Jolly Roger Sports

Friday, October 7, 2011

Penguins: Game 1 Notes

Anyone wondering why the Penguins didn't get rid of Matt Cooke, after his constant displays of disregard for other players' safety, saw why they kept him last night. Cooke won't score two goals in a game too often, but he's a very talented player and he will do the job he's asked to do on a nightly basis. As long as he stays out of trouble like he says he will that is...

I wasn't sure if James Neal would pan out in Pittsburgh, but after watching the way he skated, I have to say that I am a believer. A fourth straight 20 goal season certainly isn't farfetched. Only 19 to go...

Marc-Andre Fleury really may be the best goalie in the league, but those weak goals that he gives up are what shape people's opinions of him. Even with all the spectacular highlight reel saves he makes, it won't make up for the high goals against average that people will always point to.

Articles:

Penguins defeat Canucks, 4-3 SO

Malkin, Letang goals win it for Penguins in shootout

Letang, Malkin lift Penguins past Canucks in SO

Changed Man? Matt Cooke Scores 2 in win

And so, another NHL season begins ...

Week 6 College Football Predictions

Week 1 Picks: 14-11-0

Week 2 Picks: 14-20-2

Week 3 Picks: 15-25-0

Week 4 Picks: 17-22-1

Week 5 Picks: 19-23-0

Season to Date: 79-101-3

Top 25: 36-36-2

Big East: 13-12-0

Big Ten: 15-18-0

Everything Else: 25-45-1

34			18
13			14
49			20
41			22
17			14

Here are my predictions against the spread for all of the week's games listed on Bodog.eu as of Friday morning:

PITT -7 over Rutgers

#16 West Virginia -20 over Connecticut

Iowa +4 over Penn State

Top 25

#1 LSU -14 over #17 Florida

#2 Alabama -29.5 over Vanderbilt

#11 Texas +10.5 over #3 Oklahoma

#5 Boise State -21 over Fresno State

#6 Oklahoma State -32 over Kansas

Colorado +30 over #7 Stanford

#15 Auburn +10 over #10 Arkansas

#12 Michigan -7.5 over Northwestern

Maryland +14.5 over #13 Georgia Tech

Ohio State +11.5 over #14 Nebraska

#16 West Virginia -20 over Connecticut

Kentucky +21 over #18 South Carolina

Indiana +14.5 over #19 Illinois

#20 Kansas State +3.5 over Missouri
#21 Virginia Tech -7.5 over Miami (FL)
#22 Arizona State -4 over Utah
#23 Florida State -10.5 over Wake Forest
Texas Tech +9.5 over #24 Texas A&M
Iowa State +15.5 over #25 Baylor

Big East

Pitt -7 over Rutgers

#16 West Virginia -20 over Connecticut

Louisville +14 over North Carolina

Syracuse -10.5 over Tulane

Big Ten

Indiana +14.5 over #19 Illinois

#12 Michigan -7.5 over Northwestern

Ohio State +11.5 over #14 Nebraska

Iowa +4 over Penn State

Everything Else

Memphis +21 over Rice

Miami (OH) +3 over Army

Bowling Green +10 over Western Michigan

Temple -9 over Ball State

Toledo -21 over Eastern Michigan

North Carolina State -11 over Central Michigan

Ohio -8.5 over Buffalo

Kent State +17 over Northern Illinois

Air Force +14 over Notre Dame

Arizona -2.5 over Oregon State

Louisiana Tech -4 over Idaho

Tennessee +2 over Georgia

Nevada -21 over UNLV

Marshall +19 over Central Florida

East Carolina +11.5 over Houston

Utah State -12 over Wyoming

BYU -13.5 over San Jose State

UCLA -3.5 over Washington State

San Diego State +5 over TCU

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Back in Business Tomorrow!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, but we'll be back and running as normal tomorrow.

The schedule for the next few days:

Friday: NFL Panel
Friday: College Football Predictions
Friday: College Football Preview
Saturday: Steelers Pregame
Sunday: NHL Season Preview

After that it will be back to pretty much what you have been accustomed to, but we will also add more Penguins stuff and, at some point hopefully sooner rather than later, a recap to the Pirates season and a little bit of a preview for next year.

