Monthly Archives: October 2009

Week 5 NFL Picks. There Could Be Five Undefeated Teams

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s been a long time since five NFL teams started a season at 5-0. But that could happen this week as long as the New England Patriots don’t go into Denver and shut down the Broncos.

Seems every other 4-0 club has an easy go this week: 4-0 Minnesota is at 0-4 St. Louis, the 4-0 New York Giants play host to 1-3 Oakland, 4-0 Indianapolis goes into winless Tennessee and 4-0 New Orleans has the bye. Regardless, the Saints will undefeated by Tuesday.

Of course, the other side of this coin is ugly. Tennessee and St. Louis will likely be 0-5 by Sunday night. K.C. has to beat Dallas at Arrowhead to avoid 0-5. Buffalo should mess up 0-4 Cleveland real bad and 0-4 Tampa has to go into Philly. Ouch.

So with all the undefeated good news comes all that winless bad news as well. (Remember, the Saints, Chargers, Bears and Packers have the byes).

Will there be any upsets this week? Let’s take a closer look at Week 5…

1. Cincinnati Bengals 3-1 at Baltimore Ravens 3-1 (-8.5)

Dr. Sports has a very definite opinion of this one. “This line is outrageous. The Vegas boys are laying too many points with the Ravens because they just saw the Bengals struggle at Cleveland. How quickly they forget that Cincinnati went into Green Bay and won, and then followed that up with a victory over Pittsburgh.” This is the “call your bookie” special.

Dr. Sports: Ravens to win, but the Bengals to cover.

The Coach: Ravens to win and cover.

2. Cleveland Browns 0-4 at Buffalo Bills 1-3 (-5.5)

Cleveland put a ton of energy into that Cincinnati game, but came up short in overtime. I don’t think the Browns will be able to muster that same intensity here. Trent Edwards will get the ball to Terrell Owens in this game, making him happy for a week.

Dr. Sports: Bills to win and cover.

The Coach: Bills to win and cover.

3. Washington Redskins 2-2 at Carolina Panthers 0-3 (-3.5)

Both teams have struggled on offense, but we see the Panthers getting it going early, especially after having the week off. Look for Steve Smith to come up big. Panthers win their first.

Dr. Sports: Panthers to win and cover.

The Coach: Panthers to win and cover.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers 2-2 at Detroit Lions 1-3 (-3.5)

The Steelers have not looked at all like defending Super Bowl champions. That changes this week. Mike Tomlin always has his team prepared to kick the crap out of lesser foes.

Dr. Sports: Steelers to win and cover.

The Coach: Steelers to win and cover.

5. Dallas Cowboys 2-2 at Kansas City Chiefs 0-4 (+8.5)

The Chiefs can’t do anything offensively. Larry Johnson is averaging a whopping 2.6 yards per carry because he’s over-the-hill and his offensive line can’t open up any running lanes. Jamaal Charles, the superior player, isn’t getting any touches because Todd Haley doesn’t understand how to be a head coach. Dallas is playing their second straight road game which is tough.

Dr. Sports: Cowboys to win, but the Chiefs to cover.

The Coach: Cowboys to win, but the Chiefs to cover.

6. Oakland Raiders 1-3 at New York Giants 4-0 (-15.5)

We’re beginning to suspect that Tom Cable’s future arrest has a lot to do with Oakland’s free fall. Think about it – if you’re about to be arrested, would you be able to come up with a good game plan to beat another NFL team? The Giants are not just “another” team by the way.

Dr. Sports: Giants to win and cover.

The Coach: Giants to win and cover.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-4 at Philadelphia Eagles 2-1 (-13.5)

Whether Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb is under center, the Eagles should be able to score at will. Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson and Brent Celek will be too much for the Bucs to handle. The Bucs are abysmal.

Dr. Sports: Eagles to win and cover

The Coach: Eagles to win and cover

8. Minnesota Vikings 4-0 at St. Louis Rams 0-4 (+10.5)

The Vikings are on a short week, off an emotional Monday night victory over the Packers, so this could be a tough one. Problem is, the Rams just aren’t any good.

Dr. Sports: Vikings to win and cover

The Coach: Vikings to win and cover

9. Atlanta Falcons 2-1 at San Francisco 49ers 3-1 (-2.5)

The Falcons are overrated and the 49ers are underrated.

