Week 8 and the Thursday Night Game

Thursday night games suck.

I wasn't a huge fan of them to begin with. And that was before the Seahawks were forced to play their division rivals, the San Fransisco 49ers last week. On the road. On only 4 nights rest. Yeah, I already wasn't super fond of them. But now,  I hate them now. Scratch that, I loath Thursday night games.

They're stupid.

Sure on paper they sound great. Another night dedicated to professional football. Actually, it sounds delicisous. But the execution has been poor, to say the least. The games have been overall boring, sloppy and have yielded a ton of injuries (go back and watch that Pittsburgh game again).  Its just not enough rest in between games for the teams to put their best effort. They're still banged up from the previous game, and now they gotta go do it again? No thank you.

Look at what happened to the Seahawks last week. They're defense had allowed 12 points per game heading into last weeks game and by the second half, they were gassed. San Fransisco pushed them around like they were children. Granted, the score doesn't reflect an ass whooping, but my eyes told me a different story. After half time last Thursday, the 9ers would've had a tougher challenge against tackling dummies and blocking sleds.

This is a physical game. These are dudes with physical attributes a pubic hair short of crime fighters, and they spend 60 minutes fighting each other. Even Wolverine would need a couple days between doing that. Following last Thursday nights game, Seahawks full back Michael Robinson described the situation as, "go get into a carwreck and then try and play 2 days later."

These games are hypocritical.

Think about it: every rule the NFL has passed in the last few years has been done under the context of trying to keep players safe. Defensive players can't even adjust thier cup within five yards of a quarterback without having charges pressed on them. Which is fine, to an extent. Gotta keep these players safe, right?

Wasn't player's safety the reason the league came down on The Saints and the bounties this summer? I seem to remember hearing something about that.

But then you go and make them play on half a weeks rest? Seriously? Whats more dangerous? Bounties, or sending player's that are not fully recovered back onto the field. Hint: Thats they kind of attitude that lead to the league getting sued in the first place. Granted, the players are suing over misdiagnoises of head injuries; but this is sending players out on the field when they are not physically ready to. It might not be the same thing, but it's atleast related.

Don't believe me? Ask Scott Fujita.

"The Commissioner says he is disappointed in me. The truth is, I’m disappointed in him. His positions on player health and safety since a 2009 congressional hearing on concussions have been inconsistent at best. He failed to acknowledge a link between concussions & post-career brain disease, pushed for an 18-game regular season, committed to a full season of Thursday night games, has continually challenged players’ rights to file workers compensation claims for on-the-job injuries, and he employed incompetent replacement officials for the start of the 2012 season."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who never responded to Fujita's manly statement,  did respond to complaints on the Thursday games, "The shorter week is harder for the players. They'll tell you that, I'm sure."  He then went on to preach the benifits of having 10 days off following the Thursday game.

Point is, Thursday games are dangerous and have yet to yeild an interesting game. Lets go a head and scrap this idea after the season, eh owners? Atleast pretend you give a shit about the players and fans, and not just about that money.

Here are the picks (last week 6-7):

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Minnestoa Vikings -5 1/2 I was about to write about how Tampa is improved against the run this year and Christian Ponder isn't very scary- then I remembered I just wrote like 7 paragraphs on why Thursday night games suck (especially for the road team). So the Vikings are going to win, but by how much? Last week they won by 7 at home against Arizona so lets assume they could put up a 6 point margin against Tampa.
• Washington Redskins vs Pittsburgh Steelers -4 1/2 I really don't want to bet against RG III, but he hasn't really had a bad game and he is playing IN Pittsburgh. So... lets just say Steelers and move on before I change my mind.
• Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions -1 I have watched 1 Detroit game. Last weeks Monday night game against the Bears. In a grand total of zero moments did I find myself thinking, "shit, this team could beat us next week." Fun fact: Last time Sidney Rice played Detroit, 2009, when he caught 7 balls for 201 yards.
• Carolina Panthers vs Chicago Bears -9 The Panthers are really bad and the Bears seem to be really good. But do I think the Bears can go out and past someone by 10 points. It's iffy. I'm going to say yes, if only because Carolina still doesn't know how to turn around and had the freaking ball off. Fantasy note: in ESPN PPR leagues (points per reception) Brandon Marshall is projected (THAT PROJECTED) to go for 27 points this week. Holy damn thats some (justifiable) disrespect to Carolina's defense.
• New England Patriots vs St. Louis Rams +7 Three weeks ago the Patriots capped off the 6 best offensive quarters in the history of the universe. Then they played the hawks and got punched in the dick. Then they played the Sanchize, and tried to beat themselves. I feel like this team should be good and angry for this one. Another thing to think about: The Patriots are 0-2 against the NFC west this year. They have this game and a home game against the 49ers left. They better win this one or they could seriously be looking at a chance to get blanked by a division.
• Indianapolis Colts vs Tennessee Titans -3 1/2 Sometimes is as simple as this: Andrew Luck is very good. Andrew Luck is averaging 42 passes per game. The Tennessee Titans are allowing teams to complete 72 percent of their balls. For this trend to continue, Andrew Luck will complete 29 balls this week. If Andrew Luck continues his current 12.5 yards per completion percentage, he will be at 362 yards on Sunday. Translation: Colts win.
• Miami Dolphins vs New York Jets -1 Reggie has been slumping and hurt over the last couple weeks. Maybe Rex Ryan demanding he apologize for comments about Revis' injury will give him some incentive to have a good game.
• San Diego Chargers vs Cleveland Browns +2 1/2 I have no thoughts on this game other than CBS better not try and put it on my tv. I will go straight ape shit if it is.
• Jacksonville Jaguars vs Green Packers -15 Green Bay has found their swing. Rodgers has tossed 16 of his 19 Touchdowns in the lsat four weeks. The Jaguars are not good. However, I am starting Rashad Jennings in my fantasy league this week so I'm going to pick the Jag's to cover.  I'm throwing it in the universe and seeing if it sticks.
• Atlanta Falcons vs Philadelphia Eagles -2 1/2 Atlanta isn't going to go undefeated. Here is a good game to make that statement accurate.
• Oakland Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs PK Damn this game is ugly. Raiders. Enjoy your #1 pick, Kansas. Hopefully it finds you a Quarterback. Side Note: How funny would it be if Brady Quinn plays out of his mind for the rest of the season, locks up a contract from Kansas only to shit the bed next year? I would say, "very funny." 
• New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys +1 Cowboys won the first game. These two always split. 1 point means I'm just picking the winner. Giants, I'm looking at you. Jason Garrett, you might as well start packin' up your shit now, bro.
• New Orlean Saints vs Denver Broncos -6 Drew Brees the Hun needs to go for like 500 yards in this game. As a guy who owns him in my fantasy league (and Peyton in the other) I really, really hope they combine for 1,100 yards.
• San Fransisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals +6 1/2 I really wanted to pick San Fransisco to run up a touchdown on the Cardinals here. This is what's stoping me: 1) Arizona was 4-0 to start the season. They beat three potential playoff teams in that run. That tells me this losing streak should end at some point. 2) Wise man once told me, "always bet on the home dog on a monday night." I would attribute that quote if I could remember where it came from. But I can't. I still think it plays here though.  AZ covers, but they don't win.

