The Game High

NFL Week 4 Lead Pipe Lock Pick

Ravens (-4) over the Browns

So last week's pick didn't exactly go as planned.  Philly put up an 42 points arcade-game-style on the Lions AT HALFTIME.  You'd be hard pressed to score that many points in 2 quarters of Super Tecmo Bowl, even with QB Eagles going crazy.  And as much as I thought the Cowboys were going to defeat the Bears, I couldn't bring myself to bet against the hometown team.

Two weeks ago, the Bengals high-octane offense, poor defense combo came into the Dawg Pound and lost.  Now, the reverse combo Ravens (great defense, inadequate offense) comes to Cleveland.  If the Browns somehow manage to beat the Ravens, then we should just put them in the playoffs now, right?  Great defense, great offense - it doesn't matter when you come to the Dawg Pound.

Wrong.  Beating Cincy was a fluke and Jamal Lewis isn't going to get a run over 7 yards against his former teammates.  That will allow the Ravens to pass blitz at will, something they do best.  Whether it's McNair or Boller at quarterback for the Ravens, their offense should be able to sufficiently move the ball for a few touchdowns.  If not, then I seriously have to reconsider making these weekly predictions.

Overall Season Record: 1-2

Exclusive Access to Lovie's Post Game Locker Room Speech

Okay, so maybe the Bears weren't competing against Nerds, but nonetheless, they got their asses whipped.  This was a dismantling.  This was the undercurrent of doubt that every Bears fan felt last season, fully manifested.   

Finally, FINALLY Lovie Smith appears ready to start Brian Griese over Stan Gable, er Rex Grossman.  But the quarterback position is only part of the problem.  The savvy, veteran offensive line now looks old and plodding.  A year later, Ron Turner's playcalling looks repetitive and uninspired.  The defense is beat up and exhausted. 

Most worrisome is that the in-game or half-time adjustments don't seem to be happening.  Both losses to the Cowboys and Chargers started innocently enough.  Early on the games were close, even in the Bears favor.  Then the offense sputtered, the defense would tire, and a series of Grossman miscues would send the team into a tailspin.  To some extent the Super Bowl played out the same way.

Is it too early to wonder how the Bears can sign Michael Turner and draft Brian Brohm?

NFL Week 3 Lead Pipe Lock Pick

Lions (+6) over  the Eagles

Sometimes finding a decent line in Vegas is about as pointless as an ESPN Deportes segment crammed into your nightly edition of SportsCenter.  Everyone outside of Boston and NY already have to wait long enough for ESPN to get around to running highlights of games we actually care about.  And then it egregiously shovels a heaping of ESPN Deportes down our throats?  That vertical "Run Down" ticker isn't helping either.  How much longer do we have to wait for highlights to be available on-demand?  But I digress.  I'm just avoiding writing about the Detroit Lions.

Philadelphia's offense is out of sync, their secondary is banged up, and Westbrook is one false groin stretch away from another injury-riddled season.  He's admirably chasing after "Fragile Fred" Taylor's legacy of season-ending injuries.  So the suspect Lions defense should be offset by their aggressive passing offense. 

Could this be the year that the Lions finally fulfill their perennial sleeper pick prognostication and actually field a competitive team this year?  On the road?  Who knows.  In the NFL, a lot can change in a week.   Just ask Romeo Crennel, who is temporarily off the hot seat in Cleveland after pulling off a huge upset over the Bengals.  The intelligence of Marvin Lewis burned me last year, but against the Browns?  C'mon Marvin.

Season Record: 1-1

Getting Thrown in the Dempster

About a week after blowing a 4-run lead in the ninth against the Dodgers for a 7-4 loss, Ryan Dempster was at it again last night in St. Louis, allowing 2 solo home runs and a single in the ninth before getting yanked.  The Cubs escaped with a 5-3 win.  But at some point, the Dumpster is going to kill the Cubs season with another blown save.

Bob Howry relieved Dempster and immediately proceeded to load the bases with two outs.  The game mercifully ended on a ground out to Ryan Theriot who made a calm, collected throw to first on a tough, spinning ball. 

Just as Dempster was consistently erratic, Carlos Zambrano maintained his dominance over the Cards.  The Angry Venezuelan shut down the free-falling Cardinals, holding them to a single run in 8 innings work.

----------------------------

In other news, this blog currently tops the Google search results list for "Sexual Assault with a Concrete Dildo".  A proud moment all around, here at The Game High.

About Those Chicago Bears

If you're wondering why the Bears have received so little commentary on the blog of late, it is because this fan is going to give them another week to redeem themselves before casting judgment.

It wasn't the loss at San Diego as much as how they lost in San Diego that is sitting like a tainted burrito in my stomach.  Just about every doubt I have about this team was reinforced within a three hour timespan last Sunday.  And if I hear Lovie Smith say one more time... okay, not yet.

NFL Week 2 Lead Pipe Lock Pick

Bengals (-7) over the Browns

It only took a week for the Browns to establish themselves as the most confused team in the league.  Romeo Crennel seems intend upon carrying the "Art Shell 2006 Torch of Coaching Incompetence" into the 2007 season. 

