Okay, first of all, Zenyatta was robbed. Hey Mike Smith, could you have taken her any further back? The wondrous Z danced her way to the paddock and seemingly all the way to the starting gate. She seemed to acknowledge the crowd throughout, wanting only to squeeze one more hurrah out of thousands of racing fans, and make good on their winning tickets. Even if a lot of them would never be cashed. She seemed sure this’d be a walk in the park, another day at the office, sashaying her way to the winners circle while all the boys were still hangin’ by the water fountain. This would be her 2oth in a row….no problemo.
That was all before her longtime jock strangled her coming out of the gate. Before she could say “dumbass jock”, she was 20 lengths behind, getting clumps of real dirt pounding into her gorgeous peepers. But the queen kept her cool, if somewhat surprised by her rider’s strange reluctance, and wondering when he’d pull out a pair of goggles for her? She cut the lead from 20 to about 12 lengths at the mile pole but by then there was only a quarter mile to go. And those young colts ahead of her didn’t even seem tired.
It was about then that Mike finally took her outside where she could turn it on and, in the space of about 11 seconds, the time it took her to charge through that next to last (who says penultimate anymore?) furlong, she had cut that monstrous lead to about two lengths and she could see that finish line (I’m convinced). She had that chassis moving now with just one horse to beat, but geez, that young stud, a colt named Blame, was rolling too.
So down the stretch they came, as they say. That lead became 2 lengths, then 1 ½, then 1 and then just about nothin’ at all. And there was the pole.
The crowd was cheering but she could feel her rider’s anguish. She seemed to hang her head and she definitely stopped dancing. She probably wondered what the crowd was thinking. Why did thay all still seem so excited?
It probably didn’t occur to her that she had just gobbled up a 12-length lead in a quarter mile, that she had restored hope to all those bettors and fans whose heads had drooped after seeing her hopes diminishing with each succeeding pole for that first mile or so. “She’ll never make it”, I had said to my lovely wife, who had almost never watched TV with me before. She said sumthin’ like “but she always comes from behind, doesn’t she” and I said sumthin’ like “but she’s too far back, she’ll never catch them now”. I remember thinking about an old stretch-runner named Carry Back, who would sweep the field in the last furlong or so, but that was a long time ago, and Carry Back was a colt.
And then I was yelling, “Go! Go! Go!” as Zenyatta’s profile slowly, inexorably, advanced on that lead colt’s flanks all the way to that damned final pole. It was the best horse race I had seen in many a year, and I knew I had seen one of the best horses I would ever see.
They say she had her chance and couldn’t get her head in front. They say she won’t be the Horse of the Year. I say she’s been the Horse of the Decade at least and no other horse had evoked as much admiration out of a crowd since, well, Secretariat in that insane Belmont of the early Seventies. Yeah, there were other big ones too, there was Ruffian of course, and Affirmed and Stevie Cauthen wearin’ out Alydar for the Triple Crown. But that’s about it. I wasn’t around for Seabiscuit. And none of them could dance. (Actually, Secretariat and Seabiscuit both played to the crowd).
So go ahead, racing intelligentsia, make Blame the Horse of the Year. After all, he did keep his head in front at that finish line. It won’t change anybody’s mind, not anyone who had been there at Churchill or anybody who had just watched on TV. Zenyatta’s the Horse of the Year and one of the horses of the century.
There. All that had to be said. I feel better now.
That seemed more important to me than what the Jets or Giants did, or what has developed in the Mets front offices. Of course, all’s quiet on the football front, at least locally, as the Giants have been rolling and the Jets more or less just surviving in good form. The Mets new guy, Sandy Alderson, will probably wind up being a good hire and he’s supposed to be evaluating fiery coaches. (I have almost no hope in that regard, I liked Jerry Manuel). Oh, and I don’t care what the Yankees do. Whatever they do, it won’t be enough, not with trying to carry all that dead weight. (Okay, not dead, just twitching ever more slowly).
The big intrigue in football is in Dallas and Minnesota, what with Wade Phillips finally hitting the dusty trail and Brad Childress hanging on like that cat hangin’ on to that chinning bar in all those cheap reproductions. Both of their jobs were in trouble going into Week 9. Favre and Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and even Bernard Berrian for Minnesota rallied the Vikings to victory in a thrilling comeback win. The Boyz flopped historically, and nary a Dallas cornerback or linebacker could be found. They lost 41-7. Wade Phillips needed a secondary to show up in what would turn out to be his final game. He didn’t get it.
But the Vikings still breathe, even if they’re way behind and that finish line seems so close. Down the stretch they come.
They could take a lesson from a magnificent dancing mare who faced the same odds but fought valiantly to that finish line, despite the bad ride.
Showing posts with label Cowboys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cowboys. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Big Blue and Little D?
Reflecting on yesterday’s NFL games and results, trying to capsulize the entire Sunday, my first thought was that the now 1-4 Cowboys losing to the now 2-3 Minnesota Vikings was the highlight of a somewhat moribund schedule.
Although both the Giants and Jets played pretty close games with Detroit and Denver respectively, the outcomes seemed little in doubt and the final results weren’t that surprising. And it was probably just an anomaly that all those losing teams are from cities starting with the letter “D”. (Dallas, Denver, Detroit for the memory-challenged).
The Cowboys, Boyz, Big Dee, take your pick, were awful. And to me, the symbol (I’m big on symbols) of their loss and whole problem was the penalty called on Miles Austin for excessively celebrating after their first touchdown. When one of a team’s best players commits a very stupid penalty after a week spent apologizing for stupid penalties having been the main root of their losing ways, it is a sign (not even a sign, a big poster) that the players just aren’t getting the message, or, even worse, that the team is getting the message but isn’t afraid of the consequences of ignoring it.
Now, I like Miles Austin. He’s a Jersey guy from right down the road in good ol’ Garfield, NJ. He’s my number 1 receiver on my fantasy team. But what the hell was he thinking? If he was thinking at all, the thoughts were only of himself. In a way, he took himself out of the game with that blunder as he only had one catch on the day, and who could blame Tony Romo for ignoring him the rest of the day? The Dallas touchdowns went to other lesser receivers, Roy Williams and Dez Bryant, one refurb and one rookie.
That excessive celebration penalty wasn’t even sufficient to keep Austin from committing a second even more egregious penalty later on, when he obviously shoved the cover guy on his way to a nice long touchdown. Of course the play was called back, his second big hurt of the day.
Then, as if to make light of the entire situation, Austin made a big show of shaking hands with Bryant after his touchdown. That was the final straw for me. I’ll be looking to trade him from my team. I can’t stand stupid players and I absolutely despise “stupid” when combined with “arrogant”. Austin was both.
After the game, head coach Wade Phillips just said, “We need to celebrate after we win the game”. That seemed to leave Austin’s rectum still intact. Austin didn’t deserve the courtesy. Romo had two costly interceptions and the whole kickoff coverage team let Percy Harvin run back a touchdown on a kickoff, but the biggest mistakes were Austin’s and I’ll blame him for the loss. But he only shares the responsibility with namby-pamby Phillips.
That Bum Phillips, Wade’s Dad and one of my earlier football heroes, him and that incomparable Houston running back Earl Campbell, could produce a son so devoid of emotion is a kick in the pants to evolution. That Dallas team needs a kick in the ass. Phillips is incapable of doing it. He should be removed, and quickly, while there is still a chance for redemption, albeit a very small one now.
Dallas doesn’t need better players and it doesn’t need better game plans, both of which Wade and his staff are perfectly capable of doing. The players need to feel accountable. They need to fear pain, whether that means two-a-days or running laps or public excoriation, whatever this politically correct world and union-dominated NFL will allow.
It’s been alleged that the crazy owner Jerry Jones likes Wade Phillips, which is pretty hard to believe, even given the countless examples of complements making great partners. Phillips hasn’t lost control of his team. He never had it. He doesn’t have their attention. He never did. The best Cowboys team under Phillips was his first one, the one that won the NFC East and lost to the eventual Super Bowl winner Giants in the playoffs.
Phillips’s 2008 team collapsed spectacularly after starting the season 9-5, losing to Baltimore in the last game played in their old stadium and then getting killed by the Eagles 44-6 in a must-win game. Although his 2009 team did gain a playoff berth and even won a playoff game for the first time under Phillips, they eventually lost to the Vikings for the NFC crown.
There is a disturbing legacy of failure in Big D. It can’t be fixed by building a new stadium or hosting the Super Bowl or spending even more on players. The Cowboys need a head coach. And I don’t even like the Cowboys. How could anyone?
The Giants do have a tough coach. I don’t like him either. But Tom Coughlin did turn his team around after their miserable defensive performances in Weeks 2 and 3. It’s probably more accurate to say that defensive coordinator Fewell turned it around, but, after all, he does report to Coughlin.
Since that Week 3 game, the G-Men have reeled off 3 in a row against the Bears, Texans and Lions yesterday to share first place in the NFC East with a surprisingly tough Philadelphia Eagle team, both at 4 and 2.
But the worm can turn in a hurry in the NFL. From next week, October 25th, to November 14th, a space of 20 days, the G-Men will face the Cowboys twice, sandwiched around a trip to a very loud Seattle stadium that has given the Giants trouble before.
It’s not entirely inconceivable that the Giants could lose all three games before having to travel to Philadelphia. The Giants could be fighting for their playoff lives by then. Dallas could be right on their heels.
Let’s be real. Football is a game of emotion. The Boyz will be fired up without any coach’s help. We’ll find out how big is our Big Blue.
Although both the Giants and Jets played pretty close games with Detroit and Denver respectively, the outcomes seemed little in doubt and the final results weren’t that surprising. And it was probably just an anomaly that all those losing teams are from cities starting with the letter “D”. (Dallas, Denver, Detroit for the memory-challenged).
The Cowboys, Boyz, Big Dee, take your pick, were awful. And to me, the symbol (I’m big on symbols) of their loss and whole problem was the penalty called on Miles Austin for excessively celebrating after their first touchdown. When one of a team’s best players commits a very stupid penalty after a week spent apologizing for stupid penalties having been the main root of their losing ways, it is a sign (not even a sign, a big poster) that the players just aren’t getting the message, or, even worse, that the team is getting the message but isn’t afraid of the consequences of ignoring it.
Now, I like Miles Austin. He’s a Jersey guy from right down the road in good ol’ Garfield, NJ. He’s my number 1 receiver on my fantasy team. But what the hell was he thinking? If he was thinking at all, the thoughts were only of himself. In a way, he took himself out of the game with that blunder as he only had one catch on the day, and who could blame Tony Romo for ignoring him the rest of the day? The Dallas touchdowns went to other lesser receivers, Roy Williams and Dez Bryant, one refurb and one rookie.
That excessive celebration penalty wasn’t even sufficient to keep Austin from committing a second even more egregious penalty later on, when he obviously shoved the cover guy on his way to a nice long touchdown. Of course the play was called back, his second big hurt of the day.
Then, as if to make light of the entire situation, Austin made a big show of shaking hands with Bryant after his touchdown. That was the final straw for me. I’ll be looking to trade him from my team. I can’t stand stupid players and I absolutely despise “stupid” when combined with “arrogant”. Austin was both.
After the game, head coach Wade Phillips just said, “We need to celebrate after we win the game”. That seemed to leave Austin’s rectum still intact. Austin didn’t deserve the courtesy. Romo had two costly interceptions and the whole kickoff coverage team let Percy Harvin run back a touchdown on a kickoff, but the biggest mistakes were Austin’s and I’ll blame him for the loss. But he only shares the responsibility with namby-pamby Phillips.
