- I learned to be grateful when I get a week over .500 picking stupid shit like the Jaguars in a big upset or the Ravens on the road against inferior competition. What was I thinking?
- How 'bout that undefeated Arizona squad? No one saw them comin'! They're the next big thing, they're hot, they're on the come, they're...being sacked 702 times by the Rams, who weren't even blitzing extra guys. They're fucked.
- Shout out to DA!! David Aldridge, Washington, DC native and sidekick on Tony Kornheiser's radio show, had a prediction that Robert Griffin III would get KTFO and miss time because the Shanahan Boyz didn't know how to use him properly, what with all of their retarded option plays and called QB sprints. I don't care how athletic he is, you don't do that to your star franchise QB. But Aldridge didn't just say it would happen eventually, he said it would happen Week 5, guaranteed. And he said this before the Goddamn season began. I bow to the greatness of David Aldridge. I'll get to Andrew Luck later, but as an example, he's quite the athletic QB and the Colts don't have him running the fucking option. If he were of African heritage, maybe...anyhow, Atlanta needed that hit and the Washington defense to play down to their potential to mount a 2nd-half comeback. Cause for concern? Perhaps, but you should always be cautious picking the Falcons on grass. They're just not the same team, ass-kickings of San Diego and Kansas City this year notwithstanding.
- I'm about through with Michael Vick. He may be done. Like, ineffective the rest of his career done. This dude refuses to be careful with the football, plus he's not nearly as electric as he used to be. Philadelphia had a formula with Vick a couple of years back when they saw that he still had some game. His open-field talent scared the fuck out of other teams, so they could sprint him a couple of times to set up huge shots downfield throwing to DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. But now teams are better at covering those receivers at all times, and Vick isn't nearly as explosive as just a couple of years back. And now, he's also giving up the ball almost every time he handles it. Pittsburgh worries me too because their offensive rhythm was all off early, but I'll let it slide due to coming back from the bye week. Big Ben and the WRs put it together in the end, but not enough to cover the number.
- Indy Inspiration because of their sick coach? Uh, no. Here's the thing about media narratives: You gotta be smart and inspect all of these stories and find the real truth. Don't you think that if for one second the Colts could play better football just because they were inspired by their head coach Chuck Pagano being out due to leukemia, it would manifest itself in the first half? It's that simple, people. If Indianapolis were inspired by Coach, they wouldn't have trailed 21-3 in the 3rd quarter. They were down because they're not good and Green Bay is, and they came back and won because they mounted a pass rush on the Packers and their shit offensive line, and because Andrew Luck is a fucking baller. No more, no less. Oh, one more reason--always keep an eye on Clay Matthews, 'cause I'm still convinced that GB's defense performs only as well as he does. And he was absent during the Colt rally. They picked him up very well on his blitzes. They deserve the credit, not the ghost of Chuck Pagano.
- Maybe the New York Giants don't play well unless they're in some sort of crisis. They don't make Super Bowl runs unless they're the last team in the playoffs, all road games, all hostile environs. They're historically mediocre at home under Tom Coughlin. And their three home games this season, they got dong-whipped by the Cowboys, were getting killed by the Bucs before Eli Manning threw for 6,000 yards, and they were losing by double digits in the 1st half to the Cleveland Browns. Gawd. Maybe they turned it on and came back only because it was the Cleveland Browns. Maybe a real team smothers them and puts them away. The Browns? They're employing a QB who qualifies for AARP and yet didn't know that when you throw a forward pass once and it gets knocked back to you, that's a completed pass, and you can't throw it forward again. That about sums that game up.
- Cincinnati had a good rhythm going on offense early against Miami, but the game got decided because Andy Dalton and co. settled for FGs, and Ryan Tannehill and the Fins didn't. When two similar teams go head-to-head, something that simple often decides it. Miami's defense cinched it up and kept the Bengals out of the end zone. Both teams scored 3 times, but Miami scored two TDs, and that was that. A missed Mike Nugent FG late helped, too.
