3-5 vs the spread last week, 43-49-2 for the season. . .
Pittsburgh +3 at Cincinnati: At one point or another, all four AFC North teams have looked like world-beaters, and then turned around and looked like chump teams. If the season ended today, as they say, only the Bengals would be in the playoffs. And it just might stay that way. The Steelers are loaded on offense, they are that most rare of contemporary NFL teams, they can run or pass, and pile on the points against anybody. Two problems for the Steelers: their defense ain't what it used to be, and under negro wonder coach Mike Tomlin, they play sloppy football, and play down to the level of their competition. . .the Steelers have somehow done the impossible, lose to both the 2-10 Jets and Buccaneers. You'd hate to have your team face the Steelers in the playoffs, though. They got the talent on offense to take down New England or Denver. The Bengals do only one thing well: run the ball. QB Andy Dalton is a yo-yo, and their injury-plagued defense has fallen off. This is a true do-or-die game for both teams. . .the Steelers, on paper, are the better team, but in this battle of colored head coaches, I'll take Marvin Lewis, that old fox, who twisted the rules to his advantage last week and avoided what Mike Tomlin couldn't: an embarrassing loss to Tampa. Cincinnati.
Baltimore +3 at Miami: The Dolphins currently have the last AFC playoff spot, leading by a cunt hair over five other 7-5 teams, one of which is the Ravens. . .so we got another big AFC do-or-die game, here. Neither of these teams has played well in close games, the Dolphins win over the Jets on Monday was their first in games decided by 7 points or less, while the Ravens choked away the Chargers game last Sunday to drop to 2-4 in seven point games. I have the feeling the Ravens should be better than what they've shown so far, but their pass defense just can't stop anybody at money time. The Dolphins have survived the toughest part of their schedule, they get 3 of their last 4 at home, the one road game a likely loss at New England, but their last two are gimmes vs the Vikings and Jets. If they win this one, they got 10 wins and a playoff spot in the bag. Miami.
Indianapolis -3.5 at Cleveland: The Brownies toyed with the idea of dumping Brian Hoyer, who got this chump franchise to 7-5 and playoff contention, for Johnny Football. Hoyer's an all-or-nothing QB who can drive you crazy for 57 minutes, but has the guts and toughness to make the plays in the last 3 minutes to have you saying he was your guy, all along. I think the Brownies made the right call by letting Hoyer finish what he's started. Having Johnny Football come in at the last hour and try to reap what Hoyer sowed ain't a good idea for the locker room. If Hoyer craps out and the Brownies miss the playoffs, then next year you turn it over from Day One to Johnny Football, and the whole team is on his side. Andrew Luck is the new Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, piling up the yards and TD passes, a Hall of Fame Fantasy Quarterback. But Indianapolis has only two wins over teams with winning records. I say the Brownies swallow all the Johnny Football controversy and vomit it up on the Colts. Cleveland.
Tampa Bay +9.5 at Detroit: The Lions lost to Tampa last year, but man, I just don't see how they choke this one away. They need two wins to get a playoff spot, and the schedule maker has served up home games against the Bucs and Vikings. It will be an even more painful choke than last year if the Lions fuck this up. For the most part, the Bucs are giving it the old college try for Lovie Smith, losing 5 games by 8 points or less. But they just aren't very good on offense or defense. . .Tampa did win in Pittsburgh, but short of an injury to Matthew Stafford, I see the Bucs taking another 8 points or less loss. Detroit to win, the Bucs to cover. Tampa Bay.
Buffalo +10 at Denver: The Bills are one of the 7-5 AFC teams just outside the playoffs, and now they got to go to Denver and play a Bronco team that suddenly has a power run game with somebody named C.J. Anderson. The Bills only chance to win is for their #7 rush defense to take away Anderson, and let their #1 sack attack pressure Peyton Manning into a fumble and a couple INTs. Even with that, the Bills offense has been terrible, Kyle Orton hasn't been able to get the ball downfield to Sammy Watkins in weeks. Another wasted season in Buffalo because they got no quarterback. Denver.
