BlownCoverage.com

Blowncoverage.com For Sale

2009-07-13T10:35:00.004-04:00

So yeah, we're selling this place. Since we're back in the game and moving over to Moneyline Loser, we thought it was time to part ways with Blowncoverage.com. It was a fun ride, but we're officially moving on.

The sale is happening via Sedo.com, so if you are interested, you'll have to sign up there and make your offer.

Well Well Well...

2009-07-10T17:14:00.005-04:00

So, we're back. Sort of. I stopped writing here and at Epic Carnival but you can find me again at the Phin Phanatic and also at Moneyline Loser. Basically, I'm going to be childish and awkward over at Moneyline Loser instead of over here. And it will be focused more on betting, kinda like what I did with the Rundown. Yayyyy... no one cares, much like my social life.

To celebrate, we get special appearances from iPod Kid and Ausmus Face!

Hot Damn!

Sweet indeed....

I somehow feel the need to share this...

2007-12-11T14:29:00.000-04:00

I know that no one cares about other people's fantasy teams, but I need to act like an Eric Mangini sized douche and mention this.

Remember that I said that I was going up against a team that had Tom Brady and Randy Moss on it in the first round of the play-offs? Well, I still trucked dat noob by 30 points.

Thank you. That is all...

Damn these predudice folk

2007-12-10T16:59:00.000-04:00

We make jokes sometimes that the AOL Fanhouse has the worst commentators on the interwebs because while some of the folks that comment there seem cool, others consistently show the I.Q. of a brain dead Armadillo.

I usually don't pay much attention to these guys, but this fellow commenting on the Mike Vick sentencing just made my day.

STUPID ASS WHITE FOLKS YO ASS DIDNT SAY THAT WHEN LINDSAY LOHEM GOT 84MINUTES IN JAIL OR BRITNEY STOLE LIGHTER YALL SO DAM PREDUDICE THATS ITS SO

Yeah, he actually called her Lindsay Lohem. That's just priceless.

Blatant use of the "Caps lock" button : Check.
Horrible grammar : Check.
Butchering the name of a well known actress : Check.
Not even finishing the sentence : Check.
Showing the mental capacity of a dirty wash cloth : Double check.

(image courtesy of phun.org)

Planes are fast, cars....not so much

2007-12-10T15:23:00.000-04:00

A rather bland Monday Morning Quarterback today from Peter King but as usual, he's good for a few comments that will make you want to castrate a lion...

Brett Favre flew from Green Bay to the Teterboro Airport in suburban New Jersey late last Tuesday afternoon, then was driven into New York to accept the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award that night.

The first 756 miles of the trip, in the air, took 105 minutes.

The last eight miles of the trip, on the ground during rush hour, took 65 minutes.

That's 432 mph on phase one of the trip, 7 mph on the second leg.

Yeah, I never would have guessed that a plane travels faster than a car. And am I the only one who's disturbed by the fact that King counts the minutes on Favre's trips??

c. Whatever happened to Matt Leinart? Has he been kidnapped?

Leinart fractured his collarbone back in October and was placed on injured reserve. That's why Kurt Warner has been getting the starts. I dunno but you'd think that SI's Senior Football Writer would know this...

f. How, exactly, will NFL Films put a highlight film together for the Miami Dolphins?

Oh fuck off...

h. You are the luckiest man on the face of the earth this morning, Brandon Jacobs. Plaxico Burress and the officials bailed you out in a big way Sunday.

I really doubt that Brandon Jacobs should be considered the luckiest person on earth this morning. There were probably a countless amount of people involved in life or death situations yesterfday who should consider themselves lucky today. Not a guy playing a game...

I have a bad feeling here

2007-12-09T15:54:00.000-04:00

So, the Steelers and Pats are just about to kick-off and I'm suddenly not so sure that the Steelers will make them sweat anymore.

David Flemming gave 33 weird reasons why the Steelers will win, Simmons picked them to cover, Peter King cursed them, Bill Cowher picked them on the CBS pregame show and we have that Anthony Smith guarantee. Just too many people jumping on this Steelers bandwagon here...

Oh, and my opponent the first round of the fantasy football play-offs has Brady and Moss on his team. Yeah, the Pats will have this one wrapped up by half time.

Update : I just want every Steeler player and coach to take turns and kick Anthony Smith in his chin. Maybe he'll keep his trap shut next time...

I might as well rename the site

2007-12-07T13:23:00.000-04:00

So, I guess I might as well rename this site "Peterkingcangosuckacockflavoredlollipop.com" because I seem to only be writing about Baby Beluga these days.

Now, what did Captain Cholesterol do this time you ask? Well, he picked Pittsburgh to beat New England but what got me were his reasons why the Steelers will win.

See, I had been saying for a few weeks now that Pitt could give New England trouble and I actually did pick Pittsburgh in my pick'em pools this week, but Peter's reasoning blew my mind.

He took simple common sense and donkey punched it...

4. Hines Ward's will to win. The dude leads the league in it.

Yes, the Steelers will win because of Hines Ward incredible amount of will and because you know, no one on the Patriots has any will to win. So according to Peter, not only does Tony Romo lead the league in smiling...but Hines Ward leads the league in "will to win".

Amazing. I actually feel dumber after reading that. I feel like my mind has regressed with big strides after reading that insanely stupid statement. Everything I have accomplished in life means nothing anymore after reading that shit.

Ah well, this obviously means that Pittsburgh has been reamed in the ass by the Peter King curse and that they probably will go winless for the rest of the season. Hines Ward will shred his knee, Big Ben will get a case of gout and Troy Polamalu will end up playing shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Fanhouse and Fire Joe Morgan have also had their share of fun with this and it only illustrates how ridiculous the man has become.

