So last week I predicted a lot of players to be fantasy Studs and a lot of players to be Duds. I was right in a lot of areas, and wrong in plenty others. But to be frank, I haven't had much interest in fantasy football this week. You'd have to see my fantasy rosters to understand.
I'm in two leagues that I care about, and have virtually no chance of winning any games in either league in the near future. My teams are a complete joke. I'm torn between Donald Brown and LeRon McClain as a STARTER this week. If either guy was a free agent, would you even bother picking them up? I doubt it.
The worst part is, I didn't draft terribly bad. I've been decimated by injuries (LT, Anthony Gonzalez, Jamal Lewis, Welker, Westbrook, and now Bowe) and by the good old RBBC (damn you Derrick Ward, I trusted you!) as well as just terrible performances (Brady in both leagues, Santana Moss, Berrian, Avery, Julius Jones). I have great tight ends (Cooley, Witten) and solid defenses and kickers, but that's it. I have no confidence that Tom Brady is even a top ten fantasy QB this year - especially with both Moss and Welker facing injuries.
So like I said, this hasn't been my favorite week to think about fantasy football. I'm projected to lose both leagues by double digit points, but that's an understatement. I know I'm not winning either league. I have no chance whatsoever. Isn't that just the worst, most helpless feeling? To have no confidence or hope in your team. Come to think of it, it's a lot like being a Lions fan. I've told my wife all week long, "This is my last year doing fantasy football. I'm done after this year. I hate it. It's so stupid." She doesn't believe it for a second. Neither do I. But still ...
Here are my quick, Saturday-night thoughts on this weeks STUDS and DUDS:
STUDS:
Joe Flacco.
I'm officially on the Flacco wagon. He's good, and the Browns are wretched.
Jason Campbell.
Had the best game of his career last year in Ford Field, and Ernie Sims is out.
Chris Cooley
Huge, huge game coming up.
Steve Smith, NYG
Mark my words: he will finish the fantasy season with more points than the other Steve Smith.
Drew Brees
I just have this weird feeling that he might have a halfway decent game against the Bills.
Jay Cutler, Devin Hester
They're hooking up this week.
Chad Ochocinco
The Steelers cornerbacks are average at best, and still no Polamalu.
Eddie Royal
Killed the Raiders last year.
All Your Chargers
That includes Rivers, Jackson, Sproles and Gates.
JerMichael Finley
Scores against the Rams.
Matt Ryan
Blossoming into a fantasy stud before our eyes.
LeSean McCoy
Whether Westbrook plays or not.
Zach Miller
Just a hunch.
Matt Forte and Steve Slaton
They'll prove why they were first round picks.
Ben Roethlisberger
He's in line for a big game.
Eli Manning
So is he, believe it or not.
Tim Hightower
Continues to keep Beanie Wells off the field.
Brent Celek.
Kolb won't be looking deep very often.
Michael Vick
He will lead the NFL in media coverage this week.
Saints, Texans, Bears, Cowboys
If you're looking for a 'sleeper' defense.
DUDS:
Kevin Smith
Dumb playcalling kills him again.
Willis McGahee
I speak from experience: Do not trust this man.
Cedric Benson
Don't trust him either.
David Garrard
I like Garrard, but not this week.
Pierre Thomas
He may be back on the field, but he won't be 100%.
Joseph Addai
People don't realize how tough the Cardinals are to run against.
Justin Gage, Brandon Marshall, Dwayne Bowe (if he plays), Bernard Berrian
Tough matchups against great cornerbacks.
Anyone on Tampa Bay, Seattle, Kansas City, or Cleveland
For obvious reasons.
Good luck to all this week, except for those playing against me. Not that they would need it ...
GO LIONS!!!
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Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Week 3 Picks
Week three picks
This is a make-or-break week for a lot of teams. Week three is when a game can legitimately be described as a “must win” for those 0-2 teams aspiring to make the playoffs. The Titans and Panthers, winners of 13 and 12 games last year, respectively, are indeed facing must-win situations. Also, there are three 1-1 powerhouses: the Patriots, Steelers and Chargers, who desperately want to win, but don’t necessarily need to win. A win for them may end up being the difference between a division title and a wildcard berth. Remember, in the AFC Playoffs, home-field is everything.
Then there are the 2-0 teams, nine of them in all. Some, like Denver, San Fran and the Jets, are just ecstatic to be where they are; others, like the Colts, Giants and Vikings, are hoping to ride the unbeaten wave as far as they can and win their difficult divisions. Baltimore is somewhere in between; happy to be 2-0, but not completely surprised. Then there’s Atlanta and New Orleans, both undefeated in convincing fashion and making the NFC South very interesting early.
The rest of the league is composed mostly of crappy teams. At 0-2, there are seven teams - five of which (Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa, KC and St. Louis) are the sludge of the league. The other two, Jacksonville and Miami, are verging somewhere between terrible and just a little bit frisky. Then there are a slew of highly mysterious 1-1 teams: the Packers, Bears, Cowboys, Redskins,
Eagles, Bengals, Bills, Seahawks, Cardinals, Texans, and Raiders. Of these 1-1 teams, only Oakland should be completely dismissed. For the rest, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
It’s still early. Week three is huge. Here are my picks.
KC @ Philly
The classic trap game of a bad team on the road against a good team. McNabb’s injury is a factor. So is Michael Vick’s eligibility to play in this game. He won’t start, but he’ll still be the domnant story of the game, at least from a media standpoint. Andy Reid will probably have some Wildcat trickery ready to go, but the key will be can Philly’s defense carry them while their offense has two key injuries and is run by Kevin Kolb? After the loss against the Saints last week, I’m betting the defense has vengeance on their mind, and they win this one in a rout. KC has nothing to play for after losing at home to Oakland last week. (Random prediction: Todd Haley will be the first head coach to be fired this season). Eagles 30, KC 10.
Cleveland @ Baltimore.
Another potential trap game. But you’d have to be an idiot to actually pick Cleveland. Ravens 35, Browns 17.
NY Giants @ Tampa Bay
Apparently are all the great teams are playing against all the horrible teams this week. I’ll take the Giants 31-24 and hope Eli doesn’t screw it up.
Atlanta @ New England
This is my favorite matchup of the week. I seriously can’t wait for this game. So far this year, Matt Ryan has played like an absolute monster. But, his competition has been Jake Delhomme and Chad Pennington, and now he faces Tom Brady. Thus far, Brady has been a sensational bust, but do you really think that will continue, especially now with Welker back on the field? On the other side of the ball, is New England’s defense able to stop anybody? Losing Mayo kills them in the middle of the field, and Atlanta has so many weapons. Tony Gonzalez is proving to be the most underrated offseason acquisition in the NFL. If this game was in Atlanta, I’d take Atlanta; but in Foxboro, I like the Patriots 26-23.
Titans @ Jets
Another great game. It’s hard to believe the Jets could be 3-0 after this game, and even harder to think that the Titans could be 0-3 after going 13-3 last year. If the Jets win, you can bet that every sports announcer in the United States would say some variation of the phrase: "The Titans already have as many losses in the first three games as they had all of last year!" But not so fast ... The Titans are closer to being 2-0 than any 0-2 team. They should have beat Pittsburgh in week 1 (if Bironas could make a 35 yard field goal) and should have won last week as well (if they could hold on to a two-touchdown lead). But the game is in New York and the way the Jets defense is playing, it’s hard to see them giving up anything to Kerry Collins. In consecutive weeks, Darelle Revis has completly shut down Andre Johnson and Randy Moss. Wow. He has surpassed Asomugha as my major-crush cornerback to always talk about. (Asomugha, meanwhile, has allowed a touchdown in both games. Maybe his injury is really holdidng him back) Anyway, the key to this game is simple: Chris Johnson. Against a blitz-crazy defense like the Jets, you need a speedy back who can stretch the field. No one fits that description better than CJ. Eventually Marc Sanchez has to lose. Titans win a squeaker 20-17.
Green Bay @ St. Louis
Obviously I should pick the Packers. They’re coming off a tough home loss and playing against the only team in the NFL who looks worse than the Lions. BUT … If the Rams are going to win any games this year, they’ll have to compete at home. And Steven Jackson has this annoying tendency to disappear for a few weeks and then explode for 250 yards and 3 TDs. And I still want to believe in their new coach... even if the Rams are off to an 0-2 start and looking absolutely putrid on offense. Yeah, this is probably a reckless pick, but after missing more than half the games last week I am picking with reckless abandon. Rams 28, Packers 20.
San Fran @ Minnesota
Whoever wins this is going to be in real good shape. Gore and Peterson are probably the two best running backs in the league thus far. Neither team has a dynamite passing game, and both teams boast tough defenses. I don’t trust Brad Childress, but it’s hard to pass on the Vikings the way AP is playing. I’ll go with the Vikings 24-16.
Jacksonville @ Houston
Must win for the Jags. Big game for the Texans as well, who need to avoid going 1-2 to keep their fans playoff-hopeful. Houston has momentum and, more important, a better team. I wish I wouldn’t have picked Jacksonville to make the playoffs. Houston by a score of 30-14.
Chicago @ Seattle
No Hasslebeck, no chance for the Seahawks. Bears 28-20.
New Orleans @ Buffalo
Nobody is stopping Drew Brees this week. Especially not the Bills. Saints cruise 38-24.
Miami @ San Diego
Must win for Miami if they want to sniff the playoffs again. Must win for San Diego unless they want to spend all year catching up with the Broncos. I’m guessing they hated doing that last year enough to make sure it doesn't happen again. San Diego absolutely pulverizes the Fins, 52-17, and Tony Sparano's job falls into jeopardy.
Denver @ Oakland
Putting aside my many biases and just looking at this as a football game, I have to go with Denver. JaMarcus Russell is just too horrible to be taken seriously. He's the Darko of the NFL. Broncos 24, Raiders 16.
Steelers @ Bengals
Allow me to explain this game in Pittsburghesee:
“So I turn aroun and I says to Donny, I says uh, I says, Donny, oh my gawd, you see them Stellers?”
“So he turns around and he’s says uh, he says uh, yeah. I saw it. I was dontown at Pernani's with Monty and Johnny.”
“I was at home sittin on my cawch, watchin the game, rootin on them Stellers and I says uh, I says, where’s Troy?
“So Donny turns around and says uh, he says, uh, he says to me, he says, uh, oh my gawd, Troy’s hurt. He’s dawn ‘er, on them sidelines.”
Both in unison: “Oh my gawd.”
Translation: With Polamalu injured, the Steelers defense isn’t the same. Cincinnati wins. 20-16.
Indianapolis @ Arizona
Manning is on a roll and though the Cards will put up a fight, they won’t be enough. Colts 35, Cards 27.
Carolina @ Dallas
It would sure be a shame if the Cowboys couldn’t win in their new monstrosity of a stadium two weeks in a row on national TV. But Carolina is 0-2 and they’re desperate. Tough game to call, but I’m gonna go with the Panthers. Although Felix Jones could have one of those 'I'm a Backup and This is my One Chance' games of 200 yards. We'll see. I'll stick with the Panthers - 27-20.
And last but not least,
Washington @ Detroit
A lot of Detroiters are hyping this up as “the one we can win.” I don’t buy into all that. Not that this game isn’t winnable. It certainly is. But the idea that the other games weren’t and aren’t winnable. Every game is winnable. We had the Vikings beat in the first half. It would have been 13-0 at half instead of 10-7 if Stafford hadn’t thrown that one stupid interception. The Lions can win any game if they stop playing like a bunch of losers. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Redskins steal this one in the fourth quarter, 27-24.
This is a make-or-break week for a lot of teams. Week three is when a game can legitimately be described as a “must win” for those 0-2 teams aspiring to make the playoffs. The Titans and Panthers, winners of 13 and 12 games last year, respectively, are indeed facing must-win situations. Also, there are three 1-1 powerhouses: the Patriots, Steelers and Chargers, who desperately want to win, but don’t necessarily need to win. A win for them may end up being the difference between a division title and a wildcard berth. Remember, in the AFC Playoffs, home-field is everything.
Then there are the 2-0 teams, nine of them in all. Some, like Denver, San Fran and the Jets, are just ecstatic to be where they are; others, like the Colts, Giants and Vikings, are hoping to ride the unbeaten wave as far as they can and win their difficult divisions. Baltimore is somewhere in between; happy to be 2-0, but not completely surprised. Then there’s Atlanta and New Orleans, both undefeated in convincing fashion and making the NFC South very interesting early.
The rest of the league is composed mostly of crappy teams. At 0-2, there are seven teams - five of which (Detroit, Cleveland, Tampa, KC and St. Louis) are the sludge of the league. The other two, Jacksonville and Miami, are verging somewhere between terrible and just a little bit frisky. Then there are a slew of highly mysterious 1-1 teams: the Packers, Bears, Cowboys, Redskins,
Eagles, Bengals, Bills, Seahawks, Cardinals, Texans, and Raiders. Of these 1-1 teams, only Oakland should be completely dismissed. For the rest, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
It’s still early. Week three is huge. Here are my picks.
KC @ Philly
The classic trap game of a bad team on the road against a good team. McNabb’s injury is a factor. So is Michael Vick’s eligibility to play in this game. He won’t start, but he’ll still be the domnant story of the game, at least from a media standpoint. Andy Reid will probably have some Wildcat trickery ready to go, but the key will be can Philly’s defense carry them while their offense has two key injuries and is run by Kevin Kolb? After the loss against the Saints last week, I’m betting the defense has vengeance on their mind, and they win this one in a rout. KC has nothing to play for after losing at home to Oakland last week. (Random prediction: Todd Haley will be the first head coach to be fired this season). Eagles 30, KC 10.
Cleveland @ Baltimore.
Another potential trap game. But you’d have to be an idiot to actually pick Cleveland. Ravens 35, Browns 17.
NY Giants @ Tampa Bay
Apparently are all the great teams are playing against all the horrible teams this week. I’ll take the Giants 31-24 and hope Eli doesn’t screw it up.
Atlanta @ New England
This is my favorite matchup of the week. I seriously can’t wait for this game. So far this year, Matt Ryan has played like an absolute monster. But, his competition has been Jake Delhomme and Chad Pennington, and now he faces Tom Brady. Thus far, Brady has been a sensational bust, but do you really think that will continue, especially now with Welker back on the field? On the other side of the ball, is New England’s defense able to stop anybody? Losing Mayo kills them in the middle of the field, and Atlanta has so many weapons. Tony Gonzalez is proving to be the most underrated offseason acquisition in the NFL. If this game was in Atlanta, I’d take Atlanta; but in Foxboro, I like the Patriots 26-23.
Titans @ Jets
Another great game. It’s hard to believe the Jets could be 3-0 after this game, and even harder to think that the Titans could be 0-3 after going 13-3 last year. If the Jets win, you can bet that every sports announcer in the United States would say some variation of the phrase: "The Titans already have as many losses in the first three games as they had all of last year!" But not so fast ... The Titans are closer to being 2-0 than any 0-2 team. They should have beat Pittsburgh in week 1 (if Bironas could make a 35 yard field goal) and should have won last week as well (if they could hold on to a two-touchdown lead). But the game is in New York and the way the Jets defense is playing, it’s hard to see them giving up anything to Kerry Collins. In consecutive weeks, Darelle Revis has completly shut down Andre Johnson and Randy Moss. Wow. He has surpassed Asomugha as my major-crush cornerback to always talk about. (Asomugha, meanwhile, has allowed a touchdown in both games. Maybe his injury is really holdidng him back) Anyway, the key to this game is simple: Chris Johnson. Against a blitz-crazy defense like the Jets, you need a speedy back who can stretch the field. No one fits that description better than CJ. Eventually Marc Sanchez has to lose. Titans win a squeaker 20-17.
