The NFL Playoffs are Here

Bleeding Sports is back in business just in time for the 2008 NFL playoffs. What better way to get back in the swing of things than to kick start the 2nd annual NFL Playoff Pick’em between the Bleeding Sports Brain Trust and The PickMeister. Last year, the Brain Trust dominated the contest finishing with a stud record of 9-2 while the PickMeister limped through the postseason finishing under .500 at 5-6.

What history repear itself? Only time will tell. Stay with Bleeding Sports throughout the NFL playoffs and find who truly KNOWS THE SCORE. Enjoy the games.


2008 NFL Wildcard Playoff Picks

Home Team in CAPS

The PickMeister: J. Daniel

Alright NFL playoff time is back and so is our "Playoff Pick’em". Last year was bull****, the Bleeding Sports Brain Fool is a bigger cheater than Belichick. Luckily we took away his camera and gave him a suspension so he won’t be doing that anymore. Now here are the winning picks for the Wildcard Round.

Washington(+4) over SEATTLE

The Skins are on tear led by veteran QB2 Todd Collins. They’re 4-0 with Collins behind center, dominating their opponents, including the playoff bound New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, by a combined margin of 52 points. While Seattle did put together a good season, finishing 10-6, it was unimpressive. The Hawks were only able to beat one team that finished over .500. Although Seattle can be a tough place to play with their ‘12th Man’, the Skins are just too hot right now. Take Washington with the points.


Jacksonville (Even) over PITTSBURGH

This game should be a no-brainer. Pittsburgh has been on a slide of late, losing 4 of their last 7, including a 22-29 defeat against, you guessed it, the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game Taylor and Jones-Drew combined for a total of 216 yards rushing, which was only one less than Pittsburgh’s total yards. To make things worse the Steelers are without Willie Parker, who rushed for over 1300 yards this year. The Steelers should be no match for the 11-5 Jaguars. Take Jacksonville to win.


NY Giants (+2.5) over TAMPA BAY

The G-Men may be coming off their best game of the season in their loss to the Patriots. Eli Manning threw for over 250 yards and 4 TDs, showing some of his potential Giants fans haven’t seen since Week 1. If Eli can be consistent and play mistake free this Sunday, the Giants running game should bull over the Tampa D who are giving up over 100 yards rushing per game. Take New York with the points.


Tennessee (+9.5) over SAN DIEGO

The Chargers started the season slow but have been nearly unstoppable since Week 5, winning 10 of their last 12 games. The Titans, on the other hand, have quietly put together a decent season, going in 10-6 in the undoubtedly best division in the NFL. The 9.5 point spread is quite large considering the two went into overtime when they met 4 weeks ago. Although the Chargers will be at home this weekend, the Titans defense with Haynesworth in the game will be able to slow down LT and San Diego just enough to keep them from covering. Take Tennessee with the points.


The Bleeding Sports Brain Trust: G. Francis

Thank you, thank you. The champ is back fresh of dominating Mr. J. Daniel's fantasy football league and ready to embarass him for a second striaght year in our Bleeding Sports NFL Playoff Pick'em. On to the picks!

SEATTLE (-4) over Washington

Initially I wanted to go with Washington in this game. The Redskins have essentially been playing playoff games for the past 4 weeks and have the extra motivation of playing for fallen teammate Sean Taylor. Seattle has been flying under the radar most of the season as they once again cruised to a division title in the weak NFC West. The Seahawks have been fairly one-dimensional for most of season given the fact that Shaun Alexander’s performance has slipped so far so fast. With that being said, I would like to see Washington pull this game out and continue one of the more intriguing stories in the NFL this season. However, Washington has had to exert so much effort just to get into the postseason and between traveling cross country on a short week combined with the Seattle’s distinct home field advantage will be too much for Washington to overcome.


Jacksonville (Even) over PITTSBURGH

The line to this contest has since shifted with the Jags now favored on the road against a Steelers team that is historically tough to beat at home. When the Steelers choke at home in the playoffs it usually isn’t until the AFC Championship game. This season the Steelers won’t have to worry about that because they aren’t getting out of the first round. Jacksonville physically manhandled Pittsburgh in their first meeting and is playing as well as any team in the league. Look for another big night from both Jaguar running backs, Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Meanwhile, the Steelers have been unimpressive and the loss of RB Willie Parker means the team must to rely on the likes of Najeh Davenport in the running game. Ultimately, Big Ben will be dropping back to pass more than to coach Mike Tomlin’s liking and the Steelers’ suspect offensive line will be their undoing.


