I know I missed the preview of the Redskins last week because I thought it would jinks them. This week the Skins go against the Vikings The Redskins were so close to beating the Cowboys this weekend only to blow it in the last 30 seconds on a long pass to a nobody. I am starting to feel like the Redskins are becoming the Red Sox by being cursed. Is this ever going to stop for us. This kind of think the Redskins are becoming the Yankees of 04. Spending the money, and getting nothing in return. Why go to a prevent defense late in the game? I hate being a Redskins fan. We hear all the hipe in the offseason, only to be let down with a terrible season and can't even beat an over the hill Cowboys. I don't want the best players in the league playing for the Redskins, I only want the best team in the league to be the Redskins. The Redskins should find a way to let go Michael Barrow this offseason, and spend money on quality offensive line. Pierce can play MLB very well and should be the starter next year. The good news is that Patrick Ramsey has been named the QB for next year. This weekend is the last game for the Redskins, I hope they can end on a high note. The Vikings should have lost last week and just got lucky. They struggle badly against a good defense. This should benifit the Skins very much if they don't give up the big play. The offense is starting to look like they could be better and brings hope for next year. My prediction is a win by 3 points.
The Ravens lost to the Steelers pretty badly but they are still alive for the playoffs with some help from a couple of teams. The Ravens couldn't stop the machine that is the Steelers. They are just to good of a team to beat especially one that is struggling on offense. Even with Heap back, Kyle Boller was not up for the challenge of the Steelers. The Ravens defense tried to hold the Steelers offense as much as possible but struggled badly with Randle El. Randle El just made too many good plays. Now the Ravens need help to get into the offense and need to beat the Dolphins. The Dolphins are stuggling very badly on offense and are just playing for Draft pick now. As long as the Ravens don't let their heads get to big for themselves like the Pats did. The Ravens also need Jaquars, Broncos, and Bills to all lose. This is all possible because they have messed up in the past. The Bills are the greatest threat because they are playing with the biggest heart. We will see if the Football Gods will help the Ravens this Sunday.
I want to wish everyone a happy holiday. Please be safe this season, cause I need you few to read my blog(kidding).
Guess what... I am the bomb for 2 weeks in a row. Were am I coming up with this stuff? I was 11-5 this week, one less then last week. Lets take a look at my losses. Carolina @ Atlanta- I picked Caronlina who should have won this game and Vick was down dammit. What were the Refs looking at? Denver @ KC- I know that KC can score points, but how was Denver held to only 17 points against that bad of a defense. And Chump Bailey was suppose to make this defense better, Washington got the better end of the deal buddy. NO @ TB- Luck St. Louis at Arizona- Arizona gets beat by the 49ers then win against the Rams. WTF? NE @ Miami- Of course I picked the Pats and they let down a lot of people including me.
The Ravens travel to Indy for hard fought battle and come up short. The Raven's defense did what they had to confusing Manning often. The only mistake really made was by Chris McAlister getting burned by Harrison on a 27 yard pass. They held the high powered offense to one touchdown thru the air and one on the ground. Manning was unable to catch Marino against the Ravens, and Manning kneeled down at the end of the game instead of running up the score. This was the right thing to do and was very sportmanly, even if the fans didn't think so. All the Ravens defense did this game was hold the highest scoring offense to their lowest production of the season. The defense was not the reason for the lost. The offense is what cost the Ravens the game against the Colts. Kyle Boller did not let down being a bad quarterback against good teams. Heck, the Colts defense is not good at all. The only play maker on the Colts defense is DE Feely who burnt Jon Ogden often. What didn't make any sense to me is why Ogden wasn't getting very much help after the beginning the game when Feely kept on putting pressure on Boller. Kyle Boller was a liability by throwing 2 INTs, but he did throw a touchdown to his favorite reciever Todd Heap. Losing this game just about sealed the deal of not going into the playoffs unless Jacksonville loses in the next 2 weeks. I put all the blame on the offense and Brian Billick not putting in a better QB.
