The One That Got Away

Last night's game at Indianapolis was frustrating to watch. Knowing that the Bills had already lost earlier in the day, the Patriots had a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the AFC East while further pushing the Colts out of the playoff picture. Following the loss, the Patriots are now in a three way tie for first place and the Colts are right back in the wild card race. Surprisingly, the Patriots outplayed the Colts in nearly every facet of the game but still came up short because of some costly mistakes. At least I think they were mistakes. Maybe they were just Bill Belichick's way of firing up his team for next week.

Anyway, here are just a few thoughts on the game while I wonder if we're seeing the real Bilichick (that wouldn't be a good thing) or if he's just messing with us:

• Who's Who?
Team A: Time of possession was 34:24, 342 net yards, 140 yards rushing, 67 offensive plays, 22 first downs.

Team B: Time of possession was 25:36, 301 net yards, 47 yards rushing, 50 offensive plays, 18 first downs.

Despite a clear advantage is every category, Team A still came out on the losing end last night.

• Jabar Gaffney should not have been allowed to fly back with the team last night. Gaffney's drop will be remembered for a long time. Cassel hit him in stride and there was no defender within ten yards. That was an easy touchdown taken off the board and a huge difference in this game.

• Belichick clearly didn't bring his A game last night and I can only hope he did this on purpose. The challenge of too many men on the field was a perfect example of being stupid. The Patriots had just picked up a first down so they hurry to the line of scrimmage in an attempt to draw a penalty and run a play for no gain. So instead of setting your offense and running a developed play, you try to run some kind of play designed to draw a penalty? Why not just design a play to pick up yardage? And the challenge was weak, anyway.

• More on Belichick: Clock management wasn't his strong suite last night, either. He burned his three timeouts with more than 11 minutes left in the game. I also didn't like him running down the sidelines to use the last timeout of fourth and 1. His timeout call negated the first down that the Patriots picked up and then he chose to kick a field goal afterwards. Just a weird sequence.

• In general, I thought that the play calling was way too conservative. I know that Randy Moss was double and triple teamed all night but at some point you've got to air it out and let Moss go get it. And if Moss was drawing that type of defense, someone else had to be wide open more often. And I don't consider Ben Watson a viable option.

• I could have written 100 different scenarios in which the Patriots could have lost last night's game and I would never have thought for one second that Adam Vinatieri kicking a 52 yard field goal for the winning points would be one of them.

• I like Cassel not getting sacked yesterday. I didn't like Peyton Manning not getting sacked yesterday.

• Not sure what Dave Thomas was thinking on the late hit but even Rodney Harrison would have thought it was late, which tells you something. That was a killer penalty since it made it third and 16 and pushed them out of field goal range. Here's the thing, though. On the next play, Cassel threw a shovel pass to Faulk for no gain. That seemed like poor play calling right there.

• Even if Laurence Maroney can come back healthly next year, I'm convinced that I don't ever want to see him in a Patriots uniform. You could put a blindfold on Kevin Faulk and BenJarvis Green-Ellis and they would still hit the hole better than Maroney.

Despite the loss, I'm encouraged by the play of Matt Cassel and the offense, as well as the way the defense came up big on numerous occasions to stop the Colts' offense. In this game, a few calls either way is the difference between winning and losing and last night, the Patriots had those two or three calls all go against them. Up next for the Patriots are the suddenly struggling Bills in a showdown for first place.

Week Nine NFL Picks

This week's slate of NFL games features some great matchups. Even the Jets vs. Bills game should be intriguing. Can Brett Favre win back the New York Fans? Will his wife openly cry on national television and blog about it after? Riveting, truly riveting. We'll also continue to witness the demise of the Lions, Bengals and Chiefs. We may soon be tossing the Colts into that list, too. Their season is on the line verse the Patriots this week. If they come out too desperate look for the Patriots to exploit their weaknesses on defense and throw the ball downfield early and often.

I also believe that there won't be any unbeaten teams in the league come Monday morning. Yes, the Titans will fall to the Packers. I'm amazed that Kerry Collins has this team at 7-0 but that's what happens when you have a stifling defensive unit and an offensive line that has only allowed one sack all year. Eventually, Collins' mediocre play will catch up with the Titans and I think it happens this week.

Sunday, November 2
NY Jets at BUFFALO
I don't see a tired and sloppy Brett Favre going into Buffalo and beating the Bills. I just wish that this game were in the Meadowlands so that we could hear the fans booing Favre more often. And for once, I'd like to hear Favre defend himself instead of his wife. I can't recall any player ever damaging his reputation more than Favre has this year.

Detroit at CHICAGO
I am not picking the Lions to win another game this year.

JACKSONVILLE at Cincinnati
I am not picking Cincinnati to win another game this year.

BALTIMORE at Cleveland
The Ravens seem to own the Browns lately and I don't see that changing very much this Sunday.

GREEN BAY at Tennessee
Here's what you need to know about the Titans: as good as everyone says they are, their quarterback is a joke. For the year, Kerry Collins has only thrown three touchdowns, in seven games. That may be good enough to get you through the regular season but I don't see them going deep into the playoffs with that type of passing game.

Arizona at ST. LOUIS
Kurt Warner's return to St. Louis is going to be spoiled by him putting up a Farve-like three interception performance.

HOUSTON at Minnesota
I don't think either of these teams are any good and I'm abandoning my rule of picking the home team when in doubt. Just a hunch that the Vikings are in for a collapse.

TAMPA BAY at Kansas City
I am not picking Kansas City to win another game this year.

Miami at DENVER
Looks like defenses have begun to figure out the Wildcat. This could be a high scoring game, as neither team tends to play very much defense.

ATLANTA at Oakland
One thing I don't like about Atlanta: they've allowed one more point than they've scored this year. If they want to be a serious contender, their defense will have to play better.

DALLAS at NY Giants
I'm continuing my streak of not picking the Giants here. Although, I think I would have picked the Cowgirls anyway.

PHILADELPHIA at Seattle
That win in San Fran last week was a fluke. I'd be surprised if the Seahawks won another game this year.

NEW ENGLAND at Indianapolis
No Jeopardy this week but I will give you a few stats to ponder.

Quarterback A: Has thrown for 1,362 yards with a 66 percent completion rate, seven touchdowns and six interceptions for a quarterback rating of 85.

Quarterback B: Has thrown from 1,754 yards with a 61 percent completion rate, ten touchdowns and nine interceptions for a quarterback rating of 79.

Those, my friends, are the 2008 statistics of Matt Cassel and Peyton Manning respectively. I'm not really sure what the deal is with Manning this year. I know that there's been speculation about his knee but in the limited amount I've watched him play this year, he looks completely out of sync and even more immobile than ever.

There are two other reasons I'm picking the Patriots here. The first is that the defensive line of the Patriots looks as strong as I've ever seen it. Last week they had Rams quarterback Marc Bulger on the run for nearly the whole game. And if it's one thing we do really good here in Massachusetts, it's chase people named Bulger. But, unlike the Feds, the Patriots were able to get to the Rams quarterback on many occasions. If the Patriots are to win on Sunday, they have to play that same style of defense and get to Manning. They can't let him sit back in the pocket and choose his receiver because I have no faith that our backfield can cover the Colts wide receivers. In fact, I think Randy Moss might actually play both sides of the ball this week.