As always thank you for your support!

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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Around the NFL: Steelers in Flux

It appears everyone seems to believe the Steelers are done for. The Texans apparently being the Van Helsing to their Dracula, sticking a stake right through their proverbial hearts. Well while I try and figure out why the Steelers are going to play these last twelve games of their season, let's go around the NFL.

Texans 17, STEELERS 10

I wonder if the Steelers will seek offensive line help for this week's game against the Tennessee Titans. They looked pitiful and allowed Ben Roethlisberger to be hit 13 times, leaving Ben's status up in the air for this week's game. Something needs to change and fast.

Why the Steelers don't employ the no huddle offense befuddles me. My guess is Bruce Arians thinks he calls a good game, but there isn't a person that believes that. Roethlisberger works better quickly and when he calls his own stuff. Let him go.

Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore sure looked good after Rashard Mendenhall was relatively ineffective and left with an injury. I think the lack of a running game is more of a running back issue than an offensive line issue.

While some people continue to defend the defense, no pun intended, others have gone to task trying to tear them down. Count me as one of the apologists. The Steelers rank first against the pass and are third overall. Their run defense is suspect, I will agree, but in a pass heavy league now built on scoring, these numbers are nothing to sneeze at. The Steelers must force turnovers, but that's not alwasy up to them. The Steelers defense isn't bad, it just isn't lucky right now.

One thing I do want to see the defense improve on, besides stopping the run, is getting to the quarterback more often. If you told me Lamarr Woodley played this week, I would ask you which play, because I haven't seen him all year. That really needs to change because teams are keying on James Harrison and it's hindering the Steelers as a whole.

My last comment is more of a bold prediction, but I think this Steelers team will improve throughout the year more than it will continue to slide. The offensive line will get healthier (not healthy, but healthier) and that will make them better. The defense will get better against the run. And Ben Roethlisberger will play better. As decent as he's been, he can be better and we'll see it soon enough.

The Steelers are not the only team with flaws. Pick a team and there is something to be said about them. The Patriots? No defense at all. The Ravens? They don't really have an offense. The Packers? They also can't play any defense. The Chargers? No one knows what's wrong with them. As much as the Steelers have to fix, every team has a dire need that needs to be corrected as well.

Around the NFL

I'm not sure what the Chicago Bears-Carolina Panthers game tells us more: That the Bears aren't quite that good or the Panthers aren't quite that bad. I'm leaning towards the Panthers being better than we thought with obvious thanks to Cam Newton, but the Bears better get it totally together soon especially with the undefeated Detroit Lions coming to town.

Matt Forte is one of the most undervalued players in all of football. His 200 yard rushing performance will open eyes, but he's been producing high yardage totals consistently for quite some time now. Whether it's on the ground or in the air, the guy can do it all and in big quantities.

I'm going to have to pose the same question for the Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game: Are the Bills just not that good, or are the Bengals better than we thought. I'm going to go with the Bengals not being that bad. I still say that the Bills will be a very legitimate contender for a playoff berth, but the Bengals may make a run as well. They have the league's best defense and with Carson Palmer, they may very well be 4-0 right now under the right circumstances. Without Palmer, I still imagine they'll be a .500 team at best, but they'll cause a lot of fits for potential playoff teams.

The Tennessee Titans are pretty darn good. They haven't played the toughest schedule in the world so far but they are 3-1, and only looking better each week. Let's give a round of applause to me for not counting out Matt Hasselbeck. I think it's fair to say the Seattle Seahawks would be a much better team if he was still at the helm. The team itself is much better than I'd thought it be though.

I'm not really sure why the Cleveland Browns were receiving so many accolades at 2-1, but hopefully we can put talk of them as a playoff team to rest. These guys really aren't that good and when Colt McCoy throws the ball 61 times with Peyton Hillis in the backfield, they obviously have some work to do on offensive schemes.

