Happy New Year, Nfl Spooky Express!

[Spooky]

LET ME BREAK IT ALL DOWN.

ITS SOME FUCKED UP SHIT!

Tuesday's List of 13: Our NFL List of 13.......

13) Saints-- Without question, the most fun team to watch; they led 21-9 near end of third quarter vs 49ers, and they run a flea-flicker for 40-50 yards. Sean Payton has little bit of an Arenaball mentality.

12) Patriots-- Most people would have New England higher, but the Vegas oddsmakers have Patriots -3 at Candlestick this week; would a really great team be favored by only a FG over the 49ers? Cassel is the x-factor; if he's not competent, they'll struggle to win division.

11) Ravens-- I don't have anything interesting to say about the Ravens, so I'll point out that three college football underdogs of 20+ points won their game outright last week. Florida International, Oregon St. and Ole Miss all pulled that off. College football '08 is crazy.

10) Panthers-- Who wouldn't want Jake Delhomme as their QB? He is tough, gritty leader. Carolina is 3-0; they have two good runners, a pretty good defense and Steve Smith/Muhammad is tough WR combo John Fox has himself a pretty good team.

9) Chargers-- Not thrilled with Bolts being down 15-0 in Oakland at halftime, but they won by 10, so no harm done. Norv Turner always looks confused on sideline, but Troy Aikman swears by him, so we give him the benefit of the doubt. But he better make the playoffs.

8) Broncos-- Loss at Arrowhead is huge red flag; when winless team runs ball for 213 yards, after you've allowed 38-32 points in the first two home games, the defense may not be up to playoff standards.

7) Bills-- 4-0 for first time since '92, but they were life-and-death to beat Raiders at home, trailed Rams in fourth quarter. Big test in next game, going to desert to play the explosive Cardinals.

6) Eagles-- Higher on this list if Westbrook is healthy, lot lower if he isn't; when you can't run the ball for TD inside 2-yard line when the game is on the line, you're not a top-five team.

5) Steelers-- Don't like the throwback helmets; can someone tell me when Pittsburgh wore them? I am guessing the 50's. By the way, the bye can't come soon enough for Big Ben's battered body.

4) Cowboys-- Not sure why Felix Jones didn't get any touches, but Cowboys' problem against Washington was the defense. The volcano that is TO is about two weeks away from blowing a gasket.

3) Redskins-- Camera got into Washington locker room right after the win Sunday; how happy was Daniel Snyder? You get the feeling that Jason Campbell will be pretty good, once he gets some stability, as far as his coaching goes-- he's getting a lot better. .

2) Titans-- Run ball well, play good defense, don't turn ball over; in short, an old-time ball control team. Surviving the Vince Young soap opera, but they better keep Collins healthy, because Chris Simms is QB #3, and he is terrible.

1) Giants-- Best until beaten; interesting to see their offense without Burress this week. I have the whole NFC East in top six of this poll, so winning the division is going to be tough to do.

[Spooky]

Six-pack for Tuesday

-- White Sox hammered Detroit, will host Minnesota Tuesday for the AL Central title; winner plays in St. Pete Thursday.

-- Games are Wednesday are 3/6:30/10......Thursday, 2:30/6/9:30.

-- At halftime, Steelers had run 22 plays for 46 yards vs Baltimore, and had gone eight quarters without a TD.

-- Third-and-1 and the Steelers throw out of the shotgun? What in the name of Rocky Bleier is going on out there?

-- Why are Packer players allowed to do the Lambeau Leap, but all the other NFL players get penalized for excessive celebrations?

-- St Louis finally put Scott Linehan out of his misery, so the Rams have 12 games to restore some respect. Heads will roll in the front office after season; if the team on the field don't get any better, lot of players' heads will roll this winter, too.

[The General]

Good stuff as always my friend.

Thanks and take care

[Spooky]

thank You Sir!!

[Spooky]

Here are few topics for Hump Day.
These comments dont necessarily reflect the opinion of
GIQ or the Spooky Express unless you agree with them.

