Hey gang,
Another short one this week. Lots of stuff to do. The good news is the semester is almost over, so soon I will get back to blogging on here about topics other than football, and the football articles themselves might be longer and more in-depth. At least until the spring semester starts in January, at which time I will once again cease to have a life outside the Newhouse School.
So I forgot to make my picks before the Thanksgiving games. Well, actually I didn't forget. I went online at about 10:30 that morning to make my picks, but I was at my parents' house, and their satellite internet connection is very fickle in the snow, and I was unable to do anything online. I know, bitch, bitch, bitch. Anyway, I would have been right about Tennessee and Dallas (because you would have been out of your mind to pick against either of them) and I'm honestly not sure which way I would have gone in the Philly-Arizona game. On one hand, the Cardinals looked like the better team on paper. On the other hand, the Cardinals (and every other western team) have been unable to win on the east coast, and this was the epitome of the game where Donovan McNabb gets pissed off about people criticizing and questioning him and responds by having a monster game. So the Eagles' "upset" of the Cardinals was not entirely surprising. But would I have predicted it? I'm really not sure. By the way, I think it would be an effective strategy for Eagles coach Andy Reid to notice this pattern and invest most of his time in finding new and creative ways to piss off his quarterback every week.
On to the remaining picks!
San Francisco at Buffalo: THE BILLS. West coast teams play poorly on the east coast (see above). Mind you, I'm not putting too much stock in the Bills scoring 54 points on Kansas City last week. The Chiefs suck out loud, and as happy as I was with the offensive explosion, I was more disturbed that our defense allowed the Chiefs to rack up more than 460 yards of offense against us (we also forced 5 turnovers, but still). So, no, I don't suddenly think the Bills are going to go on a roll and make the playoffs or anything crazy like that, but we should beat the Niners in Buffalo.
Baltimore at Cincinnati: RAVENS. Prove me wrong, Cincinnati, prove me wrong.
Indianapolis at Cleveland: COLTS. Don't look now, but the Colts are back from the dead. (So are the Cowboys. And so are the Patriots, if you think back to the widespread panic and despair felt by Patriots fans after the Brady injury. It's the season of the zombies!)
Carolina at Green Bay: PANTHERS. As previously noted (several times, in fact) I cannot correctly predict the outcome of a Packers game. This is as good as guaranteeing a Green Bay victory. You're welcome, Pete.
Miami at St. Louis: DOLPHINS. What is there to say? The Rams blow.
New Orleans at Tampa Bay: BUCCANEERS. I have a strange feeling I'm wrong about this, but I'm standing by the NFC South home field advantage theory.
New York Giants at Washington: GIANTS. And the juggernaut rolls on...
Atlanta at San Diego: FALCONS. It's a long road trip, but it's not as hard for eastern teams to go west as it is for western teams to go east, and really, how much confidence do you have in the Chargers at this point, even with a significant home field advantage? Should be an interesting match up, as Michael Turner returns to San Diego. Maybe it will inspire LT to have a decent game for once, but I doubt it. Turner will probably outplay LT by a significant margin, prompting several San Diego sports writers to speculate that the team kept the wrong running back (and, they will undoubtedly point out, the wrong quarterback, when they kept Rivers instead of Brees, and maybe they'll even point out that they might have made a mistake when they caved to Eli Manning's demands and traded him to the Giants immediately after drafting him. After all, Manning the Younger has a Super Bowl ring, and appears headed for another. Chargers fans will now become horribly depressed and start drinking bourbon straight from the bottle).
Denver Broncos at Jersey Jets: JETS. They're sons of bitches, but they're good.
Kansas City at Oakland: RAIDERS. And the award for the game watched by the fewest people this week goes to... Chiefs-Raiders!!!! Seriously, the viewership for this game could be in the triple digits. And that includes the people in the stadium.
Pittsburgh at New England: STEELERS. I know, I know. Willie Parker is gimpy, and the Patriots have looked good recently, and we might have another Tom Brady story on our hands with Matt Cassel. But I picked the Steelers to go to the Super Bowl, dammit, and seeing them win this game would make me happy and give the Bills a slightly more realistic chance of making the playoffs, so I'm picking with my heart.
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings: VIKINGS. I understand one thing about this division and one thing only: the Lions are bad. Everything else is a question mark. So I picked the home team. And, coincidentally, the team with the better Adrian Peterson.
Jacksonville at Houston: TEXANS. Another tough to call game. So I went with the home team. And the team with Andre Johnson.
I'm out. Catch ya next week.
-Niztradamus
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
NFL Week 12 Picks
Hey gang,
Just taking some time out from working on the horror story to make this week's NFL picks. For those who are curious, there is still quite a bit of work to be done on the story, and I'm not sure when it will be done. It's turning out to be a bigger project that I thought it would. I hope to finish it before Thanksgiving, but in order to do that, I'll need to devote some serious time to writing in the next four days. So I can't make any promises. But I will say that, whenever it's done, it will be worth the wait. I'm really digging this one.
Good news-- I remembered to pick the Thursday game this week! And I was right! Of course, it was Pittsburgh against Cincinnati, so picking the Steelers wasn't rocket science. On to the rest of the picks.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: STEELERS. I'm 1-0! Hooray!
Carolina at Atlanta: PANTHERS. The Falcons are good. But the Panthers are better. I am somewhat leery of taking the road team here, as home field advantage has been a fairly solid predictor of success in the NFC South this season, but I just think the Cats are good enough to get it done.
Houston at Cleveland: BROWNS. I'd probably take the Texans here if Matt Schaub was playing QB for them, and not Sage Rosenfels. Should be an entertaining game with some good offense.
San Francisco at Dallas: COWBOYS. Dallas beat the Redskins last week, the Eagles are struggling, and the Giants have a tough game against the Cardinals. Could be a solid week for Jerry's 'Boys.
Tampa Bay at Detroit: BUCCANEERS. And the quest for 0-16 goes on.
New Jersey Jets at Tennessee: TITANS. Actually, I think there's a good chance this is the week Tennessee stumbles. But I hate the Jets and they're certainly no sure thing to win this game. They're on the road, and the Titans have a great defense, which increases the probability of Favre throwing multiple interceptions. That's what I'm hoping for.
Buffalo at Kansas City: CHIEFS. I can't believe how quickly this season has gone from euphoria to agony. A little part of me died when Lindell missed that field goal Monday night. Maybe I'm only picking the Chiefs here because I'm pessimistic and angry and feeling resentful toward the Bills. But it is worth pointing out that the Bills and Chiefs have won the same number of games in the past month-- zero-- and KC has shown occasional signs of competitiveness lately. Plus the Bills are playing on the road after a Monday night game, in a stadium that is notoriously difficult for road teams. You have to admit there is a decent possibility the Chiefs pick up win #2 here, and the Bills will drop below .500.
Chicago at St. Louis: BEARS. Chicago, you made me look like a d-bag last week when I picked you to beat Green Bay and you got your asses handed to you on a platter. Don't let it happen again.
New England at Miami: PATRIOTS. I know, the Dolphins beat the Patriots at Foxborough earlier this season, so why wouldn't they beat them again at home? Well, for one thing, it's still difficult for me to imagine a world in which the Patriots get swept by the Dolphins. For another, the Patriots just look like a much better team right now, despite the previous loss to Miami and the fact that the teams have identical records. In recent weeks, Miami has struggled in home games against the Raiders and Seahawks. A good east coast team should blow out a bad west coast team at home every time. The fact that those games were close is making me seriously question Miami's status as a wild card contender.
Minnesota at Jacksonville: VIKINGS. One of the toughest games of the week to call. Interconference match up, two teams that look fairly close in terms of talent (even though the Vikings have won two more games), hard to say what's going to happen. When in doubt, take Adrian Peterson's team.
