Each week that I post my NFL game predictions, I also participate in the Peter King Challenge over at Sports Illustrated's site to try and win a TV. Peter just posted his predictions today, and only two games did he pick a different team than I did. He mentions nothing about Grossman being benched yesterday while picking the Lions, but I predicted if Griese were the QB, the Bears would win...Sunday will tell. And while only talking about how Eli Manning will secure his spot as the Giants' QB for the next few years, he picks the Eagles with no explanation why. Hmmm. And except for the Eagles/Giants game, the fans also primarily agree with my predictions. So unless there are a lot of upsets, this week was just too easy...

You might recall a blog post I made back in late-April stating that I can wait until October to see A-Rod have his meltdown. At the beginning of the season, A-Rod was on fire, and since then he hasn't let up with his performance. Today A-Rod is all but guaranteed MVP honors with a batting average of .312, 52 home runs and 146 runs batted in for the season. The Yankees are nearly guaranteed a wild-card spot for the postseason, and A-Rod played a key role in getting them there.

 

Back in March, the Yankees made it clear they wouldn't negotiate during the season to extend any player's contract, including A-Rod's. Then in July, the Yankees broke with tradition and gave A-Rod an ultimatum: sign an extension before his opt-out deadline, or say goodbye. However, this time it was A-Rod who said he would not participate in negotiations during the season (oh, the sweet irony of trying to out-powerplay each other). Then last week, obviously to give A-Rod the upper-hand with the Yankees, a "rumor" published by New York Magaine said that A-Rod would opt-out and go to the Chicago Cubs, with a portion of his new salary being deferred to make him part-owner of the team, and be reunited with skipper Lou Piniella. A-Rod's agent denied the story was true, saying "Great players with great demand create great rumors." A-Rod politely brushed it off...not "surprisingly" brushed it off...politely. What an idiot.

 

As I said before, no one has ever called A-Rod "Mr. October". How great will the demand be for A-Rod if he (again) demonstrates he's NOT a great player when his team needs him the most?

 

It's almost October...the meltdown is about to begin.

 

I need to get some popcorn.

Only got 9 games correct this week...damn. First, I shouldn't have bet against my own team. Second, when did the Bucs learn how to play football? And third, why does Oakland always wait until the final play of a game to decide if they're gonna win or lose? Picking the Falcons was just dumb. And I think the Eagles won simply because their uniforms were so hideous to the point of distraction...who can play defense when they're laughing so hard? Oh yeah...plus, McNabb wanted to silent all of those non-existant critics of black quarterbacks, especially those black QBs who have gone to the championship game four years in a row plus a Super Bowl appearance...

 

The quest for a free TV continues...and I think the majority of games this week will be won on the road.

 

Texans over Falcons: Texans are doing very well, and I'd be stupid to pick the Falcons again.

Jets over Bills: Buffalo has been crippled by injuries.

Ravens over Browns: Baltimore's defense is way too powerful for Cleveland.

Cowboys over Rams: Home field, T.O. keeps getting the ball, and Bulger is already looking toward next year's rebuilding process around his enormous paycheck...

Bears over Lions: Grossman will not start. If he does, Lions will win. But Lovie would be a moron to start Grossman...it could mean his OWN paycheck if he does. And the Bears proved numerous times last year: they don't need Grossman to win.

Raiders over Dolphins: I hate picking games like this one...both want to win desperately, I should go with home field, but I just can't in this case.

Packers over Vikings: Some people think something special is happening in Green Bay. I do, anyway. Favre is finally playing like a real quarterback, and is actually enjoying it. We'll miss that old gunslinger...

Seahawks over 49ers: Not gonna pick against my home team this week.

Panthers over Bucs: Not gonna pick the Bucs...again. They have to lose someday...

Colts over Broncos: Please, can anybody beat these guys? Even on an off-day?

Steelers over Cardinals: If Warner is starting, Arizona might actually have a chance.

Chargers over Chiefs: San Diego should start clicking right about now.

Giants over Eagles: If last week was something people took seriously about Philly, that means this is the upset game of the week.

Patriots over Bengals: It's gonna be one of their tougher games as of late, but NE will pull it off.

He was a spry 84 years old. He just finally ran out of rope. He's in a real box now. As you might have expected, he had no last words.

OJ has been formally charged with 10 felonies, including kidnapping. One of the alleged victims suffered a major heart attack and is in critical condition...think about it: if this guy dies, and prosecutors can tie the heart attack to stress caused by this incident, OJ could possibly face manslaughter charges as well.

