Week 11 is done, and what a crazy week it was! Of the 16 games played 12 were decided by 7 points or less. There were two games that went into overtime. And there were two pretty big upsets too. Wow. The Bengals weren’t on until later so I was only passively watching the afternoon games. But as I was watching I was noticing that I was doing pretty well on my picks. Of course after the Bengals game, you know the 6 hours later when I came out of my anger coma, I was able to look at how well I did in the evening. I would consider two of my losses this week as upsets and the other one was a close game. Needless to say I was feeling good. I had to smile because if I was doing really well that would almost certainly mean that Jesy was not having a good week! Was I right? Will my predictions hold up? Please read on….
Carolina vs Miami:
There was no wildcat, but there was more than enough Ricky Williams to put this game out of reach. Carolina could not stop the Miami running attack, and they knew that was coming, not a good sign for Carolina. I think that this game pretty much sealed Carolinas fate, looks like they will have to pray for a good draft and better luck next year. Looks like Jesy’s WWGD theory worked to her favor! We all get the “Wildcat, Shmildcat. We don’t need no stinkin’ wildcat” award.
Look at him stay in the pocket, what a great quarterback!
Indy vs Baltimore:
I tried telling Andy he was safe this week. The football gods rarely turn against Peyton Manning and this week was no different. Peyton and his receivers were able to come out victorious in a tight defensive game. Baltimore looked pretty old in this game too. This next draft will be key for them because they are going to have a lot of holes to fill. We all picked Indy, so we all get the “Peyton Manning is the other son of God” award.
Washington vs Dallas:
Who actually watched this garbage? 7-6? That is a high scoring baseball game. Hell it would have been more exciting to watch a 7-6 baseball game than the crap that the Cowboys and Redskins tried telling you was football. I think these two team just set professional football back 50 years. It is so sad to watch a talented team like Dallas flounder like they do. Is it the quarterback? Is it the coach? Lots of questions for Jerry Jones, you know he is chomping at the bit to fire someone! And of course Zorn in Washington is like the living dead. The Queen of England has more power than Jim Zorn. We all picked Dallas, so we all get the “A garbage win still counts as a win” award.
Cleveland vs Detroit:
The battle of the official worst team in the league. And the award goes to…..Cleveland. Not to say Detroit didn’t put up a fight, because they did. This should have brought back memories of the Cleveland-Cincinnati shoot out from a few years ago, except Cleveland lost this time. Oh, and Cleveland don’t be fooled Brady Quinn is not suddenly a great quarterback after his 4 touchdown performance. Remember what the once might Derek Anderson did? So come back down to Earth and realize that you played Detroit…and lost. Detroit, I hope you enjoy your last win of the season, soak it up. We all picked Detroit for the win, so we all get the “Quinn-Stafford the next Elway-Marino? Not even close!” Award.
San Francisco vs Green Bay:
Ouch, what a let down. We all got this one wrong. Green Bay is turning into another yo-yo team right before our eyes. I think everything depends on the health of their offensive line. If everyone on the offensive line is healthy for the game then I will pick Green bay from now on. And it looks like San Francisco keep losing ground to Arizona in the West. Better luck next year San Fran. The good news is that pieces are in place and you have a good coach. That is a good place to start. also, you play in a pretty weak division. I think next year might be your year. But until then you have to toil in mediocrity. We all got this wrong, so we all get the “Alex Smith ruined my pick as well as the 49ers playoff chances, not bad for a day of work” award.
Buffalo vs Jacksonville:
Buffalo is in turmoil worse that any team (not the Browns) and still almost managed to beat Jacksonville. I am not sure who that says more about, probably Jacksonville. With a running back like Jones-Drew, a receiver like Simms-Walker and a generally mistake free quarterback like Garrard they should be handling teams. But bad coaching will keep any game close. Kudos to TO for trying to make a game out of it, but he can suck it for being terrible all year so all those fantasy point were wasted on my bench. TO will always find a way to be a pain in my ass. We all got this pick right, barely, so we all get the ” ‘Living on the edge…..of wuss cliff’ ” award for getting by this one on thin ice. Big thanks to Beavis and Butthead for the quote.
