2010 Week 1 Recap

Eagles v. Packers, Sunday, September 12, 2010

In attendance:  I was all by myself in Chicago, but Chef Spouse reports that Shoegal joined him back in DC

Menu:  I got a room service burger.  Chef Spouse made fajitas and guacamole, which appears to have lost its magical powers in the offseason.

Stud of the Week:  Mike Vick.  Damn, I don't remember him looking that good back in Atlanta. And with K2 out for, well, we don't really know how long at this point, could we see a QB controversy brewing? Probably not - Big Red has said definitively that K2 is the future. But Vick looked terrific - his wheels are back, he was accurate, he made good short and long passes and good decisions, and he took what the defense gave him.  I know a lot of people are pissed he didn't run it in mid-way through the fourth quarter when we took the 3 points instead, leaving us down by 7, but he was about 12 yards out and while there were no Packers DIRECTLY in front of him, there were several nearby between him and the end zone.  Other than that (and I do think he made the right decision in attempting the pass, because the run was all or nothing at that point, and it had little chance of succeeding), he played a great game, jumpstarting our moribund offense and nearly bringing us back from an ass-whuppin' that was a lot more one-sided than the 17 point (at its widest) differential reflected.  Did you know that Vick is now one of only 3 QBs with over 4000 rush yards? The other two are Steve Young and our own Randall Scramble.
Other than that, there wasn't a lot of good.  Both teams start game day with a 45 man roster, and by the end of the first half, I was pretty sure one or both teams was going to run out of players.

At the beginning of the game, I was thinking: "I'm really surprised Jamal Jackson is back! It seems awfully fast after a torn ACL and, although he's clearly a better center than the other options (Cole and McGlynn), he and K2 have had NO time together."  Did you miss that he was even there? That's because, basically by the time I finished thinking that thought, he was out (maybe for the season - again) with a torn triceps.

Packers rookie Clay Matthews had a great day, if by "great day" you mean "physically incapacitated every single Eagle he came within 10 feet of."

K2?  Out with a concussion for who knows how long.

Stewart Bradley?  Same.  Now, he did fall down after getting up because he tripped on his own feet, but he seriously got his clock cleaned, which you could tell by looking at his eyes.

I already mentioned our center.

And then there's Leonard Weaver.  That was literally a sickening collision.  Knees are not supposed to bend like that.  He had to pretty much be carried off the field, and it looked like he was crying.  Think he's out for the season?  Yeah, me too.  During the game Adam Schefter tweeted that the Eagles were thinking it was probably a torn ACL (it is).  I quote @BleedingGreen:

My eyes reported that when it happened.

The Eagles sideline was starting to look like the train station scene in Gone with the Wind, only less cheerful.

I remember at one point, Clay Matthews had drilled Mike Vick and the Idiot Twins were blathering on about God knows what on TV and Vick's holding his left arm and they're not addressing it and I about flipped out.  Because I saw Mike Kafka at training camp, and trust me, we do not want him to be our only option.

On to the game itself.  K2, until he went down, looked like a rookie.  He's still keying on particular receivers and not going through his reads.  I hope he's able to fix that.  Also, son, you're not Big5.  Don't throw off your back foot.  I also didn't like the constant screwing around with taking him out and putting Vick in, because it seemed to me that he never got a chance to get comfortable.  Just leave him alone and let him run the offense for chrissakes!

David Akers continues to be money.  He was good from 45, and he's pretty much the only guy on the team over 30 at this point. Something to think about.  Of course, he is a kicker, and they tend to have long careers, but still.

I expected penalties from this bunch of young'uns.  But more penalty yards in the first half than total yards?  Only 7 total yards of offense?  NO catches for Peanut?  NO catches for Celek?

And then we started the second half without K2.  At least it made AR and/or Mornhinweg quit screwing around and just play a QB.  But we still couldn't seem to do anything right.  Vick started with a solid run and a great pass - and then Charles Woodson knocked the ball loose as Eldra Buckley fights for more yards, and the Packers waltzed on down the field for another score, taking the score to 20-3.

