NFL Best Bets: Week 4 – 2012

by | Sep 27, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Gambling

After two terrible weeks, I at least achieved respectability in week three. I still hit just two of four bets, but I did nail my upset of the week, Kansas City’s win over New Orleans at +330.

Tony, on the other hand, has followed up a strong week one by posting two straight 1-3 marks – though he also hit his upset last week, with Cincinnati’s win over Washington.

He violated one of his cardinal rules last week—never bet on “my” team — especially the Vikings, as usually they’ll find a way to lose the bet and the game. At least last week, they only lost the bet. He still leads me by two for the season, however, with a 5-7 overall mark. The first two weeks were rough to me. I’m straggling at 3-9.

Still, there’s no giving up now. I feel it starting to come together. Here are our Best Bets for week four. (more…)

Hall of Fame announces 127 nominees for 2013

by | Sep 27, 2012 | Hall of Fame

There are 13 first-time nominees, including a handful of high profile players with a chance to be inducted on their first attempt, among the 127 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s  Class of 2013.

Those first time nominees include offensive linemen Larry Allen and Jonathan Ogden, defensive linemen Warren Sapp and Michael Strahan, safety John Lynch, kicker Morten Andersen and running back Priest Holmes.

There are 53 offensive players, 31 defensive players, five special teams players, 14 coaches and 24 contributors on the list of nominees. From the 127, the Hall of Fame Selection Committee will select 25 candidates who will advance as semifinalists.
The semifinalists will be narrowed to 15 modern-era finalists plus two senior nominees – defensive tackle Curley Culp and linebacker Dave Robinson, who were selected by the Senior Selection Committee last month.

The voting where the actual Class of 2013 will be selected is conducted at a meeting on Feb. 2, 2013, the day before Super Bowl XLVII, at the Superdome in New Orleans. Bylaws call for between four and seven new members.

The other first-time nominees include defensive tackle Sam Adams, wide receiver Keenan McCardell, quarterback Steve McNair, center Tom Nalen and defensive tackles Ted Washington and Bryant Young.

Tony and I made predictions on who we think might be selected after the 2012 class was announced. You can read about that here.

The Hall of Fame’s announcement can be read here.

ZB Notebook 09-25-12

by | Sep 25, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Random Thoughts

Lost in the barrage of anger and venom being directed toward the officials who made the bad call that cost the Packers a win on Monday Night Football against Seattle is the fact that Green Bay really didn’t play well enough to deserve to win.

The Packers controlled the second half, but still only scored 12 points in 60 minutes of football. And Aaron Rodgers got sacked something like 27 times. So yeah, anger about the call is justified to a point, but coaches say all the time their teams need to make sure they play well enough so the outcome of the game isn’t close enough to be affected by bad officiating.

Call was bad … really bad: That said, it was a really, really bad call. And what makes it worse is how goofy it looked. Golden Tate first pushed one defensive back to the ground for an obvious offensive pass interference. Then the Packers defensive back M.D. Jennings grabs the ball for an interception only to have Tate wisely attempt to latch on in an attempt to steal a “simultaneous possession” call.

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NFL Picks, 2012 Season Week 3

by | Sep 18, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

After two weeks of the regular season Philadelphia has turned the ball over nine times – and won two one-point games. When congratulated on the start, Chris Meares of The Mole & Meares Show described the feat as … well, Un$%&@believable.

We’ll see if Meares can match his favorite team by beating us at our picks for week three.

Last week, bloggers from The Landry Hat and HogsHaven both took their best shot. The Landry Hat struggled during a tough week to a 7-9 finish. HogsHaven matched Andy with a 9-7 mark. Tony grabbed top honors for week two with a 10-6 mark. So here is where we stand for the season so far.

Week two Total
Celebrity bloggers 9-7 20-12
Tony 10-6 18-14
Andy 9-7 17-15

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ZB Notebook 09-10-12

by | Sep 11, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Random Thoughts

Five rookie quarterbacks started their careers on Sunday. Only one looked really good. From the start of the game, Robert Griffin III looked in control of Washington’s game against New Orleans. Despite the Saints having a chance to tie the game with a final drive, there really wasn’t a point during which it seemed like Washington was in any real trouble. That’s a huge credit to Griffin, who does appear to be the best quarterback the Redskins have had since … Joe Theismann?

There will be rough patches as teams gather film on this composed rookie, but I may have been wrong predicting another season in the cellar of the NFC East for the Redskins. This guy looks good.

None of the other rookies fared well in their debuts. Andrew Luck got beat up by Chicago. I still think he’s going to be fine, but when the Colts fell behind the Bears and the run game provided little support, Luck was out of … luck.  It is important to note the similarities between the first games of Luck and one Peyton Manning, however. CBS put up the linked graphic during the game broadcast. Colts fans can take solace in the likelihood that better days are ahead.

Russell Wilson showed glimpses that he’s going to be alright, though he ended up not able to pull the Seattle game out in the end against Arizona. Cleveland’s Brandon Weeden and Miami’s Ryan Tannehill both had forgettable debuts. A statistical breakdown of their performances can be found at RealRedskins.com.
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