2012 Week 4 Recap

Eagles v. Giants, Sunday, September 30, 2012

Stud of the week: Brian Dawkins. Duh. He came out of the tunnel Full Wolverine, and we were all yelling, "Put him in!" "Get him some pads!" "No, he doesn't even need pads! Just get him a helmet!" 13 seasons with the Eagles, 16 seasons total. 26 career sacks. 28 career forced fumbles. 37 career interceptions. Next stop: Canton. THAT was the way to honor a legend.

Also, LeSean McCoy had a really good game. Well, he had a good second half. But see, when you keep TRYING to run it throughout the game, it starts to work in the second half.  Andy, take notes.

Actually, everyone had a really good game. Including the coaching staff, who did an excellent job of game planning, and an even better job of in-game adjustments. And I have to assume that someone gave the team one hell of a halftime speech. BDawk perhaps? There was one bad series by the defense - you know the one, that horrible series mid-way through the 4th quarter where Cris Collinsworth basically commented that he'd NEVER seen the Eagles play such bad D - but other than that, really solid game all around. Well, other than the special teams who were short-bus special this week. Colt Anderson and Akeem Jordan, we miss you!

Of course, that final series about gave us all heart attacks. Pass interference on DRC: maybe. Maybe. Pass interference on Nnamdi. Whole lotta BS. Which even Al and Cris admitted. Thank you, Ramses Barden, for evening the score with that complete gangsta-level mugging of Nnamdi, putting your kicker out of his range. Of course, Big Red nearly blew it by trying to ice the kicker, but since Lawrence Tynes missed TWICE, I guess he was successfully iced. Still not a fan of the practice, though.

And did you notice? The Eagles committed not ONE SINGLE turnover. NOT ONE. Here's the crazy thing. On the NFL Network's Game Day Morning show, the commentators were all making their "Bold Predictions." Not only did Michael Irvin pick the Eagles to win (alone of the entire team), but he also predicted that they'd have...no turnovers.

Spooky.

You know what's even more spooky? The woman who runs Chicks in the Huddle, where this blog is syndicated, did an interview with me for HLN TV last week. Not only did I predict that the Eagles would pull out the win, I also predicted that they'd win....19-17. I am not shitting you.
 

Spooooooky.

Then again, it is October.

So now what for the Eagles? Well, they're facing the Steelers next week, and I guess we'll take it one week at a time. Still 3-1 is a lot better than last year's 1-4.

Around the rest of the NFL:

Ravens over Browns: Well, sure. Also Chef Spouse seems to have a mancrush on Ray Lewis. Also, the Browns have been in every game they've played so far. They'll get a win sooner or later (hopefully sooner, against the Giants next week).

Falcons over Panthers: Much closer game than I expected. The whole thing really turned on the Cam Newton fumble and that amazing final drive by the Falcons.

Patriots over Bills: I hope the Pats enjoyed their biannual stomping of the Bills. Sigh. If you recall, I predicted that it would be "closer than most people expect." Well, at least it wasn't 52-0.

Vikings over Lions: Hm, did I not give the Vikes enough credit pre-season? Then again, I don't know that anyone saw them playing this well at this point.

Texans over Titans: SportsCenter this evening was debating: are the Texans the best team in football? Yes. Next question.

Chargers over Chiefs: I just cannot get excited about the AFC West this year. Which is so incredibly unusual, I know.

49ers over Jets: The Jets, without Darrelle Revis and now possibly Santonio Holmes, may be utterly screwed. Wait. Scratch the "may be." Replace with "are."

Rams over Seahawks: Ha! I was right!

Cardinals over Dolphins: I'm amazed it took the Cards OT to take care of the Fins, but they're now 4-0. With Philly reject Kevin Kolb at QB. Of course, the fact that he gets to throw to Fitz doesn't hurt, but still, putting things in perspective, it does seem a little...unusual.

Broncos over Raiders: Peyton bounced back after a bad week last week. Maybe he will get his old magic back. You know, up until the playoffs.

Bengals over Jaguars: Yep. One of these days, the Jags might be good. But not today.

Packers over Saints: Stick a fork in the Saints, man. I think they're done.

Redskins over Buccaneers: Easy to be calm when it's not your team, but I knew the Skins would pull this one out. Did I mention that RGIII is the real thing? Did I mention that the Shanahans are doing a better job adjusting to play to his strengths than I expected?

(Also, on the topic of DC, congrats to the Nats on their first NL East win. And I have to giggle a little that the Phils STILL beat them and they took the NL East due to a Braves loss.)

