More football talkings

Just because everything else I can think to talk about right now is serious in nature and I don't feel like being serious right now, let's go talk more football.

I got 10 of the 16 games predicted correctly. Considering this last week set a record for games decided by a touchdown or less, I'm going to declare this a win for me. Parity is the word; NFL is the league for it. It's kind of cool when every week, even though you "know" something about a team, a person can get surprised each and every time.

I want to give a shout out to the Bills and the Lions for being legit contenders this year. It's got a feel-good quality to it. I don't know anyone who hates either of these teams because neither of them have ever really been worth hating. Neither team has made the playoffs in this last decade, and the Lions hadn't really been a legitimate team since before the Super Bowl era while the Bills had that 4 year streak of making the Super Bowl just to lose each and every time. I'm a sucker for a good underdog story so seeing two perennial loser franchises at least off to a hot start makes great headlines.

Rather than gloat over which games I called correctly, let's pick apart where I missed the mark:

Cincinatti let me down. Maybe the new head coach in San Fran has that team working together fairly well, but still. Dalton had his first wake up call in the NFL... against the Niners? Weird. That team hasn't been a viable franchise since Alex Smith.

Philly let their QB get blown up again, and it looks like New York found they had a decent receiver in Victor Cruz. It's kind of fun watching the Eagles get dismantled with all the pre-season hype surrounding them. I have to give the Giants credit for playing solid football, too. They are going to sneak up on people because they don't win flashy, which as a Steelers fan I totally respect.

Looks like Matt Hasselbeck is trying to prove he's still got it. Guy is playing exceptional, especially for being 36,000 years old. There's no run game to speak of for the Titans (seriously, Mr. I'm Going To Hold Out Til I'm The Highest Paid Player In The League Chris Johnson, put up now). I knew that Denver was crappy, but I didn't know Tennessee had any kick. Also speaking of Denver, use Tebow in short yardage situations already. You've got the highest paid 3rd string QB in the league. He isn't the most accurate thrower in the league, so use him as an H-Back in short yardage or goal-line situations because it serves the purpose of helping your team and making your fan base happy.

Oakland, who'da thunk? I know McFadden is deliriously good, but I'd have balked at the notion any team was going to have 100+ yards running against the Jets. It was beautiful to watch, even though it made me wrong this week. Easily the most exciting game I watched all weekend.

Hey, you remember when Arizona traded away it's only legitimately good defensive player to get a Quarterback hailed as the savior of this franchise? I still think that was the dumbest, dumbest thing they could have done. It looks like the team is still going to fail hard and have the opportunity to draft one of the handful of pro prospect QBs coming up next year. How can you only put up 10 points against Seattle?! I mean, I know there's the whole 12th man thing and all playing the Seahawks at home but it was just ugly, ugly offense on the part of the Cardinals.

Tony "I Can Regenerate Limbs" Romo played well enough to not lose them the game. I give him all sorts of credit for hanging in there with a busted up rib and still getting 255 yards against a fairly solid defense. Still, if it wasn't for a bungled snap on a field goal on the part of Washington, the Redskins would have won. Huge win for the Cowboys, huge loss for the 'Skins.

Picks for week 4:
Chicago over Carolina - As great as Newton has played, Carolina's defense isn't very good. I expect Cutler to show up and play well this week.
Buffalo over Cincinatti - The Bills are circling the wagons, and the Bungles are still in rebuilding mode. Easy call here.
Tennessee over Cleveland - Time for me to not hate on the Titans so bad. Browns are still out their best running back so I don't know if they'll be able to get it going offensively.
Detroit over Dallas - Dallas is still banged up, while Detroit has the chance of getting back their legit rookie D-linesman Nick Fairley.
Houston over Pittsburgh - I don't even want to talk about this one because it's painful picking against your own team. Pitt almost lost to the friggin' Clots, one of the worst teams in the league this year. Houston has an explosive offense and any defense can get a pick off Roethlisburger so I think Houston in a landslide.
New Orleans over Jacksonville - Easy call here. The real question becomes how badly will the Saints destroy the Jags, because this one shouldn't be pretty.
Minnesota over Kansas City - Even Minnesota won't blow a 20 point lead going into the half against Kansas City.
Philadelphia over San Francisco - No way the Eagles can afford to drop this game. San Fran is playing pretty well for the Niners but they are still a pretender team this year.
Washington over St. Louis - Redskins are solid, St. Louis is totally decimated in terms of injuries. I kind of feel bad for the Rams, really.
New York Giants over Arizona - Arizona couldn't beat Seattle for crying out loud. Besides, Western teams tend not to play well out East so I'd have taken a solid Giants team over even a good Cardinals team due to home field advantage.
Atlanta over Seattle - Is it sad I don't feel comfortable with this pick? The Falcons are not playing solid football this year. Still, talent wise, they are the better team on nearly every position.
Green Bay over Denver - It's a win for Denver if Tebow touches the football. Only way they garner any sort of favor with their fans, because the Packers are gonna win big.
Oakland over New England - I'm calling it! I'm calling the upset. New England's defense is made out of butter so as long as McFadden stays healthy, he'll have another big game. Typically, teams with running backs dominating control the clock and the longer the ball is out of Brady's hands, the more of a chance Oakland has of pulling this off.
Miami over San Diego - Chargers are playing so damn soft, and Miami's players are fighting to keep a head coach around. Henne wants to stay in the NFL so he'll need a big game.
Baltimore over New York Jets - Jets still look banged up while Baltimore is firing on all cylinders. Both teams need this win to prove they are legit. I expect a close one.
Tampa Bay over Indianapolis - Indy is ranked 31th on the power rankings NFL.com put out this week. They are that bad. Tampa Bay is at home, too, so that should help the young line up rev up and play their best. Oh, and it's Monday Night. Home team advantage, check.