A 12-6 is far from the "can't miss" that Stone Cold Locks
are supposed to be, so I will hunker down and try to get
back on track with my first 3-0 week, after another 2-1
last week. Let's see if I can shake this bad luck, here goes:
1. New England - The Jets have nothing but a decent defense
and too many holes on offense. Should be a one sided affair.
2. Buffalo - Yeah, I said it, now all I have to do is cross my
fingers and hope that Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn't throw 5 picks.
3. Chicago - Lions would have lost last week if they were
facing a competent opponent. This week I'll pretend that
the Bears are just that, competent.
Every once in a while we get a story like this one that
makes you scratch your head so hard it leaves a bruise.
Here's a guy who was earning a base salary of over
$650,000 this year, and since it's his sixth year in
the league, it's safe to say that if he is the guy
everyone thought he was, could have a million or two
stashed away for a rainy day, all the while still living
a decent life. Sam Hurd today joined the list of
geniuses in the NFL that don't think it's enough, he
wanted more. Now he may reach the point were he won't
even be getting that base salary anymore, and he will
NEED more.
Is it really to many shots to the head?,Or perhaps the
basket weaving classes he took in college in order to
stay academically eligible to play football that failed
to educate him enough to not make theses types of foolish
moves? What is it about GREED that makes some one who
is at the pinnacle of his profession to do such stupid and
bone headed things? I am truly at a loss. By the way,
forget about that 650k+ base salary. The deal he signed
earlier this year was worth $5.1 million and all he had
to do was play three years for that. Now not only may he
lose that, but he may be asked to give back part of the
$1.35 million in signing bonus. A great example of why
NFL salaries are not guaranteed, and you thought is was
injuries.
The best or worst part of this story, depending on how you
wish to view it is still to come. According to a report
from 670 The Score in Chicago, Bears WR Sam Hurd supplied
drugs to NFL players numbering in the "double digits."*
Roger Goodell is gonna love this, well, not really.
It won't make a difference what Goodell thinks, Hurd's
career is over. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Hurd
was looking to buy "5 to 10 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000
pounds of marijuana per week for distribution in the Chicago
area."* A real community guy, huh? Sam Hurd faces up to
40 years in prison. I can't wait to see who the next member
of this genius club is going to be.
*CBS Chicago
Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis
Yahoo sports had a story regarding some of the comments
made by frustrated Bears players following another death
defying comeback by Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos,
and if you were them you might feel the exact same way,
but were those comments fair? Let's look at the ones
pointed out in the story shall we.
Brian Urlacher said: "He's a good running back.", well
he's probably right. Everyone is quick to point out that
Tebow has an excellent Touchdown to Interception ratio,
but he should, he throws much less than he runs, and even
though he's thrown more some weeks than he should, when
he's off the mark it's so bad even defenders can't catch
it. Tim Tebow is no QB.
Julius Peppers said: "It wasn't anything special that he
did" Correct. If it wasn't for Marion Barber failing to
stay in bounds when he went out of bounds, and later
fumbling to give Denver great field position, not Tebow
nor any QB on that team would have had a chance to win
that game.
Lance Briggs said: "He played hard. I respect a guy that
plays hard, him and all the other 10 guys on that field for
the Broncos." Hmmm, I don't see anything wrong with that,
do you?
Folks just want to make this streak he's on to be something
bigger than it is. This will NOT last, and the Bears and
most of his opponents know this, but they hate the fact that
they fell victim to it. The Bears are now losers of three in
a row, one on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half,
and another to the "Mile High Messiah", one of which was
about Denver's defense, and the other about Chicago's inept
offensive production, and injuries.
Steve Young of course chimed in with this: "To me … he did it
to you. He Tebowed you. Just take it like a man and walk away.
You lost your shot." this also from a story in Yahoo sports.
But what else is Young going to say? This makes for great
ratings, talk and, controversy. Please let's be real for
a second, if you were on the other side of that line of
scrimmage, would you want to hear any of this? Would you
really believe that the reason you lost is because Jesus
was pulling strings against you or for Tebow? If that were
the case wouldn't he be the one averaging 35 points per game
instead of the Packers? Wouldn't GOD be able to fix his lack
of accuracy? Of course he would.
The Bears were frustrated, annoyed, defeated, and it will
pass, just like this phenomenon in Denver. Denver may not be
able to draft high in the first round, but trust me, no matter
what John Elway is trying to sugar coat you with, they will
draft a QB or bring in a veteran, or they know that eventually
Brady Quinn will be ready to take over as QB, period.
I don't think the comments were unfair, but they do come off
as bad losers, and when things are going bad for you, it's
easy to sound that way. Watch Tebow this week and then line
up the excuses right here.
Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis
Last week I made the mistake of laying the "Stone
Cold Lock" eggs in the Seahawks nest, and they
promptly ate them so instead of going 3-0 in week
12, I went 2-1. Lime I said that was the first
and last time you would see me pick the Seahawks
this year. Now on to more reliable picks for what
I hope will turn into a 3-0 week in a 30-6 season.
1. New England - It's called a no brainer
2. Chicago - They have the better backup QB
3. San Francisco - A frequent flier Stone Cold Locks
A few days ago Mike Ditka says he would like
to spit on Jeff Pearlman the author of the
book that entails many things about Walter
Payton that were not public knowledge prior
to the release of this book, and that shed
a very different and negative light on the
late Chicago Bears legend, and though I find
it very admirable that Ditka is sticking up
for a fellow, player and Bears legend, I
would also like to ask Ditka why he doesn't
direct his anger at the folks who provided
Pearlman with this information. Chances are
these folks are also former teammates, and
are much more deserving of criticism than
is Pearlman. In providing this information
to the author, they are the ones that betrayed
a teammate, or friend. Though he may not
agree with it, as long as the author wrote no
lies or embellished, he did no wrong, so
suck it up and redirect Mike.
This division had to come soon after the NFC
South because they play in the opening game,
so the other remaining divisions give me more
time to mull over what I think will happen.
The NFC North is going to be no picnic to
pick either, but I feel that this is how
it will look in the end:
1. Green Bay Packers (No Hangover Here)
2. Detroit Lions (IF Stafford Stays Healthy)
3. Minnesota Vikings (McNabb Has A Little Left)
4. Chicago Bears (Not Enough Stability In ChiTown)
