Football thoughts for the week:
Pick 'Ems:
Falcons at Eagles: Andy Reid played the scapegoat-Juan-Castillo card he's been holding in his back pocket for a while. Despite apparently running the same stuff over and over, the 12th ranked Eagles defense does not seem to be the source of the team's biggest problems. At 3-3, they're still in the thick of it in a competitive division. Atlanta sits at 6-0 but has looked vulnerable for three straight games. They are not playing like a team that will go undefeated deep into the season. This game's more dangerous than it ought to be for them, but I still pick the Falcons.
Raiders at Chiefs: The battle for the bottom of the worst division in football. Oakland was getting carved up by the 32-ranked Jaguars offense before Blaine Gabbert left the game, while Kansas City worked an extra week of preparation in over the bye. The last game Brady Quinn played in and won was in 2009, against, hey, Kansas City. I... can't pick Brady Quinn to win. I just can't. Raiders
Seahawks at Lions: If Seattle had a better offense, they would be a serious threat in the league right now. Their 5th rated defense is slowed by a 30th rated offense, which alternates between competent and stalled week to week, with their rookie QB at the helm (if only they had sought out a "franchise" QB in the offseason...). Detroit comes off a Monday night game in which their offense was completely shut down. As good as the Seattle defense is, I think it will be hard to hold the Lions down for two straight weeks like that, and I don't know if the Seattle offense will keep up. Lions.
Patriots vs. Rams (at Wembley): After losing to Seattle, it took the Patriots overtime to take down the Jets in week 7. Meanwhile, the Rams put up a reasonably competitive performance against the Packers, but were ultimately outgunned. Good news for St. Louis: Danny Amendola has returned to practice, though it is uncertain if he will play in this particular game. Jeff Fisher described Amendola as "limited participation" at this point. St. Louis desperately needs their most productive receiver back in the fold. Their surprisingly potent defense has kept them competitive, but the top-ranked Patriots offense will be too much for them.
And our die roll game...
Giants at Cowboys: The smallest remaining point spread game, with the Giants two-point favorites over Big D at home. Oh, the wailing there is to be heard on Texas sports radio. Romo is completing passes left and right, with a 67.9% completion percentage, but his 9 INTs mean he's completing passes to the other team almost as frequently. Eli Manning, meanwhile, continues to make a fool of everyone that laughed at his "elite" comment last year. Maybe it's the power of positive thinking, because it was right after that comment that he started backing up the talk, and he's yet to fall off. We're on the cusp of having to admit that Eli is indeed an elite, tier one QB, and not just riding a hot streak. He's still a bit too INT-happy (7 so far this year), but that's about the only legitimate knock to his game right now. Eli has about 4 or 5 prime years ahead of him. This is the time when he'll fully write his place in the history books, be it a great QB or a very good footnote. At any rate, Dallas sucks, Giants for the win.
Last week's results:
Jeez, I'm picking the same teams as Legion this week. Terrible, right?
Except you picked the Panthers instead of the Cowboys like I did. And that's why you're not 5-0 this week!
*Legion*: 5-0
Atras: 5-0
billt721: 5-0
Gumbie: 5-0
Jasonofindy: 5-0
Jayhawker: 5-0
kaostheory: 5-0
Kush15: 5-0
oldmanscene24: 5-0
sheared: 5-0
thejustinbot: 5-0
Xeknos: 5-0
ODDSMAKERS: 5-0
bighoppa: 4-1
Enix: 4-1
Fedaykin98: 4-1
lostlobster: 4-1
McFinn: 4-1
MilkmanDanimal: 4-1
peedmyself: 4-1
sr_malo: 4-1
Stele: 4-1
TheGameguru: 4-1
Zaque: 4-1
AnimeJ: 3-2
Certis: 3-2 (back to normal)
fangblackbone: 3-2
iaintgotnopants: 3-2
karmajay: 3-2
LeapingGnome: 3-2
mudbunny: 3-2
TempestBlayze: 3-2
ukickmydog: 3-2
boogle: 2-3
Elliottx: 2-3
Jolly Bill: 2-3
tboon: 2-3
FSeven: 0-5
garion333: 0-5
Minase: 0-5
muraii: 0-5
Paleocon: 0-5
Secret Asian Man: 0-5
willhouse4078: 0-5
ZellbrigeN26: 0-5
Season totals:
Jayhawker: 25-8
sheared: 23-10
ODDSMAKERS: 22-11
*Legion*: 21-12
Kush15: 21-12
Xeknos: 21-12
TheGameguru: 21-12
Stele: 20-13
Certis: 20-13
LeapingGnome: 20-13
Jasonofindy: 19-14
thejustinbot: 19-14
McFinn: 19-14
Jolly Bill: 19-14
tboon: 19-14
kaostheory: 18-15
lostlobster: 18-15
Zaque: 18-15
AnimeJ: 18-15
iaintgotnopants: 18-15
karmajay: 18-15
Elliottx: 18-15
Gumbie: 17-16
bighoppa: 17-16
MilkmanDanimal: 17-16
fangblackbone: 17-16
Fedaykin98: 16-17
Atras: 15-18
billt721: 15-18
oldmanscene24: 15-18
Enix: 15-18
peedmyself: 15-18
boogle: 15-18
ZellbrigeN26: 15-18
garion333: 14-19
ukickmydog: 13-20
mudbunny: 12-21
TempestBlayze: 12-21
Paleocon: 10-23
Secret Asian Man: 9-24
Minase: 8-25
muraii: 8-25
willhouse4078: 8-25
sr_malo: 5-28
FSeven: 4-29
20-13, maybe I should have been playing with real money this year.
Falcons at Eagles
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys
1) I can see the Eagles winning, but it's close, so I'll go with the team I want to win.
2) Brady Quinn.
3) Lions have to come out of their funk at some point, right?
4) Brady will want to show off for the Brits.
5) Tony Romo.
Heart over head (again)
Falcons at Eagles
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions. (Russell Wilson!)
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys
Hmm. That's a lot of road teams. Eh, whatever.
Falcons at Eagles
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys
Falcons at Eagles - Rejuvenated defense, home advantage, and Vick always has some game where he doesn't suck.
Raiders at Chiefs - Brady Quinn has to be one of the worst QBs to get multiple starts over multiple seasons. There isn't a single reason why he should even play in the NFL, instead he has a pop-gun arm, horrible decision making, immobile, and zero intangibles. Jamarcus had an arm and a gut.
Seahawks at Lions - Russell Wilson, he just wins or sucks.
Patriots vs. Rams - I hope this game will be closer but Patriots are a playoff team while Rams need a year or two of Jeff Fisher building.
Giants at Cowboys - Looking forward to this one as whomever wins will be crowned legit playoff team by me.
Ha! Well, I really am picking the exact same as you this week. Kind of interesting that I'm all alone at 16-17. I am the best of the losers, at the moment. And once again, let me remind y'all I took 0-5 the first week by forgetting to pick. Anyway:
Falcons
Raiders
Lions
Patriots
Giants
By the way, Legion, if you want me to pick differently than you, you can always either pick for the Cowboys, which I can't do, or against the Texans, which I won't.
Falcons at Eagles Matty Ice > Vick
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys Road warriors!
Eagles
Raiders
Seattle
Rams
Giants
Fedaykin98 wrote:By the way, Legion, if you want me to pick differently than you, you can always either pick for the Cowboys, which I can't do, or against the Texans, which I won't. ;)
What if they replaced Romo with Stephen McGee?
I thought they cut McGee?
I don't know, though. I root for him when they put him in, no doubt. Martellus Bennett is an Aggie as well, so I cheered for him despite his being on the wrong team.
I met Marty B at the airport once, in his college days. Seemed like a nice, normal dude. He's known in Aggie circles for being a bit of a clowner; at his commitment press conference in high school, he announced "I'm going to The University of Texas...A&M."
Falcons at Eagles
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys
Falcons at Eagles
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys
garion333 0-5
Man, my grandmother died on Sunday. Can't cut me any slack?
/sympathycard
Falcons at Eagles: New DC. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt as they're at home. Eagles.
Raiders at Chiefs: I think the Raiders suck too much on defense. If the Chiefs give the ball to their best player enough times then Brady Quinn will have won another game. Chiefs.
Seahawks at Lions: I want to believe in the Lions. Burleson is on IR now. Ugh. Lions.
Patriots vs. Rams: Don't think the Rams secondary will be able to keep up with Brady & Co. Patriots.
Giants at Cowboys. I'm glad Jason Garrett stayed in Dallas. Giants.
Falcons at Eagles
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys
Eagles
Raiders
Lions
Rams - What?
Cowboys - Any time I pick Dallas it's because I'm starting Romo on my fantasy team. That's the only reason I'm picking them.
Falcons
Raiders
Lions
Patriots
Giants
Hey for once it pays to be in the Tampa Bay TV area. Free NFL network tonight simulcast on one of the local networks.
Fedaykin98 wrote:I thought they cut McGee?
Yes, but he's their Brian St. Pierre - the guy that doesn't have any practice squad eligibility left, so he stays in shape and waits by the phone, as the team is only carrying 2 QBs on the roster.
I'm not saying there's a good chance just trying to pit the Aggie fan against the Texans fan. It's not my fault there aren't enough good Aggies to fill the Dallas roster. ;)
Hey, the coach of the Raiders team you're picking is an Aggie!
Just got back from six days at Cocoa Beach. Slept like crap last night, kids are exhausted and cranky, had to run through the Atlanta airport to catch a connecting flight that was delayed. I am utterly effing wrecked right now.
That being said, off to Thursday Night Football at the dome. I feel Tampa's got a decent shot; teams can throw deep against them, but the Vikings don't do that anyways. Their real strength is stopping the run, and that's clearly the Vikings' strong suit. I also don't trust Minnesota's secondary at all, and Freeman's been throwing deep like hell the last two weeks.
Falcons
Chiefs
Seahawks
Patriots
Cowboys
Just got back from six days at Cocoa Beach. Slept like crap last night, kids are exhausted and cranky, had to run through the Atlanta airport to catch a connecting flight that was delayed. I am utterly effing wrecked right now.
That being said, off to Thursday Night Football at the dome. I feel Tampa's got a decent shot; teams can throw deep against them, but the Vikings don't do that anyways. Their real strength is stopping the run, and that's clearly the Vikings' strong suit. I also don't trust Minnesota's secondary at all, and Freeman's been throwing deep like hell the last two weeks.
Well damn. I just realized I took Vikes in my pickem cause I was to lazy research this game and after those points I should of snuck in for the upset.
Falcons:The Falcons are arguably the most balanced team in the NFL this year. The Eagles aren't for real. McCoy is being seriously underutilized. I wonder if Andy Reid has started talking to realtors.
Raiders:Bring on The Mighty Quinn. It won't help.
Lions:A one trick pony. Throw to Megatron. However, Seattle's offense is worse.
Patriots:A great offense coupled with a fair-to-midland defense. Throw deep and you can beat the Pats. Sam Bradford can't do that.
Giants:Dallas beat them once this year. Time for payback.
Vincent Jackson kinda proves what a QB can start becoming once you give him a credible target.
Well worth the $$$ IMO.
Falcons at Eagles
Raiders at Chiefs
Seahawks at Lions
Patriots vs. Rams
Giants at Cowboys
Have seen three LaGarrette Blount jerseys. Would like to trade those fans to a different team please.
Falcons
Chiefs
Lions
Patriots
Giants
Doug Martin: OROY? Gonna be RGIII or Luck isn't it?
Eagles
Chiefs
Lions
Patriots
Giants
Pages