GarageGabs

Well, every time you think you have a clue in the NFL a Sunday like yesterday comes along. I felt like I had a good gauge on who the power teams were, but yesterday threw a major wrench into my thoughts. I want to first take a look at the NFC playoff picture:

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Our week 14 NFL picks and discussion. I promise you we had this movie done before last nights game, just been having a lot of problems with youtube.

Watch it HERE via Youtube

“RoadTrips” is currently in production.  Look for it over the next couple of days-

Note* 12-9-06-  I’m taking the Giants over the Panthers.  Too much speculation in Carolina over who’s gonna play QB.  Just invert the scores.

A rundown of this weeks NFL action this week-

Thursday-

Baltimore 7 @ Cincinnati 13-  Cincinnati stepped up and somehow played some defense Thursday Night.  Carson Palmer threw a long TD pass to T.J. Houshmanzadeh on a flea flicker that made the difference.  NFL Impact:  Cincinnati is a currently on a major move, winning 3 in a row, taking advantage of Denver and KC slipping.  Baltimore isn’t heavily effected by this loss, they still will win this division.  Gabs Took- The Bengals

Sunday

Arizona 34 St.Louis 20- Arizona is playing much better lately, winning 2 of 3, it seems Matt Leinart is starting to be more consistent.  Sorry Edge owners, the guy finally got over 100 yards, (115) but Marcel Shipp hogged all the TD’s, with 3 in just 7 carries.  What in the world has happened to the Rams??  Marc Bulger threw for over 300 yards, and 2 TD, but mixed in 3 picks as well….at home!  While St. Louis is still mathematically alive for the playoffs it isn’t realistic to think they’d slide in.  Gabs Took- St. Louis

Atlanta 24 Washington 14- The Skins have totally tanked and the Falcons keep slim playoff hopes alive.  Neither of these teams is very good right now.  Michael Vick only completed 8 passes for 122 yards, but two were for TD’s and he ran for 59 yards to lead the Falcons over the Jason Campbell led Redskins.  The big story was the Falcons running for 256 yards as a team on Washington.  Jerious Norwood got 69 of them in one play on a 69 yard 4th quarter TD run.  Fantasy Alert:  Ladell Betts ran for 155 yards and 1 TD.  Gabs Took- Atlanta 

New England 28 Detroit 21-  A lot closer game than you would have expected, New England needed 2 late TD’s and a 2 point conversion to win this game.  Corey Dillon scored 3 times, and John Kitna threw 3 picks.  New England still has a shot at home field in the playoffs as the Colts and Chargers are each just a game ahead.  Detroit is playing for a #1 pick.  Gabs Took- New England

Tennessee 20 Indianapolis 17- Mike in NC was right!  Vince Young and the Titans pulled off another upset, this time getting a 60 yard field goal from Rob Bironas to win the game.   The Titans rallied from a 14-0 deficit, intercepted Manning twice, and had a HUGE stop in the 4th quarter when the Colts had 4th and goal from the 1, only to come away with a field goal.  Tennessee improves to 5-7, still no real shot to make the playoffs.  Indianapolis loses their 2nd in a row, missing a chance to clinch the division, as the all important (especially for the Colts) home field advantage slips away.  Gabs Took- Indianapolis

Cleveland 31 Kansas City 28- The Chiefs missed a MAJOR chance to take the wheel in the AFC wildcard race.  Trent Green threw 4 TD’s for the Chiefs but it was Cleveland backup Derek Anderson that stole the show.  Anderson threw 2 late TD passes, and scrambled 33 yards ( an amazing run, if you haven’t seen it, watch sportscenter) to set up the winning field goal.  Kansas City falls into a 5 way tie with Denver, Jacksonville, Cincinnati and the Jets….all at 7-5, and all fighting for 2 wildcard spots.  Just creates more unknown in Cleveland as now they have to contemplate starting an unknown quarterback.  Anderson, a rooke, had never thrown an NFL pass until yesterday.  Gabs Took- Kansas City

Chicago 23 Minnesota 13- Ahem….Rex Grossman was 6 of 19 for 34 yards, threw 3 Interceptions, ran for -9 yards…..oh…and the Bears won.  The Bears defense and special teams won this game, scoring 16 points.  Seriously, what is up with Grossman!?  I addressed his situation earlier, but when I said he couldn’t continue to play bad, this isn’t what I had in mind.  He was HORRIBLE yesterday!  “I never really got anything going, and that is something I need to fix,” said Grossman.  I nominate Rex Grossman for the understatement of the year.  Despite his poor play, the Bears clinched the NFC North and have a 2 game lead on the #1 seed.  Fantasy alert:  Chester Taylor bruised his ribs in the 3rd quarter.  He did return, but didn’t carry again.  He was replaced by Ciatrick Fason who ran for 75 yards and a TD.  Gabs Took- Chicago

New York Jets 38 Green Bay 10- Ok, the Jets have played themselves into the playoff hunt and have a decent slate of remaining games.  (Buffalo, @ Minnestoa, @ Miami, Oakland).  If they take care of business at home, and steal a road game, they could very well get a wildcard spot.  Not sure what to say about Green Bay, they are done.  Fantasy Alert- Cedric Houston got the Jets love yesterday, with 22 carries, 105 yards, and 2 TD.  It’s really impossible to predict which Jets back gets the love, it seems to change on a game by game basis.  Gabs Took Green Bay.