Philadelphia at Baltimore: RAVENS. I would really like to think McNabb was joking when he said he didn't know an NFL game could end in a tie last week. But I'm afraid he might have been serious. Anyway, you tie the Bengals, I don't pick you to beat a good team on the road the following week. That's just how it works. On the other hand, this could follow the pattern of McNabb saying something ridiculous, stirring up controversy, and then coming out and playing a great game the next week. That could happen. But I'm not betting on it.
Oakland at Denver: BRONCOS. It's really starting to look like Denver will win this division. I know, I can't believe it either.
New York Giants at Arizona: GIANTS. Since the Bills are tanking and I hate the Jets, I have decided to reluctantly acknowledge the G-men as a New York team (even though they're not). Anyway, this is definitely the game of the week, and I could see the Cards winning, especially since it's in the desert. But I just couldn't bring myself to pick against the champs when they're playing as well as they are now. If Arizona does somehow win this game, things will get a lot more interesting in the NFC.
Washington at Seattle: REDSKINS. But I did consider taking the Hawks for the upset here. It's always tough to go coast to coast, the Reskins aren't that good, and I think Seattle has been making some small improvements lately. Still, erred on the side of caution and took the team that has won 6 games over the team that has won 2.
Indianapolis at San Diego: COLTS. If Indy wins, it will set them up nicely for a playoff run, and it would likely be the final nail in the coffin for the Chargers. If SD can defend the home turf and pull off the win, it will make the AFC playoff picture much more complicated and keep them alive in the division.
Green Bay at New Orleans: PACKERS. Ugh, another difficult to predict game involving the Packers. I'm always wrong about these. You should probably take the Saints with confidence.
Okay, that's all for now. Hopefully I will remember to come back in a few days and make my Thanksgiving picks in time.
-Niztradamus
Just taking some time out from working on the horror story to make this week's NFL picks. For those who are curious, there is still quite a bit of work to be done on the story, and I'm not sure when it will be done. It's turning out to be a bigger project that I thought it would. I hope to finish it before Thanksgiving, but in order to do that, I'll need to devote some serious time to writing in the next four days. So I can't make any promises. But I will say that, whenever it's done, it will be worth the wait. I'm really digging this one.
Good news-- I remembered to pick the Thursday game this week! And I was right! Of course, it was Pittsburgh against Cincinnati, so picking the Steelers wasn't rocket science. On to the rest of the picks.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: STEELERS. I'm 1-0! Hooray!
Carolina at Atlanta: PANTHERS. The Falcons are good. But the Panthers are better. I am somewhat leery of taking the road team here, as home field advantage has been a fairly solid predictor of success in the NFC South this season, but I just think the Cats are good enough to get it done.
Houston at Cleveland: BROWNS. I'd probably take the Texans here if Matt Schaub was playing QB for them, and not Sage Rosenfels. Should be an entertaining game with some good offense.
San Francisco at Dallas: COWBOYS. Dallas beat the Redskins last week, the Eagles are struggling, and the Giants have a tough game against the Cardinals. Could be a solid week for Jerry's 'Boys.
Tampa Bay at Detroit: BUCCANEERS. And the quest for 0-16 goes on.
New Jersey Jets at Tennessee: TITANS. Actually, I think there's a good chance this is the week Tennessee stumbles. But I hate the Jets and they're certainly no sure thing to win this game. They're on the road, and the Titans have a great defense, which increases the probability of Favre throwing multiple interceptions. That's what I'm hoping for.
Buffalo at Kansas City: CHIEFS. I can't believe how quickly this season has gone from euphoria to agony. A little part of me died when Lindell missed that field goal Monday night. Maybe I'm only picking the Chiefs here because I'm pessimistic and angry and feeling resentful toward the Bills. But it is worth pointing out that the Bills and Chiefs have won the same number of games in the past month-- zero-- and KC has shown occasional signs of competitiveness lately. Plus the Bills are playing on the road after a Monday night game, in a stadium that is notoriously difficult for road teams. You have to admit there is a decent possibility the Chiefs pick up win #2 here, and the Bills will drop below .500.
Chicago at St. Louis: BEARS. Chicago, you made me look like a d-bag last week when I picked you to beat Green Bay and you got your asses handed to you on a platter. Don't let it happen again.
New England at Miami: PATRIOTS. I know, the Dolphins beat the Patriots at Foxborough earlier this season, so why wouldn't they beat them again at home? Well, for one thing, it's still difficult for me to imagine a world in which the Patriots get swept by the Dolphins. For another, the Patriots just look like a much better team right now, despite the previous loss to Miami and the fact that the teams have identical records. In recent weeks, Miami has struggled in home games against the Raiders and Seahawks. A good east coast team should blow out a bad west coast team at home every time. The fact that those games were close is making me seriously question Miami's status as a wild card contender.
Minnesota at Jacksonville: VIKINGS. One of the toughest games of the week to call. Interconference match up, two teams that look fairly close in terms of talent (even though the Vikings have won two more games), hard to say what's going to happen. When in doubt, take Adrian Peterson's team.
Philadelphia at Baltimore: RAVENS. I would really like to think McNabb was joking when he said he didn't know an NFL game could end in a tie last week. But I'm afraid he might have been serious. Anyway, you tie the Bengals, I don't pick you to beat a good team on the road the following week. That's just how it works. On the other hand, this could follow the pattern of McNabb saying something ridiculous, stirring up controversy, and then coming out and playing a great game the next week. That could happen. But I'm not betting on it.
Oakland at Denver: BRONCOS. It's really starting to look like Denver will win this division. I know, I can't believe it either.
New York Giants at Arizona: GIANTS. Since the Bills are tanking and I hate the Jets, I have decided to reluctantly acknowledge the G-men as a New York team (even though they're not). Anyway, this is definitely the game of the week, and I could see the Cards winning, especially since it's in the desert. But I just couldn't bring myself to pick against the champs when they're playing as well as they are now. If Arizona does somehow win this game, things will get a lot more interesting in the NFC.
Washington at Seattle: REDSKINS. But I did consider taking the Hawks for the upset here. It's always tough to go coast to coast, the Reskins aren't that good, and I think Seattle has been making some small improvements lately. Still, erred on the side of caution and took the team that has won 6 games over the team that has won 2.
Indianapolis at San Diego: COLTS. If Indy wins, it will set them up nicely for a playoff run, and it would likely be the final nail in the coffin for the Chargers. If SD can defend the home turf and pull off the win, it will make the AFC playoff picture much more complicated and keep them alive in the division.
Green Bay at New Orleans: PACKERS. Ugh, another difficult to predict game involving the Packers. I'm always wrong about these. You should probably take the Saints with confidence.
Okay, that's all for now. Hopefully I will remember to come back in a few days and make my Thanksgiving picks in time.
-Niztradamus
Sunday, November 16, 2008
NFL Week 11 Picks
Hey gang,
It's been a good week, but a busy one. I'm definitely through the worst of the semester now, and the rest is basically a formality. I am almost ready to declare victory. That being said, I am still rather busy, and I made things worse by going out a couple of times this weekend, so it will be another round of quick picks this week. Enjoy.
Jersey Jets at New England: Once again, I forgot to pick the Thursday game. But if I had remembered, it wouldn't have mattered, because I would have been wrong. Fuck the Garden State Jets. Fuck them in their stupid asses. Now that the Patriots no longer seem like the evil empire (hell, if not for Belichick and Vince Wilfork, this Pats team would be almost likable), the Jets have taken over their place as my most hated division rival. But it's finally time for me to admit that they might actually be good.
Denver at Atlanta: FALCONS. Take a good look at Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan in this game. That's the future of the NFL you're looking at.