 

As you might have expected, the Cincinnati Bengals have published a pre-emptive statement to specify that OJ Simpson is NOT on their active roster.

 

In related news, knowledgeable sources who wish not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation claim that the Dallas Cowboys are engaged in preliminary negotiations with OJ's agent.

I must have miscounted...according to my sheet at the Peter King Challenge, I actually picked 11 games correctly for week 2, not 10. That's nice, but it doesn't win me a TV. It's early, but here are my week 3 predictions:

 

Packers over Chargers: Upset game of the week, but the Pack is on a roll and playing at home.

Vikings over Chiefs: Hard to call this one, but Minnesota should correct some mistakes, and KS just seems to be lost right now.

Patriots over Bills: NE's second string will start the second half, third string will get some playing time, too. They should include their practice squad during the last couple of drives just for shits-n-grins (cheerleaders are just too delicate, even for the Bills)

Jets over Dolphins: I hate picking between two high-expectation teams that have underperformed. Going with home field advantage on this one.

Lions over Eagles: Am I insane? Do I really think for the third week in a row that Detroit will win, and go 3-0 for the first time in my lifetime? I watched the Eagles on Monday night, so the answer is "yes"...about the win, not the insanity part...

Steelers over 49ers: Pittsburgh will have a pretty good answer for Gore.

Rams over Bucs: Don't understand how the Bucs beat the Saints last week, but the Rams are due.

Ravens over Cardinals: Arizona took advantage of the fact that Seattle didn't show up in the first half...and almost lost after going up 17-0 anyway. That scenario isn't going to happen against Baltimore on their home turf.

Colts over Texans: Houston started hot this year, but they're no match for Indy.

Jaguars over Broncos: It took Denver getting a FG in OT to beat the Raiders...what is up with them?

Browns over Raiders: Last week, lightning struck. This week, they're confident...and their former second-string QB is doing great.

Bengals over Seahawks: Cincinnati scored a ton of points last week...Seattle's D isn't as good on the field as they are on paper, and they can't score a ton of points.

Falcons over Panthers: Hard one to call, going with home field advantage again.

Redskins over Giants: Don't know what's wrong with NY, and Washington is coming off an emotional MNF win and playing at home.

Cowboys over Bears: No such thing as "Bad Tony", and T.O. is getting the ball a lot lately

Titans over Saints: They were in the game against the Colts all the way to the end before losing by 2 points, and Young is getting better every week. Brees just seems frustrated.

 

Last week I got 10 out of 16. I was way off on the Colts/Saints game, and I shouldn't let my emotions pick another team over the Cowboys.

 

Yes, I realize this week's prediction is being published just before MNF, but I was too busy to blog over the weekend. I'm not going to sugar-coat it (re: fib about it): so far I have 9 out of 15, and if the 'skins win tonight, I'll have a second week in a row of 10 out of 16. Here's the quick list, sans most comments:

 

Bengals over Browns: I doubt anyone thought that Cleveland could beat Cincinnatti by six points. The odds are astronomical that they could do it, but have to score 51 points to get that win.
Colts over Titans: This game was a LOT closer than I thought it would be.
49ers over Rams
Giants over Packers
Steelers over Bills
Saints over Bucs: What the heck happened here?
Texans over Panthers: Can you believe I picked Houston? After Week 1, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Jaguars over Falcons
Lions over Vikings: I picked Detroit two weeks in a row...and they won two weeks in a row.
Cowboys over Dolphins
Seahawks over Cardinals: 'hawks didn't play most of the first half, down by 17 unanswered points, and still could have won it in the second half...except for one bonehead play
Bears over Chiefs
Broncos over Raiders: Why did this game go to OT for the win?
Jets over Ravens
Patriots over Chargers: I really did actually make this prediction before the spygate thang happened
Redskins over Eagles

Apparently, there's a report that somebody put out a contract to whack Britney's ex. Who on earth would do such a thing? I mean, c'mon, he didn't win the Emmy for Best Actor...

 

OJ couldn't go on the book tour...and charge exhorborant fees for an autographed copy...but he obviously still wanted the exposure during the book's release. As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and being held without bail means OJ is staying in Vegas...

 

Paris Hilton squashed rumors that she's considering adopting kids by saying "That's retarded". Considering the statement is coming from an expert on "retarded", she must be telling the truth.

Let's see if I can do better than last season in picking the winners...as last year, no scores, just Win/Loss.

 

Saints over Colts: The Saints have a powerful offense, and the Colts lost a large chunk of their key defensive players...plus, there's that old "Super Bowl hangover" thang. Should be a great TNF opener, tho'.

