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Sunday Football Open Thread

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:03:07 AM EST
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Time for the professionals again. Here are picks for today's NFL slate:

Houston (+3) over the Colts, the Browns (+13.5) over the Bengals, the Vikings (-10.5) over the Bears, Washington (+9.5) over the Iggles, the Fish (-3) over the Bills, Tenn (-2) over Arizona, the Rams (+4) over the Seahawks, the Falcons (-12.5) over the Bucs, Carolina (+3.5) over the Jets, 49ers (-3) over the Jags, the Chargers (-13.5) over the Chiefs, and the Steelers (+7.5) (Roethlisberger is out) over the Ravens.

This is an Open Thread.

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    Sunday Football Open Thread | 48 comments (48 topical)

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    In your quest (none / 0) (#1)
    by CoralGables on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:41:25 AM EST
    to finish at .600 with your college picks (after an off week the week before), I'm afraid you drastically overreached with your number of selections yesterday (and another bad week) turning what was a very successful BTD college handicapping season into just average.

    I had a good Friday (none / 0) (#2)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:45:56 AM EST
    And I have 34 bowl games left.

    Not to mention next week.

    I still can get to 60%.

    Parent

    Guess we should prepare (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by CoralGables on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:53:07 AM EST
    for a pick in every game ;)

    Go Army?

    Parent

    At this point (none / 0) (#5)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:02:57 AM EST
    I think I can pick every game without straining my brain cells too much.

    A couple of easy rules to follow - pick the SEC team in EVERY game they play.

    Pick against EVERY Big Ten team in every game they play.

    That gets you 70% right there.

    Parent

    I didn't want to comment (none / 0) (#25)
    by CoralGables on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:19:37 PM EST
    on you picking the weak ACC against the strong SEC yesterday, but...glad you see the flaw in the Yellow Jacket.


    Parent
    Bet you don't even know Tiger crashed (none / 0) (#4)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 10:54:35 AM EST
    his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant AND a tree.

    Parent
    Meh (none / 0) (#6)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:03:32 AM EST
    That's between Tiger and his wife.

    Not my business.

    Parent

    Trying to escape his enraged (none / 0) (#19)
    by SOS on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:56:39 AM EST
    wife who went berserk no less.

    Parent
    My wife went (none / 0) (#21)
    by SOS on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:59:06 AM EST
    "ghetto" on me . .

    Parent
    I've only recently realized (none / 0) (#7)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:05:10 AM EST
    what all these extra numbers were in the sports threads and that I can back up my trust of BTD opinions by placing a few side bets, but I'm not prone to that sort of risk taking.  I have other risk taking problems.  You are really giving it to him though. <snark> Did you bet on something or did you get a phone call from his worried mom? :)</snark>

    Parent
    Talk Left sooo worthwhile, don't you (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:49:08 PM EST
    agree.  For example, while watching "Bad Lieutenant," I knew exactly what Nicholas Cage was talking about re upcoming LSU game.

    Parent
    My daughter, an avid Ravens fan, (none / 0) (#8)
    by Anne on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:05:18 AM EST
    will be in the stands at M & T Bank Stadium tonight as the Steelers come to town for the first of their two conference games.  To say this is a rivalry game is to severely understate the animosity that exists between the teams and their fans.

    The Steelers are going without Roethlisberger. Polamalu, and Kemoeatu; Ravens are without Suggs, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are questionable: both of these teams are banged up.  Reports are that all is not so great in the Steelers locker room, with some Steelers not feeling like they are playing as a team.  Ravens looked like they were developing an identity on offense, but something happened to Cam Cameron's game-planning along about Week 4, and it's been hit-or-miss ever since.

    I expect a smashmouth game, as always; my heart's with the Ravens, of course, so thanks, BTD, for picking the Steelers.

    Have the Ravens in their (none / 0) (#26)
    by brodie on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:28:50 PM EST
    entire existence in Baltimore ever been consistently good on offense?  Seems like this is one of the most one-dimensional successful teams in NFL history.

    And given how hard they play and hit, it's surprising players like Ed Reed and Ray Lewis aren't out injured more often.

