Old dude, the Vikings and the Packers both need a win badly this weekend, and I am going to examine why one team is getting an unfair amount of praise.
Fair, as always, is a relative term. But this is your show, so go on.
Also, it is rivalry weekend, so we get to enjoy the extra helping of hate that your grandmother never offered to serve yesterday. I hear hate goes well with turkey.
That stuffing takes on a whole new and sinister meaning sometimes.
Excellent point, Geritol Fan!
If I wear a hat, it doesn't show.
That explains your penchant for ball caps.
I've been wearing 'em since I was little. You have, too.
I appreciate your Hallmark Channel nostalgia trip, but we have games to pick and bile to flow. So it is time to watch me work and discuss these games.
Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat (-12) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers. P.J. Fleck is a man who seems to make millions of dollars despite not focusing on his actual job. The U is employing Fleck to coach football games, not to sell merchandise with oars on it. What has Fleck actually accomplished on the football field that merits the attention he gets? Paul Chryst never is outspoken, but he has delivered results and provided his university with tangible values. Minnesota is not very good, and it's clear that Fleck cares more about coming up with stupid phrases that some intern can slap on a shirt and make a quick buck. The Badgers should win the Axe yet again and then Fleck can continue to make up silly slogans while flushing his reputation down the drain, hoping he can rip off some other university into caring more about stupid puns you can put on a shirt, compared to results on the field. Badgers 35, Gophers 0.
Merch, baby! Gotta love the merch! I actually think Fleck got the first shot across his rowboat yesterday, when Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune game him the annual Turkey of the year award. That's usually an early warning for most Gophers coaches that their act is getting stale. The issue for the Gophers is simple -- you can't win in the Big Ten with freshman walk-on quarterbacks. It hasn't been that stellar a year for Bucky Badger, either, but they won't relinquish the Ax in this game, to this Gopher team, especially in Madison. Badgers 31, Gophers 17.
Michigan Wolverines (-5) vs. A School In Columbus. As much as I have no love lost with Row The Boat, at least Row the Boat didn't do what Urban Liar did. The winner of this game will get to play Northwestern next week for a chance to go to the playoff. Michigan has impressed me, though the trademark Wolverine bandwagon arrogance is back, too. A School in Columbus would love nothing more than to spoil Michigan's ambitions, though at the end of the day Buckeye fans have to defend their school keeping a coach that enabled someone on his staff to do horrible things to a family member. Michigan 20, A School In Columbus 0.
I would not be surprised if Urban Meyer steps down at the end of this season; he looks physically ill on the sidelines. His moral sickness aside, that's what will end his career in Columbus. Having seen both teams play on television multiple times, it seems clear that the Wolverines are the superior outfit. The game is in Columbus, which makes it tough, but I'll pick the better squad. Michigan 27, Ohio State 21.
Glorious Green Bay Packers (+3.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings. Gather around kids, we are going to discuss the concept of media bias in football reporting. The Packers are getting slammed everywhere you look, and a lot of it is fair. The coaching staff is playing too conservatively at times, and the coaching staff arguably caused the loss last week. However, the Packers are only a game out of the playoffs and have played the hardest schedule in the league without backing down. The Vikings got overrun in LA, the Packers did not. The Packers beat the Bears, the Vikings did not. The Packers killed Buffalo at home, the Vikings got beat badly. The Packers have the easiest schedule in the NFL the rest of the way, while the Vikings have the hardest schedule in the league down the stretch and the Kirk Cousins gamble is still questionable, even by the cheerleader local media. The national media will not admit this, because the media is desirous that the Vikings do well because last year was a great story, though it was built on a myth. Aaron Rodgers understands the situation well, since he knows this team is very close to greatness. Aaron also wants to humiliate the Vikings because they ended his season last year on the very field the game is being played on. In addition, the Packers should have won in Week 2, and the Vikings missing that field goal is evidence that the football gods knew it too. Time for the Packers to put the fear of God into the rest of the league. Packers 31. Vikings 27.
A stirring defense! I don't believe a word of it, though. As Bill Parcells says, you are what your record says you are, and the Packers are 4-5-1. There are no moral victories in football and playing top opponents well, but losing, means losing. It does not matter whether the Rams were worried, or if the Patriots had to break a sweat, or if the Seahawks were squawking. The losses are losses. As for Sunday night, I think the Packers could absolutely beat the Vikings, but they will have to prove they can stop the Vikings running game. The jury is out on Dalvin Cook, but the record indicates that other running backs have performed well against the Green Bay defense. I also seem to remember you counseling that it's always a good idea to pick the desperate team at home. I am hopeful you've noticed both teams are pretty desperate. Vikings 27, Packers 24.
Enjoy your football this weekend, and hopefully you didn't get into a fight about Trump yesterday at your dinner table. Ben out!
2 comments:
The national media will not admit this, because the media is desirous that the Vikings do well because last year was a great story, though it was built on a myth.
Not sure which national media you're paying attention to, but this utter bull pucky. If I had to guess, this is little more than classic projection.
I understand and appreciate your position about how scummy it was that OSU covered for a coach doing hideous things--things that were hurting the program no less--but I'm pretty happy that the stinky weasels got smushed again in Columbus. If Harbaugh keeps doing idiotic things like trying to run behind a "slightly above average" offensive line on a defense like OSU, I think we're going to have to re-evaluate his position as a "thinking man's coach." For that matter, I came to that conclusion after (a) he didn't make a fuss about Michigan's hideous "general studies" program and (b) he got kicked out of a Rome mall for throwing a football around there.
Post a Comment