The second key ingredient for a Patriots win is the play of Cassel, who is starting to look more and more like Tom Brady every week. His confidence is way up and you're starting to see a bit more swagger on the part of the offense. Two weeks ago, Cassel won the AFC Player of the Week for his game against Denver. Last week against the Rams, Cassel was even better than the previous week. His numbers weren't the same but he showed that he can bring the Patriots back from a deficit on three separate occasions and win the game. Were it not for three or four dropped passes by Moss, Wes Welker and the sure-handed Kevin Faulk, last week's game wouldn't have even been close.

Third, it looks like LaMont Jordan will be ready to go at running back and we can only hope that he can carry the load and play his usual physical style. Establishing the run will allow Cassel to find his open receiver. With the Colts' defensive unit already banged up so this would be a good time to put them to the test and air it out deep.

Patriots 41 Colts 31 and Vince Wilfork will write a check to the NFL after every cheap shot he gets on Manning (I have the number at three and I think that might be low).

Monday, November 3
Pittsburgh at WASHINGTON
That was a tough loss for the Steelers last week against the Giants. I think they start to break down in this game with Big Ben starting to show some of the abuse he's taken so far this year.

Red Sox Are Still The World Champions

Well, it seems as though Mother Nature is a big fan of the Boston Red Sox. She just doesn't want to see the Philadelphia Phillies or the Tampa Bay Rays win the World Series, knocking the Red Sox out of their rightful spot as the best team in baseball.

And kudos to the Red Sox for knowing that this World Series was going to be an absolute mess. Between the horrible officiating (which MLB has apologized for, twice), delayed start times, record low television numbers and the abysmal playing conditions, the Sox must have seen this one coming and let the Rays beat them in game 7. It's the only rational explanation of why the Sox lost that game. And is Barack Obama really that powerful that he can push back the start of a baseball game just so his half hour commercial can air tonight? Apparently he is.

Anyway, to all the Rays and Phillies fans out there, have fun watching the three inning game tonight or whenever Mother Nature decides to let play resume.

Ken Rosenthal Is Not A Journalist

I really didn't want to write about the following topic. For those of you who know me, you know that I like to have fun, joke around and I definitely don't take myself too seriously. But this is one of those times when I've got to Cowboy Up and write about something that's really been bothering me: Ken Rosenthal.

A few weeks ago, Rosenthal reported the following on FoxSports:

The Red Sox look very white. The trade of left fielder Manny Ramirez and loss of shortstop Julio Lugo to injury left the Sox with a predominantly Caucasian roster. Why bring this up now, with the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series? Well, the free-agent market will open in about a month. The makeup of the Red Sox's roster could be a concern for players they pursue, whether it's this offseason or in the future.

Of the Red Sox's current players in the ALCS, the only African-American is outfielder Coco Crisp. The only Latin Americans are designated hitter David Ortiz, who is from the Dominican Republic, and utility infielder Alex Cora and reliever Javier Lopez, both of whom are from Puerto Rico. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is Native American. Pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima are from Japan. Reliever Manny Delcarmen is of Dominican descent, and injured third baseman Mike Lowell was born to Cuban parents in Puerto Rico... a perception has long existed among some African-American athletes that Boston is hostile to players who are not white... The question is whether the Red Sox will lose players they want because of the makeup of their club, the perception of the city or both.

So let me get this straight, Ken: The Red Sox are a mostly white team, except for all the non-white players in the clubhouse, which some people might mistake for a meeting of the United Nations? That's one of the most idiotic things I've ever read.

And what is with Rosenthal's notion that "Boston is hostile to players who are not white?" Is he writing this story based on data from 1960? Did Rosenthal even bother to do any research for this column at all? And why would any editor let this drivel pass off as a column?

Does he know that David Ortiz is among the most beloved sports figures in all of Boston sports history? Yeah, he's right up there with Larry Bird, Bobby Orr and Bill Russell. Last year, the Red Sox ownership honored Ortiz with a made up clutch player award so they could give him a brand new car.

Let's take it a step further than Ortiz. This team features Daisuke Matsuzaka, whom the club paid a record breaking $53 million to his Japanese team just for the right to negotiate with him, knowing that there was no guarantee that he would sign. And after they signed Matsuzaka, the Sox went out of their way to sign Hideki Okajima, in part to help ease the transition for Matsuzaka. But the Red Sox only like white players, according to Rosenthal.

Digging a little further, we'll all remember that fans demanded the Sox bring back Mike Lowell after last season. Even though he's on the downside of his career, the Sox did end up signing him to a lucrative deal, even though he isn't white. You can also look at the popularity of guys like Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp. Their popularity seems to grow every day, despite what they've accomplished on the field, which isn't a whole lot. But, according to Rosenthal, Boston only embraces white players. Except for all those other non white players.

I also want to address Rosenthal's comments regarding Manny Ramirez and Julio Lugo. I'll address Lugo first because he's easy to do. The Sox signed him to a four year, $36 million deal two years ago. He has stunk for both years and was in jeopardy of losing his job before he got hurt earlier this year. It has nothing to do with the color of his skin and everything to do with the fact that he probably couldn't even be the backup infielder on this team. . . if he were even healthy.

Now on to Ramirez, a tougher act to tackle but I'll give it a shot. Despite the millions of reasons that Manny gave the fans of Boston to hate him (and I mean hate in the worst sense of the word), the fans embraced him for nearly eight years. We put up with his quirkiness, we put up with his running mistakes, we put up with him throwing traveling secretaries to the ground, we put up with him not talking to anyone in the media, we put up with him not going to visit injured war veterans, we put up with him fighting players in the dugout, we put up with his showboating and the list goes on and on. Here's the thing, though: race has nothing to do with why Manny was traded. Manny shot his way out of town. He quit on his teammates, management and the fans. This was a guy who said he had a sore knee and couldn't play for two weeks, had an MRI done that showed nothing was wrong and was promptly traded to the Dodgers where there were never any issues with his knee. It was strictly about one thing and one thing only for Manny: money.

To further show how much of an idiot Rosenthal is, I went back to one of his earlier columns, where he pretty much writes the exact opposite when discussing New York Mets General Manager Omar Minaya earlier this year:

The Red Sox are a better example of a melting pot, but they are not just a cultural melting pot. The Sox are a blend of players young and old, gifted and ordinary, wealthy and hungry. The pieces — from Manny Ramirez to Dustin Pedroia, Daisuke Matsuzaka to Jonathan Papelbon — could not be more disparate. But somehow, under the leadership of manager Terry Francona, they all pull toward a common goal.

But, just like Manny, we're not going to get any answers from Rosenthal. We won't have an explanation of what he meant or a carefully crafted PR statement proclaiming that he was intoxicated when he wrote those columns. All we have to go on are the articles. And the articles clearly show that Ken Rosenthal is a horrible journalist.