    Frankly, just watching them play with such ferocity gives me a headache.

    Not a big fan of smashmouth football, I guess.  My 49ers of the Montana-Walsh era are my ideal -- highly skilled pass-oriented offense with a good but not great defense.

    Parent

    Short answer: no (none / 0) (#40)
    by Anne on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 04:26:43 PM EST
    Honestly, the list of QBs that have rolled through here is long and mediocre; even our Super Bowl year, all we wanted out of Trent Dilfer was to manage the game - we went five games that year without scoring a TD.

    The defense is aging, we are thin in the secondary, we're adjusting to a not-automatic kicker, Flacco's still learning the game, we really need a #1 wide receiver, and we've lost the magic of finding ways to win.  

    After last season's surprising trip to the AFC Championship, I think we were hoping for some continuity, building on the successes of that season, but the football gods have a way of poking their fingers in one's eye to make things interesting.

    I'm hoping for a good game and no more injuries; a win would be nice, too!

    Parent

    By the way - where did you get that (none / 0) (#9)
    by Anne on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:12:44 AM EST
    line on the Ravens/Steelers game?

    Steelers are +2.5 in this game.

    That was pre-Roethlisberger (none / 0) (#10)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:15:23 AM EST
    Once he was ruled out, it jumped to 7.5.

    Parent
    I think you have this all backwards. (none / 0) (#11)
    by Anne on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:25:10 AM EST
    You're showing the Steelers' line at MINUS 7.5; they are at PLUS 7.5, as they are not favored to win.

    Parent
    Yes (none / 0) (#12)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:26:12 AM EST
    That is a typo. Steelers are 7.5 point underdogs.

    Fixing now.

    Parent

    and the Steelers beat that spread (none / 0) (#49)
    by DFLer on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:10:43 PM EST


    Parent
    Steelers lose: Dixon wins (none / 0) (#50)
    by caseyOR on Mon Nov 30, 2009 at 02:21:25 AM EST
    I am not a fan of the Steelers. I do like Dennis Dixon quite a lot. He was a fabulous QB at Oregon until he suffered a season ending injury his senior year. And he is a nice guy.

    Tonight was his first start as an NFL QB. He is the Steelers 3rd string QB, behind Rothlisberger and Charlie Batch, both of whom are injured. Dennis threw for 140 + yards and one TD and ran the ball in for his first ever pro rushing TD. Sure he made mistakes, and his first half was better than the second, but he had a better game than a number of first-string QBs playing this year.

    The Ducks have not sent a high quality QB to the NFL since Dan Fouts. Several nice guys and serviceable players (Joey Harrington, Kellen Clemons), but Dixon could be the real thing.

    Parent

    After reading Digby's comment (none / 0) (#13)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:28:37 AM EST
    that the detainee stories were going to really demoralize the base and then seeing the photo diary of Obama's daughter wearing tie-dye clothing as some kind of indication that she is a hippy  I don't know what to think today.  Perhaps we can all try to believe that his daughter wouldn't detain anyone without charges.  I was demoralized when Stan McChrystal was given a quiet pass for anything illegal that he had done prior to this administration and then promoted.  That only meant two things.  We would be continuing with COIN and I was okay with that, but it also meant that this administration and our Congress admired McChrystal's ability to provide an almost uninvestigatable detainment of suspicious persons in the Middle East. Then when they provided McChrystal with brand new legal a$$coverages it was all McChrystal clear.  I was demoralized when there was no grassroots debate about any of this and in fact there was a sort of TOTAL BLIND DENIAL that consumed almost everyone.  It was demoralizing to have survived all that anger at our soldiers when Bush detained and preformed enhanced interrogations only to have the Dem President get a total pass on the whole deal.  I was demoralized and complained about it here and there and I got over it.  And I'm having a hard time understanding this demoralization that will come from the stories that will now be told.  The laws were all there, the CEO was in place, I don't get how anyone can feel demoralized at this point outside of a detainee.

    College football controversy re (none / 0) (#14)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:28:39 AM EST
    USC v. UCLA game:  LAT

    P.S. Why didn't Meyers leave Tebow in for the entire game Sat.?  Swan song and all.

