Week Five Gridiron Gab Pick ‘Em Games

Week Five of the First Annual Gridiron Gab Pick ‘Em contest is upon us, and the participation has been great so far. I stated when this contest started that the rules are subject to change, and…they have due to the number of participants.

It was nearly impossible to come-up with a true tie-breaker, so instead of doing overall standings to decide who makes the playoffs at the end of the year, we’re taking weekly winners.

So for example, in Week One there were 30 possible points. The most anyone got was 25, and 15 contestants were tied at the end of the week. In Week Two, there were 30 possible points, and only four contestants were perfect there. Week Three, there were 50 possible points, and two tied there.

Some of you may be wondering, “Well if I’ve already won, what’s the sense in picking again until the playoffs start?”. Well that’s a good question. I would think competitive nature keeps you picking, but incase it doesn’t, we’ve come-up with a solution. For each additional week you finish among those with the most points, you’ll earn an additional 2 points per each week won. So, if you win in week three, then again in weeks four, five, six, and seven, then you’ll enter the playoffs with 10 points. Individuals who earn playoff spots, will also earn 2 points per victory. (i.e. 15 winners in week one. If those 15 individuals never win another week, they’ll start the playoffs with 2 points heading into the playoffs.)

You can view the current playoff participants by clicking HERE.

Whoever comes out on top each week, makes the playoffs at the end of the year and gets to compete for the prize. As a result of the “new” format, this has therefore become a weekly contest and anyone can still sign-up. So tell your friends, family, and co-workers!

For those of you signed-up already, don’t forget to make your picks by clicking HERE.

Also, Ryan over at Fantazzle.com has announced that the site has some special promos this week for other games on the site. There’s a 25% deposit bonus, a free fantasy football cap free-roll game with a $100 cash prize! Who doesn’t want an extra $100 in their pockets? You can check-out the promotions, as well as other fantasy games offered by fantazzle.com, by clicking HERE.

Now, back to this week’s games.

San Diego Chargers (4-1) at New York Jets (3-3) – 5 Points

I don’t think any team needs a win more than the Jets. Their season with such promise, coming off back-to-back AFC Championship appearances, but has been a huge disappointment thus far. The Chargers are trying to establish themselves as the favorites in the AFC West, but the Oakland Raiders and newly acquired QB Carson Palmer might just have something to say about that.

Chicago Bears (3-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) – 5 Points

Chicago is also a team that had high expectations coming into the season, and have thoroughly disappointed with a 3-3 record. Tampa Bay is improving each week, and QB Josh Freeman has become one of the rising young QB’s in the NFL. The Bears need a win to at least try and keep pace with the Packers and Lions, while Tampa is currently tied for first in the NFC South with the Saints. The Falcons have underachieved so far, but one would think they’ll get it together before all is said and done.

Denver Broncos (1-4) at Miami Dolphins (0-5) – 5 Points

Tim Tebow is finally the starter in Denver, and is returning to his old stomping grounds for a match-up against the Dolphins. Miami has battled all season long, but just can’t seem to get things together for their first victory of the season. Ironically enough, the Dolphins are honoring the 2008 Florida Gators at halftime of the game on Sunday. That team was led by, guess who? Tim Tebow. Broncos fans have finally gotten their wish with Tebow starting, while Dolphins fans would love nothing more to spoil his first start this season.

Atlanta Falcons (3-3) at Detroit Lions (5-1) – 5 Points

This is a battle between two teams who had totally different expectations at the start of the season. The Falcons were a sexy pick for the Super Bowl, while the Lions were hoping for a 10 win season and at least a shot at the playoffs. While it’s safe to see the Falcons have underachieved, Lions fans wouldn’t call their team a bunch of overachievers. Atlanta is fighting with the Buccaneers and Saints in the NFC South, as the Lions are trying to reel in the Packers.

*Game of the Week*

Houston Texans (3-3) at Tennessee Titans (3-2) – 10 Points

No one expected this game to be a battle for first place in the AFC South at the start of the season, as that was reserved, once again, for the Indianapolis Colts. When Manning went down, it was assumed the Texans would finally get over the hump and into the playoffs as the division winner. After an off-season full of drama, no one – and I do mean no one – really expected the Titans to do much, even with Matt Hasselbeck at QB. The Texans started the season hot, but have since lost two-in-a-row. Tennessee, meanwhile, is coming off a bye week, which means they’ve had plenty of time to prepare for Houston.

