The Preview: NL East

We're doing MLB Division previews all week. Today it's the NL East.

The NL East: Feel the excitement!

Jacob Rosales referenced it in today's podcast: The NL East is the most fun division in baseball. The Drama is hard to match in any other division. Even in the AL East, you don't get fans that are this passionate about their teams.

Let's take the Mets and Phillies for example. Both fanbases feel slighted as the ugly stepchild, compared to their more popular sibling, the Yankees and Eagles respectively. So as a result, they really really want their team to win, so they can prove they belong.

For years, the Mets and Phils have duked it out for either a division crown or a WC spot. Before that, it was always about Mets and Braves. Sometimes its Braves and Marlins. The NL East is a very underrated division.

Since it's underrated, I'll start with the most underrated team in the group.

Marlins... I tell you, that infield is great. They can't field worth a bleep, but their bats are electric. Every infielder on that team hit 29+ HRs. Every one! Mike Jacobs at 1st had 32, Dan Uggla at 2nd had 32, Jorge Cantu at 3rd had 29, and who could forget Hanley Ramirez at Short with his 33 HRs.

Honestly, people who tell you "The AL has teams with much better lineups" is not paying attention. You try and find me another team where almost half the lineup is hit 29+ HRs last year. Unfortunately, Mike Jacobs was traded to the Royals this offseason, so the lineup will have a little less pop... Howver, in return they got Leo Nunez a reliever that could assuage the loss of Kevin Gregg. Frankly even without Nunez, ditching Gregg is addition by subtraction... he really folded down the stretch last year, Gregg did. The rotation is again young and inexperienced, but I trust the Fish's farm system here.

Nationals... OK, so they have Adam Dunn. OK, so they have Guzman and Zimmerman. Ok, ok... but they still have almost no pitching... and even as lame as Jon Rauch was last year he was still serviceable, yet they sent him to Arizona mid-season. Other than the big three, you get an awful lineup: Nick Swisher anyone? Lastings Milledge? No need to waste any more time breaking down this squad.

Braves... here comes another one of those "it depends" teams. It depends on how well the Braves have organized their rotation and bullpen. They now have Derek Lowe, who's been pretty good over the last decade. Offensively they'll be ok, but not great. How much longer can Chipper Jones keep up his great hitting? Will Garret Anderson (picked up from the Angels) be a waste in the outfield? The surest things on the Braves so far are catcher Brian McCann, second baseman Kelly Johnson, and Escobar. Of the three, McCann is the only one with good power. The biggest liability for Atlanta is still the bullpen. They'll be in most games if nothing else.

Now for the real showdown...

Mets... A very good team that could have been great had they had the nuts to sign Manny Ramirez this offseason. He was ready to go too, all the Mets had to do was offer a solid 2-3 year deal for about 23+ mil per, guaranteed money. That said, their lineup is still quite nice, with David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran all ready to go on cue. Best of all, they *finally* did something about that bullpen. Granted, they overpaid for two guys who I think are overrated i.e. JJ Putz and Frankie Rodriguez, but the odds are they'll be good, not great. Quite frankly, "good not great" is a MAJOR improvement for the Mets bully... this is the team that blew game after game in September two years in a row. They had to do something. I see the Mets being a serious contender not just for the East, but for the whole NL.

Phils... The Defending World Series champions. A now weaker lineup without Pat Burrell. I suppose they will still be very solid, but it really depends on how well Jayson Werth can hold up. Honestly, he had a career year that came out of nowhere. What are the odds Werth stays that healthy again? How will the Phils do without Chase Utley for a big chunk of the season? Whats interesting is that the Phils also signed Raul Ibanez to take burrell's slot. Actually, Ibanez is a very good hitter and cheaper than Burrell to boot. So all told, the Phils will still have a good offense. The only thing is, the pitching won't be anywhere near as good. Scumbag extraordinaire Brett Myers is going to get his ASS kicked his season. Jamie Moyer, now 956 years old, won't be much better. Reliever JC Romero is suspended for the first 50 games. Lets face it: the pitching staff pitched way over their heads last year, and won't repeat it in 2009. If they win 90+ games, I'll be very surprised.


Dave's Take: This one appears wide-open on the surface, but not really. First the easy ones. Washington and Philly are both out of the running for the division. The Phils might get a WC, but post-championship hangover plus other things will pretty much bog them down all year. That leaves Atlanta, Florida and the Mets. Gotta be the Mets. Granted, their rotation is not proven for anything, but they're mostly young now save Santana. I like him, Perez, and Maine, provided they're healthy. This is the Mets division to lose. Lets go Mets to win the East this year, with the Phils or Braves close behind.

Mets
Phils
Braves (Phils and Braves will have close to the same record)
Fish
Nats

Tomorrow... ohh boy! The AL Central. I can't wait!!!!

