Assessing the Notre Dame-Stanford Controversy

(Note: I have been trying to avoid writing on Notre Dame all year, I didn't want to jinx them. Photo courtesy of SI.com)

    I was there yesterday, through all the rain, to witness a great football game. As so many games that end up close though, this game ended in a decently big controversy. In case you haven't seen yet, people were wondering if Stanford running back Stepfon Taylor scored a Touchdown in Overtime. There are the ND supporters who would rather not look at any of the evidence (in fact, who doesn't know if they aren't trying to burn it now). Also there are Stanford supporters that are going to throw a couple of rules at you, and make it seem like they got robbed.
    I know how the other side of this feels, 2005, Notre Dame and USC, you know, the Bush Push. I will say that Stanford can fairly feel that their guy TIED the game. Something no one has really pointed out, is sure Stanford may have tied the game there, but that was only to tie it up. This wasn't Stanford was only down 3 and should have won. Who knows what was going to happen in the following overtimes, especially since Stanford was about to have the disadvantage of offense first. Also, my dad brought up, if Stanford really want to win that game they had the ball with 20 seconds left and 2 time outs. Stanford wanted overtime, regardless of how the call worked out they wanted to be in that situation.
   On the Notre Dame side, the argument people throw out there is "the whistle blew." Which that doesn't matter, when a referee goes into the replay booth it doesn't matter when the whistle blows. Honestly, I can admit, there has not been many other arguments Notre Dame supporters have thrown out there.
   So where do I stand, as unbiased as I can be, you can't overturn the original call on the field with that replay. There was too many "ifs" on the replay. IF the forward progress wasn't stopped when was he down? IF he didn't drop the ball before he crossed the plane. IF his elbow didn't hit the ground before he got in. There was nothing on that replay that was CONCLUSIVE evidence of either way. Quite frankly, if the refs on the field called that a Touchdown, the play would have stood. When the refs called him short of the goal line, it should have stood. This wasn't like the guy put the ball in the end zone 6 different times and the refs were just blind. There is nothing on that replay that makes me go, "Oh man, we really robbed Stanford there." I also look at the replay and say in my head "Wow, I am not sure we stopped them, I am really glad the refs called it that way."
    The replay was inconclusive, and the refs called it how they saw it. That's football. Feel like I am biased, ask Reggie Bush in 2005.

Week 6 Preview

      Week Six in the NFL is the winding down of the early season thoughts. We have an opinion on most teams now that are going to be hard to change now. So after this week it might be time to think about 2013 if your team is 1-5 or the dreaded 0-6 (we are looking at you Cleveland). It also is a time to get some confidence in your team, so long as they aren't planning a nuclear meltdown.

Thursday Night Review: Sorry Tennessee, but this is more about Pittsburgh. The Steelers have been sort of fading the last couple years; but we always sort of scoffed it of because, well, they are the STEELERS. This year seems very different however. Pittsburgh is an average team on offense this year, ranking 16th in points and 17th in yards. It isn't even the usual suspect in the offensive line, as the Steelers are tied for 18th in sacks allowed. The one not really average thing on offense is that they are number one on 3rd down, converting 52% of the time. Not really a big issue though. The issue is the typically highly touted defense has just stopped being that good. They are 16th in sacks, 19th in points allowed, and are only have forced 6 turnovers. It is just average, and don't be surprised if the 2012 Steelers are just average.

Game of the Week: Giants and 49ers gets the nod for the most intriguing game this week. Anytime you rematch the NFC championship game it is going to be highly anticipated. Throw in the fact it went into overtime last year, and the Kyle Williams redemption story, and it is hard to imagine this game won't be good. It is seeming like everyone is on the 49ers as the best NFC team, which is all too perfect for the "us against the world" Giants. Everyone feels like the 49ers are going to win, which is all too perfect for the "us against the world" Giants. There was an article on ESPN earlier this week about how the Giants feel disrespected, and no one really reconsidered if they have overlooked them. WHICH IS ALL TOO PERFECT FOR THE "US AGAINST THE WORLD" GIANTS. They are going to win this, get an article about how they are still one of the best, and then proceed to lose next week. 17-10

