A Large Regular

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

With the way he's blown a once commanding lead in the polls - it has to be said that if Obama was an NFL coach - he'd be Norv Turner...  Gradient view of Sun. Very cool... Worth mentioning that George W. Bush helped save Africa from total devastation from the AIDS virus but he was never even mentioned for a Nobel Prize. Tell me again what Barack Obama did to deserve his?... "First you get the money, then you get the binders, then you get the women," Mitt Romney as Tony "Scarface" Montana... In the last debate Mitt Romney was asked why he isn't like George W. Bush. It was patently unfair that Barack Obama wasn't made to answer why he isn't like Jimmy Carter... Wow - former Notre Dame football coach Ty Willingham now an assistant women's golf coach at Stanford...

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'll say it again - Norv Turner would have had this year's Jets team in the playoffs. Think of it this way - Rex Ryan needs to go 7-9 next season to equal Herm Edwards record in Edwards first 4 years in New York (35-29). I think that would make a great prop bet for a casino... This will be trouble - a UK craft brewer has come out with a Viagra beer. It's bad enough hanging out in a bar full of guys but hanging out in a bar full of guys with wood is just so - I don't even want to think about it... Busy week for New Orleans and the Superdome. The Sugar Bowl on Tuesday, the Saints play the Lions on Saturday and on Monday it's LSU vs Alabama on Monday for all the Tostitos... Tom Brady closing in on history... With all the Page 6 mentions you have to wonder if Mark Sanchez is single handedly bringing back the debate about too much sex hurting athletic performance. I also like the idea Eric MacErlain brought up about Sanchez making Jets fans pine for the days of Richard Todd... Four bettor win the Hilton SuperContest and turn $1,500 into a minimum of $313,533. I would love to give that contest a try... I think the over / under on the number of episodes before CBS cancels their new "comedy" Rob should be 5 shows... Will 2012 be the year that ABC finally agrees to remake the classic Barney Miller?

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations on the day after Christmas.

Happy birthday to Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk... Have you seen those Subway ads where the hot girls will be your "girlfriend" in exchange for a sandwich? I'd like to work there. Sandwich whores sure are a hell of a lot cheaper than coke whores... You never see lumps of sugar anymore. When did lumps of sugar fade into history? Now you just have packets of sugar. You would think the eco-freaks would go after this change... I like to think that the NAPA-know-how commercials are about how to give oral to African-American women because otherwise it is just two guys serenading each other about auto parts which is twice as weird and not in a good way... OK - I'll say it! The Patriots have 3 QB's on their roster who are probably better than Mark Sanchez. Tom Brady obviously is better but Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett are probably better too... Do Italian children write Dear Sinatra letters the way others write Dear Santa letters?... Norv Turner would have had this Jets team in the playoffs...

NFL Thoughts

Yesterday:

Arizona 30 - Atlanta 24: The line going into the game was Arizona minus 1. When the line was originally set - Atlanta was a 1 point favorite. Arizona was at home with a veteran QB who had won a Super Bowl. Atlanta was on the road with a rookie QB. I wanted to take the Cardinals but I held off on the game because I'm a fan of Matt Ryan and didn't want to be rooting against him. Instead I took the over (51.5). Happy day.

San Diego 23 - Indianapolis 17: You had the veteran QB Peyton Manning versus the combustible Phillip Rivers. You had the solid Tony Dungy coaching against Norv Turner. I thought this was a lock. How does Rivers and Turner beat Peyton and Dungy? Special teams. On punts Indy was consistently pinned back against their own goal line. On kicks San Diego consistently started off with great field position. Indy should have won and covered.

Baltimore vs. Miami: Keep in mind that Miami was a 1 win team last year but that win came against Baltimore. Keep in mind that Miami is at home. Keep in mind that you have a veteran QB matched up against a rookie QB. Now forget all of that because it doesn't matter. Take Baltimore and give the 3 points.

Philadelphia vs Minnesota: Both home teams won and covered yesterday. Both home teams will lose today. Take Philadelphia minus 3. I also like the over in this game (41 points)

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers went 14-2 last year which was good enough to get coach Marty Schottenheimer fired. This year they have Norv Turner at the helm. So basically they went from a head coach with a reputation for not being able to get the job done in the playoffs to a head coach with a reputation for not being able to get the job done at all.

The Cold, Hard Football Facts thinks that San Diego will repeat as champs of the AFC West. I'm not so sure.

Bodog lists the over / under for wins for San Diego at 11 wins but the Pro Football Prospectus (put together by the guys at Football Outsiders) projects the Chargers to 8.6 wins but the Broncos to 8.7 wins.

I think the San Diego offense regresses a bit under Norv Turner and I'm not sold on their defense. My guess is 10 wins which may or may not be good enough to win the AFC West. The big thing to watch is how they bounce back from a loss. There is real potential for the Chargers to go 8-8 and miss the playoffs. All it would take is one or two injuries and one questionable late game decision by Turner for the wheels to fall off the bandwagon..