Sunday Line Chatter, Week 7: Games We Might Want to Watch
San Francisco (+10 1/2) at N.Y. Giants
Matt Bonesteel: lots of points here...
Matt Bonesteel: but that's not gonna deter me...
Matt Bonesteel: from.
bielerd: uh oh! again
Matt Bonesteel: locking the h-e-double hockey sticks out of the giants.
larimerd2000: The points don't scare me off, either. Giants wake up this week.
Matt Bonesteel: I predict much saltiness from the g-men. after a week of coughlin's withering quint, I'm guessing they're gonna go off.
Matt Bonesteel: (arg, withering squint)
bielerd: I'm not sure why the Giants throw the ball at all. every time they hand off to Jacobs, good things happen, and when they hand the ball to War even better things seem to happen. and they don't even bother handing the ball off to Bradshaw, who looked fantastic late last yer
Matt Bonesteel: yeah, why don't they hand it off to jacobs more? maybe because kevin gilbride is their OC? and perhaps he's not so good at his job?
Matt Bonesteel: ///bitter brandon jacobs owner.
bielerd: no, it's because they have crazy depth at RB, and don't even use it. ///bitter FORMER Bradshaw owner
bielerd: yup, not a ton of reason to like the Niners here. Which, given the way things have gone in the NFL this season, seems as good a reason as any to take them. But I won't.
Cleveland (+7) at Washington
Matt Bonesteel: redskins secondary has many pains.
bielerd: our own Sally Jenkins just wrote an absolutely gushing column about Zorn, and how she's now on the Redkins bandwagon.
larimerd2000: Brownies did a heckuva job last week
Matt Bonesteel: yes, cleveland rocked.
Matt Bonesteel: she can't resist the Z-man's charms.
Matt Bonesteel: or his coyote-skinning skills.
bielerd: um, searching for hackneyed reference... um, but what can the Browns do for me this week?
Matt Bonesteel: nice!
larimerd2000: do you expect a brownout?
bielerd: So we're expecting Zorn to cleave the browns? get it? cleave?
larimerd2000: I think the Browns keep this one close.
bielerd: agreed, plus it's high time I took another road team
Matt Bonesteel: wow. just wow. anyhoo, i also think, with the Redskins myriad injuries and the browns improved play, that cleveland will keep this one interesting. so I'll take the browns.
Matt Bonesteel: of course, the seven-point spread has push written all over it.
bielerd: ooh, a sweep for the road team. nice
bielerd: last time we unanimously picked the road team, we were dead-on about the Jags at Denver
Baltimore (+3) at Miami
larimerd2000: If the confidence I have in my picks is any indication, I wouldn't be surprised if I went 4-10 this week
larimerd2000: On that note, this is yet another game I'm waffling on
bielerd: what with being the only team to lose to the Fins last year, and with having former Fins coach Cam Cameron as their offensive coordinator, the Ravens should have the motivational edge in this one
Matt Bonesteel: there's also last week's 31-3 bed-soiling.
bielerd: or they should have had the motivational edge, until John Harbaugh blurted out that Cameron did the best he could last season with what he had. for some reason, that didn't go over so well in the Miami locker room
Matt Bonesteel: why not just call them the suckiest bunch of sucks who ever sucked.
larimerd2000: Of the two, Miami seems the more ascendant. Or closest to ascendant. They're further along in their molt.
larimerd2000: So that's good enoough for me. Dolphins.
Matt Bonesteel: ravens gave up four sacks last week to the colts, who last I checked weren't exactly the sacking type.
bielerd: absolutely. Miami probably should have won last week at Houston, they preceded that with wins over the Chargers and Pats, and really, their only bad game all season was at Arizona, and as we've learned, you just don't walk out of University of Phoenix Stadium with a win.
Matt Bonesteel: dolphins i think will be able to rattle flacco. I'll take miami.
larimerd2000: so is this three straight unanimous picks?
Matt Bonesteel: we'll all go down together.
bielerd: Vegas essentially has rated the Dolphins and Ravens as even, with the standard home-field advantage to Miami. I say Miami is much better than they were last year, and that's why... I feel it! I like it! Lock it! Lock it! Miami
N.Y. Jets (-3) at Oakland
larimerd2000: Des isn't locking the Jets?
bielerd: I almost locked the Jets, but didn't want to ride the same team 2 weeks in a row
larimerd2000: Or six out of seven
bielerd: you know, in today's topsy-turvy NFL
Matt Bonesteel: this is this week's Fishy NFL Line of the Week (sponsored by BassMasters)
bielerd: I do like the Jets a whole lot to cover 3 against Tom Cable's boyz. Yeah, not sure, why the line's so low
larimerd2000: Yeah, the Raiders really responded to their new coach last week, didn't they?
bielerd: we called it, they love Lane!
bielerd: I get the feeling we're looking at another unanimous pick
larimerd2000: I'm not gonna be the one to take the Raiders
Matt Bonesteel: Russell just hasn't been very good, but the Raiders have no viable alternatives.
Matt Bonesteel: They tried to pass more last week, and he struggled. Again.
bielerd: the strength of the Raiders is running the ball, but this year, stopping the run has been a real strength of the Jets D
Matt Bonesteel: they have allowed seven rushing TDs, which is up there.
Matt Bonesteel: But the raiders have allowed eight. I'll take the jets.
bielerd: Cable has expressed unhappiness w/is receivers, which makes sense since wideouts Javon Walker and Ronald Curry have been terrible
bielerd: but I literally have never heard of the guy he wants to give more playing time to -- Chaz Schilens
larimerd2000: sounds like the jerk preppy and/or jock in a John Hughes movie
bielerd: he was a seventh-round pick out of San Diego State this year. or, in the raiders' world, a better alternative than the guy to whom they gave a $55 million contract
Pittsburgh (-9 1/2) at Cincinnati
larimerd2000: I'm about to do something stupid
Matt Bonesteel: change your lock? take the bengals?
larimerd2000: not quite as stupid as the former
bielerd: In the name of no more unanimity, be as stupid as you like
bielerd: hey, the bigger the spread, the more likely the bengals are to cover it
Matt Bonesteel: actually the steelers haven't exactly been covering machines against the afc north: 1-4 in their last five. they're also 0-4 ATS in their last four following an ATS win. there you have it, my gambling stat geekery of the week.
Matt Bonesteel: Ooh, one more: Steelers are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.
bielerd: so you're taking the Bengals, too, Matt? actually, Dave hasn't declared what manner of stupidity he will engage in
Matt Bonesteel: oh why not. bengals have been double-digit underdogs twice, and covered both times. 9.5 rounds up to 10, so that's good enough for me. bungles.
bielerd: Gotta like how both Ocho and Housh are in contract years, but they both said that Carson Palmer should shut it down for the year
Matt Bonesteel: didn't you also say ocho plays better with whatshisname, harvard boy?
bielerd: if you look at his fantasy points this year (and I find it hard to do that), yes
larimerd2000: okay, thanks matt, cuz I just can't follow thru. I'll take the Steelers.
bielerd: one thing seems certain: the bengals are not going to be able to run the ball in this game, regardless of if they use Perry, Benson, Watson, or Ickey Woods
larimerd2000: my only reason for taking the Bengals would have been that I've picked too many favorites this week.
bielerd: so it'll be Air Fitzpatrick all day. hmmm, I think I'll take the Steelers.
By
David, Des and Matt
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October 17, 2008; 2:12 PM ET
| Category:
Game Previews Week 7
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