Benster and D Pick Your Games-----Give The Rams Some Credit Edition

 The Vikings had a tough loss in LA, but fans who solely blame the missed call on the safety are using the call as both a way to totally excuse the Vikings failures and not give the Rams the credit that they deserve. We'll talk about that later. 

I think Kupp and Nacua had something to do with it. Maybe.

Meanwhile, the Packers and the Badgers both won while I was out of town. Does that mean I have to go back?

Hanging out in Missouri seems to help them. Maybe it means something?

I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYPPPEEEEEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

Maryland Terps (+4.5) vs. Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat It was great to see the Gophers win at the Rose Bowl. I happen to know two family members who are Gopher alums, and I was happy for them that they got to see their Gophers win a game at the Rose Bowl. After their bye week, the Gophers face a Maryland team that was able to pull off a nice win against USC out in College Park. Maryland is a team that should be doing better. They are in a pretty good recruiting area in the DC area, and people forget that a lot of good athletes come from Hampton and Newport News as well. The Gophers should continue to run the ball, and I think that they will get another solid win to bolster their argument that they aren't going to make up the numbers in the new Big Ten. Row Row Row Your Boat Elitely 42, Terpy Terps 14.

Gophers are likely a better team, but I'll admit I'm a bad pundit and don't know much about Maryland. They don't have Tua's kid brother any more, I think. And Stefon Diggs left a while ago, so there's that. Gophers are at home so I'll pick them. Gophers 24, Maryland 20.

Penn State Nittany Lions (-6.5) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers In the interest of full disclosure, I only saw a couple of plays of the Badger game last week. But after looking at the highlights, it was obvious that the Badgers were able to impose their will and win pretty comfortably in Evanston. Given that playing at Evanston is a trip I dread, you like to see it. Penn State is a top 5 team for a reason, and should get to Indy more often without having to play A School In Columbus and Michigan every year. They have a good offense, and the best team they have had since 2017. The problem I have seen from them is that they struggled against USC and Bowling Green while relying on their high end talent to bail them out. Wisconsin has gotten a lot better since the USC disaster because the offense is finally being played to their strengths. What took Longo so long? That combined with Camp Randall getting a big night game against a Penn State team that could be looking ahead to Ohio State's visit to Happy Valley next week means that you shouldn't be surprised at the outcome. Badgers 21, Lions 20.

Man, I'd love to pick the Badgers. But I can't. Penn State is too good. Penn State 31, Wisconsin 27.

Glorious Green Bay Packers (-4) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Once again, I only saw part of the first quarter of the Packers game because of being out of town. That being said, after watching the highlights it was great to see that they were able to win despite Jordan being very turnover happy once again. Jacksonville is a team that is not very good. Doug Pedersen somehow went from a very good Super Bowl winning coach to becoming a bottom tier coach, and the Jaguars have struggled all year. The concern I have in this game is that the Packers have struggled in Florida in recent years, and that the Jaguars have nothing to lose. With the Vikings all of a sudden looking mortal and games against Da Bearz and the LOLions on the horizon, the Packers have a good chance to assert themselves. I hope I'm wrong, but something tells me that the Packers are in for a tough afternoon on Sunday. Packers 12, Jaguars 8.

It hasn't been easy down there historically, but the Packers are a better team and I think they win this one comfortably. Packers 31, Jags 17.

And now it's time for A Very Special Comment. 

