Now many may recognize this mystery team as the Florida Marlins (who now hold a 11-4 record), who have surprised many by jumping off to an 11-3 start. Now this is obviously a small sample size of the full regular season, and most people would agree that they are unlikely to end the season with the same .786 winning percentage, good for a whopping 127 wins. However, are these early wins significant in that they will likely lead to a final record featuring more than 72 wins, or are these wins completely statistically irrelevant and the Marlins continue on pace for 72 wins? Before we can answer that question, let’s review dependent and independent probability.

Flipping Coins

When you flip a coin, each subsequent coin flip is independent of all the coin flips that preceded it. When you flip a coin, you have a fifty-fifty chance of seeing heads. So when you begin a series of 50 coin flips, you would be projected to see 25 heads and 25 tails. However, if your first ten flips all come up heads, you are no longer expected to see only 25 heads at the end. That’s because your next 40 coin flips are independent of your first ten flips, so each of those flips still has a fifty-fifty chance of seeing heads, leading to a projection of 20 heads over the final 40 flips. So your projection of seeing heads over 50 coin flips when you know that the first ten all landed heads, will not be 30, your 10 head flips that already happened, with 20 more projected head flips to come.

Monty Hall Paradox

The Monty Hall Problem was famously posed in Parade Magazine:

Suppose you’re on a game show, and you’re given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what’s behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, “Do you want to pick door No. 2?” Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?

The answer surprised many, because it is to your advantage to switch your choice, decidedly so. Switching your choice increases your chances of selecting the right door by a full 1/3, to 2/3 chance.

Now there is an important detail missing from the problem, the host knows which door the prize is in. Therefor each event, the opening of the doors, is dependent on the events preceding it.

When you first select a door, there are three choices, therefore your chance to select the prize door is set at 1/3. When the host goes to open a door, he knows which ones have the goats and which the prize. Therefore he will always open the door with a goat in it. Now you are left with two doors, one with a goat in it and one with a prize. Now you probably think that each door holds a 1/2 chance of being the prize door, since there are only two doors. And you would be correct, if you hadn’t started with three doors and the opened door was not dependent on the other doors. But instead the host does know which door held the prize, and he specifically selected a door that did not hold it. Thus the revelation of information to you that was already known does not change the initial odds for the door you selected. Instead, the door you selected remains with only a 1/3 chance of holding the prize. However, the odds for the door you did not select did. Initially there was a 2/3 chance that one of the other doors held the prize. That is still true, however rather than those odds being split between two doors, only a single door holds those odds. Thus the single door that you did not select now has a 2/3 chance of holding the prize, and it is a good idea to change your selection. Feel free to read more about the Monty Hall Paradox.

Back to Baseball

Jeremy Hermida after Uggla hit a solo home run against the New York Mets in the second inning of a baseball game in Miami, Friday, April 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Now back to the Marlins. If they are projected to win 72 games and they start the season 11-3, are they still projected to finish the season with 72 wins, or should that projection raise to 77 games. Are future baseball game outcomes dependent or independent of past game outcomes?

Now there is a chance that future games are are slightly dependent on past games. A winning team further down the season will likely get challenged a bit harder, especially by fellow contending teams who know that a win will swing the standings two full games. A winning team will also have lower waiver rights, and may miss out on some team dumping that situational lefty they badly need. On the other hand, opposing teams may letup against a weaker team, maybe resting a regular or two, or just subconsciously slacking in their play. However, those factors are relatively small in the grand scheme of things, and the outcome of a game in April really doesn’t affect the outcome of a random game in July.

Another key point to realize is that when a team is predicted to win 72 games, that is a projection, it’s a guess. It may be an estimated guess but it is not made with any actual knowledge of the future – that is until Nate makes a few updates to PECOTA – but for now the final record of a team is conjecture. There is no host opening a door that he knows does not contain a prize like in the Monty Hall Paradox. No one knows that the Marlins will definitely win 72 games.

This means that the next 148 games of the Marlins are more or less independent of the past 14 games. The Marlins current 11 wins do not affect any future wins or losses. Thus since the Marlins were thought of as a 72 win team with a .444 winning percentage, they should still be considered a .444 team. That doesn’t mean they will be projected to finish the season with a .444 winning percentage, but that they would be projected to win the next 148 games at a .444 clip, good for 66 more wins and 77 total wins for the season.

New York Yankees Chien-Ming Wang throws a warm-up pitch before starting a game against the Atlanta Braves during their spring training baseball game at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Let me further explain this from a more extreme real life example. Consider Chien Ming Wang. He’s thrown perhaps the worst six innings in baseball history in his last three starts. In this six innings Wang has given up 23 earned runs to a tune of a 34.50 ERA. Now Pecota predicted Wang to sport a 4.28 ERA at seasons end. Wang’s next start is being skipped over due to an off day, and he’s been sent to Tampa to work on his mechanics with the possibility of a DL stint. Let’s say that he comes back from that with either his unknown injury fixed, or they found a flaw in his mechanics and corrected it so his sinker sinks again. So now he comes back as the same pitcher Pecota predicted to finish the season with a 4.28 ERA. Except now thanks to the six innings and 23 earned runs that already happened, he’s just not going to finish the season with that 4.28 ERA. Just because he threw the worst six innings in baseball history to start the season, doesn’t mean he’s going to turn into an ace and throw a 1.50 ERA the rest of the way to finish the season at a 4.28 ERA. No, instead he’s going to be that 4.28 ERA pitcher that Pecota predicted for the rest of the season, which then added with the six innings and 23 earned runs that already happened will mean that his final season line will be decidedly worst than a 4.28 ERA.

Now there may be a caveat, depending on the variables taken into account by the projection system. Part of that original 72 win projection may have accounted for the Marlins playing against the pitiful Nationals 19 times this season. Their past 14 games include 6 of those 19 games against the Nationals as well as two against the Pirates. The remaining 148 games may include a slightly tougher projected strength of schedule. Taking strength of schedule into account, the Marlins may have been expected to go .500 (pulled that number out of thin air for this hypothetical) with 7 wins over the the first 14 games of the season, and .439 with 65 wins the rest of the year. The actual record of 11 and 3 would not change the projected 65 wins and .439 winning percentage the rest of the year, leading to a final projection of 76 wins and a .469 winning percentage.

While early season blips like 11 wins in 14 games, a batter hitting .400, or a pitcher allowing only a run or two over the first three starts may be prime examples of small sample sizes at play, those results are not completely insignificant for final records or totals. If you thought a hitter would hit .300 for the season and he’s now hitting .400, he’ll still likely hit .300 for the rest of the season ending the season over .300. Players and teams will regress back to average, that hitter won’t hit .400, the Marlins won’t win 127 games and Chien Ming Wang (hopefully) won’t break the record for allowing the most earned runs in a season, but that doesn’t mean the regression will go all the way back to average either. What happens in April doesn’t stay in April, early season results matter, whether they are good or not.

Tennessee Titans (-11½) over DETROIT LIONS

This slate of Thursday games is pretty pathetic. Don’t feel so bad if you miss a few snaps while you eat some turkey. The Titans loss last week wasn’t exactly a fluke, but it’s far from a sign of future doom. The Titans are still a good team, they just aren’t historically great. Now the Lions, they just may be historically bad…

DALLAS COWBOYS (-12½) over Seattle Seahawks

The Cowboys need to win games like these to continue to put itself back into the playoff picture.

Arizona Cardinals (+3½) over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Rather than rallying around Reid and McNabb, the Eagles look like a team on the brink of total collapse. I’ve been both a McNabb and Reid supporter for some time, but I think that at least one if not both need to be replaced for next season. If Reid is canned, perhaps another coach could light a fire under McNabb, so there is a chance his Philadelphia career can be salvaged. However, I think there is no hope for Andy Reid who has shown little ability to adapt these past few years while building a team with glaring weaknesses — poor clock management, too reliant on the pass, no short running game at all — that will never play up to its talent level.

Game of the Week

Pittsburgh Steelers (+1½) over NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

A lot is being made of Matt Cassel and his back-to-back 400 yard passing games. I think the key point many people are missing is that the last quarterback to accomplish this feat was Billy Volek, who hasn’t exactly been lighting the world on fire since then. As to the Matt Cassel and Tom Brady comparisons, remember that Tom Brady had all of Troy Brown, David Patten and Jermain Wiggins to throw to during his first season, while Cassel has the All-World offense of Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Ben Watson and Jabbar Gaffney supporting him. If some team like the 49ers or Vikings throws a boatload of money Cassel’s way, they are going to be sorely disappointed.

Monday Night Cheerleader

Monday Night Cheerleaders: Larisa and Marisa of the Houston Texans

HOUSTON TEXANS (-3½) over Jacksonville Jaguars

I have a special treat for all of you fans of the Monday Night Cheerleader, twins! Larisa and Marisa are 23 year old twins from the cheerleading squad of the Houston Texans. Enjoy and be thankful.

I still really like the future of this Texans team, the offense is solid, however I am worried over what happened to this up-and-coming defense. I really thought the Texans defense was ready to take a step forward after a promising year last season, however they’ve completely fallen apart this year.

Lock of the Week (that doesn’t involve the Detroit Lions)

BALTIMORE RAVENS (-7½) over Cincinnati Bengals

The Eagles tied the Bengals, the Ravens killed the Eagles, so by the transitive property of the NFL the Ravens should destroy the Bengals, right?

Upset of the Week

Atlanta Falcons (+5½) over SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

West Coast teams haven’t fared so well when traveling east this season, but I think the Falcons can handle the reverse just fine. You can pretend that I care about the Michael Turner/LaDainian Tomlinson grudge/reunion match, but I don’t.

The Rest

Buffalo Bills over SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (+6½)

Kansas City slowed the Bills from their free fall, while the 49ers should put a complete stop to it.

Indianapolis Colts (-4½) over CLEVELAND BROWNS

I don’t care what kind of numbers Kurt Warner or Drew Brees are putting up, Peyton Manning carried this team on his shoulders earlier this season when it was decimated by injuries, and now that the team is gaining back its health, Peyton looks downright unstoppable.

GREEN BAY PACKERS (-3½) over Carolina Panthers

I don’t know why I keep trusting this Packers team, but I do. In theory, the Panthers should give the Packers a hard match-up as they can run on anyone, while anyone can run on the Packers. And yet…

Miami Dolphins (-7½) over ST. LOUIS RAMS

Miami gets the gift of an NFC West team.

NEW YORK JETS over Denver Broncos (+7½)

The Jets get the gift of an AFC West team. However, this Broncos team does worry me. Part of the reason why the Jets were able to dominate the Titans was because they matched-up perfectly against the Titans strengths and weaknesses. The Jets had a great run defense that was able to smother the Titans rushing game and challenge Kerry Collins and his band of replacement level receivers to beet them, and they didn’t. The Broncos have an offense that is the exact opposite. While the Titans think run first, second and last, the Broncos pass as often as possible. Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal could give the Jets secondary — the team’s Achilles heel — a challenge.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-4½) over New Orleans Saints

NFC South rule, go with the home team.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS (+3½) over New York Giants

This seems about the right time for the Giants to lose a game.

Kansas City Chiefs (+2½) over OAKLAND RAIDERS

Oakland isn’t winning two games in a row.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (-3½) over Chicago Bears

I really think that Kyle Orton’s season is real progress rather than a fluke, however I also think that Adrian Peterson will run all over this Bears defense that’s living more on reputation than on actual performance.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 12-4 Last Week, 111-65 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 10-6 last week, 98-78 for the season
• Game of the Week: 6-6 straight, 8-4 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 5-7 straight, 4-8 spread
• Lock of the Week: 9-3 straight, 8-4 spread
• Upset of the Week 5-7 straight, 7-5 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

Now any team coming off a near-perfect season is likely to decline a bit, but I’m not talking about a little regression here. The reign of the Patriots as a dominant team in the National Football League has come to an end. The dynasty is over.

Some might say that this season is a fluke, the Tom Brady injury didn’t exactly forebode good things, and the rest of the New England Roster haven’t been examples of great health either. However, I think the injuries, rather than being flukes, are part of the Patriots decline. The Patriots have long been a team of savvy veterans, a team of discipline and football wisdom. The downside is that older players have a greater tendency towards injury, see the New York Yankees as further proof.

So yeah, next season the Patriots may get Tom Brady back. Rodney Harrison may return, Adailus Thomas should be fine and Laurence Maroney could survive an entire season. But that’s all unlikely. Thanks to post-surgical infections, it is doubtful that Tom Brady can return in time to start the season. Even when he does return it is unlikely that he will be at full health. Surgeries like his tend to take a good 18 months to fully recover from, and some players like Carson Palmer are never the same again. Tom Brady isn’t so young anymore, he’ll be 32 at the start of next season and may be slow to bounce back. As for the rest of the injuries, Rodney Harrison is likely to retire, Adailus Thomas is older than most casual fans think and Laurence Maroney may just be the J.D. Drew of the NFL.

Another cause of their decline is a lack of young talent. The NFL draft has not been so kind to this franchise in recent years. Losing a first round draft pick to forfeit thanks to Spygate doesn’t help, nor does consistently drafting towards the end, but the Patriots’ fetish for spending high draft picks on tight ends hasn’t solved many problems either. Jerod Mayo looks to be a solid selection from this year’s draft, but you have to go back all the way to Logan Mankins in 2005 to find the last impact player drafted by the Patriots. Throw in Vince Wilfork in 2004 and these impact guys are all first round picks. The Patriots have long been known to poses an extremely deep roster, but that depth has been depleted recently thanks in large part to a failure to find all that much talent after the second round since 2003.

Add up an aging roster lacking in young talent, an injured franchise quarterback who may never return to full health and abilities, and that little time bomb that is Randy Moss’s ego waiting to explode, and the New England Patriots are clearly a team that have already seen their best days, a team on the decline.

Needless to say, my pick was New York Jets (+3½) over NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS.

