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Quick Snaps: NFL Week 10

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Steelers 24 Bengals 17 – Kudos to the programming wizards over at CBS for having the good sense to switch out of the Cowboys/Bills blowout and send the viewing audience to a much more competitive game in Cincinnati. This was my first time watching Andy Dalton play quarterback for the Bengals and I have to say, even though his team lost to the Steelers and he threw a killer interception late in the 4th quarter, the rookie carries himself with the presence of a 10 year veteran. Now if we can only convince him to dye black tiger stripes across his red hair.

Cardinals 21 Eagles 17 – What CBS did right, FOX did incredibly wrong. With Arizona on the 1 yard line and about to go up late over the heavily favored Eagles, FOX made the inexcusable decision to switch over to the start of the Giants/49ers. Now, I understand that I live in a New York market but someone needs to tell me how it makes sense to take viewers away from the exciting conclusion of a major upset just so we can listen to Joe Buck introduce the 49ers starting offensive line. I would find this decision curious even I were the most diehard Giants fan.

Cowboys 44 Bills 7 – I asked my buddy Casey, a huge Bills fan, if he has any buyers remorse regarding quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick who, after signing a $60 million extension with Buffalo, has put together back to back stinkers against the Jets and now Cowboys. His response, “he’s a heck of a lot better than Rob Johnson, Alex Van Pelt, Trent Edwards, Kelly Holcomb, and J.P. Losman”. Well played kind sir, well played.

Saints 26 Falcons 23 – If Atlanta ends up missing the playoffs this season, many Falcons fans will look back to the questionable decision to go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 29 yard line in overtime as the reason to why their team is watching the football postseason from their sofas. For his transgressions, Mike Smith will not be allowed to shop at the Home Depot until after the holidays.

Dolphins 20 Redskins 9 – From leaders in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes to feisty favorites, this Miami team is shaping into a potential playoff spoiler. Could be that the Dolphins determine the final hierarchy in the AFC East this season.

Broncos 17 Chiefs 10 – Tim Tebow only completed 2 passes yet Denver somehow managed to beat KC thanks mostly to a dominant performance by the defense. To be fair, the Broncos only called 8 passing plays all game. It’s almost like John Fox wants Tebow to fail so that the Bronco fans will get off his back about playing the popular icon. The fact remains, the more Tebow wins, the more likely he becomes a part of the future in Denver.

Bears 37 Lions 13 – Heading into this game, I really liked Chicago’s chances against the Lions, even though Detroit was coming off of a bye and the Bears were still recover after a hard fought win over the Eagles. There’s something missing with this Lions team – like a reliable running game – and their chippy attitude isn’t winning over many fans.

49ers 27 Giants 20 – The Niners are now pretty much assured of at least a #2 seed in the NFC playoffs and with only one loss, could overtake the presently undefeated Packers for the top spot. If San Fran were to host Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game, how much would the Packers be favored by? -3.5?

view from MetLife Stadium courtesy of @gligelis

Quick Snaps: NFL Week 9

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Before getting into the Week 9 recap, a quick thanks to Connecticut Light & Power for restoring my electricity Sunday morning just in time for a full slate of NFL games. It was a long week living without power, but I suppose it’s something we in the Northeast are all going to have to get used to now that New England is turning into the Pacific Northwest.

Quick Snaps

Giants 24 Patriots 20 – What is about the #85 for the Giants when they play against the Patriots? First David Tyree saves the day in Super Bowl XLII now Jake Ballard, a tight end unaccustomed to game breaking plays, makes two huge catches on the final drive, including the game winning touchdown. Kudos also to Eli Manning who should be allowed to throw off his back foot so long as he continues to make the kinda plays he did Sunday in Foxboro. It doesn’t look like it is going to get an easier for New England who now travel down to MetLife Stadium next weekend to take on the division leading New York Jets.

Dolphins 31 Chiefs 3 – Congrats to Miami on their first win of the season and for losing valuable ground in the “Suck for Luck” campaign. I had a sneaking suspicion this was going to happen as soon as I took KC in my suicide pool. Maybe the Chiefs are one of those teams – along with the Redskins – that should look into trading for Peyton Manning this offseason if Indy ends up with the top pick and takes Andrew Luck. I’m not sold on Matt Cassel either, but still appreciate his work during the Brady-less Patriots season of 2008.

Falcons 31 Colts 7 – So let me get this straight. Atlanta rookie WR Julio Jones only caught 3 passes Sunday yet somehow gained 131 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. That’s the sort of performance that his alma-mater Alabama could have used Saturday night against LSU. Speaking of the “Game of the Century”, I really wish Tigers coach Les Miles wore these vintage sneaks during the game. Bayou Bengals probably would have scored an extra field goal if he had.

Saints 27 Buccaneers 16 – Josh Freeman is one of the players that everyone says is going to be a star in this league for a very long time yet whenever I sit down to watch him play he usually looks like a very pedestrian quarterback. I was expecting a bit more Sunday against a previously porous New Orleans defense.

