September 28, 2011
Man, was Week 3 for the NFL exciting. A total of ten underdogs took home wins, the highlight being the Buffalo Bills, who survived Tom Brady’s New England Patriots to take the early division lead. The Oakland Raiders mostly dominated the New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns scored a game winning touchdown in the last two minutes, and Michael Vick somehow managed to start, but got knocked out, again. All around entertaining week.
My NFL fantasy predictions, however, were a mixed bag. Rex Grossman had a decent game against the Dallas Cowboys, but failed to put up significant numbers. The San Diego Chargers were a huge disappointment, not blowing out the hobbled Kansas City Chiefs as they should. Vick started, but Mike Kafka did get some playing time, but did not impress.
The bright spot was Rob Gronkowski, who again, scored two touchdowns in a high scoring battle against the Bills. Ochocinco should have had a good game, as well, but dropped a sure fire 50 yard touchdown pass. It slipped right through his hands. Stunning. Still can’t believe it. While I continue to try to digest that, on to Week 4 NFL predictions.
A lot of people have been down on Romo. Sure, he screwed up in Week 1 against the New York Jets. But he’s still a Top 10 quarterback, and whether or not he’s a true leader, he’ll still give you NFL fantasy points. I’ll admit, his performance Monday was less than stellar. I expected much more. But he is playing with broken ribs and a pierced lung, so he deserves some slack.
Another week to recover should be good for him. Although it’s a short week and recover time isn’t normal, expect him to have a big game against the Detroit Lions. The Lions secondary is sub-par, and with a high scoring offense led by Matt Stafford, I see this being a shootout. If Romo can’t go, Jon Kitna wouldn’t be the worst pick up for those desperate.
I’m very surprised to be saying this, but I think McNabb is poised for a good week. Perceived by many to be well past his prime, and Week 1’s performance was nothing short of proof, McNabb has played decently the past two weeks. The Vikings would have won Sunday if not for their aversion from Adrian Peterson in the second half, which was strange to say the least.
A match up against Kansas City, a team down a Pro Bowl safety in Eric Berry, and a team I predicted to get slaughtered last week, should be favorable, despite my incorrect prediction. Without deep protection, McNabb’s top deep threat, Percy Harvin, should be able to get some space.
Tim Hightower/Roy Helo
The running back by committee is a fantasy owner’s worst enemy. Washington Redskin’s coach Mike Shanahan is a notorious offender. But their Week 4 match up against the St. Louis Rams’ – the worst running defense in the league – should have one, if not both, poised for a big game.
Historically, Shanahan’s “no-name” backs have exploded randomly a few times a season, but never stuck as top of the depth chart guys. I like what Hightower does as a blocking back, and Helu certainly has potential, so hopefully they do stick. But expect an offensive explosion from one of them sometime this season, likely this week being their best shot.
September 27, 2011
After three weeks of NFL football, there are just three teams left without a loss. Five teams have yet to post a win. Will anyone be able to follow the footsteps of the 2007 New England Patriots and finish 16-0 or the 2008 Detroit Lions and go 0-16? Let’s go to the schedule and see when these teams will take their first loss or pickup their first win of the 2011 NFL season.
Detroit Lions 3-0
Could they go from 0-16 to 16-0 in just three years? Not going to happen. The Lions have certainly come a long way since Dan Orlovsky stepped out of bounds in his own end zone for a safety, the difference in a 12-10 loss to Minnesota and the Lions finished the 2010 NFL season without a win. Detroit looks like a team that will be in the NFL playoffs but I think their undefeated streak ends on Sunday when they pay a visit to Dallas.
Pop quiz: When was the last time the Packers lost a game that mattered? It was on Dec. 19 at New England for those of you who don’t want to look it up. When was the last time they lost with Aaron Rodgers on the field for four quarters? Try Nov. 28 at Atlanta. Rodgers has won 10 straight games with most of them coming against the cream of the NFL crop (49ers, Giants, Bears, Eagles, Falcons, Bears, Steelers, Saints, Panthers, and Bears). Sooner or later Green Bay has got to drop a game and I say it will be sooner. Oct. 9 at Atlanta to be exact…the last team to beat the Packers with Rodgers on the field.
