Sunday Line Chatter, Week 15: Games We Might Want to Watch
Redskins (-7) at Bengals
Matt Bonesteel: Amount of time spent talking about L'Affair Portis on Vinny Cerrato's radio show this morning: 6.5 seconds.
bielerd: Kudos to Cerrato for trying to balance out the otherwise wall-to-wall coverage of l'affair Portis
larimerd2000: Ah, the Bonesteel Friday with Des, Dave and Vinny
larimerd2000: Based on recent performance, this could be hilariously bad offensive football
bielerd: between Zorn and Mangini, this has been a rough couple of weeks for coaches associated with the word 'genius'
Matt Bonesteel: Zorn is a genius?
bielerd: according to Portis, he is
Matt Bonesteel: oh right.
Matt Bonesteel: duh.
bielerd: see, you've been listening to Cerrato and forgot all about that detail
Matt Bonesteel: i've been brainwashed.
bielerd: Cerrato's radio show... much better than 'Cats'...
bielerd: .... Wildcat.... (you know, while we're at it)
Matt Bonesteel: anyhoo, I said last week the Redskins were cratering, and they went out and proved me right.
larimerd2000: I can't help but feel the Redskins are hoping that they'll just show up this weekend and things will get better.
bielerd: I'm torn between thinking that the Redskins are due for an offensive breakout game and this is the perfect spot for it to happen, and thinking that they have no business giving 7 on the road to anyone, let alone a team that, for whatever reason, has given NFC East squads all sorts of trouble
larimerd2000: It's a desperate, sickly sort of hopefulness.
Matt Bonesteel: Calling the Redskins' offensive line "patchwork" at the moment would be an understatement.
larimerd2000: Then again, as bad as the Redskins have been, their offense over the past month has been, statistically, almost twice as good as the Bengals. That's just awful.
larimerd2000: I wonder if Zorn has found himself singing "There's Got to Be a Morning After"
Matt Bonesteel: Luckily, the Bengals have only 13 sacks, which is second worst in the league. The Chiefs have SIX SACKS.
bielerd: calling the Bengals "bad" also would be an understatement. They haven't scored a TD in 11 quarters and have lost their last two games by 69-6
bielerd: all right, decision time. I'll take the Bengals
larimerd2000: Bengals
Matt Bonesteel: Bengals.
bielerd: wow, we really don't like the Redskins
49ers (+6 1/2) at Dolphins
larimerd2000: This one tempts me to go against the grain of another of my bedrock touting principles of the season
Matt Bonesteel: Well, the last time SF came east, they beat the Bills.
larimerd2000: Yes, yes! They're the only West Coast team to win in the East this season
Matt Bonesteel: Actually, the Bills' coaches beat the Bills. That's more correct.
bielerd: unlike the Frerotte thing, where I really didn't care if he played or not, I would like to know if Gore can go
larimerd2000: A lot of points for a team that can't seem to win by more than two against an opponent that's playing pretty well
bielerd: If I knew Gore wouldn't play, in front of a bunch of friends an family, I'd likely take the Fins
Matt Bonesteel: SF Chron says he's "unlikely to play," which means hello DeShaun Foster.
larimerd2000: I'm just gonna go ahead and stay with my principle, even tho I don't like the spread. 15-1 or whatever is still pretty good odds. Dolphins.
bielerd: well, then. Hello, me taking Miami. although Shaun Hill is proving to be pretty good at QB for San Fran
Matt Bonesteel: Oh what they hey: 49ers.
bielerd: not a bad pick at all, Matt
Titans (-3) at Texans
larimerd2000: Those Texans are fun to watch
Matt Bonesteel: Matt Schaub probably sees Haynesworth in his night terrors: He's been knocked out of the last three games vs. TEN in the first half.
larimerd2000: oh, right. that's crazy
bielerd: This one strikes me as very similar to the Giants-Dallas spread. A really good team, one that's been covering all season, on the road against a much more inconsistent yet offensively very dangerous squad. Except that Tennessee has few of the injury concerns New York does.
larimerd2000: Exactly. The Titans deserve credit here. So I'll just give up any illusion of hemming and hawing and take the Titans
bielerd: and as Dave pointed out, Schaub is an injury waiting to happen against the Titans
larimerd2000: Boney pointed it out, but thanks!
bielerd: oh, right. ah, you two are interchangeable.
Matt Bonesteel: I will not hem, and I will not haw. But I will take the Texans, whose offense is really clicking at the moment.
bielerd: I took the Giants and I'll certainly happily take the points and the Titans here.
bielerd: oh, I'm giving points. whatever. Titans
Patriots (-7) at Raiders
Matt Bonesteel: So Cassel's playing, apparently.
bielerd: Much like the Bengals to the NFC East, the Raiders have been nothing but a pain to AFC East teams
Matt Bonesteel: Asomugha apparently learned a lot from Moss when both were on the Raiders.
bielerd: he didn't learn how to phone it in on a losing team, apparently
Matt Bonesteel: no, tho the rest of the team apparently took Moss's lessons to heart.
bielerd: the past 7 weeks for the Pats have gone like this: W, L, W, L, W, L, W.
Matt Bonesteel: Raiders are 1-5 ATS at home. Only cover was against the Jets.
bielerd: let's not talk about that
larimerd2000: The Patriots' defense is in rough shape, but will the Raiders do anything about that?
bielerd: I'm having trouble getting past the Cable-Belichick disparity
larimerd2000: Related to nothing, but I'm watching this Joe Strummer documentary and I should pause it b/c the music's so good it's distracting
Matt Bonesteel: I bet it's not as distracting as Vinny Cerrato's show.
larimerd2000: That's true. I'd love to hear Vinny sing "Career Opportunities"
Matt Bonesteel: Anyhoo, I'll go with the Patriots. Just 'cause.
larimerd2000: I'll take the Patriots too.
bielerd: the Pats are relying on some old folks to stop the Raiders' running game, but I can see Cassel putting up some quick points and taking Oakland away from what it wants to do on the ground. And I just can't see the Silver and Blecchh covering against the entire AFC East. Pats
Browns (+14) at Eagles
Matt Bonesteel: So ends Cleveland's glorious prime-time TV run.
bielerd: and not a moment too soon.
larimerd2000: There once was a time when you could count on the Eagles to do two things: choke in close games and pound the snot out of bad teams
Matt Bonesteel: The Eagles are growing playoff beards.
larimerd2000: Then they they tied the Bengals, who they should have pounded, and got pounded by the Ravens, who they should have choked against. And since then, everything's been rosy.
bielerd: you know, with Crennel a Dead Man Coaching, and Dorsey a Lousy QB Playing, and the Eagles on a roll, it's hard to see the Browns staying competitive. But 14 points is a lot to give a road team. I'll roll the dice on Cleveland
larimerd2000: I was gonna do that.
larimerd2000: But Dorsey?
bielerd: I mean the 14 points are a lot to give a home team, but you get my point, such as it is
Matt Bonesteel: Ken Dorsey + Romeo Crennel = comedy gold on the road. Give me the Eagles and their many points.
bielerd: Dorsey has looked terrible. I dunno, maybe Cribbs returns a punt for a TD
larimerd2000: Eh. Eagles.
bielerd: Oh, crud! Cleveland's the road team. I am just all discombobulated! Can I switch to the Eagles?
Matt Bonesteel: I'll allow it. This time
bielerd: thanks. No way do I want any part of the Browns on the road
By
David, Des and Matt
|
December 12, 2008; 2:31 PM ET
| Category:
Game Previews Week 15
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