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2012 Week 4 Picks

First of all, welcome back to the regular refs. Never thought I'd be glad to see them back, but there you have it. All it took was one really high profile HUGE mistake to make the owners see reason. Yeah.

This week, the Giants are coming to the Linc to take on the Eagles in prime time on Sunday Night Football. 

Now, if you look at what happened last week, it seems fairly clear how this is going to end, and it's not pretty for the Eagles. Just in case you were blackout drunk and missed it, the Eagles got stomped out in Phoenix by a team nobody really expected to be any good. And the Giants stomped the Panthers, a team many (including myself) expected to be pretty decent this year, even worse.

But....

This isn't just ANY Sunday Night Football game. This is the game where the Eagles retire Brian Dawkins's number 20. Wolverine is one of the most beloved players in Philadelphia history. Not just Eagles history, Philadelphia history. The Eagles have so far retired only seven numbers in nearly 80 years. The fans are going to be pumped for the game. The team better be, too.

Think Ray Lewis would hire out to do the pre-game pep talk?

I expect it to be another nail-biter. But I cannot - CANNOT - see the Eagles letting this one get away. Not after the gutsy performance I witnessed less than two weeks ago against the Ravens.

Eagles. Do Wolverine proud, boys.

In the other matchups:

Browns at Ravens: The Browns look better this year, but they ain't that much better. Ravens. And have I mentioned how much I dislike Thursday Night Football.

Patriots at Bills: I think the Pats will probably take this one, but I think it's going to be a lot closer than most people expect.

49ers at Jets: I'm picking the 49ers to bounce back from their surprising loss to the Vikings last week. Their D is just too strong, and Mark Sanchez can be pressured into making mistakes.

Seahawks at Rams: The Seahawks are mortal away from CenturyLink Field, and the Rams aren't quite as bad as they looked against the Bears last week. And their at home. And domes provide a pretty major advantage to the home team. Rams.

Panthers at Falcons: Falcons. Oh Cam, I still love you.

Vikings at Lions: Lions. Last week as an aberration for both teams. Trust.

Chargers at Chiefs: I've got the Chiefs. I know, I know. But I don't think the Chargers can slow down their offense - at least not after what I saw last week.

Titans at Texans: Texans. The Titans are no match for them, even if Matt Schaub does only have part of an ear now.

Bengals at Jaguars: The Bengals can score a LOT of points. The Jaguars can't stop, well, anybody. Bengals.

Raiders at Broncos: The Raiders surprised me last week, but I can't see them pulling off another upset. Broncos.

Dolphins at Cardinals: I'm in. Cardinals.

Redskins at Buccaneers: Gotta keep the faith with RGIII even if the Redskins do have pretty much the worst D in the entire league. Redskins.

Saints at Packers: Stick a fork in the Saints. Packers.

Bears at Cowboys: You never know which Jay Cutler is going to show up, but when it's close I HAVE to go against the Cowboys. Bears.

On bye: Steelers and Colts

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2011 Week 4 Recap

Eagles v. 49ers, Sunday, October 2, 2011

In attendance: Life-long Eagles Fan Mom, Chef Spouse, You-Two-Calm-Down-or-I'm-Turning-Off-the-TV Dad, and about 50 of their closest friends and our assorted relatives. (We were up in PA celebrating a milestone birthday for my pops and warming their newly renovated kitchen.)

Menu: all kinds of yummy goodness cooked by Life-long Eagles Fan Mom, birthday cake, and something else...what was it?...oh yeah: don't forget the tears, recriminations, and bile.

Stud of the Week: well, of course, it was Mike Vick, who had a career day for all the good it did. Given the way this season is going, I'm thinking of renaming this feature Goat of the Week, only there are WAY too many candidates.

It probably comes as no surprise to hear that many people who know me casually are aware that I love the NFL. One of the first questions I always get is about fantasy football. The thing is, I don't play fantasy football. Why? Because I'm much more interested in team chemistry and how players function as a team than in people's individual stats.

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

Week 4 passing leader: Mike Vick. Number 2 in receiving yards: DeSean Jackson. Jason Babin had three sacks. Jason Avant had at least one circus catch. Tight end Clay Harbor had a great day, too.

That does not a team make.

For years, we've all mocked lil' Danny Snyder and the LOLSkins for putting together a fantasy football team and thinking it was the same thing as a functioning football team. Now that the shoe's on the other foot, I think we can all say it's damned uncomfortable.

How does a team this talented blow their third second half lead in as many weeks? 

