A crazy week in football in the fact that some unexpected events took place. A little less fun because me and Coup pretty much had the same picks, but still who doesn’t love football in September?
STEELERS over Bills 26-3
I wouldn’t say this is a step forward for the Steelers and I would not say this was a step back for the Bills. They both just did what they do. Buffalo didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t shoot themselves in the foot they simply just did not have enough to compete for four quarters. Pittsburgh didn’t do anything extra special but were solid all around and nickled and dimed the Bills to death. Big Ben seems to be back to his ‘solid’ self. 1-1
Texans over PANTHERS 24-13
Not too many people could have seen this coming. Before I get to the game how pissed off is David Carr right now? I mean he takes 1291 sacks, pretty much ruins his career toiling in the Texans doo-doo only for them to have a mini-renaissance and then come beat his new team. What is the real life equivalent of that? Taking a shy quiet conservative girl and turning her into a sexy nymphomaniac who then breaks up with you and turns into a pornstar? Something like that. Andre Johnson torched the Panthers in a manner that I did not think possible. Their O-Line is holding up well and the committee of Ahman Green and Ron Dayne is proving to be more than serviceable. If you couldn’t tell I’m still in shock that the Texans are 2-0. I’m even in more shock that they won a road game after being down 14-0 in the first half. This is more proof that the Panthers need to just make up stuff to get Steve Smith pissed off every week. Like we said in the preview, you never know which Carolina team you’re going to get. The Super Bowl contenders or these guys. Steve Smith’s TD was awesome though. 1-1
JAGUARS over Falcons 13-7
I feel bad for Joey Harrington. His offensive-line and running backs are failing him and the blame will come to him. But when you’ve gotten sacked 13 times in two games…what can you really do about it? Add to that the fact that Warrick Dunn and Norwood have disappeared…things aren’t looking too good in the ATL. And the funny thing is they only lost by six, a margin that they would have made up had those field goals not gone wide. I’m not really sure what is wrong with Jacksonville. Garrard put in a good day but against better teams the Jags aren’t going to be able to rely on the passing game like this. Where’s Maurice Jones-Drew? 2-2
Packers over GIANTS 35-13
Forget about Eli or Brandon Jacobs injury…Giants fans where is the defense? Last week you got into a shootout with the Cowboys. Understandable. But how do you give up 35 points to a team who doesn’t even have a running back? I knew Favre would be licking his lips to tear this D up but sheesh the guy turned the clock back to at least 2002. 29/38? 3 TDs? Who is this guy? Meanwhile that Packers D is looking better, if they can keep people under 20 the Packers will be in every game. Eli did his best and Derrick Ward was suitable but at the end of the day when your D isn’t getting anything done it doesn’t matter. 3-3
BUCCANEERS over Saints 31-14
Damn. Really didn’t see this coming, that’s why I’m glad I’m not or ever will be a gambling man. I would have put my life on the line that the Saints were going to win this game. Their defense is non functional and their offense isn’t that far behind. Be ready for an entire week of ‘The Saints are back to being the Saints’ and all that bullmalarkey until they beat the mess out of whoever they play next. Joey Galloway had one of those Madden type games; 135 yards, 2 TDs on only 4 receptions. Where’s Reggie Bush? 3-3
Niners over RAMS 17-16
Well I was right…the Rams did get back on track offensively and the 49ers didn’t have enough to keep up. But three turnovers, a missed field goal and Dante Hall blowing a punt return will put you in the L column. Kudos to Frank Gore for playing with a heavy heart and putting the Niners only two TDs. My condolences go out to him. Disappointing second straight home loss for the Rams who have dug themselves a pretty little hole early. The Dome was usually their safe haven now they will have to venture outside the box and hope that they find Steven Jackson’s game wherever he left it. Losing Pace may be bigger than we all thought. 3-3
BROWNS over Bengals 51-45
I have no clue how this happened. None. I’m not sure how Cleveland scored 51 points and how Cincy let it happen. Actually yes I do. This is something that I vastly overlooked; Jamal Lewis destroys the Bengals. You can go to databasefootball.com and look it up but he has a history of just punishing them. And he did it today. I give no credit to Derek Anderson because he’s the same guy who sucked it up last week. Had Jamal Lewis not run rampant for 215 yards he would have had no chance in hell. The Bengals kind of remind me of the early Colts in the fact that their defense is going to be what bites them in the long run. 3-3
