This is the longest week in the sports calendar. It must be. I even turned on a minute or so of the Pro Bowl. There should be some form of punishment for that, if the game itself isn’t penalty enough. Unless you’re a madman or Super Bowl trivia expert, this is a week for that ski trip you always wanted.
Oh yeah, there’s basketball. Right. The Knicks traded their way out of contention and nobody wants to play for the Nets. Seton Hall was exciting for a brief while but those heady days appear to be over. The Australian Open was great, I must say, especially the Men’s Final between Djokovic and Nadal but that’s all over.
Oh yeah, there’s baseball hot stove stuff. Every other team in the world is doing something interesting but if you’re a Mets fan, you have to be happy with less. For Mets fans, this is the beginning of the beginning if you’re an optimist. It’ll be a year of hoping a team plays over its head….constantly.
I’m not into hockey but this week I actually wish I was. For a guy who’s never really skated, it’s tough to follow hockey. There is some Rangers buzz though and how often does that happen? Okay, I’m done, what else is there? Oh well, it’ll be a good week to hit the gym a lot. Geez, maybe I can even start following the Republican nominees around. That’s at least nasty.
I know this would probably be a good time to do a nice lengthy analysis of Giants-Pats but geez, it seems I’ve covered the Giants side of things enough already. I’ve maintained they’d need the best defense in the league to even get this far. That has proven true. But they also seem to have a little luck going for them lately, most notably against San Francisco.
I mean, really, how often is the return guy going to let the ball hit him in the knee? And how often is the same guy going to fumble? That’s what makes me nervous going into Indianapolis. It would seem that maybe the G-Men’s good luck is due to turn. I don’t want to put the horns on them but, really, will the Patriots give the ball up that easily?
I don’t think so. Plus, there’re all those characters you’ve heard about before. Yeah, yeah, Bellichick. Yeah, yeah, Brady. And now, yeah, yeah, Gronkowski. But maybe the big scary tight end will have no wheels for this game. That sure sounds like more good luck to me.
The question for me is whether or not the Giants can beat that Pats team without getting ridiculous breaks. It is possible, I think. But it’s also possible that Bellichick will come up with something weird. For this game, if I were him, I’d use the formula that won me a Super Bowl for the Giants against the Buffalo Bills back in 1991.
That day, Bellichick’s Giants defense decided to let the Bills QB Kelly complete short passes in front of them and then proceeded to knock the ever-loving hell out of the receiver. Before you knew it, the high-flying Bills were doing nothing and the Giants were just pounding the ball on the ground, keeping that Bills offense off the field. Before the Bills figured out that the G-Men were letting them run, it was almost too late.
I say “almost” because the Bills actually did finally run the ball into scoring position with a chance to win. But Scott Norwood was wide right with his field goal attempt. It was too late for the Bills only because Norwood missed. All of Bellichick’s scheming could have gone out the window. Luck showed its ugly side to the Bills that day.
But the circumstances between that game and this one are similar. The Giants have a running game for sure but the real threats are in the passing game and lots of yards after the catch. Why not sit back and blast the hell out of Nicks and Cruz and Manningham? Why wouldn’t the Pats force the G-Men to beat them on the ground?
On the other side of the ball, the Pats would try to run the ball as O.J. Anderson did that January day in 1991. That will really be the challenge for the Pats. But, even if they can just get a few yards now and then on the ground, it’ll enable Brady to dink and dunk them to death with Welker and Hernandez, their other tight end and jack-of-all-trades. A ground game will also tire out those animals on the Giants defensive line.
If the Pats can do all those things, pound the Giants receivers, run the ball successfully, and dink the Giants to death, they could easily win this game. Incredibly enough, the betting line currently says the Pats are favored by 3; the over-under at 54 ½. Vegas thinks it’ll be somewhere around 29-26 in the Pats favor.
No two teams know each other better than these Giants and Pats, having played once this season already, and both head coaches coached together under Bill Parcells. When there are no surprises, the team with the better talent will tend to win the game. You couldn’t convince me that the Pats have the better overall talent.
