The misery is over… for now. I can officially go back to watching Sportscenter and reading sports media. Despite a strong effort by the defense to give the game away, the Giants pulled out a squeaker against the Falcons yesterday at the Meadowlands, with me, Tom and two other degenerate Giants fans in tow. MGM and friend of the Circle Juan bailed last minute for work/travel related reasons, but there are bigger tragedies in life. To be honest, Juan is probably more upset about not getting a foot-long chili-cheese dog.
G-Men did their best to give me a heart attack and allow my “Matt Ryan drives for last minute, soul-crushing win” theory to come true. Realistically, they were a coin flip away from losing for the 5th time in a row. Hard to believe it was Eli Manning’s first 300 yard day at Giants stadium, but besides the first atrocious Sanchez-like interception he played really well Sunday. 25-39 for 384 and 3 scores, (111.5 rating), and that doesn’t show that the Falcons front 7 were in his grill all day. Offensive line continues to be sketchy. Something is not right with a group that just last year was being called the best in the league. The receiving quartet of Nicks, Smith, Manningham and Boss was unbelievable, even though Madison “Bowling ball hands” Hedgecock catching a touchdown was probably the highlight of the day. Really good to see the Boss-man getting involved. Tom, as usual, was wearing his trusty Steve Smith jersey, and the two other guys we were with decided during the game they wanted Nicks and Manningham ones to complete the receiving core. Instead of paying up for custom jerseys online, they approached another friend of ours who “has a jersey guy.” The jerseys look and feel like authentics, but for ¼ of the price. Pretty sick deal. They wanted size 50 Manningham and a 48 Nicks in blue, which I thought they would have to have custom made. Nope. “He’ll be here in 40 minutes,” said our friend with the connection. The dude happened to have a size 50 Manningham and a 48 Nicks lying around, ready to go? That’s a good jersey guy, but seriously, who has a jersey guy? People have coke guys and ecstasy guys, not jersey guys; but if I had any need for, or really saw the point of having one, I’d use this cat. Job well done.
Defensively I’ll keep it brief. Corey Webster looked like a stud again and Michael Boley continues to make plays with 13 tackles and a sack against his former team. Not really sure what happened to the team defense in the last 6 minutes though. It wasn’t anyone getting beat one-on-one in the passing game, or a bad scheme but just more lack of communication. I like that Sheridan continued to bring pressure and not just sit back in the prevent, but everyone across the board has to play better in that situation. Can’t fault any one person for Tony Gonzalez having a big day, he’s the best tight-end ever, and that’s why. Corners are too small to cover him and linebackers are too slow. That’ll do it.
Will the Giants please cut Lawrence Tynes? Yeah he hit the game winner, but everyone in the stadium or watching at home was convinced he was going to miss it. How do you miss a 31 yarder in the 2nd quarter? Overall, a win is a win, but on a short-week going to a reeling Denver team, I’m not holding my breath.
Another mediocre week for yours truly on the gambling front. Luckily I built up a nice cushion in the early weeks and I’m still ahead overall. Classic Spaniard not knowing when to walk away. Ravens made it closer than I thought they would, but once again Peyton Manning pulled it out. The Colts are 4-0 in November, but have outscored their opponents by only 10 points. Dude can win games. 49ers just barely covered, only sacking Rodgers 2 times in 45 attempts, only 4.4% of his drop-backs, way below the season average of 13%. Saints made me look stupid, as did the Bengals. That’s the second time I’ve been burned betting against the Raiders this year, which probably equals the total from the past 5 years. Broncos’ continued their derail, and I hit on the Bolts.
Despite the Lions not covering, I knew there was a reason I bet on the stink bowl. I said on Friday this game would come down to who makes fewer turnovers, less bone head plays and less bad coaching calls. Well the Browns saved ‘em for the final play. After Stafford was drilled into the ground, injuring his shoulder on what looked like a game saving interception, the Brown’s Hank Poteat was flagged for pass-interference after body-slamming Calvin Johnson. What the fuck was he thinking? Was he doing a CC Brown impression? With Stafford down the Lions were charged with a time-out, one they didn’t have. But because there’s no penalty or time-run off until the second injury timeout, they had one more play. With Stafford down, he would have to sit one play out. That is of course unless Mangini calls a timeout, allowing the Lions to draw-up a play, Stafford to get back in the game. So what does Mangini do? He calls a timeout. After the game he said it was because he didn’t have the right personnel on the field, but it looked like it was to argue with the officials. So of course, in classic Browns fashion, Stafford comes in and throws the winning touchdown. I guess how I felt during the Giants 4 game losing steak is how Browns fans feel all the time. That must suck.
Week 11:
NFL: 3-3
NCAA: 0-1
Total:
NFL: 30-19-1
NCAA: 3-3-1
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