Oct 24 2008
Week 8
Last week, the NFL’s standings continued to tighten in the middle. There are 12 teams, with records of 4-3, 3-3 or 3-4. The Bills showed they were legit, as they trashed San Diego. Tenneessee continued to run wild against lesser opponents and Carolina made a statement against New Orleans.
- Infectiongate - The knee injury to Tom Brady is taking a turn for the worse, and it has now been reported that he has had several “clean-up” surgeries to address infections. Rumor is the Patriots are now in “told you so” mode after Brady bucked their doctors to use his own for the initial surgery. If Brady does indeed need to have the surgery redone, then he’s likely to miss part of next season too, and the Patriots might finally be seeing the end of their good fortune.
- Infectiongate part 2 - “Gasp” Kellen Winslow had the audacity to voice his displeasure over the Browns handling of his “mysterious illness”. Whether it was by his choice or the Browns choice that the initial reports of cause of his illness were not reported is of little concern. What is of serious concern is the fact the Browns have had at least 6 cases of staph infection. Here’s part of Winslow’s statements “They didn’t even want me going to the Cleveland Browns’ facility because they didn’t want me to get re-infected. Something is wrong up there. It needs to be fixed.” I’m sorry if I was running the Browns, rather then getting all upset over Winslow’s comments, I’d stop sending my players to a place, even my own facility, if they were at risk for worsening conditions. Would you send your child back to a doctors’ office, after going there for the a previous treatment, she came home with staph?
- Know your role… After hearing of Winslow’s suspension, it occurred to me that this season there especially seems to be hard stances taken on anything which “causes embarassment to the league”. I’m not talking about the Larry Johnson spitting in a woman’s face type incidents. I’m talking about the celebration fines, the suspensions like Winslow’s and the “we want you to play hard, but not ever hurt anyone” fines. I’ve mentioned these things before, but I think the league is going too far. Chris Johnson of the Titans was fined 10k for celebrating a touchdown by banging on some drums which were used by the Chiefs to motivate their fans. Really, is this type of thing bothering anyone?
- Farve in the middle - Seems like Brett just can’t play football. He supposedly had contact with the Vikings while “retired”. Then he was giving Matt Millen insider info on how to beat the Packers. And to top it off he was giving medical advice to Tony Romo. He’d like everyone to think these are pure fabrications, but I think there is a nugget of truth in each story. The next rumor about him may be that he was in the bathroom with Pacman and his bodyguard. Or that he texting Matt Jones when he was getting high. Maybe it will come out, that he was instrumental in the fall of Communism in the 80s. Come to think of it, since he’s now Dr. Farve, maybe he did the surgery on Brady. It would be one way to push the Jets to the top of the AFC East
Picks:
Last Week, Antonio 2-4, Kali 5-1
Overall: Antonio 15-14, Kali 15-14
San Diego at New Orleans:
Kali: How the NFL picked of all cities New Orleans to lose a home game to London is ridiculous. The city just a few years removed from Katrina needs all revenue it can get. This is a disgrace. Pick: No Pick as a protest
Antonio: I’m with Kali on this one. This is a long way for teams to travel for little benefit. Saints lose a home game (a big advantage as a dome team) and the Chargers were scheduled like this @ Miami (East coast), vs Patriots (big rival), @ Buffalo (East coast) then off to London. Think they are going to be charged up to play this week? Pick: None, protesting as well
Indianapolis at Tennessee:
Kali: I keep expecting for the old Indianapolis to show up. But as I look at them play and their battered offensive line, I’m not sure if that is possible. And going against the physical Titans on both sides of the ball will not start their road back. Pick: Tennessee
Buffalo at Miami:
Antonio: Miami is playing better then expected, and Buffalo has it rolling. But they are coming off a big win at home versus San Diego, with the Jets coming up next week. Can they possibly take Miami lightly? Yes, but I don’t think they’ll actually lose it. Pick: Buffalo
Arizona at Carolina:
Kali: These two teams represent more than any the difference between how teams play at home and on the road. If either of these teams get home field advantage through the playoffs they could make it to the Super Bowl. But that is unlikely because when either go on the road they usually play so poorly. This game is in Carolina, nothing more needs to be said. Pick: Carolina
Cleveland at Jacksonville:
Antonio: The Browns suckered me with that win against the Giants. I didn’t believe in them too much after that, but I thought maybe they’d had enough momentum to knock off Washington. Well I’m not falling for them again. They stink, their QB stinks, their coach stinks and their medical staff stinks. Pick: Jacksonville
Washington at Detroit:
Kali: This is one of those games where the Redskins have to make a statement. Right now Detroit is a bad team without a lot of top-notch talent. The Redskins must show their mettle and dominate this game.
Pick: Redskins by 10+. If they don’t win by that much, I’m taking it as a loss.
Antonio: Good I get to write Kali in a loss. The Redskins just don’t blow anyone out. However, they play a solid consistent brand of football. They’ve relied heavily on Clinton Portis, so I fully expect him to have a big day. Pick: Redskins
Atlanta at Philadelphia:
Antonio: The Eagles are 9-0 the week after a bye in the Andy Reid era. They’ve always used it to get their game on track (they tend to also lose the game before a bye). I doubt things will change this week, despite Matt Ryan. Pick: Eagles
Kali: I guess nobody in Atlanta is missing Mike Vick anymore. Matt Ryan has been an early surprise and the defense has exceptional. But going to Philly off a bye week, with a rookie QB and the return of a healthy Brian Westbrook doesn’t bode well. Pick: Philly
Tampa Bay at Dallas:
Kali: The Cowboys are in a tailspin, injuries have been the excuse given. But even with a healthy Romo they hadn’t been playing well. I don’t like Brad Johnson, he’ll be unable to move the ball against the Bucs defense. Pick: Tampa Bay
Antonio: I thing in some weird way I have to give credit to Tony Romo. I’m one of his critics, I’ll admit it. However, they are clearly a different team with him. They have a chance to win any game with him. Clearly, the way they were abused last week by the Rams shows the drop off. Pick: Tampa Bay
NY Giants at Pittsburgh:
Antonio: Ben Rothelisberger is the NFL’s most sacked QB over the past few years, and now he’s going against a team which is second in the league in sacks. Pittsburgh will be at home, but I think they are going to have trouble against the Giants this week. Pick: Giants
Kali: The battle of Eli and Big Ben will be the highly publicized part of this match-up. But I’m more interested in the Pittsburgh run defense vs. Brandon Jacobs. Jacobs is becoming one of the most physical runners in the league. But the return of “Fast” Willie Parker makes the difference.
Pick: Pittsburgh