With a healthy Gronkowski, the Pats may be more talented. But a slowed-down Gronk makes a big difference. He’s been Brady’s favorite receiver. Even a big guy has trouble playing with pain. And a high ankle sprain presents a nice target for further injury. I’d expect some low tackles on Mr. Gronkowski.
This game is too hard to predict really, but, especially if both teams neutralize the perceived power on the other side, I’d think this will be a game of unlikely heroes, maybe a Patriots running back or a Giants tight end. I don’t think the “usual suspects” will have a chance.
Look to the little guys in this one. Definitely.
Showing posts with label Pats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pats. Show all posts
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Jets Beat Pats? It's Not Inconceivable!
Okay, I’ve had a few days to cogitate on this big Jets-Pats matchup in Foxborough and I keep coming up with the same answer…the Jets are and should be a prohibitive underdog. Why? Well, the easy answer is it’s the Jets-Pats in Foxborough.
The Jets did everything right last week in Indianapolis (following my prescription for winning exactly…ahem) except for that ridiculous third down pass, and thus emerged victorious. I’ve been enjoying the game even more immensely this week via the courtesy of the NFL Network and Inside the NFL.
But alas, the Pats are not the Colts. Belichick is not Caldwell and the Pats receivers are not the Colts receivers. They run the ball a little better too. I don’t give Brady much of an advantage over Peyton Manning but, when you consider the difference in their respective receivers, the Pats have a pretty fair-sized plus on their side of the ledger.
The Jets stopped the Colts wideouts virtually cold, allowing just the one long TD to Pierre Garcon. There were no other Colts receivers that could really be considered a threat, Tamme, the tight end or Blair White or well, anybody. The Pats biggest threats are at tight end and in the slot. When they play the two tight ends together, they’re really scary.
This game won’t be 45-3 but the spread is 8 ½ and it’ll be difficult for the Jets to keep it even that close. They can, of course, if they do everything right two weeks in a row. They can probably stop the Pats running game, or, at the very least, keep Green-Ellis and Woodhead in check.
But they’ll still have trouble covering everybody. After Revis and Cromartie, it’s just Brodney Pool and Eric Smith who can avert disaster. And, yes, the Jets can field as many d-backs as they want, but then they’ll leave themselves open to a Pats running game that’s scarier than that of the Colts.
The Pats defense, in terms of yards allowed, looks statistically to be pretty pedestrian. But their scoring defense is statistically much better. Their last two games were easy wins, against Buffalo and Miami, when they allowed just 7 points and then 3 points, but before that they laid one on the Packers 31-27. So the Pats defense can be had.
But the same cannot be said about their offense. The Packers have the best defense in the NFL and they gave up 31 to Brady and company. There are just too many weapons. But the Pats had extraordinarily good luck in that contest. Not only was Aaron Rodgers out, but they got a 71-yard kickoff return from a 303 pound offensive lineman too, after which Brady hit Aaron Hernandez for 6.
While it’s easy to say the Jets should just use the same formula Sunday as they used last week against the Colts, that is, run the ball, play keep away, jam the receivers, mess up Brady’s timing and keep the pressure on him at all times, I think that Sanchez will have to have a much better game and a much bigger impact on the game than he had in Indianapolis.
You’d have to figure the Pats scoring at least 30 points. Unless Sanchez can hit a few to several big plays in the passing game, I can’t imagine the Jets putting up 31. And, if Sanchez can’t throw the ball any better than he did against the Colts, this one could be over very early.
But the Packers reserve quarterback, one Matt Flynn, was the guy throwing three TD’s against the Pats 3 weeks ago, to Jones and Jennings and Kuhn. I could just as easily see Sanchez throwing 3 of his own, to Edwards and Holmes and Tomlinson, for example. Throw in a rushing TD along the way and you’re just a field goal away from 31. It’s not inconceivable.
So it’s conceivable that the Jets could win. It’s just not the most likely outcome. The preceding example, three TD’s passing and one rushing, would assume the Jets were doing everything right offensively, both running the ball and throwing a few over the top every once in a while. The Pats would probably have to make some mistakes…..not inconceivable.
