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Monday, December 24, 2007
Note
Tonight's game does mean something. If the Chargers win their final two games, they will clinch the #3 seed in the AFC over Pittsburgh. This IS significant because the #3 seed will host either Tennessee or Cleveland and then travel to Indy, whereas the #4 seed will host Jacksonville and then have to travel to New England. Big difference.
NFL Quick Hits
Week 16 thoughts
Many things were finalized in Week 16 NFL action, including the New York Giants going into Buffalo and beating the Bills to clinch a playoff spot. I am in absolute disbelief that Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and the Giants actually managed to win this one. Manning stunk again, but the Giants managed to run for almost 300 yards after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter. If the season ended today, the Giants would travel to Tampa Bay on Wild Card Weekend. Is it possible that we could see Eli win a playoff game? Yea...probably not.
The Cleveland Browns played absolutely terrible and lost to the Bengals in a game that they needed to win in order to control their own playoff destiny. The Titans now clinch the last AFC Wild Card with a win next week. Derek Anderson looked horrible and threw four interceptions in the loss. It was actually amazing how bad the Browns played in this game. Make no mistake about it, Cincy did not win this game. Cleveland lost it.
The Patriots are now one win away from a perfect 16-0 regular season after easily beating the Dolphins 28-7. I am amazed at how the Patriots continue to throw down the field in the fourth quarter of games that they lead by a significant margin. I'm just waiting for Brady to get hurt on a late hit because he's throwing up 40 yard bombs in meaningless situations. Whatever happened to karma?
The Falcons decided to show up this week. It seems like they play hard when you would least expect it. Rookie cornerback Chris Houston is the real deal for Atlanta.
The Bucs won't go far if Jeff Garcia can't get healthy for the playoffs. They could be a dark horse for the Super Bowl if he does though.
Minnesota isn't going anywhere, nor will they ever with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback. Stick a fork in the Vikings.
Who would be a worse playoff team, Washington or Tennessee? That's a really tough question. You can't answer it can you?
Bob Sanders has my vote for Defensive MVP. Whatever happened to the soft Colts D? I believe that Indy can play with New England, and if they do beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, it will be because they have the better defence.
In case you haven't noticed Chad Johnson is overrated. He's not even close to being one of the top receivers in the NFL at this point in his career. He's not even the best option on his team (T.J. is). Johnson routinely screws Carson Palmer by running poor routes and dropping the ball. He's also unwilling to put his body on the line in order to make a big catch most of the time. Ocho Crapo is not worth the headache and the Bengals should ship him and Marvin Lewis straight out of town after this year.
WHAT?
Why are the Dolphins 1-14? Let's start with the fact that their quarterback, coach or both have no brain. After completing a pass to give them a 1st and goal with 1:11 left in the first half, Dolphins quarterback Cleo Lemon elected to spike the ball and waste first down, instead of just running a play or taking a timeout. The Dolphins ended up coming away with nothing on the drive. How do you waste first down in that situation? No matter how good or bad your team is, you can't make a mistake like that against the Patriots and expect to be in the game. Whoever made the decision to spike the ball in that situation should be held accountable and would not be a part of my football team anymore.
It seems like teams/coaches/quarterbacks are getting worse at managing the clock. Why are they so bad at this?
Why did Kurt Warner spike the ball near the end of the first half in the Cards-Falcons game? He could have just run a play. Don't waste the down unless it's absolutely necessary, especially when you're just going to end up leaving your timeout on the shelf! It's hard enough to get the ball into the endzone on three plays so don't throw first down in the garbage!
Memo to Derek Anderson and the Browns: When you're running out of time and need a touchdown to win the game on your final drive, HURRY UP! Don't throw five yard passes! You're better off throwing the ball away if you can't find anyone down the field. The Browns playoff hopes depended on that game and Derek Anderson couldn't even manage to put some air under the ball on a last play hail mary attempt. What the hell?! The ugly line drive of a pass landed in the middle of nowhere in the endzone before Anderson's receivers even had a chance to get within five yards of the pass. This was by no means the reason Cleveland lost this game, but just another thing that pissed me off about this game.