That Bum Phillips, Wade’s Dad and one of my earlier football heroes, him and that incomparable Houston running back Earl Campbell, could produce a son so devoid of emotion is a kick in the pants to evolution. That Dallas team needs a kick in the ass. Phillips is incapable of doing it. He should be removed, and quickly, while there is still a chance for redemption, albeit a very small one now.
Dallas doesn’t need better players and it doesn’t need better game plans, both of which Wade and his staff are perfectly capable of doing. The players need to feel accountable. They need to fear pain, whether that means two-a-days or running laps or public excoriation, whatever this politically correct world and union-dominated NFL will allow.
It’s been alleged that the crazy owner Jerry Jones likes Wade Phillips, which is pretty hard to believe, even given the countless examples of complements making great partners. Phillips hasn’t lost control of his team. He never had it. He doesn’t have their attention. He never did. The best Cowboys team under Phillips was his first one, the one that won the NFC East and lost to the eventual Super Bowl winner Giants in the playoffs.
Phillips’s 2008 team collapsed spectacularly after starting the season 9-5, losing to Baltimore in the last game played in their old stadium and then getting killed by the Eagles 44-6 in a must-win game. Although his 2009 team did gain a playoff berth and even won a playoff game for the first time under Phillips, they eventually lost to the Vikings for the NFC crown.
There is a disturbing legacy of failure in Big D. It can’t be fixed by building a new stadium or hosting the Super Bowl or spending even more on players. The Cowboys need a head coach. And I don’t even like the Cowboys. How could anyone?
The Giants do have a tough coach. I don’t like him either. But Tom Coughlin did turn his team around after their miserable defensive performances in Weeks 2 and 3. It’s probably more accurate to say that defensive coordinator Fewell turned it around, but, after all, he does report to Coughlin.
Since that Week 3 game, the G-Men have reeled off 3 in a row against the Bears, Texans and Lions yesterday to share first place in the NFC East with a surprisingly tough Philadelphia Eagle team, both at 4 and 2.
But the worm can turn in a hurry in the NFL. From next week, October 25th, to November 14th, a space of 20 days, the G-Men will face the Cowboys twice, sandwiched around a trip to a very loud Seattle stadium that has given the Giants trouble before.
It’s not entirely inconceivable that the Giants could lose all three games before having to travel to Philadelphia. The Giants could be fighting for their playoff lives by then. Dallas could be right on their heels.
Let’s be real. Football is a game of emotion. The Boyz will be fired up without any coach’s help. We’ll find out how big is our Big Blue.
Monday, January 11, 2010
On Good and Bad Coaches
I kept wondering yesterday as I watched the Arizona-Green Bay match, “how many times could I hit Mike McCarthy in the head with a 2x4 before he covered up”? After Warner’s first TD pass, I would have been thinking, “maybe I should rush this guy”. After the second, it would have been, “ok, the very next TD he throws, I’m going to start putting the heat on this sonova gun”.
And then I would have really started bringing linebackers, safeties, corners at Warner…..and you know what? Maybe he beats the blitz a couple of times but maybe he doesn’t finish the game either. In no event does he continue carving up my defense with absolutely no ramifications.
If I knew McCarthy was going to sit back, rush three and play a friggin’ zone, there is absolutely no way I would have picked Green Bay to win that game. You couldn’t have given me enough points. The NFL makes teams divulge injuries but not gameplans. There is no reporting requirement for stupidity.
It was painful for me to watch the heroic effort of Aaron Rodgers in the face of a rush, scrambling around, making impossible throws to an almost equally adept group of receivers. That Jennings catch on the sidelines was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Green Bay did not deserve to lose. Only McCarthy did.
So Mike McCarthy joins my list of bad coaches, along with the memorable Herm Edwards, Rich Kotite and other numbskulls from the past. Thankfully for me, he was not on the Jets sideline. We had a guy who isn’t a real deep thinker. He’s just a guy who reacts to what’s right there in front of him.
And what was in front of Rex Ryan Saturday were the Cincinnati Bengals….those poor bastards. They didn’t stand a chance. Ryan’s pound-the-rock offense and his grinding defense made the Bengals paper tigers. And, while I had picked the Jets to cover, I thought that they’d lose in the end; I thought they’d lose to a veteran quarterback, Carson Palmer, while their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez would finally succumb to the gravity of the moment and throw a pick or two.
But it wasn’t just pounding that ground down the Bengals. It was misdirection. The Jets watched the films, DVD’s probably….whatever. They saw a pursuing defense, some might have said an over-pursuing defense, and they took advantage. They took the lead and held it. But you can’t misdirect without the threat of pounding. And that threat was taken very seriously by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Of course, much of that strategy went unreported. That telecast was one of the worst ever on television. Joe Gibbs is a color guy? I still can’t remember anything the play-by-play fella said; in fact, I still can’t remember his name. (I looked it up..Tom Hammond?) The color guy was Joe Theisman. To most football fans, I’ll have to say no more. Somebody called him the human filibuster. He was being kind. Theisman didn’t even know the rules for a catch. It was either that or his mouth was moving waay faster than his brain could kick in.
Of course, none of that’s important. The Jets won. They romped. And they talked. Then they talked some more. But that’s okay. Rex is strong on visualization. What the hell, it seems to be working. I can see him at work behind the scenes, “Now, Mark, I want you to picture Dustin Keller all alone behind the defense, you’re running right with nobody in your face and all you have to do is throw the ball to him.” If anything like that did in fact happen, I wouldn’t be surprised.
The Pats lost, of course, to a Ravens team that used a lot of the same Jets tactics to overwhelm their opponent. This was another game that I picked for the Ravens to cover but not win. I gave too much credit to Brady and Belichick and the Pats being home and all that meant absolutely nothing, nada, zilch to the Ravens. They just kicked butt. And it surely was a sweet thing to see.
Those Ravens were ready and the readiest Raven was Ray Rice. (Say that 5 times fast). Ray just started off by scooting through an opening and then turning on the jets for an 83-yard touchdown. Then their defensive end on just a 3-man front gets around his blocker and swipes the ball out of Brady’s hand resulting in another touchdown. And that was pretty much all she wrote.
I must say though that I’m somewhat surprised that some people are thinking that that game might mark the end of the Patriots dominance. That’s pretty crazy. Belichick will analyze and measure to the nth degree, make the changes he must, and the Pats will be back. Then the Pats fans will say, “Geez, it’s so nice not to have Vrabel and Seau and……”.
I’m working backwards here somewhat as the game I cared about most, except for the Jets game, is the one I’m covering last. It wasn’t much of a game though. McNabb had no time to throw and his fleet of fleet receivers never got open. DeSean Jackson…erased, Jeremy Maclin…who?, Brent Celek….huh? The Cowboys made them disappear.
I have to admit that Wade Phillips used to be on my list of horrible coaches, stemming mostly from his alleged contention that he could devise a defense that could consist of nobodies….that his brilliant strategy of spacing and discipline could totally frustrate any opponent. No stars would be required. I guess years of failure at Denver may have changed his mind. His defense now seems to have been adapted so that his stars are used in his defense to fully showcase their abilities…..but within the scheme of his overall strategy. It was his defense that beat Philadelphia. And it was his defense that got the Cowboys into the game at all.
J-E-T-S….Jets…..Jets….JETS!! Next stop San Diego and more later on that.
And then I would have really started bringing linebackers, safeties, corners at Warner…..and you know what? Maybe he beats the blitz a couple of times but maybe he doesn’t finish the game either. In no event does he continue carving up my defense with absolutely no ramifications.
If I knew McCarthy was going to sit back, rush three and play a friggin’ zone, there is absolutely no way I would have picked Green Bay to win that game. You couldn’t have given me enough points. The NFL makes teams divulge injuries but not gameplans. There is no reporting requirement for stupidity.
It was painful for me to watch the heroic effort of Aaron Rodgers in the face of a rush, scrambling around, making impossible throws to an almost equally adept group of receivers. That Jennings catch on the sidelines was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Green Bay did not deserve to lose. Only McCarthy did.
So Mike McCarthy joins my list of bad coaches, along with the memorable Herm Edwards, Rich Kotite and other numbskulls from the past. Thankfully for me, he was not on the Jets sideline. We had a guy who isn’t a real deep thinker. He’s just a guy who reacts to what’s right there in front of him.
And what was in front of Rex Ryan Saturday were the Cincinnati Bengals….those poor bastards. They didn’t stand a chance. Ryan’s pound-the-rock offense and his grinding defense made the Bengals paper tigers. And, while I had picked the Jets to cover, I thought that they’d lose in the end; I thought they’d lose to a veteran quarterback, Carson Palmer, while their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez would finally succumb to the gravity of the moment and throw a pick or two.
But it wasn’t just pounding that ground down the Bengals. It was misdirection. The Jets watched the films, DVD’s probably….whatever. They saw a pursuing defense, some might have said an over-pursuing defense, and they took advantage. They took the lead and held it. But you can’t misdirect without the threat of pounding. And that threat was taken very seriously by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Of course, much of that strategy went unreported. That telecast was one of the worst ever on television. Joe Gibbs is a color guy? I still can’t remember anything the play-by-play fella said; in fact, I still can’t remember his name. (I looked it up..Tom Hammond?) The color guy was Joe Theisman. To most football fans, I’ll have to say no more. Somebody called him the human filibuster. He was being kind. Theisman didn’t even know the rules for a catch. It was either that or his mouth was moving waay faster than his brain could kick in.
Of course, none of that’s important. The Jets won. They romped. And they talked. Then they talked some more. But that’s okay. Rex is strong on visualization. What the hell, it seems to be working. I can see him at work behind the scenes, “Now, Mark, I want you to picture Dustin Keller all alone behind the defense, you’re running right with nobody in your face and all you have to do is throw the ball to him.” If anything like that did in fact happen, I wouldn’t be surprised.
The Pats lost, of course, to a Ravens team that used a lot of the same Jets tactics to overwhelm their opponent. This was another game that I picked for the Ravens to cover but not win. I gave too much credit to Brady and Belichick and the Pats being home and all that meant absolutely nothing, nada, zilch to the Ravens. They just kicked butt. And it surely was a sweet thing to see.
Those Ravens were ready and the readiest Raven was Ray Rice. (Say that 5 times fast). Ray just started off by scooting through an opening and then turning on the jets for an 83-yard touchdown. Then their defensive end on just a 3-man front gets around his blocker and swipes the ball out of Brady’s hand resulting in another touchdown. And that was pretty much all she wrote.
I must say though that I’m somewhat surprised that some people are thinking that that game might mark the end of the Patriots dominance. That’s pretty crazy. Belichick will analyze and measure to the nth degree, make the changes he must, and the Pats will be back. Then the Pats fans will say, “Geez, it’s so nice not to have Vrabel and Seau and……”.
I’m working backwards here somewhat as the game I cared about most, except for the Jets game, is the one I’m covering last. It wasn’t much of a game though. McNabb had no time to throw and his fleet of fleet receivers never got open. DeSean Jackson…erased, Jeremy Maclin…who?, Brent Celek….huh? The Cowboys made them disappear.
I have to admit that Wade Phillips used to be on my list of horrible coaches, stemming mostly from his alleged contention that he could devise a defense that could consist of nobodies….that his brilliant strategy of spacing and discipline could totally frustrate any opponent. No stars would be required. I guess years of failure at Denver may have changed his mind. His defense now seems to have been adapted so that his stars are used in his defense to fully showcase their abilities…..but within the scheme of his overall strategy. It was his defense that beat Philadelphia. And it was his defense that got the Cowboys into the game at all.
