SoOnce again, my friends, I have seen things I never thought to see. Not a Jackalope, not Bigfoot (yet). Nope, over the first quarter of an NFL season, I have watched a Bill Belichick defense truly suck. After 4 weeks, New England has the worst defense in Pro-football. They are the worst at defending the pass and 26th against the rush. If not for Brady's 2 minute heroics, New England would be 1-3. The Panthers played an okay game last week, some might say good. It certainly wasn't an all-pro performance and Carolina still defeated the Patriots in Foxborough. I would be lying if I wrote that I don't love this turn of events.
Sticking on the defensive side, my beloved Broncos have the best defense in the league after a quarter. That is not a shock. Yet they only have the 11th ranked pass defense with the No Fly Zone. Surprising, for certain. But shocking is this, the Denver Broncos have the league's best run defense ... Period! Nobody saw that coming.
Houston put 57 points on the Titan's backs. Seriously? Things learned from fantasy football last week: Don't start Deshone Kizer and leave Lamar Miller on the bench. (I didn't do that, a friend did. No, I benched Derek Carr, a smart move, and left Amari Cooper in the lineup. Duh!)
So, the hated "Bye Weeks" begin, and we are off and running with the second quarter of the season.
Thursday:
New England (2-2) at Tampa Bay (2-1) - Hatriots (Hatriots, 19-14)
I loath myself for this pick.
Sunday:
New York Jets (2-2) at Cleveland (0-4) - Browns (Jets, 17-14)
I think the Brownbutts have the stuff. This is the game that will tell us if the Jets are for real.
Carolina (3-1) at Detroit (3-1) - Lions (Panthers, 27-24)
They are for real.
San Francisco (0-4) at Indianapolis (1-3) - Colts (Colts, 23-26)
If you're not impressed by Jacoby Brissett, you're not paying attention.
Tennessee (2-2) at Miami (1-2) - Titans (Dolphins, 10-16)
Risky pick without Mariota. But the Dolphins just look like crap.
Buffalo (3-1) at Cincinnati (1-3) - Bills (Bengals, 16-20)
The Bengals are on a roll ... against Cleveland. Buffalo ain't Cleveland.
Los Angeles Chargers (0-4) at New York Giants (0-4) - GMen (Chargers, 27-22)
Somebody will get a win, maybe. And the Giants are at home.
Jacksonville (2-2) at Pittsburgh (3-1) - Steelers (Jaguars, 30-9)
No team has been as disappointing as Pittsburgh. But they don't tend to lose at home, and they get stronger as the season progresses. And Brown will control his temper. Maybe.
Arizona (2-2) at Philadelphia (3-1) - Eagles (Eagles, 7-34)
Who would you pick in a fight between a Cardinal and an Eagle?
Seattle (2-2) at Los Angeles Rams (3-1) - Rams (Seahawks, 16-10)
I think this Rams team is legit. And Goff seems to finally get it.
Baltimore (2-2) at Oakland (2-2) - Raiders (Ravens, 30-17)
Only because of home field. Without Carr, the Raiders aren't quite the same. But Baltimore just doesn't seem ... motivated?
Green Bay (3-1) at Dallas (2-2) - Cowboys (Packers, 35-31)
The Packers suffer from lack of defense.
Sunday Night:
Kansas City (4-0) at Houston (2-2) - Chiefs (Chiefs, 42-34)
Hardest pick of the week. The Texans have all-star talent in abundance. But KC looks solid against run and pass.
Monday Night:
Minnesota (3-1) at Chicago (1-3) - Vikings (Vikings, 20-17)
Vikings defense. But hey, we might have a Trubisky sighting.
Byes: Denver, Washington, Atlanta, New Orleans
Last Week's Score: 9 -7, 56% Overall: 43 - 20, 68%
The NFL Is Rigged.
On January 15, 2004 you posted your (ex-NFL player) High School History teacher told your entire class this...
'I remember Mr. McCoulaugh mostly because of what happened one day in history class. I've no recollection of how he got off on the topic, but Mr. M boldly told us all that the NFL was rigged, fixed, as much a fraud as pro Wrestling.'
I enjoyed that entire post very much, as you also included a very telling example.
For one thing that post was way ahead of its time (and the truth itself long overdue).
For another thing it was an actual ex-NFL player (Mr. McCoulaugh) who made the admission.
Yet all these years later you post about the NFL as if your Mr. McCoulaugh story was never told.
Is this because you don't believe him?
Either way, I do.
I'm curious to hear your reply though.
And if possible could you at least confirm the spelling of Mr. McCoulaugh's last name? and also provide his first name?
Thank You.
Ron
Posted by: Ron | October 09, 2017 at 03:37 PM
I 'think' his first name was either Scott or Mike. I don't remember clearly (it was 40 years ago) and we all had to call him either "Mr." or "Coach".
Funny thing is, it never even occurred to me to waste time searching the Taterskin's rosters through the 60s or early 70s to find him until your comment. Having now done that, I haven't found him anywhere, though it was not what you would call an exhaustive search. Still, it is entirely possible that he was just a resume-lying-big-talking-half-assed-high-school football coach. It never mattered enough to me to find out.
As to whether or not I believed him or agree with him, the answers are no, and no. I didn't agree with him then, and don't now. In any sport where individual achievement is paramount (wrestling, boxing, baseball) fixing the outcome is very easy. But football, among all, is a sport that requires all players do their job to achieve a victory. If you want one or two to 'throw a game', you could probably accomplish that. But these are athletes at the very top of their sport, and those who 'cause' a loss will draw the ire of teammates. It is beyond statistically improbable that players like Megatron or Barry Sanders would remain silent concerning a rigged NFL. They both are among the very best to have ever played their positions, and they both left the game early because the team they played for did not seem to have a chance at winning a championship. Those men have the very best reason to expose a conspiracy, and yet neither has done so. When one of them come out and claim the NFL is rigged, I will listen.
It's easy to confuse causation in extraordinary events. McNabb's pass, Butler's interception in SB 49 when a Beast-quake was called for, Bryant's non-catch in the NFC playoff against the Packers, Rodgers' hail marys. None of those are likely, but to assume a greater hand than just the best athletes being the best requires a lot more proof than just "I didn't see that coming ..."
I'm not saying that the game and sport aren't manipulated in a variety of ways. Officials are inconsistent given the will of league owners, the Commissioner is a tool, and the spectacle (politics) frequently gets in the way of actual sport. But rigged? No.
Posted by: Wulfgar | October 12, 2017 at 04:29 PM