Ok, so Matt was only here for one week and maybe he’ll make a comeback next week. One second, he won’t make it back next week because I won’t be here and there will be no PTP. I would like to thank all my fans and well wishers for their finger crossings last week because ladies and gentlemen, I got the job. You are looking at an insurance salesmen for Aflac.
Widro doesn’t pay me nearly enough so I had to get that second job.
I have to go to a training course in beautiful Baton Rouge next week so we shall not get a PTP to you, but we will return the week after and hopefully we’ll be in full force. Matt has been too busy partying with Ellie from the forums. She got a new job too you know so we’d like to wish her a hearty congratulations as you all…
1.) NFL Midseason Winners
Paulie: Biggest winner at mid season? Tom Brady. He was given a brand new set of receivers and is taking full advantage of them. At his current pace, he’ll throw for 58.66 touchdowns this year. Following Mr. Tom is his new favorite target, Randy Moss. Surprisingly, Moss doesn’t even have the most catches on his team (Welker has 61 to Moss’ 57) but he’s on pace for 1900 yards and 21 touchdowns. And people said he was washed up. Coming in close behind is Adrian Peterson. The rookie is simply dominating this season. You would think he’d be a loser, what with playing on a team with no discernable passing game. But somehow he’s on a 2000 yard pace with everyone they play knowing he’s the only weapon the Vikes have. Fourth on my list is Derek Anderson. The man started the preseason as Charlie Frye’s backup and was expected to simply be a placeholder until Brady Quinn was ready. All he�s done is make the Browns a bona fide contender while on pace for a 4000 yard season. And rounding out my top five midseason winners…Lendale White. The man has pretty much put the Tennessee offense on his shoulders and has them one game behind the Colts in the AFC South. He’s reeled off three straight 100 yard games and is finally starting to look like the back that I predicted last year would actually be the better of the two USC backs.
Charles Joseph: Since the Pats already have the Superbowl in the bag, I think I have to call them winners. Cause…they’re not losing. The AFC as a whole is a winner too. The NFC sucks.
The Seattle Seahawks. They’re winners because the rest of their division sucks, so by default they win. And anyone who is forced to watch the NFC West on a consistent basis are big losers this year. I have no idea what its like to watch crappy football for an entire season…oh…wait…
I’m gonna call JaMarcus Russell a winner. He’s being paid, what, 15 million this year to stand on the sidelines and watch crappy football. That’s good work if you can get it. And getting paid for doing nothing, hell, that’s the American Dream. And he didn’t even have to win the lottery to do it.
Danny: The Indianapolis Colts are my starters because of Joseph Addai, Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, and a host of others. Missing some starters and a key player in Marvin Harrison and if not for some bombs and blown coverage and a fumble would have beaten the Patriots. The Colts are a damn fine team and exposed the Patriots as not the best team in the history of the NFL. They aren’t, I’m sorry Boston fans. The Pats have talent coming out the ass, but they aren’t football gods.
Derek Anderson is another winner for pulling a Drew Brees. Brady Quinn was drafted as the “future.” Charlie Frye was said to be keeping the driver’s seat warm for him, and I even thought it’d be Frye doing all this right now. But Derek Anderson has pulled a great turn around and shown the Browns what they screwed up on. He is going to force them to either A.) Sign him to a long-term contract and trade away Quinn (which won’t happen) or B.) Trade him or let him become a free agent (which will happen, maybe not next season but definitely by the year after). And Quinn will step in and be fantastic, much like Philip Rivers did. But the Browns could have had another great player drafted and worked it for years with the young Derek Anderson at the helm. That boy has gone and made himself a lot of money because of this season.
And finally my big winner of them all is Adrian Peterson. He was going to be a star in this league in the upcoming years, but he went ahead and did it in EIGHT GAMES! You know damn well that the brass of the Arizona Cardinals (5th pick in the 2007 draft) just keep looking over at Edge from time to time and shaking their heads.
