It's mid-season. Time to start eyeing the finish line just a bit, and right now the Pansies, Brownies, and Gaguars are looking very tough. There are a lot of interesting stats that don't mean a lot, especially in baseball. I heard during the World Series last night that for the first time in history since 1983 a Cy Young Award winner was the relief pitcher after a Cy Young Award Winner starter in a first game of the World Series. Now that is a powerful, meaningful stat! (not)
But here is one that is telling--punts per score. And look who we have on the bottom:
Cleveland- 1.5
Arizona- 1.8
Carolina- 2.1 (having fun, Cam?)
Jacksonville- 2.1
For a little perspective, the Giants are at .6
I know it seems like 5 or 6 punts per score sometimes, but them is the numbers.
And speaking of punts, I will punt to Vegas this week with the predictions:
Tampa Bay- 17
Minnesota- 26
Jacksonville- 10
Green Bay- 33
Chicago- 43
Carolina- 10
New Orleans- 33
Denver- 36
Washington- 14
Pittsburgh- 17
Indianapolis- 14
Tennessee- 10
Oakland- 21
Kansas City- 24
San Diego- 20
Cleveland-17 (OT)
Seattle- 20
Detroit- 23
the Crudinals show signs of crumbling, and the punt statistic is ominous. The sack total, which is astronomical - 35, nine ahead of the Packers- is also a red flag and a couple bruised ribs. Look for the Cards to be the team that fades badly down the stretch.
ReplyDeleteHow did we do last week?
ReplyDeleteWalkfish: 5-3
Eggchair: 4-4
Wacko: 5-2 (this was going by the point average solely)
WEEK 8
Tampa Bay 24
Minnesota 23
Jacksonville 14
Packers 26
Chicago 27
Carolina 17
New Orleans 29
Denver 28
Washington 28
Pittsburgh 23
Indianapolis 20
Tennessee 21
Oakland 19
Kansas City 17 GAME OF THE WEEK, STIFF OF THE WEEK
San Diego 24
Cleveland 21
Seattle 16
Detroit 23
No way the Boots beat the Yikes. It will be close, maybe overtime, but Yikes win this week. I feel sorry for the Boots, they have a lot of good players but such a lousy team.
ReplyDeleteespecially at home. Yikes defense is much better. But, I am going with my picks again this week solely based on point average, just to see what happens. I would have been 6-2 last week if I had done the Giants-Skins game too. that would be my best average for the whole season so far!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am going with actual Vegas odds and data from NFL Rankings dot com. Let's see if using data and odds works better than spinning a frozen turkey on the basement floor.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the Oracle this season is 34-25 in picking losers. I do hope using data might actually improve, but I would miss watching the turkey spin.
ReplyDeleteThough 73% ain't bad.
ReplyDelete73% is pretty good, as these things go. The Raiders-Chiefs game would just be giguntious if the Raiders had managed to lose last week. Even so, it's ginormous.
ReplyDeleteBucs 36, Vikings 17. I'm a genius.
ReplyDeleteYour score was way off. Your point spread is busted. Ah, I'm just sour grapes. Good call, dude! I honestly thought the Yikes would get this one. Too bad for you, you drop the Vikes, pick up the Boots, then they beat the VIkes.
ReplyDeleteAnd this does bring up something. Thursday Night Football has got to go. It is ridiculous to ask an NFL player to spend a Sunday getting his brain and body hammered and then do it again on 3 days rest. Dangerous, reckless, and greedy. The TV networks and NFL owners should be ashamed of themselves. I hope they get a fat ass $500 million lawsuit on this.
ReplyDeleteit doesn't make any sense to me, Thursday Night Football. You can't even call it TNF. It's on the NFL Network, which hardly anybody even has, and if I was a defensive lineman, I'd be taking drugs the week leading up to the game. As far as the Bucs go, I wasn't actually confirmed on giving you the Lions back! You just took them! But that's OK, they are your team, and it feels right- everybody should have at least one of their teams. Doug should probably always keep the Raiders on principle- and just hang in their through the lean years (the winning ones!). The Bucs have been improving every game, the opposite of last year, and may pull out a few more victories. I think they are going to spoil it for me. But I don't care! I like the Doormat Division for the entertainment it provides. I could care less if I win the Moldy Carpet.
ReplyDeleteI thought the Bucs pick was insane, but I'm sticking to the numbers for at least one more week. The one I think most likely to fail is the Seattle game. Seahawks might just grind the Lions into the turf with their D. They are terrible in the red zone, though.
ReplyDeleteactually, i didn't think it was insane. I thought it was chancy. I give the Bucs a chance to win in most the games they play. they just generally lose them.
ReplyDeletewow Walkfish, your picks would have been great if you hadn't gone for the Chiefs over the Raiders. Next time you want the skinny on the Chiefs, just ask. I follow their foibles with a kind of joy.
ReplyDelete