After that, our offense starting to making things happen, but the defense fell apart.  We got in the end zone - FINALLY - and then the Packer got a great run back on the kickoff  and then 4 plays later, SCORED AGAIN.  Were they just gassed in the second half, are the Packers that good (possibly), or can they just not cover anyone (I sure as hell hope that's not it)?

I definitely didn't like the draw call on our last chance to put together a drive on the 4th and 1.  Vick's a great outside runner, but he's not big or powerful enough for the draw play.  And the Packers clearly knew it was coming.

And, as usual, our clock management was a mess. In other news, gravity is still in effect.

I suspect Vick will start again against the Lions next week, given the concussion situation, and after that, we'll have to see.  But again, Andy's 100% that Kolb's the future, so let's hope he can get over his beginner jitters soon.

Around the rest of the NFL...

(I'm operating at a bit of a handicap here, since I'm on a business trip and it's seriously curtailing my SportsCenter and NFL Network viewing time.  I'll do my best, and I promise to return to full-on snark next week.)

Saints over Vikings:  Not exactly the dazzling offensive fireworks we were all expecting, but a good game, and a good start to a Saints season that will hopefully see at least an NFC South repeat.  Brett Favre looked RUSTY RUSTY RUSTY.  Shouldn't have spent the entire offseason in Mississippi, Gramps.

Bucs over Browns:  For a while there (OK, the first half) it looked like the Browns might actually win one.  Nope.

Dolphins over Bills:  The game was closer than I expected.  Dolphins, if you're going to win the division, you need to start playing like the season actually, you know, STARTED.
Pats over Bengals:  Hm.  So the TO/Ochocinco combo didn't produce rainbow, unicorns, and puppies for everyone.  Imagine that.

Texans over Colts:  I actually got to watch the second half of this game.  Jeff Saturday is one of the few centers known by name in the NFL.  He was out Sunday with an injury.  How much do you think Peyton missed him?  What's more than "a lot"?  Midway through the game, I wrote:  "If the Texans lose, the play of the game was Pierre Garcon saving the Glover Quin almost-pick mid way through the 4th. Not too sure about that call, but it led to the Colts' TD, cutting the Texans' lead to 10." But the Texans pulled it out anyway.  I'm telling you, this is their year to at least GET TO the playoffs.
Jaguars over Broncos:  I have literally no comment on this other than, "Hm."

Steelers over Falcons:  I admit it - I'm surprised.  It's too early to tell, but I was expecting the Steelers to struggle due to their offseason messes and the Falcons to be really strong this year.  Both of those could still happen, but not this week.

Titans over Raiders:  WAY over.  So far over, I think Chris Johnson was showered and sipping an umbrella drink in the owner's box by the start of the second half. Jason Campbell also got sacked 4 times.  Maybe it's him.

Giants over Panthers: I still don't think they're going to be very good this year, but then again, neither will the Panthers.

Bears over Texans:  I'm not so sure about the Calvin Johnson TD that was called back with 24 seconds left. He clearly had control.  I call BS.  I get that it's The Rule, but it's one of the rules that makes no sense.

Cardinals over Rams:  Who's even under center in Arizona?  Guess it doesn't matter if you still have Fitz and Tim Hightower.

Seahawks over 49ers:  Is it too late to change my pick for NFC West?

Redskins over Cowboys:  I sure as hell hope you watched the game because it was SUPER exciting.  I am SO glad to be wrong about this one.  I am SO glad DMac was able to start the season with a win over the Cowboys after the ignominious way last season ended.  Both teams made plenty of dumb mistakes, but I have to say that the Cowboys were embarrassingly sloppy.  I thought Trent Williams did quite a good job. I think Miles Austin is a punk.  I think the Cowboys play dirty.  And I think it must be great to be in DC today.

Off to watch the MNF double header with some vendors at a sports bar...no doubt trouble of the best kind awaits....

