So, I've been hiding in shame after being wrong on both games Conference Championship weekend (I picked the teams I wanted to win more than the ones that I knew would win). This week I redeem myself, because we all know tonight's the only game that REALLY matters. I've picked against the Cards every opportunity I've had, and hey, guess what, this week is no different(I'd rather see the Cardinals win, I just don't think they will).
Arizona has a good offense, with the freak Larry Fitzgerald, but Pittsburgh's defense is better. The Cardinals pass defense has been quite good during the postseason as well, but the underrated Santonio Holmes is going to show them a thing or two. I don't expect Willie Parker to have that big a game, but I expect his effort to make play-action a lot more effective for the Steelers. Arizona's attempts at a run game will be meager and shut-down by the Steeler defense. Pittsburgh wins 31-21.
NFL.com has a little poll where you get to say who you think will be MVP of the Super bowl. The choices are Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Kurt Warner, or Larry Fitzgerald. This is a decent guess, but I think those are all wrong. I expect either Santonio Holmes to have a big game, mostly on special teams; or for Troy Polamalu to take over on defense and get a couple sacks and an interception.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Conference Championship Sunday
I slacked off a little bit and the first game starts in a little over an hour, so I'll be brief.
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals - Sunday at 3:00 ET on FOX
Arizona has a great passing game. Philadelphia has a great defense. I think Philly's defense wins this battle by having the right guys pay attention to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. 24-17 in favor of the Eagles.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Sunday at 6:30 ET on CBS
Can Joe Flacco become the first rookie quarterback to win his conference championship? We'll find out today. This is going to be a defensive battle. The past two games between these teams have been won by Pittsburgh by very little margins. You say Baltimore is a tired team; I say they're a determined team and we see a 6th seed duel in the Superbowl. They just need to strip Willie Parker of his confidence and keep Roethlisberger guessing to do so. Baltimore wins 17-10.
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals - Sunday at 3:00 ET on FOX
Arizona has a great passing game. Philadelphia has a great defense. I think Philly's defense wins this battle by having the right guys pay attention to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. 24-17 in favor of the Eagles.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Sunday at 6:30 ET on CBS
Can Joe Flacco become the first rookie quarterback to win his conference championship? We'll find out today. This is going to be a defensive battle. The past two games between these teams have been won by Pittsburgh by very little margins. You say Baltimore is a tired team; I say they're a determined team and we see a 6th seed duel in the Superbowl. They just need to strip Willie Parker of his confidence and keep Roethlisberger guessing to do so. Baltimore wins 17-10.
Monday, January 12, 2009
2-0 is even better
I'm not here to brag, but both my picks Sunday were right with Philadelphia ousting New York, and Pittsburgh sending San Diego home. The scores weren't exactly what I predicted, but they were close. I said Philly would win 30-17, both teams ended up about a touchdown off from my prediction, but I thought the score difference would be 13 and it was 12, very very close. In the Pittsburgh game I thought they would win by 11, and guess what, they won by 11. Just to remind you though, I'm not here to brag.
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Philadelphia Wins 23-11
New York may have been the higher seeded team in this match-up, but I don't think many people were surprised by its outcome. With the Giants dropping the majority of their games after Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg, and after losing to this same Eagles team at the Meadowlands in week 14, not many people expected the Giants to rise from the ashes. Neither Donovan McNabb nor Brian Westbrook had the day I was expecting them to have. McNabb threw for 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions; he also rushed for a touchdown. The Giants Brandon Jacobs rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries for the day, but Philadelphia's defense prevented New York from scoring a single touchdown. The players of the game have to go to the Eagles defense and Eagles kicker David Akers, who kept Philly a step ahead of the Giants throughout the game.