Even with the re-jiggered linebackers, the Eagles still can't stop the run. Worse? They have (purportedly) three of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and they can't stop the pass, either. Was it just me or did Asante Samuel quit on the play on the 49ers last TD? You know - the one that won the game? And I'm thinking about putting Nnamdi Asomugha's picture on the side of a milk carton because I have no idea where in the hell he's gone. 

While the defense deserves the heat they're taking, the offense isn't blameless. For the second? third? year running, this team is terrible in the red zone. What was Ronnie Brown thinking? Even worse, it appears to have been a designed play. DUMBEST. PLAY. EVER. Have the coaches turned the creation of plays over to a bunch of sugared-up Pop Warner 6 year olds? The team seriously has NO WAY to power it in from the one? NO WAY? That seems like a rather urgent problem to address.

How does the team put up nine MILLION yards of offense and only score THREE points in the ENTIRE SECOND HALF?

Watching Maclin's fumble right before the two minute warning was pretty much the equivalent of ripping out my still-beating heart, stomping on it, and then turning it over to a Cowboys fan, but honestly, prior to that when Alex Henery missed that second field goal, I knew in my gut the team was going down.

Speaking of missed field goals, it was a terrible day for both teams' kickers. Chef Spouse has a theory that The Linc was so confused at seeing Akers there in red and gold, the stadium itself was literally rejecting field goals. I do not know, but I do know that missing two field goals from inside the 40 is ridiculous.

You know how when you're watching a game, you'll sometimes get that feeling that a big comeback is starting? Your team is down, but you just know, you KNOW, that they're going to pull it out? Why does it feel like the Eagles are never that team? They're always the team that is come-back-ed upon.

What it comes down to is that the Eagles have a bunch of guys to whom they paid a bunch of money running around on the field wearing the same uniforms, but they aren't a team.

And then the Phillies lost, y'all. Damn. At least the Cowboys blew an even bigger lead than the Eagles - it should divert a little of the national media attention.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Bears over Panthers: Well, sure, but Cam Newton had another solid performance and the Panthers actually had a chance to win it. Also, special teams coaches? Write this down in pen: do NOT kick it to Devin Hester. Also, keep an eye on Matt Forte.

Bengals over Bills: Trap game. Letdown after the big win over the Pats last week. Ouch.

Titans over Browns: Looks like the Titans weren't as wrecked by the loss of Kenny Britt as I thought they would be.

Lions over Cowboys:  I'm not certain, but I think Tony Romo may have thrown more TDs for the Lions thean he did for the Cowboys.  To quote the SportsBlog Nation recaps: "Calvin Johnson will drink your milkshake." Yes, he will. He'll even have seconds. The Lions are 4-0 y'all. Team of Destiny! Also, Tony Romo doesn't need a coach - he needs a psychiatrist. 

Texans over Steelers: The final score makes the game look much closer than it actually was. Is it time to start asking how good Mike Tomlin is? Or did he Gruden his way to greatness?

Saints over Jags: Duh.

Chiefs over Vikings: Oh my God, I hate to see McNabb going down like this.

Redskins over Rams: Again, duh. How much do I hate that the Redskins are leading the NFC East? I live in DC. You guess.

Giants over Cardinals: Calls like the "Victor Cruz gave himself up" BS make me wonder if the games are fixed. Seriously.

Falcons over Seahawks: Barely. What was with the second half rallies this week? Man! On the one hand, it's not easy to win at Qwest Field. On the other hand, it's the Seahawks. THE SEAHAWKS.

Packers over Broncos: Again with the Duh. The Packers are scary good this year. Repeat? Maybe.

Pats over Raiders: Well, yes.

Chargers over Dolphins: Again, duh.

Ravens over Jets: It was either Al or Cris, but I think it was Al, who remarked that you had a better chance of scoring while on defense on Sunday night. He's not wrong.

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2011 Week 4 Picks

This week, the Eagles host the 49ers. Working in the Eagles favor will be the fact that kickoff will feel like 10 am to the 49ers. Right now, it feels like there's not a whole lot else is going the Eagles way. But it's do-or-die time for our boys in green. Dropping two at home in a row is not acceptable. Losing to the NFC West is not acceptable. Starting the season 1-3 is not acceptable.

I hope Andy, Marty, Bobby and Juan have had some sort of chat with the players this week that vaguely resembles the above.

Win. Now. Please.

Eagles.

In the rest of the matchups:

Lions at Cowboys: Lions. And it won't even take a muffed hold on a field goal by Tony Romo, I promise.