Kansas City +1.5 at Arizona: Two weeks ago both teams were rolling along, now two weeks later they're both on two game losing streaks, and wondering if they can keep from sliding out of the playoffs. Both teams offenses have been terrible, and the Chiefs run defense is non-existent. The Cardinal pass defense was beaten badly by Matt Ryan and Julio Jones last week. You got two sick dogs playing here, and the loser may be put to playoff sleep. Strictly going with the desert advantage. Arizona.
Seattle EVEN at Philadelphia: The winner of this game will probably end up the #2 NFC seed behind Green Bay. Most people think the Seahawks are back, but they've been beating up on the lame and the halt, while the Eagles are coming off a dominating road win at Dallas. The Eagles have gotten their run game going again, and that makes it a lot easier for Mark Sanchez. I don't see Seattle's run heavy offense being able to hang with the Eagles. Seattle hasn't played against a good offense since Oct. 12, when they lost at home to Dallas. Shutting down Drew Stanton and Colin Halfernigger don't fool me. Philadelphia.
New England -3.5 at San Diego: The Patriots are coming off a decent loss at Green Bay, while the Chargers stole one at Baltimore to keep their playoff hopes alive. Even though the Pats managed to hang with Green Bay, and there's no shame in losing to Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau, their shortcomings were fully exposed: Tom Brady is running a nickel-and-dime offense, they got no big play capability, and they got holes in their secondary. A second straight tough road game for the Patriots, and I think Phillip Rivers has the receivers to beat NE's secondary and outscore Brady. San Diego.
Atlanta +12 at Green Bay: A Heavyweight Battle of NFC Division Leaders as the NFC North-leading Green Bay Packers host the, uh. . .the 5-7 Atlanta Falcons, standard-bearers for the, uh, NFC Goodwill Division. Well, at least the Falcons remembered they got a guy named Julio Jones, they dusted him off last week and had a pretty easy win against Arizona. Green Bay is terrible against the run, and a bit spotty in the secondary. If the Falcons stick to the right mix of pass and run, they have the ability to hang a few points on the Packers, and keep this close early. But Aaron Rodgers going against the NFL's worst pass defense? I don't see the Falcons staying close for more than a half. Green Bay.
Pittsburgh vs Cincy- Pitt. Dalton is no damned good. I dare say I would not take him over Ryan. Whereas Big Ben? I'd take him even now with the years of the NFL taking their toll. In a way he reminds me of Marv from Sin City. Big, dumb, and tough as hell. And that Bell runner is lights the fuck out. I question the Pitt defense. They're old and showing it with injuries. Kiesel is gone for good with a torn tricep. But Dalton ain't that good.
ReplyDeleteBalt Miami. Miami. No reason.
Indy Cleve. Indy. No way the Brownies win it. And Hoyer will be pulled too late, but that Manziel character will bring it close. But Indy all the way.
TB/Det. Detroit so long as you don't watch the game. If you don't watch, Stafford will look like a strong armed Montana. A larger bodied but quick Flutie. A gunslinging, but more rational, Favre. A dopey faced, but lacking horse teeth, John Elway. Detroit will win a blowout. If you don't watch.
Buff and Den. Denver. Obvious reasons. It's at Denver. I'll add one thing. Manning will get pissy about crowd noise. He'll have that stupid sex assault face on his puss, shake his head in disapproval, acting like the noise is distracting. Which is why he loses big ones that aren't at home. He finds excuses to lose when the stakes are high. Crowd noise being one of the excuses. Good for him he never made his butt ugly face an excuse or he'd never get out of bed.
KC and AZ. AZ. KC is coached by Reid. Alex Smith ain't good enough to overcome it. But AZ has that chump at QB. Man, he looked awful. Sheesh, this should be the even game.....yeah, AZ.
Seattle Philly. Philly. Sanchez looks solid. He's playing solid ass football. Look, you've got McCoy. Why sweat. The coaching is doing great, too. Reid isn't there anymore.