I’d think the Jets would have to get off to a good start as well. That first play of the game sets the tone. A good play, then a good series, then a nice quarter, well, you get the idea, the Jets need to stay close from the opening kickoff, playing aggressively but under control, just like a good team.
At least two other factors might swing this game in a decidedly Green direction. One is hate. The other is Ryan’s unpredictability.
These teams’ hate for each other has been well-documented. In fact you could make a case for nothing ever having been as documented as has been the Jets hate for the Patriots and vice-versa. Brady hates the Jets, Cromartie hates Brady, it’s personal for Ryan, and on and on. One has to wonder what falls under the category of business as usual for Rex Ryan.
Hate can be a tricky thing though. In my own experience, some players just want to pummel their opponent, not particularly caring whether or not they make the play. Others channel that hate towards beating the opponent on the scoreboard, the place where it hurts the most. If the Jets can focus that unhealthy dislike on imagining the Patriots humiliation at having lost this playoff game, then only good things can come of it.
As for unpredictability, Belichick could be expected to have a clear advantage over just about any coach who acts as a reasonable person would act in similar circumstances. Rex Ryan doesn’t fit that mold. He might run because his butt hurts or pass because his pants are falling down. He proved that in the Colts game.
A passing game, hate and ridiculous coaching decisions might just make the difference. It’s not inconceivable.
The Jets did everything right last week in Indianapolis (following my prescription for winning exactly…ahem) except for that ridiculous third down pass, and thus emerged victorious. I’ve been enjoying the game even more immensely this week via the courtesy of the NFL Network and Inside the NFL.
But alas, the Pats are not the Colts. Belichick is not Caldwell and the Pats receivers are not the Colts receivers. They run the ball a little better too. I don’t give Brady much of an advantage over Peyton Manning but, when you consider the difference in their respective receivers, the Pats have a pretty fair-sized plus on their side of the ledger.
The Jets stopped the Colts wideouts virtually cold, allowing just the one long TD to Pierre Garcon. There were no other Colts receivers that could really be considered a threat, Tamme, the tight end or Blair White or well, anybody. The Pats biggest threats are at tight end and in the slot. When they play the two tight ends together, they’re really scary.
This game won’t be 45-3 but the spread is 8 ½ and it’ll be difficult for the Jets to keep it even that close. They can, of course, if they do everything right two weeks in a row. They can probably stop the Pats running game, or, at the very least, keep Green-Ellis and Woodhead in check.
But they’ll still have trouble covering everybody. After Revis and Cromartie, it’s just Brodney Pool and Eric Smith who can avert disaster. And, yes, the Jets can field as many d-backs as they want, but then they’ll leave themselves open to a Pats running game that’s scarier than that of the Colts.
The Pats defense, in terms of yards allowed, looks statistically to be pretty pedestrian. But their scoring defense is statistically much better. Their last two games were easy wins, against Buffalo and Miami, when they allowed just 7 points and then 3 points, but before that they laid one on the Packers 31-27. So the Pats defense can be had.
But the same cannot be said about their offense. The Packers have the best defense in the NFL and they gave up 31 to Brady and company. There are just too many weapons. But the Pats had extraordinarily good luck in that contest. Not only was Aaron Rodgers out, but they got a 71-yard kickoff return from a 303 pound offensive lineman too, after which Brady hit Aaron Hernandez for 6.
While it’s easy to say the Jets should just use the same formula Sunday as they used last week against the Colts, that is, run the ball, play keep away, jam the receivers, mess up Brady’s timing and keep the pressure on him at all times, I think that Sanchez will have to have a much better game and a much bigger impact on the game than he had in Indianapolis.
You’d have to figure the Pats scoring at least 30 points. Unless Sanchez can hit a few to several big plays in the passing game, I can’t imagine the Jets putting up 31. And, if Sanchez can’t throw the ball any better than he did against the Colts, this one could be over very early.
But the Packers reserve quarterback, one Matt Flynn, was the guy throwing three TD’s against the Pats 3 weeks ago, to Jones and Jennings and Kuhn. I could just as easily see Sanchez throwing 3 of his own, to Edwards and Holmes and Tomlinson, for example. Throw in a rushing TD along the way and you’re just a field goal away from 31. It’s not inconceivable.
