Breakaway Beach

TARGETS(catches):
Williamson- 6(3)
Taylor- 4(4)
Burleson- 3(2)
MRobinson- 2(1)
KRobinson- 2(1)
Kleinsasser- 2(1)
Wiggins- 1(1)
Moore- 1(1)
Bennett- 1(1)

Houston Texans

TARGETS(catches):
Johnson- 11(9)
Bradford- 7(5)
Wells- 5(5)
Morency- 3(1)
Gaffney- 2(1)
Armstrong- 1(1)
Rivers- 1(0)

Jacksonville Jaguars

TARGETS(catches):
Wilford- 7(4)
Smith- 5(4)
Pearman- 5(5)
MJones- 4(3)
Wrighster- 2(1)
Taylor- 2(2)

Thursday Football

2005-11-10T18:08:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh

Green Bay

Pittsburgh Steelers

TARGETS(catches):
Wilson- 3(1)
Ward- 2(1)
Randle El- 2(0)
Miller- 2(2)
Parker- 2(1)
Kreider- 2(2)
Staley- 2(2)
Haynes- 1(0)

Green Bay

10.24.05

TARGETS(catches):
Driver- 9(5)
Franks- 7(3)
Lee- 7(3)
Chatman- 5(4)
Henderson- 3(3)
Gado- 1(1)
Williams- 1(1)

Wednesday Football (II)

2005-11-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

Oakland - Kansas City | Chicago - New Orleans

Oakland Raiders

TARGETS(catches):
Porter- 9(7)
Moss- 8((1)
Jordan- 8(5)
Gabriel- 5(3)
Anderson- 5(2)
Williams- 2(2)
Foschi- 2(1)

Kansas City Chiefs

TARGETS(catches):
Kennison- 8(5) Gonzalez- 7(5) Horn- 6(4) Johnson- 6(3) Hall- 5(3) Richardson- 2(2)

Chicago Bears

TARGETS(catches):
Muhammad- 9(3)
Gage- 8(4)
Wade- 2(1)
Clark- 2(1)
Jones- 1(1)
Peterson- 1(1)
Edwards- 1(1)

New Orleans Saints

TARGETS(catches):
Stallworth- 4(3)
Horn- 4(2)
Hitlon- 3(2)
Stecker- 3(2)
Hakim- 2(1)
Poole- 2(1)
Hall- 2(1)
Smith- 2(2)
Karney- 2(2)

Wednesday Football

2005-11-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

Carolina - Tampa Bay | Seattle - Arizona | Atlanta - Miami

Carolina Panthers:

TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 8(5)
Foster- 3(2)
Colbert- 2(1)
Davis- 2(1)
Proehl- 1(1)
Gardner- 1(0)
Mangum- 1(1)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

TARGETS(catches):
Galloway- 13(5)
Clayton- 8(2)
Pittman- 6(4)
Hillard- 5(4)
Smith- 3(3)
Williams- 3(3)
Becht- 2(2)
Alstott- 2(2)

Seattle Seahawks:

TARGETS(catches):
Jurevicious- 6(4)
Engram- 5(3)
Stevens- 3(2)
Hannam- 3(1)
Strong- 1(1)
Morris- 1(1)
Urban- 1(1)

Arizona Cardinals:

TARGETS(catches):
Fitzgerald- 14(8)
Johnson- 11(6)
Newhouse- 7(2)
McCoy- 4(3)
Arrington- 4(4)
Ayanbadejo- 3(2)
Shipp- 2(1)
Bergen- 2(2)
Edwards- 2(1)

Atlanta Falcons:

TARGETS(catches):
Finneran- 11(8)
Crumpler- 8(6)
White- 5(3)
Dunn- 4(4)
Griffith- 2(1)
Blakely- 1(0)

Miami Dolphins:

TARGETS(catches):
Chambers- 6(3)
McMichael- 4(3)
Brown- 4(2)
Booker- 3(2)
Welker- 2(1)
Morris- 2(2)
Williams- 1(0)

Tuesday Football

2005-11-08T07:48:00.000-05:00

Picks went 12-2 in week 9, but this week, even the drunk guy at the end of the bar went 12-2 with his picks. No upsets, no surprises. It was nice to see the Colts blow out the Pats. My favorite line from Belichick's post-game was "We didn't match up with the Colts in any aspect of the game." Yup. Indianapolis won't go undefeated this year, but they just might be ~~winless~~ (edit: i mean loss less) in the playoffs. Beach record is now ~~94-36~~ on the year, hitting at ~~72.3%~~. (another edit- where was my math this morning? current record is 92-38, 70.7%)

From PFW's The Way We Hear It:
- NYJ- Though we’ve heard this from Jets coaches before, we hear there are plans to spell ailing workhorse RB Curtis Martin during the second half of the season. Martin’s right knee has bothered him since Week Two and, with the Jets’ running game struggling, the coaches are looking for ways to get rookie Cedric Houston some carries in the coming weeks.
- DET- The greatest benefit of benching Joey Harrington for two games might not have been the 1-1 record. We hear Harrington appears to be more relaxed, carrying an almost “nothing-to-lose” approach, since head coach Steve Mariucci chose to start Jeff Garcia on Oct. 23.... Asked about his fresh demeanor and new slate before starting at Minnesota on Nov. 6, Harrington said, “I mean, what are they going to do to me? Bench me? I have been through it all now.”
- CAR- The Panthers began experimenting with that scenario in Week Eight vs. the Vikings, when TE Michael Gaines had two catches for 67 yards. Gaines has only five catches, but he’s averaging 22.2 yards per catch. The Panthers play all three of their tight ends, and Gaines is the only one who is a true receiving threat. We hear that Carolina coaches are trying to mold Gaines, in his second year out of Central Florida, after Jermaine Wiggins, who left Carolina in free agency for the Vikings after the 2003 season.
- ARZ- Has Josh McCown quarterbacked his last game as a Cardinal? The way we hear it, the odds remain strong McCown could be back under center before the season is over, even though it now appears the starting job is Kurt Warner’s to lose. The consensus seems to be that, with the team’s running game and offensive line appearing to be in a shambles, in addition to the likelihood WR Anquan Boldin will take his sweet time and proceed with extreme caution recovering from his latest knee injury, that neither Warner nor McCown has much of an opportunity to succeed on a consistent basis. Head coach Dennis Green has basically admitted that he’s been grasping at straws in an attempt to fix his ailing offense, which makes it likely Green’s week-to-week “gut feelings” could keep the QB carousel spinning in the desert.

From PFW's Whispers:
- The Titans are down on Travis Henry, not only for his four-game suspension but also for his play before that. He has been guilty of running in the wrong holes and fumbling at critical times. Don’t expect him to take any carries away from Chris Brown unless Brown gets hurt.
- Look for Redskins H-back Chris Cooley to be more involved in the offense in coming games. The Giants exposed Washington’s offensive modus operandi of sending two receivers (usually Santana Moss and David Patten) out on patterns and using a lot of max-protection schemes. Cooley is very good at sitting down in zones and finding seams.

Coin Flip Challenge - November

2005-11-05T08:59:00.000-05:00

DISCLAIMER: I don't do basketball
History of the CFC: Here and here.
ARCHIVE: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October

All games, $10.00. Ties and pushes removed from record.

BEACH $10	WIN	LOSE	MONEY	COIN
BASEBALL	261	213	+93.78	229-225
BASKETBALL	128	121	-46.36	125-124
NCAA HOCKEY	1	1	-1.67	1-1
FUTBOL	0	1	-10.00	0-1
CFL FOOTBALL	8	7	-0.71	11-4
NFL PRESEASON	12	10	+7.71	10-12
NFL	38	32	+0.15	31-39
NCAA FOOTBALL	31	33	-52.38*	35-28
Hockey Picks

DATE	LEAGUE	MATCH	LINE	PAY	BEACH	W/L	CFC Pick	CFC W/L
11.05.05	NCAA	USF at Rutgers	ML	+135	USF	W	USF	W
-	NCAA	Houston at UCF	ML	+120	UCF	W	UCF	W
-	NCAA	Tulsa at UTEP	+8.5	-110	Tulsa	W	Tulsa	W
-	NCAA	BYU at UNLV	+12	-110	UNLV	L	BYU	W
11.06.05	NFL	OAK at KC	-4	-110	KC	push	OAK	push
-	NFL	CAR at TB	-1	-110	CAR	W	TB	L
-	NFL	CHI at NO	+3	-110	NO	push	CHI	push
-	NFL	ATL at MIA	-2	-110	ATL	W	ATL	W
-	NFL	SEA at ARZ	-4.5	-110	SEA	W	ARZ	L
-	NFL	PIT at GB	-3	-120	PIT	W	GB	L
11.07.05	NFL	IND at NE	ML	-200	IND	W	NE	L
-	NFL	IND at NE	-4	-110	IND	W	NE	L
11.12.05	NCAA	Northwestern at Ohio State	-19	-110	OSU	W	NW	L
-	NCAA	Colorado at Iowa State	+1.5	-110	ISU	W	ISU	W
-	NCAA	LSU at Bama	ML	-155	LSU	W	LSU	W
11.13.05	NFL	WAS at TB	+1	-110	WAS		TB
-	NFL	NE at MIA	-3	-110	NE		NE
-	NFL	KC at BUF	ML	-135	BUF		BUF
-	NFL	STL at SEA	-7	-110	SEA		STL
-	NFL	DEN at OAK	-3	-110	DEN		OAK
-
-
-

Hockey Picks

Friday Football

2005-11-04T13:48:00.000-05:00

Week 9 picks

Philadelphia Eagles

TARGETS(catches):
Owens- 14(3)
Westbrook- 5(4)
Smith- 5(1)
Lewis- 4(1)
Brown- 4(2)
Gordon- 1(1)

Denver Broncos

TARGETS(catches):
Lelie- 6(3)
Devoe- 6(5)
Smith- 5(5)
Adams- 5(3)
Putzier- 5(2)
Johnson- 5(1)
Alexander- 2(2)
Anderson- 1(1)

Miami Dolphins

TARGETS(catches):
McMichael- 6(3)
Chambers- 5(4)
Welker- 5(3)
Booker- 4(3)
Brown- 3(2)
Boston- 1(1)
Diamond- 1(0)

New Orleans Saints

TARGETS(catches):
Horn- 12(7)
Stallworth- 7(3)
Henderson- 5(3)
Stecker- 4(1)
Meier- 1(0)
Smith- 1(0)

Thursday Picks

2005-11-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

Thursday Football

2005-11-03T13:54:00.000-05:00

Kansas City Chiefs

TARGETS(catches):
Gonzalez- 10(7)
Kennison- 9(7)
Horn- 8(7)
Johnson- 5(3)
Holmes- 4(3)
Hall- 3(2)
Boerigter- 1(1)
Dunn- 1(0)
Richardson- 1(1)

San Diego Chargers

TARGETS(catches):
Gates- 16(10)
McCardell- 8(5)
Parker- 7(4)
LT- 5(3)
Caldwell- 3(1)
Neal- 2(2)
Osgood- 1(0)
Peelle- 1(1)
Turner- 1(0)

Washington Redskins

TARGETS(catches):
Moss- 9(4)
Patten- 5(1)
Cooley- 4(3)
Royal- 4(0)
Portis- 4(3)
Sellers- 3(1)
Betts- 1(0)
Thrash- 1(1)
Jacobs- 1(1)

New York Giants

TARGETS(catches):
Burress- 9(4)
Toomer- 6(2)
Shockey- 6(3)
Barber- 2(1)
Ward- 2(1)
Carter- 1(1)

Wednesday Football

2005-11-02T21:35:00.000-05:00

Arizona Cardinals

TARGETS(catches):
Fitzgerald- 11(4)
Boldin- 8(3)
Johnson- 5(2)
Shipp- 5(4)
Bergen- 1(1)
Ayanbedejo- 1(1)
Arrington- 1(1)

Dallas Cowboys

TARGETS(catches):
Johnson- 7(6)
Witten- 5(5)
Glenn- 4(3)
Price- 2(1)
Barber- 2(2)
Pierce- 1(1)
Polite- 1(1)

Chicago Bears

TARGETS(catches):
Muhammad- 9(4)
Bradley- 5(5)
Jones- 5(3)
Gage- 4(2)
Clark- 4(1)
Wade- 2(0)
Edwards- 1(1)
Peterson- 1(1)

Detroit Lions

TARGETS(catches):
Vines- 8(5)
MWilliams- 7(3)
Jones- 6(5)
Pollard- 5(3)
Bryson- 5(5)
Pinner- 1(1)
Martinez- 1(1)

Minnesota Vikings

TARGETS(catches):
Williams- 7(3)
Taylor- 5(2)
MRobinson- 5(4)
Wiggins- 5(3)
Williamson- 4(1)
Burleson- 3(1)
Kleinsasser- 2(1)
Moore- 1(1)

Carolina Panthers

TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 11(11)
Foster- 5(1)
Colbert- 4(2)
Proehl- 3(2)
Gardner- 2(1)
Gaines- 2(2)
Davis- 2(1)
Goings- 1(0)

Green Bay Packers

TARGETS(catches):
Chatman- 11(8)
Franks- 10(7)
Driver- 9(5)
Lee- 4(3)
Fisher- 4(2)
Henderson- 1(1)

Cincinnati Bengals

TARGETS(catches):
CJ- 13(5)
Perry-7(6)
TJ- 6(5)
Henry- 4(2)
Walter- 1(1)
Schobel- 1(1)
RJ- 1(1)
JJ- 1(1)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

TARGETS(catches):
Galloway- 13(8)
Clayton- 7(4)
Smith- 3(2)
Alstott- 3(3)
Hillard- 2(1)
Pittman- 2(1)
Williams- 2(1)
Sheppard- 1(1)

San Francisco 49ers

TARGETS(catches):
Lloyd- 6(2)
Morton- 3(1)
Barlow- 3(2)
Jackson- 2(1)
Smith- 2(0)
Bajema- 1(1)
Gore- 1(1)
Beasley- 1(0)

Puck Periodic

2005-11-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

The Penguins are:
Starting a five-game, nine-day road trip, longest of the season
Are 0-2 against the Devils, having been outscored 4-11
Despite the scoring discrepancy, the Devils hold just a 73-70 advantage in shots in the teams' first two games

Pittsburgh has recalled a couple of rookies who are among the top 10 in AHL scoring.

Sean Burke's injury isn't serious but he won't dress tonight. John Grahame should be in net for Tampa. The Lightning have won three games in a row now, and they are 5-1-1 against division opponents this year.

The Panthers threw 15 shots on goal in the third period of last night's loss to the Leafs. Florida is 3-1 this season when following a loss, but 0-2 in the second of back to back games. They'll face a Canadiens team who improved to 5-0-1 on the road last night and who is 2-0 in the second of back to back games.

Montreal rookie goalie Yann Danis was supposed to start last night's game against NYR, but Theodore got the nod. Chances are Danis will go tonight.

It's suspected that Rick Nash will be back tonight for Columbus. The Blue Jackets are 1-5 on the road this year.

Garth Snow will start tonight, as DiPietro is out with a bruised knee.

Good thoughts from David at Hockey Analysis for tonight's games.

Picks will be up around 6pm eastern.

Tuesday Football

2005-11-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

Interesting words from Antoine Winfeld. The Vikings defense is definitely not playing like they talk.

The Jags are saying that Ernest Wilford will finally get more looks.

Not too much in this week's PFW's The Way We Hear It, making up I guess for a busy slate last week.

NYJ- We hear that Doug Jolley has dropped below rookie Joel Dreessen on the Jets’ TE depth chart because of his deficiencies as a blocker, a major reason why he fell out of favor with Norv Turner in Oakland.

SD- There is some growing concern in San Diego in regard to the health of the offensive line... The unit has been playing well from Week Three on, and despite RB LaDainian Tomlinson getting shut down by the Eagles in Week Seven, sources say the fault should fall more on the team’s coaches, who failed to make the proper adjustments to a stacked line of scrimmage, than on the O-line.

DAL- Though the Cowboys are probably one of the best-equipped teams to handle an injury to their starting running back, with Marion Barber, Tyson Thompson and Anthony Thomas in reserve, the lingering high ankle sprain of Julius Jones concerns the Cowboys. “I think he’s a good kid who works hard. He trains hard. I think he’s a good running back. But part of it is durability. That’s the second critical factor for that position.

PHI- Another byproduct of the lack of a running game has been that the Eagles have gotten off to slow starts, being outscored 62-0 in first quarters other than the blowout win over the hapless 49ers. With the running game stalling, QB Donovan McNabb has been asked to throw a lot early, and it’s clear that his sports hernia injury is limiting him and that it takes him awhile to get into the flow of a game.