Dr. Sports: Niners to win and cover

The Coach: Niners to win and cover

10. Houston Texans 2-2 at Arizona Cardinals 1-2 (-5.5)

Look for a lot of points here. The Texans played better on defence last week, but that was the Raiders. They still have issues, and look for Kurt Warner to exploit them.

Dr. Sports: Cardinals to win and cover

The Coach: Cardinals to win and cover

11. New England Patriots 3-1 at Denver Broncos 4-0 (+3.5)

Right now, the Broncos are 4-0, yet no one takes them seriously. They’re home underdogs against a team with a worse record. This is a huge statement game for Denver. Can the student beat the mentor? That’s what we have in Josh McDaniels going against Bill Belichick. Football is all about momentum. the Broncos are playing with a lot of fire right now, and the good Doctor thinks that spells upset. The Coach disagrees.

Dr. Sports: Broncos to win

The Coach: Patriots to win and cover

12. Jacksonville Jaguars 2-2 at Seattle Seahawks 1-3 (pick)

Seattle has lost three consecutive games, and may or may not play with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (ribs). The Seahawks have to show up. And they will. This will be high scoring.

Dr. Sports: Seahawks to win

The Coach: Seahawks to win.

13. Indianapolis Colts 4-0 at Tennessee Titans 0-4 (+3.5)

The Colts are an experienced team led by the top quarterback in the NFL. I have a hard time seeing Manning lose this game. He has to be licking his chops thinking about the Titans horrible secondary.

Dr. Sports: Colts to win and cover.

The Coach: Colts to win and cover.

14. New York Jets 3-1 at Miami Dolphins 1-3 (+1.5)

We both like the Dolphins here. Miami seems to be gaining momentum and confidence with a new quarterback , while Sanchez just suffered his first loss and could begin doubting himself.

Dr. Sports: Miami to win.

The Coach: Miami to win.

The Doc is 42-20 on the season and 34-28 against the spread. The Coach is 41-21 straight up and 35-27 against the spread.

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Another Made Up Mainstream Media Rumour Forces Everyone into Denial.

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada, Al Strachan was at it again. Strachan told a breathless audience that “two Toronto businessmen are close to purchasing the Atlanta Thrashers so they can move them to Winnipeg.”

How many different ways can you say, “crock of crap?”

Strachan was once a big-time hockey writer with Sun Media. He had an inside line to agent Don Meehan and in order to keep that line free, he publicly promoted the demands of the NHL Players (read: Agents) Association. Far too much of Strachan’s scribbling wasn’t based in reality so it was not surprising when he cooked up this rumour.

Now to be fair, the sale of the Thrashers is not particularly far-fetched. The team is a complete disaster in Atlanta so why not sell it to somebody who can make the thing work. Canada is obviously the only place where big-time hockey can work and even though Canadian teams playing in the United States seem to be the scourge of American hockey marketers, it’s already been proven that six Canadian teams generate about 33 per cent of the NHL’s total revenue.  The NHL needs more Canadian-based teams, not fewer.

So, naturally, the Thrashers denied that the team was for sale and got rather testy when www.rivercitysportsblog.com asked if the team was being sold to “a couple of guys from Toronto,” who had plans to move it to Winnipeg.

“Completely false,” said Thrashers GM Don Waddell.

While it IS likely the Thrashers are for sale and eventually will be sold to new owners, who may or may not ask to re-locate the team, Atlanta is not the launching pad that will generate Winnipeg’s next NHL franchise.

The launching pad is still Phoenix. The Coyotes will probably lose upwards of $100 million this season. The Coyotes don’t play at home until Saturday night and et they’ve already started reducing ticket prices to $25 in the lower bowl. The NHL will soon take over ownership of this mess in the desert and you can bet they won’t be flushing money down that giant toilet for more than one year.

To their credit, the Thompson family from Osmington Inc. and Thompson Reuters, the people who own the majority of shares in True North Sports and Entertainment, have been working quietly and professionally to bring the NHL to Winnipeg. They will succeed.

But when you start believing the gibberish that is generated at Hockey Night in Canada, you will be stuck believing things that simply aren’t going to happen.

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Bombers Win Second Straight. Enough of the Reinebold Crap.

