Let’s look at some of the games as many have some gigantic DECEIVING notes to them.  Most folks just look at the final score and “ASSUME” that if one team won big it was a “gem” of a game for the winning team. Not so fast my friends.

KC won 28-0. Chiefs played perfect football right? WRONG. In fact the Chiefs Offense was terrible. Cassel no TD’s and 2 INT’s. It was all the Defense with 6 INT’s and 2 Defensive TD’s.  Don’t over-credit the Defensive effort either as for one, Kyle Boller is one of the worst QB’s ever to take the field, and then C. Palmer playing with 5 days of practice was a bigger joke. Very sad scenario having Jason Campbell go down…..likely cost this team a Playoff spot this year. Chiefs though be careful, not that good either.

Tenny RB Johnson = M.I.A.  This guy has been a no show since second half of last season.  They came off the “bye” and lost any “Mo” they had. Another team off the “bye” with a terrible first half the next game. Worse off for Titans is fact that Houston was banged up, and yet the RB’s, and TE’s caught all the balls.

SD Chargers QB Rivers. Wow, simply having a really down year. Hard to gauge this team at this point. HC Turner never has this team prepared. Got to give huge credit to Jets CB Revis. Guy simply shut down solid WR V. Jackson cold all game. One 15 yard 1st qtr catch, the rest BAGEL.
Note on Plaxico Burriss: 3 TD’s. Guy is terrible. Falls down every other pass route on his own.  Don’t be fooled by the 3 TD’s, this Jet’s Offense not that good. Plax is definitely not good.

SEATTLE: Very simply C. Whitehurst can NOT play in this league. The Seahawks Offensive output Sunday set back NFL FB 20 years. This guy missed 5 wide open WR’s for bombs that all missed the WR by 10 yards. CLEVE: Not much better as McCoy can’t throw deep ball either. Any pass over 10 yards is a “Hail Mary” toss. Browns OL no push at all on Running plays and RB’s have no extra push either….they go right down. Hard to tell if either Defense was really good yesterday though as final score indicates, both sides dropped passes (Sea dropped 6 short passes) all day. Cleveland 12-24 on 3rd downs and won by just 3. Two blocked FG’s cost Browns backers a cover.

ARIZONA – this just NOT in…QB Kolb not that good. I’ve seen nothing ALL YEAR that tells me he is a franchise QB. Terrible on the run throwing passes and he threw 6 balls 4 yards short of WR on 10 yard passes. 1st round Pick Peterson makes at least 5 giant mistakes per game.
PITT: Big Ben very solid, and WR Wallace now the best deep threat in FB, by FAR too.  Check WR Hines Ward status (bad leg).

CHICAGO/TB: Do NOT NOT be fooled by actual final score. Not even close this game.  Bears totally dominated TB. As I mentioned twice on my TV show and more than that on Radio shows, TB QB Freeman terrible passing on the run. When pressured, 4 INT’s and now RB’s all banged up. Stay away from TB right now.

GB PACKERS: OFFENSE A+++++   DEFENSE D—    Right now QB Rodgers nearly PERFECT the entire season.  This guy looks like the old Peyton Manning. He has every Defense figured out before the play. His passes are almost all on the $.  But this Defense is awful. Rookie QB was solid for most part for a kid in first game, and the Run Defense is a joke. This Defense just not being talked about much because Offense always gets 30+ points. This Pack Defense will get shredded weekly by any Good QB’d team.

Congrats to Tim Tebow for nice comeback win. Kid is light years away from being even a “good” QB but you gotta root for this kid to succeed. As for Miami, well this team may now throw in towel.  QB throws duck shooting practice, WR’s can’t even catch a cold (Bess 5 drops…ouch).

WASHINGTON REDSKINS: turning into the Rams with injuries. They lost 2 more yesterday for extended time (RB Hightower who can be replaced, and WR Moss, who can NOT be replaced. This after last week’s 3 Offensive side Injuries.  Two OL and TE Cooley all can’t be replaced. Gotta give Skins Defense a ton of credit. I knew coming into Carolina game they could be tired after playing 38 mins vs. Philly. Another horribly called game by Mini Mike (Kyle Shanahan) and the Defense again is on field for 35 mins. Take note as that long on field is going to cost them dearly ahead.  But the D is solid overall, 3 more sacks, plenty of pressure. Give Panthers credit. Cam was a total stud passing and running. This kid is the BOMB. He runs soooo easily and is hard to tackle.  Big kudos to WR S. Smith. This guy is a total stud. Catching balls over and over in tight traffic coverage. Cam 7 TD runs in 2011. Carolina had only 7 Rush TD’s last year. By far Cam’s best overall game. Improving each week. Carolina team on rise now bigtime. REDSKINS: Team to look to fade, as no team with average QB play and banged up OL a “play on”.

Congrats to hometown kid Dallas RB D. Murray….huge game for Dallas, looks like a “keeper” as he runs hard and runs fast. Just stay injury free and Boys’ are now fine at RB spot again.