Week Eight NFL Picks

Here we are at week eight of the 2008 NFL season and things remain as whacky as ever. Early pre season picks of the Colts and Chargers continue to look mortal, while we wait and see what will happen with the tailspin in Dallas. Another loss could send them tumbling over the edge but a win might restart their season. Losses for those three teams this weekend might be the beginning of some rebuilding ahead. On the flip side, the Bills, Redskins, Steelers and Giants (as much as I hate to say it), continue to look like strong contenders.

As always, winning team is in CAPS.

Sunday, October 26
TAMPA BAY at Dallas
The free fall in Dallas continues with another loss to Tampa Bay. I have a feeling that there will be a sacrificial lamb in Dallas following this game, whether it be someone on the coaching staff or the water boy no one knows.

WASHINGTON at Detroit
The Redskins look good so far this year, which is the exact opposite of how the Lions have look.

BUFFALO at Miami
Big win by the Bills last week against the Chargers. Look for that to continue as they head to Miami.

St. Louis at NEW ENGLAND
The Rams have surprisingly won two games in a row but they give up way too many points to keep that streak alive. After a short week of practice for the Patriots, the loss of Rodney Harrison and three of their running backs, the Patriots will realize that Matt Cassel can throw the deep ball better than Tom Brady. Patriots 38 - Rams 13. This green Kool Aid is delicous!

San Diego at NEW ORLEANS (in London)
Not really sure how this is considered a home game for the Saints. This is an early must win game for both teams and I see New Orleans coming out on top. San Diego might be done.

KANSAS CITY at NY Jets
I'm not sure how anyone can believe a word out of Brett Favre's mouth ever again. I wonder if they can take his SI Sportsman of the Year Award away from him that he won last year? The only thing he's managed to do since unretiring (if he was ever retired in the first place) is tarnish his own image and he has no one to blame but himself.

ATLANTA at Philadelphia
Matt Ryan is quickly erasing the memory of Michael Vick and that's a very, very good thing.

Oakland at BALTIMORE
It pains me to pick the Ravens but I don't see Oakland going to Baltimore and beating this team, even though I think that Baltimore isn't nearly as ferocious as it used to be.

Arizona at CAROLINA
I still think that the Cardinals give up way too many points to be considered an elite NFL team, regardless of what the standings say.

Cleveland at JACKSONVILLE
I think we'll see the real Browns this weekend and that's not a good thing for Cleveland.

Cincinnati at HOUSTON
This is probably one of the last good opportunities that the Bengals have of winning a game this year.

NY Giants at PITTSBURGH
In what many are considering a potential Super Bowl matchup (I don't see either of these teams going that far, by the way), the Steelers come out on top and not just because I'm not picking the Giants in any game this year. I think the Steelers are a better team.

Seattle at SAN FRANCISCO
If things keep getting worse in San Francisco, Mike Singeltary may line up on defense.

Monday, October 27
Indianapolis at TENNESSEE
This should be fun watching the end of the Colts as we know them. They've looked old, slow and complacent the entire year. Playing the Titans isn't going to change that.

Some Links That You May or May Not Enjoy (Tom Brady Edition)

Painful details on Tom Brady's knee


A nightmare scenario


Profile: Tom Brady's surgeon


Brady's recovery hits snag


Brady has more procedures for infection, Pats unsure of return


Report: Pats' Brady has two more procedures done on knee


Pats deny report they're upset with Brady choice


Patriots fire back at ESPN over unsourced Brady story


No matter how you slice it, Brady's knee is bad news


Dr. James Andrews says Tom Brady is getting better

Is Matt Cassel the 2001 Tom Brady?

I've been pretty critical of Matt Cassel in his incredibly uninspiring six games as a staring NFL quarterback this year. Cassel has shown that he has weaknesses in his game, such as holding onto the ball waaaaaaaayyyyyy too long but he's also shown us that he can be an incredibly serviceable quarterback in the NFL, which he demonstrated on Monday night by winning the Offensive Player of the Week Award. All of this got me thinking to when Tom Brady took over for an injured Drew Bledsoe and never looked back. Here are some basic numbers to analyze and we'll do it Jeopardy style again:

Answer 1: 4 wins, 2 losses

Question 1: What are the won-loss records of Tom Brady and Matt Cassel through their first six games as starting NFL quarterbacks?

Answer 2: Matt Cassel

Question 2: Which quarterback had a higher completion percentage in the first six games as a starting NFL quarterback, Tom Brady or Matt Cassel. It's 120 out of 190 for Brady for a .632 completion rate while Cassel comes in at 110 out of 166 for a .663 completion rate.

Answer 3: Ten

Question 3: How many more yards passing did Brady have than Cassel after their first six games as starting quarterbacks? Had you asked me that question without already knowing the answer, I would have bet that Brady had at least 1,458 more yards passing than Cassel.

Answer 4: Thomas Brady

Question 4: Who had more touchdowns through their first six games as a staring quarterback, Brady or Cassel? This is the only real difference I can find in these two right now. Brady threw 10 TDs in his first six games, while Cassel has only thrown six, three of which came on Monday night.

Answer 5: Tie, four each.

Question 5: Which quarterback threw more interceptions in their first six games as a starting quarterback, Brady or Cassel?

Kind of strange (in a good way, I think) how close these numbers are. But my real question is how are we judging Cassel? And the only way to find that out is to compare him to other backup quarterbacks. Here are actual numbers from actual NFL games last week:
Matt Cassel, NE: 18 of 24, 185 yds, 3 TDs, 0 INT
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Cin: 21 of 35, 164 yds, 1 TD
Seneca Wallace, Sea: 12 of 23, 73 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Damon Huard, KC: 9 of 16, 96 yds
Brad Johnson, Dal: 17 of 34, 234 yds, 3 INTs
Gus Ferrotte, Min: 25 of 40, 298, 2 TDs, 4 INTs

So now let's move on to Final Jeopardy. The answer: Matt Cassel. The question: Which of the six starting quarterbacks listed above was the only one to win a game last week?

I think the point I'm getting to (if I have a point) is that Cassel is among the best backups in the league. In fact, no one has a great backup quarterback and if they did, they'd probably be make nine million a year somewhere else to start.

Now let's do a simple comparison of Cassel to some of the other starting quarterbacks in the league using the most basic of litmus tests: quarterback rating. Want to know what Jake Delhomme, David Garrard, Matt Ryan and Peyton Manning have in common? They all have lower quarterback ratings than Cassel.

Not bad for a backup quarterback that's going to lead New England to our fourth Super Bowl in seven year. And yes, I'm back on the Kool Aid diet.

Patriots Steamroll Broncos

Well, my reverse jinx from yesterday worked, just like I knew it would. And you all thought that I was actually picking against the Patriots? On a serious note, though, was that the Denver Broncos or the Denver Broncettes because that team looked like a bunch of pansies out there. Have they ever heard of holding on to the ball? Listen, when you turn the ball over five times, you pretty much deserve to lose 41-7 and that's exactly what happened.

And just like I suggested in my column from yesterday, isn't it more fun when the Patriots are running up the score as opposed to getting demolished by mediocre teams like the Dolphins and Chargers? Anyway, here are a few thoughts on last nights game as I try to come up with some good Jeopardy questions for the Patriots-Rams game next Sunday.