There has been a lot of chatter about the missed facemask call. The bottom line is that the call is being used as a scapegoat by some Vikings fans and the Vikings approved homers on KFAN as a way to avoid acknowledging that the Vikings were outplayed by the Rams. Remember, the Vikings only scored 6 points after their fast start. It looked like what happened on Sunday, where the Vikings ended up letting the Lions back into the game. The offense in particular once again was unable to sustain their fast start, and unlike what happened in Lambeau they hadn't built up a big enough margin for error to survive. The Rams played well enough in the second half to win, and are getting no credit for that because the refs are a scapegoat. The Vikings were down 8 with a minute to go, and even if they get that call would have been on the 20 yard line with no timeouts. I will give credit to the Vikings players and coaches for not blaming the refs for losing. I suggest that Vikings fans listen to what their team is saying, and see if they still blame the refs. The refs didn't cause the Vikings to have that brutal drop in the red zone on their last field goal drive. The refs also didn't cause the Vikings to not get to Stafford, and the refs didn't let the Rams get in position to get that last safety. 

The Vikings also made the mistake of letting the Rams off the hook. 5 times they had stopped the Rams on a third down, only to draw a flag that allowed the Rams to stay on the field. The major storyline for me is that Darrisaw is going to be out for the year after suffering a horrible knee injury. Without him, the offensive line suddenly looks questionable, and the Vikings have limited draft capital to make a trade for another left tackle. The Vikings aren't in trouble by any means, but there are some issues that they have to fix. Blaming the refs only means that the Vikings players and coaches get off the hook for their mistakes. 

My response may not be Very Special, but for the most part I agree. The Darrisaw injury is a big deal, because it's well-nigh impossible to replace a top ten left tackle. The Viking offense relies on timing and if Darnold doesn't have the time to let receivers come open, it's going to be an issue. Jefferson is special and Addison is a nice slot receiver, but they could really use a big boundary receiver who can make the tough catches - an Anquan Boldin type. They don't have that right now. Kevin O'Connell is a very smart coach, perhaps the best offensive mind the team has had since Dennis Green left town, so he'll scheme something up, but it's going to be a challenge going forward. We'll see.

Enjoy your football this weekend. Ben out. 

Benster and D Pick Your Games---Thursday Night Football Cross Country Trips Are Really Dumb Edition

 Why in the world are the Vikings playing on Thursday Night Football in LA? What did they spike the NFL corporate cafeteria with?

Some form of mushroom, I would guess.

If I come to power, I'm going to put a ban on teams having to travel two or more time zones for a Thursday Night Football game. The Vikings are getting utterly screwed here, and crap like this needs to stop. I'd be saying the same thing if the Rams had to travel here. 

I've never been a fan of it, either, for the reasons you suggest. But money talks and Amazon has a lot of money.

Yet somehow I am feeling the HYYYYYYPPPEEEEEE! and will pick this game. Watch me work.

Minnesota Vikings (-3) vs. Los Angeles Rams So in the interest of full disclosure, I only saw a couple of plays of the Vikings-Lions game last week and what time I did have to watch the noon window meant that I was very engaged with the Packers game. After watching the highlights and reading the postgame coverage, the Vikings ended up losing a tough one. If the rumored Stafford to the Vikings trade happens and includes JJ McCarthy, then all of a sudden what I said last week looks a lot better. The Rams are going to get a big boost with Kupp coming back, and possibly getting Puka Nacua back. What we are going to learn about the Vikings is how they respond after a defeat this year. I think that while they play well, the travel and the Rams getting at least one of Stafford's weapons back suggests that the Vikings might be facing a difficult evening in Hollywood. Rams 28, Vikings 17.

I would not be surprised if it's difficult, but even with Cooper Kupp the Vikings are a better team as currently constructed. And in most cases, the better team wins in football. Vikings 27, Rams 20.

We will be back in our regular slot on Friday to talk about the Packers, Badgers, and Gophers. Enjoy your football tonight. Ben out. 

Benster and D Pick Your Games------LOLions Have Something To Say About The Vikings Edition

 Editor's Note: we're going early because we'll be on assignment the rest of the week. Not that you'd notice, but.... Meanwhile, you want some Benster? Here's some Benster!

Well, the Vikings are probably for real. But the LOLions aren't going to give up their crown that easy. 

They've waited a long time to get a crown and this isn't a dollar store tiara. So yeah, I suppose that's right.

