The Patriots have been more than impressive to start the NFL season. 34+ points in nine straight games is, well, an NFL record that speaks for itself. With Pro Bowl caliber players on both sides of the football, the Patriots are the most complete, well coached, and flat out scariest team the NFL has seen since the 49ers of the 80's and the Cowboys of the mid-90's.
All that being said, I couldn't help but be bothered with the way New England finished their game against the Washington Redskins this past Sunday. I really felt that New England was running up the score on Washington in the 4th quarter, and I found it blatantly disrespectful. Now if you listened to Mike and Mike this morning, they both said they had no problem with what New England did. They took the stance that since the NFL is a professional league and all teams operate under the same financial restrictions, the playing field is even. Mike and Mike both saw no reason for "calling off the dogs". At the professional level, they argued, if you want the other team to stop scoring, you need to stop them.
While I understand where they are coming from, I have to disagree. I'm not sure if it is because I grew up with baseball and its unwritten rules, but I found myself completely angered by New England's play in the 4th quarter. I relate what New England did to Washington to a baseball team stealing bases with a fifteen run lead late in the game, with their closer warmed and ready to come in and pitch the ninth. At some point the manager respects the opponent enough to say enough is enough. That is why teams don't steal late in the game. That is why teams bring in the guy who hardly ever pitches to finish out the fifteen run games. While they are all professionals and they have the right to do whatever they want, they just shouldn't. It's sports etiquette in my opinion, and the Patriots have shown they have none.
I know someone out there will utter the phrase, "It ain't over till it's over". True. The greatest comeback in NFL history was the Bills and Oilers in the playoffs about fifteen years ago when the Bills came back from 35 down at halftime to beat the Oilers. Heck, the Texans came back 29 points on the Titans last week, and even though they lost, they almost came back to win. There are, however, a couple differences with this game that really showed this game was over. One, If a comeback was to occur by Washington, the earliest it could have possibly occurred was at the 11:02 mark in the 4th quarter. This wasn't Washington coming out charging after halftime. This was New England inside the Washington ten with 11 minutes left. Couple that with New England's top-flight defense, Washington's anemic offense, and New England's home field advantage...and yeah, this game really was over.
So with this game over in everyones mind (including Washington's...did you see their faces on the sideline?), New England attacked through the air in the fourth quarter- even with their back-up QB in. This boggles my mind. Of the 19 fourth quarter plays New England ran, 8 were passes. That's almost 50% passing with the game well in hand! Why not just run the clock out?
Let's look at a comparison quickly. The Colts were at Carolina this past weekend. They were on the road, and up 24-7 heading into the 4th quarter. Obviously they had far less of a commanding lead than New England did against Washington. The Colts, however, did the classy and respectful thing by running down the clock against the inferior opponent. The Colts, like the Patriots, had 19 offensive plays in the 4th quarter. Of those 19, 16 were runs. That's twice as many runs as New England. Could the Colts have passed all over the Panthers? You bet. They did all day. But they didn't when they didn't need to. They respected the Panthers and the game of football.
There are reasons that teams take knees at the ends of games. I'm not saying New England should have taken knees all fourth quarter, but I am saying they should have stopped passing the ball down field and going for it on fourth down. Mike and Mike are right, these athletes are not collegians, but rather professionals. They failed to see, however, that term applies very loosely to a team like the Patriots.
~Mikey D
Alright, so the trailer for the new 24 season is out! (http://www.24trailer.com/)
Here are some of my initial thoughts:
1) I'm glad they are taking this season in a new direction. Although it might be hard to accept some the new changes without missing some of the old nuances, I think it's for the best. Jack appears he will still be bad ass, and that's all that really matters, isn't it? I like the fact that the preview mentioned Jack is by himself. Basically they are saying Jack is going to do what the fuck he wants, whenever the fuck he wants, without anybody (CTU) telling him to stop. In the famous words of Rip Hamilton, "Yes Sirrrrrrrrrr!"
2) Tony Almeda?!?! Hmmm...I love Tony, but like Jack, I thought the guy was dead. Silly me. I'm curious how they will explain this one. Although Tony appears to be the bad guy in the trailer, there's in no way in hell that Tony is bad. I just don't believe it for a second. It will probably be one of those angles where Tony appears to be bad, but in the end there's some bigger picture none of us were able to see (except Kevin) where Tony's true colors are shown. But since 24 likes to be surprising, I'm probably dead wrong. Although I'm not a fan of bringing people back from the dead, I'm glad to see Tony (he looks pretty badass).