Colts over TITANS 22-20
Indy/Tennessee always goes down to the wire and this was no exception. Vince looked good so Titans fans are going to be excited except you forget he is cursed. And when he goes down so does his season. That sound you hear is also the screaming of people who picked Chris Brown up in fantasy and started him at running back. I don’t care what league you’re in 34 yards and no TD’s isn’t good. Nothing overly impressive from the Colts just a lot of business as usual. 4-4
LIONS over Vikings 20-17 (OT)
Actual quotes from me so I can redeem myself for the Bengals and Saints upsets. From this weeks NFC Power Rankings “..I will be making fun of you when Tavaris starts throwing INTs” and from the Week 2 Picks “…Tavaris Jackson is going to have to do something other than hand off the ball and that is when Minnesota’s troubles begin.” Of course Tavaris threw 4 interceptions and ended up getting hurt. That sound is the death of the Minnesota sports world. Roy Williams is a beast for catching a ball, getting his helmet ripped off and still running. Adrian Peterson is about the only good thing going for the Viking offense and he can’t carry the load too much longer. Detroit’s going to have to get some running if they want this success to keep up. 5-5
Cowboys over DOLPHINS 37-20
Apparently this is breaking news in Miami but Trent Green sucks. Dallas fans should be worried that T.O. was up to his old celebration shenanigans but then again it was just a game against Miami. I’m sure Coup will have about seventeen paragraphs on the game so I won’t say much else about it. 6-6
CARDINALS over Seahawks 23-20
One of the few times we disagreed this week…and I came out with the W. I had a feeling the Seahawks would sleepwalk in here. I forgot that the Cardinals give everything away. So I felt great when Arizona was up 17-0 and terrible when I saw that it was knotted up at 17. Seattle had no answer for Edge who ran all over them which makes Matt Leinert’s life about 55 thousand times easier. This is the thing about the Seahawks…they just never seem really into it. Who would have thought the Cardinals would blow a lead and still get the win? 7-6
RAVENS over Jets 20-13
*Ahem*….New York fans…I told you so. Kellen gagged in a big way and Kyle Boller decided to use this game to erase all his past struggles. Impossible yes but he could trick someone into paying him money after a no turnover game. McGahee was solid, Todd Heap led the way and the Ravens D was th
e Ravens D. By the way how tough is Ray Lewis? 8-7
BRONCOS over Raiders 23-20 (OT)
Can someone explain to me why the Broncos are eeking out wins? They aren’t playing bad, it just doesn’t make much sense. They had no business winning the game to be honest. Not because of how they played but Shanahan timing that timeout perfectly and then missing on the second attempt. Crazy. Cutler looked good but he can’t turn the ball over it’ll kill the Broncos in the long run. Lamont Jordan went off trying to make people stop asking ‘how the hell was this guy rated a 90 in Madden’ that one year. The Raiders have got to get some sort of passing game going though. Their defense is doing enough but their O is just non-existant. 9-8
BEARS over Chiefs 20-10
Not quite the impressive win you would want if you are Chicago. You beat a horrific KC team by 10 at home? And Rex manages to throw 2 INT’s against a a team who got torched by the Texans the week before. Not good heading in to a big showdown against the Cowboys. Cedric Benson stepped it up with 101 yards but I put that more on the Chiefs than anything he really did. Good to see Devin Hester isn’t pulling a Dante Hall and going off then disappearing. At least not yet. Also congrats to the Phoenix Mercury for winning the WNBA title. The playoff highlight video had more moments than the NBA. Too bad the deciding game was a blowout. 10-9
PATRIOTS over Chargers 38-14
Apparently Coup did his picks drunk or something. Forget the Chargers being motivated…do you know what happens when the Patriots are pissed off? That’s how they won the first Super Bowl over the Rams cause they were pissed that everyone thought they sucked. The Patriots are disgustingly good at this point. Brady’s comfort level in the pocket is just too much for any team to go up against. I mean 25/31, 279 yards, 3 TD’s and an INT. Plus Randy had 8 receptions for 105 yards. Barring injury, the road to the Super Bowl is running through Foxboro people. For San Diego…that’s what happens when you fire a good coach. They need some wide receivers bad and until they get some LT is going to be getting hammered and Philip Rivers is going to be inconsistent. That’s all there is to it really. Then again they have played the Bears and the Patriots. 11-9
So going into Monday Night here is the official tally for Week 2 with the season in parentheses:
SJ: 11-4 (19-12)
Coup: 9-6 (21-10)
I’ll be down 2 regardless of tomorrow’s outcome.