NY Giants (+2.5) over TAMPA BAY

What approach is better for preparing your team for the playoffs: Resting your key players in the final week or playing your entire team even if the game is virtually meaningless? That question will be answered when the Giants and Buccaneers take the field on Sunday. Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden decided to rest seemingly all his starters in the regular season finale while the Giants went all out trying to prevent the Patriot’s from a perfect season in what turned out to be the most entertaining game of the entire NFL regular season. The key to this game is Giants’ QB Eli Manning who needs to play well and limit the mistakes and inconsistency that has plagued him all season. Tampa Bay’s defense will be aggressive and try to force Eli into mistakes which means the Giants’ must run the football successfully to take the pressure off the quarterback. Last week, New York proved that they can play with the elite in the NFL and if they perform at that level in Tampa they should win easily. For Tampa Bay, QB Jeff Garcia has barely played in the last month and while RB Ernest Graham has had a nice season, he isn’t a game breaker. On paper, the Giants are the better team and should play with a load of confidence after standing toe to toe with New England. The G-Men get over the first round hump and win outright.


SAN DIEGO (-9.5) over Tennessee

I would have really liked to see Cleveland in this game because Tennessee is tough to watch and it could get ugly in a hurry on Sunday in San Diego. The Titans are banged up. Starting tight End Bo Scaife and WR Roydell Williams are both on the shelf while QB Vince Young is a game-time decision. However, the reason the Titans are in the playoffs has little to do with Young and offense and a lot to do with a stout defense which will have their hands full with Tomlinson, Gates and company. The Chargers turned their season around after a 1-3 start and are still one of the most talented teams in the league on both sides of the ball. The Chargers are +24 in turnover differential while Titan’s are inexperienced on offense and feature fumble prone RB LenDale White. This was a close game when these two teams played a few weeks ago, but don’t expect Tennessee to keep pace on the scoreboard this time around. The Chargers have something to prove after a couple of past playoff disasters so look for the San Diego to win and win big.

Jimmy Kimmel Misses Joe Theismann

While watching the Giants - Falcons game on Monday Night Football this past week viewers were treated to the comedy of one Jimmy Kimmel. The late night talk show host on ESPN sister network ABC just couldn't help but mention former MNF analyst Joe Theismann on more than one occasion.

More hilarious than his actual remarks is the dead silence reaction from the MNF trio of Tirico, Jaworski, and Kornheiser. The Worldwide Leader has now apparently banned Kimmel from the Monday Night Football booth. ESPN should take that one step further and ban every "celebrity" from the booth and stop turning MNF into a variety show. The trend these days is to turn sports broadcasts into entertainment spectacles in order to attract the casual television viewer. The problem is that this technique alienates the core audince of true sports fans who are tuning in to watch a sporting event and not a sideshow. So ESPN, how about just sticking to football? I mean does any football fan really want to hear from Christian Slater in the middle of a NFL game?

Yankees vs. Cleveland 6:37

Let's GO Chinnie Chinnie Wang Wang

Hop Aboard the NFL Quarterback Carousel

One week in the books of the 2007 NFL season and the quarterback carousel is already in full operation mode. As many as five teams will have a different signal caller starting in Week 2 than who started in the first game of the year. The overriding theme for all but one of these clubs is an injury to the starter as just one game, which further magnifies the battle of attrition that is the NFL. Here a look at who’s in and who’s out behind center in Week 2.

NY Giants
Week 1 Starter: Eli Manning
Probable Week 2 Starter: Jared Lorenzen
Scratch That: Manning to start vs. Packers
Rule number #19 – Never listen to ESPN. If you believed their constant report on Manning’s injured shoulder you would have thought Eli’s arm was about to fall off and his season was over. Well, news out of New York this morning is that Manning will start Big Blue’s home opener against Green Bay. Don’t expect Chris Mortensen to be in attendance.

NY Jets
Week 1 Starter: Chad Pennington
Probable Week 2 Starter: Kellen Clemens
Sounds like all the classless J-E-T-S fans will get their wish and see Kellen Clemens under center come Sunday. Mr. Clemens will try to follow such legendary names as Smith, Feeley, and Harrington in the storied lineage of Oregon quarterbacks in the NFL. Be careful what you wish for.

Cleveland Browns
Week 1 Starter: Charlie Frye
Expected Week 2 Starter: Derek Anderson
Projected Week 5 Starter: Brady Quinn
Started season opener, traded before the second game - Charlie Frye never stood a chance. The Browns traded their former starting quarterback to Seattle for a sixth round draft pick. After beating backup Derek Anderson in the preseason for the job, Frye couldn't even make it out of the first half Sunday against the Steelers and couldn't even make it to the second game with the Browns. Now Anderson gets to keep the seat warm for Mr. Brady Quinn. With Cleveland going nowhere again the question is, what are the Browns waiting for?

