Giants at Redskins: Lies, More Lies And Complaints...The Story Of The 2006 Redskins And Giants

New York Giants (7-8) vs. Washington Redskins (5-10)
8:00 p.m. FedEx Field
Let’s start with the obvious. The Washington Redskins did not sign Ladell Betts to a five year extension so he could be Clinton Portis’ backup. If you want a third down back, or a change of pace back, you sign him to a two year deal. Three years max. You don’t commit several million dollars a year for five years to a back that you don’t expect to take the bulk of the carries.

Whatever the Redskins coaches and front office is telling you is a lie. Of course they’re not going to say that they’re going to shop or trade Portis in the offseason. Once you do that, you lose all leverage (look what happened to Philly with A.I.). Read between the lines here. First, the five year deal is a red flag. Second, the way the coaches talk about Betts and the fact that they “like how he fits in our offense.” While this is a compliment to Betts, it is also a double-ended insult directed at Portis. If the coaches just wanted to talk nice about Betts, they would talk about his individual efforts. Not his place on the team or in the offense. Third, the complete disappearance of Portis from the training facilities is another warning sign. Injured players still show up to team headquarters and still watch practices (unless very seriously hurt). Most even go to the home games. Has anyone seen Portis on the sideline recently? Has anyone seen him interviewed following Redskins practices? Portis has never met a microphone he didn’t like. This is one of the biggest developing stories in the D.C. sports scene, and if Portis wasn’t worried about being dealt, or if the Redskins weren’t considering dealing him and keeping him quiet, we would have seen Portis interviewed recently. Instead, he’s nowhere to be found.

If the Redskins trade Portis, it would be a huge mistake. First off, they wouldn’t get an equal return on what they traded for him three years ago. No one is going to trade a first round pick for a running back (unless you are offering LT). Most importantly however, is the fact that Betts is not built to sustain himself through a 16 game season. Betts is much smaller than Portis. In terms of height, Betts is not much taller than me. While I love his straight ahead style, at his size, Betts is going to get himself killed before he even sees the majority of his contract. The one thing Betts doesn’t know how to do is take a hit. All the great running backs have been able to do this. From Barry Sanders to Tomlinson, the best backs know when to stop their run and protect their body. That’s why Sanders was relatively healthy for so long and players like Earl Campbell had his career end prematurely. Sanders realized that his 5’9” frame couldn’t take the typical beating. So he learned to protect his body. Betts doesn’t do that. He hits the hole – and any defender in his way – straight on. I like Betts. I really do. But you watch. Without Portis, and with Betts carrying 25-30 times a game for 16 weeks, by the second year of that new contract he’ll start missing games here and there to “soreness”. Then he’ll have mysterious knee injuries that never get better. Ailments that would cause him to miss practice will all of a sudden balloon into three week injuries. Betts is not built to run the way he does and play 16 games a year. You can’t argue with biology and physics.

Now speaking of microphones, someone please take them away from Adam Archuleta. Shut up you goon. How can this guy possibly bitch about playing time and his role in the defense? He can’t cover anybody and he expects to play? You’re a safety. You’re main goal is to make sure no one gets behind you. You can’t do that. And you expect to play? He complains that the coaching staff lied to him about his role in the defense. He says that he didn’t expect to be a cover safety after being a linebacker-safety hybrid in St. Louis. How could he not know that’s what the defense wanted? They already had Sean Taylor. You can’t have two attack safeties in the same defense. That doesn’t work.

Even if Archuleta didn’t expect to be a cover safety, he should still know how to cover receivers. I thought that was one of the basics of being a safety in the NFL. If he wants to be a linebacker then great. Go put on 30 pound and learn how to tackle (something else he’s bad at). Otherwise, shut up, learn to cover basic fly routes and earn your playing time like everybody else.

Less than a year ago, the Washington Redskins were on their way to beating the Eagles and clinching a playoff berth. The franchise was on the way up. So, um, what happened exactly? How did we get to this point, when the Redskins try to play spoiler to the Giants. My answer to that question will come at a later date. However, it can be wrapped up in five words: injuries, conservative play-calling and Jason Campbell.

Even though the Redskins season has been a severe disappointment, and even though it seems the club is in constant turmoil, nothing can match the outfit coming in to FedEx Field this weekend. The Giants have…how do you say it…problems. The offense doesn’t like the defense. Michael Strahan, despite being on the I.R. and being irrelevant, doesn’t like the media coverage. The receivers and that obnoxious tight end don’t like Eli Manning. And everyone hates Tom Coughlin.

In other words, things are pretty normal in Jersey. When the Redskins went to the Meadowlands in week 5, the exact same scenario was playing out. At the beginning of the season, the Giants used all the negatives as fuel to get off to a pretty decent and somewhat surprising start. But now, as I said back in October, all their problems have caught up to them.

To label the Giants disappointments is an understatement. Sure, they could win this game, avoid the bizarre tie-breaking scenario with Green Bay and make the playoffs. But does it matter? They’ll be bounced immediately, just like Dallas and Philly will be (although I guess that’s not entirely true, seeing as Philly will probably host either Dallas or New York in the first round). Either way, an 8-8 season, even an 8-8 playoff season, is not cause for celebration. It isn’t exactly like the Giants “Redskined” their way to a playoff birth. To say that they backed in can’t even begin to describe it. Look for Coughlin to be fired regardless of the outcome in this game. I would be shocked if he’s back in New York next season.

As for the game itself, I don’t know if the Giants are capable of winning a road game. Manning still hasn’t proven that he can consistently win on the road. At the beginning of the season I said that would be New York’s undoing. As it turns out I was sort of wrong. Yes, Manning still can’t win on the road. But he can’t consistently win at home either. He stinks everywhere. The fact that Phillip Rivers – a quarterback who still can’t throw the ball properly – is better than him right now, says a lot. 2007 will be a huge fork in the road year in Manning’s career. He either fixes his problems next season, or he’ll be fixing himself a spot on the bench.

Jeremy Shockey, in a very revealing reflection on his character, won’t play because of mysterious ailments. What a pussy. Way to give up on your team. Pro-bowl my ass. The two lines for the Giants have been banged up and no one has any idea who will start at a handful positions. And there is still no word whether Tiki Barber will be wearing his uniform on the field or wearing a suit in the broadcast booth (Barber working games next season as a broadcaster is a disgrace to the entire profession. Hopefully no one hires him, but I know better than to hold my breath on that one.).

The Giants are a mess, and might be playing the worst football in the entire NFL right now outside of Detroit and Oakland. Still, if there’s something the Redskins do well, it’s give crummy opponents chances to stay in games. Example number one is the loss last week to St. Louis. The Redskins get up 28-14, get conservative (surprise, surprise) and lose the game in overtime. Jason Campbell continues to look nothing but mediocre. The defense is completely unrecognizable when compared to last season. And for the love of God, can we get a new punter? Please. Preferably someone who can kick more than 30 yards. I know a guy down the street who can punt more than 30 yards on a consistent basis. There have to be hundreds of punters out there who can do this. Find one.

Ugh, I’m so tired of complaining about the same things week in and week out. Thank goodness this is the last week I have to write about the Redskins. If I can summon the stomach, I’ll try to put a pretty bow on a downright nasty season sometime during the playoffs. I can’t end the season on this incomplete, ranting, worthless note. So I’m not quite finished with the 2006 Redskins.

If the Giants win, that means all other NFC East teams make the playoffs. Yuck. I know I said that Philly wouldn’t make the playoffs. Ok, I was wrong on that. But back in August I said that all four teams in the East could finish anywhere in the division and not surprise me. I also said that the only team in the East that had a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl once they made the playoffs would be the Redskins. And although the Redskins are clearly not in the playoff race, I’m correct in my prediction. There is too much turmoil in Dallas and New York. Both teams are playing the exact opposite brand of football that you’re looking for in a playoff team. The Cowboys players don’t believe in one another. The Giants players don’t believe in one another and their coaching staff. And Philadelphia is Philadelphia. The town is filled with losers. The Eagles have to lose. That’s Philly’s identity. Does anyone really think that Jeff Garcia is going to lead a team anywhere near a Super Bowl? Are you crazy?

Hopefully the Redskins go out on a high note, knock these silly Giants out of a downright ugly playoff race and then get to sit back and watch Philly and Dallas go out quickly in the first round. Betts will have another 100 yard game. Campbell will have the best game of his short season. The defense will be just good enough to hold the Giants in check. Oh what the heck, the Redskins will win.

WEEK 17
Since I don’t feel like talking about the millions of playoff scenarios featuring millions of bad teams, I’ll just wait until the playoffs. So no, I won't get the chance to make fun of the Dolphins for starting a quarterback named Cleo Lemon. Nor will I try to figure out how Kansas City, Cincinnati and Jacksonville won't make the playoffs while a handful of terrible NFC teams do. And I guess this is my last chance to take pot shots at the Lions (They. Are. Bad). But I’ll make some picks for the sake of the records…which by the way, look like this:
Overall: 147-78 (65%)
Vs. Spread: 128-88-9

SUNDAY
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-8) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (8-7)(-6)
Pick: Bengals

Detroit Lions (2-13) vs. Dallas Cowboys (9-6)(-13)
Pick: Cowboys

Cleveland Browns (4-11) vs. Houston Texans (5-10)(-5)
Pick: Texans, Browns cover

Miami Dolphins (6-9) vs. Indianapolis Colts (11-4)(-9)
Pick: Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (8-7)(-2)
Pick: Chiefs

St. Louis Rams (7-8)(-2) vs. Minnesota Vikings (6-9)
Pick: Rams

Carolina Panthers (7-8) vs. New Orleans Saints (10-5)(-2)
Pick: Panthers

Oakland Raiders (2-13) vs. New York Jets (9-6)(-11.5)
Pick: Jets

Seattle Seahawks (8-7) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11)(-3)
Pick: Seahawks

New England Patriots (11-4) vs. Tennessee Titans (8-7)(-3)
Pick: Titans

Buffalo Bills (7-8) vs. Baltimore Ravens (12-3)(-10)
Pick: Ravens, Bills cover

Atlanta Falcons (7-8) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (8-7)(-8)
Pick: Eagles, Falcons cover

San Francisco 49ers (6-9) vs. Denver Broncos (9-6)(-11)
Pick: Broncos, 49ers cover

Arizona Cardinals (5-10) vs. San Diego Chargers (13-2)(-13)
Pick: Chargers

Green Bay Packers (7-8) vs. Chicago Bears (13-2)(-3)
Pick: Packers

I’ll be back at full strength next weekend as the playoffs, or whatever they’re calling the catastrophe in the NFC, get under way. Hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year’s, and I’ll see you back here in 2007.