3) The trailer for this season almost felt like an action-movie trailer. Could this be a shift from less story line based episodes to more "heart pounding excitement"? I'm all for more action, but part of the beauty of 24 is having that perfect balance of action and story. I just hope they don't lose the story in their quest for more action. At the same time, I hope the story is better than in years past.
4) I don't want to see the following things this year:
1) Kim.
2) Audrey.
3) Michelle back from the dead.
4) Any old president from seasons past. Let's start clean. A new chapter.
All in all I'm excited. I can't wait for January.
~Mikey D
I've been following the story of Genarlow Wilson for about a year and a half now, and today the Georgia Supreme Court finally did the right thing. It was two years and an unnecessary conviction too late, but it's finally over. This young man can be free now.
This story is a classic case of why some Americans have so little faith in our judicial system. Today, however, the judicial system redeemed itself in a small way, and I can't help but smile and feel extraordinarily happy for Genarlow Wilson and his family. He refused to plead guilty for a crime he didn't committ and he refused to take any deals from the prosecutor because he did not want to be labeled as a child molestor. He did the right thing, and now so did the state of Georgia.
(http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=3080331)
WHAT TIME IS IT?!?!?!
GAME TIME, HOOP!
~I realized something today- Tom Brady is kind of amazing. I am in the middle of my Madden 08 season and I am an offensive juggernaut like the Patriots. I just recently dropped 80 on the Eagles, and 56 on the Redskins. I am now through 7 games, and with my QB I have thrown 24 TDs and 5 INTs. Tom Brady is doing better than I am in real life against real NFL football players. He is officially beyond crazy video game numbers, that's how good of a season he is having.
I also keep thinking back to the argument Kevin, Adam, and I had about which QB was better, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Kevin and Adam picked Manning because of the numerous passing records and unstoppable offense he ran, I picked Brady because of his leadership and 3 Super Bowl rings. Honestly though, I was just arguing because I wanted to argue. I really felt Manning was the better quarterback. Now? Now it really makes me think. Brady finally has weapons, and look what he's doing. I also wonder how much of it all is actually Brady. I mean, I watched yesterday's highlights against the Dolphins, and I watched Moss pretty much win two jump balls, Stallworth break five tackles on a 10 yard route, and Welker turn two slants into TDs. Is that Brady's good, or just his receivers being freakin' ridiculous? Probably both, but man is he putting up some crazy numbers.
~I will talk fantasy for just a second. I think the best way the characterize this fantasy season is to look at Kevin and Adam's matchup from this past week. The way it played out pretty much sums up the type of fantasy season that is going on this year. Kevin loses one of his starting quarterbacks in the first half, one of his running backs is held to a career rushing low and fumbles while the other fails to find the endzone, two of his receivers catch next to nothing, he starts a guy named Spaeth at tight end, his kicker LOSES three points...and he still wins. Fantasy 2007- it's like that.
~I read an interesting article about possible fantasy drafts for next year being more QB heavy in the first rounds rather than RB heavy, due to more passing plays (and thus more passing touchdowns) and the RBs by committee that have taken over the league. The writer predicted a top-10 next year could look like this:
1. Tom Brady, QB, New England
2. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis
3. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego
4. Tony Romo, QB, Dallas
5. Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis
6. Randy Moss, WR, New England
7. Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati
8. Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City
9. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota
10. Terrell Owens, WR, Dallas
Interesting to say the least, and I can't say that I agree with Owens being in the top-10, but can you really argue with Brady and Manning as your 1-2 picks in a league? Brady dropped 45 fantasy points last game, and he has officially become this years L.T. He is winning fantasy games all by himself. Manning is doing just fine as well, with 10 TDs. That's 2 every game...I would gladly take that sort of consistency.
~I have a teacher friend here in Maryland from the Cleveland area, and he was quite excited about Cleveland's chances after they went up 3-1. I talked to him after game 5 when they lost, and he said that they were done. It was a Lions mentality for a baseball team. It was as if the Indians had taken the halftime lead, but he knew they were the Indians, and they'd blow the game in the 4th quarter somehow. And sure enough he was right. I just can't believe being only a game away from the World Series you wouldn't hope a little bit. Apparently hope is dead in Cleveland- for everything that is sports. In Columbus this past weekend, before game 7, I was surprised to see more people on the streets with Boston Red Sox hats (I'm not counting you Adam) than Indians. That would never happen in Detroit. You walk the streets near Detroit, you are going to see old English D's. I'm finding it real interesting to see how cities react to their teams. Philly fans will root to the death, even if they know their team is going down. Cleveland fans are just resigned to their fates, and can accept it. Baltimore fans are delusional and cannot accept that one of their teams is mediocre or just not good (see Baltimore Ravens).