So it’s conceivable that the Jets could win. It’s just not the most likely outcome. The preceding example, three TD’s passing and one rushing, would assume the Jets were doing everything right offensively, both running the ball and throwing a few over the top every once in a while. The Pats would probably have to make some mistakes…..not inconceivable.
I’d think the Jets would have to get off to a good start as well. That first play of the game sets the tone. A good play, then a good series, then a nice quarter, well, you get the idea, the Jets need to stay close from the opening kickoff, playing aggressively but under control, just like a good team.
At least two other factors might swing this game in a decidedly Green direction. One is hate. The other is Ryan’s unpredictability.
These teams’ hate for each other has been well-documented. In fact you could make a case for nothing ever having been as documented as has been the Jets hate for the Patriots and vice-versa. Brady hates the Jets, Cromartie hates Brady, it’s personal for Ryan, and on and on. One has to wonder what falls under the category of business as usual for Rex Ryan.
Hate can be a tricky thing though. In my own experience, some players just want to pummel their opponent, not particularly caring whether or not they make the play. Others channel that hate towards beating the opponent on the scoreboard, the place where it hurts the most. If the Jets can focus that unhealthy dislike on imagining the Patriots humiliation at having lost this playoff game, then only good things can come of it.
As for unpredictability, Belichick could be expected to have a clear advantage over just about any coach who acts as a reasonable person would act in similar circumstances. Rex Ryan doesn’t fit that mold. He might run because his butt hurts or pass because his pants are falling down. He proved that in the Colts game.
A passing game, hate and ridiculous coaching decisions might just make the difference. It’s not inconceivable.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Winning the Hard Way
Well, that was satisfying.
The Jets played some of their best football of the year to beat those damned Indianapolis Colts and their infuriating quarterback, Peyton Manning, 17-16, last night. That was the best part.
I would’ve been even happier if they had won 14-13 and I didn’t have to spend a few minutes cursing Brian Schottenheimer for calling the ridiculous long pass to Braylon Edwards on third and five with a little over two minutes left and the Colts with just 1 timeout left.
But they did jeopardize the game, they did have to give the ball back to Peyton Manning with all that time left, and Manning did come through for the Colts, leading them down the field for another Adam Vinatieri work of art that sailed directly through the uprights with 57 seconds left, giving the Colts what should have been a 16-14 victory.
I figured that was the end. It would take a miracle for these Jets to work their way all the way down the field to regain the lead. Sanchez hadn’t been exactly lights out the whole game and he had just finished badly overthrowing Edwards on that ridiculous third down pass. I figured the Jets had wasted 58 minutes of really good football. They’d be done in by their failure to make that third and five.
But I hadn’t figured on Antonio Cromartie running the ensuing kickoff back 47 yards. I hadn’t figured the Colts laying back on receivers and letting Sanchez make a couple of easy completions to shorten the field even more. And I really couldn’t have figured the Colts calling a timeout to give the Jets even more time to collect themselves and strategize how best to work their way even farther down the field.
But the Colts really did allow Cromartie to make that run, they did play soft and they did call a timeout. Right after that timeout, the Jets called the same play that had gotten them in this situation in the first place.
But this time it worked! Sanchez threw it up, Edwards went up and grabbed the football and it was all over but the shoutin’. Surely even Nick Folk couldn’t blow one from that close. (I did have a minute or so to contemplate that no distance was short enough for Nick Folk). But Folk put it through to save everybody’s ass and make me a happy New Jerseyan once again.
Later on, Rex Ryan was asked about that third down call. He responded that it was a good call based on the coverage and the matchup or words to that effect so I guess he has more confidence in Sanchez and Edwards than I do. But my point is, why throw a thirty yard pass when you need just five yards? What about a nice five yard pass?