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Congrats to our Pro-Bowlers

Six Eagles were selected to the Pro-Bowl, the most since we sent 10 in 2004 (aka "Our last trip to the Super Bowl"):

• Asante Samuel (CB) - starter
  
• DeSean Jackson (WR) - starter
  
• Jason Peters (LT) - starter
  
• Leonard Weaver (FB) - starter
  
• Trent Cole (DE)
• David Akers (PK)

Who's missing? Definitely Sheldon Brown, who is having a career year in his 8th year with the Eagles. Speaking of, we also have six alternates:

• Sheldon Brown (CB) - 1st alternate
  
• Donovan McNabb (QB) - 1st alternate
  
• Brent Celek (TE) - 2nd alternate
  
• Quintin Mikell (S) - 3rd alternate
  
• Brodrick Bunkley (DT) - 4th alternate
  
• Todd Herremans (T) - 4th alternate
  

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2009 Week 15 Recap

Eagles versus 49ers, Sunday, December 20, 2009

In attendance: Due to Snowpocalypse in DC, only me and Chef Spouse

Menu: In deference to Ex-Navy Cheesehead, we froze the sauerbraten and had homemade soft pretzels (which will make another appearance next week) and cream of tomato soup.

Stud of the week: It was almost the Linc grounds crew. Seriously. That was some damn fine work getting the field ready. But ultimately, I had to go with 49ers QB Alex Smith who, with 3 picks, did everything in his power to help us win. Thanks Alex!

I expected this to be a more dominating win. Not that the 49ers are bad - their whupping of the Cardinals last week showed that they're actually a pretty decent team - but I expected more of our team.

The offense seemed a little off all day. Don uncharacteristically threw 2 picks, which he pretty much never does. He overthrew Peanut, which I didn't think was possible. Although he did run for a TD for the first time in a long time. He may be 33, but he still has some wheels! AR, in a totally boneheaded move, went for it at our 29 on 4th-and-1. Weaver had a bonehead play of his own. We're out of timeouts, donkey! Save your jawing for some other time. Although, had Big5 been able to get his attention and signal him not to move, we could've snapped for a 5 yard penalty on the 4ers without him on the line. Still, big mental mistake (and Big Red clearly gave him what for on the sidelines after). He even got a shout-out on Monday Night Countdown's "C'mon Man!" segment.

Speaking of sidelines, apparently it's now OK to hit Eagles receivers out of bounds? You did see the late hit on Peanut, right? AR sure did - I'm pretty sure he rammed the 49ers defender with his shoulder in retaliation.

And we got a little pass-happy there for a while, which was making me crazy, seeing as Big5 was not having his best night. Of course, at least we have a QB who can throw the long ball in less than ideal conditions. Not that that helps us in the playoffs this year, when we'll likely be playing in some domes.

The 49ers were doing everything they could to give us the game with 4 turnovers, and in the third quarter in particular, it looked like we were trying our best to give it back. Of course, if we're going to take a quarter off, I'm glad we're choosing one of the middle quarters, rather than the fourth quarter. But it would be better to play a full, focused 60 minutes.

On the other hand, we once again found a way to win. Unlike the Saints, Vikings, and Packers. And we've secured our 8th trip to the playoffs in 11 seasons under Andy Reid. And going to the playoffs is so routine for us now that we don't even care - we're gunning for the NFC East and maybe the #2 spot (more on that below). Way too many commentators can't seem to do basic math to figure out that, in fact, we secured a playoff spot yesterday. They're still talking like we're the team that could be out of it and that the Cowboys have the East. Um, they're a game behind us, and there is NO WAY we let them win on January 3 to take the division, if it even comes to that. Catch up, dumbasses!

Oh, and the whole snowballs fracas? IT SNOWED TWO FEET. Of COURSE people threw some snowballs. Jesus! You know what happened in the Meadowlands last week? Giants fans threw BEER BOTTLES at Peanut. And there's been NO mention of that. It was SNOW. GET OVER IT.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Colts over Jaguars. They're unbeaten. They're dull. Shouldn't those offset in some way?

