Around the NFL, Week 6

Eagles 31, Falcons 17
I'm not necessarily surprised that the Eagles won this game, but I am surprised at the fact that Atlanta's defense had such a poor performance. That had been their most consistent unit this season. Of course, Atlanta's loss just further drives home the point that the NFC is wide open.

Steelers 28, Browns 10
Roethlisberger had 3 TDs in his return (not that they really count against Cleveland), but I was more impressed with Colt McCoy's rather not-godawful numbers. Despite five sacks the kid completed nearly 70% of his passes for 281 yards and a TD. He had two interceptions, but an 80.5 rating in your first career start is impressive anytime, especially against Pittsburgh.

Dolphins 23, Packers 20
Finally, the Packers fans have shut the hell up. God bless you, Miami.

Giants 28, Lions 20
The Lions lost Shaun Hill to injury, thus forcing them all the way down to their third string QB as they earned loss number 5. Oh, you poor unfortunate franchise.

Saints 31, Bucs 6
There we go.

Rams 20, Chargers 17
My God, the Chargers (and their entire division) suck.

Texans 35, Chiefs 31
I'm sorry, but all I can really take from this game is that Houston's secondary is bad enough to allow Matt Cassel to complete 20 of 29 for 3 TDs. SHAME.

Patriots 23, Ravens 20
While I hate the Patriots more than the Ravens (but make no mistake, I loathe the Ravens), I have to admit that Tom Brady's line after the game that the Ravens "talk alot for beating us once in 9 years" was pretty damn funny, since no one has more of an undeserved sense of accomplishment in the NFL than the Ravens. I still can't figure out why they're considered an "elite" organization in the ranks with the Steelers, Colts, and Patriots when those teams have averaged 10, 11, and 11 wins per year respectively, while all three have made at least two appearances in the Superbowl and have 1 or more Superbowl wins, while the Ravens have missed the playoffs 40% of the time, have averaged 9 wins a season, and have only made it as far as the AFC Championship game Once since they won the Superbowl in 2000. They're certainly in the top ten teams of this decade, but outside of Ray Lewis no one on that team can ever claim to have accomplished something close to what the Patriots have done.

49ers 17, Raiders 9
Both of these teams are really bad. The sad thing is that it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility for either of them to make the playoffs in their divisions (although the 49ers appear to be in more dire straights than the Raiders even with this victory).

Jets 24, Broncos 20
In 22 games under Josh McDaniels, the Broncos are 10-12. That's not too bad until you realize they're 4-12 in their last 16 games. Then it's hilarious.

Vikings 24, Cowboys 21
So the Vikings beat a 1-3 team that committed 11 penalties, threw 2 interceptions, received a questionable PI call, and dropped what would have been another Favre pick-six, and I'm supposed to begin trembling that "this is the week that the comeback began!" I'll believe it when the Vikings can gain more than 188 yards of total offense.

Colts 27, Redskins 24
Indy fumbled 3 times in a desperate attempt to give the Redskins a game that the Colts should have run away with. I find that kind of charity admirable, but they alas, they didn't finish the job.

Titans 30, Jaguars 3
Vince Young got hurt and Kerry Collins managed the Titans (he had just 110 yards passing) to a 27 point win, so I'm going to assume Jeff Fisher will heap all of the credit on Kerry and go home and pray that VY's knee injury is season-ending.

Also, I will be out of town for the rest of the week starting tomorrow, so I'll be taking a few days off, meaning no prognostication bukakke this week. It's not like it would matter, because Iggins! couldn't gain one damn game in a week when I picked both Illinois AND Texas A&M. My lead still stands at 11. Anywho, sorry to disappoint, but I'll be back on Sunday night with my (hopefully positive) commentary on the game against the Redskins. See ya.

Around College Football, Week 7

Michigan State 26, Illinois 6
I have to say that this game was much closer than the final score indicated. If Nathan Scheelhaase had any ability to pass Illinois may have been in line for the upset. Either way, I still like the Illini's chances to make it to a bowl this year since their running game and defense are legit. Oh, and Michigan State may win the Big Ten (starts stocking bomb shelter).

Iowa 38, Michigan 28
This game played out exactly the way I expected it to. You are who I thunk you was, Michigan.

Texas 20, Nebraska 13
Oh what the fuck? God damn you, Nebraska. When you have a chance to sink Texas' season into the abyss you PULL THE GOD DAMN TRIGGER.

Auburn 65, Arkansas 43
Holy shitballs. Did you watch this game? The beloved armcock of Ryan Mallett went down and yet his backup, a young lad also trained in the QB arts by Bobby Petrino (love him or hate him, he knows the passing game), threw for 4 TDs and yet lost the game by 22 points because Auburn is just a relentless juggernaut on offense that will run some combination of the same five plays and you will not stop them because Cam Newton is big and fast and well, that combination is the most effective one in football.

Kentucky 31, South Carolina 28
God dammit. I wanted so badly to pick Kentucky in this game. Absolutely nothing about this surprises me. South Carolina will never allow itself to win an SEC title. Ever. I'm also not surprised that Steve Spurrier decided to take a chance on a fade into the end zone than just moving the ball a few more yards and kicking the FG for overtime. I'm least surprised that Stephen Garcia was intercepted. The more goodwill that kid earns with his 3 TD passes in quarters 1-3, the more he works to fuck it away in quarter 4.

Wisconsin 31, Ohio State 18
Boom. Called it.

Washington 35, Oregon State 34 (2OT)
This game was fun to watch. Jake Locker finally looked like the guy people thought he'd be, as he had 5 TD passes. Oregon State followed the unwritten football rules and went for the 2 PT conversion and the win on the road and came one dropped pass shy of getting it. Tough break, Beavers.