The Hump Day Hump

***Al Davis = Comedic Gold - The Oakland Raiders provided me with some funny moments yesterday...ridiculously awesome drama. Lane Kiffin was fired. That came as no surprise. They hired some guy who has no business coaching in the NFL in Kiffin's stead; again, no surprise. But I watched a large chunk of the Al Davis press conference and, man, that was some great stuff. It was as though Al had been stewing for the longest time just waiting for the right moment to air out all of his dirty windsuits and he did not disappoint at all. Calling Kiffin a liar numerous times and stating that he will not pay the former coach another dime...priceless. Davis is a walking and talking corpse, but the man is a true gem. He's totally wrong in this instance and I think that Kiffin took the high road, yet that was some entertaining shit. He looked even more confused than usual and that is saying a lot. My favorite part was when I heard both Kiffin and Davis say that the Raiders are a good football team on the precipice of restoring their greatness. Now who's senile?

***Drugs, Booze, Busts, and the NFL - A few funny notes from around the league:

-Ricky Williams said that he thought about smoking weed during the bye week but restrained himself. Ricky, why would you tell the fucking MEDIA about that?

-Tony Mandarich, bust extraordinaire, admitted to taking fistfuls of steroids during college and was addicted to booze and painkillers in the pros. Note to self: steroids make you a much better player than Johnny Walker Black does.

-The Bengals signed Cedric Benson. Good Lord, on the same week that Chris Henry comes back, they now bring in the drunken motor-boating running back. Mike Brown, you really have a good plan for your dad's team.


***Allow me one moment to educate you rotten gamblers - You all saw the Wisconsin collapse in Ann Arbor last weekend, right? When you are up 19-0 late in the third quarter against a team that you rarely beat in their barn, you absolutely have to finish the job. They didn't. And now they host a rejuvenated Ohio State team on Saturday night. There is NO WAY that any team comprised of 18-22 year old kids can rebound from a loss like that. I don't care who they're playing against and where it is, this game is over before it starts. Wisconsin is DONE. The Buckeyes are favored by 2.5 points, I'd give at least 10 points and feel safe. On a somewhat related note, Li'l Strut was trying to tell me on Saturday that Terrelle Pryor's nickname is/should be "The Truth". I don't like that at all due to Paul Pierce and poker player, Paul Darden, already laying claim to that name. Anyone got a good nickname for the young QB? I'm listening. I like Terrelle "I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS" Pryor.


***One more incident and he's going on the No-Fly List - You know why America is still a racist country? It's because guys like Josh Howard keep making the entire race look like uneducated buffoons. We all remember when the Mavericks Forward admitted to smoking a ton of weed during the playoffs last season. And then last week, there was a YouTube video of him pissing all over the National Anthem because "he's black" and that it didn't apply to him. Now, he's apologizing at a press conference and saying that that isn't how he truly feels. Well, which is it, asshole? You don't say something like that trying to get a few laughs. Why? BECAUSE IT ISN'T FUNNY! Mark Cuban should probably just put a muzzle on this fucker for the rest of his playing days before he retires and becomes a full-fledged member of the Taliban.

[Spooky]

SPOOKY POINTS TO PONDER

---Why is it that after most NFL teams throw incomplete passes on first down they must run it on second down? I call it the "obligatory" run. They say they want to get it back to a reasonable down-and-distance situation. But does getting 2 yards on a running play really make it more manageable? Throw it again once in a while. You'd be surprised how many times you get 10 yards and a first down and then the manageable situation won't matter.

---There is no better play-caller in the NFL than New Orleans coach Sean Payton. He is leading an offense that lost leading receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey to injuries. All they've done is lead the league in passing yards. Payton is the best at creating match-up problems for opposing defenses. It helps to have a smart passer in Drew Brees.

---If Marc Bulger wants to be a better quarterback, he might want to go back to the work-ethic ways he had before he signed a $65-million contract two years ago. Bulger, according to team sources, only took part in six of the Rams' off-season workouts this year, other than the mandatory days. That's inexcusable. He needs to get in the weight room. He's frail. That could be why he looks like he's going to stay down every time he gets hit. Golf can wait, Marc. Take care of your body.


