Playing Played Plays

[lostinamerica]

NFL YTD: 2-3 (-1.28*)
NCAA YTD: 6-4 (+2.10*)


Baltimore(-3') over Tennessee (1.5*)
- - A nasty Ravens team heads into their bye week 0-2 if they lack the stuff to eke out a win here.
Sanders: "I know this man can't do nothing wrong because he's Mr. Wright."


Chicago(+2') over Detroit (1.5*)
- - One week out of the gates on the 2005 season and Detroit is duly annointed as solid chalk for a trip to Soldier Field. (My research shows the last two occasions were a 19-24 loss @ -2' @ Tennessee on 1/2/05, and a 14-24 loss @ -1 @ Cleveland on 9/23/01) . . . Kyle Orton and the Bears will do plenty to have the faithful on their feet in this one; the question is whether Joey Harrington, Dan Wilkinson and the Lions will nevertheless impose their will on their division rivals. I say not.
Lovie & Co.
Kool-Aid or Champagne
(FWIW: Last meeting on 12/26/04: The Bears challenge the incomplete pass ruling on the field, and the replay on the video scoreboard at Ford Field appears to indicate that Bernard Berrian indeed caught Chad Hutchinson's 43-yard touchdown pass with 86 seconds left. But referee Terry McAulay, in consultation with replay official Bobby Skelton, upholds the call. The Lions win 19-13. Detroit coach Steve Mariucci: "I think it might have been a touchdown, maybe, like you did." ~ Chicago Tribune)


GL

 

[lostinamerica]

Cleveland/Green Bay(Ov41) (1 Biscuit)
- - Things you find while looking for other things . . .

San Diego(+3)(-120) over Denver (1*)
- - Denver has to bounce back against arguably the wrong team at much the wrong time, and needs to lay points in the process.

Indianapolis(-9) over Jacksonville (1*)
- - Showing that Super Bowl look, and any such look hangs squarely on having the road paved through Indy. I'll be somewhat shocked and dead wrong if there are any crumbs left on the table for (red zone challenged) Jacksonville other than striving for a backdoor cover.

Philadelphia(-13) over San Francisco (1*)
- - Philadelphia needs to rally around their leader, and all the little things that made all the difference for San Francisco against St. Louis seem insufficient (and not easily reproduced) today.

Cincinnati(-3) over Minnesota (1*)
- - Tampa set the tempo with inside pressure, the outdoor atmosphere should substitute well in framing a favorable tempo in this one. HC Tice can use all the help he can muster, and the new owner is riding to the rescue. The ViQueens are all the Bengals could wish for in order to get it done in a H-U-G-E home opener in the Queen City.

GL

 

[lostinamerica]

Washington(+11' and Un 42) (1*)
- - They say it's not a rivalry if the other team never wins. Regardless, I expect this contest to have the look and feel of an intense rivalry tonight . . . But after giving a good look to all the possibilities for this evening, I have to confess this is really a lean upgraded to an "action play" for this rare MNF doubleheader.

Link: Gibbs was willing to replace Ramsey after three offensive series in Week 1 with Brunell

GL

 

[lostinamerica]

(1) I guess Dallas vs. Washington can still be called a rivalry.

(2) Two NFL winners from the jaws of defeat in the final minutes this week to compensate for two tough college losses from last week. I've always believed that the good and the bad ALMOST even out if I've done my capping, and I TRY to take both with equanimity, but a winner - of any kind - is the only thing that ever shakes the feeling of wagers gone bad.

(3) Four of the five NFL winners played out more or less as called. That's richer in my peculiar book than if the stakes had been higher.

NCAA YTD: 10-7 (+2.40*)
NFL YTD: 7-5 (+1.47*)

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Don't believe everything you think.
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