Green Bay @ St. Louis
Obviously I should pick the Packers. They’re coming off a tough home loss and playing against the only team in the NFL who looks worse than the Lions. BUT … If the Rams are going to win any games this year, they’ll have to compete at home. And Steven Jackson has this annoying tendency to disappear for a few weeks and then explode for 250 yards and 3 TDs. And I still want to believe in their new coach... even if the Rams are off to an 0-2 start and looking absolutely putrid on offense. Yeah, this is probably a reckless pick, but after missing more than half the games last week I am picking with reckless abandon. Rams 28, Packers 20.
San Fran @ Minnesota
Whoever wins this is going to be in real good shape. Gore and Peterson are probably the two best running backs in the league thus far. Neither team has a dynamite passing game, and both teams boast tough defenses. I don’t trust Brad Childress, but it’s hard to pass on the Vikings the way AP is playing. I’ll go with the Vikings 24-16.
Jacksonville @ Houston
Must win for the Jags. Big game for the Texans as well, who need to avoid going 1-2 to keep their fans playoff-hopeful. Houston has momentum and, more important, a better team. I wish I wouldn’t have picked Jacksonville to make the playoffs. Houston by a score of 30-14.
Chicago @ Seattle
No Hasslebeck, no chance for the Seahawks. Bears 28-20.
New Orleans @ Buffalo
Nobody is stopping Drew Brees this week. Especially not the Bills. Saints cruise 38-24.
Miami @ San Diego
Must win for Miami if they want to sniff the playoffs again. Must win for San Diego unless they want to spend all year catching up with the Broncos. I’m guessing they hated doing that last year enough to make sure it doesn't happen again. San Diego absolutely pulverizes the Fins, 52-17, and Tony Sparano's job falls into jeopardy.
Denver @ Oakland
Putting aside my many biases and just looking at this as a football game, I have to go with Denver. JaMarcus Russell is just too horrible to be taken seriously. He's the Darko of the NFL. Broncos 24, Raiders 16.
Steelers @ Bengals
Allow me to explain this game in Pittsburghesee:
“So I turn aroun and I says to Donny, I says uh, I says, Donny, oh my gawd, you see them Stellers?”
“So he turns around and he’s says uh, he says uh, yeah. I saw it. I was dontown at Pernani's with Monty and Johnny.”
“I was at home sittin on my cawch, watchin the game, rootin on them Stellers and I says uh, I says, where’s Troy?
“So Donny turns around and says uh, he says, uh, he says to me, he says, uh, oh my gawd, Troy’s hurt. He’s dawn ‘er, on them sidelines.”
Both in unison: “Oh my gawd.”
Translation: With Polamalu injured, the Steelers defense isn’t the same. Cincinnati wins. 20-16.
Indianapolis @ Arizona
Manning is on a roll and though the Cards will put up a fight, they won’t be enough. Colts 35, Cards 27.
Carolina @ Dallas
It would sure be a shame if the Cowboys couldn’t win in their new monstrosity of a stadium two weeks in a row on national TV. But Carolina is 0-2 and they’re desperate. Tough game to call, but I’m gonna go with the Panthers. Although Felix Jones could have one of those 'I'm a Backup and This is my One Chance' games of 200 yards. We'll see. I'll stick with the Panthers - 27-20.
And last but not least,
Washington @ Detroit
A lot of Detroiters are hyping this up as “the one we can win.” I don’t buy into all that. Not that this game isn’t winnable. It certainly is. But the idea that the other games weren’t and aren’t winnable. Every game is winnable. We had the Vikings beat in the first half. It would have been 13-0 at half instead of 10-7 if Stafford hadn’t thrown that one stupid interception. The Lions can win any game if they stop playing like a bunch of losers. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Redskins steal this one in the fourth quarter, 27-24.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Week Two: An Anomaly
It happens every year around this time: upsets and flukes abound, and everyone overreacts. Just calm down everyone. Last year at this time the Bills were 2-0, the Vikings were 0-2, and Earnest Graham looked like the best running back in the NFL. Things change in a hurry. If a good team is 0-2, don't count them out. They're still a good team. Likewise, plenty of crappy teams start out 2-0. (Like Denver). Remember in 2007 when the Lions started 6-2 and then lost six straight?
The way I see it, I have two choices after this week. 1) Admit that I am an incompetent fool and stop talking about football, or 2) Cast this week off as an anomaly and don’t take it personally. I predicted 16 games, and got 10 of them wrong. I could have flipped a coin and done better.
It’s embarrassing. It’s retarded. I don’t even know what to say.
The Jets shouldn’t have beat the Patriots. The Titans shouldn't have blown a 2 TD lead at home. The Packers definitely should not have lost to Cincinnati in Lambeau. Flukes.
A lot of the games I just flat out missed, no excuses. I was wrong about Jacksonville. They suck. I may have been too hard on Eli Manning and Joe Flacco. I also got burned by some pretty key injures: Eagles, Seahawks, Steelers. Three games I might have called right if everyone was at full strength.
This was a bad week for me. I’m just going to write it off as an anomaly and not beat myself up. Let me go over the games I missed:
Picked: Titans 24, Texans 18
Actual: Texans 34, Titans 31
Analysis: Titans blew a big lead and the defense fell apart late.
Picked: Eagles 35, Saints 24
Actual: Saints 48, Eagles 22
Analysis: If McNabb played, it would have been closer, but Brees probably would have still managed the win. Note to self: Don’t pick against Brees anymore.
Picked: Jags 30, Cards 16
Actual: Cards 31, Jags 17
Analysis: The Jags played horrid. At home. They need to improve their passing game and Torry Holt isn't working out too well.
Picked: Chiefs 36, Raiders 15
Actual: Raiders 13, Chiefs 10
Analysis: Who cares.
Picked: Packers 38, Bengals 10
Actual: Bengals 31, Packers 24
Analysis: I knew Carson Palmer was going to be solid this year, I just thought Lambeau would be too much for him. I guess the Packers still have some kinks to work out in the 3-4.
Picked: Patriots 38, Jets 17
Actual: Jets 16, Patriots 9
Analysis: Hmmh. Well, in the Jets defense, they have the best defense in the NFL so far. Darelle Revis shut down Andre Johnson and Randy Moss in consecutive weeks. They blitzed like crazy from all over and the Patriots couldn’t give Brady enough time. But these teams will meet again later in the season and I have one word for you: anomaly.
Picked: Seahawks 22, Niners 19
Actual: Niners 23, Seahawks 10
Analysis: The Hasslebeck injury was key. I’m going to hold off judgment on San Fran until they play a team outside of the NFC West.
Picked: Chargers 17, Ravens 14
Actual: Ravens 31, Chargers 26
Analysis: I’m sorry, Joe Flacco. Okay?
Picked: Cowboys 24, Giants 17
Actual: Giants 33, Cowboys 31
Analysis: I’m not ready to apologize to Eli. He still sucks. They can go 16-0 and he sucks. This game was all on Romo. The Giants defense is marvelous. Romo chokes in big games.
Picked: Steelers 37, Bears 31
Actual: Bears 17, Steelers 14
Analysis: If Polamalu played, Pittsburgh would have won. If he continues to miss games, the Steelers will continue to lose. They have no running game or offensive line whatsoever. That being said, the Bears still should have lost.
That’s the 10 games I missed. Here are the six I called correctly.
Picked: Denver 10, Cleveland 7
Actual: Denver 27, Cleveland 6
Analysis: The Browns are horrible. I can’t wait till the Lions play them.
Picked: Vikings 27, Lions 20
Actual: Vikings 27, Lions 13
Analysis: Bingo. That's two weeks and two times I nearly picked the Lions score exactly.
Picked: Falcons 27, Panthers 16
Actual: Falcons 28, Panthers 20
Analysis: My best pick of the week.
Picked: Bills 17, Bucs 3
Actual: Bills 33, Bucs 20
Analysis: Tampa might be even worse than Cleveland. They can score points, but they can't stop anybody.
Picked: Redskins 28, Rams 9
Actual: Redskins 9, Rams 7
Analysis: The Redskins aren’t as good as I thought offensively. They still won, but the offense couldn't score a touchdown on five trips to the red zone. I bet they’ll look plenty good next Sunday in Detroit.
Picked: Colts 28, Dolphins 10
Actual: Colts 27, Dolphins 23
Actual: Somehow the Dolphins tripled the Colts in time of possession and still lost.
Last week: 12-4
This week: 6-10
Season so far: 18-14
Stay tuned for Week 3 Picks.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Lions 13, Vikings 27
A Trainwreck?
I’m not the type of person who likes overused clichés. If I find myself outside and suddenly it starts to downpour, I’m not going to explain the story by saying “It rained cats and dogs.” To me, that’s not ever an accurate depiction of rain. I like words to actually mean something and if the clichés fall short, I’ll choose different words.
As I sat in Ford Field and watched the Lions lose to the Vikings 27-13 on Sunday, the thought that kept reoccurring in my head was “This is like watching a trainwreck.” I’ve heard situations described in that way many times, whether an uncomfortable workplace conversation or an awkward confrontation at school. Something so ugly and painful that you just can’t look away. That’s the Lions.
But here’s my question. Have you ever actually seen a train wreck? Do you know anyone who has? No, me neither. Trains don’t wreck all that often and when they do, I wouldn’t imagaine there are many witnesses. You could say it was like watching a car accident, but I’ve never just sat and killed four hours watching cars smack into each other either. I’ve been involved in a few car crashes, but it’s more like a split-second of sheer panic than a football game.
Watching the Lions unravel, yes, unravel is an accurate term for it, is a much more painful personal experience that watching a trainwreck. I have no emotional attachment to any train or even the passengers. I would actually have no problem looking away. But the Lions and I are attached at the soul. Their losing is my losing; their suffering, my suffering. Watching a 10-0 lead slip away into nothingness and the crumbling of another potential victory is a helpless, debilitating feeling. It’s paralyzing pain. It’s like watching a real good friend be harassed by some horrible bully, but there’s nothing you can do about it. It just makes you sad in a vaguely pathetic and powerless kind of way.
It’s nothing like a trainwreck. It’s much worse.
Grades
The defense played quite well in this game and you can’t place too much blame on the offensive line, the running backs or the receivers. The blame for this loss is twofold: Matthew Stafford, and Scott Linehan. The playcalling was awful, and Stafford was even worse. The defense was vastly improved from the Saints game they played last week. Could they have played better? Sure. But did they hold the best running back in the NFL to under 100 yards, including only twelve yards on his first six carries? You betcha. They also sacked Brett Favre three times and recovered a fumble, and forced the Vikings to punt four times. Here are my position-by-position grades for Sunday’s performance:
Stafford: F Minus.
I’m not giving the guy a long leash. He sucks. He deserves to be told he sucks. He should not be starting. I’m sorry, I know you’re a rookie, but you don’t get paid $72 million dollars to suck.
Here are some numbers for you:
First, Matt Stafford’s box score: 18/32, 152 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Not that bad right?
Well, check out what Stafford did donce the score was 27-10 with less than six minutes to play, and the game was practically over: 7-13, 40 yards.
So…
That means in the three and a half quarters that actually mattered, Stafford had a whopping eleven completions for 112 yards. 112 yards?!?!? Really?!?
With six minutes to play and a 17 point deficit, what the hell were the Lions doing running a 15-play drive and killing more than half the clock??? They must’ve felt pretty damn good about their onside kicking team if they were willing to pin all their hopes on recovering two onside kicks in order to have any chance of winning!
If that were Brady or Manning or Brees in that situation, they’re throwing deep and scoring fast, because they’re down 17 points with six minutes left for crying out loud! But with Stafford, it was a two yard dump-off here and a three-yard slant there, up the field slowly and methodically and building up those stats so he didn’t look like a complete failure at the end of the day. 18 completions for 152 yards is bad, but it’s not that bad. But Stafford’s actual game was this: 11 completions for 112 yards and two horrible drive-killing interceptions. That’s downright terrible. That’s an F minus.
Kevin Smith: B Minus.
26 touches for 93 yards is pretty good, especially against the Vikings stout rush defense. Smith made the most of runs straight up-the-middle and reeled off several 8 or 9 yard gains on sweeps and counters. He ran hard and did the zone-blocking thing better than he usually does. Smith just lacks the speed and elusiveness to really be an NFL star. He would have earned a B Plus instead of a B minus if not for the costly third-quarter fumble.
Offensive Line: B.
One holding penalty (on Backus), one chop block penalty (on Cherilus), two sacks allowed (one each by Backus and Cherilus), but other than that … not a terrible game. Really. Seriously. The running game was alright, the guards held their own, and Raiola played solid as usual. Truth be told, the Vikings have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, so holding them to just two sacks and running the ball with some success is a feat that gives me hope for the rest of the season.
It may have looked like the O-line didn’t give Stafford enough time to pass, but it’s not their job to give him five full minutes to try to diagnose the defense and deliver the ball. They’re supposed to give him three or four seconds, to drop back, gauge the pressure and the coverage, glance through his reads and make a decision. Three, four, maybe five seconds. The rest of the job is Stafford’s. And, as I’ve already explained, Stafford sucks. He makes the offensive line look bad. Usually it’s the other way around, but not this game. They gave him enough time to pass the ball, and he hurried himself because he didn’t like what he saw. Or rather, he didn’t know what he saw. He couldn’t figure it out. He scrambled around when he didn’t need to, checked down when he shouldn’t have, and never once stepped up the pocket to deliver a downfield pass. You've got to be able to keep your eyes downfield when the pressure is coming, and Stafford's eyes were darting around like a squirrel crossing the East Beltline. No, the offensive line was'nt perfect, especially on the edges where Backus continues to struggle at times, but they were decent. They were better than they were last year. They earned a B grade and good for them.
Wide Receivers: Incomplete
Calvin Johnson earns an A just for being Calvin Johnson, but the rest of the guys were invisible. Bryant Johnson caught zero, Northcutt caught two short ones, and the rest was backs and tight ends. Why do we even throw the ball to Casey Fitzsimmons?? What the hell is he even doing on the field?? We drafted a tight end in the first round and Casey “0-16” Fitzsimmons still gets playing time?? I am baffled and bedazzled. Kevin Smith had only 10 receiving yards and Aaron Brown had 3. I was hoping for a lot more in that area. Brandon Pettigrew caught his first NFL pass, plus three others, for a total of 40 yards. Big stinking deal. Without a quarterback, you have no passing game. Stafford is worse than Orlovsky.
Defensive Line: C Plus.
They put pressure on Brett Favre on some plays and didn’t on other plays. Give them a break. The Vikings have an excellent offensive line, led by Steve Hutchinson, and can dictate the game with great blocking no matter who they play. Getting beat on a couple of long runs by Adrian Peterson is going to happen. The fact that his longest run was 27 yards is great. All that being said, they still weren’t good enough, and I would have liked to see more of Cliff Avril on the field.
Linebackers: B Plus.
Larry Foote rocks a solid ‘A’ for the best individual game by a Lions defender I’ve seen in a long time. He was all over the field on every play, making tackles, blitzing, and in coverage; basically he was what Ernie Sims is supposed to be. Sims didn’t have a bad game, but he wasn’t great, and he hurt his shoulder. Peterson was okay, but I’m still waiting to see him make a difference in the pass rush. If there’s one player who makes me believe that we will not be 0-16 this year it is Larry Foote.
Secondary: C
Nothing special, nothing awful. Truth is they didn’t have to do much because Favre didn’t test them. Their main assignment was to keep Peterson in check, and they did a mediocre, but not horrendous job. The good news is our secondary didn’t allow a pass longer than 15 yards all game; the bad news is that a thirty-nine year old man completed 85% of his passes against us. The Lions came out blitzing and the secondary earned a solid B in the first half. But then the Vikings made halftime adjustments, and the Lions did not. Favre burned the Lions blitz attempts with an assortment of quick slants and dump-offs and those little ‘bubble screens’ in the second half, and the Lions were either too stupid or too maladroit to adjust. This allowed Peterson to run a little more freely and move the chains to the tune of eight first downs in the second half. Marquand Manuel had two of the biggest plays of the game on defense, one good and one bad: his forced fumble in the first quarter was stellar, but his 3rd and 8 illegal contract penalty was a killer.
