The Weekend in Football

Source: The Nosebleeds NFL Blog
October 01, 2011
Friday:
Planned to go to Olentangy Liberty Patriots vs. Olentangy Braves game tonight at my old stomping grounds. One of my high school classmates is getting into the Hall of Fame. Not going to happen based on the fact it's going to be 41 and raining and our puppy has been sick.

Update: Ended up sitting in the car with wife, mom, and puppy after some tailgating and talking for a while. Never made it into the stadium. Olentangy Braves up 13-0 at the half.

Don't forget about Utah State/BYU on ESPN for those of you who are way too into football.

Saturday:
Kentucky at #1 LSU

#3 Alabama at #12 Florida
UCLA at #6 Stanford
#7 Nebraska at #8 Wisconsin
#13 Clemson at #11 Virginia Tech
Auburn at #10 South Carolina
#14 Texas A&M at #18 Arkansas
Michigan State at Ohio State
Notre Dame at Purdue

Make sure to read the ultimate NCAA football blog Every Day Should Be Saturday.  Lots of jibberish talk if you're late to the party, but follow it every Saturday and you'll catch on quickly.

Classic College Football YouTube of the week: 


Did anyone know that Georgia Tech won the National Title in 1990? They had exactly two players drafted into the NFL. Calvin Tiggle and Jim Lavin. And neither was a skill position player. And neither was chosen higher than 174. But Bobby Ross (of San Diego Chargers fame) was their head coach, and that's a guy who just knew football. He was a great coach.

Sunday (NFL): 



Is Cam Newton sticking with the #1 next season? 
We asked George Whitfield Jr.--Cam's personal QB coach on twitter.

So feel good about ordering those #1 jerseys folks. I might just know what I want for my birthday from the wife now.

Your classic 1980's NFL Video of the Week: 

How about some 1988 Houston Oilers NFL Films Season highlights? Nick Saban was the secondary coach. This team beat the Browns on Christmas Eve 1988 in the Wildcard Playoffs. I was just six years old.

Bathroom Reading: 
Deadspin Thursday Jamboroo
Turf Show Times - Sam Bradford vs. Redskins Linebacker London Fletcher
ESPN Ranks the Rookies
CSN Chicago - Bears/Panthers preview
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Browns' Greg Little learning what it takes to succeed
ESPN Jets Blog - Nick Mangold might play this week
Grantland - Buzz factor of NFL Franchises


Week 4 NFL Picks: 
My picks in bold. On the season I'm 23-20-4 against the spread thus far this year.

Carolina (+6.5) at Chicago
Many moons ago when I was a young buck, a young African American Quarterback went into Chicago and beat a favored Bears team because his athleticism trumped everyone on the field. I knew that night as I drank about 14 Pabst Blue Ribbons that the Bears would not prevail. I won some bets. Then I went outside the dorm in college and threw up a few times and the night ended sooner than it should have. History is (kind of) going to repeat itself here. Cam Newton shocks the world Sunday and the Bears go down hard.


Buffalo (-3) at Cincinnati
People love the Bills white helmets. How long can they keep this up? I think this is an easy domino for them to knock down.

Tennessee (+1.5) at Cleveland
This is my lock of the week. I'm telling you right now there is no way Cleveland goes to 3-1 and they're terrible at home. They were meant to be a 2-2 team all along. It would be so 'Cleveland' to drop this game in front of their home fans that is exactly what will happen. Chris Johnson is about to get healthy here. I would tell him to wear an extra gold tooth just for swag on Sunday.

Detroit at Dallas (-1.5)
When I was a kid I thought these two teams uniforms looked alike. I was basing it off Madden 92 on the Sega Genesis though.


Minnesota (-1.5) at Kansas City
Minnesota murders teams in the first half and has been outscored like 340 to 3 in the second half. Two bad teams here, but Kansas City is way worse. Todd Haley is a dick too. Minnesota will win by a score at least at Arrowhead.


Washington at St. Louis (+1.5) 
This is the kind of game I love to bet. St. Louis is not as bad as their record would indicate. Their coach needs a win to catch a breath and get off the hot-seat for just a second. Everyone will bet Washington. But the Redskins are on the road, coming off a short week, and why would they get up for an 0-3 non division team after a big time emotional, last-minute loss this past week on Monday Night Football? Rams get this win--and they have to get it. Feel good about this one.


Philadelphia (-8.5) at San Francisco
I wish this game would have remained 'off'. Ugh. Vick is banged up but will play, as usual. I don't like a team from the east going all the way out West and having to win by that much. But the Eagles have something to prove. This 'Dream Team' is 1-2. The Miami Heat started slow as well. Eagles stomp the Niners this Sunday, or I don't know this game at all.

New Orleans (-7) at Jacksonville
You're telling me all New Orleans has to do is go down to perfect weather Jacksonville and win by a touchdown and we're safe on this one? Did you see what New Orleans did against Houston last week?


Pittsburgh at Houston (-4)
Tough game to bet here. Pittsburgh allows people to get to the Quarterback too easily. I think it will be close, but the home team gets the win in a shootout. Someone will be a surprise .500 here and I've thought all along that Pittsburgh would be that type of team this season.


New York Giants (-1.5) at Arizona
Tom Coughlin really is Rasputin. The townspeople, they've tried to shoot him. They've tried to hang him, thrice. They've poisoned his food and water supply. They've tried publicly stoning him. Every time I think he's toast he goes out and makes me look like a fool and wins a huge game. The sumbitch has 9 lives! I don't think I should pick against Tom Coughlin for a while. Tom Coughlin is my father in law.

Atlanta (-4.5) at Seattle
Atlanta is good, and Seattle is so shitty. They might have cost themselves Andrew Luck last week, so I hope it was worth it. Normalcy gets restored this week. Atlanta needs to run the damn ball a little.

Denver at Green Bay (-13)
The money-making machine that is the Green Bay Packers rolls on this week. And we say it every week: until these guys screw you and fail to cover, ride them. They are good. They are hot. They will be the last undefeated team in football.


New England (-4.5) at Oakland
When everyone declared the Patriots Super Bowl bound I was the guy who laughed and knew it was premature. This New England team has a bad defense and they're too finesse for that type of talk. The AFC elites are built on being able to blacken someone's eye and breaking noses. Thus you see why the Raiders are having success and fucking people up. That is the mold the Raiders are built in. However, Bill Belichick's teams are so good after a loss. He has cooked up a master scheme this week following the embarrassment last week in Buffalo. The Raiders are getting closer to respectable, but New England knocks them back down to earth.

Miami at San Diego (-7.5)
It was nice knowing you, Tony Sparano. All you survivor hounds are pissed you picked San Diego last week I would imagine.


New York Jets (-3.5) at Baltimore
This one is a real beaut' on Sunday Night Football. Do you guys remember last year when Mark Sanchez couldn't make a throw to save his life in the opener and the Jets got beat in a low scoring game? The Jets can throw the ball now, and I want you to remember what the Titans did to Baltimore a few weeks ago. I think Rex Ryan is smart enough to be able to replicate some of the stuff that worked on defense by the Titans. It's payback time for the Jets.

Indianapolis at Tampa Bay (-10)
A real stinker on Monday Night Football. Everyone can relax and watch WWE Monday Night RAW and feel less badly about it. Well, lets get real, if you're watching pro wrestling, you should probably feel a little bad about it. And only tell your close friends. 

Other Picks: 
Kissing Suzy Kolber
Walter Football (Early/Late)
Colin Cowherd
ESPN
Sunday NFL Countdown