This should be a hard fought game, with the winner claiming sole possession of first place in the AFC South.

Happy Picking and Good Luck!

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The Quad: Games to Watch on Saturday

Pete Thamel is the national college sports reporter for The Times, where his primary responsibilities are college football and basketball. He is in his sixth season with The Times, witnessing everything from the Bush Push at Notre Dame to Ian Johnson's sideline engagement at the Fiesta Bowl to Mario Chalmers's long 3-pointer to give Kansas the national championship. Before joining The Times, Thamel covered college sports for ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, The Syracuse Post-Standard and The Daily Orange. A native of Ware, Mass., Thamel graduated from Syracuse University in 1999.

Connor Ennis has been a staff editor in the sports department of The New York Times since November 2006. Before coming to the Times, he worked for The Associated Press, where he was a supervising editor on the national sports desk in New York. While with the AP, he covered the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and the 2006 World Cup in Germany. A native of Dallas, Pa., he graduated from Syracuse University in 2000.

Ray Glier is a freelance reporter who, in addition to The New York Times, contributes to USA Today, AOL FanHouse, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Miami Herald and Unboundary, a strategy/communications firm based in Atlanta. Glier is a graduate of West Virginia University.

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Pick Six: Top QB games in recent playoff history?

Aaron Rodgers is pretty good. Last week, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to have a passer rating in each of his first two playoff starts exceed 120. He did it for a third consecutive time against the Falcons on Saturday night, leading the Packers to a spot in the NFC Championship Game.

But where does his performance stack up in playoff history? Well, let’s narrow that down a bit. How about where does Rodgers’ outing (non-Super Bowl) rank among some of the best quarterback performances in the playoffs since 2000? Is there enough qualifiers there?

Let’s count it down. Surprisingly, former Browns QB Kelly Holcomb (vs. the Steelers in 2002) and ex-Giants QB Kerry Collins were both in consideration, but both fell just short.

Note: The years are done according to NFL season, not calendar year.

6. Chad Pennington vs. Colts, 2002 AFC Wild Card Game: Pennington is one of the most maligned quarterbacks in recent memory. But he will be able to tell his grandchildren that he once out-dueled Peyton Manning, going 19-for-25 with 222 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-0 win over the Colts.

5. Peyton Manning vs. Broncos, 2003 AFC Wild Card Game: Manning finally found his stride, going 22-for-26 for 377 yards and five touchdowns in the Colts’ 41-10 triumph. If you ever need a quarterback to beat an overmatched AFC West team in the playoffs, Manning has proven to be your man. The rest of the time in the playoffs, he’s about as consistent as Collins.

4. Kurt Warner vs. Eagles, 2008 NFC Championship Game: Warner led the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance by completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns. The Cardinals hung on to beat the Eagles, 32-25, on Warner’s 8-yard touchdown pass to RB Tim Hightower. If you ever want to judge Warner’s impact, look at what happened to St. Louis and Arizona after he left.

3. Tom Brady vs. Jaguars, 2007 AFC Divisional Playoff Game: The Patriots were perfect during the regular season, and Brady was nearly perfect in knocking off the Jaguars. He went 26-of-28 for 262 yards and three touchdowns in the Patriots’ 31-20 win.

2. Rodgers vs. Falcons, 2010 NFC Divisional Playoff Game: Rodgers has put the notion to rest that he is merely a fantasy enthusiast’s dream. The Packers have scored 114 points in Rodgers’ three playoff games. On Saturday night, he finished 31-of-36 for 366 yards and three touchdowns. He even ran for a touchdown, too.

1. Warner vs. Packers, 2009 NFC Wild Card Game: If there was ever a game where you thought a team was going to score every time it touched the ball, this was it. Warner competed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and five touchdowns. That’s right, more touchdowns than incompletions. And if the Cardinals’ defense had not won the game with a fumble return for a touchdown, Warner likely would have padded his stats. Warner’s 154.1 passer rating was the second-highest in playoff history.