The Packers are about to play another playoff contender in the Texans. Should be a fun duel between two of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. A special screw you to the stupid NFL broadcasting rules for screwing over Packer fans in Minnesota. There are very few Raiders and Rams fans in the Twin Cities. Show the Packer game opposite the Viking game, as that slate at noon combined with the Niners-Chiefs game is objectively the better slate in this market. 

The NFL's broadcast rules are dumb. They should show the better games, but they still think they need to protect a team that sells out all their games. I don't get it, either, but what are you gonna do? Meanwhile, here's a picture of Roger Goodell looking dumb to illustrate the point:

Really should lay off those Lemonheads, Rog

I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYPPPEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (-7) vs. Northwestern Purple Nerds Holy crap, Phil Longo actually is getting the ball to his best weapons on offense. Where was this for the last year or so? This game is going to be hard. Northwestern is a team that plays hard, and the Badgers always struggle in Evanston. What is going to be the key is for the Badgers to keep on playing well early on. As interesting as the Penn State game is next week, it doesn't matter if the Badgers stub their toe. They won't. despite getting a game effort from Northwestern. Badgers 25, Purple Nerds 21.

The Badgers have lost a lot of games in Ryan Field. I don't know how they do on Oak Street Beach, or wherever this temp field is built. NU is a decent squad. I hope the Badgers can win, but this one makes me nervous, too. Badgers 30, Northwestern 24.

Detroit LOLions (+1.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings As much as I get a ton of joy about mocking the Vikings having Super Bowl ambitions, the Vikings are actually very good this year. They have thoroughly beaten two Super Bowl contenders at home in the Niners and Texans, and are facing a critical game in the NFC North against the Lions. Detroit gave me vicarious joy in making Jerry Jones have a terrible birthday. Thank you for your service, guys. The problem the Lions have in my eyes is that Dan Campbell showed a lot of his trick plays in a blowout. That shows me that he learned nothing from being too arrogant to take the points last January. What nobody in Michigan wants to admit is that the Lions failed a year ago was by being too aggressive even when it backfired. For the Vikings, I need to see how they respond to being jumped. And I am going to say this right now. If Sam Darnold keeps this play up, then the Vikings should trade JJ McCarthy at the trade deadline. I'm dead serious, by the way. They need draft capital. LOLions 35, Vikings 21.

Well, no one is going to trade for a quarterback who won't play in 2024 at the trade deadline. Perhaps in the offseason, maybe, but at this point McCarthy has proven exactly nothing. The Vikings did mortgage their future on drafting, but so far it's paying off. I do think the Lions are a better team, top to bottom, but losing Aidan Hutchinson will be a blow to the Lions defense. If they can't get home, the Vikings will move the ball a lot. And that may be enough. Vikings 38, Lions 34.

Houston Texans (+2.5) vs.  Glorious Green Bay Packers Last weekend went pretty well for the Packers. The only complaint is that things got a little nervy in the third quarter, but that would be nitpicky. I have a lot of respect for the Texans. They nailed their head coach and quarterback choice, and I like the talent that they have surrounded Stroud with. This is going to be a fun game between two entertaining offenses. The key for the Packers is to get off to a fast start again, and to keep Stroud from going deep. I think that they can do that, and X Man will get another pick. Packers 42, Texans 41.

Close game? Yes. Explosive plays? Probably. 42-41? Maybe less than that. But you're on the right track. Packers 34, Texans 30.

Enjoy your football this week. Ben out. 

Benster and D Pick Your Games----Can The Badgers Play Purdue Every Week Edition

 Last week went far better for my football teams. Wisconsin looked good against a terrible Boilermaker team, and the Packers were able to survive a late comeback out in LA. You love to see it. 

At least around here, we do.

Meanwhile, the Gophers are going to the Rose Bowl to play a game there for the first time since the 1960s. Maybe Basement Brew can lead the team out in order to say he did take the Gopher nation to Pasadena. 