Redskins at Rams: The Team Time Forgot

Washington Redskins (5-9) vs. St. Louis Rams (6-8)
1:00 p.m. Edward Jones Dome
I realize that there was no Saints-Redskins preview last week. As I said, the computer crapped out and I didn’t have time to write or upload a post at work. Since the Redskins are far from playoff contention, I’d like to think of my computer breaking down as divine intervention. It gave me a legitimate excuse not to have to talk about the Redskins. I did miss an opportunity to discuss the Saints in further detail. I guess that will have to wait until the postseason.

Speaking of the postseason, the St. Louis Rams won’t be making it this year. Who in the world would make them a darkhorse team (For the record, the ol’ Sports Guy gave the Rams that distinction at the beginning of the season. What a boob. According to a friend of mine, since I refuse to even open his page on this computer, he was barely holding on to a .500 predicting record on the season. How does this guy have a job, let alone a well paying one? He’s wrong more often than weathermen.). Before we get to St. Louis and what should be a pretty short preview of an otherwise meaningless game, I need to talk in depth about something else.

If you have watched any of the Thursday/Saturday night football games, you have noticed that the NFL Network is running a feature on the 20 greatest Super Bowl teams. Naturally, the Redskins, despite winning three of the 40 Super Bowls, meaning mathematically the odds that at least one of those teams would make the list is rather large, placed no teams in the top 20 list. This is a disgrace. The 1988/Super Bowl XXII Redskins I could see not making it. They won a lot of close games against bad teams, they backed their way into the playoffs and played three terrible quarters of football in the Super Bowl. Fortunately, the only quarter that mattered was the 35-point second in which there are Super Bowl records that will NEVER fall in our lifetimes unless the rules are drastically altered.

There was nothing particularly special about the 1983/Super Bowl XVII Redskins either. However, when compared to the other 39 Super Bowl winners, you could make a case for those Redskins to be somewhere around the 16th to 18th best team of all-time. You had Theismann, Riggins and some of the greatest nicknames in NFL history (The Hogs, The Fun Bunch, The Over the Hill Gang). The ’83 Skins were dominant in the playoffs, and were victorious in one of the most exciting NFC Championship games of all-time against Dallas. Plus, the Riggins touchdown run on 4th and 1 in the Super Bowl is one of the NFL’s more iconic moments.

The fact that the 1992/Super Bowl XXVI Redskins were left out is a joke. The 1992 Redskins were the third best team in the history of the modern NFL (bettered only by the ’72 Dolphins and the ’85 Bears). The ’92 Redskins have been forgotten because they were sandwiched between the end of the 49ers dynasty and the beginning of the Cowboys run in the mid-90’s.

In 1991-1992, the Redskins went 14-2. The only two losses they suffered were a three-point overtime loss to Dallas (a playoff team that season, and arguably the second best team in the NFC) and a two-point loss at Philadelphia in the final week of the season in a game that most of the starters never played. So they lost two games by a total of five points, one of those games in overtime and the other with their second-stringers. They led the NFL in offensive yards and points scored. They led the NFL with the least yards and fewest points allowed defensively.

The offense was so dominant that the o-line allowed the fewest amount of sacks EVER in a 16-game regular season (a record that still stands). They had two receivers (Art Monk and Gary Clark) record 1,000 yards. The team was so good that Ricky Sanders, an outstanding receiver, was the number three guy in the corps. Earnest Byner had over 1,000 yards rushing. The backup running back, a rookie named Ricky Ervins, posted nearly 700 more on the ground. Gerald Riggs, the fullback, even managed 250 yards on the ground. Mark Rypien had one of the greatest quarterbacking years of all-time. If there was fantasy football back in 1991, Rypien would have totaled 308 points for the season. In a Ricky Sanders-esque playing situation, Stan Humphries was the team’s third string quarterback. The same Stan Humphries that would lead San Diego to a Super Bowl only three years later. The lowest point total all season for the Redskins was 16. The offense only scored under 20 points twice. They scored 27 points or more ten times (12 counting the postseason).

The defense was even better. Nicknamed Capital Punishment, the defense posted shutouts in the first three home games of the season. The defense didn’t allow a point at RFK until week 7 against Cleveland (the old Cleveland Browns). By the by, the only way Cleveland scored was on a fake field goal, a defensive touchdown and a field goal. Bernie Kosar and company still lost 42-17. The Redskins didn’t surrender an offensive touchdown at home until week 10 against the Run ‘n’ Shoot Houston Oilers. WEEK 10! Only four times did the defense allow more than 20 points in a game. Including the postseason, the defense held the opponent to less than ten points on seven occasions.

During the regular season, the Redskins won by an average score of 31-14. ON AVERAGE, the Redskins won by two touchdowns and a field goal every week. Go back in the Super Bowl era and see how many teams did that. And they did so against very good competition. The Redskins had one of the toughest schedules in the league in 1991. The Redskins played seven games against playoff teams and three more games against teams with winning records that didn’t make the playoffs (two against a 10-6 Eagles team, one against Pittsburgh and then you can throw in two more games against the 8-8 Giants). In the NFC playoffs, the Redskins beat Atlanta 24-7 (A team they beat in the regular season 56-17. By the way, that game marked the debut of one Brett Favre) and Detroit 41-10 (A team they beat 45-0 in the regular season. I believe Barry Sanders had a total of 11 yards in the second game). In the Super Bowl, the Skins beat the Bills 37-24, in a game that was never really that close. The Redskins led 24-0 in the third quarter at one point. The fact that the game was so boringly one-sided doesn’t help the ’92 Redskins achieve “greatness” because people tend to forget the non-exciting Super Bowls.

Did the Redskins have the most dominant offenses of all time? No. In fact, the 1983 Redskins offense was better. And the Redskins D wasn’t lights out like Chicago’s in ’85 or the Giants defenses in ’86 or ’91. But few teams, if any, have ever combined an offense and a defense that were as good as the ’91-92 Redskins. There are many other statistics that would further my point that the ’92 Redskins were the third best team of all-time, but I think the basics are overwhelming enough. Without further ado, here are my Top 10 Super Bowl winning teams of all-time:

The 1972-73 Miami Dolphins (Super Bowl XII): They were undefeated. Enough said.

The 1985-86 Chicago Bears (Super Bowl XX): The best defense ever assembled. The offense was pretty good too. They had some guy named Walter Payton, you may have heard of him. But, they lost one game, which means they weren’t perfect where it counted the most.

The 1991-92 Washington Redskins (Super Bowl XXVI): See above

The 1984-85 San Francisco 49ers (Super Bowl XIX): The defense did give up nearly 20 points a game, but the 9ers went 15-1 and won all three of their playoff games easily.

The 1989-90 San Francisco 49ers (Super Bowl XXIV): Almost identical to the ’92 Redskins. They lost two games by five points and blew away the competition in the playoffs. The average margin of victory was 15 points a game.

The 1998-1999 Denver Broncos (Super Bowl XXXIII): They went 13-0 to start, lost two very close games in the final minutes, and then walked through the playoffs to an easy win over Atlanta in the SB.

The 1986-87 New York Giants (Super Bowl XXI): Lost two games by a total of eight points (both on the road). Won 49-3, 17-0 and 39-20 in the playoffs and Super Bowl.

The 1978-79 Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowl XIII): The best of the Steel Curtain teams went 14-2. Average score during the regular season was 23-12. Lost the two games by a total of ten points.

The 1992-93 Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowl XXVII): Did suffer an embarrassing 31-7 loss to Philly, but went 13-3 and made all three postseason games laughers. Should have set a record for most points scored in a Super Bowl if it wasn’t for Leon Lett.

The 1966 Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl I): Went 12-2 under Lombardi and lost those two games by a combined four points. Thwarted Kansas City 35-10 in first Super Bowl.

So there you have it. The list that the NFL Network came up with really isn’t the 20 best Super Bowl teams. They’re the 20 most interesting teams. The 93-94 Cowboys are on the list and they went 12-4 and got blown out several times. The 96-97 Packers went 13-3 including a 31-point loss. But with the Cowboys you had all the drug related arrests and with the Packers you had the Favre pain pill story. With that in mind, he 82-83 Skins should have made it with John Riggins. He was always interesting.

Anyway, back to the current Redskins. I like their chances today. Steven Jackson is the type of back that the Redskins defense usually has success against. Power rushers that thrive between the tackles usually don’t do well against Gregg Williams defenses. It’s the scat backs that get outside the tackles that cause problems. Especially now with Marcus Washington done for the season.

For the Rams to win, they need Marc Bulger to perform well. As usual, Bulger season has tanked in the second half. Bulger struggles in the second half of the season because he usually gets hurt. But this year, he’s healthy. He just stinks. One of the more accurate quarterbacks in the last five years has suddenly lost his touch. Some of the throws he’s making to Torry Holt and Issac Bruce aren’t even close.

The Rams defense is, as always, atrocious. Ladell Betts should be able to run wild if Al Saunders doesn’t get pass happy. The last four games the play calling for the Redskins has been perfect. Run, run, run, play-action, run, run, pass, run, run, deep play-action pass. That’s what they should have been doing all season. Too bad it took Saunders so long to figure this out.

Next week, I’ll get more into the growing Betts-Clinton Portis saga. I want to get to this, it’s very important. But I’m running out of room here. Anyway, the Redskins should pound the Rams offensively, and will probably allow a couple of bombs and long scores defensively. It will probably come down to a field goal late.

NFL Week 16: Pro Bowl Trips For Cheaters And The Non-Deserving

I completely forgot to unveil my Pro-Bowl team. So I guess I’ll just complain here and there during this post about some of the picks. Anyway, there are two weeks left and the records continue to be better than ever. After another week spent well above .500, the records look like this:
Overall: 138-72 (66%)
Vs. Spread: 119-82-9
Go ahead, I dare you to find anyone (anyone credible that is, not some yahoo making random pick) that has a better mark with/against the spread. Anyone. The dominating continues, but don’t use these picks for wagering purposes.