Saints at Jaguars: Saints. It's early days, but it's not too early to rule on the Jags. They suck.

Titans at Browns: Browns. I would've gone with the Titans, but I think the loss of Kenny Britt is going to be a huge problem for them.

Bills at Bengals: Bills. Who are looking great so far. The victory over the Pats last week was HUGE. Hope this week isn't a letdown.

Redskins at Rams: Redskins. The Rams also suck, for what it's worth.

Vikings at Chiefs: Vikings. Who fortunately get to play a team that's even worse than they are. This week.

Steelers at Texans: Texans. I know, I know. But the Texans are on this year, and the Steelers are not, at least not so far.

Panthers at Bears: Bears. Hope poor Cam doesn't get bummed by that very short winning streak.

Falcons at Seahawks: Falcons. NFC West strikes again.

Giants at Cardinals: Giants. See above.

Broncos at Packers: Packers. The Packers are looking like a possible repeat.

Patriots at Raiders: Pats. I almost called Raiders, particularly since they'll be playing in Cali. But I just can't quite get there.

Dolphins at Chargers: Chargers. The Dolphins are, well, the Dolphins. The Chargers will probably pull their usual BS around the playoffs, but you know what? They'll be in the playoffs. The Dolphins, not so much.

Jets at Ravens: Ravens. The Jets may be joining the Eagles on the hot seat as biggest disappointment of the first quarter of the season.

Colts at Buccaneers: Bucs. No way that's possible if Peyton were playing, but he's not.

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Sunday Schedule: Sunday, October 2, 2011

Chez Engel is closed again this weekend, as Chef Spouse and I will be in PA helping You-Two-Calm-Down-or-I'm-Turning-Off-the-TV Dad celebrate a milestone birthday (hint: it's NOT 21) while also helping him and Lifelong Eagles Fan Mom warm their newly renovated kitchen.

We'll be watching Eagles/49ers, of course, but the other games that look like good bets this weekend include:

1 pm: Lions/Cowboys
4 pm: Patriots/Raiders 

And of course Jets/Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

MNF is ANOTHER prime-time appearance for the Colts. Bet the NFL honchos wish flex scheduling was already available to them.

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2010 Week 4 Recap

Eagles v. Redskins, Sunday, October 3, 2010

In attendance: HUGE crowd. Chef Spouse, Shoegal, Black & Gold Raquette (newbie), Tweety Monster, Fellow Eagles Maniac, McLovin, KiKi & the fam (newbie), Wingman, Mr. Wingman, and Theater Geek, Hon (newbie). It was nice of everyone to show up and try to distract me from the horror on the field.

Menu: guacamole and chips, cheese and crackers, fruit, veg and dip, and Chef Spouse's amazing guacamole. And many, many watermelon margaritas.

Stud of the game: I can't say Donovan, can I? Then my second choice would have to be LeSean McCoy who, although he didn't get in the endzone, had 174 yards combined rushing and receiving...up until he broke his rib. DJax? Nothing. Maclin? Nothing? Celek? The TD grab, but otherwise nothing.

We were just outplayed, out coached, and out passioned. You would not believe how many player interviews there have been in DC about how much the whole team wanted to win this for McNabb. And Shanny gamed planned what we've all been screaming for AR to do for years - not place the ENTIRE success of the offense on Donny's arm.

Speaking of Big Red, is Andy Reid's main problem as a coach that he just can't make quick decisions? Case in point 1: the timeout debacle at the end of the first half. Case in point 2: the LeSean McCoy fumble that was originally not counted as a fumble, until we didn't get the next play off and Shanny had time to challenge - and win.

And penalties! Why do we ALWAYS have so many PENALTIES? How can the guys - both coaches and players - not understand how that just DESTROYS drives? And at home! We don't even have the hostile crowd noise excuse.

Our special teams continues to be the kind of special that involves the short bus.

And the thing that really worried me was that after Vick went down and K2 went in with a chance to win the game and earn the starting job back, he mostly just looked lost.

At the end, we were left hoping DMac would throw a pick. And considering that he'd already thrown one, which is rare enough, it would've been more likely for Sasquatch and Nessie to show up at my front door toting seven layer dip. That is not a game plan.

And now Vick is injured and it was on a play when he didn't get into the endzone in the first place AND the whole play got called back because of a (say it with me, kids) PENALTY.

I quote DJax: “We’ve just got to find different ways of getting open and sitting in the holes, we’re not always going to be able to be running down the field and scoring these long touchdowns.”