J-E-T-S….Jets…..Jets….JETS!! Next stop San Diego and more later on that.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust
Week 17 was another one of those monkey weeks for me as I finished 8-7 for the week to finish the regular season with a not quite heroic 101-86-4 record for the year. I won’t even look at what percentage of wins that is but it’s a hell of a lot better than .500. And hey! We are using point spreads here. None of that ESPN-ish winners picks on this site. We’re all grown up now.
Anyway, as for last week, there is an excuse or two to offer. I would have sworn the Bengals would have tried a little harder last week. And that goes for Indianapolis too. I was really disappointed in both teams really, Indianapolis because it was bad enough they had already thrown the towel in on an undefeated season and the Bengals because they had been one of my feel-good teams this year along with the Niners. I expected more from them.
Then the Eagles threw in a real dud against the Cowboys. I still can’t figure out whether the NFC East title meant anything at all to them. But did they really figure the Giants had any chance whatever against the Vikings? I don’t think so. So they had no real shot at the 2 seed and, as far as I know, the NFL isn’t handing out championship belts to just any old division winner. So the Eagles had nothing to gain and everything to lose by throwing all their cards on the table. As Romo had a lot of time to throw, I have to think they were just dogging it. Even Romo was surprised.
But that doesn’t mean I think they’ll beat Dallas. I think they’ll lose by around six. Sometimes you can do all your shrewd little ruses and outsmart yourself. I think that’s what will happen to the Eagles. They’ll come out with fire but they’ll be in the Cowboys gigantic home, and there’ll be cheerleaders and that low scoreboard and Jerry Jones….the first bad thing that happens to the Eagles will just incite that crowd and before you know it, things will start turning bad.
The Eagles are pretty young too. It’s usually experience that pulls teams through these postseason wars and the Eagles just don’t have that much of it. So they’ll bring the heat and maybe get burned and then there’ll be Marion Barber bein’ pesky and Demarcus Ware making things tough on Donovan and maybe some of these young Eagles guns will get the dropsies or fumble or just not be as good as they usually are.
The Cowboys have had enough bad things happen to them. They’ll play a conservative game for them but they’ll frustrate that Philly offense and hang around till the pressure gets to those Birds, whose offense just isn’t that versatile. I figure there’ll be a turnover or two at just the wrong time and the Boyz will prevail.
The over-under’s at 45 and the Eagles get 3 ½ but it won’t be enough. I think it’ll be 26-20, Cowboys.
But the game most New Yorkers (and Jerseyans) care about is the Jets game. It’s difficult to say what will happen under these peculiar circumstances, playing the same team again, one that you beat handily but they didn’t give it their best. They didn’t start their Cedric Benson. They gave 3 of their defensive injured another week off.
Interestingly enough, these 3 injured defensemen ain’t just chopped liver. I know. The Bengals were my fantasy defense. They lost Geathers first as I recall, then the other two shortly thereafter. Robert Geathers is their best defensive lineman. When they lost the defensive tackle as well, Domata Peko, the whole left side of their defense was decimated. (They play a 4-3). Peka is 6-3 and 325 and is key to the Bengals run defense. The other injured Bengal was Chris Crocker, their free safety, and we all saw what happened to the Giants when they lost their safety. All three are returning. They’ll be full-strength for the first time in weeks. They’ll be psyched in Cincinnati. Count on it.
So count on the Jets not having quite as much success on the ground. They’ll get some yards but it won’t even approach what they had last week. There could be a lot of three and outs. And then Sanchez will throw. He’ll throw some safe stuff and he’ll be careful with the ball. And sooner or later he’ll find Braylon Edwards, who might even make a catch.
Speaking of versatile offenses, the Jets don’t have one. They’ve been running their way to mini-celebrity in the City and that’ll continue but they just won’t be very good at it tomorrow. Cotchery, Dustin Keller, Braylon Edwards, they just aren’t that formidable.
Speaking of formidable, though, that would be their defense. They won’t go away. And Cedric Benson may be their #1 running back but I just don’t think he’ll make that much of a difference. They’ll fare better than last week, probably running at the middle of the Jets defense, hoping to take advantage of good ol’ Sione Pouha. (I love that name).
So what we’ll see tomorrow is the same kind of offense from both sides. It’ll be one of those battles for field position, 3 yards and a cloud of dust….stuff like that.
The over-under is 34. The Jets are getting 2 ½. I figure that’ll be just about right. The Jets will cover but they may not win. That’s the bad news. Carson Palmer being who he is and Mark Sanchez being who he is, you have to like the Bengals chances late in the game.
The most likely scenario is another Falcons affair, a late Bengals touchdown to put them ahead by one. The good news, besides covering the spread, is that they’ll look pretty good and won’t totally embarrass themselves. Hell, they might even win.
But I don’t expect it.
Other games:
Pats 27-24 over Baltimore. Ravens cover
Packers 30-27 over Cards in a pickem game.
Anyway, as for last week, there is an excuse or two to offer. I would have sworn the Bengals would have tried a little harder last week. And that goes for Indianapolis too. I was really disappointed in both teams really, Indianapolis because it was bad enough they had already thrown the towel in on an undefeated season and the Bengals because they had been one of my feel-good teams this year along with the Niners. I expected more from them.
Then the Eagles threw in a real dud against the Cowboys. I still can’t figure out whether the NFC East title meant anything at all to them. But did they really figure the Giants had any chance whatever against the Vikings? I don’t think so. So they had no real shot at the 2 seed and, as far as I know, the NFL isn’t handing out championship belts to just any old division winner. So the Eagles had nothing to gain and everything to lose by throwing all their cards on the table. As Romo had a lot of time to throw, I have to think they were just dogging it. Even Romo was surprised.
But that doesn’t mean I think they’ll beat Dallas. I think they’ll lose by around six. Sometimes you can do all your shrewd little ruses and outsmart yourself. I think that’s what will happen to the Eagles. They’ll come out with fire but they’ll be in the Cowboys gigantic home, and there’ll be cheerleaders and that low scoreboard and Jerry Jones….the first bad thing that happens to the Eagles will just incite that crowd and before you know it, things will start turning bad.
The Eagles are pretty young too. It’s usually experience that pulls teams through these postseason wars and the Eagles just don’t have that much of it. So they’ll bring the heat and maybe get burned and then there’ll be Marion Barber bein’ pesky and Demarcus Ware making things tough on Donovan and maybe some of these young Eagles guns will get the dropsies or fumble or just not be as good as they usually are.
The Cowboys have had enough bad things happen to them. They’ll play a conservative game for them but they’ll frustrate that Philly offense and hang around till the pressure gets to those Birds, whose offense just isn’t that versatile. I figure there’ll be a turnover or two at just the wrong time and the Boyz will prevail.
The over-under’s at 45 and the Eagles get 3 ½ but it won’t be enough. I think it’ll be 26-20, Cowboys.
But the game most New Yorkers (and Jerseyans) care about is the Jets game. It’s difficult to say what will happen under these peculiar circumstances, playing the same team again, one that you beat handily but they didn’t give it their best. They didn’t start their Cedric Benson. They gave 3 of their defensive injured another week off.
Interestingly enough, these 3 injured defensemen ain’t just chopped liver. I know. The Bengals were my fantasy defense. They lost Geathers first as I recall, then the other two shortly thereafter. Robert Geathers is their best defensive lineman. When they lost the defensive tackle as well, Domata Peko, the whole left side of their defense was decimated. (They play a 4-3). Peka is 6-3 and 325 and is key to the Bengals run defense. The other injured Bengal was Chris Crocker, their free safety, and we all saw what happened to the Giants when they lost their safety. All three are returning. They’ll be full-strength for the first time in weeks. They’ll be psyched in Cincinnati. Count on it.
So count on the Jets not having quite as much success on the ground. They’ll get some yards but it won’t even approach what they had last week. There could be a lot of three and outs. And then Sanchez will throw. He’ll throw some safe stuff and he’ll be careful with the ball. And sooner or later he’ll find Braylon Edwards, who might even make a catch.
Speaking of versatile offenses, the Jets don’t have one. They’ve been running their way to mini-celebrity in the City and that’ll continue but they just won’t be very good at it tomorrow. Cotchery, Dustin Keller, Braylon Edwards, they just aren’t that formidable.
Speaking of formidable, though, that would be their defense. They won’t go away. And Cedric Benson may be their #1 running back but I just don’t think he’ll make that much of a difference. They’ll fare better than last week, probably running at the middle of the Jets defense, hoping to take advantage of good ol’ Sione Pouha. (I love that name).
So what we’ll see tomorrow is the same kind of offense from both sides. It’ll be one of those battles for field position, 3 yards and a cloud of dust….stuff like that.
The over-under is 34. The Jets are getting 2 ½. I figure that’ll be just about right. The Jets will cover but they may not win. That’s the bad news. Carson Palmer being who he is and Mark Sanchez being who he is, you have to like the Bengals chances late in the game.
The most likely scenario is another Falcons affair, a late Bengals touchdown to put them ahead by one. The good news, besides covering the spread, is that they’ll look pretty good and won’t totally embarrass themselves. Hell, they might even win.
But I don’t expect it.
Other games:
Pats 27-24 over Baltimore. Ravens cover
Packers 30-27 over Cards in a pickem game.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Week 14 Picks and Hot Stove Stuff
Finally, it happened. Week 13 wasn’t very good for me. Not that 6 and 8 is so horrible but after consecutive weeks of 9 and 5, 9 and 6, and 8-4 and 1, it just feels lousy. Just looking things over, the Steelers continued their downward spiral, something I didn’t expect, and Texas is apparently worse than I thought.
My best bets were just 2 and 2. So, after winning this 4-pick bet last week for a pickup of ten bucks, I lost my imaginary dollar again. The Eagles beat up the Falcons as I thought, and the scared-for-their-jobs Panthers covered against the Bucs. My next two were less prescient, I fear.
Our G-Men actually covered against the Cowboys, but they played out of their minds….for them anyway. And how often does friggin’ Domenik Hixon run one back? Then the Pats, who I thought would come out like screamin’ banshees after bowing to the Saints the previous week, let Miami and Chad Henne make monkies out of ‘em.
Week 14 begins tonight, of course, and I’m not picking Thursday games but, if I were, I’d still try to pass the game entirely. Both teams are beaten down but, relatively speaking, I’d think the Browns had less pressure this week and could be primed for a nice upset.
As for the other games, with spreads from The Star-Ledger, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
GIANTS 1 Eagles * Eagles No way Giants s/b favored in this
Jets 3 BUCS Jets But it won’t be easy…..
COLTS 7 Broncos Broncos Wishful thinkin’ maybe but DEE…..
VIKINGS 6 ½ Ten Ten Titans on a roll, will cover
CHIEFS Pk Bills Bills This will be a great game
Pack 3 BEARS Pack Pack’s roll keeps rolling
Saints 10 ½ Falcons Saints Saints could score at will
RAVENS 13 ½ Lions RAVENS If they’re not mad, they should be
JAGS 3 Miami * Miami JAGS don’t send me…Fish win
PATS 13 ½ Panthers Panthers They’re home but geez, 13 ½
TEXANS 6 Seahawks Seahawks Lucky if they win at all
TITANS 13 Rams Rams Here’s a real barn burner
Skins 1 RAIDERS * Skins Skins will run the ball
BOYZ 3 Chargers * Chargers Recent form sez no
Cards 3 ½ NINERS Cards I’m mad at Singletary
The best bets for Week 14:
Eagles – That the G-Men are favored at all is anathema to me. Didn’t the Giants play them once before this season? Didn’t they stink it up? Are they that much better now, especially after coming off a big win against Dallas? The Eagles will fly, Eagles, fly on the road to vic-to-reeee…..
