Antonio Cromartie and friends have to step up their game this Monday night against Brett Favre and the Jets
The following are the "middle five" games for week three of the NFL season. Oz in black, Clay in blue.
10. Cincy @ NYG (-13)
Does Cincinnati fall into the St. Louis "don't even think about taking the points" category yet? This team is an awful team. I think the important over/under is how many more weeks Marvin Lewis has as coach. I say five more is the over/under and I'm taking the under. I just don't think he really cares about his team anymore. On one hand, we've got a "defensive specialist" coach. On the other, the Bengals have a potentially unstoppable offense. They should be contenders, but what happens? They hire players with questionable backgrounds, the don't reel them in, they "clean up" and re-sign these guys. They let a guy like Chad Johnson completely run the clubhouse, Carson Palmer gets hurt (not his fault) and comes back too soon, no one wants to block for Rudi Johnson and he gets traded, and the team is terribly conditioned and they get hurt.
Something needs to happen. Fire someone. Trade someone. Blow the stadium up. Do something.
NYG -13
Cincy looked close to getting over the hump a few years ago, and things have just been downhill since then. Last year they did much worse then expected, and they didn’t do anything to get better this year. The defense is still less than average and the offense, which has carried the team in the past, can’t do anything. The team is in disarray. The front office undermined Marvin Lewis right before the season started by resigning Chris Henry, and though I expected more out of the offense, I have known from the start that things aren’t right. That being said, 13 points still seems like too much. A Giants team that is notorious for getting lacksidaisical, against an offense with the potential to score points quickly. Then I realized, they beat Washington by 13, and St Louis (a comparable team…shitty defense and offense that should be good but isn’t) by 28 on the road. No reason to not blow out this team. Bulger was on his back all game last week, and I would imagine Palmer will spend a lot of time in the grass too.
Giants -13
9. Ari @ Wash (-3)
Can I vent here for a second? I'm taking a class in classic America novels for my master's degree. I'm stoked about taking the class. For the most part, I've read most of the books and I'm enthusiastic about re-reading them. Secondly, I own most of them, so I figured I wasn't going to have to buy them at the Harvard bookstore. Save me some money, right? Well, I'm wrong. The teacher wants specific editions - of course the ones with critical notes - so we can all "be on the same page. (get it?)" Now, I headed into Cambridge before my class so I could get to the bookstore and begrudgingly purchase the books. Are they in? Of course not! The bookstore lost the list of books for the class so they needed to be re-ordered. That's great, but it doesn't help me at all. I had to order the book from Amazon, despite already owning it. I ordered one day shipping and it didn't arrive today. F*** Amazon and f*** the bookstore. I'm angry.
Anyway, Arizona has played well, but they haven't played anyone. Washington (1-1) has had stiff competition losing to the Giants on the road and beating the Saints. This is a tough one to call. Do I trust Washington's offense putting it together two weeks in a row? Do I trust Arizona being the top-dog in the NFC West (not saying much)? With the line at three, it leads me to believe Vegas is making a ton of money this weekend on this game. Anytime you believe the underdog on the road can win straight up, gotta take them right?
Arizona +3
That’s fine, I have the same issue. I bought the previous edition for the tax class I am taking because it cost $2 and the new one costs $140…I figured it was worth the gamble. Well the problems in the book are almost all the same, except there are a few new ones. Problem is that the teacher assigns all the evens, but they get all effed up because there might be one new problem which pushes all of the evens to odds. Sweet, I didn’t need that $140 to pay off gambling debt or anything. Anyway, I agree totally. We can’t be too sure of either team. I bet against Washington last week because their offense had yet to show any sort of rhythm, well that happened, all be it against the NO defense. Arizona isn’t a whole lot better on that side of the ball, though. I can’t really imagine the Redskins will be able to get to Warner, as the line has been great and the Redskins haven’t put a lot of pressure on the QB to date. The Skins have a nice pass defense, but these Cardinal receivers can’t be covered. I think the Skins will have to score too much to win this one, and I still don’t trust their offense. Am I really that sold on Arizona after wins against SF and Miami….I don’t think so.
Washington -3
8. Tampa @ Chi (-3)
Another game at three, huh? I don't think Tampa Bay will have the same success moving the ball this weekend as they did against Atlanta. Who is starting this weekend for the Bucs, Griese or Garcia? The Bears have impressed me thus far with their ability to regain some of the defensive swagger they had in 2006. I think I'd rather bet just the under here, but the deciding factor on the point spread is going to be whether or not Matt Forte can have any success running the ball.
