The Washington Redskins

.... have a bye this week leaving players and fans with several options. QB Jason Campbell and TE Chris Cooley decided to go to Disney World. My brother decided to visit the Mrs. in Blacksburg for the hundredth time this semester. Somewhere DeAngelo Hall is (hopefully) watching film. And I decided to bet every game on the board in every possible way. Vegas sports books, offshore shops, bookies, kids back home I secretly book the action of, nobody was safe this week. I'm taking on all comers.

And at 1:00 PM, I'm switching over to the Cup race.


Here are the dumb thoughts I have today that I only put into blog form for Jeff's amusement:

* Alabama definitely didn't look like a national championship team on Saturday but they did manage to squeak by LSU. How many high school QBs in America do you think are better players than LSU starter Jarrett Lee? I'd estimate roughly 75%. For the record, a running moneyline parlay on the Tide the rest of the way would pay something in the neighborhood of 3.5 million to 1. (This number according to Ed.)

The Hilton odds? 5-2.

* I'd love to see a BCS future pool right now if we all knew there was an 8 team tournament coming in January. Would Florida be laying money in such a pool? Would Metcalf be willing to lay that price, whatever it was? Would Ed mock Matt but still request that he receive a piece of it? Would Bennett mock them both and then bet some for himself but never admit it?

Sadly, we may never know.

* Alabama and Texas Tech are ranked 1-2 right now in all the major polls. Has there ever been a college football season in which both the #1 and #2 teams were projected as clear underdogs in games at the end of the season? The Tide will definitely be getting points from the Gators in the SEC Championship Game next month (As many 38 according to Ed) while the Red Raiders will certainly be an underdog when they visit Oklahoma in a couple weeks. I'd just like to see this thing somehow shake out so that Ohio State could play in the championship game. It'd be great listening to Austin spend a month convincing himself they actually had a chance to win. Again.

* Instead of actually playing out the 2009 season, I think everyone should just agree to throw the names of all the teams at the top of the initial polls into a hat and pull two out for the BCS Championship game. Or we could just have the teams play out their regular season and then have a bunch of writers that don't know shit about football and a bunch of a computer nerds tell us who the top two teams are. Yeah, that's much more sensible than a playoff system.

And people wonder why I like the NFL so much more than college football.

* Speaking of the NFL, what a game we have coming up on Sunday night: The Vegas Power Ratings Champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. I'd like to see what the spreads will be for Eagles games next year if they actually finish out of last place in the division or make the playoffs this season. Last year's Eagles finished last in the NFC East and missed the postseason but somehow came into 2008 power rated at the top of the league. Imagine what their spreads would look like next season if they lost a wild card game to the Cardinals in January.

* I want to thank Willie Parker for missing the Giants game, coming back to help the Steelers beat the Redskins, and then going back to the bench for the Colts game. My Steelers AFC North ticket, my fantasy team, and the Redskins thank you for everything, Willie.

What a bastard.

* If you were as bad at your job as Romeo Crennel is at his, how long do you think you would last?


Trivia Question for Sunday: Give me the actor who says this line: "What do you mean, you're gonna pass. Alan, the only people making money passing are NFL quarterbacks and I don't see a number on your back."

Bonus points if you provide the movie and character name.

** Thursday's Answer: Brady Quinn did replace Carlyle Holiday. And now he appears to have replaced Derek Anderson. Well done, Ross.



I'm not going to list all the dumb bets I made this week. I have the Bills somewhere in there. I like Seattle to cover against the Dolphins but hopefully lose the game. Ditto the Raiders. Let's hope for a close game in Houston with the Texans pulling it out. And how about the Bears enabling the '72 Phins to sip some champagne? All would be nice. But mostly I just want to see that 48 car in Victory Lane on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix. For the Hoff.




Enjoy the game.