Dolphins – let’s see, Jags stop the run, Miami runs, but now they pass too. Then they can run again off the pass. Let’s see, a short trip up the coast, no fans in the stands for the Jags, and maybe some Miami faithful show up in the stands…hmmm
Redskins – The Skins have really bad luck all the time but they always seem to work hard and that’s just the type of thing to take them to victory over the Raiders. They’ll run it and win the battles of the trenches. And all they gotta do is stop Gradkowski.
Chargers –San Diego is just loaded right now and the Cowboys just keep looking bad. Then they compound things by sending out Bum’s little son to face the ravenous Dallas media. Boyz have to show character to take this one and, my guess is, they come up on empty.
But that’s enough football. The Mets put a bid in for Jason Bay. While I should be doing handsprings, I’m sure, I have to be sad the Mets are afraid of Scott Boras, Matt Holliday’s agent. Holliday’s the better player and a way more consistent player. The Mets need a big bat, sure, and they got one, but I think we’ll be seeing some extended slumps. But hey! Be happy…he’s not Endy Chavez.
Then they’ll be getting the older Molina, Bengie, and he’s always hit a ton and been pretty consistent over his career, but why’s the little man in my head saying that’s why he’ll get injured this year, just in time for the Mets. But, once again, he’s a real live catcher, a major-league catcher…which is to say, he’s not the guy they traded for LoDuca, our last real major-league catcher.
Everybody’s saying the Yanks just improved themselves with the pickup of Granderson in that 3-way trade. Hard to argue with, but if they lose both Damon and Matsui, I say they won’t be stronger at all. Of course, the Yanks, I’m sure, have a contingency for this eventuality and they have all that money…..so…
My guess would be the Mets decided not to go for one of the big-time pitchers. But maybe they’re just biding their time, seeing what develops with the contract demands and the various offers.
And, they’re still looking to trade Luis Castillo, of course, not that he’s been any kind of a problem really. Unless you count dropping Arod’s easy fly ball to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Teixeira racing from first with the winning run and, oh God, let’s not make me re-live that horror….
Are the Nets or Knicks worth mentioning? If they were, it’d be noteworthy that the Nets finally looked tough in Chicago against the Bulls. And you could notice that the Knicks went off on a very limited run.
I think, though, the Nets are playing harder for Kiki and they’re actually running now, something that they haven’t done since some expert said the only way to win in the playoffs was to play half-court basketball. What they didn’t realize was that the NBA and the refs were going to give the trophy to Shaq, no matter what happened out on the court.
The NBA…..I watched the Bulls point guard palm the ball all night without a call. This is basketball? I ask you??
My best bets were just 2 and 2. So, after winning this 4-pick bet last week for a pickup of ten bucks, I lost my imaginary dollar again. The Eagles beat up the Falcons as I thought, and the scared-for-their-jobs Panthers covered against the Bucs. My next two were less prescient, I fear.
Our G-Men actually covered against the Cowboys, but they played out of their minds….for them anyway. And how often does friggin’ Domenik Hixon run one back? Then the Pats, who I thought would come out like screamin’ banshees after bowing to the Saints the previous week, let Miami and Chad Henne make monkies out of ‘em.
Week 14 begins tonight, of course, and I’m not picking Thursday games but, if I were, I’d still try to pass the game entirely. Both teams are beaten down but, relatively speaking, I’d think the Browns had less pressure this week and could be primed for a nice upset.
As for the other games, with spreads from The Star-Ledger, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
GIANTS 1 Eagles * Eagles No way Giants s/b favored in this
Jets 3 BUCS Jets But it won’t be easy…..
COLTS 7 Broncos Broncos Wishful thinkin’ maybe but DEE…..
VIKINGS 6 ½ Ten Ten Titans on a roll, will cover
CHIEFS Pk Bills Bills This will be a great game
Pack 3 BEARS Pack Pack’s roll keeps rolling
Saints 10 ½ Falcons Saints Saints could score at will
RAVENS 13 ½ Lions RAVENS If they’re not mad, they should be
JAGS 3 Miami * Miami JAGS don’t send me…Fish win
PATS 13 ½ Panthers Panthers They’re home but geez, 13 ½
TEXANS 6 Seahawks Seahawks Lucky if they win at all
TITANS 13 Rams Rams Here’s a real barn burner
Skins 1 RAIDERS * Skins Skins will run the ball
BOYZ 3 Chargers * Chargers Recent form sez no
Cards 3 ½ NINERS Cards I’m mad at Singletary
The best bets for Week 14:
Eagles – That the G-Men are favored at all is anathema to me. Didn’t the Giants play them once before this season? Didn’t they stink it up? Are they that much better now, especially after coming off a big win against Dallas? The Eagles will fly, Eagles, fly on the road to vic-to-reeee…..
Dolphins – let’s see, Jags stop the run, Miami runs, but now they pass too. Then they can run again off the pass. Let’s see, a short trip up the coast, no fans in the stands for the Jags, and maybe some Miami faithful show up in the stands…hmmm
Redskins – The Skins have really bad luck all the time but they always seem to work hard and that’s just the type of thing to take them to victory over the Raiders. They’ll run it and win the battles of the trenches. And all they gotta do is stop Gradkowski.
Chargers –San Diego is just loaded right now and the Cowboys just keep looking bad. Then they compound things by sending out Bum’s little son to face the ravenous Dallas media. Boyz have to show character to take this one and, my guess is, they come up on empty.
But that’s enough football. The Mets put a bid in for Jason Bay. While I should be doing handsprings, I’m sure, I have to be sad the Mets are afraid of Scott Boras, Matt Holliday’s agent. Holliday’s the better player and a way more consistent player. The Mets need a big bat, sure, and they got one, but I think we’ll be seeing some extended slumps. But hey! Be happy…he’s not Endy Chavez.
Then they’ll be getting the older Molina, Bengie, and he’s always hit a ton and been pretty consistent over his career, but why’s the little man in my head saying that’s why he’ll get injured this year, just in time for the Mets. But, once again, he’s a real live catcher, a major-league catcher…which is to say, he’s not the guy they traded for LoDuca, our last real major-league catcher.
Everybody’s saying the Yanks just improved themselves with the pickup of Granderson in that 3-way trade. Hard to argue with, but if they lose both Damon and Matsui, I say they won’t be stronger at all. Of course, the Yanks, I’m sure, have a contingency for this eventuality and they have all that money…..so…
My guess would be the Mets decided not to go for one of the big-time pitchers. But maybe they’re just biding their time, seeing what develops with the contract demands and the various offers.
And, they’re still looking to trade Luis Castillo, of course, not that he’s been any kind of a problem really. Unless you count dropping Arod’s easy fly ball to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Teixeira racing from first with the winning run and, oh God, let’s not make me re-live that horror….
Are the Nets or Knicks worth mentioning? If they were, it’d be noteworthy that the Nets finally looked tough in Chicago against the Bulls. And you could notice that the Knicks went off on a very limited run.
I think, though, the Nets are playing harder for Kiki and they’re actually running now, something that they haven’t done since some expert said the only way to win in the playoffs was to play half-court basketball. What they didn’t realize was that the NBA and the refs were going to give the trophy to Shaq, no matter what happened out on the court.
The NBA…..I watched the Bulls point guard palm the ball all night without a call. This is basketball? I ask you??
Monday, December 7, 2009
On A Wacky NFL Week 13
What an NFL Sunday! The Giants inexplicably (or is it?) beat the hated Cowboys (ask Tuck), the world-champion Steelers lose once again, the Saints flash the luck of the Irish coming back to beat the tough but sorry Skins and my Niners and Singletary lose in Herm Edwards style in Seattle.
Then the Pats and Tom Brady not only lose but look bad doing so as they practically give the game away to the Dolphins in Miami. And did anybody else think the Arizona Cards would shock the powerful Vikings? I know I didn’t.
And it’s not over yet. The craziness continues tonight as the Ravens take on the Packers in Green Bay, a big game for each team that will go a long way towards determining their respective playoff chances.
The G-Men-Boyz game was classic. They looked beaten during the week. I thought they’d crumble. I thought that big lug Jacobs would give us more of the same, that their defense would even be worse than usual after having demoted Osi, and that Barber and Jones and Choice would run over them. I thought they’d be soft and fold.
Wow! It didn’t work out that way.
Jacobs actually ran hard into the middle of the Cowboys line, the offensive line gave Eli some time to throw and charged straight ahead on the runs, and then ,when it looked as if the G-Men, after playing so well all afternoon, would blow it by settling for that late field goal, Domenick Hixon finally showed some creativity, not to mention speed, by returning the ensuing punt about 80 yards to put the game out of reach.
The defense squashed the run so effectively that the Boyz just stopped trying. And Romo picked them apart but it didn’t prove fatal. The defense held. The demotions worked. The Giants coaching staff looks brilliant. And Osi came through with a big fumble recovery and runback. New blood came through as Clint Sintin, the high draft choice linebacker, came through in some big spots and Hakeem Nicks caught another touchdown pass.
The game even had a fight (what more could we ask). That nasty Flozell Adams, the same guy who hurt Tuck on a dirty play earlier in the year, seemed to think it’d be cute to push Tuck to the ground from behind. Tuck didn’t think so.
The Steelers without Polamalu aren’t the same team. After Big Ben put them ahead with time running down, they let a rookie quarterback take the Raiders right down the field…no trouble at all, thank you very much, and I guess it doesn’t matter what Mike Tomlin says. It does show how delicate the sanctity of a defense can be, even if it’s just one long-haired freak (a really good one though) who’s missing.
The Saints were just great. So were the Skins for that matter but they have a choking kicker and a safety of their own who really contributed nothing to safety yesterday. Double moves by two different Saints wideouts sucked him in totally, two mistakes that were good for 14 Saints points.
You have to wonder whether the Saints can keep winning this way though. Their secondary, that was great against Brady and New England, got torched for about 400 yards by Jason Campbell. Luckily for them, they had Brees and Colston and especially Meacham, who literally stole 7 points and scored 7 more on his double-move.
As disappointed as Skins fans may have been (after all, it’s been like this all year for them), they couldn’t have been more crestfallen than Niners fans, who could only watch as Mike Singletary mistook Alex Smith for Peyton Manning or Dan Marino, at any rate a much better quarterback (and team) than the one he had out there.
With 51 seconds left in a tie game, from deep in their own end, the Niners came out throwing. It didn’t work very well…surprise! They had to punt, and since they had left time on the clock and had given the Seahawks great field position, all it took was one nicely placed Hasselbeck pass to put the Hawks in field position for the game-winning field goal. Sickening….and season-killing.
A team has to know who they are. The Niners are, or should be, a conservative team that wins games with its strong defense, much like the Broncos, who absolutely slaughtered the Chiefs yesterday as their quarterback amassed all of 187 yards. The Niners seem to think that, since they finally signed Crabtree and since they have an All-Star tight end, they can be the Cardiac Cards from yesteryear. They aren’t. And, for the rest of this year at least, they’ll be something else…irrelevant.
