My apologies for not posting my recap sooner but it has been a hectic week. In any event, after going 3-0 with my picks I’m hoping you will cut me some slack. Ok enough with self-praise, onto the recap…
HIGHLIGHTS:
The Patriots Deliver: As expected by everyone outside the Houston area, the Patriots throttled the Texans at home and only allowed the score to get respectable once the game was out of reach. Despite Arian Foster pleas for mercy all week, the Patriots trampled the Texans up and down the field on Sunday night at Gillette and seemed to score at will. I don’t think I will ever forget the image of Bill Belichek looking up after the Brady-Vereen score late and barely batting an eyelash, but it goes to show you that the Patriots are still fuming from their loss last year to the Giants in the Superbowl and are in statement game mode the rest of the way. Although the loss of Gronkowski is big, the Patriots seem to play better when players are simply out instead of playing injured. With the Patriots machine rolling like this and Hernandez now at 100%, I doubt they will miss him much.
The Ravens Big Win: Although I expected the Ravens to cover the spread, I had no idea they would shock the world by beating the press-loved Broncos on the road. Although I have pointed out several times this season that the Broncos have not beaten anyone of tremendous significance and/or any team not ravaged by injuries and that Manning was a huge risk given his situation (said this all offseason), it became clear on Saturday that the Broncos didn’t have it. Not only were the Broncos having trouble keeping up with the now-semi healthy Ravens team with Ray Lewis Back, Manning was forced to play with a glove on his hand because they cold was affecting the nerves in his hand due to his medical history (neck injuries and 4 surgeries). Manning has never played well in the playoffs save for the one title won when the Colts were a tremendous underdog and the pressure was off (a career record of 9-11), but this home loss as the number one seed to a depleted Ravens squad has to be one of his top two all time worst playoff outcomes. I am not a professional athlete but if I ever were to become one, I would absolutely want to hire Manning’s “Team”, it would be the first thing I did. This team has managed to get Manning max money, max attention, max media love, max exposure, max EVERYTHING despite the fact that Manning is a loser when it comes to the playoffs and when legends are made (My new rule is that if you are sub .500 in the playoffs you are a loser). His team are able to play GMs, fans, the media and sponsors for fools year in and year out, hell if I ever get famous for anything I want the Manning team to represent me. PERIOD…or whoever represents Channing Tatum or Sam Worthington.
LOWLIGHTS:
Green Bay’s Big Bust- Unlike many in the Sports media like Grantland’s Bill Barnwell (how this guy is paid to go 1-3 I have no idea), I knew Green Bay had next to no shot in this one. The spread was a little freaky, but just to pick, how could you pick against the 49ers right now? Not only that but the 49ers smoked the Packers already once this season, and nothing has fundamentally changed about the Packers all season. No run game, suspect defence, sub-par special teams (including their freightful kicker who has played his last game in Green Bay)…I mean all they have is Rodgers. They are the definition of one dimensional and I am shocked they even managed it this far into the season with their style of ball. In any event, Rodgers as fantastic as Rodgers is he needs a ton of help. Green Bay has basically thrown him to the wolves last two season, so in the offseason they had best make some solid changes and if there draft class isn’t running back, running back, offensive lineman, defensive end, kicker, running back, running back I’ll be pissed, and so should Rogers.
Seahawks Grounded- Although it was a fantastic game too watch, if you have any affiliation to the Seattle Seahwaks, be it fan, player, front office, coach, or other, you have to feel sick to your stomach about the way this game was given away. To give Matty No-Ice a win in a game, in which the Falcons were exploding worse than Both Death Stars combined, how could you not feel sick. I’m sick and I don’t even like the Seahawks.
Anyway, the blunders which accounted for Seattle’s loss are numerous and should be accounted.
First, how in the World does Seattle not take the field goal when they are in Atlanta territory and down only 13-0 in the first half. I know the media heads are thumping their chests and want to let Seattle off the hook by saying that’s what they would do, but that is why they are perennially wrong media heads and not coaches. No way Bill Bellichek, Bill Parcells or Tom Coughlin go for it in that situation. To go for it and make it is great, but it still does not assure you 7 points, if anything it assures you another stupid decision to go for it on 4th down again on the same drive. However, if you go for it and miss it is a terrible momentum swing in a game you are still in. The latter is of course what happened, and the Falcons promptly capitalize by marching the length of the field and scoring a touchdown. Moronic!
