are the NY Jets, whose betting line opened at 7, but I have them tabbed for 11 victories. The other team I'm much more strongly skeptical of compared to the line is Denver, who opened at 8 victories, but I expect them to win only 3 games. My second biggest 'upset' favorite would be New Orleans, whose line is at 8.5, but I see winning 12 games, and challenging Dallas for the home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The AFC South will be the best division overall, and both the NFC and AFC West divisions will be craptastic, or maybe even craptacular, or possibly even crapulescent, though as I think about it some more, I'd have to go with a Don Kingian Craputilacious as the one word that encapsulates the crappiness of those eight teams collectively. However you slice it, and whatever word you use to describe those divisions, the word you use should begin with 'crap'.
That's the entire season as I see it. I'd be happy with better than 200 games picked correctly, I'd also be very surprised, but one can hope. And if you feel like betting heavily on my predictions, feel free, just know that I wouldn't put a dime on any of these picks (except maybe under 9 victories for the NY Giants, that's a lock as far as I'm concerned).
Part 1, NFC East
Part 2, NFC West
Part 3, NFC North
Part 4, NFC South
Part 5, AFC East
Part 6, AFC West
Part 7, AFC North
Part 8, AFC South
As far as the playoffs go here are your NFC division winners, Dallas, Arizona, Green Bay, and New Orleans with Washington and Tampa Bay snagging the two wildcard spots. In the AFC I have New England, San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville winning their divisions with the NY Jets and Houston Texans as surprise wildcard teams. I have the NFC Championship game being New Orleans at Dallas with Dallas winning, the AFC Champsionship game being Jacksonville at New England with Jacksonville managing to upset New England in the miserable cold of Gillette Stadium in late January, with a season ending Jacksonville triumph in Tampa Bay at Superbowl XLIII.
For the most part I'm within 2 games plus or minus compared to the opening betting lines for season win totals (just scroll down, it's on that page towards the middle), with a few notable exceptions. NY Giants I expect to be terrible (though they managed to beat Washington, despite only one TD, and Eli Manning's propensity to overthrow his receivers, the line on them is 9, and I gave them 3 wins for the season (which I guess should be revised to 4 now that I screwed up on the Thursday night kick-off game, nothing in that game suggests to me that they won't be terrible, just Washington started out even worse, and I still think Washington will turn things around they just had rookie coach jitters the first week). The team that I deviate most on the high side are the NY Jets, whose betting line opened at 7, but I have them tabbed for 11 victories. The other team I'm much more strongly skeptical of compared to the line is Denver, who opened at 8 victories, but I expect them to win only 3 games. My second biggest 'upset' favorite would be New Orleans, whose line is at 8.5, but I see winning 12 games, and challenging Dallas for the home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
The AFC South will be the best division overall, and both the NFC and AFC West divisions will be craptastic, or maybe even craptacular, or possibly even crapulescent, though as I think about it some more, I'd have to go with a Don Kingian Craputilacious as the one word that encapsulates the crappiness of those eight teams collectively. However you slice it, and whatever word you use to describe those divisions, the word you use should begin with 'crap'.
That's the entire season as I see it. I'd be happy with better than 200 games picked correctly, I'd also be very surprised, but one can hope. And if you feel like betting heavily on my predictions, feel free, just know that I wouldn't put a dime on any of these picks (except maybe under 9 victories for the NY Giants, that's a lock as far as I'm concerned).
03 September 2008
Season Preview, An Entire Season's Worth of NFL Related Humiliation, Part 8 --- AFC South
I saved the best for last. Every team in the divison will be at least .500, but only two are going to make the playoffs, and neither of those playoff teams will be the Colts. Jacksonville should put together a fine season and even challenge New England for the best record in the AFC, and when they meet in the AFC Championship game, anything can happen.
HOU O/U 7.5 wins, my total 10 UPDATE Week 2 PPd until Week 10, Week 10 Game against CIN Moved to Week 8
This is their break through year. They're making the playoffs for the first time, and they'll be one of the most solid teams on both side of the ball. (I know, crazy talk, but usually there's one or two team that makes a big leap from one year to the next, and they weren't half bad last year)
01 @PIT L (0-1)
02BAL W (1-1) PPd until Week 10, BYE
03 @TEN L (0-2)
04 @JAX L (0-3)
05 IND W (1-3)
06 MIA L (1-4)
07 DET W (2-4)
08BYE CIN W (3-4) Moved from Week 10
09 @MIN W (4-4)
10CIN W (5-4) BAL W (5-4) Moved from Week 02
11 @IND L (5-5)
12 @CLE W (6-5)
13 JAX W (7-5)
14 @GB L (7-6)
15 TEN W (8-6)
16 @OAK W (9-6)
17 CHI W (10-6)
IND O/U 11.5 wins, my total 9
They're going to miss the playoffs for the first time in forever. Somethings got to give, and they seem poised to be hit by injuries. They'll still be competitive, and they'll still win more than they'll lose, but they'll be sitting at home when the real fun starts.
