Die Hard Sports Fan

Man oh man…where on Earth do I start?!  I think first and foremost… the Redskins deserve a HUGE pat on the back. Number one, they are officially finished playing their division rivals on the road for the season with an NFC East record of 3-1.  Number two, I was watching Chris Bermman on ESPN’s The Blitz yesterday and he was literally tongue tied and pretty much speechless because he, like all NFL analysts at this point, are in disbelief in terms of the Redskins success.  This team is truly a force to be reckoned with.

I believe I speak for the majority of us when I say the opening of the game was a bit nerve wrecking.  Brian Westbrook scored running up the middle at the beginning of the game, followed by rookie DeSean Jackson’s kickoff return for a touchdown (that block in the back 100% should have been accepted by the way), leaving us at a 14 point defecit with 7:47 left to go in the first quarter!  The play by play guys started saying we looked like the Redskins who lost in our first game versus the Giants. Little did they know.

Second quarter was the Shaun Suisham show, where he kicked for  41, 48 and 50 yard field goals which took us into half time down by 5, score 14-9.  And this Redskins defense came out ready to fight in the third quarter, causing Donovan Mcnabb and his Eagles to go 3-and-out three times in a row, and going nearly 30 minutes without a first down.

Meanwhile on the other side of the ball, the Redskins were being productive as well.  College quarterback turned receiver, Anwaan Randle El threw TE Chris Cooley his first touchdown of the year, giving Washington the lead, 16-14.  At the start of the fourth quarter, RB Clinton Portis literally walked into the end zone, adding to the lead and the Redskins 23 unanswered points since Jackson’s kickoff returned TD halfway through the first quarter.

The Eagles marched down the field and made it to the 2 yard line, but then Brian Westbrook took a loss of 3 yards and Acker’s had to come in to kick a field goal.   Washington went on to get the W with the final score being 23-17.

So…how come this number one defense against the rush decided not to show up yesterday? Because Clinton Portis AND Ladell Betts got their man yesterday with 200+ yards!! Not to mention Jason Campbell and the Redskins converted on third down 11 of 19 attempts.  He adapted to reading the blitz effectively and our offensive line gave the Eagles a run for their money. And how about Brian Westbrook..? He had just 33 yards on the ground, granted he got the TD early, but where was he at after that?

As opposed to my initial thoughts at the beginning of the game, our Skins have really broken out of their shell. And as if the defeat of the Cowboys last week wasn’t reason enough, we are certainly the talk among the league right now. We’re the only team in the league who has yet to have an offensive turnover for goodness sake!! Sure, the Giants remain undefeated, but who the heck have they really played so far? And there are a couple of teams with only one loss…most of which I would say deserve to be 4-1 or 3-1. But I am a firm believer that we’ve had the toughest schedule.  But that being said, we are now going into the easiest part of the season, facing the Rams, Browns and Lions who are 1-11 respectively.  Our biggest challenge at the time, in my opinion, would be to NOT get cocky and prepare for these games the same we have thus far.

Oh yeah, and wait, how on EARTH are the Tennessee Titans really 5-0 right now? That’s the best record in the league!! What’s going on?!

Share This

Here at the Bills Blog we are very capable of changing things up.  This week I’m calling an audible and going to give you my NFL picks for Week 3 against the point spread.  This is going to be a weekly post that will happen every Thursday from now on (remember every Tuesday is also the Bills Player Bio of the Week).  Why am I still talking?  Let’s start it up.

Oakland Raiders (1-1, +9.5) @ Buffalo Bills (2-0)

OVER/UNDER: 36.5 Points 

Oakland lost their top back in Justin Fargas to a hamstring injury so the workload will go between rookie Darren McFadden, and Michael Bush.  I think the Bills Defense is going to be able to stop the run with Marcus Stroud just terriozing the Raiders O-line.  If they can’t run the ball, then the pressure will be put on 2nd year QB JaMarcus Russel who has not looked very strong.  The guy only had 55 yards last week through the air against a weak Kansas City defense (he went 6 for 17 which is good for a 35.3% completion).  Not to mention that the defense has been terrible.  They have let up an average of 24.5 points per game and 315 yards.  The Bills offense should have a big day.  The only question is will the Bills blow them out?  This is a game they are suppose to win big and it is tough whether or not they will step on their throat and blow them out of this game. 

THE PICK: I have to go with the Bills in this one.

OVER/UNDER: I’ll go with the OVER.   