Remember now, he called them the Wombats

2007-12-05T12:01:00.000-04:00

The new "Rundown" is up. I stick to kicking Peter King this week as I mock his Montclair Wombats fantasy football team one more time.

Please note some of the fantasy studs that Tubby Maguire passed up in his quest for mediocrity.

Hey look, a post...

2007-12-03T13:08:00.001-04:00

Since I haven't written since last Wednesday, I'm going to do an extra long Peter King bash post today.

I'm going to combine the Monday Morning stupidity with the usual fantasy drivel he spews out on Friday for double the fun this week.

So, let's have a look at MMQB first...

Very big week for the Pats. They enter a hornet's-nest tonight in downtown Baltimore. I know it should be easy, but there's something about playing the Ravens in prime time with a pumped crowd readying for their last meaningful game of the season.

Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Kelly Gregg will not allow a rout

I maybe wrong, but Peter said the same thing about the Ravens playing in prime time against the Steelers a few weeks ago and we all know how that ended up.

And I love the fact that just 3 guys (Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Kelly Gregg) can somehow stop New England from running crazy. Never mind a game plan, never mind an offense would have to run ball and control the clock, never mind a total effort from the entire defense...nope, just those 3 guys can do it.

The mark of a good quarterback is one who plays poorly for three quarters -- and Eli Manning had played poorly for seven in a row -- and then comes back when all hope appears lost. Manning led New York on two late drives to keep it in the driver's seat for one of the two NFC wild-card slots.

Play 3 horrible quarters, get bailed out because the opposing offense is even more lethargic than your own.....hang on for dear life at the end and you have yourself a good quarterback according to Peter King.

Leon Washington. Joe Washington. Same guy. If you're 45 or older, you see that.

........... (mind is wandering)

Good A.J. Feeley: He directed the Eagles to 52 points against the Pats and 'Hawks the last two weeks. Bad Feeley: He threw seven interceptions in those two games.

Good A.J. Feeley never existed. It's a myth. Miami gave up valuable draft picks for Feeley a few years ago and learned this lesson the hard way. It's one of the reasons why they are 0-12 right now.

Miami's going winless.

It took you 13 weeks to realize this?

LaDainian Tomlinson is looking a lot like LaDainian Tomlinson again.

Yeah, before yesterday he looked a lot like Joan Rivers is you ask me....

When I watch the Bills, I feel like I'm watching a bunch of guys who would play football for free.

Beat an emotionally drained team by 1 point on a last second field goal (while being aided by a coaching gaffe) and you're suddenly a team that would play football for free. SI's senior football writer at his best folks...

And yeah, ask Willis McGahee if he wanted to play for free in Bufallo. Ask Nate Clements. Ask J.P. Losman if he wants to stay for free when his contract is up soon...

Where did Roddy White come from? Ten more catches yesterday in St. Louis. Nice player.

Roddy White came from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He was a first round pick in 2005 and has already played in 44 career games. Most of us have heard of him...

The Bengals, Broncos, Chiefs and Saints signed their playoff death warrants Sunday. Yes, the same Saints I picked to play in the Super Bowl.

The Peter King curse folks, in full effect. Remember now, I called this back in June.

Things worked out for the BCS. Ohio State-LSU is the game I want to see for the marbles.

I'm pretty sure you're the only person outside of Baton Rouge and Columbus Ohio that feels like this...

Coffeenerdness: My daughter Mary Beth informs me that The Barge, the campus coffeehouse at Colgate University and her employer, has shipped out two pounds of Colgate Blend to a South Dakota man, based on my review of the black gold in a recent column. You won't regret it, sir. That's a strong, delicious cup of Green Mountain coffee.

I want to fight a diseased infested grizzly bear right now. That's how irritated I get by this shit. Fuck me in the liver, when will it ever stop???

Ever have a "Stubbs?'' No? Your life is not complete. Had one for lunch on Wednesday in Texas. It's a bacon, sausage and egg sandwich, on thick Texas toast, from the Coppell Deli, named after the former Dallas Cowboy Dan Stubbs. Well worth the $4.95, because once you've eaten this monster, you won't be hungry for three days.

Unless you're Peter King. Then you'd be hungry again after 3 hours.

Man o man, what a bag of shit that was. That was a bag of shit that was left to stew in the sun for about 2 weeks. And there are somehow still people out there that genuinely enjoy reading this stuff. Amazing really....

Ah well, let's have a look at the train wreck that is Peter King and fantasy football...

1. Be careful about expecting too much out of [Adrian] Peterson, who spent the week adjusting to playing with a knee brace. And do not bench Taylor if you've got him, because I see Brad Childress leaning toward splitting the load this week and next while Peterson gets back into good playing shape.

Actually a good call here by mister butter pants. Taylor and Peterson split the carries but as for not expecting much out of AP...how's about 15 rushes for 116 yards and 2 Td's.

2. Pick up Tennessee's defense, or play it ahead of your other defense if you have two. Simplistic to say, but the Titans' D will return with a vengeance this weekend with Albert Haynesworth back in the lineup after his strained hammy. And don't expect Ron Dayne to do much after averaging 5.0 yards a carry over the last three weeks. Haynesworth eats guys like him for bedtime snacks.

Tennesse's defense allowed 20 points and only managed 1 pick and 2 sacks. Ron Dayne on the other hand had 86 yards and a touchdown. Not exactly what I would call a bedtime snack.

5. Take a flyer on Jesse Chatman off the waiver wire if he's been dumped there. He was limited in practice this week, but the Dolphins need him to get off the schneid, and it sounds like he's going to try to give Miami 15 carries or so against an inconsistent Jets run defense.

Jesse Chatman : 11 carries, 26 yards and 1 injury. The Peter King curse is a ruthless villain.

