JETs College Football Picks

By Jeremy Tannenbomb


College Football is back, the NFL is a week away, and my wife will start to hate me any day now. Time to start hypothetically gambling on sports again! (ya know, since it’s not legal) Maybe this will be the year I finally give up on trying to make teasers work. I will get some College Football points across here and hit the NFL sometime next week.

I am all aboard the UCLA train this year. Win their division within the PAC 12, over 9.5 wins, and to win it all in the new Playoff system. With Hundley back at QB and their incredible RB/LB hybrid in Myles Jack, among others, this could be a very special year for the Bruins. The PAC 12 is loaded but I think I only see 3 games presenting a big challenge to them. At Arizona St, home against Oregon, and at Washington. Arizona St will be a solid team this year, but I am more worried about the road environment on a Thursday night. Obviously Oregon is one of the best teams in the Nation coming into this season, with potential Heisman and #1 pick Marcus Mariota at the helm. And then at Washington, always a tough place to play in Seattle. Still, I think they have the talent and the coach in Jim Mora to get it done this season and make it to the 4 team playoff. After that, anything can happen.
2 other teams I am kind of high on this season are Georgia and Wisconsin. I think with Braxton Miller out, Wisconsin along with Michigan St has the best chance to steal the Big 10 championship. I will definitely take Wisconsin to take their division, as I don’t see Nebraska or Iowa being good enough to overtake Melvin Gordon and the Badgers. As for Georgia, obviously a great team with a great RB in Gurley. I just have a hunch they go over 9.5 wins, and get by Spurrier and the Gamecocks to win their division.

2 good games on tap for tonight. Texas A&M goes up against South Carolina and Boise State takes on Ole Miss. Gamecocks laying 10.5 to the Aggies and Ole Miss giving 10 to BBBBBoise. I’d take the favorites in both. Or just screw the teaser thing, and bring those spreads down!


EDITORS NOTE: Boise State hasn't been a double digit underdog in 6 years. Who cares that they are 0-6 vs. current SEC teams? Who cares that they had a 6 hour flight vs a 1 hour flight? No biggie. Time to get the REAL Bryan Harsin era underway. Boise State covers tonight. Lock it up. 

NFL is BACK! 5 thoughts/predictions

Fail Mary re-match, Thursday Sept 4

That’s right…. Next Thursday night the world will be watching the Green Bay Packers play @ the defending world champ Seattle Seahawks. First off, GREAT choice by the NFL here. 2 years ago when the Packers played in Seattle, we were all witness to the Fail Mary aka the last call the “replacement refs” ever made. Great game to open the season with.



Here are 5 other NFL thoughts:


1. Josh Gordon Suspension is upheld

Sad, sad news. I wrote about #FreeingJoshGordon in the past. I was holding out hope for almost a month that the lengthy delay in this decision would mean a greater chance of Gordon seeing the field in 2014. Apparently that isn't the case. 

AND, even though he lost his appeal, it looks like suing the NFL to get an injunction to play is not an option.

The ONLY silver lining here is that Gordon may get reinstated in January once the Browns season is over. If he stays clean until then, he should be good to go. Either way, it's a sad day in American Sports when Josh Gordon, the league's best WR last year, can't play football in 2014. 

2. Drew Brees "sucks" on the road 

This stemmed from a fantasy football argument I had with Jeremy. I said I liked Aaron Rodgers over Drew Brees this year and cited Brees' inconsistency on the road as a reason why. Let's look at Brees' splits last year. 

He played 8 games at home and 8 on the road. We'll look at regular season only so the two data sets can be compared equally. 

(click to enlarge)

Brees played the Panthers, Falcons, and Bucs both away and at home. 

The other home games were against Cardinals, Dolphins, Bills, Cowboys, and 49ers. 

The road games were against the Bears, Patriots, Jets, Seahawks, and Rams. 

In those road games, to break down the 131 points he scored: 

14 @ TB

15 @ CHI

16 @ NE

21 @ JETS

18 @ ATL

9 @ SEA

23 @ STL

15 @ CAR

That's nothing crazy to write home about. It's solid... but certainly there are too many average or below average weeks in here to pick this guy as my #1 QB. 

The one caveat here is that his 2014 schedule includes 2 road games at Dallas and at Detroit, both which are indoors and he should perform better than he usually does on the road. Still, the week 13 match up @ Pitt and ESPECIALLY the week 15 match up @ Chicago scare me. 

3. The Patriots should sit Gronk 

Raise your hand if you're a Patriots fan. Now keep it up if you are sick of losing in the playoffs and you'd like to actually win a Super Bowl this decade. 

