This is Getting Weird

Three famous sports writers have tried to steal my thunder in the last five days. This is getting really weird.

1) I write my "11 Things" articles on Sunday nights in order to beat Peter King to the punch. Good thing I did or everyone would think I was plagiarizing his work instead of the other way around. Look at the first five topics of his MMQB on Monday:



Do these look familiar? They should. See my "11 Things" from Sunday night:

Lions (see #1 in 11 Things):



Cam Newton (see #8 in 11 Things):



Eagles (see #2 in 11 Things):



Cowboys (again refer to the end of #1 in 11 Things where he copies my thought verbatim).

Wes Welker (see #9 in 11 Things):




2) Buster Olney - not nearly as egregious - followed my tweet about 3 seconds after I made it describing Joaquin Benoit's nasty slider:



3) Finally, in today's weekly picks, Bill Simmons basically quotes my article from last night.

BS:

Banter:


Let's go fellas. You are all better than this.

College Football: Week 6 Picks

No complaining about a winning week (3-2), but it's frustrating to lose by less than a field goal when giving 30.5 like I did with LSU. Would have been a great week but can't do anything about it now except pick more winners this week. Not a very appetizing selection, however.

Kansas State +4 - Undefeated, playing at home, and underdogs? Don't get this spread.

San Diego State +4 - They aren't going to win the BCS Title like I predicted, but I'm still a believer.

Upset: Air Force +14 - Falcons are riding high after nail-biter over Navy last week.

Pick of the Week: Northwestern +7.5 - Dan Persa has not done me wrong this season.


Record: 15-9 (PoW: 3-2; Upset: 2-3)

NFL: Week 5 Picks

Now THAT is exactly what I needed, a 5-0 week to push the record from a disappointing sub-.500 mark to 11-7-2. It also would have catapulted me into the top 25 percentile in the Hilton SuperContest.

Anyway, the picks:

Bills +3: The Dream Team seems like much ado about nothing. They are hands down the most disappointing team in the league. On Sunday, they will also be without Trent Cole, their best defensive player. They couldn't stop the run to begin with. Now, they are toast. The Bills on the other hand are one of the NFL's best stories. They got knocked back to Earth a bit with a road loss to Cincy in Week 4, but the crowd will be in a frenzy and Fred Jackson is about to run wild.

Eagles can expect to see a lot of this on Sunday.
(I especially love this picture bc of the Jason Taylor corpse in the background)

Giants -9.5: The formula for wagering on Seattle's games: bet on them when at home, bet against them on the road. The Giants are playing great football and I can't see the Seahawks containing Ahmad Bradshaw.

Patriots -9: I try to be as objective as possible when evaluating the Jets, and I do not have a good feeling about this game for the Jets. Sanchez has looked awful. They haven't been able to protect him. The running game has looked terrible (although this would figure to be a the game they break out of their slump). All signs are pointing to a blowout especially with the Pats rolling right now.

Chargers -4: No idea how Denver plans on stopping the San Diego aerial attack.

Bucs +3: I just don't learn my lesson with the 49ers. They've burned me twice already this year, but I'm a Josh Freeman believer.

Record: 11-7-2

Monday Mullet #2

An old favorite

Monday Mullet #1

Big day for me means a big day for you. Two mullets today.

Jared Allen (a bit forced for my liking but too good not to include)

11 Things I Know I Know: Week 4

1. I know the Lions are for real. Any doubt I had before has been erased. After coming back from a 24-point second half deficit this week after coming back from a 17-point second half deficit last week, Detroit is now 4-0 and rolling. Chicago comes to town next week for Monday Night Football in what will shape up to be the biggest game in the Motor City in about 10 years.

The Calvin Johnson - Matthew Stafford combo has to excite the faithful.
I know it excites me, the fantasy football fan.

Dallas and Tony Romo on the other hand are now a couple turnovers away from being 4-0 and a couple field goals away from being 0-4. Still not sure whether to buy or sell on them.

2. I know the Dream Team is staring 1-5 in the face. After four games, the Eagles are 1-3, and now they have to travel to Buffalo and Washington the next two weeks before their bye. Michael Vick can't do much more, but they had two game-losing plays this week: a) Ronnie Brown's lateral/fumble at the goal line and b) Alex Henery's missed 33-yard field goal. Good teams don't make those mistakes. Dream Teams don't put themselves in a position where one or two plays can lose a game. Philly is now two games off the division lead four weeks into the season. Sounds more like a nightmare.

I also have to give the 49ers credit. They came back from 20 points down today on the road and seem to be a lot better of a team than I thought they would be. They lead the NFC Least, err, West by two games.