The Redskins went into San Francisco clear favorites and didn't upset their fans. The Redskins should have emailed San Fran. "We are not Arizona, Look out." The Redskins offense just stomped all over the 49ers. This just points out how bad the 49ers defense really are. Ramsey threw over 200 yards and one touchdown, Gardner finally held onto the ball for 6 catches and over 100 yards, and Portis ran for 110 yards. The Redskins also got some help on offense by Pierce catching a interception and running it back for 78 yards. Is the Redskins a top notch offense? No, but at least they showed life for one of very few games this past game. The Skins need help on offensive line and recievers. But they are finding out who they have for next year. The Redskins defense stopped a injured riddled offense. They did give up some points, but they again didn't allow 100 yards on the ground. They had their first touchdown in a few years. I don't know how these guys are doing this with all the injuries. My biggest fear for next year is that Gregg Williams will not be the defensive coach next year. This game was also Lavar Arrington's first game back since getting injured. Most of the time he was coming off the edge of the D-line. He looked good, with speed and fearlessness. That is a good sign for next year. The defense is the biggest bright spot this year and are ranked #2 in the NFL.
The Redskins go on the road this week, and the Ravens host Indy. Both games are important to these teams. The Redskins go on the road this week to San Francisco. This should be an easy win for the Redskins because the 49ers defense is non-existant and the only reciever the Niners have is a TE. The Skins should just go out and have fun for this contest. On another note, the last three games the Skins play is San Fran, Dallas, and Minn. All of these games are winnable, if the Skins won out they would end the season 7-9 and on a positive note. Plus, the record would be an improvement from last season's 5-11. Gotta look at the positive. Prediction is a 13 point win. The Ravens are still fighting for a playoff spot playing the Colts. They will have their hands full with Manning going after the record. This game is winnable for the Ravens if they play their game and don't get into a shootout with Manning. What do the Ravens need to do to win this game? Run Jamal Lewis and Chester Taylor often to keep the Colts offense off the field, shutdown Edge, and don't let Boller make a stupid mistake. If the Ravens do all those things for 4 quarters, they could win. My prediction is a lost by 7 points.
I am coming off a great week of picks, lets see if I can make it two in a row. Pittsburgh@NY Giants: Eli might be as good as Ben, but Ben is on a winning team. Pick: Pittsburgh Washington@San Francisco: Not many teams are as bad as the Redskins, 49ers are. Pick: Washington Carolin@Atlanta: Carolina is on a mission, and Vick sucks. Pick: Carolina Buffalo@Cincinnatti: McGahee is proving why he should be a #1 pick 2yrs ago. Pick: Buffalo Dallas@Philadelphia: I don't need to say anything. Pick: Philadelphia Denver@Kansas City: Does KC have a defense,no Pick: Denver Houston@Chicago: Who is the QB for the Bears this week? Pick: Houston Minnesota@Detroit: Heads. Pick: Minnesota San Diego@Cleveland: No more Garcia. Pick: San Diego Seattle@NY Jets: Dallas beat them. Pick: Jets New Orleans@Tampa Bay: Which Ain'ts team is going to show up? Pick: Tampa Bay St. Louis@Arizona: The 49ers beat Arizona. Pick: St. Louis Jacksonville@Green Bay: I hate Green Bay. Pick: Jacksonville Tennessee@Oakland: Did anyone see what happen to the Titans on Monday Night? Pick: Oakland Baltimore@Indianapolis: Dan Marino watch out. Pick: Indianapolis New England@Miami: Who is Miami's coach this week? Pick: New England
I was thinking about adding a message board to this site. Anyone interested?
I had an excellent week going 13-3 in my picks. I did pick the Redskins to win, and they should of, other then that things went my way. Oh yeah, San Fran. beat Arizona for some reason. Anyway, I can toot my own horn for some struggling weeks. I am not going to keep track of my records because I missed a couple of weeks when I was moving.
