CHIEFS FACE "MOTHER OF ALL MUST-WIN GAMES" & MORE NEWS
So is Matt Cassel gonna play or not? We better hope he does, I don't see Kansas City winning without him, I always thought this was going to be a tough spot in the schedule before the appendectomy. I also believe if the Chiefs aren't able to win this game today, they won't make the playoffs. If they can't respond after last week's beatdown in San Diego, I don't see them playing well enough to fend off the Chargers. Then their only hope would be a total collapse by the NY Jets, which could happen.
Without Cassel, it just puts too much emphasis on the running game & Steve Spagnoula is an excellent defensive coach & game planner. Regardless of who plays quarterback, the Chiefs will need a couple of big plays out of their defense or special teams.
A few key matchups to watch: Tamba Hali vs. rookie LOT Roger Saffold, Chiefs ROT Barry Richardson vs. Rams' DE Chris Long(Howie's son has really come on this season) & C Casey Wiegmann & FB Mike Cox vs. Rams' MLB James Lauranaitis. The Chiefs have won all three games vs. teams in the NFC West by a 104-47 margin. I'd take a 1-point squeaker today, how about you?
I told you last night Troy Polamalu wouldn't play this Sunday, he won't. In fact, don't look for his return until the playoffs. His very sore Achilles tendon needs rest. The Vikings are going to start rookie Joe Webb instead of newly-signed veteran Patrick Ramsey on Monday night versus the Bears. Tim Tebow is going to start this afternoon in Oakland in place of Kyle Orton. His rib injury hasn't allowed him to throw the ball this week in practice. Tebow is being thrust into a pretty difficult spot, it will be interesting to see how he does in his NFL starting debut. Aaron Rodgers was declared out by team doctors on Saturday, he just hasn't recovered enough from the concussion he sustained in last week's loss to Detroit.
Besides the Chiefs-Rams game for Missouri supremacy, there are 4 other big games that could go a long ways toward deciding a playoff spot or two. Here's how I see these games:
Jacksonville(8-5) at Indianapolis(7-6)
The Jaguars have come on strong in the second half of the season while the Colts lost their normal dominating stranglehold on the AFC South. But 4 of Indy's losses have been by 3 or fewer points. You can't be the champ until you beat the champ, the Jags beat them earlier on a 59-yard field goal at the gun, I'm sticking with Peyton & the Colts today.
Philadelphia(9-4) at NY Giants(9-4)
Another game essentially for the division crown. The Giants were my pick before the season began, I'm sticking with 'em.
New Orleans(10-3) at Baltimore(9-4)
I picked Atlanta to win the NFC South & I still think they will. I also picked the Ravens to go to the Super Bowl out of the AFC. I don't see that happening, they have started to show their age in the 4th quarter. They've surrendered too many leads late in the game. Their cornerback play has been less than sparkling & here comes an offense led by a quarterback that is completely capable of exploiting a struggling Raven secondary. I like the Saints today.
NY Jets(9-4) at Pittsburgh(10-3)
The Jets have one win over a winning team, week two against New England. In their four losses, they didn't score a single touchdown. This offense is in disarray & quaterback Mark Sanchez is beginning to look like so many other USC QB's, very overrated. Steelers O-line is beat up & Polamalu won't play, but they're a tough out at Heinz Field & I can't see the Jets going in there this afternoon & notching a win.
I've been whining about the Big East & their automatic BCS bowl bid. Their conference champ, Connecticut, has a lackluster record of 8-4 & they were never ranked in the top-25 all season. And people bitch about Boise State. Anywho, BCS bowl fever has hardly struck the UConn faithful, they sold nearly 4,000 tickets for the game, unfortunately, their allotment is 17,500. Any tickets not sold will have to be paid for by UConn, which could make their $3 million payout close to a push.
The bowl season kicked off today with three very big blowouts, BYU, Northern Illinois & Troy all won by at least three touchdowns. Not very intriguing football. Next up: The Beef O'Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg Florida between Louisville & Southern Miss. Not exactly must-watch TV. By the way, anyone know what a Beef O'Brady is? Some sort of poor man's Arby's or Dave & Busters?