01 CHI W (1-0)
02 @MIN L (1-1)
03 JAX L (1-2)
04 BYE
05 @HOU L (1-3)
06 BAL W (2-3)
07 @GB L (2-4)
08 @TEN W (3-4)
09 NE W (4-4)
10 @PIT L (4-5)
11 HOU W (5-5)
12 @SD L (5-6)
13 @CLE W (6-6)
14 CIN L (6-7)
15 IND W (7-7)
16 @JAX W (8-7)
17 TEN W (9-7)
JAX O/U 10.5 wins, my total 12
This is their year to be one of the best teams in the league. I expect them to be the last undefeated in the league, making it through week ten with a 9-0 record. After that they'll be a little shaky, but then they should turn things around in the playoffs and upset New England in the championship game, make it to the Superbowl against Dallas, and then put an ass whopping on the 'Boys and become Superbowl XLIII champions in nearby Tampa (no luck on an all Florida bowl, though).
01 @TEN W (1-0)
02 BUF W (2-0)
03 @IND W (3-0)
04 HOU W (4-0)
05 PIT w (5-0)
06 @DEN W (6-0)
07 BYE
08 CLE W (7-0)
09 @CIN W (8-0)
10 @DET W (9-0)
11 TEN L (9-1)
12 MIN W (10-1)
13 @HOU L (10-2)
14 @CHI L (10-3)
15 GB W (11-3)
16 IND L (11-4)
17 @BAL W (12-4)
TEN O/U 8.5 wins, my total 8
They're almost good, but not really. Vince Young could almost be a great QB in the NFL, but not really. They're just kind of there. I expect them to start out strong, then fall apart.
01 JAX L (0-1)
02 @CIN W (1-1)
03 HOU W (2-1)
04 MIN W (3-1)
05 @BAL W (4-1)
06 BYE
07 @KC W (5-1)
08 IND L (5-2)
09 GB W (6-2)
10 @CHI L (6-3)
11 @JAX W (7-3)
12 NYJ L (7-4)
13 @DET L (7-5)
14 CLE W (8-5)
15 @HOU L (8-6)
16 PIT L (8-7)
17 @IND L (8-8)
HOU O/U 7.5 wins, my total 10 UPDATE Week 2 PPd until Week 10, Week 10 Game against CIN Moved to Week 8
This is their break through year. They're making the playoffs for the first time, and they'll be one of the most solid teams on both side of the ball. (I know, crazy talk, but usually there's one or two team that makes a big leap from one year to the next, and they weren't half bad last year)
01 @PIT L (0-1)
02
03 @TEN L (0-2)
04 @JAX L (0-3)
05 IND W (1-3)
06 MIA L (1-4)
07 DET W (2-4)
08
09 @MIN W (4-4)
10
11 @IND L (5-5)
12 @CLE W (6-5)
13 JAX W (7-5)
14 @GB L (7-6)
15 TEN W (8-6)
16 @OAK W (9-6)
17 CHI W (10-6)
IND O/U 11.5 wins, my total 9
They're going to miss the playoffs for the first time in forever. Somethings got to give, and they seem poised to be hit by injuries. They'll still be competitive, and they'll still win more than they'll lose, but they'll be sitting at home when the real fun starts.
01 CHI W (1-0)
02 @MIN L (1-1)
03 JAX L (1-2)
04 BYE
05 @HOU L (1-3)
06 BAL W (2-3)
07 @GB L (2-4)
08 @TEN W (3-4)
09 NE W (4-4)
10 @PIT L (4-5)
11 HOU W (5-5)
12 @SD L (5-6)
13 @CLE W (6-6)
14 CIN L (6-7)
15 IND W (7-7)
16 @JAX W (8-7)
17 TEN W (9-7)
JAX O/U 10.5 wins, my total 12
This is their year to be one of the best teams in the league. I expect them to be the last undefeated in the league, making it through week ten with a 9-0 record. After that they'll be a little shaky, but then they should turn things around in the playoffs and upset New England in the championship game, make it to the Superbowl against Dallas, and then put an ass whopping on the 'Boys and become Superbowl XLIII champions in nearby Tampa (no luck on an all Florida bowl, though).
01 @TEN W (1-0)
02 BUF W (2-0)
03 @IND W (3-0)
04 HOU W (4-0)
05 PIT w (5-0)
06 @DEN W (6-0)
07 BYE
08 CLE W (7-0)
09 @CIN W (8-0)
10 @DET W (9-0)
11 TEN L (9-1)
12 MIN W (10-1)
13 @HOU L (10-2)
14 @CHI L (10-3)
15 GB W (11-3)
16 IND L (11-4)
17 @BAL W (12-4)
TEN O/U 8.5 wins, my total 8
They're almost good, but not really. Vince Young could almost be a great QB in the NFL, but not really. They're just kind of there. I expect them to start out strong, then fall apart.
01 JAX L (0-1)
02 @CIN W (1-1)
03 HOU W (2-1)
04 MIN W (3-1)
05 @BAL W (4-1)
06 BYE
07 @KC W (5-1)
08 IND L (5-2)
09 GB W (6-2)
10 @CHI L (6-3)
11 @JAX W (7-3)
12 NYJ L (7-4)
13 @DET L (7-5)
14 CLE W (8-5)
15 @HOU L (8-6)
16 PIT L (8-7)
17 @IND L (8-8)
Season Preview, An Entire Season's Worth of NFL Related Humiliation, Part 7 --- AFC North
The 'Black and Blue' division will be a little less black and blue and a bit more finesse in 2008. All the teams are going to under perform, but Pittsburgh should sneak off with the division crown by beating Cleveland in the last week of the season (it's a repeat of what's going to happen in the NFC North between Detroit and Green Bay, and Pittsburgh's field will be just as big of a mess as Green Bay's)
BAL O/U 7 wins, my total 4 UPDATE Week 2 PPd
They've lost their crappy QB for the season, and he'll be replaced by his even crappier back up. Despite their defense, this is a lost season for the Ravens.