Cowboys over Saints. So the Saints do have feet of clay. The Cowboys also played a pretty much perfect game. In the Superdome. Not easy. Hopefully, that was their one December win this year. I still don't know what happened there. The Saints looked totally flat and didn't get a miracle this week. Maybe that's the problem? They've resorted to relying on miracles to fix their early game problems for them? Plenty of Saints fans are crying "injured players," but come on! We're playing JEREMIAH TROTTER at linebacker at this point. JEREMIAH TROTTER. We haven't seen Brian Westbrook in over a month. Don't talk to me about injuries. I say it all the time, but while it's better to be lucky than good, it's best to be both. The Saints were not good on Saturday night. Oh, and did you hear? Shaun Suisham is now a Cowboy. Guess *anything's* better than Nick Folk.

Pats over Bills. Dear Bills: head coach. You might want to look into it. Might help with those 11 penalties for 9 million yards. It's tough to win when you hand your opponents two TDs due to dumb interference calls.

Browns over Chiefs. The ONLY interesting part of this game was that Jerome Harrison broke Jim Brown's single-game rushing record. Oh, and Mike Holmgren is headed there. Dear Eric Mangini: Nah-nah-NAH-nah, nah-nah-NAH-nah, hey-hey-hey, GOOD BYE.

Texans over Rams. Dear Team of Destiny: beating the Rams by only a field goal is NOT a good sign. You're not officially eliminated from the playoff race yet, but you might as well be.

Falcons over Jets. Upsets ahoy! The Falcons, in the last month, beat the Bucs, got KILLED by us, and dropped a close one to the Saints. They're out of the playoffs. The Jets, meanwhile, were still theoretically in the run for the division. Not anymore, particularly with the Colts and Bengals coming up. Speaking of....

Titans over Dolphins. The Dolphins were also still theoretically in the run for the division. But the Titans are also playing for their playoff lives. It's amazing to me that all these 7-7 teams are still in it in the AFC. Rob Bironas and Chris Johnson are studs, though. Everyone seems amazed at the yards Ricky Williams is still putting up at running back at age 32. Seeing as he pretty much took 4 seasons off to smoke chronic, he's actually only 28 in running back years. So the yards are not so shocking after all.

Cardinals over Lions. Yeah, but they needed a Lions screw up on their last possession to carry it off. Almost losing to the Lions? Even worse than losing to the Raiders. Trust me. Speaking of losing to the Raiders....

Raiders over Broncos. Did I mention your playoff hopes are on the line? The Broncos have only won two games since their 6-0 start. Ouch. Big game next week, with Wolverine coming home in orange and blue.

Chargers over Bengals. In fiction, the Bengals would have won this one. Just like the Redskins would've won the first game after Sean Taylor died. In reality, football doesn't play favorites, even when they really deserve it, and the Chargers were the better team. Hopefully, Chris Henry will find some peace he didn't have in life. His poor fiance, on the other hand, will have to deal with what happened for the rest of her life. Sad events, and a sad loss for the Bengals.

Ravens over Bears. Remember how I was all, "Jay Cutler is the second most overrated player in football?" Who's laughing now? Maybe the Bears should try to switch uniforms with the Vikings next week so that Cutler can complete a few passes to the right team. What a disaster!

Buccaneers over the Seahawks. Huh. Didn't see that coming. The Seahawks are a hot mess right now. Paging Mike Holmgren! Oh wait....

Steelers over Packers. Everyone's all, "The Steelers have saved their season." I think that might be a little premature. It's a long way from "beating the Pack at home in literally the last second of the game on completed pass that was more lucky than good" to "defending your Super Bowl title." They're alive for at least another week, but they need about 17 improbable things to break exactly their way. And that's already happened once this decade (for us to get into the playoffs last year, in case you forgot). Groceries is back in fine form. I was chatting with a Steelers fan recently who said (I kid you not): "Oh, Ben loves to get sacked! Hee hee!" Um, I don't have enough time to explain how stupid that is.

Panthers over Vikings. Apparently, Brad Childress wanted to get Brett Favre out of there, either because he was playing badly or because he was afraid Julius Peppers was going to put Brett in a body bag. And Brett refused to be benched. And Brad let him get away with it. End of season Brett Favre meltdown in 5...4...3....2... (which means we could take the #2 spot in the NFC! Awesome!)

