"Armchair Critic: a casual critic who lacks practical experience..."
Led by hairy fan favorite, Love Without Nagel (LWN), The Bleachers covers all things sports and gambling. We are football fans at heart, but once in a while we will branch out into those less manly sports.
Look for lines on College Football and NFL, as well as draft and combine coverage.
For those who follow recruiting National Letter of Intent Day is a high holiday. All year long we closely follow the lives of elite high school athletes anticipating and hoping that they sign with our school and shape a successful winning program. The 2010 recruiting season was a very successful one for Penn State. Not only did we fill a lot of needs, our staff seemed to go beyond expectations in filling this class with an extremely talented group of athletes. Rivlas.com, Scout.com and ESPN.com all selected our class as the best in the Big Ten. Rivals ranked our class #12 nationally; Scout gave us a final ranking of 9 and ESPN ranked our class #11 in the nation.
After a week of sick leave - probably due to the Broncos' downward spiral - i'm back on my feet. Denver cost me nearly half my season winnings in their loss to the redskins - the Washington fucking redskins - without Portis. WTF. Oh well, at least I was burned enough to stay as far away from the Chargers/Broncos line as humanly possible. Things are looking good with some exciting games this week, but before we get into that lets cover some interesting shit that happened.
Double Barrell
Titans 86 year old owner Bud Adams saluted Bills fans in style after the Titans 47-17 win last week on MNF. I can't figure out whats most awesome about this - the fact he is 86 and clearly doesnt give a fuck, the fact that the NFL fined him 250k for it, or the fact that this isn't his first obscene gesture. When Adams and the Titans won the AFC championship in 2000 he was asked what he would do if he won a superbowl with the team he moved from Texas to Tenn. According to NBCSports.com, Adams held up a single digit on his right hand and said, "I'll put it on the middle finger and say to the mayor of Houston to take a look at it." After the awesome game this Monday vs Texas, Tenn is my new team to root for.
Theismann, McCallum, and now Wood
The injury so gruesome CBS refused to replay it. Bills rookie guard Eric Wood took a hit to the side of his shin and, well, the rest is history. Compound tibia and fibula. Makes me squirm. Check it out.
Hester Gets Pants'd
As if the current level of Bears play isnt embarrassing enough, Hester (understandably) dropped a Cutler pass and was tackled - by his jock strap. Not to be one-upped, Cutler threw an interception on the potential game winning drive and got an awkward post-game advice session from D-Nabb. Which is more embarrassing? You can decide.
NFL Week 12 - Thanksgiving-a-palooza
While most of us are in a self-induced food coma, football will be happening. While I'm still a little sore - literally and figuratively - from the broncos recent performances, I think they have a good line this week. Currently, they are +7 at home against the Giants. Yes, the Broncos are all over the board, and I don't necessarily think they will win, but the second the line moved from 6.5 to 7, I was all over it. I'll go out on a limb here and say 75% of the time the broncos lose by a TD or less this week. It's not going to be half my bankroll, but its a bet. Now I just have to find somewhere to watch the game, fucking NFL network.
Obviously, the game of the week is Patriots @ Saints. I've got news for the patriot nation, the Pats are the 4th best team in the country. Saint #1, Colts #2, Vikings #3. Deal with it. Because of this, I think the line is a little inflated for the Pats - they are a 3pt underdog. The Patriots D will not be able to handle the multi-threat offense, and although it will be a slugfest the Saints will win by at least 7. Brees will out throw Brady by 15 yds. Final score - New England 21, Saints 31.
This is a new segment where we detail my roommate's exploits as a 30 year old married man who live with me and not his wife and child. To be fair I typically wake up to dumb shit I have done, but it's less depressing if I focus on him. These are full beers for some
I'm glad I wasn't betting last week, otherwise I would have pissed money away more than usual. I don't even get paid really, I'm basically just a middle man who keeps the books for a really shitty business that can't turn a profit. This shitty business attempts to create new revenue streams, but usually just fucks up ruining the company because the owner is a moron who doesn't understand shit. I've gone back to the old picture because it's cooler.
Since I can't really bitch about not losing money last week, let's jump right into the news.