Ben's life after football. He is clearly the onion.
Pittsburgh vs Kansas City:
I have never been more happy to be wrong! The curse of Larry Johnson has been lifted. You can call it a coincidence if you like, but the fact is Larry is no longer a Chief and they won. He is a Bengal and they lost. You do the math. The running game never really got going for either team, it was the passing game that set these teams apart. Ben threw two picks and Cassel threw none, game over. This was a pretty clear case of the team that takes better care of the football wins the game. Injuries are starting to mount for Pittsburgh, Ben had to leave the game and now Charlie Batch is hurt. Quarterback suddenly looks like a concern for Pittsburgh. Kansas City will continue to toil, this was their Super Bowl. We all got this pick wrong, but we were all more than happy to get it wrong. We all get the “Ben is one headbutt away from being a vegetable” award.
Seattle vs Minnesota:
This is what normally happens when a really bad team plays a really good team. The good team, Minnesota, wins easier than Rob Pattinson gets laid. Seattle is getting older at an exponential rate. For each game they put on 5 years. Matt Hasslebeck is sure to fall over dead in the last game of the year. Brett Favre, unfortunately, has turned into Benjamin Button and has somehow looked younger this year than last. Maybe it has something to do with having better receivers and the best running back in the league on his team this year? In any case Minnesota continues to march toward the playoffs eyeing home field through out. We all got this pick right, so we all get the “Purple is slightly less ugly than neon green” award.
Atlanta vs New Jersey A:
New Jersey A was the popular pick despite the 4 game skid. They were coming off a bye and that was all the help they needed to give Atlanta a beat down. The Giants still do remember how to run the ball, and that is a shame with Jacobs and Bradshaw. The Falcons can’t run the ball without Turner. It was an uncharacteristic air battle between two ground attack teams. Neither defense played worth a crap giving up yards like Lindsay Lohan gives up sex. The Giants might have won the game, but did nothing to cement themselves in the playoff picture. Jesy was the only one that picked the Falcons, so she gets the “No Michael “the Burner” Turner means I get burned” award.
New Orleans vs Tampa Bay:
Tampa’s fluke games are now a thing of the past. New Orleans came into town and thoroughly stomped the Bucs. The Saints were also tired of having to pay attention and work the whole game, so instead they jumped all over Tampa and checked out early. After the third quarter the Saints were in cruise control. Tampa is a mess, Gruden did not leave the cupboard very full upon his exit. The Saints roll in this one without the “mighty” Reggie Bush. Will anyone pay him to play again? They guy looks like Tom from Office Space. We all got this right, so we all earned the “Jonathan Vilma defeats Reggie Bush in the Mr. Glass contest” award.
Arizona vs St. Louis:
Jesy makes the second questionable call in taking the Rams. If you look at the score it doesn’t look so funny, but come on, it’s the Rams. The game was only close because Arizona had such a lead at half time that they decided to quit. Steven Jackson had a solid enough game, but he is like Corey Dillion playing on the Bengals, he is the only one out there with any talent. Arizona climbs even further in the lead in the West with Seattle and San Francisco losing. Arizona looks to be a formidable team with the new found running game. The defense still has plenty of hole though, so be careful picking this team in the playoffs. Jesy was the only one that got it wrong, so she gets the “I’m cute, so I can get away with picking St. Louis to win” award. Damn, she got me there.
San Diego vs Denver:
Wow, what an ass kicking huh? The Chargers are playing like they have something to prove. Too bad they never played this hard when LT was in his prime. San Diego will probably win this division, but do they have enough to actually advance in the playoffs? I say no. LT is not the same LT we all know and love. Darren Sproles is not a 25 attempt guy. That means that it will be squarely in the hands of one Phillip Rivers. I like Rivers, but it is rare to see a quarterback not named Brady or Manning be able to steer their team in the playoffs. You have to be able to run the ball. Denver has gone from a playoff team to a team that looks like it is being coached by a young rookie head coach without a quarterback. Oh, wait that is exactly happening in Denver. Rumor has it Josh McDaniels has called John Elway to see how “firm” he is on staying retired. We all got it right, so we all will share the “If Josh McDaniels would have coached under Andy Ried he would have never got this job” award.