Upset of the Week: I was thinking last week after the first time writing this about picking against Cleveland every week. Feeling like they may only win 4 games, I would probably be best served picking against them every week and accepting the 4 losses. Then, this week felt like there were a lot of either good games or easy picks. So guess what? CLEVELAND PICK! Joe Haden is back so hopefully he covers A.J. much better than the Browns covered Victor Cruz last week. Also, as stated last week here, Cincinnati isn't all that great. So coming back to 3-3 is not that crazy for them. Add in a good day for Trent Richardson, and I think Cleveland gets rid of the doughnut. 31-24 Cleveland. More likely though, I am taking a loss for betting on any Cleveland sports team to win.

Almost Game of the Week: The number one offense, versus the number one defense. The Patriots against the Seahawks is going to be a lot of fun on one side of the ball. Problem is we are also going to have to see the Seahawks offense (opposite of fun), take on an improved (but not great) Patriots defense. This is going to be close for the first half, but Tom Brady is going to wear the Seahawks defense down. Also, I am really never sure if the Seahawks are going to be able to move the football forward. 24-6 Patriots, but it will be so much closer than the score.

Chalk These Up: Atlanta can't go 16-0, but they can go 6-0 since they are playing the Raiders. 34-17. Miami pulled off the good karma upset last week. I don't think they can keep the good feeling going against the improved Rams. 20-7 St. Louis. I see a Tony Romo bounce back coming, just not against the Ravens. 21-13. The Cardinals are really not a 5-1 team, but they got an ice cold Buffalo Bills at home. There is no circling the wagons this week, 10-3 Cardinals.

Rest of the League: Indianapolis goes to New York to take on the Jets. Andrew Luck is looking solid in his 4th year in the league while rookie Mark Sanchez is struggling. Wait... Luck is the rookie and Sanchez is in his 4th season? 24-10 Colts. Detroit is not this bad, and unfortunately the Eagles are going to see them on the wrong week. Lions take this one in order to avoid going 1-4, 38-31. Both the Chiefs and the Buccaneers  have looked, well just plain awful. The Chiefs have been THE WORST team at holding on to the football, but they have been so bad that I think they have to come back to the pack a little. They take care of the ball this week, and win 27-16. Vikings and Redskins is definitely going to be the most underrated game this week. The Vikings are still very under the radar and still very dangerous. As for the Redskins it does not get much more fun than Robert Griffin's squad. 24-23, Vikings are sneakingly 5-1. Sunday Night Football is filled with story lines this week, and is going to be filled with great football. Texans will leave the Falcons in the ranks of the unbeaten, but just because the Pack needs it more. 34-31 Green Bay. Last game of the week, the old noodle arm that could Peyton Manning goes up against the Chargers. As Matthew Berry pointed out, the Chargers are 31st in yards per pass attempt. Couple that with the fact that Phillip Rivers is also on pace for a great decrease in pass attempts. It looks like nervous Norv Turner just doesn't trust his quarterback anymore. Peyton's arm looks rejuvenated and the Chargers get hit with the wet noodle. 30-21 Broncos.

Last Week's Record (10-3)

Week 6 Fantsy Waiver Wire

      Week 6's Fantasy Waiver Wire was looking to be pretty boring, and then a couple backs got hurt. Now we are looking at a very intriguing grab for some guys who could potentially be lead backs for their teams. What makes it even more cloudy though is the fact that there seems to be a little bit of a competition for both the open spots. There are two upstarts that can will more than likely be thrown into the starting role this week, adding instant value to your fantasy team. Beware though, as their are some experienced reserves that will get healthy. Once these guys come back, they are going to be equally hungry to fill the void. So if the less experience player falters early, they might be quickly replaced. So with that here are some guys you should look to pick up, if you have space on your bench of course.

