So file week four among the many during an NFL season during which nobody really knows what is going to happen. Two of us hit nine out of 15 and two guessed correctly on seven, with many of the misses being spread out over a number of different games.
The three-way tie for first was momentarily broken. I pulled a notch ahead of Tony and Anthony, with Rich gaining a little bit of ground on third place. Here are the standings:
Week four
Season total
Andy
9-6
41-22
Tony
7-8
39-24
Anthony
7-8
39-24
Rich
9-6
36-27
Week five isn’t any easier. This week there are, again, some nonconference games between teams that don’t play all that often. But this time around, they come with the benefit of being fantastically interesting matchups between playoff contenders. Seattle visiting Indianapolis, Denver heading to Dallas and San Francisco hosting Houston are among the games I’m interested in watching this weekend.
It’s been a tough week for the Minnesota sports fan, or at least the ones who believe in accountability and the possibility that someone should have to produce some results in order to hang onto their jobs.
On Monday, Ron Gardenhire paid the price for three 90-plus loss seasons by being rewarded … well, when you have to manage this mismanaged roster of fringe AAA talent I’m not sure it’s a reward, but nonetheless, was rewarded with a two-year contract extension.
I’m not sure the 270-plus loss trio of seasons is all on Gardenhire. He can only manage the guys management gets him. Terry Ryan and the Pohlad family have to shoulder much of the blame, which Ryan acknowledged in extending Gardenhire’s position. But there also hasn’t been a lot of on-field improvement over the last couple years and many – myself included – think it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to simply see a new voice heading up the organization.
Then on Tuesday Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier announced against all odds that Christian Ponder remains the Vikings quarterback as long as he is healthy. This mind-blowing revelation follows postgame press comments where team leaders like Adrian Peterson eluded none-to-subtly who that they would like to see Matt Cassel retain the job. (more…)
The New Orleans Saints are for real. They’re better than Atlanta. They’re clearly better than Miami. It was easy to see through the first month of the season that they were going to be better than in 2012. But the ease with which the Saints dismantled the Dolphins last night made it crystal clear: The Saints are for real.
I think this game is more indicative of the strength of the Saints than an indictment of Miami. The Dolphins have plenty of issues to solve – particularly its need to better protect Tannehill. But Miami also is an improved team on the upswing. This was a good, dominant win for New Orleans on a national stage.
Zoneblitz fantasy editor Anthony Maggio can also be found online or on the radio. He’s doing a Friday Internet chat you can stream here at noon central on Fridays.
And don’t forget his Sunday morning radio show on 1500 ESPN. Now that the Twins’ season has mercifully ended, Anthony has a full hour to answer your last-minute questions, starting at 9 a.m.
You can email him questions at maggio@zoneblitz.com or tweet #1500blitz. He’ll get back to almost all of you.
Sunday was one of those “who the hell knows” days when you just never know what’s going to happen in the NFL. A Cleveland team that’s ownership doesn’t even want to win in 2013 beat a desperate Vikings team that had hoped to rebound from an 0-2 start during its home opener. Indianapolis went on the road and not only beat the popular Super Bowl favorite 49ers, but destroyed them. Carolina shut out a flailing Giants team. And the ranks of the unbeaten include New Orleans and Miami.
Week four brings on the first bye weeks and a slate of games that doesn’t have a lot of divisional rivalry games, but again pits a mix of teams you don’t get a chance to see play all that often. It also includes the NFL’s annual trek to London. This year the game features a rematch of Super Bowl IX. Unfortunately, that game was held 38 years ago. In 2013, both teams enter the game 0-3.
us hit nine out of 15 and two guessed correctly on seven, with many of the misses being spread out over a number of different games.
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