NFL 2010 Week 9 Wrap Up

Whew!!!  Finally something good happens to my picks this week.  We were close to getting that perfect week, but as we all know, close only works for horse shoes and hand grenades.  Let’s see what happened. 

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta – The Falcons were able to pull this one out with a goal line defensive stand, stopping LeGarrette Blount to win this game.  Matt Ryan had a steady game (24 of 36 for 235 yards, 1 TD) eventhough he lost his #1 target in Roddy White.  The Falcons are on top of the NFC South and could be dangerous for just about any team out there.  They run the ball well with Michael Turner (24 carries, 107 yards, 2 TDs) and the defense has been able to make some stops when needed.  Great game for the Bucs too, they lost by about a yard.  Inquisitive Mind 1 – 0 for the week.

Chicago @ Buffalo – All this talk about going to the running game for the Bears and this is what you do?  Yes, the Bears ended up with 105 yards rushing as a team but some of that (39 yards) came from Cutler running for his life.  This Bears team is just bad.  Hopefully they will spend some money in the offseason on offensive linemen.  Any player they draft that doesn’t have the designation ‘OL’ should promptly be followed by season ticketholders turning in their tickets.  No one is going to want to watch this next year.  Did I mention that they won?  Just barely.  Inquisitive Mind 2 – 0 for the week. 

New England @ Cleveland – Here’s what I said on Friday – ‘The real question is which Browns team shows up.  Will it be the team that beat the Saints, or the team that shows up almost every other week?  I’m on record that the Patriots aren’t that good (their record says otherwise), but I don’t think this Browns team is quite ready yet.  Maybe this is one more step closer to the Mike Holmgren coaching era in Cleveland’.  Peyton Hillis (29 carries, 184 yards, 2 TDs) singlehandedly destroyed the Patriots, and he also made Colt McCoy look pretty good (14 of 19, 174 yards).  There may be life in Cleveland after LeBron because this Browns team looks to be on the come up.  Inquisitive Mind 2 – 1 for the week. 

New York Jets @ Detroit – This is the team you don’t want to play.  The Detroit Lions played well against the Jets and it took overtime for the Jets to pull this one off.  This was a good hard hitting game that even included (my vote for Defensive Rookie of the Year) Ndamukong Suh missing an extra point.  Santonio Holmes (5 catches, 114 yards) was the difference in the Jets passing game and Calvin Johnson (1 catch, 13 yards) got shut down by the Jets defense.   There had to be joy on that Jets plane home because they stole this one from the jaws of defeat.  Inquisitive Mind 3 – 1 for the week. 

New Orleans @ Carolina – Was this the Charlotte Mecklenburg football team or the Panthers?  This was a no contest from the beginning and that’s about all you can say.  I think John Fox sealed his job with this game and probably was glad that he made it home yesterday in one piece.  Inquisitive Mind 4 – 1 for the week. 

Miami @ Baltimore – The Ravens defense showed up and put this game away.  Joe Flacco (20 of 27, 266 yards, 2 TDs) was great and Ray Rice (22 carries, 83 yards) led the Ravens on the ground.  Inquisitive Mind 5 -1 for the week. 

San Diego @ Houston – Are you kidding me?  You let Philip Rivers just throw the ball all over the place?  The running game in San Diego is pathetic and you chose to let Rivers throw the ball?  Houston had me screaming yesterday because they gave this game away.  Literally they gave it away.  Not Antonio Gates, and you could barely name the other receivers on the Chargers team.  Arrrrgggghhh!!!  Inquisitive Mind 5 – 2 for the week. 

Arizona @ Minnesota – Again, how did the Cardinals lose this game?  You’re up 14 with 4 minutes left and you lose the game in overtime?  This was the game for Childress’ job and I wanted the Vikings to win, but the Vikings need to get rid of Childress.  If you just watched the post game press conference you would have thought that this was a loss for the Vikings.  Childress was melancholy as usual, even throwing in a jab at his quarterback (if you want to tell and joke and you don’t normally tell jokes and the joke is about a sore subject for you team, you probably don’t want to tell the joke).  The Vikings can turn this around if they all kiss and makeup, but that’s a big ‘IF’.  Inquisitive Mind 6 – 2 for the week. 

New York Giants @ Seattle – What I said on Friday – ‘We are now seeing the beginning of the Charlie Whitehurst regime in Seattle.  He’s never thrown a pass in an NFL game and he gets to face a well rested Giants front line.  There’s no way that this ends well for the Seahawks, right?’  Inquisitive Mind 7 – 2 for the week. 