Special Teams: Non factor
Hanson was 2/2 and kicked a 48-yarder. We gave up only 37 total kick-return yards on five returns, which was great coverage. But Aaron Brown averaged a measly 16 yards on 6 kickoff returns, which was bad.
Coaching: D.
A D Minus for the offensive playcalling and a D Plus for the defensive playcalling. My dad, a lifelong Lions fan and sufferer, articulated the game and perhaps the past 52 years of Lions futility brilliantly in this one statement: “They play to lose.”
They don’t play to win. They don’t even play not to lose. Their playcalling and strategy is designed around how to lose the game. They run the ball on 2nd and 10; they throw short passes on 3rd and long; they don’t blitz on obvious passing downs; heck, even the time management is terrible and always has been.
During the third quarter, as the Lions continued to run the ball despite the deficit, myself and several fans around me groaned and cried “Time to pass the ball to Calvin!” A wise old fan in the row behind me stated flatly: “They’re running the ball to set up the pass.”
“It’s not working!” I yelled.
“It never works. They’ve been running the ball to set up the pass for the past eight years.”
…So true.
Our new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan loves the play-action pass. He raved about it all offseason and all preseason; we were going to run the ball, run some more, and then boom! Play-action, and deep ball to Calvin Johnson in single coverage. There’s just one teeny little flaw in the plan though, Scott.
It doesn’t freaking work.
Why not? For one, because our running game is lousy. For another, because our offensive line is abysmal. On top of that, we don’t have a good quarterback and never have. But most of all: No team in the NFL is stupid enough to single-cover Calvin Johnson, no matter how well we run the ball! He’s the only playmaker the Lions have! What do you think, the safety is just going to forget he’s over there?! The defenders have spent the entire week watching tape of Calvin Johnson and studying on how to stop him, and after Kevin Smith racks up 50 rushing yards in three quarters you think a play-action pass is going to slip right over there heads and catch them napping? Not a chance! You have to force-feed Calvin the ball in double, triple, or QUADRUPLE coverage (and he’ll still catch it) or else you’re just wasting the best player on our team as a decoy!
We’re not running the ball to set up the pass. We’re running the ball to set up the loss.
Overall, I would graded the offense as a C Minus and the defense at a solid B, which works out to about a C Plus team effort. That will earn you a 27-13 loss every time; now, if somehow the quarterback can step up his F Minus performance, we’ll be ready to compete.
Next Week ...
We are at home against the 1-1 Washington Redskins next week. They only beat the pathetic Rams by a score of 9-7 on Sunday, so that’s cause for optimism. It also might cause them to be angry. They were 0-5 in the red zone and had three field goals.
Last year Jason Campbell had the best game of his career against Detroit: 23-28 for 328 yards, so he’ll be excited to see us again. Clinton Portis ran for 126 yards in that game as well. The Redskins offense isn’t dynamite, however, and after playing against two of the best players in the NFL the past two weeks (Brees and Peterson) the defense will be happy about facing Washington.
The ‘Skins big acquisition is of course 340-pound Albert Haynesworth, who will devour any attempts to run the ball up the middle and overpower whatever double teams we throw at him. He causes more matchup problems than any defensive lineman in the NFL, and should allow the Redskins to put pressure on Stafford from all angles. Look out, it could get ugly.
I’m going to hold off on predicting the game for a little while and let this week simmer first. Ernie Sims looks like he might miss some games with a shoulder injury. That hurts. Talk of Stafford being benched has already started, but it’s not going to happen. Linehan needs to come up with a much more savvy gameplan for this game or it’s 0-3.
Until next time, GO LIONS.
I’m not the type of person who likes overused clichés. If I find myself outside and suddenly it starts to downpour, I’m not going to explain the story by saying “It rained cats and dogs.” To me, that’s not ever an accurate depiction of rain. I like words to actually mean something and if the clichés fall short, I’ll choose different words.
As I sat in Ford Field and watched the Lions lose to the Vikings 27-13 on Sunday, the thought that kept reoccurring in my head was “This is like watching a trainwreck.” I’ve heard situations described in that way many times, whether an uncomfortable workplace conversation or an awkward confrontation at school. Something so ugly and painful that you just can’t look away. That’s the Lions.
But here’s my question. Have you ever actually seen a train wreck? Do you know anyone who has? No, me neither. Trains don’t wreck all that often and when they do, I wouldn’t imagaine there are many witnesses. You could say it was like watching a car accident, but I’ve never just sat and killed four hours watching cars smack into each other either. I’ve been involved in a few car crashes, but it’s more like a split-second of sheer panic than a football game.
Watching the Lions unravel, yes, unravel is an accurate term for it, is a much more painful personal experience that watching a trainwreck. I have no emotional attachment to any train or even the passengers. I would actually have no problem looking away. But the Lions and I are attached at the soul. Their losing is my losing; their suffering, my suffering. Watching a 10-0 lead slip away into nothingness and the crumbling of another potential victory is a helpless, debilitating feeling. It’s paralyzing pain. It’s like watching a real good friend be harassed by some horrible bully, but there’s nothing you can do about it. It just makes you sad in a vaguely pathetic and powerless kind of way.
It’s nothing like a trainwreck. It’s much worse.
Grades
The defense played quite well in this game and you can’t place too much blame on the offensive line, the running backs or the receivers. The blame for this loss is twofold: Matthew Stafford, and Scott Linehan. The playcalling was awful, and Stafford was even worse. The defense was vastly improved from the Saints game they played last week. Could they have played better? Sure. But did they hold the best running back in the NFL to under 100 yards, including only twelve yards on his first six carries? You betcha. They also sacked Brett Favre three times and recovered a fumble, and forced the Vikings to punt four times. Here are my position-by-position grades for Sunday’s performance:
Stafford: F Minus.
I’m not giving the guy a long leash. He sucks. He deserves to be told he sucks. He should not be starting. I’m sorry, I know you’re a rookie, but you don’t get paid $72 million dollars to suck.
Here are some numbers for you:
First, Matt Stafford’s box score: 18/32, 152 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Not that bad right?
Well, check out what Stafford did donce the score was 27-10 with less than six minutes to play, and the game was practically over: 7-13, 40 yards.
So…
That means in the three and a half quarters that actually mattered, Stafford had a whopping eleven completions for 112 yards. 112 yards?!?!? Really?!?
With six minutes to play and a 17 point deficit, what the hell were the Lions doing running a 15-play drive and killing more than half the clock??? They must’ve felt pretty damn good about their onside kicking team if they were willing to pin all their hopes on recovering two onside kicks in order to have any chance of winning!
If that were Brady or Manning or Brees in that situation, they’re throwing deep and scoring fast, because they’re down 17 points with six minutes left for crying out loud! But with Stafford, it was a two yard dump-off here and a three-yard slant there, up the field slowly and methodically and building up those stats so he didn’t look like a complete failure at the end of the day. 18 completions for 152 yards is bad, but it’s not that bad. But Stafford’s actual game was this: 11 completions for 112 yards and two horrible drive-killing interceptions. That’s downright terrible. That’s an F minus.
Kevin Smith: B Minus.
26 touches for 93 yards is pretty good, especially against the Vikings stout rush defense. Smith made the most of runs straight up-the-middle and reeled off several 8 or 9 yard gains on sweeps and counters. He ran hard and did the zone-blocking thing better than he usually does. Smith just lacks the speed and elusiveness to really be an NFL star. He would have earned a B Plus instead of a B minus if not for the costly third-quarter fumble.
Offensive Line: B.
One holding penalty (on Backus), one chop block penalty (on Cherilus), two sacks allowed (one each by Backus and Cherilus), but other than that … not a terrible game. Really. Seriously. The running game was alright, the guards held their own, and Raiola played solid as usual. Truth be told, the Vikings have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, so holding them to just two sacks and running the ball with some success is a feat that gives me hope for the rest of the season.
It may have looked like the O-line didn’t give Stafford enough time to pass, but it’s not their job to give him five full minutes to try to diagnose the defense and deliver the ball. They’re supposed to give him three or four seconds, to drop back, gauge the pressure and the coverage, glance through his reads and make a decision. Three, four, maybe five seconds. The rest of the job is Stafford’s. And, as I’ve already explained, Stafford sucks. He makes the offensive line look bad. Usually it’s the other way around, but not this game. They gave him enough time to pass the ball, and he hurried himself because he didn’t like what he saw. Or rather, he didn’t know what he saw. He couldn’t figure it out. He scrambled around when he didn’t need to, checked down when he shouldn’t have, and never once stepped up the pocket to deliver a downfield pass. You've got to be able to keep your eyes downfield when the pressure is coming, and Stafford's eyes were darting around like a squirrel crossing the East Beltline. No, the offensive line was'nt perfect, especially on the edges where Backus continues to struggle at times, but they were decent. They were better than they were last year. They earned a B grade and good for them.
Wide Receivers: Incomplete
Calvin Johnson earns an A just for being Calvin Johnson, but the rest of the guys were invisible. Bryant Johnson caught zero, Northcutt caught two short ones, and the rest was backs and tight ends. Why do we even throw the ball to Casey Fitzsimmons?? What the hell is he even doing on the field?? We drafted a tight end in the first round and Casey “0-16” Fitzsimmons still gets playing time?? I am baffled and bedazzled. Kevin Smith had only 10 receiving yards and Aaron Brown had 3. I was hoping for a lot more in that area. Brandon Pettigrew caught his first NFL pass, plus three others, for a total of 40 yards. Big stinking deal. Without a quarterback, you have no passing game. Stafford is worse than Orlovsky.
Defensive Line: C Plus.
They put pressure on Brett Favre on some plays and didn’t on other plays. Give them a break. The Vikings have an excellent offensive line, led by Steve Hutchinson, and can dictate the game with great blocking no matter who they play. Getting beat on a couple of long runs by Adrian Peterson is going to happen. The fact that his longest run was 27 yards is great. All that being said, they still weren’t good enough, and I would have liked to see more of Cliff Avril on the field.
Linebackers: B Plus.
Larry Foote rocks a solid ‘A’ for the best individual game by a Lions defender I’ve seen in a long time. He was all over the field on every play, making tackles, blitzing, and in coverage; basically he was what Ernie Sims is supposed to be. Sims didn’t have a bad game, but he wasn’t great, and he hurt his shoulder. Peterson was okay, but I’m still waiting to see him make a difference in the pass rush. If there’s one player who makes me believe that we will not be 0-16 this year it is Larry Foote.
Secondary: C
Nothing special, nothing awful. Truth is they didn’t have to do much because Favre didn’t test them. Their main assignment was to keep Peterson in check, and they did a mediocre, but not horrendous job. The good news is our secondary didn’t allow a pass longer than 15 yards all game; the bad news is that a thirty-nine year old man completed 85% of his passes against us. The Lions came out blitzing and the secondary earned a solid B in the first half. But then the Vikings made halftime adjustments, and the Lions did not. Favre burned the Lions blitz attempts with an assortment of quick slants and dump-offs and those little ‘bubble screens’ in the second half, and the Lions were either too stupid or too maladroit to adjust. This allowed Peterson to run a little more freely and move the chains to the tune of eight first downs in the second half. Marquand Manuel had two of the biggest plays of the game on defense, one good and one bad: his forced fumble in the first quarter was stellar, but his 3rd and 8 illegal contract penalty was a killer.
Special Teams: Non factor
Hanson was 2/2 and kicked a 48-yarder. We gave up only 37 total kick-return yards on five returns, which was great coverage. But Aaron Brown averaged a measly 16 yards on 6 kickoff returns, which was bad.
Coaching: D.
A D Minus for the offensive playcalling and a D Plus for the defensive playcalling. My dad, a lifelong Lions fan and sufferer, articulated the game and perhaps the past 52 years of Lions futility brilliantly in this one statement: “They play to lose.”
They don’t play to win. They don’t even play not to lose. Their playcalling and strategy is designed around how to lose the game. They run the ball on 2nd and 10; they throw short passes on 3rd and long; they don’t blitz on obvious passing downs; heck, even the time management is terrible and always has been.
During the third quarter, as the Lions continued to run the ball despite the deficit, myself and several fans around me groaned and cried “Time to pass the ball to Calvin!” A wise old fan in the row behind me stated flatly: “They’re running the ball to set up the pass.”
“It’s not working!” I yelled.
“It never works. They’ve been running the ball to set up the pass for the past eight years.”
…So true.
Our new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan loves the play-action pass. He raved about it all offseason and all preseason; we were going to run the ball, run some more, and then boom! Play-action, and deep ball to Calvin Johnson in single coverage. There’s just one teeny little flaw in the plan though, Scott.
It doesn’t freaking work.
Why not? For one, because our running game is lousy. For another, because our offensive line is abysmal. On top of that, we don’t have a good quarterback and never have. But most of all: No team in the NFL is stupid enough to single-cover Calvin Johnson, no matter how well we run the ball! He’s the only playmaker the Lions have! What do you think, the safety is just going to forget he’s over there?! The defenders have spent the entire week watching tape of Calvin Johnson and studying on how to stop him, and after Kevin Smith racks up 50 rushing yards in three quarters you think a play-action pass is going to slip right over there heads and catch them napping? Not a chance! You have to force-feed Calvin the ball in double, triple, or QUADRUPLE coverage (and he’ll still catch it) or else you’re just wasting the best player on our team as a decoy!
We’re not running the ball to set up the pass. We’re running the ball to set up the loss.
Overall, I would graded the offense as a C Minus and the defense at a solid B, which works out to about a C Plus team effort. That will earn you a 27-13 loss every time; now, if somehow the quarterback can step up his F Minus performance, we’ll be ready to compete.
Next Week ...
We are at home against the 1-1 Washington Redskins next week. They only beat the pathetic Rams by a score of 9-7 on Sunday, so that’s cause for optimism. It also might cause them to be angry. They were 0-5 in the red zone and had three field goals.
Last year Jason Campbell had the best game of his career against Detroit: 23-28 for 328 yards, so he’ll be excited to see us again. Clinton Portis ran for 126 yards in that game as well. The Redskins offense isn’t dynamite, however, and after playing against two of the best players in the NFL the past two weeks (Brees and Peterson) the defense will be happy about facing Washington.
The ‘Skins big acquisition is of course 340-pound Albert Haynesworth, who will devour any attempts to run the ball up the middle and overpower whatever double teams we throw at him. He causes more matchup problems than any defensive lineman in the NFL, and should allow the Redskins to put pressure on Stafford from all angles. Look out, it could get ugly.
I’m going to hold off on predicting the game for a little while and let this week simmer first. Ernie Sims looks like he might miss some games with a shoulder injury. That hurts. Talk of Stafford being benched has already started, but it’s not going to happen. Linehan needs to come up with a much more savvy gameplan for this game or it’s 0-3.
Until next time, GO LIONS.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Studs and Duds
Week Two: Fantasy Studs and Duds
This is my weekly correspondence where I tell you which fantasy players I recommend and which players I would avoid this coming weekend. Matchups and injuries are the main criteria, as well as just gut feelings. The hardest part of writing this was coming up with a cool name. I like the sound of “Studs and Duds;” it is informative and rhyming, and best of all, delightfully concise. I considered “Heroes and Zeroes” but thought it was kind of stupid. This is similar to Matthew Berry’s weekly “Love/Hate” column or the “Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em” article on NFL.com, except that my predictions might actually be accurate once in a while. We’ll start with the Studs. But first a precautionary note.
The Cardinal Rule in Fantasy is this: You Never Sit Your Studs. You drafted your best players early for a reason and shouldn’t bench them just because they face a tough matchup. It makes sense. But it’s not always true. If you have particularly excellent depth at a certain position, don’t be afraid to sit your first round pick and roll the dice if your backup has a dream matchup. But, don’t be an idiot and think that Lawrence Maroney constitutes as excellent depth.
