I went 2-1 this weekend, and got two more off-handed victories. I'm getting warmer ...
-4 offensive players recorded a tackle for the Falcons Sunday. Turn the ball over much? Vick had two picks and a fumble, the Lions shredded their defense and they fell.
-Speaking of turnovers, Chicago gave Miami the ball on their side of the field 5 times. Chicago's defense got out scored by Miami's defense. Grossman has to hold onto the ball better: three picks again will get you benched.
-Baltimore has at least two guys in their secondary, McAlister and Reed, that I would put on kick returns and maybe in a five wide set. Did you see that return the two shared? They have better hands than T.O., and they bitch less.
-T.O. has the first instance of losing the game for his team with drops. It happened even back in the day in San Fran: that day he caught the game-winner in the playoffs versus Green Bay he had SIX DROPS! Parcells better be careful, or he'll end up like Larry Brown: a career success who lost his immunity to second-guessing. That two-point attempt was needless. What a great ending, though. Love the untimed down rule. Fuck Vanderjagt.
-You can't give a team a 17-0 lead off of turnovers, but that's what St. Louis did and they never recovered. I believe I had this one. But its not hard to predict LJ for 170 a week after LT did it.
-The Giants avoided the trap, but almost fell into it. They were down until eight minutes left, and Houston moved the ball pretty easily against a defense without Osi Umienyora.
-Denver went up early and knocked Pittsburgh out officially. We won't stop talking about them, I bet. Javon Walker may have been the best acquisition last offseason. They looked solid.
-My beloved Niners did it! They beat Minnesota! Note to Steelers fans: its not that much fun having been in every game but never winning it, is it? It was an ugly win but the defense came up big. Seemed like Brandon Moore was everywhere, and the line played solid. Alex Smith has upped his pocket awareness and it showed as he was able to elude sacks that would've been automatic week 1. We're not gonna make the playoffs, but we may just screw ourselves out of a top five draft pick. Hooray!
-When you're down by a touchdown in the fourth quarter and your defense has just intercepted Peyton Manning, you can't throw a pick. C'mon, Brady! That may have been the worst game of his pro career, and they still only lost by a touchdown. I think they should've run the ball more. Credit Indy's defense for keeping New England out of the end zone in the second half, a key factor in the game.
Tonight's game is gonna suck, and neither team is anywhere near top 10. Speaking of which ...
1 Indianapolis Colts (2). They kill the Pats resurgence to the top of the conference and have now laid the smack down on the next two best teams. Peyton wins regular season games. We know this. Nobody was talking about them going undefeated this season, but its possible. Road games at Dallas and Jacksonville and home games against Philly and Cincy are what stand in their way, but they are clearly the best team. Sad as it is to say.
2. Chicago Bears (1). Collinsworth wanted to bench Grossman, but in all fairness, I want to bench Collinsworth. Not a good way to head into that killer road trip, though. I can see them losing two of three, which once again opens up the conference for home field.
3. New England Patriots (3). Ok, so they're not the team they were two years ago. They probably won't ever be that team again. But Rodney Harrison missed most of the game: who knows if he had played, how that would've changed the game. They have five more games against teams with losing records, which gets them the division and maybe a bye.
4. Denver Broncos (4). They reach another level with the playmaking skills of Walker. But you still have Plummer as your quarterback. I feel bad for the guy, though: I loved him in college and wanted him for the Niners (we chose Jim Druckenmiler, thank you very much) but his playoff history is telling.
5. Baltimore Ravens (5). I really like their defense. They're whole linebacking crew should be in the Pro Bowl, plus Reed and McAlister. Add in a veteran offense with the most underrated tight end ever, Todd Heap, and you have a potent playoff contender.
6. San Diego Chargers (7). I'm still bitter about Merriman, but look at it this way: they let the Browns stay in it the whole game. I say they're toast next week against the Bengals. And the following week in Denver.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8). They have a sweet revenge game against Houston this week. Let's hope that this burgeoning QB controversy doesn't distract them too much.
8. Carolina Panthers (unranked). Disappointing performances by the Falcons and Bengals move these guys back up. They got routed by Dallas, but they hopefully used the bye week to fix the reasons why that happened.
9. New York Giants (9). They looked awful Sunday, and they have the Bears coming up. This will be the NFC's version of last night's game, and I have the Bears winning it. Can they get their defensive line healthy?
10. Atlanta Falcons (6). No excuses for this team. They were chasing Detroit's receivers and Kevin Jones all over the field on Sunday, and they have no excuse because they play in a dome like the Lions. But Michael Vick is learning from his mistakes quicker than in the past.
Thursday, this week's picks! I'm 8-13 but roaring back with my first victorious week! 2-1, woohoo! We have four games coming up, and maybe I'll throw in the 'Skins-Eagles game if you're nice.
