Tuesday, November 2, 2010

S-H-U-T out out out!

See what I did there? In what many would call one of the most boring football games to ever be played, the Green Bay Packers stunned the world and shut out the New York Jets 9-0. It was a nicely paced game to watch considering the lack of concentration I was able to put into it for reasons most should understand. Despite Halloween weekend proving to be a distraction (I promise to try and get back to my normal two posts per week routine...I've been a busy boy lately), I checked my picks after the Monday Night game last night and honestly could not believe what I saw...13 games were played this weekend in the NFL. 11 were guessed correctly by yours truly. This is not a typo. I REPEAT! THIS IS NOT A TYPO! Do you know what this means? Many things. It took eight weeks, but I finally bested Kyle. I'm finally above .500, so I now have the option of torturing all of you with my game-by-game analysis (tune in next time to find out). And last but not least, I have now completely figured out the NFL. Either that, or the teams that had byes this week were the reason that I was falling flat on my face through the first seven weeks. Let's hope that's not the case...otherwise next week will be a brutality crushing fall back to reality.

Week 8: (DAVE) (KYLE)

MIAMI @ Cincinnati (-2.5)
JACKSONVILLE @ Dallas (-6.5)
WASHINGTON @ DETROIT (-2.5)
BUFFALO @ KANSAS CITY (-7.5)
Carolina @ ST. LOUIS (-3.5)
GREEN BAY @ NY JETS (-6.5) - Counter-jinx baby!
Denver @ SAN FRANSISCO (-0.5)
TENNESSEE @ SAN DIEGO (-3.5)
TAMPA BAY @ Arizona (-3.5)
Minnesota @ NEW ENGLAND (-5.5)
Seattle @ OAKLAND (-2.5)
PITTSBURGH @ New Orleans (-0.5)
HOUSTON @ INDIANAPOLIS (-5.5)

This week/Overall:
Kyle: 8-5/63-54 (5-1-2)
Dave: 11-2/60-57 (1-5-2)

Since the Badgers had the week off just in time to lose all the momentum they gained over the past three weeks, the Packers were the main focus of the sports fans in Wisconsin. And since the game they participated in put about 80% of the state to sleep, a mention of the Milwaukee Bucks is in order. Don't worry...I'll talk more about the 1st place Green Bay Packers in a moment. Anyway, the Bucks finally got off the snide and earned their first victory of the season in their home debut. A few of the early season story lines include a slow start, a visit from the injury bug and Brandon Jennings' first career triple-double, which took place during Saturday night's victory over Charlotte. Role players like Jon Brockman and Chris Douglas-Roberts have both missed some time with minor setbacks, not to mention that the Bucks best player, Michael Redd being out until at least February. Aside from this, it's going to take this team some time to gel considering all of the new additions that I mentioned in my last post. In other words, we should disregard the early season losses to sub par opponents (New Orleans and Minnesota) and be patient. I can also guarantee that Carlos Delfino does not end up being the leading scorer of this team, although he looks really, really solid thus far. Support our Bucks!

Breaking news! The Milwaukee Brewers hired Ron Roenicke, 54, as their new manager...I'll give you the low down on Mr. Roenicke. He was previously the bench coach of the Los Angeles Angels and played pro ball for eight seasons. That's literally all I know, and that's thanks to the article on ESPN informing me of this news. Um...I have a few opinions on this. First of all, is Willie Randolph really that bad of a manager? He had to sit behind Macha for two years muttering obscenities under his breath and now he doesn't even get a shot at the managerial position? There is NO way this guy could possibly still want to remain in Milwaukee, and I can't blame him. Next...Dale Sveum anyone? Last time I checked, the man led us to our first playoff appearance in 26 years under dire circumstances (Yost firing). What happened after that? He wasn't even interviewed for the job in '09. Sounds fair. And last but not least, the Brewers turned down the bench coach from the Chicago White Sox, Joey Cora. Considering the fact that he coached under Ozzie Guillen, there is little doubt in my mind that he would have lit a fire under the collective behinds of the Crew, which they are in desperate need of after playing for a corpse the last two years. Whether Ron Roenicke will present more of a presence in the dugout than old man winter is yet to be seen. But that's enough about coaching...let's get to some football.

Like I mentioned before, the Jets/Packer game on Sunday was quite the snoozer. That's okay...we won. How did we win? It was a combination of Rex Ryan's stupidity, the inability of the Jets' receivers to catch a football and some clutch defensive plays by the Packers. It's possible the wind played a factor in the score, but it was just one of those weird games where neither team could get anything going. Thankfully, Ryan decided it was necessary to pull a fake punt on 4th & 18 in the 1st quarter, and Green Bay never looked back. I don't really know what else to say about this game...it was just a gutsy performance by an undermanned team. What's even better is that we play the Cowboys next week on Sunday night and then have two weeks to rest some of our key players suffering from injury. I feel a helluva lot better about this team then I did two weeks ago.

Fear the Deer. Go Pack. On Wisconsin.

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