Game of the Week

GREEN BAY PACKERS (-5½) over Chicago Bears

Kyle Orton should return this week, which is a good thing for the Bears because their defense has been living by reputation lately rather than results. However, in the end the Packers will pull off the home win and get right back in the race for the NFC North.

Monday Night Cheerleader

BUFFALO BILLS (-4½) over Cleveland Browns

In this week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) explained the “Cheerleader Effect” or how I group of hot girls will seem hotter than they actually are when taken individually. I don’t think this applies to NFL cheerleaders in general, these are the hottest of the hot, but this Cheerleader Effect can very well apply to Buffalo and the Buffalo Jills Cheerleading Squad. Let’s just say the competition was not so hot for the Monday Night Cheerleader this week. I eventually had to give the title to Alecia, a rookie of the squad, who was actually excited for a Toronto “home game”.

Lock of the Week

Philadelphia Eagles (-9½) over CINCINNATI BENGALS

The Eagles showed again last Sunday Night that despite all of their talent, they just have a few too many glaring weaknesses, clock management being a crucial one, to win against good teams. Luckily for them, the Bengals are anything but good.

Upset of the Week

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (+4½) over New Orleans Saints

Herman Edwards plays to win, and the Chiefs are bound to win another game this year and the Reggie Bush-less Saints seem to be as likely as any other team to provide that win. Besides, has anyone noticed the numbers that Tyler Thigpen has been putting up recently?

The Rest

ATLANTA FALCONS (-5½) over Denver Broncos

NFC South rule, take the home team.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS over Houston Texans (+8½)

And now begins a stretch of relatively easy games for the Colts before they host the Titans at the end of the season for what is likely to be a meaningless games. It is highly likely that the Colts can go 5-2 the rest of the way to end up at 10-6, grab a Wild Card, and then be everyone’s sleeper playoff team before losing in the first round. Sometimes the NFL really is predictable.

MIAMI DOLPHINS over Oakland Raiders (+10½)

There will be at least two Wildcat plays this week where we’ll just be left wondering whether Tom Cable and the Raiders have paid any attention to scouting other teams.

NEW YORK GIANTS (-6½) over Baltimore Ravens

This game worries me a bit. I think this can be one of those games where the Giants come out a little too confident, while the Ravens are perfectly matched up — stuff the run and make Eli win the game — to exploit the Giants’ weaknesses. And yet I’m still not sold on Joe Flacco on the road.

Minnesota Vikings (+3½) over TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

An Adrian Peterson game.

CAROLINA PANTHERS over Detroit Lions (+14½)

The Lions have been improving recently, though I do use that term loosely. Prior to last week, the Lions haven’t lost a game by more than eight points since week five against the Bears. I think they continue to lose some close ones the next few weeks. Lose being the key word.

Tennessee Titans (-2½) over JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Last week’s Titans/Bears game reminds me of the Giants/Patriots week seventeen game from last season. The Bears, like the Giants, created the blueprint for beating an undefeated team, without actually winning. The blueprint to beat the Titans is actually pretty simple, though hard in practice: stuff their running game — and don’t let Rex Grossman give the game away. Like I mentioned, easier said than done. Looking at the upcoming schedule, the sixth-ranked Jets run defense and second-ranked Pittsburgh run defense should pose the greatest problems.

St. Louis Rams (+3½) over SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

West Coast teams are winless when traveling to the East Coast this season. I think that has less to do with the travel and more to do with most West Coast teams being downright terrible. This game is exhibit A.

Arizona Cardinals (-3½) over SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

It really is sad that thanks to their division the Cardinals are likely to go 10-6 or 11-5 and have a chance at a bye week.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (-4½) over San Diego Chargers

I don’t know what’s going on with either of these teams. They both seem that they should be better than they actually are. Does Pittsburgh count as the East Coast?

WASHINGTON REDSKINS (+1½) over Dallas Cowboys

I think the injury that affects this game won’t be Tony Romo’s, but rather Clinton Portis. Even if Portis is cleared to play, he will be severely limited. However, I think for a single game Ladell Betts can carry the load, and the Cowboys will continue their meltdown for yet another week.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 11-3 Last Week, 90-54 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 10-4 last week, 80-64 for the season
• Game of the Week: 4-6 straight, 6-4 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 5-5 straight, 4-6 spread
• Lock of the Week: 8-2 straight, 7-3 spread
• Upset of the Week 4-6 straight, 6-4 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

Green Bay Packers (+2½) over MINNESOTA VIKINGS

This NFC North rivalry game will likely determine the playoff fates for both of these teams. The Bears are likely to lose this week, so the winner of this game will be tied for first, while the loser will be the owner of a brand new losing record. The victor may not eventually win the division, but they definitely have a leg up in that race, and a good shot for the wild card.

The Vikings have a defense custom made for the Packers. Minnesota is built to stop the run, which is just fine, because the Packers have had trouble running the ball all season. On the other hand, the Vikings defense has been downright atrocious against the pass, a defect that should make Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Donald Driver rather happy.

When the Vikings have the ball they’ll need to sustain drives to keep Aaron Rodgers off the field, and keep the game close. Adrian Peterson should have no trouble shredding the Green Bay defense. Gus Frerotte on the other hand is a big question. Frerotte will have to do more than manage the game to keep pace with Aaron Rodgers, but he’ll also have to play mistake free ball. In the end, Gus Frerotte will fail and Green Bay should end the game victorious.

Thursday Night Game You Won’t See

CLEVELAND BROWNS (-3½) over Denver Broncos

I believe in Brady Quinn. This is actually a pretty good first start for Quinn. There’s next to no film on him, so opposing defenses will have to learn his tendencies on the fly, which is okay because the Denver defense couldn’t do that anyway.

Monday Night Cheerleader

Monday Night Cheerleader, Alix of the Arizona Cardinals

ARIZONA CARDINALS (-9½) over San Francisco 49ers

Alix is a rookie on the Arizona Cardinals cheerleading squad, she is a native Arizonian and has been a Cardinal fan her entire life. Alix is an alumnus of Arizona State University where she was a member of the dance team for four years. Alix and the rest of the Arizona squad will surely lead the cheer as the Cardinals defeat the 49ers this Monday night.

Lock of the Week

Tennessee Titans (-3½) over CHICAGO BEARS

Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders had a great point about Kyle Orton in this week’s Quick Reads. The basic idea is to imagine an alternate reality where Kyle Orton did not play his rookie season, and thus didn’t become a joke. Now imagine that he had won the starting job out of training camp this year as a forth year quarterback. He basically becomes Tony Romo or David Garrard. But because we all remember his terrible rookie campaign, we think his play so far has been a fluke and he’ll revert to his rookie level performance. However, the thing is, sometimes if a young quarterback gets to sit back out of the spotlight and learn from the bench, he will improve and end up developing into something decent. Not every quarterback is Ben Roethlisberger or Matt Ryan and can play right away out of college with no acclimation period. Sometimes a quarterback needs to sit back and just learn.

That all said, Kyle Orton is likely out this week, Rex Grossman has had chances to both sit back and learn and develop and at this point, he is what he is. And that’s a quarterback that the Titans defense can handle.

Upset of the Week

Indianapolis Colts (+3½) over PITTSBURGH STEELERS

It’s looking like Ben Roethlisberger will be out this week with an injury and the human statue known as Byron Leftwich will take his place. Despite some decent play last week in relieving Ben, the combination of the Steelers’ Swiss cheese line and Leftwich’s immobility, the Colts should be able to pressure him early and often.

The Rest

HOUSTON TEXANS (-1½) over Baltimore Ravens

I still like both of these teams, but I’m just not sure what happened to Houston’s defense. The Texans featured a young, up and coming defense last year led by Mario Williams, but the unit has completely disintegrated this season. And yet, they should be able to get the job done against Joe Flacco, rookie quarterback.

ATLANTA FALCONS (-½) over New Orleans Saints

My new NFC South rule, take the home team.

Jacksonville Jaguars (-6½) over DETROIT LIONS

If I didn’t just write an article predicting Detroit to go winless this season, I’d almost predict a victory this week. This year’s Jaguars is a team that I just don’t trust. The Lions have at least been playing teams somewhat close recently, it helps that Calvin Johnson has arrived. And yet, the Lions will probably lead early, but I’m sure that they’ll find a way to lose at some point. To root on a Detroit winless season, I’d steal Barack Obama’s “Yes we can!”, but I’m pretty sure that ESPN’s Bill Simmons has already staked his claim.

MIAMI DOLPHINS over Seattle Seahawks (+9½)

Sorry Seattle.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-3½) over Buffalo Bills

Thus continues the free fall of the Buffalo Bills. The Bills are starting to learn the limitations of week armed quarterbacks who don’t even try to throw down field. Teams can stack the box with run stuffers, play all wide receivers not named Lee Evans one-on-one and dare Trent Edwards to throw deep. Edwards is going to have to learn just to chuck it every now and then just to keep opposing defenses honest.

NEW YORK JETS over St. Louis Rams (+8½)

The Jets have been uncharacteristically adept at stopping the run this year. Much of that credit belongs to Kris Jenkins who’s resembled a brick wall in run defense and a tiger in pass rush. However, the Jets defense has been highly susceptible to the pass, even making Tyler Thigpen of all people look like a real quarterback. Add in the weekly Brett Favre interception or two, and the Jets have had trouble putting away opponents. New York should win this week, and the game may be high scoring, but it should still end close.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS over Kansas City Chiefs (+15½)

Tyler Thigpen has actually resembled a live NFL quarterback in recent weeks. I’m sure Herman Edwards will bench him at first chance.

Carolina Panthers (-9½) over OAKLAND RAIDERS

After Oakland had one of the most humiliating offensive performances in recent history, they may be looking for some redemption this game. However, JaMarcus Russell is already looking like a bust, they have been starting a wide receiver named Chaz Schilens, and Darren McFadden has disappeared. Oh, and the Raiders just released DeAngelo Hall, a former Pro Bowl corner who was acquired for a second round draft pick just this off season. The lone bright spot on this Oakland team is Nnamdi Asomugha, who has completely shut down his corner of the field. Most quarterbacks don’t even look his direction anymore.

New York Giants (+2½) over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

It’s a bit weird, but at this point I actually trust Eli Manning more on a nationally television Sunday Night game more than Donovan McNabb.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 9-5 Last Week, 79-51 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 7-7 last week, 70-60 for the season
• Game of the Week: 4-5 straight, 5-4 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 4-5 straight, 4-5 spread
• Lock of the Week: 7-2 straight, 6-3 spread
• Upset of the Week 3-6 straight, 5-4 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 81.78 over TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 49.96

Tom may have been in first place just last week, but considering that he’s second to last in total points scored he may not want to print up those playoff tickets yet. It also doesn’t help that his starting running back Edgerin James has been benched in favor of Tim Hightower, who just so happens to be on my bench.

Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 120.70 over ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 86.86

I have nothing funny to say here.

Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 86.83 over Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 72.15

I see that after a brief spurt of activity Calvin has gone right back to ignoring his team, starting bye week players and not even filling out a complete roster.

gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 98.26 over Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 69.07

That Chris Johnson, he’s sure something.

Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 113.61 over Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 53.96

Andy, isn’t it nice actually fielding a real team?

Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 69.00 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 48.66

Big Ben’s injured this week, can Big Ben’s Buddies still pull off a win?

jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 107.05 over Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 68.24

Something is wrong when Kevin Faulk is a starting running back on a fantasy team that still scores 100.

Current Standings

1. Gecko’s Army : 6-3-0 : 876.00
2. COH Violation : 6-3-0 : 850.74
3. Big Ben’s Buddies : 6-3-0 : 726.63
4. Ultra Beatdown! : 6-3-0 : 659.44
5. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 5-4-0 : 845.78
6. Tank Johnson : 5-4-0 : 812.78
7. [Name Redacted] : 5-4-0 : 807.36
8. Da Geeky 11 : 5-4-0 : 750.03
9. WaitingForNextSeason : 5-4-0 : 701.22
10. Tha Finz : 4-5-0 : 785.84
11. GristleMakers : 4-5-0 : 769.53
12. Buy One Get One Free : 3-6-0 : 724.80
13. This is the year : 3-6-0 : 718.01
14. TheOne : 0-9-0 : 544.87

This Week’s Match Ups

• COH Violation vs Big Ben’s Buddies
• Melchizedek’s Mafia vs Ultra Beatdown!
• [Name Redacted] vs Buy One Get One Free
• WaitingForNextSeason vs GristleMakers
• Da Geeky 11 vs Gecko’s Army
• This is the year vs Tha Finz
• Tank Johnson vs TheOne

Noticing a pattern yet? In fact, you have to go all the way back to President Eisenhower to find a Yankee World Series title during a Republican administration. On the other hand, since the 1920’s, Lyndon Johnson has been the lone Democrat President not to witness a Yankee World Series title in office. All in all, of the 26 New York Yankee World Series titles, 19 have occurred with a Democrat in office, while only 7 have occurred under Republican leadership.

We know that he didn't do any good for the Yankees

I think it’s pretty obvious as to why the Yankees failed to win the World Series during the Bush Administration. President Bush is a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers, an American League rival of the Yankees. It is clear that President Bush struck a secret deal with Bud Selig and Major League Baseball to keep the Yankees from winning. It is unsure whether John McCain will keep that agreement alive, but it is pretty reasonable Obama won’t.

Vote Obama, and the return of Yankee glory will usher in the return of American glory and economic good times. Is it just a coincidence that the last Yankee dynasty occurred smack dab in the middle of one of the greatest economic periods in history? It has been noted that Yankee ace Chien Ming Wang influences the stock market in Taiwan through his successes and failures. The New York Times Freakonomics blog has also noted this phenomenon as well as recognizing the influences that national soccer teams have on the respective economies of their home countries. A Yankee World Series win in 2009 will excite Wall Street and America and jump start this economy.

He may be a die hard fan, but what has he ever done for the Yankees?

