Friday Football Picks

The 2nd annual Friday Football Picks has ended. After winning most of the season, and then dropping to 3rd, Willard comes back to win at the end. It was unbelievably close between Willard, Jack Flack, and Roget for first place, all 3 separated by mere percentage points, and all 3 picking games that finished almost right on the line the final week of the season.

Willard led most of the season, with Dr. G nipping on his hells. With Dr. G having a Denver Broncos-like collapse this season, Willard was in command. But Willard proved he was human, and couldn't keep up his 60% picking clip. He slowly came back to the pack, and Roget and Jack Flack took advantage. Roget had the lead going into the final week of the season, but couldn't hold off Willard. The final standings are below--

Overall Winning Percentage
1. Willard (53.03%)
2. Jack Flack (52.94%)
3. Roget (52.86%)
4. C-Money (50.00%)
5. Dr. G (46.97%)
6. Mr. Green (43.48%)
7. Hollywood (35.71%)

Eagles Fall Flat to Cowboys

The Eagles lost their final game of the season on Sunday in disappointing fashion 24-0 to the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles were dominated in every facet of the game, and to be honest, the score could have been a lot worse.

The offensive line was terrible, the running game was non-existent because they didn't run the ball, McNabb was not very good, the receivers were bad, the defense was terrible, and the coaching was terrible. All of that combines for the disappointing loss. With the loss, the Eagles drop from what could have been the #2 seed and a first round bye to the #6 seed and a 2nd straight trip to Dallas to play the 3rd seeded and NFC East champion Cowboys.

I don't understand why the Eagles don't try to get the ball in their playmakers hands. I personally would like to see McCoy and Weaver touch the ball a lot more than they did this game. Running back is a position on the team where you usually have your most athletic, quickest players. These guys are weapons, and Reid did not use them on Sunday. Westbrook looked bad in my opinion, and they Eagles need to get back to what won games for them down the stretch - getting the ball in the hands of McCoy and Weaver a lot more.

Of course, it would also help if the Eagles weren't dominated up front on both sides of the football. The offensive line was bad from the start, and McNabb was under pressure most of the day. The Cowboys were getting pressure when they didn't even blitz. On the other side of the ball, the Eagles couldn't even get in the Cowboys backfield. Even on rushing plays, Marion Barber, and Felix Jones were getting past the line of scrimmage with ease. On passing plays, Tony Romo had all day, and he is too good to allow to sit back and throw all day with open lanes. The Eagles have been responsible for a lot of Romo's worst games of his career, so they know what happens when you get pressure on him. The Eagles did not blitz a lot, and that might have been because they did not want to show the Cowboys anything in the 2nd half, I'm not sure.

Costly mistakes also were key. McNabb missed DeSean Jackson on a fly route early in the game which would have made it a 7-7 game. Jeremy Maclin dropped a wide open pass that went through his hands on a 3rd down. McNabb fumbled a snap down at the Cowboys 10 yard line.

The Eagles will need to put that loss behind them, and get re-focused and come in with a different attitude if they do not want their offseason to start next weekend.

Eagles-Cowboys Preview

The Eagles take on the Cowboys tomorrow, in what is one of the biggest regular season games in a while for both teams. Both teams are in the playoffs, but depending on what happens in this game and others, both teams could fall into as high as the #2 seed, or as low as the #6 seed.

The Eagles are in the better position sitting at 11-4 right now. The Eagles are in the #2 slot right now, and control their own destiny for that spot. If the Eagles win tomorrow, they are the #2 seed in the NFC, and get a first round bye. If they lose, the Cowboys win the NFC East, and the Eagles could end up dropping to as low as the #6 seed in the NFC playoffs, and possibly a 2nd straight trip to Dallas to play the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs.

As for the game itself, both teams come in playing really good football. The Cowboys have won 2 straight and playing well, showing that they don't necessarily choke every December. The Eagles have won 6 straight, and their offense especially is clicking on all cylinders. On offense, the Eagles will need to really run the ball effectively, and give McNabb time to throw the ball. I think that is the key to the game for the Eagles... the offensive line needs to give McNabb time to throw the ball. If this happens, the offense can play as they want to, and McNabb will have time to find Jackson, Maclin, or Celek downfield.

On defense, I think the Eagles really need to get to Romo, and get pressure on him, and be in his face all game long. The Eagles first need to do a good job against the Cowboys rushing attack, and not let the Cowboys beat you on the ground. We also need to focus on shutting down Jason Witten. As we know, the Eagles struggle with opposing tight ends, and Witten is one of the best in the NFL, so that will be an important matchup for the Eagles.

It will be interesting to see what the Eagles game plan is, and how they come out of the gates. I think that getting a lead in this game is very important. We need to be able to play from ahead. The Eagles are the best first half team in the NFL, and best opening drive team in the NFL, so hopefully the Eagles will jump out to a quick lead.

Flyers Lose Winter Classic

The Flyers lost to the Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime today in another great Winter Classic game. The rain and snow held off, and the game went on as planned. It started to get dark and chippy by the end of the game, and the Flyers allowed a late Bruins goal in regulation, and then in overtime to lose the game.

Overall, the game was great to watch, and I'm sure was fun to be at and play in. The atmosphere was great. Flyers fans, who are the best in the NHL packed Fenway Park, and you could hear Flyers chants throughout the game. The Flyers got a goal early in the 2nd period on the first career goal by Danny Syvret. The Flyers had a lot of chances throughout the 2nd period, and dominated most of the action that period.

The 1-0 lead held up through most of the 3rd period as well, until the refs gave the Bruins a bullshit power play with less than 4 minutes left in the game. Former Flyer, Mark Recchi scored on the ensuing power play with a little over 2 minutes left. I am a huge believer that referees do not like the Flyers at all. I know the Flyers play rough, and they lead the league in penalty minutes, but they always seem to have a target on their backs. Because of that reputation, refs are always going to call the Flyers on weak penalties, that other teams would not get called for.

Either way, the game went into overtime, but before that, the Flyers got another penalty called against them with under a minute left in the 3rd period. The Flyers fought that penalty off, but the Bruins scored a goal a couple minutes into the overtime period to win the game and the Winter Classic. Right before the Bruins scored, Danny Briere had a wide open net with the puck on his stick, but couldn't get a shot off. If the game were indoors, Briere probably buries that, but he wasn't able to get the shot off with the chippy ice in overtime. I will say that Michael Leighton was solid in net all night for the Flyers, and there wasn't much he could do on the 2 goals that were scored against him.

Even though it seems like it is tough to play on, and the conditions aren't as good as a regular indoor game, I am a big fan of the Winter Classic, and was glad the Flyers were chosen to play in it, even though I am very disappointed with the outcome. Also am disappointed we had to watch that fat phony, Curt Schilling during the 1st intermission wearing a Bruins jersey talk about Philadelphia and Boston fans.

Friday Football Picks

Roget – Overall Record: (36-30-1)

Titans (-4.5) at Seahawks

Texans (-8) vs. Patriots

Steelers (-3) at Dolphins

Eagles (+3) at Cowboys

Jack Flack – Overall Record: (34-30-3)

South Florida (-7) vs. Northern Illinois

Texas Tech (-8) vs. Michigan State

Central Michigan (-3.5) vs. Troy

Eagles (+3) at Cowboys

Willard – Overall Record: (32-30-2)

Titans (-4.5) at Seahawks

Falcons (-1.5) at Buccaneers

Chiefs (+13.5) at Broncos

Packers (+3) at Cardinals

C-Money – Overall Record (29-29-2)

West Virginia (-2.5) vs. Florida State

Steelers (-3) at Dolphins

Jaguars (+1) at Browns

Bears (-3) at Lions

Dr. G - Overall Record (31-31-2)

Missouri (-6.5) vs. Navy

West Virginia (-2.5) vs. Florida State

Cincinnati (-13) vs. Florida

Georgia Tech (-4) vs. Iowa

Mr. Green – Overall Record: (30-35-2)
Cincinnati (+13) vs. Florida
Central Michigan (-3.5) vs. Troy
LSU (-1) vs. Penn State
West Virginia (-2.5) vs. Florida State

Hollywood - Overall Record: (24-42-1)

Texans (-8) vs. Patriots

Bengals (+10) at Jets

Giants (+9) at Vikings

Browns (-1) vs. Jaguars

Overall Winning Percentage
1. Roget (55%)
2. Jack Flack (53%)
3. Willard (52%)
4. C-Money (50%)
4. Dr. G (50%)
6. Mr. Green (46%)
7. Hollywood (36%)