There is one exception to the Cardinal Rule: if you have a #1 receiver who is playing the Raiders, bench him, no matter what, even if its Fitzgerald or Megatron. You just don’t throw on Nnamdi Asomugha; he allowed only eight receptions all of last season. Think about that ... eight receptions allowed in sixteen games for a cornerback. Wow. So yeah, Dwayne Bowe of KC is going to find his name on the Duds list this week and be lucky to gain ten yards on Sunday.
Okay, on to this week’s STUDS:
Brett Favre, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin
The Vikings are playing the Lions. That’s enough said right there.
Chester Taylor
After AP runs for 200 yards and the Vikings have the game wrapped up in the third quarter, Chester will amass 70+ junk yards and likely a run-up-the-score TD.
Ryan Grant, Fred Jackson
Speaking of playing against horrible defenses, the Packers host the Bengals and Bills play the Buccaneers. This early in the year, it’s tough to know which teams are actually good and bad, and who just had an off-week. But if I know anything, it’s that the Bengals and Bucs have awful defenses. Expect big games by both Grant and Jackson, especially Jackson who might put up 200 all-purpose yards.
Trent Edwards
If you drafted him as a backup QB, this is the week to play him. And if he throws 3 or 4 TDs, next week is the week to trade him.
Lee Evans
I wouldn’t bench TO, but I think Evans is the receiver to love from the Bills this week.
Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, JerMichael Finley
The first three are obvious plays, but I think this week is the coming out party for the Packers new tight. Remember the name: JerMichael.
Marcellus Bennett
Jason Witten is obviously the star tight end in Dallas, but the ‘Boys love Bennett and want to get him the ball as often as they can. They'll run a lot of two-receiver sets this year, and Witten/Bennett are going to evolve as the best tight end twosome in the NFL.
All your Colts
Going against Miami in Miami, Peyton Manning should have a field day even without Anthony Gonzalez. Wayne and Clark are must-starts, as is Addai. Either Austin Collie or Pierre Garcon will score a touchdown; I’m not sure which one but I’m sure one of them will. I prefer Collie, because it's hard to trust a guy named Pierre. Donald Brown might also score a junk TD.
Josh Morgan
Morgan is the 49ers’ only deep threat and the team's future at WR unless Michael Crabtree finally signs.
Santana Moss, Chris Cooley
Moss put up a big fat zero last week but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be benched this week. Facing the Rams is a whole heck of a lot different than facing the Giants. Cooley should have a monster game. Malcolm Kelly might actually be worth a start too if you’re desperate for a receiver.
Jason Campbell
He gets the Rams Sunday, the Lions the week after, and then Tampa Bay. Pick him up, play him for three weeks, and then trade him once he’s racked up 10 TDs in three games. We’ll see who’s laughing about my love of Washington when they’re 5-1.
Matt Ryan
In his first game at home this year Ryan will have an aerial assault party. You surely can’t bench Turner or Roddy White or Tony Gonzalez either. Michael Jenkins, though, is iffy; I don’t love him now that Gonzo is technically the #2 receiver in Atlanta. .
Torry Holt
The Jags will try to control possession to keep Arizona off the field, and Holt is the ultimate possession guy at this stage in his career. Garrard will likely target Torry at least eight or ten times Sunday for around 100 yards.
Kenny Britt
I just have a feeling that he’s going to be Tennessee’s #1 receiver sooner than later.
Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy
With McNabb out, it looks like Jeff Garcia is going to get the nod at QB for the Eagles. Whether it’s Garcia or Kolb, Philly should take it easy and run the ball against the Saints, trying to keep Brees off the field. Westbrook should have a beastly game and I might also start McCoy who always makes the most of his touches.
Jerricho Cotchery
Against New England, the Jets are gonna have to score to stay in the game and Jerricho is Sanchez’s most trusty downfield option. Look for David Clowney to beat out Chansi Stuckey as the Jet’s #2 receiver as soon as this week; Clowney is one of the fastest receivers in the league and might break a big play against a leaky Pats’ secondary.
Devin Hester, Jordy Nelson
Speaking of the fastest receivers in the league, Hester is worth a start against the Polamalu-less Steelers and Nelson (of Green Bay) is a super speedster who will catch a deep TD at some point in the NFL season, and this week against the hapless Bengals is as good a time as any.
Jay Cutler, Earl Bennett
If you read my Week Two Picks you know how I feel about the Bears-Stellers game. Cutler’s got a lot to prove and no Polamalu to foil him. He’s going to have a good amount of yards and neglect the running game as much as he can. (See Forte, Matt under Duds.)
Mark Bradley, Bobby Engram
I’d be surprised if anyone actually starts either of these Chief’s receivers, but I won’t be surprised when one or both of them has 7 catches for close to 100 yards. With Bowe blanketed by Asomugha, someone has to catch the ball against the craptastic Raiders.
Brian Robiskie
I’m expecting a breakout game for the Ohio State rookie. Braylon will be covered closely by Champ Bailey and Brady Quinn will be looking to pass elsewhere. Robiskie has solid skills as a possession guy and a knack for the big-play.
Redskins, Falcons, Bills, Packers, Jaguars, Colts Defenses
Five defenses that will have some up and some down weeks, but have nice matchups this week and should be counted on for sacks, turnovers and possibly TDs. You may not agree about the Jags, who play Arizona, but we’ll see.
Week Two’s Fantasy DUDS:
Matt Forte
Running backs hate playing the Steelers, not only because they are so good at stopping the run but because of all the linebacker blitzes. Forte will have to block on so many passing plays and it’s going to wear him out.
Kevin Smith
I wavered on him as either a Stud or a Dud. The Vikings are impossible to run against up the middle due to the Williams Wall, but Smith isn’t an up-the-middle runner anyway. If the Lions are smart enough to pass him the ball ten times Sunday and toss him some sweep pitches, he might have 100 yards and keep our offense on the field. But I am placing him as a Dud because the Lions coaching staff is too stupid to use common sense.
Chad Ochocinco
Matched up against the Harris/Woodson CB combo, Ochostinko is going to have a long frustrating game.
Dwayne Bowe
See second paragraph.
Randy Moss, Braylon Edwards, Marques Colston
Obviously you play Randy Moss this week and every week, but I don’t like his matchup against Darelle Revis. I think Welker has a much better game. As for Colston and Edwards, I would start them unless you have a really solid WR on your bench. But Braylon is matched up against Bailey and Colston is against Asante Samuel and both are excellent CBs.
Drew Brees
Just kidding.
Phillip Rivers, Matt Schaub, Kurt Warner, Carson Palmer, and Matt Hasslebeck
QBs who are typically fantasy starters, but I don’t like their matchups this week. Actually, never mind about Schaub. He'll do alright against Tennessee.
Darren Sproles
Everybody’s going to think they're real sneaky and play him (since LT is out with yet another injury), but remember: the Ravens haven’t given up a 100-yard runner since 2006. That’s a pretty long time.
Darren McFadden
NFL.com’s “Start of the Week” plays against a crappy Chiefs defense. But, Michael Bush got the majority of the goal-line carries last week and I expect that to continue. Plus how can you trust any player on the same offense as JaMarcus Russell?
Matt Stafford
Speaking of JaMarcus Russell, can we just paint Stafford black and they will essentially be the same person?
Mike Bell
Don’t get cute and try to play Bell again. The Eagles are not the Lions.
Ben Watson
Speaking of not being cute, don’t play Watson this week. He’s not in the top 12 fantasy tight ends or even the top 15 so he shouldn’t even be on your roster, despite having two TDs last week. There are plenty of other TE options out there.
All Eagles Receivers
Until McNabb returns these guys are all on hold.
Cadillac Williams
I know he tore it up last week and everyone is saying he’s “back.” But I don’t trust him after one good week. However, I do like Derrick Ward still.
Jake Delhomme
No explanation necessary.
And last but not least …
Jeremy Shockey
The biggest tool in the NFL is not going to do anything against the Eagles, and I would actually cheer if he suffered a career-ending injury, as long as it wasn't life-threatening.
Enjoy week two everybody! GO LIONS!
This is my weekly correspondence where I tell you which fantasy players I recommend and which players I would avoid this coming weekend. Matchups and injuries are the main criteria, as well as just gut feelings. The hardest part of writing this was coming up with a cool name. I like the sound of “Studs and Duds;” it is informative and rhyming, and best of all, delightfully concise. I considered “Heroes and Zeroes” but thought it was kind of stupid. This is similar to Matthew Berry’s weekly “Love/Hate” column or the “Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em” article on NFL.com, except that my predictions might actually be accurate once in a while. We’ll start with the Studs. But first a precautionary note.
The Cardinal Rule in Fantasy is this: You Never Sit Your Studs. You drafted your best players early for a reason and shouldn’t bench them just because they face a tough matchup. It makes sense. But it’s not always true. If you have particularly excellent depth at a certain position, don’t be afraid to sit your first round pick and roll the dice if your backup has a dream matchup. But, don’t be an idiot and think that Lawrence Maroney constitutes as excellent depth.
There is one exception to the Cardinal Rule: if you have a #1 receiver who is playing the Raiders, bench him, no matter what, even if its Fitzgerald or Megatron. You just don’t throw on Nnamdi Asomugha; he allowed only eight receptions all of last season. Think about that ... eight receptions allowed in sixteen games for a cornerback. Wow. So yeah, Dwayne Bowe of KC is going to find his name on the Duds list this week and be lucky to gain ten yards on Sunday.
Okay, on to this week’s STUDS:
Brett Favre, Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin
The Vikings are playing the Lions. That’s enough said right there.
Chester Taylor
After AP runs for 200 yards and the Vikings have the game wrapped up in the third quarter, Chester will amass 70+ junk yards and likely a run-up-the-score TD.
Ryan Grant, Fred Jackson
Speaking of playing against horrible defenses, the Packers host the Bengals and Bills play the Buccaneers. This early in the year, it’s tough to know which teams are actually good and bad, and who just had an off-week. But if I know anything, it’s that the Bengals and Bucs have awful defenses. Expect big games by both Grant and Jackson, especially Jackson who might put up 200 all-purpose yards.
Trent Edwards
If you drafted him as a backup QB, this is the week to play him. And if he throws 3 or 4 TDs, next week is the week to trade him.
Lee Evans
I wouldn’t bench TO, but I think Evans is the receiver to love from the Bills this week.
Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, JerMichael Finley
The first three are obvious plays, but I think this week is the coming out party for the Packers new tight. Remember the name: JerMichael.
Marcellus Bennett
Jason Witten is obviously the star tight end in Dallas, but the ‘Boys love Bennett and want to get him the ball as often as they can. They'll run a lot of two-receiver sets this year, and Witten/Bennett are going to evolve as the best tight end twosome in the NFL.
All your Colts
Going against Miami in Miami, Peyton Manning should have a field day even without Anthony Gonzalez. Wayne and Clark are must-starts, as is Addai. Either Austin Collie or Pierre Garcon will score a touchdown; I’m not sure which one but I’m sure one of them will. I prefer Collie, because it's hard to trust a guy named Pierre. Donald Brown might also score a junk TD.
Josh Morgan
Morgan is the 49ers’ only deep threat and the team's future at WR unless Michael Crabtree finally signs.
Santana Moss, Chris Cooley
Moss put up a big fat zero last week but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be benched this week. Facing the Rams is a whole heck of a lot different than facing the Giants. Cooley should have a monster game. Malcolm Kelly might actually be worth a start too if you’re desperate for a receiver.
Jason Campbell
He gets the Rams Sunday, the Lions the week after, and then Tampa Bay. Pick him up, play him for three weeks, and then trade him once he’s racked up 10 TDs in three games. We’ll see who’s laughing about my love of Washington when they’re 5-1.
Matt Ryan
In his first game at home this year Ryan will have an aerial assault party. You surely can’t bench Turner or Roddy White or Tony Gonzalez either. Michael Jenkins, though, is iffy; I don’t love him now that Gonzo is technically the #2 receiver in Atlanta. .
Torry Holt
The Jags will try to control possession to keep Arizona off the field, and Holt is the ultimate possession guy at this stage in his career. Garrard will likely target Torry at least eight or ten times Sunday for around 100 yards.
Kenny Britt
I just have a feeling that he’s going to be Tennessee’s #1 receiver sooner than later.
Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy
With McNabb out, it looks like Jeff Garcia is going to get the nod at QB for the Eagles. Whether it’s Garcia or Kolb, Philly should take it easy and run the ball against the Saints, trying to keep Brees off the field. Westbrook should have a beastly game and I might also start McCoy who always makes the most of his touches.
Jerricho Cotchery
Against New England, the Jets are gonna have to score to stay in the game and Jerricho is Sanchez’s most trusty downfield option. Look for David Clowney to beat out Chansi Stuckey as the Jet’s #2 receiver as soon as this week; Clowney is one of the fastest receivers in the league and might break a big play against a leaky Pats’ secondary.
Devin Hester, Jordy Nelson
Speaking of the fastest receivers in the league, Hester is worth a start against the Polamalu-less Steelers and Nelson (of Green Bay) is a super speedster who will catch a deep TD at some point in the NFL season, and this week against the hapless Bengals is as good a time as any.
Jay Cutler, Earl Bennett
If you read my Week Two Picks you know how I feel about the Bears-Stellers game. Cutler’s got a lot to prove and no Polamalu to foil him. He’s going to have a good amount of yards and neglect the running game as much as he can. (See Forte, Matt under Duds.)
Mark Bradley, Bobby Engram
I’d be surprised if anyone actually starts either of these Chief’s receivers, but I won’t be surprised when one or both of them has 7 catches for close to 100 yards. With Bowe blanketed by Asomugha, someone has to catch the ball against the craptastic Raiders.
Brian Robiskie
I’m expecting a breakout game for the Ohio State rookie. Braylon will be covered closely by Champ Bailey and Brady Quinn will be looking to pass elsewhere. Robiskie has solid skills as a possession guy and a knack for the big-play.
Redskins, Falcons, Bills, Packers, Jaguars, Colts Defenses
Five defenses that will have some up and some down weeks, but have nice matchups this week and should be counted on for sacks, turnovers and possibly TDs. You may not agree about the Jags, who play Arizona, but we’ll see.
Week Two’s Fantasy DUDS:
Matt Forte
Running backs hate playing the Steelers, not only because they are so good at stopping the run but because of all the linebacker blitzes. Forte will have to block on so many passing plays and it’s going to wear him out.
Kevin Smith
I wavered on him as either a Stud or a Dud. The Vikings are impossible to run against up the middle due to the Williams Wall, but Smith isn’t an up-the-middle runner anyway. If the Lions are smart enough to pass him the ball ten times Sunday and toss him some sweep pitches, he might have 100 yards and keep our offense on the field. But I am placing him as a Dud because the Lions coaching staff is too stupid to use common sense.
Chad Ochocinco
Matched up against the Harris/Woodson CB combo, Ochostinko is going to have a long frustrating game.
Dwayne Bowe
See second paragraph.
Randy Moss, Braylon Edwards, Marques Colston
Obviously you play Randy Moss this week and every week, but I don’t like his matchup against Darelle Revis. I think Welker has a much better game. As for Colston and Edwards, I would start them unless you have a really solid WR on your bench. But Braylon is matched up against Bailey and Colston is against Asante Samuel and both are excellent CBs.
Drew Brees
Just kidding.
Phillip Rivers, Matt Schaub, Kurt Warner, Carson Palmer, and Matt Hasslebeck
QBs who are typically fantasy starters, but I don’t like their matchups this week. Actually, never mind about Schaub. He'll do alright against Tennessee.
Darren Sproles
Everybody’s going to think they're real sneaky and play him (since LT is out with yet another injury), but remember: the Ravens haven’t given up a 100-yard runner since 2006. That’s a pretty long time.
Darren McFadden
NFL.com’s “Start of the Week” plays against a crappy Chiefs defense. But, Michael Bush got the majority of the goal-line carries last week and I expect that to continue. Plus how can you trust any player on the same offense as JaMarcus Russell?
Matt Stafford
Speaking of JaMarcus Russell, can we just paint Stafford black and they will essentially be the same person?
Mike Bell
Don’t get cute and try to play Bell again. The Eagles are not the Lions.