He certainly meant to: 

Can you feel it? Would you want to? I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work.

Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat (-4) vs. UCLA Bruins So the Gophers pulled off a nice upset win against USC, and PJ does deserve a lot of credit for that win. That is a good way for him to quiet the detractors in the Gopher fan base. UCLA is a program that should be doing better, but they have a lot of work to do. And like USC, they need to bulk up in the trenches to survive a more physical style of play compared to Oregon and Washington. For the Gophers, they are going to need to avoid falling into a trap game that this one is going to be. A lot of Gopher fans will be in Pasadena, as many of them have never seen the Gophers play at the Rose Bowl. Speaking from personal experience, the Rose Bowl is a special place to watch a game. Similar to Lambeau and Wrigley Field in the sense that you instantly feel the history and tradition of the place. Row Row Row Your Boat Elitely 24, Gritty Little Bruins 21.

I actually think the Gophers are the better team. But the better team doesn't always win. UCLA 27, Gophers 23.

Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (+1.5) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Badgers looked a lot better against Purdue. I especially liked how Longo was willing to get the ball to his best weapons a lot more, and I thought the Badgers didn't panic when Purdue got those two picks. Rutgers is really starting to pull it's weight more in both football and basketball. Athan Kaliakmanis has proven that he has some potential, and Rutgers is starting to really get better athletes. The key for Wisconsin is to be able to establish the run early, and I want to see Longo get the ball to his playmakers more in space. And if the receivers can actually catch the ball, that would be great. This will be a close one, but I think the Badgers have a good shot. Badgers 31, Buttgers 13.

Rutgers has never beaten the Badgers. Will that continue? This is the best Rutgers team the Badgers have faced and this is also not the best Badgers team. Having said that, I think the Badgers are better. Wisconsin 24, Rutgers 21.

A School In Columbus (-3.5) vs. Oregon Quack Quack This game is the most anticipated game in the Big Ten this season, as both Ohio State and Oregon are favorites to win the league. From what I have seen of Ohio State, Will Howard looks like a nice model upgrade over Honda McCord, and the Buckeyes seem to be trying to quiet the narrative that Ryan Day can't beat Michigan or win a big game. That narrative is unfair, as should the Buckeyes be dumb enough to fire Day, 99% of schools would hire him instantly. Oregon has looked a little loose in the turns, and some are wondering if they were overranked to start the year. This game is not an elimination game by any means because of the 12 team playoff and the fact that there are going to be some 1 loss teams with the parity we are seeing. I like Oregon to win given that they are playing in Eugene. Oregon 43, Buckeyes 41. 

This will be interesting. Somehow I haven't seen OSU play yet, but they are uber talented as usual. Ducks can match up. I tend to agree - home field is the key here. Oregon 37, Ohio State 35.

Arizona Cardinals (+5) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers I thought that the Packers responded well in the second half. Jordan needs to clean up the turnovers, and I think that the pass heavy playcalls instead of running clock late in the game was playing with fire. The good news is that the Packers got an ugly win. Arizona has some good pieces, and the key is to keep Kyler Murray in the pocket and make him beat you with his arm. What I want to see from the Packers is to have a Romeo game. I was glad to see that he took care of what he needed to, and hopefully he can get rewarded. This won't be super easy, but the Packers have gotten better since the first half against the Vikings. Packers 46, Cardinals 21. 

Home field again. Packers will defend. Won't be easy, though. Green Bay 28, Cardinals 24.

Enjoy your football this week. Ben out. 

Benster and D Pick Your Games----Phil Longo Is A Disaster Edition

 Not a good week for my two favorite football teams. The Packers came this close to making me bust out a favorite tool of mine, and the Badgers had a terrible second half because Phil Longo is the worst assistant coach I have ever seen us hire. 