You have all preseason to sort out your starting quarterback position and then you jettison Charlie Frye to the Seahawks after the first week of the season?  Frye must have done cart wheels all the way to Seattle when he found out he was getting a one-way ticket out of this cesspool. (Speaking of grade school gymnastics, when was the last time anyone you know performed a somersault?)  By week 6, I suspect players will be openly taking shots at the coaching staff in the media.

Unfortunately, having a team in such disarray is bad for the league in general.  Unless you're a cheating bastard like Bill Belichick, no one wants to watch uncompetitive, blow out games.  Fans deserve better.  Fortunately for gamblers, it usually takes a couple weeks for Vegas to catch on and adjust the spreads accordingly.  So if Big Ben can toss 4 touchdowns against the Browns defense, I can only imagine what Carson Palmer must be thinking.

Random Moments of MNF Broadcasting

Unintentional broadcast humor is a beautiful thing, especially on nights when the jokes seem to just float out of your television and fall right into your lap.  Good times.

"You know who the biggest Johnson is?"

- Ron Jaworski pondering all the players named "Johnson" on the Bengals. 

This question send Tony Kornheiser into hysterics, followed by total silence from the broadcast booth.  MNF definitely need more penis humor.  I hope some fans hold up a few "Big Johnson" signs for Tony and Ron for their next game.

And according to Mike Greenberg, the San Francisco 49ers is a team that is known for coming from behind.  Hmmm.

Opening Thoughts on the NFL Season

"I learned I shouldn't get high to come up with ideas. I should come up with ideas, and then get high to reward myself."  - Towelie, South Park

On that note...

1.  For a team to be successful, does the coach's personality need to match the collective personality of its players?

Take the Colts and Tony Dungy.  Dungy is a calm, mild-mannered man who won the Super Bowl in Indy with a team composed of quiet, hard working players.  He's even got some book out named "Quiet Rage" or something.  Its star players like Manning and Harrison don't talk trash or show a whole lot of emotion; they just perform. 

Now consider the cast of characters that Dungy had when he was coaching in Tampa Bay.  Even with outspoken stud players on defense such as Warren Sapp, Booger McFarland, and Simeon Rice, his team always fell short of the Super Bowl.  Is it any coincidence that a screaming, ra-ra guy named John Gruden shows up and the Bucs win a Super Bowl?

2.  Known for being overly "hands-on" as an NFL team owner, it was nice to see Cowboys owner Jerry Jones poke fun at himself in a Pepsi commercial.  What makes this ad so comical is that there's no doubt in my mind Jerry would take over as the team's offensive coordinator if he felt the job wasn't being done properly.  Sadly, I cannot find this ad online.

3.  How come I have yet to make a documentary movie about tailgating?  It would creatively be called "The Tailgate" and its film crew would travel in an RV to 17 different NFL stadiums in 17 weeks, profiling the fans, the food, and the camraderie of the tailgating.  I suppose I would basically be living John Madden's life, aside from sitting next to Al Michaels.  And apparently this guy is the self-annointed Commissioner of Tailgating.

4.  WTF was up with that McDonald's commercial during the Colts-Saints game?  I thoroughly enjoyed the dad breakin' down into a groove with his son.  Here's the short version:

5.  Until the Saints figure out how the beat the Cover-2 defense that Dungy and Lovie Smith employ defensively, they're never coming out of the NFC this year.  Just like the Bears did in the playoffs last year, Indy was able to lock down the Saints offense.  Even Madden was calling them out on TV for their poor play calling  selection.  Will the Saints actually miss Joe Horn this year?

6.  Are the Colts the team with the highest percentage of homegrown players on its roster?  Only four players on Indy have ever played for another NFL team.  Where can I see the homegrown percentage ranking of all 32 teams? 

Wouldn't such a ranking be a great evaluator for General Manager draft performance or the GM's ability to assemble a winning team?  To answer my own question, I'm not sure the model would hold up against the GM activities of the L.A. Clippers or Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but I'm still interested in seeing the list.

7.  Can we get a television sitcom series based upon the guys in the commercial for NFL.com fantasy football?  Imagine a band of buddies, all sports junkies, who live in the same city together.  They were all high-powered corporate execs who went into early retirement and banded together to live a life of tailgating, boozing, and sports gambling.  If the Geico Cavemen can get a series, why can't this happen?

NFL Week 1 Lead Pipe Lock Pick

Steelers (-4.5) over the Browns

Who does Romeo Crennel think he is, being so secretive about naming his starting quarterback, and thinking NFL fans actually care?  There were two backup QBs in Cleveland trying for the starting job this preseason.  Watching this competition unfold was like flushing a toilet and watching two swirling turds fight to be the first one down the drain.  It just smells bad and in the end, no one wins.

Additionally, the Browns drafted a rookie in Brady Quinn who isn't ready to start against a real NFL defense, no matter how good he looked in preseason. 

The reality for Romeo is that he doesn't have any reliable quarterback on this team, so his reluctance to name Charlie Frye the starting QB until this week was based upon the strong likelihood that he has no f***ing clue who to play.  All of this does not bode well for the Browns.

At least Pittsburg knows who their quarterback will be.  And with the offensive playbook opened up a bit more than it was during the Cowher regime, I can't imagine Cleveland will be able to keep this game within a touchdown.

I Think This Pretty Much Sums It Up

NFL Sunday Ticket.  Fantasy Football.  Online Sports Betting.  It's about time...