Monday Night Prediction:
Denver at San Diego:
These two teams are extremely unpredictable and who know if anyone will be trying hard in this game. Denver's defence stinks, but I think that the Broncos will put up their fare share of points against the Chargers. Take the over 47.
Many things were finalized in Week 16 NFL action, including the New York Giants going into Buffalo and beating the Bills to clinch a playoff spot. I am in absolute disbelief that Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin and the Giants actually managed to win this one. Manning stunk again, but the Giants managed to run for almost 300 yards after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter. If the season ended today, the Giants would travel to Tampa Bay on Wild Card Weekend. Is it possible that we could see Eli win a playoff game? Yea...probably not.
The Cleveland Browns played absolutely terrible and lost to the Bengals in a game that they needed to win in order to control their own playoff destiny. The Titans now clinch the last AFC Wild Card with a win next week. Derek Anderson looked horrible and threw four interceptions in the loss. It was actually amazing how bad the Browns played in this game. Make no mistake about it, Cincy did not win this game. Cleveland lost it.
The Patriots are now one win away from a perfect 16-0 regular season after easily beating the Dolphins 28-7. I am amazed at how the Patriots continue to throw down the field in the fourth quarter of games that they lead by a significant margin. I'm just waiting for Brady to get hurt on a late hit because he's throwing up 40 yard bombs in meaningless situations. Whatever happened to karma?
The Falcons decided to show up this week. It seems like they play hard when you would least expect it. Rookie cornerback Chris Houston is the real deal for Atlanta.
The Bucs won't go far if Jeff Garcia can't get healthy for the playoffs. They could be a dark horse for the Super Bowl if he does though.
Minnesota isn't going anywhere, nor will they ever with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback. Stick a fork in the Vikings.
Who would be a worse playoff team, Washington or Tennessee? That's a really tough question. You can't answer it can you?
Bob Sanders has my vote for Defensive MVP. Whatever happened to the soft Colts D? I believe that Indy can play with New England, and if they do beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, it will be because they have the better defence.
In case you haven't noticed Chad Johnson is overrated. He's not even close to being one of the top receivers in the NFL at this point in his career. He's not even the best option on his team (T.J. is). Johnson routinely screws Carson Palmer by running poor routes and dropping the ball. He's also unwilling to put his body on the line in order to make a big catch most of the time. Ocho Crapo is not worth the headache and the Bengals should ship him and Marvin Lewis straight out of town after this year.
WHAT?
Why are the Dolphins 1-14? Let's start with the fact that their quarterback, coach or both have no brain. After completing a pass to give them a 1st and goal with 1:11 left in the first half, Dolphins quarterback Cleo Lemon elected to spike the ball and waste first down, instead of just running a play or taking a timeout. The Dolphins ended up coming away with nothing on the drive. How do you waste first down in that situation? No matter how good or bad your team is, you can't make a mistake like that against the Patriots and expect to be in the game. Whoever made the decision to spike the ball in that situation should be held accountable and would not be a part of my football team anymore.
It seems like teams/coaches/quarterbacks are getting worse at managing the clock. Why are they so bad at this?
Why did Kurt Warner spike the ball near the end of the first half in the Cards-Falcons game? He could have just run a play. Don't waste the down unless it's absolutely necessary, especially when you're just going to end up leaving your timeout on the shelf! It's hard enough to get the ball into the endzone on three plays so don't throw first down in the garbage!
Memo to Derek Anderson and the Browns: When you're running out of time and need a touchdown to win the game on your final drive, HURRY UP! Don't throw five yard passes! You're better off throwing the ball away if you can't find anyone down the field. The Browns playoff hopes depended on that game and Derek Anderson couldn't even manage to put some air under the ball on a last play hail mary attempt. What the hell?! The ugly line drive of a pass landed in the middle of nowhere in the endzone before Anderson's receivers even had a chance to get within five yards of the pass. This was by no means the reason Cleveland lost this game, but just another thing that pissed me off about this game.