SEA- Much is being made of the Seahawks’ greatly improved chemistry this season — head coach Mike Holmgren gave his troops their entire bye week off. Team insiders believe the biggest reason, aside from the fact team president Tim Ruskell wasted relatively little time removing bad apples such as LB Anthony Simmons, OT Chris Terry and WR Koren Robinson, is the positive contributions, week in and week out, that have been turned in by reserve players thrust into emergency duty.

And PFW's Whispers:

A source close to the Browns says if and when the team decides to give Charlie Frye the starting QB job, it will be on general manager Phil Savage’s timetable.
Raiders WR Doug Gabriel is emerging as a go-to guy for QB Kerry Collins, much like Ronald Curry did last season. Gabriel and Collins have shown a nice rapport since training camp in 2004, when they played together on Oakland’s second-team offense.
We hear the Jets may be entertaining thoughts of making Chad Pennington their No. 3 quarterback next season in order to allow his ailing right shoulder to return to full health.
While Seahawks WR Bobby Engram, who has been out with a rib injury, is expected to be good to go this Sunday vs. Arizona, we hear fellow WR Darrell Jackson (knee) probably won’t be back in action until mid-to-late November.
Down to their third-string running back, Tony Fisher, the Packers plan to rotate multiple runners based on the personnel grouping. We hear ReShard Lee, described by his coach at the time as the most intriguing player on Bill Parcells’ roster in Dallas last year, continues to impress. At 5-9, 228, Lee might prove to be a dynamite inside runner if the blocking improves. The blessing for the Packers is that Lee won't have to be on the field in critical passing situations. Fisher has served as third-down back for three years and is a superior blocker and receiver and has the trust of QB Brett Favre in the screen game.
The Cowboys, for now, are keeping WR Patrick Crayton on the roster, despite the report that he might be out up to eight weeks with his ankle injury. Bill Parcells thinks Crayton could return in as few as four more games.

Hockey Picks

2005-10-29T11:28:00.000-04:00

NHL Picks

Friday Football (picks edition)

2005-10-28T10:20:00.000-04:00

last week

here

(and Jacksonville too)

Thursday Football

2005-10-27T20:28:00.000-04:00

New Orleans Saints

Make every play a reviewable play. Let refs call the game as they see it.
Make every play a reviewable play.

TARGETS(catches):
Stallworth- 11(4)
Hakim- 9(6)
Stecker- 7(3)
Henderson-6(2)
Smith- 3(2)
Conwell- 2(0)*
Hilton- 1(0)
Karney- 1(1)

St. Louis Rams

TARGETS(catches):
McDonald- 8(2)
Faulk- 6(5)
Curtis- 5(4)
Looker- 3(3)
Jackson- 3(2)
Manumaleuna- 1(1)
Thompson- 1(1)

Pittsburgh Steelers

TARGETS(catches):
Miller- 6(4)
Ward- 4(3)
Wilson- 3(0)
Randel El- 2(0)

Cincinnati Bengals

last Thursday

TARGETS(catches):
TJ- 11(7)
CJ- 8(4)
Perry- 5(5)
RJohnson- 4(2)
Henry- 3(0)
Washington- 2(1)
Kelly- 2(2)
JJohnson- 1(0)

Wednesday Football

2005-10-26T23:07:00.000-04:00

Buffalo Bills

TARGETS(catches):
Moulds- 6(4)
Evans- 5(3)
Reed- 4(4)
campbell- 3(2)
McGahee- 3(3)
Smith- 2(1)
Williams- 1(1)
Shelton- 1(1)

Oakland Raiders

TARGETS(catches):
Gabriel- 7(5)
Moss- 6(3)
Porter- 6(4)
Jordan- 4(4)
Foschi- 2(2)
Whitted- 1(0)
Crockett- 1(1)

Minnesota Vikings

TARGETS(catches):
Wiggins- 7(6)
Moore- 6(4)
MRobinson- 5(3)
Taylor- 3(3)
Burleson- 3(3)
Williamson- 2(1)
KRobinson- 2(2)
Kleinsasser- 2(1)

Green Bay Packers

TARGETS(catches):
Driver- 11(8)
Chatman- 7(5)
Martin- 3(2)
Franks- 3(3)
Lee- 3(3)
Green- 3(2)
Ferguson- 2(2)
Henderson- 2(2)
Fisher- 2(2)

Puck Periodic

2005-10-26T15:34:00.000-04:00

Capitals at Sabres

The Caps' defense is struggling. Check out this line from Washington's last opponent:
"Olie let in four goals and I think he should have been the star (of the game),'' Carolina's Ray Whitney said. "The stops he made, the plays he made, they were simply amazing.''
Washington is 0-3 after a win, and 2-3 after a loss this year, and they have been outshot in every game so far.
Buffalo leads the league in shots on goal
The Sabres' 6-2-0 start is their best since winning eight straight to open the 1975-76 season.

Predators at Blue Jackets

The Preds are, as we know, undefeated in eight games. They've been outshot in six of them.
If you haven't picked up defenseman Dan Hamhuis in your hockey league, do it before you're too late.
This will probably be a battle of backups. I suspect that Nashville will start backup Chris Mason in goal tonight. He last appeared in their 5-4 OT win in Phoenix on the 13th. Martin Prusek will go for Columbus

Lightning at Devils

Tampa swept this season series last year, 4-0.
The Devils are 3-1 at home this year. And both teams are coming into tonight's game off a loss. NJ is 2-1 after a L, and TB is 1-0-1.
Torts, on what is ailing the Lightning:
After watching tape of Friday's loss to Ottawa, Tortorella said it was evident what is lacking in the Lightning's game.
"To me, after I coach the [Ottawa] game and then I looked at the tape, it was a wake-up call for me on how we are just not detail-oriented right now," he said. "After watching the tape, it is so evident in all parts of our game. Now we've seen it, they've talked about it, we've looked at it … now we have to solve it. There's no sense in belly-aching about it now, now we just have to solve the problem."

Sharks at Stars

San Jose will play their fifth game of a six game road trip tonight. They are 0-4-1 so far.
The Sharks are 0-5-1 in their last six in Dallas.
SJ GM Doug Wilson:
"Like the rest of us, I'm frustrated by the results,'' Wilson said. "But I'm not disappointed by how we're playing 90 percent of the time.''
This is a team that is still one of the league's best, so don't be surprised if they start winning more often.
PJ from SharksPage has more on where SJ ranks and where others think they should be ranked.

Tuesday Football

2005-10-25T23:58:00.000-04:00

San Diego Chargers

TARGETS(cathces):
Gates- 12(8)
MCCardell- 8(5)
Caldwell- 7(4)
Tomlinson- 6(4)
Parker- 2(0)
Peelle- 2(1)
Osgood- 1(0)
Neal- 1(1)

Philadelphia Eagles

TARGETS(catches):
Westbrook- 13(10)
Smith- 11(6)
OWens- 10(7)
Lewis- 6(4)
Gordon- 5(3)
Spach- 4(1)
Parry- 3(2)
Brown- 1(1)
McMullen- 1(1)

Indianapolis Colts

TARGETS(catches):
Harrison- 9(7)
Wayne- 9(9)
Stokely- 5(1)
Clark- 5(3)
James- 1(1)

Houston Texans

TARGETS(catches):
Gaffney- 5(4)
Bradford- 1(0)
Mathis- 1(0)
Davis- 1(1)
Rivers- 1(1)

Kansas City Chiefs

TARGETS(catches):
Gonzalez- 9(7)
Boerigter- 7(2)
Hall- 4(3)
Kennison- 4(2)
Holmes- 3(1)
Horn- 2(1)
Dunn- 2(2)
Richardson- 1(1)
Johnson- 1(1)

Miami Dolphins

TARGETS(catches):
Chambers- 11(2)
Booker- 6(2)
McMichael- 6(3)
welker- 4(2)
Brown- 2(2)
Williams- 1(0)
Evans- 1(1)

Denver Broncos

TARGETS(catches):
Putzier- 6(3)
Lelie- 6(5)
Smith- 4(3)
Alexander- 4(3)
Bell- 4(2)
Johnson- 2(2)
Jackson- 1(0)

New York Giants

TARGETS(catches):
Burress- 13(6)
Toomer- 13(8)
Shockey- 7(3)
Barber- 7(6)
Carter- 2(0)

Puck Periodic

2005-10-24T14:32:00.000-04:00

Hockey Analysis

Ottawa at Carolina

The Senators are 8-1-3 against the Hurricanes in the past 12 meetings, and their last road loss came on Nov. 12, 2000. Since then, they're 5-0-2 in Raleigh.
Tonight's game will be just their third in 10 days. And after tonight, they have to wait until Thursday to play again. The Lightning started with a similarly slow schedule last season and I think it really helped them get off to a good start.
Carolina's good start has been a surprise to some. They've gotten a point in each of their last four games. And they've only had two home matches so far.
Eric Staal has 10 points and 24 shots in his last 5 games.
Goalie Cam Ward, who left Saturday's game after less than four minutes with a left elbow injury, underwent an MRI exam on Sunday. The Canes likely will wait until today to decide on his status. Expect Martin Gerber to be in net tonight against Hasek.

Detroit at Columbus
Mike Babcock reiterated that Manny Legace is the team's #1 goalie. Chris Osgood is back with the team, and he's backing up Legace.
Steve Yzerman is schedule to miss tonight's game, and make his return on Thursday.
Detroit ranks first in the league, with 36 goals.
Both of the Jackets' wins this season have come after a loss.
Columbus' penalty kill is 7th in the league. They will be facing the league's 3rd best power play.

Monday Football

2005-10-24T12:29:00.000-04:00

Again, many key injuries: Ahman Green, Robert Ferguson, Charles Woodson, Kevin Johnson, Gary Baxter, Bob Sanders, Terrance McGee, Brandon Jones and Billy Volek, Dre Bly, Shaun Rogers, Derrick Gibson Tebucky Jones.

Lots going on in PFW's the Way We Hear It today:
- BUF- We hear that the Bills will stay with Kelly Holcomb as the starting quarterback as long as the team remains in contention in the weakened AFC East.
- MIA- Though QB Gus Frerotte has strong leadership qualities and makes good decisions, we hear that there are questions about his passing accuracy and ability to make all the throws required of him by the Dolphins’ offense.... The subpar performance at the QB position has head coach Nick Saban leaving open the possibility of starting backup Sage Rosenfels in Sunday’s game vs. the Saints.
- BAL- As an organizational philosophy, the Ravens prefer bigger backs to small, shiftier ones. That’s why Jamal Lewis is going to keep getting opportunities to turn his season around. Lewis remains the starter in Baltimore, even though reserve Chester Taylor played well in a part-time role.... Both Lewis and head coach Brian Billick believe Lewis has struggled facing defenses geared to stop him, while Taylor has benefited somewhat from being regarded as the team’s back in passing situations.
- CLE- There’s a feeling Carthon was impressed with QB Trent Dilfer’s nice start to the season and decided to make the passing game the focal point of the offense. RB Reuben Droughns’ workload bears watching in the weeks to come, with some team observers believing he finally will start to get more carries.
- IND- “People have played us trying to take away the deep pass,” head coach Tony Dungy said. “We’re seeing a lot of two safeties deep.” And as long as that continues, Moore says, opponents can expect to see more and more of RB Edgerrin James, wholed the NFL in rushing after seven weeks.
- NYG- One interesting development following Giants RB Brandon Jacobs’ critical goal-line fumble in the Week Six loss to the Cowboys was the fact that Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said that Jacobs should get the ball more.
- GB- Team observers believe the Packers’ OL woes have been slightly overstated.
- MIN- Without DE Kenechi Udeze and given the poor play of rookie Erasmus James, the Vikings might stick with the 3-4 out of necessity until Spencer Johnson (knee) is back to full speed. But if the results prove positive, given Minnesota’s depth at linebacker, Cottrell said he might not bring the 4-3 front back full time.
- TB- Sources close to the Bucs have indicated that Simms, who is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and Rattay are already auditioning for next season.
- ATL- Michael Vick’s passing numbers are suffering again this season, and a weak receiving corps seems to be the culprit. But a solution may be coming. As of this writing, we hear the Falcons are ready to bench starter Dez White. His job was in jeopardy in training camp, but he managed to hang on to it, which is something he has failed to do with the ball. White has only two catches this season. He will be replaced by veteran Brian Finneran
- STL- There’s a remote chance QB Marc Bulger, who suffered a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder in the Rams’ Week Six loss to the Colts, could be available for this Sunday’s game vs. Jacksonville. But it remains much more likely Bulger will remain sidelined until the Rams’ Nov. 13 game in Seattle (they are on bye in Week Nine).

And a few highlights from PFW's Whispers:
- It’s bad enough that Cardinals rookie RB J.J. Arrington has oftentimes looked clueless on the field this season. Making matters worse, we hear, is the second-round pick’s apparent lack of hunger. Our sources tell us Arrington is surprisingly nonchalant, especially compared to fellow RB Marcel Shipp, who couldn’t be more driven.
- We hear the Packers are smitten with practice-squad RB Samkon Gado, a 5-10, 226-pounder claimed from the Chiefs last week. One scout said Gado, who attended Liberty, runs a 4.43 40-yard dash, 4.13-second short shuttle and has serious upside, and he even called Gado the next Willie Parker.
- Our sources in St. Louis tell us it wouldn’t be a surprise if WR Isaac Bruce, who continues to be bothered by a nagging turf-toe injury, remains on the sideline until after the Rams’ Week Nine bye.
- With teams increasing their focus on defending the run, expect to see the Broncos open up their previously conservative offense a little more in the coming weeks and take more shots downfield to WRs Ashley Lelie and Rod Smith.

Saturday Football

2005-10-22T11:33:00.000-04:00

picks

New York Jets
TARGETS(catches):
McCareins- 11(5)
Coles- 7(4)
Martin- 2(2)
Chrebet- 1(1)
Baker- 1(0)
Dreesen- 1(0)

Buffalo Bills:
TARGETS(catches):
Moulds- 9(7)
Evans- 6(3)
McGahee- 4(3)
Campbell- 3(2)
Reed- 1(1)
Smith- 1(1)
Peters- 1(1)

St Louis Rams:
TARGETS(catches):
Holt- 8(6)
Jackson- 6(5)
Curtis- 5(3)
Faulk- 4(4)
Looker- 2(2)
Manumaluena- 2(1)
Cleeland- (2)

Indianapolis Colts:
TARGETS(catches):
Wayne- 10(7)
Harrison- 7(4)
Stokely- 5(4)
Clark- 4(3)
James- 4(3)
Rhodes- 2(1)

New England Patriots:
TARGETS(catches):
Givens- 13(7)
Branch- 12(7)
Pass- 7(6)
Dwight- 5(1)
Watson- 4(1)
Johnson- 1(0)
Zereoue- 1(1)
Graham- ???

Denver Broncos:
TARGETS(catches):
Smith- 7(6)
Lelie- 4(3)
Putzier- 4(3)
Bell- 4(3)
Johnson- 2(1)
Adams- 1(0)
Alexander- 1(1)

Thursday Football

2005-10-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

Week 7 Mirl Picks

Atlanta Falcons

New Orleans Saints

here

Minnesota Vikings

Chicago Bears

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

New York Giants

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

Seattle Seahawks

Wednesday Football

2005-10-19T23:51:00.000-04:00

Cincinnati Bengals

Tennessee Titans

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

San Diego Chargers

Oakland Raiders

Washington Redskins

Kansas City Chiefs

Tuesday Football

2005-10-19T00:16:00.000-04:00

Jacksonville Jaguars

ago

schedule

Pittsburgh Steelers

Miami Dolphins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Monday Football / Admin

2005-10-17T07:34:00.000-04:00

crying wolf on the Texans

the picks

Friday Football

2005-10-14T23:33:00.000-04:00

Week 6

Miami Dolphins

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Arizona Cardinals

Denver Broncos

preseason write up

Washington Redskins

Cincinnati Bengals

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

Green Bay Packers

Puck Periodic

2005-10-14T09:29:00.000-04:00

For just about every minute of play so far this season, Tampa Bay has been lacking that winning intensity they showed over the last two seasons. They lost only 22 games in 03-04 and already after five games they are under .500. The Bolts finally did get their top two lines going last night, but there's nothing crisp about the power play and I don't think this Tampa team is going to benefit from shootouts. Still, last night was an improvement as long as Tampa continues to come out swinging every night.

