Seth's 50 Centers

First, the bad.

The Cincinnati Bengals had every chance in the world to win at Seattle, but dropped the ball, literally.

With a schedule that will bring New England to town Monday night, the Bengals needed to win that game against the Seahawks. They absolutely needed it!

Now they’ll likely be 1-3 going into the fifth week of the season. The division won’t be out of reach, but if Pittsburgh or Baltimore do what the Ravens did last year and go 13-3, well you get the idea. Goodbye division title!

I’m tired of seeing offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski do two things.

First, please stop running Rudi Johnson outside! What has happened that makes you think that’s a good idea? The man has gotten the tough yards in his career by starting inside. Now, he can bust it outside from there if it’s open, but the man isn’t fast enough to start outside and come back in if he needs to.

Second, the offense flies down the field between the 30s, but then gets all cute and fuzzy around the red zone. Why do you throw downfield three times to get there, only to run end-arounds and pitches to the outside closer to the goal line? I understand there isn’t as much room to work with, but Carson Palmer can put a football into a mail slot, let him throw it into the end zone!

Hard to believe isn’t it?

As much as I should be railing on the defense and special teams I’ve chosen to pick two things that really bug me about the offense!

I think that’s because, A) I know there isn’t much hope for the defense, and B) we’ve become accustomed to having a great O, and it just isn’t great right now.

I hate to admit it, but this offense has never been as good as it was when Chris Perry was healthy and Chris Henry was in uniform in 2005! That’s why the team drafted Kenny Irons in the second round, only to see him tear up his knee in the first preseason game.

We have to see someone other than Chad Johnson or T.J. Houshmandzadeh with the ball!

Hopefully the magic of hosting a Monday night game will be enough to get that defense ready to go, but the Patriots certainly bring a lot to the table on both sides of the ball.

Buckeyes

I attended the massacre that was the Ohio State game Saturday.

There’s a time, like the first game of the year against a Division I-AA opponent, when a blowout isn’t that fun to watch, especially in person.

This wasn’t one of those times. I know Northwestern isn’t all that good a team this year, and they didn’t have their top running back, but it felt really good to see a Jim Tressel-led team dominate that way.

Most of the scoring took place right in front of me, as I was in the ninth row in the corner of the south end zone.

I saw some really good things out there and I’m hopeful the Bucks can get through the gauntlet of not so tough Big Ten games made tougher by 8 p.m. start times.

Antonio Henton

Wow!

Not much more to say. The kid allegedly went down to Sixth and High and was willing to spend $20 on a few minutes with a lady of the night.

I am somewhat over the shock of the arrest, and the fact that a kid who had played himself into the No. 2 quarterback role at OSU is now suspended indefinitely.

What I’m amazed about at this point is the swift action taken by Jim Tressel. He didn’t pull a Joe Pa and “wait until the legal system has run its course.”

Tressel came out immediately, suspending the quarterback, and making sure it was clear that at least in the meantime he won’t be traveling with the team to Minnesota Saturday.

I’m not happy about losing a promising prospect, but I applaud Tressel’s swift action and hopefully this can get straightened out with a minimum of distractions for the team.

NFL Picks

On to the good!

I’ve claimed my rightful spot atop the heap in our weekly NFL pick-em contest.

Brian failed to three-peat like he predicted and even though I tied Jessica, the final score was 31-14 and I had a total score of 37, while she was way low with 31.

Here are the results, including two guest pickers’:

Seth 12-5
Jessica 11-5
The CPA 10-6
Brian 9-7
Big Game 9-7
Nick 7-9
Diesel 6-10

Overall standings

Brian 35-15
Jessica 34-14
Big Game 30-18
The CPA 29-19
Seth 29-20
Diesel 17-15
Nick 7-9

Week Four

Houston (2-1) at Atlanta (0-3)
NY Jets (1-2) at Buffalo (0-3)
Baltimore (2-1) at Cleveland (1-2)
St. Louis (0-3) at Dallas (3-0)
Chicago (1-2) at Detroit (2-1)
Oakland (1-2) at Miami (0-3)
Green Bay (3-0) at Minnesota (1-2)
Seattle (2-1) at San Francisco (2-1)
Tampa Bay (2-1) at Carolina (2-1)
Denver (2-1) at Indianapolis (3-0)
Pittsburgh (3-0) at Arizona (1-2)
Kansas City (1-2) at San Diego (1-2)
Philadelphia (1-2) at NY Giants (1-2)

Monday
New England (3-0) at Cincinnati (1-2) Pts._____

Picks

Brian
Time to get back on track after throwing the lot of you the collective charity bone.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner:
Falcons
Bills
Ravens
Cowboys
Bears
Dolphins
Vikings
Seahawks
Panthers
Colts
Steelers
Chargers
Giants
Patriots: 50

The CPA
Houston
Buffalo
Baltimore
Dallas
Chicago
Miami
Green Bay
San Francisco
Tampa Bay
Indianapolis
Pittsburgh
Kansas City
Philadephia
New England (44 pts.)

Big Game
Houston (2-1) at Atlanta (0-3) — Atlanta
NY Jets (1-2) at Buffalo (0-3) — Jets
Baltimore (2-1) at Cleveland (1-2) — Baltimore
St. Louis (0-3) at Dallas (3-0) — Dallas
Chicago (1-2) at Detroit (2-1) — Chicago
Oakland (1-2) at Miami (0-3) — Miami
Green Bay (3-0) at Minnesota (1-2) — Minessota
Seattle (2-1) at San Francisco (2-1) — San Francisco
Tampa Bay (2-1) at Carolina (2-1) — Tampa
Denver (2-1) at Indianapolis (3-0) — Indy
Pittsburgh (3-0) at Arizona (1-2) — Arizona
Kansas City (1-2) at San Diego (1-2) — San Diego
Philadelphia (1-2) at NY Giants (1-2) — Giants
New England (3-0) at Cincinnati (1-2) Pts. — Cincinnati 50

Jessica
Atlanta
Buffalo
Baltimore
Dallas
Chicago
Miami
Green Bay
San Francisco
Tampa Bay
Indianapolis
Pittsburgh
San Diego
NY Giants
Cincinnati 55

Seth
Houston
NY Jets
Baltimore
Dallas
Chicago
Miami
Minnesota
San Francisco
Carolina
Indianapolis
Pittsburgh
San Diego
Philadelphia
New England 51