This week’s results:  9-7.

Season to date:  25-23.  “I’M OVER .500!” doesn’t have quite the panache as “WE’RE #1!”  Still…I’m over .500.

Nailed It! calls of the week:

• “Rex Ryan has given the Jets an identity and rookie Mark Sanchez appears to be, if not the second coming of Broadway Joe, a solid NFL starter.  Still not sure what to expect from Tennessee, who has been inconsistent in weeks 1 and 2.”  Make that weeks 1, 2, and 3.
• “Denver and lay the points.  The Raiders still cannot afford to trust JaMarcus Russell…”  I cringed when I wrote this and wept when it came true.  Perhaps Peter King of SI said it best:  “I’m starting to think we’re watching the second coming of Ryan Leaf.”  Please excuse me while I go vomit.

Aw, Crap! calls of the week:

• “I hesitate on this one because through the first two games, it looks like Detroit is ready to start turning the corner.  The Redskins seem to be a bit dysfunctional but too much talent for Detroit.”  This one merits inclusion in the Aw, Crap!-per due purely to the fact that I read it right – Lions on the rise and Skins in dysfunction junction – and still picked against my gut.
• “Miami and the points…The Chargers will either stand up and claim their pre-season position as Super Bowl favorites or sink back into the Norv-ian morass of dysfunction.”  Actually, this one could fall into either/both categories because the Chargers won the game and covered (Aw,Crap!) AND they’re clearly headed down a Norvellian yellow brick road to somewhere. (Nailed it!).

Freak Stat of the Week:

·         Tennessee’s Kerry Collins came within 5.5 rating points of throwing his age (passer rating = age in years).  The 36-year old Collins had a 41.5 passer rating in the Titans’ game against the undefeated NY Jets.

Lessons for Next Week:

This week’s theme:  I have no idea what any of this means:

·         Home teams are just over .500 (25-23) in 2009 while favorites are winning at a .667 clip (32-16).

·         Five of the top 11 rushing teams in the league are undefeated (Jax and NYJ are tied at 10).

·         Two of the top 6 rushing teams are winless (Miami, at #3 with 161.3, and Tennessee, #6 with 151.0)

·         Matt Schaub is the highest rated passer (101.9) in the NFL not named Brees (118.1) or Manning (Peyton at 117.7, Eli at 104.1).

·         It doesn’t look like 2008’s super-rook QBs, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, are facing a sophomore slump.  Both are completing better than 65% of their passes, have impressive TD-to-Int ratios (6:2 for Flacco, 5:1 for Ryan), and passer ratings over 100.  Most importantly, their teams are 3-0 and 2-1, respectively.  Take heart, Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez.

·         JaMarcus Russell is the only starting quarterback with a completion percentage below 50% (41.3%, to be precise).  He’s also the only quarterback in NFL history to have a passer rating (39.8) smaller than his waist size (OK…I made that up…I don’t really know what his waist size is…but I bet it’s bigger than 39.8).  “Russell-esque” is rapidly replacing “Leaf-ian” as the mud-standard for NFL quarterbacks.  I wept as I typed that.  Then I threw up in my mouth a little.

·         Through 3 games, Reggie Bush (111) has outrushed Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers (88) by a mere 23 yards.

·         Quarterbacks David Garrard (70) and Trent Edwards (62) have both rushed for more yards than LaDanian Tomlinson (55).

·         Exactly 150 NFL players have more receptions than Terrell Owens (5).  Of these, 36 are running backs, including two fullbacks, Baltimore’s Le’Ron McClain and New Orleans’ Heath Evans.

·         To pour salt on the wound, 14defensive players – including four defensive linemen – have scored as many points as Terrell Owens.   Two of the defensive linemen are Owens’ teammates.

 As always, next week’s picks will be posted on Friday.  Email your picks to me at JoeMayes981@gmail.com before Sunday’s kickoff.  If you beat me for the year, you’ll win a Complete360 t-shirt of your choice (check choices at Complete360.net).

And remember, Al Davis:  only you can prevent JaMarcus Russell.

~ Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes NFL

After another enthralling week of college football, it’s time to unveil the inaugural SEC/ACC combined rankings. Would you believe after just 23 days of college football (9/3-9/26), the ACC does not have ONE unbeaten remaining? Ruh-ro! And to think we kept hearing this was the year the All Cup Cakes Conference would bounce back!

Enjoy!

1. Florida

2. Alabama

3. Virginia Tech

4. LSU

5. Miami

6. Georgia

7. South Carolina

8. Ole Miss

9. Georgia Tech

10. FSU

11. Auburn

12. UNC

13. Clemson

14. Tennessee

15. Arkansas

16. NC State

17. Mississippi State

18. Boston College

19. Wake Forest

20. Kentucky

21. Vanderbilt

22. Duke

23. Virginia

24. Maryland

marcryan General

This week’s theme:  matchups.

Still…don’t bet these picks.  Seriously.

