January 15, 2005
BET YOUR HOUSE:
Quiet for Too Long, Jets' Jordan Deserves to Be Heard (NY Times, 1/15/05)
FOR four seasons, LaMont Jordan has been the quiet understudy. He has backed up Curtis Martin and waited for his time to come.On Thursday, Jets Coach Herman Edwards spoke about Jordan's dilemma. "LaMont is a victim," he said. "He's in a bad situation in a way. He plays behind a guy that is a Hall of Fame running back. That's not LaMont's fault. That's just the way it is."
The reality, however, is that the team's success in Pittsburgh today depends on Jordan's playing a greater role than ever within an offense that has been conservative, predictable and lacking explosiveness.
At times this season, Edwards has called Jordan one of the team's playmakers.
But we really haven't seen Jordan used as a threat, and, with Pittsburgh standing between the Jets and the American Football Conference championship game, time is running out.
If you were a betting man, you could make some money this weekend taking all four visiting teams, all of whom may well win outright.
Posted by Orrin Judd at January 15, 2005 10:09 AM
All of a sudden you have special knowledge of the sport of barbarians?
Posted by: Matt Cohen at January 15, 2005 10:27 AMMatt:
Our dog can figure out sports like football & soccer.
Posted by: oj at January 15, 2005 10:49 AMPittsburgh adds Plaxico Burress who missed last game and the Jets are without John Abraham. The two teams are copies of each other, except that the Steelers are better at all phases of the game. My guess, Pittburgh in a slow suffocation. 21-10 or 21-7.
Minnesota is a terrible matchup against Philly. The Eagles will beat their receivers up at the line of scrimmage, which the Packers with their balanced defense--it doesn't tackle, cover, rush the passer or cause turnovers--could not. The Eagle running game should have an easy time of it. If Randy Moss tries to moon the Philly fans, he might end up dead. Eagles 28-14.
I understand field conditions are sloppy in NE this weekend. That should mean an easy win for the Pats. The Colt defense is the smallest in the NFL and Dillon should run for about 150. The Pats will play keep away, holding the ball for about 40-45 minutes. Manning is great and will make the game look closer than it will be but the Pats even without Poole and Law haven't missed a beat. Pats 28-21.
The Rams are hot and the Falcons have a mediocre defense and a record inflated by a terrible division. On offense, the Falcons don't have much more than Michael Vick but the Rams don't have anyone who can stop him like Derrick Brooks. The Falcon pass rush won't get within a mile of Bulger. The only visiting winner of the day 35-24.
Posted by: Bart at January 15, 2005 1:10 PMColts, Vikings will win.
Posted by: h-man at January 15, 2005 2:42 PMThen we'll see how your dog has done with this prediction by the end of tomorrow.
Posted by: Brandon at January 15, 2005 2:45 PMHistorically, home teams in the divisional round are the surest bet in football, winning 80% of the time. [Source]
Posted by: David Cohen at January 15, 2005 3:27 PMOJ:
You have a dog? I thought you hated animals.
David:
Which is why you should be able to make some money on the bet.
Posted by: oj at January 15, 2005 6:37 PMOJ: Pittsburgh won.
Posted by: David Cohen at January 15, 2005 8:59 PMAnd? The Jets covered easily. Our first bet paid off tidily.
Posted by: oj at January 15, 2005 9:10 PMThe Rams aren't going to cover anything but themselves - in shame.
Posted by: Brandon at January 15, 2005 11:29 PMThe top teams are vulnerable - true enough. But the Colts remind me of the 1984 Dolphins.
Unfortunately, the (1984) 49ers are not in the playoffs this year.
Posted by: jim hamlen at January 15, 2005 11:44 PMAtlanta won.
Posted by: David Cohen at January 16, 2005 12:05 AMSo we're even on games, though ahead on our bets because Jets fans...
Posted by: oj at January 16, 2005 12:10 AMWrong about the Falcons. The Rams were just terrible. When are they firing Martz?
Posted by: Bart at January 16, 2005 8:12 AMPhiladelphia won.
Posted by: David Cohen at January 16, 2005 4:38 PMOh well, there goes our shot at big money, but the Colts victory still puts us ahead.
Posted by: oj at January 16, 2005 5:14 PMPatriots won. Didn't turn out to be a good bet after all.
Posted by: Brandon at January 16, 2005 7:45 PMStill a good bet, just didn't work.
But I am now able to guarantee, for this one time offer only, that the two underdogs will win next week. Bet the summer cottage...
Posted by: oj at January 16, 2005 8:12 PMThe Patriots looked like the 1984 49ers today. A great game from a great team.
The Steelers will need to play like their 1974/5/6/8/9 version to win next week.
Posted by: jim hamlen at January 16, 2005 10:18 PM