THE MYTH OF THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS

The Vikings are not nearly as great as people think they are. So far their opponents record is 45-69. That's .395. 4 wins against teams with 2 wins or less.
A loss against a Pittsburgh team that has no running game. Supposedly the perfect type of team for their defense to play. Barely winning against a suspect Baltimore team. A team that had to go to overtime to beat a Steelers team that was without the vaunted Troy Polamalu and starting it's 3rd string QB. Barely beating the Niners. Let's not look at these teams as how good people thought they were when they played the Vikings, but how bad they have turned out to be. That means only 2 wins against quality opponents, the Packers. Since Green Bay can't run the ball or protect the QB, how much quality is that.
The remaining schedule is Arizona, Cincinnati, Carolina, Chicago and the Giants. I can see 2, maybe 4 losses there. The Cardinals and Bengals are the best teams they will play all year. Chicago is in Chicago.

THE REST OF 'EM

2-1 from Thursday. Entering the season all the pundits said the Giants would have 'the greatest front 7 ever'. At what?
Tampa Bay 14 @ ATLANTA 24
MIAMI 23 @ T Old 10 (great pick up Bills)
Cleveland 7 @ CINCINNATI 21
SEATTLE 16 @ St Louis 7 (zzzzzzzz)
Carolina 13 @ NEW YORK JETS 16 (fools rush in where angels fear to tread)
WASHINGTON 17 @ Suckadelphia 14
INDIANAPOLIS 24 @ Houston 21 (Texans bandwagon now a unicycle)
Kansas City 14 @ SAN DIEGO 24
Jacksonville 17 @ SAN FRANCISCO 23 (oh great and mighty coin which team will win this game)
Arizona 21 @ TENNESSEE 27 (VINCE!)
Chicago 13 @ MINNESOTA 27 (Cedar Hill TX High would be 9-1 against this schedule)
Pittsburgh 10 @ BALTIMORE 24 (some day Ray Lewis will injure himself doing that stupid dance)
New England 27 @ NEW ORLEANS 41 (won't loose to this weak d)

TURKEY DAY PICKS

Since I am staying up all night to smoke 2 turkeys, I had better get the early picks in before lack of sleep robs me of my senses!
GREEN BAY 24 @ Detroit 10 (if Stafford and Johnson were healthy would be reversed!)
Oakland 10 @ DALLAS 27 (surely this game will not be a struggle)
NEW YORK GIANTS 24 @ Denver 10 (will the Broncos win any more this year? Survey says!.....not much)
The rest of the truth will be posted by Saturday.

Last Week in the NFL

10-6 this week, a small improvement, 95-49 since starting week 2.
Cincinnati is the Bungles. They were always the Bungles.
Cleveland is the worst team in football. That 10-6 season a couple of seasons ago was the worst thing that could have happened to them.
Starting 3-0 was the worst thing that could have happened to the Jets, Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan. Guaruntees that Stafford and the Lions will make the playoffs before they do.
That close win over Atlanta will give the Giants a false sense of security.
Jay Cutler is now throwing scared. Bears need big changes in personnell at skill positions. There is no skill at skill positions.

GARRETT, PRESS BOX, PLEASE

I renew my call for Jason Garrett to get into the press box to call the plays. In my 1st post I sighted sideline distractions. Now, after 2 poorly called games, I believe it may be more important to see the field. I don't think he can see defensive spacing well enough from the limited view on the sideline.
It also looks like the run only first part of the game was a tantrum to try to prove the running game doesn't work. He needs to learn to mix it up better from a variety of formations.
It's also clear that taking up all of the play clock on every play is destroying offensive rhythm. The defense also has time to read and adjust when all that time is wasted. In both of the last 2 games, the touchdown drives were when the team was acting quickly, but not necessarily in hurry up. Just call plays, get to the line and take up a second to read the defense and run the play. Defenses make pre-snap adjustments too.

Les Miles Kidnapped!

Les Miles, the greatest coach in history (not), was kidnapped by his arch nemesis, Moore Kilometers. How else do you explain the clock debacle against Mississippi or Ole Miss or Mississippi State or whatever irrelevant school they were playing. What coach doesn't look at the clock when they are calling time out, to make sure the clock stops? What coach doesn't make sure he has the ref's attention?
When I said Florida would win their games up to, but not including, the BCS champioship, I did not know their remaining regular season schedule consisted of high school teams.
Oklahoma's plan of tanking to try and ruin Texas' strength of schedule has failed becuase Houston has done so well and becuase they are losing to teams Texas beat.
Remember to schedule your nap for the Rose Bowl. Slow, plodding Ohio State will be outrun by any PAC 10 team.

