AFC Update

AFC Update:  Pittsburgh and K.C. Continue to Reward NFL Betting Handicappers

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs continue to reward their NFL betting handicappers by covering spreads with aplomb.

This past Sunday both the Steelers and Chiefs left no doubt that they are two of the best teams in the AFC Conference.  That’s right, not just the best teams in their respective divisions but also the best teams in the AFC Conference.  Based on what’s going on in the NFC right now, the Steelers might be the best team in the entire NFL.

Let’s get to the AFC Top 5 and the ACF Bottom 5!

AFC Top 5 NFL Betting

1. Pittsburgh Steelers 3-0 – – This team isn’t just good, this team is really good.  When Big Ben returns, they might be great.  See what happens when the Steelers get great QB play?  QB Charlie Batch was awesome when hooking up with the terrific Mike Wallace.  The two were so good in Sunday’s 38 to 13 pasting of Tampa Bay as 2-point NFL betting favorites that RB Rashad Mendenhall ran for 143 yards and a TD on only 19 carries.  Pitt is really good right now and will be scary good when Ben returns.
2. Kansas City Chiefs 3-0 – – Maybe, Mike Singletary just isn’t such an awesome coach.  Did anybody think of that?  The head guy at San Francisco had to have blown about 5 gaskets after watching the Chiefs dominate his supposedly awesome defense by racking up 457 total yards and 31 points.  KC dominated the 49’ers in the 31 to 10 victory.  Is everybody a believer in the Chiefs now?
3. Indianapolis Colts 2-1  – – The Colts’ Week 1 loss to Houston feels like it occurred last season.  Indy has responded beautifully in the last two weeks to the Week 1 loss by simply flattening a 4-point spread against the Giants 38 to 14 in Week 2 and murdering a 5 ½ point spread against Denver this past Sunday when winning 27 to 13.  Colts’ WR Austin Collie is now the new AFC’s Wes Welker after grabbing 12 footballs for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Broncos.  Welker has an incredible 27 catches for 359 yards and 4 touchdowns in only 4 games.
4. New York Jets 2-1 – – No Revis?  No problem!  The Jets have now beaten two solid teams, the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, straight up as NFL betting road dogs the past two Sundays.  The game against Miami was awesome because QB Mark Sanchez threw for over 250 yards and 3 TDs without a pick for a 120.5 rating.  If Sanchez has become a great QB, then this team might not lose another game this season.
5. Cincinnati Bengals 2-1 – – I wasn’t a believer at first but I am now.  Like the Jets and Colts, Cincy has put their Week 1 loss to the Patriots behind them and has covered two spreads on the road in a row with ease. They upset the Baltimore Ravens straight up on the road in Week 2, 15 to 10, as 2 ½ point dogs.  This past Sunday, they beat the Carolina Panthers 20 to 7 as 3-point road favorites. Cincinnati is just a solid football team.  I know…sounds weird doesn’t it?

The Official Gridiron Goddess CFB Picks: Week 3

Recap: 13-3

Hey Football Fiends-

I am taking the week off from Official NFL Picks. I will however let you know how I fare this week in my pick em league. I’ve been stinking up the joint so far this season so…

But College Football! YAY! Here are my picks for this week. I am rooting for Oregon State to upset Boise State, after all, Oregon State painted their practice field blue to prepare for the Smurf Turf.

Gridiron Goddess Week 3 College Football Picks

USC over Washington State

Texas over UCLA

VA Tech over Boston College

Penn State over Temple

GA Tech over NC State

Florida State over Wake Forest

Georgia over Mississippi State

Alabama over Arkansas

Stanford over Notre Dame

Arizona over California

Nevada over BYU

South Carolina over Auburn

Oregon over ASU

Tennessee over UAB

Florida over Kentucky

Oregon State over Boise State

-Your Gridiron Goddess

Fantasy Football Reality Check: It’s Time to Mix It Up A Little Bit

by Oh No Romo

Well after the sad news of finding out that I actually DIDN’T win in week 2, I am indeed 0-2. Damn you Garrett Hartley and damn you fantasy football mathematics. I guess I shouldn’t count all of my chickens before they hatch.

