Two coaches were told they needed to win to keep their jobs, had double digit leads at half-time, lost by double digits — and lost their jobs.

Bucs 31, Packers 20. I hope Packers fans are patient with Aaron Rodgers. I’m more disappointed with Ryan Grant.

Bills 31, Rams 14. The players fought hard for Linehan for three quarters, then they remembered that a win = his job security.

Redskins 26, Cowboys 24. It’s ridiculous how much the Cowboys, Vikings and Cardinals have been the whipping boys of the most unreasonable officiating in a long time. The missed offsides and penalties hurt the the Cowboys. I like the strategy to beat the Cowboys (match Romo, score for score, force one turnover, score and hold on to the ball), but will it work again? T. emO. was targeted 20 times, which wasn’t enough for him. Perhaps he would like to be traded for Torry Holt?

Chargers 28, Raiders 18. Sebastian Janikowski attempted a 76-yard field goal. Kiffin was pretty sure he was on his way out, so he figured “screw it!” In the fourth, he turned to Ronald Curry and asked, “do you wanna play some strong safety?” Oh, how much turmoil the immense talent on Oakland will suffer as they endure yet another coaching staff change! But, you know what, there’s no shame in losing to the second most talented team in the NFL (after New England).

Jets 56, Cardinals 35. Brett Favre got 6 touchdowns which he had never done before with 2 on 4th down, 1 when Cardinals CB Eric Green fell down dut to injury and one when Laveranues Coles pushed off. That was a scary moment for Anquan Boldin. I wish him well, and this guy has all the talent of Lebron James and the mind of Bill Belichick.

Chiefs 33, Broncos 19. The Chiefs scored more than they had in their previous three games combined. They still have yet to have a quarterback pass for over 200 yards. Tony Gonzalez makes nice grab while auditioning for potential playoff teams.

Browns 20, Bengals 12. It was only for one day, but Jordan Palmer was listed above Carson Palmer. There is a lot of uncertainty as to whether any of the top teams in college football are Championship-ready anymore, but it’s comforting to know that all of them can beat the Bengals.

Saints 31, 49ers 17. The Forty-Whiners are exposed, defeated but are still in first with the Cardinals who also lost. Even a paltry secondary like the Saints’ has reason for excitement with the streak of quarterbacks they’ll face interrupted in week 8 by Philip Rivers: Frerotte, Russell, Delhomme, Ryan, and Huard.

Titans 30, Vikings 17. You gots to give All Day more carries.

Jaguars 30, Texans 27 OT. The Texans will play four in a row and five of the next six contests at home.

Panthers 24, Falcons 9. Steve Smith has 70 or more yards in each of the last 5 games Delhomme started and wasn’t injured, but only three times in the other 16.

Bears 24, Eagles 20. Da Bears were da beneficiaries of da Eagles missing Brian Westbrook. Kyle Orton emerged from a drunken stupor, zipped three TDs, then fell back off the wagon at halftime.

Steelers 23, Ravens 20 OT. A cage fight Willie Parker missed — Carey Davis, Rashard Mendenhall, Leron McClain and Willis McGahee all went down with injuries. ESPN’s Tom Jackson unveiled the bad call that cost the Ravens a wider lead at halftime, and the postgame crew forgot to make it the context for their comments. All you could hear from Steve Young and Emmitt Smith was about how Joe Flacco needed to improve and how the Ravens should’ve let him try more. He was a rookie, on the road, on Monday Night Football, against a good defense. I was impressed. The defense of the Ravens WANTED the team not to win it in regulation, as there were glimpses of an exhuberant Ray Lewis on the sidelines with the clock ticking down. Blown tackles and the bad call on the Mason TD had a lot to do with the loss.

I’m 5-2-2; come take it. Picks against the spread:
Baltimore +3 vs. Tennessee. Baltimore’s defense will shut down the Titans.
Arizona -1 vs. Buffalo. Arizona has been good at home in games coached by Ken Whisenhunt.
New England -3.5 at San Francisco. What do people always say about New England teams? They are always well-prepared (it helps when Netflix is sending you video tapes of the other team’s signals). The Lucky Charms Bowl: O’Connell vs. O’Sullivan?