01 CIN L (0-1)
02@HOU L (0-1) PPd until Week 10
03 @CLE W (1-1)
04 PIT W (2-1)
05 TEN L (2-2)
06 @IND L (2-3)
07 @MIA L (2-4)
08 OAK W (3-4)
09 @CLE L (3-5)
10BYE Make up Game, @HOU L (3-6)
11 @NYG L (3-7)
12 PHI L (3-8)
13 @CIN W (4-8)
14 WAS L (4-9)
15 PIT L (4-10)
16 @DAL L (4-11)
17 JAX L (4-12)
CIN O/U 7.5 wins, my total 6 UPDATE Schedule Change Due to Hurricane Ike
They just aren't a very good team, but they'll lose (and win from time to time) in exciting ways. There defense still sucks, so they'll win when they can light up the scoreboard, but there's no chance to be consistent in this league playing that way.
01 @BAL W (1-0)
02 TEN L (1-1)
03 @NYG W (2-1)
04 CLE W (3-1)
05 @DAL L (3-2)
06 @NYJ L (3-3)
07 PIT L (3-4)
08BYE @HOU L (3-5) Moved from Week 10
09 JAX L (3-6)
10@HOU L (3-6) Rescheduled for Week 08, BYE
11 PHI W (4-6)
12 @PIT L (4-7)
13 BAL L (4-8)
14 @IND W (5-8)
15 WAS L (5-9)
16 @CLE L (5-10)
17 KC W (6-10)
CLE O/U 8.5 wins, my total 7
They looked like an up and coming team last year, and just barely missed the playoffs, but I think they'll slip a bit this season (even though they'll still have a chance to win the division in the last game). They'll be good at times, horrible at others.
01 DAL L (0-1)
02 PIT W (1-1)
03 @BAL L (1-2)
04 @CIN L (1-3)
05 BYE
06 NYG W (2-3)
07 @WAS W (3-3)
08 @JAX L (3-4)
09 BAL W (4-4)
10 DEN W (5-4)
11 @BUF W (6-4)
12 HOU L (6-5)
13 IND L (6-6)
14 @TEN L (6-7)
15 @PHI L (6-8)
16 CIN W (7-8)
17 @PIT L (7-9)
PIT O/U 9.5 wins, my total 9
It's an up and down year for them, but they're still the best team in this division, and they should be able to squeak by and sneak into the playoffs. Once there, they'll get beat like a drum, but at least they'll make it to the post season.
01 HOU W (1-0)
02 @CLE L (1-1)
03 @PHI W (2-1)
04 BAL L (2-2)
05 @JAX L (2-3)
06 BYE
07 @CIN L (2-4)
08 NYG W (3-4)
09 @WAS L (3-5)
10 IND W (4-5)
11 SD W (5-5)
12 CIN W (6-5)
13 @NE L (6-6)
14 DAL L (6-7)
15 @BAL W (7-7)
16 @TEN W (8-7)
17 CLE W (9-7)
BAL O/U 7 wins, my total 4 UPDATE Week 2 PPd
They've lost their crappy QB for the season, and he'll be replaced by his even crappier back up. Despite their defense, this is a lost season for the Ravens.
01 CIN L (0-1)
02
03 @CLE W (1-1)
04 PIT W (2-1)
05 TEN L (2-2)
06 @IND L (2-3)
07 @MIA L (2-4)
08 OAK W (3-4)
09 @CLE L (3-5)
10
11 @NYG L (3-7)
12 PHI L (3-8)
13 @CIN W (4-8)
14 WAS L (4-9)
15 PIT L (4-10)
16 @DAL L (4-11)
17 JAX L (4-12)
CIN O/U 7.5 wins, my total 6 UPDATE Schedule Change Due to Hurricane Ike
They just aren't a very good team, but they'll lose (and win from time to time) in exciting ways. There defense still sucks, so they'll win when they can light up the scoreboard, but there's no chance to be consistent in this league playing that way.
01 @BAL W (1-0)
02 TEN L (1-1)
03 @NYG W (2-1)
04 CLE W (3-1)
05 @DAL L (3-2)
06 @NYJ L (3-3)
07 PIT L (3-4)
08
09 JAX L (3-6)
10
11 PHI W (4-6)
12 @PIT L (4-7)
13 BAL L (4-8)
14 @IND W (5-8)
15 WAS L (5-9)
16 @CLE L (5-10)
17 KC W (6-10)
CLE O/U 8.5 wins, my total 7
They looked like an up and coming team last year, and just barely missed the playoffs, but I think they'll slip a bit this season (even though they'll still have a chance to win the division in the last game). They'll be good at times, horrible at others.