---When the Jaguars were blistered by the New England Patriots offense in last January's playoff loss, it led to many fans in the Jacksonville area to rip former defensive coordinator Mike Smith for his lack of aggression on defense. So when Smith left to become the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Gregg Williams, a blitz-heavy coordinator, replaced him, the fans were thrilled. After four games, the Jaguars have five sacks with Williams. Message here: Be careful what you wish for.

---Once again now: Can we please give Green Bay Packers corner Charles Woodson some love. He is playing at a high level again and yet nobody talks about him. A year ago, he was a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year honors, but didn't even go to the Pro Bowl. Teammate Al Harris did. Woodson has two picks for touchdowns this season. But it's more than that. He can play man defense on anybody. There are few who can do that. "He hasn't slowed down a bit," said a coach from another NFC team.

---I'm all for player safety. But the one-game suspension and $50,000 fine the league hit Jets safety Eric Smith with for the hit on Anquan Boldin was a bit much. Smith didn't intend to injure Boldin and was trying to make a play. It appeared that Boldin being hit by another player as he went to catch the ball made it so it was a helmet-to-helmet hit. It was a scary moment indeed, but $50,000 is way too much.

---Want more proof that Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan will be a good one? On Tuesdays, the team's day off, he comes to the facility to work out. That's fine. A lot of players do that. But he also goes out on the field and works on his drops. That's dedication, especially for a young player. Ryan has that Peyton Manning work ethic.

---I hate horizontal passing games. Hear me, Jon Gruden. Throw the damn ball down the field once in a while.

---It's great to see Saints running back Deuce McAllister back playing again. McAllister ran for 73 yards on 20 carries and scored a touchdown last week. He hardly looked like a guy coming off his second major knee surgery. McAllister is one of the league's good guys, a class act. He's battled through a lot to get back on the field. He looked sleeker when it was training camp and he said he was. "Trying to look like a rookie again," he said. The Saints can only hope.

---You have to give to Al Davis. When he wants to avoid paying out money, he will go to any level to do so. Like I've said, he loves money more than winning. His whitewash of Lane Kiffin during his Tuesday news conference was all about money. He doesn't want to pay him. Why would anybody take a job with Davis when the contract isn't valid? If the league allows him to get away with not paying Kiffin, than he can fire any coach after a season and not pay them, too. He's already done it to Mike Shanahan. No wonder the Raiders slogan is now Commitment to Excrement.

---Byron Leftwich, who was dumped as the starting quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars nine days before the open of the 2007 season, will be back in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Sunday night as a backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Leftwich was dumped last year in large part because he had a personality conflict with Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio. So I asked him this week if he would shake hands with Del Rio? He said they never shook hands when he was there, so why do it now? It will be interesting to watch pre-game warm-ups to see if those two come within 15 yards of each other.

[Spooky]

Spooky's Week 5 NFL games

Sunday, October 5

Colts (1-2) @ Texans (0-3)-- Home opener for Houston squad that lost 11 of 12 to Colts, allowing 30+ points in five of last six series games. Colts are 5-1 in Reliant, with wins by 20-3-9-18-6; last six series totals were all 48+. Texan offense showed some life last week; Schaub passed for 29-40/307, averaging 7.7 ypa with no turnovers. Colts are off bye, after last two games were decided by total of five points. Only win for Indy this year was at Minnesota, when they trailed 15-0 in 3rd quarter. Keep an eye on weather; roof at Reliant will be open all year, and field wasn't designed to drain well. AFC South division dogs are 3-1.

Titans (4-0) @ Ravens (3-0)-- Short week off very physical game for the Ravens; rookie Flacco passed first road test easily; Baltimore is 6-2 vs Titans, with six of last seven series totals 37 or less. Tennessee split last eight visits here, are 4-0 so far this year, running ball for 136 yards/game. Titans have 12 takeaways (+6), forced 20 three/outs on 49 opponent drives. Interesting to see if Titans can run ball on Raven defense that is giving up just 69 yds/game on ground- they've forced 19 three/outs on 36 drives, allowing just two TDs. Titans outscored foes 47-10 in the second half of games. Titans scored 24-31-30 points in their last three games.