Monday Night Prediction:
Denver at San Diego:
These two teams are extremely unpredictable and who know if anyone will be trying hard in this game. Denver's defence stinks, but I think that the Broncos will put up their fare share of points against the Chargers. Take the over 47.
Friday, December 14, 2007
NFL Picks
Cincinnati -9 at San Francisco
The Bengals shouldn't be favourite by this much over anyone, especially on the road. Cincy looked terrible beating the Rams by 9 last week and Shaun Hill can't possibly be any worse than Brock Berlin was for St. Louis. Frank Gore should have room to run and if Hill plays a half decent game at quarterback, the 49ers could win outright.
Take San Francisco +9
Arizona at New Orleans -4
After watching Drew Brees on Monday Night, there's no way I'm going against the Saints again. Brees is as hot as any quarterback in the league right now and should be able to pick apart a depleted Cardinals defence. This could be a better over than anything else though as the total points sits at 48.
Take New Orleans -4
Atlanta at Tampa Bay -13.5
The Bucs should win the game at home, but look for a pissed off Falcons team to come up with a big effort here on the road and send a message to Bobby Petrino.
Take Atlanta +13.5
Baltimore -3.5 at Miami
I don't know that the Ravens are much better than the Dolphins despite the fact that they've won a few games. Miami's defence has some veterans on it who do not want to be part of a winless season. Look for Joey Porter and Jason Taylor to do everything in their power to get their team up for this game that may be Miami's last realistic chance for a win.
Take Miami +3.5
Buffalo at Cleveland -5.5
This game could decide the last wild card spot in the AFC. While the Bills have overachieved all season long, they simply don't possess the firpower needed to stay with this talented Browns squad. Look for the Browns to be ready for this one at home.
Take Cleveland -5.5
Green Bay -9 at St. Louis
The Packers have been covering the spread all year and Favre is always a good bet against a weak foe like the Rams. Favre loves to pile up the easy touchdown passes and he should have no trouble doing that this weekend. If Brock Berlin starts for St. Louis, jump all over this one.
Take Green Bay -9
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh -3.5
This should be a great battle and 3.5 points is a lot to lay in a game where the visitors may be the better team. Both Jax and Pitt have lost key defenders in the last few weeks and this game should be a high scoring affair. Take the over 36.5, but if you want to take a team, then grab the points.
Take Jax +3.5
New York Jets at New England -23.5
There's no way I'm buying that Bill Belichick and the Patriots do not want to destroy the whistle blowing, Mangini-led Jets this Sunday at Foxborough.
Take New England -23.5
Seattle -7.5 at Carolina
Matt Hasselbeck cannot be stopped and Carolina can't score against anyone. Matt Moore should get the start for the Panthers in this one and if Seattle scores three touchdowns, they should have this one covered.
Take Seattle -7.5
Tennessee -4 at Kansas City
Tennessee has the better team, but they are erratic on offence and cannot be trusted laying points. Kansas City has one of the worst offences in the league, but they can be tough at home. Stay away from this game if at all possible, but if you must choose for your pool, then I'd rather lay the points with the Titans.
Take Tennessee -4
Indianapolis -11.5 at Oakland
Indy is pretty banged up, especially on defence. They may have trouble getting up for this Raiders team on the road and look for a good effort from Oakland, who has been playing better with McCown at quarterback with a side of JaMarcus Russell.
Take Oakland +11.5
Detroit at San Diego -10
This Lions team is not trustworthy, but is capable of scoring on just about anyone. San Diego is very similar and with Merriman out for this game, there's no way I'm laying 10 points.
Take Detroit +10
Philadelphia at Dallas -10
The Eagles officially stink. The Cowboys should have no trouble stopping Philly's one-sided Brian Westbrook led offensive attack. The Dallas crowd will be hostile and should help the Cowboys keep the petal to the metal for four quarters against these weak rivals.
Take Dallas -10
Washington at New York Giants -4.5
There is no way that Todd Collins is going to throw up his lob balls for two weeks in a row without throwing some interceptions. The Giants should roll over an overmatched Redskins team at home.