Joe Mayes NFL

Every now and then a story comes across in the world of sports that gives faith in humanity, that gives people a reason to believe that there are still people out there doing everything they can to make this world a better place. And sometimes, that story even makes me be serious for just a moment. This is one of those stories. If you can watch this video and hear this story and not find it inspiring or touching … you need to check yourself for a pulse here…

The St. Joseph Benton Cardinals were losing 46-0 to the Maryville Spoofhounds. Their coach, Dan McCamey, walked across the field and asked for a little help from the Spoofhounds.

That’s Matt Ziesel. The reason the Spoofhounds are letting him run untouched to the end zone?

Matt Ziesel is a 15 year old with Down’s Syndrome, who has dressed out for every game and every practice this season. Every game he asked his coach for the chance to play, and then waited his turn sitting on the bench.

Not Friday night. Down by a whole bunch of points, the Cardinals “star” running back took to the field. It was first and ten when the snap was taken out of the shotgun, and handed to Ziesel. Ziesel started running … and 6 points later, might just have been the happiest kid on the planet. Ziesel scored a touchdown, and was carried off the field as a hero.

Congratulations, Matt!

-rb

Rob Brown General

This week’s results:  8-8.

Season to date:  16-16.  Mediocrity is good, too, right?

Nailed It! calls of the week:

• “New Orleans straight up.  Drew Brees is firing on all cylinders and the defense is much improved.  The Iggles will miss Donovan.”  The Eagles actually outgained the Saints and while Kevin Kolb played well – 31 for 51, 391 yards and 2 TDs – the Eagles missed McNabb because of Kolb’s 3 interceptions.
• “Baltimore’s defense will give Darren Sproles fewer gaps to exploit than the Raiders did.”  The 4^th quarter play by Ray Lewis, penetrating into the backfield to cut off Sproles angle to the running lane was a thing of defensive beauty.

Aw, Crap! calls of the week:

• “Jags played inspired ball last weekend against Indy and I am wholly unimpressed with the Cards.”  Kurt Warner set an all-time NFL regular season record for completion percentage in this game, going 24 of 26.  Oops.  OK…maybe I’m a little impressed.
• “Titans…should easily cover the touchdown against a Texans team searching for an identity.”  Looks like the Titans found their identity and his name is Andre Johnson:  10 catches, 149 yards, and 2 TDs.

Freak Stat of the Week:

·         Miami outgained the Colts, 403-356 on Monday night but the FSotW is this:  Miami held the ball THREE TIMES as long as Indianapolis, 45:07-14:53.  Miami dominated this game in virtually every way but Indy got the W for one reason and one reason only:  Peyton Manning.  If you ever want to teach your kid how to play the position of quarterback, just show him a Manning career highlight film.  Just make sure you’ve got a lot of time on your hands.  He’s had a LOT of highlights, including Monday night.

Lessons for Next Week:

This week’s theme:  turnovers.

·         In the 12 games in which one team had more turnovers than the other (in the other four games, the teams had equal numbers), the team with the fewest turnovers won 11 times.  The lone exception was Cincy (2 TOs) over Green Bay (1 TO).

·         To be fair, the Colts-Dolphins game shouldn’t count in the above stats.  The Colts had no turnovers in their freak game (see FSotW, above) while the Dolphins had 1.  But that turnover came on the last play of the game, a desperation toss into the end zone by Chad Pennington.  Great, great game.

·         Turnovers Matter, Part I:  Minnesota and Detroit each gained 281 offensive yards and the Lions held the ball longer than the Vikes (30:25 for the Lions against 29:35 for the Vikings).  The difference?  Detroit had 3 turnovers to Minnesota’s 1.

·         Turnovers Matter, Part II:  Philly outgained the Saints on offense – 476 yards to 444 – and held the ball almost as long as the Saints.  Eagles turned the ball over four times to the Saints’ 1.  Game, set, and match, New Orleans.

·         Turnovers Matter, Part III:  And in my favorite TM game of the week, the Chiefs gained nearly two-and-a-half times the offensive yards as the Raiders (414 to 176) and held the ball nearly twice as long (38:39 to 21:21).  Two KC turnovers and the Raiders leave Arrowhead with a 13-10 victory.  Just win ugly, baby.

·         Matt Ryan was 21 of 27 for 220 yards, 3 TDs, and a passer rating of 122.2.  Through 2 games, he’s completed 68.3% of his passes with 5 TDs, just 1 interception, and a passer rating of 108.5.  No turnover story here…I just wanted to say that Ryan is a freak.  If you can’t get your hands on a Manning highlight tape, get a Ryan tape.  Second year quarterbacks aren’t supposed to be this dominant.

 As always, next week’s picks will be posted on Friday.  Email your picks to me at JoeMayes981@gmail.com before Sunday’s kickoff.  If you beat me for the year, you’ll win a Complete360 t-shirt.

