September 30, 2008

By Jason and Rob Thompson

 

Well, we've struggled for a couple of weeks in a row now.  Week 4 proved to be tougher to predict than we expected.  We were 28-18 going into the week, let's see how we did after the dust settled this week.

 

Remember, if you didn't get a chance to listen to the podcasts, you can find all of them here.  The archive page includes our NCAA predictions as well as the NCAA Team's Top 25 rankings.

Sunday 1pm ET

PREDICTION: Falcons 24, Panthers 21

ACTUAL: Falcons 9, Panthers 24

So we thought Matt Ryan was better than he was... Mr. Ryan had 41 attempts, completed just 21 of them for 158 yards. Jake Delhomme did not have the two picks we predicted but did throw two touchdowns. He completed 14 passes to Mushin Muhammed (8-147) and Steve Smith (6-96) and was clearly the best QB in the game.

 

PREDICTION: Bengals 20, Browns 19

ACTUAL: Browns 20, Bengals 12

Well, the score was pretty close and an Ohio team did win... but the Browns succeeded in spite of our sim.  Braylon Edwards appears to still be in his 2008 coma but did score a touchdown (3-22). What Browns' wide receiver had more receptions and yards than Edwards? You guessed it. Syndric Steptoe. [Note to Sim-Team: There is a WR for the Browns named Syndric Steptoe.].

 

PREDICTION: Jaguars 24, Texans 19

ACTUAL: Texans 27, Jaguars 30

We were almost perfect on this one. Fred Taylor did not have the performance we predicted but the Jags rushing committee did post 139 yards on the ground. The Texans Andre Johnson was horrible again but Kevin Walter made up for that slacker. The Texans played well enough to win. The Jags were just a little better.

 

PREDICTION: Broncos 41, Chiefs 20

ACTUAL: Broncos 19, Chiefs 33

No, that is not a misprint.  The Chiefs beat the Broncos soundly.  We predicted Larry Johnson would rush for 150 and a touchdown.  He ran for 198 and two.  Jay Cutler was almost great with 361 yards passing but his two interceptions ruined the Broncos day.

PREDICTION: 49ers 24, Saints 14

ACTUAL: 49ers 17, Saints 31

620 passing yards later we know that the Saints are still pretty good without key starters like Jeremy Shockey and Marquis Colsten.  Lance Moore had a career day for the Saints gathering seven for 101 yards an two touchdowns.  We would also like to welcome Deuce McAllister back to the NFL.  His 20 carries allowed the Saints Defense time to breathe.

PREDICTION: Jets 30, Cardinals 23

ACTUAL: Cardinals 35, Jets 56

If we had taken all of our stats, including the score, a multiplied those by two, we would have nailed this game.  As it is, we got the winning team right.  Did we predicted that Brett Favre would throw for six touchdowns?  No.  Thomas Jones and Leon Washington did not score on the ground for the Jets because, well… Favre threw for SIX touchdowns. 

PREDICTION: Packers 24, Buccaneers 10

ACTUAL: Packers 21, Buccaneers 30

We predicted Aaron Rogers would succeed again because “Brian Griese prevails again” just did not sound right.  The Buccaneers did win but Griese was not very good throwing three INTs and less than 150 yards.  The game was won on the ground.  Earnest Graham had his first big game of the year with 111 rushing yards to Ryan Grant’s 20.

 

PREDICTION: Titans 28, Vikings 14

ACTUAL: Vikings 17, Titans 30

This one went as predicted.  Kerry Collins didn't throw any interceptions while Chris Johnson and Lendale White rumbled for three scores.  Adrian Peterson had just 80 yards on 18 carries with a couple of scores.  Ultimately it was the turnovers that doomed the Vikings: three lost fumbles and one interception. 

Sunday 4:15pm ET

PREDICTION: Chargers 34, Raiders 14

ACTUAL: Chargers 28, Raiders 18

The Raiders actually blanked the Chargers in the 1st half and lead 15-0.  And then the wheels came off.  The Chargers scored 25 points in the 3rd quarter to end the Raiders hope for a home upset.  The Chargers won despite a poor performance from Phillip Rivers.  LaDainian Tomlinson carried the ball, and his team, for 106 yards and two scores.  Keep in mind that LaDainian did this with an injured toe.  Don’t look now but the Chargers may be the best team in the AFC.

PREDICTION: Bills 35, Rams 24

ACTUAL: Bills 31, Rams 14

The best record in the AFC belongs to the Bills and they took care of the Rams as predicted by a comfortable margin.  We were within 20 yards of Trent Green’s passing yardage.  The Rams loss can not be blamed on Steven Jackson who totaled 188 total yards from scrimmage.  The Rams offense under Green totaled 380 yards which should be enough to win a game… unless you have the Rams defense.

PREDICTION: Cowboys 34, Redskins 14

ACTUAL:  Redskins 26, Cowboys 24

This was yet another great NFC East game.  No one, not even the Redskins’ defense, would have predicted that the Cowboys would have run Marion Barber III just eight times. Clinton Portis had more than twice as many attempts (21) and turned them into 121 rushing yards.  Santana Moss was a one-man passing game with 145 yards receiving. Tony Romo was good (300 yards and 3 TDS/1INT) but not good enough and has now thrown at least one INT in every game this year.
 

Sunday Night Football

PREDICTION: Eagles 38, Bears 17

ACTUAL: Eagles 20, Bears 24

Both the Eagles, and our sim-record, got beat-up in this one.  The Eagles were grounded by a solid Bears team.  Donavan McNabb had the yardage, but not the touchdowns, we predicted.  Our sim also was accurate within 10 yards on Corell Buckhalter and also correctly predicted his rushing touchdown.  The game winning play may have been the 20 yard reception by Devin Hester at the end of the first half as both teams combined for just nine points in the second half.  If Kyle Orton can eliminate the negative (two INT’s) his positives (three TD’s) are good enough for this team to make a playoff run.

Monday Night Football

PREDICTION: Ravens 20, Steelers 10

ACTUAL: Ravens 20, Steelers 23

We were correct on our sim in that it “was all tied up in Pittsburgh going into the final frame.”  That final frame however was over-time and a Jeff Reed field goal was the difference in this Steelers win.  It may have gone our way but the brutality of this game sent several players to the bench with injuries including Rashard Mendenhal (gone for the season) and Willis McGahee.  In the end the Steelers used their fourth string running back Mewelde Moore and won in OT coming back from a 10 point deficit in the process.

So, for week 4 we went 5-8.  That brings our overall record to 33-26.  Let's see if we can rebound next week.