Ben Watson
Speaking of not being cute, don’t play Watson this week. He’s not in the top 12 fantasy tight ends or even the top 15 so he shouldn’t even be on your roster, despite having two TDs last week. There are plenty of other TE options out there.
All Eagles Receivers
Until McNabb returns these guys are all on hold.
Cadillac Williams
I know he tore it up last week and everyone is saying he’s “back.” But I don’t trust him after one good week. However, I do like Derrick Ward still.
Jake Delhomme
No explanation necessary.
And last but not least …
Jeremy Shockey
The biggest tool in the NFL is not going to do anything against the Eagles, and I would actually cheer if he suffered a career-ending injury, as long as it wasn't life-threatening.
Enjoy week two everybody! GO LIONS!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
week 2 picks
Week Two Picks:
It is only Tuesday and perhaps a little too early to begin picking the games this weekend, but I have time to kill and thoughts to spare. I’ve already given my Lions prediction (Vikings win 27-20). There are fifteen other games to call. We begin with the 1:00’s.
Houston @ Tennessee
A week ago I would have picked Houston in a heartbeat, but both teams surprised me in their openers. Houston couldn’t move the ball against a stout Jets defense, and they don’t get much of a break here. The Titans meanwhile played surprisingly impressive offense and stuffed the Steelers running game. Tennessee was very susceptible to downfield passing, however, and with Andre Johnson against them it could be brutal. Both teams need a win to avoid 0-2. Houston wants it more, but Tennessee is at home and has a great coach. I’ll give this game to the Titans, 24-18.
New Orleans @ Philly
This might be the game of the week. Both teams are coming off dominating performances. McNabb is unlikely to play and the Eagles signed Jeff Garcia who should start. I still love Philly with or without Donovan and have no reason to change them as my Super Bowl pick from the NFC. Eagles win this one 35-24; big game by Westbrook.
Arizona @ JacksonvilleA couple of 0-1 teams that just barely lost. It’s going to be funny seeing the Super Bowl Losers winless after two games. Funny, but not surprising. Fitzgerald doesn’t have an easy matchup against Rashard Mathis. Jags take this game 30-16.
Oakland @ Kansas City
Yet another game between 0-1 rivals. The Raiders looked mighty feisty against San Diego on Monday night but the facts are that KC has them outmatched at nearly every position and usually plays very well at Arrowhead. Kansas City wins big 36-15.
Cincinnati @ Green Bay
I don’t want the Bengals to fall to 0-2 since I thought Palmer would be having a renaissance year, but they aren’t winning in Lambeau. No way. How is a terrible defense supposed to stop a great offense? Rodgers will be wanting to improve upon his somewhat-disappointing game against the Bears. The Packers 3-4 defense looked very Steelers-esque and the Bengals aren’t going to like that. GB wins 38-10.
Minnesota @ Detroit
It looks like I might be attending this game in person. That would be sweet. Even sweeter if the Lions win. But I already said Vikes 27-20.
St. Louis @ Washington
Two teams that I had high hopes for who both did crappy. Spagnuolo is going to have to wait at least another week for his first coaching victory. Redskins clobber them 28-9.
New England @ New York Jets
Don’t get in Tom Brady’s way when he’s mad. Patriots win 38-17.
Carolina @ Atlanta
Huge division showdown. Last year’s champs against this year’s favorites. Delhomme had NEGATIVE EIGHT fantasy points on Sunday. That’s unheard of. He won’t be that bad again, but he won’t be as good as Matt Ryan, who is playing his first home game of the year. Falcons will start the year 2-0 and win 27-16.
Tampa Bay @ Buffalo
When it’s two of the worst teams in the league, I usually like the home team. TO better get in the end zone or he’s going to start to unravel. That shouldn’t be a problem against perhaps the worst defense in the NFL. This also could be the game where Byron Leftwich sucks it up and Josh Freeman sees the field. Bills 17, Bucs 3.
Seattle @ San Francisco
One of these NFC West ‘losers’ is about to be 2-0. I think Seattle is a better team so I’m going to pick them. Also because I haven’t picked a road time yet except the Vikings and Pats. Seahawks win 22-19.
Baltimore @ San Diego
I could see this going either way; in fact I could see either team winning in blowout fashion. Neither of these teams make much sense to me. I just think the Ravens defense is not the same without Ryan and Scott and I don’t trust Flacco yet. Plus I have the Chargers winning 13 games this year so they have to start 2-0. SD 17, BAL 14.
Pittsburgh @ Chicago
Take back what I said about the Saints-Eagles. This is the game of the week, at least from a media standpoint. There’s so much to discuss: the high hopes of Chicago; devastating injuries to Urlacher and Polamalu; Roethlisberger and Cutler, the two least likeable quarterbacks in the NFL; and most of all, the Bears potential to start 0-2 and fall in a big hole. Now, this game is not going to be easy to predict. On the surface it looks like a Steelers victory, but you can’t downplay the injury to Troy Polamalu. As soon as he left the field against Tennessee, the Titans offense suddenly became dynamic and moved up and down the field with ease. I think far too often we overestimate the impact of injuries to key offensive players, and under-value the impact of losing star defensive players. Look at last year: Brady’s injury was the most ubiquitous story in the NFL, but the Chargers losing Shawn Merriman was almost just as detrimental to their team. San Diego went from the most feared defense in the league to one of the worst. The same could happen to Pittsburgh. Really. Troy Polamalu isn’t just a good safety; he’s not just the best safety in the NFL; he’s very likely the best, most dominant, most game-changing defensive player in all the NFL. Yeah, there are lots of other contenders: Patrick Willis, Ware and Tuck and Allen and Mario Williams, Reed and Sanders, Haynesworth, and plenty of others. But to me, it’s a two-man battle between Polamalu and Nnamdi Asomugha, and Troy is a little bit better. Not “better” persay, but more dominant. No one throws the ball near Asomugha, and when they do, they pay. But you can’t avoid Troy. He is everywhere and makes the Steelers almost impossible to run against or throw against. No other player is like that.
So what happens with him out? The Steelers suddenly aren’t as ferocious against the run or the pass and all their blitz-happiness could cause them to be burned without Troy back there reading the play and reacting with lightning speed. Cutler could actually have a big game here. Here’s why: Jay Cutler is the most egomaniacal non-WR in the NFL. He’s an absolute asshole who loves himself and only cares about himself. He wants stats, not wins, and made a real fool of himself on Sunday night. Everyone’s going to be counting him out against the Steelers, and he’ll take it personally. He’s not looking to win this game – he’s looking for a ton of yards and touchdowns so if they lose he can pin the blame on someone else. I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Steelers win a high-scoring affair, 37-31.
Cleveland @ Denver
Can I just say it’s a 0-0 tie? Does someone really have to win this game? I guess I’ll pick Denver even though I hate the idea of Josh McDaniels starting out 2-0. It’ll just make it all the more sweeter when the Broncos lose like crazy once they start playing some non-Ohio teams who don’t suck. Denver 10-7.
New York Giants @ Dallas
Sunday night, undefeated rivals, the new Cowboys stadium, what more could you ask for? How about Eli Manning getting waxed and throwing four INTs. I freaking hate Eli Manning. I can’t wait for him to start sucking again. I wish the Giants would trade him to the Bills and so he could be exposed for the joke that he is. Dallas wins 24-17.
Indianapolis @ Miami
Manning against Pennington. Hmm … Colts win 28-10.
It is only Tuesday and perhaps a little too early to begin picking the games this weekend, but I have time to kill and thoughts to spare. I’ve already given my Lions prediction (Vikings win 27-20). There are fifteen other games to call. We begin with the 1:00’s.
Houston @ Tennessee
A week ago I would have picked Houston in a heartbeat, but both teams surprised me in their openers. Houston couldn’t move the ball against a stout Jets defense, and they don’t get much of a break here. The Titans meanwhile played surprisingly impressive offense and stuffed the Steelers running game. Tennessee was very susceptible to downfield passing, however, and with Andre Johnson against them it could be brutal. Both teams need a win to avoid 0-2. Houston wants it more, but Tennessee is at home and has a great coach. I’ll give this game to the Titans, 24-18.
New Orleans @ Philly
This might be the game of the week. Both teams are coming off dominating performances. McNabb is unlikely to play and the Eagles signed Jeff Garcia who should start. I still love Philly with or without Donovan and have no reason to change them as my Super Bowl pick from the NFC. Eagles win this one 35-24; big game by Westbrook.
Arizona @ JacksonvilleA couple of 0-1 teams that just barely lost. It’s going to be funny seeing the Super Bowl Losers winless after two games. Funny, but not surprising. Fitzgerald doesn’t have an easy matchup against Rashard Mathis. Jags take this game 30-16.
Oakland @ Kansas City
Yet another game between 0-1 rivals. The Raiders looked mighty feisty against San Diego on Monday night but the facts are that KC has them outmatched at nearly every position and usually plays very well at Arrowhead. Kansas City wins big 36-15.
Cincinnati @ Green Bay
I don’t want the Bengals to fall to 0-2 since I thought Palmer would be having a renaissance year, but they aren’t winning in Lambeau. No way. How is a terrible defense supposed to stop a great offense? Rodgers will be wanting to improve upon his somewhat-disappointing game against the Bears. The Packers 3-4 defense looked very Steelers-esque and the Bengals aren’t going to like that. GB wins 38-10.
Minnesota @ Detroit
It looks like I might be attending this game in person. That would be sweet. Even sweeter if the Lions win. But I already said Vikes 27-20.
St. Louis @ Washington
Two teams that I had high hopes for who both did crappy. Spagnuolo is going to have to wait at least another week for his first coaching victory. Redskins clobber them 28-9.
New England @ New York Jets
Don’t get in Tom Brady’s way when he’s mad. Patriots win 38-17.
Carolina @ Atlanta
Huge division showdown. Last year’s champs against this year’s favorites. Delhomme had NEGATIVE EIGHT fantasy points on Sunday. That’s unheard of. He won’t be that bad again, but he won’t be as good as Matt Ryan, who is playing his first home game of the year. Falcons will start the year 2-0 and win 27-16.
Tampa Bay @ Buffalo
When it’s two of the worst teams in the league, I usually like the home team. TO better get in the end zone or he’s going to start to unravel. That shouldn’t be a problem against perhaps the worst defense in the NFL. This also could be the game where Byron Leftwich sucks it up and Josh Freeman sees the field. Bills 17, Bucs 3.
Seattle @ San Francisco
One of these NFC West ‘losers’ is about to be 2-0. I think Seattle is a better team so I’m going to pick them. Also because I haven’t picked a road time yet except the Vikings and Pats. Seahawks win 22-19.
Baltimore @ San Diego
I could see this going either way; in fact I could see either team winning in blowout fashion. Neither of these teams make much sense to me. I just think the Ravens defense is not the same without Ryan and Scott and I don’t trust Flacco yet. Plus I have the Chargers winning 13 games this year so they have to start 2-0. SD 17, BAL 14.
Pittsburgh @ Chicago
Take back what I said about the Saints-Eagles. This is the game of the week, at least from a media standpoint. There’s so much to discuss: the high hopes of Chicago; devastating injuries to Urlacher and Polamalu; Roethlisberger and Cutler, the two least likeable quarterbacks in the NFL; and most of all, the Bears potential to start 0-2 and fall in a big hole. Now, this game is not going to be easy to predict. On the surface it looks like a Steelers victory, but you can’t downplay the injury to Troy Polamalu. As soon as he left the field against Tennessee, the Titans offense suddenly became dynamic and moved up and down the field with ease. I think far too often we overestimate the impact of injuries to key offensive players, and under-value the impact of losing star defensive players. Look at last year: Brady’s injury was the most ubiquitous story in the NFL, but the Chargers losing Shawn Merriman was almost just as detrimental to their team. San Diego went from the most feared defense in the league to one of the worst. The same could happen to Pittsburgh. Really. Troy Polamalu isn’t just a good safety; he’s not just the best safety in the NFL; he’s very likely the best, most dominant, most game-changing defensive player in all the NFL. Yeah, there are lots of other contenders: Patrick Willis, Ware and Tuck and Allen and Mario Williams, Reed and Sanders, Haynesworth, and plenty of others. But to me, it’s a two-man battle between Polamalu and Nnamdi Asomugha, and Troy is a little bit better. Not “better” persay, but more dominant. No one throws the ball near Asomugha, and when they do, they pay. But you can’t avoid Troy. He is everywhere and makes the Steelers almost impossible to run against or throw against. No other player is like that.
So what happens with him out? The Steelers suddenly aren’t as ferocious against the run or the pass and all their blitz-happiness could cause them to be burned without Troy back there reading the play and reacting with lightning speed. Cutler could actually have a big game here. Here’s why: Jay Cutler is the most egomaniacal non-WR in the NFL. He’s an absolute asshole who loves himself and only cares about himself. He wants stats, not wins, and made a real fool of himself on Sunday night. Everyone’s going to be counting him out against the Steelers, and he’ll take it personally. He’s not looking to win this game – he’s looking for a ton of yards and touchdowns so if they lose he can pin the blame on someone else. I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Steelers win a high-scoring affair, 37-31.
Cleveland @ Denver
Can I just say it’s a 0-0 tie? Does someone really have to win this game? I guess I’ll pick Denver even though I hate the idea of Josh McDaniels starting out 2-0. It’ll just make it all the more sweeter when the Broncos lose like crazy once they start playing some non-Ohio teams who don’t suck. Denver 10-7.
New York Giants @ Dallas
Sunday night, undefeated rivals, the new Cowboys stadium, what more could you ask for? How about Eli Manning getting waxed and throwing four INTs. I freaking hate Eli Manning. I can’t wait for him to start sucking again. I wish the Giants would trade him to the Bills and so he could be exposed for the joke that he is. Dallas wins 24-17.
Indianapolis @ Miami
Manning against Pennington. Hmm … Colts win 28-10.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Lions-Saints
Lions-Saints
A lot of hype and hope for week one’s matchup with the high-powered Saints was met with crushing disappointment. Drew Brees threw for six touchdowns against a bewildered Lions secondary. Matt Stafford threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. Backup Mike Bell ran for 143 yards and over 5.0 yards per carry. Kevin Smith ran the ball 15 times for 20 yards. The Saints converted 70% of their third-downs; the Lions converted a measly 22%. The Lions committed eight penalties, had thirteen minutes less time-of-possession than the Saints, and were unable to punch the ball into the endzone on two drives that began in the red zone. Most shockingly of all, the one bright side of the Lions performance was, believe it or not, the special teams. They forced two fumbles, blocked a field goal and had 235 return yards (an average of 33 yards per return) thanks to Aaron Brown and Dennis Northcutt.
But alas, the game is won and lost by offense and defense, not special teams. Especially in a game as unbalanced in talent as this one was. My gut reaction is to berate the Lions defense for their clumsy performance, but how can I ignore the giant stinker that Stafford put up in his debut? It’s seems that the most honest and accurate way I can examine this game is by asking the following question: who was worse, the offense or the defense? Who is the most to blame? Not a fun question to ask, but an important question that should be explored.
Neither side of the ball should be free from blame. The announcers made far too many excuses for Stafford’s bad play throughout the game and he does not deserve a free pass through the NFL. The defense doesn’t deserve much credit either, but I’m not yet convinced that this defense is a lost cause. We know what we have with Foote and Peterson and Sims and they all played pretty well. True, there was absolutely no pass rush hurrying Drew Brees, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. I actually think Brees should be given more credit for the job he did in this game; it wasn’t as easy as it looked. His ability to manipulate the pocket, step up and buy time for himself is what makes him one of the best in the NFL. Next week we get Favre and even though the Viking’s offense line is excellent, I expect to see a much more formidable pass rush. That all being said, the defense still wasn’t good.