I made a move this week to add Panthers quarterback Jimmy Clausen to Team Kotite. I’m struggling with whether to start Clausen against the Bengals or Derek Anderson against the Raiders.

I stand a better chance with Anderson than with Clausen. But this is Jimmy Clausen’s first start. We’re talking about the pride of Charlie Weis here people! He could lead the Panthers to the promise land and another division title! Yes, I’m aware that its wishful thinking. But that’s how I roll!

This will be a decision I struggle with the rest of the weekend.

For new starters, I’m putting Cadillac Williams in over Jerome Harrison. With my luck, Harrison runs for 200 yards, but who knows.  Everything else will pretty much stay the same.

Enjoy the weekend!

Put ’em in the Hall: Brian Mitchell

Brian Mitchell/UPI

by Oh No Romo

Brian Mitchell belongs in the Hall of Fame. He made the return specialist position sexy before Devin Hester and Dante Hall ever did.

Let’s face it, Mitchell made returners a hot commodity. And he did it during a time when there was a lot of returners (Eric Metcalf, Tim Brown, Darrien Gordon, and Desmond Howard).

Mitchell was a fifth round selection of the Washington Redskins in the 1990 NFL Draft. You might remember that draft for featuring the likes of Emmitt Smith, Cortez Kennedy, Junior Seau and even Larry Centers (who was picked in the same round, but ahead of Mitchell).

Washington at that time had Earnest Byner (fast forward to 6:44) and Gerald Riggs, among their running backs. Most running backs wind up fielding kick-offs for punts. Mitchell didn’t do much his first season in Washington, but he did get a rushing touchdown.

In ’91, Washington’s Super Bowl season, Mitchell put up a career high in punt return yards with 600, leading the NFL. His two punt returns for touchdowns also led the NFL. Mitchell had a 69-yard return for a touchdown in the opening game of the season against Detroit.

Mitchell would put up the big numbers again in ’94, when he finished third in the NFL in punt return yards (behind Brown and Gordon). His two returns for touchdowns also had him in a tie for first with Gordon, Metcalf and the Giants Dave Meggett.

Mitchell also led the league in punt and kick returns, yards per punt return, and kick and punt return yards.

The ’95 season was Mitchell’s Pro Bowl year.  Mitchell led the league in All-Purpose yards, beating out returners like Glyn Milburn, Eric Metcalf, and even star players like Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice. Mitchell finished third in the NFL in kick return yards.

While he was racking up the yards in kick returns, Mitchell didn’t get his first kick return for a touchdown until 1997. He only has four career kick returns for touchdowns, which ties him with Devin Hester and Andre’ Davis, among others, for 14th all-time. For the record, Josh Cribbs leads the way with eight returns for touchdowns.

In the ’98 season, Mitchell finished third in punt return yards and punt returns. He also had his longest kick return of his career, a 101-yard return for a score against San Diego in week 14.

Mitchell played a couple more seasons and went to Philly in 2000. In ’02, Mitchell finished second in the NFL in punt return yards. Mitchell played his final season with the Giants in ’03 and retired soon after.

Mitchell holds numerous records. He’s the all-time leader in punt returns, kick returns (and punt and kick returns combined), punt return yards, kick return yards, as well as the punt and kick return yards combined.

Mitchell is second all-time in all-purpose yards with 23,316 yards. The only person ahead of him is Jerry Rice.

Mitchell’s credentials are worthy of having a bust in Canton. Even if he only made the Pro Bowl once, he’s still worthy of it. He’s by far one of the best, if not THEE best, return specialists of all-time. For that, he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: The One Where I (Almost) Win A Game

by Oh No Romo

It’s official, I am 1-1 for the season. Team Kotite picked up its first win of the fantasy football season. It was a narrow 51-50 victory. If it wasn’t for Garrett Hartley’s big night on Monday, I would have won by possibly five or more points. Then again, I could have lost if any of those field goals were from 50-yards or more.

Update: I actually did lose that game. Damn mathematics! Damn it all to hell!

I admit, it was definitely a terrible performance in week 2. The fact that I won is a huge surprise to me. None of my players scored more than nine points for me.