THE REST OF THIS WEEKS PICKS

Already lost Miami Carolina game. Never trust any pick involving Jake Delhomme.
Washington 10 @ Dallas 17 (Deadskins would win this, their super bowl, if Dallas had won last week)
Cleveland 6 @ Detroit 13 (Browns gott nothin' man)
San Francisco 21 @ Puckers 13 (Green Bay won their super bowl last week, time to lick the envelope and put a stamp on it)
Pittsburgh 24 @ Kansas City 14
Seattle 13 @ Minnesota 24 (when do Vikings have to play someone)
Atlanta 31 @ New York Giants 24
New Orleans 27 @ Tampa Bay 24 (Saints playing like Florida Gators now, will hurt them come playoff time)
Buffalo 10 @ Jacksonville 21
Indianapolis 24 @ Baltimore 13
Arizona 27 @ Spams 6
San Diego 26 @ Denver 13
Cincinnati 27 @ Oakland 7
New York Jets 13 @ New England 31 (Rex Ryan leaves tearful recorded messages for ticket holders)
Philadelphia 16 @ Chicago 24
Tennessee 27 @ Houston 21 (Vince!)

I'm Confused!?!??

On ESPN First Take Charean Williams reports:
Jason Garrett under fire for only 14 running plays against Green Bay. Jerry Jones not second guessing but vows more running plays. Garrett says flow of the game dictated passing becuase Cowboys didn't have the ball much.
Tied at 0 until late in the first half. Down by only 3 until early in the fourth quarter. Facing PASS blitzes all game long. When exactly did the flow of the game dictate abandoning the running game? Isn't running the ball one way to defeat the blitz.
They say all the 'eight in he box' dictated passing. But it was for pass blitzing. Even then, how about using the 2 touted tight ends in power I or single back, shown so much in the pre season, to counter eight in the box? I believe sometimes you run the ball just to force your will and keep your defense off the field.
That said, I believe Garrett has designed a good offense and good plays. He's just has no knack for when or how to apply that in game.

THURSDAY GAME

Miami 19 @ Carolina 21 (no Ronnie Brown, can Pat White be the wildcat? can Delhomme figure out what color he is wearing? scary game to pick)

Thank God its Free

I just got word off The Dallas Morning News Cowboys Blog that Doug Free will start at tackle to replace Marco Colombo. Cory Proctor would have wrecked the season. If Free plays well enough to hold the spot, the Cowboys should be able to win the NFC East.
Admittedly I panicked on the game day post. But I remembered last year. The coaching staff could not figure out that Proctor could not block at guard and didn't pull him until the third quarter of the debacle in Philly. Granted Proctor blocked well replacing Gurode at center vs. Atlanta, but i saw what happened at guard last year. Keep him at backup center only.
I now believe the team will get to 11-5. Maybe they can eek out 12-4. You have to remember that there are 4 division games left. No matter how horrible the Giants, Eagles and Redskins look in the rest of their games, they always come to play against Dallas. The Boys can beat all these teams if they apply themselves. They have a chance against a fading Saints team that is playing a week schedule. The Chargers may be a different story, but don't count out Dallas in this one. If they lose to Oakland December 21, 2012 will come early.

NFL WEEK IN REVIEW

9-6 this week. 85-43 overall.
Now that slack jaw is on the bench Tennessee may win 8 games. When the Titans moved they got too good too quick and spoiled those fans. They expected too nuch too soon from Vince Young and now they have what they have. If Vince had started from day 1 this season they would be a wild card team. If you are going to boo a young qb, any qb, in the first game of a season, you don't know football.
Bill Belicick's decison to go for it on 4th and 2 wouldn't bee too bad against 27 teams in the NFL. New England has a very good defense. The Colts are not one of those teams. Plus, Indy still had 3 timeouts. Even if you get that 1st down the Colts may have still gotten the ball back with about a minute left.
Looks like the clock struck midnight on the Broncos. As of now, THEY ARE WHO I THOUGHT THEY WERE!
The ESPN pundits generally praised Belichick for a dumb decision that failed and slammed Del Rio for good clock management that worked. Go figure.