• This game featured the rare Rodney Harrison Hat Trick: he committed an unneccessary roughness penalty, drew a retaliatory unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and suffered a season-ending quad injury. With his contract up at the end of this year and a long road to recoery ahead of him, this may very well be the end of the Rodney HGHarrison era in New England and the NFL.

• For everyone worried about Randy Moss turning into Terrel Owens, Moss was seen standing on the sidelines cheering on the defense, getting the crowd going and was throwing his body around on the field like Wes Welker does.

• With the return of the Patriots offense last night, we also saw the return of Bob Kraft's blue shirt with the white collar. It's good to know that the world is spinning correctly again.

• I think the fat guy dressed as a Viking got more air time than Jay Cutler's finger.

• What's the story with all of the sacks allowed by the Patriots? Last night they gave up six sacks and have given up 26 already this year. Last year they only gave up 21. While Cassel takes entirely too long to get rid of the ball, there were also times that it seemed like the defense just blew right by our offensive line.

• I've come to the conclusion that Benjamin Watson isn't very good. Yeah, he makes some decent plays and is a good blocker but what's with all of the dropped passes? You know how some companies donate money to a worthy cause when a pitcher strikes someone out or a quarterback throws a touchdown? There has to be somone out there that would sponsor Watson's dropped passes. It would go something like this: Cassel drops back, he's looking for Moss deep, Cassel still in the pocket, dumps the pass over to Watson in the flat, ooohhhhh, he dropped it. And that dropped pass is brought to you by Crazy Glue, the official glue of the New England Patriots. That would work, right?

• The obvious key to this game was the turnover difference but the Patriots' ability to rush the ball last night was also key. For the game, they had 257 yards rushing, most by a New England team in 15 years. Sammy Morris ran for 138 yards in the first half alone before leaving with an injury. Which leads me to Laurence Maroney who was placed on Injured Reserve before the game and is done for the season. In fact, I hope he's done with the Patriots for good. Here's a guy with all the talent in the world, is faster than 98.7 percent of the people out there but is just awful at reading the run. Last night was a perfect example of what can happen when a running back finds an open hole and just slams into it. On some of his runs, Morris wasn't even getting touched until he was already five yards upfield. That sort of thing can't be taught- it's just an instinct and Maroney will never have it. I don't care if we have to bring back Antowain Smith, I don't want to see Maroney in the backfield again.

• I'm glad that Tony Kornheiser was there to announce this game last night. I had no idea that Matt Cassel isn't Tom Brady. For that matter, who knew that Jay Cutler wasn't John Elway? I thought they were the same person? If anyone can tell me what Kornheiser's role is on Monday Night Football I would really appreciate it.

So it's on to the suddenly rejuvinated St. Louis Rams next week in Foxboro. It will be interesting to see if the Patriots can use this game as a launching pad for the rest of the year or if we'll see more of the same up and down play we've witnessed through the first six weeks of the season.

I'm Off The Kool Aid

Well, in 11 months of Running Up The Score, there has never been a day quite like today. I don't think I've ever done two posts in one day and I've never picked against the Patriots. That all comes crashing down today. Times, they are a changin'.

Yes, folks, I'm picking the Broncos to come in to Foxboro stadium and rip the heart out of this New England Patriots football team tonight on national televsion. I'm not even making you read all the way to the bottom of this post to get my pick. In fact, anyone who thinks that this Patriots team has a chance at winning this game is insane in the membrane.

Here are the only stats that you need to know heading into this game. And just for fun, I'm doing it Jeopardy style.

Answer 1: The Denver Broncos

Question 1: What is the only team in the National Football League to have a winning record against the New England Patriots since 2001? And for the record, the Broncos have won five of six games during that span. So even when the Patriots have been dominating their opponent, the Broncos have still owned the Patriots.

Answer 2: 69, 86, 48 and 67

Question 2: What are the percentage of passes that the Patriots have allowed the opposing team to complete the last four games? You're not winning games when you give up that many pass plays, especially long ones like they did last week against the Chargers.

Answer 3: 1,694 yards and 12 TDs vs. 1,163 yards and 5 TDs.

Question 3: How do tonight's starting quarterbacks, Jay Cutler and Matt Cassel, stack up against each other?

Answer 4: 166 vs. 89

Question 4: How many points have the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots scored this year respectively? Remember last year when the Patriots put up 89 points by halftime? That was fun. We should try that again.

Okay, it's time for Final Jeopardy. The answer is 14 of 56. You've got thirty seconds starting now. . . .

The correct question: How many times have the Patriots gone three and out during the Matt Cassel era this year? With some quick math, I determined that's 25 percent of the time. By comparison, last year the Patriots went three and out on 26 of their 170 possessions for a 15 percent frequency.

When you add all of these stats up, I think we're going to get a high flying offense coming in to prey on a low flying defense. In fact, I'm not even sure it can be called defense. It may be worth it to just put orange cones or barrels in the backfield and see if that works better than Deltha O'Neil and Rodney HGHarrison.

Look, I consider myself to be a realistic person. I try to look at things objectively and come to a conclusion. And that's exactly what I've done here: Broncos 38 Patriots 16 and I have no confidence that New England could score 16 points if their lives depended on it.

Time to Winterize the Duck Boats

Well, that didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would. Going into this game, I thought that there was no way that the Red Sox could possibly lose that game. But I'll tip my cap to the Rays- they haven't faded all year, they play in the toughest division and they played this series like they've been in the playoffs before.

In the end, the Rays outplayed us in nearly every facet of the game during this series. Not sure if I've just gotten used to losing big games this year, but this one doesn't seem to hurt much. I mean, the Red Sox basically came back from the dead in game five to win the right to travel back to Tampa Bay so we were living on borrowed time anyway. But to their credit, the Rays' pitching was great the entire series and the Sox just couldn't get that one big hit to break open an inning during the last two games. It seemed like they always had men on base except that Jason Varitek or Mark Kotsay was always coming up to the plate. And I've never seen one team hit so many home runs as the Rays did in this series.

But today I'm moving on so it's time to start looking for a replacment for Varitek and to look for some good middle relief pitchers not named Manny Delcarmen. I may or may not be back later this week with a World Series preview. I will, however, be back with a Monday Night Football preview later today.

Congratulations once again to the Rays and all of their fan(s).

Week Seven NFL Picks

This is shaping up to be another good week in the NFL. A lot of these games I could see going either way with the excpetion of Tennessee playing at KC. The Chiefs have no shot at winning that game. As always, winning team is in CAPS.

Sunday, October 19

SAN DIEGO at Buffalo
Not sure how good Trent Edwards is going to feel in this game so I'm going with the Chargers, even though it nearly breaks my heart to do so.

MINNESOTA at Chicago
Chicago is in a bit of a funk while the Vikings come in on a two game winning streak.

PITTSBURGH at Cincinnati
I think someone is losing their job after this loss by the Bengals and I'm not just talking about coaches.

TENNESSEE at Kansas City
I think I'll be picking the only unbeaten team left in the NFL until they lose, which isn't happening agains KC.

Dallas at ST. LOUIS
Yup, I'm taking the Rams. Yup, I'm crazy. Dallas is in a bit of a free for all right now and I don't think an injured Tony Romo is going to help.