Posted in: Sidelines  

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Last Three Games Already a Win For 2011 For the Redskins

In a time where players are clamoring to shorten the amount of preseason games (and money- grubbing owners itching to turn those preseason games into regular season games), the Redskins last three games of the 2010 season (last week’s loss against Dallas, this week’s win over Jacksonville, and next week’s finale against the Giants) are ironically nothing more than three extra preseason games for the 2011 season.

When you boil it all down, they’re nothing more than a few extra 2011 exhibition games that take place at the end of 2010, serving as auditions for players to keep their jobs and earn invitations to the 2011 training camp in Ashburn.

And like a late preaseason game where the coaches withheld the majority of their starters to prevent injuries heading into the regular season, the group of starters that the Redskins trotted out on Sunday looked like a rag-tag menagerie of football players thrown together and duct-taped for the purpose of finishing an NFL game.

Here’s a fact to digest: thirteen of the Redskins 22 opening-day starters did not start against the Jaguars yesterday. That includes the starting quarterback, running back, tight end, 3/5ths of the offensive line, 2/3rd of the defensive line, and half the secondary. Their starting running back on Sunday (and overall leading rusher) wasn’t even on the active roster when they played Dallas in September. Neither was their nose tackle, the lynch-pin for the much-discussed 3-4 defense. Both of the starting safeties were guys who were originally drafted as cornerbacks within the last three years, and one wasn’t even on the team as recently as Thanksgiving day. I really wound’t be surprised if the Redskins coaches made players where those “Hi, My Name Is:” stickers on their practice jersey during the week.

So like any other preseason game, the Redskins coaches undoubtedly spent Sunday sifting through the this hodge-podge of passed-over veterans and newly signed & promoted youngsters to determine if any of them can legitimately make a difference for this team next year, and who should be updating their resume(s).

Sunday was day for defensive players like nose tackle Anthony Bryant and linebacker Rob Jackson to make impressions on their coaches. Bryant has the size to be a nose tackle in the NFL, and while he isn’t the most dominant guy in the league at that position, he’s played a lot better than the disappointing Ma’ake Kemoeatu has. Jackson showed glimpses of being a very effective situational pass rusher on Sunday, just a few days after being promoted off the practice squad. His speed and hand placement on pass rushers frustrated Jaguars offensive tackles for a good part of the afternoon.

Sunday was also a day for someone like Kevin Barnes to showcase his skills. Barnes was drafted as a cornerback yet started the game at safety for the Redskins, since they had almost nobody else healthy enough to start there. And ironically, probably just as Barnes was getting comfortable in his new position, he was flippled right back to cornerback after Carlos Rogers went down with an injury. So it was a game like this where Barnes could showcase his ability to help out against the run (which he did very effectively, both as a safety and as a corner), and his coverage ability (leading to the game-deciding interception in overtime).

In the end, all the 2010 standings will tell you is that the Redskins dropped almost 5-7 slots down the first round of the 2011 draft, and simultaneously took a big dump in the punch bowl that was the Jaguars playoff aspirations.

But it in reality, it gives the Redskins players, coaches, and fans something to hold on to and discuss as this season comes to a close and we begin to spout the inevitable mantra of “we’ll get ‘em next year.”

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5 Most Memorable Games of the Last 25 Years Between the Bears and Vikings

With all the subplots focused on everything but the game itself, this Bears-Vikings Monday Night matchup could be remembered around these parts for a long time…especially if the Bears are able to clinch the North on the Vikings’ (backup) home field.

Here’s a look at the 5 most memorable Bears-Vikings games over the last 25 years.

5) 2006 – Good Rex leads late TD drive to catapult Super Season.

The Bears entered the 3rd game of the 2006 season undefeated. In what was a sign of things to come, Rex Grossman had an up-and-down game in the Metrodome. Through the first 3 quarters, Bad Rex struggled and tossed 2 INTs that led directly to Viking points.

But thanks to a Tommie Harris strip of current Bears running back Chester Taylor, Chicago took over in Minnesota territory with about 3 minutes left in the game. Five plays later, Rex found Rashied Davis for a 24-yard TD pass to give the Bears the lead and eventual win.

The victory helped catapult Chicago to a 13-3 season that ended in Miami in the Super Bowl.