Take New York -4.5
Chicago at Minnesota -10
The Vikings are clearly the better team here and should be ready for their opportunity to shine in prime time on Monday night against the Bears.
Take Minnesota -10
The Bengals shouldn't be favourite by this much over anyone, especially on the road. Cincy looked terrible beating the Rams by 9 last week and Shaun Hill can't possibly be any worse than Brock Berlin was for St. Louis. Frank Gore should have room to run and if Hill plays a half decent game at quarterback, the 49ers could win outright.
Take San Francisco +9
Arizona at New Orleans -4
After watching Drew Brees on Monday Night, there's no way I'm going against the Saints again. Brees is as hot as any quarterback in the league right now and should be able to pick apart a depleted Cardinals defence. This could be a better over than anything else though as the total points sits at 48.
Take New Orleans -4
Atlanta at Tampa Bay -13.5
The Bucs should win the game at home, but look for a pissed off Falcons team to come up with a big effort here on the road and send a message to Bobby Petrino.
Take Atlanta +13.5
Baltimore -3.5 at Miami
I don't know that the Ravens are much better than the Dolphins despite the fact that they've won a few games. Miami's defence has some veterans on it who do not want to be part of a winless season. Look for Joey Porter and Jason Taylor to do everything in their power to get their team up for this game that may be Miami's last realistic chance for a win.
Take Miami +3.5
Buffalo at Cleveland -5.5
This game could decide the last wild card spot in the AFC. While the Bills have overachieved all season long, they simply don't possess the firpower needed to stay with this talented Browns squad. Look for the Browns to be ready for this one at home.
Take Cleveland -5.5
Green Bay -9 at St. Louis
The Packers have been covering the spread all year and Favre is always a good bet against a weak foe like the Rams. Favre loves to pile up the easy touchdown passes and he should have no trouble doing that this weekend. If Brock Berlin starts for St. Louis, jump all over this one.
Take Green Bay -9
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh -3.5
This should be a great battle and 3.5 points is a lot to lay in a game where the visitors may be the better team. Both Jax and Pitt have lost key defenders in the last few weeks and this game should be a high scoring affair. Take the over 36.5, but if you want to take a team, then grab the points.
Take Jax +3.5
New York Jets at New England -23.5
There's no way I'm buying that Bill Belichick and the Patriots do not want to destroy the whistle blowing, Mangini-led Jets this Sunday at Foxborough.
Take New England -23.5
Seattle -7.5 at Carolina
Matt Hasselbeck cannot be stopped and Carolina can't score against anyone. Matt Moore should get the start for the Panthers in this one and if Seattle scores three touchdowns, they should have this one covered.
Take Seattle -7.5
Tennessee -4 at Kansas City
Tennessee has the better team, but they are erratic on offence and cannot be trusted laying points. Kansas City has one of the worst offences in the league, but they can be tough at home. Stay away from this game if at all possible, but if you must choose for your pool, then I'd rather lay the points with the Titans.
Take Tennessee -4
Indianapolis -11.5 at Oakland
Indy is pretty banged up, especially on defence. They may have trouble getting up for this Raiders team on the road and look for a good effort from Oakland, who has been playing better with McCown at quarterback with a side of JaMarcus Russell.
Take Oakland +11.5
Detroit at San Diego -10
This Lions team is not trustworthy, but is capable of scoring on just about anyone. San Diego is very similar and with Merriman out for this game, there's no way I'm laying 10 points.
Take Detroit +10
Philadelphia at Dallas -10
The Eagles officially stink. The Cowboys should have no trouble stopping Philly's one-sided Brian Westbrook led offensive attack. The Dallas crowd will be hostile and should help the Cowboys keep the petal to the metal for four quarters against these weak rivals.
Take Dallas -10
Washington at New York Giants -4.5
There is no way that Todd Collins is going to throw up his lob balls for two weeks in a row without throwing some interceptions. The Giants should roll over an overmatched Redskins team at home.
Take New York -4.5
Chicago at Minnesota -10
The Vikings are clearly the better team here and should be ready for their opportunity to shine in prime time on Monday night against the Bears.