Week 7: Just Pickin'

I have a ton of work to do so I don't have time to pound out a column. That being said, I didn't want to rob you all of a chance to screw up your gambling this weekend. Here are my picks (expect a post on the Hawks/9ers game tomorrow)

• Seattle Seahawks @ San Fransisco 49ers -8 Last week was awesome. I have never been so happy to be wrong in my life. But this is a new week. Here is what I know about this game: We are coming off an emotial win, on short rest, and playing on the road. We are doing this against a team who is coming off an embarrassing loss, playing at home. I think the 9ers beat us tonight, but not by 8 points. We cover.
• Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans -7 Big deal is going to be made about the fact that the faces of death that have roamed Baltimores defense for years not being in this game. But  whats obviously being forgotten about (evidence being that they are giving Baltimore a full touchdown) is that Houston got lit up in their one game with out Bryan Cushing. Plus, Baltimore could rally around their fallen leader for an emotional lift.
• Green Bay Packers @ St. Louis Rams +5 Do I have the balls to pick 3 road teams to cover to start the week? Hell yeah I do. But I'm not so sure I'm going to. Here is why:  Rams have given up 18.5 points per game this season, but those numbers are scewed party because of the asswhoopin they put on the Cardinals two weeks ago. Their first 3 games they gave up 27,28, 23. Packers very well could cause they to revert back to that version of their defense. On the flipside, the Packers are allowing over a 110 yards a game on the ground. St. Louis is at home, so I'm going to let them cover.
• Tennessee Titans @ Buffalo Bills -3 If the guy who had Chris Johnson in my fantasy league wasn't terrified of the artist formerly known as CJ2k reverting back to his old ways, I would've already pulled the trigger on a trade for him. Eventually, he is going to turn it around. The skills are still there, he is just pressing. He had 90+ yards for the second time last week and now he gets Buffalo. This is going to be one of those 37-24 games. Buffalo wins.
• Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts -2 1/2 Andrew Luck made his first start for my fantasy team last week while Drew Brees was on a bye. He shit the bed and it ruined my morning ( thankfully the Seahawks turned that frown upside down). This game is going to boil down to this: Andrew Luck is the best player on the field and playing in front of his home crowd. Colts.
• New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers +2 1/2 "Wait, I thought you said you weren't picking the Saints anymore," possibly said one of the 4 readers I have. Look, the Saints have been bad. Buuut, they're coming off a bye week, against a team that gave up 500 yards to Eli Manning in week 2. I'm going to take Saints, but it's coming with warning, Saints: You screw me here, and we are done. Here me? Done.
• Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers +2 1/2  Dallas isn't very good. They aren't well coached and there is a major disconnect with thier players (example: please watch Dez Bryant bitch ath the officials while the rest of his team tried to run a hurry up). That being said,  The Panthers pre bye week didn't seem to have thier shit together either. I'm going to pretend that Cam Newton had a hallmark moment where he figured out how to be a leader and the Panthers right the ship- for this week atleast. Side prediction: Cowboys lose this week, then get BLOWN out next week at home against the Giants; Jerry Jones fires Jason Garrett moments after week 8 ends.
• Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings -7 The Vikings have won 3 of their 4 wins by 7+. One of those wins were over the 49ers. The Arizona Cardinals are NOT the 49ers.
• Washington Redskins @ New York Giants -5 1/2 Damnit, I wish I had Eli this week. Redskins couldn't stop me. This game will be stupid fun to watch, I really hope its on tv.
• New York Jets @ New England Patriots -12 Patriots are returning home, coming off an emotional loss. As Russell Wilson can attest, they do not have a good secondary. Thankfully, Sanchez doesn't have anyone to throw to that I can remember their name. The Jets did have success running the ball last weekend against the Colts, unfortunately, the Patriots can stop the run (as shown by them errasing Marshawn Lynch last week)Thats not good for the Jets.
• Jacksonville Jaguars @ Oakland Raiders -4 My natural guess was to go with the Raiders at home. But I've been off on Oakland most of this season. So lets just go with the exact opposite of what I originally thought.
• Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals +1 You know how last week I was like "Mendenhall is back now Pitt will be really good" well I didn't take an account of the whole "first game back from an ACL injury playing on 4 days rest." They're rested this week, and its fairly must win.
• Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears -7 On paper this looks like it should be all Bears. They're defense is rolling and the Lions potentially will have an awfully hard time with Brandon Marshall. While all this is true, it really only means that this game has the makings of being another Jay Cutler National TV Shitshow. He seems to have his most legendary blow ups during the games he should be great in. I'm going to say he bucks the trend and plays alright.

Bound For Glory 2012: The Preview

TNA is putting on their biggest Pay Per View of the year, Bound For Glory on Sunday, so lets all take a break from being productive and have ourselves a little preview and prediction party.

• Joey Ryan vs Al Snow
• Miss Tessmacher (c) vs Tara
• Samoa Joe (c) vs Magnus
• Zema Ion (c) vs Rob Van Dam
• Chris Daniels & Kaz (c) vs AJ Styles & Kurt Angle vs Chavo Guererro& Hernandez
• Bobby Roode vs James Storm
• Sting and Bully Ray vs Aces & Eights
• Austin Aries (c) vs Jeff Hardy

Whatever your opinions of TNA might be, you would be wrong to think this is not a solid card. Starting basically the Tapings after Bound For Glory last year, TNA has been rolling in the right direction, and this card is a test to that.