2.) NFL Midseason Losers
Danny: The Miami Dolphins but more so the St. Louis Rams. Come on now boys, is it really that damn difficult to get one friggin victory. I mean it’s not like you’re Duke Unive�errr wait, much to Paulie’s chagrin, they actually have a win this year.
The London fans…could they have gotten a worse game to represent the NFL with. Although it may turn out to be winners for the American fans if it means that they won’t want the NFL anymore and regular season games won’t be played on foreign soil anymore.
The Niners and the Bears. What the hell is going on here fellas? You were supposed to be really damn good this season. The Niners were looking to bounce back and it seemed as if they had the new dynasty team in place and now they can’t even get more then like ten points a game. The Bears�good God! I know the second place NFC team from last season, the Saints, started off bad but at least they are showing some promise now. The Bears didn’t really lose anyone and they are looking like complete and total garbage. Hold the phone, they did lose someone. They got rid of the wrong running back. Que sera sera. Not to mention that they don’t have a quarterback whatsoever. Shoulda kept Chris Leak.
Paulie: Are we allowed to have losers? I thought we were in America. There are no losers. EVERYONE WINS! EVERYONE IS SPECIAL! No ball player left behind! In light of this, I can think of a few losers. The fans of the Dolphins, Rams, 49ers, and Panthers. The Dolphins fans less so because they had to suffer through one less game thanks to the debacle in London (Losers #5). Rams fans because their team has done nothing with the enormous amount of talent that they have. 49ers fans because the team had the nerve to get their hopes up by starting 2-0. And Carolina fans because they haven’t won a home game in what feels like 2 years now.
But the biggest loser of them all? Shaun Alexander. Poor guy lost his game and has NO idea where to find it.
Charles Joseph: My first loser is…drumroll……Adrian Peterson.
Ow…stop throwing stuff and hear me out. Adrian Peterson is a B. E. A. S. T. BEAST. But him being so damn dominate is bordering on getting Brad Childress not fired. This as we all know, is the worst possible thing that could happen to the Vikings. Adrian, if you keep this up, and get him not fired, or even worse, extended. You’ll never win a Superbowl, you’ll never play in a Superbowl, you’ll play your entire career on a sub .500 team that keeps renewing their coach because you’re so good, you’ll play your entire career spitting carries with guys named Chester. Please Adrian…stop this madness.
The Miami Dolphins. They’d probably be better off at this point if they actually dressed dolphins up and let them play. No QB, No RB, Best WR got traded, Bad O-line, they’re just downright awful.
Aaron Rodgers. He was drafted what…3 years ago now? To be the future QB of the Packers, and now…Favre is looking like he could play until Rodgers is ready to retire. Poor guy, and everyone thought waiting 6 hours to get drafted would be the worst thing to happen to him.
3.) NFL Midseason Surprises
Charles Joseph: The NFC West SUCKS! Who the hell saw this coming? I said that both wildcards could have came from this division, but that’s not happening, they’re at the point where the Division champ should be asked to forfeit their playoff spot for a team that deserves it.
Tennessee is like, good. The defense is playing well and Vince Young, as much as I hate him, finds ways to win games. They still have the Madden Curse hanging over them, I know VY was dinged up earlier, but he’s not out of the woods yet. But right now they’re firmly in the Wild Card race.
And speaking of teams that are better than they have any right to be…Detroit? Are you trying to tell me Jon Kitna was right when he said they’d win 10? And if I remember correctly, he said AT LEAST 10, and they’re on pace to prove him right there too. Of course the ESPN circle jerk of East Coast Bias barely recognizes that Detroit has a football team, let alone that they could be better than any team in the NFC, and that maybe the Dallas/New England game wasn’t a match up of the best in both divisions.
Danny: I’m going to have to first of all agree with CJ here about the NFC West. Here was a division that I fully expected to be one of the hardest races to call with four teams that could all possibly fight for the crown and now not a single damn one of them deserves it. The Seahawks are the best looking team, and that is a huge frickin stretch because of how miserable they look half the time. Anyone seen Shaun Alexander? The Cardinals are having injury problems with the QB position which has really hurt them. The Rams? Good God, I know they have also lost half their team to injuries but come on. The worst though has to be the Niners. All that money to build up an already decent defense and teams are putting up huge numbers on them. Alex Smith can’t do shit with or without an injured shoulder. The O-line can’t open a hole the size of Frank Gore’s foot, let alone his whole body. Just a miserable division all around.