Philadelphia at Cincinnati: EAGLES. I can see Philly getting back into this thing.
Chicago at Green Bay: BEARS. I've given the Packers the benefit of the doubt so many times this season, and they keep letting me down. No more. Beware of Bears.
Houston at Indianapolis: COLTS. I can see Indy getting back into this thing.
New Orleans at Kansas City: SAINTS. I cannot see the Saints getting back into this thing, but they will beat the Chiefs.
Oakland at Miami: DOLPHINS. Every other team in the AFC East is getting better while the Bills are free-falling. I hate everything.
Baltimore at Jersey Giants: GIANTS. Yes, I was wrong about the Bears beating Tennessee last week. Yes, the Titans are still undefeated. But at this point I'm finding it difficult to imagine a scenario in which the Giants do not repeat as Super Bowl champs. They're that good. They can do it all. They do not have a weakness. And they will go back-to-back.
Minnesota at Tampa Bay: BUCS. In a battle of violent, seafaring peoples, I'm taking the home team.
Detroit at Carolina: PANTHERS. I stand by what I said about the Giants. But the Panthers are dangerous. If they can win a game when Jake "The Gnome" Delhomme plays as badly as he did last week against the Raiders, people should be very, very frightened of what this team can do when Jake has a good game.
Tennessee at Jacksonville: TITANS. I was somewhat tempted to pick against Tennessee again this week. A road game against a division rival, and a division rival who as expected to be very good at the beginning of the season. But the Jags have been a huge disappointment, they're just not together, and I can't see them overcoming Tennessee's defense.
St. Louis at San Francisco: 49ERS. Wow. I found myself wishing for a third option when I made this pick.
Arizona at Seattle: CARDINALS. The Seahawks actually showed a little friskiness when they nearly beat Miami on the road last week, but the Cards just have too much firepower. Even traveling to the Pacific Northwest, 'Zona should go back to the desert with a record of 7-3. I can't believe it either.
San Diego at Pittsburgh: STEELERS. As bad as the AFC West is, I can see the Chargers getting back into this thing. But they're almost out of chances. Yes, their division is a war of attrition, but if they fall to 4-6 today, and they probably will, it will become a lot harder to see them reaching the postseason.
Dallas at Washington: COWBOYS. Romo is back. So are the Cowboys. And Portis might not play. I think Dallas will serve notice to the league on national television tonight-- Jerry Jones isn't crazy. The Cowboys WILL get back into this thing.
Cleveland at Buffalo: THE BILLS. Call it a homer pick if you want to. The Browns are a trendy pick this week for a road team to steal a victory. And the Bills are patently awful, I'll admit it. But the Browns aren't a hell of a lot better. And I think all the people who are picking Cleveland in this game are underestimating the influence of a crazy, drunken Buffalo crowd on Monday night. Remember last year's Monday night game, when our fans nearly carried us to a victory over the vastly superior Cowboys? Yeah, we might get a similar kind of boost this week. I've got a good feeling about this. I think we break out of our slump and roll over the Browns.
All right, that's all for this week. Enjoy.
-Niztradamus
PS-- I know it's annoying to try to force one's musical taste on other people, but bear with me for a minute. The new Butch Walker record came out last week, and I'm not going to write a whole thing talking about how great it is (although I could). I'll just say this-- do me a favor and listen to one song. Download the song "Vessels" from the new album. I'm listening to it right now, and it's making me happy (even though it's a sad song, and even though I'm a pretty morose person). I rarely use the word "lush" to describe a song. Actually, I don't think I have ever used the word "lush" to describe a song. But "Vessels" is lush. And beautiful. And I can't stop listening to it. Bonus recommendation: In the new issue of Esquire, they recommend five somewhat obscure songs that you probably didn't hear this year, though you should have. I downloaded a couple of them last night, and one is particularly awesome. It's called "Grounds For Divorce" by Elbow. Check it out.
It's been a good week, but a busy one. I'm definitely through the worst of the semester now, and the rest is basically a formality. I am almost ready to declare victory. That being said, I am still rather busy, and I made things worse by going out a couple of times this weekend, so it will be another round of quick picks this week. Enjoy.
Jersey Jets at New England: Once again, I forgot to pick the Thursday game. But if I had remembered, it wouldn't have mattered, because I would have been wrong. Fuck the Garden State Jets. Fuck them in their stupid asses. Now that the Patriots no longer seem like the evil empire (hell, if not for Belichick and Vince Wilfork, this Pats team would be almost likable), the Jets have taken over their place as my most hated division rival. But it's finally time for me to admit that they might actually be good.
Denver at Atlanta: FALCONS. Take a good look at Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan in this game. That's the future of the NFL you're looking at.
Philadelphia at Cincinnati: EAGLES. I can see Philly getting back into this thing.
Chicago at Green Bay: BEARS. I've given the Packers the benefit of the doubt so many times this season, and they keep letting me down. No more. Beware of Bears.
Houston at Indianapolis: COLTS. I can see Indy getting back into this thing.
New Orleans at Kansas City: SAINTS. I cannot see the Saints getting back into this thing, but they will beat the Chiefs.
Oakland at Miami: DOLPHINS. Every other team in the AFC East is getting better while the Bills are free-falling. I hate everything.
Baltimore at Jersey Giants: GIANTS. Yes, I was wrong about the Bears beating Tennessee last week. Yes, the Titans are still undefeated. But at this point I'm finding it difficult to imagine a scenario in which the Giants do not repeat as Super Bowl champs. They're that good. They can do it all. They do not have a weakness. And they will go back-to-back.
Minnesota at Tampa Bay: BUCS. In a battle of violent, seafaring peoples, I'm taking the home team.
Detroit at Carolina: PANTHERS. I stand by what I said about the Giants. But the Panthers are dangerous. If they can win a game when Jake "The Gnome" Delhomme plays as badly as he did last week against the Raiders, people should be very, very frightened of what this team can do when Jake has a good game.
Tennessee at Jacksonville: TITANS. I was somewhat tempted to pick against Tennessee again this week. A road game against a division rival, and a division rival who as expected to be very good at the beginning of the season. But the Jags have been a huge disappointment, they're just not together, and I can't see them overcoming Tennessee's defense.
St. Louis at San Francisco: 49ERS. Wow. I found myself wishing for a third option when I made this pick.
Arizona at Seattle: CARDINALS. The Seahawks actually showed a little friskiness when they nearly beat Miami on the road last week, but the Cards just have too much firepower. Even traveling to the Pacific Northwest, 'Zona should go back to the desert with a record of 7-3. I can't believe it either.
San Diego at Pittsburgh: STEELERS. As bad as the AFC West is, I can see the Chargers getting back into this thing. But they're almost out of chances. Yes, their division is a war of attrition, but if they fall to 4-6 today, and they probably will, it will become a lot harder to see them reaching the postseason.
Dallas at Washington: COWBOYS. Romo is back. So are the Cowboys. And Portis might not play. I think Dallas will serve notice to the league on national television tonight-- Jerry Jones isn't crazy. The Cowboys WILL get back into this thing.
Cleveland at Buffalo: THE BILLS. Call it a homer pick if you want to. The Browns are a trendy pick this week for a road team to steal a victory. And the Bills are patently awful, I'll admit it. But the Browns aren't a hell of a lot better. And I think all the people who are picking Cleveland in this game are underestimating the influence of a crazy, drunken Buffalo crowd on Monday night. Remember last year's Monday night game, when our fans nearly carried us to a victory over the vastly superior Cowboys? Yeah, we might get a similar kind of boost this week. I've got a good feeling about this. I think we break out of our slump and roll over the Browns.
All right, that's all for this week. Enjoy.
