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      2010 NFL Week 4 Predictions

      October 3, 2010 /
      BALTIMORE - SEPTEMBER 26: Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens hands off against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on September 26, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens lead the Browns at the half 14-10. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

      I had a brutal day in college football last weekend and it carried over into my NFL predictions on Sunday. The Bucs, Broncos and 49ers were all losers, while the Cowboys turned out to be my own winn-ah.

      Oh, the horror.

      I’ve got a new attitude, a new perspective and a new lease on life this week. I smell a 0-4 4-0 day…

      Ravens +1 at. Steelers, 1:00PM ET
      At some point, the fact that the Steelers don’t have a quarterback has to catch up with them, right? Well, if it doesn’t this week then it won’t matter because Big Ben is set to return next Sunday. I’m fully aware that Charlie Batch threw for three touchdowns last weekend in Tampa, but I think John Paulsen started at free safety for the Bucs. Baltimore’s defense took a step back in the win over Cleveland last Sunday, but the offense showed signs of life for the first time all year. Ray Rice is banged up, but he wasn’t going to find much running room this week anyway. No defense is playing better than Pittsburgh’s is right now, but I still think the secondary can be had outside of Troy Polamalu (the best, hands down, overall defender in the league in my estimation). Joe Flacco and Anquan Boldin win this one through the air, while the Ravens’ D finally makes things miserable on a Steelers’ backup quarterback.
      THE PICK: RAVENS +1

      Jets at. Bills +5, 1:00PM ET
      The Jets are coming off back-to-back wins and while Mark Sanchez has been solid, I still don’t entirely trust the little bugger. Make no mistake – the Bills aren’t a good football team. But they’re being undervalued by odds makers this week and I’ll gladly take the five points with the home team. Ryan Fitzpatrick breathed some life into Buffalo’s offense last Sunday in New England and while he’ll face a much better defense this weekend, divisional games are generally pretty tight.
      THE PICK: BILLS +5

      Bengals at. Browns +3, 1:00PM ET
      Neither of these teams is any good, even though the Bengals are currently sporting a winning record. Carson Palmer’s game is shaky at best right now and I don’t think a turnaround is coming. Peyton Hillis was an absolute beast last Sunday in Baltimore and if he runs like that again this weekend, he may open things up for Seneca Wallace in the passing game. I always see value in the home team getting points and seeing as how the Bengals aren’t a very scary 2-1, I like Cleveland to get its first win of the year.
      THE PICK: BROWNS +3

      Colts at. Jaguars +7, 4:05PM ET
      For some reason, no matter how good or poorly they’re playing, the Jaguars always seem to give the Colts issues. Last year, the Jags hung with Indy twice and while David Garrard is playing like the second coming of Joey Harrington, the key is Maurice Jones-Drew. We all remember what Arian Foster did to the Colts’ defense in Week 1 and if Jones-Drew can have even half the amount of success as the Texans’ back did that day, then Jacksonville will be able to keep the game close this Sunday. This is also the second time in as many weeks that the Colts have to travel and they’re coming off a game in which they allowed Kyle Orton to throw for 476 yards. I don’t think the Jags win, but I could see a 24-20 finish, or somewhere around there.
      THE PICK: JAGUARS +7

      External Sports, NFL

      Good to see Barry Zito is still earning his paycheck

      October 2, 2010 /
      San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito reacts after walking home a run against the San Diego Padres during the first inning of their MLB baseball game in San Francisco, California October 2, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      Barry Zito’s contract continues to be the biggest rip-off in sports history.

      Since arriving from Oakland and taking $126 million of the Giants’ money, the only thing Zito has done is strum a few notes on his guitar and lose ballgames.

      After Matt Cain got his teeth kicked in by the Padres last night, it would have been nice if Zito stepped up for a change and won a huge game for his club. Instead, he allowed four runs (three earned) over three measly innings of work as the Giants once again fell to the Padres in San Fran. It wasn’t entirely his fault of course, as the Giants’ offense has reverted back to the Jose Castillo days, but he put his team down 2-0 in the first and sucked the life out of them.

      In case you haven’t been paying attention, that means San Diego is now just one game behind the Giants in the NL West. These were the same Padres that couldn’t score a run against the Cubs two days ago and looked completely hopeless. But square them off against the Giants and all of a sudden they’re the 2009 New York Yankees.

      If I sound like a bitter Giants fan, it’s because I am. Did I expect Zito to win today? No. But again, considering he’s done nothing for that team on the field, I was holding out hope that maybe he’d surprise me. I was holding out hope that he could put it all together, overcome all the struggles he’s had in San Francisco and just rise to the top one time. Just one time.