Remember:  only you can prevent turnovers.

~ Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes NFL

Season record to date:  8-8

Seriously…don’t bet these picks.  Really.  I mean it.

Joe Mayes NFL

This week’s results:  8-8.  I can live with a break-even first weekend.  It takes 2-3 weeks to really know what NFL teams will look like.

Season to date:  8-8

Nailed It! calls of the week:

• Tennesse +6.5 v Pittsburgh:  Right out of the gate, I called this one on the money.  “Pittsburgh offense will take a week or two…[t]hey’ll win but won’t cover.”  I’m off to a phenomenal start.
• Philadelphia -1 v Carolina:  Someone even had the temerity (look it up, Gator fans) to question this call.  I knew Carolina would be bad.  And they were.

Aw, Crap! calls of the week:

This week’s “Aw, Crap!” can be summed up in three words:  1.  Monday.  2.  Night.  3.  Football.

• It took 3.85 quarters for Brady and the Pats to shake off the rust and knock off the BIlls.  I still think New England is more than 10.5 points better than Buffalo…they just didn’t show it Monday.  Maybe mix in a running game, Belichick?
• I was thrilled to see my Raiders return to old school football…great running back combo in McFadden and Bush – McBush, anyone?  O-line was dominant.  Richard Seymour is a beast.  Oakland far out-performed my “the Raiders may not score 9.5 points all season” prediction.  Hated to lose the pick but loved seeing the Silver and Black instead of the Splintered and Wack.

Lessons for Next Week:

Next week’s picks will be posted on Friday.  Email your picks to me at JoeMayes981@gmail.com before Sunday’s kickoff and I’ll report each Tuesday how badly I’m kicking your tail.  If you beat me for the year, you’ll win a Complete360 t-shirt.

‘Til then, see you ‘round campus.

~ Smokey Joe

Joe Mayes General, NFL

Isn’t the Monday after a weekend of football great? It flies by, there’s so much to talk about, and if you’re a radio show host, getting through three hours is as easy as it comes. After a great weekend of pigskin, time to nail down “The Morning Wrap” on their conference champion predictions and give you an update on our “Wise Guys Wisdom” standings, where we pick against the spread so you don’t have to.

Conference Champions (listed in order by Marc’s conference rankings)

1. SEC: Marc - Florida; Rob - Florida

2. Big 12: Marc - Oklahoma; Rob - Texas

3. Pac-10: Marc - Oregon(can’t take this back, can I?); Rob - USC

4. Mountain West: Marc - Utah; Rob - Utah

5. Big 10: Marc - Ohio St.; Rob - Ohio St.

6. Big East: Marc - Cincinnati; Rob - USF

7. ACC: Marc - Georgia Tech; Rob - Virginia Tech

8. WAC: Marc - Boise St.; Rob - Boise St.

9. C-USA: Marc - Houston; Rob - Memphis

10. MAC: Marc - Buffalo; Rob - Buffalo

11. Sun Belt: Marc - Troy; Rob - Troy

Wise Guys Wisdom Update

Saturday’s picks:

Rob - Notre Dame(-3), Tennessee(-10), Ohio St.(+7), Georgia(-7), Auburn(-14), LSU(-14.5)

Marc - Michigan(+3), Tennessee(-10), Ohio St.(+7), South Carolina(+7), Mississippi St.(+14), LSU(-14.5)

Records on the week - Rob 2-4; Marc 3-3

Wise Guys Wisdom Standings to Date (ranked by win percentage, with win total serving as first tiebreaker)

1. Marc - 7-5 (.583)

2. Rob - 4-8 (.333)

3. Bonaventure - 2-4 (.333)

And we wrap it up today with my not-so-fearless Monday night predictions - W’s for the Pats and Chargers, the latter owning the best uni’s in the history of sports.

marcryan General

marcryan General

Each week of the college football season, we do a special ”Morning Wrap” segment called “The Power 15,” where we rank the top fifteen teams in college football. Coin flips determine selection order, and we rotate picks between myself, RB, and Bonaventure. Below find our preseason edition from 8/17, as well as ours from this week - 9/10.  

Preseason - 8/17                                         Week 2 - 9/10

1. Florida                                                          1. Florida

2. Texas                                                             2. Alabama

3. Oklahoma                                                     3. Texas

4. USC                                                                  4. LSU

5. Alabama                                                         5. BYU

6. Ole Miss                                                           6. USC

7. Ohio St.                                                             7. Boise St.

8. LSU                                                                     8. Oklahoma St.

9. Oklahoma St.                                                   9. Ole Miss

10. Penn St.                                                          10. Oklahoma

11. Virginia Tech                                                11. Cal

12. Georgia                                                            12. Cincinnati

13. Oregon                                                              13. Ohio St.

14. Cal                                                                       14. Notre Dame

15. Georgia Tech                                                 15. Penn St.

Enjoy your football weekend!

marcryan Morning Wrap