Jim Caldwell's Decision To Pull His Starters...

Jim Caldwell's decision to pull his starters might have been the end of the discussion of Jim Caldwell for NFL Coach of the Year.



Competitive sports is meant to have winners and losers, that's why we compete. For Caldwell to pull Peyton Manning and the other starters is a slap in the face of the 72' undefeated Dolphins and 07' undefeated Patriots. It's like saying that going undefeated doesn't matter, when it should. It's also a slap in the face of the organization and the fans. These people pay their hard earned money to watch a second string team play. They could go to the Colts practice to see that.



You are telling your players to shut it down and then turn it back on. It doesn't work that way and Jim Caldwell should know that. Resting players is for the off-season, that's why there is an off-season. While we are talking about his chances to win Coach of the Year, the bigger question is will he rest his players again this week and run the risk of failing in the playoffs?



The hottest teams going into the playoffs have the best chance of winning. If you don't turn the ball over, your chances of winning the game are incredibly high. Rested played are rusty and turn the ball over. Peyton is a different character, yes I know and we've reported on that, but he also plays with 51 other people not including a coaching staff which needs to be sharp.

Monday Night NFL Stone-Cold Lock 12/28/09

By DARREN BONTRAGER, FreshSportsDaily.com Betting Guru



OddsMaker.com Line - Vikings -7½ @ Bears

Monday night's NFL game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears is the last football game of this decade and possibly the last game I will handicap for FSD.com, especially if tonight's pick doesn't come through. Big smiles! On to the analysis:

• The Vikings may be in the midst of the late-season Favre-ian tailspin that we have come so accustomed to seeing in the past few years. Favre led the Vikings to a 10-1 start by throwing 24 touchdowns and three interceptions, but the 40-year-old has had three TDs and four interceptions in the three games since.


• Both of the Vikings’ recent losses have come away from the Metrodome, and they’re 1-7 at Soldier Field since 2001, including last season’s 48-41 defeat. Favre is 13-3 all-time in Chicago, but has lost in two of his last three trips there.


• Chicago gave up four touchdowns through the air in last week’s 31-7 loss in Baltimore, its eighth defeat in 10 games.


• If Vikings' receiver Percy Harvin has recovered from migraine headaches, Favre will have back his best big-play threat, with all apologies to Adrian Peterson. Harvin had a career-best 101 yards and a touchdown in last month’s 36-10 win over the Bears.

My recommendation is to take Minnesota and lay the 7½ points. Chicago is a team is disarray and the players have given up on trying to save Lovie Smith's job. The Vikings have had their problems of late as well, but are clearly the superior team and should handle the Bears rather easily, outdoors or not, on the road or not.



The Pick - Minnesota Vikings 29 Chicago Bears 10

NFL Stone-Cold Locks 12/26/09

By DARREN BONTRAGER, FreshSportsDaily.com Betting Guru



Management has informed me in no uncertain terms that my ass is on the line this week after my horrible play of recommending the Tennessee Titans on Christmas Day. Apparently that pick lost some people some cash. While I tried to explain that sports betting is not an exact science and that I cannot possibly go 4-0 every week, it seems not to matter to certain individuals.



On to Sunday's picks (Confidence ranks are out of a possible 4 smiley faces):

• Take Kansas City +13.5 @ Cincinnati ☺☺☺  This one is a gut-pick and Lord knows I got the gut. I'm wondering if the Bengals will have anything left after what happened with Chris Henry and the subsequent tough loss to San Diego. Coming off three straight home losses, Kansas City obviously is not a very good football team. However, I happen to have inside information that one of the Chiefs players banged a slump-buster at the team hotel last night. That just might be what this squad needs to pull one out, no pun intended.
  
  The Pick - Kansas City Chiefs 24 Cincinnati Bengals 22

• Take St. Louis +14.5 @ Arizona ☺☺½  St. Louis gave me love last week and even came close to pulling out a victory, so I'm sticking with them. If you throw out being boat-raced by Tennessee in Week 14, their last 5 games have been decided by an average of only 6.8 points. Arizona is a good home team, but I'm expecting a bit of a Cardinal letdown after last week's clinching of the NFC West.
  
  The Pick - St. Louis Rams 20 Arizona Cardinals 30

Good luck with your bets, and enjoy your NFL Sunday!

*This information is for entertainment purposes only.

NFL Christmas Day Stone-Cold Lock

By DARREN BONTRAGER, FreshSportsDaily.com Betting Guru



Last Week's Picks: 2-2

San Diego Chargers -3 at Tennessee Titans

The Pick: Take Tennessee +3



The Christmas Day NFL match up they're giving us this year feels like a playoff game. This is a nice game...a really nice game - if you have the NFL Network. If not, then please trudge your ass through the snow to the bar that spent the money for a satellite dish. Hopefully you can find one that's open Christmas night. Anyone reading this blog is definitely spending Christmas alone, so it's not like your "family" will be angry that you spent Christmas at the bar drunk out of your mind, yelling at the television while watching the game you dropped twenty bucks on. On to the analysis...

• The Chargers have won nine straight. They're bound to lose.


• Two years ago, the Chargers won in overtime at Tennessee in a very rough game. Several players were hurt, and four players were fined. These types of rivalries tend to produce close, fairly low-scoring games.


• The Titans have lost two starting defenders to season-ending injuries - linebacker and team leader in tackles Keith Bulluck and linebacker David Thornton. Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates might rip up that depleted Titan linebacking core. However...


• San Diego has to travel to Tennessee on a short week after a big win against Cincinnati. I smell a letdown. Or is that my feet? I really should shower more often.