    I saw it (none / 0) (#15)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:38:05 AM EST
    and the column by the buffoon Plaschke is shockingly stupid.

    Should Neuheisel of not called a timeout? Sure. But that hardly translates into justification for throwing a 50 yard TD pass. Take 3 knees and punt if that is what you have to do.

    Carroll's behavior makes everthing Jim Harbaugh did to him and USC completely justified.

    I hope Zona blows USC out next week. And throws a 50 yard touchdown pass at the end.

    Parent

    Plaschke is usually a bleed heart. Don't (none / 0) (#16)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:45:28 AM EST
    know what happened.  

    Parent
    I'll give Carroll (none / 0) (#18)
    by brodie on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:53:31 AM EST
    slightly more credit over Neuheisel for the decision to go long.  The unwritten rule in that situation of attempted sportsmanship by Carroll, given the 2-score deficit UCLA faced w/less than a minute remaining, demanded that Neuheisel play along and let the clock expire.

    Of course, as the headline to a sidebar noted, these are two mediocre teams barely worth commenting on.  Sad situation developing too for the coaches -- one is an established coaching star who is badly in need of a rebound season next year to avoid having his stellar rep tarnished and perhaps worse, while the other was once, long ago (Colorado?) considered an up and coming young coaching star.

    Parent

    2 idiots (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:57:03 AM EST
    when it comes to this sort of thing.

    And when you are mediocre, as these 2 are this year, these types of shenanigans are just ridiculous. Imagine if a brawl had broken out? How wouyld they look then?

    Mind you, my team has its own idiot when it comes to this type of stuff.  

    Parent

    Easy answer: (none / 0) (#46)
    by brodie on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 07:50:30 PM EST
    you're mediocre when you're 8-3 when you're the USC Trojanos.

    Specially when your supposedly solid D, put together by a defensive specialist head coach, has given up more points in one game than any other SC team in history.

    As for the Pac-10, speaking football only if you please, at least it's a better rounded conference this year, making for competitive games up and down the coast, home and away.

    And as for the SEC, it was yours truly who early this season noted how parochial and inbred the scheduling was for certain top-rated teams from the southern-fried chicken conference.  Apparently they just don't want to risk a non-conference trip to the west coast, or to Boisé or to Hawaii -- hey, they might lose!  

    Oughtta be a way for the BCS to more seriously penalize scaredy-cat programs like UF.  A top 10 team scheduling games any time against creampuffs like FL Int'l -- a team of foreign exchange business students ferchrissakes -- should mean at least a 20% reduction in overall rating points and an automatic non-invitation to the championship game ...

    Parent

    You apparently think (none / 0) (#48)
    by CoralGables on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 09:34:52 PM EST
    college football is about spending money by sending teams cross country. College football funds the entire athletic department for most colleges. And yes that includes scholarships for all non-revenue sports. When you can draw 90,000 at $30 a ticket, you can fund volleyball, softball and gymnastics teams for uniforms,  equipment, and full scholarships with one game. Why fly cross country and play at Boise before less than 35,000 and take money away from those programs?

    The furthest Oregon traveled for a non-conference game was neighboring Idaho. Ohio State? Furthest they went was Toledo, Ohio. Michigan? they played all their non-conference games at home.

    It's not financially feasible for the teams that draw big crowds to travel, and it's beneficial to the schools that don't draw to play those games on the road for the payday and the TV revenue.

    You aren't going to penalize them or they'll pull a Notre Dame and sign their own TV contract.

    Parent

    Your not (none / 0) (#17)
    by SOS on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:53:17 AM EST
    gambling on these games are you.  LOL . . bad habit.

    Yet another example (none / 0) (#22)
    by andgarden on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:03:13 PM EST
    of why direct democracy is idiotic. Even in Switzerland.

    Notre Dame vs Stanford (none / 0) (#23)
    by brodie on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:06:53 PM EST
    was an outstanding and entertaining game amidst a rather lackluster day of meaningless games and blowouts.