When I picked the Pats to beat the Dolphins last week, I was aware that the Pats always had big trouble winning at Miami. But I told myself it had nothing to do with this game. Surely the Pats would come back strong against the Fish, after the thrashing they had taken on national TV last week against the Saints.
Once again, a team has to know who they are. The Pats seem to think they’re Tom Brady. They were ahead by 14 but twice failed to put the game away from inside the Fish 10-yard line. Last time I looked, they had a pretty fair running game. They didn’t really use it yesterday. After the game, Brady had what seemed like gall to me as he blasted his team for not fighting hard enough at the end of games. To me, it seemed as if they were trying to pad some individual stats on the way to a win they thought they had.
Last night’s game seemed to say a lot about who the final NFC Super-Bowl representative would be. I thought it would be the Vikings or Saints. The Vikes have Brett Favre and Peterson.. The Saints have all kinds of weapons. But the Cards have defense. Hmm.
Tonight we’ll see what the Pack can do.
Then the Pats and Tom Brady not only lose but look bad doing so as they practically give the game away to the Dolphins in Miami. And did anybody else think the Arizona Cards would shock the powerful Vikings? I know I didn’t.
And it’s not over yet. The craziness continues tonight as the Ravens take on the Packers in Green Bay, a big game for each team that will go a long way towards determining their respective playoff chances.
The G-Men-Boyz game was classic. They looked beaten during the week. I thought they’d crumble. I thought that big lug Jacobs would give us more of the same, that their defense would even be worse than usual after having demoted Osi, and that Barber and Jones and Choice would run over them. I thought they’d be soft and fold.
Wow! It didn’t work out that way.
Jacobs actually ran hard into the middle of the Cowboys line, the offensive line gave Eli some time to throw and charged straight ahead on the runs, and then ,when it looked as if the G-Men, after playing so well all afternoon, would blow it by settling for that late field goal, Domenick Hixon finally showed some creativity, not to mention speed, by returning the ensuing punt about 80 yards to put the game out of reach.
The defense squashed the run so effectively that the Boyz just stopped trying. And Romo picked them apart but it didn’t prove fatal. The defense held. The demotions worked. The Giants coaching staff looks brilliant. And Osi came through with a big fumble recovery and runback. New blood came through as Clint Sintin, the high draft choice linebacker, came through in some big spots and Hakeem Nicks caught another touchdown pass.
The game even had a fight (what more could we ask). That nasty Flozell Adams, the same guy who hurt Tuck on a dirty play earlier in the year, seemed to think it’d be cute to push Tuck to the ground from behind. Tuck didn’t think so.
The Steelers without Polamalu aren’t the same team. After Big Ben put them ahead with time running down, they let a rookie quarterback take the Raiders right down the field…no trouble at all, thank you very much, and I guess it doesn’t matter what Mike Tomlin says. It does show how delicate the sanctity of a defense can be, even if it’s just one long-haired freak (a really good one though) who’s missing.
The Saints were just great. So were the Skins for that matter but they have a choking kicker and a safety of their own who really contributed nothing to safety yesterday. Double moves by two different Saints wideouts sucked him in totally, two mistakes that were good for 14 Saints points.
You have to wonder whether the Saints can keep winning this way though. Their secondary, that was great against Brady and New England, got torched for about 400 yards by Jason Campbell. Luckily for them, they had Brees and Colston and especially Meacham, who literally stole 7 points and scored 7 more on his double-move.
As disappointed as Skins fans may have been (after all, it’s been like this all year for them), they couldn’t have been more crestfallen than Niners fans, who could only watch as Mike Singletary mistook Alex Smith for Peyton Manning or Dan Marino, at any rate a much better quarterback (and team) than the one he had out there.
With 51 seconds left in a tie game, from deep in their own end, the Niners came out throwing. It didn’t work very well…surprise! They had to punt, and since they had left time on the clock and had given the Seahawks great field position, all it took was one nicely placed Hasselbeck pass to put the Hawks in field position for the game-winning field goal. Sickening….and season-killing.
A team has to know who they are. The Niners are, or should be, a conservative team that wins games with its strong defense, much like the Broncos, who absolutely slaughtered the Chiefs yesterday as their quarterback amassed all of 187 yards. The Niners seem to think that, since they finally signed Crabtree and since they have an All-Star tight end, they can be the Cardiac Cards from yesteryear. They aren’t. And, for the rest of this year at least, they’ll be something else…irrelevant.
When I picked the Pats to beat the Dolphins last week, I was aware that the Pats always had big trouble winning at Miami. But I told myself it had nothing to do with this game. Surely the Pats would come back strong against the Fish, after the thrashing they had taken on national TV last week against the Saints.
Once again, a team has to know who they are. The Pats seem to think they’re Tom Brady. They were ahead by 14 but twice failed to put the game away from inside the Fish 10-yard line. Last time I looked, they had a pretty fair running game. They didn’t really use it yesterday. After the game, Brady had what seemed like gall to me as he blasted his team for not fighting hard enough at the end of games. To me, it seemed as if they were trying to pad some individual stats on the way to a win they thought they had.
Last night’s game seemed to say a lot about who the final NFC Super-Bowl representative would be. I thought it would be the Vikings or Saints. The Vikes have Brett Favre and Peterson.. The Saints have all kinds of weapons. But the Cards have defense. Hmm.
Tonight we’ll see what the Pack can do.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Mid-Beginning and Beginning of End
What a weekend for sports as football moved to the middle of the beginning and baseball moved toward the beginning of the end.
In pro football, it’s hard to decide whether the Giants or the Jets had the better game. They both won, of course, and while the Jets beat Brady and the Pats, something they surely haven’t made into a habit, the Giants had to come back still one more time to edge the Cowboys in their new digs with a game-ending drive that reminded some fans (i.e. me) of Eli’s Super Bowl clincher.
This guy was in San Francisco. I had the pleasure of watching Frank Gore score on two long runs of about 80 yards each for touchdowns in beating one of the would-be NFC West contenders, the Seattle Seahawks. The Raiduhs won too in a laugh-fest against the Chiefs, a game that had a lot of people in KC wondering whether their head coach has any thimbleful of a brain.
The Saints rolled again. The Steelers lost to the Bears. Arizona bounced back from their loss to the Niners with an execution of the Jaguars. Seattle lost its quarterback in much the same fashion as had Donovan McNabb and Number 5’s replacement passed for 391 yards but still managed to get his team shellacked..
Peyton Manning seemed to do it all by himself in the Colts win over the Fish and Houston, which looked vey bad against the Jets, beat the Titans in a shootout. All in all, the Week 2 action lent a little more information towards deciding which teams will be 2009 contenders.
The best thing about the Giants game might have been the emergence of Mario Manningham as their Number One receiver. Manningham seemingly was open all night and he was catching everything too, even the one he juggled in the end zone. The question of who’ll replace Plaxico may have been answered. (Condolences to Plax who got sentenced for the full two years today).
The G-Men didn’t escape unscathed though. Justin Tuck’s shoulder looked as if it might not be the same for weeks to come. They also seemed to get every break imaginable, which, while nice, doesn’t really bode well for the future. The running game really didn’t impress, Jacobs and Bradshaw managing just 95 yards, and their defense against the run was a little bit scary at times.
But they’re 2-0 and they’ve beaten two division opponents. While they haven’t beaten the Eagles yet, things don’t look too good for the Birds. So the G-Men are lookin’ good heading into Week 3. As they’re slated to play the Tampa Bay Bucs, whose pass defense has gone decidedly south, it should be one more week of big numbers for the passing game.
As I was in that city by the bay, I didn’t catch the Jets game, except for highlights. Most of those featured Tom Brady sliding and ducking and throwing before he would have liked. It’s a tribute to his savvy in the pocket that he didn’t get sacked, but the outcome was the same, hurried passes and a non-existent passing game by Patriot standards. And Revis shut down Randy Moss….not too shabby.
And yeah, the Pats didn’t have Welker, but it’s hard to say whether it would have made that much difference. In truth, I think it would have been a lot harder if Welker were able to play. And, in general, the Jets offense really didn’t do much against a Pats defense that featured 3 or 4 newbies that replaced some very big names in Boston.
So there is a decided buzz in New York for football. After the decidedly non-buzzing Mets season, and the recent decline of the Yankees, it’s nice to hear, especially for Jets fans, I imagine.
But the Jets per se are getting a little full of themselves, even though that whole defensive toughness thing that Ryan has instilled may require it, I suppose. But I’m not crazy about the talk. It’s Week friggin’ Two. And the usually strong but winless Titans are on tap. Let’s beat a few more teams before we get crazy.
But the weekend wasn’t all about football. The Yanks lost again and are just four games ahead in the loss column in the Division over the Red Sox. As they’re now in La-la Land playing (and losing to) the Angels, things might be looking up for Boston….finally.
The Yanks are down on their pitching too, especially as they’ve gone out of their way to screw up Joba, and they’re already driving Burnett to distraction. I’m looking forward to the Yanks losing two more to the Angels and host Boston only two games up in the loss column.
The Twinkies aren’t dead yet either, and, aside from losing a bet to my brother if they make the playoffs, the thought doesn’t really upset me. Detroit doesn’t send me. The Twins have the better lineup, I believe, and are a little more exciting to watch.
The Rangers are just about dead, which disturbs me. What a hard-luck team, losing Michael Young, their shortstop, and Josh Hamilton to injuries down the stretch. Losing six in a row to Seattle and the lowly A’s quite did the job.
Much to my dismay, in the National League, the Giants hit a road block and the Rockies are sailing. The Marlins are still in it too. So the last eleven games of the baseball season look to be very exciting.
My Metsies are still in the news too, if only to say what bad shape they’re in and point out how difficult it may be to right the ship. A painful topic maybe, but one that is at least interesting. I understand they’ll have about thirty million to spend if they stick to their current budget.
And, if the Wilpons want to hang on to their financial credibility, which has been questioned in some quarters, they’ll spend some money. And keep most of the core.
In pro football, it’s hard to decide whether the Giants or the Jets had the better game. They both won, of course, and while the Jets beat Brady and the Pats, something they surely haven’t made into a habit, the Giants had to come back still one more time to edge the Cowboys in their new digs with a game-ending drive that reminded some fans (i.e. me) of Eli’s Super Bowl clincher.
This guy was in San Francisco. I had the pleasure of watching Frank Gore score on two long runs of about 80 yards each for touchdowns in beating one of the would-be NFC West contenders, the Seattle Seahawks. The Raiduhs won too in a laugh-fest against the Chiefs, a game that had a lot of people in KC wondering whether their head coach has any thimbleful of a brain.
The Saints rolled again. The Steelers lost to the Bears. Arizona bounced back from their loss to the Niners with an execution of the Jaguars. Seattle lost its quarterback in much the same fashion as had Donovan McNabb and Number 5’s replacement passed for 391 yards but still managed to get his team shellacked..
Peyton Manning seemed to do it all by himself in the Colts win over the Fish and Houston, which looked vey bad against the Jets, beat the Titans in a shootout. All in all, the Week 2 action lent a little more information towards deciding which teams will be 2009 contenders.
The best thing about the Giants game might have been the emergence of Mario Manningham as their Number One receiver. Manningham seemingly was open all night and he was catching everything too, even the one he juggled in the end zone. The question of who’ll replace Plaxico may have been answered. (Condolences to Plax who got sentenced for the full two years today).