San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Wins 35-24
San Diego, a team that went over .500 for the first time this year after beating Indianapolis last week, finishes their season at .500 after getting outplayed by the Steelers. The Chargers struck first and looked promising, but Santonio Holmes' punt return for a TD took the wind out of San Diego's sails for good. There's not a whole lot to say about this game, I think the final score makes it seem a lot closer than it was in the second half. For the most part the Steelers defense shut Darren Sproles and the Chargers running game down and held him to 15 yards on 11 carries. Philip Rivers did have a much more successful day in the air than Ben Roethlisberger did, but San Diego's offense didn't look like it could do what it pleased on the field as much as Pittsburgh's did, mostly due to Willie Parker's 147 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. There were three key ingredients that won this game for the Steelers; Santonio Holmes stealing San Diego's mojo with the punt return TD, Pittsburgh's defense shutting down the Chargers running game, and Willie Parker running all over the Chargers defense.
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Philadelphia Wins 23-11
New York may have been the higher seeded team in this match-up, but I don't think many people were surprised by its outcome. With the Giants dropping the majority of their games after Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg, and after losing to this same Eagles team at the Meadowlands in week 14, not many people expected the Giants to rise from the ashes. Neither Donovan McNabb nor Brian Westbrook had the day I was expecting them to have. McNabb threw for 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions; he also rushed for a touchdown. The Giants Brandon Jacobs rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries for the day, but Philadelphia's defense prevented New York from scoring a single touchdown. The players of the game have to go to the Eagles defense and Eagles kicker David Akers, who kept Philly a step ahead of the Giants throughout the game.
San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Wins 35-24
San Diego, a team that went over .500 for the first time this year after beating Indianapolis last week, finishes their season at .500 after getting outplayed by the Steelers. The Chargers struck first and looked promising, but Santonio Holmes' punt return for a TD took the wind out of San Diego's sails for good. There's not a whole lot to say about this game, I think the final score makes it seem a lot closer than it was in the second half. For the most part the Steelers defense shut Darren Sproles and the Chargers running game down and held him to 15 yards on 11 carries. Philip Rivers did have a much more successful day in the air than Ben Roethlisberger did, but San Diego's offense didn't look like it could do what it pleased on the field as much as Pittsburgh's did, mostly due to Willie Parker's 147 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. There were three key ingredients that won this game for the Steelers; Santonio Holmes stealing San Diego's mojo with the punt return TD, Pittsburgh's defense shutting down the Chargers running game, and Willie Parker running all over the Chargers defense.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Divisional Playoffs Weekend - Day 2
Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants - Sunday at 1:00 ET on FOX
Last week the Eagles defeated the Minnesota vikings by 12. Can they keep it up with a win against their rivals the Giants? Last year the Giants took their wild card momentum straight to a Super Bowl Championship, maybe this is the Eagles turn. I'm not sure if the week off is going to benefit the Giants or hurt them; However, if I was a gambling man I'd say it will end up hurting them. I expect the Eagles ride the momentum of their past few games including the victory against the Giants at the Meadowlands in the regular season. Donovan McNabb is going to keep up his "How dare you bench me" characteristics as of late and control this game along with Brian Westbrook and the Eagles defense. 30-17 in favor of the Eagles.
San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers - Sunday at 4:45 ET on CBS
Talk about a great game with an outcome that no one expected, last week the Chargers knocked the red-hot Colts from the playoffs with a 23-17 overtime win. Last time the Chargers and Steelers met the Steelers won 11-10 off of a safety and 3 field goals. History might be on the Chargers side though, they have never lost in Pittsburgh in the playoffs. LaDainian "always injured for playoff games" Tomlinson is not expected to play at all for the Chargers. Ben Roethlisberger is fine and ready to play after being knocked out of a regular season game with a concussion. Even though the Chargers haven't lost in Pittsburgh in the playoffs I expect the Steelers great defense to be far too much for Darren Sproles and Philip Rivers to handle, with or without Antonio Gates. 24-13 in favor of the Steelers
Last week the Eagles defeated the Minnesota vikings by 12. Can they keep it up with a win against their rivals the Giants? Last year the Giants took their wild card momentum straight to a Super Bowl Championship, maybe this is the Eagles turn. I'm not sure if the week off is going to benefit the Giants or hurt them; However, if I was a gambling man I'd say it will end up hurting them. I expect the Eagles ride the momentum of their past few games including the victory against the Giants at the Meadowlands in the regular season. Donovan McNabb is going to keep up his "How dare you bench me" characteristics as of late and control this game along with Brian Westbrook and the Eagles defense. 30-17 in favor of the Eagles.
