Dr. Tyler; Captain America

I'm too lazy to quote you, but you "totally discredited" my sources and all. Look on the first page.

Mike, I'm still waiting for you to retract those hateful words you said to me in this thread and admit I'm right.

Go for it.

Democratic Underground: The Single Most Reputable Source To Gauge Liberal Opinion!

I don't see you eating crow, Mike.

Super-sized predictions this week; I'm not picking drunk for once! Arizona at Carolina 3.5 -- Carolina has been a team I have consistently picked week in and week out. They have a quarterback who I believe is vastly underrated and is, quite possibly, on a level above an Aaron Brooks/Matt Hasselbeck, probably just below a Brett Favre. The kid is really quite good; great mobility and arm, he just presses too much. Who can blame him, being that he's playing with an NFL Europe team. They've been absolutely decimated with injuries along their offensive line and offensive backfield, and now, Delholmme himself is banged up with a broken thumb. I'm not taking away from the Cardinals, who have one of my favorite rookies (LARRY!~) on their squad, but I think this all comes down to whether Delholmme plays. I think he does, and I think Carolina covers the spread and wins. Dallas at Baltimore 9.5 -- The Ravens at +9.5?!? I understand that the Cowboys have been crumbling and the Ravens are on a relatively hot streak, but I just can't see the Ravens putting up that many points. Boller threw two TD passes last week against a New York Jets defense that has been vastly overrated for quite a while now (in my own opinion, anyways), but if the Cowboys can get healthy at all in the secondary, they'll easily contain Boller. Now, can Jam Lewis run all over the Cryboys' undersized front seven? Maybe, but he doesn't seem to be anywhere near the level he's been at for a few years now. I don't see a 10 point game here; I think it's more of a seven pointer. Cowboys to cover the spread, but lose nonetheless. 6.5 Denver at New Orleans -- New Orleans is, and has been for quite a while, one of those teams that comes out one week and dominates, then loses to the Bengals the next week. Last week, they slipped by a weak KC defense. This week, they'll slip by a weak Denver defense with Deuce McAllister's strong running. New Orleans to cover the spread. Detroit at Minnesota 8.5 -- This one, on the other hand, looks ugly. Using the stupid logic of "Team X beat this team, and that team lost to Team Y", Minnesota's shootout with Green Bay assures them this one. The thing is, this sort of applies in this situation. I simply can't see the Lions -- with or without Roy Williams -- keeping up to Minnesota, with or without Randy Moss. Minnesota to win and cover the spread. 9.5 Indianapolis at Chicago -- Ugly, ugly, ugly. Indy's defense is atrocious, but Chicago's offense is worse. Indy with the big win. 5.5 N.Y. Jets at Cleveland -- The Jets are sliding and Cleveland just got their asses beat by the Steelers. Someone surely HAS to win this game, and I'll say that Quincy Carter gets his first win as a Jet, and the New York Jolly Green Not-Giants cover the spread. 5.5 Pittsburgh at Cincinnati -- I've been hearing all week for the past three weeks how the Steelers are in a trap game, ready for an emotional letdown. In the previous weeks, upon analysing the situation, I've seen Cleveland as a possible threat with their solid run D and multi-faceted offense. I've obviously seen the threat in Philly, who was healthier than New England and well prepared for the Steeler run game (supposedly). But I'm crunching the numbers and the matchups for this game, one that people have been calling a trap since they saw it on the schedule, and... ...I'm not seeing it. The Steeler offensive line completely outclasses the Bengal defensive line, and the Steelers' trio of wideouts absolutely and completely trumps the Bengals secondary. It doesn't matter with this Pittsburgh team; they can jam it down the Bengals' throats or throw all over them, because the Bengals' D is not going to stop the Steeler O. Maybe they put 8 in the box and make Ben throw it a bit, but from what we've seen in the young chap, he will make you pay. He's poised and noise doesn't bother him in the least bit. On the other side of the ball, the Bengal running attack could pose a threat to the Steeler run D. Rudi Johnson put up the only 100 yard rushing game thus far against the Steelers this year, and the Bengals almost pulled out a win against the Roethlisberger-led Steelers. However, several factors make this matchup far different than the previous one. 1) Time of Posession. The Steelers have progressed enough as a cohesive offensive unit as to keep the opposing offense off the field for most of the game. 2) Kendrell (contact) Bell. The hit man is back in the 'burgh and he's been lighting people up in the last two weeks. He should continue to progress and may start this week, which would be a massive boost for the defensive run stopping ability of the Steelers. 3) The secondary. The two young safeties have gelled, and Troy Polamalu is quickly becoming one of the best young defenders in the league. Combine this with James Farrior's "I'm so much better than Ray Lewis" weekly show, and this spells 27 points for the Steelers and a big win for the men in Black and Gold. San Francisco at Tampa Bay 8.5 -- Tampa Bay had been hot before last week, and San Francisco has been shitty all year. They lost a close one to Carolina last week, but they haven't really shown any sign of life all year. That being said, I'm hard pressed to choose Tampa with an 8.5 point spread. Brian Griese or not, Tampa's anemic offense gives me fits in terms of prediction. Argh... someone has to win this, and I'll bite the bullet and say Tampa covers the spread. 3.5 St. Louis at Buffalo -- THIS could be a trap game. Buffalo's offense, prior to meeting the New England freak show, had been rolling pretty well with statue Drew at the helm and Willis "Big Game" McGahee in the backfield. But then again, St. Louis dominated Seattle last week, and they've still got one of the most dynamic offenses in football, Mike Martz aside. Will Martz just run the fucking football for once? I think so, and the Rams win by a Marshall Faulk touchdown, covering the spread Tennessee at Jacksonville 6.5 -- Surely, someone has to win this game. David Gerrard is better than Billy "Safety in the Endzone" Volak, so Jacksonville wins this one by 10 or so. Miami at Seattle 11.5 -- All season long, I've picked Miami to cover the spread. It happens when they're at home. Not on the road. Seattle in a blowout. 6.5 San Diego at Oakland -- San Diego has been HOT HOT HOT, playing with a QB who does, in fact, actually want to be a Charger. Drew Brees has been one of the stories of the year, and the Oakland Raidahs have been one of the league's biggest disappointments. ...that being said, San Diego has to cool down at some point, and I can see it beginning this week. They'll win in a close one, but Oakland will cover the spread. 6.5 Atlanta at N.Y. Giants -- Welcome to the NFL, rook. How about a taste of one of the league's top pass rushes? Vick-mania continues the Giants' slide. Atlanta with the big win. Washington at Philadelphia 12.5 -- My, oh my, is that spread tempting. A little too tempting. Pittsburgh exposed Philly's weakness against the run and Clinton Portis can, in fact, run. Mark Brunell's benching is addition by subtraction, and I see the Native Americans covering the spread 5.5 Green Bay at Houston -- I love the Texans. I love David Carr, Andre Johnson, and Dominack Davis. I used to love Jabbar Gaffney, prior to his Leon Lett impression. But I don't love them this much. Packers continue their hot streak and win in Houston. 6.5 New England at Kansas City -- At Arrowhead, against a depleted New England secondary... the Chiefs still won't be able to put up enough points against the Pats. New England by at least a score