I'm torn about MNF - I called the Giants, and I'd rather they get into the playoffs than the Cowboys (even though it's hard to beat a team 3 times in one season), but I'd also like the Redskins to go into next week's game against the Cowboys confident, pumped up and on a 2 game winning streak. But with a Giants lead of 14-0 at the beginning of the second quarter, it's not looking too good for the burgundy and gold.

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2009 Week 13 Recap

Eagles at Falcons, Sunday, December 6, 2009

In attendance: small crowd - just Shoegal, Chef Spouse and me

Menu: four cheese pasta - yum!

Stud of the week: Mike Vick, who was personally responsible for 14 points. And that was a SWEET swing pass to Brent Celek, by the way. And a nice, if slightly underthrown, long pass to Reggie Brown (no, he's not in the witness protection program).

Big time honorable mention goes to Leonard Weaver, who had another big game for us (including that totally impressive one-handed grab, and too bad he's not as fast as Peanut, or he would've had two TDs, too) and to DMac, who was the picture of class - as always - about Vick's success. Sheldon Brown also gets a mention for picking off Chris Redman, going 83 yards, and taking it to the house on a bum hamstring. Maclin had a good day, too. I nominate Leonard Weaver for the role of Dorsey Levins and/or Duce Staley - the guy who can get 3 yards with half the other team hanging off him. Actually, Leonard can be Duce, and Brent Celek can be Dorsey.

Actually, lots of guys stepped up. Akers, who is leading the league in points, tied his career high 17 field goals in a row. He then missed one (aw, damn!) before making another. LOVED the goal line stand at the end of the half. YOU SHALL NOT PASS! And Asante Samuel must be reading this blog, because he actually STARTED TACKLING. It was impressive.

The zebras were doing their best to keep to keep the Falcons' drives alive - OK, I *guess* Sean Jones did hit Chris Redman in the head with his forearm, although it was clear he was pulling up, but seriously, Quintin Demps 15 yards for tackling a guy who wasn't even down yet? Really? What is this - flag football?

It wasn't perfect - Brent Celek, you MUST block better, we didn't pressure Redman as much as I'd have liked, and we had some dropped potential picks - but we DEMOLISHED the Falcons, so I can't gripe too much. Particularly not with AR likely to get an extension this week (and do follow the link - it actually made me laugh out loud, and not just the lame texting abbreviation thereof).

Around the rest of the NFL...it was bizarro week.

You know how there's one week where you literally get EVERY SINGLE pick wrong? Well, that was pretty much this week for me - I got 7 right, which for those who are good at math, means I've gotten 8 wrong - so far.

Jets over Bills. Well, OK, that wasn't terribly bizarre. But they did lose Mark Sanchez. Which given the way he's been playing recently may not be a bad thing. Who's their #2? Oh right - Kellen Clemens. Yikes.

Panthers over Bucs. I was sure the Bucs were going to snatch one. Wrong.

Bears over Rams. Whatever. What's sorry is that is was 17-9. Because the Rams are awful.

Bengals over Lions. Again, yawn. Even OchoCinco's celebration was kind of dull. OK, I get the Fiesta Bowl link, but a sombrero? That was worth a fine?

Colts over Titans. Damn. I was sure the Titans would continue their win streak. Sigh.

Jaguars over Texans. When you're featured on the Monday Night Countdown "C'mon Man!" segment, it is not a good sign.

Broncos over Chiefs. Even if the Broncos are having a late-season swoon, the win over the Chiefs was still a gimme. Matt Cassel sure was worth all that coin, wasn't he?

Dolphins over Pats. OH MY GOD! Go Dolphins! Also, did you like how Rocks threw his team under the bus after HIS interception killed their final chance to win? Um, the rest of the team may have had problems throughout the game - and the defense is certainly struggling - but YOU threw the pick all on your own, donkey.

Raiders over Steelers. I know I just said this, but OH MY GOD!!!! I don't feel so bad about losing to the Raiders now. Who knew that Bruce Gradkowski was the answer? Wait - what was the question? Also, their head coach is still an ass. Just FYI.

Saints over Redskins. You know how it's better to be lucky than good? It's best to be both - and NOT have Shaun Suisham as your kicker.

Chargers over Browns. The only thing that was surprising about this game was that the Chargers only won by 7.

