Friday, October 07, 2005
Here it comes... week 5
I don't know why I'd bother sharing this, but for some odd reason songs from Guys and Dolls have been running through my head for the last hour. It's damn near maddening, I tells ya. I suppose I could balance that out with manly man sports.
Hockey note before moving to football -- Kings notched their first W last night, 3-2 over Phoenix. Looked good doing it, too. Alexander Frolov is one of the league's top future stars and I expect him to blow up this season. He had a goal and an assist and young netminder Jason LaBarbera had a solid performance in the victory. Nice. "Kings Rule!"
Okay, week five in the NFL is full of, um, putrid matchups to say the least. At least from a fan's perspective. A fan that wants to be entertained, mind you. Anyway, lots of ugly games on the slate. Not only will you have a hard time watching them, I'll have a hard time picking them. Record through four weeks improved to 34-26, by the way, 8-4 in best bets.
Winner in bold. (BB) = best bet.
Baltimore at Detroit - Ick! Couple of disappointing squads. Despite the Lions' game effort in Tampa last week, I'm going with the Ravens on the road. Not because I have faith in Baltimore's offense, but because their defense is facing Joey Harrington. The Ravens D has been lacking big plays all season -- their specialty -- and Harrington's erratic throwing should cure them of that. Bet the under in Vegas.
Chicago at Cleveland - Yuck! How can anyone possibly sugarcoat this one? Woof! On the road, the Bears' defense pulls through. Final score: 9-5. Thomas Jones does enough to make sure his teammates on defense stay fresh throughout the game.
Miami at Buffalo - Ack! As notorious as Miami's recent visits to Buffalo have been, I'm picking the Dolphins for two reasons. 1) They can run and Buffalo can't stop anyone from running. 2) The Bills have made a change at quarterback, starting Kelly Holcombe ahead of JP "I could have told you he'd be a bust before he was even drafted" Losman. This could spark Buffalo, but I expect the transition will take time.
New England at Atlanta - One of only three good matchups this week along with the Sunday and Monday nighters. Who will show up for the Pats? The side that beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh or the ones who were blown out at home against San Diego. Corey Dillon is having a really hard time running the ball, but he could get motoring against Atlanta who has looked sheepish against the run. Michael Vick also isn't 100% and I think the Pats D will have fixed some of last week's problems.
New Orleans at Green Bay - Ew. You know what? The Packers, as bad as they are, have a lot of fight in them. This is the week they get off the mat. Is it an upset? Sorta kinda. The Saints aren't anything special on the road, Joe Horn isn't fit, and their run defense is terrible. The health status of Ahman Green for Green Bay will go a long way to determining who wins this stinker.
Seattle at St. Louis - You know there are going to be a lot of points scored in this one. Bet the over if you can. Note that Seattle's wide receivers are banged up a bit and they're playing on the road where they're rather unimpressive. Conversely, the Rams play much better at home. And if last year's series isn't a mental edge for St. Louis, I don't know what is.
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Jets - Eep. Here's the problem with picking the Bucs: Cadillac Williams is questionable, they're playing away in cold weather, and the offensive line is a little dinged. They're going to have to win with the pass and the Jets defend that very well. Here's why picking the Bucs makes sense: Vinny Testaverde has just come out of retirement and his first week back is against the #1 rated defense in the league.
Tennessee at Houston - Ugh. Another stinker. Houston is playing at home where they seem to have a little more fire in their belly. The Titans are having trouble against the run -- which is good news for Domanick Davis -- and it appears the Titans don't have a way to protect against Andre Johnson -- which Houston may be able to take advantage of if David Carr ever gets any protection. After playing the Bengals tough last week, the Texans get their first win of the year.
Indianapolis at San Francisco - This is a no-brainer. #1 overall draft pick Alex Smith will be making his first ever NFL start against what has proven to be a strong strong strong defense. Additionally, the Niners defense can't keep anyone out of the end zone for longer than a minute. How do you think they'll fair against Peyton Manning? (BB)
Carolina at Arizona - Could be a route. I'll put last Monday's near letdown against the Pack aside, for now. The Panthers are superior on both sides of the ball and Arizona has all but abandoned the running game. Look for Carolina to build an early lead, then run the ball down AZ's throat. (BB)
Philadelphia at Dallas - Drew Bledsoe, meet the swarming Eagles defense. Drew Bledsoe, meet the cold, hard turf. The Eagles are going to torment the immoble Dallas QB all game and, thus, eliminate the Cowboy passing game. Oh yeah, and the Eagles have McNabb, Westbrook, and Owens. (BB)
Washington at Denver - Not a very appealing game here, either. I think homefield advantage and a defense that is showing some life propel the Broncs to victory against the "I can't believe we're 3-0" 'Skins. Probably another low-scoring affair given how good Washington's defense is and how mediocre it's offense is.
Sunday Night
Cincinnati at Jacksonville - OOOOOOOHHHH! Intrigue! I'm still stunned that Jacksonville was handled in the fashion they were last week, but I think they bounce back Sunday in a minor upset, handing the Bengals their first loss of the year. The Jags' front four on defense, lead by Marcus Stroud, is pretty good and Cincy has a real problem at center. This could hamper Rudi Johnson's running. The Jags have also been shutting down opposing wide receivers all year. Their O-line is damaged badly, but I think they'll overcome. Especially if Cincinnati racks up penalties like they did last week. This is a statement game for the Jaguars.
Monday Night
Pittsburgh at San Diego - What a juicy Monday night matchup. Wow. The Chargers look amazing ever since they remembered that their team's success revolves around LaDainion Tomlinson. The Steelers, however, play mistake-free football (aside from one stupid Randle-El lateral), run the ball as well as anyone, and are rested having just come off a bye week. SD's high after beating up the Patriots may yield a letdown this week. Should be a cracking game.
