Week 10 Mistakes

8-6-1

Another week above .500, I'll take it. I had work on Sunday so I did not watch any of the games live, but I taped the Chargers-Eagles game and the Colts-Pats game, and they did not disappoint. The Chargers got out to a big lead and held off a late Eagles comeback to win 31-23 and climb up into a first place tie with Denver, who had lost to Washington earlier. So that made me happy. At this point, it was about 11:00 and I was debating if I wanted to watch the Sunday night game or not. I decided I would since I had no reason to get up early the next day. Once I got to the 4th quarter and the Patriots went up 31-14, I was ready to pack it in. It was almost 1:00 am and I was having difficulty keeping my eyes open. Thankfully, I continued to fight sleep and watch the apparent blowout, probably because I knew the Colts would make a run. By the time 4th and 2 on the 28 came around, I was wide awake, screaming at the TV and Bill Belichick. You knew the Colts were going to score once they got the ball on the 29 yard line. Everyone knew. If you thought the Patriots were going to hold, then you are either a New England native or an insane person.

Now, some people have defended Belichick's decision. I am not one of them. I know it was a bad decision becuase even if it had worked out, I still would have thought it was a bad move. I can understand his thinking to a degree... but I wouldn't even have gone for it in madden, let alone in a real life game. And if I HAD gone for it, I wouldn't have thrown a 2-yard out to my backup RB. Stupid play-call.

However, I am not going to blame the entire loss on that one play. The Patriots were up 31-14 in the 4th quarter, and they took their foot off the accelerator. They let the Colts drive right down and score (31-21). They then took just 4 minutes off the clock and were forced to punt. They even got a pick off of Manning, an apparent dagger at the time) that set them up at the Colts' 30. They used just 3 minutes and settled for a field goal (34-21). So we have about 4 minutes left (ages and ages for Peyton Manning). The Colts go down and score in under 2 minutes (34-28). Now the Pats are getting a little nervous, who wouldn't be? They get the ball back with 2:23 left and promptly lay a big fat egg right there on the field. 4 plays, 9 yards, 23 seconds off the clock, and a turnover on downs. And the rest is history.

I don't know who was wearing those white uniforms in the 4th quarter, but it was not the New England Patriots.

But I digress, Belichick has taken enough beating.

Here are the games I picked correctly:

SAN FRANCISCO (-3.5) over Chicago
Jacksonville (+7) over NEW YORK JETS 24-22
Cincinnati (+7) over Pittsburgh 18-12
TENNESSEE (-6) over Buffalo 41-17
Tampa Bay (+10) over MIAMI 23-25
ARIZONA (-8.5) over Seattle 31-20
SAN DIEGO (-2.5) over Philadelphia 31-23
New England (+3) over INDIANAPOLIS 34-35

And this game was a push:

Detroit (+17) over MINNESOTA 10-27

Here is where I didn't do so hot:

Denver (-3.5) over WASHINGTON
Score: WAS 27, DEN 17
What have we learned here? The Broncos aren't quite as good as we thought, and Chris Simms isn't good at all. Moving on.

New Orleans (-13.5) over St. Louis
Score: NO 28, STL 23
I knew this was going to happen! I knew Jackson was going to run wild! Dang it...

Atlanta (-1.5) over CAROLINA
Score: CAR 28, ATL 19
So the Panthers are good now? Or what? It would be nice if teams that start out like crap, keep playing like crap. It would make my life much easier.

OAKLAND (-1.5) over Kansas City
Score: KC 16, OAK 10
Why am I not surprised?

Dallas (-3) over GREEN BAY
Score: GB 17, DAL 7
Look at what happens? I basically write off the Packers on Saturday, and then this?? This was one of the games I was more sure this week, nay, this season. On the other hand.... I'm glad my Superbowl pick isn't totally embarrassing me.

CLEVELAND (+11) over Baltimore (Ballsy Pick of the Week FAILED)
Score: BAL 16, CLE 0
I refuse to admit that this was a bad pick. I stand behind it 100% The Browns defense was fantastic in this game. They gave up 7 legitimate points in the game. 6 were scored on a Brady Quinn INT returned for a TD (extra point was blocked by Sean Rogers... which surprises no one). And they gave up a field goal only because Quinn threw another pick and subsequently drew a 15-yard illegal block penalty, giving the Ravens the ball at the 24. If the Browns could have just mustered one measly TD, I would have been golden. But no! I blame Eric Mangini. I blame him for everything that goes wrong.

Quick Note: I didn't post my Week 1 picks, but I did make them. I went 8-8... you are just going to have to believe me.

Overall Record: 76-66-2
Ballsy Pick of the Week Record: 7-2

No fantasy update for you this week. Vincent Jackson and Cedric Benson had a combined 4 points, you can probable figure out how my fantasy weekend was...