Face it, Welker is definitely an upgrade over this guy.
New Jersey B vs New England:
Not quite the second game that Rex Ryan had in mind for his Jets. Of course the first game featured Tom Brady trying to shake off the rust from the previous years injury. I believe I said then that if it were later in the season I would pick New England, and well here I am later in the season and I picked New England. And they own. Don’t worry Jets fans, your team in on the horizon, but it might take a couple more years before you have all the pieces and before Tom Brady breaks a hip. Wes Welker gives hope to white guys everywhere. He plays a skill position that is dominated more physically gifted athletes, but he works hard never drops the ball and runs perfect routes. He is the perfect slot receiver. This game could have been a whole lot worse if New England didn’t quit at the half. We all knew what the out come of this game would be, so we all get the “Wes Welker is the Great White Hope” award.
Cincinnati vs Oakland:
Ugh, I have been dreading this little write-up all day. Two days later and I am still upset about this. Not just because the Bengals lost, actually that is the least of my concerns since everyone else in the division sucked this weekend too. My concern was the complete lack of focus, the fact that no one seemed to care that they just lost to Oakland of all teams. This was such a bad loss because not only was it a game the Bengals should have won, but it was a game that they should have won more convincingly than the Chicago game. The Bengals resorted back to the Bungles game and every time they took a step forward they took two backwards. It was an embarrassing debacle at best. Kudos to Oakland’s defense. They seemed to be pushing around the Bengals offensive line pretty easy, where has that intensity been all year. The good news is that Marvin left Oakland without any altercations with Tom Cable. We all got this pick wrong. Well us and the rest of the football watching public. So we all get the “You can take the Bungles out of the jungle, but you can never take the Bungles out of the Bengals” award.
Philly vs Chicago:
Who knew which of the possible 4 teams would show up? This was definitely a crap shoot. With Westbrook out with a concussion I wondered if I made the right call. Then I thought back to the Cincinnati game and remembered that Philly wouldn’t need Westbrook to win this game, all they needed was for Cutler to keep throwing all those interceptions and they would be fine. That didn’t happen, but Cutler didn’t look like the pro bowl quarterback he can be. The difference seemed to be that all the play makers showed up for the Eagles and none of them showed up for the Bears. I think that this was a telling week for a lot of teams, and what this game told me was that Chicago is definitely not a play off team. I won’t rule the Eagles out mainly because you never know what team is going to show up. But if the A team shows up, this is the best team in the NFC East. Looks like Jesy get’s burned again. For picking wrong she gets the “Da Losers” award.
Look at the concentration on Kerry Collin's face!
Tennessee vs Houston:
Close game on paper translated to close game on the field. Dear Titans receivers, don’t be looking for the ball, just block. Vince is the new Michael Vick. Run first, run faster second, and juke. That is all he knows and judging from how I have seen him throw, that is a good thing. But it seems to be working, Vince is 4-0 as the starter for the Titans. The emergence of Young has left Kerry Collins and LeDale White on the bench playing tiddlywinks. Houston didn’t play bad, but they are having a bit of an identity crises at running back and that will continue to bring them down as long as it goes unresolved. Slaton is clearly a number 1 running back, if he can hang on to the ball. He is heads and tails above Chris Brown, the back up. But nothing will get you in the dog house faster than fumbles, just ask Chris Perry. I was the only one that got this one right, so I get the “Titans fans finally feel safe dusting off the Vince Young jerseys” award.
Blam! And there it is the crown has returned to its rightful owner, ME. Andy keep’s it interesting but Vince Young and his crazy legs pull me through! Who would have thought Vince Young would ever be the savior of anything?! And then there was Jesy. A monumental collapse this week. Epic even. Can she recover? Can she claw back into this two pony race? Or is the writing on the wall? Guess you will have to tune in to find out! (See what I did there? I really built up the suspense, got your mind really thinking and then left you hanging. So mean, but me thinks you sill keep reading to find out. Man, I am brilliant.)
Weekly Results:
Yearly Results:
Should I call for every upset pick in the last week just to give Jesy a chance? Uh-ohhhhh, more nail-biting suspense, I got ya hooked for sure now.
George Herron
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