Broncos over the Bills: Cutler had the camps and pre-season with the #1 offense, and he's ready to make things happen.

Steelers over Browns: Quinn isn't starting...if he gets plugged in for the second half, I reserve the right to change this one.

Packers over Eagles: Favre was in excellent shape to begin last year, and still in great shape this year...and the Pack really needs to start off on the right foot this season.

Rams over Panthers: Just a feeling

Falcons over Vikings: Both are rebuilding, but Harrington got all the work in the preseason and his coach knows how to utilize a QB like him.

Patriots over Jets: This game should be over half-way thru the 3rd quarter.

Redskins over Dolphins: Like I said months ago, Miami was this year's version of the Houston Texans at the 2007 draft. 

Titans over Jaguars: Really too close to call, but I think the sudden win streak last year after putting Young in at QB wasn't a fluke.

Chiefs over Houston: KS's coach finally got the message: Huard can actually play...and win. Schaub is behind mostly the same offensive line that David Carr had...Schaub will find himself on his back a few times.

Lions over Raiders: Oakland is starting McCown, obviously because he was a QB for the Lions last year and might be able to exploit their defense. However, this is the Raiders we're talking about...and Kitna threw an astounding 4208 yards for the Lions last year while McCown spent every game on the bench, and Kitna now has yet another awesome weapon in rookie Calvin Johnson.

Chargers over Bears: Chargers have a new coaching staff, but it's a home game...and Rex is just too fickle.

Seahawks over Bucs: Plummer still hasn't officially retired...but he's also officially not playing for the Bucs. Chucky is going to have visible veins bulging on his forehead.

Giants over Cowboys: Yeah, this is just because T.O. is a blowhard.

Ravens over the Bengals: Baltimore is just too tough on defense.

49ers over Cardinals: this could be a snoozer MNF game, or it could be one of the most entertaining. I really want the Cardinals to win, just to gets their hopes up, but I can't pick based on my personal desire...Frank Gore will be unstoppable for their defense.

It is the eve of the 2007 season. Last year I did pretty well on weekly predictions (moreso at the beginning of the year). But more important than my predictions is the fact that Terrell Owens' mouth is officially open for business. Let's decipher what he said today, shall we?

 

 

 - will he explode on his near-rookie quarterback when Romo realizes Terry Glenn was Bledsoe's favorite for a reason?

 - will he explode on the media when they question all the dropped balls...intentional or otherwise?

 - will he let his agent do the exploding for him for [insert whiny excuse here]

 - does he really think we DON'T expect yet another explosive year from the magnanimous T.O.?

 

 

Yes, we all know that Romo is no longer the holder for field goals. Good luck!

 

 

Translation: I should have a) got off that damn bike, and b) held on to that damn ball

 

 

Translation: "He ain't the Giant's head coach yet"

 

 

Technically, humans are animals as well. Why, if I may be so bold, a few ladies have referred to me as such in my more youthful days...but I digress, this isn't about me, or about hunting humans. Let's point out how small a difference it is...

 

 - the feds, when searching Vick's property, didn't find the heads of pit bulls mounted on his wall

 - Vick's breeders license did not have a rider stating that he was legally allowed to hunt dogs

 - said dogs were not born free, nor lived natural lives before their fateful end...they were bred and born in captivity to fight and/or die (emphasis on "die"...many didn't get the privilege to fight, like humans get the privilege to play in the NFL)

 - most deer do not die by the noose, electrocution, drowning, or WWE-style bodyslams...those that do are purely by accident (wink-wink)

 

Otherwise, yeah...no big difference.

 

 

Yeah, but...name a player involved in illegal activity who inferred that his quarterback was gay in a magazine interview; or besides Keyshawn Johnson, got his paycheck taken away and told to stay home on Sundays when he was perfectly eligible and healthy to play.

 

 

Translation: mom said it's perfectly OK to be an asshole. It's not OK to be a criminal asshole.

 

 

Okay..."Saint Asshole". Has a ring to it, dontcha think?

 

 

For some reason, I just can't come up with a politically incorrect joke for "butter the popcorn"

 

 

Yeah, and there's 25 million other reasons things went "stale" last year...

 

 

Too late...

 

 

Yep, the old "I found Jesus" routine. Normally used by those ultra-famous individuals who have suddenly found themselves in either rehab or jail, but it's never too early for some to win a little public sympathy. At least he did better at quoting the bible than Paris Hilton...which seriously isn't saying a whole lot...