When you take these factors, the advice from my magic 8-ball, and the voices in my head into consideration, I say take the 3 points and Tennessee. And when you're at the bar, remember "beer before hard, you're in the yard...hard before beer, you're in the clear."



*This information is for entertainment purposes only

NFL Sunday Stone-Cold Lock 12/20/09

By DARREN BONTRAGER, FreshSportsDaily.com Betting Guru

For my Sunday pick I'm going out on a limb - a very, very skinny limb that may just break under the considerable girth of my ass which is plastered to this chair 24/7.



There are some HUGE spreads out there this week. The vast majority of the money is being laid down on big favorites and Vegas is scrambling to get some of that money bet on the 'dogs by offering these ridiculous lines. A 14 point spread in the NFL is practically unheard of, even for the crappiest of teams.



With that being said, the St. Louis Rams are a 14 point home dog going into their game against the Houston Texans. I recommend taking the Rams and the points. Houston is being given entirely too much credit here and St. Louis is not as bad as this spread might suggest.



However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must cop to the fact that my picks are 0-2 this week. Maybe betting against me is the safer way to go. That is why it's called gambling, people. Best of lucks with your picks!

The Fired Watch – NFL Week 14

By MAX CUSTARD, FreshSportsDaily.com Wire Services

Presenting a new feature on Inside Sports Today – the blog that asks the question “if a blog is blogged and it gets absorbed into a vacuum with 500 million other blogs, does the tree fall down in the forest and make noise?” Wait, that’s not right...



Presenting the “Fired Watch,” the top 5 coaches on a weekly basis likely to be axed and then probably hired by another team or a television network long before I ever find a real job:



5. Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys (8-4 NFC East, Tied First Place)

The patron saint of the Fired Watch. The Man. The Myth. The Son of Bum. Always and forever on the hot seat. We love you, Wade! Don’t let the 19-32 December record get you down. Wade needs to at least get to the Super Bowl this year or it’s over. And that proposition looks shaky at best. Go Wade, go!

4. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns (1-11 AFC North, Last Place)

I feel sorry for the hard working people of Cleveland and environs who paid good money for season tickets just to be subjected to the sham that they try to pass off as NFL football. Could you imagine laying down, say, 2 grand to watch THAT team 8 times, not including the God-awful pre-season? As a return on your investment, the Brownies have a perfect 0-5 record at home this season going into the Thursday night game against Pittsburgh. From here it looks like the Man-douche is a one-hit wonder who made his cake off a decent season in New York and beating Bill Belichick. Have they gotten one of those Larry Johnson-type petitions going yet to get him out of there? Just wondering.



3. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans (5-7 AFC South, Tied Last Place)

’09 was the make-or-break year for the Texans, a franchise which has not finished with a winning record in its history. Houston was 5-3 and dreaming of the playoffs going into a big Week 9 showdown with arch-rival Indianapolis. A brutal 3 point loss to the Colts followed by three more let-downs (all divisional) has already sealed this season as another disappointment for the Texans. Right now it seems their best hope is to squeak out a .500 record. Gary Kubiak seems like an OK guy, and no one wishes him any ill, but Dude’s gonna get canned.



2. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders (4-8 AFC West, Third Place)

Please don’t beat the shit out of me Mr. Cable! Oh, please forgive me for saying that. What I meant to say is you’re the best coach ever. Vince Lombardi sucks compared to you. Scumbag.



And the number one NFL coach who should hit the local Box City soon...

1. Jim Zorn, Washington Redskins (3-9 NFC East, Last Place)

OK, here’s the deal with the Redskins. They suck. They have a racist team name and mascot. Daniel Snyder sucks. Therefore, by proxy, Jim Zorn sucks because he coaches the Washington Redskins. One of the funniest things I ever saw was my friend Brian crying like a be-atch because the Los Angeles Raiders had just destroyed the ‘Skins and that pretentious jerk Joe Theismann in Super Bowl XVII. Marcus Allen anyone?

Honorable Mentions: John Fox - Carolina Panthers; Lovie Smith – Chicago Bears



Have a great football weekend, Sports Fans, and try to stay employed!

Post Thanksgiving Weekend Football - Saints vs. Patriots

By ERIK HEPWORTH, FreshSportsDaily.com Wire Services

Sunday, November 29th 2009 - Today is a huge day for all Football fans including the fantasy football players. A crucial weekend with one of the most interesting match ups to date. On Monday, the 10-0 New Orleans Saints host the 7-3 New England Patriots. New England, which came off a heart breaking loss when a bold fourth down and 2 call didn't work in coach Bill Belichick’s favor.



This is New England's first return to the Superdome since their spectacular win in 2002 against Kurt Warner and high powered Saint Louis Rams on a last second field goal by Adam Vinatieri.



New Orleans bid for an undefeated season is at it's toughest time facing a team that knows what it takes to go 16-0 in a season. The Saints are averaging almost 37 points per game while blowing out the competition to become 10-0 currently. Drew Brees looks like a solid candidate for MVP and has hit nine different receivers for touchdowns.



The Saints three-headed rushing attack of Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas, and Reggie Bush has paid off with Bell and Thomas rushing for over 500 yards a piece while Bush offers a change of pace and 5 TDs. This keeps them fresh and ready for the post season which they most definitely will make at this pace. Although, they face a tough road ahead when they face the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys before season’s end.



Tom Brady and New England offense has been strong. Over the last 5 games Tom Brady has thrown for over 300 yards per game and 14 touchdowns. Wes Welker despite missing the first 2 games still leads the league with 79 catches while the dangerous Randy Moss draws the much needed double coverage.



Is this a Super Bowl Preview?



New England leads the series against the Saints:

• 4-0 in its regular-season visits to the Superdome


• 8-3 against the Saints overall


• Victories in the last three meetings.