Buffalo Bills 3-0
The high-flying Bills offense is putting up over 37 points a game. A win at Cincinnati this week and they will match their win total from last year. I don’t see the Bills making a run at 16-0 with a trip to New England and two meetings with the Jets on the slate. It will be interesting to see what they can do against the Jets defense but I don’t think an undefeated streak will be on the line. I think they will get beat in two weeks by the Eagles.
You have got to feel for Viking fans after they have had to watch their team blow a 10-point halftime lead at San Diego, then blow a 17-point halftime lead against Tampa Bay and follow that up by blowing a 20-point halftime lead against Detroit. At this rate, the fans probably wouldn’t mind if the team ends up moving to Los Angeles as has been rumored. The good news is with Kansas City and Arizona coming up in the next two weeks, the Vikings should get a win soon.
St. Louis Rams 0-3
Wow. The Rams must be wondering what they did to the NFL schedule-makers. What a brutal first start to the season they have. Eagles, Giants, Ravens, Redskins, Packers, Cowboys, and Saints. They could be 0-7 or 1-6 when we get to November. But if they can survive that stretch and stay within shouting distance in the NFC West, there are a lot of winnable games for the Rams in the last two months. I say they find a way to beat Washington on Sunday.
Miami Dolphins 0-3
If the Bills are for real, then the Dolphins are and the bottom of the toughest division in the NFL. Add the NFC East to their schedule and it looks like it will be a long season in Miami. At least fans in Miami have the Miami Heat run at a championship to look forward to. They will likely lose at San Diego and the New York Jets and get to 0-5 before the Broncos come to town. Denver ought to be 1-4 and it will be a big game in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. I think Miami wins.
It was a devastating blow to this team when Peyton Manning couldn’t make it back to start the season. It looks like there will be no reason for him to take the field by the time he is healthy enough to do so. But this is a team that is going to put up a fight as they did Sunday night against Pittsburgh. They might not win at Tampa Bay on Monday but if they lose, they have the Chiefs and Bengals up next and will win at least one of those.
The Chiefs looked much better against the Chargers than they did in the first two games. They host a matchup of winless teams on Sunday against the Vikings and then head to Indy to face the Colts in another matchup of struggling teams. They need to beat Minnesota to restore some hope to the fans at Arrowhead. Otherwise they could be 0-5 at the bye with some difficult opponents to come. I predict the Chiefs pick up their first win on Halloween night against San Diego.
September 26, 2011
College football just got a whole lot more interesting with the recent moves of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC. The two schools may have inadvertently set off a future exodus of teams heading to other football conferences. Things actually got underway with the news that Texas A&M was headed to the SEC, but that was hardly the move that could cause a mass migration of NCAA teams leaving for greener pastures. However, that coupled with these two recent defections is. That said, if it were up to me, here’s how it would all shake out in ten simple moves:
10. Texas and Oklahoma realize they can save the Big 12: At some point, the Longhorns and Sooners figure out that it makes no sense to head west to the NCAA’s Pac-12. The Midwest rejoices as both schools announce they’re staying in the Big 12 and things start to get crazy.
9. TCU joins the Big 12: Texas’ and Oklahoma’s first call is to TCU, who’s utterly confused at this point. Getting ready to join the Big East in 2012, they’re convinced by the Longhorns and Sooners that they should come to the Big 12 because, you know, they should actually be in the East to play in a conference called the Big East. The Horned Frogs concur and cancel their flights to New York for their introductory Big East press conference. Big East commissioner John Marinatto just finds out minutes before the conference is scheduled to begin when he receives a text from CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy.
8. Connecticut to the ACC: With the Big East on verge of collapse, UConn heads to the ACC to form the most dominant basketball conference with the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Pitt, and Syracuse. The Huskies mention something about having an NCAA football program, too, but no one actually pays attention.
7. Notre Dame to the ACC: The Irish, not wanting to be upstaged, surprise everyone by agreeing to join the ACC. Notre Dame explains the move by saying they don’t want to be left out of the NCAA football national championship picture … even though they’ve not won enough games to compete for one in nearly 20 years.
6. West Virginia to the SEC: Marinatto, now in a desperate panic to keep the conference together, informs fans they’re actively looking to expand – even with only six teams left. The Mountaineers aren’t convinced and apply to the SEC for a second time. This time, they get in and couches are promptly burnt to a crisp in Morgantown.