Except that's pretty much been the sum total of the offense for the past 11 years. "O-line, you stay in to block. Everyone else, go long. Donovan, bomb it on down there." And it mostly worked, most of the time.

Sigh.

On the up side, I hear Jeff Garcia's available.

Around the rest of the NFL...

Jets over Bills: Raise your hand if this surprises you. (cue the tumbleweeds and coyotes)

Browns over Bengals: Of course, TO got a TD, so as far as he's concerned, HE won. In other news, I think Carson Palmer may be pretty much done. And the Browns actually won a game! I'm guessing they should continue to sit Jake Delhomme indefinitely.

Ravens over Steelers: Helluva game. Black & Gold Raquette about had a heart attack. Every time I start thinking Joe Flacco's not that special, he pulls off a game winning drive in about 35 seconds. And this was his first win in the Burgh.

Broncos over Titans: Do the Broncos even have any running backs on the roster at this point? You wouldn't know it from the way they're playing. And who knew Kyle Orton had those kind of throws in him?

Packers over Lions: But just barely. The Lions do seem to be improving. Now if they could just improve enough to, you know, actually WIN some games. Still, good effort!

Falcons over 49ers: Also just barely. We were watching Ravens/Steelers on the TV with Panthers/Saints on the computer, but it looked like the 49ers were going to walk away with this one...at least in the first quarter. I like Singletary, and he's fun to watch, but this team has got to pull it together and fast.

Saints over Panthers: Barely, and it didn't look like the Saints were going to pull it off. I guess every team needs a good scare now and again.

Rams over Seahawks: Hm. Are the Rams better, or are the Seahawks who we thought they were (prior to those 2 wins)? At least the Rams didn't let them off the hook.

Jaguars over Colts: 59 yard field goal at the buzzer! Oh man, we've been there...

Texans over Raiders: Notice who's atop the AFC South so far? Told you so!

Chargers over Cardinals: Whatever. I'm still picking against the Chargers at home every time they're blacked out. Punk-ass fans.  This is FOOTBALL, bitches!

Giants over Bears: The Bears STUNK IT UP. Cutler got sacked 9 times. Oh man, we're been there, too. I guess this Halloween you should show up at Jay Cutler's house dressed as Osi Umenyiora. It's amazing he still knows his name and where he lives.

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2010 Week 4 Picks

This game is huge. HUGE! DMac comes back to the Linc for the first time as a Redskin. You KNOW he has a huge chip on his shoulder, starting with the infamous draft day booing and going all the way up to this past Easter weekend:

Ring...ring...

"McNabb residence, this is Donovan speaking."

"Don."

"Happy Easter, Coach Reid!  Mormons do celebrate Easter, right?"

"Yes, Don.  Listen, I've got some bad news for you."

"You re-signed TO?"

"No - we traded you to the Redskins 5 minutes ago.  Your stuff is in a box outside the NovaCare complex.  You can pick it up whenever you like.  We changed the locks.  And gave your parking space to Kevin Kolb."

"Well, at least I don't have to play with that self-centered douchebag Terrell Owens again."

Although I was concerned that I'd be conflicted about this game, I find that I'm not.  I definitely want the Eagles to win.  I'm just not sure we can.

I know - we're atop the division (for all that means in week 4) and the Skins have been abysmal the past two weeks. But McNabb knows everything about our O and D inside out.  You better believe he's shared that ALL with the Skins coaches in the scouting sessions.

Of course, the Eagles have the offensive player of the month in Michael Vick and the defensive rookie of the month in Nate Allen.   Towards whom Big5 will be throwing.  To two wideouts who are, collectively, older than the rapidly-melting glaciers.

And, of course, divisional games are always wacky.  As I explained to someone recently, "any given Sunday" is quadrupley true when it's an in division game.  

On the other hand, is the "new" Mike Vick permanent?  We've beat two pretty bad teams (the Lions and the Jags), and although he played well in the second half against the Packers, he couldn't bring us back.  In other words, he's looking brilliant against scrubs.  On the other hand, he's been great in the red zone.  And many would argue that the Skins are scrubs this year, of course, but again, "any given Sunday."

Of course, the Redskins have been terrible in the red zone. The fact that they've almost universally chosen run plays (and they have NO ground game this year) hasn't stopped the Philly sportswriters from blaming it on McNabb.

And now we're back to that whole "chip on the shoulder" thing - last season's two end games against the Cowboys aside, McNabb generally plays better when he's playing with a chip on his shoulder.  Seems to help him focus.  But that lack of a ground game means our D will pretty much be safe blitzing (which we love to do) and blanketing the wideouts and jumping routes to come up with picks.