Greg Olson came close to crossing the 10 point plateau, but he only had one catch the entire game (granted it was a touchdown catch, but wave your hand in the air more young man!)

Josh Scobee, my kicker, had a decent game, despite his Jaguars getting blown apart by the Chargers. Jerome Harrison was a letdown once again! Eric Mangini knows how to make me puncture a Moon Bounce. It’s like he prefers Peyton Hillis over my guy!

Jamaal Charles didn’t have as much of an impact for week 2 as he did for the first week. I’m torn on what to do. It’s like Todd Haley likes Thomas Jones or something. Give the ball to Charles! It’s so fun yelling at coaches to play my guys, especially when I don’t really care all that much.

After deciding to make a move for Steve Breaston, I find myself disappointed by his results during week 2. Breaston had 10 total receiving yards on Sunday.

I’m thinking about making some quarterback changes for this week. I won’t spoil who I intend to go for, but I’ll give you a hint: he will be playing this week!

NCAA Football Week 3 Recap: This is why I love College Football

Football Fiends!!!

This past Saturday of FOOTBALL GOODNESS encompassed so many examples of why College Football is vastly prefereable to the No Fun League. (And you all know how much I love ALL football!) You just don’t get the passion, the spirit, the excitement, in the NFL that you get on a weekly basis in College Football.

For every Alabama battering Duke (62-13) and Oregon dismantling Portland State (69-0), there was Auburn kicking an OT FG to best Clemson 27-24 or ASU nearly pulling off the big upset in Madison (Wisconsin 20- ASU 19).  No matter what part of the country you live in, or which BCS conference you root for, there was a heart-stopping (quite literally in the case of Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio) game to tune into.

Michigan State’s controversial last second fake field goal lifted them above Notre Dame 34-31. Notre Dame had to be feeling shades of 2005 USC @ ND with that clock ticking down trickery.

Auburn and Clemson dueled it out the entire game and it took a field goal in overtime for the Tigers to beat the Tigers 27-24. (What is it with all the Tigers in that part of the country, anyway?)

Everyone had Arizona State as the big underdog going into their game at Wisconsin. The Sundevils surprised everyone by nearly pulling off the upset 20-19.  Even UCLA, who started their season 0-2,  pulled off the upset of #23 Houston 31-13.  Speaking of the Pac-10; USC beat Minnesota in highly unimpressive fashion 32-21, Stanford clobbered Wake Forest 68-24 and Oregon State beat Louisville 35-28.

But the biggest game of all of the marquee games in the Pac-10 and, in fact, the country  was Iowa at Arizona. Iowa went into Tucson ranked #9 to Arizona’s #24. People expected it to be a game, but not many thought Arizona would pull off the upset. (Am sure all of AZ’s Pac-10 competitors could have predicted it, though. Let us not forget, The Pac-10 OWNS the Big Ten)

Arizona was up 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. At the end of the 2nd quarter the Wildcats were up 27-7.  In the 3rd quarter Iowa rendered the AZ offense inoffensive and scored 7 to the home team’s 0. 27-14 Arizona heading into the 4th. The Hawkeyes were not going to make this easy as they went on to score 13 in the 4th quarter to even things up.  With 3:57 remaining in the game QB Nick Foles threw a 4 yard pass to William Wright for a touchdown and the Arizona D held the Hawkeyes off for the rest of the game to win it 34-27 in one of the most exciting games of the weekend.

Arkansas-Georgia was another great one. Arkansas ran away with the first 3 quarters. The Razorbacks were up on the Bulldogs 24-10 at the end of the third quarter with QB Ryan Mallet firmly inserting himself into the Heisman race. In the 4th quarter UGA came back to tie the game with under 4 minutes to play. Then, when it looked like this game was heading into overtime, Ryan Mallet lobbed a 40 yard pass to Greg Childs for a touchdown with :15 seconds on the clock.

Back in the Pac-10 for all the big and near wins we had, we also had some big losers. Washington State continued its disappointing record against FBS opponents with a 35-21 loss to SMU. California lost a stunner of a game to mid-major Nevada 52-31 and Washington’s 56-21 performance against Nebraska likely put an end to Jake Locker’s Heisman hopes since he went 4 for 20 on the day for an abysmal 71 yards.