01 DAL L (0-1)
02 PIT W (1-1)
03 @BAL L (1-2)
04 @CIN L (1-3)
05 BYE
06 NYG W (2-3)
07 @WAS W (3-3)
08 @JAX L (3-4)
09 BAL W (4-4)
10 DEN W (5-4)
11 @BUF W (6-4)
12 HOU L (6-5)
13 IND L (6-6)
14 @TEN L (6-7)
15 @PHI L (6-8)
16 CIN W (7-8)
17 @PIT L (7-9)
PIT O/U 9.5 wins, my total 9
It's an up and down year for them, but they're still the best team in this division, and they should be able to squeak by and sneak into the playoffs. Once there, they'll get beat like a drum, but at least they'll make it to the post season.
01 HOU W (1-0)
02 @CLE L (1-1)
03 @PHI W (2-1)
04 BAL L (2-2)
05 @JAX L (2-3)
06 BYE
07 @CIN L (2-4)
08 NYG W (3-4)
09 @WAS L (3-5)
10 IND W (4-5)
11 SD W (5-5)
12 CIN W (6-5)
13 @NE L (6-6)
14 DAL L (6-7)
15 @BAL W (7-7)
16 @TEN W (8-7)
17 CLE W (9-7)
Season Preview, An Entire Season's Worth of NFL Related Humiliation, Part 6 --- AFC East
I believe the operative word to describe this division (with the exception of San Diego) is woeful.
DEN O/U 8 wins, my total 3
I just have a hunch they are going to be terrible team this year and the players are going to quit on their coach. Shanahan has been their too long, and they really don't have the talent to compete. It won't be pretty.
01 @OAK L (0-1)
02 SD L (0-2)
03 NO L (0-3)
04 @KC L (0-4)
05 TB W (1-4)
06 JAX L (1-5)
07 @NE L (1-6)
08 BYE
09 MIA W (2-6)
10 @CLE L (2-7)
11 @ATL L (2-8)
12 OAK W (3-8)
13 @NYJ L (3-9)
14 KC L (3-10)
15 @CAR L (3-11)
16 BUF L (3-12)
17 @SD L (3-13)
KC O/U 5.5 wins, my total 4
They are in full scale rebuilding mode, with mostly youngsters in a bunch of key positions. They'll be competitive in some games, but mostly they'll just suck.
01 @NE L (0-1)
02 OAK L (0-2)
03 @ATL L (0-3)
04 DEN W (1-3)
05 @CAR L (1-4)
06 BYE
07 TEN L (1-5)
08 @NYJ L (1-6)
09 TB L (1-7)
10 @SD L (1-8)
11 NO L (1-9)
12 BUF L (1-10)
13 @OAK W (2-10)
14 @DEN W (3-10)
15 SD L (3-11)
16 MIA W (4-11)
17 @CIN L (4-12)
OAK O/U 6 wins, my total 5
On the positive side, 2nd place in the division, on the negative side, it will only take five wins to get there. The least crappy of the crappier teams in this division. Russell ought to come along a bit, and their defense will continue to grow, but that won't equate to many victories. They will surprise a few playoff teams, though, so that's something.
01 DEN W (1-0)
02 @KC W (2-0)
03 @BUF L (2-1)
04 SD L (2-2)
05 BYE
06 @NO W (3-2)
07 NYJ W (4-2)
08 @BAL L (4-3)
09 ATL L (4-4)
10 CAR L (4-5)
11 @MIA L (4-6)
12 @DEN L (4-7)
13 KC L (4-8)
14 @SD W (5-8)
15 NE L (5-9)
16 HOU L (5-10)
17 @TB L (5-11)
SD O/U 11 wins, my total 11
Division champs, but not as good as last year's team, and a lot will depend on the health of their key backfield players. They're going to win plenty of games, but they'll also be inconsistent, and aren't going to do well in the post season. Norv Turner is still Norv Turner, afterall, last year was an abberation.
01 CAR W (1-0)
02 @DEN W (2-0)
03 NYJ L (2-1)
04 @OAK W (3-1)
05 @MIA W (4-1)
06 NE W (5-1)
07 @BUF L (5-2)
08 @NO W (6-2)
09 BYE
10 KC W (7-2)
11 @PIT L (7-3)
12 IND W (8-3)
13 ATL W (9-3)
14 OAK L (9-4)
15 @KC W (10-4)
16 @TB L (10-5)
17 DEN W (11-5)
DEN O/U 8 wins, my total 3
I just have a hunch they are going to be terrible team this year and the players are going to quit on their coach. Shanahan has been their too long, and they really don't have the talent to compete. It won't be pretty.
01 @OAK L (0-1)
02 SD L (0-2)
03 NO L (0-3)
04 @KC L (0-4)
05 TB W (1-4)
06 JAX L (1-5)
07 @NE L (1-6)
08 BYE
09 MIA W (2-6)
10 @CLE L (2-7)
11 @ATL L (2-8)
12 OAK W (3-8)
13 @NYJ L (3-9)
14 KC L (3-10)
15 @CAR L (3-11)
16 BUF L (3-12)
17 @SD L (3-13)
KC O/U 5.5 wins, my total 4
They are in full scale rebuilding mode, with mostly youngsters in a bunch of key positions. They'll be competitive in some games, but mostly they'll just suck.