6. No D.J. Hackett for Matt Hasselbeck and Mike Holmgren to gameplan with. So, I'd play Deion Branch and expect him to get eight catches in Philly. Games like this are why the Seahawks gave up a first-round pick for Branch.

Deion Branch : 5 catches, 40 yards, 0 times in the endzone. You heard it folks, the Seahawks gave up a first round pick for marginal production like that...

7. I'd think hard about picking up Trent Dilfer and playing him this week. He's coming off his best game in years -- a 356-yard strafing of the Cards -- and the 49ers should be able to throw it on the packing-it-in Panthers.

Did ANYONE even consider starting Dilfer this week? I had the choice between Dilfer and getting 0 points from McNabb. I went with 0 points from McNabb and it looks like that was the right thing to do.

Dilfer : 171 yards, 2 touchdowns and 4 picks. Anyone thats dumb enough to consider Dilfer should get kicked in the kneecaps by a Centaur.

8. It's going to be a painful weekend for the Redskins, taking the field so soon after the death of Sean Taylor. You always wonder how players with damaged psyches can come back and play a game so quickly. My theory is that the Bills are so beat up right now -- they lost defensive end Chris Kelsay this week, and will play their third straight game without Marshawn Lynch -- that Washington will be able to move the ball and let their inner inspiration work for them. I expect Clinton Portis, who thought of but decided against wearing Taylor's number 21 Sunday ("I can't live up to those expectations,'' he said), to play one of the best games of his life for his fallen friend.

Clinton Portis : 25 carries, 50 yards and 1 TD. Far from the best game of his life. As for Peter King and horrible football columns, we get those every single week.

Picking on Eli

2007-11-28T11:55:00.000-04:00

The new "Rundown" column is up. This week I pick on Elisha Manning and I pick on Pete Prisco (again) for telling us to not pick on Manning.

Good times for everyone..

(image courtesy of phun.org)

That didn't last long at all

2007-11-27T18:22:00.000-04:00

It only took 6 carries, but Ricky Williams is already done for the season.

Williams fumbled during last night's horror fest against Pittsburgh and got stomped on by Lawrence Timmons when Timmons was going for the fumble recovery.

So Sir Smoke-A-lot's much anticipated comeback lasted only a whopping 6 carries. With the way Miami's season has gone so far, I can't say that I'm surprised at all.

I mean, Ricky could have been struck by lightning 24 times during pre-game warm-ups while being kicked in the shins by an angry leprechaun and I still wouldn't find it strange.

By the time we hit week 14, Miami will be lining up my mother in the backfield....

Sean Taylor, dead at the age of 24

2007-11-27T07:47:00.000-04:00

I just don't have any words. Sean Taylor has died this morning from the gunshot wound he got to the leg yesterday.

Being 24 years old myself, it hits pretty hard to think how this young man lost his life. He leaves behind a girlfriend and a young daughter and I can't even imagine what his family must be going through right now.

Really not the news I wanted to wake up to....

It's been a long day

2007-11-26T23:13:00.001-04:00

Started at a new job today and as a result I couldn't post anything throughout today.

The Sean Taylor incident also has me as down as can be because he's probably my favorite non Dolphins football player. It just goes to show how fragile we are...

Either way, I'm doing the Random Observations of the Monday Night game. First half edition is up here...

Update : Second half edition is here and it's brutal

Looking for writers/contributors

2007-11-25T13:47:00.000-04:00

So, it's become obvious that I have absolutely no time to write over at the hokiesandcanes and it's time to try something new.

I'm looking for people that would want to write/contribute there so if you are a Miami fan, a Virginia Tech fan or someone that would want to write about sports in general, just drop me an email and we'll discuss the details.

So, if you're interested or know someone who is, let me know and we'll set it up.

Why Zach, why???

2007-11-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

Well, this will surely mean 0-16 now. When your middle linebacker and team leader busts out the Soulja Boy, then there's just no going back. I guess that the concussion and the car accident have affected Zach way more than we thought...

(The Big Lead, You Been Blinded)

Does he actually believe this?

2007-11-22T11:09:00.000-04:00

So, I was surfing the interwebs last night and I came across this post by Miami Herald sports columnist Armando Salguero about how the Dolphins would be in better shape if Nick Saban had stayed on board.

Salguero tried to argue that Miami, LSU, Michigan, Saban and Cam Cameron would all be in better places right now if Saban had elected to stay at Miami.

Now, I don't know if he wrote this just to have fun and to stir shit up in the comments section or if he genuinely believes the garbage that he spewed out in this post.

Here's the thing. On the one hand, Saban went 8-8 and 6-10 in his two seasons as Miami's coach and on paper it looks way better than 0-10. Saban also had a pretty good draft in '05 that brought in a bunch of starters including Ronnie Brown, who showed everyone this season that he fits into that elite back category.

If Saban stayed, the team would probably also not be winless right now. That's one way of looking at it but let's be realistic here.

Saban quit on this team after giving them his word. That's really not the guy I would want as a coach. And he would not be rebuilding right now (what this team desperately needed) and Miami would be plodding along to another 6-10 / 9-7 type season while achieving absolutely nothing.

But hey, let's see how Armando argues this one...

Nick Saban should have waited one more year, should have buckled his proverbial chin strap and stayed with the Dolphins and struggled and suffered through one more season. And if he had everyone would be better off.

Yes, I just wrote that. Everyone, Saban and Cam Cameron and the Dolphins and LSU and Michigan, would be better off for 2008.

Go on. We're waiting...

How would Saban be better off? Well, the fact is he is in deep do at Alabama now coming off back-to-back losses to Mississippi State and Louisiana-Monroe. His team is underachieving and fans once loyal to him are getting the idea the guy is something of a strange bird based on comments he made Monday.