Alex Green and James Starks: Cedric Benson is out for 8 weeks because of a Lisfranc foot injury. This opens the way for Alex Green (0.8 percent owned) and James Starks (5.9 percent owned) to pick up the usual 40-80 yards, and possibly a touch down, Packers starting running backs seem to get. So which way do you go here? No one likes being that guy who picks up the one injury fill in just to lose their job. In my opinion I would go with James Starks here, he may be hurt at the moment, but once healthy he has a better grasp of the job and the NFL. Alex Green is definitely the more talented back in this situation, but he is very raw and it seems Mike McCarthy seems to agree. According to ESPN.com "McCarthy hinted towards Starks because of Starks' pass-blocking knowledge." Starks may not be the best running back out of the two for Week 6, but I believe further down the road (maybe even as early as Week 7) Starks will win this job. Don't forget that Starks was the guy who ran for 123 yards, breaking a Packers rookie record, during the Packers Super Bowl Run.

LaRod Stephens-Howling and William Powell: This is the running back situation for the more desperate fantasy teams out there. The Cardinals' offensive line is absolutely putrid, so don't go dropping a solid contributor for either of these two. As for the actual running backs, this situation between the experienced one (Stephens-Howling) and the younger gun (Powell). Stephens-Howling is definitely the one with the immediate value, he expects to start this week. The thing is that Stephens-Howling is so much more fit for a change of pace, being only 185 pounds. This is smelling like either a timeshare, or the Cardinals are going to pick up somebody else new to be the back. Unfortunately, this Cardinals line is so bad at stopping anybody from getting to the ball carrier that you should probably wait a week to grab anyone in Arizona. Just ask Beanie Wells or Ryan Williams owners.

Jahvid Best: My pro-tip last week is starting to get some buzz around him, even though he is not playing Week 6. He is not cleared just yet to play for Week 7, but after reading about how Best looked during training camp, I personally can't imagine him not playing against Chicago. Best is a former 1st round pick, a guy who (when healthy) carved up the Bears on Monday Night Football. The Lions NEED him to inject some buzz in this offense, as both a running back and a pass catcher. This can be a time share in the beginning with Leshoure, but Leshoure against the Vikings seemed really slow. Even if Best is getting around 12 carries and 7 targets a week, his speed will make up for the lack of immediate touches (even though 19 wouldn't be a small number).

Devery Henderson: Sure, this guy has been inconsistent for most of his fantasy football life. The thing is that the weapons around Henderson have been dwindling slowly. Meachem is in San Diego, Graham and Moore are both hurt. Henderson went from just a deep threat, to now probably being either the number 2 or 3 option in the Saints passing attack. Match that with this guys speed, and some other teams bye weeks, this could ignite like a wildfire. Now Moore could come back next week (this week is their bye), and Devery could go back to being the inconsistent deep threat. It is always frustrating to have that gets 24 on your bench who you are never comfortable to play. If Moore is out though, and you need a guy to play, this guy isn't not a bad choice.

Kendall Wright: In PPR, this guy should of been on your roster weeks ago. In other formats though Wright, who was looked at only as a short term value, Wright is still holding onto being a decent option. Kenny Britt still looks like a ticking time bomb ready to explode with points. If he can't go this week though Wright could be an interesting player Thursday night.

Brandon Gibson: Really interesting guy who is still a little bit low key, we have seen what Amendola has done being the Rams' number 1 receiver. Brandon Gibson was a bit of a sleeper to start the year, and then Amendola was a revolution in the first 4 weeks. Amendola is out though, maybe for the whole year, so Gibson is the top target now. Immediate value may not be there, but I find the upside very intriguing. 

Stretch Finds:

Last week we did some trade values, and they are very similar this week, so now we are looking at some stretch finds.

Shane Vereen: Could replace Woodhead in the pass game, and could get some rushes since Ridley may have ball security issues here. Question is Brandon Bolden may keep Vereen off the field now.

Kendall Hunter: He is securely at the number 2 spot for now, Gore could tire out or get hurt though. Hunter may shine in those pesky fantasy playoffs.

Really Any Cleveland Receiver: Some people are trying to talk themselves into Massoquoi, Norwood, or Gordon. Personally, I think it is too big of a mess and you should avoid it. There is a chance to get lucky and pick the right one, but can you really talk yourself into that guy?

T.Y. Hilton and Donnie Avery: Donnie Avery was a hot pick up a couple of weeks ago, but his value is come down. To me, he is better than Hilton but either one of these guys could be good.

