Here are a few quick NFL Picks and I will update the totals before I post my College Bowl Picks, where I will pick EVERY bowl game against the spread.
Four Star:
Dallas -10 @ Detroit
Minnesota -8.5 @ San Francisco
Three Star:
Oakland @ Green Bay -10
Cleveland -3.5 @ NY Jets
Miami @ Buffalo -7
Goodness gracious, I am sick of the 1972 Miami Dolphins. What a self-absorbed group of jackasses these guys are. Every year we a bombarded with these jokers until the last team in the NFL loses a game and then the former Dolphins get together and knock back some champagne and celebrate their undefeated season. Don’t get me wrong, going undefeated in the NFL is an incredible feat and should be celebrated, but this is getting out of hand.
Today on SportsCenter, Mercury Morris (running back for the ‘72 Dolphins) was a guest when they were discussing the Patriots run at the record. This idiot has written a song about going undefeated. This 60 year old man was on SportsCenter today rapping. Yes, that is right, a 60 year old “adult” was on national television rapping about his team going undefeated 35 years ago. Now, I am not necessarily a fan of rap, but I feel rather confident in saying that it flat out sucked.
I just wish these guys would fade away into the limelight and quietly be proud of their accomplishment. I know that it is being made a bigger deal after each Patriots win, in addition to the fact that they are the first real legitimate threat to the perfect season in quite some time. I have just grown tired of the act and it could continue for roughly two more months if the Patriots make it all the way to the Super Bowl undefeated.
So, I will be rooting for the Pats to run the table unless they run into the Titans in the AFC Championship Game or the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Imagine the absurdity if the Dolphins are the ones to knock off the Patriots to ruin the perfect season meanwhile ending their chances of running the table in reverse. What a nightmare that would be.
Sorry, Cowboys fans who read this, but I thought that I would throw something out that I looked up today. This morning on my drive in I was thinking about what it would be like for the Cowboys to have Ed Reed roaming the secondary. So, I looked up his draft class and noticed that Ed Reed was in the same draft class as Roy Williams. Roy Williams was the 8th pick in the NFL Draft and Ed Reed went 24th to the Ravens. It is absolutely astounding that Roy Williams was drafted 16 picks ahead of Ed Reed. What a joke.
Anyway, think about what that secondary would look like with Ed Reed back there instead of “Toast.”
The Ravens almost ruined the Patriots perfect season in a great Monday Night Football game. At the end of the game the Patriots were able to put together a drive to win the game, but that really seemed to be a part of the story of the night. Three Ravens players were a part of “The U’s” fraternity and vowed to play in the honor of their fallen friend, Sean Taylor.
Ray Lewis, Willis McGahee, and Ed Reed all played at the University of Miami like Taylor did. McGahee and Reed were teammates of Taylor’s. During the broadcast of the game last night ABC showed a clip of them together dedicating their performance in the memory of Sean Taylor, and what a performance it was. McGahee looked like the best running back in the league as he went for 138 yards on 30 carries. At times last night McGahee looked like a man possessed. It was an emotional effort that was dedicated to a player who was possessed with the desire to be the best possible football player everytime he stepped on the field.
Ed Reed and Ray Lewis were what they always are when they play defense, BAD ASS. Ray Lewis is my favorite linebacker in the NFL because when he gets to the football he gets there with a bad attitude. Ed Reed intercepted a pass, but then during a great return fumbled the ball. He finished with two tackles, the interception, and two pass break ups. Both guys are intense and fierce competitors who play the game they way that it should be played.
I haven’t ever been a fan of the Miami Hurricanes, but tend to root for their players when they get to the NFL. The mention of Ray Lewis being the “Godfather” of the players from “The U” was a great analogy because he really is the guy that carries that torch. It is an interesting fraternity and I think that it would be great if all of the big time colleges had that sort of unity amongst former teammates even after they have moved on from their respective universities.
Baltimore did not beat the Patriots last night, but three players put on a display of love and emotion for a fallen brother that was rather impressive.
Four StarsUCLA @ USC -19Tennessee +7 v. LSU at Atlanta, GeorgiaNavy -13.5 v. Army at Baltimore, Maryland Three StarsMissouri +3 v. Oklahoma at San Antonio, Texas Two StarsCal -13 @ Stanford
Well, this one is easily my favorite game of the year to watch and we are just minutes away from kickoff. I wanted to make sure to get my pick in on this one before kickoff. I served four years in the Navy and this game has special meaning to me. So, just in time for kickoff I’ll go with Navy -13.5 for Four Stars.