Giants over Cowboys. BWAHAHAHAHA! Tony Romo actually played reasonably well. It's just the rest of the team that sucked. 31-24 doesn't really reflect how dominant the Giants were over the Cowboys. Also, Flozell Adams is an ass. PS: I love December!

Seahakws over 49ers. Who cares? Really - who cares? Do the fans even care? NFC West is so sorry. Well, except for....

Cardinals over Vikings. Wilbon mentioned in the Sunday WaPo that the Vikings have been feasting on a bad schedule. I think it may be time for famine. Also, did you see how many picks Vicodin Boy threw? LOVE! Guess who else tends to have trouble in December... And, while players are getting pantsed and all, could someone swing that on Larry Fitz? I'd love to see a little more of the Best Butt in Football.

In the meantime, we need to decorate the Christmas tree (which finally stopped dripping all over the floor, after getting it in the snow - IN THE SNOW - on Saturday), and the Ravens need to go lose to the Packers. I would point out that it would help us if the Ravens could pull out the surprise win, except we're going to win NFC East, so it won't matter!

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2009 Week 8 Recap

Eagles versus Giants, Sunday, November 1, 2009
In attendance: just me & Shoegal to start (Chef Spouse left at 5 am for San Antonio), but The Executive Committee and the Mad Kitchen Scientist showed up before halftime and hung out awhile.
Menu: homemade chili and cornbread, beer, ginger molasses cookies (Life-Long Eagles Fan Mom's favorites), Shoegal brought a bunch of yummy snacks (including some deliciously spicy hummus), the Mad Kitchen Scientist showed up with bread and a block of yeast for my future bread-baking experiments, and a little Eagle Rare 17 with one (ONLY one) rock to celebrate our win.
Stud of the week: It is really REALLY hard not to pick DMac, who had a pretty much perfect game (guess that rib's feeling way better), but I have to give the shout out to Leonard Weaver, who had his biggest day as an Eagle and scored our first TD of the day, setting the G-men back on their heels. 3rd offensive play of the game for us, 41 yards, longest TD run of Weaver's career. Good job, baby!
So let's get back to DMac for a minute. Wow. Just wow. I love how Tommy breaks it down - we tried to play small ball, 24 runs to 23 passes, long, slow drives where every single play doesn't have to be a Big Play, and the Giants just wouldn't let us. They blew coverage left, right, back, forward, up, down, inside, outside - pretty much every single way coverage can be blown.
All three phases were clicking - we had FIVE different guys with TDs: Maclin, McCoy, Weaver, Celek, and Peanut (of course - he hauls in a 50 yard + TD every damn game). The Giants apparently have no defensive secondary. Rocca punted well. Akers kicked well, other than a blocked extra point. Ellis Hobbes has redeemed himself since the opening kickoff of the second half of the Saints game. Our D pressured Eli all day and didn't let him get comfortable. Brandon Jacobs, other than one decent run, got precisely nowhere. The Giants seemed to get a little momentum toward the end of the first half when they finally scored, and then we rocked out two TDs in under two minutes. It was really never even in question after that, but LeSean McCoy sealed it with a final TD early in the 4th. Hell, even Peanut's TD celebration was pretty good.
And speaking of, is it just me, or does he have like two entire gears that no one else on the field has? Could he be any faster? And, as I'd hoped, Andy and Marty quit screwing around with Vick and the wildcat (although one of the other Eagles fans at last Monday's matchup with the Redskins was heard to remark that in Philly with Vick it should be called the mad dog offense) now that things are Getting Serious.
Inside the Iggles has a good player by player breakdown. A few shoutouts in particular: our young (other than the QB) offensive skill players are good now. Give them two more years together, and they'll be awesomesauce. You heard it here first. I adore Brent Celek. He busts his ass for the first down, even when we're ahead by a million points and just trying to run out the clock. Bullshit horse collar call on Jason Babin taking down Eli clearly by just his jersey and clearly when he was still not out of bounds. Apparently, if your last name is "Manning," you aren't allowed to be touched. A Jason Avant sighting! On a key 3rd down! Hopefully, Andy and Marty will remember that he's still playing for us over the next 9+ games (because there will be a plus this year, I think). I never thought I'd see a day when our O played like that without Westy. And it's just in time, because I love him, but he is wearing down for sure. Is this his last year? I wouldn't be surprised.