Take Minnesota -10
Thursday, December 13, 2007
NBA quick hits
Raptors notes:
Raptors coming off three straight wins over Houston, Atlanta and Dallas. They now sit in fourth place in the East at 13-10 and they can thank Chris Bosh for coming up big since his return. Despite starting the season off slowly offensively, Bosh has been putting up great efforts all year. He has truly given 100 percent for the Raptors this year and if he keeps playing as hard as he has been, with his shot starting to fall, the Raptors will win 50 games.
Toronto's depth has been confirmed in the last couple of weeks. Kris Humphries has really stepped up. I've never been a K-Hump backer, but Kris looks a little leaner and a step quicker this year. Make no mistake about it, apart from Darick Martin, every single Raptor is capable of making a significant contribution for Toronto if needed.
Bargnani has been terrible lately, but I don't think it's time to panic. He'll come out of his slump and play his best ball when it counts later in the year and in the playoffs for Toronto.
Bryan Colangelo's offseason moves continue to payoff. Carlos Delfino is a top sixth man on almost any team in the league. He has the ability to change a game with his offence on any given night and is capable of hitting tough shots when he's locked in. Although his offence is still inconsistent, he always plays hard on defence, runs the floor, and plays a solid all-around game.
Kapono is one of the best shooters in the league. The Raptors need to try and get him more good looks and even though Kapono and Ford didn't seem to feed very well off of each other earlier in the year, I think the time Ford spent on the bench may help him in the long run with regards to playing with the new Raptors (Kapono, Delfino and Moon). At least it looked that way before Ford went down again on Tuesday night.
Ford's hard fall was a scary moment for everyone involved. It was great to see Sam Mitchell stick up for his player. I'd like to see more of that fiery attitude from the Raptors players when the time is right. Mitchell may not be the best coach strategically, but he's one of the guys and I don't think there's another coach in the NBA who would get more out of this group.
If Ford is out an extended period of time, I hope the Raptors try Delfino out as the backup point guard rather than playing Darick Martin. Martin did an okay job on Wednesday against Dallas, but Delfino is a much better player and would benefit from more minutes as it is.
Toronto travels to Indiana tomorrow night to play the Pacers and then will go up against the seemingly unbeatable Celtics on Sunday at 1:00. Toronto's got a tough schedule coming up with a lot of road games so they can't afford to have a letdown in Indiana. Don't count them out against Boston either. They recently got killed by the Celtics while missing Bosh and Bargnani, but having those guys back should make a huge difference and I think the Raptors will at least make a game out of this one.
Notes from around the NBA:
Lebron James is the best player in the East and it's going to be difficult for any Eastern Conference team to beat the Cavs in a playoff series.
Ditto for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the West.
Watched the Suns the other night at home against Utah and something about them doesn't look right. I'm sure they'll get better as the year goes on, but something seemed to be missing at least for that one night despite the victory.
Every time I watch Carlos Boozer play, I am surprised at how good he has become. His shot is silky smooth and he should go down in history right next to Karl Malone when it's all said and done.
This Quinn kid on Miami is a good shooter. I can see him getting serious minutes on that team.
Jordan Farmar needs to be getting more minutes for the Lakers. Come on Phil!
Raptors coming off three straight wins over Houston, Atlanta and Dallas. They now sit in fourth place in the East at 13-10 and they can thank Chris Bosh for coming up big since his return. Despite starting the season off slowly offensively, Bosh has been putting up great efforts all year. He has truly given 100 percent for the Raptors this year and if he keeps playing as hard as he has been, with his shot starting to fall, the Raptors will win 50 games.
Toronto's depth has been confirmed in the last couple of weeks. Kris Humphries has really stepped up. I've never been a K-Hump backer, but Kris looks a little leaner and a step quicker this year. Make no mistake about it, apart from Darick Martin, every single Raptor is capable of making a significant contribution for Toronto if needed.
Bargnani has been terrible lately, but I don't think it's time to panic. He'll come out of his slump and play his best ball when it counts later in the year and in the playoffs for Toronto.