Jes Golbez was watching the Tampa/Buffalo game last night:
This Sabres/Lightning tilt is 3-3 in OT and has been a pretty exciting game. Two fast skating teams playing a back-and-forth game...

Edit: Great...so a great 3-3 game is now ruined thanks to a stupid shootout. Why reward both teams with a point for fighting to an even draw when we can give away a bonus point for lucking out in a skills competition *fumes*

Why do the announcers/PbP assume that all the fans in attendance love the shootout? If I were attending the game, I wouldn't suddenly start falling in love with the damn things.
A group of friends that I attended this game with promptly left after the end of OT and just before the shootout. It didn't seem that they were too interested in the game to begin with, so their walkout was more indifference than organized protest. But after Thomas Vanek scored the winner, I found myself asking out loud how many people there wished we still had ties afterall. As it turned out, the murmors I heard on the way down the forum stairs were still one of satisfaction. The spectacle just witnessed was something they had not seen before, so to many it was a wowing to be able watch their team's stars skate in alone on goaltender Ryan Miller. Still, I reckon the fans' response more to one of someone who hear's a new pop song for the first time. And I wonder, after they've heard it played over and over enough times, if the novelty of shootouts will get old and eventually expose what they really are:a bad long-term solution.

Predators' Den on last night's victory:
Nashville didn’t look good tonight - in fact, at times they looked downright awful. But they’re still undefeated and off to what is by far the best start in franchise history. As head coach Barry Trotz said after the game, “They don’t ask how, just how many.”
An interesting note about youth leagues adapting to the NHL's new rule enforcement, from the NY Daily News via Kukla's Korner.

Things are bad for the Flames. Just ask The Battle of Alberta. Calgary lost their home opener last night, 3-2.

Tonight's game info up later.

UPDATE:

Michael Garnett will make his second consecutive start tonight for Atlanta.

It's suspected that Peter Budaj may not only start for the Avs tonight when they host the Blackhawks, but some think Budaj may be able to unseat David Aebischer as the teams' #1.

In the Oilers/Stars game, Johan Hedberg will go against Jussi Markannen.

Antero Niittymaki is probable for tonight against the Pens, with Esche going tomorrow night.

Puck Periodic

2005-10-13T09:15:00.000-04:00

The Sharks really came out and played well in their home opener last night. Of course, it didn't hurt them that they were facing a usually poor road team in Columbus, who also happened to be playing bad hockey to begin with. On San Jose's third and fourth goals, Jacket goaltender Marc Denis had made three consecutive point blank saves, on each, before the fourth shot found its way into the back of the net. I know the rules limit how well defensemen can clear out the front of the net, but on those two instances, the Columbus defense is to blame for the goals and not the new rules and certainly not Denis.

Nashville was impressive in their 5-4 comeback win in Denver. Marek Zidlicky pulled his best impression of a young Sandis Ozolinsh, giving up the puck to Steve Konowalchuk for a shorthanded goal in the first period. Zidlicky had a chase to defend the Avs veteran after he gave up the puck, but Konowalchuk stepped through a half-hearted hip check and went in alone to score on Vokoun. Zidlicky then went on to score a momentum changing goal late in the second period and also the game winner, a power play tally with 6.5 minutes left in the third period that found its way through about four bodies and into the net. Another test for the undefeated Preds tonight, as they are coming off an emotional win and are playing a Phoenix team that wouldn't normally be able match Nashville in talent.

Red and Black Hockey has an interesting comment about Eric Staal's fast start:
Four goals in three games, and looking very good. We kept saying in 2003-04 "If he just gains about 20 pounds, he'll be a real force to be reckoned with." He gained the 20 pounds, and is playing with such confidence. It's pretty amazing. Obviously, he won't keep up the pace that he's keeping right now, but it's nice to see some production right out of the gate.
Stall scored again for the Canes on Wednesday night and added three assists..

Joe Thornton will miss tonight's game in Florida.

Covered in Oil points out correctly a cause for concern in Edmonton:
The first line is suffering without Smyth. Horcoff, Dvorak, and whoever were largely invisible outside the powerplay, and didn't seem to create anything for themselves. It really looks as if Ryan Smyth was the cog making that line work, and without him, it's starting to look, well, like our second line did last year: more or less non-existent.
Matt from Battle of Alberta makes a good point, in regards to Bryan Marchment's signing in Calgary:
Regehr is back in about 10 games, which means barring further injuries, both Marchment and Montador will be watching most games next to Peter Maher and Roger Millions, but this still makes me uncomfortable. I wasn't too keen on calling up Eric Nystrom to give Lombardi a kick in the ass, either (can't the coach just kick him in the ass directly?).
I watched most of the Leaf's/Flyers on Tuesday night, and had I been able to post something yesterday, I would have talked about how Mikael Tellqvist looked strong, and much better than Ed Belfour has. But the Leafs leaky defense still should have resulted in another big Toronto loss. Meanwhile, via BofOntario, there's this too:
Had it not been for some astonishingly inaccurate shooting by the Flyers, the game quickly would have become a blowout. The Flyers shot from every angle while the Leafs stood around looking shell-shocked and waiting for rebounds. Unless you're one of those unfortunate people who has to use Pearson Airport, you're never likely to see more white-shirted people standing around doing nothing.
More links and quotes, The Puck Stops Here has a good note about the Vancouver defensemen:
In 2003/04, the Vancouver Canucks had one of the best group of defencemen in the NHL. Mattais Ohlund, Ed Jovanovski, Marek Malik, Sami Salo and Brent Sopel played most of the ice time. This summer, their depth was significantly reduced...

Canucks coach Marc Crawford has only shown faith in the remaining big three defencemen from 03/04. A quick look at the stats at NHL (note that these stats will change as games are played so they may have changed when you click the link) shows that the three leaders in shifts per game in the NHL are: 1) Sami Salo 2) Ed Jovanovski 3) Mattais Ohlund.
Will update later with tonight's confirmed or probable goaltendig matchups.

UPDATE:

The Rangers expect to have Henrik Lundqvist in goal tonight, in place of the injured Kevin Weekes.

The St. Pete Times says 'don't be surprised' if John Grahame starts again tonight for the Lightning.

The Coyotes will give rookie David LeNeveu another start tonight. They also sent down Steve Passmore.

Detroit News story about how Manny Legace is going to be the only Wings netminder for the near future.

The Kings have alternated goalies in each game this season. According to that trend, it should be Matthew Garon tonight.

All other games should feature their teams' #1, although if I had to guess, I'd say that Olaf Kolzig will sit in place of Brent Johnson and Chris Mason will go in the place of Tomas Vokoun.

Wednesday Football

2005-10-12T19:20:00.000-04:00

Atlanta Falcons

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Diego Chargers

Indianapolis Colts

San Francisco 49ers

Puck Periodic

2005-10-11T12:57:00.000-04:00

Three unbeaten teams going tonight. 3-0 Ottawa faces 3-0 Montreal and the 3-0 Oilers will be in LA tonight after beating the Ducks 4-2 last night.

Curtis Joseph has an injured groin, and rookie David LeNeveu will will make his second career start tonight in Dallas. Steve Passmore will be the backup.

Also in this link is a note that Geoff Sanderson will be in the lineup tonight for Phoenix.

Ty Conklin is expected to start tonight for Edmonton. Conklin is 2-0 lifetime versus LA, but he looked shaky in his first game and also had a rough preseason.

Ed Belfour has given up 12 goals on 84 shots so far this year (.857). It's still not known if he or Mikael Tellqvist will start tonight, but this story indicates that Mikael will go either tonight or Friday.

Sabres rookie Thomas Vanek has looked strong so far this season. Last night he picked up 20:53 of ice time, including 5:16 on the power play and 1:30 on the penalty kill.

Tuesday Football

2005-10-11T06:52:00.000-04:00

Mike Mularkey hasn't decided yet who will start at quarterback next week.
Seriously, that's what it says.

Oh, Chad Johnson, no. Please don't.
"Carson tried to get the ball to me?" said Johnson, who caught five passes for a season-low 52 yards against constant double-teaming by the Jaguars.

"He tried? Does this mean all teams have to do is double-cover me, and I'm out of the game for the next 14 weeks? Is that all it takes? They get the ball to T.O. [Terrell Owens]. They get the ball to Randy Moss."
Don't forget, Ricky Williams is officially back.

Joe Horn should be back this week.

The same cannot be said for Nate Burleson. His knee is healing, but apparently Burleson has a shoulder injury too.

L.J. Smith's ankle injury was minor, apparently, and he should be ready to play after the Eagles' bye this week.

From this week's PFW's The Way We Hear It:
- KC- Pro Bowl TE Tony Gonzalez was left frustrated by another lackluster showing (two catches for five yards) in a Week Four loss to the Eagles. QB Trent Green and the coaching staff insist the way teams are defending Gonzalez is the biggest reason for his drop-off in productivity, but Gonzalez countered Green’s opinion, saying defenses have hardly altered their approach. He has suggested it has more to do with not getting the opportunities, especially in terms of getting downfield. “I need to get the ball to help this team win,” he said. “... We’ve always found ways to get the ball in my hands before. I don’t know. I can’t tell you what’s going on.”
- MIN- Many changes to the offense during the Vikings’ bye week were designed to impact QB Daunte Culpepper and the passing game. Culpepper has been sacked 20 times in 153 pass plays and threw 10 interceptions in Minnesota’s 1-3 start. Offensive coaches were stunned that one of every five pass plays called had resulted in a negative play, especially when you consider Culpepper’s Pro Bowl credentials. But offensive coordinator Steve Loney held the offensive line responsible for less than half of those sacks, and WR Travis Taylor piled more blame on Culpepper, making a public claim that tight coverage wasn’t leading to sacks. To adjust, the Vikings will limit Culpepper’s reads. His primary target, WR Nate Burleson on most downs, has to pick it up, especially if the Vikings go to a simplified approach that stresses efficiency over explosiveness. The idea is that WR Randy Moss made the team explosive. It’s Culpepper’s job to make it efficient.
- SEA- Shortly before Jackson got the bad news on the severity of his injury late last week from Miami Dr. John Uribe (he had sought a second opinion on what was initially diagnosed as a bone bruise), our sources said they wouldn’t have been surprised if Engram, who was still having some trouble breathing, ended up being out longer than Jackson. We hear Engram should be considered very questionable for the Seahawks’ Week Six Sunday-night game vs. Houston.

And from Whispers:
- Rookie WR Mike Williams was digging into Charles Rogers’ playing time even before Rogers was suspended for four games prior to Week Five. Williams is bigger, stronger and a better blocker than Rogers, who has been a huge disappointment to the Lions’ brass.
- The Lions say QB Jeff Garcia (ankle) and FB Cory Schlesinger (leg) aren’t recovering as rapidly as originally suggested. Garcia might not play until Oct. 30. Schlesinger was jogging as of Oct. 5, but he’s still not ready for team activities.
- The Raiders’ Kerry Collins has been making a concerted effort to throw the ball away as opposed to forcing the issue, which has been a bad habit throughout his career. After throwing 20 interceptions in 2004, he has yet to be picked off in four games this season.
- Sources in Philadelphia say that Eagles TE L.J. Smith is handling success well, and the team believes he is playing at a Pro Bowl level this season. Smith admits that his herniated disc really hindered him last season, but now healthy, he is able to not only play pain-free, but he also has a better knowledge of the intricate offense.

Puck Periodic

2005-10-08T12:24:00.000-04:00

James Mirtle recaps some of last night's action. In talking about Hurricane rookie netminder, Cam Ward, Mirtle writes:
Ward was fantastic for his not-so-stellar defensively club, turning away 28 of 30 shots. Until Zigmund Palffy scored with 1:24 remaining, it looks as though the 21-year-old from Saskatoon would win his first NHL game in regulation.

Incidentally, Ward finished as the runner-up as CHL player of the year in 2003-04, the first time Crosby won the award. Ward was a phenomenal goaltender in the WHL for the Red Deer Rebels and a first round, 25th-overall pick in 2002.
Mirtle has some thoughts on the Florida/Tampa Bay game as well, and he points out that Roberto Luongo is a strong Hart Trophy candidate. I caught much of this game, and I must say that the Lightning played completely flat for the entire game. Call it Banner Ceremony Hangover, but the Bolts were terrible. They slept through this game until the Panthers took a 1-0 lead with just 2:27 remaining in the third. These two teams play the second of a home and home tonight, and I expect the spring to be back into Tampa Bay's step.

One guy that really looked great in that FLA/TB game was 19 year old Rostislav Olesz. This young Czech forward (note to Yahoo Sports, 1989 was a long time ago). showed great poise and balance last night. He's big for his age, 6'1, 205, and was just a force for the entire match. Both his hockeysfuture and TSN bio pages talk about Olesz's character and two-way game. He was the Panthers' 7th overall pick in the first round of the 2004 draft. I'm surprised Jes Golbez has nothing on him, although he's Czech and not Slovak, so maybe it's not so surprising.

An interesting note from E.J. Hradek:
The league's pro scouts have circled the northeast corridor for the first week of the season because they can as many as four games in first four nights of the new campaign. Each club is scrambling to find out about their competition around the circuit. A check of the opening night rosters reveals that there are more than 100 players with little or no NHL experience.
Battle of Alberta likes what he's seen in the Flames' young defenseman, Dion Phaneuf. And poster 'sacamano', at that same site, is impressed with Oilers center Jarret Stoll. I saw most of Edmonton's opener and I agree that Stoll was looked "so comfortable working the blue line on the powerplay."

Nice article here from the Globe and Mail titled, "In the new NHL, no lead is safe."
“If you now have the lead, you have to take the attitude of trying to extend the lead rather than sitting back and protecting the lead. I like the concept. It has made the game more attractive.”

In the 2003-04 season, the team that scored first or took a lead into the third period won 61 per cent of the time.

Through the first 18 games this season, 11 of the teams that scored first won, and 73 per cent of the time a team that has carried a lead into the third period has hung on for victory.
Eric Lindros did indeed step up nicely after Mats Sundin went down in the opener against the Sens.
"I've haven't seen him with a fire in his belly like that in a long time," said one teammate. "It looks like he really means business."
But in the game's opening period, Lindros was getting pushed around the ice- particularly by Zdeno Chara. 88 might have looked fired up at the end of the game, but he looked more like Bambi in the beginning.

Tonight's action

BUF at OTT

The Sabres' website is all Flash, so I can't link to this. I can't even copy and paste it. But:
The Sabres were 6-11-3 in the second of back to back games in 03-04 and in the 20 games they played back to back last season, they won both games on just four occasions.
Also, Lindy Ruff said that he would not name tonight's starter until after the morning skate.
It's the home opener for the Sens, so it's hard to imagine Hasek not getting the start.

More notes coming later today...

Friday Football

2005-10-07T18:54:00.000-04:00

Writers' Week 5 NFL picks

CHFF

Monsters of Midway

TEN

TARGETS(catches):

CIN

TARGETS(catches)

Puck Periodic

2005-10-07T14:24:00.000-04:00

Lockout? What lockout. Wednesday's opening night filled league arenas across North America to a 98.1 percent capacity rate. And in Tampa, the Lightning sold 12 percent more tickets than what they consider a sell out. Upper level tickets being sold outside on the street were going for no less than $100.

Backup goalie Antero Niittymaki will start for the Flyers tonight against New Jersey. Niittymaki played for last year's AHL Champions, the Philadelphia Phantoms.

An interesting quote about Alexander Ovechkin:
"People like to compare him to Mario [Lemieux]," one hockey executive who asked not to be identified said yesterday afternoon. "That's right in a sense because when Mario got to Pittsburgh [in 1984] he was expected to save the franchise. He did, but it took him five years to get the Penguins into the playoffs. Five years. People forget that.
Is there a new goaltender in Columbus?
Marc Denis has been the Blue Jackets’ No. 1 goaltender for the last three seasons, but rookie Pascal Leclaire got the nod for Columbus in Wednesday night’s opener. Leclaire stopped 16 of 19 shots against the Caps in losing his third decision without a win in his brief NHL career. Leclaire beat out Martin Prusek for the backup job in training camp; the Jackets signed Prusek as a free agent on Aug. 4. Prusek had compiled an impressive 28-9-4 record and a 2.23 goals against average in three seasons as a backup with Ottawa. The Jackets used five different netminders in their nine preseason contests, and Leclaire was the most impressive of the three that actually had a chance to crack the roster. He appeared in a team-high five preseason games, posting a 2-1 record to go along with a 2.86 GAA and a .905 save percentage. Denis was 1-2 with a 4.69 GAA and an .859 save percentage in four games. Prusek wrote himself a ticket to AHL Syracuse by going 0-1 with a 7.74 GAA and an .826 save percentage in his two outings. Leclaire, the Jackets’ first-round choice (eighth overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, made his NHL debut with Columbus in 2003-04. He went 0-2 with a 3.53 GAA in two games.
Don't forget that the BlueJackets were really strong at home in 03-04. 17 of their 25 wins that season came in Columbus. And against the Flames at home, they are 6-1-0-1.

