One Sorry Blog

Week 7 - Running Up The Score

By Ace Cummins

Who says that sportsmanship is alive and well? Cleary not he New England Patriots. After camera gate their fearless leader, Bill Belichick, clearly has decided it is “them against the world.” It is a great strategy as a head coach of a very good football team. By making his team believe that the world is out to get them, it gives a juggernaut of a team a chip on their shoulder that usually is only found in teams of a lesser caliber. That can be a deadly combination. It is shown in the Pats attitude, but more importantly with their actions on the field. This is best illustrated by the 1-yard TD run by Kyle Eckle last week in their trouncing of the Cowboys. Most teams with a 14 point lead with under 20 seconds to go in the game would just sit on the ball and run out the clock. Not the Patriots. A fourth-string running back will actually get a hand-off, and he will actually score. The lines in Vegas are already beginning to reflect this attitude.

Bring it on NFL, you have been challenged.

Week 7 picks…

Patriots (-17) @ Dolphins
Sure 17 points a lot to give. But only for teams with a conscience. The Pats do not have one of those (see above). Late scores are commonplace for this team despite having big leads. Why would it change now? I honestly thought the spread for this game would be 21.

Bucs (+2.5) @ Lions
It’s time I realized the Bucs are better than I have been giving them credit for. I actually watched them play last week, and Garcia was somewhat impressive. They have covered every spread this year except their loss to the Colts. The Lions are no Colts.

Bears @ Eagles (-6)
It’s a must win for the Eagles if they want to be able to remain in striking distance for the Division. They are due for a breakout like they did against the NFC North’s’ Lions a few weeks back. Hmmm… aren’t the Bears in the NFC North too? Just sayin’.

Steelers (-4) @ Broncos
The Broncos are a bad team. But more importantly, the Steelers get healthy this week. That bye was perfectly timed. Sure the Steelers have had a cupcake schedule, but they have dominated against cupcakes. Should be no different here.

*****Five-Star Pick of the Week*****Colts (-3.5) @ Jags
The Jags are the new black. Everyone loves them. Maybe it’s because they have a solid defense and are built not to make mistakes. That formula works against Atlanta, KC, Denver and Houston. Not the defending champs. Plus both of Jax’s backs are banged up, Indy is an under-rated run defense and the Jags will be forced to throw. Not a formula for victory.

Ace Cummins is 23-22-4 overall and 8-3 on 5-star picks. Please send all hate mail, questions, fantasy football lineup dilemmas and 10% of your profits to ace.osb@gmail.com.