GameDay

thanks to laketheposts for this.

The Self Destruct Button

Just came across this...



Apparently Boozer has one, too:



So when does Nocioni get to get all liquored up and drive that thing?

Bears: Where do we go from here?

Seriously. I have no idea. I'm hesitant to call yesterday's debacle the worst NFL game of all time, although other people certainly have. I still think the worst NFL game ever was last year's Bills-Browns game in Buffalo.

At least both defenses played well, right? The Bears have now lost three in a row and dropped into a tie with the Packers for first in the NFC North. The good news, if there is any, is that Cutler is still healthy, as is Forte, and that the NFC looks realllllly bad this year. I'm just puzzled though. How do you go about rooting for this team?

Apparently, the crowd at Soldier Field was thinking the same thing yesterday, as the boo-birds were out in full force.

By the way, my dark-horse Kansas City Chiefs are now 4-2 and lead the AFC West. But they're going to have to watch out for a challenge from... wait for it... OAKLAND? OAKLAND???



Yesterday's partial list of top performers:

Kenny Britt
Darren McFadden
DeAngelo Hall
Ryan Fitzpatrick

... and Drew Brees joined Cutler in throwing four INTs.

Let's just pretend last week didn't happen, okay?

Big Ten Power Rankings (Midseason)

Don't get too excited, this is just the quickie edition, but with all the Big Ten teams having played at least six games I thought I'd throw out some quick PRs just to see what everybody thinks - if I have time later, a longer and more detailed version with bowl projections, season expectations, etcetera will follow. I swear.

Please do let me know if you agree/disagree. And sorry about the lack of pictures/video, I'll get in and edit this later tonight.

1. Michigan State Spartans (7-0, 3-0)
Rankings: No. 7 BCS, No. 8 Coaches/AP, leading Big Ten

Starting out your conference season by beating Wisconsin, then stomping rival Michigan on the road and easily handing an Illinois team that gave Ohio State fits is pretty damn convincing in my book.

Next up: @ Northwestern. I believe Admiral Ackbar may have something to say about this game for the Spartans...

2. Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1)
Rankings: No. 13 BCS, No. 10 Coaches, No. 11 AP, T-4th in Big Ten (with tiebreaker over OSU)

Huge win at home over an undeserving national number one in Ohio State last week. Wisconsin struggled early in the season, but their sole loss is on the road at Michigan State, and that's not going to hurt them much in the long run.

Next up: @ Iowa. If Wisconsin can survive, the rest of their schedule shakes out favorably.

3. Iowa (5-1, 2-0)
Rankings: No. 15 BCS, No. 12 Coaches, No. 13 AP, T-2nd in Big Ten (with Purdue)

The only time I've gotten to watch Iowa for an entire game this year was their loss at Arizona, but this seems like your classic Kirk Ferentz team with extra talent on the defensive line. Ricky Stanzi is the ultimate patriot - I'll have more on this later, courtesy of our correspondent, Capt. Alec Kinczewski, serving our nation abroad in the armed forces (that's right, Peter King! You see what I did there? You're not the only one who can name-drop Army guys!).

Next up: Wisconsin. 3:30, ABC. Should be a snoozefest, but a well-played one, and the winner has Capital One Bowl pole position.

4. Ohio State (6-1, 2-1)
Rankings: No. 10 BCS/AP, No. 11 Coaches, T-4th in Big Ten

The conference's bell cow, Ohio State did their part to allow Big Ten haters in the room (I'm looking at you, Schlereth) with the upset loss at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes looked great against Indiana the week before, but then who doesn't? The Sweater Men have three absolute must-wins coming up if they want to get back in the thick of the Big Ten race.

Next up: Purdue

5. Purdue (4-2, 2-0)
Rankings: T-2nd in Big Ten

Let's give them credit now. Beating Northwestern on the road erased a lot of the early season stench of losing to Toledo at home. They have an incredibly tough slate coming up in the second half, so I expect this is as high as the Boilers will get, despite quality play from QB Rob Henry.

Next up: @ Ohio State

T-6. Northwestern (5-1, 1-1), Michigan (5-2, 1-2)

Northwestern commits too many penalties, while Michigan plays no defense. These are talented football teams with painfully obvious flaws, which is why I have them tied. NU has an absolutely HUGE home game this week against MSU, while Shoelace and Co. have a bye. I see both as bowl-caliber teams that need to get it together a little bit.

8. Illinois (3-3, 1-2)

Hey, they're better than I expected. Great road win against a bad Penn State team, followed by an acceptable road beating at East Lansing.

Next up: Indiana. Winner gets to pretend they have a shot at a bowl!

9. Penn State (3-3, 0-2)

Everybody knew this team would have some issues, but Evan Royster stinking was not one of the expected problems, and neither was a defense that traditionally would NEVER give up 33 points to Illinois at home.