Don't believe me? Look closer: This card has the culmination of a successful gimmick ( the Bound For Glory series is their invention. And after last years trial run, this years was awesome). It has pay off's for long running programs: The Aces & 8's invasion, though not unique, has been running through out the summer. We have seen the faction take over before (shit, even as recently as two years ago with "They/Immortal"), but TNA has managed to stick with the story and thanks to a lack of reveal they have made it a regular 'whodunit'.  But even longer then that, we can finally have a resolution with the Bobby Roode and James Storm conflict.

We have 4 cases of potential vetrans putting over youngsters in Ryan/Snow, Tessmacher/Tara, Joe/Magnus, and Ion/Van Dam.

And not to be out done, there is a potential pants wetting match with the triple threat tag match.

It's safe to say that I'm very impressed with the direction and obvious planning this pay per view took. 7 of the 8 matches are a minimum of three months of planning by the TNA booking. Only RVD/Ion was a last minute throw in, but that was done in such a fashion that I'm ok with it. Cudo's TNA.

There is nothing else for me to say other than: Lets break down the card and guess where they are going next.

Zema Ion(c) vs Rob Van Dam: Ion has had a strong run since taking the XDivision title at Destination X. He's been a strong chicken shit heel, who has pulled it out against all comers. On the other side, RVD is a legend with nothing really to do. I had thought they would've put him in the match with Joe and Magnus since he was ECW's longest TV Title Champion and he had beef already with Magnus. But they went this route. I'm ok with that.

All that being said, RVD winning means nothing to that title. At least right now. Ion goes over with the help of his spray. If the idea is to give RVD an XDivision run, then let him chase Ion a little bit. We all want Ion to get his ass beat but delaying even further is the play here. Ion wins.

Going forward: Either way, this should get another PPV match out of these two. RVD wins, Ion is going to come back for a rematch. Ion isn't winning clean, so RVD is going to come back for revenge. Which is nice, because RVD needs a story, and being in a program with a legend will only make Ion more credible for his show downs with Kenny King or Jesse Sorenson.

Samoa Joe(c) vs Magnus- Samoa Joe won the title just a couple weeks ago thanks to Devon's contract running out. I can't believe that the original plan was for Joe to hold this title going into the pay per view. Full disclouser: I'm a huge fan of long title runs. 9/10 I would prefer title runs to go half a year or longer. This is not the case for this match though.

TNA likes Magnus. It's obvious. They give him a shit load more air time then his former British Invasion teammates, Doug Williams and Robbie T.  Let Magnus take the title here. The TV title is super unimportant right now, so have Magnus cheat to win (maybe have Doug Williams return and help him pull it out). Magnus wins.

Going Forward: Put title on a heel and let Samoa Joe, or a returning Pope, or whoever chase it down. Make this title mean something.

Dirty, dirty man.

Joey Ryan vs Al Snow- I actually missed the gutcheck where Ryan made his debut. But I dig the story. Ryan is a pretty awesome dirt bag.  He looks like he could be Ron Jeremy's child, and frankly, I'm not prepared to say he isn't. TNA has built this story since the start of the Gutcheck series, so obviously Ryan is going beat Al Snow. I just hope there is a Head appearence.

Going Forward: After Ryan is under contract, I'm not sure what to do with him. If Ion is to retain the X title, he can't really contend for that since he is another chicken shit heel. And I hope TNA wouldn't give us a return match with Al Snow.

Miss Tessmacher(c) vs Tara It started as a mentor vs student rivalry. Tara heeled out on her pupil and now here we are. I actually think Tara should take her down and set up Miss Tessmacher taking the title back from her down the road.  Tara wins.

Going Forward: Legend has it is Velvet Sky is coming back. That was quick. I would have Tara injure Tessmacher. Then on Impact you bring out Mickie or Velvet or whoever and set up a two month program with Tara. Tessmacher gets healthy, returns for Genesis, and we have a nice Knockout rivaly paying off to start the new year.

Daniels & Kaz (c) v Styles & Angle v Guererro & Hernandez- aka. the wet dream match.  AJ Styles has been feuding with Daniels for basically 10 years ( more realistically, the last 16 months). Angle came into the fold before Slammiversary, teaming with AJ (another long time rivalry) to win the tag titles. Daniels and Kaz would win the titles back on an episode of Impact and defend them again to AJ/Kurt at No Surrender. Adding Chavo and Hernandez in this mix is going to only add to this spectecal. Hernandez is going to do the Super Mex spot, plus he has 3 light dudes to boarder toss. Kurt Angle and Hernandez have torn it down before, so that will be fun. And Chavo is holding his own in tag matches since he defected from WWE.

What makes this match even more fun, is you can make a cae for all 3 teams winning. AJ/Kurt are the two best wrestlers in the company.  Daniels and Kaz are the longest running tag team. And Chavo and Hernandez could use the belts the most.

I could see Daniels and Kaz winning dirty by pinning Chavo setting up a match between the two teams at Turning Point. I could see AJ and Kurt winning the belts and set up either a final blow off between Daniels/Kaz v AJ/Kurt at Turning Point, or even adding whatever tag team is formed with the reveal of Aces& 8's (this seems very possible with  Angles interactions with Wes Brisco a rumored member of the group).

But as I stated before, Chavo and Hernandez could use the belts the most. Chavo is still fresh in the company, a win here further seperates him from his loser persona in WWE and helps him add to the credibillity his last name brings. That being said, I'm going to say Daniel and Kaz win, thanks to help by Aces & 8's.

Going Forward: The outcome of this match would put Angle and AJ into the Aces & 8's story line, which I imagine is bound to happen. It also allows a Daniels/Kaz vs Chavo and Hernandez title match, where Chavo/Hernandez can get their revenge and finally capture the tag titles.

I really hope after they put the tag belts on Chavo and Hernandez that it leads to Homecide coming back in a "You forget about me? Your REAL tag partner" story. I need Homecide back in TNA.

Bobby Roode vs James Storm w/ King Mo as Special Ref- Anyone else smell Austin/Michaels/Tyson set up here? I kinda do.  Look, this match is going to rule. They didn't need to add King Mo in there. They should've put Mo in the Tag match since Daniels and Kaz are famous for their trickery. Roode v Storm doesn't need any help getting my money. Up untill Destination X I was convinced this would be for the title in the mainevent. They sure set it up to be that.

