No, just because the Red Sox won, the Patriots are not going to go 'bah'
The biggest news this week has been, yes, you guessed it, the Red Sox winning. But wait, this is the NFL, what does that have to do with anything? Well, the equilibrium in the world has been destroyed. No one knows what will happen now. For all we know, the Patriots could go ahead and rattle off 21 straight losses now. Who knows what can happen in this crazy alternate dimension.
Izzy | 66-36-0 |
Nick | 64-38-0 |
Pratik | 62-40-0 |
Mike | 60-42-0 |
Sunday October 10, 2004 Arizona at Buffalo - 1 p.m. (Buffalo -3)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Arizona | Arizona | Buffalo | Arizona |
Pratik says: So. Arizona won, which is surprising in and of itself, but they won against Seattle. Emmitt Smith gained 106 yards and a touchdown, proving that he's still got some gas left in the tank. Larry Fitzgerald hauled in a 25-yard floater from Josh McCown for a touchdown. Buffalo played Baltimore and Bledsoe was made to look like a third string quarterback as he threw four picks, two of them to Primetime who returned one for a touchdown. Anyway, if Arizona can beat Seattle, they can surely beat Buffalo, especially since Anquan Boldin is coming back into the lineup from his knee surgery.
Baltimore at Philadelphia - 1 p.m. (Philadelphia -7.5)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Baltimore | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Philadelphia |
Pratik says: It's the T.O. Bowl! In a great matchup between the Eagles and the Ravens, the outspoken wide receiver will once again be at the center of all the hubbub. Over the offseason, T.O. was embroiled in a bitter dispute with the 49ers after he missed a deadline to fill out paperwork that would have made him a free agent. Since he wasn't a free agent, the 49ers traded T.O. to the Ravens for a 2nd round pick. However, T.O. filed a grievance and was allowed to become a free agent. He signed with the Eagles and the rest, as they say, is history. The two teams meet for the first time this season and expect Ray Lewis to pound on T.O. if he dares to come over the middle. Baltimore, however, is missing a lot of key starters including left tackle Jonathan Ogden as well as running back Jamal Lewis. Philadelphia will have practiced extra hard over the break as Cleveland almost beat them in overtime last week. Andy Reid will make sure that Philadelphia is prepared to face the Ravens and their suffocating defense so expect the Eagles to go to 7-0.
Cincinnati at Tennessee - 1 p.m. (Tennessee -3.5)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Cincinnati | Cincinnati | Tennessee | Tennessee |
Pratik says: With Chad Johnson proving that he can beat just about any corner any team puts on him, the Bengals are getting better and better on offense with Carson Palmer growing into his role. Something that was overlooked in Monday Night's win against the Broncos was also the great production the Bengals got from Rudi Johnson. Johnson had119 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown on a career day (or night in this case). Anyway, Tennessee is reeling after getting only three points against a pretty weak Minnesota defense and at this point, they have got to do something big to keep the playoffs in their grasp. If they lose here, they will go to 2-6 in a tough conference, essentially eliminating them from the playoffs. The Bengals have a bit of leeway in their schedule, but this is a pretty important game for them too. Expect Chad Johnson and Carson Palmer to keep the passing attack going and shock the dwindling Titans.
Detroit at Dallas - 1 p.m. (Dallas -3)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Detroit |
Pratik says: The Lions are a totally different team when Roy Williams is on the field. Just imagine how good he's gonna be after his rookie season…Already we've seen him single-handedly take the game into his hands and just will his team to a win. They've had great wins over Houston and Atlanta and now they play a Dallas team that has totally fallen off the radar. Without the once dominant defense, the Cowboys are, at best, an average team. They need a good defense to keep the game close because they cannot put up points consistently on offense. Besides, the Cowboys got rung up for 41 points last week against the Packers. I shudder to think of what Harrington and Williams can do to the Cowboys. Anyway, expect Detroit to win big on the road, where they are 3-0 this season.