Saban described the humbling defeat against ULM inappropriately, mentioning the 9-11 terrorist attacks and Pearl Harbor in talking about how his team must rebound like America did from a "catastrophic event.''

"Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event,'' Saban said. "It may be 9-11, which sort of changed the spirit of America RELATIVE TO catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, and that was a catastrophic event.''

And this is seriously the guy you want to be leading this team right now?

And that leads me to the reason everyone would be better off if Saban had stayed. If he had stayed, and I remind you it was HIS choice to leave, Saban probably would be struggling with the Dolphins this year. But he would likely be preparing himself for a return to LSU if/when Les Miles flies the coop for Michigan.

Oh, so you want him to stay, have a pathetic 5-11 type year and then bolt to LSU. And then Miami would have to go through that entire process again of finding a new coach and implementing a new system.

I may be wrong here, but I'm really happy that Cameron came in with a rebuilding plan before another year was wasted.

Think of it. If Saban were Miami's coach, Miles would almost certainly become Michigan's coach because the folks at LSU would gladly let Miles out of his contract in order to get Saban back. And it is that contract, which has a $1.25 million buyout clause if Miles goes to Michigan, that is the only thing that might keep Miles at LSU.

If Saban went back to LSU, he would be returning to a program stocked with talent -- which Alabama was not. He'd be returning to a place where he is adored and his foibles are embraced -- which he is finding Alabama is not. He'd be going back to an open and seemingly unlimited checkbook.

So Michigan would get the coach it wants and LSU would get the coach it wants.

It sounds like LSU is willing to let Miles go to Michigan. They didn't need Saban to come back for that.

So how would that make things better for the Dolphins? As I just stated, Saban would be struggling with the Dolphins this year as any coach would. But do you think he'd be winless? His Miami teams started slow both years, but they hit a stride midway through the season. It didn't last and it didn't make them good long-term or short-term.

But they were not WINLESS. Not even close.

True, but they'd still be that same underachieving bunch, getting older and not doing anything worth remembering on the field. But hey, they would go 7-9! Long live Saban!

And I don't think they would be winless this year under Saban. And how would that be better for Miami long-term?

Well, it was clear last year that the big-name coaches the Dolphins coveted initially -- Pete Carroll and Bill Cowher -- were not ready to move or get back into coaching. Those close to Cowher believe he'll be ready to return to coaching this year. And if the Dolphins were in the market for a coach this year, following Saban's departure to LSU, I am certain they would be players in the chase for Coach Chin.

Maybe. You don't know that. So basically, you'd prefer to have another lethargic season with that same veteran group, go 6-10, have Saban bolt and cross your fingers to hopefully land Cowher.

Meanwhile, Cameron is already here and his plan is already in motion. Granted they're 0-10 and horrible right now, but you need to get really bad before you get really good. The Cowboys also went 1-15 in J.J.'s first season.

Besides, in last Sunday's game against Philly, Miami had a rookie qb, a rookie fullback, a rookie center, a rookie wide receiver, a 2nd year wide receiver, a 2nd year safety, a rookie punter and a 2nd year defensive tackle all STARTING.

That means youth. That means rebuilding. That means that this team is one or two drafts away from being a contender and having a great core of players to build around.

Furthermore, I put to you that had Saban stayed in Miami this year, held out one more inglorious season, Cam Cameron would be better off as well. If Saban had stayed, Cameron would still be in San Diego in some capacity because he had only one other head coach interview last year and Arizona didn't ask him back for a second talk.

So he would not have left San Diego. He would, worst case, be San Diego's offensive coordinator, which given the talent there is pretty attractive. And if things had played out as they did, Cameron would almost certainly have inherited the head coaching job when Marty Schottenheimer was fired.

Again, you don't know this. San Diego fired Shottenheimer after a 14-2 season. They let Cameron walk. They let Wade Phillips walk. They went out and got Norv fuckin' Turner. San Diego didn't really make the most rational of decisions there Armando...

So Camerons would be San Diego's head coach and the Dolphins would be in good position to hire a good head coach with a winning track record because they could chose between a semi-retired Cowher and an unemployed Schottenheimer as their next coach.

Alright. Fine. I'll play along. Even if Camerons (sic) became the head coach, what do you think would be more gratifying? Inheriting a loaded Chargers team and have people say that he's winning only because he took over Shottenheimer's loaded roster? (a la Phillips in Dallas and Tomlin in Pitt).

Or, take over a bad Miami team, tear it down, start to rebuild it and slowly mold a winner out of it? I think option number 2 sounds pretty good and pretty rewarding.

So to recap if Saban had stayed in Miami this year, the Dolphins might not be winless and in 2008:

Huh. We're still in 2007 Armando. And if you mean that Miami will go winless next season, then you should be giving us lottery numbers.

Saban would be coaching LSU.

Yeah, the guy who compares a loss to 9-11 and Pearl Harbor.

Cameron would be coaching San Diego.

Maybe.

And either Cowher or Schottenheimer could be coaching the Dolphins.

Maybe and maybe.

That's better all the way around, I think.

Discuss ...

Read the comments. Your readers seem to agree that this piece of garbage is the worst thing you've ever written.

The new Rundown column is up

2007-11-21T11:35:00.000-04:00

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

....And you can find it right here. It's about office pools, little girls giving you a thumbs up and a guy with funny hair.

I have issues. I know.

Going to try a new approach here

2007-11-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

The Orlando Magic won their fifth game in a row last night and at 10-2 have their best start in franchise history. On Sunday they also handed the Celtics their first loss of the season so you can imagine that I'm pretty happy right now.

But I'm not going to do what I did last season. Orlando got off to an 11-4 start last year and after a big win against the Jazz, I wrote this post telling people how the Magic are going to stomp on their stupid groin.