Davone Bess: More defensive attention to Brian Hartline, makes Bess at the very least interesting.

When a Football Game Means More

        Yesterday was one of those days for the Indianapolis Colts, one of those days where an NFL game is more than an NFL game. As you may already know, Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia about a week ago. The whole week the entire Colts organization was downplaying that their coach would an inspiration, even though it is really hard to imagine that being the case. So in come a recent Super Bowl winner, and the best record in the NFL last year in the Packers. So the Colts are staring at a game of being a underdog at home, with their head coach in the hospital diagnosed with cancer.
       This is why Sunday is one of those days in sports where we get some inspiration in life. Where a team fights so hard for a member that has fallen to where they don't care if they are an underdog. Where we draw that inspiration for those slightly over the top cheesy sports movies. This is also where we saw the whole Colts team in the "there is no way you are beating us after what has happened to us this week" mode that we see many players or teams in after something like this. The Patriots felt the Packers pain earlier this year, when we saw Torrey Smith operate under the same mode and delivered a very similar performance.
      I love sports for so many reasons, but these occasions where we see all those cliches of bouncing back and overcoming is easily one of the best ones. How could you not feel good after seeing the Colts in the locker room with owner Jim Irsay telling his team he is going to deliver the game ball to Pagano in the hospital? If you watched the game, seeing Reggie Wayne (who wore orange gloves in honor of cancer research) stretch as far as he can to get just enough for a touchdown felt so perfect. It makes us all feel good. It is where I see all the inspirational quotes and saying for reasons to live shine, in real life, in front of my eyes. So whether it is Chuck's battle against cancer or it is the Colts pulling up the upset in his honor, this was a Sunday where we can see a lot of inspiration from the Colts.

Other Sunday Stories

Saints Finally Breakthrough: The Saints finally got a notch in the win column against the Chargers. It was definitely a matter of when, not if, for Drew Brees and company. The thing is the Saints didn't have to change their game plan much, in fact they didn't look that much better in this win than any of their 4 losses. They just finally got the right plays at the right time this week, so don't be surprised if we see more of this to come.

Sophomore Slump: Cam Newton is almost as news worthy this year, this time for being more disappointing than anything. All of the Cam question marks that he put to rest last year are starting to creep back into the question. Personally, I feel Cam is just way too talented for this to last the rest of his career. However, I can see Cam's sophomore season to continue to be disappointing. The talent around him as pass catching options and blockers just seems to be sub-par. Carolina will be an interesting team to watch the rest of the season.

NFC Goes Through Atlanta?: Atlanta is the last unbeaten team in the NFC after this week, question is will they have the same success all year? I feel like Atlanta has the same formula as the Packers last year, MVP QB with offensive weapons and an average defense. So I can see the Falcons going 14-2 or something and being the one seed in the playoffs. Once we get to the latter part of the year though, anything can happen.

San Francisco Dominating... On Offense??: San Francisco put up 621 yards on offense, 311 passing and 310 rushing. This was a franchise record, and the first time in the NFL that team had over 300 yards through the ground and air. The 49ers have also won their last two games by a combined score of 79-3, and yes they were actually playing NFL teams. The roster additions to the offense have seemed to pay off for the offense, and the 49ers figure to be in the playoff picture again.

NFL Picks record going into Monday Night Football: (9-3)

The Tale of the Triple Crown Winner Who Didn’t Win MVP

            Miguel Cabrera has had one of the most incredible offensive years that we’ve seen in a very long time. The man hit .330 this year with 44 home runs and 139 RBI en route to the Triple Crown (which is being the leader of all three of those statistical categories in the player’s respective league for you non-baseball people). This was the fastest in his career that he reached 100 RBI. It only took him 115 games to reach that feat. He has been more than impressive with his late power surge to overtake the home run lead from Josh Hamilton and lead the Detroit Tigers past the White Sox and into the playoffs. With the addition of Prince Fielder to hit clean-up behind Miguel, there is no doubt that he saw much better pitches to hit this year and he has definitely taken advantage. He has career highs in Home Runs, RBI, Slugging (.606), and On Base Plus Slugging (.999).To show how rare this season has been, the last player to win the Triple Crown was Carl Yastrzemski for the Boston Red Sox 45 years ago in 1967.