The Preview: AL East

It's time for MLB previews for 2009. Boy who isn't excited for baseball? I certainly am, although despite this, I feel like the season is really sneaking up on me. Know what I mean? As if it just started without any hoopla.

That would never happen in the NFL... EFCSPN (that's Entertainment and Football @#%@% Sucking Program Network) would have been trumpeting Kickoff Week since February... oh wait... THEY JUST DID!! Anyhow, its baseball time, so lets get into the divisions, one at a time. Today it's the AL East.

The AL East (in a nutshell)

Easily the toughest division in MLB. Not only do most of the teams have great lineups, but they each have good pitching staffs to boot.

Orioles... The exception is Baltimore, who has neither. But for O's fans, do not fret... Nick Markakis is a nice young hitter, and Adam Jones is a possible breakout superstar... only 23 or so, and ready to roll! Still, not a whole lot else.

Yanks... love to overpay for people on the downside of their career. This year they didn't quite do that, but came close... signed two guys arguably in their prime (CC and Tex). CC Sabathia wasn't a bad move, but I can't see him pitching as well as he did for two months in Milwaukee. Teixiera... you can have him, NY. I don't even know how he gets all those gaudy numbers, because he is such an ORDINARY hitter... an MLB equivalent to Marvin Harrison.

Red Sox... the forgotten team... dare I say that? Almost no one is talking Red Sox in the off season... Lineup's basically the same as last year post deadline, which means, quite good. Quietly they stole the Dodgers' leftovers in Brad Penny and Takashi Saito. Another instance of "you can have 'em". Good luck trying to get Penny to give you a straight answer on injuries. However, IF he is healthy, Brad Penny ought to be a very solid option, and at a good price. The Red Sox are now Sanford and Son... who knew?

Rays... FEEL... the HEAT... RAYS!! The first step to get to the next step, Tampa Bay, is to ditch that God-awful home run song! For Christ's sake... that is a TERRIBLE song... you might as well play "YMCA" after home runs... even THAT would be better. I like the Rays... but I don't necessarily like them to be as good as last year. Lots and LOTS of young guys on that team, even a rook (Longoria). I think they got Burrell to replace Floyd... Wow is that ever an upgrade. Not sure how Pat the Bat will do, but the turf ought to remind him of the Vet. Comfort! Love the pitching... Don't love the bullpen, save Price (great stuff)... That's a serious wild card.

Jays... Halladay is not good enough to be a pitching staff. Staff = more than one person. BJ Ryan is pretty good to close, but I doubt the Jays repeat that MLB best E.R.A. from last year. The lineup is a joke... Good Lord, unless Rios and Wells just have the seasons of their lives... I can't see Overbay, Rolen, and Scutaro doing much, although stranger things have happened.

Dave's Take: This is going to be the Red Sox' year. No personality at all on that team... but the Ro-Bo sox will get it done. Less hype but more results. Not that they're this little market team or anything, but the Sox are unheralded and they like it that way. Yanks and Rays will likely challenge for the Wild Card and the other two teams will be eliminated by August, easily.

Sox
Yanks
Rays
Jays
O's

NL East preview coming tomorrow!

The BIG Wild Card Weekend Preview

Here it comes! From select NFL stadiums all across America, it's the FABULOUS 48 hour NFL WILD CARD ROUND...!

Arizona Cardinals, COME ON DOWN!!!

The Cardinals will play their first home playoff game since 1947. They didn't finish the regular season strong, going 1-2, including a 47-7 loss at New England. Lots of high flying receivers (Boldin, Fitzgerald and the rest) led by a born-again Kurt Warner (no pun intended). They'll face the...

Atlanta Falcons, COME ON DOWN!!!

The Falcons have made a huge return to glory, finishing 11-5 after going 4-12 the year before. By the way, Dave will toot his horn and let EVERYBODY know he picked the Falcons to win 10+ games this season. Sure, it was a long shot, but I'm proud to say I'm the only guy that got it right :-)

Ok anyway, the Falcons are 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards per game led by Michael Turner who really took off after leaving the San Diego Chargers. Let's not forget Matt Ryan, who's exceeding everyone's expectations in his rookie season. Ryan has thrown for 3,440 yards along with 16 TDs and 11 interceptions.

So the Falcons play at Arizona at 4:30 ET Saturday afternoon. This game ought to be fairly close but I wouldn't be surprised if either team won. Should be fun!

Saturday night features the best matchup of the weekend:

San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts, COME ON DOWN!!!

Hard to fathom an 8-8 team being much of a threat to anybody in the playoffs, but the Chargers present some mystifying matchup issues for the Colts and have been for the last five years. Remember how the Colts faded against these Chargers in last year's Divisional Round? That may have been an even bigger upset than the Giants beating Dallas.