4) 2009 – Cutler OT TD pass ruins Vikes’ hopes for homefield advantage in playoffs.

The 12-2, Brett Favre-led Vikings strolled into Soldier Field vs. the 5-9 Bears for a frigid Monday Night matchup. Jay Cutler, who up to that point in the season was a one-man interception machine (25 picks coming into the game), sparked the Bears to a 16-0 halftime lead.

But the ageless, gray-haired wonder guided the Vikings back. A short TD pass to Sidney Rice in the corner of the end zone tied the score with only seconds remaining. In OT, Hunter Hillenmeyer forced an Adrian Peterson fumble in Vikings territory.

On the following play, Cutler hit a wide-open Devin Aromashodu down the sideline for the 39-yard game-winner. Cutler finished the night with 4 TD passes. The loss dropped Minnesota behind New Orleans in the chase for home field in the NFC playoffs. And we all know how that worked out for them down in Nawlins…

3) 2007 – Two 80-yard Hester TDs not enough to save Bears from last-second loss.

In a game that featured huge plays from the teams’ most explosive weapons, Devin Hester almost had the last laugh on rookie Pro Bowler, Adrian Peterson. Early on, Hester juked 4 Vikings defenders (without the aid of any Bears blockers) and darted down the sideline for an 89-yard return that helped the Bears rally against the Vikings.

But big rushes by Peterson kept the Bears down by as many as 14 points late in the 4th quarter. With 1:38 remaining, Brian Griese found his newbie WR Hester wide open down the sideline for an 81-yard TD pass to tie the score. A 53-yard kick return by Adrian Peterson – who rushed for a Soldier Field opponent record 224 yards – on the ensuing kickoff set the Vikings up in great field position.  They moved down to the Bears 37-yard line, where Ryan Longwell booted a career long 54-yard field goal to give the Vikings the win at the gun.

The electrifying big-play battle between Hester and Peterson was one for the ages…even if Viking fans remember it more fondly.

2) 1995 – Upstart Bears upset Vikes in playoff rematch.

The Vikings swept the Bears during the 1994 regular season, one via blowout and another in an OT win at the Metrodome. The underdog Bears, led by former Miami Hurricane QB Steve Walsh (who supplanted free agent pickup Erik Kramer as starter late in the season) helped navigate the Bears to a 35-18 win.

Coming out of the locker room with a 5-point halftime lead, Walsh threw a long TD to WR Jeff Graham. The Bears got a late defensive touchdown to seal the deal and hand the Warren Moon-led Vikings an abrupt first-round playoff exit.

It would be the crowning achievement of the Dave Wannstedt era.

1) 1985 – Hobbled McMahon leads Bears to comeback win.

The Bears entered this rare Thursday night matchup with a 2-0 record. With starting QB Jim McMahon nursing a sore back and neck, backup Steve Fuller started for the Bears. After spending 3 quarters harassing Mike Ditka to put him the game, the Punky QB finally got his chance with the Bears trailing 17-9.

On his first play, he launched a 70-yard TD bomb to Willie Gault. Then, on his second play from scrimmage, McMahon found Dennis McKinnon for a 25-yard TD toss that put the Bears ahead.

For good measure, McMahon threw another TD to McKinnon on his 8th play from scrimmage. Final score: Bears 33, Vikings 24. The Bears of course went on to finish a magical ’85 season 18-1 and Super Bowl XX Champs.

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Fox to televise first six BT title games

It took a little longer than expected, but the Big Ten has finalized a media agreement for its new football championship game.

FOX Sports will broadcast the Big Ten title game from 2011-16, beginning with the inaugural contest on Dec. 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The first football championship will air in prime time.

The Big Ten already had partnered with Fox Networks when launching the Big Ten Network, and Fox holds a minority share in BTN. According to a news release, FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network could share on-air talent in the coverage of the championship game.

"Big Ten sports have achieved broad coverage in the American sports landscape through agreements with ABC, ESPN, CBS Sports, CBS College Sports Network and the Big Ten Network," commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement. "We look forward to the addition of FOX Sports, which is committed to promoting Big Ten football and will air the Big Ten Championship Games to more than 115 million homes."

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