Divisional Round Preview

Zeek Nation NFL expert, Pittsburgh Pirate enthusiast, and Mark-Sanchez-era survivor, Andrew Mount joins Romo to discuss the divisional round playoffs.








In part 2, Romo talks to Matt Yetsko on a disappointing Eagles loss and who they have the most confidence in in the divisional round.





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Wild Card Weekend Preview

Here's a podcast Matt Yetsko and I did previewing what turned out to be a crazy wildcard weekend (we recorded it 2 hours before Chiefs/Colts...if you don't follow me on twitter, you'd have no way of hearing this -- until now. A division round preview is coming soon.)




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12/16 NFL Thoughts

Since I had a pretty quiet NFL-tweet day on Sunday, I’m about to post some thoughts on NFL topics that probably 0.5 of you actually care about. Adjust your procrastination habits accordingly…

1. The current Super Bowl line is NFC -2.5. 2.5? After this weekend? Denver would be at least a 4 point underdog against Seattle right now (and as a Broncos fan that seems generous in a chilly environment). I imagine a New England team without Gronk would be even bigger underdogs. The AFC is so open that even the Colts and Dolphins are legit contenders to come out of the conference, and they would be even bigger underdogs. Second point of this: You think any NFC team can go into Seattle and win? Maaaybe San Francisco since they are so familiar and did beat them slightly earlier this year (though in SF). I still say no. Grab the NFC -2.5 right now if you like money.

…And then feel free to blame me when Brady throws his fourth TD pass to either Vereen or Edelman to go up by 23 against Detroit or Philly or somebody in the Super Bowl.

2. It’s amusing to me the reputation Tony Romo has. He’s actually a good quarterback but the perception is that he’s a choker. He’ll have 3 “above average-to-borderline great” days, and then he’ll have a terrible play in the 4^th game that everybody notices which keeps the narrative alive. Meanwhile, 2-time Super Bowl champion Eli threw 5 picks this weekend to bring his total to 25 this season. But, whatever, right? Their season is lost anyway, so what does it matter?

“Romo can’t win in the big game” well sure, why not. Of course, this game Sunday would not have been a big game if he had played like Eli all season.

3. If you’re going to praise Brady for his ZOMG CLUTCHNESS in the OT win against Denver, then you have to blame him for his lack of it against Miami. Or, preferably, you could drop the clutch talk altogether (since he had a great game in both games). Teams win games, quarterbacks don’t. They help you to win a game, but by no means are they only factor.

Obviously I’m partial in who I root for, but let’s go back to the Brady/Manning debate -- sidenote: I really don't think it matters who is better, but admittedly it is fun to talk about so whatever. Without question, these are the two best quarterbacks of my generation. But when we talk about who is better, Brady backers always point to the record against each other. This is just a flawed way of thinking. The QB’s aren’t playing with or against the same defense. You would have to look at their entire body of work of their career.

Brady had a fantastic game this weekend. In the end it wasn’t enough. Does that mean Tannehill is a better QB than Brady? Well, no. But their head-to-head numbers are pretty similar. Note: I like how that page doesn’t have the QB’s records against each other. You can find it with an easy google search, but I didn’t want to make didn’t want to make your head spin.

4. I have no idea who comes out of the AFC at this point. But I’ll say this: No one wants to see the Ravens get in the playoffs. I really feel that, for whatever reason, there is something to be said about confidence being a factor in the playoffs. And there is no doubt that the Ravens are a confident bunch (or, maybe a little dumb). Giants in 2007-08, Giants in 2011-12, Ravens in 2012-13; all of these teams were extremely confident in their chances despite what everyone else thought – and each won the Super Bowl. I’m not saying the Ravens will win the Super Bowl if they make the playoffs. But I am not counting them out. (There. This paragraph should do enough to ensure that they lose by 16 to Detroit tonight...)

4:49 - Update: More quick thoughts!

5. What a great weekend for the Rams! They completely demolish the Rams, and somehow the Redskins (who are giving the Rams their first round pick) manage to lose a game that Atlanta was giving them in the fourth quarter.

6. The Titans came back from 17 points in less than 5 minutes. They score to make it 34-33 on what is essentially the last play of the regular season. The Titans essentially had nothing to play for (and now don’t).  The Titans elect to kick the game-tying XP. This isn’t the smartest thing in the world, but fine. Whatever. The Cardinals committed a penalty on the extra point attempt. The Titans now have the ball at the one-yard line! Run the ball! Steal the win! They continue with the kick. A few plays into OT, Ryan Fitzpatrick throws a pick, and the Cardinals gain some yards, kick a field goal, and win the game. C’mon teams. Grow some cahones.