The Hurricanes will have 21 year old rookie Cam Ward in net tonight against the Pens.

Ryan Miller will get his second start tonight for the Sabres against Boston.

I've resurrected one of my favorite links from the 03-04 season. http://www.forecaster.ca/cbc/hockey/index.cgi is a nice place to catch up on the night's games.

Thursday Football

2005-10-06T20:31:00.000-04:00

TARGETS(catches):

Puck Periodic

2005-10-05T14:46:00.000-04:00

picks

2004

Wednesday Football

2005-10-05T08:19:00.000-04:00

one

two

STL

TARGETS(catches)

NYG

TARGETS(catches)

BUF

last week

TARGETS(catches)

MIN

last week

TARGETS(catches)

ATL

TARGETS(catches)

Tuesday Football

2005-10-04T19:01:00.000-04:00

Rumors are circulating that Mike Tice is about to resign, but this doesn't say such. The Vikings are on their bye this week.

Ahman Green has knee injury and his status is uncertain.

Willie Roaf looks to return this week.

In Jacksonville's loss to Denver, the Jags offensive line struggled (and that's an understatement). Coach Del Rio has promised changes

Mark Bradley is officially the Bears' #2 WR- something we saw coming last week.

Michael Vick will start this week against the Pats. If Minnesota had not rolled over for the Falcons, I suspect Vick would have been able to return.

Willie Parker is starting too, even though Bettis and Staley are healthy.

Antrelle Rolle is out for the season.

The Niners may go with Alex Smith at QB.

Carnell Williams, and really no one saw this coming, is uncertain for this week's game. It's being speculated that his hamstring injury was cause by compensating for the minor foot problem he developed last week.

The Seahawks' receivers are banged up, and there is a possibility that Peter Warrick will start in place of Bobby Engram this week.

Nate Burleson should be back after the bye.

From PFW's The Way We Hear It:
- BAL- OL coach Chris Foerster was blunt in his assessment of its performance. “I don’t really want to be quoted on saying we did a whole lot well, because we haven’t,” Foerster told PFW. “We haven’t moved the ball as much as we need to. We haven’t run the ball. We haven’t scored points. In my responsibility as line coach, we’ve got to do our jobs better.” No personnel changes are imminent, Foerster said.
- DEN- We’re told the move to elevate rookie CB Darrent Williams into the starting lineup in place of Lenny Walls was something head coach Mike Shanahan wanted to do in the preseason. Yet the coach held off until Week Three, trying to give the second-round pick a chance to prove himself when it mattered. Teammates such as SS John Lynch have been equally impressed and suggest that Williams, who missed Week Four with a sprained ankle, benefited by not having to deal with huge expectations.
- CHI- Expect to see the Chargers use more of a no-huddle approach with their offense in the near future. After having success with it at times last year and using it sporadically in the first two games, San Diego went without a huddle almost exclusively against the Giants in Week Three. The main reason is the comfort level it provides. It’s not to be confused with a two-minute drill, as the Chargers are not in a rush to snap the ball, but rather a way of allowing QB Drew Brees to make the calls at the line of scrimmage and use more shifts to keep defenses on their heels.
- CHI- It appears to be only a matter of time before the Bears expand the roles of their top two draft picks, RB Cedric Benson and WR Mark Bradley. According to team sources, Benson was informed that he can expect double-digit touches as the change-of-pace backup to Thomas Jones beginning this week.

And from Whispers:
- A source close to the Texans reports QB David Carr was positively “giddy” in the week leading up to the Oct. 2 game at Cincinnati. Carr seems to be taking to the tutelage of new offensive coordinator Joe Pendry.
- Extremely satisfied with the way Michael Bennett handled both his demotion from the starting lineup and the team's request for him to cover kickoffs and punts, head coach Mike Tice has left the door wide open for Bennett to reclaim the starting RB job from Mewelde Moore. Both backs are injury-prone, and Tice doesn't want either to view himself as being out of the mix.
- TE Bryan Fletcher, who caught a 24-yard pass on the Colts’ opening drive in Week Four, has moved past Ben Utecht on the Colts’ depth chart. Fletcher is an ever-improving blocker with very good hands and athleticism. We hear the Colts see him as a closer clone to Marcus Pollard than Dallas Clark, who has been disappointing since returning from a concussion.
- Keep an eye on Colts WR Marvin Harrison’s left wrist. The painful injury prevents Harrison from catching the ball cleanly, but it also has been an issue for Harrison getting a release from the line of scrimmage. Teams jam Harrison, and he can struggle to break free without the use of his hands.
- Teammates and coaches alike believe that Chiefs WR Eddie Kennison is playing the best football of his career and has really improved in terms of making things happen after the catch.
- Team observers in Tampa have noticed that a rock in the team’s locker room, which became a symbol for the Bucs’ “pound the rock” offense during their Super Bowl run in 2002, has reappeared. In the last few years the rock, which is housed on a shelf in the locker room, had been neglected and was covered with Gatorade cups and other debris. But we hear that since the Bucs have started fast, the garbage around the rock has been cleaned up, and the rock has been given respect once again.

Sunday Football II

2005-10-02T12:06:00.000-04:00

CLE

IND

Sunday Football - Early Edition

2005-10-01T17:50:00.000-04:00

The Week 4 Mirls' picks from around the web are up here.
After stumbling to a 9-5 record last week, I've lost my hold on first place, and am now three games out of the leader, Monsters of the Midway.
Also ahead of the Beach, is Cold Hard Football Facts.
When you take all the picks over the first three weeks that both CHFF and BBeach agree on, you get a success rate of 75.8% (22-7).
This week, we agree on:
JAX, TB, CIN, IND, NE, SEA, BAL, OAK, ATL, ARZ.
When you take the posted best bets that we both agree will win, we are a combined 5-0.
(In week two, I went against CHFF's best bet of NE over CAR)
This week, we agree on both of our best bets: Jacksonville and Cincinnati.

Kenechi Udeze is out for the Vikings, and may need surgery.

Ravens' fullback Alan Ricard, a player who many thought would help bring back Baltimore's run game, reinjured his right calf and is questionable for Sunday.

Willie Roaf is again out for KC.

Ciatrick Fason will be active for the Vikings this week.

Jarrett Payton is ready to backup Titans' RB Chris Brown.

Trends:
- Denver is 3-7-2 against the spread in its last 12 road games, including playoffs, and seven of its last 10 road contests, including the postseason, have gone over the total.
- Jacksonville has covered six of its last eight games.
- Detroit is 8-4 against the spread in its last 12 games as a dog. … The Lions have covered the last four meetings, and seven of the last nine matchups with Tampa Bay.
- All three of the Buccaneers’ games have stayed under the total, but four of the last six meetings with the Lions have gone over the total.
- Houston has failed to cover its last three contests and is 1-4 against the number in its last five games as a dog of between 7.5 and 10 points. … The Texans’ last seven games have all stayed under the total.
- Cincinnati’s three games have stayed under the total, and eight of its last 10 home contests have stayed under.
- Indy is 2-5 against the spread in their last seven regular-season games, and all three of its games this season have stayed under the total.
- Tennessee has failed to cover the last four meetings, the last three of which have gone over the total.
- Philadelphia is 1-6 against the number in its last seven regular-season games and has failed to cover its last five contests vs. AFC foes.… The Eagles’ last six games, including playoffs, have stayed under the total.
- Kansas City’s last four games have stayed under the total, and it is 1-3 vs. the spread in its last four contests vs. NFC teams.
- Seattle is 2-5 against the spread in its last seven road contests, and its last six regular-season games have all gone over the total.
- Washington is 6-2 against the number in its last eight games and has covered the last three meetings with Seattle.
- New York has covered its last four home games but has failed to cover its last three contests following a night game.
- New York has failed to cover its last three regular-season road games and has failed to cover the last four meetings with Baltimore.
- Baltimore has failed to cover its last five contests and seven of eight overall. … The Ravens have covered their last three games following a bye.
- Dallas is 4-8 against the number in its last 12 road games, including playoffs. … The Cowboys’ last three road contests have gone over the total.
- Oakland is 2-8 against the spread in its last 10 home contests but is 3-1-1 vs. the number in its last five games before a bye week.
- Minnesota has failed to cover its last four regular-season road contests and is 1-3 against the spread in its last four games before a bye week
- San Francisco is 1-5-2 vs. the spread in its last eight road games, six of which have stayed under the total.
- Arizona has failed to cover the last three meetings, and six of the last eight overall, against San Francisco.
- Green Bay is 12-5-1 against the spread in its last 18 night games.
- Carolina is 1-3-1 against the spread at home vs. the Packers and 0-3-1 against the number in its last five regular-season night contests.

UPDATE: This week's ATS Picks are up.
Also, after the whole BC vs FSU disaster, I privately vowed to come up with five games on the year to make up for it. Game one goes on Sunday, with the Jags facing Denver. I really like this Jacksonville team, Denver's secondary is banged up, and it's still really hot in Florida. Take the Jags to win and look for game two of the BC comeback trail, whenever it comes up.

Saturday Football II

2005-10-01T16:43:00.000-04:00

ATL

BUF

OAK

PHI

TEN

STL

DAL

Coin Flip Challenge - October

2005-10-01T13:14:00.000-04:00

DISCLAIMER: I don't do basketball
History of the CFC: Here and here.
ARCHIVE: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September

All games, $10.00. Ties and pushes removed from record.

BEACH $10	WIN	LOSE	MONEY	COIN
BASEBALL	261	213	+93.78	229-225
BASKETBALL	128	121	-46.36	125-124
NCAA HOCKEY	1	1	-1.67	1-1
FUTBOL	0	1	-10.00	0-1
CFL FOOTBALL	8	7	-0.71	11-4
NFL PRESEASON	12	10	+7.71	10-12
NFL	32	32	-49.55	30-34
NCAA FOOTBALL	25	32	-101.61	30-27
NHL	23	28	-12.52	22-29

DATE	LEAGUE	MATCH	LINE	PAY	BEACH	W/L	CFC Pick	CFC W/L
10.01.05	NCAA	Virginia Tech at WVU	+10	-110	WVU	L	VTU	W
-	NCAA	Florida at Alabama	ML	-155	UF	L	UF	L
-	NCAA	Utah at North Carolina	-4	-110	UNC	W	UNC	W
-	NCAA	USC at Arizona State	+17	-130	ASU	W	ASU	W
-	NCAA	USC at Arizona State	o/u 72	-110	Over	L	Over	L
-	NCAA	Temple at Bowling Green	-29.5	-110	BGU	W	TU	L
-	NCAA	USF at Miami	+21	-110	USF	W	USF	W
-	NCAA	Minnesota at Penn St.	ML	-130	MIN	L	PSU	W
10.02.05	NFL	DEN at JAX	ML	-185	JAX	L	JAX	L
-	NFL	DEN at JAX	-3	-140	JAX	L	DEN	W
-	NFL	DET at TB	+7	-120	DET	W	DET	W
-	NFL	BUF at NO	-1	-110	NO	W	NO	W
-	NFL	SEA at WAS	ML	+115	SEA	L	WAS	W
-	NFL	MIN at ATL	-6	-110	ATL	W	MIN	L
-	NFL	DAL at OAK	-3	-125	OAK	W	DAL	L
-	NFL	SF at ARZ	-2.5	-110	ARZ	W	SF	L
10.05.05	NHL	NYI at BUF	ML	-105	NYI	L	NYI	L
-	NHL	MON at BOS	ML	+135	MON	W	BOS	L
-	NHL	CLM at WAS	ML	-130	CLM	L	CLM	L
-	NHL	ATL at FLA	ML	+130	ATL	L	FLA	W
-	NHL	CAR at TB	-1.5	+120	TB	W	CAR	L
-	NHL	OTT at TOR	ML	-140	OTT	W	OTT	W
-	NHL	ANA at CHI	ML	+120	ANA	W	CHI	L
-	NHL	CAL at MIN	ML	+120	MIN	W	CAL	L
-	NHL	COL at EDM	ML	-140	EDM	W	COL	L
10.07.05	NHL	BOS at BUF	ML	-120	BOS	L	BUF	W
-	NHL	SJ at CHI	ML	-120	SJ	L	SJ	L
10.08.05	NCAA	Wake Forest at FSU	-21	-120	FSU	L	FSU	L
-	NCAA	Kansas at Kansas St.	+5.5	-110	Kan	L	Kan	L
-	NCAA	Virginia at BC	-7	-120	BC	W	UVA	L
-	NCAA	Oklahoma at Texas	-14	-120	Texas	W	Texas	W
-	NCAA	Missouri at Oklahoma St.	ML	+165	OSU	L	Mizz	W
-	NCAA	UNC at Louisville	+14	-120	UNC	L	UNC	L
-	NCAA	LSU at Vandy	+15.5	-110	Vandy	L	LSU	W
-	NCAA	Cal at UCLA	-1	-110	UCLA	W	Cal	L
-	NHL	BUF at OTT	ML	-250	OTT	W	OTT	W
-	NHL	BUF at OTT	-1.5	+115	OTT	W	BUF	L
-	NHL	FLA at TB	ML	-190	TB	W	TB	W
-	NHL	FLA at TB	-1.5	+165	TB	L	FLA	W
10.09.05	NFL	BAL at DET	-1	-110	DET	W	BAL	L
-	NFL	MIA at BUF	+3	-105	MIA	L	MIA	L
-	NFL	NO at GB	ML	-150	GB	W	GB	W
-	NFL	NE at ATL	ML	+120	ATL	L	ATL	L
-	NFL	SEA at STL	ML	+125	SEA	W	STL	L
-	NFL	TEN at HOU	ML	-150	HOU	L	TEN	W
10.10.05	NHL	FLA at NYI	o/u 6	-110	Under	W	Under	W
-	NHL	BOS at TB	ML	-155	TB	L	TB	L
-	NHL	EDM at ANA	ML	-135	ANA	L	ANA	L
10.11.05	NHL	PHI at TOR	ML	+150	TOR	W	TOR	W
-	NHL	OTT at MON	ML	-120	MON	L	MON	L
-	NHL	EDM at LA	ML	-150	LA	W	EDM	L
10.12.05	NHL	NAS at COL	ML	+125	NAS	W	NAS	W
-	NHL	CLM at SJ	ML	-210	SJ	W	CLM	L
-	NHL	CLM at SJ	-1.5	+150	SJ	W	CLM	L
-	NHL	VAN at MIN	ML	+120	MIN	W	MIN	W
10.14.05	NHL	TOR at ATL	ML	-135	ATL	L	TOR	W
-	NHL	DAL at EDM	ML	-155	EDM	L	EDM	L
-	NHL	CLM at ANA	-1.5	+150	ANA	L	CLM	W
10.15.05	NCAA	USF vs Pitt	ML	+100	USF	L	USF	L
-	NCAA	Iowa St at Missouri	+7	-125	ISU	W	ISU	W
-	NCAA	UF at LSU	ML	+210	UF	L	UF	L
-	NCAA	USC at Notre Dame	+11.5	-110	ND	W	ND	W
-	NCAA	UConn at Cincinnati	-7	-135	UConn	L	Cin	W
-	NHL	TOR at MON	ML	-165	MON	L	TOR	W
-	NHL	TB at PIT	ML	-120	TB	W	TB	W
-	NHL	NAS at STL	ML	+120	STL	L	STL	L
10.16.05	NFL	CIN at TEN	-3	-110	CIN	W	CIN	W
-	NFL	JAX at PIT	+3.5	-110	JAX	W	PIT	L
-	NFL	CAR at DET	-1	-110	CAR	push	CAR	push
-	NFL	CAR at DET	ML	-120	CAR	W	CAR	W
-	NFL	NE at DEN	+3	-110	NE	L	DEN	W
-	NFL	NE at DEN	ML	+150	NE	L	DEN	W
-	NHL	TB at WAS	ML	-210	TB	L	TB	L
-	NHL	CLM at LA	ML	+180	CLM	L	LA	W
-	NHL	DAL at VAN	ML	-150	VAN	W	DAL	L
10.18.05	NHL	PHX at EDM	ML	-200	EDM	L	EDM	L
10.21.05	NFL	KC at MIA	+1.5	-105	KC	W	MIA	L
-	NHL	SJ at CLM	ML	+135	CLM	W	CLM	W
-	NHL	ANA at DET	-1.5	+105	DET	L	ANA	W
-	NHL	OTT at TB	ML	+110	TB	L	OTT	W
-	NHL	OTT at TB	o/u 6.5	-110	Under	W	Over	L
-	NHL	COL at EDM	ML	-110	EDM	L	EDM	L
10.22.05	NCAA	Wyoming at Colorado St.	+3.5	-110	UW	L	CSU	W
-	NCAA	Miami (Oh) at East. Michigan	+10.5	-110	EMU	W	UM	L
-	NCAA	Texas Tech at Texas	-17	-110	UT	W	TT	L
-	NCAA	Oregon at Arizona	-10	-110	Ore	L	Ore	L
-	NHL	PIT at BOS	ML	+150	PIT	L	BOS	W
-	NHL	DET at CLM	ML	+160	CLM	L	CLM	L
-	NHL	SJ at NAS	ML	+150	SJ	L	SJ	L
10.23.05	NFL	NO at STL	+3	-105	NO	L	STL	W
-	NFL	SD at PHI	-3	-135	PHI	W	PHI	W
-	NFL	BUF at OAK	-3	-105	OAK	W	OAK	W
-	NHL	PHX at ANA	ML	+110	PHX	L	ANA	W
-	NHL	CAL at LA	ML	-165	LA	L	LA	L
-	NFL	NO at STL	ML	+130	NO	L	STL	W
10.25.05	NHL	EDM at COL	ML	+150	EDM	L	EDM	L
10.26.05	NHL	NAS at CLM	o/u 5.5	-125	Over	L	Under	W
-	NHL	WAS at BUF	-1.5	-110	BUF	L	WAS	W
-	NHL	TB at NJ	ML	-110	TB	W	NJ	L
10.27.05	NHL	TOR at BOS	ML	-110	BOS	W	BOS	W
-	NHL	ATL at PIT	ML	-155	PIT	W	ATL	L
10.30.05	NFL	JAX at STL	ML	-190	JAX	L	STL	W
-	NFL	JAX at STL	-3	-130	JAX	L	JAX	L
-	NFL	OAK at TEN	ML	+100	TEN	L	OAK	W
-	NFL	OAK at TEN	+1.5	-110	TEN	L	OAK	W
-	NFL	KC at SD	+6	-110	KC	L	KC	L
-	NFL	KC at SD	ML	+200	KC	L	KC	L
-	NFL	PHI at DEN	ML	-190	DEN	W	PHI	L
-	NFL	PHI at DEN	-3	-130	DEN	W	PHI	L
-