01 @NE L (0-1)
02 OAK L (0-2)
03 @ATL L (0-3)
04 DEN W (1-3)
05 @CAR L (1-4)
06 BYE
07 TEN L (1-5)
08 @NYJ L (1-6)
09 TB L (1-7)
10 @SD L (1-8)
11 NO L (1-9)
12 BUF L (1-10)
13 @OAK W (2-10)
14 @DEN W (3-10)
15 SD L (3-11)
16 MIA W (4-11)
17 @CIN L (4-12)
OAK O/U 6 wins, my total 5
On the positive side, 2nd place in the division, on the negative side, it will only take five wins to get there. The least crappy of the crappier teams in this division. Russell ought to come along a bit, and their defense will continue to grow, but that won't equate to many victories. They will surprise a few playoff teams, though, so that's something.
01 DEN W (1-0)
02 @KC W (2-0)
03 @BUF L (2-1)
04 SD L (2-2)
05 BYE
06 @NO W (3-2)
07 NYJ W (4-2)
08 @BAL L (4-3)
09 ATL L (4-4)
10 CAR L (4-5)
11 @MIA L (4-6)
12 @DEN L (4-7)
13 KC L (4-8)
14 @SD W (5-8)
15 NE L (5-9)
16 HOU L (5-10)
17 @TB L (5-11)
SD O/U 11 wins, my total 11
Division champs, but not as good as last year's team, and a lot will depend on the health of their key backfield players. They're going to win plenty of games, but they'll also be inconsistent, and aren't going to do well in the post season. Norv Turner is still Norv Turner, afterall, last year was an abberation.
01 CAR W (1-0)
02 @DEN W (2-0)
03 NYJ L (2-1)
04 @OAK W (3-1)
05 @MIA W (4-1)
06 NE W (5-1)
07 @BUF L (5-2)
08 @NO W (6-2)
09 BYE
10 KC W (7-2)
11 @PIT L (7-3)
12 IND W (8-3)
13 ATL W (9-3)
14 OAK L (9-4)
15 @KC W (10-4)
16 @TB L (10-5)
17 DEN W (11-5)
Season Preview, An Entire Season's Worth of NFL Related Humiliation, Part 5 --- AFC East
This is going to be a tough division. New England should still stay on top, but the Jets will be improved, the Bills will play tough, and even Miami is going to be somewhat respectable this year with Parcells at the helm. This division should send both New England and the Jets to the playoffs this year.
BUF O/U 7.5 wins, my total 8
They are a solid team, that plays well, but they'll struggle on the road and find ways to lose to teams they should be able to beat (and beat a few of the better teams along the way, too). They get to play a game 'home' game in Toronto, these regular season games in foreign lands are kind of silly if you ask me.
01 SEA W (0-1)
02 @JAX L (1-1)
03 OAK W (2-1)
04 @STL L (2-2)
05 @ARI L (2-3)
06 BYE
07 SD W (3-3)
08 @MIA L (3-4)
09 NYJ L (3-5)
10 @NE L (3-6)
11 CLE L (3-7)
12 @KC W (4-7)
13 SF W (5-7)
14 MIA W (6-7)
15 @NYJ W (7-7)
16 @DEN W (8-7)
17 NE L (8-8)
MIA O/U 5 wins, my total 6
They'll be much improved compared to last year's disaster, but they'll start slowly. By week 11 they'll claw their way back to .500, but then fall back down to earth after that. Parcells is building something here, but they aren't there yet, so improved, but not even a sniff of the playoffs for Miami.
01 NYJ L (0-1)
02 @ARI L (0-2)
03 @NE L (0-3)
04 BYE
05 SD L (0-4)
06 @HOU W (1-4)
07 BAL W (2-4)
08 BUF W (3-4)
09 @DEN L (3-5)
10 SEA W (4-5)
11 OAK W (5-5)
12 NE L (5-6)
13 @STL L (5-7)
14 @BUF L (5-8)
15 SF L (5-9)
16 @KC L (5-10)
17 @NYJ W (6-10)
NE O/U 12.5 wins, my total 13
Ho hum, best team in the Conference, again. They should start out winning their first four, extending their regular season win streak to a gazillion, but they'll get stopped by the Chargers in San Diego. It will come as a relief in some ways to not have a streak to worry about, they'll settle down and go about winning their division, getting home field, and marching through the playoffs (all assuming Brady's foot isn't too bad).
01 KC W (1-0)
02 @NYJ W (2-0)
03 MIA W (3-0)
04 BYE
05 @SF W (4-0)
06 @SD L (4-1)
07 DEN W (5-1)
08 STL W (6-1)
09 @IND L (6-2)
10 BUF W (7-2)
11 NYJ L (7-3)
12 @MIA W (8-3)
13 PIT W (9-3)
14 @SEA W (10-3)
15 @OAK W (11-3)
16 ARI W (12-3)
17 @BUF W (13-3)
NYJ O/U 7 wins, my total 11
This isn't Favre worship, honest. He's not the difference maker here, it's an improved defense, and better execution on offense (even with an old new QB) that will lead to a playoff year for these Jets. They'll even have a division lead over New England late in the season, before coming back down a bit with a season ending skid.
01 @MIA W (1-0)
02 NE L (1-1)
03 @SD W (2-1)
04 ARI W (3-1)
05 BYE
06 CIN W (4-1)
07 @OAK L (4-2)
08 KC W (5-2)
09 @BUF W (6-2)
10 STL W (7-2)
11 @NE W (8-2)
12 @TEN W (9-2)
13 DEN W (10-2)
14 @SF W (11-2)
15 BUF L (11-3)
16 @SEA L (11-4)
17 MIA L (11-5)
BUF O/U 7.5 wins, my total 8
They are a solid team, that plays well, but they'll struggle on the road and find ways to lose to teams they should be able to beat (and beat a few of the better teams along the way, too). They get to play a game 'home' game in Toronto, these regular season games in foreign lands are kind of silly if you ask me.