I wrote about how they would dunk on your stupid face and steal your girlfriend all while making puzzles and writing articles for Time Magazine. But yeah, I obviously jinxed the hell out of them and the rest of the season went pretty shitty.

They backed into the play-offs as an 8th seed and the Pistons made sure that their play-off run was very short. I believe that Soulja Boy learned how to "Superman dat ho" after he saw what Detroit did to Orlando in those 4 games.

After that, the off-season brought some highs and lows and I wasn't really sure how the team would respond to all of it...

The good

- Resigning Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson.
- Getting Rashard Lewis.
- Grant Hill's massive contract came off the books.
- Brought in a good head coach in Stan Van Gundy.
- Getting Patrick Ewing to work with Dwight Howard on his post game.

The bad

- Rashard Lewis' contract might have been a bit over the top
- Their basically capped out over the next 5 years
- That entire Billy Donovan fiasco
- Didn't re-sign Darko

But through all of that, the season is off to a pretty good start but the question now becomes if they can keep it up. I'm obviously hoping for that but I'm not going to be running my mouth off anytime soon.

I'm just going to quietly sit back and watch what Van Gundy can do with this team. It scares the hell out of me that they're capped out for the next 5 years but the Eastern Conference might just be weak enough that it won't matter that much.

Coffeenerdness!?!

2007-11-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

Consider it "Peter King day" over here. I'm trying to write my "Rundown" column but Peter is just messing with my mind. Horrible, I know.

Well, these guys have the right idea though. The created a blog dedicated to nothing but Peter King mockage. Pure, awesome, mockage. That's a winner in my book folks.

So check it out and check it out often.

Yeah, let's all pick up Dwayne Wright

2007-11-19T12:51:00.000-04:00

Usually I mock Peter King's fantasy advice on Tuesday's, but he didn't mention anyone that is playing tonight, so I can just go ahead and run this now.

But before we start, I have to mention this quote from Peter again..

1. No one except maybe the '27 Yankees could beat the Patriots right now.

Personally, I think that the '96 Bulls could also beat them right now. Maybe the '01 Miami Hurricanes and the '86 Celtics. But yeah, if there's one team that can beat New England right now, it's the '27 Yankees. Good call Pete.

Either way, on to the fantasy train wreck that is Peter King...

1. Lynch still had a walking boot on his foot today, and though he's saying he thinks he may be able to play, I'd say the chances of that are slim. Looking to pick someone up? I'd say rookie Dwayne Wright is a better choice than vet Anthony Thomas. I don't like the matchup of the plodding Thomas against New England's hammering front seven.

Dwayne Wright : 1 carrie, 1 yard, 1 fumble. I mean, you can't start a fantasy advice column better than that. You really can't. And for the record, Thomas did have a better game than Wright as he got 11 carries and 31 yards.

2. Dump Rudi Johnson if he still has trade value in your league. By all measures, the best back on the Bengals now is Kenny Watson, who is gaining 1.8 yards more per carry than Johnson.

Decent call here. Watson finished with 9 carries for 45 yards while Johnson got 8 carries and only finished with 25 yards rushing.

4. Arizona offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon loves Arrington, and his touches have gone way up the last three weeks. I would look for him to get the ball in space 10 times in Cincinnati on Sunday. If you've got a flex spot open this weekend, Arrington might not be a bad pick. I could see him getting 80 yards and a touchdown.

If you actually followed this advice, I'm sure that you want to stab Peter in his chin right now.

Arrington : 1 catch for 3 yards to go along with 0 carries for 0 yards on the ground. Peter was slightly off here to say the least...

5. How can Thomas Jones not have a touchdown right now? Ridiculous. With Pittsburgh cming to town and allowing a league-low 72 rushing yards per game, there's no worse play in the league this weekend than Jones. He's got to sit.

This is the sheer power of the Peter King curse folks. Like I've said before. Take the Madden curse, let it have a violent orgy with SI Cover curse and you get something that resembles the Peter King curse.

King tells us to sit Thomas Jones and Jones promptly goes out and rushes for 117 yards on 30 carries.

Bonus points for the fact that it snapped Pittsburgh's 34 game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher.

6. Play Dallas Clark, who has been practicing this week and seems to be over the concussion that sidelined him against the Chargers. Trade for him if your deadline hasn't come yet. I could see him catching 12 balls against Kansas City, what with the blanketing of Reggie Wayne continuing and the wideout injuries stunting the Indy passing game.

Dallas Clark : 3 catches, 15 yards.

7. Derrick Mason's pathetic 9.0-yards-per-catch average is not all his fault, obviously. I think he'd be a good pickup this weekend if he's on the waiver wire in your league. Kyle Boller needs a wideout security blanket, he likes throwing to Mason, and the Browns -- surrendering 273 yards per game and an abominable 22 touchdowns through the air -- are coming to town for a game the Ravens must have.

Ah, finally a little redemption for Peter. Mason finished with 6 catches for 83 yards. No touchdowns though..

8. Don't trust Mason? Here's a waiver guy for you: Koren Robinson. Brett Favre loves him and went out on a limb to make sure he got back with the Packers this season after all his substance abuse problems. Coach Mike McCarthy thinks Favre sees himself in Robinson, who is working hard with more passes are coming his way each week. With Carolina averaging a putrid 1.0 sacks per game, Favre should have enough time to find Robinson a few times Sunday.

Koren Robinson : 0 catches.

Yeah, Brett Favre reaaalllly loves him.

9. Worried about the Colts offense? Don't be. All three tackles who were hurt last Sunday practiced fully on Friday, and Peyton Manning should not have the same kind of fire-drill game he endured in San Diego Sunday.

Manning : 16-32, 163 yards to go along with 0 Td's and 1 pick. As for the Colts offense, a pathetic 13 point showing at home against KC.