I expect everyone to have their hand up. The Patriots success over the past 5 years has been rather annoying.... sure every year we destroy the division and make the playoffs... but that clearly isn't enough. We need Super Bowl wins, not regualr season wins. 

That's why the Patriots should bench Rob Gronkowski until AT LEAST week 14. Why wouldn't they? Everyone knows the Pats don't need Gronk to make the playoffs, but we most definitely DO need Gronk if we want to win the Super Bowl. 

This literally means nothing. 

He plays way too hard to stay healthy for a full season. Is it possible? Maybe. But why risk it? We're talking about a guy who is COMING OFF ACL/MCL surgery in December. Why are we even discussing his week 1 status????? Do we really need him against the Dolphins? Absurd. Last year, after sitting out the first third of the season, he stayed healthy for a handful of games before re-injury and concussion city. 

When he is playing healthy, Gronk is a hall of fame talent and the most unstoppable Red Zone player in the league.... So why not save that guy for the playoffs? Hold him out of the majority of the regular season. It's the right move if the Pats want to win the Super Bowl instead of just piling up more regular season wins. 

4. If you have the #1 overall pick in your fantasy draft, select AP

Sure, AP only managed 77 rushing yards in his college career finale (Loss to Boise State), but that shouldn't weigh on your decision to take AP #1 overall in your drafts this year. Afterall, over the past 7 years AP has really grown as a player.

I expect 2014 to be AP's best year ever. The guy is a freak, it doesn't bother me that he is an older Rb (29). And he should definitely be the first player off boards in fantasy this year. Sure, McCoy or Charles could possibly score more than AP, but neither is as safe as AP. Peterson is a LOCK for at least 1,200 yards and 10 TDs. He has an easy schedule. His Offensive Line is among the best in the league. The offense overall is improved. He doesn't split carries. He get's all the goal line touches. His new coach, Norv Turner, loves his RBs to catch the ball out of the backfield... remember Ladanian Tomlinson? Yea, Norv fed him the ball like crazy and he was a fantasy beast. I expect AP to set a new career high in all receiving stats... in fact, here is my overall estimates for AP in 2014:

Games: 16

Rush Yards: 1,450

Rush TDs: 14

Receptions: 55

Receiving Yards: 475

Receiving TDs: 3

Let's compare that to what the #1 RB from last year, Jamaal Charles did. 

Pretty close, with the slight edge to Charles, who scored a LOT of TDs last year. 

Anyway, AP is in for a historic season. I would feel comfortable taking him #1 in any standard or PPR re-draft league. 

5. Super Bowl Prediction

Hmmmmmm Super Bowl Prediction. Let's see. In the NFC, it's awfully hard NOT to pick one of the 2 NFC West powerhouses, SF and Seattle. I think when the dust settles I would have to pick the Seahawks and that is simply based on the fact that I don't know where the game is being played. One thing I do know is the Seahawks ain't losing at home in the playoffs. Not going to happen.... so for the 49ers or Packers or Saints or whoever wants to beat them, you sure as hell better make sure that game isn't on the road. Fun fact: the Seahawks are 17-1 over the past two seasons at home. I could see SF ousting the champs if the game is in San Fran, but again that is too hard to predict and I actually think the SF defense takes a small step backwards this year, so the Seahawks are the pick out of the NFC. 

The AFC is slightly more wide open 

I would imagine one of the Broncos, Patriots, and Colts are going to the Super Bowl. The Steelers, Ravens, and Bengals could all make noise, but really, it comes down to the 3 best QBs in the AFC and their teams

Peyton Manning and the Broncos were embarrassed in the Super Bowl last year. For anyone who forgot, they lost to the Seahawks 43-8. The "best offense of all time" was held to basically nothing. 

Andrew Luck and the Colts were ousted by the Pats in the 2nd round last year. The defense wasn't near good enough, but Andrew Luck is clearly a budding superstar. I could see the Colts stealing a playoff game and making the Super Bowl.

And then there is the Pats. Brady doesn't look like hes aging, and the team made massive upgrade on the defensive side of the ball. Some guy named Revis. Is he good? Fact is the past couple years the Pats have been exposed in the secondary, esp when Talib left for injury both of the past 2 years. 

I'm picking the Pats to win the AFC. It's time they get back to the Super Bowl. I think the defensive improvements are enough to hold off Luck/Peyton and, if GRONK is healthy... I'm picking the Patriots to beat the Seahawks Super Bowl 49 in Phoenix, the same site they lost in 2008 to the Giants.