Green Bay at Washington - 1 p.m. (Green Bay -2)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay | Green Bay |
Pratik says: You just have to feel sorry for Brett Favre. About two weeks ago, he was told that his wife had breast cancer. Ever since then he's been tearing it up, leading his team to a 38-10 win over Detroit and a 41-20 win over Dallas. The Redskins have a great defense, granted, but their offense is atrocious. I mean it's painful to watch them go out there. I've always liked watching a well-executed offense, like the Colts or the Patriots, but even an offense that didn't go three and out every other possession would be great to me after watching the Redskins struggle up and down the field. Who knew that Mark Brunell would be this bad? I hate to say it, but could this actually be because Joe Gibbs is out of touch with the offense? The Redskins are starting to remind me of the Spurrier era. All kidding aside though, the Redskins really need to figure out how to move the ball downfield. Another troubling fact is the recent DUI arrest of Sean Taylor. Taylor was finally starting to play well last week, and I hope that he can get his act together for this week's game. Also, this game is supposedly a great prediction for the next President. If the Redskins win, the incumbent, George Bush, stays President. Otherwise, the challenger, John Kerry, wins. On that note, Go Pack Go!
Indianapolis at Kansas City - 1 p.m. (Indianapolis -1.5)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Indianapolis | Kansas City | Indianapolis | Indianapolis |
Pratik says: Wow. This game has a legitimate chance to go over 100 points total. Kansas City rushed for eight touchdowns last week. To put that in perspective, 26 out of the 32 NFL teams don't have eight rushing touchdowns all season. Indy is suffering from internal squabbles between Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne as TV cameras caught Wayne lightly shoving Manning on the sidelines. This does not bode well for the Colts offense, as it relies on Wayne as a foil to Marvin Harrison and it especially does not bode well for me. I, unfortunately, have Wayne on my fantasy team and I will be surprised if Wayne gets any passes thrown his way by Manning this week. Anyway, I hope you wonderful football fanatics out there who have DirecTV or something can tape this game for me. It's gonna be a classic. Two great offenses just slugging it out against mediocre defenses. There really is nothing better. Izzy's reasoning for picking the Colts was that they score through the air so they take less time to score. At least, that's what it was on Monday…you never know with Izzy, he tries tricking me a lot. Anyway, my reasoning for picking the Chiefs is simple: The Priest.
Jacksonville at Houston - 1 p.m. (Houston -1)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Jacksonville | Houston |
Pratik says: This game will be great. David Carr and the Texans face off against Byron Leftwich and the Jaguars. The Jaguars are, improbably, the number one team in the AFC South and everyone is gunning for them now. How will the Jags deal with the pressure of being number one? It'll all be up to Leftwich to make sure that his team doesn't falter. Expect Leftwich to keep the team on the right track and for the Texans to fall in front of their fans.
New York Giants at Minnesota – 1 p.m. (Minnesota -7)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Minnesota | Minnesota | Minnesota | Minnesota |
Pratik says: So, as soon as the Giants start losing, all that mutiny talk against Tom Coughlin comes back with a vengeance. In the second episode of this ongoing soap opera, Coughlin debunked veteran linebacker Barrett Green after he was 90 minutes late to practice. That's bad enough as it is, but according to Coughlin time, that's 100 minutes late to practice. Anyway, Green was benched for all of last week's loss to the Lions and will only play in running situations this week. This is not good news for Giants fans as signs of tension are beginning to mount. Minnesota, however, is on a roll, especially with the ridiculous numbers that Daunte Culpepper and company have been putting up against opposing defenses. Expect Culpepper to light up the Giants in Minnesota and give the Giants something else to fight about.
Atlanta at Denver – 4:05 p.m. (Denver -6.5)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Denver | Denver | Denver | Atlanta |
Pratik says: Wow. Eight rushing touchdowns. Wow. How do you come back, as a defense, from that horrible outing? That's disrespect taken to the utmost. As in you know what we're going to run, but we're still going to run and run well. So, what have we learned boys and girls? Never underestimate a good offensive line, as I did. Anyway, Atlanta gets a whole lotta help as they get to play…Denver. Even though Denver looked idiotic against the Bengals, especially when Chad Johnson burned Champ Bailey twice for 50+ yard gains in the first half, Denver really isn't that bad. And they have a guy named Reuben Droughns in the backfield. Good luck Atlanta.