That the Jets won is besides the point. They shouldn’t have had to win that way. They really need to re-think their short yardage options when the defense stacks the line with 9 bodies. They’ll never beat the Patriots that way.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m really happy the Jets pulled it out. And maybe you lose the forest for the trees a little bit when you see Sanchez make that same pass to Edwards time after time in practice. I don’t know. I just know it’s a really poor percentage decision. If you need five, go for five.
But Jim Caldwell helped lose that game by calling that timeout. It was obvious that Peyton Manning thought so. I have a feeling we might not see the same Colts coaching staff next year. I know I wouldn’t rehire them.
And how many times will you get a long kickoff return from Antonio Cromartie? And how many times will you run into a bad coaching staff? I know it won’t be next week, that’s for sure.
If I were a different sort of person, I’d just be happy that they won, I guess. There certainly was a lot of great football being played by those Jets last night. I was especially impressed by that 10-minute drive ending in the touchdown that gave them the lead.
But all throughout the game, the Jets had played it just the way I thought they should, by running the ball and stopping the run, by playing conservative and jamming those receivers. They did blow the coverage on the Manning touchdown pass to Garcon but you had to figure they’d get beat for at least one Manning touchdown.
Their offensive line was pushin’ em back all night long. Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson were running hard and running smart. And they had only lost the football one time on a Sanchez interception just 45 seconds before the half that was devastating in that it had wasted a nice long time-eating drive.
But, except for that one mistake, the Jets played brilliantly. They were the better team and they proved it on the field. Offense, defense, special teams, the Jets were all in line. It was beautiful. Rex Ryan had his team ready to go.
Much to Ryan’s credit too, he ripped Cromartie a new butt for giving up the Garcon touchdown and let his guys know at halfime how upset he was. There’s probably nobody in football better than Rex Ryan at motivating a team, both before the game and during the game. The Jets will certainly need all that and more when they once again have to face the Patriots next week.
The Pats are not the Colts. They’re a better team with a much better coaching staff. And I don’t even want to think about how tough they’ll be yet. But, on a day when the Seattle Seahawks upset the Super Bowl Champion Saints, anything seems possible.
Besides, one of the two Pats losses this season was to these Jets. Yeah, the Jets lost 45-3 in the other one but the Jets defense is back, Tom Brady.
The Jets played some of their best football of the year to beat those damned Indianapolis Colts and their infuriating quarterback, Peyton Manning, 17-16, last night. That was the best part.
I would’ve been even happier if they had won 14-13 and I didn’t have to spend a few minutes cursing Brian Schottenheimer for calling the ridiculous long pass to Braylon Edwards on third and five with a little over two minutes left and the Colts with just 1 timeout left.
But they did jeopardize the game, they did have to give the ball back to Peyton Manning with all that time left, and Manning did come through for the Colts, leading them down the field for another Adam Vinatieri work of art that sailed directly through the uprights with 57 seconds left, giving the Colts what should have been a 16-14 victory.
I figured that was the end. It would take a miracle for these Jets to work their way all the way down the field to regain the lead. Sanchez hadn’t been exactly lights out the whole game and he had just finished badly overthrowing Edwards on that ridiculous third down pass. I figured the Jets had wasted 58 minutes of really good football. They’d be done in by their failure to make that third and five.
But I hadn’t figured on Antonio Cromartie running the ensuing kickoff back 47 yards. I hadn’t figured the Colts laying back on receivers and letting Sanchez make a couple of easy completions to shorten the field even more. And I really couldn’t have figured the Colts calling a timeout to give the Jets even more time to collect themselves and strategize how best to work their way even farther down the field.
But the Colts really did allow Cromartie to make that run, they did play soft and they did call a timeout. Right after that timeout, the Jets called the same play that had gotten them in this situation in the first place.
But this time it worked! Sanchez threw it up, Edwards went up and grabbed the football and it was all over but the shoutin’. Surely even Nick Folk couldn’t blow one from that close. (I did have a minute or so to contemplate that no distance was short enough for Nick Folk). But Folk put it through to save everybody’s ass and make me a happy New Jerseyan once again.
Later on, Rex Ryan was asked about that third down call. He responded that it was a good call based on the coverage and the matchup or words to that effect so I guess he has more confidence in Sanchez and Edwards than I do. But my point is, why throw a thirty yard pass when you need just five yards? What about a nice five yard pass?