Verdict:  I'm a mess about this game, I can't wait until Sunday, and I hope the Eagles can pull off a win, which I don't think is nearly the sure thing lots of people seem to think it is.

For the other games:

Jets at Bills:  J-E-T-S- JETS JETS JETS!  The Bills, while better than last year, are still not that great.  And after a shaky start, Sanchez is looking more comfortable and confident the last two weeks.  I'd feel pretty good, too, if I managed to spank the Patriots.

Bengals at Browns:  What is wrong with Carson Palmer?  Batman and Robin are unrelenting trouble, but they're also really, really talented. And they've barely smelled the endzone this year.  That can't last - either they'll start hitting, Palmer will be replaced, or one or both of their heads will explode.  Bengals.

Ravens at Steelers:  The Steelers are 3-0, but they've beat the Falcons, the Titans, and the Bucs.  Who actually, now that I look at it, are all 2-1.  Hm.  I did call the Ravens to win the division, so I think that means I have to go with the Purple Menace.  But I'm far from convinced.

Broncos at Titans:  Hm - Broncos are 6th against the run in the AFC, and the Titans bread and butter is RB Chris Johnson.  I'm going out on a limb and calling Broncos.

Lions at Packers:  The Lions are better this year, but not that much better.  Packers.

49ers at Falcons:  The 49ers better f-ing pull it together this week, or it's game over.  Literally. I think this is the week.  49ers.

Panthers at Saints:  Watch the Saints bounce back big against the hapless Panthers.  Is it too early to talk about John Fox losing his job?

Seahawks at Rams:  The Seahawks are surprising in a big way this year, and the Rams win last week was a fluke.  Seahawks.

Colts at Jaguars:  Colts.  The Jags suck.  You heard it here first.

Texans at Raiders:  Hogs Haven, the Redskins SB Nation blog, had a really funny feature about a week ago:  Graph Jam style joke pictures.  One was a pie chart of what Redskins fans thought of Jason Campbell in 2009 versus 2010.  2009?  Divided between things like:  too many system changes, bad coaching, no wideouts, nice guy, etc. 2010?  100% "He stinks."  Of course, Bruce Gradkowski is now under center, and he does seem to be an upgrade.  But he's like upgrading from a Yugo to Taurus.  And you need a BMW to beat the Texans these days.

Cardinals at Chargers:  Can you believe the Chargers game is going to be blacked out AGAIN?  Based on that alone, they HAVE to lose.  Cardinals.

Bears at Giants:  Bears.  Who are looking way, way better this year.  And the Giants are WAY worse.  Maybe bad enough that they should have their NFC East membership cards yanked.  And (and I know you'll be SHOCKED to hear this) the players don't like Tom Coughlin very much.  Because he seems
like such a sweetheart, you know?

Patriots at Dolphins:  Dolphins.  Go Fins!

On bye:  Cowboys, Chiefs Vikings, Buccaneers.

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Sunday Schedule: Sunday, October 3, 2010

BIG week. DMac returns to the Linc for the first time as a Redskin.  Get your popcorn - and probably your asbestos underwear.

Game schedule:

1 pm: With the bye weeks starting, there's no NFC East game in the 1 pm spot. I'm inclined to go with Ravens at Steelers.
4 pm: Redskins at Eagles. CAN. NOT. WAIT.
8 pm: Bears at Giants.  Not that this won't at least potentially be a good game, but do you think the NFL suits are kicking themselves about not putting the Eagles/Skins game in the Sunday prime time spot?  I do.
MNF: Patriots at Dolphins

Menu:  Tweety Monster will be joining us and has requested shrimp etouffee (which fits in nicely with my need to start using some of the many bags of shrimp I've recently picked up at the grocery store due to good sales that are now filling my party overflow freezer and stealing valuable space from extra ice).  Bring something (New Orleans themed?) to go with.

Edited to add:  Upon reflection, we're NOT doing the etouffee this week because, looking in the fridge this morning I realized/remembered that we also have a bunch of okra we need to use up.  So we are sticking with the NOLA theme, but we're doing gumbo instead.

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2009 Week 4 Recap

Bye Week, Sunday, October 4, 2009

In attendance: Just me & Chef Spouse, thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I got home from a 4 day conference in Orlando mid-afternoon Saturday and was in need of a little downtime.

Menu: Chef Spouse's super-yummy cream of tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum!