My Trojans have the dubious distinction of being the only FBS team in the country to win each week so far and drop two points in the polls each week. We started at #14, beat Hawaii and moved down to #16. We beat UVA and moved to #18.  We beat Minnesota and moved down to #20.  Sure, they haven’t been overly impressive showings by the men of Troy. But we WON. And sure with the sanctions and everything, we’re bowl ineligible. But STILL it feels like a slap in the face and another way for the polls to punish the current USC team who had nothing to do with Reggie Bush’s shenanigans five years ago. But, I am biased and might have a small chip on my cardinal & gold sheathed shoulder.

College Football season truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

-Your Gridiron Goddess

The Official Gridiron Goddess NFL Week 2 Picks

Week 2 abysmal score 7-8

HA HA HA Oh Man did I ever stink up the joint with last week’s picks. WOW. A truly atrocious 8-8 was my Week 1 record. Let’s hope week 2 is better!

Chiefs over Browns

Packers over Buffalo

Ravens over Bengals

Steelers over Titans

Dallas over Chicago

Panthers over Bucs

Cardinals over Falcons

Vikings over Miami

Rams over Raiders

Houston over Washington

Seattle over Denver

Chargers over Jags

NE over Jets

Colts over Giants

Saints over 49ers

The Official Gridiron Goddess CFB Week 3 Picks: USC will be 3-0 but doesn’t look like a 3-0 team

Final Count: 11-5

Hey there Football Fiends,

Are you enjoying the awesome content from Harem member Oh No Romo?

Let’s get to the CFB Week 3 picks:

The Official Gridiron Goddess CFB Week 3 picks:

USC over Minnesota

Georgia over Arkansas

WVU over Maryland

Ohio State over Ohio

VA Tech over ECU

Mizzou over SDSU

Hawaii over Colorado

BYU over Florida State

Florida over Tennessee

Wazzou over SMU

Wisconsin over ASU

Nebraska over Washington

TCU over Baylor

UCF over Buffalo

Texas over Texas Tech

Houston over the hapless Bruins from UCLA

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Getting Ready For Week 2

by Oh No Romo

Week 2 is finally upon us. And I have made a couple of adjustments in preparation for this weekend. I added a wide receiver and dropped a tight end, and no it wasn’t Greg Olson.

I released Ben Watson and picked up Cardinals wide receiver Steve Breaston. I’m not exactly sure what I hope to get out of this Anderson-Breaston combo. Maybe it goes well, and maybe it all goes horribly wrong. I can hope for the former, but fully expect the latter.

That said, he is in my starting line up for Sunday. I benched Chris Chambers, to put in Breaston. We’ll see how the move works out for me. Chambers isn’t gone, because I don’t just want to force him off of Kotite Island.

He’s going to get his time obviously. I don’t expect Breaston and my other starting wide receivers to carry the team to victory. I especially don’t expect that to happen when Roy Williams and Nate Washington are starting for me.

As for the running game, I’m sticking with Jamaal Charles and Jerome Harrison. Hopefully Mangini doesn’t kick me in the nuts again this week and go with Peyton Hillis. Because you know, that would be kind of a “dick move,” as the kids say these days, on Mangini’s part.

Therefore, it’s my duty as a Fantasy owner to lobby for Jerome Harrison’s playing time. DO IT!!!

I’m starting the Detroit D against Philly. Yes it’s a bold move, because I should be starting the Oakland D against the Rams. But you know what, Oakland doesn’t strike me as the type of team to stop the Rams. Call it a gut feeling (bad for me, good for the sake of this column).

As of now the two notable guys I’ve left on the bench are Cadillac Williams and Mario Manningham. If Cadillac lights it up this week and Harrison doesn’t…well then I’ll probably trade Cadillac. We’ll see though.

I’m hoping to start mixing up the line-ups within the next couple of weeks, to make it interesting. Stay tuned, and I’ll see you with the next column on Tuesday. Enjoy the weekend action!

Put ’em in the Hall: The Ken Anderson Edition

This is a new series of columns written by the one and only, Oh No Romo. The series hopes to go over some of the names on the 2011 Preliminary Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So enjoy!

by Oh No Romo

Ken Anderson belongs in the Hall of Fame! I’ll say it, no problem at all. Any quarterback that can take the Cincinnati Bengals to the Super Bowl surely deserves a spot in Canton.