It has been a long week at work so I am far behind and I’ll get the rest of this weekends picks up shortly.
In a tragic turn of events Sean Taylor, 24, passed away this morning from a gun shot wound to the leg that he suffered Sunday night in an apparent home invasion. Taylor was a safety for the Washington Redskins, a former Hurricane, and a father to an 18 month old daughter.
Those who follow football know that he had been into some trouble over the last few years with the law, but had appeared to turn the corner in understanding the role of being an honorable member of society. Everyone who knew Sean Taylor stated that with the birth of his daughter he was a changed person and was enjoying the life of being a father.
I could go on and on about what I thought of Sean Taylor as a football player. Tough, respected, physical tackler, and most athletically gifted player at his position in the league. Simply, he and Ed Reed were my two favorites to watch roam the secondary in the league. Though tonight I would rather comment on the transformation he was in the process of making as a person.
We all make mistakes in life. We run with the wrong crowd, disregard the advice of our elders, and disrespect our peers; but it is those that who learn from their mistakes that have the ability to make the strongest statements to those around them. Sean Taylor was involved in guns, less than admirable running buddies, and had a blatant disrespect for many who had come before him, then his daughter came into his life and he had a knew lease on life. By all accounts, was a great father who loved his daughter with all of his heart and learned that the path that he was on could lead to the results of Sunday night. He made up his mind to get out of that lifestyle and turned to being a better football player, teammate, and human being.
To anyone who has faced hardships in life and fought through them this story is heartbreaking. When you are at your lowest points in life you group together all of your optimism and hope for the type of rebuilding that Sean Taylor was putting together. To see it taken away so quickly and senselessly is a tough pill to swallow, but you can only imagine that Sean and many others like him would want you to push through to live out the fruits of your optimism.
God bless to Sean Taylor, his daughter, family, friends and teammates in their time of need.
R.I.P. Sean Taylor
With the excitement of Ricky’s return I thought that I would do a little live blogging. I’ll update some thoughts on the game and Ricky’s performance and post them each quarter.
1st Quarter:
- What a sloppy field. Not sure what they were thinking in Pittsburgh trying to replace a field w/in the same week and not pulling up the old one. The field is so sloppy that they don’t even have all the yard markers painted.
- Ricky only got three carries in the first quarter, the first of which got the Dolphins a first down. The second was a two yard gain and then the third went for no gain.
- One thing that I did notice is that on Ricky’s third carry he went off tackle and really did not have solid ground to make his cut. As the players went back to the huddle none of them came over to help Ricky up off of the ground which is quite telling of his status on the team. Offensive lineman have always come to help Ricky up after carries all throughout his career because of the appreciation of the style he runs with. I think a big run or a big hit by Ricky on a defensive player will help spark the appreciation his teammates have for him. It will take some time, but if he performs it will all come around.
2nd Quarter:
- What exactly are these offensive coordinators thinking running reverses and off tackle plays on this field. There is no ability to make cuts or even subtly change direction.
- Ricky had a nice 5 yard gain on first down on his second possession which was followed by the aforementioned reverse. Ricky then fumbled on his next carry and had his shoulder stepped on and came off dragging his shoulder. That could be the end of the Ricky comeback for the night, I sure hope not, but the shoulder didn’t look good.
- It seems as if Tirico and Kornheiser are going to enjoy taking pot shots (no pun intended) at Ricky no matter what he does.
- Well, the Phins were able to stop the Steelers so now they will be coming back out. Sure hope that he can return.
- Back in the game and appears to physically be alright.
- Another carry for a first down, but is dragging the shoulder again.
- He is being taken back for further examination. Damn.
- Pittsburgh is getting some great field position, but really isn’t doing too much with it. Big penalty on the “rub” play to negate a first down.
- Pretty uneventful 2nd quarter and we are at the half with no points on the board for either side.
3rd Quarter:
- Coming out of halftime Cam Cameron told Michelle Tafoya that it appeared that Ricky will be alright, but he is not in the game to start the 2nd half and I’m not sure that he has come out of the locker room.
- It looks as if the rain is letting up and the Dolphins have been able to open it up a little and have put the ball in the air a few times.
- The Dolphins had a nice drive going that got them inside the Steelers 40 yard line before it stalled, but instead of trying to take advantage of field position and punt the ball to pin the Steelers they went for it on a 4th and 15. I mean really, this is the reason that they are 0-10, bad coaching. Instead of playing the field position game in these field conditions they give the Steelers great field position.