THURSDAY
Minnesota Vikings (6-8) vs. Green Bay Packers (6-8)(-3)
8:00 p.m. Lambeau Field
Here’s something you thought you'd never hear me say…why didn’t Brett Favre make the Pro Bowl this season? His numbers are better than any NFC quarterback other than Drew Brees. How exactly did Tony Romo make it over Favre considering he only played half the season on one of the most talented teams money can buy. Favre played with Donald Driver and a bunch of rejects and still managed to coerce a 6-8 record from them. Favre has made it before when he didn’t deserve it, why didn’t he make it this year?
Pick: Packers

SATURDAY
Kansas City Chiefs (7-7)(-7) vs. Oakland Raiders (2-12)
8:00 p.m. McAfee Coliseum
If the lackluster Pittsburgh-Cleveland game didn’t kill these non-Sunday games, then this one surely will.
Pick: Chiefs

SUNDAY
Tennessee Titans (7-7) vs. Buffalo Bills (7-7)(-4.5)
1:00 p.m. Ralph Wilson Stadium
The 2006 Titans and Bills are the exact replicas of the 2005 Dolphins. Even though neither of these teams are going to add an injured quarterback in the offseason, both of them will probably suffer the same fate and unrealized hopes in 2007 that the Dolphins did this season.
Pick: Titans

New Orleans Saints (9-5) vs. New York Giants (7-7)(-4)
1:00 p.m. Giants Stadium
So is this game going to count as a home game for the Saints this year?
Pick: Saints

Carolina Panthers (6-8) vs. Atlanta Falcons (7-7)(-6)
1:00 p.m. Georgia Dome
So I guess I can’t keep putting clauses in my picks that say if Chris Weinke starts then the pick is voided. I’ll just have to pick against Carolina from the start. But since I’m picking Atlanta, it probably means that the Panthers will keep their season alive. I hate Atlanta. They are single-handedly killing my record.
Pick: Falcons

Indianapolis Colts (11-3)(-9) vs. Houston Texans (4-10)
1:00 p.m. Reliant Stadium
Ok, are we all done panicking about the Colts? You just let me know when you’re ready to talk about them winning the Super Bowl again. I’ll be right here.
Pick: Colts

Baltimore Ravens (11-3) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7)(-3)
1:00 p.m. Heinz Field
After bashing Baltimore most of the season, I finally made it a point to watch an entire game featuring the Ravens. You know, just to see what all the fuss was about. Kyle Boller not withstanding, the Ravens were what I thought they were: an above average team that would be fortunate to get past its first playoff game. You look at San Diego and LaDainian Tomlinson is operating on a different plain than everyone else. The Colts offense is littered with playmakers. Same with the Bengals (Palmer, Johnson and Johnson), Patriots (Brady) and Jaguars (Jones-Drew and Taylor). If I’m an opposing coach, I don’t see one player on the Ravens offense that scares me. This isn’t 2000 anymore; you need more than defense to win games in January. The Ravens are going to have to put up points against a decent defense eventually.
Pick: Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-11) vs. Cleveland Browns (4-10)(-3)
1:00 p.m. Cleveland Browns Stadium
The problem with talking about all these games is I actually have to talk about all these games. Including two teams with a combined seven wins in fifteen weeks. You know what, I’ll just take a pass and make a pick.
Pick: Buccaneers

Chicago Bears (12-2)(-4) vs. Detroit Lions (2-12)
1:00 p.m. Ford Field
Fans with paper bags over their head, only a quarter of the stadium filled, Matt Millen staring into space from his GM box…ah yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Detroit.
Pick: Bears

New England Patriots (10-4) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-6)(-2)
1:00 p.m. Alltell Stadium
So Tom Brady didn’t make the Pro Bowl this year. About damn time. The Patriots are on their way down. This is a team that would have been much, much worse over the last few seasons if it didn’t play in a terrible division. Now that all three AFC East teams are starting to improve, look for New England to get progressively worse the next few years. Corey Dillon is all but finished. Laurence Maroney is a nobody. He’s not even in the top 10 of the 2006 rookie class right now. The team possesses no receiving threats. The defense is aging rapidly. Just consider the fact that the Patriots are actually going to bring back 50-year old Junior Seau for another season. Barring a major roster overhaul, Brady is going to end up like the 2003-2006 Brett Favre.
Pick: Jaguars

Arizona Cardinals (4-10) vs. San Francisco 49ers (6-8)(-4)
4:05 p.m. Monster Park
No, the 49ers are not making the playoffs. Forget it. Why are we even talking about it? Matt Leinart is going to light up their defense like someone lighting up the 49ers defense. Yeah I know, terrible simile. But it works.
Pick: Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) vs. Denver Broncos (8-6)(-3)
4:15 p.m. Invesco Field at Mile High
This is the most important game of the week. I continue to feel that Cincinnati is too talented to miss the playoffs. I just can’t see them losing their last two games. And I think they’ll have a dogfight next week against Pittsburgh. Even though this game is in Mile High, and Denver is almost unbeatable there in December, I don’t think the Broncos can beat a decent team.
Pick: Bengals

San Diego Chargers (12-2)(-5.5) vs. Seattle Seahawks (8-6)
4:15 p.m. Qwest Field
Just imagine how good San Diego would be with Tomlinson and Drew Brees. I think the ’72 Dolphins would have been pretty worried right about now. On another note, how in the world can Shawne Merriman make the Pro Bowl? He missed four games this year for CHEATING, and he gets rewarded with a trip to Hawaii (and I’m sure a bonus in his contract). Does the NFL really want to promote steroid use, because they’re doing a great job of it right now. I’m glad he’s “clean” and all, and I believe in second chances. But he should have been suspended for the rest of this season, tested all through 2007, and allowed to come back next year. Not given a paid vacation in November and then another paid vacation to Hawaii because he attained his gaudy stats with illegal substances.
Pick: Chargers

MONDAY
Philadelphia Eagles (8-6) vs. Dallas Cowboys (9-5)(-8)
5:00 p.m. Texas Stadium
Remember last season when Sean Taylor spit in Michael Pittman’s face? Of course you do. But do you remember the stink that Chris Berman tried to cause after the fact? He tried to get Taylor suspended for the Skins next playoff game against Seattle. So Terrell Owens spits on DeAngelo Hall, admits he did it, and what does Berman say? I quote: “That’s just T.O. being T.O.” And then he moved on. Are you kidding me? He spent a solid week bitching about Taylor and he brushes aside this latest Owens incident like it never happened. ESPN, if you ever want me to watch your football coverage again, you will fire Berman’s fat ass immediately. And force Crack Pipe out with him please.
Pick: Cowboys, Eagles cover

New York Jets (8-6) vs. Miami Dolphins (6-8)(-2.5)
8:30 p.m. Dolphins Stadium
The Jets have a chance to further their unexpected playoff chances with a win against a team they can never beat on the road. This smells like a choke job waiting to happen, but I’ll give the swampland residents one more chance.
Pick: Jets

NFL Week 15: Better Late Than Never

Sorry for the lateness of the picks this week. My computer completely crashed on me. I do most of the writing for these things at work, but I still try to upload them at my place. I was unable to do it. This was written Thursday afternoon, and I swear I haven’t changed a pick since then. You’ll have to trust me I guess. The records:
Overall: 128-67 (66%)
Vs. Spread: 110-77-8
By the way, I counted the Giants win over Carolina as a win for me. As I noted in the pick on Thursday, if Chris Weinke started, then the pick of Carolina would be void. Weinke started (it was announced Friday afternoon), and the pick was changed in theory. You don’t like those rules? Tough, start your own website.

THURSDAY
San Francisco 49ers (5-8) vs. Seattle Seahawks (8-5)(-9)
8:00 p.m. Qwest Field
With the weekly Seahawks game comes my weekly fantasy update. Despite having Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander do basically nothing last week, I snuck into the playoffs in both of my leagues (big thank you to Maurice Jones-Drew). Guys, do you think you could do something for me against the dreadful 49ers defense this week? It’s playoff time!
Pick: Seahawks, 49ers cover

SATURDAY
Dallas Cowboys (8-5)(-3.5) vs. Atlanta Falcons (7-6)
8:00 p.m. Georgia Dome
It’s official. The NFL is now no better than the NCAA. Games on Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday this week. What a joke. Soon we’ll have the Titans hosting the Broncos in the Liberty Bowl after the season ends. Speaking of jokes, how bout that new Cowboys stadium. It’s going to cost $1 billion and they still can’t close that stupid hole in the roof. The Cowboys say the hole is there so “God can watch his team play.” Gag me. It’s actually there because of incompetence and monetary issues while building the original Texas Stadium. Ironically, incompetence (signing T.O.) and monetary issues (signing T.O., Bledsoe and Vanderjagt) are the same reason Dallas won’t be going far this postseason.
Pick: Cowboys

SUNDAY
New York Jets (7-6) vs. Minnesota Vikings (6-7)(-3)
1:00 p.m. H.H.H. Metrodome
Boy did the Jets choke last week. It was as if Tom Coughlin forgot which New Jersey team he was coaching and showed up to the wrong game.
Pick: Jets

Cleveland Browns (4-9) vs. Baltimore Ravens (10-3)(-10)
1:00 p.m. M&T Bank Stadium
Brian Billick said early this week that he was excited about the possibility of an AFC championship game in Baltimore (he said nothing to the fact that the Ravens are currently third in the conference and still have to win at least one, likely two games, to even get there). Why would he want that? So escaped convict Ray Lewis could do his ridiculous little dance? So the Ravens could rename the stadium again? So they could move the game in the middle of the night to Indianapolis?
Pick: Ravens

Houston Texans (4-9) vs. New England Patriots (9-4)(-11)
1:00 p.m. Gillette Stadium
So the Patriots lost last Sunday because Miami was cheating by stealing Tom Brady’s audio signals? Of course, that’s it. The only way the Patriots can lose is if the other team cheats. I get it. At least they didn’t lose because they are massively overrated and a first-round playoff exit waiting to happen. Otherwise they’d be in trouble.
Pick: Patriots

Miami Dolphins (6-7) vs. Buffalo Bills (6-7)(-2)
1:00 p.m. Ralph Wilson Stadium
There are some teams and players I just won’t take as favorites. The Bills and J.P. Losman are two of them.
Pick: Dolphins

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-7)(-3) vs. Carolina Panthers (6-7)
1:00 p.m. Bank of America Stadium
The disclaimer I made last week still stands here. If Jake Delhomme starts, then the pick stands. If Weinke starts, then the pick is flipped. Just one of the problems of having to post this before the Thursday night game.
Pick: Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5)(-3) vs. Tennessee Titans (6-7)
1:00 p.m. LP Field
My vote for rookie of the year (so far…there’s still three weeks left) goes to Maurice Jones-Drew. If anyone saw some of the plays he made against Indy last week, they’d agree with me. It wasn’t just his running. He had a brilliant kick return. He also de-cleated some Colts players while he was blocking. He can run, he can catch and he can pass protect. He’s the entire package. Once the Jags decide to get rid of or bench Fred Taylor, Jones-Drew is going to put some ridiculous numbers. In two years, he’ll be the second best back in the league (behind LT of course). Vince Young is a somewhat distant second in my ROY voting and Marques Colston is an even further distant third. On another note, stay away from this game. Don’t bet on it.
Pick: Jaguars?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-10) vs. Chicago Bears (11-2)(-14.5)
1:00 p.m. Soldier Field
Someone who shouldn’t be in the discussion for rookie of the year is Devin Hester. Sure he can return kicks. But what else can he do? Anything? If you think he’s even in the top 5 of rookies you are on something. Stop kidding yourself. Give me a position player. There are separate awards for special team players.
Pick: Bears, Bucs cover

