K2? Is that Winslow jr? I didn't see the game, but I did see the play where the Browns were on the Pats 2 and Anderson threw a pick in the end zone. You're saying they also gave up a TD on a fumble? And the Pats cover by 1/2? I think I'm going to demand a league investigation.
The National Football League-that was the week that was
- Thread starter AAAintheBeltway
- Start date
K2? Is that Winslow jr? I didn't see the game, but I did see the play where the Browns were on the Pats 2 and Anderson threw a pick in the end zone. You're saying they also gave up a TD on a fumble? And the Pats cover by 1/2? I think I'm going to demand a league investigation.
Yeah - K2 is Winslow.
He caught a pass on a drive late in the game that was questionable if he even had possession. Ball was stripped and returned for a TD, just in time to cover the spread by .5....
Hmmm.....
The overall parity in the NFL is insane. And the books are sooooo good....no person in his right mind should bet on those games. But ....that's assuming that making money is your object.
Enough chit chat. Let's look at the weekend's games. The word that jumps out at me is blowout. Seven games were decided by double digit margins, four by nineteen or better.
The other thought that jumps to mind is that when a power team is able to exert its will against a finesse team, the result can be an ugly beatdown. The Redskins and Steelers thoroughly dominated the Lions and Seahawks, two decent teams that got a taste of East Coast smashmouth. The Chargers, which had the dominant run game in the league a year ago, exploded against Denver. The combined scores of these three games was 96-6.
The Pats-Cleveland game was a classic example of why it is hard to give a lot of points, even though that ended up being the winning side. Cleveland giftwrapped one TD for NE on a takeaway and threw away another for themselves with an endzone interception from the 2. 14 point swing on a 16 1/2 point game. Pats won by 17. Lot of nails on the North Shore bitten down to the quick.
Truth be told, I was very tempted to take the Lions and the points against the Redskins. Glad I resisted. The Redskins defense blanketed the Lions highly touted receivers. The front four batted Kitna around so much that by the fourth quarter, he looked like Rex Grossman tossing it up for grabs. The Lions were still very much in the game midway through the second half, trailing 14-3 and in possession inside their own 10. In quick order, they managed to give up a safety, a long punt return, then throw two INTs, the last returned for a TD.
In other games picked here last week, the Giants and Colts both covered easily, leaving only the Cleveland disaster to marr my sheet. 2-1 this week. Add that to my 5-1 from last week, and I'm tempted to either quit and rest on my laurels or move to vegas and pursue this full time.
The other thought that jumps to mind is that when a power team is able to exert its will against a finesse team, the result can be an ugly beatdown. The Redskins and Steelers thoroughly dominated the Lions and Seahawks, two decent teams that got a taste of East Coast smashmouth. The Chargers, which had the dominant run game in the league a year ago, exploded against Denver. The combined scores of these three games was 96-6.
The Pats-Cleveland game was a classic example of why it is hard to give a lot of points, even though that ended up being the winning side. Cleveland giftwrapped one TD for NE on a takeaway and threw away another for themselves with an endzone interception from the 2. 14 point swing on a 16 1/2 point game. Pats won by 17. Lot of nails on the North Shore bitten down to the quick.
Truth be told, I was very tempted to take the Lions and the points against the Redskins. Glad I resisted. The Redskins defense blanketed the Lions highly touted receivers. The front four batted Kitna around so much that by the fourth quarter, he looked like Rex Grossman tossing it up for grabs. The Lions were still very much in the game midway through the second half, trailing 14-3 and in possession inside their own 10. In quick order, they managed to give up a safety, a long punt return, then throw two INTs, the last returned for a TD.
In other games picked here last week, the Giants and Colts both covered easily, leaving only the Cleveland disaster to marr my sheet. 2-1 this week. Add that to my 5-1 from last week, and I'm tempted to either quit and rest on my laurels or move to vegas and pursue this full time.
I neglected to mention another significant game, The Bears at GB. GB was a 3 point favorite, and I thought they should have been more like a 5 considering how poorly the Chicago offense has played. But GB turned it over four times, and the Bears are not without weapons on offense. Having vet Brian Griese under center for a second week no doubt helped as well. The Bears earned a very satisfying 27-20 road win.
I would advise quit. Betting after the fourth or fifth game of the year is compulsive and is a no "win prop."
Otherwise.