~Had a good trip to Columbus. I can't even begin to describe how much I miss Kevin and Adam sometimes. It was really nice to see those guys again, and just play video games, watch sports, and throw the football around. It was like old times. I even got to annoy the shit out of Kevin a little bit, so the trip was very worthwhile. Thank you Adam for letting us stay at your place. Remember, you guys are always welcome to come down here and stay if you'd like. Mi casa es su casa.
~I am now officially tired of driving. All night Friday. All day Sunday. Back and forth to work. And now tomorrow I pack my bags and head to camp with the sixth graders for two days...so back in my car I go. When I come back, my mom will be down to visit, so it's trips to Baltimore and D.C. to see the sites. No mas conduciendo. Conducir. That's driving, right? Did I conjugate that right? It's been a few years since high school Spanish =).
~Michael Crabtree sucked last week. I am still voting for him for the Heisman because I'm too stubborn to choose anyone else. Fuck all y'all, I'm going with the tree that's made out of crab.
Alrighty, gonna go pack. Holllllllllla!
~Mikey D
I figured I'd do a couple contrasting top-10 lists just because.
Top 10 Things I Miss About Michigan
10) People with Michigan phone numbers. I still haven't switched mine and don't think I will. Marylanders always look at me funny when I say the 5-1-7. Whateva.
9) White Castle. My football Sundays are missing something, and it's those delicious White Castle burgers that melt in my mouth.
8) Knob Hill. Some good times were had there by all.
7) Less-humid heat. It's practically unbearable down here.
6) Highways with only a little bit of traffic. Oh, and good drivers and faster speed limits.
5) Sports talk radio. Just not the same down here.
4) Meijer. Reasonably priced hamburger, hot and spicy taco seasoning, less than $2 milk, and cappuccino coolers. Enough said.
3) Tigers, Lions, and State games. But that went without saying, right?
2) Familiarity. I like when I knew where everything was. Just my personality though.
1) Family. Friends.
Top 10 Things I Like About Maryland
10) Peoples stupid sounding east coast dialects. Words can't explain how silly they sound, but it's always fun to mock them and laugh at them for sounding retarded.
9) New York J&P. Oh how I missed you delicious pizza restaurant.
8) No more Knob Hill cable. Finally real television. You might say this is a stupid addition to my list, but you don't know how fucking important television is to me.
7) Having a real job. Sure I will always complain about it, but every other Friday I am pretty happy watching the pennies go into my bank account. It's been awhile.
6) Seeing all the old places. My old houses. My old schools. My old towns. Just a little bit of Mikey nostalgia.
5) My drive to work in the morning. It's dark and the highways are less crowded, and I get the full night view of the city of Baltimore, including the water. There's something peaceful and beautiful about it that I just can't explain.
4) Avalon Hills. I really do like our place. I think Grace and I have really made it our own, and it is centrally located to everything. D.C., Baltimore, Philly, Frederick, our jobs...seriously, everything.
3) Being closer to my dad and brother. They're both within driving distance.
2) Always something to do. Two major cities, sports, hiking, festivals, etc...There's usually something going on somewhere.
1) Grace. It's been wonderful down here with her =).
That's it. Hollllla!
~Mikey D
Let's start off with a complete random thought. I was thinking about this on the way to school one morning, so just entertain me here. I happened to drive pass a hobo on the side of the street as he collected cans, and it got me thinking: Should people who pick up cans/bottles from the side of the road be considered hobos, or environmentalists? I even got to school and looked up two definitions:
Environmentalist-Someone who works to protect the environment from destruction or pollution.
Hobo- One who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or a means of livelihood.
How do we classify people these days? By the job titles they hold, not their residence. I am considered a teacher, not an apartment dweller. If a hobo's means of livelihood is collecting cans and bottles, does that mean he doesn't classify as a hobo? What if he wanders the same places over and over, but has a permanent box he calls home? What is even considered a home??? Also, even if we decide a hobo should be classified as a hobo, can they still be environmentalists based on the definition above? They are indirectly working to protect the environment from pollution. I'd be curious to hear what you peoples have to say about this thought, as it's been bugging me for a few days now (Yeah, I've thought about this more than once...).
