NFL 2010 Week 10 Wrap Up

I am really not looking forward to this one.  As I watched the games yesterday I just felt worse and worse as I thought about the teams I picked.  Please avert your eyes, this could get ugly.  

Ravens @ Falcons - Wrap up is here.  Inquisitive Mind 0 - 1 for the week.  

Detroit @ Buffalo – Well I leaned towards the Lions and I got bit.  This was in fact an ugly game but the Bills looked hungry and wound up winning this one.  Fred Jackson did his best OJ Simpson impersonation with a 25 carry, 133 yard, 1 TD performance and that was the difference.  The Lions got a great game from Shaun Hill (29 of 50 for 323, 1 TD, 1 INT) but his two point conversion pass that sailed out of the end zone was the dagger.  Quick question:  Why do you not just lob the ball in the air if the other team can't get any points for intercepting the ball (and returning for a TD), instead of throwing it out of bounds?  Maybe it's just me.  Inquisitive Mind 0 - 2 for the week. 

Minnesota @ Chicago – The Bears actually played pretty well for the majority of this game.  I still have questions.  1) Why do you try to incorporate Hester in the offense when he's best served as a return man.  At one point yesterday, Hester had over 150 return yards, but then got dinged up on an offense play for 5 yards.  If the Bears got a #1 receiver, they would be much better off.  Favre looked bad yesterday with 4 turnovers.  Two weren't his fault (slipping receivers), but I am still questioning the lack of creativity with the Vikings offense.  Is it me or do they have about 20 plays, and about 7 of them look the same?  The good news is that the Bears won, but the bad news is that the Bears won.  If they aren't careful, Lovie is going to be retained for another 3 years.  As of right now Childress is still employed, but the clock is starting to tick on him.  Inquisitive Mind 0 - 3 for the week. 

New York Jets @ Cleveland – Cleveland might be for real, at least next year.  They gave the Jets everything they could handle.  I thought that the younger Ryan had his defense ready for the Jets and one or two plays going the other way would have given the Browns the win.  I will say this, I'm not sure what has happened to the Jets or their bravado, but something better change quick or they are in trouble.  Inquisitive Mind 1 - 3 for the week. 

Carolina @ Tampa Bay – Bucs win, Bucs win.  Can the Panthers go down a division to 5A or something?  They look awful and it's only week 10.  There's a lot more work that needs to be done to this franchise and based on how they have performed this year, I'm not sure any of the high profile coaches want this job.  LeGarrette Blount turned in another good outing with his 19 carry, 91 yards and 1 TD performance.  Also, because it's been mentioned here before, Josh Freeman is the real deal.  Inquisitive Mind 2 - 3 for the week.

Houston @ Jacksonville – Put a fork in the Texans.  They are officially done and I think that I am officially done with them.  How in the world do you play as hard as they did and come thisclose to overtime, only to knock the ball into the hands of your opponent at the 1 yard line and watch him walk in for the game winner?  I think that the Jaguars need to check the souls on their team because someone has already sold theirs' to continue to get wins like this.  Inquisitive Mind 2 - 4 for the week.

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis – Arrrrgh!!!!  How quickly can you get rid of an organization?  This is something that the Bengals need to look in to.  They played pretty well, but in the end, they gave the game away, literally with a fumble.  I imagine that we'll start hearing some TO chatter in the next few days as the Bengals season is pretty much on ice.  Inquisitive Mind 2 - 5 for the week. 

Tennessee @ Miami – 1 catch for Moss and the rest of the Titans didn't even show up.  The Dolphins lost two QBs in this game and the Titans still couldn't beat them.  Think about that for a second.  Inquisitive Mind 2 - 6 for the week. 

Kansas City @ Denver – What I said on Friday 'AFC Rivalry in the Mile High City.  We know a few things: 1) Kyle Orton will throw for 300+ yards 2) Charles will have 20-25 carries for 100+ yards 3) Bowe will drop 2 passes 4) Cassel will make us question his $60M contract 5) Brandon Lloyd will make every Bears fan cringe has he catches passes from Orton for TDs (about 2 this game).  In the end, this one is coming down to a kicker.'  Ok, 1) Orton threw for 296 yards. 2) 14 carries for 41 yards 3) 13 catches for 186 yards, 2 TDs 4) Cassel was 33 of 53 for 469 yards, 4 TDs 5) Lloyd, 6 catches for 90 yards and 2 TDs.  The only thing that was way out of wack was that this would come down to a kicker.  The only question was whether Prater's leg was going to actually fall off as the Broncos scored at will.  Inquisitive Mind 2 - 7 for the week. 