So how do we divide up the blame for this 45-27 loss? There’s certainly a lot to go around and a lot of deserving candidates, but I’m going to be honest and blunt and say the biggest chunk of blame rests solely of Stafford’s shoulders. Rookie or not, you have to give your team a chance to win in the NFL. It’s not an internship or an apprenticeship or an experiment, it’s a profession and you are judged by results. It always takes the Detroit media too long to recognize truly horrible players; we gave Joey four years too many and even entertained the thought of Darko being a valid NBA player for far too long. I’m not giving Stafford a long leash – not for the $72 million he’s being paid. Win or be benched Stafford. Culpepper would not have
thrown those three picks.
Stafford is not Dan Orlovsky or Charlie Batch – he actually has high expectations. He was the #1 overall choice out of hundreds of deserving players for crying out loud! I don’t want to hear words like “unflappable” and “he didn’t force anything.” That means nothing to me. I don’t want to hear all the excuses, given out amply by the coach and the media and everyone else. I want to see improvement on the field. I want to see a solid 60-minute game, not a few plays here and there. I was unpleased with Stafford in every aspect of his game, and that’s putting it mildly.
Scott Linehan and Jim Schwartz also deserve plenty of blame for the loss. I put Linehan’s name first on purpose, because he’s the playcaller. (If you can even call those rushing attempts “plays.”) Schwartz has to have the gutso to tell Linehan how to do his job, and Linehan has to be smart enough to do it. Kevin Smith is not an up-the-middle back. It’s common knowledge at this point. It just doesn’t work. Give him a lead fullback and a pulling guard or he’s not going anywhere. When you can’t run the ball, you usually can’t pass the ball. And when your quarterback sucks, he needs all the help he can get from the running game. Call the right plays, and Stafford has a much better chance to succeed. I know the Saints double teamed Calvin Johnson on every single play, but you still have to get the ball in his hands more than 3 times. All the passes to Will Heller and Casey Fitzsimmons were just embarrassing for everybody (and why the HECK was not one ball thrown to Brandon Pettigrew?). Run Calvin on reserves; it probably won’t work but at least it keeps him in tune with the game. He’s not out there to be a blocker or a decoy. Here’s a simple message for Scott Linehan for week two against Minnesota: Get. Calvin. The. Ball.
I can’t divvy out blame for this loss and not talk about the secondary. They were stupid. They were bad. They were out of position and slow and outmatched by a less-than-stellar group of receivers. They allowed two touchdowns to the insufferably annoying Jeremy Shockey. They were scared to death of Drew Brees and it showed. Phil Buchanan will be back in the lineup soon, possibly next week, but that’s not going to help much. Marquand Manuel started at safety (a bit of a surprise) and he looked lost. Not sure if Schwiegert or Pearson would have fared any better. Delmas did make the one huge play on the fumble and had a couple of hard hits, but he didn’t look great against the run or the pass. But again, Delmas is allowed to play like
a rookie. Stafford is not.
Both lines played quite poorly, but the offensive line wasn’t the sieve it typically is. Penalties are still a problem as is poor run blocking, but the pass protection was okay. Stafford was hurried more by himself than by the defense. Backus held his own against a very good defensive end and the Lions gave up only one sack on a blitz. The defensive line didn’t have any sacks, but nobody really sacks Drew Brees. The defensive line couldn’t stop Mike Bell, but nobody stops Mike Bell. Wait, what? Wasn’t that why we got Grady Jackson and the new linebackers? But, again, in their defense, if your getting beat over the top, you can’t stop the run, even against a guy like Mike Bell. Which is why the secondary deserves more blame than the D-line.
Who’d have thought than good old Stan Kwon would be the best coordinator in this game? Linehan and Cunningham both had dreary debuts, while Kwon made all the right calls as far as having Aaron Brown return kicks and Northcutt returning punts. The Reggie Bush fumble was part lucky, and partly because Reggie Bush is a flaming pile of crap disguised a football player. The blocked field goal was beautiful effort. Special teams were truly special. I would like to apologize to Stan Kwon. At least until next week.
The best thing the Lions can do is put this loss as far behind them as they can. There are lessons to be learned, but let’s not dwell on the shellacking. Move on to week two and think about having a .500 record. The season isn’t lost after one game. One terrible game, but still, only one game. Coach Schwartz said after the game that changes need to be made: roster changes, gameplan changes, and certainly changes in execution. That’s promising to hear; if this were Rod Marinelli, he would have said they would play exactly the same next week and if they lose sixteen games in a row that’s okay because I’m the coach and you’re not so shutup. Schwartz doesn’t seem as idiotic as Marinelli. Unfortunately, it seems that he isn’t the defensive genius we hoped he would be. At least not so far.
Looking ahead to the Vikings game, the obvious story is Adrian Peterson. Last year the Lions couldn’t stop the run and we certainly couldn’t stop AP. Now we have a new but not necessarily improved defensive line, but you need an entire defense to stop a running back as good as Peterson. Our secondary seems to be better at tackling than they are at coverage (especially Delmas and Henry) so that bodes pretty well for us. However, Favre might be looking to have a big game after his Viking debut was mostly unimpressive. If I know Brett as well as I think I do, I bet he’ll want to take advantage of playing the Lions and throw for 3 TDs and 300 yards. Brett loves to be in the headlines and that would certainly be a story. I don’t know, we can’t stop either guy. Throw in the speed of Berrian and Harvin and we’ve got some major matchup problems. My hunch is that the more Brett throws the better chance we have of winning, because he’s more apt to make stupid mistakes.
On the other side of the ball it doesn’t look any more promising. We aren’t going to have much success running into the Williams Wall, but running outside plays to Smith’s strengths anyway. Backus is going to be really overmatched against Jared Allen, and if the Lions are smart they’ll give him some help with a chipping fullback or a tight end. Will we see Mo Morris or Dennis Northcutt on the field next week? Will Pettigrew catch his first pass? Will Matt Stafford settle down at home and take advantage of a Vikings pass defense that isn’t great? Those are the big questions on offense. If we can avoid falling into a 14-0 hole in the first 5 minutes like we did against the Saints, perhaps we can run the offense and dictate time of possession. Keeping the ball out of AP’s hands is our only chance.
On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a winnable game. However, the Lions always play much better at home and came really close to beating the Vikings last season. Being in Ford Field should especially benefit Stafford, who will hear some friendly voices and be formally introduced to his fans. However, it could have the reverse effect and make him even more nervous, which could be disastrous. For now I’m just going to say that while I don’t expect the Lions to win, they have much better chance against the Vikings than they had in New Orleans, even though Minnesota is a better team than the Saints. That may not seem like it makes sense, but it does. Mostly because they’re at home, and partly because we’re facing a familiar division foe, and also partly because Brett Favre can win games singlehandedly as well as lose them. For now I’ll say Minnesota wins 27-20. The rest of my picks will be up later in the week. Peace out.
A lot of hype and hope for week one’s matchup with the high-powered Saints was met with crushing disappointment. Drew Brees threw for six touchdowns against a bewildered Lions secondary. Matt Stafford threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. Backup Mike Bell ran for 143 yards and over 5.0 yards per carry. Kevin Smith ran the ball 15 times for 20 yards. The Saints converted 70% of their third-downs; the Lions converted a measly 22%. The Lions committed eight penalties, had thirteen minutes less time-of-possession than the Saints, and were unable to punch the ball into the endzone on two drives that began in the red zone. Most shockingly of all, the one bright side of the Lions performance was, believe it or not, the special teams. They forced two fumbles, blocked a field goal and had 235 return yards (an average of 33 yards per return) thanks to Aaron Brown and Dennis Northcutt.
But alas, the game is won and lost by offense and defense, not special teams. Especially in a game as unbalanced in talent as this one was. My gut reaction is to berate the Lions defense for their clumsy performance, but how can I ignore the giant stinker that Stafford put up in his debut? It’s seems that the most honest and accurate way I can examine this game is by asking the following question: who was worse, the offense or the defense? Who is the most to blame? Not a fun question to ask, but an important question that should be explored.
Neither side of the ball should be free from blame. The announcers made far too many excuses for Stafford’s bad play throughout the game and he does not deserve a free pass through the NFL. The defense doesn’t deserve much credit either, but I’m not yet convinced that this defense is a lost cause. We know what we have with Foote and Peterson and Sims and they all played pretty well. True, there was absolutely no pass rush hurrying Drew Brees, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. I actually think Brees should be given more credit for the job he did in this game; it wasn’t as easy as it looked. His ability to manipulate the pocket, step up and buy time for himself is what makes him one of the best in the NFL. Next week we get Favre and even though the Viking’s offense line is excellent, I expect to see a much more formidable pass rush. That all being said, the defense still wasn’t good.
So how do we divide up the blame for this 45-27 loss? There’s certainly a lot to go around and a lot of deserving candidates, but I’m going to be honest and blunt and say the biggest chunk of blame rests solely of Stafford’s shoulders. Rookie or not, you have to give your team a chance to win in the NFL. It’s not an internship or an apprenticeship or an experiment, it’s a profession and you are judged by results. It always takes the Detroit media too long to recognize truly horrible players; we gave Joey four years too many and even entertained the thought of Darko being a valid NBA player for far too long. I’m not giving Stafford a long leash – not for the $72 million he’s being paid. Win or be benched Stafford. Culpepper would not have
thrown those three picks.
Stafford is not Dan Orlovsky or Charlie Batch – he actually has high expectations. He was the #1 overall choice out of hundreds of deserving players for crying out loud! I don’t want to hear words like “unflappable” and “he didn’t force anything.” That means nothing to me. I don’t want to hear all the excuses, given out amply by the coach and the media and everyone else. I want to see improvement on the field. I want to see a solid 60-minute game, not a few plays here and there. I was unpleased with Stafford in every aspect of his game, and that’s putting it mildly.
Scott Linehan and Jim Schwartz also deserve plenty of blame for the loss. I put Linehan’s name first on purpose, because he’s the playcaller. (If you can even call those rushing attempts “plays.”) Schwartz has to have the gutso to tell Linehan how to do his job, and Linehan has to be smart enough to do it. Kevin Smith is not an up-the-middle back. It’s common knowledge at this point. It just doesn’t work. Give him a lead fullback and a pulling guard or he’s not going anywhere. When you can’t run the ball, you usually can’t pass the ball. And when your quarterback sucks, he needs all the help he can get from the running game. Call the right plays, and Stafford has a much better chance to succeed. I know the Saints double teamed Calvin Johnson on every single play, but you still have to get the ball in his hands more than 3 times. All the passes to Will Heller and Casey Fitzsimmons were just embarrassing for everybody (and why the HECK was not one ball thrown to Brandon Pettigrew?). Run Calvin on reserves; it probably won’t work but at least it keeps him in tune with the game. He’s not out there to be a blocker or a decoy. Here’s a simple message for Scott Linehan for week two against Minnesota: Get. Calvin. The. Ball.
I can’t divvy out blame for this loss and not talk about the secondary. They were stupid. They were bad. They were out of position and slow and outmatched by a less-than-stellar group of receivers. They allowed two touchdowns to the insufferably annoying Jeremy Shockey. They were scared to death of Drew Brees and it showed. Phil Buchanan will be back in the lineup soon, possibly next week, but that’s not going to help much. Marquand Manuel started at safety (a bit of a surprise) and he looked lost. Not sure if Schwiegert or Pearson would have fared any better. Delmas did make the one huge play on the fumble and had a couple of hard hits, but he didn’t look great against the run or the pass. But again, Delmas is allowed to play like
a rookie. Stafford is not.
Both lines played quite poorly, but the offensive line wasn’t the sieve it typically is. Penalties are still a problem as is poor run blocking, but the pass protection was okay. Stafford was hurried more by himself than by the defense. Backus held his own against a very good defensive end and the Lions gave up only one sack on a blitz. The defensive line didn’t have any sacks, but nobody really sacks Drew Brees. The defensive line couldn’t stop Mike Bell, but nobody stops Mike Bell. Wait, what? Wasn’t that why we got Grady Jackson and the new linebackers? But, again, in their defense, if your getting beat over the top, you can’t stop the run, even against a guy like Mike Bell. Which is why the secondary deserves more blame than the D-line.
Who’d have thought than good old Stan Kwon would be the best coordinator in this game? Linehan and Cunningham both had dreary debuts, while Kwon made all the right calls as far as having Aaron Brown return kicks and Northcutt returning punts. The Reggie Bush fumble was part lucky, and partly because Reggie Bush is a flaming pile of crap disguised a football player. The blocked field goal was beautiful effort. Special teams were truly special. I would like to apologize to Stan Kwon. At least until next week.
The best thing the Lions can do is put this loss as far behind them as they can. There are lessons to be learned, but let’s not dwell on the shellacking. Move on to week two and think about having a .500 record. The season isn’t lost after one game. One terrible game, but still, only one game. Coach Schwartz said after the game that changes need to be made: roster changes, gameplan changes, and certainly changes in execution. That’s promising to hear; if this were Rod Marinelli, he would have said they would play exactly the same next week and if they lose sixteen games in a row that’s okay because I’m the coach and you’re not so shutup. Schwartz doesn’t seem as idiotic as Marinelli. Unfortunately, it seems that he isn’t the defensive genius we hoped he would be. At least not so far.
Looking ahead to the Vikings game, the obvious story is Adrian Peterson. Last year the Lions couldn’t stop the run and we certainly couldn’t stop AP. Now we have a new but not necessarily improved defensive line, but you need an entire defense to stop a running back as good as Peterson. Our secondary seems to be better at tackling than they are at coverage (especially Delmas and Henry) so that bodes pretty well for us. However, Favre might be looking to have a big game after his Viking debut was mostly unimpressive. If I know Brett as well as I think I do, I bet he’ll want to take advantage of playing the Lions and throw for 3 TDs and 300 yards. Brett loves to be in the headlines and that would certainly be a story. I don’t know, we can’t stop either guy. Throw in the speed of Berrian and Harvin and we’ve got some major matchup problems. My hunch is that the more Brett throws the better chance we have of winning, because he’s more apt to make stupid mistakes.
On the other side of the ball it doesn’t look any more promising. We aren’t going to have much success running into the Williams Wall, but running outside plays to Smith’s strengths anyway. Backus is going to be really overmatched against Jared Allen, and if the Lions are smart they’ll give him some help with a chipping fullback or a tight end. Will we see Mo Morris or Dennis Northcutt on the field next week? Will Pettigrew catch his first pass? Will Matt Stafford settle down at home and take advantage of a Vikings pass defense that isn’t great? Those are the big questions on offense. If we can avoid falling into a 14-0 hole in the first 5 minutes like we did against the Saints, perhaps we can run the offense and dictate time of possession. Keeping the ball out of AP’s hands is our only chance.
On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a winnable game. However, the Lions always play much better at home and came really close to beating the Vikings last season. Being in Ford Field should especially benefit Stafford, who will hear some friendly voices and be formally introduced to his fans. However, it could have the reverse effect and make him even more nervous, which could be disastrous. For now I’m just going to say that while I don’t expect the Lions to win, they have much better chance against the Vikings than they had in New Orleans, even though Minnesota is a better team than the Saints. That may not seem like it makes sense, but it does. Mostly because they’re at home, and partly because we’re facing a familiar division foe, and also partly because Brett Favre can win games singlehandedly as well as lose them. For now I’ll say Minnesota wins 27-20. The rest of my picks will be up later in the week. Peace out.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
2 new followers!
Hey! I just realized I now have six followers instead of four! I am moving up in the world!
I'll write a little something about week one and the Lions failure to play defense later on in the week, but for now just a quick recap of how my picks went thus far:
My Prediction: Steelers 27, Titans 13
Actual score: Steelers 13, Titans 10 in OT
Analysis: Tennessee actually deserved to win but missed two easy field goals. I couldn't believe how bad the Steelers running game was. But I got the game right, and that's all the maters.
Prediction: Saints 42, Lions 17
Actual Score: Saints 45, Lions 27.