3. I know the offensive line play in the NFL seems to be at an all-time low. Not sure if it's the lockout (highly doubt it), the increased emphasis on the blitz (doubt this too), or something else (probable but I can't identify a reason), but quarterbacks around the league are getting beaten like rag dolls. Big Ben, Sam Bradford, and Kevin Kolb are all lucky to be alive this evening after the beatings they took this afternoon. I'm guessing there will be a huge premium placed on offensive linemen in next year's draft.

4. I know the Falcons save their season in Seattle this week. It may seem like an overstatement that last year's NFC champs (regular season) could be finished after four weeks but had they lost, they would be 1-3 with Green Bay and Detroit looming in the next three weeks. Like the Cowboys, I'm holding steady for now until I get some more data, but 2-2 is a whole lot sweeter than 1-3, and winning in Seattle is no easy feat.

5. I know the Giants took advantage of a terrible call on the Victor Cruz fumble like only a very good team would. New York is 3-1 atop the the NFC East with the surprising 'Skins and will be a home favorite in each of their next three games (Seattle, Buffalo, Miami). They need all the wins they can get early in the year because they close with one of the most difficult schedules imaginable. Good win for them though.

6. I know the Chargers need to be challenged a little bit. They either seem bored or not that good. The three teams they have beaten thus far have a combined total of one win between them. I hope they are playing possum with the league but I'm afraid they just aren't the team many believe they are.

7. I know Matt Hasselbeck makes the Titans a contender in the AFC. Chris Johnson hasn't done anything yet and still Tennessee is atop the AFC South with a 3-1 record thanks to the efficient play of their quarterback. Their win over Baltimore looks very good now and figures to look even better by the end of the season.

If the Titans can win at Pittsburgh next week,
the rest of the league will take notice.

8. I know Cam Newton is pissing off a lot of bettors. He has now covered in each of the first four games of his career including two of the backdoor variety (Week 2 vs Green Bay and Week 4 vs Chicago). Bet against the man at your own risk.

9. I know Wes Welker is the MVP through a quarter of the season. 40 catches, 618 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. Holy crap. Have a season. Looks like he's bounced back from that knee injury just fine.

10. I know that of all the winless teams in the NFL, only one needs a franchise quarterback: Miami. Indy, St. Louis, and Minnesota either have Hall of Famers or recent first rounders playing the position for them. Is it possible Andrew Luck doesn't go first overall? It very well could be because I think the Dolphins are the best of this group, but then again Matt Moore is their quarterback of the present.

11. I know the Bucs will beat Indianapolis tomorrow night, 30-17. The NFL can't be happy with this snoozer of a matchup in Week 4. There was no way to know Peyton Manning would be out, but feel free to skip this one.

Big week for The Banter's picks as I was able to go 5-0 to improve the overall record to four games over .500 (11-7-2).

Separated at Birth?

(Former?) Red Sox Manager Terry Francona and Shia LaBeouf

(Thanks to Swagstein for the suggestion)

NFL: Week 4 Picks

Finally, a winning week. First time that's happened all year. Feels good to get the monkey off my back. Now we can do some actual damage.

Giants -1.5: This is not an optimal situation for the Giants travelling cross-country after a huge road victory against their biggest rival. However, the Cardinals are not a good football team. They barely survived Cam Newton in Week 1, narrowly lost to the Skins in Week 2, and lost in Seattle last week. With Beanie Wells listed as a GTD (fantasy football kryptonite), Larry Fitzgerald is their only threat. Assuming the Giants double him all game – and there’s no reason not to – they should be able to leave the desert victorious.

Chargers -7: San Diego let Kansas City hang around for way too long last week. If the Chiefs had one of the top 28 quarterbacks in the league, they probably win that game. Luckily for the Chargers, they don’t and Matt Cassel played like himself in the fourth quarter. Despite the win, the Bolts have to be a little embarrassed that they only won by three despite being 15-point favorites. I think they come out on a mission this week and dominate.

Always tough betting on this guy

Packers -13.5: Aaron Rodgers is going to pick this secondary apart all day long. This should be over in the first quarter.

Seahawks +5: The Falcons are not who we (specifically me) thought they were. They’ve burned me twice this year, and even if they win, I don’t think they’ll cover. Seattle’s homefield advantage is worth a touchdown.

Patriots -4: After an ugly loss last week, I have to think this team rebounds in a big way.


Record: 6-7-2

College Football: Week 5 Picks

Week 4 was the first losing week of the season as I went two games under .500 at 1-3. The most painful loss was that by the SDSU Aztecs, my sleeper BCS-buster which did not pan out at all.

Better luck this week...I hope. Let's try five games this week:

Northwestern +10 - In Dan Persa, I trust. The Wildcats are a different team with their QB on the field. He'll be back in uniform Saturday for the first time all year.

LSU -30.5 - It's a rare day where I give more than a touchdown to anyone, but Kentucky lost by 38 at home to Florida last week, and now they have to travel to face the country's best defense. How do they plan on scoring in this game?