Detroit Lions (2-11) vs. Green Bay Packers (5-8)(-5)
1:00 p.m. Lambeau Field
No matter how bad or how old Brett Favre gets, he still has two guaranteed games against Detroit to bump his stats up each season.
Pick: Packers

Denver Broncos (7-6)(-3.5) vs. Arizona Cardinals (4-9)
4:05 p.m. University of Phoenix Stadium
Arizona is in its usual late-season upset mode at home. It gives all their fans a glimmer of hope and convinces everyone else that the Cardinals will be a darkhorse team the following year. Too bad they’ve playing that tune for the past 15 years.
Pick: Cardinals

Philadelphia Eagles (7-6) vs. New York Giants (7-6)(-5)
4:15 p.m. Giants Stadium
Next on FOX: Stay tuned for a thrilling game between old division rivals as Jeff Garcia and the resurgent Eagles travel to the Meadowlands to take on Eli Manning, Jeremy Shockey and a desperate group of Giants. The battle for the final playoff spot in the NFC and the chance to be the first team eliminated in the postseason is up for grabs. The NFL on FOX, catch our flex-scheduling fever!
Pick: Giants

St. Louis Rams (5-8) vs. Oakland Raiders (2-11)(-2.5)
4:15 p.m. McAfee Coliseum
The two teams that used to share Los Angeles battle it out in one of their new slum-like cities in a fight to decide which one made the biggest mistake by leaving one of the most lucrative markets in the country. The winner gets nothing, just a trip back to the crime capital of the country (St. Louis) or one of the murder capitals of the country (Oakland).
Pick: Rams

Kansas City Chiefs (7-6) vs. San Diego Chargers (11-2)(-9)
8:15 p.m. Qualcomm Stadium
Seeing as Kansas City is four games behind San Diego in the West with only three to play, it seems as if the Chiefs won’t be winning the division this year. It’s a good thing I didn’t predict that! No, please don’t go back to look at my midseason predictions.
Pick: Chargers, Chiefs cover

MONDAY
Cincinnati Bengals (8-5) vs. Indianapolis Colts (10-3)(-3)
8:30 p.m. RCA Dome
With all the people eliminating the Colts, you’d think they were a .500 team. Look, the Colts obviously have problems running the ball and stopping the run. All the talking heads are right in saying that the Colts can’t win in the playoffs unless they shore up their running defense in a hurry. But to say that this team is done? Are you serious? Don’t tell me that anyone is really considering picking against them at their dome on artificial turf.
Pick: Colts

Maryland Basketball: After Death, The ACC Post-BC

#23/23 Maryland Terrapins (9-1, 0-0 ACC) at
Boston College Eagles (5-2, 0-0 ACC)
Conte Forum - Chestnut Hill, MA

So the Terps were brought back down to Earth a bit after their ugly performance against Notre Dame. It was kind of predictable. Maryland never plays well in the BB&T. Notre Dame was a team that could hit threes. Maryland has been surrendering good shots to opponents who weren’t hitting them. It was just a matter of time.

The Irish became the first team all season to make Maryland pay for their defensive lapses on the perimeter, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot in the second half. Maryland got up eight, looked like they were going to pull away, then stopped moving in their offense. They looked for the kill shot from outside, but all it translated to were poor outside shots. The outside misses allowed Notre Dame to avoid the press because Maryland didn’t have time to set it up. That led to a lot of open Irish on their own perimeter in transition. Maryland couldn’t locate the outside shooters. And Notre Dame hit their shots. It all boiled down to Maryland looking like the Maryland of the past few season. Rushed shots on one end, getting torched by threes on the other.

That game was a week ago, it’s time to forget about it. However, I think it’s safe to say that Maryland fans no longer want to see their team playing at the Verizon Center unless Georgetown is their opponent. Which will never happen apparently. So no more trips to D.C. in the future please.

Maryland recovered Wednesday with a comfortable win over Fordham, a half decent Atlantic-10 team. It was close for the first 10 minutes until Mike Jones got hot. Barring something really unforeseen, Maryland will not lose again out of conference. So the Terps should be 14-1 before ACC play. That includes wins over St. John’s, Michigan State and Illinois. It also will include wins against decent mid-majors like Vermont, Fordham, Winthrop and Siena. If Maryland goes 8-8 in conference and wins a game in the ACC tournament, they’re in the NCAA tournament easily.

Even though we haven’t reached the winter solstice, Maryland gets ready to attack that conference schedule with a trip to the ACC’s North Pole. You like watching Boston College? Well good, you better enjoy it Sunday because it will be another year before we see them again. There’s you expansion at work for you, the fan! Ruining ACC scheduling since 2004.

Boston College had last year’s impressive season end in the Sweet 16 against a Villanova team that they outplayed. Since then, they lost their all-everything forward Craig Smith to graduation. It doesn’t appear as if BC has recovered since his departure.

Boston College has already lost to Vermont (the same Vermont team Maryland blew out of the Comcast Center) and to a Providence team that will finish at or very near the bottom of the 44-team Big East. BC managed to fight to an ugly win over Michigan State at home. Maybe their most impressive win came at UMass last week. Otherwise, their resume is a bit weak so far. They will travel to Kansas in two weeks before going back to their ACC schedule.

The reason that BC isn’t winning is their outside shooting. The Eagles were not a good outside team last season, but with Smith inside, it didn’t matter. Now, without the easy option on the low post, Boston College’s three-point shooting has yet to compensate. The Eagles, as a team, are shooting 27.7% from beyond the arc. That’s abysmal. I watched most of their game against MSU, and I still can’t figure out how they beat the Spartans while shooting around that percentage from three. You can’t win games with that kind of percentage.

Despite the poor outside shooting, Boston College has averaged almost 75 points a game. That is a respectable total. But in their two losses and their close win against MSU, the Eagles only averaged 64 points. That’s a large difference. That’s even less than Duke’s powerhouse offense this season. BC still tries to muscle the ball inside to their remaining stars. Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall are still in Chestnut Hill and still putting up big numbers. Dudley is almost averaging a double-double every time on the court. He puts in 19 points and 9.3 boards a game along with four assists, two steals and a block. Even with BC’s poor outside percentage, Dudley is 41.2% on his threes and shoots a robust 58%. 58% is impressive for most players, and it’s even more impressive considering that Dudley does take a considerable number of outside shots.

Dudley’s numbers are slightly up from last year. In fact, most of BC’s averages are right where they were last season. Marshall, Tyrese Rice, Sean Williams and John Oates have nearly identical numbers in 2005 and so far in 2006. The big problem is no one has made up for the numbers that Smith took with him to the NBA. Obviously no one player on BC is going to suddenly turn into Craig Smith, but the eight-men rotation for the Eagles all have to raise their numbers a little to equal Smith’s output. Dudley has done that. The rest of the team has not.

Rice is scoring a bit more than he did last season, putting up almost 14 a game, but he’s turning the ball over a lot more than he did last season with more than three per game. As BC’s point guard, his lone responsibility is to get the ball inside. The additional scoring is nice, but not exactly what Al Skinner is looking for from his point. The 1.6/1 a/t ration is not good, and another reason for BC’s slow start. Williams has seen his scoring stay steady at 11 a game, but his rebounding numbers have really disappeared. For a 6-10 center with a vertical like Williams, 4.8 rebounds a game isn’t going to cut it. Marshall scores 13.3 a game, but his rebounding numbers are also down to 4.6. Smith’s scoring is missed, but the fact that Marshall and Williams can’t pick up his rebounding slack is hurting more.

Marshall is one of four shooters who continue to hurt BC from the outside. Dudley is the only player who is above, or even close to that 40% three-point shooting goal. The other four shooters who have attempted a three aren’t hitting. Marquez Hayes (33%), Marshall (31%), Rice (22.5%) and Big Awkward White Guy John Oates (20%) are killing BC right now. BC, like Maryland, struggles to back into their defense after missed threes. So when BC can’t hit shots, they can’t stop the other team from hitting shots. So it’s not just a missed shot, it’s a five-point swing almost every time they miss a three. And they miss a lot.

For Maryland, the ball-handling, which seemed great up to about the midway point of the Illinois game, must get back to where it was early in the season. I’ve given up all hope of Maryland every being a truly great team when it comes to protecting the ball, but giving it up over 20 times a game is unacceptable. That’s a turnover every two minutes. Like BC’s 27% three-point shooting, you’re not going to win a lot of conference games with those numbers. Eric Hayes appears to be losing his magic touch when it comes to distributing. He disappeared against the Illini and Irish and had his worst game of the season against Fordham. Too many turnovers, not enough set ups for scoring plays. In other words, Hayes is finally playing like the freshman he is. He was playing out of his mind against MSU and St. John’s and got everyone excited. Expect more of this through the season. You’re going to see Hayes have some great games, probably at the most unexpected time, and he’s going to have plenty of bad games against bad ACC teams that will make some other games closer than they should be. Just be prepared for it.

Expect to see Greivis Vasquez at point guard more. He’s been playing the two and three a lot this season, but I think you are about to see more of him at point. Boom Osby continues to dominate, and as long as he stays out of foul trouble, he will continue to have a great season. The pressure is on Ekene Ibekwe to perform or he is going to start losing minutes.

Against Boston College, Maryland has got to make sure they don’t give up too many easy transition points. Don’t let the Eagles terrible shooters get into a groove by giving them easy transition threes. Make BC settle into their half-court offense. When they get in their half-court offense, make sure there is always back-side help for the multitude of forwards that Skinner will throw at the Terps. Make BC beat you with threes in their half-court offense. On the other end, it’s going to be tough going inside for Maryland. Please try to limit the number of off-balance drives and inside shots. Mike Jones should have a height advantage. Get him the ball early and let him get in rhythm. Force BC’s big men to come outside to guard Jones and Vasquez. That should be the only way Maryland can get easy shots inside. I’m sure Gary will have the team ready for a matchup against his former school and for ACC play. Look for Maryland’s new chemistry to help them to a close road win.

Maryland 68
Boston College 64

Sunday, December 17th
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech
A lot of people were talking about VTech challenging for a tournament birth. They had the majority of their starters back, so why not, right? Well, in the previous three years, those starters have done nothing. Wake Forest, on the other hand, will be as bad as everyone is predicting. The likelihood of either of these teams making the tournament is slim.
Pick: Virginia Tech 70, Wake Forest 58

Eagles at Redskins: Second Half Collapses

Philadelphia Eagles (6-6) vs. Washington Redskins (4-8)
1:00 p.m. FedEx Field
Well, there isn’t much more to say about the Redskins this year. It’s a shame they’ve played this lousy because it looks as if a mediocre record would have been good enough to make the playoffs this season in the terrible NFC. Heck, a 9-7 record could probably get you a bye week.

The game last week against Atlanta was an example of the way Washington has played all season. Start strong, get conservative on both sides of the ball, surrender the lead then get pounded with the opposing run game. Flashes of hope and promise here and there. Followed by an entire quarter of awful play.