Baltimore at MIAMI
This might be a first for me- picking Miami to win. Against Baltimore, no less.

SAN FRANCISCO at NY Giants
Look for the losing ways to continue after an embarassing loss to the Browns last week.

New Orleans at CAROLINA
The Saints give up way too many points for my liking and I think that Reggie Bush is still a work in progress.

Detroit at HOUSTON
Until further notice, I will not be picking the Lions to win a football game. Unless they play the Giants, that is.

NY Jets at OAKLAND
I'm only picking Oakland to win this game because I hate Brett Favre and the Jets. Realistically, the Raiders have no shot at this game.

Indianapolis at GREEN BAY
I have no confidence that Green Bay can win this game, especially with the Colts looking more and more like the Colts we all know and hate the last two weeks.

Cleveland at WASHINGTON
Don't be fooled by last week's win against the Giants. The Browns still stink.

Seattle at TAMPA BAY
This is going to be an awfully long flight for Seattle just to get embarassed.

RED SOX at Tampa Bay
The Red Sox are turning into the Patriots of old with the way they win. They don't just win anymore, they demoralize teams. Down 7-0 with seven outs left in their season? No problem, with score eight unanswered runs. Gotta win two in a row on the road against the best home team in baseball? Doesn't look like it will be a problem.

Monday, October 20
Denver at New England
I'm taking the liberty of reserving my pick in this game until Monday. It's either going to be the start of another winning streak for the Patriots or ground breaking territory for Running Up The Score. I'm still working on the coin flip. Stay Tuned.

Time (For The Rays) To Panic

As I crept into bed last night with the Sox down 7-0 to the unstoppable Tampa Bay Rays, I had a bit of a sad feeling. Not that the Sox were on the brink of losing but that they looked like a bunch of losers going down in only five games to the surging Rays. David Ortiz looked pathetic, going so far as to walk to first base with the bat on his shoulder as he was easily thrown out. Jason Varitek looked like Jason Varitek (that's not a good thing). The starting pitching was horrendous for the fourth game in a row. The leadoff spot was an automatic out. No one was hitting with runners on base.

In short, the Red Sox looked dead playing a team that looked more like the 1927 Yankees than 2008 Rays. Balls were flying off the bats of the Rays and out of the park left and right, even though there was a stiff breeze blowing in from centerfield. Scott Kazmir was getting in and out of jams in the first few innings and being let off the hook by a team that looked like they had no killer instinct or even a desire to be playing baseball in October.

And then something kind of weird happened. Dustin Pedroia drove in a run to make it 7-1 and then Big Papi came to the plate. This was the same Big Papi who was booed by the Fenway (un)Faithful the entire game. I'll let the following photos tell the rest of the story:

With one swing of the bat, Big Papi, the greatest clutch hitter in Red Sox history, makes it a 7-4 game:











After watching Manny Delcarmen implode (again) on the mound, Jonathan Papelbon comes in and pitches two scoreless innings:













JD Drew brings the Red Sox within one run of the Rays with his two run blast. Yes, that was JD Drew. I know, I can't believe it, either:











Coco Crisp ties the game at seven with this single, which also represented the first hit from the leadoff spot by the Red Sox the entire series:











Kevin Youkilis comes around to score on JD Drew's ground rule single in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Red Sox the biggest postseason comeback in the last 79 years:










This kid pretty much sums things up:












This had the feeling of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals game where the Celtics made the greatest playoff comeback in NBA history. This is just the Red Sox' way of trying to trump the Celtics. Gotta love a little competition between two hometown teams.

So now it's back to Tampa Bay with our rotation set up perfectly for the last two games of this series. And I'd be a total liar if I didn't admit that I'm petrified of Josh Beckett in game six. I have no doubt that he could go out and throw a no hitter. . . or give up nine runs in the bottom of the first inning, which would only allow the Red Sox to make an even greater comeback. I said it earlier (even though it was my third prediction), Sox in seven.



Looks like this preview will have to wait.

I Was Wrong About My ALCS Prediction

Well, this isn't going quite as well as I would have hoped for at this point in the series. I'll admit, I was wrong about my prediction of Sox in six. In fact, I even revised my prediction to Sox in five after seeing T shirts announcing that the Rays took down Red Sox nation before the series even began. Boy was I wrong about that one.

But I wasn't wrong about who's going to win this series, just the number of games it will take. I guess we'll have to settle for Sox in seven. And really, the only disappointing thing is that Jon Lester won't be able to pitch game one of the World Series after pitching game seven of the ALCS.

The scary thing about what's taking place is that I don't see the Rays going anywhere in the foreseeable future. This doesn't appear to be a fluky year for them like some teams have had in recent years. They have a lot of young, talented players who are under contract for very little money, as well as a decent pitching staff to go along with it- at least their pitching looks good when you have players like JD Drew swinging at pitches two feet off the plate.

Anyway, if the Rays weren't completely demolishing my favorite baseball team, I might actually like this team, especially their manager, Joe Madden. He looks amazingly like the character in the movie Falling Down right down to the glasses. It's sort of uncanny the way that Michael Douglas' character in the movie goes berserck and the Rays are going berserck on the Sox. I might actually have to add that one to my Netflix list:






Here are just a few quick thoughts on the Boston Massacre that's taken place over the last three games while wondering if the Red Sox have the Rays right where they want them:

The only reason you need to know about the Sox losing three straight to the Rays is that their starting pitching has given up 17 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings for an ERA of 12.08. And they did it all while giving up eight homers and 28 baserunners. That's a pretty amazing feat for less than 13 innings of work. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought that was Matt Clement's pitching line for the last year he was with Boston.

Another major factor has been hitting: Jacoby Ellsbury is 0 for the series, and the Red Sox are 0 for the leadoff spot. David Ortiz broke out of an 0-14 slump by hitting a triple last night. . . when the score was 11-1. Is Little Papi even capable of hitting it the opposite way to avoid the ridiculous shift they put on him? After the game, Ortiz was quoted as saying that "we need to stop their defense." He was clearly getting loaded up on the Jack Daniels a little early when he made that comment because I have no clue what that means. Here's an idea, though: how about not throwing the ball right down the middle of the plate so that mediocre players can hit it over the Mass Pike 500 feet away.

And if this does turn out to be the end of their run to the World Series, Jason Varitek is finishing his Red Sox career in an 0 for 195 streak. That last stat might actually be accurate considering that I don't even remember the last time he got a hit. I don't care how well he handles the pitching staff, it's time time for him to move on in the offseason.

And speaking of moving on, even if the Red Sox reach the World Series, last night had to be Tim Wakefield's last start in a Red Sox uniform. At 42, I just don't see bringing him back for another start, let alone another year. This is a guy who has been a terrific starting pitcher for a long time for the Red Sox but his career postseason record of 5-6 with a 6.75 ERA just isn't good enough anymore.

And speaking of moving on (part deux), there was a reason that Mike Timlin was left off of the first round playoff roster. It's because the guy is old and hasn't been able to get anyone out the entire year. He's another player that has serviced this team well over the year's but it's time for him to move on, as well. And when I say move on, I mean retire.