Clemson +7 - The Tigers proved me wrong last week by knocking off FSU. They start fast every year. Is this the year they sustain it?


Upset: Toledo +8 - The Rockets have had a brutal start to the season including two brutal losses on the road at Phio State (almost pulled the upset) and Syracuse (did pull the upset but the replay officials were smoking crack). This is a winnable game for them despite it being on the road. I think they start their conference schedule off on the right foot with a mild upset at Temple.

Pick of the Week: Boston College -1 - Montrel Harris is a top-5 running back in the country. With him in the lineup, the Eagles can be half decent, which is all they should need against Wake.


Record: 12-7 (PoW: 3-1; Upset: 1-3)

Today's NFL News That Really Wasn't News

The only surprise here is that Sanders lasted three games. Really a shame because this guy can be a Polamalu-like ballhawk and enforcer, but he has played in less than 50% of games in his career. (Note: I also have no idea what Schefter was smoking when he was tweeting "Reserve-Injured.")




The Dolphins are starting to see what everyone else in the league - most notably the Saints - already saw: Reggie Bush is not a very good player.




Next up: Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. "Suck for Luck" is nearly in full swing.

Week 3: Jets Recap

Final Score: Oakland 34, Jets 24

All you need to know: After falling behind 7-0 three minutes into the game, the Jets jumped to a 17-7 lead by the middle of the second quarter. Oakland, specifically Run DMC, then scored 24 straight points to put the game away.

Darren McFadden puts up video game numbers: McFadden rushed 19 times for 171 yards and two scores. This is a NYJ run defense that has finished in the top for each of the past three seasons.

2008: 7th
2009: 8th
2010: 3rd

They are no slouches, and DMC made them look terrible. Plus, he tweaked his groin in the fourth quarter or the numbers would have been bigger. Guy is an absolute beast.


Dude treated grown men like high schoolers.

Antonio Cromartie wiped out all the good he did in Week 2: He committed four penalties, fumbled a kick return, and got picked apart through the air. F- grade for this one. Needs to improve. He also bruised his ribs/lungs putting next week's game in question for Cro.

Sebastian Janikowski changes games: Oakland HC Hue Jackson knows that if his team can get inside the opponent's 45, he can chalk three points on the board. That makes the Raiders dangerous on all downs and distances in positive territory.

Nick Mangold's injury left a gaping hole in the middle of the offensive line: He needs to get healthy in a hurry.

I'm still not ready to wholeheartedly trust Mark Sanchez: His first quarter INT in the end zone was a terrible, terrible, terrible decision that everyone in New York saw coming. He needs to do a better job protecting the ball. Sanchez also broke his nose in the game.

WR Jeremy Kerley impressed me with his toughness/stupidity: After fielding a punt, Kerley got his helmet knocked off and still tried to gain yardage (even though the play was blown dead). His teammates looked at him like he was insane but you could see they respected the effort.
Losing TE Jeff Cumberland for the year is not a minor deal: JC was a capable run blocker and allowed Dustin Keller to do his thing downfield in the passing game

It doesn't get any easier for the Jets: They travel to Baltimore this week followed by a trip to New England.

Monday Mullet

11 Things I Know I know: Week 3

1. I know the most impressive team of the day was the Buffalo Bills. We - specifically this author - have used the western New Yorkers as the butt of our jokes repeatedly for the last 15 years or so. It's time to give them their due credit.

Down 21-0 24 minutes into the game, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick rallied the troops, and led the Bills to a stunning 34-31 victory. They are now 3-0. Really incredible. This team might be legit.

Tom Brady did his part by throwing four picks too.

Two other notes about this game:

-Wes Welker won a lot of games for his fantasy football owners with his ridiculous 16-catch, 217 yard, 2 touchdown masterpiece today. Great game, but it was not enough (at least in the real world).

-The way Brady stands in the pocket - like a statue - drives me absolutely crazy. He is going to get popped one of these days, and I probably won't feel too badly about it.

2. I know the second most impressive team of the day was the New York Giants. Presumed dead after their lackluster performance in the opening stanza of the season, Tom Coughlin has somehow righted the ship in two short weeks. The G-Men are now division leaders. Well done.

Victor Cruz, have a day kid.

And how about that last place Dream Team, huh? They now have Mike Kafka at the helm as they try to save their season since Michael Vick will probably be out for a week or two with a broken hand.

3. I know the least impressive team of the day was the Atlanta Falcons.

Absolutely no heart, no fight, and no excuses. The last play of this game sums it up perfectly: up by three with under a minute left and the ball near midfield, Josh Freeman somehow drew the Falcons offsides on a fourth down when everyone in the stadium knew they weren't going for it. An unacceptable mistake typifying the effort put forth by this Atlanta squad.