Well we watch a one team blow out another this week and one lose a nail biter(I didn't need them anyway). Either way it was good football all the way around. Losers First... The Redskins lost to Eagles for the second time this year. This game they lost in a heartbreaking fashion with Patrick Ramsey throwing a pass to Chris Cooley in triple coverage. This was a big mistake, for Joe Gibbs decided to go for the win in one big play instead of playing conservitive. I think it was the right call because what do the Redskins have to lose. People they are 4-9, were are they going? Nowhere. Take a chance and see what happens, what you can use next year, what players you want to keep. This was not a bad idea and I am tired of hearing how bad it was that they took a chance against a 11-1(at the time) team and almost won. The Ravens stomped the Giants, beating them all around. Eli was no match for the defense, and the offense looked like a well oiled machine. Todd Heap was a big reason for their success catching 2 touchdowns and was a vital part of getting first downs. The defense made up for week before's performance and just owned the Giants. It wasn't until Kurt Warner made an appearance that they got some points and were in a prevent defense. All around the ravens had a performance. I would also wanted to add that Kyle Boller is finally starting to become the quarterback we were promised by Brian Billick and threw 4 TDs in the game and only one interception. What a great job he did against a weak defense of the Giants. Final Thought: The Redskins need to keep taking chances and just have fun for the rest of the year and let the players prove their worth or unworthiness. The Ravens need to continue their trend of not making mistakes on offense and making big plays on defense.
The Ravens are trying to get into the playoffs and the Redskins are just trying to justify this season. Both teams have a lot to fight for in the final weeks of the regular season, so I will get on with it. The Ravens welcome in the struggling NY Giants into town. The Giants started off the season strong and went completely south after making Eli Manning their starting QB. The Ravens will again be with out Jamal Lewis in this contest, and Chester Taylor will fill in for him yet again. The only threat the Giants really have in this game is Tiki Barbar who was held in check last week by the Redskins. This game should be easily won by the Ravens who are looking to bounce back after a lackluster 4th quarter against the Bengals. The Ravens defense knows they were embarrassed last week and will make up for it. The leader of the team, Ray Lewis, has gotten pissed off at the press for asking what happened last week and will motivate him even more for this game. Anytime Ray Lewis gets pissed the other team should watch out, sorry Giants but you are going to get your butts handed to this game. I predict that the Ravens will win this game by at least 17 points. The Redskins have a huge challenge ahead of them going against the Eagles this week on prime time television. This will test the Redskins offense who seemed to start coming together last week against the Giants. Granted it was against the Giants, but the Redskins just seemed to finally have a spark. The receivers went after the ball and made some tough catches, and Patrick Ramsey didn't try to force the ball down the field to many times. Of course, the Redskins defense played a great game and didn't lose any intensity during the later parts of the game to allow the Giants back in it. If the Redskins can play with the same kinda heart, they at least have a chance. The last meeting between the two teams was close until the 4th quarter when it looked like the defense just gave up because the offense couldn't do anything against the Eagles. Donovan McNabb is coming off a career win over the Green Bay Packers in which he threw 5 touchdowns to three different receivers. The Eagles are clicking on all cylinders at the moment and look unstoppable. If the Redskins want to win this game, they are going to have to shove Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts down the Eagles defenses throats, for the Eagles run defense is the only weakness on the team. This also means if they get down in the game, they still need to run in order to have a chance. As another plus, running the ball will keep the Eagles big play offense off the field. I am hoping they win by a field goal, I know it is a pipe dream, but we all need some right.