That the Jets won is besides the point. They shouldn’t have had to win that way. They really need to re-think their short yardage options when the defense stacks the line with 9 bodies. They’ll never beat the Patriots that way.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m really happy the Jets pulled it out. And maybe you lose the forest for the trees a little bit when you see Sanchez make that same pass to Edwards time after time in practice. I don’t know. I just know it’s a really poor percentage decision. If you need five, go for five.
But Jim Caldwell helped lose that game by calling that timeout. It was obvious that Peyton Manning thought so. I have a feeling we might not see the same Colts coaching staff next year. I know I wouldn’t rehire them.
And how many times will you get a long kickoff return from Antonio Cromartie? And how many times will you run into a bad coaching staff? I know it won’t be next week, that’s for sure.
If I were a different sort of person, I’d just be happy that they won, I guess. There certainly was a lot of great football being played by those Jets last night. I was especially impressed by that 10-minute drive ending in the touchdown that gave them the lead.
But all throughout the game, the Jets had played it just the way I thought they should, by running the ball and stopping the run, by playing conservative and jamming those receivers. They did blow the coverage on the Manning touchdown pass to Garcon but you had to figure they’d get beat for at least one Manning touchdown.
Their offensive line was pushin’ em back all night long. Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson were running hard and running smart. And they had only lost the football one time on a Sanchez interception just 45 seconds before the half that was devastating in that it had wasted a nice long time-eating drive.
But, except for that one mistake, the Jets played brilliantly. They were the better team and they proved it on the field. Offense, defense, special teams, the Jets were all in line. It was beautiful. Rex Ryan had his team ready to go.
Much to Ryan’s credit too, he ripped Cromartie a new butt for giving up the Garcon touchdown and let his guys know at halfime how upset he was. There’s probably nobody in football better than Rex Ryan at motivating a team, both before the game and during the game. The Jets will certainly need all that and more when they once again have to face the Patriots next week.
The Pats are not the Colts. They’re a better team with a much better coaching staff. And I don’t even want to think about how tough they’ll be yet. But, on a day when the Seattle Seahawks upset the Super Bowl Champion Saints, anything seems possible.
Besides, one of the two Pats losses this season was to these Jets. Yeah, the Jets lost 45-3 in the other one but the Jets defense is back, Tom Brady.
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.
Friday, November 27, 2009
On Jets and Giants and Week 12 Picks
Week 11 was very very good to me as the best bets were all good for the first time in six weeks, putting me up $4 as I picked up the ten-spot. The weekly cumulative record was 9-6 to put my season cumulative at 63-46, not too shabby.
My favorite Week 11 best bet was the Niners, who appeared to be getting blown out before coming back to once again cover the 6 ½ point spread. The Eagles were another narrow winner as they edged the Bears by 4 against a spread of 3. The other two picks looked easy as the Falcons covered against the lowly G-Men and the Skins nearly beat the Boyz outright.
Once again, I keep thinking I’m due for a bad week, so bet with your head……and remember who’ll be on the bench or worse this week. Injuries are mounting all around the league.
Anyway, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
Ind 3 ½ HOU Ind Texans have failed easier tests
CIN 14 Cle * Cle Browns found out they can play
MIN 11 Chi MIN Vikes cover a lot
PHI 9 Was * Was Skins looking good-they’ll cover
Mia 3 BUF * Mia Rick-eeeeee
TEN 3 Ari * Ari Warner’s okay, so line is nuts
Sea 3 STL Sea Bulger to Boller for Rams
ATL 12 ½ Bucs Bucs Bucs will find ATL easier than last
NYJ 3 Car Car This is the Pick Bowl
SF 3 Jac SF Niners are my friend
SD 13 ½ Kcy Kcy Chargers nothing after Steelers
BAL 1 ½ Pit BAL Big Ben a target and no Polamalu
NO 2 Pats NO Saints have real desire
The best bets for Week 12:
Cleveland – The Bengals are hurting all over. The Brownies came so very close against the Lions last week and found out they can have an offense too, much like a non-Mangini team. No Cedric Benson figures hugely.