Nevertheless, we are getting the payoff of a feud literally started a year ago. Roode was the orignal winner of the Bound For Glory series, but was unable to beat Kurt Angle. The next episode of Impact, Kurt caught a quick Last Call super kick to the chin and lost. James Storm shocked the world, and his former tag partner, by winning the World Title. The first match he gave after his title win was to his buddy, Bobby Roode.

Roode returned the favor by breaking a beer bottle over Storms dome, and rolling him up for the win. Begining his heel turn and the longest title run in the history of TNA Impact Wrestling.

Storm jobbed to Roode at Lockdown this year, so I expect James Storm to win. After the victory, I expect Roode to pop off to King Mo, and get dropped a la Tyson/Michaels.

Going Forward: I think Storm wins to draw this feud out a little longer. Possibly pushing both of them back into the title picture by the end of the year.

Sting & Bully Ray vs Aces & 8's- history has a funny way of repeating itself. At Bound For Glory 2010, the big pay off was going to be the reveal of "They". It was rumored that it could be a Hogan heel turn, especially being that the setting was Daytona Beach (the location of his NWO turn). I was convinced it was Paul Heyman,  because Hogan would have been too obvious. Sure enough, in the mainevent Hogan came martching out the same way he did in 1996, aligned with Jeff Hardy, and helped him win the World Title.

In hindsight, it was so obvious that it actually became shocking again. Now the question is, is the obvious answer going to be the right one here?

The obvious reveal of the Aces faction is Jeff Jarrett, Luke Gallows (or whatever he calls himself), Wes Briscoe and whoever.

This is what I would have happen if I was in charge: I would have like six dudes come out for Aces. Sting and Bully Ray have been bamboozled! It was supposed to be an even 2 on 2 (which obviously it won't be because at one point Aces rolled out like a 20 man riot squad). The two TNA stars are getting beat down.

Out comes TNA's faces. Angle, AJ, EY, maybe even a returning Devon, they're helping even it out the numbers. Pure pandemonium. Maybe the faces drive back some of the excess members of Aces. Out comes Jeff Jarrett from the crowd, he drills Bully Ray in the dome with a guitar. It's now 3 against one; Sting is cornered.



I smell a rat.

Out comes Ken Anderson. He was seen "laid out" at the end of last weeks episode of Impact after he had been originally choosen as Sting's partner. He gets in behind Sting, and all of a sudden Sting looks to be more confident. The Aces members start to back up a little bit. Sting is about to lead the attack, when Anderson slips the mic check on from  behind and drops the Icon.

The rest of the group take their masks off to join Jarrett and Anderson. Wes Briscoe and Gallows. Your welcome.

In case you need help making sense on why Anderson: Anderson hasn't had a real story in almost a year. He is a horse with no name right now. TNA tried to kept flipping between heel/face last year with him  and it really killed his character. Anderson is a good heel. Turn him heel, solidify his character and let him be the maineventer for this faction. Jarrett can serve as the Flair to Anderson's HHH.

Anderson will explain his reason for betraying TNA as retrebution over being lied to and revenge for when Hogan formed Immortal. He will explain the Jarrett wanted revenge on TNA for firing him, and giving Sting the first Hall of Fame induction (he started the company, you know). And everyone else who shows up in the group can be young upstarts who saw aligning with Jarrett and Anderson as a way to kick open the door and make a name for themselves.

Going Forward: It was rumored that TNA wanted to host a war games like pay per view like they did in WCW with the Horsemen and NWO factions. Here is your chance. This match is called a No Contest due to never really getting started, and set ups a war games style ppv at Turning Point or Final Resolution.

Austin Aries(c) vs Jeff Hardy-  It started as  Face v Face, which is weird for the biggest PPV of the year. But it looks like Aries is taking a play from the Punk playbook and playing the bad guy looking for respect here ( yeah that Brainbuster at the end of Impact last night helps solidfy that point).

Look, I have high hopes for some a couple of jaw dropping moments. $20 dollars says we see Hardy do a swanton to the outside of the ring, and possibly Aries do a brainbuster outside as well. These two are capable of anything.

As for the finish, I could go both ways on this one. Jeff Hardy winning completes the year long retribution project. We all know where he fell to in April of 2011. I wrote about his comeback last year's Bound For Glory preview. Hardy winning here solidify's his face of TNA position and puts an exclamation point on what has been a great year for the Charasmatic Enigma.

On the other hand, why give it to him now? Wrestling is so much better with anticipation. Is the crowd really clammoring for a Hardy win NOW?!? I get the setting makes sense. Bound For Glory is their Wrestlemania, so it's the biggest back drop. Buuuut... if you can hold off, there is potential for a bigger payoff.

Lets say we are 25 minutes into this match, and Aries drills Hardy in the nuts and hits him with a 3rd Brainbuster. Austin Aries wins solidfies his return to heel status ( the mid title run heel turn is becoming popular with both TNA and WWE lately. See: Styles, AJ. Anderson, Ken. Punk, CM) and his title run (That would be two wins over Roode and one over Jeff Hardy. Thats solid).

Going Forward: Aries explains himself Thursday as he did what he did to save the fan's from themselves. They wanted to see Hardy win, when he is a terrible person. He cuts a promo about Hardy being a multiple time relapsing junkie. Hardy comes out, owns up to it, but says people change. He gets a rematch and then a Turning Point he beats Aries and wins the title.

I think they need another month to build the title change. Let Aries become a mainevent heel and give TNA another heel for the world title picture. Right now there is two. Roode and Bully Ray (and Anderson if he flips). But Aries heel character is coming from a truthful place. He believes he deserves the respect that the fans are giving to Jeff. You could easily turn him back face at a moments notice.

TNA, give yourselves another month to really build on Hardy's story. Make it emotional. Then after he hits the final swonton and captures the belt back, don't drop the confetti. Just let him sit in the middle of the ring and have himself a moment. I would even cut the announcers from speaking. Just the crowd cheering and a picture of a worn out Hardy embracing the title.

Hardy's win could be emotional...if it's at Turning Point.

If done right, it could be a lasting moment in TNA history.