This was by far Peter's worst column yet. I mean, it's come to the point where you have to do the exact opposite of what he says.

The Monday Wrap-Up

2007-11-19T11:26:00.000-04:00

The Monday Wrap-up is basically what the name says. It wraps up the weekend in football on Monday Morning. Easy huh?

There isn't much left to say

(Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Every week, I hold on to some little hope that whoever is playing the Patriots can catch some sort of lightning in a bottle or catch the Pats on a bad night and pull the upset, but every week they just abuse that poor team like Mike Vick's dogs.

Last night Buffalo stepped up to the plate. They were on a little winning streak, it was a prime time game at home and they even had an inspirational message from Kevin Everett on the big screen.

When you add those variables together, it usually ends up in a win but not against these Patriots. The game was basically over midway through the second quarter and most of us lost interest after halftime. I personally opted for violent masturbation then.

Tom Brady went 31-39, had 5 touchdown passes and 4 of those went to Randy Moss in the first half. Next week the poor Eagles will step up and take their anal pounding and that thing I said about Pittsburgh maybe upsetting them? Well, forget that please...

The funniest thing about this is that the 'Niners keep dropping to new lows every week, meaning that New England will probably end up with the 2nd overall pick in the draft. They go undefeated, they tear everyone a new asshole and they draft Darren McFadden 2nd overall in April.

I had a season in Madden once where I dominated my way to a championship and ended up drafting 2nd overall in the next draft because of a trade I pulled off the previous season. It seemed unrealistic at the time, but the Patriots are actually going to do it now.

Thanks for making me look silly Pittsburgh

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

So, after seeing Pittsburgh destroy Baltimore two weeks ago, I was convinced that they could possibly take down New England. The Pats had to hold on to beat Indy, who were missing some guys at the time, and the Steelers looked downright nasty against Baltimore.

But how can you take this team seriously anymore now that they lost against the Jets? The Jets belong in that Miami/San Fran/St. Louis group of horrible teams and that was a game that Pittsburgh needed to dominate.

Somehow, Thomas Jones managed to snap the Steelers 34 game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher and New York had Large Benjamin on his back more often than Lindsay Lohan.

Now, if a Thomas Jones/Kellen Clemens led offense can do that, while holding the Steelers to just 16 points...imagine what a Tom Brady/Randy Moss/Wes Welker/Donte Stallworth/Benjamin Watson/Laurence Maroney led offense will do to these guys.

The Steelers seem to play well when they're at home but they crap their pants uncontrollably when they hit the road. Their 3 losses have all come on the road this season and they weren't really against the cream of the crop (Arizona, Denver, The Jets). That's going to be a problem come play-off time Mike Tomlin.

The Jonathan Beck era is finally underway

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

John Beck took the field the first time for the Miami Dolphins in Philadelphia, in cold, rainy conditions, facing a tough defense and without the star running back to hand the ball off to.

Considering all of the above, he did pretty well out there. Beck went 9-22 for 109 yards but he didn't turn it over and he wasn't sacked. He looked good at times and he obviously looked nervous at others.

The result was the same, a Miami loss, but yet again it was close and there was hope for a victory again midway through the fourth quarter. But hey, when you have a young team and a team that has been hit hard by injuries, you're not going to pull these games out.

More importantly, Ted Ginn had his best game as a pro and I don't think that it's a coincidence. Cleo Lemon just could not get the ball to Ginn but that Beck/Ginn combo started to show some flashes yesterday.

Ginn finished with 4 catches for 52 yards and had that great 87 yard punt return for a touchdown. He now has 2 touchdowns on the year but let's not forget about the 2 other return touchdowns that were called because of penalties.

And it looks like Jason Allen might finally be getting it. Allen has been playing pretty well since Cameron gave him the ultimatum and he produced yesterday again. Two interceptions, six tackles and hope for those of us that still think that he can be an impact player in this league.

The AFC is not really looking so great today

(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Outside of New England, there isn't really a team right now in the AFC that is really looking very good to me.

The Colts when healthy are obviously a force, but with all these injuries, they had to fight and claw their way to a last second win at home against the Chiefs. The Chiefs, who were starting Brodie Croyle and who are without Larry Johnson. I dunno but that's a game that Indy usually dominates.

The Steelers lost to the Jets, which is about as bas as it gets and the Chargers will go nowhere if Philip Rivers keeps throwing the ball like he's doing. Rivers is making Joey Harrington look like a good option back there.

The Browns are a nice surprise but their offense is in a shoot-out every time because that defense can't stop anyone really and that's going to be a problem come play-off time.

The Titans are the exact opposite, with one of the best defenses in the league but with a passing attack that doesn't even scare Elon. When you have to struggle to get 20 points, it will make things a little hard on you.

That leaves the Jags, who had a big win against San Diego yesterday but that team is a David Garrard injury away of being irrelevant again. When Quinn Gray needs to come in every so now and then in relief duty, you are in big, big trouble.

Stupid Peter King shit

1. No one except maybe the '27 Yankees could beat the Patriots right now.

Thank you Peter.

Meh............

2007-11-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

Random observations, Redskins @ Cowboys is up at the Epic Carnival.

First half is here. Second half here.

Prisco in a nutshell

2007-11-18T13:18:00.000-04:00

Someone, anyone, tell me how this man keeps pulling in a paycheck from Sportsline.

Pete Prisco has been asking for weeks now in his Power Rankings when Miami is finally going to start John Beck. He mentioned it again last week and since the page gets updated every week, I figured I'd just put a screen shot for you. (Click to view a larger image)

They're the lone winless team now that the Rams have left them behind. When is John Beck going to play? I'll ask the question every week until he's put in the starting lineup.

So, the change has finally been made and this is Prisco's response when he made his picks for this week's games...