Skins – well, they DO have a Defense. They’re perfectly capable of slowing down those Eagle big-play threats and hey! They have Rock Cartwright too.
Fish – Buffalo’s wagons shot thru with arrows. Circling them will accomplish nothing versus Rickee and all those crazy wildcat options. Also no Marshawn for Bills, jus ol’ Fred.
Arizona – Let’s see, the Cards went to the Super Bowl, the Titans lost their first six and are currently riding a horse named Vince Young, who’ll discover the Cards don’t kid around. Warner will once again be emcee.
Biggest game of the week for me will be the Monday Night showdown between the undefeated Saints and the tough-luck Pats, who managed to lose to the Jets early and then went for a first down on 4th and 2 from their own 28. If they’re not yet tired of Belichick’s nonsense, they soon will be.
I do think the Saints will be more motivated than the Pats, even knowing that the arrogance of the Pats will force them into playing hard. But they’ll be playing for the wrong reasons, i.e. to punish another team for the audacity of playing to a perfect record. The Saints motivation will be more pure, just to win a big Monday Night game to remain unbeaten.
It says here that the Saints have the better team. It won’t be so much Brees vs. Brady as it will be the overall balance of the Saints compared to the Pats. They have a better running game and they have more receivers to go to, not just the same tired Brady to Welker, Brady to Moss combinations. Stop those two guys and stop the Pats.
Meanwhile, I’m almost sorry I picked on Brandon Jacobs as he looked even worse than I thought he would vs. the Broncos. The Giants pass defense was about par for them, which is to say they were lousy, bad, clueless, Sheridan-ian even. Oh well, at least they have Danny Ware, um, I mean DJ.
Seriously, there’s Cory Webster back there and…..well, that’s it. Pick your Johnson, they can’t cover, and then there was the specter of C.C. Brown again. And there’s nobody better at tackling after watching a receiver catch the ball than Boley. It’s hard to imagine he had been the Defensive Player of the Week….ever.
I keep asking myself what’s different about this defense until I really think about it. Pierce’s absence alone could account for a TD or two and they never replaced the likes of Phillips at safety. Then Aaron Ross is still listed as the third corner. What you see is what you get, the likes of Johnson and Johnson and Rouse. God help us.
Although I didn’t pick our Jets to cover the 3-point spread against the Panthers, I am looking forward to the game itself, which will either break a record for interceptions in a single game or go totally the other way as both the crazy rookie and the crazy veteran have been made quite aware of their shakiness. If caution takes over, there could be a lot of punts. If both QB’s just let it fly, it could be a shootout, in an obverse sort of way.
New York’s favorite coach’s latest big brain fart of sitting that rich safety Kerry Rhodes seems to signal that the Jets are looking to the future officially. But what better QB to sit your safety against than the scatological Jake Delhomme? I have to admit though that I’d feel better if two other secondary men weren’t out at the same time. The whole thing makes as much sense as the war in Afghanistan.
But Rex will be funny after the game. Of that we can be sure. Proud and funny and humble all at the same time. I sure hope he knows something the rest of us don’t. Otherwise, maybe the next move will be Tannenbaum’s.
Here’s hoping the rest of Week 12 will be better than the first three games. The Lions and Raiders just mailed it in. The Giants…..?
My favorite Week 11 best bet was the Niners, who appeared to be getting blown out before coming back to once again cover the 6 ½ point spread. The Eagles were another narrow winner as they edged the Bears by 4 against a spread of 3. The other two picks looked easy as the Falcons covered against the lowly G-Men and the Skins nearly beat the Boyz outright.
Once again, I keep thinking I’m due for a bad week, so bet with your head……and remember who’ll be on the bench or worse this week. Injuries are mounting all around the league.
