Because who doesn't love the silky tones of Cris Collinsworth?
Seriously, old dude. What the hell is wrong with you?
There's not enough room in the blogosphere to chronicle that.
Good point. It looks like our man is going to play and we will discuss my impressions of the Vikings. All that and more HYYYYYYYYPPPPE than you can even imagine. Watch me work!
Miami University of Ohio Redhawks (+12.5) vs. Minnesota Elite Rowers of the Boat. The Gophers had to hang for dear life against Fresno State, but thanks to the play of the year by Antoine Winfield, Jr., they were able to hold off the Bulldogs. So this week comes Miami of Ohio, a team with a glorious past but a meh present. The lead boat rower himself, one P.J. Fleck, knows how to beat MAC teams, as he had plenty of MAC-tion during his days at Western Michigan. The Gophers are still young and this is going to be a wake-up call. Redhawks 42, Gophers 17.
You're kidding, right? You have to be kidding. I don't see Ben Roethlisberger out there this week. And I sure the heck don't see Bo Schembechler, either. The Gophers are young but Miami is not the operation they were even 10 years ago. Even without Rodney Smith, the Gophers will win this game based on raw talent alone. Watch and see. Gophers 34, Miami 21.
Knox Prairie Fire (NL) vs. Ripon College Redhawks. What's all this Redhawk stuff, lately? I was disappointed to see my beloved Fire stub their toes against Geritol Fan's beloved Beloit Buccaneers last week. This week the Fire go even futher into Wisconsin to play Ripon. I always back Knox to do well. Knox 21, Ripon 0.
As an observer of Midwest Conference football for nearly 40 years, I can assure you of this -- if your beloved Fire cannot beat my feeble Bucs, you ain't beating Ripon. Ripon 34, Knox 14.
Brigham Young University Cougars (+22.5) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers. BYU is a legit school. They also have a great history in football, in fact far greater than Miami of Ohio. The Badgers won comfortably last year in Provo, and I would expect a comfortable game, despite the fact that BYU is going to make plays. Bucky struggled early last week, but they righted the ship and put New Mexico away in the second half. What cheeses me off is that the Badgers were dropped in the rankings yet again, despite winning by over 30 points. I understand Oklahoma beat UCLA, but UCLA is down right now and that win isn't as impressive as it might have been, say, five years ago. This is just another example of how Wisconsin is held to a different standard than other schools. Maybe beating BYU will give the Badgers some respect. Badgers 45, BYU 20.
Bucky has some things to improve. The most important thing -- Jonathan Taylor needs to stop fumbling. It doesn't matter against New Mexico, but they can't have that against Iowa next week. As for this week, I think Bucky got the message and is going to curb stomp BYU. You want style points? You got style points. Badgers 59, BYU 10.
Seattle Seabags (+3.5) vs. Bear Down Chicago da Bearz. Oh, let's get this out of our system right away:
Yes, they really really really really really really suck. Yes, the Bears still suck. Khalil Mack looked like the freaking Grim Reaper in the first half last week, but in the second half he was a spectator at best, even though he was allegedly on the field. I'm going to be honest with you -- Matt Nagy should thank his lucky stars that Matt Patricia completely soiled the linens at Ford Field, because otherwise he'd be looking at a lot of pressure for the job he did in the second half. Da Bearz inexplicably played not to lose. Guess what? They lost! I thought that Doug Pedersen showed the value of keeping your foot on the throat of your opponent at all times. Apparently Nagy didn't peek at Pedersen's paper. Da Bearz have a lot to answer for concerning that. Now comes Russell Wilson. It's clear Seattle is down and this is a game the Bears should win. Will they? No, unless they stay aggressive and let Mitchell Trubisky win the game on his own. Seattle 24, da Bearz 7.
I dunno. I think the Packers won the game more than the Bears lost it, but your mileage may vary. Trubisky did look a bit rattled in the second half and it's not yet clear if that's just inexperience or more of an intractable problem. He was channeling his inner Brett Hundley too much and not keeping his eyes down the field. The Seahawks aren't the fearsome defense they used to be, but they still have some guys who can do damage. On the other side of the ball, Russell Wilson will pose similar challenges this week. I do think the Bears will win, but it's going to be close. Bears 28, Seahawks 24.
Minnesota Vikings (-1) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers. It looks like, based on the line, that the wise guys in Vegas think Aaron Rodgers will not play on Sunday. However, reports indicate he will play. The Vikings won their game relatively comfortably against San Francisco last week, but Aaron Rodgers is not Jimmy Garappolo, even on one leg. Kirk Cousins has very little margin for error. The reason I say that is because he's getting paid superstar money, so he'd better play like a superstar. Cousins didn't do anything wrong last week, but he didn't do anything that made you say, "wow, the Vikings made a great investment". The Packers, on the other hand, had a narrow escape against da Bearz, but they won. You might have heard about it. Aaron Rodgers made plays that made you say, "wow." Everyone is saying the Packers are going to lose. What they forget about is this -- the Packers defense made the right adjustments against the Bears and essentially shut them down in the second half. In particular, the rookie defensive backs turned Allen Robinson and Trey Burton into players who were largely invisible. The Packers are going to win this game because they are at home, and because Ty Montgomery is going to both pick up blitzes and tire out the Vikings linebackers. Packers 17, Vikings 10.
I loved what Mike Zimmer said about Aaron Rodgers, noting that he walks on water. That was a funny line. Zim had more to say as well:
Oops, I might have put the wrong video up there. Zim does speak highly of Bob Schnelker, though. Anyway, as for this game, I think Rodgers will give it a go. I also think the Vikings will dial up some pain. Put it this way -- I'm not particularly concerned about Anthony Barr, because the Packers will find him and block him. I'm quite concerned about Harrison Smith, though, who seems to get a free shot or two at the quarterback in every game. I think the Packers will also have difficulty covering Dalvin Cook. It will be close, but. . . Vikings 24, Packers 21.
You're wrong, old dude. But you knew that. Ben out!
1 comment:
the Bears were straight up out-coached last week. what happened in the second half should not have happened with a more seasoned HC.
i still remember the play where Rodgers was stripped sacked, and a Bear scooped up the ball... ruled a sack, and not a turnover. i was at the bar 'screaming' with all my inability to scream at all, for the red flag to come out. it did not...
later, with the game on the line, McCarthy throws the red flag to challenge three yards, buying precious time for his defense to catch their breath while disrupting Bears momentum at the same time.
our DC should have called a few surprise blitzes... but this is a guy who rarely calls up a blitz, relying on his front 4 to provide the needed pressure.Mack sat out most of the 3rd quarter while getting much needed rest. (the big men need that) Im sure McCarthy knew Fangio's tendencies, and exploited that.
McCarthy is clearly a better decision maker than Nagy at this point
Im hoping Nagy learned something and can use it going forward.
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