San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers - Sunday at 4:45 ET on CBS
Talk about a great game with an outcome that no one expected, last week the Chargers knocked the red-hot Colts from the playoffs with a 23-17 overtime win. Last time the Chargers and Steelers met the Steelers won 11-10 off of a safety and 3 field goals. History might be on the Chargers side though, they have never lost in Pittsburgh in the playoffs. LaDainian "always injured for playoff games" Tomlinson is not expected to play at all for the Chargers. Ben Roethlisberger is fine and ready to play after being knocked out of a regular season game with a concussion. Even though the Chargers haven't lost in Pittsburgh in the playoffs I expect the Steelers great defense to be far too much for Darren Sproles and Philip Rivers to handle, with or without Antonio Gates. 24-13 in favor of the Steelers
1-1 Isn't So Bad
So, I was pretty close in my prediction of the Ravens-Titans game with each team getting an extra field goal than I predicted. The Panthers-Cardinals game, now that was a whole different story.
Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans
Baltimore Wins 13-10
The Ravens rode their momentum into Nashville in a physical battle against the Titans. Tennessee beat themselves in this game with 3 turnovers. The turnovers didn't lead to any Ravens points, but they came when Tennessee was so close to scoring. Ed Reed wasn't huge in this game like I thought he might be, but Ray Lewis was with 11 total tackles and a forced fumble. Joe Flacco had a decent game and became the first rookie quarterback to win 2 playoff games. The difference in this game was Tennessee's 3 turnovers and Rob Bironas' missed field goal. The sixth seed taking out the first seed proves that anything is possible in the playoffs. Kudos to the Ravens on this victory.
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
Arizona Wins 33-13
This evening was probably the worst birthday Jake Delhomme has ever had. He threw 5 interceptions and gave up a fumble. During the game it looked like he forgot what color jerseys his teammates were wearing. Anquan Boldin didn't even dress for the game and yet Arizona still put up 33 points. How did they do that? Larry Fitzgerald. "Circus Catch" Larry caught 8 balls for 166 yards and a touchdown. Regarding what I said about needing more than confidence to stop Carolina's run game, well the Cardinals brought that and then some, holding the Panthers to 75 total rushing yards. Tim Hightower out-rushed DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart on his own with 76 rushing yards. Edgerrin James added 57 rushing yards and a touchdown. Let's not forget Neil Rackers who made 4 field goals. The bottom line is; if you give up 33 straight points and 6 turnovers, you don't establish your punishing running game, and you don't get the ball to your best receiver until the 3rd quarter, you're going to lose. I was definitely wrong with my prediction on this one and I'll think about this harder when they play their next game.
Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans
Baltimore Wins 13-10
The Ravens rode their momentum into Nashville in a physical battle against the Titans. Tennessee beat themselves in this game with 3 turnovers. The turnovers didn't lead to any Ravens points, but they came when Tennessee was so close to scoring. Ed Reed wasn't huge in this game like I thought he might be, but Ray Lewis was with 11 total tackles and a forced fumble. Joe Flacco had a decent game and became the first rookie quarterback to win 2 playoff games. The difference in this game was Tennessee's 3 turnovers and Rob Bironas' missed field goal. The sixth seed taking out the first seed proves that anything is possible in the playoffs. Kudos to the Ravens on this victory.
