Week 7 Recap
Quick thoughts while recovering from the worst stretch of luck in my life…
n Holy crap. Scott Podsednik – this year’s token “Guy who had one big play and therefore gets the World Series MVP even though there are about five guys who were a lot better but they didn’t have their one shining moment that everyone will remember ten years from now”. Following last year’s winner, Manny Ramirez, who won the MVP even though there was no doubt that Keith Foulke deserved it, if the White Sox go on to win this series (which seems almost inevitable now – the momentum is on Chicago’s side, the Astros don’t have Clemens or Pettite for awhile, and they’re in a 0-2 hole), Podsednik will probably get the MVP is he does nothing more all series than hit .250 with a couple of steals and maybe one exceptional defensive play.
n So… how bad was my weekend? Well, between the wisdom teeth that are cutting through my head again, some horrific luck at a poker tournament Friday, the inability to accomplish even a simple task like getting a haircut Saturday, the car accident that has left my car with about $1200 in damage that I have to pay out of pocket, the excessive drinking that left me with no memory of the night after about 12AM on Saturday, and then the fact that although I went 9-3-1 yesterday in football games, the 3 losses (Seattle, Cincinnati and Houston) were parlayed into every single bet except for one. Let’s go Jets (+13) tonight baby – I need to fix my car!
n Wow – Drew Bledsoe made a critical mistake in judgment late in the fourth quarter of a completely winnable game that ended up costing his team at least a legitimate shot at an overtime win. Personally, I’m stunned. I never saw this one coming…
n When I saw that Seattle interception, I went absolutely nutty in my house. I was praying for a miracle TD by the Seahawks in overtime to cover the –3.5 line, but I would have taken a miracle interception return for a TD in regulation to cover that –3.5. Naturally, Jordan Babbineaux decided to return the ball to the 33 and run out of bounds to set up the game winning field goal.
n Although, the Seattle win wasn’t nearly as damaging to Dallas’ collective psyche as the Chargers’ loss to Philadelphia. I mean, how does a team recover from a loss like that? Their defense held Philly to only 7 points in the first half, and they were going for a field goal to essentially ice the game with just over two minutes in the game. Talk about a reversal of fortune…
n I was impressed with:
o The Giants. Helluva gritty comeback in that game. And, even better, they simply kicked the extra point to win the game by one point, preserving a +2 cover for the Broncos (and myself). And, even more impressive after last week’s ugly loss in Dallas.
o The Vikings. And I can’t believe I’m going to compliment this team. But after all they’ve put themselves through this year (ticket scalping, The Original Whizzinator, and now The Love Boat), was there any team in the NFL that needed a win this week more than them?
o The Chargers. Aside from one blown blocking assignment, they were balanced all day long. In the first half, when the offense couldn’t do anything, the defense wouldn’t allow Philly to get it don either. In the second half, with the defense still holding Philly down, the Chargers’ offense awakened for 17 straight points. Tough loss to take, now the fourth loss on the season, all by 4 points or less.
o The Raiders. With all the talk surrounding Randy Moss, Lamont Jordan and Oakland’s running game became the fourth straight team to dismantle Buffalo’s run defense. How important is Takeo Spikes? Well, in the four weeks since he went down for the year with an injury, the Bills have allowed 122 rushing yards to Jordan, 148 to Curtis Martin, 97 to Ronnie Brown and 130 to Deuce McAllister. Linebackers with Spikes’ ability don’t come along very often – he’s a huge loss.
o The Steelers. Now that’s a statement win. Let’s see how the Bengals respond next week…
o The Rams. No Marc Bulger, no Torry Holt, no Issac Bruce, no Leonard Little, oh, and no Mike Martz at Head Coach? Eh, no problem. St. Louis still found a way to win, controversial or not.
n I was appalled by:
o San Francisco. Is this really the team that upset the Rams in Week 1? Are they just playing out the string for a shot at Reggie Bush #2 overall in the draft? I think Houston’s got a stranglehold on the #1 pick…
o Dallas. Forget the interception itself… why are you even throwing anything that isn’t directly on the sidelines in that situation? There’s 15 seconds left, you have no timeouts, and you call a pass play that, even if caught, is probably going to run out the clock anyway? Geez, might as well just take a knee, go to OT, and take your chances there.
o The entire Ravens/Bears game. Gotta love those 10-6 barnburners… (Actually, I’m more appalled by the fact that I wasn’t allowed to parlay the Under in that game into my bets this week…)
o Indianapolis. No reason that game should have been that close at the half. Nice job of pulling away when it didn’t matter, but 14-14 at the half is completely inexcusable when you’re playing a team like Houston. Besides, if they’d been up by 10 at the half and 17 after the third, they would/could have coasted in the 4th, allowing Houston to cover the +16 line…
o My Fantasy Football personnel decisions. For the better part of the year, I’ve left my team alone, only having to shift players during bye weeks. This week, I lost Marc Bulger and my backup QB, Byron Leftwich, was on a bye. I picked up Josh McCown & Kelly Holcomb, choosing to drop the Browns defense in the process. I started McCown, the Bills defense, and Curtis Martin instead of Holcomb, Cleveland, and Ronnie Brown. Net result? Well, I need Curtis to go for 160 yards and 3 TDs tonight to stay undefeated, which considering the state of Atlanta’s defense, is not out of the question…
I’m sticking by my Jets (+7) pick for tonight, although with the teaser that I still have alive, I’m actually rooting for Jets (+13). Like I said above – I need to fix my car!
Lata.
posted by Big D @ 11:13 AM
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