Anyway, here’s the picks:
Favorite Spread Underdog 4 Best My Pick Reason
Ind 3 ½ HOU Ind Texans have failed easier tests
CIN 14 Cle * Cle Browns found out they can play
MIN 11 Chi MIN Vikes cover a lot
PHI 9 Was * Was Skins looking good-they’ll cover
Mia 3 BUF * Mia Rick-eeeeee
TEN 3 Ari * Ari Warner’s okay, so line is nuts
Sea 3 STL Sea Bulger to Boller for Rams
ATL 12 ½ Bucs Bucs Bucs will find ATL easier than last
NYJ 3 Car Car This is the Pick Bowl
SF 3 Jac SF Niners are my friend
SD 13 ½ Kcy Kcy Chargers nothing after Steelers
BAL 1 ½ Pit BAL Big Ben a target and no Polamalu
NO 2 Pats NO Saints have real desire
The best bets for Week 12:
Cleveland – The Bengals are hurting all over. The Brownies came so very close against the Lions last week and found out they can have an offense too, much like a non-Mangini team. No Cedric Benson figures hugely.
Skins – well, they DO have a Defense. They’re perfectly capable of slowing down those Eagle big-play threats and hey! They have Rock Cartwright too.
Fish – Buffalo’s wagons shot thru with arrows. Circling them will accomplish nothing versus Rickee and all those crazy wildcat options. Also no Marshawn for Bills, jus ol’ Fred.
Arizona – Let’s see, the Cards went to the Super Bowl, the Titans lost their first six and are currently riding a horse named Vince Young, who’ll discover the Cards don’t kid around. Warner will once again be emcee.
Biggest game of the week for me will be the Monday Night showdown between the undefeated Saints and the tough-luck Pats, who managed to lose to the Jets early and then went for a first down on 4th and 2 from their own 28. If they’re not yet tired of Belichick’s nonsense, they soon will be.
I do think the Saints will be more motivated than the Pats, even knowing that the arrogance of the Pats will force them into playing hard. But they’ll be playing for the wrong reasons, i.e. to punish another team for the audacity of playing to a perfect record. The Saints motivation will be more pure, just to win a big Monday Night game to remain unbeaten.
It says here that the Saints have the better team. It won’t be so much Brees vs. Brady as it will be the overall balance of the Saints compared to the Pats. They have a better running game and they have more receivers to go to, not just the same tired Brady to Welker, Brady to Moss combinations. Stop those two guys and stop the Pats.
Meanwhile, I’m almost sorry I picked on Brandon Jacobs as he looked even worse than I thought he would vs. the Broncos. The Giants pass defense was about par for them, which is to say they were lousy, bad, clueless, Sheridan-ian even. Oh well, at least they have Danny Ware, um, I mean DJ.
Seriously, there’s Cory Webster back there and…..well, that’s it. Pick your Johnson, they can’t cover, and then there was the specter of C.C. Brown again. And there’s nobody better at tackling after watching a receiver catch the ball than Boley. It’s hard to imagine he had been the Defensive Player of the Week….ever.
I keep asking myself what’s different about this defense until I really think about it. Pierce’s absence alone could account for a TD or two and they never replaced the likes of Phillips at safety. Then Aaron Ross is still listed as the third corner. What you see is what you get, the likes of Johnson and Johnson and Rouse. God help us.
Although I didn’t pick our Jets to cover the 3-point spread against the Panthers, I am looking forward to the game itself, which will either break a record for interceptions in a single game or go totally the other way as both the crazy rookie and the crazy veteran have been made quite aware of their shakiness. If caution takes over, there could be a lot of punts. If both QB’s just let it fly, it could be a shootout, in an obverse sort of way.
New York’s favorite coach’s latest big brain fart of sitting that rich safety Kerry Rhodes seems to signal that the Jets are looking to the future officially. But what better QB to sit your safety against than the scatological Jake Delhomme? I have to admit though that I’d feel better if two other secondary men weren’t out at the same time. The whole thing makes as much sense as the war in Afghanistan.
But Rex will be funny after the game. Of that we can be sure. Proud and funny and humble all at the same time. I sure hope he knows something the rest of us don’t. Otherwise, maybe the next move will be Tannenbaum’s.
Here’s hoping the rest of Week 12 will be better than the first three games. The Lions and Raiders just mailed it in. The Giants…..?
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.
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