I have a feeling that after a few years you'll be living in North Vegas working at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. No offense of course.
Otherwise.
I have a feeling that after a few years you'll be living in North Vegas working at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. No offense of course.
The Redskins-Lions game left me convinced about the folly of wasting very high draft picks on receivers. The Lions have famously drafted that year's rock star receiver for seemingly the last five or six years. Two, I believe, are still on their roster. Roy Williams caught three passes yesterday for 36 yards. Calvin Johnson, all 6-5, 235 pounds, 4.3 40, caught one pass for three whole yards. 37 year old Keenan McCardell, who the 'Skins signed last week for the veteran's minimum, caught two passes for 39 yards.
The league's recent history is filled with high draft pick receivers who do little or nothing. Others are solid players but has any team won a Super Bowl recently because they had drafted a receiver in the first 10 picks? Doubtful.
The other place not to waste a high pick is RB. The talents that make a back great in college do not always translate. In the NFL the most important quality for a RB is toughness and the ability not to get hurt. Dazzling quickness is great but can you pick up a blitzing LB? Let's face it, for the most part there is little difference between the RBs of virtually every team. Plus, their careers are short because of the pounding they take. Luckily, this is among the easiest positions for a rookie to learn. Plenty of guys have come into the league and contributed immediately.
Where you do want to use high picks is both lines and CB. A dominating offensive line makes a decent RB and QB look like All Pros. A great D line makes your LBs and DBs look like All Pros. Great O linemen tend to have extremely long careers, a nice bonus since the position values experience.
The conventional wisdom of course is that a high pick must be used to select a franchise QB. The list of successful franchise QB's picked very high in the draft is a short one, basically Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Brett Farve and Carson Palmer. Phillip Rivers may be one day. Eli Manning? Slightly better than journeyman is more likely. Tom Brady was a sixth round pick. Tony Romo was a free agent.
The league's recent history is filled with high draft pick receivers who do little or nothing. Others are solid players but has any team won a Super Bowl recently because they had drafted a receiver in the first 10 picks? Doubtful.
The other place not to waste a high pick is RB. The talents that make a back great in college do not always translate. In the NFL the most important quality for a RB is toughness and the ability not to get hurt. Dazzling quickness is great but can you pick up a blitzing LB? Let's face it, for the most part there is little difference between the RBs of virtually every team. Plus, their careers are short because of the pounding they take. Luckily, this is among the easiest positions for a rookie to learn. Plenty of guys have come into the league and contributed immediately.
Where you do want to use high picks is both lines and CB. A dominating offensive line makes a decent RB and QB look like All Pros. A great D line makes your LBs and DBs look like All Pros. Great O linemen tend to have extremely long careers, a nice bonus since the position values experience.
The conventional wisdom of course is that a high pick must be used to select a franchise QB. The list of successful franchise QB's picked very high in the draft is a short one, basically Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Brett Farve and Carson Palmer. Phillip Rivers may be one day. Eli Manning? Slightly better than journeyman is more likely. Tom Brady was a sixth round pick. Tony Romo was a free agent.
Brett Favre was chosen in the 2nd round (33rd overall) which is high, but certainly does not have the stigma of a first rounder.
Plus the commissioner at the time mispronounced his name,
Plus the commissioner at the time mispronounced his name,
My mistake. I didn't actually recall exactly where he was drafted but I didn't realize it was second round. That makes my point even stronger. Picking a franchise QB is not as easy as it sounds.
And what about Timmy Couch AAA?
I agree with you 100%. Everything starts with the OL and DL. And we are seeing it here in Cleveland - we actually have a decent OL this year, and just like magic we have a decent RB and QB...
And our DL is pathetic and just like that, we give up big runs and passes.
Unfortunately an OL or DL pick is not sexy and fans usually want the sexy pick. I was surprised that the Browns stuck with Joe Thomas with all the talk here about Quinn, Russell, Peterson, Johnson, etc.
I agree with you 100%. Everything starts with the OL and DL. And we are seeing it here in Cleveland - we actually have a decent OL this year, and just like magic we have a decent RB and QB...
And our DL is pathetic and just like that, we give up big runs and passes.
Unfortunately an OL or DL pick is not sexy and fans usually want the sexy pick. I was surprised that the Browns stuck with Joe Thomas with all the talk here about Quinn, Russell, Peterson, Johnson, etc.