I know it's not all Donovan McNabb's fault that the Minnesota Vikings are 0-4. That's because most of it is Leslie Frazier's fault. It's a shame, but Frazier has to bench the guy that's taking most of the heat for his own misdeeds. He has already said he won't bench McNabb this week, but how long will Donovan be around? Christian Ponder should be starting immediately.

The Detroit Lions keep finding ways to win. The Dallas Cowboys find ways to lose. I'm going to say it again - The Detroit Lions aren't for real yet. They didn't give up and I commend them for that, but the Cowboys aren't exactly going anywhere. Tony Romo will choke away any lead he is given and he proved that again this week. We'll see what the Lions are made of against the Chicago Bears this week.

Well, well, well. Who would have thought that the "dream team" would struggle. Oh, that's right. I did. I certainly didn't expect a 1-3 start based on the opponents they would have to play, but I knew it wouldn't be easy. I still expect the Philadelphia Eagles to improve, but I'm not sure that they will be able to do enough to get back in the hunt at this point.

The San Francisco 49ers are 3-1 and I'll vote them as the worst 3-1 team in football yet again. However, they did show me that they will be very competitive in a weak NFC West division and may yet run away with it.

I have to admit, I'm kind of happy to see the Jacksonville Jaguars struggle the way that they have. Jack Del Rio shouldn't have gotten rid of David Garrard when they had no competent backup available. Blaine Gabbert has a chance to be good, but it won't be now. With Garrard, this team is still in the race for a division title. That's what you get Jack.

I'm amazed at just how bad the St. Louis Rams are. They went from nearly winless, to just missing a division title, to wondering if they're going to win a game this year. Sam Bradford has struggled, and it doesn't help that the revolving door of receivers keeps going. Winning all of its division games is all this team can do to save its season.

Maybe the New York Giants got lucky, maybe they didn't. Either way, they are 3-1 and tied for the NFC East lead. It may be just them and the Washington Redskins all year long gunning for the NFC East title.

The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are confusing to me. Nobody really talks about the Falcons a year after they earned homefield advantage in the NFC playoffs. And they're kind of struggling this year at 2-2. The same goes for the Bucs except they were supposed to be an up and coming team surprise team. Meanwhile they are 3-1, but barely winning games and you get the feeling they shouldn't be 3-1. But are these teams good? Are they bad? I don't really know. They don't really seem intent on deciding either.

I wonder what the ETA is on the moving trucks getting to Tony Sparano's house. His 0-4 Miami Dolphins are pathetic.

The Oakland Raiders had a chance to win their game against the New England Patriots. Up until halftime they were outplaying the Pats. An attempted throw away pass by Jason Campbell that got picked off in the back of the endzone really sent the Raiders' heads down and the Patriots ran with that. All it showed me is that they aren't ready for primetime.

The Baltimore Ravens-New York Jets game was the worst 51 point game anyone will ever see in their lifetime. Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez proved to everyone on national television that neither is even close to the elite level. Look at the last eight Super Bowl champions: Patriots, Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers. With the exception of the Giants (although some could argue otherwise) each of these champions had an elite quarterback leading them. I'm not sure Sanchez and Flacco really fit that mold.

The Indianapolis Colts are so close to being where they need to be in order to be a top six team. Unfortunately for them, it's probably too late. Curtis Painter did a much better job than Kerry Collins, and the defense is really solid, but at 0-4 they just have too big of a hill to climb to make the postseason. Peyton Manning won't have a chance for a made-for-the-movies return to the Colts.

Articles:

Gerry Dulac's Two-Minute Drill: Game 4 vs. Texans

Steelers Notebook: Black and gold turning into black and blue

Steelers Report Card: Game 4 vs. Texans

On the Steelers: Cowher not ready for Canton yet

Roethlisberger, Mendenhall and Harrison injured during Steelers' loss

Steelers' comeback fizzles with 17-10 loss to Texans

Agony of Defeat: Ben's beating, offensive line

Serious trouble is lurking

Steelers come up short against host Texans

Kovacevic: Sorry Steelers at crossroads

Steelers' Roethlisberger might miss Tennessee game

Houston's opening 19-play drive 'set tone'

Smith not concerned about early struggles

Matchup a barometer for both Steelers and Texans

Fans Concerned After Steelers’ Loss To Texans

Texans Beat Steelers 17-10

Are The Steelers Done?