TRYING TO KEEP HOPE ALIVE

Even though my last entry was gloom and doom it wasn't about the fact the Cowboys lost to the Packers. It was the fact they lost Marco Colombo for the year. I picked a big Dallas victory because if tthings went as they should that would have happened. I was fully aware the Cowboys might have a bit of a hangover from the big win over the Eagles. I also suspected that Green Bay would come out strong after a bad loss and have a defensive game plan quite different from what they had previouisly shown. And that is what happened.
I can't help but looking back to last year. Cowboys coaches couldn't see they needed to get Cory Proctor off the field until the 3rd quarter of the debacle in Philly, wheb it was way too late. I fear Proctor has yet again practiced well following a good training camp. I believe he is the Warner Bros. frog. No one's looking and it's 'Hello my honey, hello my baby' . Turn on the cameras for a game and it's 'ribbit'.

COWBOYS SEASON ENDS

Don't bother with the Dallas Cowboys the rest of the season. My hopes and expectations were based on the team not having any more major injuried, especially to the offensive line.
With a broken leg, Marco Colombo will be out at least 6 weeks and probably the season. There are 7 weeks left. The only game they will win is against Oakland. So that is a 7-9 season.
Why so gloomy? The undoubted move will be to play Cory Proctor. Proctor can't block anyone. Sure he tries, but check the tapes. When the season went to hell last year was when Kosier and Holland were hurt and Proctor had to play. The play against Arizona when Romo got hurt was a Proctor missed block. Having him in the game is like having a 3 man offensive line. His inability erases one of the other linemen.
Unless they have a tackle I don't know about, it's over. It was good to have hope for awhile. I still have the Longhorns!

THIS WEEK IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

I'm sick and tired of people saying Texas can't win the national championship because they only have 2 weapons in Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. They got alotta weapons pal. Mack brown has schmoed up his recruiting for years. They have 3 different running backs, of which one seems to rise up each week. If it weren't for injury problems, Trey Newton probabaly would have been the featured back.
I'm glad Florida keeps barely winning games. It will enforce the 'if we show up we'll win' mentallity. By the time they have to play Texas in the championship game their heads will be so huge they won't fit in the stadium. I bet if Florida played Baylor the score would be 24-13. That's about all Florida wins by anymore. Texas would have beaten the South Carolina Cocks by 40. Mainly because Spurrier can't coach'em up or recruit anymore.
No matter what happens Florida will make the championship because the BCS has polls and we all know how good Florida is at screwing up elections.

THE REST OF THIS WEEKS PICKS

I've already lost the Bears-Niners game because Jay Cutler sucks.
Buffalo 13 @ Tennessee 24 (Vince is getting better)
New Orleans 34 @ SPAMS 6 (Saints should play their second string against this D2 squad)
Tampa Bay 10 @ Miami 17
Detroit 13 @ Minnesota 27
Jacksonville 24 @ New York Jets 20 (the party's over for New York City)
Cincinnati 24 @ Pittsburgh 27 (wanted to pick Bungles but Henry is out)
Denver 17 @ Deadskins 10
Atlanta 27 @ Carolina 17
Chiefs of what? losing! 13 @ Raiders of the lost game 16
Iggles 16 @ San Diego 24 (the downward spiral begins)
Seattle 10 @ Arizona 21
Dallas 31 @ Green Bay 16 (Cowboys may set all time sack record)
New England 17 @ Indianapolis 21 (Colts defense deeper than you think)
Baltimore 17 @ Cleveland 13

EARLY GAME

I give you the thursday game 1st, the rest to follow by Saturday.
Chicago 21 @ San Francisco 17
View the picks of my friend (nemesis) I am competing against at ndtrc.blogspot.com. He blogs Notre Dame (yeck) and Cowboys too.

NFL Weekend Wrap Up

The Pick 'em didn't go so well this weekend. 7-6 and 76-37 overall since starting week 2.
I will no longer listen to the Chicago and Denver hype machines. THEY ARE WHO I THOUGHT THEY WERE!
We will now see what Tennessee lost when they put Vince Young's developement on hold to gamble on the Super Bowl with a slack jawed quarterback. It may cost Jeff Fischer his job.
Indy got lucky. There will come a point that Peyton Manning will be unable to overcome the defensive losses.
The Giants may be done. Get your fork ready.
The rest of the league just saw how to beat Philly. Pressure McNabb so the long pass routes don't have time to develope. They can't play ball control. Wide reciever screens and quick slants with some draws and delays thrown in will pull them out of the blitz. They will pretend to challenge for the playoffs but if you can't beat Oakland you have no business in the post season.

