Our spreadsheet tells us this week appears to be a very
strange week.
And remember the first week of the season when we made the
(mistaken) prediction that the Jets would use Tim Teebow in a modified version
the wildcat offense? Well –- we still
think that’s going to happen at some point.
This game may well be that point.
If(!) that ever happens, it will change forever they way football is
played, and also end the ere of hyperexpensive quarterbacks.
Best of luck this week! From yore[sic] ol’ Pappy.
Patriots vs. Broncos
Packers vs. Colts
Two teams that “start” with Pee against two horses; an
interesting coincidence. If you ever
have a chance to talk to police detectives or private detectives, and I’ve
talked to a few (cough), ask them how they feel about coincidences. They always have interesting opinions about
such.
The game to watch this week is the matchup between The
Patriots and the Broncos. These marquee
games are often not worth the investment for the serious handicapper, but are
usually entertaining.
Don’t know why there’s so many games this week that are not
worth the investment; but that’s what the math sez.
The San Francisco/Saint Louis game looks very
promising. We’re still leaning toward
the Niners to go to the Superbowl this season.
But Jeff Fisher is a dangerous coach to go against.
The first four to five weeks of any NFL season is gambling
in the truest sense. Now that we’ve
reached Week Four, we can loosen our purse strings a bit.
And remember the most important thing of all; I can say this
as someone who has spent most his working life in private enterprise, trying to
keep customers happy -- <b>The people who set the spread, their customers
are the casinos, not you! Never forget
that!
Be forewarned –- our calculations are showing a lot of close
games this week. In addition, it’s being
alleged by talking heads on cable TV sports shows that the rent-a-refs
currently used by the NFL are “inadvertently” being influenced by home crowds
and thus the games ATS are going disproportionately to the home underdogs. The
rent-a-refs this week may “over compensate” for this fact, now that it’s become
public.
BTW, I strongly recommend using your DVR to record “Pardon
the Interruption” and “Around the Horn” every Friday on ESPN. Some interesting factoids manage to emerge on
these two shows.
Regarding investing in NFL games -- I can say this as
someone who has spent most his working life in private enterprise, trying to
please customers -- the people who set the spread, their customers are the
casinos, not you! Never forget that!
The game to watch this week is the matchup between Washington and Saint
Louis; the two head coaches involved are amongst the
shrewdest in the NFL. We give the nod to
Mike Shanahan, mostly because he’s been coaching in Washington longer than Jeff Fisher has been
with the Chiefs, and thus Mike has had more time to mold the team to his
standards.
Mike Shanahan reminds me of a supervisor I once had back in
the mid-1960s, when I worked for GTE.
The guy was sharp! And alert,
too. Didn’t miss anything. When you looked into said supervisor’s eyes,
it was like looking into the eyes of an eagle or a hawk.
That’s not to say that Jeff Fisher isn’t in the same
category; he just hasn’t had enough time yet to make the Chiefs completely
competitive with Washington. Give him a coupla more years.