Final outcome: Look to fade Miami, Indy, Washington, Seattle, Cleveland, Rams, and maybe even now Oakland (RB McFadden injury- check his status) until Palmer gets more game time reps. Don’t get too caught up with Denver/Tebow either, Broncos won’t play Miami every week.

Have a great new week ahead.
gary

Next Congrats to the Bills and Lions (now winners of 7 in a row dating to last year).  The Bills now have found a quality QB and some nice free agent pickups and this team is no longer an easy “W”.  As for the Lions, what a difference a healthy QB Stafford makes?  Last week they dropped a bagel in first half…only to not do what the old Lions teams did and just toss in the towel, they went out and won on a day they didn’t have their “A” or heck even “B” game.

Two HC’s on the RED-HOT SEAT: Miami’s HC Sparano and St. Louis HC Spagnuolo!
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Look Sparano was close last year to being fired but nobody wanted that job so he not only kept it, but got a extension. But this team has hit rock bottom and a lot of the reason is Sparano is a terrible “in game” HC.  Miami simply lacks enough talent to actually be a .500 type team. As for the Rams, injuries aren’t helping Spagnuolo’s chances as starting this season it looked like the Rams were the “up and coming” team to finally take it to the next level. But from the first play almost from scrimmage (a long TD run by Jackson and then a pulled hammy at the end of the run) this season it’s been BAD LUCK the entire season. The real problem here is the Owner is extremely Upset.  This isn’t a good sign at all and and with most likely 3 sure losses the next 4 games (only this week at Home to face the Redskins is a likely win), an 0-7 start will probably get Spags his walking papers. Now Sparano is in worse shape as his Fins play 4 of their next 5 on the Road. That will be an insane 5 of 6 games being played over that 6 week span ON THE ROAD. Wow the schedule makers did Sparano no favor even if this team was pretty good. Sparano goes first, Spagnuolo most likly second.

Cam Newton update: Ok well Cam got his first NFL win Sunday after two solid games to start the year over 400 yards passing. I’ve heard and read many people say this was his “best game” so far. NO WAY. He was simply awful. I give him a D- on this game as this game should never had been close at all. Newton overthrew completely wide open Receivers at least 8x. The passes, one after another, went 10 yards over their heads and every one would’ve been a huge yards gainer (2 TD’s). Cam and the Panthers were saved by Jags HC Del Rio being scared shitless to actually call a passing play with young QB Gabbert.  THe Jags played the entire way with no confidence in the young QB and played “Not to lose” the whole entire game. They were lucky the Panthers were also terribly coached and stayed in the game most of the way due to one “lucky fluke play”. Del Rio isn’t far behind on his HC firing as he is a stuck in the old ages of Football.

Last my (F-) grade out for the first 3 weeks clearly goes to Bears OC Mike Martz. This guy is by far the worst play caller in the NFL.  He calls plays like he has a loaded OL and and great WR’s like his heyday in St. Louie. He barely calls a RUN play ever. Last week star RB Forte carried it 9x.  Hard to fathom how QB Jay Cutler lasts this entire season getting hit 20x a game. It might help if the Bears weak WR’s corps actually caught the ball occasionally. Still Martz needs to get a “clue” fast and understand his OL his the worst in the NFL and calling passing plays every day is not the recipe for success.

I’ll do a CFB report later Tuesday so check back soon.

Have a great week.
gary

CFB FAVORITES   = 86

CFB UNDERDOGS = 82

CFB “OUTRIGHT” DOG WINNERS = 38

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NFL FAVS/DOGS/TOTALS UPDATE – THRU FIRST 3 WEEKS:
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FAVORITES = 19

UNDERDOGS = 26

PUSHES = 3

NFL OUTRIGHT “DOG” WINNERS = 21

OVERS = 30

UNDERS = 17

PUSH = 1

60 UNDERDOGS

27 UNDERDOGS WON “OUTRIGHT”

NFL THRU FIRST 2 WEEKS:
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13 FAVORITES

15 UNDERDOGS

2 PUSHES

10 UNDERDOGS WON “OUTRIGHT”

TOTALS:
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22 OVERS

7 UNDERS

1 PUSH

****KEY LINE MOVES SINCE OPENERS IN CFB – WEEK 3:
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1) Iowa went up from (-2 Opener) to (-3 now) —– vs. Pitt

2). Cincinnati went up from (-31 Opener) to (-34 now)  —–vs. akron

3). Bowling Green went up from (-7) yo (-9 1/2 now)  —- vs. wyoming

4). Penn State dropped from (-10 Opener) to (now – only 7) = ALL $ on Temple

5). Ole Miss went up from (PK in Opener) to (now -2 1/2) —–vs. Vanderbilt

6). Minnesota went from (-3 Opener) to (now -4 1/2) ——vs. Miami-Ohio

7). Nebraska went down from (-18 1/2 Opener) to (now -17) —– vs. Washington

8). San Diego State went from (-8 Opener) to (now only -5) —vs. Wash State

9). Arizona State went from a (-2 1/2 Fav in Opener) to (now a +2 DOG) — vs. Illinois
Note: this is by far the Biggest Line Move of the entire weekend.