Upon further review: Steelers

NFL Grades: Week 4

Week 4 Judgements: Grossman far from sharp yet 'Skins still 3-1

Look who's back in the running

Audio:

Bouchette Breaks Down Steelers’ Loss To Texans

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Week 4 Steelers Pregame

The Steelers made a game that most felt should have been a blowout into an exciting one. Indianapolis really wasn't any match for the Steelers, but still somehow led 13-10 at the end of three quarters. This week the Steelers take on a much taller task in the Houston Texans. The Texans are desperate to finally become one of the league's elite and a win this week will do that even after a disappointing late loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Observations from the past week:

The Steelers offensive line doesn't look too good, but I'm not surprised they didn't try to get outside help. They don't have enough room under the salary cap, and until they actually do blow a game because of the line they won't be worried about.

Mike Wallace may be the league's best wide receiver. He stays under the radar somehow, but he does things that other receivers just don't do. I'm never seen someone so open so often. Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson make acrobatic catches, but Mike Wallace never seems to be in a position to have to.

The Steelers defense is still pretty good and getting better. Troy Polamalu looked great. James Harrison looked healthy. The secondary shut down the receivers. I realize they still haven't played a team with a quarterback and receivers, but they need to be able to shut down the guys that they should and so far they've earned a passing grade.

Jerome Bettis and Dermontti Dawson, finalists for last year's Hall of Fame selections, are again eligible. Also Bill Cowher becomes a first time candidate. I think Bettis gets in this year, but Dawson and Cowher will have to wait a little longer. Both will get in eventually though and deservedly so.

What I'll be looking for this week:

More Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore - The Steelers have struggled to run the ball so far and Rashard Mendenhall holds as much blame as the offensive line. The holes aren't always there, but when they are he just isn't seeing them. Redman and Moore have looked solid in relief and I expect them to be used more heavily.

Another 100 yard performance by Wallace - This Texans defense really isn't any good and the offense will get their points even against a tough Steelers defense. So the Steelers will need Wallace to have a big day. I wouldn't be surprised if he manages 150 yards or more.

More Heath Miller - Heath needs to be used more one way or the other. Trai Essex will likely struggle against the speedy Texans' defensive ends much like Johnathan Scott did against Dwight Freeney. Miller will need to be used to protect him. If he needs to block, leave him in to block. Or you can get him more involved in the passing game by running him on screens or as a (very) quick checkdown when blocking breaks down.

Troy Polamalu - We didn't see him the first two weeks. Then we did see a lot of him last week. So hopefully we'll see him again this week. He looked great and if he's going to pick and choose the games that he wants to go all out, this is a good one to pick.

A James Harrison sack or two - Harrison looked much healthier last week and maybe he is back to full strength or at least close to it. I'm guessing he is and he'll be in on the quarterback often. This might also open up opportunities for more sacks for LaMarr Woodley and Troy Polamalu.

A big day for Hines Ward - I don't think we'll see him have too many as his career winds down. Not because he doesn't have it anymore. He definitely does. But because the Steelers have so many targets to throw to. As more teams key on Wallace, the slot will open up for Hines and he'll be able to do his thing. I think we'll see a decent amount of that this week.

Bend but don't break defense - The Steelers do this a lot. But this week may be a time when they should. The Texans have as difficult a time as any team scoring in the red zone. What this means is the Steelers need to eliminate the big play and force field goals. Even seven field goals won't be enough to win this game so keeping the Texans out of the endzone will be key. Long drives will force turnovers as well.

A high scoring game - I think both teams will get their points, but I think the Steelers will win this by a lot more than people think. Pittsburgh often recognizes when they'll need extra scores and I think we'll see quite a few early.

Prediction: