Wow NFL…..two games at 4pm?? Seriously?? I know there’s six teams on bye this week, but still….you gotta do better then that (and no I don’t give a rat’s damn if the baseball playoffs are going on…football Sunday wins)…hell coulda moved Baltimore and Houston to 4:00….argh….anyway….at least all the prime time games should be good this week….
Thursday Oct. 18:
Seattle at 49ers:
This is gonna be a hell of a fight tonight….the 49ers should be pissed and humiliated after getting run over and dominated like they were (look how good the Niners were in the two games after Minnesota broke and bloodied their nose)….while Seattle is in all out “shock the world” mode….hell they’re not even afraid to tell you about it and talk some sh!t and make some noise about it (though I’m still waiting for Tom Brady to channel some Patrick Roy and say “can’t hear you son, Super Bowl rings are jingling and drowning you out….)…Seattle has the best defense in the league you don’t know about (93 points allowed is lowest amongst teams that didn’t have a bye yet)….you could make a case that Seattle has the better QB… heh….even these two coaches are the same, so is their mindset….whoever runs the ball better and first is gonna win this one….and when in doubt…take the home team….and the angrier one…..
Winner: 49ers
Game Quality: **** (FINALLY, a good one!)
Sunday Oct. 21:
1pm:
Ravens at Houston:
This game features the ONLY two AFC teams over .500 this week (yes ranking a top 5 in the AFC is pure weekly torture now)….and yes Jason Garrett gifted the Ravens a win last week (if you’re an NFL coach when you send your offense out there after the onside kick, you take the QB and you tell him EXPLICTLY “if that ball is caught in bounds, get your ass up there and spike that ball into the damn ground…SAVE THAT TIME OUT”…it’s not that hard….stupid Ivy League coach….anyway….this is Ravens/Texicans time…)…that game cost the Ravens heavy though….Ray Lewis…DEAD… Webb…DEAD…Ngata…not the same again….and yeah Houston is down Cushing (which hurt against GB), but Houston is healthier….has the better running game, and maybe Andre Johnson gets a pulse and a heartbeat here….)…either way we’re gonna have our eyes on this one…..
Winner: Houston
Game Quality: *** (this is a big one….)
Packers at St. Louis:
Damn there’s a lot of intriguing ones at 1pm Sunday…Green Bay finally looked like the Packers we’ve been advertised to see the last two years and took advantage at the expense of the Houston secondary….the Rams are a bit better and scrappier on defense, not to mention a very good and young pass rush…the Packers better not be feeling too good about themselves or they’re gonna get stomped on this week….with Jacksonville and Arizona on the schedule next…this might be the stretch we start seeing those “real Packers” too….this is not the time you wanna see your opponent stacked with Packers on his fantasy team….they’re gonna get things going….as long as they don’t look past the Rams here …..
Winner: Packers
Game Quality: *** (Young vs. established, always interesting)
Titans at Bills:
The Titans are not only 2-4 but they’ve scored just a little more then half of what they’ve allowed in points….I’m starting Chris Johnson this week, this means he’ll be horrible…and somehow despite how horrid the Bills (and more so Fitzpatrick, and that stealth D-Line) have been…they’re in the AFC East…which means….they’re in first place….not to mention we’re gonna see that Music City Miracle pass 150 times in this game….they should whip out Brett Hull in the crease and Scott Norwood’s shank-o-pottumus play too just to bring out all the sting…the Bills GOTTA have this game and the Titans are just putrid….odds are this will be dramatic though…..
Winner: Bills
Game Quality: ** (just watch those laterals on kickoffs boys…..)
Browns at Colts:
The Browns come in on a Franchise Record one game winning streak!!! The Colts looked as bad as possible last week (should have been expected….week one you get all fired up because of the Chuck-Strong thing…then the next week it kinda settles in and you have trouble getting ready for the game…plus they are a young team….)…this should be a fun game with some good offense and some young players to keep an eye on, but if the Cleveland Browns win two games in a row, the Earth shall open up, the skies will rain red and dogs and cats will start mating and making super-creatures that will feast on us all Walking Dead style…..since I’m not ready for Armageddon….well not yet….I’m going the other way and hoping Andrew Luck can keep the world safe!
Winner: Colts
Game Quality: ** (this actually might not be terrible….)
Saints at Tampa Bay:
If there was ever a game that deserved to be buried in the 1pm timeslot, never looked at or mentioned ever ever again….this is that kinda game…. *cringe*….no Jimmy Graham (possibly….see why I laughed when people took a TE in the 1st round?), no defense at all in New Orleans (though Vilma may come back and fight the power even more on this Bounty Stupidity like he is)….hell if you combined the Tampa D and the Saints offense and moved them to the AFC you’d have a Super Bowl Contender right? I came into this game pretty sure the Saint offense would assault and overwhelm Tampa’s D and get that comeback nonsense talk all started…but Tampa can run the ball and play some defense….as long as they keep the ball outta Freeman’s hands….I’m thinking upset here….it’s ok to flip-flop now and then…RIGHT???
Winner: Tampa!!