The G-Men didn’t escape unscathed though. Justin Tuck’s shoulder looked as if it might not be the same for weeks to come. They also seemed to get every break imaginable, which, while nice, doesn’t really bode well for the future. The running game really didn’t impress, Jacobs and Bradshaw managing just 95 yards, and their defense against the run was a little bit scary at times.
But they’re 2-0 and they’ve beaten two division opponents. While they haven’t beaten the Eagles yet, things don’t look too good for the Birds. So the G-Men are lookin’ good heading into Week 3. As they’re slated to play the Tampa Bay Bucs, whose pass defense has gone decidedly south, it should be one more week of big numbers for the passing game.
As I was in that city by the bay, I didn’t catch the Jets game, except for highlights. Most of those featured Tom Brady sliding and ducking and throwing before he would have liked. It’s a tribute to his savvy in the pocket that he didn’t get sacked, but the outcome was the same, hurried passes and a non-existent passing game by Patriot standards. And Revis shut down Randy Moss….not too shabby.
And yeah, the Pats didn’t have Welker, but it’s hard to say whether it would have made that much difference. In truth, I think it would have been a lot harder if Welker were able to play. And, in general, the Jets offense really didn’t do much against a Pats defense that featured 3 or 4 newbies that replaced some very big names in Boston.
So there is a decided buzz in New York for football. After the decidedly non-buzzing Mets season, and the recent decline of the Yankees, it’s nice to hear, especially for Jets fans, I imagine.
But the Jets per se are getting a little full of themselves, even though that whole defensive toughness thing that Ryan has instilled may require it, I suppose. But I’m not crazy about the talk. It’s Week friggin’ Two. And the usually strong but winless Titans are on tap. Let’s beat a few more teams before we get crazy.
But the weekend wasn’t all about football. The Yanks lost again and are just four games ahead in the loss column in the Division over the Red Sox. As they’re now in La-la Land playing (and losing to) the Angels, things might be looking up for Boston….finally.
The Yanks are down on their pitching too, especially as they’ve gone out of their way to screw up Joba, and they’re already driving Burnett to distraction. I’m looking forward to the Yanks losing two more to the Angels and host Boston only two games up in the loss column.
The Twinkies aren’t dead yet either, and, aside from losing a bet to my brother if they make the playoffs, the thought doesn’t really upset me. Detroit doesn’t send me. The Twins have the better lineup, I believe, and are a little more exciting to watch.
The Rangers are just about dead, which disturbs me. What a hard-luck team, losing Michael Young, their shortstop, and Josh Hamilton to injuries down the stretch. Losing six in a row to Seattle and the lowly A’s quite did the job.
Much to my dismay, in the National League, the Giants hit a road block and the Rockies are sailing. The Marlins are still in it too. So the last eleven games of the baseball season look to be very exciting.
My Metsies are still in the news too, if only to say what bad shape they’re in and point out how difficult it may be to right the ship. A painful topic maybe, but one that is at least interesting. I understand they’ll have about thirty million to spend if they stick to their current budget.
And, if the Wilpons want to hang on to their financial credibility, which has been questioned in some quarters, they’ll spend some money. And keep most of the core.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Super Bowl Scenarios
Technology is good for some things, not many but some. One of those good things is the Yahoo Scenario Generator for the NFL Playoffs. By simply selecting your choice for the winner of each game in Week 16 and Week 17, you get to see its corresponding effect on the playoffs picture.
There are so many different scenarios that it really defies explanation. But by actually seeing the picture change, things become more easily visualized. One thing that became very clear is that, even if the Jets beat Seattle on Sunday, if they should lose to Miami in Week 17, the Jets will be eliminated.
That’s as it should be, I think. If you have to really worry that Seattle will beat them, 3 and 11 Seattle, what chances would they really have against a good team? How exciting would it be to see them smashed in the first round?
Whatever your fan base affiliation, you have to like the upcoming end of the season. A few scenarios yield pleasant surprises. The Eagles, the Bears and even the Falcons could wind up playoffs-bound, McNabb and Forte and Matt Ryan could get their shots, but I don’t expect it.
In the NFC, only the Redskins, Packers, Lions(ho-hum), Saints, and ¾ of the NFC West are out of it. And the games coming up this weekend are terrific matchups, starting on Saturday night with the Ravens-Cowboys matchup, a battle that I expect the Cowboys to win.
In the NFC, my scenario turned out Carolina and the Giants as the 1 and 2 seeds, in that order unfortunately, and then had the Bucs playing the Vikings in Minnesota. The Cowboys would then face the Cardinals in Arizona.
In the AFC, the Steelers and the Titans would get the byes, while the Pats would face the Fish at Miami. In the other wildcard game, the Colts would face the Broncos in Denver.
Taking these predictions a little further, I can’t believe the Vikings would get by the Gruden-led Bucs, no matter that they’d be playing in Minnesota. The Bucs will stop Adrian Peterson, and then squash either Frerotte or Tarvaris Jackson. There’s almost no way the Cards could beat the Cowboys. You could make them play naked in the desert and the Cards would be folded. Bent and mutilated too.
So it’ll be Carolina vs. the lowest seed, Dallas, while the G-Men would face the Bucs again, as they did last year, at Giants Stadium this time. No doubt, there would be the same result.
I do think the Cowboys, who will have been on quite a run by this time, will beat the Panthers, even in Carolina where the Panthers have been dominant. The Boyz are a different team with Romo.
Those results would yield another Cowboys-Giants NFC Championship game at Giants Stadium. I won’t predict the winner of that war at this time. I’ll have to see the manner in which the G-Men play the Panthers this Sunday at home.
I don’t expect them to beat the Panthers this weekend. Yes, Jacobs is back but I’m not convinced that he’ll be all the difference, especially if the Giants offensive line remains banged up. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers running tandem of Williams and Stewart will be enough to keep the Giants off the field for long stretches. Eli hasn’t been super in those scenarios. It’ll be a low-scoring game, a real defensive struggle, and I expect to see quite a few field goals. Call it 19-17 Panthers.
I do expect the G-Men will take the measure of the Vikings in Week 17 though, especially after the indignity of losing their 1 seed at home the previous week. They’ll be ferocious at Minnesota. While they’ll have trouble offensively, they’ll stop the big guy Peterson and make mincemeat of Tarvaris Jackson.
In the AFC, Tennessee just lost the toughest, scariest defensive lineman in the entire league, Al Haynesworth. And VandenBosch is hurt too. Depending on their recoveries, the Steelers definitely become the favorites to make the Super Bowl.
The Patriots are banged up too, but not enough to lose to the Dolphins in Miami in the first wildcard game. The Dolphins will have spent a lot of their energies beating the Jets in the final week while the Patriots will have been coming off easy wins against the defenseless Cards and the coachless Bills.
The Colts should beat the Broncos in Denver but I wouldn’t bet on it, not the way they played last night against the Jaguars. Their running game is very suspect and, in a shootout of a game, I could definitely see the Broncos play inspired ball at home, especially if it snows.
The Broncos have shown progress on defense, and they have the strongest arm in the league in Jay Cutler, the scariest wide receiver in Brandon Marshall. They have good tight ends and are even showing signs of running the ball, be it Pope or Bell or any number of other guys, Young, Hillis et al. The Colts have trouble with any kind of determined running game.
A Broncos win would inject some life into the playoffs. The Steelers and Titans just aren’t that exciting, especially the Titans. The Steelers at least have Big Ben, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes to complement a GREAT defense.
The Pats would face the Steelers in Pittsburgh after the Pats vanquish the Dolphins. This game should be another wipeout of the Patriots, something I always long to see. The Steelers have already crushed the Pats in Foxboro, 33-10.
The Broncos would then face the Titans in Tennessee. I’d expect the Titans to take them, especially after the Broncos great effort the previous week. But if the Broncos can stop the run, anything’s possible.
The Titans or Broncos would then lose to the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Black and Gold would advance, just too much Palamalu and defense.
So it’ll be the Steelers vs. Dallas or New York. Stay tuned.
There are so many different scenarios that it really defies explanation. But by actually seeing the picture change, things become more easily visualized. One thing that became very clear is that, even if the Jets beat Seattle on Sunday, if they should lose to Miami in Week 17, the Jets will be eliminated.
That’s as it should be, I think. If you have to really worry that Seattle will beat them, 3 and 11 Seattle, what chances would they really have against a good team? How exciting would it be to see them smashed in the first round?
Whatever your fan base affiliation, you have to like the upcoming end of the season. A few scenarios yield pleasant surprises. The Eagles, the Bears and even the Falcons could wind up playoffs-bound, McNabb and Forte and Matt Ryan could get their shots, but I don’t expect it.
In the NFC, only the Redskins, Packers, Lions(ho-hum), Saints, and ¾ of the NFC West are out of it. And the games coming up this weekend are terrific matchups, starting on Saturday night with the Ravens-Cowboys matchup, a battle that I expect the Cowboys to win.
In the NFC, my scenario turned out Carolina and the Giants as the 1 and 2 seeds, in that order unfortunately, and then had the Bucs playing the Vikings in Minnesota. The Cowboys would then face the Cardinals in Arizona.
In the AFC, the Steelers and the Titans would get the byes, while the Pats would face the Fish at Miami. In the other wildcard game, the Colts would face the Broncos in Denver.
Taking these predictions a little further, I can’t believe the Vikings would get by the Gruden-led Bucs, no matter that they’d be playing in Minnesota. The Bucs will stop Adrian Peterson, and then squash either Frerotte or Tarvaris Jackson. There’s almost no way the Cards could beat the Cowboys. You could make them play naked in the desert and the Cards would be folded. Bent and mutilated too.
So it’ll be Carolina vs. the lowest seed, Dallas, while the G-Men would face the Bucs again, as they did last year, at Giants Stadium this time. No doubt, there would be the same result.
I do think the Cowboys, who will have been on quite a run by this time, will beat the Panthers, even in Carolina where the Panthers have been dominant. The Boyz are a different team with Romo.
Those results would yield another Cowboys-Giants NFC Championship game at Giants Stadium. I won’t predict the winner of that war at this time. I’ll have to see the manner in which the G-Men play the Panthers this Sunday at home.
I don’t expect them to beat the Panthers this weekend. Yes, Jacobs is back but I’m not convinced that he’ll be all the difference, especially if the Giants offensive line remains banged up. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers running tandem of Williams and Stewart will be enough to keep the Giants off the field for long stretches. Eli hasn’t been super in those scenarios. It’ll be a low-scoring game, a real defensive struggle, and I expect to see quite a few field goals. Call it 19-17 Panthers.
I do expect the G-Men will take the measure of the Vikings in Week 17 though, especially after the indignity of losing their 1 seed at home the previous week. They’ll be ferocious at Minnesota. While they’ll have trouble offensively, they’ll stop the big guy Peterson and make mincemeat of Tarvaris Jackson.
In the AFC, Tennessee just lost the toughest, scariest defensive lineman in the entire league, Al Haynesworth. And VandenBosch is hurt too. Depending on their recoveries, the Steelers definitely become the favorites to make the Super Bowl.
The Patriots are banged up too, but not enough to lose to the Dolphins in Miami in the first wildcard game. The Dolphins will have spent a lot of their energies beating the Jets in the final week while the Patriots will have been coming off easy wins against the defenseless Cards and the coachless Bills.
The Colts should beat the Broncos in Denver but I wouldn’t bet on it, not the way they played last night against the Jaguars. Their running game is very suspect and, in a shootout of a game, I could definitely see the Broncos play inspired ball at home, especially if it snows.