Arizona Cardinals (2-0) @ Washington Redskins (1-1, +3)

OVER/UNDER: 42.5

Kurt Warner looked the right choice after all after he has led the team to a 2-0 start to the season.  He looked great last week against the Dolphins (but who doesn’t).  The Redskins secondary hasn’t looked great, so expect Warner to have another strong game with Fitz and Boldin running the show.  Clinton Portis is going to have to led the Redskins in carrier and be their workhorse in this game.  Jason Campbell looked sharp last week, like he was suppose to look like this season.  I think the Redskins are still a pretty good team.  Look for a high scoring game.

THE PICK: I really do like the Redskins with the 3 point spread in this one.

O/U: It might be a pretty high scoring game but my gut tells me to go with the UNDER.

KANSAS CITY CHEIFS (0-2, +5.5) @ Atlanta Falcons (1-1)

O/U: 36.5

This game could be the possible stinker of the week.  Kansas City is terrible but the Falcons aren’t too much better.  Neither team has a QB (sorry Matt Ryan Fans) but both do have some running backs.  Look for the Falcons to win the running battle with Turner and Norwood.  Two awful teams going head to head. 

THE PICK: Turner will have a huge game.  Falcons are my pick.

O/U: These teams might not even get passed the 25 point mark.  I’m taking the UNDER.

HOUSTON TEXANS (0-1, +5) @ Tennessee Titans (2-0)

O/U: 39

This will be the Texans fist game in 2 weeks as they had a “bye week” last week due to the Hurricane.  The Texans looked terrible in their first game and I expected that to continue especailly because they don’t have a running back.  The Titans will have to not turn the ball over and stop the Texans in the air to win this one.  Should be a low scoring game.

THE PICK: I like the Texans with the +5 points.

O/U: Like I said, I think this one will be low scoring.  I’ll take the UNDER.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (1-1, +3) @ CHICAGO BEARS (1-1)

O/U: 35.5

The biggest question with this line is how is the over/under 35.5?  Neither team will score much in this game.  Both teams have a decently strong running game but passing is the big question.  Kyle Orton is not going to put up big numbers and Devin Hester, the Bears top playmaker might not even play in this game.  He has missed three pratices in a row this week due to a rib injury.  How are they going to get into good field postion now?  Their offense certainly won’t be able to do it.  This game should be another stinker.

THE PICK:  No Hester equals No Win.  I’ll take the Bucs with the 3 points to spare.

O/U: Under for sure.

CINCINNATI BENGALS (0-2, +13.5) @ NEW YORK GIANTS

O/U: 41.5

Can the Giants cover the spread?  They certainly will beat the joke of the NFL in the Bengals but by almost 14 points?  Their offense will put up some big numbers over a very poor defense (don’t give me those numbers of where the D is ranked, they are terrible).  The X-Factor in this one is Carson Palmer.  He has looked terrible for the Bengals in their two losses.  I have a feeling he bounces back in this one.  And hey maybe Chad Johnson (no I will not refer to him by his stupid spanish name that translates to eight five, not eighty-five) might accuatly come out and play a game of football.

THE PICK: Palmer bounces back in this one and the Giants, who win, just can’t cover the spread.  I’ll go with the Bengals, although I proabably will regret it. 

O/U: Over.  This game will have a pretty high score at the end.

MIAMI DOLPHINS (0-2, +12.5) @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (2-0)

O/U: 36.5

The Dolphins will play this game close, until halftime where they will eventually be blown out by the Pats.  Miami’s defense will not be able to stop the run or pass, even without Tom Brady.  The national betting scene is all over the Dolphins but let’s be honest here.  The Pats have too much firepower for them to handle.  It won’t be a high scoring game but I wouldn’t be suprise if the Dolphins get shut out. 

THE PICK: Not following the national media on this one.  I’m going with the Patriots.

O/U: Neither team will score much.  UNDER.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (2-0, +3.5) @ MINNESOTA VIKINGS (0-2)

O/U: 37.5

The Panthers are the underdogs in this one?  Watch Gus Frerotte be terrible this week and Tavaris Jackson wins back his spot.  The Panthers of course will have to stop AP and Chester Taylor on the ground.  That is no small task.  However they have won their first 2 games without their best player in Steve Smith.  Look for him to have a big game in this one.  I don’t usually go on trends but QB Jake Delhomme for the Panthers is 22-4 as an underdog in his career.  I expect that record to improve after this game.

THE PICK: Going with the Panthers on this one as everyone in Minnesota realizes their team is in deep trouble.

O/U: Steve Smith is back remember?  Going with the OVER on this one.

That covers all of the early games for Sunday.  Didn’t feel the need to bore all of you guys tonight.  Check the site tommarrow evening for the rest of the games.  Also remember, this post will be done on Thursdays from now on.