NE and SD. NE. I don't know Aaron Rodgers but Rivers is no Rodgers. Well coached teams with great quarterbacks almost always never drop two in a row. As much as a twit Brady looks like when that spico Kraut dresses him up, he's a gamer. He hates losing. He doesn't want to shake hands or say good game or hug someone after a loss. He runs to the locker room. Pissed and depressed. That stuff don't lose two in a row. NE big. In fact, this may be a game where SD decides to move on from Rivers and draft a QB next year.
Atlanta at GB. Atlanta. Crazy, I know. Atlanta. Something came together for Jones last game. A paternity suit resolved..... I don't know, but that was the Jones I have not seen since Alabama. Game changing. And the defense simplified things. No more retarded mismatches of an lb on a wr. This team is playing for the coach's job. GB is taking it lightly. Rodgers hates the cold.
Atlanta surprises the world.
I hope you are right about the Falcons. Everybody in Michigan will be a Falcons fan Monday night. The Falcons will definitely be able to score on the Packers, the question is: how many will they give up?
ReplyDeleteI can't help but think of the Falcons as that wounded fighter in the later rounds. There's everything to lose in every round so there's no reason to not go out on a stretcher.
ReplyDeleteThe Falcons secondary is actually good. It's the pass rush that's been lacking but that's largely because of Nolan's amoeba defense that has CB blitz with lb dropping into coverage.
They were outsmarting themselves.
This past week they ran simpler schemes. You know, rush a front four and mix in blitzes from linebackers from different spots.
The safeties and corners are actually solid. The linebackers are good enough to press the QB, stop the run, and run limited coverage in the flat and root out screens, but seeing fucking Biermann try to cover a third wr is pitiful.
If I'm a QB and I see the corners blitzing, I'm immediately looking for a quick slant or post to a wr and let his legs outrun a linebacker. It's such a mismatch.
Smith needs to do better on that clock and run the ball
Ah these fucking Lions are killing me, keeping Tampa in the game with one dumb motherfucking play after another. . .
ReplyDeleteMan, how do you explain Carolina - New Orleans? Falcons are gonna win the NFC goodwill, no question.
ReplyDeleteThe NFC South is a mess. Now Carolina looks good? NO losing badly at home?
ReplyDeleteIt'll be amazing if an NFC South team goes to the SB.
Lions just can't put Tampa away. . .makes me sick. 10 point lead with 11 mins to go. . .getting that Same Old Lions feeling.
ReplyDeleteHa, that would be hilarious if the Falcons, Panthers or Saints got on a run all the way to the Super Bowl.. .
ReplyDeleteLions finally iced the Bucs. . .
ReplyDeleteStafford's numbers look sharp. Johnson looks lights out on the numbers.
ReplyDeleteReferees trying to give the Colts a win. . .
ReplyDeleteStafford & Johnson played well. . .defense had a shitload of penalties and a fumble on an INT return that kept Tampa in it for most of it.
ReplyDeleteMan, I watched the Pittsburgh game mostly. Dalton is not good. You cant put the game in his hands. That runner Bell is incredible. Quick, sees the blocks, sees how to run into arm tackles and shake them.
ReplyDeleteJust dominating. Perfect fit for a bruiser like Big Ben.
On Seattle Philly game....good game. Wilson looking bad. Just think how much worse he'll look when he loses a step.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching the Raiders - 49ers game. . .first time I've seen this Derek Carr kid. . .he don't look half-bad. . .not the strongest arm, but he's doing OK nickel-and-diming the 49ers.
ReplyDeleteHarbaugh can not believe what he is seeing. . .he looks stunned. Carr is picking them apart.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess Seattle really is back, huh?
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha. . .Woodson just picked off Halfernigger. I don't think there is a worse QB in the League. The 49ers are DONE. Season Over.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I forgot to mention about that Lions game. . .even though the defense took a bunch of penalties, they put a helluva beating on McClown. . .6 sacks and Suh had a couple nasty late hits. . .BUT. . .McClown didn't cry after the game.