I can sense the fall. Don't worry, it WILL happen. I'm on a three game winning streak and I've been picking half drunk. Don't put too much into streaks

Good stuff.

Don't worry, you won't be in it for too much longer.

MILLIONS!

CBS does it pretty bad, too. I noticed it a lot during the Pittsburgh-Brownstains game this week.

I agree. It's horrendous within two minuts where they come back for one play, someone calls a time out, and they go back to commercial. You get five to ten seconds of action and then two minutes of commercial.

What are they supposed to do at halftime, then? Speaking from someone who's played the game, halftime is crucial. So what are they gonna do, sit there and wait for fifteen minutes with a blank screen? Marketing wise, bringing in a high profile musical guest will actually draw more viewers to the show, being that some people who normally wouldn't have watched the game (i.e. non football fans, people who like football but not those teams) are watching to see their favorite band, etc. If you don't like it, change the channel. You're not being forced to watch it. Count out fifteen minutes and turn the television back when the time has elapsed. What annoys me more is the constant commercials after only fifteen seconds of action (i.e. fourth quarter, less than two minutes to go). That's more shameless whoring than musical acts or slightly amusing skits.

I don't understand what your big ass problem is with this skit. Really. It was done before the game even started. If you don't want to watch the retarded skits and Hank Williams, Jr. singing through his alcoholic haze, turn on ABC at 9:15, not 9:00. Otherwise, quit whining.

Then you're obviously not holding out for analysis, being that MNF and NFL Primetime are run by the same company. Next time, if you just want to watch the game and not the pregame festivities and skits, turn on ABC at 9:15.

Link just goes to NFL.com.

I don't really give a crap. I'm there to watch a football game not some failed comedy hour skit. I could care less about NFL players when they aren't playing football. Well, gee, I've never thought about it that way. Fuck those networks for advertising their hot television shows! You're being absurd. The networks pay an assload of money to show football; they deserve to be able to pimp their retarded drama shows that no person with more than a brain stem would watch. The skit was neither offensive nor funny. The game hadn't started yet, and if you had really wanted analysis, you'd have watched NFL Primetime fifteen seconds prior. Your arguments are straw men, and particularly weak ones at that.

The sexual insinuation to a child would also likely go over their heads.

Oh, please. It was funny. Grow the fuck up. They were spoofing Desperate Housewives, which is also on in Prime Time.

*cough*

Hrm, I got bashed to hell for suggesting that this would happen after the election. Hrm. Funny, huh, Mike?

Intentional grounding in the end zone is still a safety.

Well, Pittsburgh whipped Cleveland in a game where Ben Roethlisberger wasn't exactly on. I thought this one could've been a letdown game for the Steelers, but luckily, retarded Gerard Warren with his "I'm gonna hit Roethlisberger late and knock him out of the game!" bullshit, Antonio Bryant with his "Pittsburgh's defense is WEAK, yo!" routine, and Will Green deciding to pretend he isn't a 1st round bust and spitting in Joey Porter's face (and getting the snot knocked out of him) pregame ensured that the Steelers wouldn't be complacent. Jeff Garcia got kicked around and Holcomb tossed a TD in garbage time. QB controversy?

Maybe Palko turned the corner today. 27/43 for 331 and 5 TDs with no INTs. He was once the best QB prospect in the nation; maybe he's starting to live up to it. Pitt could be interesting next year.

How the hell did Pitt put up 41 points?!