It's likely the Saints will come out against what they were for last time, next time. Ethical flexibility is a specialty of the house down there, even more than gumbo.
It serves them right. What a bunch of whiny fans, that can't blame their own team. I bet sports talk radio in New Orleans was lit, as well.
No doubt. But credit due to the Vikings for an excellent game plan.
Indeed. More about that in a moment. We move onto Divisional weekend. It is the best NFL weekend all year, because the big dogs come out to protect their home field. I'm feeling the HYYYYPPPPEE! So watch me work.
Minnesota Vikings (+7) vs. San Francisco 49ers This time it was Kirk Cousins and Kyle Rudolph playing the heroic combo as the Vikings went into New Orleans and finished the Saints off. What is getting lost in the adulation is that the Vikings almost blew it. They had a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter, and got very fortunate that the officials seemingly were scared to review Rudolph's debatable push off on the game winning touchdown. You still have to give the Vikings credit for pulling the upset, but let's not forget those two points that go against them. The 49ers are a far tougher team, and it's a West Coast road trip on a short week. The Vikings have a chance, and you would be a fool to overlook them. I think the 49ers are better defensively than the Saints, and Jimmy G is a quarterback with plenty of weapons to work with. The dream is going to end for the Vikings in the Bay Area. 49ers 31, Vikings 21.
Can the Vikings block? And can they stop George Kittle? If they can, they win. Do you think they can? I don't, actually. But I'm going to pick them anyway. Vikings 24, 49ers 21.
Tennessee Titans (+10) vs. Baltimore Ravens I want to thank the Titans for doing us a favor and knocking the Patriots out of the playoffs. We don't have to deal with the insufferable Boston sports fans for the rest of the month. I used to have sympathy for them, but they just are too spoiled for that. One wonders how many bullets the Titans have, but you'd be a fool to ignore them. I honestly wonder about the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. The dude can play, but the less annoying Harbaugh should have noticed what happened to his brother in San Francisco. People will figure out how to stop him, and this is Lamar's first playoff start. We all thought that Kaepernick was going to be good, but everyone ignored his flaws. We all thought that Mike Vick was the future, and once again his flaws were ignored. Someone is going to stop Lamar Jackson, but the good news is that some moron owner is going to hire Bobby Petrino, because he coached Jackson in college. I think Baltimore wins, but I beg their football ops people to heed the past. Ravens 10, Titans 0.
Maybe. Jackson is well positioned for success in the short term, I agree. But when he loses a step, and he will, your suspicions will become reality. But not this week. Ravens 27, Titans 14.
Houston Texans (+9.5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs I honestly look at the Chiefs and wonder if they actually have learned anything about Andy Reid. The guy can coach offense, but he can't manage a game clock well and his defenses have always been questionable without a generational defensive coordinator in Jim Johnson. One of my biggest sports pet peeve is coaches who keep failing in the most important games, and ownership groups wondering why the same thing keeps happening. I'm sorry Chiefs fans, your team will not win a Super Bowl as long as Andy Reid is around. His track record speaks for himself, and his teams have flamed out of the playoffs with the same mistakes every single year. The defense will fail, the clock management will be questionable, and his quarterback will not show up when it matters. I beg Kansas City to consider making drastic changes after they lose. Too bad it won't be to a Texans squad that benefited from a complete choke by the Buffalo Bills last week. Chiefs 41, Texans 10.
We haven't heard from our ol' pal for a while:
So you're saying it's out of context? Well, it's always out of context with that guy. Credit to the young fella for getting the context correct. Andy Reid will not get to the Super Bowl this year. But he will get to the AFC Championship Game. Chiefs 28, Texans 17.
Seattle Seabags (+4.5) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers Oh look, everyone is coming out of the woodwork to question a 13-3 team about how they win. It turns out that whenever the Packers win, the media will criticize them for little stuff that happens to every single team. I love this Packers team, because they play tough, and win games that they should. Seattle is going to be a tough out, there is no doubting that. One thing that makes me feel confident is that the Packers looked great on offense in the second half against the LOLions, and people are forgetting about Aaron Rodgers. Keep making that mistake. He's due to break some hearts. Maybe the media can actually have the guts to admit they were wrong about the Packers. Packers 31, Seabags 10.
You live in Minnesota, dude. Do you expect anyone to love the Packers outside of this household? Probably ain't happening. But in any event, the game. The Seahawks would scare me more if they didn't have about 49 guys on injured reserve. At this point the Seattle offense is Russell Wilson, D.K. Metcalf and a bunch of parking lot attendants. The Packers have been lucky at times this season, but remember what Branch Rickey said -- luck is the residue of design. Packers 28, Seahawks 17.
Clemson Tigers (+5.5) vs. LSU Bayou Bengals, in New Orleans Speaking of teams with a chip on their shoulder, the Clemson Tigers are really starting to annoy me. I get they are good, but they play in the ACC. That conference is weak sauce, and it's too predictable. It also doesn't help that Dabo seems to think that Jesus wears orange every Clemson game day. Hey coach, Jesus doesn't care about who wins a football game. I love Coach O at LSU. That dude has changed the narrative about him from a bad hire to a great coach, and Joe Burrow is going to be a very fun prospect in the draft, especially to see how the Bengals use him. This game is in New Orleans, so it is basically a home game in Baton Rouge. I like LSU, and it would be great to have a different champion than in years past. LSU 20, Clemson 9.
It is essentially a home game for the Bayou Bengals. Clemson is a tough out, but all hail Coach O and his growling waves of joy. LSU 45, Clemson 31.
Enjoy your weekend, folks. Ben out.
4 comments:
One thing that makes me feel confident is that the Packers looked great on offense in the second half against the LOLions...
Oh Benster.
You take exception to people dissing your Packers' underwhelming performances, yet your retort is how well they played against a team who lost 8 straight games and was ranked next to last in the NFL in total defense? To be charitable, I'm not quite sure you're making your best case.
You take exception to people dissing your Packers' underwhelming performances, yet your retort is how well they played against a team who lost 8 straight games and was ranked next to last in the NFL in total defense? To be charitable, I'm not quite sure you're making your best case.
Not the way I would argue the matter either, but somehow an underwhelming team won 13 games. They must be doing something well.
And sorry about your Vikings, Brad. Seriously. The current edition of the 49ers isn't particularly admirable and I wish your side had won.
Hey, 13 wins is 13 wins. And as Mike Tomlin often says, there are no style points. A 13-10 victory counts the same as 41-10. My only point is the Packers' caliber of play against Carolina, Washington, Vikings (week 2 game) Chicago twice, Detroit twice, etc. was good enough to emerge victorious in the regular season. However, I'm skeptical they can play like that and win in San Francisco next week. If they do, I will be glad to acknowledge they're a lot better than I perceived.
Had the Vikings won, GB woulda hosted them in the NFC title game. Who in this rivalry wouldn't have wanted that? I didn't believe the Vikings could win yesterday but I was thoroughly disappointed how non-competitive they were in the second half.
The Benster got pretty close on the Packers offensive output. May it turn out even better next weekend!
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