            Yet, the strangest thing about this season comes in the form of a 21-year-old kid in Los Angeles. Mike Trout came from absolutely no-where to begin this season and ended up electrifying the game. The season that was supposed to belong to Bryce Harper, the highly touted rookie that was a high school prodigy, actually belonged to Mike Trout. The quiet, humble speedster can do it all – hit home runs (30), drive runs in (83), hit for average (.326), steal bases (49), play great defense at all of the outfield positions, and most importantly as a leadoff man, score runs (129). Maybe the most important stat that shows how much a player means to a team is WAR, which stands for Wins Above Replacement. This stat shows how many wins a player earns for his team in a regular 162 game season compared to the person that replaces him. An MVP season is anything over an 8. Mike Trout had 10.7 Wins Above Replacement. Miguel Cabrera, by comparison, had a 7.4 WAR.

            Strictly based on offensive numbers, Miguel Cabrera has the slight lead on Mike Trout. He’s more of a pure hitter, better power, more of a clutch hitter, and drives a ton of runs in. Miguel Cabrera is also the team leader of the Detroit Tigers’ lineup with that patented smile that he is always wearing. But Mike Trout is the five tool player, and he has shown that he is much more complete than Miguel. He has a cannon arm, a great fielder, blinding speed and ability to impact the game on the base paths, hits for average, and hits for power. I don’t think I could describe a more prototypical player I would want to build a team around for the next 15 years than Mike Trout.

            Ultimately, it will be a very close call who wins the AL MVP. It really depends on what the voters think is more valuable – A slugger who led a team to the playoffs with an under producing team, or a quiet young gunner in the outfield who can do it all. Don’t be surprised if the Triple Crown Winner doesn’t come out on top.

*All Statistics Taken from Baseball-Reference.com*

Fantasy Football Position Rankings: Week 5

   
     Ok, so here is how I'm going to do this. I am in several PPR (Point Per Reception) leagues, so I will be doing rankings according to those rules. It shouldn't be much of a difference from other league formats, there should just be a few differences. Also the way I am ranking these players is strictly due to how many fantasy points they should score.
     I will do the top 25 QB's, 40 RB's, 50 WR's, 25 TE's, and I guess all of the defenses. I won't be doing kickers, as long as your kicker starts, he should get at least a few points. I will make 4 tiers for each position: 1. Must start. No matter what. Even if there's a fire. 2. Safe start, should put up solid numbers. 3. Iffy, at best. If you have better options don't bother, could put up good numbers. 4. Only play if you are extremely desperate due to injuries, or if you just have no idea how to draft a fantasy football team. Ok so let's do this:

NOTE: Obviously this will be posted after the Thursday game unfortunately, I was unable to do this until now, so no Rams or Cardinals players will be on this list.
QB's
Tier 1
1. Robert Griffin III
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Tom Brady
5. Matt Ryan
6. Jay Cutler
7. Cam Newton
8. Eli Manning
Tier 2
9. Peyton Manning
10. Andy Dalton
11. Philip Rivers
12. Ben Roethlisberger
13. Andrew Luck
14. Michael Vick
15. Joe Flacco
16. Matt Schaub
17. Ryan Fitzpatrick
Tier 3
18. Alex Smith
19. Christian Ponder
20. Matt Hasselbeck
21. Brandon Weeden
Tier 4
22. Matt Cassel
23. Russel Wilson
24. Mark Sanchez
25. Tim Tebow (See what I did there?)
Honorable Mention: Josh Freeman... If you're really that desperate.