Let's start off with a little baseball. Diamondbacks, Indians, Red Sox, Rockies. I really think that Rockies/Diamondbacks series will be a great series...that no one will watch. Such a shame. Honestly I have no interest in any of these series. I don't like the Rockies because they beat my now second favorite team (Phillies). I don't like the Red Sox because, well, they're like the good cop gone bad. While the Yankees were out buying all their players a few years ago, the Red Sox stuck to their guns and didn't get into any bidding wars. Then of all a sudden they followed the Yankee Way and bought their team (Dice-K, Drew, Lugo). They went to the dark side. They aren't the Yankees, but they're damn close. I don't like the Indians because they beat out the Tigers. I don't like the Diamondbacks that much because I can't name their starting line-up (probably the only team in baseball I can't). All in all I'm just hoping for some good baseball. That's all you can ask for.
Is it just me, or did the chase to the baseball postseason and first round have a lot more excitement than the LCS? That's wrong in my head. Could the race for the wild card be a detriment to the game? I think baseball needs to generate some more excitement for the latter rounds of their tournament. How you go about doing that is a great question. I think you could start by making the wild card have a greater disadvantage. I'm really tired of seeing these red hot wild card teams make runs late in the season and have it carry over into the season. I think I would rather have consistency rewarded over streaky-ness. I would propose to give the wild card less home games. With the current playoff format, perhaps a 4-1 home field advantage for the division winner. Also, make the first round series longer! Home field advantage is virtually meaningless in 5 game series. Finally, allow the team with the best record to choose their opponent. This would allow a division winner to choose which team they match-up best against. Maybe the Red Sox (although this is a moot point now), would have rather faced the Yankees in a short series with home field advantage? Again, I like the consistent teams who have been at the top for the whole year to be rewarded. This also lets fans get familiar with the teams at the top, and aren't going to say things like, "I don't know anything about the Rockies". Just a few thoughts.
Okay, my weekly push for Michael Crabtree for the Heisman. This week the 5-1 Red Raiders of Texas Tech are up against the Texas A&M Aggies (also 5-1). This is a classic run versus pass match up. Tech is the number one passing offense, while the Aggies are the number seven rushing offense. Both, however, are accustomed to putting up points. Tech is second in the nation in scoring at 52.2 points, while A&M is 26th at 35.3. So despite the difference in styles, I expect points! And after reading a quote from an Aggie cornerback about the Tech passing attack ("I never actually flew F-16s in a dogfight, in a war, but I imagine that's about what it feels like...You've got seven or eight incomings coming at you and you're by yourself. And they're coming in fast."), I like Crabtree's chances. I was off by one yard last week, so I'll try and do better.
Prediction:
8 Catches
136 Yards
2 TDs
You ready for the upset pick? Cardinals over Steelers. Bears over Packers. Looking at the schedule this week it was hard to pick a giant upset. So this week you get the underdog Titans over the Bucs. I know Tampa is at home, and Garcia has been impressive thus far, but Tampa has no running game anymore (Williams and Pittman are both down). You are basically forcing Garcia to throw the ball downfield for big chunks of yards, and that is not his forte'. Couple that with a Tennesee defense that has been getting great pressure and penetration, and it's not looking good for the Buc's offense. Also, this just in, Vince Young knows how to win football games. And do you know what the Titans like to do? Run the ball. Do you know the weakness in the Tampa D? Run defense. 22nd in the league. Pick the Titans.
I am really excited to see this New England/Dallas game this weekend. Should be great. It's sad to think that this match-up will probably have more intrigue for me than whatever teams end up playing in the Super Bowl. Two undefeated offensive powerhouses meeting early in the season is more spicy than a couple of teams with a few losses surviving to the end. I expect fireworks from all these stars in this game. Should be a good one.
I still shall not speak of fantasy, even though I won last week. My team still makes me upset every time I look at it.
Fuck MSU for losing to Northwestern. Fuck them all.
~Mikey D
I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I will never understand women. Never ever. As the years pass in my life, and as I become wiser and wiser, I've just come to accept this as fact. Polar coordinates versus rectangular coordinates (Kev gets this).
At school I teach on the third floor of my building. It's where all the sixth grade teacher teach (except the science teachers because they suck balls). I am the only male on my floor. I thought, rather conceitedly, that because of this the young ladies would take a liking to me rather easily. I thought this theory to be true for the first five weeks of school. Young ladies would stay after class to clean my room, make me little pictures (two words: Recycling. Bin.), say hello to me in the hallways, etc. The fact that none of the boys did this made me think (again, rather conceitedly) that indeed these little young ladies just had a little schoolgirl crush.
There is one girl in particular that constantly waits after class before lunch to walk down with me. She rearranges my binders in my cabinets so they're neat. She showed up for my after school tutoring class for help...even though she got a 95% on her test. She leaves me food on my desk (oranges), or gives me food in the cafeteria during my lunch duty (rice krispies treat), or sticks things in my pocket when I'm not looking (totally creepy). To me, she just liked me, and this was her 11 year-old way of showing me.
The other day, however, she totally shocked me. She said something that was totally unexpected to me, and never occurred in my mind. After class she said to me, "You know, the first day I came to your math class I wished that you were my dad."
Right. Wait. What? Your dad!?!? All this time I thought this girl was hot for teacher, when in reality I was the father figure she longed for. Never, not once, did it occur to me that could possibly be the case. The more I think about it though, and the more I examine the type of students that come to my school, I wonder how many have "daddy issues" at home. How many of these girls don't have crushes (although deep down they probably do because I'm a damn good looking man....toot toot! (me tooting my own horn)), but rather just want some positive feedback, encouragement, or support from a male figure?
I feel foolish that I didn't even consider the emotional needs of some of my students. It's made me look at things in a totally different and more complex perspective than I had originally been doing.
And so, even at the age of 11, I still don't understand women. Stupid r= [rcos(theta), rsin(theta)]. I'm sure all the women out in the world just went, "ooo the polar coordinate form for a position vector!" Nerds.
~Mikey D
My blog has turned into a complete sports talk blog. That's okay, because this is a great time for sports. One of the best times actually. I'll blog about something else someday, but my mind is only on sports right now. Just deal.
~ I want to comment on LeBron wearing a Yankee hat to the Cleveland game the other day. I know this story falls in the category of stupid and pointless sports stories, so I won't waste too much time with it. I thought about if a Piston's player wore a different team's hat to a playoff game, and I don't think I'd be bothered by it. The players are all from different cities and have the right to wear the cap they want (which goes against the whole "wherever you live, that's your team" argument, but oh well). Like Tom Brady wearing a Yankee cap. He's not from Boston. He's a California boy, coming to New England via Michigan. Not a big deal. People are up in arms about LeBron being born close to Cleveland, so they expect him to have an allegiance to the city. And I'm sure he did at some point. But speaking from experience, you can change the team you root for, even if you were born near a city with a team. Now was LeBron making the smartest decision in the world? Probably not. After all, the fans in Cleveland are the ones coming to his basketball games and buying his jerseys (although LeBron does quite fine making money off other fans outside of Cleveland, I'm sure). It's not good to be not liked by your hometown fans, so image wise, not smart on LeBron's part. I think Cleveland should just trade the guy to Detroit for a second round pick in next years draft. Sounds like it'd be for the best.
~Michigan State's next three games:
Home against Northwestern
Home against Indiana
Away against Ohio State
We need to hold serve and win at home against NU and IU. There's no reason we shouldn't beat those two teams. I expect the games to be close, but I expect to win. I want to be 2-1 in the conference, and 6-1 overall heading into Columbus on the 20th. If we can do that and pull off a monumental upset against OSU, this year will be considered a success for me. We'd already have enough wins for a bowl game, with a top-ten win to boot. Plus, we'd have won the games we were supposed to. Predictions? 38-20 over Northwestern, 28-24 over Indiana, and 17-20 loss against OSU. I hope I'm wrong on that last one.
~Lions against the Skins this weekend. This is a big game for the Lions. I was looking ahead at their schedule, and we get Tampa Bay at home, Chicago on the road, and Denver at home for the next three. Tampa Bay is good this year, Chicago should be better at home (they could have easily won last week in Detroit had they minimized their mistakes), and Denver has the corners to suppress our passing attack more than any other team. We win against Washington (which would also get us a nice road win), we'd be 4-1, and if we take just one out of the next three, we'd still be 5-3 and in a good position. I'll take that. To be halfway through the season and have a winning record, and a projected 10-6 record (Kitna- looking good with that prediction!), puts us in a good spot. All that being said, I hope for a damn shootout in Washington, for my fantasy team's sake. 56-55 Lions. Also, this is rematch of the NFC Championship game (from way back in the early 90's). The last one the Lion's have been to.