Ken Anderson

When you hear the name of Ken Anderson, most people my age don’t really know who that is (He retired before I was born, if that’s any indication).

While Boomer Esiason might be more well-known for his time with the Bengals, it’s Anderson who owns all the Bengals career passing records. Anderson leads the team in passing yards (32,838), touchdowns (197), wins (91) and completions (2654).

The Bengals drafted Anderson, from Augustana College in Illinois (D-3 BABY!) in the third round of the 1971 NFL Draft. The draft included such quarterbacks as Dan Pastorini (of Houston), Archie Manning (New Orleans) and Jim Plunkett (New England, but best known for his time with the Raiders).

His draft class also includes Hall of Famers like John Riggins (6th overall pick), Jack Youngblood (LA Rams), Jack Ham (Pittsburgh) and Dan Dierdorf (St. Louis Cardinals). In fact Anderson was selected in front of Lynn Dickey and Leo Hart, who only played three games in his career.

Anderson played 16 seasons in total, all of them with the Bengals. You don’t see many quarterbacks play their entire career with one team. But if it’s any indication of how long Anderson’s played, Brett Favre played 16 seasons with the Packers.

Anderson, went to four Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro once. His All-Pro season, 1981, was all the season he took the Bengals to their first ever Super Bowl. Anderson was fifth in the league in passing (3,754 yards) and third in touchdowns (29), both were career highs. He even threw the fewest interceptions in the league, for players starting the entire season.

After a terrible game in week 1, throwing two interceptions against the Seahawks, Anderson passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns in the win against the Jets.

Anderson’s best game that season came against the Browns on November 29. He completed 80 percent of his passes and threw four touchdowns (two of them to Cris Collinsworth) in the route against Cleveland, 41-21.

Cincy clinched the division with a 12-4 record. It was their first playoff appearance since 1975. (They tied for first in the AFC Central in 1976, but lost both games to Pittsburgh).

The Bengals took care of Buffalo in the Divisional round, 28-21. It was a balmy compared to the conditions they’d play the AFC Championship in.

In subzero temps, the Bengals froze Air Coryell and the San Diego Chargers, 27-7. Anderson passed for two touchdowns, but the Bengals kept the ball on the ground for the most part. Besides, who really wants to catch a football in -30 wind chills?

The dream would stop for the Bengals as despite a three touchdown performance (one rushing) by Anderson, the Bengals fell to the 49ers, 26-21. The MVP of the game was 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. Maybe you heard of him? Apparently, Montana was kind of a big deal! He does those Sketchers commercials now.

The next season, Anderson set the NFL record for completion percentage in a season with 70.55 percent. Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the record last season with a 70.62 percent completion rate. However, when Anderson set the record, 1982 was a strike shortened season. But that shouldn’t take away from the consistency of Anderson.

Anderson also holds the third highest completion percentage in a game (minimum 20 attempts) in NFL history. Anderson completed 20-of-22 passes against Pittsburgh in 1974. Kurt Warner and Vinny Testaverde are ahead of Anderson.

Anderson wasn’t able to replicate the success of ’81 and ’82. He started only two games in 1985 and retired after the ’86 season.

Anderson is currently 25th All-Time on the NFL career passing list. Had Kurt Warner played another season, he would have passed Anderson. He did finish ahead of his ’71 Draft counterparts, Pastorini, Manning and Plunkett.

Anderson’s 197 touchdown passes (32nd best all-time) puts him ahead of the three quarterbacks mentioned. He’s also ahead of the likes of Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and Joe Namath, all Hall of Famers.

His career completion percentage of 59.3 percent is 40th best all-time. However, that puts him ahead of Dan Fouts, Warren Moon, Bart Starr,  Fran Tarkenton, Johnny Unitas and John Elway. And again, they are Hall of Famers.

I could probably talk about this subject until I am blue in the face. But there’s plenty of evidence out there to prove that Ken Anderson is a Hall of Famer. He’s been a finalist twice. Hopefully, he’ll get his shot this year.