Finally I would be remiss if I failed to congratulate the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks victory in the Division II championship game, 31-21. This was Whitewater's 6th consecutive championship game, now 3-3 in those games. For years I worked with a W-W grad in Las Vegas. I used to rag on her about the school name, but after winning three national championships in the past six years, no jokes, that's quite an accomplishment, congrats Kris!
Without Cassel, it just puts too much emphasis on the running game & Steve Spagnoula is an excellent defensive coach & game planner. Regardless of who plays quarterback, the Chiefs will need a couple of big plays out of their defense or special teams.
A few key matchups to watch: Tamba Hali vs. rookie LOT Roger Saffold, Chiefs ROT Barry Richardson vs. Rams' DE Chris Long(Howie's son has really come on this season) & C Casey Wiegmann & FB Mike Cox vs. Rams' MLB James Lauranaitis. The Chiefs have won all three games vs. teams in the NFC West by a 104-47 margin. I'd take a 1-point squeaker today, how about you?
I told you last night Troy Polamalu wouldn't play this Sunday, he won't. In fact, don't look for his return until the playoffs. His very sore Achilles tendon needs rest. The Vikings are going to start rookie Joe Webb instead of newly-signed veteran Patrick Ramsey on Monday night versus the Bears. Tim Tebow is going to start this afternoon in Oakland in place of Kyle Orton. His rib injury hasn't allowed him to throw the ball this week in practice. Tebow is being thrust into a pretty difficult spot, it will be interesting to see how he does in his NFL starting debut. Aaron Rodgers was declared out by team doctors on Saturday, he just hasn't recovered enough from the concussion he sustained in last week's loss to Detroit.
Besides the Chiefs-Rams game for Missouri supremacy, there are 4 other big games that could go a long ways toward deciding a playoff spot or two. Here's how I see these games:
Jacksonville(8-5) at Indianapolis(7-6)
The Jaguars have come on strong in the second half of the season while the Colts lost their normal dominating stranglehold on the AFC South. But 4 of Indy's losses have been by 3 or fewer points. You can't be the champ until you beat the champ, the Jags beat them earlier on a 59-yard field goal at the gun, I'm sticking with Peyton & the Colts today.
Philadelphia(9-4) at NY Giants(9-4)
Another game essentially for the division crown. The Giants were my pick before the season began, I'm sticking with 'em.
New Orleans(10-3) at Baltimore(9-4)
I picked Atlanta to win the NFC South & I still think they will. I also picked the Ravens to go to the Super Bowl out of the AFC. I don't see that happening, they have started to show their age in the 4th quarter. They've surrendered too many leads late in the game. Their cornerback play has been less than sparkling & here comes an offense led by a quarterback that is completely capable of exploiting a struggling Raven secondary. I like the Saints today.
NY Jets(9-4) at Pittsburgh(10-3)
The Jets have one win over a winning team, week two against New England. In their four losses, they didn't score a single touchdown. This offense is in disarray & quaterback Mark Sanchez is beginning to look like so many other USC QB's, very overrated. Steelers O-line is beat up & Polamalu won't play, but they're a tough out at Heinz Field & I can't see the Jets going in there this afternoon & notching a win.
I've been whining about the Big East & their automatic BCS bowl bid. Their conference champ, Connecticut, has a lackluster record of 8-4 & they were never ranked in the top-25 all season. And people bitch about Boise State. Anywho, BCS bowl fever has hardly struck the UConn faithful, they sold nearly 4,000 tickets for the game, unfortunately, their allotment is 17,500. Any tickets not sold will have to be paid for by UConn, which could make their $3 million payout close to a push.
The bowl season kicked off today with three very big blowouts, BYU, Northern Illinois & Troy all won by at least three touchdowns. Not very intriguing football. Next up: The Beef O'Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg Florida between Louisville & Southern Miss. Not exactly must-watch TV. By the way, anyone know what a Beef O'Brady is? Some sort of poor man's Arby's or Dave & Busters?
Finally I would be remiss if I failed to congratulate the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks victory in the Division II championship game, 31-21. This was Whitewater's 6th consecutive championship game, now 3-3 in those games. For years I worked with a W-W grad in Las Vegas. I used to rag on her about the school name, but after winning three national championships in the past six years, no jokes, that's quite an accomplishment, congrats Kris!
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