~ Did anybody else hear about Kitna converting 20 members of the Lions' team into followers of the Lord almighty? I found this interesting. While I'm not much of a religious man, I did like reading that. It shows me that the Lions have a true football leader in Kitna, and they are coming together and gelling as a team. All for one. You know what that means? That means when the game is on the line, we have someone we can trust and rally around, and we're going to stick together and not fold. This team is fun. They are going to be competitive all year, they have an explosive offense, and for the first time in years they are an actual TEAM. I really do wish I could watch more games. I am really excited to see this offense with all of its pieces on the field at once. Kitna, Williams, Johnson, Fuerry, McDonald, Jones, Bell, Ducket...I want the whole kit and caboodle, and I want Martz to unleash his offensive monster onto the rest of the league.
~Upset Special: Bears over the Packers. I gave you Arizona over Pittsburgh, now go put your money on the Bears this week. Favre can't keep up this pace he's on forever. They have no run game. Griese can't be as bad as last week. Green Bay's early schedule (Philly, Giants, San Diego, and Minny) looks good on paper, but have a combined 5-11 record- not good- and they were all close games. Most importantly, the Bears need this game more than Green Bay. I'll take the desperate, something-to-prove, Bears over a Green Bay team basking in their early success glory.
~Michael Crabtree for Heisman! Today he goes up against Iowa State. I'm going to guess another big game for him, since he is the absolute shit. Prediction:
155 Yards Receiving
10 Catches
3 Touchdowns
Heisman! Heisman! Heisman!
~I still will not speak of fantasy. Except for that time I mentioned it earlier. Boo fantasy.
~Mikey D
~Michael Crabtree, freshman for Texas Tech, this past weekend:
8 Receptions
145 Yards
3 TDs
Somebody mention him for the Heisman! I'm leading the campaign. His season totals (after 5 games) are now:
60 Receptions
920 Yards
14 TDs
~I'm shocked by the number of upsets in college football this weekend. Where did the Auburn, Colorado, and Maryland ones come from? They shouldn't have happened. Shame on those teams that got upset. I guess it's a two pony race now, with USC and LSU. Bleah. I was hoping for like a bajillion undefeateds and tons of confusion/controversy at the top. Because that's what college football is really about, right? They'd rather have a lot of controversy than actually settle things on the field. That's the impression I get.
~Arizona over Pittsburgh. Your hero's upset pick of the week. Like money in the bank.
~The Phillies won the NL East, and you think they haven't been waiting for playoff baseball for awhile? I got the MLB package online, so Grace and I watched the final outs of their clinching game yesterday. It was cool to see all the fans excited for their Phillies and to see all the Phillies get on the mics and thank the fans. Grace? She was crying she was so happy! I guess that's reaffirms my previous statement that Philly fans aren't so much assholes (okay, sometimes...), but moreso fans that give out the tough love. They really do care about their teams. Hopefully the Phils can make a run at the Series like the Tigers did. They are definitely the team I'm rooting for.
~Detroit is 3-1, with a game against Washington next week (which I get to see...yes!). I am ecstatic with a 3-1 start, as I was envisioning quite possibly an 0-4 start to the year. I thought there was a good possibility we could lose to Oakland, since it was in the blackhole. I thought we definitely could have lost to Minnesota (hadn't we lost like 14 straight to them or something ridiculous like that?). We did lose to Philly. And the division champ Chicago we could have lost to. But we are 3-1!!! 1 game out of first place Green Bay, with the Bears and Vikings sitting at 1-3, a full two games back of us. It's Green Bay, Dallas, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Detroit with the best records in the NFC. Honestly, we can hang with all those teams. We beat Dallas last year at their place, so I know we can do it again. What's Dallas' weakness again? Pass defense? Hmmm...and what's our strength? Pass offense? Now I'm not saying we'd win, but I'm saying we could hang. I know that Dallas team has a pretty good offense of their own.
~Fantasy. Bleah. Boo. Yuck. Until I can get in the win column, I will no longer speak of fantasy.
~Mikey D