It's the Longo and the sort of it, I guess. Yes, he definitely has fallen well short of the hype. I don't understand what the Badgers are trying to do right now.

At least Everton got their crap together and actually won. Even better, Farhad Moshiri is actually going to sell the club to an ownership group that actually knows what they are doing. You love to see it. 

Go long on Toffee, I guess.

I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work.

USC Trojans (-8.5) vs. Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat The Gophers got utterly screwed over last week in the Big House. In the interest of full disclosure, I had switched over to the Wisconsin game and didn't see the onside kick until halftime. That wasn't offsides on the Gophers, and the Big Ten needs to suspend those refs similar to what happened a few years back with the Miami-Duke ending. USC was able to overcome their own mistakes in the first half last week, and I think that they will be able to get the athletes in the trenches that they need to compete in Big Ten play. Miller Moss in particular looks like he is the most underrated quarterback in the Big Ten. I think that even though the Gophers have home field, the Trojans are going to ride the momentum to another win. Lincoln Riley's Brisket 31, Row Row Your Boat Elitely 11.

The Gophers played very well down the stretch last week. The key will be to keep that poor call from beating them twice. USC is talented. Should be closer than you have it, but I see USC as the superior team. USC 34, Minnesota 19.

Purdue Spoilermakers (+12.5) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers While it is easy to blame the second half meltdown in LA on muffing the punt, the real culprit was Phil Longo. USC had a number of long drives in the first half, and the Badger defense looked gassed. I would have liked to see Longo call more run plays to give the defense some time to rest, and when he didn't the results were predictable. Fickell also deserves some of the blame for not making the decision to run the ball. The good news is that Purdue has been troubled offensively this year, and this game is Madison. Ever since the fateful fumble return all those years ago, Purdue has been unable to beat the Badgers. I think that this streak will continue if the Badgers actually get their crap together. Wisconsin 44, Purdont 12.

Big if. However, here's a live look at a recent Purdue practice:

So the Badgers have that going for them, which is nice. Badgers 24, Purdue 16.

New York J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS (+2.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings, in London Thank God that the Packers avoided the nightmare scenario of having Aaron return to Lambeau as an opponent. The next time I want him back at Lambeau is for his jersey retirement. I could bring up a number of things about last week, but that would be a salty homer move by me. The Vikings did their job quite impressively at Lambeau and won fair and square, and anyone that thinks the Vikings are frauds needs to step away from the keyboard or the microphone. They beat 3 teams in a row that are considered serious playoff contenders at worst, and have earned the title of legitimate contenders. I think that the Vikings are going to jump out in front of the Jets and coast to victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and even though Aaron will play well, it won't be enough. Vikings 40, Jets 28.

The Vikings appear to be legit. It pains me to say it, but the evidence is there that they are a well-coached team and have a lot of versatility on both sides of the ball. The potential weakness is if they run into a team that can run it down their throat. In theory, that should have been the 49ers, but game flow and the unavailability of CMC prevented that. Until someone does it, though, it's only a theory. Vikings 34, Jets 27.

Glorious Green Bay Packers (-3) vs. Los Angeles Rams It's hard to believe, but the Packers haven't played in LA since Ty Montgomery infamously ran the ball out of the end zone back in 2018. The Packers also haven't won a game in Los Angeles since 1994. It was obvious that J Love looked very rusty in the first half, and the bottom line is that when you dig yourselves a 28 point hole and turn the ball over 5 times, you ain't going to win. The fact that it was only 2 points was a good thing, but it never should have come to it. The Rams are going to be shorthanded at receiver without Kupp and Puka, which is going to help. I would like to see the Packers get out to a better start and for J Love to look more comfortable early against the blitz. Packers 34, Rams 10.

Rams are puzzling and they won't have some of their best weapons available. Packers should win, but the late-breaking nonsense involving Romeo Doubs won't help. I still think they win, though. Packers 27, Rams 20.

Enjoy your football this week. Ben out.