While it wasn’t a killer start to the second half of the season, it was good enough to get me a winning week. 8-6 isn’t something to do ached Johnson Touchdown dance about, but it’s good enough to make me feel a little better about the goings on in the NFL. This is how the games panned out…
Atlanta (-5) at Detroit: Loss! “Riding Michael Vick’s rainbow ride might get me in trouble here,” Ah, trouble, yeah, I’d say that’s safe. Atlanta struggled form the get, and after half time the shit hit the fan. Mike Vick turned in to just another quarterback, Atlanta’s running game was limited, and Detroit’s Jon Kitna picked apart a Falcon defense like he was Peyton Manning. All in all, I got my first loss.
Cincinnati at Baltimore (-3): Win! “Because of Carson Palmers’ inability to throw the ball accurately when he’s under pressure, something I’m sure the Ravens will put on him, I have to take Baltimore.” Yeah, I said it. Palmer’s struggles showed early, and Cincinnati fumbled the game away early. Where is Chad Johnson lately? I celebrated my first win.
Dallas (-3) at Washington: Loss! The Cowboys really messed this one up. They dominated the game for the most part, yet they let Washington hang around. With a 35 yard field goal about to win the game for the Cowboys, I was already thinking about what I was going to write about my push. So you could imagine how I felt when Vanderscrewit’s field goal was blocked. Actually, I lost a little dough, but the Cowboys looked ridiculous losing a game they had all along. So, basically, I felt great!
Green Bay at Buffalo (-3): Win! They didn’t look good doing it, but I’m not looking for style points these day. A wins a win, and the Bills ousted the Packers in 24-10 fashion on Sunday, getting me my second win while covering easily.
Houston at N.Y. Giants (-13): Loss! David Carr played well, easily well enough to cover, which made me a loser. I can’t figure out the Texans, though I often expect blunders like this from the Giants. I just hate that those Yorkies won and didn’t cover. A stab in the chest and a kick in the butt.
Kansas City (+3) at St. Louis: Win! An upset I’ve got to love. I had the underdog beating the home team, and the Chiefs have been terrible away from Kansas City. But, everything went as planned, LJ had a huge day, Damon Huard played well, and the Chief defense, the much improved Chiefs defense, made just enough plays to win.
Miami at Chicago (-13.5): Loss! “To start with, let me tell you that the Dolphins have yet to lose a game by more than 11 points all season long.” Mark that up as another week that the Dolphins didn’t lose by more than 11 points. I just couldn’t justify picking the Dolphins. However, I need to follow the old gut feeling a little more these days, it’s games like this that break my balls.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay (+1): Loss! I don’t know what happened to the Bucs, maybe Coach Jon Gruden has lost his club. The Saints remain a top team, and I fail to pick them as winners again. This Saints club reminds me of Drew Brees’ first good season with the Chargers. I had the same trouble with them. Another loss via the hands of New Orleans.
Tennessee at Jacksonville (-9): Win! Jacksonville thundered the Titans like they were a high school club. David Garrard has taken a step forward, and to be honest, I don’t know if Byron Leftwich will sniff his job anytime soon. It’s tough to see, as a Leftwich fan, but Garrard has been running that team the way they should be run.
Minnesota (-6.5) at San Francisco: Loss! How does Brad Childress justify playing Brad Johnson for an entire game against the 49ers, a terrible defensive secondary, when he is making them look like the Steel freaking Curtain. Johnson is making Mark Brunell look youthful. Two words, Tevaris Jackson. Two more words, Big Loss!
Cleveland Browns (+14) at San Diego: Win! “The Browns looked much better under Romeo Crenell’s new offensive mindset, and Charlie Frye won’t have to deal with Shawn Merriman, so I’m rolling with the Browns and two touchdowns. Cleveland has a talented team, and with a new approach on offense, Frye should be able to pass efficiently enough for Cleveland to give San Diego a scare on Sunday.” And a scare they got. The Brownies played tight, and if it weren’t for LT’s 3 touchdowns, a big upset would have been completed by the Browns. I got a big win from the Browns.
Denver (+3) at Pittsburgh: Win! “I don’t see the Steelers’ season turning around here. A week after getting Manning’ed by the Colts, Shanahan’s crew will bounce back in Pittsburgh.” What can I say? Despite 400+ yards from Big Ben, the Steelers lost their 6th game, all but eliminating them from any chance at the post season. The Big Turnover completed 3 passes to the Broncos, and Denver gave me another big one.
Indianapolis (+1) at New England: Win! Peyton played very well, never making the big mistake that hurt his squad, and often putting the ball where only his receiver could make the catch. And make the catch Marvin Harrison did. If you didn’t see Marv’s catch for a touchdown when he one handed Peyton’s pass, and then snuck two feet in before falling out of the end zone. Watch Week 9 highlights, because that play won this game for me. The Colts big win put me in the Green for Sunday, with the Hawks going for my 8th win on Monday Night.
Oakland at Seattle (-8): “Without Matt Hasselbeck, without Shaun Alexander, without God’s good graces, the Seahawks will still dominate the Raiders. Oakland comes in winners of their last two games, sure, but there is no way they get that lucky 3 times in a row. Their team is terrible, and the Hawks defense isn’t as bad as it has been lately. Expect a drumming,” LL. That about sums it up. The Hawks got out to an early lead and then just made sure they didn’t make any mistakes. Because, that’s the only way the Raiders can score. With that game-plan set, the Hawks covered easily, shutting out the Raiders, and bringing me to 8-6. Not too shabby.