Next up: @Minnesota. They need this win to be playing for bowl eligibility against Indiana at FexEx field down the road. Otherwise that might just be a 3/4 empty venue, which would look awful for the conference. I think you know what Jim Delaney is telling the refs for this game.

10. Indiana (4-2, 0-2)

Best receivers in the conference, and one of the best quarterbacks too - I put Ben Chappell in the front rank with Robinson, Pryor, and Persa. But that Homecoming 'win' over Arkansas State (which by the way gives IU a 2-0 record in the Sun Belt) was not impressive. On paper, this looks like a team that could get bowl eligible. In reality, having watched them almost every week, I'm not so sure.

Next up: @Illinois. Should I go to this game? Debating.

11. Minnesota (1-6, 0-3)

Tim Brewster is finally gone, following Mike Locksley and Ed Orgeron (and Ron Zook?) as living proof that great recruiters aren't always great coaches. (*cough* MIKE DAVIS) They play three of the conference's top four in their second half slate. They lost to South Dakota State. BUT - maybe an interim coach and having absolutely nothing to lose will energize this team. I've seen crazier things happen, and Adam Weber is a proud veteran leader at QB.

Next up: Penn State. Win, and your season isn't a total loss.

The NFL standings based on Pete Prisco's Overall GPA

I was going through Pete Prisco's week 5 grades and noticed how crazy they were. So, I wanted to create a list of how the teams should be ranked based on the grades he has given them for their performances. And by ranked, I mean their standings in the NFL. This is an oddity. However, since the Jets/Vikings game is not decided, I will not include them. I will also not include those on bye weeks this week (I'm only looking at his week 5 GPAs). Okay, here we go:

1. Chiefs - GPA 3.10 - Actual Record 3-1

2. Falcons - 2.86 - 4-1

3. Texans - 2.74 - 3-2

4. Redskins - 2.74 - 3-2

5. Titans - 2.68 - 3-2

6. Ravens - 2.54 -4-1

7. Giants - 2.54 - 3-2

9. Bucs - 2.50 - 3-1

9. Colts - 2.48 - 3-2

10. Lions - 2.42 - 1-4

11. Rams - 2.40 - 2-3

12. Eagles - 2.40 - 3-2

13. Bears - 2.34 - 4-1 (Tied Best in NFC)

14. Chargers - 2.20 - 2-3

15. Jags - 2.14 - 3-2

16. Browns - 2.08 - 1-4

17. Broncos - 2.06 - 2-3

18. Cowboys - 1.93 - 1-3

19. Bengals - 1.88 - 2-3

20. Packers - 1.86 - 3-2

21. Saints - 1.82 - 3-2

22. Raiders - 1.80 - 2-3

23. 49ers - 1.80 - 0-5

24. Cardinals 1.66 - 3-2

25. Panthers - 1.22 -0-5

26. Bills - 1.00 - 0-5

Okay, I have a few questions:

1) How are the 1-4 Lions a top 10 team in GPA?

2) How are the Cardinals the third worst team, yet they have a winning record?

3) How are the Rams better than the Bears?

4) If this is based on expectations, shouldn't the Bears be near the top as they have the best Record in the NFL and have beaten two Superbowl Favorites?

I guess I'm just confused...

Radio shows

I apologize for not posting in quite some time, however since my last post we have done two more radio shows.


Show 4
Show 5

If nothing else listen to them to laugh at our awful predictions. Since that dallas game my crystal ball has been in the shop.

I am very open to topics if you guys think I should cover something on the show let me know and I can address it.

ROAD TRIP!!

Indiana are 22.5 point underdogs to tOSU Buckeyes tomorrow. See you there, Armchair Superstars!

One quick thought: I've always found Ohio State's marching band to be one of the most overrated in the country - they spend so much time on "Script OHIO" that they don't both learning how to play real music, and it really shows. Keep an ear out for some high-school level stand tunes tomorrow.

Hopefully will be somewhere in C-Bus or Indy in time to catch Northwestern-Purdue, let me know if you have any bar recommendations!

Very Special Birthday

Ladies and gentlemen, I wanted to take this chance to wish a happy 90th birthday to my Grandma Jean Fodor. She just got out of a successful surgery and will be partying it up with my parents tonight. By the way, she is a Bears and Illinois fan - (we'll agree to disagree on the second one.)

Ninety is one hell of an achievement, as I'm sure you'll agree, and so in Armchair Superstar Style, here are the sports-related highlights of October 7th throughout Grandma's long and storied career:

1916: Okay, so this is four years beforehand, but today was the day Georgia Tech beat Cumberland University 222-0 in college football. Tech's coach? John Heisman. Yeah, you may have heard of him.