- What was that mess in Kansas City? I'm not talking about cheering the Chiefs' QB Matt Cassel getting hurt. I have no problem with that. If he didn't suck, he wouldn't have gotten booed. I'm talking about the Ravens and Joe Flacco losing their mojo and turning in a turd of a performance against a defense that had not impressed anyone this year. I'm sick and tired of this team playing like shit against teams that they underestimate. I thought they had gotten over that this season, but maybe not. Baltimore allowed 3.2 yards per carry coming into this game. How the fuck did Jamaal Charles rush for 125 in the 1st half? And how did KC not have a lead with that kind of outing? Oh yeah, Cassel's their QB. Almost forgot. Well, not for the near future. Now Kansas City gets to cheer for the backup...BRADY QUINN?!? Oh no. They're gonna want Cassel back within the next couple of weeks.
- I don't like Cam Newton's decision-timing right now. Not his decision-making, his decision-timing. He doesn't seem to be making really bad decisions, like throwing into double-coverage or things like that. But he seems to be taking forever to choose what he wants to do. The offensive line can only block so long. Whether it's option plays or drop-back throws, Cam's got a crisis of confidence going, and he'd better snap out of it quickly. His coordinator called a throw late in the game on 4th-and-1, and I like that even less. WTF??? The incompletion stopped a Panthers drive and gave a win to the Seahawks, and Seattle earned it, but still, Carolina didn't have a fair chance to let their playmakers make the plays to steal it at the end. Really, 4th-and-1 and you need to call a pass??
- Jay Cutler's pick-and-stick rhythm belied my thoughts that he and Mike Tice couldn't call a good game plan two weeks in a row. I was dead fucking wrong. No two ways about it. It helped that Jacksonville has absolutely no pass rush, but I knew that when I made the pick, so that's no excuse. I'm sure the Bears are wondering, just as everyone else watching, how were they tied at the half with this dogshit team? Then the 2nd half happened, and the cream rose to the top.
- Speaking of the better team putting it together, Minnesota--who, again, don't misunderstand me, is not a good NFL team, not at all--just trounced Tennessee, and that 30-7 score isn't right because it was a bigger blowout than even that. Tennessee might be the worst team in the league.
- Peyton Manning was on his way to leading a comeback that would have earned Jason and me a backdoor cover when McGahee happened. That's Willis McGahee, the Denver RB who's been pretty good this year but had a 4th quarter in New England that he'd like to forget. He dropped a 4th-and-1 pass (there's that throwing on 4th-and-1 shit again), and he fumbled on the final Broncos drive. Add in DeMaryius Thomas catching a long pass from Peyton on the opening drive and getting stripped at the NE 14, and the story of the game was, two surgeons in Manning and Tom Brady doing what surgeons do, but Manning was betrayed by his teammates. I still think those long rainbow throws from Peyton don't have much on them, and a real secondary would have been camped under most of them.
- Wait...Buffalo might be worst team in the league. Do the Titans and Bills play this year?
- Maybe there was inspiration in the air in New Orleans as well? After all, the exiled coach and GM and defensive coordinator were all in the house for Drew Brees to break the all-time consecutive TD pass record. That should have propelled the Saints to a blowout win over the Chargers...except the Chargers were winning 24-14 in the 3rd quarter. Again, take that bullshit media narrative about being inspired by coaches or GMs or whatever and throw it as far out the window as your arms will allow. The Saints won the game (and covered the number) mostly because Brees and WRs Devery Henderson and Marques Colston got on the same page for the first time this season. Also, because on the San Diego final drive, referees twice disallowed big passes downfield due to dubious penalties, then LT Jared Gaither blew a tire and let NO defenders run right around him to get to QB Philip Rivers, and one of those defenders sacked Rivers, stripped the ball, and covered it up for the win. Sean Payton didn't make Gaither's leg cramp up.
- I'm afraid Monday night showed me something I didn't want to admit: Houston's not very good. I like them a lot because they come right at you on offense and defense, without a lot of razzle-dazzle. But look, the Jets are complete crap up and down, and the Texans should have killed them with the quickness. But Houston was so lackluster that they were lucky they were playing the Jets, because another team may have completed the comeback and won the game. Instead, New York managed to cover. I've been talking about Houston's terrible schedule so far this year, and they still should sweep their division because all those teams stink. But I don't think I'm taking them against any decent teams until they show me some consistency. They let Mark Sanchez hit large plays in the air with receivers whom most of us have never heard of. Kerley? Where was Larry and Moe? Schilens? Wasn't he cut by the Raiders? Cumberland? Who the hell is he? And anyone worried about the Jets' QB choice for purposes other than gambling or fantasy, please get hit by a fast train. Thank you.
YTD Records--Dre 44-31-2, .587; Jay 42-33-2, .560
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