The Broncos have shown progress on defense, and they have the strongest arm in the league in Jay Cutler, the scariest wide receiver in Brandon Marshall. They have good tight ends and are even showing signs of running the ball, be it Pope or Bell or any number of other guys, Young, Hillis et al. The Colts have trouble with any kind of determined running game.
A Broncos win would inject some life into the playoffs. The Steelers and Titans just aren’t that exciting, especially the Titans. The Steelers at least have Big Ben, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes to complement a GREAT defense.
The Pats would face the Steelers in Pittsburgh after the Pats vanquish the Dolphins. This game should be another wipeout of the Patriots, something I always long to see. The Steelers have already crushed the Pats in Foxboro, 33-10.
The Broncos would then face the Titans in Tennessee. I’d expect the Titans to take them, especially after the Broncos great effort the previous week. But if the Broncos can stop the run, anything’s possible.
The Titans or Broncos would then lose to the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Black and Gold would advance, just too much Palamalu and defense.
So it’ll be the Steelers vs. Dallas or New York. Stay tuned.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Coming Back to Earth
Maybe it was the prowess of the Cowboys defensive front that made the G-Men look so impotent last night. Maybe it was the Dallas secondary that blanketed the Plax-less Giants receiving corps. Maybe it was Tony Romo’s toughness and leadership that inspired great Cowboys performances all over the field. Maybe it was the elusiveness and power of Cowboys RB Tashard Choice.
Whatever “it” was, the Giants sure looked toothless last night. The 20-8 final score didn’t seem to adequately characterize just how decisively the Giants were beaten. Wind and fire became a puff and a spark; they were nothing without “Earth”, or maybe it was just the lack of an offensive line.
And yet, the Giants were really never out of it, not until the fourth quarter draw play to Choice out of the shotgun that put the contest out of reach. These Giants are nothing if not resilient, even without Plaxico, even without Brandon Jacobs, and last night without one of their fine defensive tackles.
So, despite the loss last night, the Giants are still in pretty good shape. That team that was running around last night wasn’t the real Giants team, not without their best receiver, their best running back and one of their best defensive linemen.
The G-Men finish with a contest against a Carolina team that has lately been playing as if it thinks it’s the best team in the NFC, followed by a contest against another tough defensive team, the Minnesota Vikings.
They won’t beat either of those teams if nothing changes. Forget about Burress, he’s been suspended and it just won’t do to keep harping on the fact. But Jacobs and Fred Robbins in the middle of that defense are both too big and strong bodies that are hard to not miss.
But, whether or not these two giant Giants can return, I think the G-Men should consider moving Hixon back to his specialty, returning kicks. Although he’s an adequate receiver, he’s not an imposing threat at wide receiver. He is an imposing threat as a return man. In moving Hixon, the Giants lose at two aspects of their game, special teams and their passing offense.
It’s high time to try somebody else at the wideout. Maybe it’s Manningham, maybe it’s Sinorice Moss, but it’s definitely not Hixon. Although the passing offense might suffer somewhat in that scenario, it should put a charge back into their kick returns, which have had nothing without Hixon.
You have to admire the Giants for keeping it close last night. They showed their true character. The same can be said for the Jets Sunday afternoon, as they overcame their deficiencies all afternoon by capitalizing on a stupid move by Bills coach Dick Jauron.
Jauron, doing his best Herm Edwards impersonation, called for a pass in a clear running situation. The game should have been over. But the Jets did what they had to do, stripping QB J.P. Losman of the ball, scooping it up and running it in for the winning score.
A win is a win. But you have to think the Jets have their work cut out for them. They play Seattle next week, a weak team, but as the Jets have proven they don’t travel well to the West Coast, having already lost to the Chargers, Raiders and Niners on the road, nothing is a sure thing.
If they do get by Seattle, and I think they will, they’ll then face the Miami Dolphins and Chad Pennington in the season finale. That should be great! If the Fish can beat the Bills next week, everything sets up perfectly for a game that will not only decide the AFC East, but one that will determine whether the Jets erred in their quarterback selection process for 2008.
It goes without saying that I wish the Jets had kept Pennington. He was a club leader and he never complained, despite a lack of protection and a lack of skills at the receiver position, which is still a problem. Neither Coles nor Cotchery have the speed to stretch the field, nor do they have the best hands, nor do they ever get much separation anywhere. Other than that, they’re fine.
Favre usually does have time to throw though, something Pennington never had. He has a defense that can usually stop the run as well, if not yesterday. The Jets let the Bills backs, Marshawn Lynch and even Fred Jackson, run over, around and through them to take the lead into the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
As strange as it seems, the Jets finally focused on stopping the pass against a Bills team that can’t pass that well, a team that ranked 19th in passing in the NFL. They hadn’t been that good at running either, ranking 15th in rushing, but yesterday managed about 185 yards against the men in the ugly green uniforms.
But the Jets did win the game. It’s difficult to say they’ll come back to earth, though. They were never that far removed from earth in the first place, although they were the first team to beat the Titans from Tennessee in very impressive fashion,
There is hope for the Jets though. They have a great running attack with Thomas Jones running behind that improved offensive line. They can pass the ball too, but not with authority, nothing that would scare opposing defenses. So those smart opponents will plan their strategies for stopping the running game.
There are bright spots though. For the Jets, there is Leon Washington. He added another long TD run to his already impressive resume by exploiting a seam in the Bills defensive middle on his way to a 47-yard score that put the Jets ahead 21-17 right before the half. If not for Leon, the Jets season may have already come back to earth.
The Giants can look forward to “Earth” coming back, either that or some extensive tweaking to a pretty moribund offense, one that just can’t score.
Whatever “it” was, the Giants sure looked toothless last night. The 20-8 final score didn’t seem to adequately characterize just how decisively the Giants were beaten. Wind and fire became a puff and a spark; they were nothing without “Earth”, or maybe it was just the lack of an offensive line.
And yet, the Giants were really never out of it, not until the fourth quarter draw play to Choice out of the shotgun that put the contest out of reach. These Giants are nothing if not resilient, even without Plaxico, even without Brandon Jacobs, and last night without one of their fine defensive tackles.
So, despite the loss last night, the Giants are still in pretty good shape. That team that was running around last night wasn’t the real Giants team, not without their best receiver, their best running back and one of their best defensive linemen.
The G-Men finish with a contest against a Carolina team that has lately been playing as if it thinks it’s the best team in the NFC, followed by a contest against another tough defensive team, the Minnesota Vikings.
They won’t beat either of those teams if nothing changes. Forget about Burress, he’s been suspended and it just won’t do to keep harping on the fact. But Jacobs and Fred Robbins in the middle of that defense are both too big and strong bodies that are hard to not miss.
But, whether or not these two giant Giants can return, I think the G-Men should consider moving Hixon back to his specialty, returning kicks. Although he’s an adequate receiver, he’s not an imposing threat at wide receiver. He is an imposing threat as a return man. In moving Hixon, the Giants lose at two aspects of their game, special teams and their passing offense.
It’s high time to try somebody else at the wideout. Maybe it’s Manningham, maybe it’s Sinorice Moss, but it’s definitely not Hixon. Although the passing offense might suffer somewhat in that scenario, it should put a charge back into their kick returns, which have had nothing without Hixon.
You have to admire the Giants for keeping it close last night. They showed their true character. The same can be said for the Jets Sunday afternoon, as they overcame their deficiencies all afternoon by capitalizing on a stupid move by Bills coach Dick Jauron.
Jauron, doing his best Herm Edwards impersonation, called for a pass in a clear running situation. The game should have been over. But the Jets did what they had to do, stripping QB J.P. Losman of the ball, scooping it up and running it in for the winning score.
A win is a win. But you have to think the Jets have their work cut out for them. They play Seattle next week, a weak team, but as the Jets have proven they don’t travel well to the West Coast, having already lost to the Chargers, Raiders and Niners on the road, nothing is a sure thing.
If they do get by Seattle, and I think they will, they’ll then face the Miami Dolphins and Chad Pennington in the season finale. That should be great! If the Fish can beat the Bills next week, everything sets up perfectly for a game that will not only decide the AFC East, but one that will determine whether the Jets erred in their quarterback selection process for 2008.
It goes without saying that I wish the Jets had kept Pennington. He was a club leader and he never complained, despite a lack of protection and a lack of skills at the receiver position, which is still a problem. Neither Coles nor Cotchery have the speed to stretch the field, nor do they have the best hands, nor do they ever get much separation anywhere. Other than that, they’re fine.
Favre usually does have time to throw though, something Pennington never had. He has a defense that can usually stop the run as well, if not yesterday. The Jets let the Bills backs, Marshawn Lynch and even Fred Jackson, run over, around and through them to take the lead into the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
As strange as it seems, the Jets finally focused on stopping the pass against a Bills team that can’t pass that well, a team that ranked 19th in passing in the NFL. They hadn’t been that good at running either, ranking 15th in rushing, but yesterday managed about 185 yards against the men in the ugly green uniforms.
But the Jets did win the game. It’s difficult to say they’ll come back to earth, though. They were never that far removed from earth in the first place, although they were the first team to beat the Titans from Tennessee in very impressive fashion,
There is hope for the Jets though. They have a great running attack with Thomas Jones running behind that improved offensive line. They can pass the ball too, but not with authority, nothing that would scare opposing defenses. So those smart opponents will plan their strategies for stopping the running game.
There are bright spots though. For the Jets, there is Leon Washington. He added another long TD run to his already impressive resume by exploiting a seam in the Bills defensive middle on his way to a 47-yard score that put the Jets ahead 21-17 right before the half. If not for Leon, the Jets season may have already come back to earth.
The Giants can look forward to “Earth” coming back, either that or some extensive tweaking to a pretty moribund offense, one that just can’t score.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Cuffed Hands, Hired Hands, All Hands on Deck!
If there’s anything I care less about than Rutgers football, it would have to be a Thursday night NFL matchup between the Oakland Raiders and anyone. If the powers that be were doing their best to try to turn football fans away, they couldn’t possibly pick worse games to televise.
I mean, gimme a break. Even before the season, somebody should have figured out that the Raiders couldn’t match up with any NFL team, never mind one that, by rights, should have been contending for the AFC Championship.
Oh well, at least it wasn’t an all-night discussion about Plaxico. Or who may have driven him home, or to the hospital, or concealed information from the police. At least I didn’t have to see any more of the biggest Fascist of them all, the too honorable Mayor Bloomberg, chip in with his two cents.
What’s scary to me is that incredibly rich and powerful people can say anything they want and get away with it. That the Mayor of New York can pretty much call the shots, and let any judge within the confines of his city know that the Mayor won’t settle for anything less than a conviction, that he won’t stand for anything less than the maximum sentence.
To me, that’s a much worse offense than shooting yourself in the leg accidentally. Plax’s offense is something that only happens to stupid people. It’s pretty much confined to those brazen enough, or insecure enough, to carry loaded guns around. What the mayor’s doing could be perpetrated on anyone.
He’s tried the case in his mind and he knows what the outcome had better be. He dictated the ending. Hell, not just the ending but pretty much the process too. I’m sure Plax’s life will be hell for a long, long, time and only the lawyers will be the happier for it.
At this point, I’d rather they throw the Mayor’s butt in jail. The charge could be obstruction of justice, or bribing an official of the city government. To me, New York deserves a classier mayor than this small-time Hitler. This is the same guy who had no problem with the sweet stadium deals both the Mets and Yankees perpetrated on the City.