Bryan Colangelo's offseason moves continue to payoff. Carlos Delfino is a top sixth man on almost any team in the league. He has the ability to change a game with his offence on any given night and is capable of hitting tough shots when he's locked in. Although his offence is still inconsistent, he always plays hard on defence, runs the floor, and plays a solid all-around game.
Kapono is one of the best shooters in the league. The Raptors need to try and get him more good looks and even though Kapono and Ford didn't seem to feed very well off of each other earlier in the year, I think the time Ford spent on the bench may help him in the long run with regards to playing with the new Raptors (Kapono, Delfino and Moon). At least it looked that way before Ford went down again on Tuesday night.
Ford's hard fall was a scary moment for everyone involved. It was great to see Sam Mitchell stick up for his player. I'd like to see more of that fiery attitude from the Raptors players when the time is right. Mitchell may not be the best coach strategically, but he's one of the guys and I don't think there's another coach in the NBA who would get more out of this group.
If Ford is out an extended period of time, I hope the Raptors try Delfino out as the backup point guard rather than playing Darick Martin. Martin did an okay job on Wednesday against Dallas, but Delfino is a much better player and would benefit from more minutes as it is.
Toronto travels to Indiana tomorrow night to play the Pacers and then will go up against the seemingly unbeatable Celtics on Sunday at 1:00. Toronto's got a tough schedule coming up with a lot of road games so they can't afford to have a letdown in Indiana. Don't count them out against Boston either. They recently got killed by the Celtics while missing Bosh and Bargnani, but having those guys back should make a huge difference and I think the Raptors will at least make a game out of this one.
Notes from around the NBA:
Lebron James is the best player in the East and it's going to be difficult for any Eastern Conference team to beat the Cavs in a playoff series.
Ditto for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the West.
Watched the Suns the other night at home against Utah and something about them doesn't look right. I'm sure they'll get better as the year goes on, but something seemed to be missing at least for that one night despite the victory.
Every time I watch Carlos Boozer play, I am surprised at how good he has become. His shot is silky smooth and he should go down in history right next to Karl Malone when it's all said and done.
This Quinn kid on Miami is a good shooter. I can see him getting serious minutes on that team.
Jordan Farmar needs to be getting more minutes for the Lakers. Come on Phil!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
NFL picks
It's exam time so my analysis for each game will be quick.
Carolina at Jacksonville -11
Carolina just doesn't have the offence to hang with the Jags, who should be able to take advantage of the pathetic Panthers on both sides of the ball.
Take Jax -11
Dallas -11 at Detroit
It's tough to spot this many points on the road against a team that supposedly has a good offence, but the alternative feels worse at this point. The Lions can't protect Kitna and against a good Cowboys pass rush, this will spell doom for the home team.
Take Dallas -11
Miami at Buffalo -7
The Bills are fighting for the playoffs and the Dolphins seem to be getting worse by the week. Miami couldn't even manage to stay close against the Jets last week so how are they going to make it close in Buffalo?
Take Buffalo -7
New York Giants at Philadelphia -3
Donovan McNabb should return for the Eagles here and who knows if that's a good thing against the Giants pass rush. The Giants have been erratic, but besides Brian Westbrook, the Eagles still stink. The wrong side is the favourite here.
Take the Giants +3
Oakland at Green Bay -10.5
Here's betting Favre makes one of his miraculous recoveries and throws for at least three touchdowns in this game. Favre excels in easy games and this is one of them. Look for him to pile on the points.
Take the Packers -10.5
San Diego -1.5 at Tennessee
If Albert Haynesworth plays, the Chargers won't be able to run and I can't see Rivers leading San Diego to victory in a tough road game. Vince Young has been playing better and the Titans need to win to stay in the playoff race.
Take Tennessee +1.5
St. Louis at Cincinnati -8
I don't care who's starting for the Rams, there's no way I'm spotting this many points with this sad sack Bengals team.
Take St. Louis +8
Tampa Bay -3 at Houston
This game will depend on the health of Jeff Garcia. If he's close to 100 percent, then the Texans won't be able to keep up.
