Who Really Won Thursday Night?

The Patriots may have lost on Thursday night, but Matt Cassel certainly didn’t. I’m not saying Cassel doesn’t care about the team, and I’m sure he would love to lead the Patriots into the playoffs, but after Thursday’s 400 yard passing, 60 yard rushing performance, he has to be thinking just a little selfishly. This guy hadn’t started a game since high school before this year. He knows that the Patriots job is not his after this year, and he’s going to be somewhere else next year if he knows what’s good for him. His stock rises with every game, and he has to be thinking about contract offers after he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Personally I could care less about what happens to him after this year, I just want to see the Pats win, but you got to feel good for this guy as he develops right in front of everyone’s eyes. As for the actual game, well, screw the Jets I don’t want to talk about it. Patriots will still end up winning the division though; that is a promise.

Not an ideal start, but not a bad one. I’ll certainly take it and use it as a stepping stone. 8-5 last week; above .500, but not at a high enough winning percentage to ultimately meet my goal. It’s still going to have to improve from here on out. I did make a miscalculation last week however (sorry, the only math class I’ve taken in college was Baseball Statistics). I said that there were eight weeks left, 14 games a week, for a total of 112. Subtract one for the Thursday night game, and you get 111. What I forgot though, was that last week was the last week for byes. So, for these last seven weeks, there will be 16 games a week. Seven times 16 is 112. So, I thought I had 111 games before last week, but it turns out I actually have 112 as of right now. Let’s be realistic though, I’m way too busy a person to have my picks done before Thursday night, and there’s no way I’ll be able to get them done for the Thursday night games (which no one watches anyways because no one has the stupid NFL Network). I have too many things to do on my schedule, like sleep, eat, watch TV, paroose the Internet aimlessly, maybe go to an occasional class; I could go on forever. But anyways, let’s eliminate some of those games I won’t get to. I will be able to do all three on Turkey Day, and there is no Thursday game for week 17. Ok, so that’s a total of five games that I will miss. That brings my total games left to 107. After last week, my record has moved to 29-66-1. So now to officially announce what I must do to accomplish my goal: I must finish the season 72-34-1 or better to be above .500. Really not much different at all from last week’s prediction of 76-35. That means that 8-5, although not a bad start, is unacceptable from now on. 10-5 or better every week. Let’s get to work.

Atlanta (-6.5) over Denver

Montana to Rice; child’s play. Manning to Harrison; amateur hour. Matt Ryan to Roddy White is the connection of the future. They’re going to break all the records, and Denver’s suspect defense is going to help them on the way.

Miami (-10) over Oakland

Dolphin’s defense is going to literally eat the Oakland offense alive. They’re easily going to score more points on the day than Jamarcus Russell and Co.

NY Giants (-7) over Baltimore

Raven’s defense will keep them in the game, but ultimately I see more problems being caused by the Giant’s big play defense against the rookie Flacco, despite his solid play recently.

Indianapolis (-8) over Houston

As much as I hate to say it, back-to-back wins over New England and Pittsburgh have me starting to once again fear the Colts. With Sage Rosenfels at the helm for Houston, I feel my fears will only be reiterated this week.

Tennessee (-3) over Jacksonville

I find it hard to believe the Titans are still undefeated. They seem like the worst undefeated team of all time, but that’s just because that’s how the media portrays them because they can win ugly. Lots of people like this upset pick, but a big win over the powerhouse Lions doesn’t convince me that the Jags are good enough to win this game.

Green Bay (-3.5) over Chicago

I don’t know why I continue to pick Green Bay in all these tight games. I can’t give up on them though, and with a 40% percent chance of snow at Lambeau, I’m not going to start going against them today.

Philadelphia (-9) over Cincinnati

Cincinnati has played their NFC opponents close this year (Dallas, NY Giants) but that pattern is not going to continue. The Eagles will dump a heaping pile of points on the Bengals.

New Orleans (-5.5) over Kansas City

I refuse to go against Drew Brees if unless he is playing one of the best defenses in the league. Kansas City is not one of those, and even without Bush the Saints offense will continue to look good. They’ll be real scary when Bush gets back and everyone’s healthy.

Carolina (-14) over Detroit

Umm, I don’t know what to say. Do I really need to give a reason for this one? Nah, didn’t think so.

Minnesota (+4.5) over Tampa Bay

Adrian Peterson is the NFL’s version of LeBron James. He is the definition of a man. Minnesota is a good team that has suffered up until now because of a difficult schedule, but now I think is when they start to create some distance in the NFC North race, lead by AD.

San Francisco (-6.5) over St. Louis

49ers are looking for some redemption after Monday night’s fiasco. St. Louis still has no Steven Jackson aka no offense.

Arizona (-3) over Seattle

Hasselbeck’s return is not going to make a difference; Seattle has way bigger problems than who’s starting at QB. Warner will throw for his typical 500 yards, and the Seahawks will have no answer for Fitzgerald or Boldin.

Pittsburgh (-5) over San Diego

I really don’t know what to say about the Chargers. There is no reason they should be doing this poorly with all the talent they have. I didn’t realize the Norv Turner factor would have such a big affect. The Steelers may be banged up, but they’re still a better team than the Chargers are right now.

Dallas (-1.5) over Washington

Romo’s return will have to revitalize the Cowboys, because if they are going to make a push for the playoffs it’s going to have to start now. I think Romo will get right back into the swing of things, and I think he’ll make use of his newest weapon, the other Roy Williams.

Cleveland (+5.5) over Buffalo

The Browns have been just wading in the water all year until last week, when their offense showed some life under Brady Quinn. The decision to go with Quinn will benefit the Browns in the long run, and it will also benefit them this week against a team that's lost three straight.