-Niztradamus
PS-- I know it's annoying to try to force one's musical taste on other people, but bear with me for a minute. The new Butch Walker record came out last week, and I'm not going to write a whole thing talking about how great it is (although I could). I'll just say this-- do me a favor and listen to one song. Download the song "Vessels" from the new album. I'm listening to it right now, and it's making me happy (even though it's a sad song, and even though I'm a pretty morose person). I rarely use the word "lush" to describe a song. Actually, I don't think I have ever used the word "lush" to describe a song. But "Vessels" is lush. And beautiful. And I can't stop listening to it. Bonus recommendation: In the new issue of Esquire, they recommend five somewhat obscure songs that you probably didn't hear this year, though you should have. I downloaded a couple of them last night, and one is particularly awesome. It's called "Grounds For Divorce" by Elbow. Check it out.
Monday, November 10, 2008
My brain hurts.
Nothing like starting your week by waking up at 5 o'clock on Monday morning with a bad hangover. And then it turned out I didn't have any pain relievers in the apartment, so I had to drag my ass to Rite Aid to buy some Excedrin. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to make doing research more fun by drinking a lot of rum while scanning news articles.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Brief Update
As some people have pointed out recently, the "Dispatches" blog has basically become a place where I post NFL articles and nothing else. I apologize for that. It was never my intention. In fact, I think I deserve some credit for continuing to produce the football article each week.
Anyway, even though I don't have a lot of time right now, I wanted to give any readers out there a brief summary of what's going on in my world. I'm coming up on the busiest time of the semester. The next week (or two) is going to be absolute hell, but if I get through it relatively unscathed, the rest should be smooth sailing. This week, I have a pretty big assignment for my magazine editing class due on Wednesday, a research paper for my ethics class due on Thursday, and one of my last major stories for my news reporting class due on Saturday. I have not made substantial progress on any of these projects. I mean, I've done some serious research (mostly today and yesterday. I am, at heart, a procrastinator), but I still have a long way to go.
I am particularly excited about the story for my reporting class. I'm finding some great information, and this could potentially be a pretty big story, assuming I can get people to talk to me about it some time this week. The professors are calling this a "document story," and the main purpose of the assignment is to teach us to use information from public records to buttress a story. Since my beat is the business of higher education, I'm reporting on the university's finances, mainly by looking at the forms the school is required to file with the IRS, since they are technically considered a non-profit organization. Obviously, since these are public records, this information is out there for anyone to see if they care to look it up. But it seems that most people just don't care enough to look into it, or even if they do, they're not making the sorts of connections that I'm making. Man, I hope I can get people to talk to me about what I'm seeing. This story could be excellent.
My research paper for my ethics class is also quite interesting. I'm writing about the Don Imus "nappy-headed hos" controversy, and the general thrust of my argument is that, even though what Imus said was basically indefensible, the media coverage of the story was inappropriately one-sided. Plenty of journalists rushed to condemn Imus for what he said, while relatively few took a stand for freedom of speech or argued that the reaction was not proportionate to the offense. I'm not necessarily saying those positions are correct, but I find it curious and somewhat troubling that relatively few people in the mainstream media were making those arguments.
My lack of free time is becoming increasingly frustrating to me, as I have all sorts of great ideas for stuff that I would like to write. I'm still working on the horror story that I've mentioned before, though I can't make any sort of prediction regarding when it will be finished. One problem is simply that I can't afford to dedicate much time to writing fiction right now. Another problem is that the story is proving to be much longer than I originally expected. I thought it would be about a 3,000-4,000 word story when I first came up with the idea. I've now written over 6,500 words and I'm not particularly close to the end.
Whenever the story is finished, I intend to put it up on an internet publishing site I found recently, www.webook.com. It looks like a good place to have your stuff read by other aspiring writers, and maybe even get it in print if enough other people dig your story.
I don't know if I've written much about the multimedia project I've been working on for the past few weeks (probably not, considering how little I've been blogging), but the project involved interviewing a cancer patient, recording the interview, then pairing the audio with photographs of the interview subject and her family. It was a difficult project to work on, from both an emotional and a logistical standpoint. There were a lot of complications, many of them arising from the fact that our professors did not organize this well and the thing turned into sort of a clusterfuck. It was also particularly difficult for my group because our interview subject had to go into the hospital to be treated for a spot of cancer that recently appeared in her lung, so our access to her and her family was limited, preventing us from getting all the audio and photographs we wanted. That being said, I think we did an excellent job with what we had. I was thrilled to be teamed up with a great group of people (two fellow print journalists from my class, plus an undergraduate photographer), and I think that what we produced is a very professional and moving presentation. It will eventually be online somewhere. They might end up on the American Cancer Society's website, and I wouldn't be surprised if our professors set something up on the university's website as well. I have no idea when this will happen, but I'm not holding my breath, considering the lack of foresight and organization our professors have displayed thus far. As soon as the project is on the web somewhere, I'll let you all know and link to it.
So I never got around to writing something about the election before it took place, but I'm still thinking about writing something about what Obama's presidency will-- or won't-- change about the country. I voted for Obama, and I'm thrilled that he won, but I'm not filled with the boundless optimism I see in some people. I've always been a glass-half-empty kind of guy (as if you didn't know that already). Actually, there was an article in Esquire a few months back, during the primary season, that expressed many of my thoughts much more eloquently than I could myself. I strongly recommend you click the link and read the article; it's one of the best political pieces I've ever read, and this is the kind of writing that makes me love Esquire so much.
Okay, I think that's all for now. I could tell you more, but I'm getting tired and I should probably get back to work. Hopefully more blogs like this one will be coming in the future. As much as I love writing about football, it's nice to write about other things, too.
-Nick
Anyway, even though I don't have a lot of time right now, I wanted to give any readers out there a brief summary of what's going on in my world. I'm coming up on the busiest time of the semester. The next week (or two) is going to be absolute hell, but if I get through it relatively unscathed, the rest should be smooth sailing. This week, I have a pretty big assignment for my magazine editing class due on Wednesday, a research paper for my ethics class due on Thursday, and one of my last major stories for my news reporting class due on Saturday. I have not made substantial progress on any of these projects. I mean, I've done some serious research (mostly today and yesterday. I am, at heart, a procrastinator), but I still have a long way to go.
I am particularly excited about the story for my reporting class. I'm finding some great information, and this could potentially be a pretty big story, assuming I can get people to talk to me about it some time this week. The professors are calling this a "document story," and the main purpose of the assignment is to teach us to use information from public records to buttress a story. Since my beat is the business of higher education, I'm reporting on the university's finances, mainly by looking at the forms the school is required to file with the IRS, since they are technically considered a non-profit organization. Obviously, since these are public records, this information is out there for anyone to see if they care to look it up. But it seems that most people just don't care enough to look into it, or even if they do, they're not making the sorts of connections that I'm making. Man, I hope I can get people to talk to me about what I'm seeing. This story could be excellent.
My research paper for my ethics class is also quite interesting. I'm writing about the Don Imus "nappy-headed hos" controversy, and the general thrust of my argument is that, even though what Imus said was basically indefensible, the media coverage of the story was inappropriately one-sided. Plenty of journalists rushed to condemn Imus for what he said, while relatively few took a stand for freedom of speech or argued that the reaction was not proportionate to the offense. I'm not necessarily saying those positions are correct, but I find it curious and somewhat troubling that relatively few people in the mainstream media were making those arguments.
My lack of free time is becoming increasingly frustrating to me, as I have all sorts of great ideas for stuff that I would like to write. I'm still working on the horror story that I've mentioned before, though I can't make any sort of prediction regarding when it will be finished. One problem is simply that I can't afford to dedicate much time to writing fiction right now. Another problem is that the story is proving to be much longer than I originally expected. I thought it would be about a 3,000-4,000 word story when I first came up with the idea. I've now written over 6,500 words and I'm not particularly close to the end.
