NFL Week 9 Recap

I played and watched a dizzying amount of sports on Sunday. Started off with the Softball playoffs at 9am. We lost back to back games in a best of 3 series even though we were clearly the better team. I couldn't have played better defensively and watching Jay Vala put on a hitting clinic was equally impressive - but there was only so much myself and the Vala Brothers could do. With that, I'm announcing my free agency today. Championships are the only thing that matter to me at this point in my career and I don't know how many more defensive gems I have left in me. So if anyone needs a Dustin Pedroia-esque second basemen for their team - just talk to my agent, my contract with "Half-Baked" is currently in negotiations. We followed the Softball playoffs by consuming 11 hours of Foooootballlll - I'm pretty sure I overdosed this weekend. I could barely keep my eyes open at the end of the night for Flacco's game-winning drive - but here's what I remember happening in the NFL this weekend after the jump...

Finally got on the board with another winning week. Went 8-6 this weekend and made some money betting against the AFC West (thank you Chiefs and Chargers - still can't figure out Tebow though) and AFC South (gracias Colts and Titans). Unfortunately the Eagles couldn't get it done on Monday Night and on a day that the legendary Philadelphia boxer Joe Frazier was laid to rest - so to were the hopes and dreams of a Super Bowl coming to Philadelphia. What a difference a week makes. 


The early Sunday games were not good. The Bills lost, the Dolphins won for the first time (looks like they might be Shit out of Luck!) , and there were no game winning drives. The rest of Sunday was exciting. Eli Manning sparked many "is he an ELIte QB?" debates with his two 80+ yard drives on the road against the Patriots in the 4th Quarter. Then Philip Rivers cemented his "I'm not clutch when it matters this year" campaign with his 3rd straight week in which he's had a costly turnover with less than 2 mins left. Solid work. Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson then provided the play of the day with his 99 yard punt return TD in OT for a win over the lowly Rams. Two things on this: 1) I'm not sure why he fielded a punt on the 1 yard line - but obviously it worked out unless you had the Rams +3. 2) The Cardinals are now out of the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. Sooo best of Luck with Kevin Kolb and John Skeleton! 


The Sunday Night Game between the Ravens/Steelers was everything we all hoped for. Ray Lewis knocked out Hines Ward with a clear helmet-to-helmet penalty. Somehow THIS wasn't flagged - but Ryan Clark's textbook hit on Ed Dickson was? I'm all for the protection of players, but there's got to be some more consistency from the Refs on what is legal and what isn't. In the heat of the moment these plays are tough to call, why not take the extra 30 seconds to make sure that the play is called properly? Review these hits from upstairs, have it come down to the field, and move on with the game. If the Refs can be wrong on fumbles, touchdowns, and incompletions - they can absolutely be wrong about these tackles. Let's have them reviewed and allow the players to hold on to some integrity. Oh by the way, Joe Flacco was incredible on that game-winning drive. He made about 4 great throws that were dropped by his WRs before finally completing a 26 yard TD to Torrey Smith with 8 seconds left. 


In Fantasy news Aaron Rodgers is not fair. Vincent Jackson went off. And Roy Helu chalked up fourteen receptions for the Redskins. Also Wes Welker totaled the number of receptions (9) and yards (136) that Chad Ochocinco has had for the year. Probably time the Patriots cut ties with Mr. 85 (Which means he'll probably torch Antonio Cromartie next week for 110 yards and a TD). 


My teams went 3-0! First place in two leagues - and should make the playoffs in the third league. No teams on Byes this week - so no excuses from anyone. Only 4 more teams yet to have their bye week (Texans, Colts, Saints, and Steelers). Gotta start shoring up your playoff rosters and making moves for the last few weeks of the fantasy season. I don't know why I don't get paid for this advice. 


Weekly Buffalo Bills Update: 
5-3 after a pitiful offensive performance against the Jets. The Defense actually held up - but the offense which has been our bread and butter all year long just could not get it going. Now there's a three way tie with the Patriots and Jets atop the AFC East - but with the way the Bengals, Ravens, and Steelers have been playing I wouldn't be surprised if the AFC East only got one team in the playoffs. Unfortunately, I don't see the Bills coming out of that equation with a playoff appearance, especially after the division loss to the Jets. Three road games coming up at Dallas, Miami, and the Jets that very well could spell the end of the Bills season. It's definitely gut-check time for the Bills - but something tells me 8-8 is inevitable. 


NFL:
The Packers are the best team in football - there is no question about it. Second best team? You could make the case for the 49ers, Giants, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Saints, or Lions. Basically its the Packers - and then everyone else. A couple of HUGE division games this week starting on Thursday with the Chargers/Raiders, as well as the Saints/Falcons, Patriots/Jets, Lions/Bears, and Steelers/Bengals all on Sunday. Maybe it's not so bad that we lost our softball game - looks like we're headed for another 11 hour workday on Sunday.