One final note: Matt Morgan showed up at a couple house shows last month. They talked about it on Impact. I imagine they did it to throw another wrench in the Aces speculation. Though Morgan could benifit from a mouth piece like Jeff Jarrett, I don't think he will be associated with the group.

If The BluePrint is to come back on Sunday, expect him to show up in a random match. Pure speculation: Matt Morgan has tweeted about his beef with TNA management. So maybe he comes out and puts the boot to Al Snows face and helps Joey Ryan (and all his dirtiness) win a contract.

Alright, well this is now over 3,000 words. Lets see how close I get. Enjoy.

Week 6

My brother text messaged me this morning asking me about my prediction for the Patriots/ Seahawks game on Sunday. I responded quickly rattling off reasons why I think the Patriots will win, but Seattle will keep it from a public execution (at home, defense is too good, uh... that's it.). After what amounted to about 7 pages worth of text messages I concluded that New England would win 24-13.

But that prediction hasn't sat well with me. Something doesn't feel right about it. I fired off a text to the Born Winner asking for his opinion, "we are going to get blown out" He replied.

Yeah, I guess that could happen. But that doesn't feel right either.

So at 9:30 am I decided to put work aside and start focusing on what will be the outcome of this week 6 matchup. Because when it comes down to it, whats really important here? Yeah, I thought so.

Three weeks ago, the New England Patritots were 1-2 and fresh off a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. If you were invested in the 2012 Patriots, it was basically the end of the world ( like, say, I dunno, if you were a fantasy owner who had so many Patriots you named your team "Tom and the Terrifics... like me).

At half time the following week in Buffalo, the Patriots had 1 TD against an awful defense. They were on their way to 1-3 and I was on my way to a broken tv remote.

But then it happened. Nobody knows what happened exactly. But something happened. Maybe it was an inspiring made for tv speach by The Hoodie. Maybe Mrs. Brady took him out back and gave him a "whats up". Whatever happened, it work because the Patriots rolled off 6 touchdowns and a field goal in the second half on there way to a 52-28 win.

Then last week against Denver, we saw more of the same; 31 points against a team likely headed back to the playoffs.

At this moment, it looks like the Patriots are who we thought they were. A  team that will give up a decent amount of points (allowed 20+ to every team not from the state of Tennessee), but will in turn hang more points on you then a division 2 basketball team.

On the other side, we have my beloved Chickens. While there offense has left a lot to be desired (ok, just the pass game), there defense has been the stuff wet dreams are made from. Through the first 5 weeks, Seattle allows the least amount of yards per game (258.6 yrds/game) and the second lowest points per game (14.0).

EDIT NOTE: defensively, they are only giving 12.2 points per game. The round number of 14 was caused thanks to the pick 6 from Carolina last week

So this matchup boils down to, can Seattle slow down New England? Lucky for us, we have a point of reference for the question. Dear readers, I direct you to the Patriots week 2 loss against Arizona.

The Cardinals, alot like the Hawks, rely on defense and anything they get offensively is somewhat extra credit. However, when you look at the box score you notice that the Patriots still were able to move the ball. So what caused a Cardinal win? Honestly, it was probably a perfect storm of Arizona playing as well as they could and New England losing a major focal point of their offensive scheme early in the game (Aaron Hernandez went down with a high ankle sprain and my fantasy aspirations early in the first quarter).

The three takeaways Arizona forced had to have helped as well.

 I don't feel confident enough to say the Hawks are going to shut down New Englands offense. I think the world of Brady and co. But I don't think they're going to get blown out. Especially when we take in account that it will be at the CLink. This will be Brady's first start in Seattle and I would imagine the crowd will be geared up to welcome him. So,unless New England rips off 14 points in the first 3 minutes of the game (ala Cleveland vs New York last week) the home crowd is going to get rockin like a playoff game. Thats always a nice advantage.

And as Arizona proved in week 2, if Seattle can force a couple turnovers while limiting their own, anything can happen.

I'm going to say New England 17 Seattle 13.

Now on the the rest of the week:

• Pittsburgh Steelers vs Tennessee Titans +7 You know how Seattle is #2 in points allowed this year? Well guess who is dead last with 36.2... that would be Tennessee. Have fun trying to stop Big Ben and a suddenly healthy Pittsburgh offense.
• St.Louis Rams vs Miami Dolphins -4 I feel like this should be flip flopped. Full disclosure, I have not watched a single live minute of the Dolphins this season. I do know they have the top ranked rush defense in the league, and STL is coming in without Amendola. So, lets say Miami and move on.
•  Dallas Cowboys vs Baltimore Raves - 3 1/2 I would like to take a moment and apologize for seemingly ruining Tony Romo's career. Since I wrote that pro- Romo column before week 2 the Cowboys have gone from beating the Superbowl champions on national tv to shitting the bed on national tv. Much like Cam Newton two weeks ago, this is a game where we are going to find out for sure who these Cowboys are. I'm calling the Cowboys cover (not confidently enough to call the win though)
• Detroit Lions vs Philadelphia Eagles -3 1/2 Somewhat of the same thing here for the Lions. They have looked really bad at points this season (see: Titans, Tenneessee). And though the Eagles defense has looked good, this team is actually a few plays away from actually being like 1-4 right now. One of two things are going to happen in this game: Either Vick is going to remember how to be good or the Lions are going to remember how to be good. I'm going to say Detroit racks their brain first. EDIT NOTE: I originally said the Lions were going to cover. Then I finished the rest of my picks and realized I had a ton of road teams covering. So, now I think Mike Vick remembers first.
• Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns +2- Sometimes I pick games for what I would like to see happen. And as an owner of Ben Jarvis Green Ellis and someone who watch Amahd Bradshaw go apeshit against the Browns last week... I'm gonna say Bengals and feel pretty good about it.
• Indianapolis Colts vs New York Jets - 3 1/2 How in the hell are the Jets giving points in this game? Did Vegas not watch thier Houston game? Mark Sanchez ( poor dude) has the worst completion percentage of any starting Qb since JaMarcus Russell in 2009 (which seriously, no this fault. Go back and watch how many dropped passes there were. Or how many WR's were completely in the wrong spot on timing routes. You gotta feel bad for the dude) Colts are gonna win another one for Chuck Pagano.
• Kansas City Chiefs vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers -4 1/2 Brady Quinn, welcome back dude. I hope you do well, there is something about your frat boy act that I find charming. Unfortunately, I don't like it well enough to pick you to cover this week.
• Oakland Raiders vs Atlanta Falcons -9 Oakland seems to do literally the exact opposite of what I think they will do every week. So my first thought was "Atlanta needs a dominate win. They've had some close ones lately." Since that was my first thought,  I'm going to go Oakland.
• New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks +4 Look, I've played this game 200 times in my head. I've seen Seattle getting thier ass whooped. I've seen them stealing a win. So I'm going to split the difference and say New England wins 20-13 ( I have never wanted to be wrong more in my life).
• Buffalo Bills vs Arizona Cardinals - 4 1/2 So who is Arizona? Are they the 4-0 team? Or are they the squad that allowed St. Louis to sodomize their qb for 60 minutes last week? I'll take Arizona, knowing full well that Mario Williams is probably primed to break Derek Thomas' sacks in a game record.
• New York Giants vs San Fransisco 49ers -6 1/2 Recently Jim Harbaugh came out and said some flattering things about Randy Moss, who by fantasy standards, has been a disapointment this year. Harbaugh said he believes we are due for some Moss centric highlights. This is probably not a bad game to have that happen in. That being said, am I really about to give 6 1/2 points against the defending Superbowl champions? No. Thought about it, but then I remembered that the best road team in the NFL are the football Giants. I'm gonna ride Eli on this one.
• Minnesota Vikings vs Washington Redskins- the site I use didn't have a spread listed for this game due to RGIII's concussion. I'm going to hold out putting a pick because I love the chance to not be wrong.
• Green Bay Packers vs Houston Texans -3 1/2 Is Houston good? You bet. Are they undefeated good? No, no they aren't. Green Bay wins.
• Denver Broncos vs San Diego Chargers -1 1/2 Bill Simmons used to pound the drum on the "don't bet against Peyton Manning during night games" rule. That rule doesn't seem to apply here. This smells like the night where Ryan Mathews turns to the cameras and says, "Hi, I'm Ryan Mathews. I'm averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Own me in your fantasy league, now, please."

