Last weekend was a rough one for me with picks, particularly
in the college game. I whiffed badly on almost every game on Saturday. I’m
sorry America .
I didn’t mean to let everyone down. Sometimes you have a bad week or game. It happens.
If Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher in baseball, can implode in back to back 7th
innings more quickly than Donald Sterling’s NBA ownership, I think I can afford to
have a bad week.
Now, onto the games…..
College Football
(Victor in CAPS)
#13 Georgia
at #23 MISSOURI
I would’ve picked Missouri
to win even before the Todd Gurley suspension. Now, with Gurley gone for a
violation of NCAA rules (which is a bunch of crap, but more on that in a
minute), I really think they’re in trouble. Yes, I realize Georgia ’s
got like 3 or 4 other legit running backs on their roster, but Gurley’s the
Heisman front runner for a reason. You can’t convince me their offense won’t be
affected by losing a guy like that, particularly a guy that accounts for 36% of
their total offense, which Gurley does. Missouri has been unimpressive for a
large part of the season (loss at home against Indiana, and they struggled on
the road at South Carolina for the middle 45 minutes of the game before scoring
late to win), but they’ve still got a way better defense than Georgia. They’re
also at home, and they should be able to move the ball on that crappy Dawgs
defense. Missouri will win this
weekend.
Now, quickly, on the Gurley suspension. So, allegedly,
Gurley sold his autograph, and that’s why he’s in trouble. That’s literally the
dumbest rule in the entire NCAA rule book. Why can’t a guy sell his autograph?
Why is that a big deal? Why are college football players not allowed to profit
off their own image off the field? It makes no sense. If a local car dealership
wants to pay Gurley to be in one of their commercials, why shouldn’t he be
allowed to appear? I’m not for the universities paying their athletes, but it’s
ridiculous that a guy can’t make money off the field. Why should everyone else
be able to profit off Gurley’s athletic brilliance, except for Gurley? It’s ludicrous.
Now obviously, it’s on Gurley to understand the rule book, and not violate it.
But it’s still a dumb rule. If people are willing to pay for Gurley’s
autograph, he should be allowed to sell it.
#9 TCU at #5 BAYLOR
I’ve said this before, and I’ll continue to support his
position until it blows up in my face, possibly this week: the November 8th
game in Norman between Oklahoma
and Baylor will be the game that decides the Big 12. Because of that, I’ve got
Baylor this week. I just don’t see the Horned Frogs being able to score enough points
to keep up with Baylor. Plus, I think they might come out a little flat on
Saturday. They’re coming off probably their biggest win since joining the Big
12, and I don’t think they’re good enough to beat Oklahoma
and Baylor in back to back weeks.
#3 Ole Miss at #14 TEXAS
A&M
No one is going undefeated in the SEC West. The winner of
that division might even have two losses. I’m still not completely sold on Ole
Miss. I love that defense, but Bo Wallace
still quarterbacks that team. I know he threw those two huge touchdowns in the
4th quarter on Saturday, but he’s still the Tony Romo of the SEC.
Plus, they’re coming off the biggest win at the school in at least half a
century. I don’t see how they go into the loud and emotional Kyle Field, with
close to 100,000 crazy Aggie fans screaming for 3 and a half hours, and play
extremely well, or at least not come out flat. I realize the A&M defense is
as solid as paper mache, but it won’t matter on Saturday. I actually think the
Aggies will win by at least 10 points.
#2 AUBURN at #3 Mississippi
State
I almost picked Mississippi
State because I don’t understand
all of this “Auburn is the best
team in the country” buzz. Three weeks ago, they played horribly at Kansas
State , yet were somehow able to
win. What have they done since then? They blew out a mediocre LSU team. So
what? Are they the best team because they’re undefeated? That’s silly. There
are lots of teams still undefeated. In fact, the only real reason I’m picking
the Tigers is simply because I think it’s extremely difficult for anyone to win
back to back games against top 10 teams, particularly when that team (Mississippi
St) is coming off one of the program’s biggest and most emotional wins in a
long time. They benefit by playing this game at home, but early, if they aren’t
on their A game, Auburn has the potential to be up by two touchdowns quickly, because their offense is so explosive. I
like the Tigers this weekend.