RB's
Tier 1
1. Arian Foster
2. Ray Rice
3. LeSean McCoy
4. Adrian Peterson
5. Trent Richardson
6. MJD
7. Jamaal Charles
8. Matt Forte
9. Marshawn Lynch
10. Ahmad Bradshaw
Tier 2
11. Reggie Bush
12. BenJarvus Green-Ellis (aka The Law Firm)
13. Darren Sproles
14. Frank Gore
15. Ryan Matthews
16. Donald Brown
17. Rashard Mendenhall
18. C.J. Spiller
19. Cedric Benson
20. Alfred Morris
Tier 3
21. Willis McGahee
22. Chris Johnson (Note: I won't be convinced he is better than this until he is consistent)
23. Jonathan Stewart
24. Andre Brown
25. Shonn Greene
26. Michael Turner
27. Jackie Battle (Still up in the air for me, could end up being better than what I have him)
28. Doug Martin
29. Michael Bush
30. DeAngelo Williams
Tier 4
31. Pierre Thomas
32. Stevan Ridley
33. Ben Tate (He would be higher, but is hurting and has Foster..)
34. Toby Gerhart
35. Brandon Bolden
36. Jacquizz Rodgers
37. Kendall Hunter
38. Isaac Redman
39. Danny Woodhead
40. John Kuhn

WR's
Tier 1.
1. Roddy White
2. Julio Jones
3. Jordy Nelson
4. Mike Wallace
5. Victor Cruz
6. Wes Welker
7. A.J. Green
8. Percy Harvin
9. Brandon Marshall
10. Eric Decker
Tier 2
11. Demaryius Thomas
12. Dwayne Bowe
13. Brandon Lloyd
14. Reggie Wayne
15. Torrey Smith
16. Andre Johnson
17. Domenik Hixon (Just until Nicks is healthy)
18. Anquan Boldin
19. Steve Smith
20. Antonio Brown
21. Marques Colston
22. Stevie Johnson
23. Pierre Garcon
24. Malcom Floyd
25. Jeremy Maclin
Tier 3
26. Jeremy Kerley
27. Lance Moore(NOTE: Moore was just ruled out, just pretend everyone moves up a spot)
28. Kenny Britt
29. Sydney Rice
30. DeSean Jackson
31. James Jones
32. Davone Bess
33. Donnie Avery
34. Michael Crabtree
35. Santana Moss
36. Brian Hartline
37. Kendall Wright
38. Nate Washington
39. Greg Little
40. Alshon Jeffery
Tier 4.
41. T.Y. Hilton
42. Mario Manningham
43. Stephen Hill (Could be a sleeper since Holmes is gone)
44. Leonard Hankerson
45. Brandon LaFell
46. Robert Meachem
47. Eddie Royal
48. Kevin Walter
49. Brandon Stokely
50. Andrew Hawkins

TE's
Tier 1
1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Jimmy Graham
3. Tony Gonzalez
4. Vernon Davis
5. Jermichael Finley
6. Antonio Gates
Tier 2
7. Brent Celek
8. Dennis Pitta
9. Jermaine Gresham
10. Fred Davis
11. Scott Chandler
12. Martellus Bennet
13. Heath Miller
14. Owen Daniels
Tier 3
15. Greg Olsen
16. Jered Cook
17. Mercedes Lewis
18. Coby Fleener
19. Kyle Rudolph
20. Jacob Tamme
Tier 4
21. Joel Dreessen
22. Benjamin Watson
23. Tony Moeaki
24. Anthony Fasano
25. Kellen Davis

DEF
Tier 1
1. Chicago
2. Houston
3. San Francisco
4. Baltimore
5. Seattle
6. Atlanta
7. Cincinnati
Tier 2
8. Pittsburgh
9. Philadelphia
10. Giants
11. Minnesota
12. Carolina
13. Kansas City
14. Green Bay
15. New England
Tier 3
16. San Diego
17. Miami
18. Tennessee
19. Buffalo
Tier 4 (If you know what's good for you, please do not play any of these defenses)
20. Jets
21. Indianapolis
22. Denver
23. Washington
24. Cleveland
25. Jacksonville
26. New Orleans

Well there you have it. If you're wondering why I do the predictions, my 4-0, 3-1, and 3-1 respective fantasy league records speak for themselves. Don't agree with me? Let me know in the comments below.