Take Tampa -3
Arizona at Seattle -7
Matt Hasselbeck continues to do the most with one of the worst receiving corps in the league. The Cards may be missing Fitzgerald and Boldin in this game and Kurt Warner may have trouble escaping Patrick Kerney.
Take Seattle -7
Minnesota -9 at San Francisco
Are the Vikings for real? Will they come up lame here in a game where they should dominate or will they roll over the crappy 49ers on the road? I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I'm going to give AP the benefit of the doubt.
Take Minnesota -9
Pittsburgh at New England -10
I'm not jumping off the Patriots bandwagon just yet. New England finally plays a game they won't have any trouble getting motivated for and they should be more than ready to make the Steelers look silly, especially if they're missing Polamulu.
Take New England -10
Cleveland -3.5 at New York Jets
After being robbed last week by the dumbest rule in NFL history (force outs not being reviewable), the Browns will be angry and should roll over the Jets. New York only looked good last week because they were playing the Dolphins.
Take Cleveland -3.5
Kansas City at Denver -7
KC can't score enough to cover the spread against a potent Broncos offence.
Take Denver -7
Indianapolis -9 at Baltimore
Baltimore's offence should have trouble scoring against Indy.
Take Indy -9
New Orleans -3.5 at Atlanta
Minus the quarterback, the Falcons may have a better offence than the Saints. Chris Redman can't be any worse than Harrington or Leftwich can he? Look for Norwood, Dunn and Roddy White to expose the Saints crappy defence and win this one outright.
Take Atlana +3.5
Carolina at Jacksonville -11
Carolina just doesn't have the offence to hang with the Jags, who should be able to take advantage of the pathetic Panthers on both sides of the ball.
Take Jax -11
Dallas -11 at Detroit
It's tough to spot this many points on the road against a team that supposedly has a good offence, but the alternative feels worse at this point. The Lions can't protect Kitna and against a good Cowboys pass rush, this will spell doom for the home team.
Take Dallas -11
Miami at Buffalo -7
The Bills are fighting for the playoffs and the Dolphins seem to be getting worse by the week. Miami couldn't even manage to stay close against the Jets last week so how are they going to make it close in Buffalo?
Take Buffalo -7
New York Giants at Philadelphia -3
Donovan McNabb should return for the Eagles here and who knows if that's a good thing against the Giants pass rush. The Giants have been erratic, but besides Brian Westbrook, the Eagles still stink. The wrong side is the favourite here.
Take the Giants +3
Oakland at Green Bay -10.5
Here's betting Favre makes one of his miraculous recoveries and throws for at least three touchdowns in this game. Favre excels in easy games and this is one of them. Look for him to pile on the points.
Take the Packers -10.5
San Diego -1.5 at Tennessee
If Albert Haynesworth plays, the Chargers won't be able to run and I can't see Rivers leading San Diego to victory in a tough road game. Vince Young has been playing better and the Titans need to win to stay in the playoff race.
Take Tennessee +1.5
St. Louis at Cincinnati -8
I don't care who's starting for the Rams, there's no way I'm spotting this many points with this sad sack Bengals team.
Take St. Louis +8
Tampa Bay -3 at Houston
This game will depend on the health of Jeff Garcia. If he's close to 100 percent, then the Texans won't be able to keep up.
Take Tampa -3
Arizona at Seattle -7
Matt Hasselbeck continues to do the most with one of the worst receiving corps in the league. The Cards may be missing Fitzgerald and Boldin in this game and Kurt Warner may have trouble escaping Patrick Kerney.
Take Seattle -7
Minnesota -9 at San Francisco
Are the Vikings for real? Will they come up lame here in a game where they should dominate or will they roll over the crappy 49ers on the road? I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I'm going to give AP the benefit of the doubt.
Take Minnesota -9
Pittsburgh at New England -10
I'm not jumping off the Patriots bandwagon just yet. New England finally plays a game they won't have any trouble getting motivated for and they should be more than ready to make the Steelers look silly, especially if they're missing Polamulu.