Not that I care that much about Plaxico personally. He could have shot somebody, especially carrying heat in a crowded environment. But I don’t know the facts, really, nor does anyone, not really. That’s what trials are for.
Okay, enough about Benito Bloomberg. I’m glad I don’t live in his city. We have our own problems here in New Jersey, and not the least is Governor Corzine and his band of crooked legislators, corporate lenders, tax leviers and toll increasers.
I really did mean to write about sports today….. honest. I’ll be getting to it soon, I’m sure, but my little diatribe certainly has made me feel a little better, almost as good as that nice warm feeling I got from the news that O.J. Simpson would finally be spending some time in the slammer.
The Giants will be playing the Eagles again. It seems as if they play them every other week. With just 16 total games on the regular season schedule, it seems a little ridiculous to me that we have to play division opponents twice each. This division just isn’t that exciting…. the Redskins, the Eagles and, thank God, the Cowboys.
Even though it’s totally absurd that a Dallas team could finagle its way into the NFC East, and it’s a tribute to the corruption in the NFL, I thank my lucky stars that they’re a good team, and an interesting one too. The Eagles and Redskins just aren’t. Sure…they’ll win their share of games but it will be boring. Clinton Portis and a cloud of dust for the Skins; for the Eagles, Number 5 and DeSean Jackson and…..well, really nobody else.
At any rate, I expect the Giants will rise above all the stupidity this week and put a beating on the Eagles. If they’re still able to get their practices in, they should win the game. These are high-character guys, guys who bring their game each week, or try anyway.
The same, alas, cannot be said for the Jets. The Jets hired hands travel to San Francisco to play the suddenly Singletary-enlivened 49ers. The Jets don’t travel well, at least not to the West Coast. They managed to lose to the same team, Oakland, that got pummeled by the Chargers last night.
The hired hands have agreed, it seems, to play hard this time out, after their pitiful performance against the Broncos last week. Kris Jenkins, at least, has acknowledged maybe a lack of intensity in that loss that probably contributed a great deal to their failure to stop the Broncos running game.
Favre seemed to acknowledge the same thing, albeit in many more words. Hopefully, he’ll save some of those words for the Jets huddle this week. The 49ers are certainly beatable. But the Jets will have to stop the run, something they’re pretty good at doing ordinarily. They’re not so good against the pass, but the Niners don’t bring that much to that phase of their game.
My attention will be focused on the Cowboys-Steelers game. That one should be a real struggle, not really a Dallas “must” win, but close enough, given the rest of their schedule. It’ll be the tough Cowboys offensive line against the relentless Steelers defense, and conversely, a more determined Cowboys defense against a Steelers offense that hasn’t really knocked anyone’s socks off all year, discounting their man-handling of the Pats last week in New England.
The Steelers have lost three times, and once each to the NFC East G-Men and the Eagles. It’d be nice to make it an NFC East clean sweep. Whatever happens in this one, it’ll be a war. Demarcus Ware and Marion Barber are hurt, but it’ll be all hands on deck!
I mean, gimme a break. Even before the season, somebody should have figured out that the Raiders couldn’t match up with any NFL team, never mind one that, by rights, should have been contending for the AFC Championship.
Oh well, at least it wasn’t an all-night discussion about Plaxico. Or who may have driven him home, or to the hospital, or concealed information from the police. At least I didn’t have to see any more of the biggest Fascist of them all, the too honorable Mayor Bloomberg, chip in with his two cents.
What’s scary to me is that incredibly rich and powerful people can say anything they want and get away with it. That the Mayor of New York can pretty much call the shots, and let any judge within the confines of his city know that the Mayor won’t settle for anything less than a conviction, that he won’t stand for anything less than the maximum sentence.
To me, that’s a much worse offense than shooting yourself in the leg accidentally. Plax’s offense is something that only happens to stupid people. It’s pretty much confined to those brazen enough, or insecure enough, to carry loaded guns around. What the mayor’s doing could be perpetrated on anyone.
He’s tried the case in his mind and he knows what the outcome had better be. He dictated the ending. Hell, not just the ending but pretty much the process too. I’m sure Plax’s life will be hell for a long, long, time and only the lawyers will be the happier for it.
At this point, I’d rather they throw the Mayor’s butt in jail. The charge could be obstruction of justice, or bribing an official of the city government. To me, New York deserves a classier mayor than this small-time Hitler. This is the same guy who had no problem with the sweet stadium deals both the Mets and Yankees perpetrated on the City.
Not that I care that much about Plaxico personally. He could have shot somebody, especially carrying heat in a crowded environment. But I don’t know the facts, really, nor does anyone, not really. That’s what trials are for.
Okay, enough about Benito Bloomberg. I’m glad I don’t live in his city. We have our own problems here in New Jersey, and not the least is Governor Corzine and his band of crooked legislators, corporate lenders, tax leviers and toll increasers.
I really did mean to write about sports today….. honest. I’ll be getting to it soon, I’m sure, but my little diatribe certainly has made me feel a little better, almost as good as that nice warm feeling I got from the news that O.J. Simpson would finally be spending some time in the slammer.
The Giants will be playing the Eagles again. It seems as if they play them every other week. With just 16 total games on the regular season schedule, it seems a little ridiculous to me that we have to play division opponents twice each. This division just isn’t that exciting…. the Redskins, the Eagles and, thank God, the Cowboys.
Even though it’s totally absurd that a Dallas team could finagle its way into the NFC East, and it’s a tribute to the corruption in the NFL, I thank my lucky stars that they’re a good team, and an interesting one too. The Eagles and Redskins just aren’t. Sure…they’ll win their share of games but it will be boring. Clinton Portis and a cloud of dust for the Skins; for the Eagles, Number 5 and DeSean Jackson and…..well, really nobody else.
At any rate, I expect the Giants will rise above all the stupidity this week and put a beating on the Eagles. If they’re still able to get their practices in, they should win the game. These are high-character guys, guys who bring their game each week, or try anyway.
The same, alas, cannot be said for the Jets. The Jets hired hands travel to San Francisco to play the suddenly Singletary-enlivened 49ers. The Jets don’t travel well, at least not to the West Coast. They managed to lose to the same team, Oakland, that got pummeled by the Chargers last night.
The hired hands have agreed, it seems, to play hard this time out, after their pitiful performance against the Broncos last week. Kris Jenkins, at least, has acknowledged maybe a lack of intensity in that loss that probably contributed a great deal to their failure to stop the Broncos running game.
Favre seemed to acknowledge the same thing, albeit in many more words. Hopefully, he’ll save some of those words for the Jets huddle this week. The 49ers are certainly beatable. But the Jets will have to stop the run, something they’re pretty good at doing ordinarily. They’re not so good against the pass, but the Niners don’t bring that much to that phase of their game.
My attention will be focused on the Cowboys-Steelers game. That one should be a real struggle, not really a Dallas “must” win, but close enough, given the rest of their schedule. It’ll be the tough Cowboys offensive line against the relentless Steelers defense, and conversely, a more determined Cowboys defense against a Steelers offense that hasn’t really knocked anyone’s socks off all year, discounting their man-handling of the Pats last week in New England.
The Steelers have lost three times, and once each to the NFC East G-Men and the Eagles. It’d be nice to make it an NFC East clean sweep. Whatever happens in this one, it’ll be a war. Demarcus Ware and Marion Barber are hurt, but it’ll be all hands on deck!
Monday, September 15, 2008
From Nine to Five
It was an old-fashioned shootout. Just as you'd want on Monday Night Football, there was Number 9, young Tony Romo firing bullets to the infamous T.O. But there was Number 5 Donovan McNabb on the other side, looking like the quarterback of yesteryear, finding his new favorite target, one DeSean Jackson.
Two great quarterbacks, massive offensive lines, inventive defenses, funny commentators, this game had it all. It had Romo showing his best and worst, opening with a 70-yard bomb to Owens but also fumbling in the end zone to give the Eagles a free touchdown.
It had McNabb, skillfully carving up the Boys defense, dumping off to Westbrook, shooting bullets right, left and center. The Cowboys emerged victorious by a 41-37 count, but there were several lead changes and the result was in doubt until the final whistle.
Both qb's are mobile, accurate and enjoy playing the game. What more could you want from a football game? Two offenses moving the ball down the field against tenacious defenses, two offensive lines neutralizing pass rushes and enabling their teams to run the ball. Close at the half and close at the end.
The Cowboys emerged with the win, of course, after a couple of tough possessions by the Birds, one that ended with an overthrown lob to Westbrook and one with the old hook and ladder. The real end for the Eagles, though, was Demarcus Ware's sack of a scrambling McNabb on 3rd down.
In the final analysis, though, the Cowboys had too many weapons for the Birds. While McNabb had the indefatigable Westbrook and the mercurial DeSean, Romo had Owens and Crayton, Barber and
The game also had more than its share of zaniness. DeSean Jackson almost lost his TD for tossing the ball away as he was crossing the goal line. Romo also had an interception that was the result of his trying to make something from nothing. As good as Romo was for most of the game, he could have been the goat after making two critical errors, both resulting in Philadelphia scores.
All this impressive football coming from the NFC East must give the Giants pause. It looks like it will be another tough season. As well as the Giants have played thus far, they’ll have to play even better to get by either of these two juggernauts. The Redskins will be no pushover the next time either, judging by their impressive victory over the Saints on Sunday.
Our G-Men looked solid in their opener against the Redskins, but it was tough after one game to gain much perspective, especially since the Skins looked pathetic at times. Their new coach, Jim Zorn, looked as if he was coaching his first game. And, although the Giants wound up with a clear victory over the Rams on Sunday, it was really a pretty close game for three quarters.
Let’s face it….the Giants can look pretty pedestrian at times. I suppose you could call it workmanlike. With Brandon Jacobs pounding the ball, the Giants bread and butter, it’s almost like an old
If it weren’t for Eli’s finding Plaxico and Amani early and often, it’d be easy to fall asleep. And, with Strahan gone and Umenyiora hurt, the defense isn’t quite as impressive as it had been at year’s end. In fact, the Giants didn’t start looking really impressive until they inserted the fellows who got them so far last year, Ahmad Bradshaw and Steve Smith.
Not that I’m complaining, but the Giants haven’t looked as good as the Eagles and Cowboys have so far. Of course, that could change really easily, especially with that offensive line. And Justin Tuck. But I do think that calling the Giants three running backs “earth, wind and fire” is a bit premature (and stupid).
I’ve been trying to ignore the Jets this year but it’s been awfully tough, what with all the nonsense surrounding Mr. Favre. In truth, I find it impossible to root for them anymore. Mangini really doesn’t send me. Neither does Tannenbaum. And I hope everybody noticed Mr. Favre made no difference whatsoever against the Pats on Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers, Mr. Favre’s replacement at
Aside from the Giants, who I picked to win every playoff game last year, and the Super Bowl, this football year, for me, will be all about guys like Kurt Warner, who is easy to root for, throwing dart after dart to Fitzgerald and Boldin for
Then, of course, there are the new quarterbacks, not just Rodgers but also guys like Jerseyan Flacco for the Ravens, and B.C.’s own Matt Ryan, who impressed in his opener before somewhat of a relapse on Sunday when his running game abandoned him. And there’s Chad Henne in
Yeah, this year will be all about young quarterbacks, Cutler in
But, unless you count Eli, the finest young QB of them all may be Number 9 in Big D. And the finest veteran might be wearing Number 5 in Philly, making Eagles fly.
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