High Disagree with one of my picks?  Think I’m an idiot?  Want to praise me for picking your team?  Write a comment in below and tell me what’s up. 

Share This

I’m sure all of you Giants fans know that the Cowboys got Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones from the Titans already.  Ed Werner of ESPN.com reported that,

Sources tell Werder that Dallas will send its fourth-round pick (the 126th overall) in Saturday’s draft to the Titans for Jones. There are also conditions attached to the trade related to Jones being reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and how much he plays for the Cowboys. If he plays a significant amount of time in 2008, the Titans will get an additional pick from the Cowboys in 2009. If he doesn’t get reinstated by the NFL, sources said the Cowboys get the Titans’ fourth-round pick in 2009.

The big issue here is whether or not Commissioner Roger Goodell will reinstate Pacman.  Prior to Goodell, these players never even got suspended for any wrong doing.  I don’t know what the Commissioner is going to do here because there isn’t a track record yet.  He has two options: 1) Reinstate a player that has been suspended. 2) Don’t reinstate a player that has been suspended.  We know that Goodell will suspend players, but we don’t know what will happen after the suspension is over yet.  My gut tells me that the Commissioner will reinstate Jones, but I believe that this guy should never play football again.  Another rumor surfaced this week.  According to ESPN.com, “Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones paid “extortion” money to a 29-year-old man arrested for a Las Vegas strip club shooting that left a club employee paralyzed, police said.”  We’ll have to see how all of this plays out.  It all sound very Ray Lewis-ish and Kobe Bryant-ish to me, and they all still play.

According to Clare Farnsworth of Seattlepi.com, the Seattle Seahawks have no interest in Shockey.

Newsday:

Giants’ first pick must bled in with champions - Tom Rock dissuses the concept of drafting a player that is going to gel with a Championship team.  That is the pressure that lies on Jerry Reese this weekend.

New York Daily News:

Giants get picky over Jeremy Shockey - Ralph Vacchiano summarized the overall Jeremy Shocky situation.

Prediction: Giants will select Miami’s Kenny Phillips in NFL Draft - Ralph Vacciano predicted that Big Blue will select Miami Safety Kenny Phillips with the 31st pick.  Pat Kirwan of NFL.com had the G-MEN picking Phillips in his Mock Draft that I wrote about on Monday.  If you missed that post and want to check out Phillips’ Draft Player Profile then check it out on ‘Monday’s Giants News: More Mock Drafts’.

New York Post:

TURNING THE CORNER - Paul Schwartz wrote up an article about Corey Webster’s status on the Jints.  Schwarts believes that if the Giants draft a cornerback in the first round then it’s a bad sign for Webster.

New York Times:

Cowboys Get Jones in Trade, Not Knowing if He Can Return - Judy Battista reported that the Cowboys traded for Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones.  Battista did not included the trade details so I will get them from another website.

The Star-Ledger:

A few late-round/undrafted guesses - Mike Garafolo provided a list of players that could be drafted by the Giants in the later rounds.

Eli Manning honeymoon sighting

Share This

The Giants news is below.  The 2008 Regular Season schedule has been released, but I didn’t look at it yet.  I’m going to provide it to you and break it down for you shortly in the next post.  I want to be able to draw my own conclusions about it.  I just wanted to get the news out first.

Also, the Cowboys reportedly made a better offer to the Titans for Adam “Pacman” Jones last night.

Giants.com:

2008 Schedule Released! 

Newsday:

Eli: We want Shockey - Tom Rock pointed out that Eli Manning said he wants Jeremy Shockey again.

New York Daily News:

Michael Strahan won’t commit to return - Ralph Vacciano wrote, “Michael Strahan had his annual meeting with the Giants general manager last week, but he told Jerry Reese that he’s not yet ready to make any decisions about his future.

New York Post:

STRAHAN QUESTION HOVERS OVER GIANTS

ELI: JINTS FOCUS ON GETTING BETTER - Brett Cyrgalis parroted what the New York Post wrote about on Saturday.

The Star-Ledger:

Breaking down the schedule

Official schedule released

Two more games for you

Piecing together the schedule

Report: Strahan, Reese meet

A few more predraft visits - Mike Garafolo reported that the following players will also be working out this week with the Giants: Miami LB Tavares Gooden, Wisconsin WR Paul Hubbard, Duquesne WR Bruce Hocker, Eastern Kentucky CB Antwaun Molden, UNC DE Hilee Taylor, Georgia QB Willie Copeland.

Share This

No news has come out of The Swamp the last few days.  Below, you can check out the only article about the Giants today.  The 2008 NFL Schedule will be released tomorrow.  Since there wasn’t anything to write about, I checked up on the NFC East and former Giants.