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It will be impossible to get those people have sucked long and hard on the local mainstream media’s Kool-Aid straw to admit that their anger with Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly is misplaced.

After all, when you believe everything you read in newspapers, you can be sucked into believing the craziest, goofiest stuff.

So while I’m sure that all the media-driven anger over Derrick Armstrong and Barrin Simpson and Pacman Jones and yada-yada-yada, is still going to be deeply imbedded in the DNA of many Bomber fans, the reality is this: Mike Kelly is building HIS football team and before he’s finished, it’s going to be a good one.

I know my pals at the FAN 960 in Calgary and The TEAM 1260 in Edmonton got a good laugh this week when I selected the Bombers to beat the Eskimos Friday night on every Pro-Line ticket I had. Indeed, they all got a good chuckle (although Mike Richards in Calgary did play his very funny Ricky Ray “I pooped my pants,” parody), but if you know anything about football, you know that (a) Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray is not as good as the media hordes have made him out to be and (b) he was awful last week at home against Saskatchewan and there was no reason to believe he would be any better in Winnipeg this week.

And, of course, he wasn’t. Ray throws for plenty of yards and not many important touchdowns and with a Bomber defence that has improved dramatically since the injured Barrin Simpson was run off the premises, there was no way Ray was going to be successful against Mark Nelson’s D on Friday night.

This is a good Blue Bomber team. Not a bgreat one, but a good one.

In fact, you can stop equating it with the Reinebold years right freakin’ now. It’s now 5-8, it’s won two straight, it will win again this week in Hamilton and next week at home against B.C. and it will make the playoffs.

Kelly has had to work very hard to see who was with him and who was against him and he found out. Derrick Armstrong quit on the team and is gone. Barrin Simpson quit on the team’s medical department and is gone. Granted, Kelly still has a quarterback problem, but Michael Bishop will do in a pinch.

In fact, as long as Kelly keeps inserting all the motion he inserted into the offence against Edmonton, Bishop will survive.

In the meantime, I see in the Free Press today that there is an ongoing lament over the fact that only 22,083 went to the Stadium last week and only 21,965 went this week. Well, the Free Press and the Sun can blame themselves. They told enough people for as long as they could that the coach was an idiot and the team was horrible and fans were wasting their money by going to the games. Well, congratulations, since you’ve become the house organ of the Blue Bombers, your readers have believed you and they’ve decided to stay home. Well done.

Mike Kelly has had to overcome a great deal in this prairie town that embraces second-best in order to re-build a football team that went 8-10 last year and lost the Eastern semifinal at home. He has taken the scorn of the media, scorn that was turned into anger by the fans, and he’s done what’s right. And while he’s still a long way from his destination, he’s getting closer.

People who have never even thrown a football, let alone played the game, have convinced the people who buy the tickets that the coach is a bad guy and his plans are flawed and because he doesn’t genuflect at the altar of the daily newspaper, he’s somehow not worthy to be the head coach of this great franchise (this great franchise that hasn’t won a CFL championship in 19 years).

Well, bullshit. One day Mike Kelly will be remembered as the coach who turned around a failing football team. He’s not there yet, but he’s on the right path.

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It’s Week 4. We Continue Onward, if not Upward.

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

Dr. Sports had a pretty good week in Week 3. The Coach did not.

But we are progressing forward.

It’s Week 4 in the National Football League. The most intriguing matchups include Baltimore at New England, the unbeaten Jets at the unbeaten Saints, San Diego at Pittsburgh on Sunday night and, of course, Green Bay at Minnesota in the Monday Nighter.

After Brett Favre’s heroics last week, the Lions first victory in 19 games and Michael Vick’s official return to the NFL, it’s hard to imagine anything could be better.

But Monday night, you can bet it will get better. Packers-Vikings. Favre vs. his old team. Monday night at the Dome. Wow!

Fasten your seat belts, Week 4 is going to be a terrific ride.

Remember, the Cardinals, Falcons, Panthers and Eagles all have the bye this week, the first bye week of 2009.

Let’s look a little more closely at Week 4:

1. Detroit Lions 1-2 at Chicago Bears 2-1 (-9.5)

Will magic strike twice for the Lions? Don’t bet on it.

Dr. Sports: Bears to win and cover

The Coach: Bears to win and cover

2. Cincinnati Bengals 2-1 at Cleveland Browns 0-3 (+5.5)

The Browns can’t seem to score and it doesn’t appear as if they’ll have any success this week. Even with Derel Anderson at quarterback.