Week 5 NFL Picks

    After last week the panicking over the Packers and Patriots are over, and now we seem to maybe in the week before the Tebocalypse. This may be the best week to have an intelligent football conversation, so let's get into week 5:

Thursday Game Notes: In a battle between two teams in the seemingly surprising NFC West, we saw one of the unbeaten's go down. It shouldn't be a big surprise to many though, as the Cardinals' zero in the loss category was on borrowed time anyways. So what do we take from this game? First off the Cardinals are not as good as their record says, and may be more like the 2011 Buffalo Bills than anything. First off, the defense has played too good. They can be improved this year, but they aren't the Ravens or 49ers. Also, they have the always shaky Kevin Kolb and one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. Larry Fitzgerald isn't going to be the answers for all their problems, and their are plenty of problems there.
       As for St. Louis, well it seems like a good idea to believe in them going 7-9 or 8-8 and finishing second in the NFC West. They are very talented on defense particularly in the secondary and on the defensive line. This leaves former number one pick Sam Bradford in a position to just make enough plays to put Steven Jackson and Greg Zuerlein in scoring positions (even if Jackson hasn't scored this year, yet). Personally, I like the Rams as a contender for the wild card maybe not this year, but down the road. Adding a free agent or top draft pick receiver to be the number one guy in the passing game could really make this team special.

Game of the Week: Don't have to say too much about this classic rivalry. Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Brady has much more left in the tank than Manning, who has had arm strength issues early in 2012. 31-28 Patriots.

Upset of the Week: New Orleans gets the monkey off their back and takes down the 3-1 Chargers. Honestly both of these teams have played very similar this year on offense, the Chargers defense has just made enough plays to be 3-1 instead of 0-4. The Saints have lost by an average of 5 points a game, and they have lost each of them by only one score. This week the Saints make enough plays on offense, and the Chargers fall short. 28-24

Almost Upset of the Week: The Giants are actually better on the road than at home, which is such a Giants thing to do. Just when you think they have an easy win at home against Cleveland, the Giants make a mess of this game. On the flip side, Cleveland is THE best team in NFL at pulling the near upset. The moment you sit on your couch going "Cleveland is actually going to win this game", divine intervention comes in and balances out the world. I have even gotten to the point where I would believe the Browns players forget what down it is and unbelievably run a play on 4th down that doesn't get the first down, when a field goal would have won them the game. Oh wait... the Lions already took care of that one. 17-14 Giants.

Chalk These Up: Green Bay will take care of the Colts, 35-17. The 49ers are way too good to lose to Buffalo, 21-10. Baltimore takes down the Kansas City Jamaal Charles, 27-14. (Note: if the under/over for Matt Cassel's turnovers is 4 what would you do? If you take the over I feel like you haven't watched enough Kansas City football to know how bad he has been.) Minnesota has been playing good, and they take on the 1-3 Titans. This is more about Tennessee being bad than the Vikings being good, 27-17. Finally, I BELIEVE Chicago can when this game no matter which Jay Cutler shows up this weekend (now that I said that we will now probably see Jay Cutler take bad up another notch, sorry Chicago). So they beat Jacksonville 16-10, despite 3 interceptions from Cutler.

So We Are Left With This: Atlanta is one of the unbeaten's left, but are taking on NFL's most interesting man Robert Griffin. Almost put this as the upset of the week, and it is going to be close. Redskins secondary isn't really good at stopping things though, even though that is what defenses are told to do. If the Rams can put up 31, this high powered Atlanta attack can put up a really high number. In a shootout, Atlanta gets one score too many for RGIII, 38-28. Carolina and Seattle is very interesting, as neither have really been phenomenal. It is coming down to Cam and Carolina's offense versus Seattle's stout defense, and I feel Cam can't be bottled up forever. Seattle's offense is also not good enough to take advantage of a poor Panthers defense. 20-13 seems like a good score for this one, with Seattle not being able to move the ball.
       Cincinnati seems like a shoe in at home against Miami, but Miami has had a couple close run ins that weren't wins lately. Add that to the fact Cincinnati is playing above a level some thought they would be, and it isn't too hard to see Miami sneaking out a win. Dolphins don't let the other team kick the game winning field goal this time, 27-24 Miami. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia is very intriguing also, as it really depends on which Michael Vick shows up. I think the good one comes out to surprise most of us and the Eagles put up 35, Steelers don't keep the pace and put up 30.

Monday Night Football Final Note: This game is not in doubt, but Mark Sanchez's job really is, 33-6.