Mariners September Review/Season Wrap Up

Remember when the Mariners started off their season by beating Oakland 5 of their first 7 games in the first two weeks of the season?

Yeah, me either.

At the begining of the year, I woke up super early for our first game against Oakland... that was held in Japan. While I was a little too aggressive with the time I woke up, I took the extra few minutes to jot down some season thoughts.

Man, am I an optimistic little bitch. Here are some of the classics:

• "Smoak should, he was batting .263 with 12 home runs before taking a ball off the hand that derailed his season." Damn.
• "Jesus Montero by all accounts has Mike Piazza power" Eh, he had flashes. But they were very brief. Very, very brief.
•  (in reference to a good hitter emerging out of the young bunch) " Will it happen? Ackley will, I'm confident in that" If the word "good" in Seattle is translated to .226 avg and 12 home runs, then yes, I would be correct.
• I also said Mike Carp was going to be good. HA!
• "Ichiro needs to either get back over 200 hits, or he needs to put 20 balls in the seats. He is batting 3rd this year, so I wouldn't be opposed to him showing more power." He didn't do either. And actually wasn't good till he found a locker next to Derek Jeter and his vat of HgH.
• "Michael Saunders needs to not suck"  He actually didn't. So I'm going to give that to myself. He hit 19 bombs, good for 2nd on the team.
• I didn't talk about Kyle Seager at all in the opener. I was drinking the "Chone is a lot more comfortable at lead off juice." I was wrong on both accounts. Thankfully, being wrong on Seager was a good thing.
• I mentioned that "Felix needs to be Felix." If we forget that he didn't win in September (0-4 in 6 starts) and just remember August and the Perfect game... then I was right.
• I asked for a .300 hitter or a 30 home run season. We got 20 home runs out of Seager and a .260 average out of Jesus Montero. So, fuck.
• Lastly, I made a brief plead for one of the "three amigos" to get called up and make a Pineda impression. None of them made it to the majors this year, but Denny Hultzen made it to Triple A. He should have a good shot at making the team next year. We are also on the clock for shortstop Nick Franklin and catcher Mike Zunino. 

Real quick, before I put a bullet in this seaons head let me touch on something. The fences. The Mariners announced they were moving them in for next season. My thoughts? Thank God. Maybe the field wasn't the problem and the players were, but at some point it becomes psychological (right, Justin?). These players seemed to have dreaded home games (we were 7th in runs scored and 6th in homeruns on the road), and desperately need a shot in the arm.

Maybe with the pulled in fences they could lure Josh Hamilton to come roam right field for us? That would be swell.

Well that will wrap it up. Another up and down here that ends 13 games below even at 75-87. One day we'll get back in the playoffs, I'm sure of it.

Side Note: Before I go, I want to get in an offseason prediction. With the fences moving in, some of team ideologies are going to change.  Some players have been hindered by those deep fences, while some have exploited them. One such player, American League Pitcher of the Month for July, Justin Vargas has had more then his share of bail outs due to playing in Yosemiti National Park  Safeco Field.  He went 14-11 with a 3.85 era over 217 innings this year.

With the fences coming in, I bet Seattle looks to sell high on Mr. Vargas. His value will never be higher then it is right now. It only makes sense (shit, use him in a package to drop Chone Figgins).

See you next year, guys.

Week 5: Rehashing Flynn v Wilson

In August I wrote an entry called, "The Great Debate: Russell vs Flynn" where I came out in favor of Matt Flynn while hedging my bet with Russell Wilson. During that post, I detailed my thoughts on what was a supremely polorizing topic of conversation for Seahawk fans every where: who should be our starting QB?

I went with Matt Flynn. Not because I wasn't in love with Wilson, rather it was because I actually thought this team was good and didn't want to derail the season with a rookie QB. I didn't see a reason to toss the rookie into the deepend when we had recently signed a player who in his second career start tossed 6 touchdowns.

I wanted to see the Seahawks demonstrate patience, or as I called it "Let Russell Wilson  'Carson Palmer' " because I felt Matt Flynn had done enough to atleast prove that he wasn't good enough. If that doesn't make sense, let me restate it: Matt Flynn in his two regular season starts for Green Bay had shown enough to atleast  get the oppertunity to fail in Seattle.