If Democrat administrations favor the Yankees, they downright love the Green Bay Packers. The lone Super Bowl of the Brett Favre era occurred during the Clinton Administration, while the Bart Starr era Packers won two Super Bowls, and six NFL Championships during the administrations of FDR, JFK and LBJ. Green Bay saw their first three NFL Championships during the Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge administrations. That’s nine total Packer championships for Democrats, and three for Republicans. If Obama wins today, you might as well go to Vegas and bet on the Packers for this upcoming Super Bowl.

The Chicago Bears may have won their only Super Bowl in 1985 when Reaganomics was in full swing, but they won six prior NFL Championships all during Democratic Administrations, from JFK, through FDR, all the way back to Woodrow Wilson, plus another two for the Republican Herbert Hoover. Likewise the St. Louis Rams won a Super Bowl for Bill Clinton and an NFL Championship for both Truman and FDR.

Now if you are a fan of the Oakland A’s, vote for John McCain. The A’s last saw a World Series for Bush the Elder, had a dynasty going for Richard Nixon, and another Dynasty for William Taft. Then throw in two World Series for Herbert Hoover, and an Obama victory does not bode well for the Athletics.

The San Francisco Giants haven’t won a World Series since back when they were the New York Giants and Ike was in the White House. They won once for FDR, but their other three championships were for Harding and Teddy Roosevelt. To finish off New York, the Mets may have only two World Series titles, but both occurred for Republicans, Nixon and Reagan.

Republican administrations also happen to favor a couple of NFL franchises. The Indianapolis Colts have won Super Bowls for Bush the Junior and Richard Nixon, and NFL Championships for Nixon again and Ike twice. The New England Patriots may not be favored so much by Republicans as they are by President Bush who has seen all three of their Super Bowls. This makes a simple sort of sense, the only organization that likes to spy more than the Bush White House is the Bill Belichick Patriots.

So, does you’re vote complement who you root for?

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (-5½) over New England Patriots

This isn’t exactly the big matchup that we would have predicted preseason, I was almost tempted to go with the divisional rivalry and place Giants/Cowboys as the game of this week. Except, Peyton Manning may be hobbled, but he’ll come out trying to show the world that he can still sling it against New England’s depleted secondary. Bill Belichick may sans-Tom Brady, but he’ll still want to show the world that he can win this chessmatch against Peyton.

It’s unlikely that either of these teams will win their divisions, obviously far more so for the Colts, but each of these teams is still far from dead in the playoff chase, those wildcards are sitting there for the taking. If the Colts can defeat the Patriots this Sunday night, they will be one step closer to claiming that wildcard, and from there anything can happen.

Monday Night Cheerleader

Monday Night Cheerleader, Anabel of the Washington Redskins

Pittsburgh Steelers (+2½) over WASHINGTON REDSKINS

The Steelers are one of the few backwards NFL franchises that for some reason just fon’t have a cheerleading squad. So yea, their owners can have ties to gambling and casinos, which are against NFL rules, but they can’t provide us fans with some hot babes to lead our cheers? Meh.

So instead the Monday Night Cheerleader will be Anabel, of the Washington Redskins. This is Anabel’s forth season as a first lady of football, that’s what the Washginton Redskin cheerleading squad likes to be called on their calendar. Speaking of the calendar, Anabel graced its cover during the 2006-2007 issue. She’s also appeared in Maxium, Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, FHM as well as the “Beauties on the Beach Challenge” during Super Bowl XLI. Prior to cheerleading Anabel attained a BS in economics, with a Minor in business and IT and she plans on attending a reputable lawschool to earn a joint JD/MBA. Anabel certainly is a hot chick with a brain and enough ambition to spare. And one day, she just might be your corporate lawyer.

Lock of the Week

CHICAGO BEARS (-12½) over Detroit Lions

Every week I look at the winless and lossless teams and figure that eventually they are going to win a game or lose a game respectively, and wonder if this will be that week. This is a practice that I need to change. We had an undefeated (regular season) team last year, we can have a winless team this year.

So far both the Lions and Bengals share the ignominious distinction of complete failure. When I look at each teams’ future schedule the upcoming games are fairly tough for both teams. However, the Bengals finish off the season with at Cleveland and hosting Kansas City, both games are at least winnable. Detroit on the other hand does not face a single team with a record worst than 3-4 at this point for the remainder of the season. If Detroit is to win a game it will be a major upset. I just don’t see any sort of upset for the Lions this week.

Upset of the Week

Green Bay Packers (+6½) over TENNESSEE TITANS

As I just said previously, I like to look at the undefeated teams figure that they are bound to lose sometime, and then decide whether this will be the week. The Titans upcoming schedule includes three challenging games: this week hosting the Packers, then at Chicago and at Jacksonville, then a series of easier games hosting the Jets, at Detroit, hosting the Browns, at Houston and then ending with some tough matchups hosting the Steelers and at Indinapolis. Those final two teams will likely be fighting for their playoff lives, or in Pittsburgh’s case at least a good seed.

The Titans are a good team, however they are not a historically great team. The Titans will lose a game this year, probably a couple. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers should give them trouble this week. Kerry Collins and the Titans just don’t have the weapons at reciever to exploit the now healthy, but still walking stiff that is Al Harris. Cortland Finnegan has the speed to cover Greg Jennings deap, but if Aaron Rodgers can use formations and motion to matchup Jennings on the ancient Nick Harper instead, Jennings should be able to blow right by Harper for some long gains and possible touchdowns.

The Rest

New York Jets (+5½) over BUFFALO BILLS

I have less faith in the ability of the Jets to win this game than I do that the Bills are not a six and two team. Trent Edwards is a limited quarterback very much in the mold of a Chad Pennington, but without the Wildcat. Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson is a solid running back combination, but they are far from spectacular and will not win games by themselves. Buffalo’s defense is also solid, but not spectacular. The Bills are an all-around good team, but they do nothing great. The right game plan can exploit this team. If not, they’ll grind you out.

Jacksonville Jaguars over CINCINNATI BENGALS (+7½)

Unlike Detroit, the Bengals can play a team close before they ultimately lose.

Baltimore Ravens (+1½) over CLEVELAND BROWNS

The Browns have the ultimate boom or bust offense. Derek Anderson seems to only throw bombs, incompletions or interceptions. Braylon Edwards must have the worst hands of any NFL receiver. I’m still not certain how he managed to wrangle in over a dozen touchdowns last year. If the rest of the offense is actually working, then Jamal Lewis can usually find holes as the defense brings men out of the box to cover Anderson’s bombs. However, if the offense is not working, Lewis doesn’t have the ability anymore to create his own holes. The Ravens defense should capitalize on Derek Anderson, and stuff Jamal Lewis. The Ravnes just need to hope that Joe Flacco doesn’t throw two many picks himself.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-8½) over KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Don’t expect Tyler Thigpen to repeat is performance last week. The Buccaneers are not the Jets.

ST. LOUIS RAMS (+2½) over Arizona Cardinals

Thanks to rookie Donnie Avery, the Rams may actually feature an offense almost as explosive as the Cardinals. Steven Jackson is the main advantage. Edgerin James just can’t compare at this point of his career.

Houston Texans (+4½) over MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Losing to the Colts in week five may have been a blessing in disguise. The loss, particularly Sage Rosenfel’s role, ensured that the Texans did not have to worry about a quarterback controversy, but instead they handed the ball right back to Matt Schaub and they’ve been on a role ever since. I still like them as a sleep wild card and sixth seed, though their road ahead is awfully tough.

DENVER BRONCOS (-3½) over Miami Dolphins

I visited Denver a while back for a business trip and ever since I’ve just handed the Broncos the biggest homefield advantage. Miami is a scrappy team, and this should be a shootout, but I think the Broncos pull off the victory.

Atlanta Falcons (-2½) over OAKLAND RAIDERS

West Coast teams are winless when traveling to the East Coast this year. I wonder if it works in reverse?

NEW YORK GIANTS over Dallas Cowboys (+7½)

The key to the Giants defense is pressure. When they can consistently attack the opposing quarterback as they did last week against Ben and the Steelers the defense is dominant. When the opposing offensive line can hold their ground and protect their quarterback like Cleveland was able to, then the New York secondary is exposed and can be picked apart. The Cowboys have a strong offensive line, but it has been dealing with injuries, but most importantly Brad Johnson has played like he should be collecting Social Security, not quarterbacking an NFL team with playoff aspirations.

Philadelphia Eagles (-6½) over SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Sorry Seattle.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 9-5 Last Week, 70-46 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 6-8 last week, 63-53 for the season
• Game of the Week: 3-5 straight, 5-3 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 3-5 straight, 3-5 spread
• Lock of the Week: 6-2 straight, 6-2 spread
• Upset of the Week 3-5 straight, 4-4 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

New York Giants (+2½) over PITTSBURGH STEELERS

I believe in Justin Tuck.

Monday Night Cheerleader, Ashley S.

Monday Night Cheerleader

TENNESSEE TITANS over Indianapolis Colts (+4½)

I believe in Tennessee Titans Cheerleader, Ashley S.

Lock of the Week

NEW YORK JETS (-12½) over Kansas City Chiefs

I believe in Herman Edwards.

Upset of the Week

St. Louis Rams (+7½) over NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

I believe in Jim Hasslett.

The Rest

HOUSTON TEXANS (-9½) over Cincinnati Bengals

I believe in Steve Slaton.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3½) over DALLAS COWBOYS

I believe in Jeff Garcia.

Washington Redskins (-7½) over DETROIT LIONS

I believe in Detroit’s horrendous secondary.

Miami Dolphins (+1½) over BUFFALO BILLS

I believe in the Wildcat. Not really. But I do believe in Ronnie Brown.

San Diego Chargers (-3½) over NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

I believe in LaDainian Tomlinson, the New Orleans Saints, the cure for an injured toe.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES over Atlanta Falcons (+8½)

I believe in Jim Johnson and his blitzes.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (-4½) over Arizona Cardinals

I believe in Julius Peppers, he’s back.

BALTIMORE RAVENS (-6½) over Oakland Raiders

I believe in Ray Lewis.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (-6½) over Cleveland Browns

I believe in Braylon Edwards dropping the ball.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (-4½) over Seattle Seahawks

I believe in J.T. O’Sullivan, for this game anyway.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 9-5 Last Week, 61-41 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 7-7 last week, 57-45 for the season
• Game of the Week: 2-5 straight, 4-3 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 2-5 straight, 3-4 spread
• Lock of the Week: 5-2 straight, 6-1 spread
• Upset of the Week 3-4 straight, 3-4 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

QB – J.T. O’Sullivan, San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have been scorched far more often than not this year. They’ve already given up 310 yards and score to Jeff Garcia, 208 yards and two scores to Aaron Rodgers, 267 yards and two scores to Eli Manning, 215 yards and a score to Trent Edwards and lastly 321 yards and a score to J.T. already this year in their week two match-up. Better yet, none of the quarterbacks listed above were picked off by the Seahawks’ defense. The only quarterback they’ve given trouble to has been Mark Bulger, who was still able to throw for 184 and a score and only a single interception. J.T. may not throw up monster numbers this week, but he’s a pretty safe bet for 250 yards and a score. That may be helpful to you Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller owners looking for a bye week sub.

QB – Matt Cassel, New England Patriots vs St. Louis Rams

The Rams defense was horrible earlier this year giving up 361 yards and three touchdowns to Donovan McNabb, 260 yards and three touchdowns to Eli Manning, 197 yards and a touchdown to Trent Edwards, and even 172 yards and a score to Matt Hasselbeck and his cast of walking dead receivers. But there is some concern, in recent weeks the St. Louis defense has limited Jason Campbell to 208 and no scores, while intercepting Brad Johnson thrice. However, Matt Cassel has also shown improvements recently, throwing over two hundred yards in week five and six, and three touchdown last week against the Broncos. Cassel may not light up the score board, but he’s a decent option this week against a defense still very suspect.

QB – Kerry Collins, Tennessee Titans vs Indianapolis Colts

Kerry Collins is only for the desperate. The Colts defense has been terrible this year, but Tennessee is far more likely to test them on the ground, and keep the ball on the ground to keep Peyton Manning off the field and Collins from making mistakes. But if you’re in a deep league, or need to start two quarterbacks, sometimes you have to make do.

RB – Deuce McAllister and Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints vs San Diego Chargers

Surprisingly Deuce McAllister is still a free agent in half of Yahoo! leagues. You’re less lucky in ESPN leagues though. Pierre Thomas on the other hand is available in almost every league. I actually think that Thomas benefits more from Reggie Bush’s injury than McAllister. Bush wasn’t rushing the ball all that regularly, but instead was a weapon in the return game and as a pass catcher. I’d be surprised to see McAllister’s role increase all that much. Pierre Thomas on the other hand to looks to be in line to get Bush’s carries as a change of pace back, plus New Orleans has thought to use Thomas in goal line situations before, and he may get Bush’s touchdowns rather than Deuce.

RB – Le’Ron McClain, Baltimore Ravens vs Oakland Raiders

Willis McGahee may have had the hot hand and the majority of the carries last week, but McClain will be facing an Oakland defense that surrendered over two hundred yards to the Jets of all teams last week, so there should be plenty of touches, yards and touchdowns to go around this week.

RB – Tim Hightower, Arizona Cardinals vs Carolina Panthers

Tim Hightower has yet to rush for over 37 yards in a single game, but he’s also scored at least once in four out of six games this year. You don’t want to rely on him, but he makes a great sub or flex option.

RB – Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals vs Houston Texans

Chris Perry looks done in Cincinnati, so Benson just has to keep playing better than Kenny Watson. Benson isn’t the greatest of talents, but in fantasy football, sometimes opportunity is all that matters and Benson should get the majority of the carries in Cincinnati from now on.

RB – Ryan Torain, Denver Broncos vs BYE

Unless you are in the deepest of leagues, you don’t have to worry about Torain yet, but keep an eye out for him. Who is he? Three words, Denver-rookie-running back. He hasn’t carried the ball once this year thanks to injury, but there are many in the Denver organization who believe he has first round talent, and so far no running back has really grabbed the starting reigns yet. He should see action starting in November, and he has the potential to be this year’s Ryan Grant.