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
Arizona Wins 33-13
This evening was probably the worst birthday Jake Delhomme has ever had. He threw 5 interceptions and gave up a fumble. During the game it looked like he forgot what color jerseys his teammates were wearing. Anquan Boldin didn't even dress for the game and yet Arizona still put up 33 points. How did they do that? Larry Fitzgerald. "Circus Catch" Larry caught 8 balls for 166 yards and a touchdown. Regarding what I said about needing more than confidence to stop Carolina's run game, well the Cardinals brought that and then some, holding the Panthers to 75 total rushing yards. Tim Hightower out-rushed DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart on his own with 76 rushing yards. Edgerrin James added 57 rushing yards and a touchdown. Let's not forget Neil Rackers who made 4 field goals. The bottom line is; if you give up 33 straight points and 6 turnovers, you don't establish your punishing running game, and you don't get the ball to your best receiver until the 3rd quarter, you're going to lose. I was definitely wrong with my prediction on this one and I'll think about this harder when they play their next game.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Divisional Playoffs Weekend
Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans Saturday at 4:30 ET on CBS
Tomorrow kicks the round off with the Baltimore Ravens, coming off a convincing victory against Miami last week, going to Tennessee to face the well rested AFC South winning Titans. This is definitely going to be a defensive showdown and with the defensive show the Ravens put on last week they could have some momentum going into tomorrows match-up.
Let's not forget that the Titans get defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch back on their defensive line to strike fear in the heart of Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. The Titans will play a center who's only making his second career start.
If Joe Flacco's team manages to win he will be the first rookie quarterback to win two playoff games, and I think he will. How will they do it? On the back of their defense lead by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed of course. I expect it to be a low scoring affair and the final score to be 10-7 in favor of Baltimore.
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers Saturday 8:15 ET on FOX
Tomorrows night game is a match-up between the NFC West winning Cardinals, who just finished off the Falcons last week, and the NFC South champ Panthers. The Cardinals are going into this game with some confidence after stopping Michael Turner and Atlanta's running game last week. They're going to need more than confidence to stop Carolina's duel-back attack of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.
The Cardinals are more of a passing team with great receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin,and Steve Breaston; but Boldin is still nagged by a strained left hamstring.
The Panthers Jake Delhomme has a great receiver of his own in Steve Smith, so expect him to be utilized throughout the game.
In the end I think Carolina just has two many weapons for Arizona to contain. I expect the Cardinals to keep it close by going to the air. Prediction: final score of 24-20 in favor of the Panthers.
Tomorrow kicks the round off with the Baltimore Ravens, coming off a convincing victory against Miami last week, going to Tennessee to face the well rested AFC South winning Titans. This is definitely going to be a defensive showdown and with the defensive show the Ravens put on last week they could have some momentum going into tomorrows match-up.
Let's not forget that the Titans get defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch back on their defensive line to strike fear in the heart of Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. The Titans will play a center who's only making his second career start.
If Joe Flacco's team manages to win he will be the first rookie quarterback to win two playoff games, and I think he will. How will they do it? On the back of their defense lead by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed of course. I expect it to be a low scoring affair and the final score to be 10-7 in favor of Baltimore.
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers Saturday 8:15 ET on FOX
Tomorrows night game is a match-up between the NFC West winning Cardinals, who just finished off the Falcons last week, and the NFC South champ Panthers. The Cardinals are going into this game with some confidence after stopping Michael Turner and Atlanta's running game last week. They're going to need more than confidence to stop Carolina's duel-back attack of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart.
The Cardinals are more of a passing team with great receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin,and Steve Breaston; but Boldin is still nagged by a strained left hamstring.
The Panthers Jake Delhomme has a great receiver of his own in Steve Smith, so expect him to be utilized throughout the game.
In the end I think Carolina just has two many weapons for Arizona to contain. I expect the Cardinals to keep it close by going to the air. Prediction: final score of 24-20 in favor of the Panthers.
Friday, January 9, 2009
The "Underdog" Can and Did Prevail
Tonight Florida won it's second college football title in the past three years, giving the school its third title ever. According to BCS polls Florida was ranked #2 in the nation behind their opponent #1 Oklahoma, though I doubt they were the underdog in Vegas. Also, in a national ESPN poll Florida was voted as the likely winner.
Tim Tebow was the star of the show and player of the game. The guy threw for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with 2 interceptions. He also carried the ball 22 times for 109 yards. Percy Harvin wasn't too shabby either running for 122 yards on a meager 9 carries and a supposedly questionable ankle. Harvin also caught 5 passes for 49 yards.
Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman winner Sam Bradford couldn't find his rhythm and threw 41 times for 26 completions. He did end up getting 256 yards and 2 touchdowns thanks to the performance of Juaquin Iglesias and Jermaine Gresham, who caught both of the touchdown passes.
Florida's running game just proved to be too much for Oklahoma to handle, gaining 249 yards on the ground. When you have two guys who can each rush for 100 yards in the same game, AND your quarterback throws for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, the only way you'll lose is if you beat yourself.
I was going to say this probably assures Tim Tebow a lot of success and money in the NFL, but I think I remember Eric Crouch being a similar player and he ended up being a where-are-they-now wide receiver for the Rams. Will the Heisman curse strike again?
Tim Tebow was the star of the show and player of the game. The guy threw for 231 yards and 2 touchdowns, along with 2 interceptions. He also carried the ball 22 times for 109 yards. Percy Harvin wasn't too shabby either running for 122 yards on a meager 9 carries and a supposedly questionable ankle. Harvin also caught 5 passes for 49 yards.
Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman winner Sam Bradford couldn't find his rhythm and threw 41 times for 26 completions. He did end up getting 256 yards and 2 touchdowns thanks to the performance of Juaquin Iglesias and Jermaine Gresham, who caught both of the touchdown passes.
Florida's running game just proved to be too much for Oklahoma to handle, gaining 249 yards on the ground. When you have two guys who can each rush for 100 yards in the same game, AND your quarterback throws for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, the only way you'll lose is if you beat yourself.
I was going to say this probably assures Tim Tebow a lot of success and money in the NFL, but I think I remember Eric Crouch being a similar player and he ended up being a where-are-they-now wide receiver for the Rams. Will the Heisman curse strike again?
Thursday, January 8, 2009
New co-admin, new beginning
My name is Jamie, or Jay and I'm going to be taking over co-admin duties with Mr. Everest on all of his blogs. Hopefully this means we'll have fresh posts more often and will be able to attract some new writers who want to contribute to each blog, this is going to be cross-posted to each blog I will be administrating. If you think you have a good voice about the subject in question shoot either of us an e-mail at drkstrspce@gmail.com or jamesmeverest@gmail.com.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Old People Can Still Contribute to Society
Before offense is taken to this title let me clarify. By "old" I mean for sports and by "can still contribute to society" I mean contribute to the winning of their respective teams.
This past Sunday night the Boston Red Sox won the World Series (WHOO!). Mike Lowell, the Red Sox 33 year old third baseman was named World Series MVP because of his hitting .400 during the series. This makes Lowell one of the 12 oldest players named World Series MVP.
Tonight on Monday Night Football Brett Favre, the 38 year old quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, threw an 82 yard touchdown pass in overtime (roughly 50 yards or so which was in the air, which was also his second TD pass of the night for over 75 yards) to beat the Denver Broncos 19-13 and leading his team to a 6-1 start following last season's 8-8 record.
Two weeks from this past Sunday 43 year old Vinny Testaverde became the third oldest Quarterback to start an NFL game and led the Carolina Panthers to a road win over the Arizona Cardinals, becoming the oldest Quarterback to win an NFL game.
This past Sunday night the Boston Red Sox won the World Series (WHOO!). Mike Lowell, the Red Sox 33 year old third baseman was named World Series MVP because of his hitting .400 during the series. This makes Lowell one of the 12 oldest players named World Series MVP.
Tonight on Monday Night Football Brett Favre, the 38 year old quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, threw an 82 yard touchdown pass in overtime (roughly 50 yards or so which was in the air, which was also his second TD pass of the night for over 75 yards) to beat the Denver Broncos 19-13 and leading his team to a 6-1 start following last season's 8-8 record.
Two weeks from this past Sunday 43 year old Vinny Testaverde became the third oldest Quarterback to start an NFL game and led the Carolina Panthers to a road win over the Arizona Cardinals, becoming the oldest Quarterback to win an NFL game.
The Bullpenners
We're going to write about sports. Whatever sports we feel like whenever we feel like it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)