Indianapolis @ Philadelphia – Whew!!!!  The Eagles held on to this game when I thought for sure that Peyton Manning and the NFL were going to make sure that the Colts won this game.  Here are my issues:  1) If you are going to suspend guys and fine them for hitting people in tight spaces, you need to fine and suspend the QBs that throw them the ball into the tight places.  I pray that Austin Collie is somewhere and he’s well this morning as you never want to see anyone get hurt.  But when you go down the seam with a LB in the chase position, and two safeties who are coming to knock you out, bad things are going to happen.  Collie got had time to brace himself and he drop his head and he was hit by 3 people in a matter of seconds.  This was a good football hit (not the outcome that you want) and it was a fumble.  2) If you don’t take the skirts off of these QBs, I’m not going to watch the NFL.  I’m sorry, I’d rather watch high school and college ball than watch Peyton Manning get 15 yard penalties because a defender was swiping for the ball and happen to hit him in the head with their hand.  You are taught from a young age to bother the QB if you can’t hit him, or hit whatever you can.  It’s just sad to see what this has come to.  Inquisitive Mind 8 – 2 for the week. 

Kansas City @ Oakland – The Raiders have won 3 in a row.  They haven’t done that in years and they are looking pretty good.  They came back against the Chiefs and were able to take this game into overtime.  The Chiefs had chances to come home with a win, but in a hard fought game like this, you can’t really fault either team (too much).  Inquisitive Mind 8 – 3 for the week. 

Dallas @ Green Bay – The crying will continue for the Cowboys.  Last night’s debacle should have sealed the fate of their head coach, the assistance head coach, the ball boy, and anyone else who is paid by the Cowboys.  Last night was a total a#& whoopin and pictures from the sideline suggests that grown men can cry.  The Packers defense got in the game and it was pretty much over when it started.  Jerry Jones is somewhere today and he is HOT!!!!  Wade Phillips, get on the bus.  Inquisitive Mind 9 – 3 for the week. 

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati – The Steelers did what I thought they would do, go into Cincinnati and beat up on the Bengals.  This Bengals team has way too much talent, but the key may be that they are limited at the QB position.  I’m not sure what’s going on but Carson Palmer looks to be toast.  He’s just not the same guy, pre-knee operation.  The sad part is that the Bengals have no other option to turn to because the backup is his little brother.  They are 2-6 and the season is pretty much over.  I have a feeling that Marvin Lewis is pretty much over too.  Inquisitive Mind 10 -3 for the week. 

I’m glad I was able to bounce back with a 10-3 week, because otherwise it was starting to get depressing.  That brings me to a 73-56 record for the year.  We’re going in the right direction.  Lookout week 10. 

NFL Matchup Week 2

Well we know how my first week of prognostication went, but as they say, it's not how many time you get knocked down, it's how many times you pay someone to knock that other dude out (or something like that). So I'm back for more, here's a look at Week 2.

Tennessee @ Cincinnati - Wow, this is a bounce back week for the Bengals or they can go ahead and close Paul Brown Stadium. The Titans will be without VY and they will start with the statue at QB, Kerry Collins. This may open things up from a passing attack for the Titans, but from a defensive standpoint, the Bengals will know exactly where Collins will be, about 7 yards deep in the pocket (the entire game). I expect the Bengals to pounce on this opportunity to get to .500. Winner - Bengals.

Green Bay @ Detroit - This doesn't sound like a good game for the Lions to show up for. Rodgers looked good last week and the Green Bay D will beat up the Lions receivers all day long. Brian Grant is banged up with a sore hamstring, but I think that I could run for 100 yards against Detroit's defense. Winner - Packers.

Oakland @ Kansas City - Talk about the best of the worst. Neither of these teams did anything last weekend (unless you count the Brady injury, and no it wasn't a dirty hit). Oakland played like a bad Pop Warner team, which is hard for me to fathom because they have talent. Kansas City just doesn't have an O-line and they do have a hurt QB. Plus the Raiders can't play that bad twice, can they? Winner - Push (Raiders).

New York Giants @ St. Louis - The Giants looked good against the Redskins in week 1. I said that Justin Tuck will be a handful for everyone this year. Their D will continue to play well. It's up to Eli Manning to make this offense consistent. St. Louis, I think it's going to be a bad day at the park. Winner - Giants.
Indianapolis @ Minnesota - The Colts lost to the Bears and gave up a lot of yards on the ground to a rookie. The Colts couldn't get anything working on offense because the Bears just blitzed the entire game. The Vikings can't stop anyone through the air. So, if you're in a battle and you had to choose to win in the air or on the ground, which do you pick? Winner - Colts.

New Orleans @ Washington - Well, game 2 into the Jim Zorn era in Washington and it will get better. They played well enough to keep it close with the Giants. New Orleans toughed it out against the Bucs. Washington will be able to stop the Saints on the ground and the Saints won't be able to stop the Redskins. Winner - Redskins.