Whenever the story is finished, I intend to put it up on an internet publishing site I found recently, www.webook.com. It looks like a good place to have your stuff read by other aspiring writers, and maybe even get it in print if enough other people dig your story.
I don't know if I've written much about the multimedia project I've been working on for the past few weeks (probably not, considering how little I've been blogging), but the project involved interviewing a cancer patient, recording the interview, then pairing the audio with photographs of the interview subject and her family. It was a difficult project to work on, from both an emotional and a logistical standpoint. There were a lot of complications, many of them arising from the fact that our professors did not organize this well and the thing turned into sort of a clusterfuck. It was also particularly difficult for my group because our interview subject had to go into the hospital to be treated for a spot of cancer that recently appeared in her lung, so our access to her and her family was limited, preventing us from getting all the audio and photographs we wanted. That being said, I think we did an excellent job with what we had. I was thrilled to be teamed up with a great group of people (two fellow print journalists from my class, plus an undergraduate photographer), and I think that what we produced is a very professional and moving presentation. It will eventually be online somewhere. They might end up on the American Cancer Society's website, and I wouldn't be surprised if our professors set something up on the university's website as well. I have no idea when this will happen, but I'm not holding my breath, considering the lack of foresight and organization our professors have displayed thus far. As soon as the project is on the web somewhere, I'll let you all know and link to it.
So I never got around to writing something about the election before it took place, but I'm still thinking about writing something about what Obama's presidency will-- or won't-- change about the country. I voted for Obama, and I'm thrilled that he won, but I'm not filled with the boundless optimism I see in some people. I've always been a glass-half-empty kind of guy (as if you didn't know that already). Actually, there was an article in Esquire a few months back, during the primary season, that expressed many of my thoughts much more eloquently than I could myself. I strongly recommend you click the link and read the article; it's one of the best political pieces I've ever read, and this is the kind of writing that makes me love Esquire so much.
Okay, I think that's all for now. I could tell you more, but I'm getting tired and I should probably get back to work. Hopefully more blogs like this one will be coming in the future. As much as I love writing about football, it's nice to write about other things, too.
-Nick
Saturday, November 8, 2008
NFL Week 10 Picks
Bears: The Number One Threat to the Tennessee Titans (and America)
I'll have to keep this relatively brief this week, as I am buried in work.
Denver at Cleveland: BRONCOS. I predict Denver will come from behind in the fourth quarter to win this game 34-30. Jay Cutler will throw for more than 400 yards. I'm so sure of this, it's almost like it already happened. But seriously, I had no idea there was a game on Thursday night until I got back from class and saw the final score. It's depressing how busy I am. My NFL awareness hasn't been this low in many years.
New Orleans at Atlanta: FALCONS. Because the Falcons are surprisingly good, and the Saints can't play defense at all.
Tennessee at Chicago: BEARS. Rationally, I know this is probably a stupid pick. The Titans are the lone undefeated team in the league, and the Bears have the always erratic Rex Grossman at quarterback. But the Titans will stumble sooner or later, and why not now? A road game against a respectable opponent, and considering it's an interconference game, the intensity might not be there for the Titans. I just have a gut feeling they're due to get a blemish on their record.
Jacksonville at Detroit: JAGUARS. The Jags lost to the previously winless Bengals last week, and it would be fun to predict that they lose to another 0-fer team this week. I was even tempted to do so, considering Jacksonville is definitely not clicking right now and it's a road game. Also, just as the Titans are bound to lose at some point, the Lions are bound to win. Although I will admit it's more likely that the Lions go 0-16 than that the Titans go 16-0. Anyway, I think Detroit will get one in the win column eventually, but I wasn't ready to predict it this week.
Seattle at Miami: DOLPHINS. The Seahawks suck, this is an extremely long road trip, they're not good at traveling, and they have a ton of injuries. Really no valid reason to pick against the home team in this one. So, of course, the Dolphins will probably lose.
Green Bay at Minnesota: PACKERS. Both teams are 4-4, but I strongly feel that the Packers are better, and I still think Green Bay winds up taking the NFC North. Despite backing the Bears against the Titans this week, I just can't see Chicago winning the division.
Buffalo at New England: PATRIOTS. The Bills have lost 3 of their last 4, and it's hard to say whether they're just going through a rough stretch or if this is a full-fledged collapse. Honestly, I'm leaning toward collapse. I mean, I still think we're better than the Jets and Dolphins, we just didn't play up to our potential in those games and made some truly awful mistakes. However, I also think we're nowhere near as good as we looked in the beginning of the season. We may have been overrated to begin with, and now we're plagued with injuries at key positions. The team's confidence must be at a low right now, coming off two consecutive divisional losses, we're just flat out not as good as the Patriots, and we're playing on the road against a team that has dominated us for most of this decade. In other words, the Patriots are a stone cold lock in this game. They will win, and almost certainly by a wide margin. Disclaimer: I have been wrong about the Bills for four consecutive weeks now-- I predicted we would lose to the Chargers and beat the Cardinals, Jets, and Dolphins. I hope that trend continues. But it won't.
St. Louis at Jersey Jets: RAMS. Partly because I'm pissed at the Jets after last week, and partly because I really do think the Rams are better than their record. After losing to Arizona, they have little chance of making the postseason, but I think they could be a major spoiler for teams in the second half of the season. Call this the upset special of week 10 (well, this and the Bears).
Baltimore at Houston: TEXANS. Houston is my favorite bad team in the NFL this season (unless you count the Bills, and we might soon be doing that). They're just fun. They throw constantly, their games tend to have exciting finishes, and Andre Johnson is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. This is definitely a tough game to call, and Baltimore is better than I first thought. But, what the hell, might as well side with the home team instead of taking a rookie quarterback on the road.
Carolina at Oakland: PANTHERS. The Raiders have won 2 games this season, and right now they're not as good as their record. Does the embarrassing state of the Raiders make Lane Kiffin look better in retrospect?
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh: STEELERS. This game could be the nail in the coffin for the Colts. The Titans are running away with the division, and if Indy picks up loss number 5 here, they'll be hard-pressed to make the playoffs in the competitive AFC.
Kansas City at San Diego: CHARGERS. I think it was a mistake for the Chargers to fire defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. Changing coordinators or coaches partway through a season is almost never a good idea, and I know Cottrell is capable of being a great defensive coordinator (he built a ferocious defense when he was in Buffalo several years ago). On the other hand, Ron Rivera was the architect of that dominant Bears defense, circa 2005, so maybe it wasn't a bad call. Anyway, it's hard to have much faith in the Chargers, but the Chiefs are a complete mess, so it's hard to imagine KC beating anyone on the road. And, as messed up as the Chargers are, they still have a solid chance of winning the division. They'll still be a game back of the Broncos even assuming they win this game, but Denver doesn't exactly inspire confidence in anyone.
Jersey Giants at Philadelphia: GIANTS. I was very tempted to take the Eagles here. They're playing well, Westbrook is unbelievable, and you know their fans will be going insane with the hated Giants in town. If Jersey is going to pick up a rare loss, this is the kind of situation where it would happen. So Philly would be an understandable upset pick here. But... I couldn't do it. The Giants are just so good. I think they're the best team in the league, easily. Yes, the Titans are undefeated, but the Giants would be perfect if not for a fluky loss to the Browns. Can't really hold one inexplicable bad game against them. Besides, let's assume the Titans and Giants make it to the Super Bowl. Right now, is there anyone outside the state of Tennessee who would take the Titans over the Giants at a neutral location? There probably are some people who would, but I'm not one of them.