Cowboys Defense Stifles Big Play Eagles

Many people are saying this game was the biggest road win ever for Tony Romo, and up til now it is. Many people will say this game was a turning point for Roy Williams, and it was. He got first downs that kept the Eagles offense off the field. This game was about the best defense in the NFC, maybe the NFL.
Face it, all Andy Reid's second half bad decisions were attempts to keep his struggling offense on the field. They were all desperate grabs to try to maintain drives because he knew Wade Phillips had taken away big plays and most of the passing game. Reid did not have enough confidence in his offense's ability to have to drive 60 to 80 yards to score.
No one should argue about the replay ruling on the 4th and inches. Watch it closely When McNabb slid off the pile he did not slide forward, he slid sideways. It didn't matter where his left arm was.
The final possession of the game showed just how much the Dallas offense, the line in particular, had beaten up the Philly defense.

NCAA

Any more questions about Texas? If you have any, just wait. The team is still improving each week. Just because they won't run up the score to pander to the polls is no indication of weekness. Texas A n M will give them a game. The Big 12 Championship will be a challenge as well. We're waiting, Tebow.
I would say forget about Alabama, because they struggled to beat an offenseless LSU, but Florida hasn't impressed me either.
Oregon is great, wha.......
How was Oklahoma ranked in the top 25 in any poll?

WEEK 9 NFL PICKS

Deadskins 13 @ Hotlanta 34
Arizona 17 @ Da Bears 27
Baltimore 21 @ Ochonnati 24
Houston 14 @ Indianapolis 24
Miami 14 @ New England 24
Green Bay 27 @ Tampa Bay 12 (a perfect excuse for a nap)
Kansas City 17 @ Jacksonville 20 (possibly the season's most irrevelant game)
Detrit 27 @ Seattle 14 (how many meaningless games are there?)
Carolina 17 @ New Orleans 35
San Diego 17 @ New York Giants 21 (this one could go either way)
Tenneessee 16 @ San Francisoo 20
Dallas 38 @ Iggles 24 (revenge)
Pittsburgh 13 @ Denver 20 (not much confidence hereh

NFL Week 8 Wrap up

Another 11-2 week bringing me to 69-31 since starting in week 2. I may have gotten a couple right vs the spread.
Now that Vince Young is starting the Titans may not be one of the many teams with no more than 5 wins.
The Giants will have a brief resurgence either the next few weeks or the end of the season. They will pretend to challenge for a playoff spot but will miss.
With the exception of the western division winners, teams wil have to have 11 wins to get into the playoffs. This year there is not much of a middle class in the NFL. We might see 5 teams with 13 or more wins.

Cowboys Win a Game They are Supposed the Way They are Supposed to

All the cowboys doubters better hold off until December. That's when they have to prove something. And I think they will. For two straight Decembers they have had injuries that helped to sink them. I believe they have gotten throught the injuries this year. We know all about last year's injuries. Two years ago they ended the season with injuries to Romo's arm, T.O.'s leg and other less documented hurts.
Let's take a look at the two losses this season. They lost to the Giants (who everyone thought was so wonderful) by a point. There were about 15 plays that cost the Cowboys. The picks, the missed field goal, the penalties and the few defensive lapses. Turn any of those around and it's a win.
It's the same story against Denver. Plus, everyone now says Denver is a very good team. That means that if the Cowboys play well they win that game.
Yes they played an awful game against KC, but won. Good teams win games against bad teams when having a bad game.
Watch out Philly.

Longhorns Continue to Improve

The University of Texas can now claim 3 wins over quality teams that can't be argued against. At least not by a sane person. No one can say Oklahoma State lost because of suspended reciever Dez Bryant. They were unable to come close to stopping a Texas offense that is overcoming inuries and coming together at the right time. If the Horns take it one week at a time they will get to the BCS championship game.
Now that the PAC 10 is out of the championship picture only Iowa may be able to complain about the BCS. I just don't see them going undefeated in the regular season anyway.
No matter what happens this season will turn out to be the best ever argument for a playoff. We may see 4 undefeated teams.