One thing that annoyed me was that we got the ball back turned over on downs inside the two minute warning at the end of the game. AR was all ready to knee it out, and you could see on Eli's face that he did NOT want to go back out on the field. Tom Coughlin took all their time outs, even though they were down 40-17, and made the offense go back out. I was yelling at the TV that I wanted a career ending injury for as many key Giants offensive players as possible. I mean, really, why are you doing that? There is literally NO POSSIBLE WAY to win, we're trying to be nice, every single play is a risk in football, and you're being a jackass.
So Chef Spouse, HA! You were wrong. Gotta believe, man! The Giants may not miss Plax most of the time, but I'll bet they miss him against us and our midget secondary. And in the end, they aren't all that. Bring on the Cowboys, because you know who's been their daddy in the the Tony Romo era? If you guessed E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES! you would be right.
Around the rest of the NFL...I pretty much blew all my picks. But I got the key one right, so who cares? I'm only out $5 in the weekly office football pool.
Ravens over Broncos. The Ravens not only BEAT the Broncos, they DESTROYED them. The Broncos weren't going to go undefeated, and the Ravens REALLY needed this win (at home), but still. The Broncos could not make anything happen on offense. Yes, defense can win you games, but generally speaking, the offense still has to score SOME points.
Texans over Bills. Team of Destiny! Also, did you know that that was where Ryan Moats went? Because I did not, until I saw him romp into the endzone - THREE TIMES - on the game highlight reel. In other news, I think TO's done.
Bears over Browns. Who just fired their GM. And, according to NFL.com, escorted him from the building. Ouch.
Cowboys over Seahawks. Yeah, the NFC West is still pathetic. In case you were wondering. You know, the Eagles kicked Giant ass all over The Linc yesterday, so there was a lot of conversation about the NFC East. You know who all the conversation was about? The Cowboys. F the Cowboys. They didn't get past the Giants.
Dolphins over Jets. Wilbon pointed out that this was an NFC-level nasty, hard-hitting game. Funny, I've always thought that the AFC is the big-hit conference, what with the Steelers and the Ravens and all, but I guess they're also the land of the Colts and the Patriots and, I don't know, apparently nicer teams than what you usually see in the average outdoor NFC stadium in late December.
Colts over 49ers. What was surprising was that it was such a close game, and the 49ers mostly kept Peyton out of the endzone. Some better teams should definitely study that tape. Hard.
Rams over Lions. On the MNF pre-game "Come On, Man!" segment that I love, the Ram s got called out for dumping, like, two cups of water and 12 ice cubes on Spags on his first win as a head coach. "Come On, Man!" indeed. That kind of half-assed effort is why you're 1- 7 (in case you were wondering).
Charger over Raiders. How did we manage to make JaMarcus Russell look like he might be a competent QB? Such promise, and it's just not panning out. I don't know if it's an Akili Smith situation or if it's bad coaching or what, but regardless, it's a shame. Also, the assault allegations against Tom Cable keep mounting. I know the Raiders fans love their thug image, but this is taking it a little too far.
Titans over Jags. Hm. Maybe Vince Young was the answer all along. What are the odds?
Vikings over Packers. Not only do the Packers lose to Brett Favre in a purple uni at home, but Aaron Rodgers is starting to show wear and tear from the beating he's been taking. Could they maybe try to find that poor kid a little protection? And it sounds like the locker room is not exactly unified. Problems up in Green Bay.
Panthers over Cardinals. Did I say Jake Delhomme has had it? Well, actually, maybe he has, but Kurt Warner threw about 3,657,237 picks, and it's hard for any team to recover from that.
We're just over 2 minutes from the half of Falcons/Saints, it's tied up, and the Falcons are doing WAY better than I anticipated they would. Colts and Saints are the last of the undefeated teams. Not that I think the Falcons are going to pull this out, but any given Sunday, and twice that for divisional games.

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