Analysis: This one went pretty much as expected, but that didn't it any less devestating. Starting Stafford was a mistake; I said it many times before the game and I was right. The real problem is that he's not going to magically get better next week. The guy is simply not ready. I wish Schwartz would realize it, but it's too late to put in Daunte anyway. We are screwed. On a positive note, the Lions scored 27 points, which was ten more than I guessed. But don't get too excited about the offensive production; it was stellar kick-returning and two forced fumbles that got us most of our points. The offense was putrid, especially on third down. This game was torturous to watch, from both a real-life and a fantasy standpoint. (Drew Brees threw 6 TDs against me). Can't wait to watch AP run for 300 yards next week!
On to the other games I nailed:
Prediction: Atlanta 28, Miami 10
Actual Score: Atlanta 19, Miami 7
Analysis: Matt Ryan is a true stud. This is the start of a long season for Miami.
Prediction: Vikings 33, Browns 12
Actual Score: Vikings 34, Browns 20
Analysis: Hmm...I was pretty dang close on the Vikings score.
Prediction: Colts 25, Jaguars 21
Actual Score: Colts 14, Jaguars 12
Analysis: More defense than I expected, but Colts did win a close one.
Prediction: Eagles 31, Panthers 17
Actual Score: Eagles 38, Panthers 10
Analysis: Nailed this one dead-on. The only difference was Jake Delhomme was just a tad more horrible than I thought.
Prediction: Cowboys 17, Bucs 10
Actual Score: Cowboys 34, Bucs 21
Analysis: Got the game right; both offenses were better than I thought they'd be. That Tampa defense looked baaaad. They'll be a good team to pick on in fantasy matchups.
Prediction: 49ers 35, Cardinals 30
Actual Score: 49ers 20, Cardinals 16
Analysis: San Fran won by four; I guessed five. I'll take it.
Prediction: Seahawks 31, Rams 24
Actual Score: Seahawks 28, Rams 0
Analysis: Geez, I thought the Rams would at least have some offense. Drafting Julius Jones in the tenth round may have been the fantasy steal of the year.
Prediction: Packers 30, Bears 20
Actual Score: Packers 21, Bears 15
Analysis: Cutler was every bit as terrible as I thought and hoped he would be. Urlacher is out for the season. Good riddens! The Pack's 3-4 defense looked absolutely great.
Prediction: Patriots 52, Bills 13
Actual Score: Patriots 25, Bills 24
Analysis: Dang. Wow. What a lucky comeback. Brady started slow but finished with tons of yards and 12 completions each to Moss and Welker. I may have missed the final score by 38 but at least the Pats won.
Prediction: Chargers 34, Raiders 7
Actual Score: Chargers 24, Raiders 20
Analysis: Both MNF games were preposterous. But the right team won both. It would have been seriously messed up if the Raiders pulled this one out.
And ... onto the games I missed:
Prediction: Bengals 24, Broncos 20
Actual Score: Broncos 12, Bengals 7
Analysis: Broncos only won because of a very, very lucky play at the end. This one gets an *asterisk* next to it.
Prediction: Chiefs 16, Ravens 14
Actual Score: Ravens 38, Chiefs 24
Analysis: Wow. Really good game by Flacco. I don't think he'll keep it up. This is definitely the game I whiffed the most on.
Prediction: Texans 21, Jets 18
Actual Score: Jets 24, Texans 7
Analysis: I went back and forth on this one a hundred times. I picked the Texans mostly because of home-field and it being Sanchez's first start. Turns out the Jets defense was super crazy good. And Sanchez is definitely ready to be a pro.
Prediction: Redskins 26, Giants 16
Actual Score: Giants 23, Redskins 17
Analysis: Call me stubborn, but I still love the Skins and hate the Giants this year.
I'll write a little something about week one and the Lions failure to play defense later on in the week, but for now just a quick recap of how my picks went thus far:
My Prediction: Steelers 27, Titans 13
Actual score: Steelers 13, Titans 10 in OT
Analysis: Tennessee actually deserved to win but missed two easy field goals. I couldn't believe how bad the Steelers running game was. But I got the game right, and that's all the maters.
Prediction: Saints 42, Lions 17
Actual Score: Saints 45, Lions 27.
Analysis: This one went pretty much as expected, but that didn't it any less devestating. Starting Stafford was a mistake; I said it many times before the game and I was right. The real problem is that he's not going to magically get better next week. The guy is simply not ready. I wish Schwartz would realize it, but it's too late to put in Daunte anyway. We are screwed. On a positive note, the Lions scored 27 points, which was ten more than I guessed. But don't get too excited about the offensive production; it was stellar kick-returning and two forced fumbles that got us most of our points. The offense was putrid, especially on third down. This game was torturous to watch, from both a real-life and a fantasy standpoint. (Drew Brees threw 6 TDs against me). Can't wait to watch AP run for 300 yards next week!
On to the other games I nailed:
Prediction: Atlanta 28, Miami 10
Actual Score: Atlanta 19, Miami 7
Analysis: Matt Ryan is a true stud. This is the start of a long season for Miami.
Prediction: Vikings 33, Browns 12
Actual Score: Vikings 34, Browns 20
Analysis: Hmm...I was pretty dang close on the Vikings score.
Prediction: Colts 25, Jaguars 21
Actual Score: Colts 14, Jaguars 12
Analysis: More defense than I expected, but Colts did win a close one.
Prediction: Eagles 31, Panthers 17
Actual Score: Eagles 38, Panthers 10
Analysis: Nailed this one dead-on. The only difference was Jake Delhomme was just a tad more horrible than I thought.
Prediction: Cowboys 17, Bucs 10
Actual Score: Cowboys 34, Bucs 21
Analysis: Got the game right; both offenses were better than I thought they'd be. That Tampa defense looked baaaad. They'll be a good team to pick on in fantasy matchups.
Prediction: 49ers 35, Cardinals 30
Actual Score: 49ers 20, Cardinals 16
Analysis: San Fran won by four; I guessed five. I'll take it.
Prediction: Seahawks 31, Rams 24
Actual Score: Seahawks 28, Rams 0
Analysis: Geez, I thought the Rams would at least have some offense. Drafting Julius Jones in the tenth round may have been the fantasy steal of the year.
Prediction: Packers 30, Bears 20
Actual Score: Packers 21, Bears 15
Analysis: Cutler was every bit as terrible as I thought and hoped he would be. Urlacher is out for the season. Good riddens! The Pack's 3-4 defense looked absolutely great.
Prediction: Patriots 52, Bills 13
Actual Score: Patriots 25, Bills 24
Analysis: Dang. Wow. What a lucky comeback. Brady started slow but finished with tons of yards and 12 completions each to Moss and Welker. I may have missed the final score by 38 but at least the Pats won.
Prediction: Chargers 34, Raiders 7
Actual Score: Chargers 24, Raiders 20
Analysis: Both MNF games were preposterous. But the right team won both. It would have been seriously messed up if the Raiders pulled this one out.
And ... onto the games I missed:
Prediction: Bengals 24, Broncos 20
Actual Score: Broncos 12, Bengals 7
Analysis: Broncos only won because of a very, very lucky play at the end. This one gets an *asterisk* next to it.
Prediction: Chiefs 16, Ravens 14
Actual Score: Ravens 38, Chiefs 24
Analysis: Wow. Really good game by Flacco. I don't think he'll keep it up. This is definitely the game I whiffed the most on.
Prediction: Texans 21, Jets 18
Actual Score: Jets 24, Texans 7
Analysis: I went back and forth on this one a hundred times. I picked the Texans mostly because of home-field and it being Sanchez's first start. Turns out the Jets defense was super crazy good. And Sanchez is definitely ready to be a pro.
Prediction: Redskins 26, Giants 16
Actual Score: Giants 23, Redskins 17
Analysis: Call me stubborn, but I still love the Skins and hate the Giants this year.
Final Score for the Week: 12-4.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Official Preview of Lions @ Saints
Official Preview of Lions @ Saints
At 1:00 PM on Sunday the 13th of September, the Detroit Lions begin a new season. And hopefully, a new era. They will attempt to do what no team in NFL history has ever done: rebound from an 0-16 season. It won’t be easy; the schedule is full of easy-to-lose games, none of which the Lions will be favored to win. But it won’t be impossible; remember, it was only two years ago that Detroit won 7 games.
The coach is new. The coordinators are both new. The management is new. And more than half of the starting players – brand spanking new. The lone holdover from last year’s catastrophe? Impotent owner William Clay Ford.
There are several reasons to be giddy this season. Calvin Johnson and Ernie Sims remain. Julian Peterson and Larry Foote have joined. Matthew Stafford is young and bubbling with promise. The coaches swear that they have whipped this new ball club into shape.
But come on. Be serious. It’s a roster full of leftovers and scraps. A makeshift secondary and a makeshift defensive line. How are they going to stop the mighty Saints offense in a game that actually matters? How are they going to even slow down the potent pass attack of Drew Brees and his impeccably accurate arm?
Every NFL fanatic, myself included, is make predictions for week one. And no one, myself included, is stupid enough to pick the Lions.
But that’s the thing about them. They are so stupid and unpredictable, that you can't bet against them. All the other NFL games I picked with relative certainty. I know the rosters and the tendencies and the intangibles and made reasonable picks. But with the Lions, I can only guess as to what could happen. Could we give up 28 first-half points? Oh yeah. But could we score on our first possession? Could we force a three-and-out on the Saints’ first drive? Could we actually keep Brees under 300 yards? You just never know.
How will Stafford play? Will we be able to run the ball? Can we sustain drives and convert on third down? Will we be killed by stupid penalties?
Lions fans have no choice but to be distrustful of their team, but we also can’t lose sight of hope. Hope: the very reason we call ourselves fans. The only purpose for watching loss after loss. Hope, that someday things will be different and the Lions will be winners.
And call me crazy, but I’m willing to believe that someday could be this coming Sunday.
I know it’s not likely. I know it’s highly improbable. But that’s the NFL – everything that happens is unlikely. Why can’t it be us this year? Are we really that wretched? Are we really that inept?
Look, I like the Saints as a team this season as much as anybody, but you can’t deny the facts: they have an awful defense. They have a sketchy running game and an injured starter at RB. And they have an incurable idiot in Jeremy Shockey. Oh, and did I mention they have an awful defense? Which leads me to …
The Lions Offense:
Even on the road, even led by Matthew Stafford, Detroit should be able to move the ball. We should be able to score some points and take advantage of Calvin Johnson. Megatron should be the target on at least a third of Stafford’s passes, and despite whatever coverage he faces will still be effective. The Saints can’t stop him. Nobody can stop him. I don’t expect much out of the other receivers, although I hope to see Pettigrew catch at least three balls in his debut.
The key to the offense will be how the tackles, Backus and Cherilus, play in pass protection. New Orleans’s only strength on defense is their pass rush - they have one of the best defensive end combos in the NFL. If Backus can’t keep Will Smith out of the backfield, Stafford’s going to have a long day. Matty just isn’t comfortable in the pocket and doesn’t have a feel for the speed of the NFL game. He’s not going to be able to keep his eyes downfield while the rush bears down on him. The only possible chance we have of outscoring the Saints is if Stafford has time to throw the ball.
As important as the passing game will be, the running game is paramount. Establishing Kevin Smith early; creating opportunities with play-action; moving the ball in short chunks; keeping Drew Brees off the field. Those are the keys. Those are the things the Lions tried to do last year and failed. For the most part, the pieces are the same on offense, which is dreary. But Smith is a year older and a year better, and so is Cherilus (hopefully). The guards should be at least a little improved, from a D- to a D+ perhaps. But the key to the running game, the one big change that has gone mostly under the radar, is the good old blocking tight end.
Brandon Pettigrew – expect him to be a monster on outside running plays and show why he was drafted in the first round. He’s huge and fast and probably a better blocker than anyone on the Lions offensive line. Maybe the announcers won’t mention his name more than once or twice, but I’ll betcha if you keep an eye out for him you’ll notice him creating some running room that Smith never had in 2008.
The key to this entire game will be time of possession. The Lions defense can’t stop Drew Brees, there’s just no way around that. But the Lions offense can stop him, if we can keep him on the sidelines. First downs are what Stafford should be focused on. Short gains, and very few incomplete passes. No stupid false starts, no dropped passes, and especially no turnovers. I know that’s asking a lot, but these are professional football players. They can’t afford mistakes like that against New Orleans, or it’s 0-1.
I wish I could sit down for just an hour, at a coffee shop or a bar or wherever, with Matthew Stafford, and just tell him what it’s like. Rooting for the Lions, suffering through the Millen era, and despising Joey Harrington with every fiber in my being for six horrible years. I want him to know what Joey did, and what Joey did not do, and why I hated Joey so much. I’m not impressed by charm or “unflappability.” (I swear, if I hear Stafford described as unflappable one more time I’m going to flip out! What the heck does that even mean!?) I want to tell Matt not to worry about his appearance or his responses with the media. I could care less that he says to reporters, or how he “handles himself.”
What I want to see is effort, determination, toughness, and competitiveness. Is that too much to ask for from a professional athlete who will make more money in one game this season than I’ll make in a decade? Show some effort Matthew, earn your psychotically big paycheck, and make me proud.
And please, don’t give me the Harrington special. Do not give me the Eli Manning or the Brady Quinn or the Ryan Leaf. You know what I mean. Don’t give me the false appearance of effort. I can see right through it. You can’t fool a true fan with your grimaces on the sideline when you know the camera is pointed towards you. After you throw a bad pass on third and 8, I don’t want to see you throw your arms up in the air and scowl. I don’t want you to look mad; I want you to actually be mad.
See, that was the problem with Joey, and all the other chumps who haven’t worked out in the NFL. It’s not about impressing the casual fans with your antics and your charm – it’s about winning. If it’s fourth and 5 and you scramble for 2 yards and go out of bounds, I’m just going to assume that you hate my guts. If you take the sack because you weren’t smart enough to move around in the pocket, don’t roll your eyes and nurse your injured shoulder out there on the field. Move on. Get ready for the next play. Learn from your mistakes (I’m sure there will be plenty of them) and make yourself a better player.
The season opener will be Stafford’s first start in a Lions uniform. But, the first of how many? 20? 50? 150? Will he prove himself or be just another loser in a long line of Lions losers? My expectations, as always, are indistinctly low, but with chances of being preposterously high.
Lions Defense:
Drew Brees is the best quarterback in the NFC, and it’s not even close. He lags behind Brady and Manning simply because he hasn’t been able to lead his team to the playoffs, but he also hasn’t had much of a supporting cast. From a purely physical standpoint, his arm and his head are on par with the greatest in the league. He doesn’t miss a throw, he doesn’t miss a read, and he came only one or two passes from breaking Dan Marino’s single-season yardage record like year. So yeah, he’s pretty good.
It’s stopping him that will be key for the Lions defense. Hmmm … so where to begin?
D-Coordinator Gunther Cunningham loves to blitz and pressure the quarterback, but a passer as smart as Brees will make you pay. But there’s no way he Lions will be able to pressure Brees with a four man rush. If you give him time to throw, he kills you. It’s sort of an impossible situation for our defense.
Fortunately, the Saints starting running back (Pierre Thomas) is unlikely to play, and his replacement, Mike Bell, is sort of terrible. Reggie Bush is unconventional, and that’s putting it kindly. He’s more like a total pansy who can’t handle being tackled. The Lions best chance of slowing down the Saints is probably to drop the linebackers into coverage and hope the Saints don’t run the ball. I’m not worried about Bush or Mike Bell too much, and if Thomas sits out, the Lions may actually have a chance.
Foote and Sims are solid in coverage. They can work the middle of the field and leave the corners to cover the out-routes, while the safeties patrol the deep middle and try to anticipate the play. This leaves Peterson to blitz and roam around while the defensive line just has to be less than anemic. I honestly don’t think the Saints are going to be able to run the ball without Thomas. Maybe I’m discrediting Mike Bell too soon, but I saw him in Denver back in the day and he wasn’t impressive to say the least.
Will we keep Brees from scoring at least two touchdowns? No way. But can we keep him from putting the game away in the first quarter? If we drop six or seven into coverage, then yeah, we honestly can. Is there any way the Lions won’t allow a 70-yard touchdown? Maybe, if the lackluster tackling is suddenly cured. If Detroit executes perfectly, and avoids the moronic penalties, and forces a key turnover or two, this game just might be competitive.