San Francisco at Arizona: CARDINALS. To say the Mike Singletary era got off to an inauspicious start would be a massive understatement. And I'm ready to admit it-- the Cardinals are for real. Tim Hightower... who knew? The Cards will win this game by many points.
Okay, that's all for this week. Please, Buffalo, for the love of God, find a way to beat the Patriots. Use the Wildcat constantly. Start Fred Jackson at quarterback. Whatever you need to do. I've had a stressful week and a win over the Patriots would make everything seem better. Yeah, I know it's not going to happen. I still love you, Bills.
-Nick
I'll have to keep this relatively brief this week, as I am buried in work.
Denver at Cleveland: BRONCOS. I predict Denver will come from behind in the fourth quarter to win this game 34-30. Jay Cutler will throw for more than 400 yards. I'm so sure of this, it's almost like it already happened. But seriously, I had no idea there was a game on Thursday night until I got back from class and saw the final score. It's depressing how busy I am. My NFL awareness hasn't been this low in many years.
New Orleans at Atlanta: FALCONS. Because the Falcons are surprisingly good, and the Saints can't play defense at all.
Tennessee at Chicago: BEARS. Rationally, I know this is probably a stupid pick. The Titans are the lone undefeated team in the league, and the Bears have the always erratic Rex Grossman at quarterback. But the Titans will stumble sooner or later, and why not now? A road game against a respectable opponent, and considering it's an interconference game, the intensity might not be there for the Titans. I just have a gut feeling they're due to get a blemish on their record.
Jacksonville at Detroit: JAGUARS. The Jags lost to the previously winless Bengals last week, and it would be fun to predict that they lose to another 0-fer team this week. I was even tempted to do so, considering Jacksonville is definitely not clicking right now and it's a road game. Also, just as the Titans are bound to lose at some point, the Lions are bound to win. Although I will admit it's more likely that the Lions go 0-16 than that the Titans go 16-0. Anyway, I think Detroit will get one in the win column eventually, but I wasn't ready to predict it this week.
Seattle at Miami: DOLPHINS. The Seahawks suck, this is an extremely long road trip, they're not good at traveling, and they have a ton of injuries. Really no valid reason to pick against the home team in this one. So, of course, the Dolphins will probably lose.
Green Bay at Minnesota: PACKERS. Both teams are 4-4, but I strongly feel that the Packers are better, and I still think Green Bay winds up taking the NFC North. Despite backing the Bears against the Titans this week, I just can't see Chicago winning the division.
Buffalo at New England: PATRIOTS. The Bills have lost 3 of their last 4, and it's hard to say whether they're just going through a rough stretch or if this is a full-fledged collapse. Honestly, I'm leaning toward collapse. I mean, I still think we're better than the Jets and Dolphins, we just didn't play up to our potential in those games and made some truly awful mistakes. However, I also think we're nowhere near as good as we looked in the beginning of the season. We may have been overrated to begin with, and now we're plagued with injuries at key positions. The team's confidence must be at a low right now, coming off two consecutive divisional losses, we're just flat out not as good as the Patriots, and we're playing on the road against a team that has dominated us for most of this decade. In other words, the Patriots are a stone cold lock in this game. They will win, and almost certainly by a wide margin. Disclaimer: I have been wrong about the Bills for four consecutive weeks now-- I predicted we would lose to the Chargers and beat the Cardinals, Jets, and Dolphins. I hope that trend continues. But it won't.
St. Louis at Jersey Jets: RAMS. Partly because I'm pissed at the Jets after last week, and partly because I really do think the Rams are better than their record. After losing to Arizona, they have little chance of making the postseason, but I think they could be a major spoiler for teams in the second half of the season. Call this the upset special of week 10 (well, this and the Bears).
Baltimore at Houston: TEXANS. Houston is my favorite bad team in the NFL this season (unless you count the Bills, and we might soon be doing that). They're just fun. They throw constantly, their games tend to have exciting finishes, and Andre Johnson is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. This is definitely a tough game to call, and Baltimore is better than I first thought. But, what the hell, might as well side with the home team instead of taking a rookie quarterback on the road.
Carolina at Oakland: PANTHERS. The Raiders have won 2 games this season, and right now they're not as good as their record. Does the embarrassing state of the Raiders make Lane Kiffin look better in retrospect?
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh: STEELERS. This game could be the nail in the coffin for the Colts. The Titans are running away with the division, and if Indy picks up loss number 5 here, they'll be hard-pressed to make the playoffs in the competitive AFC.
Kansas City at San Diego: CHARGERS. I think it was a mistake for the Chargers to fire defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. Changing coordinators or coaches partway through a season is almost never a good idea, and I know Cottrell is capable of being a great defensive coordinator (he built a ferocious defense when he was in Buffalo several years ago). On the other hand, Ron Rivera was the architect of that dominant Bears defense, circa 2005, so maybe it wasn't a bad call. Anyway, it's hard to have much faith in the Chargers, but the Chiefs are a complete mess, so it's hard to imagine KC beating anyone on the road. And, as messed up as the Chargers are, they still have a solid chance of winning the division. They'll still be a game back of the Broncos even assuming they win this game, but Denver doesn't exactly inspire confidence in anyone.
Jersey Giants at Philadelphia: GIANTS. I was very tempted to take the Eagles here. They're playing well, Westbrook is unbelievable, and you know their fans will be going insane with the hated Giants in town. If Jersey is going to pick up a rare loss, this is the kind of situation where it would happen. So Philly would be an understandable upset pick here. But... I couldn't do it. The Giants are just so good. I think they're the best team in the league, easily. Yes, the Titans are undefeated, but the Giants would be perfect if not for a fluky loss to the Browns. Can't really hold one inexplicable bad game against them. Besides, let's assume the Titans and Giants make it to the Super Bowl. Right now, is there anyone outside the state of Tennessee who would take the Titans over the Giants at a neutral location? There probably are some people who would, but I'm not one of them.
San Francisco at Arizona: CARDINALS. To say the Mike Singletary era got off to an inauspicious start would be a massive understatement. And I'm ready to admit it-- the Cardinals are for real. Tim Hightower... who knew? The Cards will win this game by many points.
Okay, that's all for this week. Please, Buffalo, for the love of God, find a way to beat the Patriots. Use the Wildcat constantly. Start Fred Jackson at quarterback. Whatever you need to do. I've had a stressful week and a win over the Patriots would make everything seem better. Yeah, I know it's not going to happen. I still love you, Bills.
-Nick
Sunday, November 2, 2008
NFL Week 9 Article and Picks
NFL Week 9: Everybody All Together Now-- J-E-T-S SUCK! SUCK! SUCK!
By Nick "fair and balanced" Roberts
Greetings and salutations. I am in an excellent mood this week, as I spent all day yesterday drinking and writing fiction. Now, I don't really condone spending an entire day half in the bag (or entirely in the bag), but considering I hadn't been truly drunk-- I define "truly drunk" as "incapable of operating heavy machinery"-- since sometime in August, I felt like I was due. And I find a little alcohol (okay, a lot of alcohol) is good for the creative mind. So there it is. The aforementioned horror story is not done yet (turns out it's going to be quite a bit longer than I originally thought), but it's coming along nicely. When it's finished, you'll be the first to know.
I don't usually spend much time discussing college football in the NFL article, for obvious reasons. But I think it's worth pointing out that the USC Trojans are really good. Granted, we have played a lot of profoundly terrible football teams, but you can't fake this kind of dominance. This season we have outscored our opponents 322-57, and that includes the game we lost. We have recorded shutouts in three of our past four games. Do we deserve to be in the national title game? I don't know. We have played a very soft schedule, and we did have the inexplicable loss to Oregon State. But I know I would pick USC against anyone in the country. Well, maybe not Florida. Florida scares me.