GO PATS!!! GO NFL!!!!  

2014 Dirty D Draft Order

Finally. Mock Draft season is here. Football is here. Life is great.  The Dirty D is back for it's 6th season.... my team (Tahiti Loungers) will be looking to defend the title and go for the 3-peat.


We do have a new member of the league this year... one Michael Beckerman. Beckerman, the 15th owner in league history, is replacing Donny Burlone, aka comeback story. The other 11 members remain the same. Beckerman's team name: Mosey Machine. A+.

Hipster City 

Unique to this year's draft is the bet that Adam lost last year. He foolishly thought a back up TE (Garrett Graham) would outscore a starting TE (Coby "Stud" Fleener) and the fact that the bet was even close is a joke. Now Adam has to pay up, to the tune of drafting a kicker in the first round!!!!!  Although I am confident in his ability to overcome this. After all, 30% of first round picks bust every year anyway.

Now, to the good stuff. The draft order. Just for reference, here are all the past draft orders in league history:

And now for this year's order. I of course had to have ADAM help determine his own fate. He was the owner who assigned a letter to each team.

SEAN was picked to arrange the letters in any random order. (FAG B LIKE HDC J)

The results:


2014 Dirty D Draft Order

1. Angry Pirates

Unbelievable. Kid gets the #1 pick overall for the 3rd time in 4 years. In 2011 he selected Ray Rice and won the league. Last year he picked AP and went 6-7 while missing the playoffs.  We'll see what happens this time around, but C Bunny certainly has a lot of experience drafting on the turn.


2. Team Ice Cream 

This is the second worst possible spot for Adam to land... picking #2 overall basically means he is missing out on the top 20 players, since he has to make a kicker selection in the first round. Ouch.


3. The Godfather

Abe did a solid job drafting from the 4 spot last year (Megatron-Lacy-Fitz-Gio his first 4 picks), this year he gets bumped up to the 3 hole. He's gotta be happy with the results.

4. the rental guys 

Second year in a row Dan gets an upper-third pick... this year's selection is almost guaranteed to outperform Doug Martin from last year, who Dan selected #2 overall.


5. A1 Providers 

Paul needs all the help he can get. At this spot, he'll get to choose from some well known commodities in the first round.


6. The Crossing Guards

Let's all just hope Bill makes it to the draft this year. Let the record show that Bill DID make the playoffs for the first time last year!! but it was a year he didn't draft his own team. Just saying. After 2 consecutive years picking at #9, Bill moves up to the #6 spot.


7. A Pinch Better

Nothing much to say here except prepare to get sniped in the even numbered rounds.


8. Tahiti Loungers

Boom. right where I wanted to be. The same spot I drafted out of last year (when I won the championship, in case anyone forgot). Hoping to not pick a dud like CJ Spiller this year.


9. Victorious Secret 

I don't like Kait picking behind me. At all. Traditionally a good drafter, Kait siphons fantasy info off me every year. Basically she kinda knows about the players I like and can easily steal them from me. It’s happened before. CJ Spiller from 2 years ago. She knew I liked him, and sniped him right in front of me. Not happy about this position for personal reasons.


10. Eat More Chicken 

Jenna had a really nice season drafting out of the #11 spot last year, so this is familiar territory for her.

11. Mosey Machine

Total wild card. Since Beckerman is new to the league, I would think he likes the idea of picking so close to the turn. He can focus on his own team more while the middle team's sort of have to pay more attention to other people's picks.

12. Boston Patriots 

Mr, B will probably assume he got the last pick cuz he's disconnected from the league. Not true, Mr. B. It was random! I swear!



Remember people, the Draft is Labor Day- MONDAY SEPTEMBER 1st at 9pm.

96th PGA Championship

The 96th version of the PGA Championship starts tomorrow. As per usual, our fantasy challenge will also take place.


Jason Dufner won the PGA last year... which gives him the right to pick the dinner menu for this year. Here is what Dufner chose to have served to everyone last night:

"Butt-Rubbed Steak" is in honor of his no infamous ass-grab of his wife on the green after he won last year. Obligatory pic:

Boom.

Anyway, the only real golf analysis I am going to do is this:

Remembering Valhalla and the PGA championship from 2000

Bob May vs Tiger Woods. I'm lucky enough to remember watching this dram LIVE. Here is a brief description of what happened in bullet form:

-Tiger had the lead after 3 rounds. Had never lost when given a 54 hole lead.