Leave it to the Dolphins to throw the rookie quarterback in on the road at Philadelphia. John Beck starts this week, and it won't be in a friendly spot. Look for the Eagles to blitz the heck out of him and use turnovers to lead to a route.

So, to recap. He wants Miami to start Beck and now that the move has been made, he makes it look like a bad thing.

Pete Prisco. CBS Sportsline Senior writer. Amazing...

John Beck, NFL. NFL, John Beck...

2007-11-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

As you can see, I've been lazy as hell this weekend. I'm so damn lazy that I took the laptop into bed and I'm typing this while lying down and itching my crotch.

I guess I have to say something about John Beck getting his first start tomorrow since I've been waiting for that from the moment he had been drafted.

Beck gets his first start in Philly and I'm really not surprised that the Philly fans are hoping that Jim Johnson blitzes 'till he passes out.

On the one hand, Beck has some tough games down the road. He gets his debut in Philly, against that Blitz-happy defense and I'm sure that the crowd will be as pleasant as getting sexually harassed by a mule. After that, he gets to play in prime time in Pittsburgh against the Steelers, a game that scares me probably more than the New England game.

Oh, and then there's that New England game in New England that I just mentioned, a game against the Ravens and their tough defense and the Bengals game which could be Miami's last chance for a victory. Yeah, no pressure on the kid at all..

But on the flip side, at least we get to see what he's made of. It does not get any tougher than this and it will either destroy this young man or he'll step up and become the leader that this team needs.

That said, I'm not expecting great things from him yet and even if he does perform well, it does not automatically mean he'll be great down the road. But at least we'll have some idea of what he can bring to the table and that's very important with a first overall pick coming up in April.

So yes, I'm excited for the John Beck era. Trying to keep things realistic but still pretty damn excited. Something that I haven't been able to say a lot this season...

Good observation Pete

2007-11-15T13:08:00.000-04:00

I was bored today and I went looking for some Pete Prisco stupidity over at CBS, and wouldn't you know it, he came through again.

He was asked if the Packers could win a Super Bowl while their rushing game is last in the league and his answer was odd to say the least...

Yes. There's an old adage that you have to run in December and January to win. That's not true. You have to be able to throw to score and run to win. By that, I mean throw it early and get a lead and then run it with the lead.

Pete Prisco, telling us that you have to be a pass first team to win a Super Bowl. Without really researching this, I already started to disagree with him so I decided to go look at some numbers. I went back and looked at the last 10 Super Bowls and how the participating teams had faired that season in the run game.

Now, I know you might think that a sample size of 20 teams and 10 games is a bit small, but I though it would be relevant for the era we're in right now.

1997 : Broncos over Packers

The Packers were pretty balanced in '97. Favre had a good year but so did Dorsey Levens as he also made the Pro Bowl that season. Levens finished the season with 1435 rushing yards and 7 Td's.

Team rushing ranks : 10th in attempts, 12th in yardage and 25th in touchdowns.

The Broncos ranked higher in the rush game than the pass game that season and even though Elway had a great year, it was Terrell Davis who was just going crazy.

Davis finished with 1750 rushing yards and 15 Td's.
Team rushing ranks : 6th in attempts, 4th in yardage and 5th in touchdowns.

It's no coincidence that Elway finally got a ring after Davis burst on to the scene. Elway would get his second ring in '98 and once again, it was Davis leading the way with an absolutely amazing season.

Bonus Fact : Davis' Super Bowl line : 30 carries, 157 yards, 3 Td's and the MVP award.

1998 : Broncos over Falcons.

The Falcons got a monstrous rushing season from Jamal Anderson as he finished with 1846 rushing yards and 14 Td's. Anderson carried the ball a whopping 410 times during the regular season and sadly, he wasn't the same runner after that anymore.

Team rushing ranks : 4th in attempts, 6th in yardage and 7th in touchdowns.

As for Denver, Terrell Davis had one of the all-time great rushing seasons in '98. 2008 yards, 21 touchdowns and a 5.1 average per rush
Team rushing ranks : 2nd in attempts, 2nd in yardage and 1st overall in touchdowns.

Bonus fact : Davis surpassed 100 yards rushing in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row and as a team, the Broncos had 3 rushing Td's in that game.

1999 : Rams over Titans

The Titans were led in '99 by Eddie George and his 1304 rushing yards and 9 Td's. Steve McNair also added 8 rushing touchdowns in the 11 games in which he played.
Team rushing ranks : 12th in attempts, 13th in yardage and 3rd in touchdowns.

The '99 Rams were one of the great offenses of all-time and even though they loved to pass, to could run it a little as well. Marshall Faulk was setting records and had 1381 rushing yards to go along with 7 Td's on the ground that season.
Team rushing ranks : 17th in attempts, 5th in yardage and 14th in touchdowns.

2000 : Ravens over Giants

The Giants had Kerry Collins under center and could throw the ball a little, but Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne combined for over 1700 rushing yards and 13 Td's.
Team rushing ranks : 6th in attempts, 11th in yardage and 8th in touchdowns

Should I even tell you about this Ravens team? They had one of the best defenses of all time and they ran the ball. Trent Dilfer and Tony Banks were taking snaps under center for this team so they needed everything that the defense and that running game could give them.

Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes combined for over 1900 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Team rushing ranks : 5th in attempts, 5th in yardage and 25th in touchdowns.

Bonus fact : Jamal Lewis went for 100 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Tiki Barber was held t0 49 yards and 0 scores.

2001 : Patriots over Rams

The 2001 Rams fall into that category of pass first, but just like the '99 team, they had a pretty decent rushing attack. Faulk and Trung Candidate combined for over 1800 yards and 18 touchdowns but sadly, Mike Martz seemed to be allergic to the run at times.
Team rushing ranks : 22nd in attempts, 5th in yards and 1st in touchdowns.