1920: Along with Grandma, famous Manchester United player Jack "The Gunner" Rowley was born.

1931: Lowell "Cotton" Fitzimmons born in Hannibal, Missouri. Grandma is, meanwhile, growing up just a stone's throw away in Iowa. Fitzimmons goes on to a career as an NBA basketball coach for at least six different teams, including the Suns just before the Bulls got to them in the '93 championships.

Some other notables born on October seventh? Desmond Tutu, Oliver North, John Mellencamp, Yo-Yo Ma, Tony Braxton, Priest Holmes, Charles Woodson (last year's Defensive Player of the Year!), and Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays.

At SportsIllustrated, Steve Rushin makes the argument that October 7, 1975 was part of the most important three weeks in SPORTS HISTORY! It was the day the Reds swept the Pirates to get into the World Series -- by the way, this is a great article if you're a history nerd like me.

Finally, and most importantly to all us Bears fans, October 7, 1984, as Grandma was admiring her very first and most adorable grandchild, we saw Sweetness do this:



Happy 9oth, Grandma! Hope it's a great one.

Monday Night Football: Don’t bet on them next Sunday

Last night, Chicagoans all saw what I have noticed as a trend this season. Teams that play on Monday Night Football do not play well the next week. The Bears showed this as they embarrassed themselves in front of a national audience on the Sunday Night Game of the week. Let’s look at the rest of the MNF teams

Week 1

Baltimore @ New York Jets
&
San Diego @ Kansas City

Week 2 Performances
Baltimore: Lost to Cincinnati in a game they were favored to win.
Kansas City: Beats Cleveland by 2, doesn’t cover the spread.

Chargers and Jets won and covered

Week 2

New Orleans @ San Francisco

Week 3 Performances
New Orleans: New Orleans Loses by 3 in OT in a game they were favored to win.
San Francisco: Loses to Kansas City by 21

Week 3

Green Bay @ Chicago

Week 4 Performances

Green Bay: Beats Detroit by 2 but fail to cover the double digit spread
Chicago: Lost by 14 and allowed 3 times as many sacks as points they scored.

Week 4

New England @ Miami

Lucky For New England and Miami they both have bye weeks coming up after their games.


Why are the teams playing poorly after their Monday Night Football games? I believe a lot of it has to do with screwing up the schedule of practice for the week. NFL teams are so regimented today, that losing one full day of preparation time or even resting time hurts the team. Also, for road teams, jet lag becomes a factor. Games are not ending until Midnight EST. The away team then has to shower, talk to the media, get to the airport, fly back home, then get back to their homes. When New Orleans was flying back from San Francisco, they didn’t get land until around 7 in the morning. Add another hour to get home and they aren’t going to bed until almost 8 AM. Most NFL teams get Tuesdays off, but New Orleans needed that entire day Tuesday just to recover from their flight.

Also, teams don’t physically recover in enough time. Older lineman need every minute of the NFL week to get their body healthy enough to play again on Sunday, Losing 36 hours in that week hurts how much they can recover.

I am sure there are other reasons why teams are not playing well following Monday Night Football. It could just be random luck and not a trend, San Diego and New York Jets played well after their MNF games. Until I see reasons to change my mind, I will not be wagering on any teams that played on MNF the week before.

Bears vs. Packers Recap

Last week, the Bears offensive line was getting dominated. Jay Cutler ended up on his back many a times. However, the run was effective. Johnny Knox had another good performance. And the defense, well the defense looked a little bad and a little good. The d-line was dominating, even though they didn't produce the sack numbers you'd want. The linebackers looked good as well. It was the secondary that I had a problem with, but we ended up with the win.

Now, let's talk about what everyone else is talking about: "Greenbay shooting themselves in the foot." Quite frankly, they did not. They were outplayed. The Bears defensive line caused the Packers to hold and the fans plus the d-line caused many of those false starts. It's all part of the game. The pass interference calls weren't wrong, they were pass interfering. The Packers had to do it, b/c they couldn't keep up with the receivers. It's just that simple. Now, You add, or subtract, yards for penalties which the Bears should have got or the Packers would have lost due to sacks, and add the 100 yards of punt return yards to the Bears offense and you've got a clearer picture of how this game went. It was dominated by the Bears. The Bears left 10 points on the board. That game could have easily been 30-17.

Now, my grades for last week:

Jay Cutler B
Running Backs C+

Wide Receivers A-

Tight Ends B+ (would be an A but Clark dropped a TD)

Offensive Line C

Defense Line A

Linebackers A

Corners C+

Safeties B-

Special Teams A (would be a + but Robbie missed a make able field goal).

This week, the Bears play the Giants in the meadowlands. As many have stated, this has the makings of a trap game. But, I think the Bears are pissed enough that even after they start out 3-0 beating 2 division rivals, and 2 teams that many people picked to win the Superbowl (Cowboys and Packers) they have not received ANY respect. In fact, the Giants are favored! I see the Bears coming out on fire. Not to mention, the Giants aren't that good. My prediction: Bears 37-17 (and if they put Hester on kickoff returns 2 special teams TDs). Did I mention I called Hester's TD return to Steve?

Northwestern vs. Minnesota

With NU undefeated and the Golden Gophers reeling at 1-3, I thought I better post this so that we could all remember one of the greatest moments in recent Big Ten history. Ladies and gentlemen, Victory Right:



Also, www.laketheposts.com has some more great Northwestern coverage.

Here's a link to the complete highlights of what was an unbelievable game.

Welcome to the Weekly Picks section. Last week I did alright


Wins

College

Bet: Oklahoma @ Cincinnati Over 52 points
Final: Oklahoma 31 Cincinnati 29
Total: 60 Points

Bet: Arkansas +7.5 vs Alabama
Final: Arkansas 20 Alabama 24
Line Adjusted Final (LAF): Arkansas 27.5 Alabama 24

Bet: Stanford -5 @ Notre Dame
Final: Stanford 37 Notre Dame 14
LAF: Stanford 32 Notre Dame 14

NFL

Bet: Tennessee +3 @ New York Giants
Final: Tennessee 29 New York Giants 10
LAF: Tennessee 32 New York Giants 10

Bet: Atlanta +4 @ New Orleans
Final: Atlanta 27 Saints 24
LAF: Atlanta 31 Saints 24


Losses

College

Bet: TCU -18 @ SMU
Final: TCU 41 SMU24
LAF: TCU 23 SMU 24

Bet: Eastern Michigan +44 @ Ohio State
Final: Eastern Michigan 20 Ohio State 73
LAF: Eastern Michigan 64 Ohio State 73

Record 5-2. The lesson, like I said before, stay away from huge lines. On to this week’s bets

A few notes about lines in general.

1. Lines are NOT what Vegas thinks is going to happen. The lines are what Vegas thinks will convince the public to bet on the game.
2. Vegas knows big name teams (think Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Yankees, Cowboys, Red Sox) will have more money bet on them because Joe Fan hears about these teams all the time and will adjust their lines accordingly.
3. Vegas is close to Los Angeles and has a lot of visitors from there. They know LA fans will bet on their teams and will adjust their lines accordingly.

Over/Under –A wager in which Vegas will predict a number for a statistic in a given game (usually the combined score of the two teams), and bettors wager that the actual number in the game will be either higher or lower than that number.

Money Line – Bet on one team with no line. Payouts are changed to keep betting equal.

Example

-140: A bet of $140 is place in order to win $100
+140: A bet of $100 wins $140

A quick note, I will pick more college games because I think there is more potential to win money compared to NFL where Vegas only has to forecast 16 games and teams are very close talent wise. Normally I don’t like picking road teams, but I have a bunch this week.

Like last week, there was no trip to Vegas so no bets were actually placed.

College

Michigan @ Indiana Over 65 Points.

I know that is a very high line, but I still think the game will go higher. I posted this earlier in the week, but here is how ESPN’s Big Ten Blog starts off the preview of the game.

Fact No. 1: Michigan brings the nation's leading rusher and the nation's No. 2 rush offense to Bloomington to face an Indiana defense ranked 92nd nationally against the run.

Fact. No. 2: The Hoosiers counter with the nation's No. 11 pass offense against a Michigan team ranked 105th nationally in pass defense.

Good enough for me.

Northwestern -5.5 @ Minnesota

Northwestern is undefeated right? And Minnesota just lost at home to Northern Illinois? Yes to both. This line should be way higher, I see Northwestern’s offense putting it on cruise control for most of the second half.

Texas Tech -7 @ Iowa State

Texas Tech played well against Texas (maybe not as impressive now) and I see their defense completely shutting down Iowa State. I think Tech wins easily.

Iowa -7 Vs Penn State

Iowa has had Penn State’s number the past couple of years. A young QB heading into Kinnick for a night game on Home Coming weekend? Not a good combination, the fans will be loud and ready from a day of tailgating.


NFL

Baltimore +2 @ Pittsburgh

I am not a firm believer in Baltimore this year, but without Big Ben, they should beat the Steelers, regardless how good the D has been playing.

Chicago +3.5 @ New York Giants

I know this game has trap game written all over it for the Bears. Giants are in disarray and have to win. Bears are coming off a short week after an emotional win against their biggest rival for first place in the division. Yet, I’m still picking the Bears because I think they are better than the Giants and they are getting points. Actually you know what, I’m betting the money line on this.

Chicago +175 @ New York Giants