Saturday Football

2005-10-01T09:38:00.000-04:00

The rest of the targets will be up later today.
The Beach guest capper went to breakfast, and is taking the week off.
Podolsky's Picks have the tally from last week's DDHD: 5-3, and 8-5-1 for the season.
This week, WVU, Army, Mizzou, ASU, and Hawaii are all getting a lot of points at home.
Official Beach Picks are below, and a new October CFC page will be added later today.
And buyer beware, we've been peeking at Wednesday's hockey games, and haven't had a lot of time to spend on these.

West Virginia +10 (coin- VTU)
Florida ML -155 (UF)
North Carolina -4 (UNC)
Arizona State +17 (ASU)
-Over 72 USC/ASU (Over)
Bowling Green -29.5 (Temple)
South Florida +21 (USF)

Thursday Football

2005-09-29T23:43:00.000-04:00

MIN

ARZ

SEA

expected

DEN

NYG

Wednesday Football

2005-09-28T23:54:00.000-04:00

Directv's Short Cuts

CAR

last week

MIA

CIN

CHI

NYJ

JAX

fourth quarter

Tuesday Football

2005-09-27T18:32:00.000-04:00

Holy injury cows.
All out for the season:
Rodney Harrison - Chad Pennington - Takeo Spikes -
Rashaun Woods - Fernando Bryant - Willie Offord - Jay Bellamy

Then there's:
Ahmed Plummer - Junior Seau - Aaron Stecker -
Champ Bailey - Kurt Warner - Darwin Walker - Willie Anderson,
all could be or are out for this week.

A few highlights from the quotes on Len Pasquarelli's Morning After column this week:

One reason that [Seattle quarterback] Matt Hasselbeck has been steadier this year is because they are starting [wide receiver] Bobby Engram now. He's always been a great slot receiver, but the guy is making plays on the outside, and he's a great double-move receiver. And he isn't nearly as schizophrenic as [deposed wide receiver] Koren Robinson was."
"The Browns need to keep [veteran wide receiver] Antonio Bryant away from the kid, [first-round wideout] Braylon Edwards. Bryant has become a good player but he's still immature and he and Edwards both drew [taunting] flags Sunday that really hurt the offense. If Bryant ever grows up, he could be a good player, but he does [stupid] stuff, and you don't want it rubbing off on Edwards, believe me."
There are a lot of tailbacks being shopped around the league right now. In addition to Michael Bennett (Minnesota) and Lee Suggs (Cleveland), Dallas would send Anthony Thomas somewhere for the right price and Houston might deal Tony Hollings if anyone is interested.
Jon Gruden on Carnell Williams:
"We wouldn't be putting him in these situations if we didn't think he could do it,'' Coach Jon Gruden said today. ""It's not a coincidence that he's playing his best football late in games, so as long as he can take it, we'll continue to give him these opportunities."
If Carnell's body looked anything like his uniform did on Sunday, he was pretty torn up. Williams is on pace for 2314.66 carries this year. Yes carries. I swear it.

The Texans are excited about new offensive coordinator Joe Pendry.

Trevor Pryce thinks Priest Holmes is playing injured.

Talk of the Raiders' stalled running game.

Pro Football Weekly's site is down for maintenance, so I will link the rest of the material I have when it comes back up.

UPDATE:

From PFW's The Way We Hear It:
- MIA- The Dolphins also believe that the return of Ricky Williams, who will take over the starting role in Week Six, will bring out the best in both players (Ronnie Brown).
- CLE- One of the biggest beneficiaries in offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon’s attack has been TE Steve Heiden, who caught nine passes in the first two weeks. With Aaron Shea out of the lineup for the time being, Heiden has become the team’s best target at the position... Expect Heiden to continue being a big part of the passing offense; Dilfer has stressed from the beginning that he’ll look for the tight end, according to Heiden.
- BAL- Can FB Alan Ricard help the Ravens’ sagging rushing attack return to form? Expect Ricard to play a bigger role in the offense in the weeks to come. Ricard was demoted in the Ravens’ first two games, with the team electing to go away from the I-formation. The decision may have played a role in RB Jamal Lewis’ struggles in the first two games; without Ricard, an effective lead blocker for Lewis the previous three seasons, Lewis managed only 57 yards on 26 carries.
- MIN- Much of Culpepper’s past routine that set him in a comfort zone — namely, four days of detailed film breakdown, play rehearsal and written tests on Saturday with Linehan — was shattered by the coach’s departure to Miami. By the same token, C Matt Birk was a constant in many of those meetings and had a special session with Culpepper after game-plan installation on Wednesdays. In an attempt to remedy the situation, head coach Mike Tice now sends play calls directly to Culpepper’s ear — as opposed to having the orders relayed from the coordinator through the backup quarterback to Culpepper, as they were last year and in the first two games of ’05. Tice also will take extra steps during the week to aid in the preparation of the quarterback. His new strategy paid off in Week Three, as Culpepper responded with a big game and the Vikings notched their first win of the year.
- DET- Two changes on the offensive line — ORT Kelly Butler, who didn’t play a snap as a rookie, replaced Stockar McDougle, and OLG Rick DeMulling, a free-agent signee who left the Colts, is starting — have contributed to slowing down RB Kevin Jones. Jones averaged 4.7 yards per carry as a rookie, and that was with ORG Damien Woody carrying too much weight and C Dominic Raiola struggling. But Jones’ current average of 3.3 yards (33 carries for 109 yards) is poor, and the coaches expecting better. The return of FB Cory Schlesinger (broken leg) in October should help, but the Lions are preaching to their receivers and linemen about finishing blocks to create bigger gains.
- NO- Once known only for his prima donna antics, including his infamous cell-phone celebration during a nationally televised game, Saints WR Joe Horn has become a team leader on and off the field as the Saints deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We hear that before the season began, Horn told media members that he would only be available for interviews on Fridays. But since the Gulf Coast tragedy, Horn has become the face of the team, respectfully handling media requests on an almost daily basis.

And from this week's 'Whispers':
- Don’t be shocked if Tyson Thompson and Marion Barber move ahead of Anthony Thomas on the Cowboys’ RB pecking order. Bill Parcells likes Thompson’s special-teams impact and could reward him with more carries, and he thinks Barber can handle kickoff coverage after failing there in the preseason.
- Our Seahawks sources said newly acquired WR Peter Warrick came up with three one-handed catches in practice leading up to the team’s game vs. Arizona that had to be seen to be believed.
- There is a feeling among some close to the Ravens that the defense would be better-served using a simpler approach coming out of the bye. Word is the defense’s frequent pre-snap movement and adjustments could be more of a hindrance than a help at this point.
- At least one veteran Baltimore observer claims to have never seen head coach Brian Billick as shaken as he was after the team’s Week Two loss at Tennessee.
- Barring a series of poor outings, the Vikings plan to stick with Mewelde Moore as their No. 1 running back
The first of the Targets stuff will be up later tonight

Sunday Football

2005-09-25T10:55:00.000-04:00

Trends:
- Buffalo has covered six of its last seven games at home.
- Carolina is 7-2-1 against the spread in its last 10 contests
- Miami is 3-1 against the number in its last four games vs. NFC teams, and five of its last six home contests have gone over the total.
- he Bengals are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games vs. NFC teams.
- The Bears are 25-15 against the spread in their last 40 games as a home dog.
- Indy has covered eight of its last 10 games as a favorite of more than 10 points.
- Jacksonville has covered the last three meetings with the Jets, all of which have stayed under the total.
- Minnesota has failed to cover its last seven regular-season games, and its last five games, including playoffs, have stayed under the total.
- The Eagles are 8-2 vs. the spread in their last 10 games as a home favorite.
- The Packers have covered their last three games as a home dog and are 13-6-1 against the number in their last 20 contests as a home dog, but they haven’t been a home dog since 2001.
- Tennessee has failed to cover its last four road contests and is 4-8 against the spread in its last 12 road games
- Of Arizona’s last nine road games, seven have gone over the total (18 of its last 25 road contests have gone over). The Cardinals covered both meetings with Seattle last season.
- Dallas has covered its last two games as a road favorite and has covered three of its last four road contests overall.
- New England is 6-0-1 vs. the number in its last seven games as a dog and 25-10-1 in the last 36 contests when getting points.
- Of the Chargers’ last nine home games, seven have gone over the total, including their last three home games vs. NFC teams.
- The last seven meetings between Denver and KC teams have gone over the total.
I can't believe the Bengals are only giving away three points today. Cincinnati is a 12-4 team while Chicago is still just an 8-8 group because of their offense. And remember what the Colts did to the Bears last year in Chicago? Sure the Bears defense is healthy, but still the final score was 41-10. How will Chicago's offense be able to keep up with Cincinnati's. It's just not going to happen. Against the Lions last week, the Bears had one drive on offense that was longer than 43 yards. One drive. I see a lot of people on the Bears today, but I think this one may get ugly for Chicago.

And Jacksonvile plus points at the Jets? What?

Carolina's defense was really impressive against the Pats last week. They were as physical as I've seen anyone be this year. I wonder if they can maintain that today in Miami, coming off such a big win. But because they're just 1-1 and not 2-0, I don't think they'll let down.

KC Star article on the emerging Sammy Parker.

Duce Staley will see limited action today. Bettis is out and anyone who watched last week's Pats game saw how important it was for Carolina to have Stephen Davis running in between the tackles.

Carnell Williams is playing, but I really don't see how he gets more than 20 carries.

Wow, J.J. Arrington lost seven pounds last week.

Picks have been up. Straight up picks are here. And the Beach's special guest went 0-2 yesterday, but he looks good with Cincy, Indy, and Tampa Bay today.

UPDATE: I've added Buffalo to win today.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ken Lucas and Will Witherspoon are inactive for Carolina. I suddenly don't like my pick of them now. Also with Albert Haynesworth not playing against St. Louis, the Rams will roll right over the Titans. I'm adding that pick.

Saturday Football

2005-09-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

I know it's behind espn's insider wall, but Kirk Herbstreit's column this week is right on.
Some hightlights:

For two years I have been really impressed with the Crimson Tide, but always put an asterisk next to them. Scholarship reductions and probation has affected their depth. This also is a team that cannot afford any injuries. If quarterback Brodie Croyle had stayed healthy last year, Alabama would have given Auburn everything it could handle in the SEC West. Mike Shula's Crimson Tide is the team to beat, not only in the SEC West but the SEC -- as long as Croyle doesn't get hurt again....

No. 11 Purdue at Minnesota -- Both teams are unbeaten and thinking about making a run at a Big Ten championship. Minnesota has the best running game in the country (335 yards per game), while the Boilermakers have the best run defense in Division I-A (allowing 18.0 rushing yards per game)...

Florida State should be 8-0 heading into November, but I don't think the Seminoles are a legitimate national title contender until they develop more of an offense. FSU is a team with great athletic ability and its front seven is one of the best in the nation. But with cornerback Antonio Cromartie out for the season, their secondary is vulnerable against a good team....
Sharpjuice's NCAA picks around the web are up again, as are their NFL picks around the web.

Rich Podolsky is off to another slow start this season, but he's still on with this:
Last year we pointed out how successful Double-Digit Home Dogs (DDHDs) were, winning at a near 70 percent clip. This season there have been few the first three weeks and they are 3-2-1 to this point. But this week there are eight DDHDs, and we're grabbing three of them and taking our chances against one. This week's DDHDs are Army, New Mexico State, Illinois, South Florida, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Washington and Oregon.
My thoughts:
- Both Army and New Mexico State were DDHD last night and covered.
- Illinois may have its hands full with Michigan State, or the Spartans may lose it outright, based on their performances last year against unranked teams.
- South Florida and Louisville square off tonight in their first Big East Conference clash (the two were both C-USA last year). USF may have the defense and running game to keep this one within three touchdowns, but both the Bulls quarterbacks are easily rattled and Louisville will bring all kinds of heat.
- Georgia plays its first road game of the season tonight against Miss State, who played Florida well in a night, home game last year.
- Kentucky hosts the Gators in a sandwich game, as UF gets Alabama in their next game.
- That Washington game is against Notre Dame, so there's all kinds of things going on there.
- And Oregon hosts USC, so it's just a matter of chance because both teams are going to score a lot.
  
  So after a 2-0 night yesterday, DDHD's ill probably need to be lucky to go 3-3 today.
  But there may be one outright winner lurking among them.
My picks will be up by noon EST.
Plus, a sneak peak at tomorrow's NFL with The Mirls' Week 3 Picks- which I am still tied for the lead among 33 others.

UPDATE: Special Guest picks are in late, after spending the night in the clink for contempt.
Our SG went 4-2 in NCAA last week, and 1-4 in the NFL.
For this week:

NCAA	NFL
NMex +2.5 UTEP	Indy -14 Cle
NIll -7 Akron	Chi +3 Cin
LSU -6.5 Tenn	TB -3 GB
-	TB/GB Under 37.5

Friday Football

2005-09-23T13:23:00.000-04:00

AFC Targets, and related team news from Week Two:

BAL

is to find their running game

BUF

media fued

CIN

CLE

DEN

HOU

IND

JAX

MIA

NYJ

OAK

OAK preview

PIT

TEN

CAR

Wednesday Football

2005-09-22T00:25:00.000-04:00

Well, the football guys locked the door to the targets stats they left open last week. Here's the NFC notes:

ARZ

ATL

CHI

DAL

DET

MIN

NYG

PHI

SEA

STL

WAS

AFC and Carolina tomorrow.

Tuesday Football

2005-09-20T10:22:00.000-04:00

Len Pasquarelli's morning after is usually a good read. This week, he leads with the Vikings' struggles (which I'll have more on when I get to the targets stats). Len's scouts takes are especially strong this week:

"It's going to big a big year for [Colts tailback] Edgerrin James, at least if defenses keep trying to play the way Jacksonville did on Sunday. It seems like the philosophy now is to just drop eight [defenders] against [Peyton] Manning and try to get him to grow impatient and force some balls."

"If you saw [tailback] Ron Dayne on Sunday, you'd swear the Broncos could put anybody back there and he'd gain yards.

