This season’s recurring theme: Teams I picked to win blowing games in the final seconds.
Last week, of course, we had the Eagles inexplicably blowing a 21-7 4th quarter lead to the Giants. This week? First off, we have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Up by 1 with under two minutes to go, they allow the Panthers (whose offense this season has been inept at best) to march down the field and kick the game-winning field goal. But this game bothers me much less than the Cardinal’s unforgivable loss to the Rams. Kurt Warner, after previously fumbling and throwing three interceptions, fumbles the snap at the 20 yard line as Arizona is trying to run down the clock before kicking a game-winning field goal. Instead, the Cardinals lose by 2 and Warner’s job security looks a lot less sound than it did two weeks ago. As do my chances of beating Brian in picks this year, now that I have a 3 pick deficit to dig myself out of.
Anyway, let’s move on the Monday night game, shall we?
Atlanta (2-0, 1-0 away)
at
New Orleans (2-0, 0-0 home)
The Falcons’ running game has been NFL Street-esque so far this season. Part of me is hoping that they take away the out of bounds rule tonight just so Michael Vick can bust a wall move and jump over the Saints defenders. The more serious part of me though, the softer, gentler but no less sensible part, wants to see the Saints to win tonight, in the first game at the Super Dome since 2004, inspire the city of New Orleans and give them hope as they continue the long rebuilding process. While it may have seemed, at the beginning of the season, unrealistic to expect the Saints to have a chance in this game, my head and my heart now seem much closer to agreeing on a prediction for this game. I won’t spend any more time reiterating how good Atlanta’s running game has been, because we know that they will run early, often and successfully in this game. The question here is whether or not Drew Brees can continue the success that he has had through the air in their first 2 games. He looked particularly solid last week against Green Bay, winning a shootout with Brett Favre by throwing for 353 yards and 2 touchdowns. Can he have similar success against the Falcons’ defense? Well, Joey Galloway beat the Atlanta secondary on nearly every play last week. Granted, he is one of the speedier receivers in the league, but I think that Atlanta’s secondary is a little suspect. But Brees won’t be able to exploit it unless his offensive line can hold off the Atlanta pass rush, which has looked pretty solid this year. And he will need Bush and McAlister to contribute on the ground in order to help open things up. The Saints have a lot more question marks than the Falcons do, but they have a huge edge emotionally. John Madden called the Patriots out during their horrendous loss to the Broncos last night and said that the Pats were playing “without passion”. Passion is an integral part of success and while I do believe that the Falcons have the better team, I think that the Saints have a LOT more to play for here than Atlanta and will find a way to win tonight.
My Pick:
The Saints continue to inspire the city of New Orleans
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1 comment:
Great pick. I am such an ass because all i really really wanted the saints to win--but half my fantasy team is on the falcons (well, Dunn and the Def) but i was really really torn. Hindsight 20/20 i should have picked this game because the saints were who i wanted to win. maybe if i knew i was gonna watch the game ( i didn't because it was during my class this morning) i would have picked the saints so i could root for them the whole night (morning). but anyway, great pick, and now you're only two down.
i was looking and someone in out pick em only got 2 right but completed this week. is that possible?
i think next year i'm going to set it so it's against the spread, so it'll be way harder, and it'll give us practice for when we start gambling in real life. (Did someone say Vagas trip senior year?)
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