Things are going poorly when Roddy White is dropping passes and that's exactly what happened today. After being so high after last week's win, this loss should knock them back to Earth.

4. I know the second least impressive performance of the day was put forth by the St. Louis Rams. The fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter, showed next to no fight whatsoever, and simply did not belong on the same field as the Ravens.

Also have to tip my proverbial cap to Torrey Smith whose first three career receptions (all in the first quarter of this game) went for touchdowns. Nicely done.

5. I know that I am completely sick of hearing analysts, commentators, talking heads, or anyone pretending to know anything about football praise Gregg Williams and his New Orleans Saints defense. What is everyone's infatuation with this guy? Great, he brings some pressure. It means nothing. They are still terrible.

6. I know it's Christian Ponder time in Minnesota. After today's collapse, the Vikings have now blown double-digit, second-half leads in each of the season's first three games. I wish I could verify this was a record, but I can't imagine it's ever happened in more consecutive games.

Matthew Stafford (and the 3-0 Lions), like Josh Freeman last week, woke up in the second half against the Vikings after being held completely in check for the first 45 minutes. Good teams play for a full 60. Unfortunately, the Vikings do not.

This is a bad team in need of a youth infusion.

7. I know the only bad thing about the Red Zone channel is they are contractually obligated to televise games like San Fran-Cincinnati, Miami-Cleveland, Jacksonville-Carolina (no, rookie quarterbacks playing in a monsoon is not entertaining), and Denver-Tennessee. Pretty terrible slew of 1:00 games today mixed in with some gems like New England-Buffalo and Houston-New Orleans.

8. I know that Chris Johnson has not looked like himself in over a year now. He rushed for only 21 yards on the day against Denver, and I would be extremely concerned if I were a Titans fan. Tennessee's 2-1 record looks to be a mirage especially with WR Kenny Britt now out for the year.


When/why did this dude become twinkle toes?

9. I know that no team in the NFL can stop the Green Bay Packer offense. They won the Super Bowl without the services of Jermichael Finley who adds another potent dimension to this unit (just ask the Chicago Bears about that).

You blitz them, Rodgers picks you apart. You drop seven or eight into coverage, Rodgers waits an extra second and then picks you apart. You better be ready to win a shootout if you have any hope of beating the champs.

10. I know that Reggie Bush was the best free agent acquisition of the offseason. Ok, just making sure you were still paying attention. He has been terrible and so have the Dolphins. After a decent Week 1, Bush has 42 rushing yards, 15 receiving yards, and a fumble lost over the last two weeks. Reggie, I don't think that big contract s coming anytime soon. Nor do I think the 0-3 Dolphins are turning this thing around anytime soon.

11. I know the Cowboys will beat the Redskins on Monday Night Football, 31-24. Editor's note: In the three MNF games so far, my predictions have been off by a total of nine points.

NFL: Week 3 Picks

.375: Great batting average in baseball. Terrible winning percentage when selecting games.

Time for a big week.

Falcons +1.5: Both teams are riding high after big wins last week, but Atlanta beat a great team while Tampa Bay beat the Vikings. I think Michael Turner will have a big day.

Raiders +3.5: Love the Jets, but hate the idea of them being road favorites on the West Coast.

Seahawks +3.5: Seattle is terrible, but this is their home opener, and I think they'll have some extra motivation in front of their fans. 12th man makes the difference here.

Browns -1.5: 49ers are terrible.

Chiefs +15: San Diego always struggles when they are big favorites.


Record: 3-5-2

College Football: Week 4 Picks

Last week, I was able to take advantage of two of the three opportunities I saw on the board. The Mean Green had me a little nervous when they surrendered three early 4th quarter touchdowns, but they kept the Tide off the board the rest of the way to cover. OU used a nice 10-0 spurt in the final frame to hold off FSU.

Another relatively boring bunch of game's this weekend, but let's it's just as kind as last.

Pittsburgh +7: I've wagered against the Fighting Irish three times (two wins) in three weeks already, but I think the Panthers keep this one close on their home soil.

Florida State +3: This line has shifted SIX points in four days as FSU opened as a three-point favorite. A touchdown shift is almost unheard of when the spread is this close to Pick 'em. I think the Seminoles are extra motivated after losing on national tv last week, and Clemson is a bit overrated (see: barely beating Wofford at home).

Pick of the Week - San Diego State +10.5: Can Brady Hoke's former team spring the upset in the Big House? I hope so because the Aztecs are my sleeper BCS crasher this season and a win here would be enormous for their chances.

Upset - West Virginia +6: Just have a gut feeling about this one. The atmosphere will be crazy, and I think Geno Smith arrives on the national stage.


Record: 11-4 (PoW: 3-0; Upset: 1-2)