San Diego 24 Buffalo 21- The L.T. train just keeps on rolling.  178 yards and 2 TD yesterday, Rivers was efficient, throwing a TD and no picks.  The Chargers are a team NO ONE is going to want to play in the playoffs, scary mix of efficient passing, electric running, and solid defense.  The next 3 weeks will make or break the Chargers with Denver, Kansas City, and Seattle on tap…I’m betting it’s a make.  Buffalo is done, but Losman does appear to be getting better and they have McGahee back now.  Gabs Took San Diego 

New Orleans 34 SanFrancisco 10- FOUR touchdowns later and Reggie Bush is no longer a flop.  Eva J called it, just give the kid some time!  Honestly, at some point people have to note that Bush leads the Saints in receptions, and is on pace for 1,000 yards receiving.  He now has SIX touchdowns.  Just a well played game by the Saints, Brees was efficient, Duece ran wild, and Bush had his coming out.  Absolutely HUGE game next week as New Orleans travels to Dallas.  The 49ers still have slim playoff hopes, but at this point it seems quite unlikely.  Gabs Took New Orleans

Jacksonville 24 Miami 10- Couldn’t have a bigger win for Jacksonville or a bigger loss for Miami.  Jacksonville is now in the wildcard hunt at 7-5, while the Dolphins fall 2 back at 5-7.  With the strength of the AFC, I’d say the Dolphins chances are slim to none.  The Jag’s are David Garrard’s team now and he played well yesterday, tossing 2 TD.  There was a Matt Jones (WHO!?) Matt Jones sighting yesterday as well, as he caught 6 balls for 128 yards, and a TD….he lost a fumble as well.  The Jaguars have a REALLY tough road if they want to make the playoffs with Indianapolis, Tennessee, New England, and Kansas City on the schedule.  Good luck with that.  Gabs Took Jacksonville 

Houston 23 Oakland 14- Oakland Raiders……YOU SUCK!  Seriously, how do you lose to a team that has negative yards passing?  David Carr didn’t complete a single pass in the 2nd half but the Texans still won.  Andre Johnson…..Andre Johnson…..where are you?  Man, what a frustrating game!  Gabs Took Oakland (go figure, I won’t be doing that again)

Dallas 23 New York Giants 20- HA HA!  Gabs Took Dallas 

Pittsburgh 20 Tampa Bay 3  Ok, Tampa really is BAD.  They hit the field goal as time expired.  Pittsburgh needed this game just to feel good about themselves, but they won’t be playoff participants.  How Big Ben continues to play with NO scrutiny from the national media is beyond me.  Gabs Took Pittsburgh

Seattle 23 Denver 20- Let the Jay Cutler show begin, the rookie turned the ball over 3 times last night and was generally ineffective.  Denver hung in the game because Matt Hasselbeck was bad as well.  Denver got a solid defensive game, and ran the ball well….didn’t matter.  I bet Plummer would have won this game.  :)  Watch the life slowly slip away from the Denver Broncos. Gabs Took Seattle

That’s it for this week, so far Gabs is 10-5 for the week, with Carolina @ Philly tonight.

I’m not going to write yet another long article on how bad the BCS is screwed up. Honestly, how many ESPN analysts do you need to tell you the system sucks? We all know that, and we all know how to fix it. I will go over yesterdays games, 2 of which I BOMBED on.

1. USC 9 @ UCLA 13- I had the Trojans in this game, and seriously contemplated picking an upset. I really expected USC to be able to run the ball on the USC defense….they had barely any success, only picking up 53 yards on the ground. The benches clearing when the QB got hit hard was a joke. Anyway, I’m actually glad I was wrong, not a lot of love for USC here, and I love seeing the BCS look bad.

2. Wake Forest 9 Georgia Tech 6- Jeez, I’m so sorry I jinxed the Yellow Jackets Jeff, but I know I did. SIX freakin points?? Was this NC State? Honestly, the ACC goes to all the trouble to get powerhouse teams in the conference and this is the ACC Title game we end up with? A 9-6 sleeper where conference doormat Wake Forest wins and will represent the league in the Orange Bowl? It does give hope for the rest of the league, and Jim Grobe is a FANTASTIC coach. I was at the Canes game last night and HOCKEY fans were laughing at the mediocrity of the ACC. How’s that feel? Also, most in the building cheered when the board showed that Wake Forest won…..everyone cheered when it showed the USC loss. I give a big CONGRATS to Wake Forest, I will be cheering for them in the Orange Bowl, although I’m sure I’ll pick them to lose.
Now the games I got right

3. Florida 38 Arkansas 28- I finally got one right. I was right about Casey Dick not being able to get much going vs. the Florida defense, I was right about an awakening Florida offense. Finally, all I gotta say is this. You heard it hear FIRST, on November 12th!