So many big names make this matchup a good watch: On one side there's Manning, Harrison, Wayne, Addai, Rhodes, Sanders, and Clark (ok Jeff Saturday should make the list too). On the other side there's Rivers, Tomlinson, Gates, Chambers, Cromartie, and Jackson. While last year's playoff duel was in Indy, this year's fracas takes place in beautiful San Diego. For all we know, this game could be a blowout, but on paper, it appears to come down to a last second field goal.

After a pretty good Saturday slate of Wild Card games, we move on to the Sunday Surprises.

MInnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, COME ON DOWN!!!

Both teams were picked by many to make the playoffs during training camp, but they started off 2008 so badly, one feels like they're relieved to make the big playoff tourney. By week 8, we figured they'd be lucky to make the playoffs. The Vikings, just like last year, are in the top 5 in rushing and defense against the run. Unfortunately, they also have lousy QB play and turnovers will make the difference.

The Eagles? I can't figure them out. Phily loses a game they had to win at Washington two weeks ago, 10-3, and still sneaks into the playoffs. How? First, Tampa Bay does the unthinkable and loses at home to Oakland. Next, the Eagles take a weak-minded Cowboys team and clobber them 44-6.

The Eagles remind me of another "hard to figure out" team, the 2000 New York Giants. Nobody knew what they really had, yet somehow they were good enough for a 1 seed and they completely destroyed the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. Then they were manhandled by the Ravens 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV. Granted, the Ravens forced many of Collins' 4 interceptions, but in the end, the Giants were outcoached and outplayed from start to finish. The Giants' only score was a fluke kickoff return for 97 yards.... which was answered by a Baltimore kickoff return TD of their own!

But enough about 2000, the Eagles and Vikings look like two teams made for each other. I'm willing to bet the game will be within 8 points and Vegas agrees. The Eagles, on the road, are favored by -3 despite having a mostly uneven season. On the other hand, the Vikings have looked really meager against the dregs of the NFL. For example, the Vikes played the Lions twice and beat them by a combined 6 points. Oof. This game could get ugly, but it'll be interesting to start.

Now to the real Sunday Surprises...

Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins, COME ON DOWN!!!

For a rookie, Baltimore QB Joe Flacco has done remarkably well. His QB rating is ranked middle of the pack for the NFL. The Ravens also feature one of the fiercer defenses in the NFL. After years of experts, myself included, counting the old gang out, the Ravens defense has held up for another season. They look good! Reed, Suggs, Lewis, and all the rest continue to harass opposing QBs.

Then there's the Dolphins, who made a big turnaround, having gone from 1-15 to 11-5. It's been a good season for Miami, but they've also struggled to win many of their games. They're only +28 in point differential which means they've been in a lot of close games. The problem is, these close games have been against bottom feeders such as San Francisco, Seattle, Oakland, and so on.

But nobody expected either of these two teams to be NEAR the NFL playoff race, let alone in them. It's great to see the NFL's beacon of hope at work. Neither team can come from behind. Neither team has a QB that can throw the ball down the field. However, seeing the strength of schedule for the Ravens (playing Dallas, Pittsburgh, NYG, and Tennessee) as opposed to the Dolphins, I'd figure Baltimore is a clear favorite, despite being on the road.

All 8 teams, you are the first contestants on the SUPER BOWL is Right!! Who's going to be the big Double Showcase Winner and advance to Tampa? It all starts this weekend!

YOUR WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Well, its all over. Tomorrow will be our first Saturday since late August that there will be NO football on TV. Yikes! I mean, I have no clue what I’m going to do all day. Seriously…what do people do when there is no football on Saturdays? Do people actually go places on Saturday? That’s crazy! Maybe I can get some Christmas shopping done. Ugh! Anyways…

Without any college games there is a lack of compelling matchups this weekend to really focus on. Still, I’ll try to drum out a few.

SUNDAY

Bucs/Falcons – Ok. I will admit it…I am openly rooting for the Falcons now. I have doubted them all season, but this is a very solid football team. I watched their game against the Saints last weekend and I was really impressed even though they lost. Matt Ryan has been amazing as a rookie. A win on Sunday and this team could be headed for the playoffs. Oh yeah…plus I hate the Bucs. Always have…can’t explain it. Go Falcons!!!

Lions/Colts – Last year at this team, the big debate around the NFL was “could a team really go undefeated through the regular season?” Yep…the Patriots did it (only, of course, to lose in the Super Bowl). THIS YEAR, the big question in the NFL is “could a team really go through a season without getting at least ONE win?” Yep..looks like it very well could happen. Poor Lions. This is what happens when you stick with a crappy GM (Matt Millen) for years and years for no logical reason (take note, SF Giants).