Dallas @ New York Giants – The Cowboys played with a pulse and they (gulp) won a game.  Jerry Jones is probably somewhere smiling, although I think he wishes he would have pulled the plug on Wade Phillips about 4 weeks ago.  Jon Kitna looked like Tony Romo (minus the brace) and had a 327 yard, 3 TDs, 1 INT outing.  The Cowboys played well on defense and they even gained over 100 yards rushing.  The Giants came out and played like the Gnats.  Manning was average and the defense, which had been beast over the last few weeks, gave up points quickly.  Are the 'Boys back?  Inquisitive Mind 2 - 8 for the week.   

Seattle @ Arizona – This is depressing.  The Seahawks woke up and brought it to the Cardinals.  Hasselbeck played ok, but this was more of a team win without any one person, Mike Williams being the exception (11 catches for 145 yards).  Inquisitive Mind 2- 9 for the week.

St. Louis @ San Francisco – I guess Troy Smith should have been an option as the starter for the 49ers from game 1.  He's not the best QB, but he gets the job done and it seems as though this 49ers team responds to him.  Thank you Troy Smith for giving me at least 1 other win this week.  Inquisitive Mind 3 - 9 for the week. 

New England @ Pittsburgh – Belicheat schemed and the Patriots whooped some butt.  They dominated the Steelers (strange to write that) from the jump.  Tom Brady and his long flowing hair had a great game, 350 yards and 3 TDs.  What was more impressive is that the Patriots were able to stop the Steelers from running the ball, holding the team to under 100 yards.  Inquisitive Mind 3 - 10. 

Philadelphia @ Washington – Wow!!!  There's not much you can say about the performance that Mike Vick had last night.  In one game he 1) showed us all how good he is and could have been.  Remember, this is a guy only 1 year removed from being in jail for 18 months.  2) that he can play the QB position and well.  Vick has never been known for his accuracy, but last night I'm not sure that I've seen anyone better.  3) Mike Vick just got Mike Vick P-A-I-D.  He's going to have to get some Peyton Manning/Tom Brady money for not only last night, but his performance all year.  4) Mike Vick is now one of the people in the running for the NFL MVP.  Can you imagine it, from sugar to isht and back to sugar in 2 1/2 years.  Vick final stat line:  20 of 28, for 333 yards, 4 TDs (passing), 8 rushes for 80 yards, 2 TDs (rushing).  Not only that but he saved a baby from choking, rescued a bear, and sold popcorn at FedEx Field during the 4th quarter.  Inquisitive Mind 4 - 10 for the week. 

It was a terrible week that puts me at 77-66 for the year.  I'm looking at everyone's back so hopefully I can have the memory of an NFL corner and I'll just forget week 10.  I need to, but after Vick's performance last night it really doesn't even matter.     

NFL 2010 Week 10 Picks

Starting off 0 - 1 this week with the Ravens/Falcons game.  Let's see what happens the rest of the week.

Detroit @ Buffalo – This is definitely going to be an ugly game.  The Bills may mess around and get their first win.  Shaun Hill should get the start for the Lions with Stafford hurt and that defense has been playing pretty well as of late.  This is really a coin flip, but I have to lean towards the Lions on this one.  Don’t know why.  Winner – Lions. 

Minnesota @ Chicago – Whew!!!!  This is a Job game for both head coaches.  If the Bears lose, that’ll mean that Lovie is one step closer to being out the door.  If the Vikings lose, that may end their playoff hopes and send Chilly on out the door on Monday morning.  The Vikings are thin at WR as Harvin continues to battle migraines and they slowly bring Rice along.  That means more time for former Bears castoff Bernard Berrian to do work.  I don’t know if he’s up for it.  I imagine that the Vikings will allow Favre to call the game from under center in hopes of catching the Bears asleep at the wheel.  Winner – Vikings.        

New York Jets @ Cleveland – I picked against this bad Browns team two weeks in a row and they ended up winning.  Dare I pick them again?  The Jets need to win this game badly and make Rex Ryan’s brother rue the day he was born (hahahahaha).  The Browns have been up to the challenge as of late but it’s too late in the season for the better teams to lose to the bad ones.  Winner – Jets. 

Carolina @ Tampa Bay – This is how bad it’s become for the Panthers.  I can’t even waste time talking about them because I just know that they are going to lose this game.  In Tampa?  Against a decent defense and no running game.  Watch them run all over the Bucs and make me cry in my cereal.  Winner – Bucs.

Houston @ Jacksonville – I can’t believe that Garrard can play better than he did against the Cowboys again.  They are at home, but Houston has got to get back on track or they are going to be bridesmaids in their division yet again.  It’s time for that Texans defense to get down right Walker Texas Ranger on somebody.  Arian Foster will also need a big game.  Winner – Texans. 