Chargers (2-2) @ Dolphins (1-2)-- San Diego averted disaster last week in Oakland, rallying from 15-0 halftime deficit for 28-18 win; this is the third road game in four weeks for Bolts, while Dolphins are off its bye. Miami won last six series games, with four of six by 10+ points. SD lost last five visits herem with three losses by 21+ poinrs; they get Cooper back (NFL suspension), which really helps defense that allowed foes to convert just four of last 23 on third down. Not sure what to make of the Fish after 38-13 win in Foxboro, week after they got pasted by Arizona in the desert. All four San Diego games in 2008 have gone over the total.

Chiefs (1-3) @ Panthers (3-1)-- Carolina won both its home games, by 20-17 (-3)/24-9 (-7) scores, allowing one offensive TD on 23 drives (9 three/outs). Panther OL was banged up last week, but Smith's return has revitalized passing game- they gained 10.1 ypa last week, after gaining 5.9/4.3/4.6 in first three games. Chiefs ran ball for 213 yards in first win last week, have 397 rushing yards in last two games- they're 0-2 on road losing 17-10 in Foxboro (+16), 38-14 in Atlanta (+5), with 11 three/outs on 23 road drives. Panthers giving up 114.3 rushing yards/game, average figure. NFC South teams are 7-2 vs spread, in non-divisional contests.

Redskins (3-1) @ Eagles (2-2)-- Health of Westbrook huge Eagle worry after they couldn't run ball in from 1-yard with game on line in Chicago Sunday night; they split last six games vs Redskins, after winning seven in row before that. Eagles didn't allowed TD in first two away games (11 three/outs, 23 drives). Road team won five of last seven in series; Skins won two of last three games played here. Washington is off big win vs Cowboys in Dallas (gained 381 yards) as Campbell improves more and more with each game. Redskins had 11-yard edge in field position in last two games. Three of last four series totals at this site were 34 or less.

Bears (2-2) @ Lions (0-3)-- Detroit trailed 21-0/21-0/21-3 in first three games, so even though GM Millen finallhy got the boot, his handiwork remains, although fans figure to be more supportive with Millen finally gone. Last three Chicago games were decided by total of 10 points; dogs are 3-0-1 vs spread in Bear games this season. Lion defense allowed an average of 207.7 rushing yards per game, with only one takeaway (TO ratio, -5). QB Kitna got hurt at very end of their last game, not sure of status for this- would be fairly big dropoff to backup. Bears had double digit leads in both losses. Lions are just 38-76 passing in last two games.

Falcons (2-2) @ Packers (2-2)-- Ryan averaged 3.5 ypa in both road tilts so far, both 24-9 Atlanta losses; he averaged 11.1/10.7 yps in his home games, both wins. Rodgers has some kind of shoulder injury; severity is unknown, but there is chance LSU rookie Flynn could see time. Packers allowed 27.3 ppg last three weeks- they ran ball for 139-123 yards the first two games, 84-28 in last two. Passing averages are also down, from 8.1/8.3, to 5.7/4.4, as teams study Rodgers on film. This is Falcons' first visit to Lambeau since frigid '02 playoff win. Four of last five totals in this series were 45+. Atlanta covered just one of last five road games.

Seahawks (1-2) @ Giants (3-0)-- Plaxico Burress is out (suspension) for this game, so NY without its best offensive player. Home side won last eight series games, with Seattle losing last four visits here, three by a FG each; four of last five series games were won by three points or less. In Coughlin era, Giants are 1-3 after their bye; both sides here are coming off bye. SEahawks lost only road game 34-10 in Buffalo, then gave up 33 at home to 49ers; over is 3-0 in their games. Red flag for Giants is the one takeaway in three games. Seattle ran ball for 414 yards in last two games, is capable underdog, but NFC West non-division road dogs: 0-5.

Buccaneers (3-1) @ Broncos (3-1)-- Another homecoming for Greise, as Bucs visit Mile High City for first time in dozen years. Tampa won lita last three games, scoring 27 ppg (seven TDs, 37 drives, only 10 3/outs). Defense has scored TD in three of four games. Bucs split first two road games, losing 24-20 in Superdome, winning in OT at Chicago, as Greise threw 67 passes without being sacked. Denver allowed 213 yards on the ground in upset loss at Arrowhead last week; they've allowed 38-32-33 points in last three games (10 TDs, 11 FGA on last 38 drives). NFC has 7-6 lead over AFC, even after 0-3 Sunday in Week 4. NFC South clubs are 7-2 vs spread nin non-conference games.