Steelers/Ravens – How surprising have the Ravens been? I thought the defense was getting too old and starting a rookie QB who played in I-AA College football last year was certainly going to be a recipe for disaster this year. Not so! Who would have guessed they would be playing the Steelers in December for the division lead? Not me. Expect this to be a low scoring, very physical football game.

Giants/Cowboys – Talk about two teams with tons of distractions. Geez. This could be the last stand for the Cowboys. A loss here could very well get very close to eliminating them from the playoffs. Meanwhile the Giants are trying to secure the #1 seed in the NFC. Games between these two always seem to be fun. Good game to end the weekend with.

So there you go. Sorry about missing last week (I had lots going on…my bad), but I did find you 4 good games to keep your eyes on this weekend. Enjoy the weekend everyone…

Oh…yeah…We are having a Christmas party on Saturday night. All my readers are invited. See you there, drink in hand…

Andrew Jacobsen

YOUR Weekend Football Preview

LOCKS contributor Andrew Jacobsen, coming off a week when he saw zero football the whole weekend, offers his latest WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW. Enjoy, folks:

Ahhhhhh…another week in the books and back to the weekend. Unfortunately, the season is winding down quickly…almost too quickly. College football season will be essentially done in less then 3 weeks. That makes me sad. What am I going to do with my Saturday afternoons in December? Clean my apartment? Ummmmm…I don’t think so. Christmas shopping? Forget about it.

Very soon there will be a large void in my life. College football will have left me for another year. I mean, sure we’ll have the bowl games and everything but that’s like breaking up with your girlfriend and then hooking up one last time before you know its all over. Its great…but still sad and depressing.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY

This is called rivalry week in college football and rivalries are great…if both teams are good. I’m looking at the list of games this week, and yeah, rivalry games but most of them suck. Ohio St/Michigan…probably the best rivalry in college football should be a laugher this year. Washington/Washington State…features two of the worst teams in college football. Not all rivalries are great all the time. Looks like we are learning that lesson this week.

Michigan State/Penn St – Luckily for all of us college football fans, Iowa was able to beat Penn State two weeks ago and spare us having to see them in the national championship game. Will Michigan State beat them and spare us from watching them in the Rose Bowl. Wait…what? Ohio State would go to the Rose Bowl if Penn State loses? Screw it…GO PENN STATE!!!

BYU/Utah – Wow. This could be a very entertaining, high scoring, close college football game. I can’t wait to watch this one…wait? What? Its on the Mountain Network? What the hell is that?! Does anyone not living in Utah or Montana actually get that channel? I don’t think so. Unfortunately, this will be one I miss. The highlights should be fun though.

Texas Tech/Oklahoma – Best game of the day. Tech could take a very BIG step with a win here towards being in the national championship game. Oklahoma still has national championship hopes as well. You guys want a college football playoff? Well, this is about as close as we get.

SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!

Jets/Titans – All the sudden, with a win last week over the Pats, the NY Bretts have become the front runner in the AFC East. They visit TEN this weekend and take on the undefeated Titans. Can the Titans make it to Thanksgiving Day undefeated? Oh Lord…I hope so.

Patriots/Dolphins – Early in the season the Dolphins went into NE and beat up the Patriots pretty good with their funky wildcat offense. Everybody thought it was a fluke…especially me. Well, since then, the Dolphins have still been beating people with the Wildcat Offense and all of the sudden are in the playoff hunt. Yikes! I can’t imagine the Dolphins in the playoffs without you know who as their QB…yep…Jay Fiedler.

Giants/Cardinals – Possible playoff preview anyone? Well, it very well could be. Giants are probably playing the best out of anyone in the NFL and they face the Cardinals who really no one knows how good they are. Could Kurt Warner really be this years MVP? WOW. Talk about your lame NFL season…what year is this? 1999?

Colts/Bolts – Nice little Sunday night game for two teams that are in desperate need of a win. Both, right now, are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture and only one of them would be likely to make it. Winners season is still alive…loser…well, start making New Years plans.

There you go boys and girls. Another Friday…another football preview. I’ll actually get to watch some games this weekend. Yay!

Andrew Jacobsen

YOUR Weekend Football Preview

The recent Tea Fire postponed the latest WFP, but here it is, seconds after Ohio State's kickoff. Andrew and the WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:

The very appropriately titled “YOUR Weekend Football Preview”. Why? Because I will see very little…if any…football this weekend.

Yep, looks like a football free weekend for me. Instead I will be attending a wedding this weekend and be missing everything. Somebody will have to fill me in when I get back (I’m looking at you ESPN).

However, the football gods know that I love them…so they made sure that there was a long list of crap’tastic games this weekend on the schedule in BOTH college and pro football. Really, the best game is Sunday night…which will likely be the only game I watch all weekend. THANK YOU FOOTBALL GODS!! You know I love you!