Oakland Raiders
Week 1 Starter: Josh McCown
Probable Week 2 Starter: Daunte Culpepper
Projected Not to See the Field this Season: JaMarcus Russell
McCown put up solid numbers though for the Raider any positive yardage at all offensively would be giant step forward compared to last season.

Baltimore Ravens
Week 1 Starter: Steve McNair
Possible Week 2 Starter: Kyle Boller
Ole Air McNair had a nightmare of a game against the Bengals last Monday night and topped it off with a groin injury. Boller stepped in and nearly led Baltimore to victory. McNair’s status for this Sunday in up in the air, but while coach Brian Billick may feel more comfortable with McNair, it’s clear the veteran doesn’t have much left in the tank and Boller may be the better option at this point.

Causalities Aplenty After Week 1 in NFL

The first weekend of the NFL season acted as a reminder of just how violent and dangerous the game of football can be. At this point, 6 players are confirmed to out for the rest of the season and that number is likely to increase later in the week. That number does not include the horrific life-threatening spinal cord injury suffered by Bills tight end Kevin Everett while making a special teams tackle on the second half kickoff against the Broncos. Bleeding Sports sends our thoughts and best wishes to Kevin Everett and his family. The play is a haunting reminder of just how brutal and unfair life and a simply game can be. While these athletes sometimes seem larger than life us fans who cheer them on, Everett's injury is a haunting reminder that these gridiron warriors are still human and that the game of football can be tragically unforgiving.

The brutality of the game was magnified after just one week of action in the NFL. Here is a rundown of players who suffered injuries during the NFL's kickoff weekend:

(Players who suffered season-ending injuries in italics)

AFC

LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore - Triceps
QB Steve McNair, Baltimore - Groin
KR B.J. Sams, Baltimore – Knee
OT Jonathan Ogden - Toe

TE Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore – Ankle
DS Ko Simpson, Buffalo - Ankle
CB Jason Webster, Buffalo - Forearm
DS Coy Wire, Buffalo – Knee
PK Shayne Graham, Cincinnati – Hip
DS Jason Simmons, Houston - Knee
PK Josh Scobee, Jacksonville – Knee
OG Chris Naeole, Jacksonville – Knee
WR Eddie Kennison, Kansas City – Hamstring
DS Yeremiah Bell, Miami – Achilles
QB Chad Pennington, NY Jets - Ankle

NFC

OC Al Johnson, Arizona - Knee
DS Mike Brown, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Dustin Dvoracek, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Jason Ferguson, Dallas - Elbow
RB T.J. Duckett, Detroit – Ankle
CB Al Harris, Green Bay – Elbow
FB Tony Richardson, Minnesota – Forearm
RB Chester Taylor, Minnesota – Oblique
CB Kevin Dockery, NY Giants - Ankle
RB Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants - Knee/MCL
QB Eli Manning, NY Giants – Shoulder
DE Osi Umenyiora, NY Giants – Knee
CB Lito Sheppard, Philadelphia – Knee
WR D.J. Hackett, Seattle – Ankle
CB Brian Kelly, Seattle – Groin
OT Orlando Pace, St. Louis – Shoulder
LB Pisa Tinoisamoa, St. Louis – Ankle
DS Vernon Fox, Washington – Groin
DS Pierson Prioleau, Washington – Hamstring

Fantasy Football Frenzy

In preparation for the start of the 2007 NFL regular season I've put together a list of players that may fly under the radar during your fantasy draft, but have the potential to put up big numbers this season. See if you can grab any of these sleepers in the later rounds.

The Sleeper Team

QB - Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay

When in the right situation Garcia has shown the ability to put up great numbers. San Francisco and Philadelphia were the right situations for him. Cleveland and Detroit - not so much. Playing in Jon Gruden's west coast scheme down in Tampa is the right situation for Garcia and his stats will show it come end of the year.

RB - Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants

Would seem like an obvious with Tiki Barber retired and with the Giants having a huge void at running back. However, it seems that Jacobs is still being undervalued because his sheer size is almost being viewed by some as a detriment. What people fail to realize because of his size is that Jacobs possesses great speed and is a solid pass catcher. Expect him to get the bulk of the carries and be in there on third down rather than share time with Rueben Droughns.