5. Big East Basketball Schools Jump Ship: Realizing the football side is nearly dead, the Big East basketball-only schools (DePaul, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, St. John’s, Providence, and Seton Hall) leave to start their own conference. An ugly lawsuit ensues over the naming rights and the basketball side wins, allowing them to continue as the Big East. They promptly add Xavier and Butler while giving the boot to DePaul because they’re, well, DePaul.
4. Louisville and Cincinnati to the Big 12: Marinatto officially announces the end of the Big East after extending invitations to Navy, Army, and Air Force and never having his calls returned. Louisville and Cincinnati find a good fit in the Midwest.
3. Houston to the Big 12: The Cougars join the Big 12 and Houston brings one of the top ten TV markets along with it. Texas and Oklahoma shake hands as they’ve officially survived expansion. They then turn heel and revoke the membership of Missouri for threatening to leave earlier.
2. Rutgers to Big Ten: The Scarlet Knights and South Florida flip a coin to decide who can join the Big Ten. Wanting the NY/NJ market, conference officials pull the ‘Heads Rutgers wins, tails South Florida loses’ routine to perfection as USF goes independent.
1. BYU Joins Pac-12: Not wanting to be left out, the Pac-12 adds a team merely to keep up. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany immediately issues a press release saying it makes no sense for a conference with 13 teams to call itself the Pac-12.
Um, right.
September 23, 2011
It is clearly NFL season and our numbers this week make that pretty obvious. Who do you think took the top spot though? We’ll give you a little hint.. Rookie..Quarterback..Come on if you can’t guess it off of those two hints then you must have been living under a rock for the past two weeks. Cam Newton had an unbelievable start for the Carolina Panthers but now the real question is, how long will this last? Is Newton the real deal?
We give you the top five popular trends at Fathead for this week and to our surprise (and probably your’s too) the Disney Princess Collection made it on the list. Maybe there was a Disney Princess convention going on this week because people definitely showed us their excitement!
1. Cam Newton
3. Michael Vick
September 22, 2011
If you ask me, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is one of the best to compete in MMA. He rose to prominence in Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships and unified the UFC and Pride FC light-heavyweight championships. He holds wins over Dan Henderson (in that unification bout), Lyoto Machida, Keith Jardine and Kevin Randleman. He’s blasted both Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva to smithereens. His accomplishments allow him to wear a chain around his neck and howl at the moon, for he’s earned the right to back down to nobody.
Rampage’s track record, brute force and searing intensity make him a formidable opponent for champion Jon Jones at UFC 135 on September 24. Whether or not you believe Jackson’s claims that someone from Jones’ camp deployed a spy to go undercover and watch his training sessions, he’s using bizarre tactics to get into Jones’ head.
This will be Jones’ first title defense with the winner to meet Rashad Evans. Like his bitter enemy, Evans, Jackson is a former UFC champion at 205. And like Evans, Jackson is hell-bent on creating animosity before the big fight. Rampage is sequestered somewhere in Denver in preparations for the bout and took to Yahoo! Sports to accuse Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa, of espionage activity, even going as far to say that Jones is scared and looking for a way to back out.
Kawa vehemently denied those accusations. “I promise to God, I have no spy in that camp,” he said. “It’s completely and totally untrue. There is nothing to it at all.” Jones took to Twitter to respond to Jackson’s handle for what he said is the only time he will address the issue.
“Just so you know, I’m not a person who looks for shortcuts in life,” Jones told Jackson before taking a shot at his priorities. “Unlike you, MMA is not something I do because of money. It’s a way of life for me and I would never disrespect the integrity of that. I have way more faith in myself, as well as, respect for the art of fighting to ever stoop that low, that’s just bad karma. Believe me or not, I’ve said my part. Hoping you have a safe and healthy finish to your camp #Respect.”
Rampage has often utilized the intimidation factor and prayed on fear, but at age 33, largely inactive due to filming “The A-Team” and looking at more than likely his last chance at reclaiming the title, a bug just might be in his own mind. Jones, the youngest champion in UFC history, has demolished all comers on his fast track to the top and at 24 is already ranked one of the top-10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world by various outlets. Jackson is a winner of his last two, but many had Machida winning that one and his last opponent, Matt Hamill, offered little opposition. There’s no questioning that Rampage remains a top contender, but he’s also one-dimensional compared to the array of creative attacks Jones unveils in every battle. Nobody, not even the great Maurício “Shogun” Rua, has stood a chance against Jones’ onslaught. Jackson questioning Jones’ manhood will either reveal a weakness or end up the biggest mistake of his career.
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