WR – Steve Breaston, Arizona Cardinals vs Carolina Panthers

Anquan Boldin’s injury has been worst than initially predicted, but Breaston has filled in admirably. He’s had at least seven catches and 77 yards in every game since week four against the Jets. Start Breaston until Boldin proves he is back.

WR – Antwaan Randle El, Washington Redskins vs Detroit Lions

Detroit has the worst secondary in the league, by far. Any and all Redskins are a good play this week.

WR – Greg Camarillo, Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo Bills

This week’s match-up isn’t the greatest, but Camarillo has been a solid if not spectacular performer throughout the year. He’s practically unknown, and yet he hasn’t had less than four receptions for 49 yards since the first week. He doesn’t score much, and that probably won’t change since Chad Pennington seems to favor his tight ends in the red zone, but he’s a solid number three receiver in a PPR league, and sub or flex option in standard leagues.

WR – Donnie Avery, St. Louis Rams vs New England Patriots

Donnie Avery was the first receiver taken in last year’s draft. He’s improved his performance every week, but to temper expectations, Drew Bennett is returning to health and may take over the starting receiver spot from Avery in the upcoming weeks.

WR – Chansi Stuckey and Brad Smith, New York Jets vs Kansas City Chiefs

Jerricho Cotchery will be a game time decision this week as the Jets face one of the worst defenses in the league. Chansi Stuckey was a favorite target of Favre earlier this season catching a touchdown for each of the first three games this season. However, his recent production has dropped off. The conventional wisdom is that if Cotchery is out, Stuckey takes his place. However, Eric Mangini has had an unnatural fascination with Brad Smith since he was drafted, and there is a chance that after Smith’s performance last week, Smith may start in Cotchery’s stead keeping Stuckey in the slot. Either way, these two are only options in deep leagues or for desperate owners to use in the flex.

TE – John Carlson, Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers

John Carlson was getting more receptions and yards earlier this year, but he has a touchdown in each of the past two weeks. It’s hard to predict consistent production from any tight end not named Witten or Gates, so Carlson could lay an egg this week, but he’s as good a bet as any tight end likely to be free this week.

DEF – Oakland Raiders vs Baltimore Ravens

Oakland get the joys of facing Joe “two touchdown, seven interception” Flacco.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/23/fantasy-football-waiver-wire-week-eight/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/22/get-tackled-here-week-seven-in-review http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/22/get-tackled-here-week-seven-in-review#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:35:39 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/?p=878 Hello all you out there in fantasy football land. Welcome to the weekly recap of newsvine’s own fantasy football league, Get Tackled Here.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 122.2 over Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 89.59

So now it is official, Calvin is banned from returning to the league next year. Not only does he not check his team once, not only does he start the injured Tony Romo and defensive players not currently in the league, but then he goes and beats my team when half of his plays have their game of the year!

ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 103.64 over gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 66.76

Chris Johnson alone couldn’t save gecko85 from defeat at the hands of ajs.

Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 93.99 over Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 81.07

I almost feel bad for Evan losing to a team starting Roddy White on a bye and lacking a full compliment of defensive players, but at least Sheil has been active some, unlike that damn Calvin.

Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 83.04 over Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 61.61

Andrew’s streak of victories ends at two.

Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 82.64 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 60.30

I’m fully prepared for every single player still standing on TheOne having the game of their careers when I face them, but until then they serve as a practical bye week.

TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 81.33 over jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 73.46

All of a sudden Tom’s team looks frisky. Finally jettisoning Carson Palmer can do that.

Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 102.34 over Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 76.45

Chad Pennington, sigh…

Current Standings

1. Gecko’s Army : 5-2-0 : 703.07
2. Big Ben’s Buddies : 5-2-0 : 597.57
3. Ultra Beatdown! : 5-2-0 : 541.90
4. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 4-3-0 : 674.91
5. COH Violation : 4-3-0 : 672.16
6. Tha Finz : 4-3-0 : 646.21
7. GristleMakers : 4-3-0 : 618.66
8. WaitingForNextSeason : 4-3-0 : 525.57
9. [Name Redacted] : 3-4-0 : 627.22
10. Tank Johnson : 3-4-0 : 617.64
11. This is the year : 3-4-0 : 561.76
12. Da Geeky 11 : 3-4-0 : 547.95
13. Buy One Get One Free : 2-5-0 : 542.81
14. TheOne : 0-7-0 : 440.84

This Week’s Match Ups

• COH Violation vs Buy One Get One Free
• Melchizedek’s Mafia vs GristleMakers
• [Name Redacted] vs Gecko’s Army
• WaitingForNextSeason vs This is the year
• Da Geeky 11 vs Tha Finz
• Ultra Beatdown! vs TheOne
• Big Ben’s Buddies vs Tank Johnson

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/22/get-tackled-here-week-seven-in-review/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/17/nfl-picks-week-seven-2008 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/17/nfl-picks-week-seven-2008#comments Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:45:49 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-10-17/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-seven-2 Game of the Week

Indianapolis Colts (-1½) over GREEN BAY PACKERS

There’s been some talk again about Brett Favre in conjunction with the Green Bay Packers thanks to some recent losses. However, Aaron Rodgers or the lack of Favre is far from the reason for the decline of the Packers. Aaron Rodgers has been more than solid in replace of Favre. In fact, his numbers look fantastic, though much of that is thanks to a plethora of talent surrounding him on offense, save for running back of course. Though even Ryan Grant falling back to earth is not an excuse for the Packers’ recent struggles. Green Bay survived for almost the first half of the season last year before discovering Grant and riding him to the playoffs.

Instead, the decline of the Packers rests squarely on the feet of a defense decimated by injuries and declining players. Injuries have especially hurt the defensive line, which has transformed the run defense from stout to swiss cheese-like. In the secondary, injuries have also taken a toll, especially at safety, but the greatest weakness has been the decline of Al Harris from Pro Bowl level to barely average. Like running backs, the moment a corner loses a step or some agility, they are finished. At least corners can transition to safety, which Green Bay and Al Harris may want to consider soon. The problem is that Green Bay has little depth at corner, lacking anything close to a decent nickle back. It will be near impossible to replace Harris at corner this season.

Now Indianaplis may have defensive issues of their own, but their offense is near full healt and efficiency. Peyton Manning is just more capable of taking advantage of defensive weaknesses than Aaron Rodgers. Likewise, Addai (if healthy) and Rhodes should fair better against the Green Bay defense than Ryan Grant will against Indianapolis’ defense. Add it all up and the Colts should eak out a win in what is likely to be a shootout, and I would not be surprised if this victory was just another on the way to a dozen or so for Indianapolis this year.

Monday Night Cheerleader

Perry Jackman: Monday Night Cheerleader

Denver Broncos (+3½) over NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Perry Jackman is an adventurous, vivacious and humorous member of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders. This is Perry’s first season with the squad, and when not cheering she’s an event coordinator and dance instructor. As a former resident of Kansas City, she is especially happy when the Broncos defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, an event that is not so uncommon at this point in time. Perry and the rest of the Denver Cheerleaders will do thier best to help lead the Broncos to victory over the Patriots.

Lock of the Week

NEW YORK GIANTS (-10½) over San Francisco 49ers

Flukes happen, the Giants were not going to end the season undefeated. But the test of a good team is to come out of a fluke and demolish lesser competition the next week. San Francisco is just unlucky enough to have to travel all the way from the West Coast to play the role of demolishee.

Upset of the Week

Baltimore Ravens (+2½) over MIAMI DOLPHINS

This isn’t exactly the biggest upset in the world. That said, I don’t see the Wildcat fooling the Ravens’ defense this week. That unit is just too athletic and too disciplined. I’m actualy seeing the Ravens sitting on passing lanes this week just daring Pennington to beat them, and when he tries, easy interceptions. On the hand, Joe Flacco may still be a mistake prone rookie, but I don’t think the Miami defense has ability to fully capitalize on those mistakes.

The Rest

BUFFALO BILLS (+½) over San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are flying in from the West Coast to play an early game in Eastern time. The Bills on the other hand are coming in rested and healed off of their bye. On a neutral field with similar health and rest I like the Chargers, but the NFL is not always a fair place, and the Bills have the advantage in this game.

CHICAGO BEARS (+3½) over Minnesota Vikings

I don’t like that the Vikings needed to rely on Dan Orlovsky rushing out of his own endzone for a safety to win last week. The Bears are simply a far better team than the Lions. The Bears may have had trouble with Atlanta last week, and the Vikings are actually a similar team to the Falcons. However, this week the Bears are home, and Gus Frerote is no Matt Ryan.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-9½) over CINCINNATI BENGALS

One of these weeks the Begnals might have to win a game, it won’t be against the Steelers. I just don’t see that the Bengals have a defensive line capable of taking advantage of the Steelers greatest weekness, their offensive line. If Pittsburgh can provide Ben with even minimal protection, he should carve the Bengals secondary to pieces.

Tennessee Titans over KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (+7½)

These are actually similar teams in certain ways. Defensive oriented ball control teams. The difference is that the Titans play defense better than anyone, while the Kansas City defense is a work in progress. It also helps that Kerry Collins is a live body, while the Chiefs are forced to run out the cast from The Night of the Living Dead at quarterback. Plus, Larry Johnson has been suspended this game, eight months after his infraction. I don’t get the timing, maybe the team was worried that Goodell would step in with a greater suspension if the team didn’t act first, see Adam Jones and the Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys (-6½) over ST. LOUIS RAMS

I don’t care who is playing quarterback for the Cowboys this week, they should be able to handle the Rams. This of course assumes that TO’s scheduled blowup is at least a week away.

New Orleans Saints (+3½) over CAROLINA PANTHERS

I’m going to admit it, I just don’t care for the NFC South. Too many mediocre teams pretending to be good for a few weeks until they fall out of their delusions.

HOUSTON TEXANS (-8½) over Detroit Lions

The Lions are job security for opposing quarterbacks.

New York Jets (-3½) over OAKLAND RAIDERS

This game scares me a bit as a Jets fan. Back in the later Parcels-Al Groh-early Herman Edwards era for the Jets, when they made the playoffs more often than not, there was always the John Gruden era Raiders standing in their way. Well, the Raiders have certainly fallen from those times, but still the Silver and Black just doesn’t sit will with me.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS over Cleveland Browns (+7½)

Remember what I said about the Giants and fluke losses? That goes for Washington as well. I don’t think the Browns have another fluke win in them, at least not yet.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS over Seattle Seahawks (+10½)

I predict some bad football this game.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 7-7 Last Week, 52-36 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 6-8 last week, 50-38 for the season
• Game of the Week: 2-4 straight, 4-2 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 2-4 straight, 3-3 spread
• Lock of the Week: 4-2 straight, 5-1 spread
• Upset of the Week 2-4 straight, 2-4 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/17/nfl-picks-week-seven-2008/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/15/get-tackled-here-week-six-in-review http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/15/get-tackled-here-week-six-in-review#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:06:04 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-10-15/get-tackled-here-week-six-in-review Hello all you out there in fantasy football land. Welcome to the weekly recap of newsvine’s own fantasy football league, Get Tackled Here.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 110.22 over Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 60.51

I think it’s officially time that I stop playing games with Rodgers and Favre and just simply declare Rodgers my starter and Favre the backup.

ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 112.30 over Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 106.05

I think Sheil may have learned his lesson leaving a DL starting spot empty. If he starts a defensive lineman, he’s got at least even odds to pick up the six points needed to win. Instead, Sheil wasted Derek Anderson’s revival in a loss.

Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 118.04 over Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 62.38

And Andrews streak of fielding competitive steams is extended to two. Never give up on talented players like Peyton Manning and Andre Johnson, and then every once in a while a Thomas Jones pulls off three touchdowns.

Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 109.74 over Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 91.34

Sometimes, all it takes is three studs, Rivers, Barber and Tampa, to win.

Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 67.84 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 59.10

Calvin is now 3-3 without once checking out his team. Jason is now 0-6 also without once checking his team. The auto-draft giveth, the auto-draft taketh away.

jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 83.19 over Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 59.96

I have nothing clever to say here.

TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 104.81 over Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 47.23

Sometime it’s good when a formerly famous player gets injured. Now Tom has no excuse to continue to start Carson Palmer, and Matt Schaub should help more than he hurts.

Current Standings

1. Gecko’s Army : 5-1-0 : 636.31
2. COH Violation : 4-2-0 : 582.57
3. Tha Finz : 4-2-0 : 569.76
4. Big Ben’s Buddies : 4-2-0 : 495.23
5. Ultra Beatdown! : 4-2-0 : 460.57
6. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 3-3-0 : 571.27
7. [Name Redacted] : 3-3-0 : 546.15
8. Tank Johnson : 3-3-0 : 544.18
9. GristleMakers : 3-3-0 : 496.46
10. Da Geeky 11 : 3-3-0 : 486.34
11. WaitingForNextSeason : 3-3-0 : 442.53
12. This is the year : 2-4-0 : 467.77
13. Buy One Get One Free : 1-5-0 : 460.17
14. TheOne : 0-6-0 : 380.54

This Week’s Match Ups

• COH Violation vs GristleMakers
• Melchizedek’s Mafia vs Gecko’s Army
• [Name Redacted] vs This is the year
• WaitingForNextSeason vs Da Geeky 11
• Buy One Get One Free vs TheOne
• Ultra Beatdown! vs Tank Johnson
• Big Ben’s Buddies vs Tha Finz

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/15/get-tackled-here-week-six-in-review/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/10/nfl-picks-week-six-2008 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/10/nfl-picks-week-six-2008#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:51:40 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-10-10/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-six-2 Game of the Week

Carolina Panthers (+2½) over TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

This is a good strong match up between two tough teams from the NFC South. I like the Tampa defense better, other than the stiff formerly known as Ronde Barber. However, I think Gruden is not doing himself any favors with this quarterback carousel he has going between Griese and Garcia. He needs to also realize that Earnest Graham is a far better running back than Warric Dunn at this stage of their careers, and Graham needs to become the outright starter relegating Dunn to a third down role at best.