4. Oklahoma 21 Nebraska 7- I figured Nebraska would have lots of trouble scoring on this defense.

5. Army 26 Navy 14- Navy is in a different class that Army. Army played em tough though.

6. West Virginia 41 Rutgers 39- Well, I called the right team, and figured this would be a good game, but not 3 OT’s good! Louisville is handed the Big East Title with the Rutgers loss. Congrats to Rutgers on a great season….might be a long time before it happens again.

So, I went 4-2 on the day, not bad, but I really wish I had picked UCLA. Whatever on the Wake Forest thing.

Finally, on to a game I didn’t pick, but I’m throwing this in for my Uncle Paul’s sake.

7. Appalachian State 38 Montana State 17 App. State, the defending IAA National Champions got 131 yards rushing, and 4 TD’s from Kevin Richardson to advance to the semi-finals of the NCAA Division IAA playoffs. Get it? PLAYOFFS!? What!? Yeah, these guys do it right, allowing the teams to play to see who the champion is.

Here is a quick roundup of all the IAA action

Quite a few big college games on today….many of them not working out the way big time conferences expected.
Gabs Takes on the Big Games-

First, USC @ UCLA.  I thought about picking an upset here as the last time USC traveled to UCLA, they pulled out a squeaker.  USC will run the ball at will on the Bruins, and win a pretty good game, 31-21.

Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech- (ACC Championship Game) Already previewed this game in it’s own post.  Georgia Tech easily, 27-10.  (Sorry for the possible jinx Jeff)
Arkansas vs. Florida- (SEC Championship Game)  A USC loss and Florida win could leave the door open for the Gators  and they won’t slip up today either.  Chris Leak will be big, the Florida offense is starting to play better.  Don’t see Casey Dick doing a whole lot vs. this Florida defense, and they’ll need more than Derren McFadden to win.  Florida wins this one, 26-17.

Nebraska vs. Oklahoma- (Big 12 Championship Game)  An oldie but goody.  Expect lots of defense.  Oklahoma has the better defense and wins this game by a field goal, 13-10.

Rutgers vs. West Virginia- Two weeks ago we thought this was going to be a huge game, but it lost lots of it’s luster and both teams lost games they should have won.  We like West Virginia in this one, the Rutgers experiment is over.  West Virginia 31- 24.

Army @ Navy- Sorry, gonna take Navy in this game, 20-13.

Nice ESPN preview of all the games, with channels and times 

Ok, I know the rest of the known world thinks it is a good idea for the Broncos to bench Jake Plummer and throw Jay Cutler into the mix.  Mark me down as the one who thinks it’s a bad idea.  I’ve sat back and watched the ESPN heads say how Cutler’s strong arm is going to make the Broncos offense suddenly “dynamic”.  He may have a strong arm, but if the Broncos can’t get a running game going, or play some defense, it won’t matter.

Do they honestly believe Cutler is gonna come in and play lights out?  Do they really think he can save this season?  In my opinion, the minute you bring Cutler into the game, your are conceding the season.  Folks, the Broncos are 7-4, not 4-7.  Yeah, they’ve lost 3 out of the last 5, but were those losses really on Jake Plummer?  He was efficient (not flashy) in the 34-31 loss to the Colts.  I never saw Plummer trying to cover Reggie Wayne as he burned the Broncos for 138 yards and 3 TD.  Ok, you probably can put the loss to the Chargers on Plummer.  He played a flat out BAD game, threw a late pick, and fumbled on the Broncos final drive.  Still the Broncos had NO answer for LaDainian Tomlinson as they gave up 35 points.  In the loss to Kansas City the fault was on the running game, not Plummer.  The Broncos managed an anemic 38 yards rushing in the 19-10 loss to the Chiefs.  Meanwhile, Larry Johnson SHREDDED the once stout Bronco defense for 157 yards.