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Hockey note before moving to football -- Kings notched their first W last night, 3-2 over Phoenix. Looked good doing it, too. Alexander Frolov is one of the league's top future stars and I expect him to blow up this season. He had a goal and an assist and young netminder Jason LaBarbera had a solid performance in the victory. Nice. "Kings Rule!"
Okay, week five in the NFL is full of, um, putrid matchups to say the least. At least from a fan's perspective. A fan that wants to be entertained, mind you. Anyway, lots of ugly games on the slate. Not only will you have a hard time watching them, I'll have a hard time picking them. Record through four weeks improved to 34-26, by the way, 8-4 in best bets.
Winner in bold. (BB) = best bet.
Baltimore at Detroit - Ick! Couple of disappointing squads. Despite the Lions' game effort in Tampa last week, I'm going with the Ravens on the road. Not because I have faith in Baltimore's offense, but because their defense is facing Joey Harrington. The Ravens D has been lacking big plays all season -- their specialty -- and Harrington's erratic throwing should cure them of that. Bet the under in Vegas.
Chicago at Cleveland - Yuck! How can anyone possibly sugarcoat this one? Woof! On the road, the Bears' defense pulls through. Final score: 9-5. Thomas Jones does enough to make sure his teammates on defense stay fresh throughout the game.
Miami at Buffalo - Ack! As notorious as Miami's recent visits to Buffalo have been, I'm picking the Dolphins for two reasons. 1) They can run and Buffalo can't stop anyone from running. 2) The Bills have made a change at quarterback, starting Kelly Holcombe ahead of JP "I could have told you he'd be a bust before he was even drafted" Losman. This could spark Buffalo, but I expect the transition will take time.
New England at Atlanta - One of only three good matchups this week along with the Sunday and Monday nighters. Who will show up for the Pats? The side that beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh or the ones who were blown out at home against San Diego. Corey Dillon is having a really hard time running the ball, but he could get motoring against Atlanta who has looked sheepish against the run. Michael Vick also isn't 100% and I think the Pats D will have fixed some of last week's problems.
New Orleans at Green Bay - Ew. You know what? The Packers, as bad as they are, have a lot of fight in them. This is the week they get off the mat. Is it an upset? Sorta kinda. The Saints aren't anything special on the road, Joe Horn isn't fit, and their run defense is terrible. The health status of Ahman Green for Green Bay will go a long way to determining who wins this stinker.
Seattle at St. Louis - You know there are going to be a lot of points scored in this one. Bet the over if you can. Note that Seattle's wide receivers are banged up a bit and they're playing on the road where they're rather unimpressive. Conversely, the Rams play much better at home. And if last year's series isn't a mental edge for St. Louis, I don't know what is.
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Jets - Eep. Here's the problem with picking the Bucs: Cadillac Williams is questionable, they're playing away in cold weather, and the offensive line is a little dinged. They're going to have to win with the pass and the Jets defend that very well. Here's why picking the Bucs makes sense: Vinny Testaverde has just come out of retirement and his first week back is against the #1 rated defense in the league.
Tennessee at Houston - Ugh. Another stinker. Houston is playing at home where they seem to have a little more fire in their belly. The Titans are having trouble against the run -- which is good news for Domanick Davis -- and it appears the Titans don't have a way to protect against Andre Johnson -- which Houston may be able to take advantage of if David Carr ever gets any protection. After playing the Bengals tough last week, the Texans get their first win of the year.
Indianapolis at San Francisco - This is a no-brainer. #1 overall draft pick Alex Smith will be making his first ever NFL start against what has proven to be a strong strong strong defense. Additionally, the Niners defense can't keep anyone out of the end zone for longer than a minute. How do you think they'll fair against Peyton Manning? (BB)
Carolina at Arizona - Could be a route. I'll put last Monday's near letdown against the Pack aside, for now. The Panthers are superior on both sides of the ball and Arizona has all but abandoned the running game. Look for Carolina to build an early lead, then run the ball down AZ's throat. (BB)
Philadelphia at Dallas - Drew Bledsoe, meet the swarming Eagles defense. Drew Bledsoe, meet the cold, hard turf. The Eagles are going to torment the immoble Dallas QB all game and, thus, eliminate the Cowboy passing game. Oh yeah, and the Eagles have McNabb, Westbrook, and Owens. (BB)
Washington at Denver - Not a very appealing game here, either. I think homefield advantage and a defense that is showing some life propel the Broncs to victory against the "I can't believe we're 3-0" 'Skins. Probably another low-scoring affair given how good Washington's defense is and how mediocre it's offense is.
Sunday Night
Cincinnati at Jacksonville - OOOOOOOHHHH! Intrigue! I'm still stunned that Jacksonville was handled in the fashion they were last week, but I think they bounce back Sunday in a minor upset, handing the Bengals their first loss of the year. The Jags' front four on defense, lead by Marcus Stroud, is pretty good and Cincy has a real problem at center. This could hamper Rudi Johnson's running. The Jags have also been shutting down opposing wide receivers all year. Their O-line is damaged badly, but I think they'll overcome. Especially if Cincinnati racks up penalties like they did last week. This is a statement game for the Jaguars.
Monday Night
Pittsburgh at San Diego - What a juicy Monday night matchup. Wow. The Chargers look amazing ever since they remembered that their team's success revolves around LaDainion Tomlinson. The Steelers, however, play mistake-free football (aside from one stupid Randle-El lateral), run the ball as well as anyone, and are rested having just come off a bye week. SD's high after beating up the Patriots may yield a letdown this week. Should be a cracking game.
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