Carolina on the other hand has a very workable and strong running back by committee going between Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. The return of Steve Smith and the reemergence of Mushin Mohammad gives the Panthers a legitimate passing game. The Panthers should be able to handle Tampa and gain a step up in the division.

Monday Night Cheerleader

New York Giants (-7½) over CLEVELAND BROWNS

Neither the Giants nor Browns field a cheerleading squad. Clearly not another word should be wasted on two franchises that clearly do not recognize the value of hot chicks.

Lock of the Week

WASHINGTON REDSKINS (-13½) over St. Louis Rams

Eventually the Rams need to man up and at least lose a game by less than double digits, if not actually win a game. Installing Marc Bulger back as a starter is not exactly a start, but it’s at least correcting a past mistake. Lost in a season where Marvin Harrison has been reduced to a slot receiver is the degeneration of former famous person Torry Holt. Holt is not a good receiver stuck on a bad team, he’s just not all that good anymore.

Upset of the Week

New England Patriots (+6½) over SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

How quickly the world forgets that the Patriots are still the Patriots and Bill Belichick is still Bill Belichick. Tom Brady may be injured, but Belichick still has his bag of cheats tricks. So Matt Cassel isn’t exactly setting the world on fire, and the defense has no secondary and the slowest linebacking corp in the league, but as a Jets fan I have learned to never underestimate the Patriots.

The Rest

Chicago Bears (-2½) over ATLANTA FALCONS

I’m confident that the Bears defense can contain Michael Turner leaving Matt Ryan to try to win this game on his own. He won’t.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (-4½) over Baltimore Ravens

I’m still a believer in these Colts. Every week their offense gets a little more healthy. I think the final piece of the puzzle is officially replacing Marvin Harrison in the starting offense with Anthony Gonzalez. So they have no defense, they’ve been winning for years without a defense. They may not go far in the playoffs, but I still believe that this Indianapolis team can eak out eleven to twelve wins and the wild card.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS over Detroit Lions (+13½)

This Detroit defense is bad. How bad are they? They are so bad that Gus Frerotte is worth starting on your fantasy team this week.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (-7½) over Oakland Raiders

I don’t see the Tom Cable era going all that much better than the Lane Kiffen era, or the Art Shell era, or the Norv Turner era.

NEW YORK JETS (-5½) over Cincinnati Bengals

Favre may not throw for six touchdowns again, but it’s important for the Jets season that the offense shows continued progress and growing chemistry.

HOUSTON TEXANS (-3½) over Miami Dolphins

Miami did not beat the Chargers so much with the Wildcat offense as it did with a stout defense and Ronnie Brown returning to health and full effectiveness. That said, this Texans team is much better than their record indicates, despite Sage Rosenfields best Kurt Warner impression last week.

DENVER BRONCOS (-3½) over Jacksonville Jaguars

Despite the low score of last week, there is nothing wrong with the Denver offense. Instead, they were smart and took what the Tampa Bay defense gave them, which was just enough to pull out the win. If Jay Cutler wants to play it smart this week, he’ll look to the opposite side that Rashean Mathis is covering.

Dallas Cowboys (-5½) over ARIZONA CARDINALS

The stars are not aligning right for the Cowboys this week. The Cardinals are an old rival back before the realignment and tend to play the Cowboys tough. Starting corner Terrence Newman is out, and Adam Jones is back to his trouble making ways. The team has decided not to punish him for his recent altercations and he should start, but he still poses a distraction that this team does not need. That said, the Cowboys are still the Cowboys.

Philadelphia Eagles (-5½) over SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

After some tough loses to the Bears and Redskins, the Eagles need a game like this against a team as bad as the 49ers to gain back some mojo.

Green Bay Packers (+2½) over SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

Aaron Rogers has not been the cause of the Green Bay decline, that blame lies squarely at the feet of the defense. Against a Seattle offense still lacking full health that defense needs to step up and make a statement.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 7-7 Last Week, 45-29 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 8-6 last week, 44-30 for the season
• Game of the Week: 2-3 straight, 4-1 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 2-3 straight, 3-2 spread
• Lock of the Week: 4-1 straight, 5-0 spread
• Upset of the Week 2-3 straight, 2-3 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/10/nfl-picks-week-six-2008/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/07/get-tackled-here-week-five-in-review http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/07/get-tackled-here-week-five-in-review#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:05:34 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-10-10/get-tackled-here-week-five-in-review Hello all you out there in fantasy football land. Welcome to the weekly recap of newsvine’s own fantasy football league, Get Tackled Here.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 111.82 over Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 58.45

I think this whole Aaron Rogers/Brett Favre thing has worked out just fine for me.

Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 121.28 over ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 79.50

I was telling Andrew that he should be optimistic for last week. 121 points is a pretty optimistic outcome, now he just needs to stay aware. Hint: Tomas Jones is a good play against Cincinnati, also there is no reason to carry two kickers.

Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 72.42 over Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 63.48

Buffalo must have a grudge against both Evan and Eric, Trent Edwards goes down after three passes for Eric, while both Robert Royal and the Buffalo Defense scored negative points for Evan.

gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 90.09 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 42.39

What’s with Reggie Bush being a legitimate fantasy running back this season?

Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 90.99 over jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 82.25

Even though Calvin hasn’t once taken a look at his team, either during the draft or since, his team still puts up a good fight week-to-week. Starting Brandon Jacobs helps. Just think how his team would be doing if he paid attention.

Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 123.08 over Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 96.00

Steve Slaton is one hell of a pickup off the free agent pool.

TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 70.40 over Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 63.56

Current Standings

1. Gecko’s Army : 4-1-0 : 525.09
2. COH Violation : 4-1-0 : 523.16
3. Big Ben’s Buddies : 4-1-0 : 448.00
4. [Name Redacted] : 3-2-0 : 483.77
5. Tha Finz : 3-2-0 : 460.02
6. Ultra Beatdown! : 3-2-0 : 355.76
7. WaitingForNextSeason : 3-2-0 : 351.19
8. Tank Johnson : 2-3-0 : 460.99
9. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 2-3-0 : 458.97
10. GristleMakers : 2-3-0 : 428.62
11. Da Geeky 11 : 2-3-0 : 368.30
12. This is the year : 2-3-0 : 361.72
13. Buy One Get One Free : 1-4-0 : 401.96
14. TheOne : 0-5-0 : 321.44

This Week’s Match Ups

• COH Violation vs Gecko’s Army
• Melchizedek’s Mafia vs This is the year
• [Name Redacted] vs Da Geeky 11
• WaitingForNextSeason vs Tha Finz
• GristleMakers vs TheOne
• Buy One Get One Free vs Tank Johnson
• Ultra Beatdown! vs Big Ben’s Buddies

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/07/get-tackled-here-week-five-in-review/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/03/nfl-picks-week-five-2008 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/03/nfl-picks-week-five-2008#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:56:39 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-10-10/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-five Game of the Week

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES over Washington Redskins (+5½)

At this point, any time two NFC East teams meet, that’s our game of the week. Not only does this division feature some of the toughest rivalries, but all four teams are playing great football. So far only Philly features a loss to a non-divisional opponent, but that was sans-Westbrook.

Westbrook should be healthy enough to play this week, Reggie Brown is almost 100% and Kevin Curtis is almost ready to return. DeSean Jackson has provided excitement, though some of it the bad kind. The Eagles’ defense is stout against the run, and features play makers in the secondary. Don’t be fooled by this team’s record of 2-2, they were a better team than the Bears, but lost thanks to some fluke plays and they almost upset Dallas at Texas.

Now, Washington is a team that did upset Dallas at Texas, a feat they accomplished in a large part due to keeping the ball away from the Dallas offense as they won the time of possession battle handedly. I don’t think they’ll be so lucky against the Philadelphia team, but the game should come down to the final minutes as we have another NFC East classic on our hands.

Monday Night Cheerleader

Amanda T, Monday Night Cheerleader

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (-3½) over Minnesota Vikings

Amanda T. of the New Orleans Saintsations will help lead the cheer against the Minnesota Vikings this Monday night. Amanda is a student at the The School for Film and Television, New York City with a major in Business. Naturally her favorite television show is Friday Night Lights.

I just can’t help think about the 2006 Miami Dolphins when considering this Vikings team. Both teams were chic picks by many pundits to win the Super Bowl, but both had their seasons derailed by bad decisions at quarterback. The 2006 Miami Dolphins chose Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees when they went searching in free agency, while this Vikings team was comfortable enough with Tavaris Jackson and Gus Ferrote rather than taking a chance with someone like Chad Pennington. Daunte Culpepper turned out to be a mistake from the start, while Jackson was given an entire two weeks before the coaching staff lost confidence in him, and then turned the reigns over to Ferrote who has been just as bad, and maybe even worst than Jackson.

Minnesota does hold some hope, as they are getting Bryant McKinney back from suspension this week, and their upcoming schedule eases up. However, they are still a team severely limited at quarterback and even if they are able to sneak into the playoffs neither Jackson nor Ferrote will lead them far.

Lock of the Week

NEW YORK GIANTS (-7½) over Seattle Seahawks

The Giants need to replace the suspended Plaxico Burress this game, a notion not all too unfamiliar to a Seattle team starting no-bodies at receiver the past few weeks thanks to cascading injuries. However, the Seahawks still have a questionable offensive line and a quarterback with back problems, this could very well be another sack happy day for the Giants’ defensive front four.

Upset of the Week

DETROIT LIONS (+3½) over Chicago Bears

Call this the “Matt Millen just got canned and Detroit as some hope for the future for the first time in seven years win”.

The Rest

GREEN BAY PACKERS over Atlanta Falcons (+7½)

This assumes that Aaron Rogers is healthy enough to play.

San Diego Chargers (-6½) over MIAMI DOLPHINS

What’s the chance that both Ronnie Brown and LaDainian Tomlinson throw for touchdowns?

CAROLINA PANTHERS (-9½) over Kansas City Chiefs

Only one upset per month for Herman Edwards

Tennessee Titans (-3½) over BALTIMORE RAVENS

Life’s not getting any easier for Joe Flaco as he trades in the Steelers defense for the Titans. At least he never has to face his own defense.

Indianapolis Colts (-3½) over HOUSTON TEXANS

Peyton Manning owns the Texans.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3½) over DENVER BRONCOS

The big play offense verse the big play killing defense.

DALLAS COWBOYS (-15½) over Cincinnati Bengals

And the Ryan Fitzpatrick era begins?

Buffalo Bills (+½) over ARIZONA CARDINALS

How is an undefeated team the underdog against a 2-2 team missing Anquan Boldin? Yea, maybe the Bills have been feasting on lesser competition, but Arizona is more or less the definition of lesser competition.

New England Patriots (-3½) over SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

Matt Cassel verse J.T. O’Sullivan, can you say ugly?

Pittsburgh Steelers (+4½) over JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

So the Steelers are down to their third string running back and have no offensive line, Ben can stull pull off the upset.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 7-6 Last Week, 38-22 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 9-4 last week, 36-24 for the season
• Game of the Week: 2-2 straight, 3-1 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 2-2 straight, 3-1 spread
• Lock of the Week: 3-1 straight, 4-0 spread
• Upset of the Week 2-2 straight, 2-2 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/03/nfl-picks-week-five-2008/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/03/get-tackled-here-week-four-in-review http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/03/get-tackled-here-week-four-in-review#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:34:52 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-10-10/get-tackled-here-week-four-in-review Hello all you out there in fantasy football land. Welcome to the weekly recap of newsvine’s own fantasy football league, Get Tackled Here.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 121.11 over Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 43.81

ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 116.87 over Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 61.88

Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 132.24 over Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 84.50

Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 86.17 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 69.58

gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 105.24 over jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 78.28

Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 103.14 over Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 63.30

TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 73.75 over Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 64.48

Current Standings

1. Gecko’s Army : 3-1-0 : 435.00
2. [Name Redacted] : 3-1-0 : 420.29
3. COH Violation : 3-1-0 : 411.34
4. Tha Finz : 3-1-0 : 396.46
5. Big Ben’s Buddies : 3-1-0 : 324.92
6. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 2-2-0 : 379.47
7. Tank Johnson : 2-2-0 : 378.74
8. This is the year : 2-2-0 : 303.27
9. Ultra Beatdown! : 2-2-0 : 285.36
10. WaitingForNextSeason : 2-2-0 : 278.77
11. GristleMakers : 1-3-0 : 337.63
12. Buy One Get One Free : 1-3-0 : 305.96
13. Da Geeky 11 : 1-3-0 : 247.02
14. TheOne : 0-4-0 : 279.05

This Week’s Match Ups

• COH Violation vs This is the year
• Melchizedek’s Mafia vs Da Geeky 11
• [Name Redacted] vs WaitingForNextSeason
• Gecko’s Army vs TheOne
• GristleMakers vs Tank Johnson
• Buy One Get One Free vs Big Ben’s Buddies
• Ultra Beatdown! vs Tha Finz

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/10/03/get-tackled-here-week-four-in-review/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/27/nfl-picks-week-four-2008 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/27/nfl-picks-week-four-2008#comments Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:10:13 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-27/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-four Game of the Week

TENNESSEE TITANS (-3½) over Minnesota Vikings

This is such a crappy slate of games that the game of the week comes down to Kerry Collins against Gus Ferotte. I wouldn’t expect much offense, as the Titans feature perhaps the most dominant defense in the league, and that’s with Albert Haynesworth playing below 100%. When he returns to full health that defense will be even scarier.

That said, the Vikings defense can hold their own, at least against the run. They are still suspect against the pass, as Jared Allen hasn’t been everything that was advertised. I’m thinking that we’ll see a lot of Chris Johnson this game, particularly spread out and in motion as Jeff Fisher works to create mismatches against the defense.

Meaghan S, Monday Night Cheerleader

Monday Night Cheerleader

Baltimore Ravens (+7½) over PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Now I’m changing around the cheerleader of the week. Rather than randomly searching through NFL teams for the cheerleader, I’m going to take a look at just the two Monday night teams and select the winner based on the team featuring the most professional, aka hottest, cheerleader. There will be some weeks like this week, where a team doesn’t even have a cheerleading squad. This just leads me to the conclusion that the Steelers have no chance this Monday night.