Moving along to the NFL, this promises to be an interesting week. We have one big AFC East showdown, Jersey at Buffalo, and another big game that still feels like an AFC East rivalry, even though it isn't (New England at Indy). These two games should go a long way toward determining who is really the team to beat in the East. It could also be a turning point for the Colts. They are running out of time to get their season back on track.
The resurgent St. Louis Rams, who came tantalizingly close to defeating New England on the road last week, have a chance to begin clawing their way back into the NFC West race, as they host division leader Arizona. It will also be a huge day in the NFC East, as the Cowboys pay a visit to the Giants. A Dallas win puts the Cowboys back in the picture (especially since Romo should be returning soon), while a victory by the G-Men would give them a strangehold on the division and the fast track to the #1 seed in the conference. Other exciting games include the Packers making a visit to the undefeated Titans (will the '72 Dolphins be popping the cork today?) and an intriguing interconference Monday night game, as the Steelers visit the surprising Redskins. If the Cowboys upset the Giants and the Redskins beat the Steelers, Washington will suddenly become a serious threat to steal the East away from the champs. That would be an interesting scenario, but I don't really expect either of those things to happen.
You'll probably be surprised to know that I handled the Bills losing to the Dolphins last week fairly well. Admittedly, I still have marks on my knuckles because I punched my desk at one point in the fourth quarter, but once the game was over I calmed down. I was much more disturbed after the Arizona loss. After that game, I thought we looked like a team that really wasn't very good, that had only gotten to 4-0 because of a soft schedule and some lucky breaks. Against Miami, I thought we still looked like a good team, just one that was making some idiotic errors and riding out some very bad luck. In the Miami game we took bad penalties, we dropped passes, Trent was uncharacteristically shaky, Terrence McGee was a complete liability at corner, and Marshawn Lynch wasn't himself (I strongly suspect he's been hurt for over a month). Basically, anything that could go wrong did go wrong. The game was an aberration. We had a bad day. It happens to every team.
All that being said, the Miami loss is still a cause for concern. Sitting at 5-1, with three straight division games coming up, we had a chance to take complete control of the division. We squandered that opportunity in Florida. Now we face a must-win at home against the Jets. It's not a must-win mathematically; we could lose and still be tied for first place, if the Colts beat the Patriots. But it's a must-win in a psychological sense. We need to prove to ourselves-- and everyone else-- that we are a legitimate contender in the division and that we can compete with these guys. We will need the confidence of a win over the Jets to have any chance of going into Gillette and beating the Patriots next Sunday. It won't be easy. Even though Favre is new to the division, he's still going to get up for an AFC East rival, and I expect him to play well. The Bills are also struggling with some injuries right now, especially on defense. But I expect the guys to rise to the challenge. I think Trent will put the team on his back if he has to, and I'm sure the Ralph will be jumping today, so that will make it harder on the Jets.
On to the picks!
Jersey Jets at Buffalo: THE BILLS. Discussed this pretty thoroughly earlier. Don't have a lot to add. I guess I'll just throw out a random prediction-- this will be a breakout game for Leodis McKelvin. I bet he picks off Favre at least once and, what the hell, I'll predict he runs a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Detroit at Chicago: BEARS. The Lions are just awful. I do not anticipate picking them in a single game this season, but you never know.
Jacksonville at Cincinnati: JAGUARS. On the other hand, I could see myself picking the Bengals at some point this season. But not this week. Without Carson Palmer, I don't see any way they can generate enough offense to beat the Jags.
Baltimore at Cleveland: BROWNS. Toughest call of the week. Neither team is terrible, but neither team is particularly good. I had to go with the Browns because they've been improving lately and they're at home.
Arizona at St. Louis: CARDINALS. As you'll remember, last week I ridiculed the idea of picking Arizona on the road. And I wasn't wrong-- they lost to the Panthers. However, they did put up one hell of a fight, and very nearly won that game. Considering Carolina is a pretty good team, I was impressed. I have also been impressed by the dramatic improvement of the Rams, and they played well against New England last week. I originally thought I would pick the Rams in this game, but the Cards are slowly winning me over.
Houston at Minnesota: TEXANS. Yeah, the Texans! Houston has quietly been putting together a nice run over the past few weeks, and the Vikings are dysfunctional. The seat under Brad Childress couldn't be much hotter. Andre Johnson of the Texans might be the most dominant receiver in the NFL right now, and I think most people who don't play fantasy football and/or live in the state of Texas are probably unaware of this. Well, no more. Stand up and take notice. He's the best Andre since Reed.
Green Bay at Tennessee: TITANS. If this game were in Wisconsin, I'd give the Pack a good shot at the upset. But since it isn't, and because I was very impressed with Tennessee's comeback win over the Colts last week, I'm going to predict that the undefeated juggernaut rolls on.
Tampa Bay at Kansas City: BUCCANEERS. I think anyone who drafted Larry Johnson for their fantasy team this year deserves some kind of compensation pick in next year's draft.
Miami at Denver: BRONCOS. Making this pick was harder than you might think. The Dolphins, clearly, are capable of competing with just about anyone from week to week. And there are serious questions about Denver (remember the blowout loss to the Patriots a couple weeks ago). But still, it's Mile High, the Dolphins are inconsistent, had to go with common sense and take the home team.
Dallas at Jersey Giants: GIANTS. I think the Cowboys will be a trendy upset pick this week, and I can sort of understand why. Strange things happen in rivalry games, and the Cowboys do have a ton of talent on their roster, even if they haven't really been showing it lately. But I just can't see them putting it all together and beating the Giants in the Meadowlands.
Philadelphia at Seattle: EAGLES. Philly has become sort of the forgotten team in the NFC East, but they're still capable of making some noise, especially now that Westbrook is back and playing well. Watch out for the Eagles, they're dangerous.
Atlanta at Oakland: FALCONS. It's a long way from Atlanta to Oakland, but I think the Falcons are good enough to pull off the long distance road win.
New England at Indianapolis: PATRIOTS. This is my favorite upset pick of the week. The Colts are actually favored by about a touchdown. Indy could certainly win this game, especially since emotions will be running high with the hated Patriots in town. But I just think the Patriots are a better team, even without Brady, and the Colts could be missing some key players (i.e. Reggie Wayne). Plus, it kind of seems like it has to happen this way, doesn't it? The Bills and Patriots both win this week, putting them both at 6-2 and tied for the division lead heading into next week's showdown at Foxborough.
Pittsburgh at Washington: STEELERS. The Steelers are going to be pissed after losing to the Giants last week, and they'll have an added boost with the likely return of Willie Parker. I still stand by my opinion that the Redskins are not as good as their record, but I do have to admit that Clinton Portis is having a monstrous year, and he may be good enough to carry this team back to the playoffs.
All right, that's all for this week. Hopefully I'll have some stuff to put on the blog between now and next week's NFL article. The horror story might get done, and there are a couple other things I'm thinking about writing, possibly something about Tuesday's election. But I make no promises. If it were up to me I would write fascinating content for the blog every day, but sadly I have other obligations. Enjoy the games and keep your eyes on the blog, because there will be new stuff coming, hopefully sooner rather than later.
-Niztradamus
By Nick "fair and balanced" Roberts
Greetings and salutations. I am in an excellent mood this week, as I spent all day yesterday drinking and writing fiction. Now, I don't really condone spending an entire day half in the bag (or entirely in the bag), but considering I hadn't been truly drunk-- I define "truly drunk" as "incapable of operating heavy machinery"-- since sometime in August, I felt like I was due. And I find a little alcohol (okay, a lot of alcohol) is good for the creative mind. So there it is. The aforementioned horror story is not done yet (turns out it's going to be quite a bit longer than I originally thought), but it's coming along nicely. When it's finished, you'll be the first to know.