"Jeff Fisher [of Tennessee] can flat-out coach. That team was absolutely [lousy] last week, but he worked them hard, got them fired up about playing a [Baltimore] team they don't like, and just whipped the Ravens."
Here's more on Dayne- and here too- but word is that Mike Anderson is still the starter.

As if there was any doubt at this point, Bill Cowher says:
Willie's starting again next week," coach Bill Cowher said after Parker rattled off his third consecutive 100-yard game rushing. "He's our starter."
Right now, Derrick Blaylock is the only man standing in the Jets' backfield.

I noted last week that Carnell Williams took a lot of hits in his first game as a pro. Well this past Sunday against the Bills, he took even more. Williams is hard to tackle, but he also makes a lot more contact with defenders than most backs do. As a result, I fear for his long-term health. On Monday, Carnell was walking in a boot cast.

The Texans' firing of Chris Palmer is a very loud warning shot to everyone involved in Houston's offense. There is really no excuse for why the Texans have looked like they are still learning their system.

The Bengals were flagged for 17 penalties against Minnesota, many of them were dumb penalties too. I did some research during the offseason to track how teams did the week after registering 80+ penalty yards. I guess I'll post those charts later, but essentially, teams who win with a lot of penalties continue winning and teams who lose with a lot of penalties continue losing.

Praise from the Seattle News Tribune for Shawn Alexander

Nate Burleson and Darren Sharper's injuries are only considered minor.

I know Chad Owens has struggled, but I was shocked to see that Jacksonville released him.

From this week's PFW's 'The Way We Hear It:'

MIA- Early returns from South Florida indicate that veteran DT Keith Traylor is the lynchpin to the Dolphins’ defense. Said fellow DT Vonnie Holliday, “The only time he’s moved is if he guesses wrong and steps with the wrong foot or goes the wrong way. But nobody’s going to move him up out of there. Double-, triple- (teaming), he’s not going to lose his ground. He stays there.” A big beneficiary of Traylor’s play is undersized MLB Zach Thomas, who was freed up to make 26 tackles in the first two games.

NYJ- We hear that the sideline altercation in Week One between DT James Reed and MLB Jonathan Vilma — which culminated with Reed punching Vilma in the face — is likely an early sign of how much the Jets miss NT Jason Ferguson, who signed with the Cowboys via free agency this offseason. Reed is undersized compared to Ferguson and seemed to have some problems holding up at the point of attack.

OAK- With all the offseason hype surrounding the additions of WR Randy Moss and RB LaMont Jordan, it was quietly assumed the offensive line would be a very solid group. But sources in Oakland now say they may have overrated Oakland’s blockers a bit and question whether they can regularly provide the time necessary for QB Kerry Collins and the Raiders’ downfield passing game to thrive.

MIN- Michael Bennett’s unimpressive Week One outing vs. Tampa Bay (six carries, minus-1 yard) and then his critical fumble in Week Two helped pull Mewelde Moore out of the doghouse. Moore, versatile but inconsistent in pass protection, had been on the bad side of head coach Mike Tice since Moore missed almost half of his rookie season recovering from a high left ankle sprain... But as questions arise about Bennett as the No. 1 back, Moore is squeezing back into the picture. He’ll be on a short leash once again, but the job appears to be there for the taking if Moore can remain healthy.
ARZ- At the root of the Cardinals' rushing problems is an offensive line that, if anything, has gotten steadily weaker in Green’s tenure as head coach. Clearly, his curious decisions to release talented linemen such as C Pete Kendall and OT L.J. Shelton look even more ill-advised considering the state of his current O-line.

And finally, from PFW's Whispers:

Jaguars QB Byron Leftwich clearly is being showcased as the team’s featured offensive player until RB Fred Taylor proves he is 100 percent. The team wants to pass to get a lead and then hand the ball to Taylor to kill the clock.
Word out of Kansas City is that we shouldn’t be surprised if OLT Willie Roaf misses more than just Week Two with his strained hamstring.
While it would appear Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram and Joe Jurevicius have settled nicely into the Seahawks' Nos. 1, 2 and 3 WR spots, respectively, our sources in Seattle suspect ex-Bengals first-round pick Peter Warrick has a chance to push his way into the three-deep picture or, at the very least, figure much more in the mix as the fourth receiver in four-WR sets.
Our sources in Charlotte indicate that WR Rod Gardner is not picking up the Panthers’ offense as quickly as they had hoped and that’s why he was inactive for Week One.
It should be noted that the Giants list RB Derrick Ward as Tiki Barber’s backup, even though rookie Brandon Jacobs has gotten most of the attention. The team thinks it has one of the best RB situations in the league and is able to give Barber more rest with such good depth.

First Year Gift

2005-09-18T20:57:00.000-04:00

Last monday was the one year anniversiary of this website. So this past week, I went working on this new banner. I'll be tweaking the language a bit in the future, I'm sure. But there it is. I'll also be on the lookout for more breakaways to include.

UPDATE: Yeah, I don't like the colors. They're too busy. Doesn't fit in well with the simple nature of the rest of the site. Soon to change.

Sunday Football

2005-09-18T11:56:00.000-04:00

Favorites were 9-7 ATS in Week One, a .583 success rate.

Lots of conflicting trends today, all over the league. Should be a wiild afternoon:
- The Titans are 1-3 vs. the number in the last four games as a home dog.
- Buffalo has covered its last four road games and is 6-0-1 against the number in its last seven contests vs. NFC teams.
- The Buccaneers are 1-3-1 in their last five games vs. AFC foes and have failed to cover their last three home openers.
- The Lions have covered four of their last six games overall and four of the last six meetings vs. the Bears.
- The Jaguars have covered five of their last six games but are 1-4 against the spread in the last five contests vs. AFC South rivals.
- Of Indy’s last 16 home games, including playoffs, 12 have gone over the total.
- Minnesota has covered its last five games vs. AFC teams but is 1-8 against the number in its last nine contests as a road dog of three or fewer points
- The Panthers are 3-11 vs. the spread in their last 11 home games but are 32-15-2 against the number in the last 49 contests as an underdog and 11-4-1 in their last 16 games as a home dog.
- The Texans are 9-3-1 vs. the spread in their last 13 home games, and their last six games have stayed under the total.
- The 49ers have covered four of the last five meetings vs. Philadelphia.
- Philadelphia is 12-3 vs. the number in its last 15 games as a home favorite of between 7.5-10 points.
- Of the Seahawks’ last 14 regular-season games, 12 have gone over the total (including the last four).
- The Rams are 3-8 against the number in their last 11 road contests and 2-10 against the spread in their last 12 games as a road favorite.
- The Packers are 2-8 vs. the spread in their last 10 home games, including playoffs, and are 0-3-1 against the number in their last four games vs. AFC teams.
- Seven of the last nine meetings between the Jets and Dolphins have stayed under the total.
- The Chargers are 1-4-2 against the number in their last seven games vs. the Broncos and 6-11-1 in the last 18 contests vs. Denver.
- Kansas City is 2-7 vs. the number in its last nine games as a road favorite.
- New Orleans is 8-1 against the number in its last nine contests as a dog and has covered its first road game in six of the last seven seasons.
- Dallas has covered the last seven meetings with Washington and 13 of the last 14 battles.

Remeber that Denver's athletic linebackers did a good job in containing Antonio Gates last year.

Also note that Mike Anderson says he's ready to go today.

John Czarnecki's gameday notes:
- There is a chance that Arizona rookie RB J.J. Arrington won't play because of an illness.
- 'Pacman' Jones, a healthy scratch in the opener, is expected to start at RCB for Tony Beckham
- QB Ben Roethlisberger is expected to start despite a bruised bone in his left knee.
- Look for the Seahawks to come out and use as many as three and four receivers because the Falcons not only lost top nickel back Kevin Mathis (major knee surgery) but also kick returner and sixth defensive back Allen Rossum.
- Ex-Eagle DT Corey Simon reported at 344 pounds to the Colts; he's lost 20 pounds already.
- In four straight losses in Denver's Invesco Field, the Chargers have scored only three first-half points.
- Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer (3-13) never does well in Denver.
- The Packers tried to sign Koren Robinson on Monday, but the ex-Seahawk decided to remain with the Vikings.
- Jets new WR Laveranues Coles dropped two TD passes in the loss to KC.
- Jets LB Jonathan Vilma was sporting a left-eye shiner after being punched on the sideline by defensive teammate James Reed during last week's loss to the Chiefs.
- With the Chiefs minus DT Ryan Sims (foot), look for the Raiders to come out running with Lamont Jordan and Zack Crockett. It's also part of the keep-away strategy to keep the Oakland defense off the field.

Michael Strahan, despite being listed as questionable, vows to play on Monday night.

Rookie RT Jamaal Brown did a good job against Julius Peppers last week, and if Strahan does play tomorrow night, he'll have faced in back to back games the top two LE's in the league.

Reuben Droughns is starting again.

Finally, a note about the FSU-BC game: I willingly broke one of the golden rules (don't pick one game more heavily over another) and in the process Jeff Bowden became a real life football coach. It was a nice second half by the Noles offense- as they finally figured out how to beat the Eagles defense. FSU so rarely makes good halftime adjustments on offense, I'm still really surprised by it. But there it is. BC did well what I thought they would, but I also knew that if FSU jumped out to an early first quarter lead, the Eagles probably wouldn't be able to win it. Time will come to get that one back.

Picks in by 12:15 EST. Here is the Mirls' weeks two chart, all are straight up.

Saturday Football

2005-09-16T20:32:00.000-04:00

sharpjuice's NCAA picks

NFL picks

links to NFL picks around the web

the NCAA

The Mirl's week two

the Swamp's week two competition

here

UPDATE: Guest picks are in as well, straight from the courthouse steps:

NCAA	NFL
Minn -31.5 FAU Miami -7 Clemson Cal -21 Ill Pitt +9.5 Neb UCLA -6.5 Okl Mich -29 E Mich	KC -1 Oak Dal -6 Wash NE -3 Car Bal -3.5 Tenn Det -1.5 Chi

Florida State at Boston College Preview

2005-09-16T19:06:00.000-04:00

AP PREVIEW

There's really only one game I'm looking at this week because, to me, there is no other game that features such a glaring mis-match of public opinion versus the teams that will be on the field.

Quinton Porter

Matt Ryan

season opener

vs Army

L.V. Whitworth

Andre Callender

Jeremy Trueblood

Will Blackmon

Antonio Cromartie

Mathias Kiwanuka

Lorenzo Booker

Leon Washington

Drew Weatherford

best players are their freshman

Xavier Lee

Fred Rouse

struggles

Eight of FSU's 13 regular-season losses dating to the 2001 season have been on the road - including crushing defeats to North Carolina in 2001 and Louisville in 2002. In addition to regular-season losses, FSU lost twice in bowl games.

FSU ROAD OFFENSE IN 2004
Miami 16, FSU 10
	FSU first-quarter drives (Score: FSU 3-0): 3 and punt; 28-yards/8 plays ending in 45-yard FG: 3 and punt.
	Starting QB: Chris Rix (12-28-108, 2 Int, 0 TD).
	Offensive TDs: 0.
FSU 17, Syracuse 13
	FSU first-quarter drives (score: Syracuse 10-3): 9 plays, 32 yards, punt; 8 plays, 40 yards, 28-yard FG.
	Starting QB: Wyatt Sexton (15 of 26-169, 1 int., 0 TD).
	Offensive TDs: 2 rush.
Maryland 20, FSU 17
	FSU first-quarter drives (score: 3-3): 5 plays, 37 yards, punt; 4 plays, intercepted; 9 plays/39 yards, 48-yard FG.
	Starting QB: Sexton (14-30-164 yards, 2 Int. 0 TD pass).
	Offensive TDs: 1 pass.
FSU 20, Wake Forest 17
	FSU first-quarter drives (score: Wake 7-0): 3 plays and punt; 8 plays, blocked FG attempt; 5 plays, punt; 2 plays, interception returned 19 yards for WF TD.
	Starting QB: Sexton (17-39-194, 2 Int, 2 TD).
	Offensive TDs: 2 pass.
FSU 17, N.C. State 10
	FSU first-quarter drives (score: 0-0): 5 plays, punt; 3 plays, punt; 3 plays, punt; 3 plays, punt.
	Starting QB: Sexton (5 of 18 - 73 yards, 1 int., 0 TD).
	Offensive TDs: 2 rush.

Reports are

David Castillo

won 44-7

lack of focus

''Everyone's been talking about Florida State since last year,'' said linebacker-turned-running back Brian Toal, who scored two touchdowns against Army. ''A couple of guys, including myself, were looking ahead a little bit.''

Thursday Football

2005-09-15T13:15:00.000-04:00

Patrick Ramsey has said publically that he did not ask for a trade, as was being reported around the league on Monday.

Stephen Davis feels 'no repercussions' after carrying the ball 13 times for 81 yards in week one.

Larry Johnson claims he's innocent and says he won't miss any playing time as a result of Tuesday's arrest.

Eric Allen likes what he sees in the Cheifs' defense. Allen notes that the addition of Sammy Knight is just as important as Surtain's, Bell's, or Johnson's:
Knight is always around the ball and forcing turnovers because he's smart and knows the tendencies of opposing teams through his film work. He's an excellent addition because he's able to quarterback the defensive backfield and will make plays.
Jeremy Shockey is questionable for this week.

Dallas Clark is still listed as questionable, but he practiced on Wednesday and should play this week vs Jacksonville.

Interesting move in Chicago, as Lovie Smith has named rookie Chris Harris a starter at free safety this week. Reportedly, Mike Green made a number of mistakes in the Bears' loss to Washington. Smoth decided during this off-season to swap the position his two safeties, Green and Mike Brown. It appears that Green has been slow to adjust.

Mike Anderson is questionable for this week. This status of this injury report probably has more importance than any other single report. Watch out for Ron Dayne here too. Mike Shannahan clearly doesn't trust Tatum Bell yet.

Steve McNair called Donovan McNabb with some advice on how to deal with a sternum injury.

I forgot to hit on PFW's Whispers earlier this week, but here's some key points:

Rookie speedster Troy Williamson has big-play ability, but Vikings sources say the team believes that Koren Robinson can emerge as the No. 2 receiver opposite Nate Burleson.

Our sources in Atlanta won’t be surprised to see rookie WR Roddy White, who missed most of training camp with an ankle injury, earn a starting spot with the Falcons soon.

Cardinals head coach Dennis Green on rookie Adam Bergen, who is expected to be the team’s primary receiving threat at the TE position: “He has exceptional hands, and so he came in here and was everything we were hopeful that he would be. He also has very good poise. Nothing bothers him.”

Although WR Jerry Porter made a few nice plays in the season opener, expect the Raiders to continue to pick and choose their spots with him until he shows he is completely healthy from the hamstring strain that kept him out of the entire preseason. The same goes for fellow WR Ronald Curry, who admitted last week he still isn’t 100 percent and suffers through bouts of soreness with his surgically repaired Achilles tendon.
And from PFW's 'The Way We Hear It:'

NE- DE Jarvis Green proved in the season-opening win over the Raiders what many observers have suspected regarding the Patriots — the strength of the defense has shifted from the LB corps to the defensive line. Once Green was inserted into the lineup at end, along with fellow DE Ty Warren and DTs Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork, the Patriots’ defense stiffened after a shaky first quarter and contained the Raiders’ explosive attack."

DEN- Head coach Mike Shanahan has labeled 2005 as the “true year to evaluate Jake Plummer.” After an offseason spent reinstalling the offense and its basic concepts with the team’s quarterbacks, Shanahan and offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak are quite satisfied with Plummer’s grasp of the system entering his third year as a Bronco and have admitted that that they would be surprised if Plummer fails to put up big numbers this fall.

CHI- Head coach Lovie Smith can draw from his experience with the 1999 Buccaneers as a model for this Bears team to copy. That Tampa Bay team won 11 regular-season games and finished as the NFC runner-up on the strength of its defense. Another similarity? The starting quarterback, for part of the season, was a rookie, second-round pick Shaun King. Smith is leaning on rookie fourth-round pick Kyle Orton as his starter in Chicago and expects first-round pick Cedric Benson to soon become a key cog for a run-first offense. Until that happens, the defense has center stage.

DET- In February, [Lions' OC Ted} Tollner reviewed film of the last eight games of the Lions’ 2004 season, when Jones ran for 906 yards and four touchdowns, and was awestruck. “He’s got a chance to be one of the premier backs in the league,” Tollner told PFW. “He showed that in the second half of the season. It’s that he’s playing with so much confidence and aggressiveness.”