Chicago @ Carolina - Things looked great for the Bears in the season opener. They got good QB play and 100+ yards on the ground for Forte. This is where the isht hits the fan. The Panthers have a much better defensive front against the run than the Colts. We'll have to see how good that Bears defense really is. The Panthers shocked the Chargers last week, so can they do again? Winner - Panthers.

Buffalo @ Jacksonville - Talk about a sad situation. Jacksonville has gone through 4 O-linemen already and we're just at Week 2. An improved Buffalo D will cause problems for the Jaguars. The Bills have a balanced offense and look for Marshawn Lynch to run hard against a normally stingy Jaguars defense. Winner - Bills.

San Francisco @ Seattle - This one usually means lots of points on the board, but I don't see Seattle being able to keep up. Hasselbeck has a hurt back and Julius Jones is really making people want Shaun Alexander back in Seattle. The 49ers looked a lot better with J.T. O'Sullivan and will continue to flourish. Winner - 49ers.

Atlanta @ Tampa Bay - This will be interesting. Matt Ryan will get his chance for a 2-0 start. This defense will be better than the one that Michael Turner ran through last weekend, so I imagine a rougher game for Ryan this week. The Bucs will start Brian Griese instead of the injured Garcia. Not sure if this is an upgrade or a lateral move. The heart says Falcons, the head says Bucs. Winner - Bucs.

Baltimore @ Houston - This game may be moved due to Hurricane Ike, but if it's played, I expect the weather to be rainy, muddy, and just nasty. Houston lost Ahman Green (remind me not to draft a guy in Fantasy Football who restructures his contract to get paid based on the number of games he plays in during the year). Baltimore will still bring their D and a decent running game to help Flacco. Winner - Ravens.

New England @ New York Jets - Before the season started, this looked like a great game. Now with Brady injured, it doesn't have the shine. This will be a great opportunity for the Jets to establish themselves as the front runners in the AFC East. Matt Cassell isn't the answer. I'm sorry, the dude hasn't won a QB job since high school. The Pats won't be able to keep putting points on the board like they have in the past. Can the Jets sneak this one out? Winner - Jets.

Miami @ Arizona - Should this even be a game? If Arizona doesn't win this game, I'm not sure what they should do. They have a better D, a better O, and they are playing at home. Winner - Cardinals.

San Diego @ Denver - This is going to be interesting. The Chargers are beat up a little physically and mentally after their loss to the Panthers. Denver looked great last week in destroying the Raiders. Cutler looked good and he and Eddie Royal have to be attached at the hip or something. I hate picking against the Chargers, but I have to on this one. Winner - Broncos.

Pittsburgh @ Cleveland - Maybe the Browns can invite LeBron to the game? The Steelers looked great last week. Big Ben is a little banged up in his shoulder, but he'll start and he'll play well. The Browns are still reading their clippings from last year. They better show up and play or it's going to be a long season. Winner - Steelers.

Philadelphia @ Dallas - This is the game of the week. Two teams that looked great week 1 and they are both in the same conference. SI picked the Eagles as the Superbowl loser this year. McNabb still doesn't have a great #1 receiver, but it seems as though the team is pulling it off. Dallas, has all of the stars on both sides of the ball. Heart says Eagles, head says Cowboys. Winner - Eagles.

Conflict Resolution

Well, many of us these days get ourselves in these predicaments where we end up having to understand what conflict resolution is really about. You have your Shawn Chacon incidents, you have your Manny Ramirez incidents, and others but you also have Steve Smith. Now, for those that don't know, Steve Smith is one of the better receivers in the NFL. His big year was in 2005 when he lead the league in catches, TDs, and receiving yards. However, maybe his small stature (5' 8") attributes more to his conflict resolution strategy, a little Napoleon complex? In 2002, Smith got in to an argument with a practice squad player, Anthony Bright, which ended up with Bright filing a civil suit that was handled out of court. Smith did some anger management counseling and we're all clear. Now in 2008, Smith attacks his teammate Ken Lucas after he was down on one knee and after he had taken off his helmet. Smith breaks Lucas' nose and it's going to require surgery. I know that tempers flare during practices and a coach always told me the first thing that you make sure you have your chin strap buckled so that your helmet stays on if you get into a scrum. Normally you see your average fight with guys with helmets on swinging wildly at each other or tackling each other, and that's something that you can deal with. Obviously Smith waited and attacked Lucas when he was least expecting it. The first time is mistake, the 2nd time is an issue, the 3rd time is a reoccurring problem. Mr. Smith is at strike 2. It will cost Smith 2 regular season games and I'm not sure how much money (outside of the missed games), but I'll bet that the Panthers are looking for Jack Nicholson in his best Dr. Buddy Rydell character to help with this little problem, before the Panthers lose their top receiving threat for much longer than 2 games.