10). BYU went from a (-6 1/2 fav in the Opener) to (now only -4) —– vs. Utah

11). Hawaii went from a (-19 1/2 fav) to (now only a -17 1/2 fav) ——vs. UNLV

In Week 1 the average game final score was 47 points. Nothing close to what many predicted would happen with teams most likely starting many possessions from the 20 instead of normally much better than that in past years.

Week 1 also saw 14 QB’s pass for (300+) yards and across the board the NFL teams combined for (7,842) Yards of Offense – an NFL Record.

The new Flavor on Offense it looks like this year is the “No Huddle” and the “Shotgun for QB’s”. In week 1, 17 QB’s threw 20 passes or more from the “Shotgun” position. That’s a HUGE Problem for teams that change personnel on every play.

Don’t look now but the Dolphins are now a Passing team and no longer a running team. I didn’t expect R. Bush to run it 30x a game, but wow they went crazy with Henne passing it all over the yard. Looks like that idea worked as Henne passed for 400+ yards. Dolphins no longer an “UNDER” look in 2011.

Special teams had a gigantic Week 1 with 10 Punts and Kickoffs returned for TD’s. San Diego, the worst Special Teams in NFL last year allowed a KO Return TD right off the bat. Lost their solid K – Kaeding in the process.

Important note: Do NOT bet solely off Week 1 performances. Due to no Camps and only Pre-season games many teams with new coaches and new faces will get better.  Remember well coached teams will learn from bad games and turn it around with a solid week of Practice.  Expect bounceback efforts from most of the teams who lost last week, especially Pittsburgh.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL THRU TWO WEEKS:
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38 FAVORITES WON
37 UNDERDOGS WON
*15 DOGS WON OUTRIGHT

NFL THRU ALL SUNDAY GAMES – WEEK 1
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5 FAVORITES WON
7 UNDERDOGS WON
1 PUSH
*5 DOGS WON OUTRIGHT

9 OVERS
3 UNDERS
1 PUSH

Here’s some of the bigger line moves already:

1. WISCONSIN (-18 OPENER) —- now (-21 1/2) —-over oregon state
Note: Oregon State shocking loss to Sacramento State is cause for this line move.

2. SOUTH CAROLINA (-2 1/2 OPENER) —– now (-3) —–over georgia
Note: Georgia’s bad loss to Boise State and look of another losing season main reason for move.

3. OREGON (-23 1/2 OPENER) — now (-26 1/2) ——over nevada
Note: Move here thinking that Ducks will be out to avenge terrible loss to LSU on National TV and will take it out on Wolfpack.

4. ARIZONA STATE (-7 OPENER) —- now (-7 or -7 1/2) ——over missouri
Note: Missouri’s bad performance is week one will likely keep this game from going under the (-7).

5. ALABAMA (-10 1/2 OPENER) —- now at (-9 1/2) ——over penn state
Note: this game will show up -9 1/2 to -10 1/2 all week….shop this game for best number as it will be available. Books will take good “two way” action on this TV game.

6. WASHINGTON (-3 OPENER) —– now (-6 1/2 or -7) ———–over hawaii
Note: I am surprised at this move as Huskies Pass Defense looked terrible and Moniz could put up some nice numbers here.

IMMEDIATE REVENGE SITUATION:
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1. OKLAHOMA STATE beat ARIZONA (36-10) in the 2010 ALAMO BOWL last year. Wildcats had 4 costly Turnovers in that loss, with QB Foles throwing 3 INT’S.

Notre Dame’s HC Kelly did it sending Crist to the bench in favor of Rees, SC ole Ball Coach Spurrier did it removing Shaw in favor of former starter Garcia and then SMU HC Jones pulled the fast hook on starter Padron to backup McDermot.

Both Shaw and Padron lasted all of 2 Series each before getting the “fast HOOK”. During the 2 hour + Rain Delay.  ND’s Kelly got backup Rees prepared for the takeover in the second half.

Although all 3 backup’s did pretty well overall, I do NOT like it when these HC’s make that fast a switch in the very first game. It has the kids now looking over their shoulders on nearly every bad pass/play made ahead.

Of the 3 moves the most stunning move was June Jones’ pulling of Padron and then never putting him back in again, even when score got out of hand. Padron is supposed to be his “Young Stud” QB and I just don’t get the “Message” being sent there. The kid was clearly pumped up for start of the season and first game and overthrew a few WR’s deep.

I think it’s always nice to have a decent Backup QB in case of injury, but playing musical chairs this fast into the season just never bodes well for the rest of the season as kids looking over their shoulders is never what you want out there.

Funny thing with ND’s Kelly is he say’s “hell yes I want the kid looking over his shoulder”!.  This guy is making me see Charlie Weis all over again. Ughhhh I can’t go thru 2-3 years of that storyline again in South Bend.

I will say this – neither SC QB looked that great passing the ball, and that was against a really weak EC Defense. Garcia is still a better running QB than he is a throwing QB. The Gamecocks will score points in bunches though as they possess two of the most talented Offensive Players in the nation in Lattimore and Jeffrey.