Take New England -10
Cleveland -3.5 at New York Jets
After being robbed last week by the dumbest rule in NFL history (force outs not being reviewable), the Browns will be angry and should roll over the Jets. New York only looked good last week because they were playing the Dolphins.
Take Cleveland -3.5
Kansas City at Denver -7
KC can't score enough to cover the spread against a potent Broncos offence.
Take Denver -7
Indianapolis -9 at Baltimore
Baltimore's offence should have trouble scoring against Indy.
Take Indy -9
New Orleans -3.5 at Atlanta
Minus the quarterback, the Falcons may have a better offence than the Saints. Chris Redman can't be any worse than Harrington or Leftwich can he? Look for Norwood, Dunn and Roddy White to expose the Saints crappy defence and win this one outright.
Take Atlana +3.5
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Bosh-less Raptors dethrone Cavs
In a game that was supposed to be Lebron James squaring off against fellow all-star Chris Bosh, both players sat out the game with minor injuries and the Raptors beat the Cavs fairly easily at the ACC last night.
The final score was 91-83 and on a night when T.J. Ford returned to the lineup with 17 minutes, Jose Calderon may have been the best player on the court for either team.
Calderon ran the offence to perfection, making Ford look like an amateur when he came off the bench to relieve him and both Bargnani and Delfino had big scoring nights.
So what do you think about T.J. Ford for Drew Gooden and a first round pick? Okay, fine...what will you give us for him? We'll take anything.
It's called addition by subtraction people! I think the Raptors would be smart to get rid of Ford before he starts complaining about not getting enough playing time. Dixon and Ford made a point of isolating themselves at the end of the bench together and after Ford threw a minor hissy fit after being taken out of the game in the fourth quarter, both players refrained from entering Sam Mitchell's timeout huddle. It's just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ford and Dixon were starting their own little whiner's club.
On the other hand, Ford has been very complimentary of Calderon's recent play when talking to the press. He even seems resigned to come off the bench...at least for now. I doubt he'd take a permanent demotion very well, but here's hoping I'm wrong, although we may never get the chance to find out.
After being at the Air Canada Centre for the last two Raptors wins, it seems that most fans clearly prefer Calderon to Ford and if you know the game of basketball, why wouldn't you???
The Cavs looked pathetic without Lebron and after seeing this team twice in the span of one week, once with Lebron, and then last night without him, you have got to start thinking about writing his name on the MVP trophy.
He is the most dominant player in the NBA right now and could lead the Cavs to an Eastern Conference title for the second straight year in a row with one of the worst supporting casts that I've ever seen any big star get stuck with.
The final score was 91-83 and on a night when T.J. Ford returned to the lineup with 17 minutes, Jose Calderon may have been the best player on the court for either team.
Calderon ran the offence to perfection, making Ford look like an amateur when he came off the bench to relieve him and both Bargnani and Delfino had big scoring nights.
So what do you think about T.J. Ford for Drew Gooden and a first round pick? Okay, fine...what will you give us for him? We'll take anything.
It's called addition by subtraction people! I think the Raptors would be smart to get rid of Ford before he starts complaining about not getting enough playing time. Dixon and Ford made a point of isolating themselves at the end of the bench together and after Ford threw a minor hissy fit after being taken out of the game in the fourth quarter, both players refrained from entering Sam Mitchell's timeout huddle. It's just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ford and Dixon were starting their own little whiner's club.
On the other hand, Ford has been very complimentary of Calderon's recent play when talking to the press. He even seems resigned to come off the bench...at least for now. I doubt he'd take a permanent demotion very well, but here's hoping I'm wrong, although we may never get the chance to find out.
After being at the Air Canada Centre for the last two Raptors wins, it seems that most fans clearly prefer Calderon to Ford and if you know the game of basketball, why wouldn't you???
The Cavs looked pathetic without Lebron and after seeing this team twice in the span of one week, once with Lebron, and then last night without him, you have got to start thinking about writing his name on the MVP trophy.
He is the most dominant player in the NBA right now and could lead the Cavs to an Eastern Conference title for the second straight year in a row with one of the worst supporting casts that I've ever seen any big star get stuck with.
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