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis – One bad team (Bengals) against a decent team (Colts) at home.  Collie is still out, and Manning doesn’t look that comfortable with his version of the Replacements.  He’s so used to being on the same page with his receivers, but with all their injuries, it just makes it hard and you can see he’s not comfortable.  The Bengals are on a fast ship going nowhere as it seems that Carson Palmer only has love for T.O.  Chad Ochocinco has been relegated to a highly paid cheerleader who doesn’t like what he’s seeing.  He’s gotta have a big game sometime soon.  Maybe this weekend?  Winner – Bengals. 

Tennessee @ Miami – Hello Randy Moss, again!!!!!  The Titans come to Miami to show off their new offense and I expect the fireworks to pop.  I had the same expectations for Moss in Minny, but Fisher is a much better coach and they have a much better play caller.  Miami will play them tough, but with the revolving door at QB on a constant spin, no one can really pick the Dolphins.  Winner – Titans. 

Kansas City @ Denver – AFC Rivalry in the Mile High City.  We know a few things: 1) Kyle Orton will throw for 300+ yards 2) Charles will have 20-25 carries for 100+ yards 3) Bowe will drop 2 passes 4) Cassel will make us question his $60M contract 5) Brandon Lloyd will make every Bears fan cringe has he catches passes from Orton for TDs (about 2 this game).  In the end, this one is coming down to a kicker.  Who you got?  Winner – Chiefs.

Dallas @ New York Giants – How bad can it be?  I guess we’ll see.  If the Cowboys lose this game, they might have to fire all of the popcorn vendors in the new stadium, obviously they are a problem too.  (Jerry Jones, look in the mirror!!!!)  The Cowboys travel to the new Meadowlands and they are running into a buzz saw.  Not that I think the Giants are that good, because Manning can give it away, but they have a decent all around team and I expect them to dominate a Dallas defense that hasn’t been able to stop too many people this season.  I can’t pick the Cowboys.  The keyboard won’t even let me type it.  Winner – Giants. 

Seattle @ Arizona – The Battle of Two Bad teams.  Hasselbeck will probably start coming off of his concussion, but he should do a lot of handing off to Lynch if they want to win this game.  I’m not even sure who’s starting for the Cardinals at QB, but it seems over the last few weeks that they are more comfortable with Derek Anderson back there.  Here’s to hoping he can play some decent ball this weekend.  Winner – Cardinals.

St. Louis @ San Francisco – This starts the 49ers path towards winning the NFC West.  No one has really stepped up to take away the division, so here’s to making Mike Singletary and the rest of the 49ers front office look like geniuses.  Winner – 49ers. 

New England @ Pittsburgh – The winner of this game will be my pick to represent the AFC in the Superbowl, unless the Patriots win.  I’m not sold on the Patriots and it’s hard as he77 to win in Pittsburgh.  Belicheat can only scheme so much.  Winner – Steelers.

Philadelphia @ Washington – The Battle for the Rightful QB of the Eagles.  Vick brings his Eagles squad to Washington to face the old face of the Eagles, Donovan McNabb.  Vick owes McNabb a lot since he took him under his wing when the Eagles rescued him from purgatory (coming out of jail).  Too bad he won’t give McNabb what he needs the most and that’s a subpar performance.  The Redskins don’t have enough and they’re limited on offense to win this game.  The best thing that could happen is that Vick twists his ankle (not serious) and Kolb comes in and blows this game for the Eagles.  That would be too much like right.  Winner – Eagles.   

Who you got??

Millen Finally Gone

There are people in Detroit dancing in the streets today. For real, turn on your local news and you'll see that it's true. Matt Millen has finally stepped down as President and GM of the Lions. That 'stepped down' is still up in the air since we're not sure if he was fired or quit, but the end game is what the city of Detroit has been asking for for years. Obviously the naked pictures that he had of someone are no longer good or the threat of releasing them to the public isn't important anymore. The Matt Millen era produced 31 wins versus 84 losses. That's not even a good batting average. So the big question is who's up next for this job? I guess the answers will start rolling in soon. Stay tuned.

'Don't Leave Your Girl 'Round Me'......

......that phrase was made popular in the 90's by Biggie, but now things have definitely changed. According to reports, Tatum Bell not only carries the rock, but he carries other things too. After being released by the Lions, he was probably pissed. So when Rudi Johnson showed up to interview for 'his' job, Tatum was probably in 'I'm gonna get him' mode. Rudi supposedly arrived and left his things outside of Matt Millen's office as they discussed the Detroit Lions opportunity at RB. Supposedly, Bell walks by the office and lifts Rudi's stuff and heads to a female friend's house so that she could 'store' the bags there for a while. When Rudi and Matt Millen come out of the office, no one can find the bags and they go to the tape to see what happened. The security cameras record Bell 'borrowing' the bags and the bags are soon returned to their rightful owner. No charges are being pressed, but there are several jokes that I could think of just because of this. What's your take?