7. Frank Gore didn’t have a touchdown on the field, but he may have scored off the field.

8. Wait, what’s this graphic CBS? Oh my god, stop! Get this out of here! Ew.

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NBA Preview - Eastern Conference

In our second part of the rather delayed NBA preview, Matt Yetsko joins me to preview the Eastern Conference. We discuss things such as Roy Hibbert vs. Brook Lopez, Miami's chances to 3-peat, and whether or not we think the teams not from Chicago, Indiana, Miami, and Brooklyn are for real.

It's probably the best podcast I've done so far, which, if you've listened to any other ones on here, is saying not very much.



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NBA Preview - Western Conference

Me, Rich Montgomery, and Matt Yetsko preview the NBA's Western Conference, discuss regular season win totals, and pick our 8 playoff teams.






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Week 4 NFL Picks

Ravens at Bills (+3.5)

It’s hard to lose a game if your opponent notches 20 penalties for 168 yards, but the Bills found a way to get the job done.

Pick: Ravens

Bears at Lions (-2.5)

Both of these teams need to take advantage of the Packers’ early season struggles if they want to win the division. But my analysis tells me that only one of these teams will win this week. This is the inside information that you can only get here!

Pick: Lions

Bengals at Browns (+4.5)

The battle for Ohio!! The Bengals just pulled a miraculous win over the Packers, but Brian Hoyer is undefeated as a starter in the NFL! Well, he quarterbacked the Arizona Cardinals last year for a game and lost, but honestly, who hasn’t done that?

Pick: Bengals

Colts at Jaguars (+8.5)

I was going to look at the Jaguars schedule and look to see when the next time they could possibly win a game would be (which is actually next week, so that wasn’t all that essential) but something caught my eye. The Jaguars have a PRIME TIME GAME in DECEMBER. They play at home against the Texans on Dec. 5^th. They can’t even flex this game out, because it’s a Thursday night game. My god. The Jaguars on prime time...There’s only one way they could make this game appealing, and I think you know what that is.

Pick: Colts

Giants at Chiefs (-4.5)

4.5? 4.5?!?!? Thank you kindly.

Pick: Chiefs

Steelers at Vikings at London (Pk)

Neither of these teams are any good, but only one of them has lost to a team that all but vocally announced they are giving up on this season (yet…the other team plays that said team twice still). Enjoy, London!

Pick: Steelers

Cardinals at Bucs (+2.5)

Crap, I don’t know. I try to avoid picking either of these teams whenever possible but I guess I have to here. Also, Mike Glennon is starting for the Bucs. Since the Cardinals are slightly less inept than the Vikings, and should be able to stop a backup QB thrown into the fire, I'll go with them.

Pick: Cardinals

Seahawks at Texans (+2.5)

The Texans (in my opinion) have not looked that good at all this season. A big comeback against the Chargers (but everyone does that), an OT win over the Titans, and a big loss to the Ravens. They need a statement game, and this might be the time they get it.

Pick: Texans (and to win)

Jets at Titans (-3.5)

One of these teams is going to be 3-1. Holy crap…

Pick: Jets

Cowboys at Chargers (+1.5)

Oh man, who wants to lose this game more, amiright?! Hahahaha follow me you guys on twitter dot com.

Pick: Cowboys

Eagles at Broncos (-11.5)

This line seems pretty high to me, but in the midst of the regular season streak Denver has been on, every victory was 7 points or more. That being said, the Eagles can run the ball way better than any of the teams Denver has played thus far this season. It all depends on the game plan Chip Kelly decides on.

Pick: Eagles

RG3’s Team at Raiders (+2.5)

As I’m typing this, I’m watching the finale of season four of Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan has to not only live up to the season he just created, but this episode as well. Oh man I’m pumped for 9:00 p.m. Sunday.

Pick: Raiders

Patriots at Falcons (-1.5)

The Pats are 3-0 but have not looked all that good. The Falcons are 1-2 but have actually looked pretty good. I don't like the Pats' chances in a loud dome against a team that needs a win.

Pick: Falcons

Dolphins at Saints (-6.5)

Did you know that at one time the Dolphins chose Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees? It’s true. And also this year in fantasy baseball I traded Matt Harvey for Anthony Rizzo. What I’m saying is … damn I don’t really know. I gotta stop writing these things while drunk tired.

Pick: Saints

Season:

Spread: 15-17 (missed week one)

Straight: 23-9

Last week:
Spread: 8-8

Straight: 10-6

This week:

Spread: 1-0

Straight: 1-0

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