It's not like Russell is making a lot of money. He was a 3rd round pick. It's not like he is an aging veteran who came here with the intention to start. He is 24 and we drafted him. Why did we not let Russell watch for a bit?

Now hindsight is 20/20. And Wilson has not looked good. He has had moments, like the begining of the Ram's game, where you send a text message to your brother saying "he's turning the corner." But so far those moments have been immidiately followed by a punt (or in Sundays case: an interception).

I haven't turned my back on Russell. In the August piece, I said that "I think Russell Wilson will be our starting Quarterback when we contend for Superbowls." And I still do. I think he is a playmaker and smart. I just don't think he was ready. Through four games: 73.5 QBR, 594 yards, 4 td's, 4 picks. He has completed 60 percent of his balls, but they're only going for 5 yards a clip (translation: check down machine).

Matt Flynn could've atleast done that.

Just to see what life would've been like with Flynn under center, I stared a Madden 13 Connected Career (this years Franchise mode). The first half of the week 1 Cardinals game saw him go 11/13 and we had a 17-3 lead. That would've been a lot better.

Had Pete Carroll gone with Flynn, there would've been 4 likely scenereos: 1, Flynn sucks. If that was the case, Pete would be able to pull him after proving that he isn't the guy and seemlessly move to Wilson. 2, Flynn is great. And Seattle beats Arizona, crushes Dallas, doesn't need the hailmary against Green Bay, and doesn't throw 3 picks against STL. We start off 4-0 and he looks like the franchise. No big deal here, because again, Wilson isn't getting paid much.

3, Flynn is average. You take your 8-8, 7-9 record and move on to Wilson next year. You developed a franchise QB, while remaining competative. No one is upset.  Or the last one, Flynn plays and slips a hamstring a couple weeks in, Wilson comes in and plays like he should be the starter. If Wilson plays good, Pete can justify staying with him. If Wilson plays bad, you go back to Flynn because he was the original starter and you let Wilson continue to study what he saw.

By going with Wilson first, none of those can happen. You don't want to 'Alex Smith' him and damage his confidence. Pete took a gamble and so far it hasn't paid off like he had hoped. But there is no recovery from this unless Russell gets hurt. That is the only way a change under center can happen and the franchise can save face.

Our bed is made. Lets hope Wilson turns it around in Carolina (for the record: This is NOT anti- Wilson. Again, this is pro-patience)

• Arizona Cardinals vs St.Louis Rams +1 I don't see how we could wake up tomorrow morning in a world where Arizona is 5-0. Should the beat St. Louis? Absolutely. But Green Bay couldn't go undefeated because they lost to a terrible KC team last year, and St. Louis has a kicker who drops 60 yard field goals like it's a video game.
• Cleveland Browns vs New York Giants -8 1/2 Giants by over a td? I don't really want to do that, but the Giants are following a loss. The lack of Giant homefield concerns me though. Screw it. I'm going G-Men.
• Green Bay vs Indianapolis Colts +7 I hope this game is on tv. It's goign to be a wild shoot out. The Packers on turf? Oh man. Whatever the over/under is... take the over.
• Philadelphia Eagles vs Pittsburgh Steelers -3 when I first went through the weeks slate, I found myself picking basically all road teams to cover. This was the exception. Rashard Mendenhall is returning and for fantasy purposes I need him to go ape shit. So, GO STEELERS.
• Atlanta Falcons vs Washington Redskins +2 1/2 Yeah, the Redskins are depleted. Atlanta managed to escape last week with the win. Atlanta needs to make a statement.
• Baltimore Ravens vs Kansas City Chiefs +6 Sometimes games are as simple as this: Kansas is very bad. Baltimore is very good. Now some might say, "But Kansas is at home, bro." To those I say this, " KC is 0-2 at home this season and have given up 38.5 points in those two games."
• Miami Dolphins vs Cinncinati Bengals -3 this is one of those instances where I hope I'm wrong for fantasy purposes. But Miami is giving up 56 yards a game in the rushing department. Thats 2000 Baltimore good. Poor, poor Ben Jarvis.
• Chicago Bears vs Jacksonville Jaguars +6 Cutler was decent last week. Chicagos defense was insane. Jacksonville got blasted at home by the Bengals. Am I really about to pick Cutler to cover on the road when they are giving a touchdown? Yes (DeMarco Murray 11 carries 24 yards last week).
• Seattle Seahawks vs Carolina Panthers -3 Remember 2 picks ago when I talked about Miami being great against the run? Well Seattle is only giving up 6 more yards a game. They also sent 3/4's of their secondary to the pro-bowl last year. They also sacked Aaron Rodgers 9 times two weeks ago, and Cam Newton isn't Aaron Rodgers. Seattle baby.
• Bufalo Bills vs San Fransico 49ers -5 1/2 I hope I'm wrong.
• Denver Broncos vs New England Patriots -8 1/2 Here is what I think: I think The Hoodie will game plan for Mannings lack of arm strength and plan to take away the short throws. On the otherside, Brady will cut the head off the Bronco's similar to how he did the Bills for 45 points in the second half on Sunday. In other words, I need to find a way to get Manning out of my fantasy lineup.
• San Diego Chargers v New Orleans Saints -3 Because they can't lose every game, right?
• Houston Texans v New York Jets +8 I was wrong about Mark Sanchez. That dude needs a change of scenery. Houston wins, and Tebow is starting within two weeks.

Week 4

Tuesday morning I woke up with a giant smile on my face. Seattle was 2-1 and for once was on the good end of a terrible call by an official. I wrote a quick thought, I posted a picture, and I went about my day. Smiling the whole time. I was in the minority. Fans outside of Seattle were foaming at the mouth. "What an injustice" they screamed. "Aaron Rodger's is a marter." They announced. "How dare the Seahawks not correct the officials ruling." They clammored.

My blood started to boil and I released a rant of my own. I was not about to sit back and allow my Chickens get drug through the mud because they were placed in an awkward situation. You want war, douchebags? I'll give you war.

Here is the scope of my rant (tightened up, of course)

I think its bush league the people are upset with the Seahawks over this. If you disagree with the call, feel free to be mad at the referee's. Or Roger Goodell and the owners. But the Seahawks? Please, grow up and learn a thing or two.