01 SEA W (0-1)
02 @JAX L (1-1)
03 OAK W (2-1)
04 @STL L (2-2)
05 @ARI L (2-3)
06 BYE
07 SD W (3-3)
08 @MIA L (3-4)
09 NYJ L (3-5)
10 @NE L (3-6)
11 CLE L (3-7)
12 @KC W (4-7)
13 SF W (5-7)
14 MIA W (6-7)
15 @NYJ W (7-7)
16 @DEN W (8-7)
17 NE L (8-8)
MIA O/U 5 wins, my total 6
They'll be much improved compared to last year's disaster, but they'll start slowly. By week 11 they'll claw their way back to .500, but then fall back down to earth after that. Parcells is building something here, but they aren't there yet, so improved, but not even a sniff of the playoffs for Miami.
01 NYJ L (0-1)
02 @ARI L (0-2)
03 @NE L (0-3)
04 BYE
05 SD L (0-4)
06 @HOU W (1-4)
07 BAL W (2-4)
08 BUF W (3-4)
09 @DEN L (3-5)
10 SEA W (4-5)
11 OAK W (5-5)
12 NE L (5-6)
13 @STL L (5-7)
14 @BUF L (5-8)
15 SF L (5-9)
16 @KC L (5-10)
17 @NYJ W (6-10)
NE O/U 12.5 wins, my total 13
Ho hum, best team in the Conference, again. They should start out winning their first four, extending their regular season win streak to a gazillion, but they'll get stopped by the Chargers in San Diego. It will come as a relief in some ways to not have a streak to worry about, they'll settle down and go about winning their division, getting home field, and marching through the playoffs (all assuming Brady's foot isn't too bad).
01 KC W (1-0)
02 @NYJ W (2-0)
03 MIA W (3-0)
04 BYE
05 @SF W (4-0)
06 @SD L (4-1)
07 DEN W (5-1)
08 STL W (6-1)
09 @IND L (6-2)
10 BUF W (7-2)
11 NYJ L (7-3)
12 @MIA W (8-3)
13 PIT W (9-3)
14 @SEA W (10-3)
15 @OAK W (11-3)
16 ARI W (12-3)
17 @BUF W (13-3)
NYJ O/U 7 wins, my total 11
This isn't Favre worship, honest. He's not the difference maker here, it's an improved defense, and better execution on offense (even with an old new QB) that will lead to a playoff year for these Jets. They'll even have a division lead over New England late in the season, before coming back down a bit with a season ending skid.
01 @MIA W (1-0)
02 NE L (1-1)
03 @SD W (2-1)
04 ARI W (3-1)
05 BYE
06 CIN W (4-1)
07 @OAK L (4-2)
08 KC W (5-2)
09 @BUF W (6-2)
10 STL W (7-2)
11 @NE W (8-2)
12 @TEN W (9-2)
13 DEN W (10-2)
14 @SF W (11-2)
15 BUF L (11-3)
16 @SEA L (11-4)
17 MIA L (11-5)
Season Preview, An Entire Season's Worth of NFL Related Humiliation, Part 4 --- NFC South
Other than Atlanta, every team in this division is going to be tough to beat and be in the hunt for the playoffs. I think New Orleans should barely edge out Tampa for the division title, but Tampa should sneak into the playoffs and knock out Philly as the other wildcard with Washington.
Atlanta O/U 5 wins, my total 4
They'll suck as expected, but they'll also play well in spurts, just won't translate into a lot of victories. They're a few years off from being good again.
01 DET L (0-1)
02 @TB L (0-2)
03 KC W (1-2)
04 @CAR L (1-3)
05 @GB L (1-4)
06 CHI L (1-5)
07 BYE
08 @PHI L (1-6)
09 @OAK W (2-6)
10 NO L (2-7)
11 DEN W (3-7)
12 CAR W (4-7)
13 @SD L (4-8)
14 @NO L (4-9)
15 TB L (4-10)
16 @MIN L (4-11)
17 STL L (4-12)
Carolina O/U 8 wins, my total 8
I expect them to be up and down all season, beating some good teams, losing to some crappy teams, and end up with an unsatisfying 8-8 record when it's all over with.
01 @SD L (0-1)
02 CHI W (1-1)
03 @MIN L (1-2)
04 ATL W (2-2)
05 KC W (3-2)
06 @TB L (3-3)
07 NO W (4-3)
08 ARI W (5-3)
09 BYE
10 @OAK L (5-4)
11 DET W (6-4)
12 @ATL L (6-5)
13 @GB L (6-6)
14 TB L (6-7)
15 DEN W (7-7)
16 @NYG W (8-7)
17 @NO L (8-8)
New Orleans O/U 8.5 wins, my total 12
They're going to start of smoking hot this season, running off 5 straight wins, followed by a 3 game losing streak, but then they'll settle into a groove after they get back from London (yes, they play in London against San Diego, and it's designated as a 'home' game) they'll run off a nice 7 of 8 wins and snag the 2 seed in the playoffs (and get beat by Dallas in the NFC Championship game)
01 TB W (1-0)
02 @WAS W (2-0)
03 @DEN W (3-0)
04 SF W (4-0)
05 MIN W (5-0)
06 OAK L (5-1)
07 @CAR L (5-2)
08 SD L (5-3)
09 BYE
10 @ATL W (6-3)
11 @KC W (7-3)
12 GB W (8-3)
13 @TB W (9-3)
14 ATL W (10-3)
15 @CHI L (10-4)
16 @DET W (11-4)
17 CAR W (12-4)
Tampa Bay O/U 8.5 wins, my total 11
I expect them to be playoff bound again. They'll start out a bit slow, but then finish strong, just missing catching New Orleans after losing to them late in the season. They'll probably make it out of the wildcard round, but they aren't going to beat Dallas or New Orleans in the 2nd week of the playoffs.