See, that’s how you do it gentlemen. You praise the football gods all year long…so when the one weekend in the winter or fall that you have no choice but to miss an entire weekend of football action…the gods will bless you with a crappy schedule of games so you miss almost nothing.

Of course, crappy schedule of games usually leads to a brief preview. Let me see if there is a game or two I can find worth mentioning.

SATURDAY FOOTBALL

South Carolina/Florida – Steve Spurrier returns to Florida again…only to get pummeled by his former team. More then likely, I mean. Florida, to me, has looked like the best team in the country over the past few weeks. Hopefully they can keep it up and my bet on them to win the national championship stays alive! Please!

USC/Stanford – last year, as a 40 point underdog, Stanford actually beat USC just down the street from me. Awesome game! Awesome ending! Can it happen again? No. Damn.

Texas/Kansas – Another possibility of being one of those exciting (meaning no defense) BIG-12 shootouts. Some people see upset potential…although, Kansas has sucked versus good BIG-12 teams this year. Texas might be the best. Texas wins.

That’s if for college. Those last two were even a stretch to make the preview, but I had to put something down, right?

PRO ATHLETE SUNDAY

Bears/Packers – Its been years since it seemed like both these teams were good the same year…and maybe both aren’t that good this year either BUT at least they both are in the hunt for first place in the NFC North (even if the division isn’t THAT good). Its about time one of these rivals had a meaningful game against each other!

Titans/Jaguars – Well, the jaguars couldn’t beat the 0-fer Bengals (although made up for it and were able to take care of the 0-fer Lions last week) Will they be to beat the Lossless Titans? Let the undefeated Titans watch begin! (My guess is it doesn’t last long).

Chargers/Steelers – Both these playoff teams from last year just can’t seem to put it together…the Chargers more so then the Steelers. Even despite both teams struggles, we..I mean, YOU…should be in for a good one from Pittsburgh.

Cowboys/Redskins – The Return of Romo. That’s what this game is being billed as. Will he be enough to help a pretty disorganized Cowboys team? I hope not. The Cowboys falling apart has been one of the best stories this football season. Maybe he’ll break a toe this time. Redskins come into the game pretty banged up…even though they didn’t play last week. Seriously…what are these guys doing on their bye weeks?

Well, that’s it folks. Hope you enjoyed the Thursday edition. Wish me luck this weekend…I will need it. I don’t know which would be better…going to a wedding where you are going to know almost no one…or getting hit by Ray Lewis. I might take the latter…

Andrew Jacobsen

WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Even with a slow week in football, Andrew Jacobsen returns with another WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:

What a week huh? We elected a new president and…well…ummmmmmmmmm…hmmmmmm…what else? Geez. I can’t think of anything. Yeah, sure it was a big week because of the election and everything that happen on Tuesday BUT…

It was a boring week in sports. Seriously. What BIG news stories happen this week in football? Yeah, the #1 college football team lost….again. That wasn’t tremendously unexpected though. BIG NFL news? Brady Quinn starts for the Browns and plays well in his first start. Really? That’s the biggest NFL news all week? Ugh! How boring. Looks like we are in a little bit of a mid-season lull. I mean, I can only hear people complain about the BCS for so long before I want to blow my own head off. You know?

Well, with nothing for me to comment on here, lets get to the games.

College ‘ball

Alabama/LSU – On paper, this has the makings of a very interesting matchup. Nick Saban returns to LSU…and they still haven’t gotten over him leaving down there. They would like nothing better then to beat Saban and take down the #1 team in the country and likely ruin Alabama’s shot at a national championship. Will that happen? I don’t think so. But still, it would be something if it did, which makes this game a “must watch.”

Penn St./Iowa – I still, despite being at #3 in the latest BCS, think that Penn St. is in control of their own destiny to the national championship game. I still don’t think any team in the SEC or BIG-12 (certainly both) will finish undefeated. Therefore, this could be the biggest test left for Penn State and a undefeated season. Personally, I want Penn State to lose. I still don’t think they are a top 5 team in the country. Go Iowa!

Oklahoma St/Texas Tech – WOW! What happen? How did two virtually ignored programs in the BIG-12 all the sudden ascend to a point to where they are the “must watch” college football game of the weekend? Crazy huh? Must watch…well…not if you live on the pacific coast. Instead, we will have to sit through another USC beat down of a mediocre Pac-10 team (Cal). Oh boy! Once again I will not be able to watch maybe the best game of the weekend. I HATE YOU PAC-10! I HATE YOU!

[Editor's Note: Again with people bashing the Pac-10! This is ABC's fault. They had every opportunity to move the USC game to 12:30 and leave 5pm alone. But everyone loooooves to put down the West Coast. Enough!]

