Football Friday

In my first post here I alluded to Kegtalk, my Colorado sports blog that I started with my friend Seth. During the NFL season, we partake in something called "Football Friday." The format is pretty simple; we begin with a short rant about anything in college football or the NFL, then proceed to pick three players we think will have big fantasy football weeks, then we pick the winners (straight up, not against the spread) of four previously agreed-upon games and the Bronco game. Here is my Football Friday column this week.

"Tebow! Tebow! Tebow! Tebow!"

OK, we get it. Kyle Orton is staggeringly mediocre and no one has any idea how good Tebow is (with the exception of everyone who understands football and says that he is downright awful, but us Denver fans obviously don't give shit). Look, I love Tim Tebow as much as much as any other Bronco fan but the "people who know things" are adamant that he is not ready. Now some of the hyperbole has gone too far about Tebow never being ready. The issues he has (throwing mechanics, footwork, downfield accuracy) can be fixed. I will never bet against Tim Tebow's work ethic but let's be real Bronco fans. The kid isn't ready. But you know who is? Brady Quinn.

After the Broncos get lambasted on Sunday by the Bungles who are lead by the champion of the gingers Andy Dalton, John Elway should call up Indianapolis and offer them Kyle Orton for a late round pick. We know who Kyle Orton is; he isn't terrible, but he's not particularly good either. You know who no one is sure is good? Brady Quinn. He never has had a real shot at running a football team from start to finish. The Broncos should give him that opportunity. Kyle Orton's contract is up at the end of the season and I'd be willing to bet every last dime I have that he will be in a different uniform next year. So why bother starting him? Give Brady Quinn a shot to be the long term starter in Denver. Worst case scenario, he plays poorly and opens the door for Tebow to start next year. Wow, how depressing is that? It's week 2 and us Bronco fans are already talking about the 2012-2013 NFL season. Let's just move on to the fantasy stars of the week before I start drinking...

Rex Grossman, QB Was
If you had shown me this pick one year ago I would have asked you what the hell happened that caused me to get addicted to meth. Mike Shannahan might be a mad genius because Rex Grossman looked fantastic in week 1 against a solid Giants defense. This week he hosts the Arizona Cardinals who allowed 400+ passing yards to Cam Newton. The jury is still out on whether Cam Newton can be an effective passer in the NFL but the fact of the matter is he passed for over 250 yards in exactly three of his games last year at Auburn. Jump on the Sexy Rexy bandwagon while you still have time. Shanny might not be so crazy after all...

Robert Meachem, WR NO
Fact: Marques Colston is out for 4 weeks with a broken collarbone. Fact: New Orleans likes to throw the ball...a lot. Fact: Robert Meachem had 8 targets in week 1 with Marques Colston in the lineup. For some odd reason, no ESPN fantasy analyst has Meachem ranked higher than 26th this week. Am I missing something here? How is the #1 receiver in the Saints offense not a top 15 receiver every single week?

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB NYG
No Hakeem Nicks = less throws for Eli. I'm guessing that we see a healthy dose of Bradshaw this week considering the Rams allowed the Eagles to average 7.4 yards per carry last week. On to the picks, hopefully I can improve upon my stellar 0-5 record from last week. Nowhere to go but up baby!


Chicago at New Orleans
There are three teams in the history of the NFL to start 0-2 and win the Super Bowl (1993 Cowboys, 2001 Patriots, 2007 Giants). No way the Saints drop this one at home against Sir Poutalot. Vegas doesn't even believe in the Bears after their week 1 drubbing of Atlanta as they installed the Saints as 6.5 point favorites.

San Diego at New England
San Diego won by 7 at home against a team whose QB threw for 37 yards in week 1. New England blew out a division opponent while Tom Brady threw for 6,784 yards (approximately) in week 1. Pats win this one easily with Brady setting the single season passing yardage mark by the second quarter.

Cincinnati at Denver 
Ugh, take the Bungles here. The local 11 infuriates me to no end, let's just move on before I spontaneously combust.

Philadelphia at Atlanta
While it seemed like Atlanta was ready to make the leap after last year, what we saw in week 1 is probably closer to the norm. Atlanta just isn't an explosive team. Their defense does not pressure the quarterback and they have no game-breakers on offense. Yes, Roddy White is one of the best receivers in the league, but he gets his yards in chunks of 15 and 20 yards. Julio Jones is going to be very good someday but the fact of the matter is that rookie wide receivers not named Randy Moss never make a huge impact in their first season. Meanwhile, Philly has so much speed on the field that Vick, McCoy, Jackson, and Maclin probably could challenge for a medal in the 4 x 400 meter relay at the Olympics. Philly wins this one by 2 scores.

St. Louis at New York Giants
Some lines from Vegas:
Odds NYG wins outright: -270
Odds STL wins outright: +230
Odds Jacob is watching the Charlie Sheen Roast instead of this underwhelming MNF game: -1000000000000000000000000
If Steven Jackson was playing this would be an interesting game, but instead we have to watch Cadillac Williams run into the line 10-15 times on Monday. Giants win this one comfortably.