Fantasy:
Drew Brees vs. MIN. Saint Devery Henderson, heard saying to Antoine Winfield on 10/5: “I must be one of the Barenaked Ladies ‘cuz it’s been five days since you tackled me!”
Steve Slaton vs. IND. Steve Slaton will feel like he’s back at West Virginia with the holes he’s going to see.
Larry Fitzgerald vs. BUF. He’s likely to snag some better stats if Boldin is in there, because of the man coverage he’ll get.
D/ST Green Bay vs. ATL. This unit has quietly put up some amazing numbers.
Since all those were sanitary picks, here’s a bonus unsafe pick! Rudi Johnson for Detroit.

7 Responses to “Football Rocks: Week 4”

1. On 10/1/08 9:59 PM, Nate said:

   

   I don’t know about you but it seems almost impossible to predict any games this year

2. On 10/2/08 7:34 AM, Sean said:

   

   Are you serious about the Cowboys being “the whipping boys of the most unreasonable officiating?”

   I think you meant to type “REDSKINS” right?

3. On 10/2/08 11:30 PM, Chris Bach said:

   

   #85, who has said he will kiss the silver star if he scores a touchdown, has inspired me to protrude smack.

   The Cardinals will beat the Bills. That’s not all. The Cardinals will make the playoffs and the Bills will not. But, the Bills are 4-0. Yes, they are 4-0. This is the first real team they have played. They get defensive touchdowns and special teams touchdowns. Their highest offensive output was this past week, 24 points of their 31, against the worst defense in the league who had allowed above that in all of their first three games. The Cardinals drop 24 points like nobody’s business.

   There has only been one of seven teams coached by Dick Jauron that has made the playoffs. Their defense is pretty nice, but their offense has three players: Marshawn Lynch, Jason Peters and Lee Evans.

   It took the Bills eleven quarters to score five offensive touchdowns.

   When they get back from their bye, they will face the Jets twice including once on the road, the Patriots twice including once on the road, the Broncos on the road, and the Chargers and Browns at home. As these teams are contending for playoff spots, the best I can see the Bills coming out of that is 2-5, beating the Browns and stealing a game from the Jets or the Chargers. Their offense can’t take advantage of the Broncos defense and they don’t have a corner to stop Jay Cutler-to-Brandon Marshall. At 6-6, winning out would be their only in to the playoffs. Even then, if they are battling the Jets or Chargers for a wild-card, they will have lost head-to-head. The next tie-breaker is conference wins, which the Ravens, Jaguars and the Colts (Titans take the #1 spot) would all likely have more.

4. On 10/3/08 9:59 AM, Seth Werkheiser said:

   

   Yay, my Raiders fired their coach. Warren Sapp is talking about Al Davis. Mike Shannan is talking, too. Gee, maybe Al Davis IS a nut job.

5. On 10/3/08 11:38 AM, rojas said:

   

   I feel very bad for Cincy on Sunday. The Cowboys are going to take out their frustrations on the hapless Bengals.

   Here’s to hoping Chad Johnson gets hit nasty during the game and doesn’t score a TD…not to injure him for the season but enough to know that you don’t talk about pulling that kind of shit in Dallas.

   And Seth, Al Davis is so far beyond nutjob, it’s just comical now. Do you wish it was 1984 right about now?

6. On 10/3/08 2:41 PM, Sean Cannon said:

   

   I wish it were 1984 now. Because that would mean that I got to live through the late 70s and early 80s, when some of the best music of the century was written.

   But not for football, because it would mean I had to witness THE CATCH when it happened. My dad said he had nightmares about that for years. I thought he was joking for a while. But now I believe it.

7. On 10/4/08 9:46 PM, Chris Bach said:

   

   I think game of the week will probably be either San Diego at Miami, Tampa Bay at Denver, or Washington at Philadelphia. I’m leaning toward Tampa Bay at Denver just for Cutler.

Leave a comment