- The Steelers did not take advantage of their field position scoring wise, but they decided to punt and have pinned the Dolphins inside the 10 yard line. Let’s see how this changes field position the next time they get the ball.
- Chatman just took a big hit, so without Ricky, I’m not sure what the Dolphins are going to do at running back. I guess it is time for Patrick Cobbs, who off the top of my head is the running back from the University of North Texas.
- This is just simply not looking good for the Dolphins. Injuries, dropped passes, and a rookie QB is not a good recipe for success.
- For the first time I just saw a punt hit the ground and just get stuck. The ball came in nose down and when it landed it just stuck in the mud. That was awesome.
- The Dolphins will get decent field position because the Steelers just attempted a 44 yard field goal that never had a chance. Again, this is the worst playing surface for an NFL game in quite some time.
- Still no points on the board after three quarters. One hour and forty-seven minutes is all that it has taken to play three quarters in an NFL game, they might be on the verge of setting some type of record.
4th Quarter:
- Big play to start the 4th quarter for the Dolphins. Patrick Cobbs is in fact from UNT and has been decent carrying the ball so far.
- Cam Cameron is an idiot. They go for the field goal and get it blocked, but there is a delay of game penalty that actually moves them to a better spot on the field to kick the field goal and he runs the offense out to go for it on 4th and 11. That is just silly. Of course, they did not convert the first down, fumbling instead, and now we continue with a scoreless game. The kicker even tried to explain to him that the penalty moves the ball to a better spot on the field but he ran the offense out anyway. This is why they are 0-10.
- It appears that Ricky Williams is done for the night with an apparent shoulder injury. Cameron said at halftime that Ricky would be fine, but there has been a sign of him even coming out to the sideline in street clothes.
- The rain is back so the field should just continue to get worse.
- The Dolphins are about to give the Steelers great field position as they are punting out of their own endzone.
- The Steelers have the ball down inside the 20 at the two minute warning. It looks as if they are in the clear area for kicking a field goal, with third and three to go. Looks like we might not see overtime tonight.
- The Steelers convert and get the ball down to the six yard line.
- Big Ben almost threw another interception to Joey Porter which would have been ridiculous, but Porter ended up just knocking it down.
- Well, the Steelers get the field goal and this game will end as a 3-0 barn burner. I enjoyed the live blogging though and this might be something that I look into doing more of.
Tonight we will see round two of the Ricky Williams return to the NFL and, unfortunately, the Miami Dolphins. Due to injuries and an abysmal 0-10 record the Dolphins decided to keep Ricky Williams when the commissioner decided to re-instate him after multiple failed drug tests. Tonight, Ricky will be the starting running back on Monday Night Football against the Steelers. This is quite the stage for Ricky to make his return.
No one can be sure what we will see from Ricky tonight, but one can only hope that he has a renewed passion for running the ball and just playing football. When Ricky has that passion he is one of the best running backs in the league. It has been roughly two seasons since Ricky has carried the ball in the NFL so I don’t expect much, but he should have fresh legs though the hits he has to get used to again could take a quicker toll on him.
I am one of Ricky’s biggest fans and have been terribly disappointed in some of the decisions that he has made in his life, but I also feel that Ricky is a good person who made mistakes and paid for them. I have heard a few interviews with Ricky and feel that he knows this is his last shot at making a living playing football and tonight is a great opportunity for general managers around the league to see what he’s got. It could be a great night for not only Ricky, but also the Dolphins because if Ricky has a great game tonight and follows that up with good games the rest of the way it could mean some serious trade value for the Dolphins.
So, tonight I’ll just be happy to see Ricky run the ball and hopefully land a punishing hit or two.
Also, just because it is Ricky Williams news, I’ll add this video to tonights effort:
Well, I am traveling this week and have not been around a computer enough to make my picks. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that my picks can come around. Here we go with some picks. They are all going to be 4 Star picks because I like them all. I will add the system plays later because I don’t have my paper work with me.
Four Stars:
Kansas -1.5 vs. Missouri at Arrowhead in Kansas City
Texas -6.4 @ Texas A&M
SMU @ Memphis -7.5
Georgia -3.5 @ Georgia Tech
Colorado State -3.5 @ Wyoming
Oklahoma State +13.5 @ Oklahoma
So, there they are and I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