And just in case this situation looks very familiar, it should. Let's revisit some recent history:

2004 ALCS

2007 ALCS

You know one of the only things I remember about all of those history classes I took growing up? It's that history is bound to repeat itself. So I'm revising my pick once again. Sox in seven even though I have no confidence that Big Papi could be a starting DH on a softball team at this point in the year, let alone the starting DH in the ALCS.

Anyway, here's today's history lesson:

Week 6 NFL Picks

It's hard to believe that another week has come and gone for the NFL. And what a bizarre few weeks it's been. Supposed powerhouses such as Indianapolis, San Diego and Cincinnati are all struggling. After just five weeks, Cincinnati's season is already over and thanks to some late game heroics, Peyton Manning and the Colts sit at an unimpressive 2-2. They're lucky they're not 0-4. Meanwhile, the Giants and Titans keep rolling right along. And in the weeks ahead we'll see if Buffalo, Carolina and Pittsburgh are for real, along with the Matt Cassel led New England Patriots.

Anyway, here are this weeks picks. And just for fun, I'm mixing things up a bit so the winning team this week is in CAPS. If you've been paying attention, you'll know that's not much of a mix up.

Sunday, October 12
Chicago at ATLANTA
Atlanta had a big win at Green Bay last week so we'll see if they can keep up the momentum against a tough Chicago defense.

BALTIMORE at Indianapolis
Something just doesn't look right about the Colts this year. Playing the Ravens isn't going to help them.

Detroit at MINNESOTA
Maybe we should give Detroit to the CFL.

Oakland at NEW ORLEANS
I don't like either team here. New Orleans is playing terrible right now but Oakland has pretty much stunk the last five years.

CINCINNATI at NY Jets
Not sure why I'm picking the Bengals here, other than the fact that I think Brett Favre is going to continue having a roller coaster ride in New York.

CAROLINA at Tampa Bay
The Panthers seem to have a bit of a swagger this year and I like that. Tampa Bay's constant rotation of QB's is going to catch up with them at some point soon.

St. Louis at WASHINGTON
On second thought, maybe we should give St. Louise and Detroit to the CFL.

Miami at HOUSTON
I can't believe I'm picking Houston after watching them (and by them, I mean Sage Rosenfelds) throw away the game against Indy last weekend.

JACKSONVILLE at Denver
The season is sort of on the line for Jacksonville here and I don't think one good game against Tampa Bay has solved Denver's defensive woes. They just give up too many points.

DALLAS at Arizona
Not sure why Pacman Jones is allowed to play in this game but even without him, Dallas still doesn't give up many points.

Philadelphia at SAN FRANCISCO
I'm picking the 49ers here for the simple fact that I feel like the Eagles could single handedly beat themselves at this point, which they basically did against the Redskins last weekend.

Green Bay at SEATTLE
No clue why I would pick a team that has no wide recievers but I guess I don't have much faith in Aaron Rodgers' shoulder, either.

NEW ENGLAND at San Diego
There won't be much of an in depth preview of this game because there's really not much to talk about. Just like the Red Sox own the Angels in the playoffs, the Patriots own the Chargers in the pre season, regular season, post season and everthing in between. In fact, I'm not even sure there's one player on the Chargers roster that I'd take over any player on the Patriots roster, position for position right now, and that includes the quarterbacks. If Bill Belichick has faith in Matt Cassel than so do I.

I have no doubt that the Patriots will have to put up at least 30 to win this game but the Chargers defense isn't very good right now and they give up just about 26 points a game. As we saw last week against the 49ers, the Patriots are still capable of going deep and Randy Moss is still the most dangerous wide receiver in the NFL.

One last fact about this game: both of these teams have lost to the Miami Dolphins this year. Did you ever think you'd read those words?

Patriots 35 - 21 with Rodney HGHarrison getting more penaltly yards than LaDanian Tomlinson gets rushing yards.

Monday, October 13
NY Giants at CLEVELAND
I chose a really bad year to pick the teams playing the Giants. And speaking of the Giants, when are they going to stop playing minor league teams? Seriously, I didn't even know that there was a AAA league in the NFL. I love how everyone already says they're going to repeat this year based on their impressive 4-0 record. . . against absolutely horrible teams. Bottom line is that if the Patriots and Giants were playing today, I'd still pick the Patriots (and probably lose again).

Did I Miss the ALCS?

Did I fall asleep at my desk for a week and miss the Tampa Bay Rays beating the Red Sox in the ALCS? No, then why is MLB selling these shirts? And if they're selling these shirts (which are wicked ugly, by the way), can I get a Red Sox back-to-back World Series Championship T-shirt because I'm sure they've got those printed up somewhere, too.

After seeing these shirts, I've decided that I'm changing my series pick. Instead of Sox in six, I'm going with Sox in five and only because I don't think the Red Sox can win the series in three games. Those Rays have to be crazy to think they're taking down Red Sox Nation.

Here's an idea for my own T-shirt line: The decade of dominance continues. I'm not crafty enough to come up with a design but it would have three Vince Lombardi Trophies, one NBA Championship Trophy and Three World Series Trophies. And yes, I said three World Series Trophies!

Some Links That You May Or May Not Like (All Baseball Edition)

Red Sox vs. Rays: So we meet again. There has definitely been some bad blood between these two teams over the years and I fully expect it to flare up at some point during this series.


American League East rivals fight it out in ALCS. More on the bad blood between the Red Sox and Rays.


Angels seething after first round exit. Gotta love the Angels. They claim to be the best team in baseball but they played in the weakest division and now their players are upset with another first round exit at the hands of the Red Sox. John Lackey says he wants to throw someone through a wall but he'd probably miss the wall with the way he pitches.


Tim McCarver won't mince words on Manny Ramirez. It pains me to put a plug in for Time McCarver because I find him difficult to listen to but if he doesn't hold back in the NLDS, I might become president of his fan club.


New faces produce familiar result.I've questioned a lot of moves by Theo Epstein over the years (mostly free agent acquisitions) but I give him a lot of credit for building a farm system that consistently produces top talent. In the last few years alone, we've brought up Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia, Tacoby Bellsbury, Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson, just to name a few.


Yankees season keeps getting worse. Gee, this couldn't have happened to a nice group of guys.


Mannywood sounds more like bizarro world. Do people seriously think that Manny Ramirez has changed at all since joining the Dodgers? He's only after the money and once he gets his new deal, it will be more of Manny being Manny. I think it's funny that when the Dodgers are celebrating after beating the Cubs, Manny goes up to the GM and asks for a five year deal. It's always been about Manny and it always will be about Manny.


New place, familiar situation. I'm not a big Joe Torre fan but I always wondered why the Yankees would let him go. I also think it's kind of cool that he's still managing meaningful games while the Yankees are waiting for tee times.


Zimmer the ultimate common denominator. It's still weird seeing Don Zimmer in a Rays uniform.


Baseball ratings don't trump football. I'll try to be brief with my rant about the baseball schedule- Bud Selig is single handedly causing the demise of America's past time by allowing TBS to broadcast games (many households don't get TBS) and for allowing East Coast games to begin at 9:30 (an entire generation of fans are missing the opportunity to see playoff baseball). I'm not just saying this as a Red Sox fan who can't stay up until 1:30 in the morning but as a sports fan- all football games are on at times when every American has an opportunity to watch them. You can't say that about baseball.