01 @NO L (0-1)
02 ATL W (1-1)
03 @CHI L (1-2)
04 GB W (2-2)
05 @DEN L (2-3)
06 CAR W (3-3)
07 SEA W (4-3)
08 @DAL L (4-4)
09 @KC W (5-4)
10 BYE
11 MIN W (6-4)
12 @DET W (7-4)
13 NO L (7-5)
14 @CAR W (8-5)
15 @ATL W (9-5)
16 SD W (10-5)
17 OAK W (11-5)
Atlanta O/U 5 wins, my total 4
They'll suck as expected, but they'll also play well in spurts, just won't translate into a lot of victories. They're a few years off from being good again.
01 DET L (0-1)
02 @TB L (0-2)
03 KC W (1-2)
04 @CAR L (1-3)
05 @GB L (1-4)
06 CHI L (1-5)
07 BYE
08 @PHI L (1-6)
09 @OAK W (2-6)
10 NO L (2-7)
11 DEN W (3-7)
12 CAR W (4-7)
13 @SD L (4-8)
14 @NO L (4-9)
15 TB L (4-10)
16 @MIN L (4-11)
17 STL L (4-12)
Carolina O/U 8 wins, my total 8
I expect them to be up and down all season, beating some good teams, losing to some crappy teams, and end up with an unsatisfying 8-8 record when it's all over with.
01 @SD L (0-1)
02 CHI W (1-1)
03 @MIN L (1-2)
04 ATL W (2-2)
05 KC W (3-2)
06 @TB L (3-3)
07 NO W (4-3)
08 ARI W (5-3)
09 BYE
10 @OAK L (5-4)
11 DET W (6-4)
12 @ATL L (6-5)
13 @GB L (6-6)
14 TB L (6-7)
15 DEN W (7-7)
16 @NYG W (8-7)
17 @NO L (8-8)
New Orleans O/U 8.5 wins, my total 12
They're going to start of smoking hot this season, running off 5 straight wins, followed by a 3 game losing streak, but then they'll settle into a groove after they get back from London (yes, they play in London against San Diego, and it's designated as a 'home' game) they'll run off a nice 7 of 8 wins and snag the 2 seed in the playoffs (and get beat by Dallas in the NFC Championship game)
01 TB W (1-0)
02 @WAS W (2-0)
03 @DEN W (3-0)
04 SF W (4-0)
05 MIN W (5-0)
06 OAK L (5-1)
07 @CAR L (5-2)
08 SD L (5-3)
09 BYE
10 @ATL W (6-3)
11 @KC W (7-3)
12 GB W (8-3)
13 @TB W (9-3)
14 ATL W (10-3)
15 @CHI L (10-4)
16 @DET W (11-4)
17 CAR W (12-4)
Tampa Bay O/U 8.5 wins, my total 11
I expect them to be playoff bound again. They'll start out a bit slow, but then finish strong, just missing catching New Orleans after losing to them late in the season. They'll probably make it out of the wildcard round, but they aren't going to beat Dallas or New Orleans in the 2nd week of the playoffs.
01 @NO L (0-1)
02 ATL W (1-1)
03 @CHI L (1-2)
04 GB W (2-2)
05 @DEN L (2-3)
06 CAR W (3-3)
07 SEA W (4-3)
08 @DAL L (4-4)
09 @KC W (5-4)
10 BYE
11 MIN W (6-4)
12 @DET W (7-4)
13 NO L (7-5)
14 @CAR W (8-5)
15 @ATL W (9-5)
16 SD W (10-5)
17 OAK W (11-5)
Season Preview, An Entire Season's Worth of NFL Related Humiliation, Part 3 --- NFC North
This will be the "parity" division in 2008. Three teams at 7-9, and one at 9-7. The division championship will come down to the Detroit at Green Bay match up in week 17. Otherwise, it's a perfectly middle of the road division with no teams to get excited about.
Chicago O/U 8 wins, my total 7
I see them having an up and down year, dropping to 2-6 by week 9, but picking things up after that and winning the next 5 of 6 games. Won't be enough to make them playoff bound, though.
01 @IND L (0-1)
02 @CAR L (0-2)
03 TB W (1-2)
04 PHI L (1-3)
05 @DET L (1-4)
06 @ATL L (1-5)
07 MIN W (2-5)
08 BYE
09 DET L (2-6)
10 TEN W (3-6)
11 @GB L (3-7)
12 @STL W (4-7)
13 @MIN W (5-7)
14 JAX W (6-7)
15 NO W (7-7)
16 GB L (7-8)
17 @HOU L (7-9)
Detroit O/U 6.5 wins, my total 7
Another streaky team, I see them being a decent team, but they'll eventually under acheive. Lions fans will have another non playoff year to not cheer for.