Yes, I know the Pats took of with the arrival of Tom Brady, but the main receivers were Troy Brown and David Patten. The rushing game for its part was pretty effective.

Antowain Smith, Kevin Faulk, J.R. Redmond and Marc Edwards combined for 1600 yards and 14 Td's on the ground.
Team rushing ranks : 8th in attempts, 13th in yards and 7th in touchdwons.

As for the Super Bowl itself, the Pats had more rushing yards than the Rams and had a more balanced attack. Kurt Warner threw 44 passes while Faulk only got 17 carries and a lot of people will still argue that the Rams would have won if Martz ran the ball more than he did.

2002 : Bucs over Raiders.

Here we finally get a team that ranked a lot higher in the passing game than in the running game. Rich Gannon threw for a ton of yards but the running game did put up some yardage.

Charlie Garner, Tyronne Wheatly and Zack Crockett combined for over 1500 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.
Team rushing ranks : 24th in attempts, 19th in yardage and 5th in touchdowns.

The 2002 Bucs had a great defense but their passing game was surprisingly good as well. Brad Johnson had a solid season and the pass offense ranked a lot higher than the rushing offense.

Mike Alstott, Aaron Stecker and Michael Pittman combined for about 1400 yards and only 5 touchdowns on the ground.
Team rushing ranks : 25th in attempts, 27th in yardage and 32nd in touchdowns.

The Bucs won behind their great defense, but they had a big edge in the rushing department in the Super Bowl. Tampa finished with 150 yards rushing and 1 Td, while Oakland finished with only 19 yards and 0 scores.

2003 : Patriots over Panthers

The Panthers were a run first team this season. Their passing game was solid but they relied on defense and rushing to win.

Stephen Davis and Deshaun Foster combined for almost 1900 yards on the ground and 8 Td's.
Team rushing ranks : 3rd in attempts, 7th in yardage and 24th in touchdowns.

The Patriots did really more on the passing game in this season than their previous Super Bowl winning year. The passing offense was one of the league's best and the run game ranked more towards the bottom.

Antowain Smith, Kevin Faulk and Mike Cloud combined for about 1400 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Team rushing ranks : 12th in attempts, 27th in yardage and 25th in touchdowns.

Just like the 2002 Bucs, New England ranked better during the regular season in the pass game, but they won the rushing match-up while winning that Super Bowl. The Pats rushed 35 times for 127 yards while Carolina only ran 16 times for 92 yards.

2004 : Patriots over Eagles.

The Eagles loved to throw the ball in 2004. The passing attack ranked way higher than the rushing attack as Donovan McNabb had a phenomenal season.

Brian Westbrook and Dorsey Levens combined for about 1200 yards and 7 Td's rushing.
Team rushing ranks : 31st in attempts, 24th in yardage and 23rd in touchdowns.

As for the Pats, this was the season they brought in Corey Dillon and the shift went from pass, to run.

Tom Brady had a good year but Dillon exploded for 1635 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Team rushing ranks : 5th in attempts, 7th in yardage and 8th in touchdowns.

The Pats won the Super Bowl and it should be no surprise that they won the rushing match-up as well. They ran the ball more than the Eagles, went over the 100 yard mark on the ground while Philly was held to just 45 yards.

2005 : Steelers over Seahawks.

Seattle was a very good rushing team in 2005 and relied more on the rush than the pass. Shaun Alexander had that huge year with 1880 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Team rushing ranks : 7th in attempts, 3rd in yardage and 1st in touchdowns.

The Steelers were almost just as good at rushing the ball and relied on it even more than the Seahawks in '05.

Willie Parker, Jerome Bettis, Verron Haynes and Deuce Staley combined for over 2000 yards and 17 Td's.
Team rushing ranks : 1st in attempts, 5th in yardage and 5th in touchdowns.

Bonus fact : The Steelers rushed more, had more yardage and scored 2 rushing Td's on way to their victory over the 'Hawks.

2006 : Colts over Bears

The 2006 Chicago Bears can be summed up like this. Dominate on defese, run the ball and hope that Rex Grossman doesn't mess it up.

Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson combined for over 1800 yards and 12 Td's as the Bears heavily relied on that running game.
Team rushing stats : 5th in attempts, 15th in yardage and 12th in touchdowns.

The Colts are also one of those teams that relied more on the pass, but the running game was no slouch for sure. Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes combined for over 1700 yards and 12 Td's and served as a nice complement to that potent Indy pass attack.

Even though Indy is one of those "pass first" teams, they still won the Super Bowl thanks to that rushing game. 42 rushes, 191 yards and 1 Td on the ground as Manning finally lifted that trophy.

Conclusion.

The '99 Rams, the '02 Bucs, the '03 Pats and the '06 Colts all won while having stronger passing games but the rushing game was at least decent or middle of the pack. The Bucs, Colts and Pats all won while also winning the Super Bowl rushing match-up.

As for other "pass first" teams. The Eagles lost in '03, the Raiders got crushed in '02, the Rams could have won in '01 had they rushed more while the '98 Vikings, '03 Colts and '04 Colts didn't even make it there.

Point is, you have to have some sort of running game to compliment that passing attack. John Elway finally won when he had Terrell David to hand off to. Manning finally won with the help of that monstrous rushing effort against Chicago. Even the Rams had Marshall Faulk who made that offense go...

The Packers are one of the best teams so far, but I can't imagine them winning a Super Bowl when their rushing attack is dead last. And for those of you that are going to argue that the other top teams also rely more on the pass, then consider the following..

Who would you rather have right now in your backfield? Maroney, Julius Jones/Marion Barber, Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, Brandon Jacobs, L.T/Michael Turner or Ryan Grant???

It's going to tough for the Pack to overcome that mister Prisco....