Here are the Falcons, a team on a four-game losing streak (including losses to bad teams), that was being ripped in and out of the locker room in every which way and the Redskins still manage to make them look good. Michael Vick can’t complete a pass in over a month and even had trouble getting the simple play signals right during their losing streak. In fact, the only signal he didn’t screw up was the one he gave his fans a couple of weeks ago. But he comes in to Washington and the Redskins defense lets him run, and pass, all over them. Michael Jenkins hasn’t done anything all year, so of course the Skins allow him to go wherever he wants uncovered, including the end zone.

The Redskins get up 14, and it’s like a switch is flipped on the Redskins sideline. Once that lead is established, the Redskins run the ball every play, except for the obvious throwing downs, and play vanilla defense so they don’t get beat by a big play. Instead, the let the Falcons, one of the more offensively inefficient teams in the league, march down the field on a 98-yard drive. You can’t play conservative like that in the NFL anymore. It doesn’t work. There used to be a time that you could get up 14 points and sit on the lead and the ball. Running the ball no longer is a prerequisite to winning football games. You need to run the ball to set up the pass and the kill shot to win games.

For the third straight week, Jason Campbell looked nothing more than average. If you want to call it that. Great blind heave on that third down play in the third quarter. That play single-handedly turned the game around. Those are mistakes that only college quarterbacks and Aaron Brooks make. I’ve been saying since the day the Redskins drafted him that Campbell was nothing special. Now it looks like my call is coming true.

Now don’t go believing ESPN when they say Campbell has looked great. They have to say that. All their talking heads have been calling for Campbell over Brunell for the last two seasons. They can’t afford to have Campbell look bad because that will make them look bad. They will stick up for Campbell like they’ve never stuck up for a Redskins player before…until it becomes convenient to slam him. I’m here to tell you that Campbell has looked bad. Period. Look at the stats. Look at some of the mistakes he’s making. These aren’t the normal young quarterback mistakes. These are dumb, high school quarterback caliber mistakes.

So the Redskins get to play spoiler this season. The Eagles make their annual trip to Landover to continue their attempt to squeeze into the playoffs. The fact that the Eagles and playoffs are in the same sentence should tell you how bad the NFC is (unless the sentence was “The Eagles have no chance in hell at the playoffs”). Since we last saw Philadelphia, their porcelain quarterback Donovan “Time for my yearly injury because I don’t want to be blamed for this losing team” McNabb suffered yet another wound. This time it’s a torn ACL. So Jeff Garcia, who apparently is still in the league when he’s not fruiting it up around town, has taken over. The Eagles did manage to pull a minor upset over equally desperate Carolina last week to bring their record to an impressive 6-6. Garcia has looked much better in his two games than McNabb has looked in the last two seasons. Hmmm…maybe, just maybe, the problem last year wasn’t Terrell Owens. But no one could have told you that (except me, of course). Garcia has brought a slight glimmer of hope to the Eagles who were left for dead three weeks ago. Philly fans have rewarded him for that the only way they know how: booing.

Unlike last week, when the Redskins were facing a QB due for good game, the Skins will face Garcia, who is prime for one of his patented 10-30, 98 yards and 2 INT performances. The key to stopping Philadelphia and Garcia is to stop Brian Westbrook. With McNabb out, the only player on Philly’s offense that is even remotely talented is Westbrook. Stop him, and Garcia will be useless. You can bet the Redskins front seven is looking for some form of redemption after last week’s embarrassment.

The Eagles will not make the playoffs. I’ve been telling you this since day one. I’ve been telling you this since when they were 4-1. I told you, at least I told all you disgusting Philly fans, not to get too excited. But no! The Eagles had too many flaws, on both sides of the ball, to make the playoffs. Even if they were a decent team, their second half schedule was too tough. This is the first of three straight road games in the division for Philly. Then they finish up with Atlanta. At best, I see two wins. The only way they make the playoffs is if Carolina, Atlanta and the Giants all continue to tank. And with Carolina playing New York this weekend, at least one of those teams will be 7-6 (hopefully Carolina). And even on that slight chance that Philly makes the playoffs, how far do you think they’re actually capable of going? Nowhere except for whatever city they have to play their first round game in, which would be their final game of the season. Hopefully the Redskins can make sure the Eagles season ends in December by officially re-eliminating them from the sorry NFC race.

Rants and Ravings: I'm A Free Agent Baseball Fan

The great thing about this page is it allows me to rant whenever I feel like it. To me it doesn't matter if only one person reads it. That's not the point. I just like to put stuff out there (By the way, if you are looking for my weekly NFL picks, they are right below this post. But please read this first).

So I got two things on my mind today. Let's get the first one out of the way. As I mentioned recently, I finally got a new job at the local sports station. But before I had accepted that offer, I had set up an interview at the new Triple X ESPN Radio here in D.C. I figured I might as well keep my interview since you never know what's going to happen and the building is located literally four blocks from my apartment here in Silver Spring. So it wasn't like it was an inconvenience.

For those of you that don't know, Redskins owner Dan Snyder decided a year ago that he would buy a station so he could package Redskins games and keep all the profits. So he purchased 94.3 FM, 92.7 FM and 730 AM. Then he took the Redskins games from WJFK and put them on this new Triple X station. He even managed to convince ESPN to stop syndicating to Sports Talk 980 and come on board with him. So far, so good.

The only thing is that these stations are so weak, that very few people can hear them. This is usually a problem for a radio station. As I said, I live four blocks from the Silver Spring station and I have a hard time picking it up. On top of this, all the local personalities that Snyder expected to jump from 980 to Triple X stayed put. So now Triple X is stuck with a bunch of non-local syndicated programs and the John Riggins Show. And as much as I love Riggins, he can barely get through George Michael's Redskins Report without sounding like an idiot. Let's just say, he's not very articulate. So if he struggles on a half-hour TV show where he isn't the only talking, imagine how bad his three-hour radio show is going to be.

The main reason for this station to be created was to carry the Skins games. But then Snyder went out and hired Larry Michael to manage the broadcasts of the games. The first thing Michael did was fire long-time and beloved play-by-play broadcaster Frank Herzog and replaced him with...Larry Michael! Michael is so bad, that I've actually stopped listening to the game on radio. Which means I'd rather listen to the likes of Joe Buck, Tony Siragusa and Phil Simms rather than him. Plus, Sam Huff and Sonny Jurgensen, the color commentators, clearly don't like Michael and the chemistry between the three is way off. The games are a disaster.

Anyway, I went into my interview expecting to be received in a professional manner at a place of business. What I found was a station in disarray. There are boxes everywhere. They've been at that building for a year now and it doesn't look like they've unpacked a thing. It made my college dorm room look neat and tidy. It was so bad, there wasn't even an empty room that I could be interviewed in. We kept trying to do it in people's tiny offices, but the people who worked in them kept coming in. So I had to move three times and eventually settled in the office lobby. I did the interview sitting on the same couch as the guy who was interviewing me while the secretary listened, which was kind of intimidating (The secretary, by the way, was hot. I was listing my credentials and I kept looking over to see if she was impressed. No dice). The interview I went in there for was for a full-time producer position. Apparently, that job didn't exist. Instead I was interviewed for a part-time board operator job that may or may not have been created. So much for professionalism. Then, as the interview is ending, the guy says that he's sorry he couldn't offer more, but the station wasn't organized and that it would take awhile for my application (which I didn't fill out) to be processed. Then he told me that he was considering moving to a different market. Who does this? You supposed to sell me on working at the station, then you offer me a job that doesn't exist and tell me that things are so bad at the station that you, the interviewer, are considering leaving. Well, where do I sign up. Hopefully this station fixes its many problems so the Redskins games will be a shred of what they used to be.

Now, the real reason I'm here. Football season is winding down, and before you know it, March will be here and college basketball season will be over. Then it's four months before the NFL preseason begins and I really have nothing to post here. So last week, I was thinking about what I could talk about, if only briefly, during the summer. The only logical conclusion is baseball.

Which brings me to my dilemma. Despite growing up in Washington D.C., I was raised an Oriole fan. See, I grew up in a time when there was only one football and one baseball team in this area...and that's the way it still should be. Although I rarely talk about baseball, I'm a huge baseball fan. I've been going to Orioles games since I was five and they were still at old Memorial Stadium. I broadcasted baseball the past two summers. While my passion is football, I know more about baseball then I do about any other sport.

The Orioles are so bad, and so utterly hopeless with their current ownership, that they're not worth talking about on this page. In fact, they are no longer worth following, supporting or rooting for. Like most Orioles fans, I am pissed about what owner Peter Angelos has done to this once proud team.

The latest transgression was the straw that broke the camels back. This week, the Atlanta Braves offered their young slugging first baseman Adam LaRoche and second baseman Marcus Giles for O's second baseman Brian Roberts and young pitcher Hayden Penn. On paper, this deal would have been outstanding for the Birds. Giles and Roberts are basically the same player. So the trade essentially comes down to LaRoche for Penn. THAT IS A STEAL. Penn, while still young, has shown almost nothing. His promise is so low, that he likely won't crack the Orioles starting rotation this season or next. And the Orioles have one of the worst staffs in the league. It’s not as if Cy Young is the O’s third pitcher. LaRoche, is a starting corner infielder, who had a breakout season with the Braves last year and is only going to get better. He just turned 27.

Roberts does have slightly better career numbers than Giles, but Roberts hasn't been the same since his gruesome arm injury towards the end of 2004. Plus, he's a year and half older than Giles. The Braves, desperately trying to add an arm to a rotation that's worse than Baltimore's, are willing to give the O's a solid first baseman, which the Birds don't have right now. This is a perfect deal on the field and financially.

Except Brian Roberts is one of the "faces of the franchise". Peter Angelos loves him and doesn't want to trade him. Despite his advisors telling him pull the trigger on this deal, he rejects it. He defends it by saying that he doesn't want to get rid of a "fan favorite". This defense is bullshit. I like Brian Roberts. He seems like a good guy. Doesn't cause trouble, doesn't get in trouble. Plays hard, works hard and interacts with the fans. Plus, he replaced Jerry Hairston at second and finally gave the O's an excuse to jettison his sorry ass to Chicago. And, as Angelos says, he is one of the team's most liked players.

But Roberts is one of the faces of a LOSING franchise. The Orioles haven't won anything in nine years. Before Roberts got here, they lost. With Brian Roberts, they continue to lose. If you have a chance to improve a team that regularly manages to lose 90 games a year, and that means trading one of your better players, you do it. You know what fans like more than certain players? A winning team.