Rumors about the Cowbows making a trade with the Titans for Adam “Pacman” Jones are back on, according to Adam Schefter of the NFL Network.  The two teams spent all day Saturday going back and forth on proposals.  One of Schefter’s sources believes that the trade could be done this week.  In the past, Dallas has been offering one of their sixth-round picks, but Tennessee held out for a fourth-round pick or better.  Adam also wrote that “Dallas wanted to attach conditions to the trade in which it could receive a draft pick back from Tennessee if Jones got into more trouble in his new city.”  This clause doesn’t make any sense to me.  If Dallas is stupid enough to sign a troubled player then they should suffer the consequenses of the player getting into trouble in his new city, not benefit from it.  Pacman has to apply to be reinstated in the NFL before this can happen.  The two teams are trying to get Pacman reinstated as fast as possible so they can get this deal done on Tuesday.

Down in Miami, Tim Graham of Inside the Dolphins pointed out that former Giants head coach Bill Parcells was unhappy with previous efforts of the former strength and conditioning coaches.  Last season, 16 Dolphins were on IR so he quickly fired them.  So The Tuna brought in two new strength and conditioning coaches who have The Fish working out really hard in the weight room.  Graham also found out that, “Several Dolphins have commented that this is the most strenuous weight conditioning program they’ve encountered in the NFL or college. One player, who said he always considered himself a workout fiend, admitted he had no right to think that way until now.”  While we are on the Dolphins, it is very likely that they are in contract negotiations with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, and if the two sides can agree on a deal then Long will be the first pick in the draft.

Out in Cleveland, former Giants wide receiver Joe Jurevicius contracted a staph infection following knee surgery, becoming the sixth Cleveland player in four years to suffer from staph.  According to the AP, “Jurevicius is recovering well and is expected to participate in team activities in May and minicamp in June.”

Giants.com:

Fans Take - Another Giants fan offers their thoughts on the 2007 season.

Share This

Late last night, I went onto CBSSportsline.com to check out the status of my Brackets and I found a reason why we can all laugh at Dallas if you haven’t heard it already.  Here it goes.  The Cowboys had preliminary discussion with the Titans about trading for Adam “Pacman” Jones.  Start laughing and keep on laughing.  It is rumored that the Cowboys may only have to give up a late-round draft pick to acquire Jones.  Supposedly, the Titans are in no hurry to trade Pacman.  Adam’s agent, Manny Arora, would like to trade Jones somewhere before the NFL Draft.  Pacman understands that he may have to take a paycut to even get a job in the NFL and is willing to do so.  Roger Goodell said he will review suspension before training camps open in July.  Even though Adam may get signed elsewhere, the suspension may not get lifted because he continued to get into trouble during the suspension.  This could lead to Dallas signing a player that may not even be allowed to play.  Sucks to be them.  Now you see why the Agent is trying to rush the trade.

Is it just me or does Big D love these outlaws?  They picked up Tank Johnson last year who had to sit on the bench for the first 8 games due to having multiple machine guns and several thousand rounds of ammunition in his home along with a bunch of other stuff.  Although T.O. is not a criminal, he is the biggest distraction in the NFL.  Multiple teams benched him for the remainder of the season, and Bill Parcells left Dallas because of him.  The early 1990’s Cowboys weren’t much better if you remember.  So I believe that Jerry Jones doesn’t give a damn about a players’ character.  As long as Dallas has a bunch of strip clubs, Pacman would love to go to a new city and shoot’em up.  Perhaps Jones’ can train future teammates like Tony Romo and Jason Witten how to throw around hundreds of thousands of dollars and open up fire in a strip club.

Shame on the Dallas Cowboys for hiring these types of people.  Shame on the NFL for allowing these thugs to play in the NFL.  It doesn’t stop there.  We have Strahan who should be in jail.  Ray Lewis should be in jail.  Half of the Bengals roster should be in jail.  The list goes on and on.  I only remember Michael Vick going to jail.  Something is very wrong.

Giants.com:

Success Follows CB Ross - Aron Angel pointed out that Aaron Ross won a Super Bowl in his rookie year after an impressive college career.  Angel chats about this success with Ross.

Giants 2008 Ticket Pricing - Michael Eisen explains the ticket pricing by section at Giants Stadium.

New York Daily News:

Giants raise ticket price average of $7

New York Post:

GIANTS’ $UPER TICKET HIKE

New York Times:

Jets and Giants Fans May Pay for the Right to Pay for Tickets

The Star-Ledger:

Ticket prices go up

Share This