Dr. Sports: Bengals to win and cover.

The Coach: Bengals to win and cover.

3. Oakland Raiders 1-2 at Houston Texans 1-2 (-9.5)

The Raiders offense is horrible but the Texans defence stinks. Nice combination.

Dr. Sports: Texans to win but NOT cover

The Coach: Texans to win but NOT cover.

4. Seattle Seahawks 1-2 at Indianapolis Colts 3-0 (-8.5)

Close your eyes Seahawks fans. You do not want to see what the Colts are going to do to your team.

Dr. Sports: Colts to win and cover.

The Coach: Colts to win and cover.

5. Tennessee Titans 0-3 at Jacksonville Jaguars 1-2 (+2.5)

This is the week that Jeff Fisher’s Titans finally get their first win. The Jaga are just awful and they play in front of family and friends.

Dr. Sports: Titans to win and cover

The Coach: Titans to win and cover.

6. New York Giants 3-0 at Kansas City Chiefs 0-3 (+8.5)

These teams couldn’t be more opposite. Even though this is the Giants third consecutive road game, they’ll win…by a lot.

Dr. Sports: Giants to win and cover.

The Coach: Giants to win and cover.

7. Baltimore Ravens 3-0 at New England Patriots 2-1 (-1.5)

Tom Brady will hit some big throws, but so will Joe Flacco to keep it close. Taylor loves the Ravens this week.

Dr. Sports: Patriots to win and cover

The Coach: Ravens to win and cover.

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-3 at Washington Redskins 1-2 (-6.5)

Josh Johnson will be making his first NFL start for Tampa Bay. Johnson, a fifth-round draft pick in 2008 who was inactive for all 16 games as a rookie, takes over an offense that managed just 86 yards total offense during last week’s 24-0 loss to the New York Giants.

Dr. Sports: Redskins to win and cover.

The Coach: Redskins to win and cover.

9. Buffalo Bills 1-2 at Miami Dolphins 0-3 (+1.5)

These two teams used to put on a great show. Not anymore. However, it’s still an inter-divisional rivalry and T.O. will be on the field.

Dr. Sports: Miami to win and cover.

The Coach: Buffalo to win.

10. New York Jets 3-0 at New Orleans Saints 3-0 (-6.5)

The great defence of the Jets matching up against the great offense of the Saints. The Jets blitz a lot. Drew Brees eats up blitzes. The Jets — and Mark Sanchez — bubble bursts here.

Dr. Sports: Saints to win and cover.

The Coach: Saints to win and cover.

11. Dallas Cowboys 2-1 at Denver Broncos 3-0 (+2.5)

Dallas is like New England. They’re not as impressive as they should be, but they will win this week.

Dr. Sports: Cowboys to win and cover.

The Coach: Cowboys to win and cover.

12. St. Louis Rams 0-3 at San Francisco 49ers 2-1 (-9.5)

In their last 13, the Rams are 0-13 and don’t look for any improvement here. Coming off a tough loss week to the Vikings the 49ers will be very focused. How ’bout this? The Rams, Tampa and Cleveland all go 0-16 this year.

Dr. Sports: 49ers to win and cover.

The Coach: 49ers to win and cover.

13. San Diego Chargers 2-1 at Pittsburgh Steelers 1-2 (-6.5)

Do you think the Champs are happy being 1-2? Watch for a big win at home.

Dr. Sports: Steelers to win and cover.

The Coach: Steelers to win but NOT cover.

14. Green Bay Packers 2-1 at Minnesota 3-0 (-3.5)

Does it get any better than this? This is more than a football game. It’s an event. For many, many years, when you thought of Green Bay, you thought of Brett Favre. Now he’s playing for the rival Vikings, the team all Packers fans must hate (it’s actually a Wisconsin State law). This is the third biggest game of the year, behind the Super Bowl and when Favre and his Vikings play at Green Bay on Nov. 1. Dr. Sports going to be there live, enjoying the magnificence it all.

Dr. Sports: Vikings to win and cover.

The Coach: Vikings to win and cover.

The Doc is 30-18 this year and 25-23 against the spread. The Coach is 29-19, 22-26 against the spread.

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