Game Quality: * ½ (this might be hideous on the other hand
)Dallas at Carolina:
Oh boy….can’t avoid this one anymore….the two most unfocused, sloppy and overrated offenses in the league….the two teams that can’t get out of each others ways….though as full of themselves and overhyped as the Cowboys are….at least their center didn’t take a full page “see you in the Super Bowl” ad, right? This game is not only a hot sweaty mess, but it’s the awkward morning after kinda mess (go figure my last one of those involved a Cowboy jersey too… *eyeroll* )…at least the Cowboys can sorta play defense…and Carolina is the one team in the NFC with less points scored then the Cowboys….so go ahead…book the Panthers to win this one….I’ll even make it easier for you…..
Winner: Dallas
Game Quality: Anti-Football GEM <3
Arizona at Minnesota:
The Cardinals are gonna burn up in the atmosphere at the speed they’ve gained crashing right back down to Earth (hell they may go all the way through and end up back in orbit…)…they can’t block, can’t run and can’t keep their QBs healthy…good thing one gets healthy before the other one gets killed at least…Minnesota on the other hand can get to the QB, they can run the football and they get solid QB play (despite getting thumped RG III style last week)…Jared Allen’s gonna eat….and eat a LOT this week…the Vikings get back on track in a hurry….
Winner: Vikings
Game Quality: * ½ (the Cardinals are back on the fast track to 5-11)
Redskins at NY Giants:
So the Giants look like world-beaters again…getting healthy…stopping the run…getting players back on offense…and here come the Redskins who beat them both times last year….this sounds like a Giant ass kicking of blood death and vengeance right? I’m not too sure about that….every time the Giants look like a lock and have no adversity they slip up….people are calling them a Super Bowl team again….things look right (and be fair, stopping the 49er run game is impressive….but the Redskin version is a totally different animal and it works COMPLETELY different because of the QB)…plus it’s been that kinda year…unless you’re Atlanta…no team is running away with it…and no team is getting buried in the dust….mediocrity is KING….and this game just proves it….
Winner: Washington
Game Quality: *** (any game with RG III gains a point for dramatics….)
4pm:
NY Jets at Patriots:
Well see the above rant about no team being out of it…look at the AFC East, you’re in it, you’re 3-3….go figure…you’d have never expected these teams to both be 3-3 at this point, the Pats have underachieved…while at least you can say the Jets are beating the lesser teams in the league (not sure you can say that about the Patriots right now)…my faith in the Patriots is limited at best…but when you look at the Jets…bah, frak it…I’m gonna be annoyed, pissed and miserable at 4pm either way….I might as well go for over the top in the pain and the misery and all that crap, right??
Winner: J-E-T-S (no coin toss required!!!)
Game Quality: *** (compared to the other 4pm game this is the Super Bowl
)Jacksonville at Oakland:
OK…after washing and scrubbing my hands from that last pick…boy I should have vomited in the toilet bowl looking at this heaping pile of anti-football trash!! The Jaguars have scored 65 points (you know as much as New England scored on Buffalo in one week…)….Jesus Christ….65 points …that’s 13 a game….why the hell do I need to say anything else about this game?? Though the Raiders ain’t much better at 87…it’s time to give the ball to McFadden 150,000 times and get that thing going…do you know 9 teams have more points for then these two COMBINED??? Give my anti-football or give me DEATH!!!!!
Winner: Oakland
Game Quality: ANTI-FOOTBALL!! (we get two of ‘em this week!)
8pm:
Steelers at Bengals:
This is one of those games you looked at in August and said “man NBC got screwed here”….and then October rolled around and this game became a lot more interesting…the Steelers D is all sorts of beat up and not good, the O-Line doesn’t exist, and it’s really the Big Ben show going on over there….while the Bengals have had a solid offense (though Green-Ellis has been disappointing), their defense has also been pretty bad…though they are second in the NFL in sacks (admit it, you did NOT know that!!)….which means they should feast on the crappy Steeler line…the Bengals don’t get turnovers though and the rest of their defensive numbers are average to bad at best…still the Steelers are ripe for the picking and the Bengals need a statement win sooner or later….if it ain’t now….at home….it ain’t gonna happen……
Winner: Bengals
Game Quality: ***
Monday Oct. 22:
Bears at Lions:
Ohhh, a prime time Jay Cutler temper tantrum….I love me one of these!! Yes the Lions did win last week…but that’s more because they played a sloppier and less organized team then they are (who also fired their DC after ZERO sacks in the last 3 games mind you)…the Bears had two weeks to get ready….and learn how to block….for this one…the Lions are still one-dimensional on offense, BAD on defense….and the Bears are better at every position (which is funny since Stafford and Calvin should be better then anything Chicago has)….but add in the rivalry and Calvin’s big play ability and consistency (despite not getting in the end zone)…wow Stafford has only thrown for 4 TDs and leads the team with 2 rushing TDs….the Lions are a disaster…..thank God this is a rivalry game….
Winner: Bears
Game Quality: *** (always interesting….)
NFL Power Rankings Week 6:
AFC:
- Baltimore….you still owe Jason Garrett a thank you card….
- Houston….just a bump in the road?
- Miami….two nice wins in a row and playing better each week
- Denver….with much love and failure…. – Norv Turner….
- NY Jets….why not, each time I rank em, they lose
NFC:
- Atlanta…keeping the ’72 Dolphins champagne unopened…..
- NY Giants…yeup, they’re getting healthy….
- Minnesota…maybe the story in the NFL right now…..
- Seattle…wins over NE, Dallas and Green Bay, time to give credit….
- 49ers…bad loss, or bad sign of things to come?