Meaghan S. of the Baltimore Ravens is our Monday Night Cheerleader. She is a three year veteran to the squad and an alumni of Montgomery College. Meaghan’s favorite movie is Superbad and she enjoys Deal or No Deal, Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelor on television. Her best characteristic is giving and having a big heart.

Football-wise, I don’t think the Steelers lose much, if anything with Willie Parker’s injury. Parker has a boom-or-bust style of running that is very conducive to creating second and nine or third and seven situations. Rashard Mendenhall is far more talented at this point, and it’s amazing how little he’s been utilized so far this season.

That said, the Steelers still feature a sore-shouldered Ben Roethlisberger, not to mention the most porous offensive lines in the league. The Ravens have a talented enough defense to pull off a repeat of the Eagles’ dismantling of Roethlisberger last Sunday.

Lock of the Week

Buffalo Bills (-8½) over ST. LOUIS RAMS

It’s pretty clear now that these Rams are on their way to become a historically bad team. Their defense never developed, their offensive line is terrible, Steven Jackson has never regained his pre-injury form, Tory Holt is a shell of his former self and the team now hopes for something by handing over the reigns of the offense to Trent Green.

The Bills on the other hand are starting to look pretty damn good, and yet much of that is diception created by one of the weakest schedules in the league that has the Bills facing teams like these very Rams.

Upset of the Week

San Francisco 49ers (+6½) over NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Can any quarterback get luckier than J.T. O’Sullivan? The weak after he faces the Detroit “defense” he is handed the New Orleans Saints. Pretty soon we might get tricked into thinking he’s actually good or something.

The Rest

Cleveland Browns (+3½) over CINCINNATI BENGALS

Brady Quinn will see snaps this game.

DENVER BRONCOS (-9½) over Kansas City Chiefs

The only reason this game is not the lock of the week is that the football gods will get back at Denver for the gift it handed them in their win over San Diego. I’m not saying it will be this game, but I’m not saying it won’t either. Now that’s a prediction…

NEW YORK JETS (-2½) over Arizona Cardinals

The Jets started moving the ball pretty well on San Diego when they decided to screw the run game, split everyone out and let Favre do his thing. Granted, much of that was during garbage time, but maybe that’s an offense the Jets should utilize more this season, especially against a green defense like Arizona’s.

Green Bay Packers (+1½) over TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

Any team will look bad against the Cowboys in September. Green Bay will get right back on the saddle with a dominant win over Tampa Bay.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (-7½) over Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan on the road. Michael Turner will be held to under 70 yards.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS over Houston Texans (+7½)

Houston has some fight still left in them. Not enough to win, but enough to give Jacksonville problems. More fans will know the name Steve Slaton after this game.

San Diego Chargers (-7½) over OAKLAND RAIDERS

As long as Phillip Rivers stays away from Nnamdi Asomugha San Diego will be fine.

DALLAS COWBOYS over Washington Redskins (+11½)

I’m seeing Santana Moss beet Adam Jones deep on a pass where Jones goes for the interception rather than coverage and fails.

Philadelphia Eagles (-3½) over CHICAGO BEARS

Kyle Orton against a secondary featuring Asante Samuel, what’s the over/under for interceptions, 3?

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 11-5 Last Week, 31-16 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 9-7 last week, 27-20 for the season
• Game of the Week: 1-2 straight, 2-1 spread
• Monday Night Cheerleader: 2-1 straight, 2-1 spread
• Lock of the Week: 2-1 straight, 3-0 spread
• Upset of the Week 2-1 straight, 2-1 spread

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/27/nfl-picks-week-four-2008/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/24/get-tackled-here-week-three-in-review-ronnie-brown-the-wildcat-and-the-team-that-left-him-on-the-bench http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/24/get-tackled-here-week-three-in-review-ronnie-brown-the-wildcat-and-the-team-that-left-him-on-the-bench#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:23:34 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-24/get-tackled-here-week-three-in-review-ronnie-brown-the-wildcat-and-the-team-that-left-him-on-the-bench Hello all you out there in fantasy football land. Welcome to the weekly recap of newsvine’s own fantasy football league, Get Tackled Here.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 105.25 over Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 60.68

I’m starting to like this Aaron Rogers guy. I’m thinking that Eric is hoping Brian Westbrook’s injury isn’t so serious.

ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 98.59 over Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 87.06

Ronnie Brown, five combined touchdowns, over forty fantasy points, left sitting on Evan’s bench.

Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 69.09 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 56.39

Andrew, look what happens when you stop starting Javon Walker. It also helps to match up against Jason who hasn’t checked his roster this season and started four players who did not start in the actual games this week.

jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 126.63 over Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 81.75

I’m guessing that Sheil didn’t expect New Englands’ defense to score negative points for him this week against Miami, but that’s what happens when you mess with Ronnie Brown and the WildCat offense.

gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 123.72 over Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 68.59

Is this the year that Reggie Bush becomes a decent fantasy running back?

TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 89.19 over Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 72.10

Calvin started a defensive back predicted by Yahoo! to score negative fatnasy points this week. He actually ended up with over six, but I think that’s besides the point. Calvin, check you fantasy team before I have to start penalizing you. Maybe if we have a ton of Code of Honor violations on this thead that will force Calvin to come and remember that he owns a fantasy team in this league.

Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 98.65 over Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 87.01

I’m not sure I want to live in a world where J.T. O’Sullivan is a legitimate starting fantasy quarterback. Of course that was against Detroit, a defense that would make me look like Peyton Manning.

Current Standings

1. Tha Finz : 3-0-0 : 311.96
2. Gecko’s Army : 2-1-0 : 329.76
3. Tank Johnson : 2-1-0 : 300.46
4. COH Violation : 2-1-0 : 291.23
5. [Name Redacted] : 2-1-0 : 288.05
6. Big Ben’s Buddies : 2-1-0 : 221.78
7. WaitingForNextSeason : 2-1-0 : 216.89
8. GristleMakers : 1-2-0 : 274.33
9. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 1-2-0 : 262.60
10. Buy One Get One Free : 1-2-0 : 241.48
11. This is the year : 1-2-0 : 217.40
12. Ultra Beatdown! : 1-2-0 : 211.61
13. Da Geeky 11 : 1-2-0 : 203.21
14. TheOne : 0-3-0 : 209.47

This Week’s Match Ups

• COH Violation vs Da Geeky 11
• Melchizedek’s Mafia vs WaitingForNextSeason
• [Name Redacted] vs Tha Finz
• This is the year vs TheOne
• Gecko’s Army vs Tank Johnson
• GristleMakers vs Big Ben’s Buddies
• Buy One Get One Free vs Ultra Beatdown!

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/24/get-tackled-here-week-three-in-review-ronnie-brown-the-wildcat-and-the-team-that-left-him-on-the-bench/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/20/nfl-picks-week-three-2008 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/20/nfl-picks-week-three-2008#comments Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:27:00 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-20/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-two Game of the Week

GREEN BAY PACKERS (+2½) over Dallas Cowboys

This game has the potential to be every bit the thriller that the Cowboys and Eagles recent Monday Nighter was. This time we feature Aaron Rogers and his three headed monster of receivers in Driver, Jennings and Jones against Romo, TO and Witten.

Jill Ann, Cheerleader of the Week

Cheerleader of the Week

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS over New York Jets (+8½)

For those Chargers fans feeling down after terrible last minute losses these past two weeks, look up, at least you have cheerleaders like Jill Ann, the cheerleader of the week, to provide some distractions.

This is Jill Ann’s second year as a Charger Girl. She originally comes from Dallas Texas, but has settled down in Southern California instructing Pilates to celebrities, athletes and executives. Jill Ann spends her free time volunteering at a local animal shelter and owns two dogs of her own, Jolie and Jinjer.

Lock of the Week

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS over Miami Dolphins (+12½)

It’s more about Miami still being bad, than Matt Cassel being good. And yet, Cassel is good enough to win against Chad Pennington and the rebuilding Dolphins.

Upset of the Week

Carolina Panthers (+3½) over MINNESOTA VIKINGS

These Vikings are starting to feel like Miami in 2006 after Sports Illustrated picked them to win the Super Bowl. I actually like the team, but they just look like they took the express from Super Bowl contenders to first overall pick contenders.

If the team had confidence in Tarvaris Jackson, then they needed to give him more than two weeks, especially two weeks where he was missing his blindside protector in Bryant McKinnie who has been suspended for the first four weeks of the season. If the team did not have confidence in Jackson, then they needed a better alternative than Gus Ferotte, either by grabbing Chad Pennington when the Jets released him, or by trading for Derrik Anderson of the Browns.

The Rest

ATLANTA FALCONS (-4½) over Kansas City Chiefs

Two bad teams, but the Falcons have already turned that corner and are on their way up, though slowly for now. The Chiefs on the other hand still have a long way to fall, and many Herman Edwards press conferences in the mean time.

BUFFALO BILLS over Oakland Raiders (+8½)

I’m almost tempted to pick the Raiders, where Lane Kiffin is literally coaching for his job every week, but this Bills team is solid enough to win the games it should, and a (actual) home game against Oakland is a game they better win.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3½) over CHICAGO BEARS

Now that Devin Hester is out, where will the points come from for these Bears?

TENNESSEE TITANS (-4½) over Houston Texans

The Texans really aren’t the pushover of the past, but coming off a weekend lost to a hurricane, I just don’t see how they are not distracted just a little. I also really like Kerry Collins in this offense. He still has a little left in his tank and he can manage this run and gun offense better than the shell of Vince Young.

NEW YORK GIANTS over Cincinnati Bengals (+13½)

I can see the Giants sleepwalking through this game before finally putting it away. Marvin Lewis’s job security is slipping by the day.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS (-3½) over Arizona Cardinals

The difference between Kurt Warner now and the Kurt Warner from the Greatest Show on Turf era, he’ll throw for his 300 yards and 2-3 touchdowns now, but he’ll also fumble or throw an interception at the most inopportune time.

DENVER BRONCOS (-5½) over New Orleans Saints

This Denver Offense is starting to look downright dominant, however their defense is just as pathetic. However, the Saints have still been unable to recapture their 2006 ways on offense, especially with Colston being injured, so look for Denver to continue their winning ways.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (-3½) over Detroit Lions

The San Francisco defense is getting a bit frisky, and J.T. O’Sullivan will look like Brett Favre against this Detroit secondary. Detroit has Calvin Johnson, and little else…

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS over St. Louis Rams (+9½)

Another putrid game from the NFC West, St. Louis is one of the worst teams in the league right now, but Seattle isn’t all that much better. A 6-10 or 7-9 team is winning the NFC West this year.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (-5½) over Jacksonville Jaguars

Jeff Saturday is coming back for the Colts, and thus I am fully confident the Indianapolis offense will be back to their old ways. The defense still has issues, so the Jaguars will keep this game close, but Peyton will come through in the end.

Pittsburgh Steelers (+2½) over PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

I actually really like this Philadelphia team, and on any other week I’d pick them over the Steelers. However, I also really like this Pittsburgh team, so on a short week for the Eagles coming off a Monday Night loss where they had to travel back from Dallas, I think Pittsburgh can pull out the win.

BALTIMORE RAVENS (-1½) over Cleveland Browns

Is it Brady Quinn time yet?

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 9-6 Last Week, 20-11 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 8-7 last week, 18-13 for the season
• Game of the Week: 1-1 straight, 2-0 spread
• Cheerleader of the Week: 1-1 straight, 2-0 spread
• Lock of the Week: 2-0 straight, 2-0 spread
• Upset of the Week 2-0 straight, 2-0 spread (Since Houston/Baltimore was postponed I’m substituting in the highest spread difference as the upset of the week, which was Oakland/Kansas City)

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/20/nfl-picks-week-three-2008/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/18/get-tackled-here-week-two-in-review http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/18/get-tackled-here-week-two-in-review#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:15:22 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-18/get-tackled-here-week-two-in-review Hello all you out there in fantasy football land. Welcome to the weekly recap of newsvine’s own fantasy football league, Get Tackled Here.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 116.30 over Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 94.32

I knew it was a good idea to start Aaron Rogers, facing Detroit over Brett Favre, facing New England, what I didn’t count on was Eli Manning facing St. Louis or Anquan Boldin facing Miami.

Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 121.08 over ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 88.79

I’ve thought Chris Chambers was overrated. His value was being the only warm body for whoever was quarterbacking Miami to throw to. Maybe that’s still the case, but Philip Rivers is a far better quarterback than Miami has seen in a long time. And that’s a combination that Ramon Lo is going to ride for a few victories this year.

Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 87.76 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 74.04

Jason still needs to reset his roster as he’s starting an injured Colston, and two auto-draft scrubs who are no longer on rosters on defense. Eric was handed this win.

jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 124.14 over Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 74.69

jamiewb has decided to join the Jay Cutler bandwagon without actually owning Jay Cutler by starting both Bronco’s receivers Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. On weeks like this it works, but on other weeks he won’t get so lucky. Note to Andrew, please grab some decent defenders for your team, and please stop starting Javon Walker, this isn’t 2004.

Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 69.79 over Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 47.99

Sheil was screwed by Ike and starting two players from the postponed Houston/Baltimore game. Not that it made all that much differnce when not a single one of his other players scored double digit fantasy points.

gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 105.94 over TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 45.76

gecko85 has shown me why Tony Scheffler was worth starting. Tom was also screwed by Ike, not to mention the complete disintegration of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 114.13 over Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 46.60

I’d like to know how Fast Eddie expects to win while starting Tarvaris Jackson at quaterback, even the Vikings have finally learned the error of their ways. I see that this week Fast Eddie is riding the JT O’Sullivan train, which against the Detroit defense may end up as a pretty nice ride.

