NFL Week Four Cheat Sheet
Last week's NFL action was wild and crazy, but that wasn't the story. The focus last week was on whether players were kneeling or not during the national anthem. I won't be writing about that this week.
I will acknowledge that our country has significant problems with inequity, race, and the resultant violence that comes from the first two. But I am not pompous enough to assume that I have the correct answer to our problems or that my words would have any positive affect on the situation if I did. If I had the acumen and greatness to solve those issues, I wouldn't be writing this third-rate amateur blog.
And with that said...the Cheat Sheet.
New Orleans Saints at (+3.0) Miami Dolphins (in London): New Orleans could be missing both starting offensive tackles this weekend. Miami, however, is giving up a league-high 8.7 yards per pass play and has a rash of injuries in their linebacker corps. While the Saints 31st ranked defense has been bad, the Dolphins 27th ranked offense, which Coach Adam Gase called "garbage," couldn't do anything last week against the New York Jets. -- SAINTS
Tennessee Titans at (+1.5) Houston Texans: Houston and Tennessee had identical 9-7 records last year, but the Texans were awarded the AFC South title due to their divisional record being better than the Titans, 5-1 to 2-4 respectively. Tennessee is focused on changing that trend. Not only is Titans QB Marcus Mariotta playing well, but RBs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry are averaging greater than five yards a carry for the 2nd ranked rushing offense in the league. -- TITANS
Cincinnati Bengals at (+3.0) Cleveland Browns: The Bengals offense finally got going last week in their loss to the Green Bay Packers. No matter what you think of him personally, Cincinnati LB Vontaze Burfict is a lethal defender and will return to the lineup this week after serving a three-game suspension. Cleveland QB DiShone Kizer has been sacked 10 times and thrown seven interceptions versus only three touchdowns. -- BENGALS
Detroit Lions at (no line) Minnesota Vikings: This is such an even game that Vegas refused to publish a line. Even going without injured QB Sam Bradford for two games, the Vikings have maintained the 2nd best offense in the NFL with Case Keenum manning the quarterback position. The Lions have a ball-hawking defense that has garnered seven interceptions in three games and will pose a stern test for the career backup. -- LIONS
Buffalo Bills at (-8.0) Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta and QB Matt Ryan got passed the Lions last week in spite of Ryan throwing three interceptions. The Bills bring in the top-rated defense with respect to points allowed at 12.3 points per game. Buffalo's problem: their offense is struggling and only scored three points in their last road game. -- FALCONS
Pittsburgh Steelers at (+3.0) Baltimore Ravens: Both of these teams lost last week, but it was the Ravens that looked down right awful in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, 44-7. Over the past three years, Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger is consistently worse on the road than at home. However, he has never quarterbacked the worst offense in the league. Currently, that mantel goes to the Ravens. -- STEELERS
NOTE: The above games were all I had done by 9 a.m. Saturday morning when I was in the middle of the Saturday morning sizzle -- there is always some good eggs and hog at Sowers Acres on the weekend. I had to go into the "hurry-up" offense, because I still had nine games to go and wanted to spend some time making fun of Rick Pitino.
Los Angeles Rams at (-6.0) Dallas Cowboys: Cowboys bounced back from their thrashing at the hands of the Denver Broncos two weeks ago with a solid win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams were also in bounce back mode and beat the San Francisco 49ers...barely. It will be interesting to see what Los Angeles coach Sean McVay has cooked up, since he has had 10 days to prepare. -- COWBOYS
Jacksonville Jaguars at (+3.0) New York Jets: These two teams have me a bit confused. Preseason assessment was both of these teams suck, but they both won last week (which was surprising) and they both won big. Heck, the Jags have a winning record now at 2-1. Jacksonville has a decent running game and the Jets have failed (miserably) to stop the run in two of their three games. By the way, a bunch of road favorites lost last week -- this could end up hurting. -- JAGUARS
Carolina Panthers at (-9.0) New England Patriots: I needed an easy one to save time. Carolina QB Cam Newton has thrown four interceptions to two touchdowns. That's not a good ratio, friends. -- PATRIOTS
NOTE: This is where I am as I just got back from a 10 a.m. run to drop some boys at football practice. I am feverishly working to get this done, because I know you guys are out there constantly refreshing your Facebook app looking for this.
Philadelphia Eagles at (-2.5) Los Angeles Chargers: I got so see the last second field goal victory for the Eagles last week -- that was a cool moment. Chargers have a habit of losing close games, but they lost by 14 to the Kansas City Chiefs in front of their sparse (27,000) home crowd in Los Angeles. There can't be much of a home field advantage here, but, at 0-3, the Chargers have to be desperate enough to get this victory. -- CHARGERS
San Francisco 49ers at (-6.5) Arizona Cardinals: STUPID RUSHED DECISION UPSET ALERT!! The 49ers have had 10 days to prepare, and the Cardinals had one less day to prepare after their Monday night loss at the hands of the Cowboys, 28-17. Arizona can't seem to get a running game going, and San Francisco has RB Carlos Hyde getting better than five yards a carry. -- 49ERS
New York Giants at (-3.0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Another tough one...the Giants offense has had one good quarter all year, but it was the last one they played. The Buccaneers are coming off a disheartening loss to the Vikings and their career, back-up quarterback. If New York QB Eli Manning can recapture some of his historically mediocre capabilities, I think the defense will do the rest. I just picked another road dog. What's the matter with me? -- GIANTS
NOTE: OK, I just got a task added to my To-Do list by the One-and-Only and I still need to figure out where these two soccer games are today. Time to transition from "Hurry Up" to "Lightning Round" offense. Look out, not even looking at data for the next three. I am trained for this. This is why you practice. Don't forget, still got to talk Pitino! Let's do this!