49ers 19 Redskins 11 – When the Jets/Bills turned into a laugher, I switched over to Fox and watched the final 10 minutes of this game and boy, Washington has easily one of the worst offenses in the league. I understand they are injured and don’t really have a reliable quarterback but you would still think Shanahan could conjure up a little more magic. Or maybe the SF defense is just that good. One of the biggest games of Week 10 will be when the NY Giants visit Candlestick to take on the 7-1 Niners. This game is going to bring back such found memories of Mark Bavaro, Leonard Marshall, Tom Rathman, and John Taylor – not to mention Joe Montana, Roger Craig, Jerry Rice, Phil Simms, and LT.

Packers 45 Chargers 38 – The most shocking thing about this game wasn’t the final score but rather that it was played in the rain. I thought that never happened in San Diego. At least that’s what Ron Burgundy always told me.

Broncos 38 Raiders 24 – And while most are going to focus on either the Raiders falling to 0-2 with Carson Palmer OR Tim Tebow bringing an end to the very humorous yet somehow inappropriate > Tebow, maybe what everyone should be talking about is how with this win the Denver Broncos are now unbelievably only a game out of 1st place in the AFC West.

Cardinals 19 Rams 13 – Does this mean Arizona QB John Skelton gets to keep his job for at least one more week? Also, the Cardinals should wear those black jerseys for every home game.

Texans 30 Browns 12 – So much for a Texas homecoming for former Longhorns QB and now Browns signal caller Colt McCoy. When you’re the former face of one of the most recognizable college football programs in a city, Austin, known for its music, food, and nightlife, it’s tough to imagine your life getting any better especially when you now spend your afternoons on the shores of Lake Erie. (No offense to the Great Lakes. I love the Great Lakes. In fact if I had to rank my favorites Great Lakes I would go: Ontario, Michigan, Superior, Erie, and Huron.)

view from Heinz Field courtesy of @GrantGurtin

Quick Snaps: NFL Week 8

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When people go on and on about climate change, melting ice caps, and displaced polar bears, they always seems to focus on the doom and gloom that goes along with the end of human existence but fail to focus on all the good stuff like more snow days for kids, and tons of fresh powder at the New England ski resorts. So while I could be upset about the fact that the power company has yet to respond to my multiple phone calls indicating a downed line laying across the driveway, instead I’ll choose to focus on how great it was that the electricity stayed on long enough Saturday night into Sunday morning to watch the end of the USC/Stanford* football game. In the future, I’ll be fine with “evolving” weather patterns so long as it doesn’t interfere with my sports consumption.

*A few observations about this 3OT instant classic in the Pac12. 1) Some people are saying that Andrew Luck did not improve his draft stock with his performance against the Trojans. But when you were already the presumed top pick in the 2012 draft, isn’t it impossible to improve your position? 2) Matt Barkley is going to be a very good NFL quarterback someday. 3) USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin looks like the kind of guy who enjoys wearing boat shoes. I can totally see him sitting up in the coaches booth wearing a nice new pair of Sperry’s just wishing he were on a boat off the Florida Keys fishing for blue marlin.

Quick Snaps

Rams 31 Saints 21 – Just look what throwback uniforms will do for you. St. Louis decides to don the old school Eric Dickerson yellow and royal blues and ends up putting an absolute hurting on Drew Brees, Sean Payton, and the rest of the New Orleans Saints. I would also like to thank Steven Jackson for single handedly ending any chance I had at winning my weekly fantasy matchup. Finally, a quick congrats to David Freese, Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa, and all the St. Louis Cardinals. Game 6 of the 2011 World Series was one of the most memorable baseball games in recent memory, perhaps even surpassing the drama of 1986 with Mookie and Buckner.

Ravens 30 Cardinals 27 – I wasn’t able to watch the 1pm games, but tried to follow along on my phone as best I could. Needless to say, when Baltimore trailed Arizona by a score of 24-3 I figured it spelled the end of my 2011 gambling season. Luckily, Ray Rice decided to place the team on his broad shoulders and preserved my spot in our weekly suicide pool.

Steelers 25 Patriots 17 – My knee jerk reaction is that New England is months, if not 5 defensive backs, away from being able to compete for a Super Bowl. The Patriots haven’t had a genuine pass rusher since Willie McGinest and BB’s “bend but not break” defensive scheme allows for a ton of yards. You can’t outscore your opponent when don’t control the time of possession.

Lions 45 Broncos 10 – For the record, I still believe “tebowing” is here to stay. Also, do you think there is silent majority within the Denver organization that secretly wants Tim Tebow to fail? Couldn’t you see John Elway just hoping the Broncos are bad enough this season to be in position to draft Luck, Barkley, or Landry Jones?

view from Lincoln Financial Field courtesy of @Danie_stars

Quick Snaps: NFL Week 7

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Before getting into the NFL, here are just a few thoughts on the final drive of that Michigan St./Wisconsin instant classic from Saturday night.  1) When the Badgers couldn’t recover a Kurt Cousins fumble in Spartan terrority you just had to have the sense that this wasn’t going to be Wisconsin’s night. 2) And then head coach Brett Bielema started calling timeouts. I don’t understand why he was so compelled to win the game in regulation, especially considering that CFB has by far the fairest, most equitable overtime rules in all of sports. 3) Thanks to that extra time, MSU was able to launch a prayer towards the goal line…and we all know what happened after that. But what in the world was Wisconsin WR Jared Abbrederis doing in on defense? Why do coaches always think that an offensive player has a better chance of defending against the hail mary than an extra defensive back? I’m not trying to lay all the blame on Abbrederis, just hoping to shed a little light on a common case of overcoaching.

