I was delayed reporting on this weekend's picks because I had not completed my assignment of writing 1000 times on the blackboard "I will not take mediocre teams on the road." Ignoring this basic rule cost me big time this week. I ended up 2-2, but in the gambling world that is not break even, thanks to the vig and I don't mean Viggo Mortenson. I mean the vigorish, the risk 110 to make 100 nature of betting that keeps guys like Tony Soprano living large and the average bettor in the red. Can you imagine how hard trading would be if the broker added 10% to each losing trade? Of course, most of us add a lot more than that by failing to cut losers short, but that's another story ( and another 1000 lines on the blackboard.)
Anyway, this was the weekend of the Bays. Tampa Bay and Green Bay won big for my two wins, and SF, the City by the Bay, managed to beat the sorry, no-account Bengals for one of my losses. Seattle, another city by a bay, showed again why they will join the Steelers as early outs in the playoffs by managing to lose 10-13 at Carolina and giving me my other loss in the process.
Lesson here is simple. Why go with a crap team like the Bengals, no matter how weak the opposition? They will find a way to lose. And why go with a sissy team like the Seahawks, when they have already proved that they suck on the road unless they are playing a doormat, which I did think Carolina was. I have always thought Mike Holmgren was way overrated as a coach, and this season has done nothing to change my mind. Put them in the NFC East, and they wouldn't win a game.
Speaking of the NFC East, the divison that invented smashmouth football, last night's Redskins-Giants game was ugly, but there was plenty of hitting. Jeremy Shockey went out with a broken leg, Skins lB Rocky MacIntosh suffered a knee injury, skins corner Fred Smoot apparently knocked himself out when he decided to blow up 270 RB Brandon Jacobs. He flew off Jacobs like he hit a speeding dump truck. The best hit of the night was the crusher Skins S Laron Landry laid on Plaxico Burress. He separated Burress from the ball and probably a few body parts and knocked him 5 yards out of bounds. I give Burress credit for catching a couple of balls after that. Plenty of wideouts would have found a way not to get open again.
Tonight's Vikings-Bears clash should feature plenty of hitting. The Vikes are suddenly bigtime, but the Bears specialize in shutting down the run game. Who will be the difference-maker, Devin hester or Adrian Peterson?
There were a number of notable games yesterday, none bigger than the Jacksonville-Pittsburg streetfight. I liked the Jags and said so, but the Steelers usually are invincible at home. I guess no one mentioned that to the Jags, as they gave the Steelers a lesson in running the football.
The Cowboys laid an egg in front of Jessica Simpson and fell to the Iggles 10-6. After shredding Philly in the team's first meeting, TO was a non-factor yesterday, but in fairness, so was the rest of his team. Not a good showing for what is supposed to be the NFC's best team. I feel lucky to have decided to avoid this game because I thought the Boys would duplicate their earlier thumping of the Eagles. Now they have produced two consecutive dud games. Maybe they are not so great after all.
The Cowboys dud game last week came against Detroit, which made me a bit gun-shy for their game yesterday against SD. If they could hang with the Boys, surely they had a chance against a SD team that was lucky to beat Tennessee. No way. SD is suddenly hitting on all cylinders and ran it up on the Lions, 51-14. Will Norv Turner have the last laugh?
I suggested last week that NE would be hard-pressed to cover the 22 point spread against the Jets, and they didn't. Ditto, Indy, which got by Oakland by the margin of 21-14 and didn't cover the 10 point spread.