Oakland Raiders at (-3.0) Denver Broncos: Broncos have a great defense and are at home. Raiders started showing some deficiencies last week. -- BRONCOS
Indianapolis Colts at (-13.0) Seattle Seahawks: Haha, this lightning round is too easy. -- SEAHAWKS
Washington Redskins at (-7.0) Kansas City Chiefs: Washington is traditionally bad during prime time games, and Kansas City is one of the few, true home field advantages. -- CHIEFS
Pitino identified as a douche canoe, no one shocked
I told you all in my Reds Road Trip post that Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino was a grade a douche bag. That was when he went all, "I didn't know about the hookers and stuff; I am being persecuted."
Now he is caught up in an NCAA "fraud and corruption" scheme following an FBI sting. Basically, Louisville under Pitino, among many other schools, would work with shoe companies to provide money to recruits and their families to garner commitments from the recruits to play for the old Cardinals. This time Pitino claimed he was "shocked" by the allegations.
Hey, Louisville isn't the only school doing this. I understand that. But Rick Pitino is the only coach who constantly gets in trouble and pulls the "I didn't know; we will fix this" card.
John Feinstein wrote a great piece on college coaches for the Washington Post Sept. 27 where he details how Pitino bragged about his omnipotence with respect to player behavior. According to Feinstein, Pitino claimed, "If one of my players has a beer in Louisville, I know about it."
When you first hear that, you assume Pitino means his guys aren't having beers in Louisville, or he would have said something to the authorities and got those young men in line before things got worse.
In hindsight, I guess he was saying, "I know when they are having beers. They drink them when they are making it rain on all the strippers with all that money we give them from the shoe companies in that dorm I don't go to on weekends."
There is one absolutely great thing about the FBI sting beyond it confirming what I told you months ago about Pitino -- the hilarity on Twitter -- see below. I love ya, gotta go, sorry so rushed, text me about football this weekend!
I will acknowledge that our country has significant problems with inequity, race, and the resultant violence that comes from the first two. But I am not pompous enough to assume that I have the correct answer to our problems or that my words would have any positive affect on the situation if I did. If I had the acumen and greatness to solve those issues, I wouldn't be writing this third-rate amateur blog.
And with that said...the Cheat Sheet.
New Orleans Saints at (+3.0) Miami Dolphins (in London): New Orleans could be missing both starting offensive tackles this weekend. Miami, however, is giving up a league-high 8.7 yards per pass play and has a rash of injuries in their linebacker corps. While the Saints 31st ranked defense has been bad, the Dolphins 27th ranked offense, which Coach Adam Gase called "garbage," couldn't do anything last week against the New York Jets. -- SAINTS
Tennessee Titans at (+1.5) Houston Texans: Houston and Tennessee had identical 9-7 records last year, but the Texans were awarded the AFC South title due to their divisional record being better than the Titans, 5-1 to 2-4 respectively. Tennessee is focused on changing that trend. Not only is Titans QB Marcus Mariotta playing well, but RBs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry are averaging greater than five yards a carry for the 2nd ranked rushing offense in the league. -- TITANS
Cincinnati Bengals at (+3.0) Cleveland Browns: The Bengals offense finally got going last week in their loss to the Green Bay Packers. No matter what you think of him personally, Cincinnati LB Vontaze Burfict is a lethal defender and will return to the lineup this week after serving a three-game suspension. Cleveland QB DiShone Kizer has been sacked 10 times and thrown seven interceptions versus only three touchdowns. -- BENGALS
Detroit Lions at (no line) Minnesota Vikings: This is such an even game that Vegas refused to publish a line. Even going without injured QB Sam Bradford for two games, the Vikings have maintained the 2nd best offense in the NFL with Case Keenum manning the quarterback position. The Lions have a ball-hawking defense that has garnered seven interceptions in three games and will pose a stern test for the career backup. -- LIONS
Buffalo Bills at (-8.0) Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta and QB Matt Ryan got passed the Lions last week in spite of Ryan throwing three interceptions. The Bills bring in the top-rated defense with respect to points allowed at 12.3 points per game. Buffalo's problem: their offense is struggling and only scored three points in their last road game. -- FALCONS
Pittsburgh Steelers at (+3.0) Baltimore Ravens: Both of these teams lost last week, but it was the Ravens that looked down right awful in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, 44-7. Over the past three years, Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger is consistently worse on the road than at home. However, he has never quarterbacked the worst offense in the league. Currently, that mantel goes to the Ravens. -- STEELERS
NOTE: The above games were all I had done by 9 a.m. Saturday morning when I was in the middle of the Saturday morning sizzle -- there is always some good eggs and hog at Sowers Acres on the weekend. I had to go into the "hurry-up" offense, because I still had nine games to go and wanted to spend some time making fun of Rick Pitino.