-Also, check out this history of Tiger in the majors leading up to the 2000 PGA:

2000 British Open- WON
2000 US Open- WON
2000 Masters- T-5
1999 PGA- WON
1999 British Open- T-7
1999 US Open T-3

BEAST. Had won 2 out of the 3 majors already that year. Carrying a one stroke lead into the last day at Valhalla...

Anyway Bob May and Tiger were paired on the last day. On an EPIC match, going back and forth BOTH players made BIRDIE on the last hole to go to a playoff. Here's the famous video of Tiger sinking the long putt to tie and force a playoff. Goosebump city:

Stud. What a putt. Tiger went on to win the 3 hole playoff with a -1 score. Do yourselves a favor and watch this video, a 5 min recap of the epic battle between May and Woods:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp46JVEvx8E

is the link if you cant see this video on your phone.

OK. That was sick. Too bad Tiger is hurt and not at the top of his game for this tourney. Anyway, without further adieu, the 2014 fantasy draft and rules:

Rules:

The final score of all the players on each team will be added up and the lowest cume score wins. Each team will have 4 golfers.

+5 will be added to any players score who misses the cut

-10 will be deducted from the score of the team who picks the Champion

If there is a WD, that player will be given a score of the worst round from that day. And then a one time penalty of +5 (the same penalty a player who misses the cut would get.)



THE DRAFT
(Draft starts on Wed AM)

Round 1

Adam- Jordan Spieth
Bill- Rory McIlroy
Chump Bunny- Adam Scott
James- Keegan Bradley
Beck- Henrik Stenson
Dan- Ricky Fowler
Pendelton- Justin Rose
Abe- Matt Kuchar
Jeremy- Sergio Garcia
Paul- Martin Kaymer

Round 2

Paul- Bubba Watson
Jeremy- Phil Mickelson
Abe- Zach Johnson
Pendelton- Jim Furyk
Dan- Jason Dufner
Beck- Jason Day
James- Marc Leishman
Chump Bunny- Jimmy Walker
Bill- Charl Scwartzel
Adam- Hideki Matsuyama

Round 3

Adam- Victor Dubiusson
Bill- Ryan Moore
Chump Bunny- Webb Simpson
James- Graeme McDowell
Beck- Luke Donald
Dan- Brandt Snedeker
Pendelton- Thomas Bjorn
Abe- Francesco Molinari
Jeremy- Patrick Reed
Paul- Lee Westwood


Round 4

Paul- Hunter Mahan
Jeremy- Gary Woodland
Abe- Ian Poulter
Pendelton- Tiger Woods
Dan- Shane Lowry
Beck- Harris English
James- JB Holmes
Chump Bunny- Louis Oosthuzien
Bill- Kevin Na
Adam- Graham DeLaet




Team Rosters:

Free* not Free- Sergio, Phil, Reed, Woodland

Team Finna- Bradley, Leishman, McDowell, Holmes

The Godchildren- Kuchar, ZJ, Molinari, Poulter

Team K Cup- Spieth, Matsuyama, Dubuisson, DeLaet

Team Mosey- Stenson, Day, Donald, English

Team Zeitgeist- Fowler, Dufner, Snedeker, Lowry

Team EDM- Rose, Furyk, Bjorn, Woods

Team Hardo- Kaymer, Bubba, Westwood, Mahan

#DeutscheBill- McIlroy, Schwartzel, Moore, Na

Bunny Team- Scott, Walker, Simpson, Oosthuzien

#FreeJoshGordon

I love Josh Gordon. Let's just get that out there. Admittedly, it's mostly because I own in him in keeper fantasy football league... but still... I owned him before his monster breakout last season. I actually traded FOR Gordon last off-season... Thank you Marty El. Also, interesting side note, I played in 5 fantasy football leagues last year. I owned Gordon in 4 out of the 5 and the ONLY league I DIDN'T own Gordon, I won. I didn't win any of the other leagues. Wild.

Before I jump into a timeline of event's with my favorite non-Patriots NFL player, lets take a look back at his INCREDIBLE 2013 season. Remember, he was suspended for the first 2 games of the year.

Unreal season. Anyway, you live under a rock if you don't know what's going on with Gordon. Here is a brief timeline of events:



January 2009

Josh Gordon, from Texas, commits to playing his college ball at Baylor. He made 1 single catch his freshman year (2009).