So, the answer to giving up 34 & 35 points in two games, then managing 38 rush yards in another is to bring in a rookie quarterback?  SOMETHING is wrong with the Broncos defense.  Seriously, this defense was ultra stingy the first 6 weeks, giving up only 2 TD’s.  They gave up 12 TD’s over the next 5 games.  Bench Plummer?  Huh?  How many regular season passes has Jay Cutler thrown again?  What’s that you say….ZERO?  I want to know why people are SO SURE that Cutler is going to come in and play well!?  Explain that to me!  Please!  Oh, Tony Romo did it!?  Romo isnt’ a rookie, and Jake Plummer is no Drew Bledsoe.  The Cowboys were falling apart, struggling on offense, and sitting at 3-3, at a point in the season where a quick change could make a huge difference….also, there was nowhere to go but up for the Cowboys…Denver can still go down.  The Broncos are smack dab in the middle of a playoff race, despite having Jake Plummer start all their games.  Best case scenario for Cutler?  Matt Leinart.  Talented and intelligent, Leinart has looked dynamic on one series, and then looked like Heath Shuler on the next.  I expect much of the same from Cutler.
At least Cutler gets his first start at home….maybe he can hand the ball off 30 times, get a good game out of his defense, and win this game.  If he doesn’t….whoa boy.  The heat is gonna be up way high in Denver.  A loss will drop Denver back with Cincinnati, who at the moment, is playing much better football than the Broncos, on both sides of the ball.  Up next for Cutler…..AT SanDiego.

I’ve already gone on record as saying the Broncos won’t win a Super Bowl with Jake Plummer at quarterback.  However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible….unlikely, but possible.  The only reason to bring in Cutler is to prepare him for the future…..because the future obviously isn’t Plummer.  If you bring him in to prepare him, you’re gonna hit a lot of bumps in the road.  I can only guess that the Broncos are looking to next year by bringing in Cutler this year.  I got no problem with that, just realize, you’re cashing in this season.
I want to hear all the Broncos fans and national media eat crow when Cutler plays just average….or should I say….like Jake Plummer.

Seahawks plan to blitz Cutler 

Game Preview 

Rod Smith: Jake, I feel your pain 

Well, we’ve reached the point in the season where we start getting Thursday (and soon to be Saturday) games.  Go figure that most of us can’t watch the Baltimore at Cincinnati game tomorrow night because we don’t have the NFL Network.

This was by far the toughest game to pick of the week.  Baltimore has been playing really well the past few weeks, and Cincinnati seems to have rebounded nicely as well.  I really do wish I could watch this game, but I don’t get the NFL Network (It’s not offered by the #2 Cable Provider in America [Time Warner] because the NFL has become a greedy conglomerate) and, I’ll be attending the Hurricane’s game as they face Montreal.  Seriously, up yours NFL.  At least I could have DVR’d the thing.

Anyway, I look for a good game, I think both teams will get some offense going.  Jamal Lewis should have a nice game for the Ravens, I’m guessing over 100 and at least one TD.  Carson Palmer has been looking like the Palmer of old lately, and I believe he will win this game for the Bengals.  He had a horrible game the 1st time out vs. Baltimore, but I really don’t think he’s been 100% until the last 3-5 weeks.  I’m gonna take the Bengals, 23-20.  (When in doubt, I usually do pick the home team.)

Ravens at Bengals 

This weeks NFL picks and discussion. This isn’t the best video in the world, (the quality is poor, had to upload using google, due to length, I am waiting on my “director” status via youtube) BUT this video is worth a watch if for nothing else the caller at the 12 minute mark and the stylings of the wonderful Eva J.

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Also, after posting, I see it is hard to make out the picks, so here they are.

Baltimore 20 @ Cincinnati 23

SanFrancisco 24 @ NewOrleans 31

SanDiego 27 @ Buffalo 10

New York Jets 16 @ Green Bay 21

Minnesota 13 @ Chicago 20

Kansas City 26 @ Cleveland 10

Indianapolis 34 @ Tennessee 21

Detroit 12 @ NewEngland 26

Atlanta 10 @ Washington 9

Arizona 24 @ St. Louis 27

Jacksonville 24 @ Miami 23

Houston 14 @ Oakland 17

Tampa Bay 17 @ Pittsburgh 34

Dallas 23 @ New York Giants 17

Seattle 27 @ Denver 16

Carolina 28 @ Philadelphia 20

As I was on the way to Charlotte Thursday morning a thought passed through my head that hadn’t been in it in over 10 years. I thought to myself….”The Cowboys could make it to the Super Bowl“….now, of course, this thought was fleeting. It didn’t stay in my head long, but it is undeniable that I thought it. I’m a pretty logical person when it comes to my sports teams, and I haven’t felt the Cowboys were even contenders for the Super Bowl since the mid to late 1990’s. Later in the day, Dallas only helped my optimism by pounding Tampa Bay.

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In case you never got a chance to see the now deleted videos, GarageGabs took Detroit, Dallas, and Kansas City on Thanksgiving day.  I was pleased with the results but felt like I should have taken all three games.  I totally forgot the whole Joey Harrington returning to Detroit story, and had I remembered it, I would have taken Miami.  Either way, 2 outta 3 ain’t bad.  Here’s our take on each game.

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