Los Angeles Rams at (-6.0) Dallas Cowboys: Cowboys bounced back from their thrashing at the hands of the Denver Broncos two weeks ago with a solid win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams were also in bounce back mode and beat the San Francisco 49ers...barely. It will be interesting to see what Los Angeles coach Sean McVay has cooked up, since he has had 10 days to prepare. -- COWBOYS
Jacksonville Jaguars at (+3.0) New York Jets: These two teams have me a bit confused. Preseason assessment was both of these teams suck, but they both won last week (which was surprising) and they both won big. Heck, the Jags have a winning record now at 2-1. Jacksonville has a decent running game and the Jets have failed (miserably) to stop the run in two of their three games. By the way, a bunch of road favorites lost last week -- this could end up hurting. -- JAGUARS
Carolina Panthers at (-9.0) New England Patriots: I needed an easy one to save time. Carolina QB Cam Newton has thrown four interceptions to two touchdowns. That's not a good ratio, friends. -- PATRIOTS
NOTE: This is where I am as I just got back from a 10 a.m. run to drop some boys at football practice. I am feverishly working to get this done, because I know you guys are out there constantly refreshing your Facebook app looking for this.
Philadelphia Eagles at (-2.5) Los Angeles Chargers: I got so see the last second field goal victory for the Eagles last week -- that was a cool moment. Chargers have a habit of losing close games, but they lost by 14 to the Kansas City Chiefs in front of their sparse (27,000) home crowd in Los Angeles. There can't be much of a home field advantage here, but, at 0-3, the Chargers have to be desperate enough to get this victory. -- CHARGERS
San Francisco 49ers at (-6.5) Arizona Cardinals: STUPID RUSHED DECISION UPSET ALERT!! The 49ers have had 10 days to prepare, and the Cardinals had one less day to prepare after their Monday night loss at the hands of the Cowboys, 28-17. Arizona can't seem to get a running game going, and San Francisco has RB Carlos Hyde getting better than five yards a carry. -- 49ERS
New York Giants at (-3.0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Another tough one...the Giants offense has had one good quarter all year, but it was the last one they played. The Buccaneers are coming off a disheartening loss to the Vikings and their career, back-up quarterback. If New York QB Eli Manning can recapture some of his historically mediocre capabilities, I think the defense will do the rest. I just picked another road dog. What's the matter with me? -- GIANTS
NOTE: OK, I just got a task added to my To-Do list by the One-and-Only and I still need to figure out where these two soccer games are today. Time to transition from "Hurry Up" to "Lightning Round" offense. Look out, not even looking at data for the next three. I am trained for this. This is why you practice. Don't forget, still got to talk Pitino! Let's do this!
Oakland Raiders at (-3.0) Denver Broncos: Broncos have a great defense and are at home. Raiders started showing some deficiencies last week. -- BRONCOS
Indianapolis Colts at (-13.0) Seattle Seahawks: Haha, this lightning round is too easy. -- SEAHAWKS
Washington Redskins at (-7.0) Kansas City Chiefs: Washington is traditionally bad during prime time games, and Kansas City is one of the few, true home field advantages. -- CHIEFS
Pitino identified as a douche canoe, no one shocked
I told you all in my Reds Road Trip post that Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino was a grade a douche bag. That was when he went all, "I didn't know about the hookers and stuff; I am being persecuted."
Now he is caught up in an NCAA "fraud and corruption" scheme following an FBI sting. Basically, Louisville under Pitino, among many other schools, would work with shoe companies to provide money to recruits and their families to garner commitments from the recruits to play for the old Cardinals. This time Pitino claimed he was "shocked" by the allegations.
Hey, Louisville isn't the only school doing this. I understand that. But Rick Pitino is the only coach who constantly gets in trouble and pulls the "I didn't know; we will fix this" card.
John Feinstein wrote a great piece on college coaches for the Washington Post Sept. 27 where he details how Pitino bragged about his omnipotence with respect to player behavior. According to Feinstein, Pitino claimed, "If one of my players has a beer in Louisville, I know about it."
When you first hear that, you assume Pitino means his guys aren't having beers in Louisville, or he would have said something to the authorities and got those young men in line before things got worse.
In hindsight, I guess he was saying, "I know when they are having beers. They drink them when they are making it rain on all the strippers with all that money we give them from the shoe companies in that dorm I don't go to on weekends."
There is one absolutely great thing about the FBI sting beyond it confirming what I told you months ago about Pitino -- the hilarity on Twitter -- see below. I love ya, gotta go, sorry so rushed, text me about football this weekend!
I guess organizations of all stripes make the bet that the highs are worth the crashing lows or that potential trumps character. Why else would you tolerate a Pitino, Kiffin, or Calipari? I just checked with my Jim Tressel bobblehead and he agrees with me.
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