Stud of the Week: DirecTV's Supercast, hands down. Sunday was killing me - Pats/Ravens playing opposite Bucs/Redskins AND Saints/Jets playing opposite Broncos/Cowboys. Short of running back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, what's a football fan to do? Chef Spouse's big brain to the rescue. "Wait! Grab one of the laptops!" Within minutes, TWO games on at once IN THE SAME ROOM. Did you hear that singing? It's the football angels. I'm usually the farthest one can possibly get from being a corporate shill, but that seriously made my whole damn day.

In Eagles news, we managed to avoid the cavalcade of injuries that hit the NFC East yesterday by conveniently not playing. Good move, team! We have enough injured players, thank you very much. And with the Axeman back, it's like old home week. Who's next? Hugh Douglas? Wolverine will decide he's sick of the thin air in Denver and come on back? Jaws decides to drop the microphone and suit up?

In other news, it's great that the NFL strongly supports Breast Cancer Awareness month. Really - there are lots of of female football fans, and the males all at least have a mother, if not sisters, wife, girlfriend, cousins, nieces, daughters, etc. What's not great? Pink gloves and/or shoes with red uniforms. Purple? Sure. Green? Yeah, but not Jets green. Blue? Fo' shizzle. Orange? HELL NO.

OK, enough foreplay - on to the games.

Skins over Bucs. The Skins did EVERYTHING they could to hand that game over. Jason Campbell had an 18 QB rating in the first half. 18! It was painful to watch. And yet, they won. Conclusion? Yes, the Bucs really are *that* bad. Dear Josh Johnson: look down at your chest. Is it covered in a midnight green jersey with a big #5 in the middle? No? They don't expect to scramble around for 8-10 seconds and then make something happen, with your arm OR your legs. If you ain't McNabb, it ain't happening, son. Edited to add: the Bucs have fired placekicker Mike Nugent. Not surprising given the fact that he couldn't find the middle of the uprights with graph paper, a protractor, and his high school geometry teacher. Not that a few field goals would have helped against the Giants, but it made the difference Sunday.

Pats over Ravens. OK, am I the ONLY ONE who noticed that the officiating was TERRIBLE in that game? Look, if you want the Pats to win so bad that you're willing to call roughing the passer on any defender in the same ZIP code as Rocks Brady, you really need to quit being a zebra and run a Tom Brady fan club full time. Meanwhile, the refs were too busy passing Rocks mash notes to actually call anything on that Pats. Meanwhile? Coming after DMac? Chainsaws are allowed (on even-numbered weekends). By the way, Trent Dilfer is freaking out on this topic on Monday Night Countdown as I type this. You know what's common in all the roughing calls? White QB. You know what's common in all the calls that weren't made and should have been? Black QB. I'm just sayin'.

Bears over Lions. Do *either* of those teams have any defense at all? Has the NFC North become the "no D" zone? 48-24? And all the Lions games have been like that so far. Unfortunately, the Lions may have lost their rookie QB to a knee injury. OK, maybe NEXT year is the year they get it together.

Bengals over Browns. It took them all but 4 seconds of the ENTIRE overtime to do it, but the Bengals are 3-1, kids. Yep, leading the tough AFC North with the Ravens. Hm - that whole tie thing? Maybe it's the Bengals....

Texans over Raiders. Well, yes. Good teams beat teams they're supposed to beat. Average teams beat teams that really suck (see below: Redskins over Rams). Did you hear? Texans are showing signs of H1N1. That's not good.

Colts over Seahawks. Is anyone else worried about the fact that Peyton Manning just plays on, no matter what? No Tony Dungy - no problem. No Marvin Harrison - no problem. Is he actually the Terminator?

Jaguars over Titans. Man. The Titans were a sexy pick for AFC South this year. Not for me - I picked the Texans. Because I'm crazy like that. But still. 0-4 is not good. Ouch.

Giants over Chiefs. Um, yeah. But they only beat them by 11 points. Slackers. Also, they're reporting that Eli Manning's heel problem is plantar fasciitis. I've had that, and it hurts like a mo-fo. And can take MONTHS to go away (particularly if you're still active). Good news for us!

Dolphins over Bills. Just when I give up on the Dolphins, they win a game. What's the over/under on TO throwing Trent Edwards under the bus?

Saints over Jets. Drew Brees had a relatively bad day, and the Saints made Mark Sanchez look like the rookie he is anyway. Call me crazy, but I see another post-season Eagles/Saints matchup in this year's NFC Championship game. You know how I was all "the Ravens have O - be afraid." Well, the Saints have D, so you know what to do. Duck & cover.