I guess with the Roger Clemens situation cooling off, Manny is my new least favorite athlete around. I realize that he helped the Red Sox win two World Series but I've never seen a more selfish, loathsome player in my life. My favorite part of this video is at the 3:06 mark:

Sox vs. Rays Preview

I didn't even bother doing a first round playoff preview because it seemed like such a waste of time. Not only are the Angels approaching the Cubs in terms of playoff meltdowns but the Red Sox eliminating the Angels from the playoffs is just like the leaves changing colors- it happens every year. After falling behind 0-2, did you really think that the Angels were going to win three straight against the defending World Series Champions, two of which were in Boston? Yeah, didn't think so.

I will say this about the clinching game last night: if featured two of the dumbest managerial moves I've seen since the days of Grady Little. First, Terry Francona pulls Jon Lester after seven phenomenal innings only to see his bullpen cough up two runs to tie it at two heading into the ninth. I know that Lester had thrown over 100 pitches but he was lights out. Unless his arm was falling off, I'd have liked to see him at least go out for the eight. If he gives up a hit or two then pull him but to bring in Hideki Heart Attack Okajima in that game is insane.

Not to be outdone, Mike Scoscia has the go ahead run on third base in the ninth inning with one out, the batter has a 2-0 count and Manny DelCarmen can't find the strike zone. What does the Angels manager do- calls the suicide squeeze. In a tie game. Of the divisional playoffs. In a game you have to win. With a batter who hit .111 for the series. We all know that Erik Aybar missed the bunt and Jason Varitek made a great play to tag out the runner heading back to third. When you make calls like that, you deserve to lose.

The fact that the Red Sox pulled off another ninth inning playoff series clinching win would have been an amazing feat had it not become almost assumed against a team like the Angels.

But enough of the Angels. Bring on the Devil Rays. Oh, yeah, it's just the Rays. So bring on the Rays. Or should we be calling them the Tampa Bay Cinderella Rays because they've come out of no where to win the AL East title this year. Before I start ripping on the Rays, I will say this- they play in the hardest division in all of baseball and they never faded this year, like so many people said they would, myself included. So I have to give them a lot of credit for moving out of the cellar in the AL East and making things interesting. And honestly, beating the Yankees in the playoffs was getting a bit old. So welcome to the show, Tampa Bay.

Having said all that, I'd be kidding myself if I wasn't a bit concerned about this series because I actually think it might go six games. That's how good I think the Rays are but the fact remains that no team with a purple mascot is beating the Red Sox.

Let's break down some numbers from the regular season, which tend to mean absolutely nothing come October. For the year, the Rays and Red Sox met 18 times with the Rays coming out on top with ten wins. Looking at the numbers a little more closely and I think you'll see that those wins look more like an abberation than a trend.

In the 18 games that these two teams played, Tampa Bay hit .233. The Red Sox hit .253. Tampa Bay scored 67 runs, which is an average of 3.72 a game. The Red Sox scored 87 runs for an average of 4.83. And yes, I think the .83 might be a factor in this series. For the year, Tampa's offensive numbers are in the middle of the pack, coming in 13th in hitting with a .260 average and ninth in OBP with .774. Meanwhile, the Red Sox continue to be one of the best hitting teams in all of baseball with a .280 average (second best) and an .845 OBP (also second best).

Now that we know that the Red Sox have the better offensive numbers, let's break down the pitching. If you're a Rays fan, you may want to skip this section. For the 18 games, Tampa's ERA was 4.44 to the Sox' 3.35. You all know that I'm no math genius but the Sox' ERA is more than a run better than Tampa's. And over the same games, the Red Sox pitching staff struck out 156 Rays, while Tampa's staff only struck out 121 Sox batters. Pitching is going to be key in this series and the Red Sox have the clear edge.

I'd also like to take a look at Lester just a bit closer, if you'll allow me a moment. In his last 22 2/3 postseason innings, Lester hasn't given up an earned run. In 20 innings agains the Rays this year, Lester only gave up two runs. As it looks right now, Lester will be working game two and game six. That's not good news for the Rays.

I know that Tampa Bay has the home field advantage but how much is that really going to factor in this series when 75 percent of the fans who live in Tampa root for the Red Sox? The Rays did go 57-24 at home this year, which is an amazing number and tops in all of baseball, but they're under .500 on the road.

Let's also keep in mind that the Red Sox now have the best closer in all of postseason play of the teams remaining. For his career, Jonathan Papelbon has never allowed a run in 19 2/3 innings in his postseason career, which is only one-third of an inning short of the major league record held by Joe Niekro.

At some point during this series, we're going to hear the clock striking midnight and the glass slipper is coming off of Cinderella and the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays will transform back into the AAA club they've been for the last decade.

Sox in six. Bring on Mannywood.

Week 5 NFL Picks

Once again, work has totally gotten in the way of my blogging so I haven't gotten out my Red Sox-Angels preview but I already had picked the Sox in four anyway. Yeah, I know, the Angels smoked the Red Sox the entire year and finished with the best record in all of baseball. . . and they also played in the weakest division. So they'll be making another first round playoff exit at the hands of the Red Sox. The duck boat owners probably want to start thinking about gasing up the old duck boats for another parade soon.

Anyway, I thought I'd also post my picks for this weekend with a short-depth analysis of the Patriots-49ers game on Sunday. Does it seem like a year ago that the Patriots played? Here are my picks for this week. As always, winning team is in CAPS.

Sunday, October 5
Kansas City at CAROLINA
Don't be fooled by KC's win last week. They have no shot at winning in Carolina.

Chicago at DETROIT
The Lions will rally after the firing of Matt Millen and win one for the Ford's. Or they'll more than likely get crushed but, what the heck, I'm picking them anyway.

ATLANTA at Green Bay
Aaron Rodgers' shoulder has me concerned, as do two straight loses by the Packers.

SAN DIEGO at Miami
Don't be fooled by Miami's win in New England two weeks ago, either. The Dolphins still suck, at home or on the road.

SEATTLE at NY Giants
I may have picked a bad year to pick any team that the Giants are playing to win but I'm sticking with it for at least one more week (or year).

WASHINGTON at Philadelphia
You know it's October football when Philadelphia looks old and injured.

TENNESSEE at Baltimore
I guess I'm going with Tennessee until they're beaten.

Indianapolis at HOUSTON
I think that Houston is better than they're playing and I actually think that Indianapolis is worse than they're playing.

TAMPA BAY at Denver
That was a demoralizing loss at KC last week by the Broncos.

Buffalo at ARIZONA
I just don't know if Buffalo has the defense to stop Kurt Warner and the Cardinals consistently thoughout this game. And I don't know if their offense can put up 40 to beat the Cardinals.

NEW ENGLAND at San Francisco
There's only two things you need to know about this game. The first is that the Patriots are 8-0 since 2003 after they lose by more than 10 points. Second, they've won their last five games following a regular season bye week. Third, they haven't lost back-to-back games since November 2006, covering nearly two years. Fourth, they've won ten straight games in October dating back to 2005.