      But no. In the end, he was Barry Zito.

      If the Giants somehow overcome the greatest team in baseball history and magically make the playoffs, here’s hoping Madison Bumgarner makes the starting rotation and not this John Mayer wanna be.

      Giants Baseball: Torture.

      External Sports, MLB

      Les Miles continues to be the luckiest man on the planet

      October 2, 2010 /
      ATLANTA - SEPTEMBER 04: Head coach Les Miles of the LSU Tigers yells to his team after their 30-24 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Georgia Dome on September 4, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      Only Les Miles could get called for delay of game on a fourth-and-nine, then call a timeout.

      And only Les Miles could get bailed out by the other team having 12 men on the field on the final play.

      LSU survived at home against a pitiful Tennessee team today, remaining one of the more unimpressive undefeated teams in the country. The Tigers won 16-14 and scored from a yard out as time expired after a Tennessee penalty gave them second life.

      Had LSU lost this game, I’m assuming the LSU faithful would have forcibly removed Miles from his position. I understand that winning in the SEC is a tough thing to do each week. And I understand that a lot of teams get lucky in their wins. But Les Miles is setting records for luck and incompetence all at the same time. Yet he still has a job and still is pulling in good recruiting classes.

      LSU has four losses left on its schedule, but will 8-4 be enough to get rid of Miles? Or even worse, if he lucks his way into a couple of wins against Florida, Auburn, Alabama or Arkansas, do they extend his contract? He might be the only many lucky enough to fall into that situation.

      College Football, External Sports

      Who was the last player that scared you as much as Denard Robinson?

      October 2, 2010 /

      This question came up today at work, and it has me really wondering. Who was last player in college football that caused you to hold your breath as soon as the ball was in his hands?

      My immediate response was Reggie Bush, who I always felt had the ability to break a long touchdown run every time he touched the ball. With his speed and shiftiness, any time he was in the open field, he was a serious threat to score.

      Some of my earliest college football memories were of watching Raghib “Rocket” Ismail at Notre Dame, and he had that same ability. Although I realize that more now watching him on YouTube, as I was only about 6 years old when he started at Notre Dame. Not long after the Rocket, Desmond Howard did the same thing.

      The difference between Robinson and those players, however, is that Robinson is the quarterback and has his hands on the ball on every down. He also has the option to throw the ball, which makes every snap the Michigan offense has taken this season an event.

      Have there been other quarterbacks like that? Robinson is often compared to Pat White because of the system he’s in, but I don’t remember having that same feeling with White, as dynamic as he was. Tommy Frazier was a beast at Nebraska and always had the ability to break a big run, but if I remember correctly (again, I was pretty young during Frazier’s time), he ran through a lot of people, and while he was fast, didn’t have Denard Robinson speed.

      I’m not saying Robinson is better than all of those guys, or an all-time great player. He still hasn’t played against a defense that you would even think is formidable. But just for pure game-breaking ability at his position, I’m having a hard time figuring out who matches him. Thoughts?

      College Football, External Sports

      Jacory Harris is the worst good quarterback in the country

      October 2, 2010 /
      COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 11: Quarterback Jacory Harris of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on September 11, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

      If you’re on Twitter, do yourself a favor and do a search for Jacory Harris. You’re going to see a lot of “Wow!” in that search, but it’s what comes after that “Wow!” that’s the fun part.

      From tweet to tweet, it likely varies from “what a throw” to “what the hell was he thinking?”

      The Miami junior can be one of the most dynamic players in the country when he’s on, but one of the more frustrating ones when he’s not. And that’s just in the course of one quarter.

      Take today’s game against Clemson for instance. Harris hit Leonard Hankerson on a seam route with a pass that couldn’t have been thrown any better. Hankerson didn’t have to break stride after getting behind two Clemson defenders, and went untouched for the touchdown. Even my wife was impressed as she looked up from the Food Network videos she was watching on her laptop.

      A couple possessions later, with Miami in the red zone, Harris threw an incredibly horrible interception in the endzone. There was no pressure on him, he just blew the throw.

      At this point, we should stop acting surprised at Harris’ up-and-down play. Some people have done that. I heard someone on ESPN Radio this morning state very matter-of-factly that Harris routinely throws into coverage. It’s not something he’s trying to fix, it’s just something he does, which is probably a confidence thing. Harris is supremely confident in his abilities, so he thinks he can make any throw. That’s going to lead to some great things, but some awful things as well. He’s like a skinnier, younger, much less annoying Brett Favre.

      College Football, External Sports

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