I’m not expecting it, but it doesn’t hurt to have hope.
Final Thought:
The Lions will lose 17-42. That’s what I wrote yesterday and I’m sticking to it. It’s the most likely scenario. But could the Lions win, pull off the shocker with a crazy score like 23-19? Sure. Anything could happen. That’s the nature of being a Lions fan.
PS - I hate Jeremy Shockey. GO LIONS!!!!
At 1:00 PM on Sunday the 13th of September, the Detroit Lions begin a new season. And hopefully, a new era. They will attempt to do what no team in NFL history has ever done: rebound from an 0-16 season. It won’t be easy; the schedule is full of easy-to-lose games, none of which the Lions will be favored to win. But it won’t be impossible; remember, it was only two years ago that Detroit won 7 games.
The coach is new. The coordinators are both new. The management is new. And more than half of the starting players – brand spanking new. The lone holdover from last year’s catastrophe? Impotent owner William Clay Ford.
There are several reasons to be giddy this season. Calvin Johnson and Ernie Sims remain. Julian Peterson and Larry Foote have joined. Matthew Stafford is young and bubbling with promise. The coaches swear that they have whipped this new ball club into shape.
But come on. Be serious. It’s a roster full of leftovers and scraps. A makeshift secondary and a makeshift defensive line. How are they going to stop the mighty Saints offense in a game that actually matters? How are they going to even slow down the potent pass attack of Drew Brees and his impeccably accurate arm?
Every NFL fanatic, myself included, is make predictions for week one. And no one, myself included, is stupid enough to pick the Lions.
But that’s the thing about them. They are so stupid and unpredictable, that you can't bet against them. All the other NFL games I picked with relative certainty. I know the rosters and the tendencies and the intangibles and made reasonable picks. But with the Lions, I can only guess as to what could happen. Could we give up 28 first-half points? Oh yeah. But could we score on our first possession? Could we force a three-and-out on the Saints’ first drive? Could we actually keep Brees under 300 yards? You just never know.
How will Stafford play? Will we be able to run the ball? Can we sustain drives and convert on third down? Will we be killed by stupid penalties?
Lions fans have no choice but to be distrustful of their team, but we also can’t lose sight of hope. Hope: the very reason we call ourselves fans. The only purpose for watching loss after loss. Hope, that someday things will be different and the Lions will be winners.
And call me crazy, but I’m willing to believe that someday could be this coming Sunday.
I know it’s not likely. I know it’s highly improbable. But that’s the NFL – everything that happens is unlikely. Why can’t it be us this year? Are we really that wretched? Are we really that inept?
Look, I like the Saints as a team this season as much as anybody, but you can’t deny the facts: they have an awful defense. They have a sketchy running game and an injured starter at RB. And they have an incurable idiot in Jeremy Shockey. Oh, and did I mention they have an awful defense? Which leads me to …
The Lions Offense:
Even on the road, even led by Matthew Stafford, Detroit should be able to move the ball. We should be able to score some points and take advantage of Calvin Johnson. Megatron should be the target on at least a third of Stafford’s passes, and despite whatever coverage he faces will still be effective. The Saints can’t stop him. Nobody can stop him. I don’t expect much out of the other receivers, although I hope to see Pettigrew catch at least three balls in his debut.
The key to the offense will be how the tackles, Backus and Cherilus, play in pass protection. New Orleans’s only strength on defense is their pass rush - they have one of the best defensive end combos in the NFL. If Backus can’t keep Will Smith out of the backfield, Stafford’s going to have a long day. Matty just isn’t comfortable in the pocket and doesn’t have a feel for the speed of the NFL game. He’s not going to be able to keep his eyes downfield while the rush bears down on him. The only possible chance we have of outscoring the Saints is if Stafford has time to throw the ball.
As important as the passing game will be, the running game is paramount. Establishing Kevin Smith early; creating opportunities with play-action; moving the ball in short chunks; keeping Drew Brees off the field. Those are the keys. Those are the things the Lions tried to do last year and failed. For the most part, the pieces are the same on offense, which is dreary. But Smith is a year older and a year better, and so is Cherilus (hopefully). The guards should be at least a little improved, from a D- to a D+ perhaps. But the key to the running game, the one big change that has gone mostly under the radar, is the good old blocking tight end.
Brandon Pettigrew – expect him to be a monster on outside running plays and show why he was drafted in the first round. He’s huge and fast and probably a better blocker than anyone on the Lions offensive line. Maybe the announcers won’t mention his name more than once or twice, but I’ll betcha if you keep an eye out for him you’ll notice him creating some running room that Smith never had in 2008.
The key to this entire game will be time of possession. The Lions defense can’t stop Drew Brees, there’s just no way around that. But the Lions offense can stop him, if we can keep him on the sidelines. First downs are what Stafford should be focused on. Short gains, and very few incomplete passes. No stupid false starts, no dropped passes, and especially no turnovers. I know that’s asking a lot, but these are professional football players. They can’t afford mistakes like that against New Orleans, or it’s 0-1.
I wish I could sit down for just an hour, at a coffee shop or a bar or wherever, with Matthew Stafford, and just tell him what it’s like. Rooting for the Lions, suffering through the Millen era, and despising Joey Harrington with every fiber in my being for six horrible years. I want him to know what Joey did, and what Joey did not do, and why I hated Joey so much. I’m not impressed by charm or “unflappability.” (I swear, if I hear Stafford described as unflappable one more time I’m going to flip out! What the heck does that even mean!?) I want to tell Matt not to worry about his appearance or his responses with the media. I could care less that he says to reporters, or how he “handles himself.”
What I want to see is effort, determination, toughness, and competitiveness. Is that too much to ask for from a professional athlete who will make more money in one game this season than I’ll make in a decade? Show some effort Matthew, earn your psychotically big paycheck, and make me proud.
And please, don’t give me the Harrington special. Do not give me the Eli Manning or the Brady Quinn or the Ryan Leaf. You know what I mean. Don’t give me the false appearance of effort. I can see right through it. You can’t fool a true fan with your grimaces on the sideline when you know the camera is pointed towards you. After you throw a bad pass on third and 8, I don’t want to see you throw your arms up in the air and scowl. I don’t want you to look mad; I want you to actually be mad.
See, that was the problem with Joey, and all the other chumps who haven’t worked out in the NFL. It’s not about impressing the casual fans with your antics and your charm – it’s about winning. If it’s fourth and 5 and you scramble for 2 yards and go out of bounds, I’m just going to assume that you hate my guts. If you take the sack because you weren’t smart enough to move around in the pocket, don’t roll your eyes and nurse your injured shoulder out there on the field. Move on. Get ready for the next play. Learn from your mistakes (I’m sure there will be plenty of them) and make yourself a better player.
The season opener will be Stafford’s first start in a Lions uniform. But, the first of how many? 20? 50? 150? Will he prove himself or be just another loser in a long line of Lions losers? My expectations, as always, are indistinctly low, but with chances of being preposterously high.
Lions Defense:
Drew Brees is the best quarterback in the NFC, and it’s not even close. He lags behind Brady and Manning simply because he hasn’t been able to lead his team to the playoffs, but he also hasn’t had much of a supporting cast. From a purely physical standpoint, his arm and his head are on par with the greatest in the league. He doesn’t miss a throw, he doesn’t miss a read, and he came only one or two passes from breaking Dan Marino’s single-season yardage record like year. So yeah, he’s pretty good.
It’s stopping him that will be key for the Lions defense. Hmmm … so where to begin?
D-Coordinator Gunther Cunningham loves to blitz and pressure the quarterback, but a passer as smart as Brees will make you pay. But there’s no way he Lions will be able to pressure Brees with a four man rush. If you give him time to throw, he kills you. It’s sort of an impossible situation for our defense.
Fortunately, the Saints starting running back (Pierre Thomas) is unlikely to play, and his replacement, Mike Bell, is sort of terrible. Reggie Bush is unconventional, and that’s putting it kindly. He’s more like a total pansy who can’t handle being tackled. The Lions best chance of slowing down the Saints is probably to drop the linebackers into coverage and hope the Saints don’t run the ball. I’m not worried about Bush or Mike Bell too much, and if Thomas sits out, the Lions may actually have a chance.
Foote and Sims are solid in coverage. They can work the middle of the field and leave the corners to cover the out-routes, while the safeties patrol the deep middle and try to anticipate the play. This leaves Peterson to blitz and roam around while the defensive line just has to be less than anemic. I honestly don’t think the Saints are going to be able to run the ball without Thomas. Maybe I’m discrediting Mike Bell too soon, but I saw him in Denver back in the day and he wasn’t impressive to say the least.
Will we keep Brees from scoring at least two touchdowns? No way. But can we keep him from putting the game away in the first quarter? If we drop six or seven into coverage, then yeah, we honestly can. Is there any way the Lions won’t allow a 70-yard touchdown? Maybe, if the lackluster tackling is suddenly cured. If Detroit executes perfectly, and avoids the moronic penalties, and forces a key turnover or two, this game just might be competitive.
I’m not expecting it, but it doesn’t hurt to have hope.
Final Thought:
The Lions will lose 17-42. That’s what I wrote yesterday and I’m sticking to it. It’s the most likely scenario. But could the Lions win, pull off the shocker with a crazy score like 23-19? Sure. Anything could happen. That’s the nature of being a Lions fan.
PS - I hate Jeremy Shockey. GO LIONS!!!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Week One Picks
Week One Picks
I’ve been writing bits and pieces about the NFL for the past week, but things are changing faster than I can write. I was in the middle of writing about the quarterback competition and suddenly Stafford was named the week one starter. The season opener is tomorrow. I’ve got to pick the games for this to all be legitimate.
But first, just a few Lions thoughts. Starting Stafford is a mistake. He’s not ready. And we are going to get our butts kicked by the Saints. Stafford’s going to throw a couple picks, Drew Brees will destroy the Lions as well as my fantasy team, and we’ll lose by a score of … 17-42. The road to 0-32 begins.
As for the Steelers and Titans game on Thursday, the Steelers are going to win 27-13.
Dolphins @ Falcons
Atlanta wins 28-10.
Broncos @ Bengals
Carson Palmer is back. Cincinnati wins 24-20.
Vikings @ Browns
Favre. Favre. Favre. Oh, and Adrian Peterson. Vikings win 33-12.
Jaguars @ Colts
Game of the week. Colts win 25-21.
Cowboys @ Buccaneers
I have no clue. I’ll say Dallas wins 17-10.
Eagles @ Panthers
Philly is a better team. They win 31-17.
Chiefs @ Ravens
Flacco against Cassel. Hmm…. I’ll actually say KC wins 16-14.
Jets @ Texans.
Two of my favorite sleepers. Houston wins 21-18.
Redskins @ Giants
Eli Manning, meet Albert Haynesworth. Washington wins by a score of 26-16.
49ers @ Cardinals
Important game for both teams. I think San Fran wins a shootout, 35-30.
Rams @ Seahawks.
I have a hard time picking against the new Rams coach, but Seattle wins at home, 31-24.
Bears @ Packers
Sunday night. National TV. Jay Cutler gets waxed. Green Bay wins 30-20.
Bills @ Patriots.
Tom Brady is back and he’s angry. New England wins 52-13.
Chargers @ Raiders
Well this is as obvious as it gets. Chargers win 34-7.
I’ve been writing bits and pieces about the NFL for the past week, but things are changing faster than I can write. I was in the middle of writing about the quarterback competition and suddenly Stafford was named the week one starter. The season opener is tomorrow. I’ve got to pick the games for this to all be legitimate.
But first, just a few Lions thoughts. Starting Stafford is a mistake. He’s not ready. And we are going to get our butts kicked by the Saints. Stafford’s going to throw a couple picks, Drew Brees will destroy the Lions as well as my fantasy team, and we’ll lose by a score of … 17-42. The road to 0-32 begins.
As for the Steelers and Titans game on Thursday, the Steelers are going to win 27-13.
Dolphins @ Falcons
Atlanta wins 28-10.
Broncos @ Bengals
Carson Palmer is back. Cincinnati wins 24-20.
Vikings @ Browns
Favre. Favre. Favre. Oh, and Adrian Peterson. Vikings win 33-12.
Jaguars @ Colts
Game of the week. Colts win 25-21.
Cowboys @ Buccaneers
I have no clue. I’ll say Dallas wins 17-10.
Eagles @ Panthers
Philly is a better team. They win 31-17.
Chiefs @ Ravens
Flacco against Cassel. Hmm…. I’ll actually say KC wins 16-14.
Jets @ Texans.
Two of my favorite sleepers. Houston wins 21-18.
Redskins @ Giants
Eli Manning, meet Albert Haynesworth. Washington wins by a score of 26-16.
49ers @ Cardinals
Important game for both teams. I think San Fran wins a shootout, 35-30.
Rams @ Seahawks.
I have a hard time picking against the new Rams coach, but Seattle wins at home, 31-24.
Bears @ Packers
Sunday night. National TV. Jay Cutler gets waxed. Green Bay wins 30-20.
Bills @ Patriots.
Tom Brady is back and he’s angry. New England wins 52-13.
Chargers @ Raiders
Well this is as obvious as it gets. Chargers win 34-7.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
...
Hey guys. Sorry I haven't offered much writing lately. Work has been busier and busier and I've been more closely watched. Real life has been busier too. The NFL Season begins one week from tonight. The "B League" fantasy draft is tonight. Here are some random thoughts about random things:
-Brandon Marshall is so stupid. Why would the Jets or anyone want to trade for him?
-The Broncos coach is also stupid. He's quickly become my least favorite coach in the NFL. He's so cocky. Between him and Marshall, I don't see that situation working out well.
-The Tigers are awesome lately. I feel bad that I didnt' think they would win the division. Now they're looking great. Magglio is hitting unbelievably, and so is Guillen lately. I love Alex Avila. I hope Verlander wins the Cy Young but I don't think Grienke is going to lose it, not after his 1-hitter the other night.
-The White Sox have lost 10 of their last 12 or something like that. Nice of them to just die and give us the division like that.
-Too bad the Twins are on a crazy streak and are now a few games ahead of the Sox.
-I need a new job. My job is stupid. Middle-aged women can be so bitchy.
-The Lions last preseason game is tonight. They probably won't play the starters very much at all. Is Culpepper going to play despite the injured toe? Why the heck did he have to injure his toe right before the season? I have a bad, bad feeling about Stafford playing week 1. The score Saints 35, Lions 3 keeps flashing in my head.
I dont really have much else to say. I'm excited to draft Peterson with the first pick tonight. I'll write some sort of more exciting NFL Preview type of thing next week right before the first game. Peace.
-Brandon Marshall is so stupid. Why would the Jets or anyone want to trade for him?
-The Broncos coach is also stupid. He's quickly become my least favorite coach in the NFL. He's so cocky. Between him and Marshall, I don't see that situation working out well.
-The Tigers are awesome lately. I feel bad that I didnt' think they would win the division. Now they're looking great. Magglio is hitting unbelievably, and so is Guillen lately. I love Alex Avila. I hope Verlander wins the Cy Young but I don't think Grienke is going to lose it, not after his 1-hitter the other night.
-The White Sox have lost 10 of their last 12 or something like that. Nice of them to just die and give us the division like that.
-Too bad the Twins are on a crazy streak and are now a few games ahead of the Sox.
-I need a new job. My job is stupid. Middle-aged women can be so bitchy.
-The Lions last preseason game is tonight. They probably won't play the starters very much at all. Is Culpepper going to play despite the injured toe? Why the heck did he have to injure his toe right before the season? I have a bad, bad feeling about Stafford playing week 1. The score Saints 35, Lions 3 keeps flashing in my head.
I dont really have much else to say. I'm excited to draft Peterson with the first pick tonight. I'll write some sort of more exciting NFL Preview type of thing next week right before the first game. Peace.