SF- Of all the numerous Niners defenders who have been asked to switch positions in the team’s new 3-4 scheme, we hear nobody has made a smoother adjustment than fourth-year pro Mike Rumph, who has switched from cornerback to free safety and is getting more comfortable in his new role by the day. “I’m loving it,” Rumph enthusiastically told PFW. “I think it was a great move.”

Wednesday Football

2005-09-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

Short Cuts.

Broncos at Dolphins

Denver blizted Gus Ferrotte an awful lot. And Gus looked rather poised in the face of it.
Ronnie Brown has the spin move of Warrick Dunn in a body closer to T.J. Duckett's.
Denver should have been tied at half time. They went for it on fourth and goal inside the five and missed. Later, in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins almost held Denver out of the end zone again on four straight plays inside the five, but Broncos fullback Kyle Johnson scored on fourth down.
The reverse Chris Chambers took for 61 yards should have been a touchdown. He had plenty of blockers in front and did actually reach the end zone but it was rightly determined that he stepped out of bounds around the 18 yard line. Miami needs to show that play again soon.
Tatum Bell's fumble was inexcusable. He's not going to earn himself more playing time with moves like that. Still, he got a lot more playing time than most expected because of Mike Anderson's injury.
Miami ran more four man defensive fronts than I expected.
Nearly every time Wes Welker touched the ball, on returns and on catches, he looked like he could score. Welker is a Texas Tech product, so he should know what he's doing with the ball in open space. He did give up a key fumble early in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't a careless one. Welker was hit from three directions and had the ball pop out from behind.
Both of Denver's tight ends, Putzier and Alexander, struggled mightily.
As I mentioned in the Tuesday Targets, both of Ashley Lelie's red zone targets were indeed jump ball fades in the end zone.
Also mentioned in the above link is that Chris Chambers was everywhere. He had 13 balls thrown to him but only made 5 catches. He also picked up an extra 28 yard pass interference penalty on Dominique Foxworth.
This game re-affirmed everything I wrote about Jake Plummer here. Of course, none of this is new. Still, both of his INTs on Sunday were essentially garbage time picks. He earned the first one, but certainly not the second.

Titans at Steelers

Tennessee drove 61 yards on 11 plays on their first drive of the game. They were up 7-0 to start.
Willie Parker's speed has certainly been talked about over the past few days. But he also has shown good ability to break off or elude the first tackler behind the line of scrimmage. Since he only needs two steps to be at full speed, Parker running behind Kreider and this O line is a dangerous guy. The one thing I kept thinking he looked like was a pinball. He would bounce off of one guy, curl around another, and then plow right over a third all in the matter of two seconds. Keep in mind also that Parker did not touch the ball in the fourth quarter and he still had 209 yards from scrimmage. Also keep in mind that he shredded the Buffalo defense in week 17 last year when the Bills were playing for a playoff berth.
This game could have easily been 17-17 with five minutes left in the first half.
Travis Henry's fumble wasn't horrible. James Farrior stuck him right in the gut/football and the ball popped loose. The fumble wasn't at all reminiscent of the fumble problems Henry had early in his career.
Steve McNair's INT really wasn't his fault either. It came out of the hands of Drew Bennett, who was going over the middle at the time and should have been securing the ball into his chest. The pass would have fallen incomplete had it been an out route instead of a slant. McNair's other turnover, a lost fumble, wasn't unforgiveable either. He had barely got back into his drop before Joey Porter came screaming around the edge and stripped the ball while McNair was loading up for a throw. This Titans' offense really isn't as bad as it may seem. They only had one unproductive drive all day.
The Titans secondary really is that bad.
Ben Burger was (again) very much a half field passer throughout this game. He still threw for 218 yards on just 9 completions. I mentioned on Tuesday that the Steelers probaby won't do anything special this week againts Houston. So if you're watching, count how many times Ben looks off his first receiver and still stays in the pocket. I'd be surprised if he did it once. Burger really takes himself out of plays sooner than he needs to and it's hindering his development. He's not a bad quarterback, not at all. And I only call him Ben Burger cause I have enough carpal tunnel problems thatI don't need to be going through Rothifskfvnsl every time. Sorry. Pajamas.
Courtney Roby didn't do much on Sunday. He returned a few kicks. I'm sticking by it though. This guy can really play. Just wait for it.

Tuesday Targets

2005-09-13T22:20:00.000-04:00

Targets are probably my favorite football stat. Few numbers tell me more about what an offense is doing than a compilation of where the passes are going. Unfortunately, 'targets' is not an official stat and is therefore not tracked by regular media sources.

All praise to the guys at footballguys.com for being, yet again, the number one resource for target stats. Like last year, I plan to go over these numbers each week along with whatever relevant game notes.

ARZ

ATL

BAL

BUF

CAR

CHI

CIN

CLE

DAL

DEN

DET

HOU

IND

JAX

MIA

MIN

NYG

NYJ

OAK

PHI

PIT

SEA

STL

TEN

WAS

Tuesday Football

2005-09-13T08:11:00.000-04:00

The Eagles/Falcons Monday Night Game proved more than anything that Philly is going to need to get Lamar Gordon ready to play as soon as possible. McNabb threw way too many passes (45) for a 14-10 game and the Eagles had only 2 of their 18 first downs via the ground. At 6-1, 223 lbs Gordon should be able to give the Eagles the kind of runner they lost when Correll Buckhalter (6-0, 222) went down with another knee injury.

I've got a question for Joe Gibbs and Brian Bilick. If you guys are so quick to replace your quarterbacks, why didn't you just do it in the preseason? Adam Schefter is also reporting that Patrick Ramsey has asked to be traded.

The Panthers' loss of Kris Jenkins is huge. Bigger than the Packers' loss of Javon Walker. I know it's early, but I don't see how Carolina can go to the Super Bowl (as many have predicted) without their top DT.

Jon Gruden rode Carnell Williams hard on Sunday. Cadillac had 26 carries for just 77 yards (2.96 average) before he broke off a 71 yard touchdown on third in short late in the game. Many of those first 26 carries were tough ones and Williams took a lot of hits. Mike Alstott had one carry all game and Michael Pittman did not have any. I would assume Gruden was just setting a tone, and that he doesn't intend to use Williams like this all year, but if it does keep up, Carnell will be out of gas sometime around week 11.

With Kenny Watson out for the year, Chris Perry is offically the guy you want to keep an eye on if something happens to Rudi Johnson.

Bill Parcells on Patrick Crayton:
"Crayton is going to be a good player," Parcells said. "There's no doubt about that. He's going to be a good player. That was a real good seventh-round draft choice. I hope he turns out to be like (New England veteran and former seventh-round pick) Troy Brown."
It looks like Willie Parker will be getting at least one more start, maybe more:
No matter how anyone tries to spin it, the Steelers have a new starting tailback, even after Bettis and Duce Staley return to health.

Bill Cowher didn't bother to attempt a spin when he was asked who'll start next week, saying, "I see no reason to make a change at this point."

How about later on?

"We'll take this week to week."
Reuben Droughns is looking more and more like the best option in Cleveland.

Expect Jerome Pathon to end up in Green Bay.

Watch out for Sean Taylor as a receiver this season:
The Redskins showed a new wrinkle on offense, putting a defensive playmaker into their goal-line formation.

Twice, safety Sean Taylor lined up as a receiver near the end zone. Washington dressed only four wide receivers yesterday; the fourth, Antonio Brown, is primarily a return specialist and dropped many passes in the preseason. "He's huge with a big wingspan," Coach Joe Gibbs said of Taylor. "It may be something we continue to work with, because he's certainly an unusual guy."
Ronnie Brown didn't get a ton of work on Sunday, but to me he looked very impressive. Brown ran like an elite playmaker, with a rare quickness/size combination.

I've said it before and I'm saying it again, Jim Mora, Jr. is a great football coach. One of the best in the league.

Sunday Football

2005-09-11T10:56:00.000-04:00

BIG UPDATE:

listed

early word

ANOTHER

Fox's John Czarnecki has some bold thoughts about today's games:
DeShaun Foster will start at running back for the Panthers because coach John Fox doesn't believe Stephen Davis took enough physical punishment this summer. Davis will play, though.

Minnesota is worried about RB Michael Bennett's neck strain and plans to give the bulk of the carries to Moe Williams and Mewelde Moore.

Fred Taylor will wear a knee brace, but says he's capable of 25 carries.

Although rookie J.J. Arrington will start for Arizona, Marcell Shipp will see plenty of action in order to protect Warner.
Willis McGahee says he's finally 100%. We should get to see, starting today, if his breakaway speed has returned.

From PFW's trends, these are the only ones that mean anything to me:
- Denver is 11-17-3 against the spread in its last 31 contests, including playoffs, but is 6-3-1 against the number in its last 10 contests as a road favorite. … The Broncos have covered their last five season openers.
- Pittsburgh is 13-5 vs. the number in its last 18 regular-season contests but is 1-6 in its last seven games as a favorite of more than seven points, including playoffs.
- The Bears have failed to cover their last four season openers
- New Orleans has covered eight of its last 10 road contests and 10 of its last 13 away from home
- Carolina is 5-11 against the spread in its last 16 regular-season home games and 2-7 vs. the spread in its last nine home contests as a favorite of between 3.5-7 points. … The Panthers are 1-4 vs. the number in their last five home openers.
- Minnesota is 5-15 vs. the spread in at last 20 games as a favorite, and seven of their last nine contests have stayed under the total.
- In Jacksonville’s last 11 home games, the score has stayed under the total 10 times.
- New York is 4-0-1 against the spread in its last five road openers.
- The Chiefs are 1-3-1 against the number in their last five home openers.
- The Giants are 10-20-1 vs. the number in its last 31 games as a home favorite.
- St. Louis is 0-4-1 against the spread in its last five season openers… The Rams are 3-12 vs. the spread in their last 15 contests as a road favorite
- Green Bay is 8-2-1 against the spread in its last 11 road contests, including playoffs, and is 10-5 vs. the spread in its last 15 games as a road dog.
- The Cowboys are 4-10 vs. the spread in their last 14 road games, including playoffs.
- San Diego is 6-1-1 against the spread in its last eight games as a favorite and has covered six of its last seven games vs. NFC opponents.
- Indy is 11-5-1 in its last 16 regular-season road contests and has covered five of its last six openers.
- Of the Colts’ last 13 regular-season games on grass, 10 have gone over the total...Of the Ravens’ last 13 regular-season home games, 11 have gone over the total.
- The Falcons are 4-10-1 against the number in their last 15 regular-season home contests and 1-9 vs. the spread in their last 10 games as a home dog.

Here's more:
- The Broncos are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 road openers.
- The Bills have lost three of their last four home openers.
- The Jets are 3-1 SU and 3-0-1 ATS in road openers with Herman Edwards as head coach.
- The Packers are 4-6 SU, 2-8 ATS at Detroit in the last decade.
- The Ravens are 3-7 ATS as an underdog the last two seasons.

A couple more trends, this time from SharpJuice:
- Denver is 0-6 in Miami, and 1-5 ATS in their last six against the Dolphins.
- Seattle is 7-14 on grass fields over the past 3 years

Bill Simmons reminds us: "Don't forget that AFC teams went 44-20 against NFC teams last season."

Covers.com has something to consider about rookie coaches in season openers.

Adam Schefter:
In each of the past two seasons, the Bengals have opened a disappointing 1-4 and finished 8-8. If the Bengals are going to make the jump they need to, and get to the playoffs, they're going to have to win in September even more than December.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis realizes it, too. Throughout the offseason he has put an emphasis on starting quickly. He shortened training camp, gave more players one-a-days, did whatever he thought could enhance his team's chances at getting out of the gate quick.
I'll look to add to this post as they day goes on, but here's some final thoughts, again uncorroborated, that I've seen this week:
Over the past six seasons, NFL home teams in week one are just 38-50-8 ATS (43%). This of course implies that roadies are a 57% winning proposition during this time. The public at large has a tendency to overvalue home teams and this is especially true in week one when there is no current season data to make predictions from. Consequently, the oddsmakers almost surely shade the home teams, by and large making road teams the choice for the value player.

Favorites are just 38-50-8 ATS (42%) in the opening week over the past six NFL seasons (Coincidentally, home teams hold the same ATS record as noted above)

UPDATE: Picks are up. Taking Jacksonville, Kansas City, Tennessee, Arizona, the Colts tonight and the Falcons tomorrow.

College Football Saturday

2005-09-10T09:11:00.000-04:00

Notre Dame at Michigan

It's hard not to like the over here. But 57.5 is a ton of points. In 2004, Michigan when following an ATS loss, played in games with totals of: 45, 47, 49, 49, 30, 62, and 75.
In 2003, those numbers were: 48, 57, and 73.
The average total of those ten games is 53.5.
And now with Pitt losing to Ohio on Friday night, you have to think that this Notre Dame team isn't quite yet as good as they appeared last week. Michigan's offense should fare better against the ND defense and since the total is so high, this is a good opportunity for a point tease.
Despite being just 2-4 ATS at home last year, the Wolverines were 6-0 SU. Their last home loss was in 2002 against Iowa. They've gone 15-0 SU and 9-6 ATS at home since then.

Clemson at Maryland

For some reason, I do like Maryland to beat Clemson today. Like last year, I think it'll be a low scoring affair and that's probably the better bet.
The Terps' last four home games in '04 all went under. And in the last three years combined, Maryland home games- when there has been a total posted- have gone under 12 out of 14 times.
And I also look to last year, when Clemson upset Miami in Miami. The following week they went on the road and lost to Duke. Duke! The Devils won two games all of last season, against Citadel and against Clemson.
Finally, here's a note that says the Terps are 24-3 SU and 17-7 ATS in their last 27 home games.

Army at Boston College

I really like BC this year. I think they'll have one of those ATS runs that will leave them with 9 or 10 ATS wins on the season. But this is a game I'm wary of. Last week at BYU, the Eagles gave up 330 yards on 60 passing attempts. But BYU only ran the ball nine times. Regardless, BC's defense is one of the best in the ACC and probably among the top 10 in the nation. They've got Florida State next week (who they will beat) and they don't have the kind of offense that is explosive enough to put up 50 points. At home, as 27 point favorites, and with FSU next week, I just don't see the Eagles covering here. They were just 1-3 ATS last year when favored by double digits.

Stanford at Navy

I don't really have much on this one other than to say that of Stanford's two best players on defense, one plays DT and the other plays MLB. The Cardinal defense is strong up the middle and that's where Navy gains most of its yards. Stanford plays a 3-4 defense, they are deep at linebacker, and their weakness is in defending the pass. They should matchup well against Navy.

Colorado State at Minnesota

Hard to see how CSU's defense will stop Laurence Maroney and this Gopher rushing attack. This is from CFB News:
Here's all you need to know about the 2004 Ram defense; the top five tacklers were defensive backs. O.K., so leading tackler Adam Lancisero moved from defensive back to linebacker for most of last year, but it still goes to show how horrible the front seven was against the run. Just about everyone returns with the hope that the injuries and inconsistencies of last year are gone. This isn't a big defense, but it's a fast and athletic one.
These two teams met last year and Minnesota put up 360 rushing yards on 52 carries. That was in Colorado. Today they are in Minnesota and with FAU next on the Gophers' schedule, all eyes should be focused on today's match.

Wake Forest at Nebraska

This is probably the best underdog of the day. Wake has a good chance to win this one outright. On this game, ESPN's Rich Podolsky writes:
The Nebraska horror show is far from over. Beating Maine 25-7 at home has to be a low light for the Cornhuskers under Bill Callahan. The defense looks fine, but the offense continues to struggle. Against I-AA Maine, new QB Zac Taylor went 15-of-36 for 192 yards, with two interceptions. Things haven't changed much. Wake Forest lost a tough one to Vanderbilt in the opener, but don't underrate Vandy, which played a tough SEC schedule last year. Wake coach Jim Grobe knows how to get a team ready for a big game, and the Wake running game is one of the best in the ACC.

Rice at UCLA

The Owls are running more of a spread offense these days but they are still at their best when running the football. And that's where UCLA struggles on defense. Last week at San Diego St, the Bruins gave up 156 on the ground to the Aztecs. UCLA's offense is stacked, and while I can't corroborate these stats, one of the sites I went to earlier in the week lists the Owls 7-1 ATS in their last eight as a road dog and the over 22-6 in UCLA games coming off a win by 17+ points.

Texas at Ohio State

The game of the day. There's plenty of analysis around on this one, but to me there are two greater factors at hand. 1) Ohio State's defense is among the top three in the nation. They are skilled enough at linebacker to mix up their defenses and still have Vince Young covered. 2) This is still a night game in Columbus and the Buckeyes are just a one point favorite? I can see how it's easy to overthink all the stories going into this game, but I like the Buckeyes.