October 2010

Josh Gordon and a teammate were arrested after falling asleep in the drive through at a Taco Bell after cops found some weed in the car. Gordon was not driving but his teammate who was, was kicked off the team. Gordon finishes the 2010 season with 42 catches, 714 yards, and 7 TDs

July 2011

Gordon is suspended indefinitely from the team after a failed marijuana test. This is what he said about it afterward. "It was due to a failed marijuana test, it was against school policy, of course, and I was (suspended) in the summer. I’ve definitely put that part of my life behind me. I don’t plan to ever go back there. It was a difficult time, but I learned from it, and I’ve moved on.”

August 2011

Gordon transfers to Utah. By rule, he isn't allowed to play the 2011 season for switching teams. Josh Gordon never actually played one game for Utah, instead he decided to enter the 2012 Supplemental NFL draft.

July 2012 

The Cleveland Browns select Gordon in the supplemental draft, sacrificing a 2013 second-round draft pick to select Gordon in Round 2. On July 16, Gordon signs a four-year, $5.3 million deal with the Browns.

October 2012

Josh Gordon's breakout. He scored a TD in 3 out of 4 games in October for the Browns, officially putting him on the map for everyone who wasn't aware of who he was until this month. His final stat line for the 2012 season was 50 receptions, 805 yards, 5 TDs.

May 2013 

Josh Gordon gets pulled over in Cleveland for going 45 mph in a 35 mph zone. Why he has a car that looks like this is beyond me... dude, you'e BEGGING to be pulled over in this.

June 2013 

Gordon gets suspended without pay for the first two games of the 2013 NFL season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. In addition to the two-game suspension, he was docked four game checks- totaling $148,894. Gordon said in a statement that he used cough medicine containing codeine -- a banned substance -- while recovering from strep throat in February. The league could have given him a four-game suspension. "The policy terms are strict about unintentional ingestion, but the NFL has not imposed the maximum punishment in light of the facts of my case," Gordon said. "Therefore, I have chosen to be immediately accountable for the situation. I sincerely apologize for the impact on my team, coaches, and Browns fans."

August 2013 

Josh Gordon gets pulled over for going 98 mph in a 60 mph zone. Again, the car, you're asking for it.

September 2013 

Josh Gordon confirms that he "thinks" he will be suspended a full year if he abuses the substance policy again.

January 2014

Josh Gordon is named to the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL in receiving.  87 catches, 1,646 yards, 9 TDs.  His QB(s) during this magical season? Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden, Jason Campbell.

May 2014

Just 24 hours after the NFL draft, it is reported that Gordon has tested positive for Marijuana earlier in the off-season. Believed to be in "Stage 3" of the NFL substance program (they don't publicize this info), Gordon is slapped with a 16 game/year long suspension. Also, on Memeorial Day weekend, he was again stopped for speeding. The cop smelled weed in the car and Gordon's "friend" was charged with possession. Gordon was not. However, Gordon did get arrested for a DUI after blowing a .09

July 2014 

Josh Gordon's appeal to the suspension lasts over 15 hours stretching over 2 days.

That's where we are at. Waiting to see if the appeal will be reduced or lifted, even though by letter of the law it cannot be reduced. Since the appeal started, a few bits of info have been leaked. It's been reported that Gordon has passed over 70 drug tests in the past 20 months. It was also released that his drug sample that tested positive was SO FAINT that had his 2 samples been switched, he would have passed the test. This faint trace has allowed Gordon and his legal team to pursue a defense that includes "Second Hand Smoke" as the reason for the failed drug test.

Here's the rub:  The NFL has crazy out-dated marijuana laws, which are severe. Normally this probably wouldn't be an issue but the PR problem the NFL is dealing with magnifies the problem with the NFL's stance on off the field issues.

Ray Rice was given a 2 game suspension after "video evidence" that he assaulted his fiance. People were/are OUTRAGED that someone who smokes weed can be banned for a year but someone who beats up a chick gets 2 games. Just doesn't make sense. Also, Colts owner Jim Irsay, was pulled over this off-season under the influence and in possession of about a million pills and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. The NFL has set to extend a penalty to Irsay for his conduct, although there is a rumor he will be "suspended" for 6 games, whatever that means for an owner.

Here's the problem. Josh Gordon's punishment has been collectively bargained by the NFL and NFLPA. It’s clearly stated in the (outdated) rules of the CBA what his penalties should be….. a year-long suspension. But people like me- and all Browns fans- are holding out hope that logic & common sense wins out and the NFL does the right thing by suspending Gordon for 8 games, not 16.

Anyway, you gotta figure the longer the wait on the appeal decision, the better the outlook for Josh Gordon. Let's all hope he only gets suspended for 8 games.

Also, since I know you're all wondering, here is what Josh Gordon's back looks like:

#FreeJoshGordon