The Pros

One game in the books already (a pretty good game at that) and a good number of interesting matchups this weekend…

NO/ATL – Geez. Who would have thought at the beginning of the year that this matchup would be a pivotal game in the race for division leader in the NFC South? I sure didn’t…nor did I thin the Falcons would have a better record then the Saints at this point of the season. Falcons have kind of quietly been a very, very good team this year. Interesting QB matchup here too with Brees going against the NFL Rookie of the Year (so far), Matt Ryan.

[Second Editor's Note: Am I the only one who thought the Falcons were going to be vastly improved this year? It's not like the Bucs or Panthers posed any legitimate threat to dominate the South. Just saying...]

BUF/NE – What the hell happen to my Bills? I was drinking the Bills kool-aid two weeks ago (after beating SD) but now they have dropped two in a row. Both teams are tied atop the AFC East and this game could go a long way in determining who wins that AFC East.

TEN/CHI – Welcome back Rex Grossman…ohhhhh, how we have missed you. Seriously, its great to have him back, right? And against the leagues best defense nonetheless…what a treat! I think its going to be good times watching the highlights of this one Sunday night…probably will be the funniest thing on TV all night. Can the Titans remain undefeated?

INDY/PIT – Once again, another one of those ‘must win” games for the Colts. Seriously, how many of those can one team have in a season? The Colts still aren’t right. I mean, they barely beat a weakened NE team at home last week. Now the get the Steelers who will likely be without Big Ben AND Willie Parker. Two teams that are a shell of their former selves. Sounds like a great game to watch to me!

NYG/PHIL – Oh yes…another NFC east battle. Can’t forget this one. Eagles seem to be getting healthier after a tough time of it there in October. It’s a crowded division but the Giants can once again create a good amount of separation between them and the teams trying to catch them with a win here…and on the road. Should be a good one to end the day with on Sunday.

Welp..thats it I guess. Have a great weekend everybody and enjoy the games.

Andrew Jacobsen

YOUR Football Weekend Preview

Halloween Greetings from LOCKS of the Week. You just read our HALLO-LOCKS of the Week. Now we get the spooky details of the football weekend. It's time for Andrew's WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:


Happy Halloween everyone. Ahhhhh…Halloween. Kids eating candy…girls out in slutty outfits…its good times. Although, not really a holiday (although I would be all for getting a day off for it) Halloween is really the first signal that Winter is coming. Before you know it, it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas soon after. I love this time of year…not only because I am going to get a bunch of days off of work over the next two months but also because we are heading for some key November football games.

Yep, this weekend if the first few days of November and we’ve got some great football action to cover. First though…I want to talk about my favorite team, the 49ers. A little over a week ago, they axed their coach…a guy who was widely viewed as a very calm guy and sometimes maybe a little too conservative…mean, the guy wore suits on the sidelines during games for heavens sake. So what does my team do…they replace him with a crazy person.

It came out yesterday that Mike Singletary pulled down his pants last week during halftime and gave with team a tongue lashing with his pants around is ankles. Seriously.

Gotta love the 49ers thinking here. Its like they are running a social experiment with their players. We replace the conservative suit wearing coach midseason and replace him with a pants dropping crazy person and see how they respond. Not sure I’m all in favor of my teams ownership running social experiments with my favorite team but it certainly makes them interesting. I mean, I’m interested in seeing what the outcome of this is. Who wouldn’t be. Unfortunately, the 49ers do not have a game this weekend so there will be no more players sent to the showers mid-game or naked halftime speeches…but on the good side, we do know the 49ers will not lose this weekend..and at least that is something. Now on to the games…

College Football

I noticed while putting in my picks for this weekends college football games that there are a bunch of spreads of 20+ points this week. What happen? We haven’t seen that since about week 3 of the season. I mean, it’s the first weekend of November…can we get a few more competitive games here please? Anyways…there are a few that you should keep an eye on…

Georgia/Florida – I mean, people refer to this game as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”…you can’t miss that, right? We all remember last years game and the little stunt that Georgia pulled after they scored a TD early in that game. Will that come back to haunt them this year by setting up a Florida team for revenge? I HOPE SO! Should be a good, nasty game in Jacksonville.

Oregon/Cal – I’m not watching this game…so why am I mentioning it? Because I want to make a point. I HATE…I really mean, HATE…the PAC-10 this year. Last week I was all excited to see Texas play Okla St on ABC Saturday afternoon...but NOOOOOOOOOO. We were stuck with UCLA/CAL. Ugh! Seriously? We have be forced to watch these crappy PAC-10 teams when there are so many better games going on in college football. I don’t like it. I HATE you for being so RIDICULOUSLY BAD PAC-10. SCREW YOU AND YOUR CRAPPY GAMES!!! OK…moving along…

Texas/Texas Tech – another BIG BIG-12 GAME OF THE WEEK….and another BIG-12 game that should feature very little defense. Good times. This will be the final game in whats been a fairly brutal stretch for Texas. Watch out though…Texas Tech is at home and took down Oklahoma there last year. I expect texas to get a little post-Halloween scare in this one.