    Marred only by the call on ABC by Big Corp's favorite idiot announcer Brent Musberger, and by the presence in the stadium and on the field of war criminal Condoleeza Rice.  The network showed her, but only on replay as far as I could tell and without the sound, going out to do the coin toss, and it was hard not to notice she did not look like a happy camper.  I wonder if the decision not to go live, and to replay w/o sound, had to do with some anticipated and actual booing from the crowd.

    Great game though, with the right team winning, and Charlie Weis being given an appropriate sendoff into the sunset.   With a further beefed up defense and enough talent returning on offense to go with a promising young QB, Stanford could be a contenda next year for more than just Pac-10 champion.

    What about the (none / 0) (#24)
    by SOS on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:09:10 PM EST
    Ladies Lingerie Football League?


    Drinking early on a Sunday? (none / 0) (#28)
    by Steve M on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 12:54:58 PM EST


    Parent
    As long as there is a fruit juice in it, (none / 0) (#29)
    by ChiTownDenny on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:08:18 PM EST
    i.e. tomato or orange, it's never too early to drink on a Sunday.

    Parent
    Do you think his fans will (none / 0) (#30)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:14:39 PM EST
    credit Tiger for driving a vehicle made in the U.S.A.?

    Parent
    Isn't GM one of his sponsors? (none / 0) (#32)
    by rdandrea on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:18:58 PM EST
    n/t

    Parent
    Hey there, (none / 0) (#33)
    by ChiTownDenny on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:19:50 PM EST
    How's your brother?  Hope he is OK.  Has he arrived at his destimation?  Have you needed to send more money?

    Parent
    I talked to him Thanksgiving Day. (none / 0) (#34)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:27:03 PM EST
    He was near Dover, Tennessee and taking the day off.  I figure is is over a third of the way to Austin; goal is to be there by Dec. 20. No mention of money.  I think my PayPal bailout must have hit his checking account.  He sd. libraries would be closed all weekend, and that is how he gets on line. Sprint apparently has sucky coverage where he is, as he called from a pay phone.

    Parent
    Quite the adventurer, (none / 0) (#36)
    by ChiTownDenny on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:31:34 PM EST
    with memories of a lifetime, no doubt.

    Parent
    Update: he just called. Is in (none / 0) (#38)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 03:51:14 PM EST
    Waverly TN camping in Walmart parking lot.  Asst. mgr. very helpful.  Raining this a.m. May take train back to Chicago area due to swollen Achilles.  Stay tuned.

    Parent
    Sounds so romantic (none / 0) (#44)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 07:17:52 PM EST
    But I'm such a coward.  Was told at a communications class once that I was a very visual person and someone very visuals' idea of camping was leaving the room door open at a Holiday Inn :)

    Parent
    Ha. I swore off camping after family (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 07:26:04 PM EST
    camping experiences as a kid.  But enjoyed recent overnight in desert in honor of good friend's retirement.  But I am an aural person, I think.

    Parent
    Eight Weeks (none / 0) (#31)
    by CoralGables on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:18:48 PM EST
    into the season, you gotta like the the chances of the Tampa Breeze (playing their first game of the season) pulling off the upset over the Chicago Bliss next Friday night. They should be well rested.

    Parent
    Gators question. Why didn't Meyers (none / 0) (#35)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:28:01 PM EST
    lelave Tebow in to the end of yesterday's game?

    Parent
    No reason (none / 0) (#37)
    by CoralGables on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 01:49:39 PM EST
    to risk injury. Although, I do wish they had taken him out by calling a time out, or taking a delay of game, and letting him walk off the field alone to the flashing cameras and waving to the crowd.

    He did take a victory lap of the stadium thanking fans after the game (as he most always does).

    Parent

    Yay Percy! (none / 0) (#39)
    by nycstray on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 03:53:18 PM EST
    Score!

    Sheesh, watching  football games to root for my fantasy players :p

    Oh must watch highlights. (none / 0) (#43)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 07:07:27 PM EST


    Parent
    Percy did good. But I thought I saw (none / 0) (#47)
    by oculus on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 07:59:32 PM EST
    an eensy weensy bit of celebrating.

    Parent
    Sunday Football Open Thread | 48 comments (48 topical)

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