Current Standings

1. Tha Finz : 2-0-0 : 213.31
2. [Name Redacted] : 2-0-0 : 200.99
3. WaitingForNextSeason : 2-0-0 : 156.21
4. Big Ben’s Buddies : 2-0-0 : 154.17
5. Gecko’s Army : 1-1-0 : 206.04
6. GristleMakers : 1-1-0 : 202.23
7. COH Violation : 1-1-0 : 185.98
8. Tank Johnson : 1-1-0 : 173.83
9. Buy One Get One Free : 1-1-0 : 154.47
10. This is the year : 1-1-0 : 135.65
11. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 0-2-0 : 164.01
12. TheOne : 0-2-0 : 153.08
13. Da Geeky 11 : 0-2-0 : 134.12
14. Ultra Beatdown! : 0-2-0 : 122.42

This Week’s Match Ups

• COH Violation vs WaitingForNextSeason
• Melchizedek’s Mafia vs [Name Redacted]
• Da Geeky 11 vs TheOne
• This is the year vs Tank Johnson
• Gecko’s Army vs Big Ben’s Buddies
• GristleMakers vs Ultra Beatdown!
• Buy One Get One Free vs Tha Finz

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/18/get-tackled-here-week-two-in-review/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/12/nfl-picks-week-two-matt-cassel-era-begins http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/12/nfl-picks-week-two-matt-cassel-era-begins#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 05:54:02 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-12/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-two-the-matt-cassel-era-begins Game of the Week

Philadelphia Eagles (+6½) over DALLAS COWBOYS

I was considering picking Jets/Pats as my game of the week. But while that match up sure holds its share of storylines, from Matt Cassel to Brett Farve to Mangini-Belichick, and it looks to be a close and tough fight, the actual football has too much potential to be mediocre.

Now the Eagles at the Cowboys, that looks to be a close tough fight ripe with excellent football. Donovan McNabb is back and Tony Romo has joined the quarterback elite. Brian Westbrook is ready to run wild. Zach Thomas will try to stop him, but he’ll find that he’s just not quick enough anymore. McNabb should be able to target any receiver being covered by Adam Jones for success, while the Eagle’s defense should be able to bend, but not break … as long as they remember to cover Jason Witten.

Cheerleader of the Week

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS over Buffalo Bills (+6½)

Before the weather gets cold up north, I feel that I should honor one of the cheerleaders of the Buffalo Jills, Vincenza. Vincenza, a Virgo, is shy, caring, mature, and spontaneous. She looks forward to entering medical school to become a forensic psychiatrist. Vincenza enjoys being a Buffalo Jill and being a role model for young girls.

The is a really good chance that the Bills are a team on the rise, while Jacksonville is a team that played over its head last year. I’m not buying that just yet, but it’ll be close.

Lock of the Week

New York Giants (-8½) over ST. LOUIS RAMS

This lock isn’t so much out of respect for the defending Super Bowl champions who are far from perfect, but out of complete disrespect for the Rams, who already look to be in the running for first overall pick in next year’s draft. As shown last week in Philadelphia, St. Louis cannot cover even second-string receivers, Plaxico Burress should have a field day. While the Rams’ run defense is better, it’s nothing to brag about. On offense, the decline of Torry Holt is more apparent than ever, other receiving options don’t really exist, and Steven Jackson just can’t be expected to carry this team, especially with the disaster that is the St. Louis offensive line.

Upset of the Week

Baltimore Ravens (+4½) over HOUSTON TEXANS

I’m not a fan of taking an upset on the road, but I think this Baltimore defense is back to being as dominant as ever, or at least as long they remain healthy. The Ravens should shut down the run, and if they focus on Andre Johnson, they can reasonably contain the pass and force Matt Schaub to make a mistake or two he didn’t want to. I’m not exactly sure how Baltimore will score points, but I’m confident they can prevent Houston from doing so.

The Rest

Tennessee Titans (+1½) over CINCINNATI BENGALS

The Titans still feature a dominant defense, as long as Albert Haynesworth remains healthy. I actually like Kerry Collins for this offense better than Vince Young. Young just hasn’t progressed as much as needed, while Collins can take advantage of the non-existant Bengal secondary.

Green Bay Packers (-2½) over DETROIT LIONS

Aaron Rogers is going to have a coming out party against the Lions. I have faith in Matt Millen to continue to put a terrible team on the field of Ford Stadium.

Oakland Raiders (+3½) over Kansas City Chiefs

I actually like Oakland to have some upside this season. Their run defense is still pretty abysmal, so Larry Johnson should look like the Larry Johnson of three years ago. However, they secondary should still be solid, their offensive line is improving and Justin Fargas is going to play some of the best football of his life to stave off Darren McFadden from taking his job.

Indianapolis Colts (-1½) over MINNESOTA VIKINGS

This game will rest with Peyton Manning. The Vikings showcase perhaps the best run defense in the league giving Joseph Addai little to work with. The Indianapolis offensive line was uncharacteristically porous against the Bears, and Manning will have to be even quicker on his feet and with his reads to survive Jared Allen.

New Orleans Saints (+½) over WASHINGTON REDSKINS

The Saints offense is back. Marques Colston is out for the next few weeks, but this should just allow Jeremy Shockey and Robert Meachem to shine. The Redskins offense may gel towards the end of the season, but it’s going to take a few more weeks for Jason Cambpell to become fully comfortable in the west coast offense.

CAROLINA PANTHERS (-3½) over Chicago Bears

The Bears may have looked dominant against Indianapolis, but this is still a team trusting Kyle Orton to lead the offense, and hoping he doesn’t make a mistake.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS over San Francisco 49ers (+8½)

Between the Seahawks and the 49ers, this might just be the least talented collection of receivers to take the field in a single NFL game since the ’60s. The Seahawks have a defense, and that will be the difference. I think there is a very real chance that the NFC West sends a losing team to the playoffs this year.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS over Atlanta Falcons (+8½)

Michael Turner probably isn’t going to run for two hundred yards against this Tampa Bay defense. Matt Ryan will make a mistake or two, while Jeff Garcia won’t and that will be the game.

San Diego Chargers (-2½) over DENVER BRONCOS

As long as San Diego sends someone out to cover Eddie Royal, they should be able to contain the Denver Offense. Losing Shawne Merriman is not as big a loss as it may seem. He is one of the best pass rushers in the league, but he’s below average in coverage and average at best against the run. His loss may hurt San Diego’s pass rush, but it may improve their coverage of tight ends and running backs and possibly improve their run defense.

NEW YORK JETS (-2½) over New England Patriots

It should be interesting to see how Bill Belichick treats Matt Cassel. Will he turn the offense into a power running game, shoving Lawrence Maroney, Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan down opposing defense’s throats while asking Cassel to do little more than “manage” the offense, or will he let Cassel to utilize Moss and company, spread the offense and continue to air the ball out?

ARIZONA CARDINALS over Miami Dolphins (+6½)

This game is more or less a toss up on neutral turf, so the home team wins. However, I like the Cardinals to improve as the season progresses, especially their defense as it gels. The Cardinals feature a good core who should lead this teams to a winning season eventually. The Dolphins still have plenty of rebuilding left to do. Their future looks far bleaker for the short term.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-5½) over CLEVELAND BROWNS

If even some of the trouble that Indy experienced last week is real, then the Steelers are set up as the team to beet in the AFC. The Browns on the other hand could very well be one year wonders. The offense is still setup with a great line and solid playmakers, but Derek Anderson is not the real thing, and the sooner they hand the reigns of the team over to Brady Quinn, the better their future looks. However, Brady Quinn won’t be able to fix the atrosity that is the Cleveland defense.

A Blast from the Past

• Straight Up: 11-5 Last Week, 11-5 for the season
• Vs. Spread: 10-6 last week, 10-6 for the season
• Game of the Week: 1-0
• Upset of the Week 1-0
• Lock of the Week: 1-0

The Ground Rules

Home team in CAPS, spread in ( paren ). If the spread is listed after the victor, then they will cover. If the spread is listed after the loser, then it will not be covered.

Spreads are taken from ESPN.com. I don’t do lines.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/12/nfl-picks-week-two-matt-cassel-era-begins/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/11/get-tackled-here-week-one-in-review http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/11/get-tackled-here-week-one-in-review#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:49:29 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-11/get-tackled-here-week-one-in-review Hello all you out there in fantasy football land. Welcome to the weekly recap of newsvine’s own fantasy football league, Get Tackled Here.

Big news in week one as Tom Brady goes down, potentially ending the season of one team, and hurting the season of two others who own Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

For the players, feel free to use the comment thread for trade talk, league talk, and general trash talk. That’s right, if it is related to fantasy football, consider this thread COH-free. Trash talk away!

Adam Hobson’s COH Violation – 91.66 over ajs’s Melchizedek’s Mafia – 75.22

For ajs, Drew Brees did his thing with over three hundred yards passing and another 3 touchdowns, but the rest of his team went touchdown-less and disappointed on the week. Defenses like Baltimore and kickers like Neil Rackers is why I don’t draft defenses or kickers early. I can get double digits points from drafting defenses late and pulling kickers off of the waiver wire.

Evan Mix’s [Name Redacted] – 84.69 over Jason Ford’s TheOne – 79.04

Jason better start paying attention to his team, because when you (auto)draft and start guys like TJ Rushing (on the IR) and Sean Conover (not currently on an active roster) he’s only going to act as an easy win for the rest of the league.

Eric Atienza’s WaitingForNextSeason – 68.45 over jamiewb’s Tank Johnson – 49.69

jamiewb is our winner of Tom Brady’s injuring totally ruining his fantasy season. Now he’s left hoping that Kurt Warner can stay healthy and stay the starter in Arizona.

Sgt. Pepper’s Big Ben’s Buddies – 84.38 over Andrew Min (formerly Online Apps)’s Da Geeky 11 – 59.43

Andrew better hope that his team doesn’t consistently consist of four players who score less than a single fantasy point each week, including a negative score for Josh Wilson. Sgt. Pepper wasn’t exactly helped by Brady’s injury either thanks to drafting Wes Welker as his number one receiver, but the rest of his team is still solid, and has plenty of life left.

Sheil Naik’s This is the year – 87.66 over TomPitysFools’s Ultra Beatdown! – 76.66

Tom can’t expect Hines Ward and Frank Gore to carry his team when he’s challenging Andrew for most worthless roster spots with seven of his players scoring four points or less.

Fast Eddie’s Buy One Get One Free – 107.87 over gecko85’s Gecko’s Army – 100.10

It’s not always fun scoring the second most points of the week, especially when your opponent scored the most points of the week. Micheal Turner matching up against Willie Parker can do that when they combine for over three hundred yards and five touchdowns. Randy Moss delivered this week, but Fast Eddie has got to be worried about the future.

Ramon Lo’s Tha Finz – 92.23 over Calvin Tang’s GristleMakers – 88.10

Calvin is another owner that needs to start paying attention. Starting auto-drafts like Allen Rossum and Rian Wallace (not on an active roster) who combine for a total of zero fantasy points were probably the difference between his loss this week and probably winning.

Current Standings

1. Buy One Get One Free : 1-0-0 : 107.87
2. Tha Finz : 1-0-0 : 92.23
3. COH Violation : 1-0-0 : 91.66
4. This is the year : 1-0-0 : 87.66
5. [Name Redacted] : 1-0-0 : 84.69
6. Big Ben’s Buddies : 1-0-0 : 84.38
7. WaitingForNextSeason : 1-0-0 : 68.45
8. Gecko’s Army : 0-1-0 : 100.10
9. GristleMakers : 0-1-0 : 88.10
10. TheOne : 0-1-0 : 79.04
11. Ultra Beatdown! : 0-1-0 : 76.66
12. Melchizedek’s Mafia : 0-1-0 : 75.22
13. Da Geeky 11 : 0-1-0 : 59.43
14. Tank Johnson : 0-1-0 : 49.69

This Week’s Match Ups

• [Name Redacted] vs COH Violation
• Tha Finz vs Melchizedek’s Mafia
• TheOne vs WaitingForNextSeason
• Tank Johnson vs Da Geeky 11
• Big Ben’s Buddies vs This is the year
• Ultra Beatdown! vs Gecko’s Army
• Buy One Get One Free vs GristleMakers

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/11/get-tackled-here-week-one-in-review/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/05/the-revolution-will-not-come-from-the-grand-old-party http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/05/the-revolution-will-not-come-from-the-grand-old-party#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:28:07 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-05/the-revolution-will-not-come-from-the-grand-old-party On Tuesday, September 2nd, Ron Paul and his Campaign for Liberty hosted the Rally for the Republic, an alternative convention to the RNC, celebrating freedom and liberty. A major theme of the night, printed on the front of the programs was Calling the GOP Back to its Roots. While Ron Paul has worked within the Republican Party to spark his Revolution, the feelings from the rest of the Rally were more mixed on that possibility.

Historian Doug Wead started his speech with an open invitation, Republicans across the river, come back, come home. Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson recited his many accomplishment as a Republican Governor, though he did admit he vetoed just as many Republican bills as Democratic ones from his state congress. In contrast, speakers such as Jessie Ventura and Bill Kaufman denounced the two major parties, and Lew Rockwell went further, condemning not just the GOP but conservatism itself, finding both corrupt at their core.

Ron Paul's rEVOLution

Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform a bipartisan organization, noted that the GOP has been half successful, no new taxes have been introduced since Bill Clinton in 1993. However he criticized the Republican Party for runaway spending and a growing National Debt.

Across the river in St. Paul, speaker after speaker at the Republican National Convention heralded John McCain’s stance to either lower or maintain tax rates. However, a balanced budget, paying down the debt and controlling government spending were mentioned rarely. The most often example of controlled spending was limiting earmarks. That is a start, but in the grand scheme of a budget of trillions, earmarks barely make a dent.

At the RNC there was unanimous support for the Iraq War and the War on Terror. Mitt Romney complained about the “liberal” government and declared, Is a Supreme Court decision liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitutional rights? It’s liberal. This was in sharp contrast to the Rally for the Republic where the Iraq War as well as the War on Terror were both condemned. Key features of Bruce Fein’s American Renaissance included civil trials for suspected terrorists and recognizing that America has no moral or legal obligation to spread democracy. Ron Paul admitted that he found the greatest moral crisis of our time is the acceptance of preemptive war.