As I said, this excuse is bullshit. The Orioles, while busy not trading Roberts, are actively shopping their other popular player, Miguel Tejada, to any team that will listen to an offer. And if keeping popular players/personnel is so important to Angelos, then why did he chase Davy Johnson out of town? Why did he trade B.J. Surhoff in 1999? Why did he allow Mike Mussina, Robbie Alomar and Rafael Palmerio (pre-2000 Palmerio, before the roids) to leave during the prime of their careers? These were all "franchise guys" and “fan favorites” too.

The reason is because Angelos continues to treat the Orioles as his personal plaything. He keeps who he likes, he fires who he doesn't, whether or not it's good for the team. He meddles in player affairs more than any other owner, and that includes George Steinbrenner. He doesn't have a clue what he's doing, but he keeps doing it. That's why the Orioles are a franchise going nowhere. One year the Orioles try to rebuild with youth. The next year they sign guys like Albert Belle or Marty Cordova or Jeff Conine or Kevin Millar. They trade promising prospect Denny Bautista for roid-filled Jason Grimsley. And so on and so on. Then, when the over-the-hill free agents they bring in don't work, they go back to youth until it becomes time to pay more overpriced old guys. There's no consistent plan to build this team back to a winner. What's worse is that teams like Detroit, Minnesota, Oakland, San Diego, etc… can rebuild their teams with only a fraction of the money that the Orioles have. Hell, Florida won a World Series in 1997, tore their team apart, built it back up, and won another World Series in 2003 while the Orioles were busy losing consistently. Over time, the O's finally realized that they may have to spend extra money on decent players, but no free agents want to play in Baltimore because they've been so bad for so long. The O's are now playing with confederate money.

So it has come to this. I will no longer support the Orioles in any way, shape or form as long as Peter Angelos or someone in his immediate family owns the team. I will not attend games. I will not watch games. I will not spend money on Orioles merchandise. I am officially a fan without a team. I am a free agent. As of this moment, I no longer consider myself an Oriole fan. And this isn’t just about the recent rejected trade. If that were the case this entire rant would be pretty silly. This recent Roberts/Penn fiasco is just a microcosm of Baltimore under Angelos. It got me thinking. The more I thought about it, the more I got angry. The more I thought about the Orioles, the more I realized that the organization doesn’t care about winning and doesn’t want to come up with a real plan to turn the team around. They’ll just keep fielding stopgap and patchwork teams until enough fans stay away and the team starts to lose money.

I love baseball too much to ignore it completely. I need a team to follow. The great thing about this day and age is that I can basically watch any baseball game in the country. Since I'm going to work for Comcast SportsNet, I get free cable and I can buy a subscription to MLB Gameplan for no extra charge. Now I just have to find a team. If you want me to root for your favorite team, tell me why.

Here are the teams I will not root for. The Yankees and Red Sox are at the top of the list. I will not get caught up in all that Yanks-Sox mumbo jumbo. The Mets are out too since they play in New York. I hate the city; I refuse to root for one of their teams. Ditto for the Phillies, just put Philadelphia in place of New York in the previous sentence. I don't want to seem like a bandwagon jumper, so for now, St. Louis, Detroit, Oakland, the White Sox and both Los Angeles teams are out. Any team that Barry Bonds played for is out, so sorry San Francisco and Pittsburgh. I won't root for Canadian teams, which obviously eliminates Toronto. I won't root for minor league teams, which gets rid of Kansas City and Tampa Bay. So, if my math is correct, that leaves me with 14 teams. Here are the Top 5, as of this moment:

1. Washington - the obvious front-runner. Locality is the main draw, and they're new stadium will be built eventually. The owner may actually spend money on the team when that happens. There's no better way to insult Angelos then to support the franchise that he hates the most.
2. Chicago Cubs - Lovable losers. Aren't they everyone's second favorite team? I would love to be on the bandwagon when they win a World Series. If they ever win another World Series.
3. Houston - Other than Cal Ripken, Craig Biggio is my favorite player of the last 15 years. But he is about to retire. That quirky new stadium can only hold my attention for so long.
4. Minnesota - I know they've made the playoffs a lot recently, but like the Cubs, they're always the ultimate underdogs. Players like Santana, Mauer, Morneau and Hunter are extremely likable.
5. San Diego - Like Minnesota and Houston, the Padres are currently a very good team that has never won a World Series. Plus, the mascot is cool.

I'll also consider teams like Milwaukee or Cincinnati or even Florida. I will make my decision before the beginning of spring training and decide best how to cover that team. Maybe I'll pick a new team to follow each year and do it that way. Again, if you want me to root for your favorite team, then try to convince me (cash bribes and other goods will certainly be considered). Even if it’s one of the teams I don’t plan on rooting for. If you can make a decent argument, I’ll consider any team in MLB other than the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox. I could be talked into following Tony LaRussa and the Fighting Pujols’. Or the Los Angeles Angels of Orange County/Anaheim and Disney. Or even Billy Beane and his “Have OBP, Will Travel” Oakland A’s.

Heck, maybe you can even convince me to root for the Orioles this season. I’ve clearly gotten to the point that I’m going to need more than the “they’re the hometown team” argument. As of now, I will only go back to the O's the day after Angelos and his family sell the team. Until then, I’m a free agent. Like most free agents, I’m not buying what the Orioles are selling.

NFL Week 14: Letters To The Editor

It has come to my attention more and more of you are betting on games using these weekly previews. Now some of you are starting to complain if I get a game wrong and you were stupid enough to bet money on it. If you all don’t cut it out, or if you all keep telling me about it, I’m going to stop writing these previews up. I know I’m insanely good against the spread, but still. I don’t want to be the one responsible for you losing your money if I have a bad week. Slap those records up maestro:
Overall: 120-60 (67%)
Vs. Spread: 103-69-8
AS ALWAYS, THE FOLLOWING SHOULD NOT BE USED AS THE SOLE BASIS FOR ANY REAL WAGERING

THURSDAY
Cleveland Browns (4-8) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7)(-7)
8:00 p.m. Heinz Field
So, still think these Thursday night games are a great idea? Following the Ravens-Bengals clunker, we get another AFC North crapfest. What was the NFL Network thinking when they scheduled this game? Even if the Steelers were 8-4 like they were supposed to be, the Browns would still be a bad 4-8 team. This couldn’t possibly have been the sexiest matchup in week 14 at the beginning of the season.
Pick: Steelers

SUNDAY
Atlanta Falcons (6-6)(-3.5) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-9)
1:00 p.m. Raymond James Stadium
When I figure the Falcons out, I’ll let you know. Until then, it’s probably wise to bet against Michael Vick when he faces a defense he always struggles with.
Pick: Buccaneers

Baltimore Ravens (9-3) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (7-5)(-2.5)
1:00 p.m. Arrowhead Stadium
A few weeks ago, Sports Illustrated ran a cover story piece on Ray Lewis, calling him “God’s Linebacker” (which incidentally, was plagiarized from a GQ magazine cover a few years ago on Troy Aikman titled “God’s Quarterback”…but I digress). The sappy article said how tough Ray Lewis had it. Tough childhood, tough upbringing, unfairly prosecuted for murder, blah blah blah. It was supposed to make the reader feel sorry for all the things that Lewis has brought upon himself, and that he had magically found redemption in God. He even lightly compares himself to Jesus in the article. Well, the readers of SI weren’t having it. In the Letter to the Editor section last week, the readers overwhelmingly said that the article was a piece of crap and that Lewis is a thug who should be behind bars. In fact, according to SI’s webpage, the article received more responses back than almost any other article in SI’s history. The majority of the responses were negative. I just thought I’d reprint some of the better responses found in the December 4th issue here:

“As a youth minister I have had enough of athletes covering their bad acts and irresponsible decisions by proclaiming to be disciples of God. Lewis is perceived as a villain because of what he has done, not because of some “master plan.” His “trials” are the result of his own arrogance, entitlement and poor decision-making.”
- Michael Bricker, Penn.

“Pity poor Ray Lewis. He lost his street cred for testifying, sort of, against his thug pals but gained no good-citizen points because the web of lies he orchestrated resulted in a not-guilty verdict in a double-murder case. Perhaps he should really open the Bible to Galatians 6:7, ‘…for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’”
- Thomas Moriarty, Conn.

“I wonder how the families of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar – the two men whom Lewis was charged with murdering – felt when they saw his picture on the cover of SI?”
- Rob Picciotto, NY

“Lewis appears to be mixed-up: Jesus was persecuted, Ray was prosecuted.”
- Ed Glass, NM

“If Ray Lewis is “God’s Linebacker,” as your cover says he is, then O.J. Simpson is God’s running back.”
- Zack Faris, Ohio

I have to meet these people. These are all great Americans and great sports fans who realize that Lewis should not be celebrated, but incarcerated.
Pick: Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings (5-7) vs. Detroit Lions (2-10)(-2)
1:00 p.m. Ford Field
Yes the Vikings are bad. But the Lions are much worse and should NEVER be favored.
Pick: Vikings

Tennessee Titans (5-7) vs. Houston Texans (4-8)(-1)
1:00 p.m. Reliant Stadium
With both teams playing much better than anyone anticipated, this is a tricky one. My advice would be to steer clear of this game. The Titans are positioned for a letdown after their win over Indy, but Tennessee just seems to be clicking. Never underestimate Jeff Fisher.
Pick: Titans

New York Giants (6-6) vs. Carolina Panthers (6-6)(-3)
1:00 p.m. Bank of America Stadium
Who else is enjoying this Giants collapse? I’m enjoying it so much, I just did a celebratory “jump shot.” The real question is, who had Tom Coughlin being fired after week 14 in the office pool? There’s a great chance it happens. (However, if Chris Weinke starts for Jake Delhomme, consider this pick and my analysis null and void.)
Pick: Panthers

Indianapolis Colts (10-2)(-1.5) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-5)
1:00 p.m. Alltell Stadium
Someone better wake Peyton Manning and tell him the Colts haven’t come to close clinching home field advantage. This isn’t 2005. A week ago, I would have picked Jacksonville here. But the Jags are coming off a road win, and Indy is coming off a tough loss that they sleepwalked through. I don’t see the Colts dropping two in a row.
Pick: Colts

Oakland Raiders (2-10) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5)(-11)
1:00 p.m. Paul Brown Stadium
Is the eleven-point spread for the entire game, or just the first quarter?
Pick: Bengals

New England Patriots (9-3)(-3) vs. Miami Dolphins (5-7)
1:00 p.m. Dolphins Stadium
For whatever reason, the Patriots have been nearly unbeatable on the road this season. They’ve looked terrible at home. Regardless of what happens here, I think we can safely say this will be the Patriots only trip to Miami until next season.
Pick: Patriots

Green Bay Packers (4-8) vs. San Francisco 49ers (5-7)(-5)
4:05 p.m. Monster Park
If you squint really hard, and you really try to imagine it, you can almost pretend that this game still has significance like it did back in the mid-90’s. But once you realize that you’re watching Alex Smith instead of Steve Young, you’ll snap back to reality.
Pick: 49ers