Not a lot to say about last week other than it feels good to crush again. The only two incorrect picks for the weekend were very suprising, Stanford destroyed the 7pt favorite Oregon (who wudda thought?) and the packers decided to prove they are actually terrible. Otherwise, things were great - My underdog picks of the week were exciting as the Chargers brought it down to the wire and Cincinnati continues to prove they are a legit team. I love good weekends; it makes me feel like the oracle. No real drama this weekend, other than Tommie Harris punching a guy 65 seconds into the game. The bears are already a mess and im sure this didn't help. It took 65 seconds of gameplay for Harris to punch the Deuce in the facemask... this is confusing on so many levels. What on earth could you possibly be that worked up about in 65 seconds? Why would you punch someone in their helmet?? it protects their fucking head you asshole. Also, get up Deuce, he punched your helmet - you take blows to the head for a living.
This week...
Lets get right down to it. Patriots @ Colts. Im going to take the Colts here. Why? Because I hate Tom Brady. Also, the Colts are a better team, especially at home. Its going to be a hell of a show, and the colts will come out on top 28-21. These two teams are evenly matched with Brady-Moss-Welker vs Manning-Clark-Wayne, and I think the Patriots Defense is a little better. In New England, the patriots win. At a neutral field, I give the Colts a miniscule advantage, and in Indy i'll take the Colts. Its going to be close, and im not saying bet the farm on it. But if you like the colts, and want to bet, take it.
The most exciting game of the week may be the Pats vs Colts, but the best spot for your money is the Broncos vs Redskins game. Last week I warned against the Broncos, they were getting a terrible line. They played like shit. It was embarrasing. The good news? It contributed to the most rediculous line of the year - Denver (-3.5) @ Washington. WTF? Yes, the Broncos are playing like shit... but not actual shit. Of concern is Marshall missing Weds practice with back problems - no word yet on this weekend. He didn't come out of the game against the Steelers, and im sure he will be listed as questionable, but expect him to end up playing. The real matchup to watch will be Dumervil taking on Levi Jones in his first game at left tackle for the skins. If Dumervil can beat Jones, expect him to get a few mean hits on Jason Campbell's blindside as he hangs out in the pocket a little too long. Also old school Bronco Ben Hamilton will be replaced Russ Hochstein at left gaurd - further transforming the Broncos into the little patriots. If Orton doesnt come out of the gates crushing, I wouldn't be terribly suprised if McDaniels gives Simms a shot. I like Orton a lot but it pained me to watch his weak arm exploited on MNF. We all knew he wouldn't be throwing bombers downfield, but get him throwing off his back foot and he looks like an 80 year old woman. All in all, the Broncos have some problems, but I have faith in the coaching staff to take risks to fix them. Broncos 28 - Washington 13.
Wagers
Patriots @ Colts (-3) - Risk $5 to win $4.76 Jaguars @ Jets (Over 40pts) - Risk $5 to win $4.55 Broncos (-3.5) @ Redskins** - Risk $60 to win $56.28 Falcons (-1.5) @ Panthers** - Risk $7.50 to win $6.82 Saints (-13.5) @ Rams** - Risk $7.50 to win $6.82 Bears @ 49ers (-3) - Risk $10 to win $8 (Correct) What a shit show.. Thanks for not letting me down Cutler. **3-parlay - $5 to win $30
Arizona (+1.5) @ Cal - Risk $10 to win $9.09 Iowa (+17) @ Ohio St - Risk $5 to win $4.55 Fan bet: Wyoming (+7.5) @ SDSU - Risk $5 to win $4.55 UAB (-1) @ Memphis - Risk $5 to win $4.55 **UAB (0), Arizona (+110) - Risk $5 to win $15.05 Temple (-5), Arizona U (+125), Falcons (-1.5) - Risk $8 to win $60.61
Last weeks picks
Washington @ Atlanta (-10) - Risk $5 to win $4.55 (Correct) Baltimore @ Cincinnati (+3) - Risk $5 to win $4.55 (Correct) Chargers (+4.5) @ Giants** - Risk $10 to win $9.09 (Correct) Chargers (+190) @ Giants - Risk $5 to win $9.50 (Correct) Green Bay (-10) @ Tampa - Risk $5 to win $4.55 (Incorrect) UL Monroe (+1) @ North Texas** - Risk $15 to win $13.64 (Correct) Oregon (-7) @ Stanford - Risk $5 to win $4.55 (Incorrect) Oklahoma St (-7.5) @ Iowa St - Risk $5 to win $4.55 (Correct) TCU (-24.5) @ San Diego St - Risk $5 to win $4.55 (Correct) Bowling Green @ Buffalo (-3) - Risk $5 to win $4.55 (Incorrect) **2-parlay - Risk $5 to win $9.50 (Correct)
Net: +$44.93 NFL + NCAA Season-to-date: +$263.58
(61% on strait picks, net +$234.08) (50% on parlays, net +$29.50)
Bleachers