RB - Brandon Jackson, Green Bay

Something tells me that Vernand Morency is not the answer at running back for the Packers. If that proves to be the case Jackson is the man in Green Bay. The rookie possesses the explosiveness the Packers are looking for to replace Ahman Green and should turn into the workhorse in the Pack's backfield for years to come.

WR - Maurice Stovall, Tampa Bay

At some point Joey Galloway is going to slow down, right? Stovall is slated to start opposite Galloway for the Bucs and Jeff Garcia will likely find the speedy 6-5 Stovall an appealing target. Stovall possesses excellent leaping ability to go along with his height, which will come in handy on those jump ball fade passes tossed in the end zone.

WR - Vincent Jackson, San Diego

As the Bleeding Sports GM exclaimed "somebody needs to catch the ball." Sounds like Vincent Jackson is that somebody on the Chargers receiving core who will step up to take some pressure off of Philip Rivers and give him an option other than Gates and Tomlinson in the passing game.

TE - Eric Johnson, New Orleans

When healthy Johnson can rack up catches and yards. Just a few years back he was leading all NFL tight ends in receptions before an injury forced him to miss the rest of the season. While overshadowed in San Francisco due to the addition of Vernon Davis, Johnson should be a nice complement on the Saints high-powered offense giving Drew Brees another weapon in the middle of the field.

K - Neil Rackers, Arizona

Rackers had a monster 2005 season only to come back down to earth in 2006. Expect him to bounce back and perform somewhere in between '05 and '06 this season with the improving Cardinals offense giving him more opportunities to succeed.

Defense - Houston Texans

This may be going out on a limb, but the Oakland defense is too obvious of a choice since they finished in the top 5 in total defense last season. The Texans feature some intriguing players on the defensive side of the ball. 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, DeMeco Ryans, is a tackling machine, Dunta Robinson is a shutdown type cornerback, the addition of Michael Boulware should help bolster the safety position and then there is that other guy the Texans drafted in the first round last year, defensive end Mario Williams, who should become more of a force as a pass rusher in year 2.

Handing Out MLB Trade Deadline Awards

Give Them the Strap

Whether the addition of Mark Teixeira translates to more wins on the field and yet another NL East championship for the Braves remains to be seen, but Atlanta does win the title of 2007 MLB Trade Deadline Champions of the World. General Manager John Schuerholz was not only able to finagle Teixeira and left handed reliever Ron Mahay out of Texas, but in addition he landed former Mets Octavio Dotel from Kansas City and lefty reliever Royce Ring from San Diego. Not bad for a day’s work. An added incentive is the possibility of Dotel and Ring coming back to haunt their former club from Queens as the teams battle it out for the division crown.


Can't Figure it Out

The Pirates win the award for Most - umm - Surprising Move at the Trade Deadline by acquiring pitcher Matt Morris from San Francisco. One could only assume that Pittsburgh feels a veteran presence is needed to solidify its young starting rotation going into next season since this year is already over for the Pirates. To say that the move is questionable would be an understatement, however, it isn’t the first move by GM Dave Littlefield that makes you scratch your head. Year after year the Pirates roster is a mish mash of young players and patchwork veterans of marginal ability and a clear direction for the franchise never seems to be established. It’s difficult to tell what the Pirates are trying to do and as the years of residing in the bottom of the standings continue to mount it becomes clear that the front office doesn’t have any idea either.


Most Ludicrous Trade Analysis - Ever.

The Yankees sent Scott Proctor to the Dodgers in exhange for Wilson Betemit. All fine and good, but someone needs to explain to me how so-called “baseball experts” could agree with the following rationale:

Yankees trade for Wilson Betemit as a possible replacement for Alex Rodriguez next season.

Yea, and Atlanta traded for Mark Teixeira as an insurance policy at first base in case Julio Franco decides to hang them up after this season. Betemit couldn’t even hold down the third base job this season for the offensively inept Dodgers, therefore, something tells me he may not be the Yankees long term answer. Betemit is hitting .231 this season and in his 372 game career he’s batted an underwhelming .263 with 32 homers and 102 RBIs. Some may argue that he's still green and need time to develop. The only problem with that argument is that nobody know how hold the guy is. Some reports say he’s 25, others state that he’s 26, his ESPN.com player page says he’s 27, while his profile on MLB.com says he won't be 26 until November. All this means is that in reality he's probably atleast 30 years old. Can somebody say career utility man? I would bet the house that there is a greater chance of Miguel Cabrera or Scott Brosius playing third base in the Bronx next season than there is of finding Wilson Betemit out there.