Seattle Seahawks (7-5)(-3) vs. Arizona Cardinals (3-9)
4:05 p.m. University of Phoenix Stadium
Fantasy Update: With my team needing a win this week to make the playoffs, I’m starting Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander and Larry Fitzgerald. C’mon shootout!
Pick: Seahawks

Buffalo Bills (5-7) vs. New York Jets (7-5)(-4)
4:15 p.m. Giants Stadium
Make fun of the Jets if you want (I know I have), but they’re going to make the playoffs. No one has an easier schedule. What happened to the NFL this season? How are the Jets, who are terrible, going to make the playoffs? How are the Eagles tied for a Wild Card spot? In the immortal words of Vince Lombardi: “What the hell is going on around here?!?”
Pick: Jets

Denver Broncos (7-5) vs. San Diego Chargers (10-2)(-7)
4:15 p.m. Qualcomm Stadium
Boy, does San Diego get to face Denver at the right time. Look, I’m all for Jay Cutler getting a chance to play. But don’t start him when your team is 7-4 and in the middle of the playoff hunt. Why throw away the season when you don’t have to? Jake Plummer could probably manage a 10-6 mark. I’m not sure Cutler can do that. Suffice to say, Mike Shanahan won’t be receiving my vote for coach of the year.
Pick: Chargers

New Orleans Saints (8-4) vs. Dallas Cowboys (8-4)(-7.5)
8:15 p.m. Texas Stadium
Earlier this season, Vegas gave the Saints no play. Even when they were winning, they were always the underdog. They were my safe upset pick every week. Then Vegas finally realized that “Hey, this Saints team is in first place, maybe we shouldn’t favor them.” Since then, I’ve been lost without my favorite underdog team. Well, Vegas had a momentary lapse of reason and decided to throw me a bone for old times sake.
Pick: Saints

MONDAY
Chicago Bears (10-2)(-7) vs. St. Louis Rams (5-7)
8:30 p.m. Edward Jones Dome
Ladies and Gentleman, for my first exhibit on how bad the NFC is, I present the Chicago Bears. They became the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot and their division, and they did so in a game that their quarterback posted a rating lower than an average student’s GPA. Their offense mustered a staggering 78 yards and no touchdowns. Yet, they won the game and their division easily. They’ll probably have home field advantage. Has the NFC given up already and decided to get ready for next season?
Pick: Bears, Rams cover

Later this week, the Redskins try to re-eliminate the Eagles from playoff contention and the Terps face some Eagles of their own.

Maryland Basketball: Fighting Mad!

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1) vs.
#23/19 Maryland Terrapins (8-0)
Verizon Center - Washington, DC
BB&T Classic

Looks like Maryland basketball is back. Someone put Ratface on notice please. Now you know me. I’m not one to get overly excited about one game or one win. But let’s look at the facts. Maryland won without Ekene Ibewke. They won in a game that their other senior leader, D.J. Strawberry, did next to nothing. They won, on the road, in a very tough environment against a good team from a power conference. In fact, they won in a building that no team outside of the Big Ten had won in since 1998. And they won while enduring a 12-minute stretch in which they scored a total of 10 points. Maryland won their game at Illinois while underperforming and undermanned. The Terps found a way to scratch out a win. That’s impressive.

Boom Osby, as I said at the beginning of the season, has the potential to be a terrific low post player. This is something Maryland has lacked. If he didn’t prove his ability against Illinois, then I’m not sure which game you were watching. An outstanding performance from the New Mexico transfer. Greivis Vasquez looked like anything other than a freshman point guard. And the best defense of the game, other than Vasquez’s effort, was applied by Mike Jones. The switch has finally clicked at both ends for Jones.

I already talked about it, but the reason Maryland is now 8-0 is because their defense and outside shooting has improved. The defensive improvement I can understand. Defense requires a complete team effort. All five guys need to do their job. The chemistry simply wasn’t there the past two years on defense. Guys like Strawberry would bust their butts trying to create a big play while guys like Chris McCray stood around watching.

What I can’t figure out is how the outside shooting all of a sudden go better. Yes, the flex offense is moving better (see my UMD vs. Michigan State post for further details) and that creates open outside shots. But the Terps problem the last two seasons wasn’t getting good looks, it was knocking them down. Maybe there’s something I’m missing. I just don’t understand how basically the same cast of characters can dramatically raise their shooting percentages across the board. If anything, I’d say the shot selection this season is just as bad, if not worse than it was the past couple of years. But the shots are going down. Maybe this won’t last. I still need to see more of this team, and then I’ll be able to figure out if there’s something fundamentally different or if the Terps shooters have finally run in to a bit of luck. Either way, I’m not complaining. I’m just a bit nervous that the team could resort back to their old shooting percentages later in the year.

The ultimate shooting test will come today. It’s time for Maryland’s annual trip to the Verizon Center for the BB&T Classic. Only this year there will be no game against George Washington. And it’s no longer a tournament. I thought the whole point of playing in this thing was so we could play a local team and a national ranked team in the span of two days. If we wanted to play Notre Dame, and I don’t know why we would, why don’t we just schedule a home and home? If Maryland’s going to play in this Classic, it had better be a two day event and one of the teams they play better have the word George somewhere in their name.

At any rate, Maryland never plays will in the BB&T. Usually it’s because they can’t shoot. No matter how good or bad Maryland’s shooting percentages are, they get a whole lot worse after their trip into the District. This is another one of those things I can’t understand. If the Terps can go to MSG and other spacious NBA style arenas and have decent shooting games, why can’t they ever do it in D.C.? Again, this is something I’ll have to look into when I get the time. If the Terps shooting prowess this season is a fluke, this game will expose it. If this team is legit from three land, this game will prove it.

Now to the opponent. The Terps trade one angry, culturally insulting mascot for another one. From Fighting Illini to Fighting Irish. I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on Notre Dame or this post. It is Sunday and there’s football to be watched. The Irish are basically no better or no worse than St. John’s. This is a mediocre to below average Big East team that probably won’t make the tournament. However, like St. John’s, if your team has an off day and they play well, they have the talent to win. This may not be a great team from a power conference, but it’s still a team from a power conference. This won’t be Florida A&M or High Point.

The Irish have put up 85 points a game. They have done this against radically inferior competition (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, Lafayette, The Citadel, Lehigh and Winston-Salem State). The only decent team they played is responsible for their one loss. The Irish only managed 69 points while getting beat by Butler. In Notre Dame’s defense, Butler has beaten everybody so far, including Indiana, Gonzaga, Tennessee and the Boston Celtics. So losing by two to Butler isn’t a terrible defeat.

So the stats for Notre Dame are severely inflated. They currently have four players averaging over 12 points a game. However, in their loss to Butler, only two of these players matched their season averages. Russell Carter is their 6-4 senior guard and the best shooter on the team. He averages 15 points, 5 boards and converts 43% of his threes. One of his two other back court mates is Colin Falls. Falls is a 6-5 senior who puts in 13 a game and has a beautiful 5/1 assist/turnover ratio. He leads the team in three-pointers taken and hits 40.5% of them. These are pretty much the only two players Maryland will have to concern themselves with. Notre Dame’s big men are stiffs. Luke Zeller is so awkward he can barely manage 18 minutes a game (which is probably good for the Irish since he can’t score or rebound…several guards average more boards a game than he does). Rob Kurz can board but is not a scoring threat despite his 15 points a game (most of those came against IPFW and Winston-Salem). He only put in seven points against a much smaller Butler team. The only real bench threat is freshman tweener Luke Harangody. Harangody did have a good performance off the bench against Butler, and he can be a threat inside scoring and rebounding. Why he isn’t starting, I don’t know.

So let’s see, a three-guard rotation, a team built on outside shooting and a refusal to go to the bench and play more than seven players a game. Sounds like Ratface. No wait, it’s Ratface Junior. Former Coach K assistant Mike Brey is still somehow in charge in South Bend despite running the program into the ground. It appears as if the Coach K movement in college basketball is thankfully on its last legs. Quinn Snyder finally got the pink slip at Mizzou. Tommy Amaker is almost certain to get the axe at the end of this season at Michigan. And if things don’t turn around for Brey, he’ll probably have to put that expensive Duke degree to use somewhere else. Now you see why Downtrodden Johnny Dawkins and Floor-Slapper Extraordinaire Steve Wojojehcosnkhsiahaski aren’t getting jobs anywhere else. Snyder, Amaker and Brey have set Ratface assistants back ten years. Anyway, expect to see a ton of that stupid half-court defensive hedging crap that K pulls along with a bunch of transition threes by the Irish. Try as Mike Brey might, the real reason he can’t duplicate his mentor’s success is because he doesn’t get the calls. You can’t be a tenth place team in the Big East and expect to get Ratface type calls.

This is a big game for Maryland. First, it’s another opportunity to get a win against a power conference team. It just so happens that the tournament committee loves that kind of thing. Second, barring some kind of unforeseen loss, a win would give the Terps an undefeated non-conference slate. Which means all Maryland would have to do is go 8-8 in conference in order to get an NCAA invite. All they would have to do is hold serve at home. I think this team is capable of that. Pound the ball inside, get timely shots from Mike Jones, and wear out the shallow Notre Dame bench and Maryland should come away with a win.

Maryland 78
Notre Dame 66

Elsewhere in the ACC…

You’re kidding me. It’s already time to start talking about conference games. Ugh, I hate this expansion. Worst…Move…Ever! I’m so glad we brought in teams like Miami to carry ACC football because teams like Wake Forest were never going to do it (*eye roll*). Did anyone watch the conference championship game yesterday? If you were the average American, or even average ACC fan, you probably didn’t. The whole reason the conference expanded was to get an ACC Championship game in football. Well, that hasn’t worked out so well. The stands were apparently half full in Jacksonville yesterday. The two teams that played in the game were already in the conference pre-expansion. The game featured zero touchdowns. That’s right, I scored the same amount of TD’s that Georgia Tech and Wake did. And the TV ratings were miniscule. I’m so glad all that was worth killing the round robin basketball schedule and adding a team 1,000 miles away in a market that doesn’t pay attention to college sports. Way to go ACC!

On a positive note, it was another ACC victory in the ACC/Big Ten Non-Challenge. What is that, 20 years in a row? Maybe it’s time to play another conference. I would love to see a Big XII or Big East Challenge every year. In fact, the ACC is playing a de facto ACC/SEC Challenge the next couple of weekends. Yesterday, UNC beat Kentucky, Clemson demolished South Carolina and Georgia beat Wake by one. Today Florida State plays their annual game with Florida. Next weekend Miami plays Mississippi State and Georgia Tech plays Vanderbilt. I’ll be interested to see how those results turn out.

I enter the ACC schedule with a 3-1 record. You all know how this works. I pick, you read.