Carolina and Seattle – 4:05 p.m. (Seattle -8)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
Seattle | Seattle | Seattle | Seattle |
Pratik says: Both teams underperformed last week, with Carolina losing out to San Diego and Seattle losing out to, this is not a misprint, Arizona. Simply based on the fact that Seattle lost to Arizona, the Seahawks should be ashamed of themselves, but actually, both San Diego and Arizona are playing pretty good ball right about now, so I'll cut both of these teams some slack. Anyway, expect Seattle to run up the points on a woeful Carolina team that is just begging to be put out of its misery. The only thing I don't understand is how a team that went to the Super Bowl a season ago could fall so far, so fast.
New England at Pittsburgh - 4:15 p.m. (New England -3)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
New England | New England | New England | Pittsburgh |
Pratik says: New England is just rolling on, where most of the populace is probably still rioting over the BoSox crazy World Series win. The Patriots, who are seemingly invincible now seem to be like the Yankees of football; it's like they have ghosts or something leading them to victory every game. The poor '72 Dolphins are just waiting until they can pop open that bottle of champagne, but the Patriots keep denying them. I remember back when Elway was playing for the Broncos and they won something like 13 in a row before they finally faltered; those old fish must be making voodoo dolls of Tom Brady or something. Anyway, with all of this going against them, what are the Steelers going to do? Have no fear, Big Ben is here! The kid is playing amazing ball right now and even if Tommy Maddox can recuperate quickly enough from that elbow injury to be healthy soon, he will be out of a starting job. Roethlisberger is doing a great job making smart decisions while still relying on his innate athleticism to make some spectacular plays. Maybe the Steelers have a chance to beat the unbeaten Patriots, but I'm going to stick with the boys from New England, this week at least. I mean, with all of that crazy luck surrounding the Red Sox, don't you think maybe a little bit has rubbed off on the Patriots as well?
Oakland at San Diego - 4:15 p.m. (San Diego -6)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
San Diego | San Diego | San Diego | San Diego |
Pratik says: Ha! Oakland is a funny team. For some reason, they're actually doing better now that Jerry Rice is no longer in their employ. But they still don't have a good enough defense to stop the Chargers. Expect Brees and the boys from Southern Cal to win this one quickly. While we're on the topic of southern California, who's going to see the O.C. season premiere on Thursday?
San Francisco at Chicago - 8:30 p.m.(Chicago -1.5)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
San Francisco | Chicago | San Francisco | San Francisco |
Pratik says: This has got to be the worst Sunday Night game ever. ESPN must feel like they got ripped off or something. Man, if there was a choice between watching this or counting votes down at some polling center, I'd count votes (Hey, at least I'd get some community service hours or something, right?). Anyway, I really don't care who wins this game, but I'll just say Chicago, because they're finally not starting Jonathan Quinn (according to Izzy, anyway).
Monday October 11, 2004 Miami at New York Jets - 9 p.m. (New York Jets -7)
Izzy's Pick | Pratik's Pick | Mike's Pick | Nick's Pick |
New York Jets | New York Jets | New York Jets | New York Jets |
Pratik says: Wow. 1-5 team vs. 5-1 team. Good luck Dolphins, you're going to need it. Maybe the Dolphins should bring back those players from '72. It would draw bigger crowds and they might actually play a little better than they are right now.
Pratik Bhandari. Pratik Bhandari is (now) a 5'6" SENIOR who (still) weighs about 125 pounds. He came from India, which could explain his diminutive stature and lived there for three years before moving to Albany, the capital of New York believe it or not, and finally to … More »
Isamu Bae. Isamu Bae (AKA Izzy) is a senior and finally put up his staff bio. He's 17 and has no idea what he's supposed to put here, so this is all some filler material. He writes, draws, reads, plays games, practices martial arts (for lack of … More »
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