Patriots (2-1) @ 49ers (2-2)-- Niners scored 33-31 points in their wins, 13-17 in losses; hard to believe they would get 30+ vs Belichick defense, especially with NE off its bye. Pats allowed 10-10-38 points so far this year. In two games Cassel started, patriots gained 260-216 total yards. Interesting to see what adjustments theymade during off week. Eight of 49ers' last 32 drives started in enemy territory, so O'Sullivan is getting good field position, but he tossed pair of end zone INTs last week, as Niners lost to Saint club that had two turnovers, 13 penalties. Three of four 49er games stayed under. NFC West underdogs are 0-7 vs spread.

Bills (4-0) @ Cardinals (2-2)-- Arizona scored 35 points in one half last week, still lost by 21, as they turned the ball over five times in first half, trailed 34-0 at halftime. Buffalo barely beat Raiders at home, trailed by a point in fourth quarter at St Louis, now they go up in class, visiting an explosive Arizona team that averaged 13 ypa in its only home game, a 31-10 win vs Miami. In first four games, Arizona rushing attempts have dropped every game: 39-31-23-15, so expect them to re-emphasize run here, especially if dynamic WR Boldin (head) unable to play. Bills have at least one 80+-yard TD drive in every game, scored 20+ in every game

Bengals (0-4) @ Cowboys (3-1)-- If Palmer plays, 17 points is awful lot to give potentially potent Bengal offense; if he sits out again (elbow), 17 might not get you to halftime, vs Dallas squad smarting from last week's loss to rival Redskins. Cowboys scoring 30 ppg in first four games, but are allowing 31.5 ppg at home- Dallas wins are by 18-4-11 points. Cincy lost four of five viists here, with lone win 20 years ago; all four losses were by 12+ points. NFC East favorites are 6-1 vs spread, but favorites of 10+ points are 0-5 in NFL this season. Bengals' last two losses were in OT in Swamp, 20-12 vs Cleveland (led 6-3 at half); so they're not as bad as the record might indicate.

Steelers (3-1) @ Jaguars (2-2)-- Pittsburgh travelling on short week after physical, emotional OT win in divisional game Monday night, that saw several Steelers get hurt, including two for season. Jags are also off win in OT, vs divisional foe; their last three games were all decided by four points or less. Jacksonville won last four series games (three of four at Heinz Field), as home side lost five of last six in series. Streelers are 3-7 in Jacksonville. In last three weeks, Steelers scored 10-6-23 points, with offense scoring just two TDs on 33 drives- they kicked FGs on their last three red zone visits, and have one TD in 21 drives in road games. Jags ran ball for 375 yards in last two games; another physical contest looms.

Monday, October 6

Vikings (1-3) @ Saints (2-2)-- Expect heavier dose of Peterson running ball now that star OT McKinnie (NFL suspension) is back; Vikings are 7-1 in last eight series games, scoring 32-38 in last two Superdome trips (32-31/38-31). Only once in last eight series meetings have Saints held Vikings under 31. Saints had eight TDs on 21 drives in last two games, converting 14 of last 25 on third down- only Redskins held them under 435 total yards, 8.4 ypa. Minnesota scored just two TDs, six FGs on first nine red zone drives- their ypa was 6.0/5.3 in Frerotte's starts, after they averaged 4.7/4.4 with Jackson udner center. Loser here is in trouble in playoff race. Should be entertaining Monday night game.

[Spooky]

Six-pack for Thursday

Some NFL knowledge with Week 5 around the corner.........

-- Dolphins covered two of their last eleven home games.

-- Giants are 5-13 vs spread in game after their last 18 byes.

-- Seahawks covered four of last 17 in the eastern time zone.

-- Buccaneers covered one of last ten on road vs AFC teams.

-- Texans are 9-4 as a home underdog in division games.

-- Arizona is 10-3 as a non-divisional home favorite.