Contenders & Pretenders

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

Week 10 is almost in the books, so what have we learned? In my mind, this week went a long way towards separating some of the contenders from the pretenders. A few teams that came into this season with high expectations were slapped back to reality - seeing their quick starts and any hope of doing anything in the playoffs go down in flames.

THE PRETENDERS

The Jacksonville Jaguars were thought by many to be a team that could contend in the AFC this year. Jacksonville started out the week by naming David Garrard as the starting QB for their game against Houston - Garrard and the Jags offence was ineffective to say the least. They may have one of the league's better defences, but they don't have enough on offence to get it done.

The Cincinnati Bengals scored 21 first quarter points and blew a 28-7 halftime lead against the Chargers. Marvin Lewis was telling anyone who would listen that they would build on the lessons they learned last year - the Bengals are a team in turmoil and are spiralling out of playoff contention. The chemistry on the team is awful and I think they have given up on their coach - time to blow it up and start over with Palmer, Johnson and Houshmanzadeh. Mike Brown insists his team is made up of good character men...I'll let you insert your own joke.

The Atlanta Falcons lost to the Cleveland Browns who boast the league's worst offence. I am convinced you can't win with Michael Vick as your QB - you can't count on this guy, he is too damn inconsistent. Their defence is undersized and can be worn down - if you can get to them, you put the game in the hands of Vick and that is a crap shoot at best. Atlanta won't be a factor if they get to the playoffs.

Other teams that should be concerned, though it is a bit early to push panic button - NY Giants, and Seattle.


THE CONTENDERS

The San Diego Chargers served notice today that they are indeed for real - coming back from a 21 point halftime deficit and scoring 42 points in the second half should have sent a message to everyone else in the AFC. They have the league's best running back (or 1A if you like Larry Johnson), a good young QB in Phillip Rivers and a dominant defence - they might win in spite of Marty (unfortunately for Hazel, the Chiefs never managed to do that).

The Baltimore Ravens came back to win a game they probably should have lost - I know it was only the Titans, but they still came back from being down by nine in the 4th quarter. McNair adds another dimension to this team - if their defence is healthy come playoff time, they will be dangerous and will upset someone.

I know there is still a lot of time...but I still think this week was very telling.


HAZEL'S THREE STARS

Chicago's Devin Hester returned a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD against the Giants - not only was it the longest play in NFL history, it effectively killed the Giants. Hester is definitely a game breaker.

San Diego got four touchdowns from LaDainian Tomlinson in a come from behind win against the Bengals - but the star has to go to Phillip Rivers who was 24/36 for 337 yards and 3 TDs. Yesterday's game said a lot about Rivers' composure and confidence.

Green Bay's WR Donald Driver caught 6 passes for 191 yards including an 82 yard TD in a win over the Vikings.


MONDAY THREE PLAY
We had a bad day yesterday and could have salvaged it with a play on the Bears...oh well. Back to our winning ways tonight. Balance sheet is at +$400.

Carolina -10 over Tampa Bay - 10 points is a lot to give up, but I'm looking for Carolina's D to dominate tonight. Expect the Panthers' offence to try to wear down the small Bucs D and Delhomme to do enough to cover this one. Lay $75 on Carolina (for those of you interested...the money line has Carolina -$525 to win straight up...tempting).

San Jose over Los Angeles - the Sharks should coast easily in this one, the Kings are having a hard enough time against some of the league's average teams, can't see them keeping it close against one of the league's best. Lay $50 on the Sharks -$220.

Don't know about a third play today...back later if there is another game I like.

There you have it gang...Have a great one Peeps!

HAZEL'S MONDAY HOROSCOPE
If you sit around letting everyone else make a move, you will lose out. You should be pursuing contracts or clearing up any settlements or legal concerns you have. The sooner you take care of business, the better it will be for you. 3 stars

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Day on Hazelspeeps - its grey and gloomy here

I Try - Macy Gray

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!