Detroit is a big shocker as that “we could win ten games” prediction from Jon Kitna is already more then halfway there and we’re only halfway through the season. But I wonder what happens if the same Lions’ team that showed up against the Eagles in week three (56 – 21 loss) or against the Skins in week five (35 – 3 loss), shows up again when it counts down the stretch?
The Chargers should be better then they are. So should the Saints, but at least the Saints are coming around. The Bengals are awful. The Eagles are awful.
And I want to know why the hell JaMarcus Russell has not gotten in yet. I know I have an LSU bias and that the kid didn’t report til late as can be, but come on Kiffin. McCown started and did nothing. Daunte Culpepper is washed up and did nothing. So you send McCown’s worthless ass back in? Russell is your future starting the beginning of next season so let the kid get some real gametime practice.
Paulie: Detroit surprised everyone else. I knew Kitna was on to something when he felt like they could win 10 games. Green Bay is my personal surprise. Favre carried that team in the first half of the season with pretty much the same team he had last season but without Greg Jennings. Now he’s got Jennings back and the small threat of a running game. SURPRISE!
Blah blah blah, NFC west. What about the damned AFC west? As bad as the Raiders are, they’re still only 2 games out of first. Denver has just been horrible. Norv Turner has flopped in San Diego. The only pleasant surprise has been that Kansas City has been able to draw to .500 at the midway point while people scratch their heads still about how they’re even scoring points.
The Jets being so bad surprised me. I know, that’s a surprise that it surprised me. I didn’t pick these guys to do anything in the preseason special did I? Damned Jets. I blame karma. If they hadn’t said anything about that video camera they’d have more than one win.
And of course, Derek Anderson takes the surprise cake. In the preseason, I kind of identified with him. Veteran QB, second string, but knowing that at some point in the season, the starter would be pulled and the guy sitting behind me would get the start because he was younger and needed the experience. Yeah, my experience with that was in Middle School and Charlie Frye stunk it up so much in the opener against Pittsburgh that he had to go but Brady wasn’t ready yet so Anderson HAD to go in. But talk about making the most of an opportunity. I don’t think anyone’s done it this well since Jakey-pooh took over for Rodney Peete at halftime of the first game in 2003. And we know what happened that year. Well� that’s not happening this year. But I’d take Derek Anderson over any of the 5 guys that have taken snaps for John Fox this calendar year.
4.) Another BCS Controversy On The Way
Paulie: Well, hopefully it will all be moot by the end of the season after Michigan takes out the hated Buckeyes and Kansas falls in the Big 12 title game. I really do think Michigan will beat OSU but if Kansas runs the table and wins the Big 12 and finishes undefeated; they SHOULD be in the BCS title game. If they’re not then I never want to hear another word about the season BEING the playoffs. You�ll hear a little grumbling from Hawaii if they get past Boise State, and they should grumble. But they won�t be listened to because they’re in the WAC. It’s becoming glaringly obvious that pollsters think there are only 3 conferences at this point, the SEC, Big 10, and PAC 10. Of course, now that USC has fallen so much, it’s probably down to just the SEC and Big 10. The BCS is still a sham and has yet to really provide a champion any more satisfying than the old pollsters picking the champ days. Bottom line, if Kansas finishes undefeated and isn’t in the championship game, then there is truly something wrong with the system.
Charles Joseph: Who the hell cares? Well…Danny for one. And about 3/4 of the country for two. I find it hard to get enthralled by all this, there�s going to be a controversy at the end of the year no matter what happens. At this point Kansas, Oregon, OSU, LSU, and Hawaii all have claim to being deserving of a Championship birth. If Oklahoma wins out, they have a claim too. There’s no way this shakes out where someone is left bitching, but the BCS will NOT change until there is a Kansas vs. Hawaii National Championship, and then it’ll just come up with rules to stop them from being in the Title game. But that’s what I’m rooting for, just for the Eff You BCS factor.