CHICAGO -3
God what a boring game, how did this make the top 10? I guess they are bot5h solid teams, just really boring to watch. There should not be much scoring here, but Chicago has a better defense and they both have terrible QB. Forte is a stud, and I feel like the Bears D will be trying to rip Griese’s head off. I read today that Garcia has been downgraded to third string. When Brady went down, I said the Pats need some vet that is decent and can just manage the talent around him, a guy like Jeff Garcia I said. Well, looks like the Bucs don’t want him anymore. Bill, what do you have to offer Tampa for a guy that could potentially put your team back in contention. Of course with their schedule they are in contention anyway, but a guy like Garcia who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, but would have no trouble getting the ball to Moss and Welker. Im just sayin.
Chicago -3
7. NYJ @ SD (-9)
(Addendum to two picks ago: Amazon just came through with a late UPS delivery. Now we're just at f*** the bookstore. Sorry, Amazon. You know I love you.)
How hard is it for me to put any faith in San Diego right now? The last two weekends, I've put my larger wager on the Chargers. Both weekends I was screwed by either bad defense or bad officiating. In Ed Hochuli's defense, how in the world does San Diego allow the Broncos to drive right down the field in order to give that opportunity? They never should have been in that situation. Also, no one wanted to cover Brandon Marshall, huh? 18 catches? C'mon defense. I should have lost fantasy football just for that. Read this article on Cromartie from the Union-Tribune. Also, is Darren Sproles the best player on the Chargers?
Next, the Chargers are playing the Jets, whom I think are incredibly overrated from top to bottom. Against pressure (or zone-defenses) Favre is miserable, they have one offensive threat (Cotchery), and can't defend the pass. The Jets are a young team (minus the QB) and should be getting better as the season goes along, but I don't think they're equipt to deal with the Chargers on the road.
CHARGERS -9
I don’t think these teams are even close, either. At the same time, the Chargers haven’t done anything on defense yet. The offense is good, but they can’t carry them all by themselves. I don’t get it, but it is just like last year. The offense and defense were both so conservative to start the season last year, and once they got aggressive on D, the Chargers started dominating. Once again to start the year, they are rushing three or four guys every play. If they do put pressure on Favre, things will be good, but will the defense be aggressive? If not, Favre will pick them apart. Let me put it this way, I’m starting Cotchery. I also think the Jets are over rated and after seeing Miami last week, it confirms that their skin of the teeth win their was garbage. The Chargers need a confidence boost here, but as long as the Pussy Chargers are here I have to take the points. Once they get aggressive I will start betting on them to cover big spreads again.
Jets +9
6. Cleveland @ Baltimore (-2)
(Thanks for reminding me how awesome Pandora.com is. I just heard the best version ever of "Black" by Pearl Jam, off the Live on Two Legs album. It was the first time I'd ever heard that version, and it's compelled me to take a deeper look into that album.)
Everyone's preseason darlings are sitting at 0-2, with both losses coming at home. Last week, they mustered a pathetic 6 points against the Steelers, but kudos to the defense holding the Steelers to just ten points. A very minor victory for Romeo Crennel's team. When does Brady Quinn take over for the Browns? Do they have to start 0-6 for this to happen? The Browns won't be able to run the ball against the Ravens, which will make them a one-dimensional team. An 0-3 start, however, would be terrible for this team. Is it too early to call this a must-win? They cannot afford to go into the bye week (week 5) at 1-3 (I'm brazenly picking them in advance to beat the Bengals next weekend) then head into games against NYG, at Washington, at Jacksonville, and at home again against the Ravens. They win this game. If not, they' could be done.
Browns +2
Then stick a fork in them. The Ravens have a weak offense, but it should be enough against a sub par defense. True, the held Pitt down last weekend, but there were 40 mile per hour winds. I would not put it past the Browns to win this game, but I am starting to believe they were a product of their schedule and a little luck last year. The offense has looked miserable, and they get a very tough, rested defense. I don’t see a lot of scoring here, but it is hard to imagine much more then a dominating performance by the Balt defense and a close win at home. Cleveland wasn’t good on the road last year either, and I don’t expect them to be at this point.
Ravens -2
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