Quick Snaps

Falcons 23 Lions 16 – Matthew Stafford may be seriously hurt and Ndamukong Suh is a bully. So what’s new? Actually, I think we are all hoping that Stafford’s lower leg injury ends up being fairly benign. Without him, that Thanksgiving Day game against the Packers becomes a whole lot less interesting. If the Lions swoon continues, it’s going to be much harder to convince the wife and extended family that I’m unavailable for a last minute ingredient run due to a 1230 start from Ford Field.

Jets 27 Chargers 21 – Something just ain’t right with Philip Rivers. He was trying to squeeze the ball into double coverage all afternoon and that last drive he conducted was so out of tune that I began to wonder if the Chargers ever practiced the two minute drill. And wouldn’t it be just my fantasy football luck for Rivers to continue posting rather pedestrian numbers. On the other hand, Darrelle Revis played well again and we can only hope that Francesa has him back on the show sometime this week.

Chiefs 28 Raiders 0 – Well that didn’t go so well. If you’re the Raiders you have seen better days. If you’re Kyle Boller your days in Oakland may be numbered. And if you’re Carson Palmer, you’ve got a lot of work to do before regaining the confidence of Raider nation. The two Oakland QB’s combined for 6 total interceptions yesterday, 1 more than Cincinnati Benglas rookie signal caller Andy Dalton has thrown all year. Is it possible for a team to win even during their bye week?

Broncos 18 Dolphins 15 – You win Tim Tebow, you win. We’re all mere mortals simply just awaiting your instructions.

view from the Superdome courtesy of @_NatuRAL_Neci 

Quick Snaps: NFL Week 6

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Before diving into Week 6, a few simple words, Peter King style, about my local Starbucks barista. Yesterday morning, en route to some family apple picking, we stopped at a nearby Starbucks to grab a couple of caffeinated beverages. The barista, who we’ll call “Kim”, called out my wife’s grande vanilla latte but not my drink. A minute or so passed and Kim had yet to complete my order. When I asked her about the status of my pumpkin spiced latte she responded quite glibly by telling me that my drink was in her “queue” and that she would get to it soon. Excuse me? Your queue? Since when did Starbucks turn into a Netflix? I may be overreacting a bit here but I that’s just because I did not expect to hear such language at 9 in the morning. I was so perplexed by her choice of words that when Kim did finish my drink I had totally forgotten about having to wait a few extra minutes.

Quick Snaps

49ers 25 Lions 19 – Let’s start with what all fans, casual and hardcore alike will be talking about this morning and that is the head coach fight that could have been between the 49ers Jim Harbaugh and the Lions Jim Shwartz. Just in case you haven’t seen it yet, behold, it’s a thing of beauty. Personally, my favorites two parts are 1) when in his youthful exuberance, Harbaugh comes pretty darn close to starting a strip tease and 2) all the players standing around, jarring at one another with their helmets off. That would have been a perfect time for an Ndamukong Suh right hook.

Here’s hoping that today’s intrigue carries over into the first round of the playoffs when San Francisco, winner of the west, hosts Detroit, wild card.

Raiders 24 Browns 17 – With Jason Campbell out indefinitely due to a broken collarbone, who do the Raiders call upon to take over at QB? Kyle Boller, the current heir apparent, hasn’t been any good going back to his days in Baltimore when Brian Billick use to sing his praises. Last night, Sheftie tweeted how he thought David Garrard would be a perfect candidate to take over in the Bay. Here’s an idea, why not take a look at rookie Terrelle Pryor? Probably not enough experience/pocket presence for a team smack dab in the middle of an early playoff hunt. To bad Al Davis in no longer with us because I bet he would start Pryor over Boller in a nanosecond.

Falcons 31 Panthers 17 – It remains really silly of me to listen to advice when picking NFL football games. For instance, everyone, from Bill Simmons to Mike Florio, kept telling us that Cam Newton was the “king of backdoor covers” and that the Falcons will continue their early season swoon on Sunday when they host Carolina. I should have known that with so many knowledgeable football people on the Panthers (+4.5) that the correct thing to do was stick with my gut and take Atlanta to cover in what was a must win game. Unfortunately, I caved and now sit one game behind the lead in my weekly picks pool.

Patriots 20 Cowboys 16 – If there’s anything people can’t stand more than hearing about other people’s gambling woes, it’s hearing about other people’s fantasy woes. Which is why I don’t feel like wasting your time with how upset I am that I started Felix Jones at RB this week. It’s just that Jones is like a bad penny, every year round 5 rolls around and there he is, so full of promise and upside. Today against the Patriots, my fantasy frustration came to fruition once again as Jones rolled an ankle, leaving the game in the first quarter never to be heard from again.

view from Soldier Field courtesy of @annareadsbooks