Other college picks
Duke at #22 GEORGIA
TECH
#12 OREGON
at #18 Ucla
#7 ALABAMA
at Arkansas
LSU at Florida
NFL
JAGUARS at Titans
What? Jacksonville ?
I know, I know, picking the Jaguars is like signing your own death warrant, but
Jacksonville isn’t going 0-16 this
year. They’ve got to win at least one game, right? Jake Locker hasn’t practiced
yet this week, which means the Titans will once again be led onto the field by
the immortal Charlie Whitehurst, who will probably be the first quarterback in
NFL history to start a game with a ponytail.
Remember last week, when Whitehurst came in after Locker got hurt, and the Titans blew a 28-3 lead against
Bears at FALCONS
This is the last week I’ll pick the Falcons the entire year
if they lose on Sunday. I’m so frustrated with these teams, particularly over
the last few weeks, because both of them have been so extremely inconsistent. Atlanta ’s
at home, so I’ll give them the nod, strictly because of that. But I don’t think
either of these teams is playoff bound, at least at this point. The Falcons’
defense couldn’t stop a nosebleed, and the Bears’ haven’t been much better.
Jared Allen, who was supposed to be one of Chicago ’s
big free agent signings, has zero sacks this year. Plus, that Chicago
offensive line is terrible. Cutler takes so many big shots, and it seems like
he never has quite enough time to throw. Atlanta
better, they’re at home, and Chicago
seems to always find a way to have a back breaking turnover, or defensive mix
up, that costs them the game. For the last time this season, I’ll trust Atlanta
this week.
GIANTS at Eagles
Philly, right now, is the most overrated team in the NFL. I
don’t think they’re a bad team, I just think people’s perception and view of
them is too high right now. All of their offensive linemen are hurt, and on
their last 22 offensive possessions, they’ve scored two touchdowns. Plus, they
really miss Desean Jackson . They don’t
have that speedy deep threat guy anymore that takes the top off the defense. Jeremy
Maclin is a fine receiver, but he’s not the game breaker Jackson
was. Meanwhile, the Giants have quietly become really good all of the sudden.
They’ve got some legit weapons, they can run the ball fairly effectively, the
offensive line has gotten healthy over the last three weeks, and the defense
has solidified a little bit. Eli looks way more comfortable in the pocket,
because he doesn’t have to worry about being slammed to the turf every time he
drops back. Philly, when healthy, is still the best team in that division, but
until they get everyone back on their line, they’ll struggle. New
York wins this week.
Crazy Demarco Murray fact: if he continues at his current
pace, Murray will break Eric
Dickerson’s single season rushing record, as well as Larry Johnson’s record for
most carries in a single season. Murray, who has 670 yards rushing on 130
carries, which is 210 more yards than the second place rusher Le’Veon Bell.
Another crazy Murray fact: he’s
never played in more than 8 consecutive games in his NFL career. He gets injured
more often than the Vols disappoint their fans. For years and years, people
outside of the Cowboys’ locker room have been begging the team to run the ball
more, and for the first time, Dallas is actually doing it, and very
successfully. Unfortunately, there’s also been a lot of talk this week about Murray ’s
injury history, as well as talk coming out of the Dallas
locker room about limiting his carries, for fear that he might break down soon.
If Murray doesn’t have a great game
this week, Dallas won’t win. If
they go away from Murray because of
their fear, they’ll struggle mightily on Sunday. The Cowboys’ offensive line is
one of the best in football, but they’re facing a Seattle
defense that is the best against the run (they only allow 62.2 rushing yards
per game). Dallas has committed to
the run early in every single game this year, but because of their concerns, I
think they’ll go away from it more than they should, and they’ll trust Romo too
much to put the ball in the air against the best secondary in the league. This
is at least a two or three pick game for Romo, as well as at least a two
touchdown victory for the Seahawks. It would be incredibly stupid for me to
pick against the Seahawks at home anyway. I can’t do it. Seattle
wins big.
Other NFL picks
COLTS at Texans (I picked this one yesterday. I swear I
picked Indy)
PATRIOTS at Bills
RAVENS at Bucs
Steelers at BROWNS
Panthers at BENGALS
BRONCOS at Jets
LIONS at Vikings
PACKERS at Dolphins
CHARGERS at Raiders
Redskins at CARDINALS
Monday Night
49ERS at Rams
Enjoy football this weekend, you deserve it.
No comments:
Post a Comment