When I interviewed some delegates at the RNC, I found a few who actually approved some of Ron Paul’s constitutional views on the role of government, yet they disagreed on his position to end the Iraq War immediately. One particular delegate from Texas felt that Congress needed someone like Ron Paul, but he could never support him in a leadership position. This same delegate also believed that Ron Paul was a bit hypocritical when Paul would add earmarks to bills for his district and then vote against those bills, knowing that the bills were sure to pass anyway.

The Republican Party was not friendly to Ron Paul at the convention since he would not support John McCain for President. The Party required a chaperon accompany Dr. Paul at the convention. During the delegate roll call, delegate votes for Ron Paul were continuously ignored. Some of his delegates did decide to support John McCain at the last minute in a show of state and party unity.

Back at the Rally for the Republic, when I questioned Ron Paul supporters on whether the Revolution would come from within the GOP or from outside I received mixed answers. However, the responses did relate to how close they were previously associated with the Republican Party prior to Ron Paul’s campaign. Long time Republicans felt the Revolution was more likely to emerge from within the GOP, or at least they hoped. One supporter felt that for the revolution to truly spread across America, it would have to come from everywhere, the Republican Party, the Democrat Party as well as from independents.

I also questioned the supporters on their current preference for President since Ron Paul’s campaign ended a while ago. I could not find a single Obama supporter. When I questioned the Rally-goers on their feelings towards Obama, I was surprised to find that their problems did not come from his liberal views of domestic government, but instead they felt he was just another politician who could not be trusted. This did echo many of the speakers at the Rally who saw little real difference between Obama and McCain, both were just more of the same. One person I talked to was from Chicago and had been aware of Obama for some time now leading to his distrust.

I was also able to find only a single McCain supporter, though she did admit to being a loyal member of the GOP who preferred Ron Paul, but supported any Republican nominee. The rest of the Ron Paul supporters were split between Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr and Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, with one person planning to leave the Presidential vote blank on his ballot.

In the end it seems that while there is a great deal of support for Ron Paul’s Revolution, many of the Revolutionaries just don’t feel attached enough to the Republican Party to spend all that much effort calling the GOP back to its roots. The GOP itself just doesn’t seem to want a Revolution, and is happy running out candidates like Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain. If the Revolution is to grow, it will have to shed the Republican Party. Perhaps the new champion will be Jesse Ventura in 2012?

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/05/the-revolution-will-not-come-from-the-grand-old-party/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/04/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-one-are-you-ready-for-some-football http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/04/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-one-are-you-ready-for-some-football#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:51:37 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-11/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-one-are-you-ready-for-some-football NEW YORK GIANTS -3½ over Washington Redskins ATLANTA FALCONS +2½ over Detroit Lions Seattle Seahawks +½ over BUFFALO BILLS Jacksonville Jaguars -3½ over TENNESSEE TITANS New York Jets -2½ over MIAMI DOLPHINS NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS -16½ over Kansas City Chiefs NEW ORLEANS SAINTS -3½ over TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS PHILADELPHIA EAGLES -7½ over St. Louis Rams PITTSBURGH STEELERS over Houston Texans +6½ BALTIMORE RAVENS -½ over Cincinnati Bengals SAN DIEGO CHARGERS over Carolina Panthers +9½ SAN FRANCISCO 49ers +2½ over Arizona Cardinals Dallas Cowboys -3½ over CLEVELAND BROWNS INDIANAPOLIS COLTS -9½ over Chicago Bears GREEN BAY PACKERS -2½ over Minnesota Vikings Denver Broncos -1½ over OAKLAND RAIDERS

Home team in CAPS, straight up victor listed first, points go after.

Pithy comments and cheerleader pictures to come, needed to post the picks before I jumped on a plane, wanted to make sure they were posted before tonight’s game.

]]> http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/04/nfl-picks-of-the-week-week-one-are-you-ready-for-some-football/feed 0 http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/04/rally-for-the-republic http://realmofhob.com/thevineofhob/2008/09/04/rally-for-the-republic#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:11:38 +0000 Adam Hobson http://www.realmofhob.com/2008-09-04/rally-for-the-republic On Tuesday, Ron Paul and his Campaign for Liberty held the Rally for the Republic at the Target Center in Minneapolis. They might as well have called this a Protest Rally against the RNC , as the message for most of the night was extremely critical of the Republican Party. This isn’t to say that a single kind word was directed at the Democratic Party either. The Rally was filled with people who were tired of the same old politics and government intrusions and who were seeking freedom, liberty and to just be left alone.

Unlike the other conventions, the speakers at the Rally for the Republic were short on political hacks and long on published authors, scholars and economists with CVs miles long. Issues were the key of the rally, from Austrian economic theory, to the morality of preemptive war, to the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve.

While your standard Republican loves to be compared to Ronald Reagan, the Reagan references were few and far in between at the Rally. Only one Reagan anecdote stood out. Instead Ron Paul was compared to Robert Taft by at least three different speakers. George Washington was also a popular reference.

While harsh words were not spared for both the Democrats and Republicans, not to mention John McCain and Barack Obama, the general theme was less about politics for politics sake, and more about spreading freedom and liberty.

Howard Phillips

Howard Phillips is the Chairman of the Conservative Caucus. The brunt of his message was focused on the numerous bills that Ron Paul had introduced to Congress that defended freedom and liberty. The crowd reacted strongest to pulling the United States out of the United Nations, ending the Federal Reserve and fighting against the formation of the North American Union.

Doug Wead

Doug Wead is a historian and author. His speech was the most GOP friendly speech of the night, as he called out, Republicans across the river, come back, come home. He started with lively anecdotes and jokes including a recount of the first time he met President, but then Governor, Reagan. A common line throughout his speech was I’m here to support Ron Paul, because he stood up for me in the national debates when…

Wead received big applause from the crowd when he mentioned that Ron Paul was against the War in Iraq from the start. The crowd also reacted strongly when he used the the phrase “give me the refuse from foreign shores” from the Statue of Liberty to remind the crowd that America is the land of liberty and hope. He dedicated a large portion of his time to the role of Big Government in supporting Big Business while harming small business and the common American. Government regulations are running small businesses out of business by making it complicated and nearly impossible to comply with all of the laws and regulations.

Tom Woods

Tom Woods is a professor, author and senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. His speech was the most energetic and passionate, and he held no punches attacking both John McCain and the Republicans, You are not a fiscal conservative if it is okay to stay in Iraq for 100 years and Barak Obama and the Democrats, Barak Obama’s foreign policy is more of the same. The crowd reacted particularly strongly when Woods stated that, Americans are faced with the choice between the stupid party and the evil party, and sometimes they get together and that is bipartisanship.

When Woods was not attacking the major political parties, or their candidates, he concentrated on attacking the Federal Reserve. He supported the Austrian School of economics, including their theory of the business cycle and added, And by the way, free markets do not cause housing bubbles and mortgage crises in reference to the failings of the Fed, and it’s artificial adjustment of interest rates that leads to unsound investments and eventual busts.

Grover Norquist

The theme of Grover Norquist’s speech was the unity of the Americans for Tax Reform, and Americans for liberty in general. A particular salient line from his speech in reference to liberty-loving Americans, it is not necessary to agree on everything, it is necessary to agree that everyone should be free. Norquist contrasted that to the Hillary Clinton coalition, temporarily requisitioned by Barack Obama, which could only get along as long as Americans continue to feed their tax addiction. Once America limits the tax money that they can spend, the infighting is sure to occur as each special interest vies for a limited amount of money.

Grover Norquist also cautioned the crowd that limiting taxes is only half of the fight. There have been no new taxes in the past fifteen years since Bill Clinton and the Democratic Congress raised them in 1993, yet government spending has been outrageous, and must be contained as well.

Lew Rockwell

Lew Rockwell is an author, editor and founder of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. His speech was mater-of-fact and he let his words and ideas convey his message rather than passion and excitement. His message was incredibly anti-Bush, and he also called for the rejection of the Republican Party and even conservatism itself, which has become corrupted.

Bill Kauffman

Bill Kauffman is an author of eight books. His speech was another attack on Democrats and Republicans, including both McCain and Obama. He spoke against the utter uselessness of political categories. The strongest reaction he elicited from the crowd was when he stated that Ron Paul is from 1776, and they [the GOP] are from 1984.

Bruce Fein

Bruce Fein is an author, speaker and a regular guest on various news channels and shows. He concentrated on the need for a new foreign policy direction, which he called the American Renaissance. Key features of the Renaissance will include:

• Bringing all military personal home, and stationing the military in America only
• Trying suspected terrorists in civilian courts with full due process and an end to torture and secret prisons
• Understanding that the United States has no moral or legal obligation to other nations or to spread democracy
• The United States Citizen is the highest office in the land, and that sovereignty lies in “We the People” and not at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Jesse Ventura (Photo by Agent Cody Banks)

Governor Jesse Ventura

Governor Jesse Ventura’s speech was easily the most popular and passionate at the Rally, second only to Ron Paul’s itself. Ventura’s main theme was third parties and how the Democrats and Republicans are ruing America. He faulted both parties equally in creating the national debt. Ventura urged the crowd to recognize that voting is not a horse race, don’t vote for who you think you will win, but instead vote your heart and conscience, otherwise you get what you voted for. Ventura went on to push Rock the Debate, a group whose goal is to open up the presidential debates to third party and independent candidates.

Governor Ventura eventually started talking about individual issues. He was met with a mixed reaction from the crowed when he mentioned immigration, as he favors a more open border policy comparing the border wall to East Berlin, while Ron Paul supports a closed border policy. However, Ventura was able to almost immediately recapture the crowd by expressing his support for the Second Amendment, even though he wasn’t a gun guy. The audience reacted especially strong when he stated that the Second Amendment was not meant to protect hunters, but instead was meant to ensure an armed citizenry that would be willing to fight back against a potential tyrannical government.

The Governor posed two questions regarding 9/11, (1) Why has Ossama bin Laden yet to be charged or indited in regards to 9/11 and (2) On the FBI’s website, when the Top Ten most wanted criminals are listed including Ossama, why is 9/11 not listed amongst his crimes?

Ventura ended his speech by mentioning his recent book, Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me and stated that if the revolution continues, not just in shouts but in actions, he would be there in 2012, perhaps implying a potential bid for the presidency.

John Tate

John Tate is the executive director for the Campaign for Liberty, and spoke only briefly to introduce the Campaign for Liberty video.

Governor Gary Johnson

Governor Johnson is the former two-term governor of New Mexico. His speech varied greatly from the rest of the rally. Where most of the other speakers concentrated on issues, political philosophy and calls to action, Johnson concentrated on what he already accomplished as governor. This was fine, except it led to a speech lacking in energy and excitement, and was more or less little more than a listing of his accomplishments, which included being a self made man, being very contentious with his state legislature, vetoing a total of 750 bills, more than all the other 49 governors combined and supporting Ron Paul. Johnson’s speech had the least effect on the crowd, though when he commented on his fight against the War on Drugs the audience did react with enthusiastic applause.

Aimee Allen

Aimee Allen

Aimee Allen is a musician who entertained at the Rally. She performed a few covers, and a few originals including The Ron Paul Revolution Theme Song, not once, but twice. She ended her encore with a Ron Paul request, “Universal Soldier.”

Barry Goldwater Jr.

Barry Goldwater Jr. is a former Congressman and son of Barry Goldwater, often cited as one of the fathers of the modern American conservative movement, and GOP candidate for president from 1964. Barry Goldwater Jr. spoke only briefly as his task was to introduce Ron Paul, but the crowd was excited nonetheless and cheered practically every line of his introduction. A particular notable part, was when he mentioned how Ron Paul had previous supported his father, Barry Goldwater in his Presidential candidacy in 1964, and how he was happy to have returned the favor and supported the Ron Paul candidacy this year.

Ron Paul

Ron Paul was obviously the highlight of the night. The crowd erupted in excitement almost too many times to mention. Ron Paul first recognized the crowd noting that freedom brings people together. Ron Paul shared with the crowd the reason for his Presidential aspirations, he wanted to be President not to do things, but to not do things. He next applauded the Rally and noted that not a single tax payer cent went into the Rally unlike the two Party Conventions, which received 16.8 million tax dollars dollars each.

Ron Paul (Photo by Agent Cody Banks)

Ron Paul then dug into the issues, starting first with taxes, Even a 1% income tax is wrong because it sows the seeds of destruction. He next admonished the public education system, noting that in history classes students are taught that the greatest presidents were the presidents who ran wars, Paul asked why not celebrate the peace presidents?

Ron Paul next moved onto patriotism, noting that patriotism isn’t agreeing with what the government want, but defending liberty and freedom. Speaking to the idea that socialists and welfarists often claim the high ground on humanitarianism, Ron Paul stated that humanitarianism is about liberty, not socialism or welfare or corporatism.

Moving onto foreign policy, Paul shares that he believes the greatest moral crisis of our time is our acceptance of the validity of preemptive war.

During his speech, the crowd prematurely broke out in chants of “end the Fed” not once, but twice before Ron Paul finally appeased the crowd and spoke out against the Federal Reserve. Paul declared that the modern government plunders from the people through taxation and inflation.

The crowd broke out once more in chant, this time “No ID” in reference to the National ID act that Ron Paul opposed.

Interestingly Ron Paul spent a few minutes on the topic of hemp, using it as an example of the government run amok. He noted that the first marijuana laws were enacted as recently as 1937. He also clarified that even though he does not support the war on drugs, as a physician he understood the dangers of drugs, especially prescription drugs. Turning back to the topic of hemp, Ron Paul stated that during World War II, the federal government actually encouraged its production since it was such a useful material, but then made it’s cultivation illegal thanks to the drug war. However, hemp still has its uses today, including as a source far more efficient for ethanol production that corn. However, thanks to the agricultural lobby, government continues irresponsible energy policies to placate big farmers.

Sara Evans

Sara Evans

After Ron Paul’s speech, platinum country artist Sara Evans performed for the crowd, there much of it dispersed.

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