The Pros

Packers/Titans – Surprisingly, I haven’t mentioned the Titans very much this year in the WFP. I mean, they’re only undefeated. I actually gained a little more respect for them with a fairly impressive win on Monday over the Colts. This team, in a strange year with a lot of bad NFL teams, is winning with the ole’ reliable formula…great defense and a good running game. Should be a competitive game for them this week against the Packers. I’m not saying they will get their first loss…but its gotta happen sometime soon, right?

Jets/Bills – You know, I was a little disappointed in my Bills last week (not really “my” Bills). I had bought into them and was giving them the edge to win a fairly weak AFC east. Then they go and lose to the stupid Dolphins. Really Bills? Ugh. Now they seem to be in a dogfight for the division with the Patriots. Ugh. I think they’ll win this week though…with the help of some Brett Favre interceptions. Yay!

Cowboys/Giants – now, this game would be A LOT better if Tony Romo was playing. I mean, then I would at least give the Cowboys a chance winning. With Brad Johnson..not so much. Still, its always fun to watch a Cowboys team that everyone was drooling over at the beginning of the season lose…so even if its not close, this game will be VERY watchable.

Patriots/Colts – last year around this time, when these two teams played each other, they were both 8-0. This year...not so much. Surprisingly, the Patriots are still tied for the lead in the AFC east despite no Brady. Meanwhile, the Colts are getting old fast…really fast. This could be their last stand…a loss and we might not see this team come January. In fact, I’d actually like to see a January with neither of these teams.

Actually, the best game this weekend might be on MNF…Steelers/Redskins. The Steelers have lost 2 games this year…both to NFC East teams. Advantage Redskins. Game is in Washington, DC the night before the election. Have you voted already? I didn’t think so. I have though! Wear it!

Ok…that’s all I got this week. Enjoy the games everyone…and happy Halloween...

Andrew Jacobsen

YOUR Weekend Football Preview

Andrew Jacobsen brings another one of his Weekend Football Previews. I'm sorry for delivering this late, fellas. Busy week. So now, in tardy fashion, is the WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW:

DAMN! This has been a LOOOOONNNNNGGGG week. Seriously, it seems like its been almost a month since I’ve watched any good football action…when really its been only two weeks (not counting last week which was void of any quality college or NFL football games). Since that time, my favorite team fired its head coach, Tom Brady had 8 more knee surgeries, Brett Favre called 3 football teams to tell them how to beat the Packers, Jim Haslett became the best coach in football, PacMan punched 2 more of his body guards, and, apparently, Tony Romo broke his pinkie again. Its just crazy…

Well, in just a few hours the weekend will be here. Before it starts, lets preview the weekend ahead…

College Football Saturday

#6 Oklahoma St/ #1 Texas – once again the #1 team will be tested against another highly ranked opponent…and like the times before, this should be a Texas win. Wow was Texas impressive last week against Missouri…and I hate them for it. Them winning all but finished off my bet for Missouri to win the National Championship. Hey, it was 17-1 odds…come on, give me a break! Plus, who would have guessed Penn. State getting there at the begging of the year?

#7 Georgia/#11 LSU – FINALLY! A good SEC game on CBS. Its only been about a month since they’ve had one of those. This one should be pretty good. BTW…the best quote I heard all week was from Les Miles, who…when asked about that ridiculous hit that referee put on the South Carolina player last weekend in their game against LSU…said “YOU GOTTA WRAP UP! Didn’t wrap up!” Awesome. I hope he wins just because of that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M75sj4Z4Wic

#3 Penn St/ #9 Ohio St – Damn! Again, I’m forced to talk about Ohio State here. Ugh. Well, this actually is an interesting game (maybe the last one in the BIG-10 this year). With a win, Penn State will have the inside track to the national championship game as they will should be heavily favored in every game they play the rest of the year. Still, in the crazy college football world we live in these days, no win is a sure thing…particularly when your head football coach is 135 years old. Seriously, who is coaching this team?

#5 USC/Arizona – Like Penn State, this should really be the final test for USC this year..Arizona, somehow, is actually a pretty decent team. Although, knowing USC, they only lose the games in which they are favored by 30 points or more…so they should win this one easily.

Pro Athletes Sunday

Chargers/Saints in London – I’ve gotta admit, I don’t mind these games played in other countries half way around the world. I really don’t. I mean, I never go to the games anyways and always just watch them on TV, so why would I care where they play the games? They could have these games played in remote regions of Africa and I wouldn’t care. This matchup is actually interesting too.