Broncos over Cowboys. Kyle Orton did everything he could to lose that game, and Champ Bailey and Wolverine were all, "No way, man." And thank you for that. It wasn't pretty, but it was a win. And Tonyboy had another bad game, which always makes me happy, because it's bad for his fragile ego. Edited to add: Wilbon's column this morning reminded me of something I should have mentioned - THE play of the game was Brandon Marshall's sweet go-ahead touchdown, where he smoked about 1/2 the Cowboys defenders, slipped about a dozen tackles, and found the end zone. Wanna watch it again? Me, too.



Wilbon also wondered why Romo chose to throw at Champ Bailey so much. I don't think Romo *wanted* to throw at Champ. I think his thought process went something like: "Hmmm - where to put the ball? Option A: throw towards Champ. Damn, he's be to, like, 9.7 million Pro Bowls. That's not good. Option B: Shit! Is that Brian Dawkins?!? When did he become a Bronco? I'm still having nightmares about him from the last game of the 2008 season. And the last game of the 2006 season. Is he stalking me? Isn't that illegal? Champ it is."

49ers over Rams. On Football Night in America, Keith Olbermann was all: Spags is like, "Is there a spot on your coaching staff?" to Mike Singletary. HEE! Also, true. Poor Spags. The Rams are epically bad. Hey, they lost to the Redskins.

Steelers over Chargers. So the Steelers problem this year has been blowing 4th quarter leads. And they went into the half at 21-0. And the Chargers had a terrible first possession after the half. And the Steelers scored again, going to 28-0. And Chef Spouse and I went up to bed, thinking the game was O-V-E-R. And the Chargers brought it back to 38-28. The Steelers are not getting past the Ravens (who should have won their game with the Pats this week had everyone not been too busy kissing Tom Brady's ass) this year.

Final thought: Go Pack! Edited to add: the Pack, sadly, did not go. Their main issue seems to be that their QB has trouble completing passes from a sitting position. I know they've had some injuries, but their O line is REALLY bad. Y'all need to give that boy some protection, or he'll be on IR by week 8! And even with that, they ALMOST pulled it off. Damn. Another week (or maybe season) of "That Brett Favre. Isn't he DREAMY?" from all the commentators.

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2009 Week 4 Picks

NEVER have I been so glad to see an early bye week. Lots of guys need to get healthy, starting with Big 5...Westy...Peanut...Kevin Curtis...Celek (how could he not need a week off after the pounding he took against the Chiefs?). And did you see the Axeman is back? Dude, he's almost as old as I am. Hope his bionic knee holds up better than Westy's new ankle.

So, on to the picks (which are going to be brief this week, because I'm at a conference):

Lions/Bears: I'm pulling for the Lions to extend their streak to 2! Go Lions! (it's pretty unlikely, but I need an upset pick, right?)

Bengals/Browns: One of these teams is looking like they might not be too bad this year, and it's not the Browns. Bengals.

Raiders/Texans: The Raiders have the beginnings of a team if they could just fix their QB. The Texans have the beginnings of a team if they just had some defense. Fortunately, lack of defense won't be a problem this week. Texans.

Seahawks/Colts: Colts. Anyone who will wear lime green jerseys doesn't deserve to win.

Titans/Jaguars: There's NO way the Titans go to 0-4, right? Right? Titans.

Giants/Chiefs: Chiefs. SIKE! Giants.

Ravens/Patriots: Ravens. Patriots, your time at the top of the AFC has come to an end.

Buccaneers/Redskins: The Redskins will continue their new tradition of handing teams their first win. Bucs.

Bills/Dolphins: Bills will get to .500 against a Pennington-less Dolphins.

Jets/Saints: Damn, should this be a good game. Can anyone shut down the Saints blisteringly hot offense? The #3 ranked Jets defense stands the best chance of any of their opponents so far, but the thing is, the Saints D ranks a lot higher than the Jets O. To me, that says Saints, baby!

Cowboys/Broncos: Wolverine has had some of his best games in recent years picking off Tony Romo. I don't see that changing this week. Broncos.

Rams/49ers: Even without Frank Gore, the 49ers should walk all over the Rams.

Chargers/Steelers: C'mon Steelers! Pull yourselves out of your early season slump! Steelers.

Packers/Vikings: Oh man, do I want the Pack to win this week! I might have to borrow Ex-Navy Cheesehead's cheesehead to wear for the Monday night game. Bring it, Packers!

Other teams watching from the couch in the man cave this weekend: Cards, Falcons, Panthers

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