I guess that's four things you need to know, plus this little nugget: If the Patriots were going to switch quarterbacks this year, this would have been the time to do it. That tells me that the Patriots are comfortable with Matt Cassel as their quarterback for the forseeable future. And if it's good enough for Belicheat, than it's good enough for me.

While I'm at it, this might (not) be a good time to mention that the Patriots have scored the third fewest points in the NFL so far this year, with 49. Only Seattle and Cleveland have scored fewer. That's not good company to be in.

I'm still picking the Patriots 31-17 and I have no clue how the Patriots can possibly score less than 31 in this game with the return of Tom Brady.

Cincinnati at DALLAS
I'm picking Tony Romo and the Cowgirls here and I'd even pick them if Jessica Simpson were playing quarterback. That's how bad the Bengals are.

Pittsburgh at JACKSONVILLE
The Steelers were lucky to beat the Ravens on Monday Night Football but that luck runs out this Sunday when they face another physical opponent. How long will Big Ben's shoulder last?

Monday, October 6
MINNESOTA at New Orleans
Sure, New Orleans scores a lot of points. But they also give up a lot and that's generally not a good thing when you're playing against Adrian Peterson.

Week 4 NFL Picks

In all my time picking NFL games, I don't think I've ever seen a more boring schedule than this week. There's really not many interesting or intriguing games out there this week, unless you think that Cleveland and Cincinnati will be a fun game to watch. I think we're set to see a lot of blowout games, such as Denver and Buffalo.

As you know by now, winning team is in CAPS.

Sunday, September 28
Cleveland at CINCINNATI
This is the battle of winless teams and I don't even think this one will be close because Cleveland is in such disarray with their quarterback situation. Losing coach gets fired.

Minnesota at TENNESSEE
All of a sudden, Tennessee looks like a tough team. Their defense is playing great and without Vince Young, their offense is gettig the job done.

DENVER at Kansas City
I think that Denver might hit 50 in this one. How much longer can Herm Edwards survive?

SAN FRANCISCO at New Orleans
San Francisco is going to build some momentum going into next week's Patriots game and everyone is going to say how good they are. Then they'll play the Patriots and everyone will realize that the niners still stink.

ARIZONA at NY Jets
The Jets don't look like they could beat a Pop Warner team right now. When does Eric Mangini's job start to be on the line here?

Green Bay at TAMPA BAY
Tampa Bay's defense has been solid all year and I don't think that's going to change against the Green Bay offense.

Atlanta at CAROLINA
The offensive line for Atlanta better play well or Matt Ryan's NFL career might be short.

HOUSTON at Jacksonville
I'm not sure why I'm picking Houston here but I think that Jacksonville is in for a let down after last week's win at Indy.

San Diego at OAKLAND
This should tell you what I think about the Chargers- I'm picking Oakland to beat them! Am I insane?

BUFFALO at St. Louis
Jim Kelly comes out of retirement to run out the clock after the Bills put up 35 first half points against a helpless Rams team. Did the Rams really bench their $60 million quarterback?

WASHINGTON at Dallas
I think I heard that Jessica Simpson is going to be at this game so that's an automatic L for Tony Romo and his Cowgirls.

Philadelphia at CHICAGO
Looks like the Eagles are rounding into midseason form with a littany of injuries to key players.

Monday, September 29
BALTIMORE at Pittsburgh
Big Ben might be in Big Trouble in this game if his offensive line doesn't step up and protect him.

Red Sox To Defend Their Title

While I've been busy disecting the Patriots and the NFL the last few weeks, the Boston Red Sox have sneakily crept back into the playoffs and will most likely be the wild card team. And last I remembered, that worked out pretty good for them in 2004. It also means another first round series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Orange County, California. And as we all know, the Red Sox own the Angels in the playoffs. I think they've won something like 73 straight playoff games against the Angels.

But here's the funny thing about this year's team: I don't even think they're that good. Maybe I'm just spoiled by undefeated seasons, victory parades and the home town team running up the score, but this year's version of the Red Sox is vastly different than in year's past. Here's a breakdown of their season to date:

• Curt Shilling goes down for the year in spring training.

• The Red Sox start the year in Japan (doesn't that seem like six years ago?) where they have seven different opening ceremonies in five nights. They then fly to Oakland for their opening ceremony and complete the trifecta by being the opposing team in Toronto's home opener. All of this in a span of ten days. I'm tired just thinking about it.

• David Ortiz is out for a month with a writst injury and still hasn't looked the same since coming back. His wrist still clicks when he swings. I'm no medical genius but I'm guessing that's not a good thing.

• JD Drew looks like JD Drew (he may have been the All Star MVP but I still think he sucks) and just returned after missing two months with a mysterous back injury that required an epidural. I guess I shouldn't make fun of him if he just had a baby. He returned to action two nights ago to play a whopping three innings before his back tightened up again and had to be removed.

• Mike Lowell misses a month of action and is playing with a torn labrum in his hip. That sounds like fun, huh?

• Jason Varitek grows old before our eyes and can't hit a fastball or a curveball or a changeup or a meat ball. There are also rumors flying around that he's romantically involved with NESN's Heidi Whatney.

• Julio Lugo went down with an injury (thank goodness) and is currently on the 60 day DL. Jed Lowrie fills in for him and steals his job.

• Josh Beckett has numbness and tingling in his pitching arm, scares half of New England to death by going to see Dr. James Andrews to have a dye test in his elbow, and misses a month.

• Daisuke Matsuzaka throws 100 pitches and can only get out of the fifth inning in nearly every start on his way to his current record of 18-2 even though he's walked 852 batters this year. I don't even bother turning on the games when he's pitching because I know I won't see the end of it.

• Manny Being Manny goes to another level this year and he's finally traded to the Dodgers, where there's talk of him being the NL MVP for only two months of play. He even nicknames himself Mannywood. I still prefer to call him fruitcake. I would take Jason Bay any day of the week and twice on Sunday over Manny by the way.

• Tim Wakefield has missed more than a month of action with various ailments throughout the year and is looking more and more like a 42 year old pitcher.

• Clay Bucholz can't get major leaguers out and the Sox get fed up with his antics by demoting him to Double A, where he still pitches like crap.

• Mike Timlin can't get anyone out and can only be trusted in games where we're either winning by ten or losing by ten.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are your 2008 Boston Red Sox. And you know what? I think they're going to win the World Series again this year. They've outscored their opponents by 165 runs this year while playing in the toughest division in all of baseball. But you know what I love about this team- our starting pitching. Who is going to beat Beckett, Matsuzaka and Lester? Beckett is one of the best post season pitchers in baseball history, Matsuzaka will throw so many pitches that he'll literally cause the other team to fall asleep and Lester has been the real ace of this team all year. Their bullpen is a bit shaky but when you have Okajima and Papelbon that's pretty much all you need.

One last note about this year. While I'm happy for the Tampa Rays being in the playoffs, it just doesn't feel like October baseball without the Yankees. If for no other reason, it was always fun watching Alex Rodriguez fail miserably in clutch situations.

Once the schedule is complete, I'll be back with a first round series breakdown. Although, it doesn't even matter because I'm already picking the Sox in four, regardless of their first round opponent. Is it too early to fire up the duck boats?