Bucs/Cowboys – I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope the Bucs win this week. Imagine the scene in Dallas next week if that happens? Oh man. What a circus. That might give us our 4^th head coach to be fired this year. Awesome. I’m all for it. BUT…for some reason I think Dallas pulls this one out. Desperate football teams almost always do..particularly when at home…and Dallas is a desperate football team right now.

Giants/Steelers – Ahhhhhhh, some solid afternoon entertainment. Despite both teams having only 1 loss, I’m still…for whatever reason…not really solid on either one. I mean, that could just be because I’m not sold on ANY team this year in the NFL…but I just don’t trust any football team week to week right now.

Of course, we also need to keep an eye on the BUNGLES/TEXANS and REDSKINS/LIONS games this weekend and hopefully the dream of an 0-16 season remains alive. (BTW…I think both those matchups could be closer then people think. Watch out!)

There it is boys and girls…enjoy your weekend.

Andrew Jacobsen

Your Weekend Football Preview

Here we go one more time with LOCKS of the Week Contributor Andrew Jacobsen and his Weekend Football Preview:

Back again…by popular demand…YOUR WEEKEND FOOTBALL PREVIEW.

Is it just me or is it starting to feel like Fall now? Halloween is fast approaching. Baseball season is FINALLY winding down. And it was only about 90 degrees in downtown LA yesterday. Yes, Fall is here!...And that means, MORE FOOTBALL!!!


College Football

First off, I want to give props to the BIG-12 for giving us some great matchups this season in college football. Not only did OU and Texas give us the most entertaining game of the year so far last weekend, but we can thank the BIG-12 as a conference for making up for the other conferences sucking it up this year. Seriously? What happen? The SEC isn’t as good this year as in years past. The PAC-10 sucks. The BIG-10 still sucks…ditto for the ACC. The BIG-12 and all its high power offenses have saved us so far. And there are some great BIG-12 matchups in the coming weeks...and this week with…

#16 Kansas/#4 OU – Fresh off their loss to Texas last week, Oklahoma looks to rebound at home against Kansas this weekend…and I think they will. I mean, OU has ONLY beaten Kansas 21 straight times in Oklahoma. Should be an entertaining one…

Also in the BIG-12…

#11 Missouri/#1 Texas – Game of the week here. I’m still pissed at Missouri though. They SHOULD have won last weekend against OK St., but they played flat on offense and got beat at home. Had Missouri won, this game could be between the #1 and #2 or #3 ranked teams in the country. Still, with a win, Missouri could get back into the championship hunt…and Texas would be just ANOTHER #1 team to lose after gaining the top spot.

Ohio St./Michigan St – Usually the biggest game versus a Michigan school for OSU is in November, but this year its Michigan State that should provide the bigger test. Ohio St. hasn’t played a really good football game since before their loss to USC earlier this year. They might have to play their best game of the season to get a win against a pretty good Michigan St team.

Mississippi/Alabama – I’m going to keep mentioning Alabama games here on the preview until they lose. I mean, they are #2 right now…and maybe rightfully so…but I just can’t help but think that they are going to lose very soon. Very, very soon…maybe this weekend. Until they do, I’m going to mention them here because I don’t want to look back and see I missed it.


Pro Football

SD/Buffalo – Does the “west coast teams always lose when playing 1pm east coast games” theory hold up again? Seriously, why can’t teams on the west coast win games on the east coast? Is the time difference that difficult to handle? I don’t get it. Either way, this should be a good one in Buffalo. We’ll see if the pattern of play this season continues for the Chargers in this game…good one week at home, bad the next week on the road.

Dallas/St. Louis – I’m not going to watch any of this game unless its close late…BUT… I’m writing about it because can we PLEASE STOP espn…stop all this Cowboy drama. Listen, I love chaos as much as the next guy and love to watch teams fall apart (as long as they aren’t mine…damn! Too late!) but seriously its too much. You would think the cowboys are 0-6 and not 4-2 listening to all this stuff.

Indy/GB – Probably the most interesting game of the weekend. Both teams have struggled to start the season and both seem like they will be having to fight for a playoff spot come the end of the year. Which team can put it all together and grab a win this weekend? I have no clue…hey, its called football “Preview” not football “predictions”. Should be a fun game though.

Also, two other games of note…PIT/Cincy and DET/HOU. Both games feature the 0-fer Bengals and Lions. Can the winless streak continue for both? I hope so. I mean, I usually don’t wish ill-will on others (ok, yes I do sometimes), but I would LOVE to see a team go 0-16. Wouldn’t that be something? Imagine if they both went 0-15 and then played each other at the end of the season? WOW! Now that would be awesome…but unfortunately not how the schedule is set up. Maybe if they both go 0-16, the NFL could set up a 1 game playoff between the two…winner gets the #1 draft pick. Now, that would REALLY be something.

Done. Enjoy the games and the weekend everyone. Be safe…

Andrew Jacobsen