Second, even more moronic (and this is something I actually agree with the talking heads on), is if you are going to go for it, how can you not give it to Marshawn Lynch on one of the two tries on third or fourth down!@ It is absolutely inexcusable!!# Lynch is one of the best backs in the game and has carried your run game all season!! Give him the damn ball!!@@##
Third, although Russell Wilson made enough good plays this season to excuse himself even if this game was a blow out, for him to take that sack at the end of the first half was brutal. The sequence of him getting sacked, and the Seahawks not lining up quick enough to get a play off to try for a field goal or touchdown cost them at least 3 points. In a game decided by 2 points there’s your ball game.
Fourth, after it appears that the Seahawks had found the Falcons ventilation duct and the chain reaction to Matty Ice going 0-4 was inevitable, the Seahawks somehow allowed the Falcons to march down the field with less than a minute and allow them a scoring play. The sequence I am referring to is of course, when Marswhan Lynch scored his suspect and seemingly game winning touchdown (ironically it might have been better if the score did not stand) with less than minute to go. After the score, it looked as though Matt Ryan had been iced, but alas he had been left enough time on the clock to march down the field and put his team in a position to win the game. There are certainly some props that must be given to Matty on this one, but for Seattle’s defense which includes two of the best defensive backs in the game to give up the plays it did down the stretch is inexcusable.
Fifth, that decision to call timeout and try and ice the kicker was brutal. It was almost as brutal as his pathetic rouse to pretend he did not call timeout to ice the kicker. But the decision itself was still pretty brutal. I know there has been no conclusive evidence to say that icing the kicker works or it doesn’t and there are camps for both schools of thought, I however believe I have the solution.
The decision to ice the kicker should be used with great caution and only after a through assessment of the circumstances. If the kicker is rushed onto the field and it is a relatively long field goal, NO ICE should be attempted. If however, the kicker has had plenty of time to assess the situation and the distance is not that long then perhaps an ICE attempt should be warranted. BOOM! Debate over. Like most things in life this boils down to common sense. I don’t know how coaches and talking heads can’t get this right.
In sum, the aforementioned are only 5 of the reasons that contributed to why Seahawks pissed away this game. Any one of them could have blown this game against Matty Ice and his shaky confidence and the Seahawks must now spend all off season thinking “what if”. What if indeed.
PICKS
HOME TEAM IN CAPS
BRONZE PICK
Ravens (+9.5 to +8) OVER PATRIOTS- This pick does not fill me with confidence, but the Ravens have played the Patriots well in their last two meetings and are made up very similarly to the Giants. The last point is especially relevant of course because the Giants are the only team two break the Patriots hearts in the playoffs in their biggest games. With Ray Lewis back anything can happen for the Ravens. I would be scared to give the points AND take the Patriots in this one.
SILVER PICK
PATRIOTS (MONEYLINE) OVER Ravens- Although every girl in North America is going for Michael Oher and the Patriots in this one, the Ravens above everyone know how tough it is to beat the Patriots. The Patriots are in full-on assassin mode, and with a defense that is still beat up it will be tough to overcome. If they had Ladarius Webb and Ed Reed hadn’t looked so bad last week I probably would not be advocating this pick, but it is so tough to go against the Patriots right now even with Ray Lewis playing the way he had and brought the best out of the Ravens. Its tough, but I think the Patriots take this one.
GOLD PICK
San Fran (MONEYLINE) OVER FALCONS- It is hard to think back to the last time a higher seed with a better was an underdog at home, but such is the public’s faith in Matty Ice. Not only that but after the way Kapernick played last week you would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t think the Falcons were cooked. That being said however, there is something I don’t trust about the magnitude of the 49ers margin of victory. San Fran has not been a great redzone offense and their defense is surely to have problems containing both Julio Jones and Roddy White. I see a 49ers victory but I am not confident enough to take -3.5 in a road game. As such, I would put a solid amount on the 49ers Moneyline had be happy to win a quarter of my money.
GOOD LUCK THIS WEEK AND PLEASE GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY
