I just miss pick'em week 3 crown

I didn't pick any games vs. the spread this week, mainly because my Chargers and Bears picks last week went wrong.

On the other hand, I'm tied for first in the pick'em pool I'm in, with the $$ riding on the outcome of the Washington at Dallas Monday night. If Dallas wins, and 40 or more points are scored, I win the whole pool. Right now it is 6-6 with the first half winding down, and I need some touchdowns. The guy I'm tied with & I both have Dallas for this game. The tiebreaker is the total, and I have 45 while he went 34, so if Dallas wins and the score is 39 or less, he wins. If it's 40 or more, the score is closer to 45, and I win the whole thing.

It's 9-9 at the half.

If Dallas loses, me and the guy I'm tied with fall back into a 5-way tie with three guys who took the Redskins. One of them has the total at 47, one at 38, and Joe Holcombe, who ran one of the fantasy leagues I played in last year, has 45, same as me. In that case, 47 or more goes to one guy, 46 puts three of us in a tie, 45 down to 42 ties me and Joe, and 41 or less goes to the other guy.

Dallas won, 18-16. The other guy hit the number exactly. Pretty damn pathetic offensive performance from both teams. I think there's a decent chance the Lions will be favored next week at Dallas. The Cowboys looked like shit.

The spread moved down from 6.5 or so to 3.5 by game time. If I was able to bet I would have been all over 'Skins(+6.5) vs. the banged up Cowboys.

Week two lines

The Week 2 lines are out. Black Francis and I guessed the lines yesterday. Lets see how we did.

kansas city at DETROIT(-9)--I said 3.5, Frank said 3. I think Vegas is overrating week 1, while we may be weighing KC's playoff berth last year.

oakland at BUFFALO(-3.5)--I said 3, Frank said Oakland by 3--are the Bills being taken seriously now? I'm not used to this. Frank's really not used to this.

tampa bay at MINNESOTA(-3)--I said 2.5, Frank said 1.5. I can live with being close. Losing to the Chargers trumps losing to the Lions.

chicago at NEW ORLEANS(-7) pretty big dog for a team that just embarrassed the Falcons. I said 4.5, Frank said 3.5. I think the Bears hate has officially gone too far.

baltimore at TENNESSEE(+6) I said 5, Frank said 4, Bill Simmons said 3.5, Cousin Sal said 4.5. So I was closest. Otherwise, I have no opinion...yet.

cleveland at INDIANAPOLIS(+2.5) I said Browns by 3, Frank Browns by 1, Bill and Sal both went Colts by 3. Is Bill off the Browns bandwagon already? Maybe he should be. I wasn't on it, but maybe I should move even further from it. Maybe I should run away screaming.

seahawks at PITTSBURGH(-14.5) We were way low on this: Frank 4.5, me 9, Bill & Sal both 11.5. Steelers probably bounce back, but I still think I'm starting Matthew Stafford over

Big Ben. Does this mean I think the KC Dis worse than Seattle's? More like I'm not trying to time Ben's un-suck.

arizona at WASHINGTON(-4?) This line has moved from 2.5 to 4.5, depending on where you look. Frank & I both said 3, Bill & Sal both said 3.5. I think I expected the Cards to get love they don't deserve. West teams going east suck, and the last place team in the NFC East could be better than the NFC West champ. I'd probably pay give 4, I just thought the line would be lower. I can't believe I've used this much space on this riveting matchup.

green bay at CAROLINA(10.5-9.5) THis line is coming down, towards my pick of 7, though it woun't get that far. Sal went 12.5, Frank went 9, and Bill went 8.5. About our average, and Frank is closest.

dallas at SAN FRANCISCO(+3) We were all dialed in on the excessive Dallas love, tempered by the Jets loss, vs. the bizarre SF love from last year, which may linger on due to new hire Jim Harbaugh, and their victory over the mighty Seahawks. Frank went 2, Bill and Sal went 3.5, and I got one right, with 3. Now I'm trying to figure out how the Cowboys blow this game.

san diego at NEW ENGLAND(-7) This opened at 6.5. I'm not convinced that the Pats pass defense is good enough to win by 7+. I'd defenitely rather take the dog in what looks like a shootout. On the other hand, San Diego usually figures out a way to start out 2-4, and they have to travel east (though for a 4:00 game you'll note) so they are a little bit scary to take. I had NE by 4, Frank 4.5, while Bill & Sal were dialed in at 7.

houston at MIAMI(+3) this opened at 1.5, and moved through my guess of two. Frank had Miami by 3, whie Bill and Sal had Houston by 3.5 and 1.5 respectively. I'm thinking about taking the 'Fins. Not sure I buy the "most improved defense" Texan hype.

cincinnati at DENVER(-3.5) Apparently this opened at 5.5, which seems ridiculous to me. #.5 I'll buy. I said 4, Frank 3, Bill 3, Sal 5.

philadelphia at ATLANTA(+2.5) I had ATL by 2.5, Frank had Philly by 3, Bill & Sal had PHI by 1 and 1.5. Am I nuts to consider the Falcons here?

st louis at NYGIANTS(-6) I said 3.5, Frank 3, Bill said 3.5, and Sal said 6. With the STL injuries I can't disagree too strongly.

So who do I like? So far it's chicago(+6.5)over NEW ORLEANS, and

san diego(+7)over NEW ENGLAND. I may take miami(+3)over HOUSTON too. Or maybe INDY(+2.5)over cleveland .

I also love michigan state(+4.5)over NOTRE DAME. What's ND done to deserve this kind of respect? Fuck Notre Dame.

I go 3-2

I went all dogs in week one, though the local retrograde anti-gambling laws kept me from profiting. Were I in different circumstances, I could have lost with neworleans(+4.5)over GREENBAY, (Packers won, 42-34), and STLOUIS(+3 or 4)over philadelphia, (Eagles won, 31-13), but would have won with carolina(+8)over ARIZONA, (Panthers lost but covered, 28-21), WASHINGTON(+3)over nygiants, 'Skins won, 28-14, and dallas(+6)over NYJETS, Dallas should have won, but blew a 14 point lead, to lose 27-24. I sort of favored the Cowboys at 4.5, but six? SIX???

The Jets just don't score enough to be heavily favored against decent teams. Dallas showed themselves more than capable of losing by close margins last year. I expect the Jets to be favored by too much vs. Jacksonville next week as well. I think I misread the schedule, and guessed

nyj(-9) on the road, but they're at home, so I'm thinking...11?

Will the Cowboy choke job keep them undervalued, or keep the Jets overvalued? We'll see. Way too much love for the 49ers last year, and a new, possibly competent coach in Jim Harbaugh could keep the excessive love going. Ultimately the 'Niner love will hinge on our impressions of the Cardinails and Kevin Kolb, and our belief in Sam Bradford, with or without Steven Jackson, who left with a strained quad after two carries, the first of which went for 48 yards and a score.

My ESPN Fantasy Team went off yesterday, despite my benching Ray Rice (31 points) and Steve Smith adding 40 more on my bench. Mike Tolbert scored 3 TDs and actually outscored Rice, while Matthew Stafford, who I started over Ben Roethlisberger, got 300+ passing yards and 3 TD passes, good for 23 points, while Big Ben earned a big donut on my bench, thanks to three picks and two fumbles. (Turnovers are good for -2 points each in our scoring, and sacks get you -1. If I'd thought more about the Steelers offensive line, I may not have drafted the alleged rapist.

Lions grab first win, 64 fantasy points

The Cowboys line is up to dallas(+6)NYJETS, which is how I would play it, were I in a country where gambling is legal. I asked one of our interpreters if trannys were legal in Afghanistan, and it turns out they aren't either.

But yeah, Dallas lost a lot of games last year, but most of them were pretty damn close. Unless the Jets completely dominate, I don't see them winning by that much. +6 seems ludicrous to me.

On the other hand, Black Francis has Romo, Austin and Witten going against me in fantasy, so I suppose I end up pulling for the Jets, since I can't lay any green the other way. Or trannys, speaking of the other way...

I'd rather not jinx myself, but right now I'm projected to score a league high 181, and win by 30+, with my best player on the bench. Ray Rice was riding a 4 game suck streak vs. the Steelers, but right now he has 107 yards rushing, four catches for 42 yards, and two TDs, so I guess that streak is over. Too bad he's on my bench.

On the other hand, I benched Ben Roethlisberger for Matthew Stafford, and so far that has gotten me 23 more points than I would have had with Big Ben, so arguably my bold moves will work out to a wash, depending on what Mike Tolbert gets me in the 4:00 game.

The Ravens have been having their way with the Steelers all day, and are about to close out a 35-7 victory. The Lions are down to the 2:00 warning with a 27-13 lead at Tampa Bay, though the Bucs are threatening.

Ugh. Freeman to Mike Williams on 4th and goal from the five, and the Bucs are within a score. Calvin Johnson recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Lions do absolutely nothing with their posession (other than make TB burn timeouts) and now the Bucs have the ball, with 1:07 and 80 yards between them and overtime.

:16 to go, and the Bucs are around midfield.

Not sure how it ended, but the Lions held on. I'm going to bed.

Saints Fudge getting Packed

Were I not in a country where betting on sports was illegal, (Afghanistan, not the US) I would have liked to have taken neworleans(+4.5)over GREENBAY. At the moment, the Packers are up 42-27 however. Apparently the Taliban are saving me from myself. In the pigskin pickem I'm playing, I have the Packers, but that's hardly interesting. How often are you going to pick the Pack to lose in Lambeau?

The other games I may be relieved not to have bet include WASHINGTON(+3)over nygiants, STLOUIS(+4)over philadelphia, and carolina(+8)over ARIZONA...WASH is down to +2.5. That may be enough to scare me off the 'Skins.