Herman Veal Chops: Observations I just found this site and if you are a Terps basketball team fanatic like, me you will really enjoy this site
Another week, more good matchups. The playoffs are shaping up for some teams, others are playing for pride, and some seem to lose on purpose to get high draft picks. The AFC is pretty much decided, yet the NFC is wide open. Well lets get to it folks, I know I haven't done this for awhile, lets see if I can knock the rust off. Chicago at Jacksonville: Jax has to good of a defense to lose and this isn't the Vikings Pick: Jacksonville Cleveland at Buffalo: With McGahee running the ball, the Bills look unstoppable and will continue to win. Pick: Buffalo New Orleans at Dallas: The Ain'ts should win this game with the amount of talent, they have to just stop Julius Jones. Pick: New Orleans Oakland at Atlanta: The Dirty Birds will treat Oakland like redheaded step children Pick: Atlanta Cincinnati at New England: Carson might have looked good against the Ravens, but it won't last. Pick: New England Indianapolis at Houston: Houston is up and coming but the Colts have to much offense for them. Pick: Indianapolis New York Giants at Baltimore: Don't get any hope that Eli can do what Carson did to the Ravens. Pick: Baltimore Seattle at Minnesota: The only place the Vikings can play is in a dome which they have at home. Pick: Minnesota Miami at Denver: Are you kidding me? Pick: Denver Detroit at Green Bay: I feel sorry for the Lions because Favre is pissed. Pick: Green Bay St. Louis at Carolina: Were does Carolina find these running backs? Pick: Carolina New York Jets at Pittsburgh: Big Ben will lose before the end of the season, but not this week. Pick: Pittsburgh San Francisco at Arizona: I am looking for a coin to flip, ahh screw it. Pick: Arizona Tampa Bay at San Diego: The Chargers will Brees thru this game. Pick: San Diego Philadelphia at Washington: The Skins are finally working together, maybe. Pick: Washington (upset of the week) Kansas City at Tennessee: There is just to many weapons for the Titans to handle. Pick: Kansas City
The winter meetings are about to begin for MLB and the O's. This is the start of the organization trying to court their free agents. The Orioles only have a couple of wholes to fill this offseason unlike last season. According to the Orioles Official Site, the O's main priority is pitching and a right hand batter that can hit south paws. This is a look at players that are on the radar on Friday Dec. 10th. Pitching: Carl Pavano- 2004 Stats were 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA, he pitched over 200 innings, allowed 16 HRs and had 139 strike outs. He has progressively gotten better threw the years and seems to be hitting his prime. The only downside with him is many teams want him which will hike up his price. Best Pitch is the slider. Brad Radke- he was on the radar until he signed with the Twins for two more years. Eric Milton- 2004 Stats were 14-6 with a 4.75 ERA, he pitched over 200 innings, allowed 43 HRs and had 161 strike outs. He is a lefty which is always a coveted quality in a pitcher, led the Phillies in wins. He doesn't get rattled in tough situations, but he is sometimes inconsistent. Best pitch is the slider. Derek Lowe- 2004 Stats were 14-12 with a 5.42 ERA, he pitched in 182.2 innings, allowed 15 HRs and had 105 strike outs. He has been inconsistent the last couple of years but performs well under pressure. He is a ground ball pitcher and would benefit greatly with the O's infield. Best pitch is the sinker when working. Kevin Millwood- 2004 Stats were 9-6 with a 4.85 ERA, he pitched in 141 innings, allowed 14 HRs and had 125 strike outs. His ERA has been increasing in the last couple of years and is constantly injured. Given the luck of the Orioles, the injuries should throw up a red flag. The Orioles are just now getting rid of Omar Daal. Best pitch is a running fastball. Odalis Perez- 2004 Stats were 7-6 with a 3.25 ERA, he pitched in a 196.1 innings, allowed 26 HRs and had 128 strike outs. He had a 15 win season in 2002 and hasn't matched it since. His record does not represent how he pitched, but he still needs to prove he is a top pitcher in the league. The O's should not go after him, for the O's need veteran pitchers and not ones that need to be developed. Best pitch is the fastball 1st Base: Carlos Delgado- 2004 Stats were .269 batting average, 99 RBIs, 32 HRs, and 123 hits. He can hit with power to all fields and only 32 years old. He has already came out and said if signed by the O's he will stand during the National Anthem. He is a left handed batter that can finish off the lineup for the O's and would also make Palmerio a definite DH. Richie Sexson- 2004 