I don't usually spend much time discussing college football in the NFL article, for obvious reasons. But I think it's worth pointing out that the USC Trojans are really good. Granted, we have played a lot of profoundly terrible football teams, but you can't fake this kind of dominance. This season we have outscored our opponents 322-57, and that includes the game we lost. We have recorded shutouts in three of our past four games. Do we deserve to be in the national title game? I don't know. We have played a very soft schedule, and we did have the inexplicable loss to Oregon State. But I know I would pick USC against anyone in the country. Well, maybe not Florida. Florida scares me.
Moving along to the NFL, this promises to be an interesting week. We have one big AFC East showdown, Jersey at Buffalo, and another big game that still feels like an AFC East rivalry, even though it isn't (New England at Indy). These two games should go a long way toward determining who is really the team to beat in the East. It could also be a turning point for the Colts. They are running out of time to get their season back on track.
The resurgent St. Louis Rams, who came tantalizingly close to defeating New England on the road last week, have a chance to begin clawing their way back into the NFC West race, as they host division leader Arizona. It will also be a huge day in the NFC East, as the Cowboys pay a visit to the Giants. A Dallas win puts the Cowboys back in the picture (especially since Romo should be returning soon), while a victory by the G-Men would give them a strangehold on the division and the fast track to the #1 seed in the conference. Other exciting games include the Packers making a visit to the undefeated Titans (will the '72 Dolphins be popping the cork today?) and an intriguing interconference Monday night game, as the Steelers visit the surprising Redskins. If the Cowboys upset the Giants and the Redskins beat the Steelers, Washington will suddenly become a serious threat to steal the East away from the champs. That would be an interesting scenario, but I don't really expect either of those things to happen.
You'll probably be surprised to know that I handled the Bills losing to the Dolphins last week fairly well. Admittedly, I still have marks on my knuckles because I punched my desk at one point in the fourth quarter, but once the game was over I calmed down. I was much more disturbed after the Arizona loss. After that game, I thought we looked like a team that really wasn't very good, that had only gotten to 4-0 because of a soft schedule and some lucky breaks. Against Miami, I thought we still looked like a good team, just one that was making some idiotic errors and riding out some very bad luck. In the Miami game we took bad penalties, we dropped passes, Trent was uncharacteristically shaky, Terrence McGee was a complete liability at corner, and Marshawn Lynch wasn't himself (I strongly suspect he's been hurt for over a month). Basically, anything that could go wrong did go wrong. The game was an aberration. We had a bad day. It happens to every team.
All that being said, the Miami loss is still a cause for concern. Sitting at 5-1, with three straight division games coming up, we had a chance to take complete control of the division. We squandered that opportunity in Florida. Now we face a must-win at home against the Jets. It's not a must-win mathematically; we could lose and still be tied for first place, if the Colts beat the Patriots. But it's a must-win in a psychological sense. We need to prove to ourselves-- and everyone else-- that we are a legitimate contender in the division and that we can compete with these guys. We will need the confidence of a win over the Jets to have any chance of going into Gillette and beating the Patriots next Sunday. It won't be easy. Even though Favre is new to the division, he's still going to get up for an AFC East rival, and I expect him to play well. The Bills are also struggling with some injuries right now, especially on defense. But I expect the guys to rise to the challenge. I think Trent will put the team on his back if he has to, and I'm sure the Ralph will be jumping today, so that will make it harder on the Jets.
On to the picks!
Jersey Jets at Buffalo: THE BILLS. Discussed this pretty thoroughly earlier. Don't have a lot to add. I guess I'll just throw out a random prediction-- this will be a breakout game for Leodis McKelvin. I bet he picks off Favre at least once and, what the hell, I'll predict he runs a kickoff back for a touchdown.
Detroit at Chicago: BEARS. The Lions are just awful. I do not anticipate picking them in a single game this season, but you never know.
Jacksonville at Cincinnati: JAGUARS. On the other hand, I could see myself picking the Bengals at some point this season. But not this week. Without Carson Palmer, I don't see any way they can generate enough offense to beat the Jags.
Baltimore at Cleveland: BROWNS. Toughest call of the week. Neither team is terrible, but neither team is particularly good. I had to go with the Browns because they've been improving lately and they're at home.
Arizona at St. Louis: CARDINALS. As you'll remember, last week I ridiculed the idea of picking Arizona on the road. And I wasn't wrong-- they lost to the Panthers. However, they did put up one hell of a fight, and very nearly won that game. Considering Carolina is a pretty good team, I was impressed. I have also been impressed by the dramatic improvement of the Rams, and they played well against New England last week. I originally thought I would pick the Rams in this game, but the Cards are slowly winning me over.
Houston at Minnesota: TEXANS. Yeah, the Texans! Houston has quietly been putting together a nice run over the past few weeks, and the Vikings are dysfunctional. The seat under Brad Childress couldn't be much hotter. Andre Johnson of the Texans might be the most dominant receiver in the NFL right now, and I think most people who don't play fantasy football and/or live in the state of Texas are probably unaware of this. Well, no more. Stand up and take notice. He's the best Andre since Reed.
Green Bay at Tennessee: TITANS. If this game were in Wisconsin, I'd give the Pack a good shot at the upset. But since it isn't, and because I was very impressed with Tennessee's comeback win over the Colts last week, I'm going to predict that the undefeated juggernaut rolls on.
Tampa Bay at Kansas City: BUCCANEERS. I think anyone who drafted Larry Johnson for their fantasy team this year deserves some kind of compensation pick in next year's draft.
Miami at Denver: BRONCOS. Making this pick was harder than you might think. The Dolphins, clearly, are capable of competing with just about anyone from week to week. And there are serious questions about Denver (remember the blowout loss to the Patriots a couple weeks ago). But still, it's Mile High, the Dolphins are inconsistent, had to go with common sense and take the home team.
Dallas at Jersey Giants: GIANTS. I think the Cowboys will be a trendy upset pick this week, and I can sort of understand why. Strange things happen in rivalry games, and the Cowboys do have a ton of talent on their roster, even if they haven't really been showing it lately. But I just can't see them putting it all together and beating the Giants in the Meadowlands.
Philadelphia at Seattle: EAGLES. Philly has become sort of the forgotten team in the NFC East, but they're still capable of making some noise, especially now that Westbrook is back and playing well. Watch out for the Eagles, they're dangerous.
Atlanta at Oakland: FALCONS. It's a long way from Atlanta to Oakland, but I think the Falcons are good enough to pull off the long distance road win.
New England at Indianapolis: PATRIOTS. This is my favorite upset pick of the week. The Colts are actually favored by about a touchdown. Indy could certainly win this game, especially since emotions will be running high with the hated Patriots in town. But I just think the Patriots are a better team, even without Brady, and the Colts could be missing some key players (i.e. Reggie Wayne). Plus, it kind of seems like it has to happen this way, doesn't it? The Bills and Patriots both win this week, putting them both at 6-2 and tied for the division lead heading into next week's showdown at Foxborough.
Pittsburgh at Washington: STEELERS. The Steelers are going to be pissed after losing to the Giants last week, and they'll have an added boost with the likely return of Willie Parker. I still stand by my opinion that the Redskins are not as good as their record, but I do have to admit that Clinton Portis is having a monstrous year, and he may be good enough to carry this team back to the playoffs.
All right, that's all for this week. Hopefully I'll have some stuff to put on the blog between now and next week's NFL article. The horror story might get done, and there are a couple other things I'm thinking about writing, possibly something about Tuesday's election. But I make no promises. If it were up to me I would write fascinating content for the blog every day, but sadly I have other obligations. Enjoy the games and keep your eyes on the blog, because there will be new stuff coming, hopefully sooner rather than later.
-Niztradamus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