01 @ATL W (1-0)
02 GB L (1-1)
03 @SF W (2-1)
04 BYE
05 CHI W (3-1)
06 @MIN L (3-2)
07 @HOU L (3-3)
08 WAS W (4-3)
09 @CHI W (5-3)
10 JAX L (5-4)
11 @CAR L (5-5)
12 TB L (5-6)
13 TEN W (6-6)
14 MIN W (7-6)
15 @IND L (7-7)
16 NO L (7-8)
17 @GB L (7-9)
Green Bay O/U 9 wins, my total 9
The Favre-less Packers will hover around .500 all season, not getting more than a game above that number until their final win at home on the 'frozen tundra' (can't not make a 'frozen tundra' remark regarding a game in late December at Lambeau Field, that will have playoff implications for both teams).
01 MIN L (0-1)
02 @DET W (1-1)
03 DAL L (1-2)
04 @TB L (1-3)
05 ATL W (2-3)
06 @SEA W (3-3)
07 IND W (4-3)
08 BYE
09 @TEN L (4-4)
10 @MIN W (5-4)
11 CHI L (5-5)
12 @NO L (5-6)
13 CAR W (6-6)
14 HOU W (7-6)
15 @JAX L (7-7)
16 @CHI W (8-7)
17 DET W (9-7)
Minnesota O/U 8 wins, my total 7
Close, but no cigar, they'll start off hot, beating some good teams, then they'll have a big losing streak in the middle of the season, only to win their last few games after already being eliminated from the playoffs. Sucks to be a Viking fan.
01 @GB W (1-0)
02 IND W (2-0)
03 CAR W (3-0)
04 @TEN L (3-1)
05 @NO L (3-2)
06 DET W (4-2)
07 @CHI L (4-3)
08 BYE
09 HOU L (4-4)
10 GB L (4-5)
11 @TB L (4-6)
12 @JAX L (4-7)
13 CHI L (4-8)
14 @DET L (4-9)
15 @ARI W (5-9)
16 ATL W (6-9)
17 NYG W (7-9)
(I switched to abbreviations, it's harder to read, but it was much faster to type, all the info is still there).
Chicago O/U 8 wins, my total 7
I see them having an up and down year, dropping to 2-6 by week 9, but picking things up after that and winning the next 5 of 6 games. Won't be enough to make them playoff bound, though.
01 @IND L (0-1)
02 @CAR L (0-2)
03 TB W (1-2)
04 PHI L (1-3)
05 @DET L (1-4)
06 @ATL L (1-5)
07 MIN W (2-5)
08 BYE
09 DET L (2-6)
10 TEN W (3-6)
11 @GB L (3-7)
12 @STL W (4-7)
13 @MIN W (5-7)
14 JAX W (6-7)
15 NO W (7-7)
16 GB L (7-8)
17 @HOU L (7-9)
Detroit O/U 6.5 wins, my total 7
Another streaky team, I see them being a decent team, but they'll eventually under acheive. Lions fans will have another non playoff year to not cheer for.
01 @ATL W (1-0)
02 GB L (1-1)
03 @SF W (2-1)
04 BYE
05 CHI W (3-1)
06 @MIN L (3-2)
07 @HOU L (3-3)
08 WAS W (4-3)
09 @CHI W (5-3)
10 JAX L (5-4)
11 @CAR L (5-5)
12 TB L (5-6)
13 TEN W (6-6)
14 MIN W (7-6)
15 @IND L (7-7)
16 NO L (7-8)
17 @GB L (7-9)
Green Bay O/U 9 wins, my total 9
The Favre-less Packers will hover around .500 all season, not getting more than a game above that number until their final win at home on the 'frozen tundra' (can't not make a 'frozen tundra' remark regarding a game in late December at Lambeau Field, that will have playoff implications for both teams).
01 MIN L (0-1)
02 @DET W (1-1)
03 DAL L (1-2)
04 @TB L (1-3)
05 ATL W (2-3)
06 @SEA W (3-3)
07 IND W (4-3)
08 BYE
09 @TEN L (4-4)
10 @MIN W (5-4)
11 CHI L (5-5)
12 @NO L (5-6)
13 CAR W (6-6)
14 HOU W (7-6)
15 @JAX L (7-7)
16 @CHI W (8-7)
17 DET W (9-7)
Minnesota O/U 8 wins, my total 7
Close, but no cigar, they'll start off hot, beating some good teams, then they'll have a big losing streak in the middle of the season, only to win their last few games after already being eliminated from the playoffs. Sucks to be a Viking fan.
01 @GB W (1-0)
02 IND W (2-0)
03 CAR W (3-0)
04 @TEN L (3-1)
05 @NO L (3-2)
06 DET W (4-2)
07 @CHI L (4-3)
08 BYE
09 HOU L (4-4)
10 GB L (4-5)
11 @TB L (4-6)
12 @JAX L (4-7)
13 CHI L (4-8)
14 @DET L (4-9)
15 @ARI W (5-9)
16 ATL W (6-9)
17 NYG W (7-9)
(I switched to abbreviations, it's harder to read, but it was much faster to type, all the info is still there).
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