-4 offensive players recorded a tackle for the Falcons Sunday. Turn the ball over much? Vick had two picks and a fumble, the Lions shredded their defense and they fell.
-Speaking of turnovers, Chicago gave Miami the ball on their side of the field 5 times. Chicago's defense got out scored by Miami's defense. Grossman has to hold onto the ball better: three picks again will get you benched.
-Baltimore has at least two guys in their secondary, McAlister and Reed, that I would put on kick returns and maybe in a five wide set. Did you see that return the two shared? They have better hands than T.O., and they bitch less.
-T.O. has the first instance of losing the game for his team with drops. It happened even back in the day in San Fran: that day he caught the game-winner in the playoffs versus Green Bay he had SIX DROPS! Parcells better be careful, or he'll end up like Larry Brown: a career success who lost his immunity to second-guessing. That two-point attempt was needless. What a great ending, though. Love the untimed down rule. Fuck Vanderjagt.
-You can't give a team a 17-0 lead off of turnovers, but that's what St. Louis did and they never recovered. I believe I had this one. But its not hard to predict LJ for 170 a week after LT did it.
-The Giants avoided the trap, but almost fell into it. They were down until eight minutes left, and Houston moved the ball pretty easily against a defense without Osi Umienyora.
-Denver went up early and knocked Pittsburgh out officially. We won't stop talking about them, I bet. Javon Walker may have been the best acquisition last offseason. They looked solid.
-My beloved Niners did it! They beat Minnesota! Note to Steelers fans: its not that much fun having been in every game but never winning it, is it? It was an ugly win but the defense came up big. Seemed like Brandon Moore was everywhere, and the line played solid. Alex Smith has upped his pocket awareness and it showed as he was able to elude sacks that would've been automatic week 1. We're not gonna make the playoffs, but we may just screw ourselves out of a top five draft pick. Hooray!
-When you're down by a touchdown in the fourth quarter and your defense has just intercepted Peyton Manning, you can't throw a pick. C'mon, Brady! That may have been the worst game of his pro career, and they still only lost by a touchdown. I think they should've run the ball more. Credit Indy's defense for keeping New England out of the end zone in the second half, a key factor in the game.
Tonight's game is gonna suck, and neither team is anywhere near top 10. Speaking of which ...
1 Indianapolis Colts (2). They kill the Pats resurgence to the top of the conference and have now laid the smack down on the next two best teams. Peyton wins regular season games. We know this. Nobody was talking about them going undefeated this season, but its possible. Road games at Dallas and Jacksonville and home games against Philly and Cincy are what stand in their way, but they are clearly the best team. Sad as it is to say.
2. Chicago Bears (1). Collinsworth wanted to bench Grossman, but in all fairness, I want to bench Collinsworth. Not a good way to head into that killer road trip, though. I can see them losing two of three, which once again opens up the conference for home field.
3. New England Patriots (3). Ok, so they're not the team they were two years ago. They probably won't ever be that team again. But Rodney Harrison missed most of the game: who knows if he had played, how that would've changed the game. They have five more games against teams with losing records, which gets them the division and maybe a bye.
4. Denver Broncos (4). They reach another level with the playmaking skills of Walker. But you still have Plummer as your quarterback. I feel bad for the guy, though: I loved him in college and wanted him for the Niners (we chose Jim Druckenmiler, thank you very much) but his playoff history is telling.
5. Baltimore Ravens (5). I really like their defense. They're whole linebacking crew should be in the Pro Bowl, plus Reed and McAlister. Add in a veteran offense with the most underrated tight end ever, Todd Heap, and you have a potent playoff contender.
6. San Diego Chargers (7). I'm still bitter about Merriman, but look at it this way: they let the Browns stay in it the whole game. I say they're toast next week against the Bengals. And the following week in Denver.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8). They have a sweet revenge game against Houston this week. Let's hope that this burgeoning QB controversy doesn't distract them too much.
8. Carolina Panthers (unranked). Disappointing performances by the Falcons and Bengals move these guys back up. They got routed by Dallas, but they hopefully used the bye week to fix the reasons why that happened.
9. New York Giants (9). They looked awful Sunday, and they have the Bears coming up. This will be the NFC's version of last night's game, and I have the Bears winning it. Can they get their defensive line healthy?
10. Atlanta Falcons (6). No excuses for this team. They were chasing Detroit's receivers and Kevin Jones all over the field on Sunday, and they have no excuse because they play in a dome like the Lions. But Michael Vick is learning from his mistakes quicker than in the past.
Thursday, this week's picks! I'm 8-13 but roaring back with my first victorious week! 2-1, woohoo! We have four games coming up, and maybe I'll throw in the 'Skins-Eagles game if you're nice.