Sunday
NC State at Virginia
Despite their comeback win over Michigan, the Wolfpack are still the worst team in this conference. The Cavs should rebound from their close loss to Purdue and jump to the top of the standings. Just remember what I said earlier, Virginia will make the NCAA tournament this year.
Pick: Virginia 77, NC State 60

Georgia Tech at Miami
The Hurricanes will battle NC State for conference ineptitude. Georgia Tech may not be as good as I originally thought. They looked terrible against Penn State. It still seems that Tech is looking for a player to take the majority of the shots from the outside. Since B.J. Elder left, they haven’t found anyone to replace his clutch shooting. The Jackets may have one of the better front courts in the conference and should uglyball their way out of South Beach with a win.
Pick: Georgia Tech 69, Miami 58

Falcons at Redskins: Flipping The Dirty Bird

Atlanta Falcons (5-6) vs. Washington Redskins (4-7)
1:00 p.m. FedEx Field
Oh yes, Jason Campbell is surely the savior of the Washington Redskins. That 11 for 23 for 118 yards performance provides inspiration for Redskins fans everywhere. Hey Washington Post…do you think you could hype him up a little more?

Give me a break. While everyone in the greater D.C. area is doing cartwheels over Campbell’s performance because of one play, I prefer to look at the final numbers and the overall performance and just shake my head. What exactly is there to be excited about? If you are an NFL quarterback, and you can’t go 11-23 for 118, then it’s time to brush off that resume and look for a new job. Or try getting signed by the Eagles. I hear they’re getting pretty desperate up there

Anyway, all the commotion about Campbell is over one play. It was a simple 15-yard pass to Chris Cooley on a crossing pattern. Yes, it was a nice throw. It was a clutch throw too, because it came on 3rd and 7 with less than five minutes to go and the Redskins trailing by three. But because Carolina safety Mike Minter decided to temporarily change his last name to Rumph, and missed what should have been an easy tackle, Cooley was able to sloooooowwwwwwllllllly rumble down the sideline for a 66-yard game-winning touchdown. Again, was it a good throw by Campbell? Yes. Was it an important throw by Campbell? Sure. But folks, to say that Campbell won the Redskins the game is a joke. The Redskins won because Cooley ran a nice route, made a nice catch, got great downfield blocking from Brandon Lloyd and the Panthers didn’t feel like making an open field tackle. Let’s call the play what it was: a 15 yard pass that the Panthers helped turn into a touchdown.

If you take away the last 50 yards of the play (aka: the part of the play Campbell had nothing to do with), he only goes 11-23 for 68 yards, one touchdown and one pick. That, my friends, is a pretty ugly day.

Besides, the real reason the Redskins won is that the 2005 defense finally decided to show up. Now, I don’t know if that ESPN the magazine article had anything to do with it. I’m sure by now you’ve either read it or heard about it. In this article, written by former Post writer Tom Friend, several “unnamed” Redskins players heavily criticized Gregg Williams’ coaching ability and ego. It was a rather nasty article written by a former Redskins beat writer who hated the organization because they didn’t cater to his whim for a terrible network/publication with an axe to grind. Tom Friend and ESPN is the perfect storm of Redskins hate. All that’s missing is Shithead Prisco. We all know ESPN doesn’t like the Redskins. They ignore the team as much as possible so they can hype up Philly, Dallas and the Giants (have you seen the major hype coming from ESPN leading up to a pretty average game this week between Dallas and New York). This article is terrible. Not one criticism comes from a named source in the organization. Not one. All the named sources have nothing but great things to say about Williams and the team. Worse yet, Friend couldn’t get Lavar Arrington, Antonio Pierce, Fred Smoot, Ryan Clark or a host of former Redskins to comment for the article either. And you know that Lavar usually loves a chance to bash his old team. Friend had to put words in their mouths to get his point across. Terrible, just terrible. There are so many flaws and falsehoods in that article, I don’t even know to begin. But I heard from an unnamed source at ESPN that their network is an abomination. I heard from an unnamed source that Chris Berman and Bill Parcells are lovers. I heard from an unnamed source that Tom Friend goes around sleeping with barnyard animals in his spare time. It must be true; all this stuff came from reliable unnamed sources!

Anyway, the defense looked great for the first time all season. They were able to force turnovers, limit big plays, pressure Jake Delhomme and they were able to get off the field quickly. Not the that Redskins offense could do much with the ball, but at least the Panthers didn’t have it. Williams tried this new craze called the blitz during the game. It appears to be pretty effective. I wonder why nobody called for him to use during the previous ten games (banging head on wall).

A new test waits for the Redskins this week. For the first time ever, the Redskins get to face The Michael Vick Experience (also featuring his backup singers known as the Atlanta Falcons). The only time the Skins played Atlanta since Vick entered the league was in 2003, when Vick suffered a broken leg in preseason. And what an interesting week for the Redskins to finally draw the Fightin’ Vicks on their schedule.

In case you missed it, the Falcons lost their fourth straight game last week. They were blown out at home by the Saints. This followed losses to such powerhouse teams like the Lions and Browns. Naturally, the fans booed. As they should. Here you have the Falcons - a team that continues to win nothing but is talked about glowingly by the sports media - start the season 5-2 only to have their season tank during the easiest part of the schedule. Their chances to win the NFC South are basically done with. And this is a division that no one wants to win. Tampa has been done since week three. The Panthers can’t decide which version of their Jekyll and Hyde show will arrive at the stadium on a week-to-week basis. Even the division leading Saints, for all their talent offensively, have one of the worst defenses in the league. These are the teams that the Falcons can’t beat. Wouldn’t you boo if you were one of the forty Falcons fans?

To compound matters, Mr. Ron Mexico himself decided to flip off the fans, with both hands, as he walked off the field. Classy. Vick, realizing that flipping off the people who pay his salary isn’t the best move, ran and hid behind his publicist as he quickly released his apology. He then ran and hid for protection behind his largest group of supporters…the talking heads at ESPN. No, this four game slide couldn’t possibly be Michael Vick’s fault. The rest of the team is horrible (pay no attention to the fact that the Falcons have special talents in DeAngelo Hall, Warrick Dunn, Alge Crumpler and one of the most experienced offensive lines in the game). Michael Vick should get the credit when his team wins and gives us a great highlight package, but he shouldn’t be blamed if they lose. It’s not like he plays an important position. I swear, if I hear Ron Jaworski, Sean Salisbury or any other terrible ex-quarterback that ESPN employs defend Vick again, I’m going to start my own sports network (we can dream, can’t we).

While ESPN loves to focus on Vick’s rushing numbers, they often cast aside his passing statistics. Which, seeing as Vick is a quarterback and passing is his primary job, is kind of important. Here are Vick’s numbers the past four weeks:
at Detroit: 17-32, 163 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
vs. Cleveland: 16-40, 197 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
at Baltimore: 11-21, 127 yards, 1 TD
vs. New Orleans: 9-24, 84 yards

There you have it. In the past four games, Vick passing numbers are: 53-117 (45%), 571 yards, 3 TD and 4 INT. Along with that robust 45% completion percentage, Vick is averaging 13-29 for 143 yards in his last four outings. This is a quarterback, which, according to everyone at ESPN (unless Vick, McNabb or Favre have a bad game) is the most important position on the field. How are these four losses not his fault? No team is going to win the majority of their games with a quarterback who can’t throw for 150 yards a game. Are you really telling me, like ESPN will have you believe, that a couple of drop balls here and there cost the Falcons instead of Vick’s inaccuracy? Is this bizarro world? Yes his wideouts drop an average of 2.5 passes a game. So for the sake of argument, let’s add those 10 catches to Vick’s total the last four games. That’s still a terrible 53% completion rate. You know what, receivers drop passes. Players make mistakes. But you can’t really believe that the majority of those 64 incomplete passes the past four weeks were the fault of the crummy players around Vick. That’s just not the case. You can blame Vick, and Vick alone, for the last two losses and maybe even the loss to Detroit as well. Truth is, Atlanta was better before Vick got there. Or have we already forgot the Jamal Anderson Dirty Bird era (I haven’t. I still remember how to do the Dirty Bird. Yes, I’ll go sit in the corner for 10 minutes now)?

Here’s why you can blame Senor Mexico. Are you ready? Make sure you’re seated. I’m about to tell you something that may shock you. Even though ESPN thinks Michael Vick is the greatest highlight package they can find, he is no better than an average NFL quarterback. But Mark, ESPN says that Vick needs two years to learn this West Coast Offense. We won’t know how good he is until then. How could you say those things about Vick? They said that Vick would need two years to learn the WCO three years ago. Times up. This is Vick’s sixth season in the NFL. How many mulligans does he get? He has exactly one game of note in those six seasons; the playoff victory at Green Bay. Take away that, what does Vick have? A career marred by a 53.5% completion rate and he has never had a season when his percentage was above 56. He has a career touchdown to interception ratio of 64/48, which means for every four touchdowns he throws he also tosses three picks. He also has a career quarterback rating of 75.1 with his best single season rating being 81.6 all the way back in 2002. What makes him even more maddening is his tendency to be consistently inconsistent. The two games before this four game skid were probably the best back-to-back games of his career. So he has the talent, there’s no denying that. He just hasn’t put it together and at this point I doubt he ever will. So yes, the four-game losing streak is Vick’s fault. The fans have a right to boo and Vick is a complete idiot for flipping the bird to whatever is left of his fan base.

In fairness to Vick, when you factor in his running ability the passing numbers don’t look as bad. In fact, his running ability is the only thing keeping him in the starting lineup. Otherwise he’s sitting on the bench somewhere or starting in Saskatchewan. So that’s what the Redskins have to play against. Make sure to contain Vick and Dunn as much as possible and force Vick to beat you in the air. More often than not, he’s going to fail.

Vick is due for a good game. Even when he’s struggled, it is rare to see him have a four game stretch like this. The best thing for Vick is to get out on the road. Don’t worry about playing in front of the fickle home fans. The Redskins defense, as long as I can remember, has struggled to stop rushing quarterbacks. From Randall Cunningham to Steve Young to Vince Young, the Redskins have never really fielded a defense that is patient and very disciplined. Aggressiveness is good, but not when trying to contain a runner like Vick. The Redskins will probably revert back to the Cover 2 they’ve been playing all year (namely because Tampa’s Cover 2 has worked very well over the years in stopping Vick) which means Vick will have time and the Falcons receivers should be able to get open. The question is: will Vick be able to get the ball to his wideouts and be patient against a Cover 2, or will he rush his throws, try to go deep and fail in every goal of the West Coast Offense.

The game will come down to what kind of effort Vick has. The Redskins offense will probably put up something in the vicinity of 17 points again. Can Vick get his team in the endzone three times? Or will his season and the Falcons season continue to spiral down the drain? Let’s hope Vick has one more bad game in him before he goes back up on his career roller coaster.