Stats were .233 batting average, 23 RBIs, 9 HRs, and 21 hits. He was injured for the most part in 2004 season. He has great range as a batter but isn't patient at the plate. He is always a threat to go deep even when behind in the count. He is also under 30 years old. Outfield:Carlos Beltran,CF- 2004 Stats were .267 batting average, 104 RBIs, 38 HRs, and 160 hits. He is the highest profiled player on the market and is looking for a 10 deal. The O's are reportly not very interested in Beltran, this could be a ploy. He is a versatile play with power and great defense. He is 27 years old. Magglio Ordonez,RF- 2004 Stats were .292 batting average, 37 RBIs, 9 HRs, and 59 hits. He can be an offensive monster when he is healthy. He has a questionable knee that was just worked on. He is asking for a big contract, Can anyone say Belle or Sequi. O's should stay away from this man. He is 30 years old. Moises Alou,LF- 2004 Stats were .293 batting average, 106 RBIs, 39 HRs, and 176 hits. He had a career year in 2004 and is getting up there in age. It is highly unlikely he could repeat these numbers in 2005. He is also at times a bad influence in the clubhouse, this would be a bad pick up for the O's. He is currently 38 years old
Maryland lost to GW in the BB&T by almost ten points. This Terps team was suppose to have a much better defense this year and it just hasn't happened. George Washington should not be able to score over a hundred points on this team. On the other hand, Maryland loses a couple of games every year to scrub teams. Hopefully they have gotten it out of their system losing to GW and can get back on track. The Terps are currently at 4-2 for the season and have fallen to 23rd in the AP poll. Gary Williams needs to get these guys back on track and play some defense. This team is very talented and needs to play with some discipline. NC-Asheville is next for the Terps and should be an easy win for them to sharpen their skills. 12/12/04 on Sunday if you are interested in watching the game.
I am finally back from messing with my house. I am moved in, settled, ready to talk some sports. I know I haven't wrote anything in a couple of weeks, and I am not going to go back and talk about them. The past is the past and everyone knows what has happen. This is week 13 in the NFL, the home teams both played well, just one fell short. Lets get this show on the road... As always, the losers of the week is first. The Ravens played the Bengals and all I heard about was how good Carson Palmer was all day Monday. The fact is that the Ravens' defense seemed to quit in the 4th quarter. The defense looked like they didn't believe that Carson could beat them, so they just walked around like they didn't care. The defense finally tried to make a play to late in the game when they had lost the momentum. Kyle Boller didn't make any big mistakes and Chester Taylor ran for 139 yards which should have been enough to beat the Bengals. Sure Palmer passed for 200 yards in the 4th quarter which is really good against the Ravens, however, this stat is telling because teams don't do this against the Ravens. This just proves the fact that the Ravens didn't believe it could happen, and they realized it could happen to late. This lost goes right to the defense, and their lackluster play in the 4th quarter. Now to the surprising winner this week, the Redskins finally win by beating the injury riddled Giants. The Giants were led by Eli Manning who came out way to early as a rookie, and a defensive line that couldn't stop even Eddie George. This doesn't mean I am taking away anything from the Redskins who finally seemed to come together as a team on offense. Rod Garner finally learned how to catch the ball, and Joe Gibbs ran the crap out of Clinton Portis. Portis passed the 1000 yard mark for the season and could still match his 1500 yard out put while with Denver. Of course the Skins' defense played great against the rookie Manning, and the Giants receivers looked like they got the virus of the dropsies. Ramsey also played an important role in this win, Gibbs didn't allow him to force the ball down the field and kept it simple and short. Patrick did seem to force the ball into double coverage a couple of times but the Redskins' receivers actually went after the ball instead of waiting for it. The biggest reason the offense won though was the offensive line. They were finally able to protect the QB, the line really misses Jon Jansen. All in all, the offense just clicked all game. The Final Thought: The defense of the Ravens failed badly against a bad team and needs to get back on track. The Redskins need to take this momentum on offense to another level if they want to compete with the Eagles next week.