Picks posted by 11:30am EST.

UPDATE: Added the 10 point tease of the day.

UPDATE2: Tough night. But other than the Wake game, we weren't too far off the map. Adding the Iowa tease was too impetuous. We'll pick it back up next week. And on Sunday.

Friday Football

2005-09-09T22:21:00.000-04:00

Anyone with Jamal Lewis in their lineup for week one should be concerned about this:
Ravens coach Brian Billick said starting running back Jamal Lewis and backup Chester Taylor will split time throughout the game, estimating their carries could be "fairly equitable."

Lewis, whose only preseason action was six carries in the finale, doesn't have the leg strength yet after recovering all offseason from ankle surgery.

"I don't think it's realistic to think that he should carry the ball 35 times right now," running backs coach Matt Simon said. "The great thing is we have a very capable football player in Chester Taylor.
Look for Michael Pittman to share some carries with Carnell Williams for at least this week, maybe a few more.

With Antonio Gates out, Drew Brees says he has total confidence in TE Justin Peelle

Seahawks TE Itula Mili is doubtful for Sunday after being hospitalized with blockage in his intestine. Jerramy Stevens will start.

Nick Saban, talking about what kind of action we should expect Ronnie Brown to see on Sunday:
“He's going to have to carry a little more than maybe he's ready for,'' Saban said. “We're very pleased with his development, but in the absence of Ricky, we're going to lean on him a little more than we would like to."
On the flipside, Cedric Benson probably won't see much time at all, if any.

The Chiefs brought in former Broncos RB Quentin Griffin to work out on Friday.

It's interesting to see that Bill Parcels has given the play calling duties over to Sean Payton.

The Colts will most likely be without rookie Marlin Jackson on Sunday night. They also expect Corey Simon to play only around 20-30 snaps.

Thursday Football Extra (Oakland at New England)

2005-09-08T16:31:00.000-04:00

The Patriots are 15-3-2 ATS in their last 20 home games.

I mentioned earlier today that the Raiders' recent streak of woes in road openers.
They are 2-4-1 ATS in those seven games.

Throw out last year's numbers about Oakland's defense. I heard Mike Mayock describing on NFL Network how the personel is the same in Oakland, but he still completely missed the biggest change coming into this season. Last year, the Raiders used a 3-4 style defense with 4-3 style players. Now that they are back to the 4-3, they should at least be average. As noted in my previous post, Oakland finished this preseason with the #3 ranked defense and covers notes that they gave up an average of 15.8 points per game this preseason, as opposed to the 22.8 ppg they surrendered last preseason.

Also, oddsmakers seem to be tough to convince that Oakland's defense will be better:
“In some ways, the Raiders are being like the Colts - explosive on offense, dreadful on defense,” adds [Covers Expert Dave] Malinsky. “Obviously their offense isn’t as good, but good offense and bad defense.”
As we know, the Pats know how to play some defense, but you have to think that their offense will probably not put up 30 points in their first game without Charlie Weis. The above are among the reasons why I'm teasing the under in all ways in today's Coin Flip Challenge.

Last year the Pats were 4-3 ATS when favored by 7-11 points. They were 13-4-2 overall. So three of their four ATS losses last year were when they were favored by 7-11 points.

In 2003, New England was 14-4-1 ATS but they were only favored by 7-11 points just twice (1-1).

UPDATE: OK, so the Pats did put up 30 afterall, but it still wasn't enough to go over the adjusted total. NE did come out with spread formations for a good part of the game, so at least we got that right. Friday's stuff will be on later in the afternoon.

UPDATE: Make that the morning. But there is a pick for tonight. Nevada looks good too, but I'm going with Pitt again.

Thursday Football

2005-09-08T07:31:00.000-04:00

From Wednesday's roundup:
- The Colts feel Corey Simon will play on Sunday night.
- Ray Rhodes will miss Sunday's game after being hospitalized earlier this week. Linebackers coach John Marshall will fill in.
- David Terrell has signed with the Broncos.
- Nate Clements didn't practice again, but he said he expects to play Sunday.
- Roddy White did practice yesterday, and will play

From PFW's week one matchups, the Raiders will have problems with the Patriots' depth at WR and TE. New England can use their standard personel (2WR, TE, FB, RB) and go four and five wide with them. Oakland will struggle to cover guys like Watson, Graham, and Pass.

The Raiders have a recent history of road openers, and it's not good:
Seven times in the last nine years, the Raiders have had to pack luggage to begin their season. They did win once, in Kansas City in 2001.

The other six were losses:

1996—Baltimore 19, Raiders 14;
1997—Tennessee 24, Raiders 21;
1998—Kansas City 28, Raiders 8;
1999—Green Bay 28, Raiders 24;
2003—Tennessee 25, Raiders 20;
2004—Pittsburgh 24, Raiders 21.
Nice interview with Bill Cowher on the Titans' official site.

Lee Suggs is doubtful for their opener.

Gil Brandt has a nice preseason column that has a lot of good notes. Here are some:
[Atlanta] ranked 28th overall on defense -- No. 1 against the run and dead last against the pass.

The Bills allowed only one passing TD in the 2005 preseason. New starter J.P. Losman completed 54.3 percent of his passes with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Chris Perry averaged 4.0 yards per rushing attempt and led the team in receptions.

In a definite turnaround, [Cleveland] ranked 13th overall on defense (18th against the run; 14th vs. the pass). It was a balanced offensive attack with 121 passes and 125 rushes. Antonio Bryant averaged 21 yards a reception. William Green was a surprise running and catching the ball.

Jacksonville's leading rusher in the preseason was Alvin Pearman, who also is a top receiver.

Keep an eye on David Boston -- he might be a surprise.

[Minnesota] ranked seventh overall on defense (17th against the run; ninth vs. the pass).

The [Giants] ranked No. 1 overall on defense (16th against the run; first vs. the pass). David Tyree (22.1 yards per reception) had an outstanding preseason. Rookie Brandon Jacobs was the leading rusher. The Giants held opponents to a .488 completion percentage and a 42.3 passer rating.

The Jets passed 85 times; ran 117. New offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger likes to go for big plays in the passing game.

The [Raiders] ranked No. 3 overall on defense (12th against the run; fourth vs. the pass). One reason is because the offense had the ball for an average of 32:21.

Steven Jackson (6.7 yards per carry) was outstanding. Kevin Curtis scored three touchdowns and gained 21.3 yards per catch.

[San Diego] backup running back Michael Turner was impressive in the preseason. Rookie Darren Sproles adds to the return game and led the receivers in the preseason.

[San Francisco] ranked No. 32 overall on defense (31st against the run; 31st vs. the pass).

The [Titans] has three good rookie wide receivers -- Courtney Roby, Roydell Williams and Brandon Jones (a Hines Ward look-alike).

Clinton Portis should get more than 300 carries, and second-year tight end Chris Cooley could see a lot of passes come his way.
I have just one note to add, if Brandon Jones is a Ward look-alike, then I'd have to say Courtney Roby is a Deion Branch clone. Roby looked very quick, and showed very good balls skills in the games I saw him in. The Titans have a nice young group of receivers to rebuild with.

The Mirl's NFL preview

week one picks

Wednesday Football

2005-09-07T07:03:00.000-04:00

Football Outsiders has their DVOA projections out for 2005. One surprise is that they have Atlanta finishing at the bottom of the NFC West.

The Steelers have picked up WR Quincy Morgan.

Duce Staley is improving but I think if he does dress for week one, his playing time will be minimal. Cowher has already named Willie Parker the starter for week one. Bettis is officially out.

Eli Manning took part in his first full practice since suffering that elbow sprain against the Panthers. He should be ready to go.

Fred Taylor says he's ready to go.

Brandon Stokely also feels he's recovered and ready to play in week one.

Mike Holbrook of PFW has a list of 10 things he's learned this preseason. Pretty standard stuff, but he's got some good comments troughout.

Chris Brown will be the Titans starter for week one.

Twin Cities has some thoughts about the Koren Robinson signing:
The signing of Koren Robinson tells me that Tice is either not satisified with Marcus Robinson (and, frankly, he didn't have that great of a preseason, dropping several balls he should have caught) or that Troy Williamson's development is not nearly to the point where the team would like or both.

We don't know the terms of the deal yet, but I imagine we got Robinson on the cheap, so it's probably worth the risk because if the guy can clean up his act, we could possibly have pretty decent receiver on our hands

UPDATE:

John Clayton reports

David Givens is listed as questionable for Thursday's game. Daniel Graham looks like a good play there.

Jerry Porter is questionable, but he expects to play.

Bills corner Nate Clements has a shoulder injury and he may be forced out of action this Sunday against the Texans.

2005 Fantasy Football / Offensive Coordinator Preview - Washington Redskins

2005-09-05T11:55:00.000-04:00

INDEX

Joe Gibbs
-entering 2nd season with the Redskins (Head Coach)
Joe Bugel
-entering 2nd season with the Redskins (Asst HC - Offense)
Jack Burns
--entering 2nd season with the Redskins (Offensive Assistant)
Don Breaux
-entering 2nd season with the Redskins (Offensive Coordinator)

1991

feels

Asked about the impact that smaller receivers would have on the offense, Gibbs said: "We've had Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders and Alvin Garrett, some very explosive smaller guys. What I've found in our receivers is that explosiveness and the ability to make things happen on the field has less to do with size."

knows

"We were just a bunch of small guys that got a lot of production on the field," said Patten, New England's number two receiver for most of its championship run. "Everybody always focused on our size. A lot of time, we got overlooked as a corps. We felt like we had one of the best corps in the league. And you saw the end result."

red zone targets

targets inside the 20

Patten

Chris Cooley

targeted tight end in the red zone

Patrick Ramsey

this Post article

Washington's starting offense produced just two touchdowns in nearly seven preseason quarters, and Ramsey failed to curtail talk of an impending quarterback controversy by throwing just two touchdowns and four interceptions, while veteran backup Mark Brunell shined in all four games. The revamped receiving corps -- smaller and faster -- got downfield and caught some deep passes to improve on that part of the game, yet the Redskins still failed to regularly get in the end zone.

And through it all, untimely and unnecessary penalties and miscues were a concern. Several potentially fruitful drives were derailed by the elementary procedural penalties that plagued the Redskins in 2004, Washington failed to protect the football (a minus-8 turnover differential, worst in the NFC), had occasional time-management issues and again lost replay challenges. Thursday's 15 penalties for 118 yards had much to do with the number of reserves on the field, but the Redskins still averaged over eight penalties per game in the preseason after committing 1,047 yards worth of penalties last season.

Clinton Portis'

Ladell Betts

Monday Football

2005-09-05T09:37:00.000-04:00

The Eagles claimed Lamar Gordon off of waivers. At 6'1, 228 lbs, I'd say that Ryan Moats' role on this team was just downgraded. Gordon will probably need some time to learn the offense, as this is his first WCO experience, but since Moats run more like Brian Westbrook and less like Correll Buckhalter, I'd expect to see Gordon getting the tough carries by at the latest, week 4.

And the Browns' signing of Billy Miller is also significant. They have had injury problems at TE and Miller is athletic for his size. Cleveland may ask him to do a few things that they had in mind for Kellen Winslow. In 2003, with the Texans, Miller caught 51 balls for 613 yards and 3 TDs.

Update on the Vikings' running backs and Koren Robinson:
Right now, the Vikings have only four running backs on the roster, but Tice said Michael Bennett, Moore, Moe Williams and rookie Ciatrick Fason are all healthy and available for next Sunday's season opener against Tampa Bay.

Minnesota might be in the market for another receiver. Koren Robinson, who checked himself into a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program last month, was in town for a visit. The Seahawks released Robinson in June after he was charged with drunk driving, the latest in a series of problems for the ninth overall pick in the 2001 draft who has never performed up to his ability. Tice said nothing was imminent, as far as signing Robinson.
Football Outsiders in linking to an article from Protrade that discusses "10 Players on the Verge of Stardom in 2005." By the looks of it, they're gonna hit at about 50%. I don't know when the thing was written, but it looks like Bobby Engram is not gonna be the sole #2 in Seattle, Andre Davis is going to need a little time to adjust, Lee Evans will have to wait until 2006, and Antwaan Randle El will not only be challenged by starting at a new position, but he'll also have to work through Ben Rothliesburger's struggles as well.

Dan Arkush, of PFW, has his 2005 predictions up as well. He, like SI's Dr. Z, has the Panthers going all the way. Arkush also calls on Daunte Culpepper and Julius Peppers as they league's MVP. I like both of those picks.

Finally, I hope the Saints pick Baton Rouge, or someplace nearby, to be their home in 2005. It doesn't really matter too much right now, but in six weeks, the New Orleans area could probably use something like a Saints game to temporarily take their mind off of things. And as we saw after 9/11 with October baseball and Jets games, sports can really bring people together like few other events.

Sunday Football

2005-09-04T10:39:00.000-04:00

A week before most of the teams get to kickoff, we have cut down day.
Here's a complete list.

The most notable names:
RB Quentin Griffin
RB Jamel White
QB B.J. Symons
WR Reggie Swinton
RB Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala
LB Nate Wayne
RB Lamar Gordon
K Aaron Elling
WR P.K. Sam
WR David Terrell
RB Mike Cloud
QB Jesse Palmer
LB Jay Foreman
TE Teyo Johnson
DE Hugh Douglas
FB Jon Ritchie
WR Jerome Pathon
RB Jarrett Payton
WR Kevin Dyson
Perhaps more important than the cuts, is what some of these moves mean to players still with their teams:

Paul Edinger is Minnesota's kicker.
The Broncos have kept Ron Dayne.
With Raiders releasing Johnson and Dudley, Courtney Anderson and Zeron Flemister are at the top of the TE spot on Oakland's depth chart.
The Pats wide receivers are: Branch, Givens, Brown, Davis, Johnson, and Dwight.
The Doplhins, perhaps feeling they did not have enough speed at running back, signed former Charger Jesse Chatman.
Jerry Rice still has a job, although it seems he's been demoted.
The Panthers put Eric Shelton on the IR, and they have named Stephen Davis their opening day starter.

Peerless Price is a Cowboy. And Blogging the Boys has quotes.

The Jags are worried about Jimmy Smith's drops.

The Raiders kept their impressive kick returner, Chris Carr, on their roster. Carr probably won't see much time one defense, he's more of an Allen Rossum type who can break off a 40 or 50 yard return every game.

Pac Man Jones has been struggling ever since he was drafted. The Titans announced that newly signed Troy Edwards will take over the punt return duties for the time being.

Friday Football

2005-09-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

Warrick Dunn:
In an interview from the Falcons' team bus on their way to play the Dolphins tonight, Dunn told SI.com: "I'm challenging guys on every NFL team, except the Saints, to donate at least $5,000 to help people come back from this catastrophe. If we get players to do that, that would amount to $260,000 per team. I have heard from so many players both on my team and around the league who just want to do something. Well, this is the best thing that we can do and it's something we should do."

If Dunn is successful in getting 53 players on the 31 NFL teams to respond with the $5,000 donation, NFL players would be able to give $8.2 million to the relief effort.

Dunn is from Baton Rouge, La. He said he still does not know if his grandfather, who lived in New Orleans, "is dead, alive, at the Superdome, or on a bus somewhere." He also said his grandmother is housing 40 extended family members in one house in Baton Rouge.

The reigning NFL Man of the Year said he thinks players have a moral obligation to help the people of the Gulf Coast. "If guys don't donate," Dunn said, "they're being selfish.

"We're such a great country and it's at times like this a great country has to come together. We're looking at people on TV who have no money, no homes, no job and no idea what they're going to do with their lives. Now is when they need us most. We just have to respond and we have to respond."

UPDATE

Network for Good

SportsFrog

Stephen Davis fared well last night, and it sounds like he could begin the season as the Panthers' starting running back- with Foster taking over as a change of pace.

Troubling news for those who had Doug Jolley on their list of sleeper TEs (yeah, me):
Tight end Doug Jolley (one catch for nine yards) closed out a disappointing preseason with an ugly drop, missing a short pass in the open field. Jolley, acquired in a pre-draft trade with the Raiders, failed to unseat Chris Baker.
The Bills are playing starters tonight against Detroit.

The backup for Dallas' third running back job doesn't mean much now, but it does say something that Marion Barber missed his second straight game last night and that the Cowboys agreed to keep Tyree Thompson on the final roster. Thompson has looked this preseason that he has a future in the NFL.