I'll Take Potpourri For $800, Alex

Because I’m heading out of town for Thanksgiving tomorrow morning, this post will consist of a little bit of everything.

First, last night’s Maryland game. The Terps did everything I said they couldn’t afford to do. Instead of attacking J.P. Batista early in the game and getting him in foul trouble, Maryland tried to shoot over the Gonzaga 2-3 zone. By doing this, they played right into the Bulldogs strategy. The Terps worried too much about Adam Morrison in the second half, and that left Batista and Derek Raivio open for crucial shots. While Morrison was the leading scorer, Batista scored most of his 21 points down the stretch and scored most of the crucial buckets. On the plus side, it looks like DJ Strawberry is healthy and will be a major factor for Maryland this season.

Today, the Terps apparently looked abysmal against Chaminade. I would know for sure if I had been able to watch the game. For some reason, despite promising all 12 games would be shown, ESPN did not broadcast the game in the Washington D.C. area. So instead of listening to obnoxious Johnny Holliday on the radio, I just waited for the score to show up on ESPN.com. The Terps actually trailed by 10 in the first half and were down two at the break. They woke up in the second half, scoring 23 points in a row, and downed the D-2 host school 98-69. They get the winner of the Kansas-Arkansas game tomorrow. This game probably means little since it started at 8:30 a.m. Hawaiian time and Gary probably didn't stop drinking until around 6 in the morning. And I'm sure Maryland didn't take Chaminade very seriously until they realized what a huge embarrassment losing to them would be. Just ask Duke, who looked rather pedestrian against mighty Boston University (not to be confused with Boston College...there is a major difference) and Davidson in the Preseason NIT. Games like this mean very little...unless you lose (I'm talking to you Quinn Snyder, Mizzou sure looked good in their loss to Sam Houston State. Losing to a team that can't even properly spell their team nickname of Bearkats isn't going to look good come March, when you most likely will be handed a pink slip).

The Redskins take on the Chargers this Sunday. One week after Norv made his return, Marty makes his. Quick, someone check the schedule and make sure the Ol’ Ball Coach isn’t bringing South Carolina to FedEx Field next week. It looks as if Antonio Gates is doubtful for the game because of a foot injury he sustained against Buffalo. This would help the Redskins immensely because it would allow them to key on LaDainian Tomlinson. It may not make much of a difference, because the Bills keyed on Tomlinson last week and Drew Brees had one of the best games of his career.

Offensively the Redskins need to RUN THE FOOTBALL. What happened to the run last week in the second half? The Skins were up 10 points and they only run the ball eight times in the second half. Only one running play in the fourth quarter. Huh? Clinton Portis, his fumbles not withstanding, was dominating in the first two quarters. Suddenly, Joe Gibbs thinks Taylor Jacobs is the second coming of Gary Clark and tells Brunell to start throwing bombs. What was that all about? And then there was the defensive play calling. In the first half, the Redskins threw everything at Kerry Collins. It resulted in a couple of sacks and a hurried throw that was intercepted by Lemar Marshall and returned for a touchdown. In the second half, Greg Williams didn’t blitz at all, called for double and triple teams on Randy Moss and allowed Joey Porter to make big catch after big catch. The second half of the game was a perfect example of what not to do as coach in the NFL when your team has a 10-point lead.

Now it is time for some quick NFL picks for next week. Last week I was 10-5 overall. However, my spread picks were way off. I was 6-8-1 (Jacksonville was favored by and won by three). Not good. A punishment will be determined at a later date because that record is unacceptable. Still, on the season I’m:
Overall: 103-53 (66%)
Spread: 85-68-3
As always, do not use these picks for gambling purposes (you saw what happened last week).

Thursday
Atlanta Falcons (6-4)(-3) at Detroit Lions (4-6)
Beware the Lions on Thanksgiving (except when they play the Colts, like last year).
Pick: Lions

Denver Broncos (8-2)(-1.5) at Dallas Cowboys (7-3)
Beware the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Unless Leon Lett is playing
Pick: Broncos

Sunday
New England (6-4) at Kansas City (6-4)(-3)
Good news for Kansas City: Trent Green got back on track against Houston
Bad news for Kansas City: Trent Green got back on track against Houston
Pick: Chiefs

Baltimore Ravens (3-7) at Cincinnati Bengals (7-3)(-8.5)
Is it too early to get that bronze bust of Carson Palmer ready?
Pick: Bengals

Carolina Panthers (7-3)(-4) at Buffalo Bills (4-6)
I’ll give the Panthers a mulligan on last week’s game.
Pick: Panthers

Chicago Bears (7-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3)(-4)
Chris Simms was back to his old tricks last week against Atlanta. Cadillac Williams was there to bail him out. Now he gets to face the Bears defense.
Pick: Bears

Cleveland Browns (4-6) at Minnesota Vikings (5-5)(-4)
Now that Captain Smoot is out, the Vikings are sailing right back into contention.
Pick: Vikings

San Francisco 49ers (2-8) at Tennessee Titans (2-8)(-7)
Both of these teams are playing hard but are getting nothing to show for it. I’ll take the home team.
Pick: Titans

St. Louis Rams (4-6)(-3.5) at Houston Texans (1-9)
The Rams can’t lose this game…can they?
Pick: Rams

Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3)(-3.5) at Arizona Cardinals (3-7)
The Jaguars continue their playoff march with another close win in the desert.
Pick: Jaguars

Miami Dolphins (3-7) at Oakland Raiders (4-6)(-7)
Las Vegas made the Raiders seven point favorites? Really? All right, if you say so.
Pick: Raiders

New York Giants (7-3) at Seattle Seahawks (8-2)(-4.5)
WARNING: The Giants are playing a road game. Do not pick them.
Pick: Seahawks

Green Bay Packers (2-8) at Philadelphia Eagles (4-6)(-5)
Could be renamed the Disappointment Bowl. I think I’ll go with Brett Farve over Mike McMahon.
Pick: Packers

New Orleans Saints (2-8)(-2.5) at New York Jets (2-8)
The Saints are favored? It is almost too good to be true.
Pick: Jets

Monday
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4) at Indianapolis Colts (10-0)(-7)
We don’t know if Ben Roethlisberger is going to play or not. We do know that Peyton Manning is going to play. That is all anyone needs to know.
Pick: Colts

I’ll be in New Jersey (Armpit of America) for Thanksgiving until Sunday, so this page will be quiet until next Monday. For the six people who actually read this, I’m sorry about that. Have a great and happy Thanksgiving everyone.