That is directed to everyone. Outraged players and fans alike. Green Bay Packers Guard Josh Sitton went onto "Rome" Tuesday morning to vent about being on the losing end of the call. At one point during the interview, Sitton took shots at wr Golden Tate and coach Pete Carroll by suggesting they should admit the call was wrong.

"I think the two biggest goats out of this whole thing is Pete Carroll and Golden Tate," Sitton told Jim Rome. "They're calling it a good call. And Golden Tate's saying he caught it and there was no push in the back. I mean, be a man. You can be happy you won the game. I understand that. Stuff's gonna happen. But be a man and admit that it was a bullshit call and stand up and have some integrity."


Seriously, bro? That is who you are mad at?

You want to put blame on Tate for doing his job? He fought for the ball, like he has been taught to do most of his life. And lets not ignore that there are pictures and angles that exist that actually support Tate having possession (ESPN won't show that though).

You're upset that he pushed the dude in the back on a hailmary? I know football wasn't your primary sport, so feel free to review some youtube videos of other hailmary attempts. Shoving happens. The officials (even the real ones) wouldn't have called pass interference on that in a million years.

And suggesting that Pete Carroll is wrong for sticking up for his players is even more retarded. What would you have Pete say, "Oh shit. Green Bay really got screwed on that one. I'm going to have to talk to Golden in the locker room about the rules of the game." Don't be nieve.

How ridiculous is that? To be upset with a coach and a player over a referee's call. They went into a dog fight and came out on top and you want the world wants them to openly discredit themselves by admitting they were given a gift. This is the real world. Not some mystical world of dragons and magical gum drop houses. Grow up and accept the loss. 

I don't remember a single instance of players or teams admitting they came out favorable in a bad call. When did Tom Brady admit to fumbling in the tuck rule game? I forget who asked the Steeler's to admit that the Seahawks got jobbed in '05. Remember when Vinny Testeverde didn't score that touchdown (also against the Seahawks) on a Quarterback sneak, but was given credit for the touchdown anyway and that helped keep Seattle out of the playoffs and eventually lead to the instillation of Instant Replay? I sure as shit do, but what I don't remember is people asking Vinny to admit that the referees were wrong.
 

It's unfortunate, sure. But it's not just the call that was unfortunate. It was the whole situation. It's the replacement officials being involved in the first place. I sure hope Josh Sitton doesn't expect Pete Carroll to apologize for the official lockout.

And lets not undersell WHO is responsible for this in the first place. The real guilty party is Roger Goodell and the Owners. They have put teams in these situations ( like the hailmary, or last night's Raven/Patriots clock expiring fieldgoal) by putting under qualified dudes out in high pressure situations. High School Chemistry teachers should not be policing professional football players. It's that simple. Roger Goodell is trying to strong arm Ed Hochuli and company, and thats why this has happened.

So the REAL goat, Mr. Sitton, are the guys who signs your paychecks (but you don't want to bite the hand that feeds you, I understand).

Look, should the Packer's and their fans be upset that they lost the game? Absolutely. I would've been. But don't stop at the call. They should also be upset that their offensive line gave up 8 sacks in the first half (and 9 for the game). They should also be furious that they weren't able to score at all in the first half. And while we are on the subject of poor referee calls that swayed the game, please don't forget that if it weren't for a phantom PI call, the Packers wouldn't have been in position to score ANY touchdowns.

Remember to be mad at that as well, Sitton and company.

Bascially, the brunt of the anger should be at the fact that your team held the seahawks to a shade over 150 yards for the first 58 minutes yet Seattle had a chance to win the game with a touchdown.

It's true after Monday, Packer fans have a lot to be upset with. But I assure you, it's nothing like getting jobbed in a superbowl. Stop bitching, it happens.

And Seahawk fans, remember to be thankful. 2-1 baby!

• Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens -12 I have a theory that I have absolutely no stats to back it up, but here goes: if you are picking a game that features a team giving a ton of points immediately following a super emotional game against a team they should curb stomp, you pick the shittier team. That being said, I really think Baltimore is insanely good. But I'm going to test out my theory a few times this week. So I'm going with Cleveland.
• San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs PK Uh, I'll take Kansas City at home with no points. That seems fair.
• Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans -13 1/2 Let's see, Tennessee gave up 90 yards to Steven Ridley, 130 to a montley crue of Chargers, and a 100 spot to Mikil Leshoure. Now they are playing Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Are you sure 13 1/2 is all you want?
• Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons -8 Cam Newton embarrassed himself last Thursday. If he's a man, they'll cover. We are going to find out alot about Cam Newton on Sunday.
• Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis +2 1/2 Using an altered version of the argument I used to pick the Browns, I'm going to take St. Louis against my Chickens. This smells like one of those games where we lose and then I get to listen to talking heads scream, "see, they aren't that good." for a full week.
• San Fransico 49ers @ New York Jets +4 My Cleveland/Baltimore theory was successful last week for the 9ers/Vikings game. No knock on SF, I just figured they'd come out flat. This week they won't. Have fun, Jet fans.

• New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills +4 Last week I figured the Patriots were going to make Baltimore pay for Arizona's sins. They almost did. Before last week, the last time they had lost two games in a row I was a virgin. Buffalo is 2-1, but they could be 15-0 and I would put my money on Tom and the Terrifics. Take the Patriots and Tom is going for 400+
• Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions As of right now thee isn't a line to this game because of Mathew Staffords uncertainty.
• Miami Dolphins @ Arizona Cardinals -5 1/2  This was JUST made official: Arizona is good.
• Oakland Raiders @ Denver Broncos -7 I will take Oakland, thank you.
• Cincinnatti Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars +1 This game has a 0 percent chance of making it on my tv this week. So, Bengals and lets move on.
• Washington Redskins @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 1 I'm going to say Tampa, only because they're at home. As someone who has Alfred Morris on his fantasy team, I hope I'm wrong.
• New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers -9 You know how I just wrote like 1500 words about Green Bay and thier fans, REVENGE GAME.  Saints are about to get executed.
• New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles PK I'm going to say Philly. Basically, I think New York likes hovering around .500.
• Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys -3 Blah. I dunno. Is Forte playing? Thats kind of important. ESPN just said Forte practiced yesterday, so I'm going to say Chicago and not feel good about it.