ReplyDeleteThe word is SF is done. What is it with Harbaugh?
ReplyDeleteSeattle back? Eh. Wilson didn't look good.
Harbaugh's not a pro coach. . .he needs to turn over the roster every 3 years, he's too intense for anybody to put up with him long-term, especially a grown man with money in the bank and years in the League.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha. . .American nigger sportsmsanship:
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11997418/sio-moore-oakland-raiders-targets-chump-colin-kaepernick-field
Well then, I don't want Harbaugh in Atlanta. We need a long term coach. You're right about playing with fire in getting a new coach. Maybe Smith needs to be given a chance. Certainly of Falcons win upon GB tonight, Smith has a huge shot at staying.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, about the Kaepernick thing. Blacks have to really resent the guy. Whore of a white mother, black dad who abandoned ship, raised by two white people other than his real parents.....wait, are we talking about Obama here?
Kaepernick is flashing out. Man, he was the hot shit. He's been figured out.
Falcons doing what you and I have called for all year. Run the ball. And they pushed it in.
ReplyDeleteDamn, Rodgers looks like that Brokeback guy.
ReplyDeleteHis pussy is bleeding, too. Worrilow just laid some pipe to him.
Dammit, Jones looks dinged up.
ReplyDeletePoor pass by Ryan taken in by white.
Of course the Falcons almost made it but could not pull it off.
ReplyDeleteOne thing this means is the Falcons are better now than a month ago. We're still tied for first!
Power was out all night, just came back on. . .looks like I missed a helluva game. Damn, the Falcons almost did it. Too bad. Not much defense from either team, huh? From the numbers it looks like the Packers were helpless against Jones.
ReplyDeleteFalcons and Steelers now looks like a shoot-out. . .
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha. . .the Browns - Bengals game just got a little more interesting:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/12/8/7357293/bengals-coach-marvin-lewis-called-johnny-manziel-a-midget
Jones finally looked like the guy Atlanta traded up for. Man, just dominating. He played d back on one of Ryan's regular shitty passes. Ryan should have had 2 interceptions.
ReplyDeleteFalcons are playing well. They ran the ball enough, though it would have been nice to see more, and passed well. Eh, received well. Ryan looked worse than normal. The receivers did a nice job. The o line is beat up still. The defense barely managed any pass rush which hurt, like always, a secondary that is a lot better than their numbers. The secondary broke up some great passes.
The only game the Falcons have on the road is New Orleans. That looks a lot different now than earlier in the season. NO looks bad. Falcons go 2-1 at worst for rest of season. They could take the rest. They look good right now, despite that loss.
GB at Lambeau is a tough game for anyone. I dislike the term "good loss" but this one actually applies.
Especially in the Goodwill Division.
If the season ended today:
ReplyDeleteSeattle at Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs.
Good news for the Falcons?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/12/09/5373373/accident-blocks-church-street.html#.VIc63BG9KSN
I think the Falcons beat Carolina either way. Cam flipped his truck 4 times on what appears to be a city street.
ReplyDeleteHe had to be speeding badly to do that. He doesn't seem hurt.
Four times in that truck. Still not the worst turnover of the year for him.
Man, I don't know how Newton didn't get hurt in this wreck. http://www.ajc.com/gallery/sports/football/photos-cam-newton-taken-hospital-after-crash/gCP2S/
ReplyDeleteWord is his injuries are minor. Man oh man, he lucked out.
Word is Cam has some fractured back bones, similar to what Romo has been playing through. One vehicle has front end damage and Cam's is smashed up. Something about an illegal left and, given the damage on that car, Cam's truck was making the left and got smacked. On a one way.
ReplyDeleteAnd his truck went a ways. Looks like his truck went about 100 feet after impact from the video out there.
He had a passenger who is injured, too. No word on the other car's driver or passengers (if there were any passengers).