Danny: Of course I care because the Tigers are in second place right now thanks to BC losing in that hurricane to FSU and our win against Bama. I don’t care if we are winning ugly or constantly on the last second or by comeback; it’s still winning isn’t it? No-one said a damn thing last year when Florida had close game after close game and they were all ugly as hell, but only to go ahead and blow Ohio State out of the water and everyone cheered because they KNEW the Gators were so good. Blow it out your asses.
Right now the most deserving are Ohio State, LSU, and Oregon in that order. Kansas is damn impressive but come on…Florida International, Toledo, Southeastern Louisiana, and Central Michigan are hardly accomplishments. West Virginia has an argument too, but right now the only REAL team deserving a shot in the BCS Title game is Ohio State because they are number one undoubtedly and are undefeated against some good teams. All the one-loss teams can line up behind them, win out, and get placed in the order the pollsters put them in.
And Hawaii is where I totally call bullshit and applaud all poll voters for keeping them so low in the rankings. Northern Colorado, UNLV, Charleston Southern, Idaho, Utah State, New Mexico State, and BARELY beating San Jose State, and even MORE BARELY beating Louisiana Tech. You’re undefeated Fighting Rainbows, good for you. You’ve beaten nobody so take your place in the second tier and shut up.
BCS Title Game: Ohio State and LSU if they win out.
5.) Nextel Cup Coming Down To The Wire?
Charles Joseph: I’�m gonna go out on a limb here. And say a Hendrick Motor Sports driver is going to win the championship. Ok, so it’s not a limb. JJ and Gordon are going to finish 1, 2 it’s just a matter of who is where. After Texas, Johnson has the edge but between the two of them, nothing is decided yet. Johnson now has a 30 point lead, and there are two races left, Phoenix and Miami. 30 points isn’t really a big deal, as Johnson went from 9 back to 30 ahead in one race, so that was a 39 point swing, but Gordon doesn’t want to get to far back heading into the last race, which makes Phoenix a greatly important race this weekend. Gordon won at Phoenix earlier in the year, while Johnson finished 4th, so both drivers should be competitive.
Danny: True, Johnson and Gordon are going to finish first and second because it’s just too late for Bowyer to possibly catch up although it would be cool if he could. The way Johnson has been racing, I’m also going to give the nod to him. Sure all the hillbillies are going to yell at me and be all like, “But Gordon could race Jesus and beat him in a run-down Chevy Tahoe.” Ok, maybe he could, but that still doesn’t mean I have to agree with your toothless asses. Johnson takes the Cup.
Paulie: Danny. Dude. I don’t know much about racing. But I do know that Jeff Gordon is nothing but a smooth talkin’, pretty boy, “rainbow warrior”. At least in hillbilly circles. And Jimmy Johnson led the Cowboys to lots of Super Bowl wins. And that matters to the half of the hillbillies that aren’t Redskins fans. So, I’m gonna take the coach to win this one over the enunciating purty boy.
Let us pick your movie viewing choices for you, head over to The DVD Lounge where there are a lot of good people watching a lot of crap so you don’t have to. And for a person who has over 1300 DVDs and watches every movie imaginable, Travis really finds some things that even I have never heard of.
Popcorn Junkies is a place you really need to go check out as well because there are great people like John, Michaelangelo, Kubryk, and more bringing you news and movie reviews at all hours of the night and day.
That is it everyone!
You know the drill so go here in the forums and bitch a bit at us. Or you can always click on our names and e-mail us, whichever you prefer.
Sorry this is so last minute and rushed but I have to go shower up because I’m heading to a high school football game this evening. The local high school went 10-0 through the season and are playing the first round of the playoffs this evening. So go Rams.
No, I don’t mean St. Louis. They’re playing my Saints for God sakes.
