Game 12: Cowboys vs. Seahawks

The Cowboys Thanksgiving game... I have so many memories about the Thanksgiving game, being with family and watching the Cowboys while munching down on too much food.

The Cowboys are 7-4 and the Seahawks are 2-9... do I really need to break this one down? No, but I will do it anyway. The Seahawks have lost their last four games and the two wins have come against St. Louis and the 49ers. The Cowboys have won three of their last four, with the loss coming against the NY Giants.

The Cowboys offense hasn't necessarily been on target, but they have done enough to grab the win. They can still be a bit sloppy to win this one, though, as you don't have to be perfect to win against the Seahawks. The Seahawks have an awful offense (ranked 31st out of 32) and just as bad defense (ranked 29th).

Seahawks to Watch:

• Matt Hasselbeck: QB Rating - 54.9; 87-171 (50.9%) for 929 yards, 5 TDs and 9 Ints
• Julius Jones: 141 carries for 637 yards and 2 TDs
• John Carlson: 32 catches for 351 yards and 3 TDs
• Josh Wilson: 45 KR for 1,156 yards; 56 tackles and 2 Ints (1 TD)
• Julian Peterson: 64 tackles and 5 sacks

Man, am I pulling at strings to just put something on here for the Seahawks.

Cowboys to Watch:

• Tony Romo: QB Rating - 101.8; 170-266 (63.9%) for 2,228 yards, 18 TDs and 7 Ints
• Marion Barber: 215 carries for 838 yards with 6 TDs and 2 lost fumbles
• Terrell Owens: 47 catches for 718 yards and 7 TDs
• Jason Witten: 49 catches for 594 yards and 2 TDs
• Patrick Crayton: 29 catches for 396 yards and 3 TDs
• DeMarcus Ware: 58 tackles with 12 sacks
• Jay Ratliff: 34 tackles with 6 sacks

The Cowboys are going to tear up the Seahawks. Look for a couple of sacks by Ware and a couple of TDs (probably three) thrown by Romo. Barber to carry for 80+ yards and TO to have a 100+ yard day. This will be one to sit back and enjoy with a turkey leg in hand.

Forecast: Cowboys win it, just in case I hadn't already said that... with a score of 38-16.

Home Plate

Cowboys and Seattle/Mavs and Spurs

Cowboys at Seattle
The Cowboys defense has more holes than a pair of underwear I just threw out. If that statement doesn’t scare you, the Cowboys porous defense should. I don’t know if they could stop a team of great grandmothers on third and seven. Does than mean I think the Cowboys can’t win this game? No. Does the no mean that I think the Cowboys will win this game? No. The Cowboys can win this game, but what it will take is a CRAZY offense. I’m talking about an offense that scores in the upper 30s at the very least. The Cowboys were the first to knock down the Colts. They can beat great teams and have. Seattle isn’t even a great team. But the Cowboys are coming into the playoffs cold – VERY cold. Seattle isn’t much better. What I don’t understand is that the ‘boys are favored on this one. So be it. I wouldn’t favor them. I am a fan, but I am a realist in the face of danger, I assess the situation and take the best case scenario. The Cowboys laid down for the Lions, who mind you, finished with THREE wins. That loss was also at home. The Cowboys are on the road against a playoff team – HELLO!!! The Cowboys special teams gave up everything last Sunday. And what the special teams held back, the defense made sure they gave up the rest. Seattle is going to score at the very least 30 points. Romo needs to hit his receivers in a big way. TO needs to shut up and put up. That means “shut your mouth and put up some points”. Once he does that, maybe his teammates will listen. Right now, they aren’t. I’m not sure anyone is listening to the overpaid crybaby. You can look back on my blog and see that I said that signing him was a mistake. I’ll say in those exact words now, signing TO was a mistake. At least he isn’t the crazy distraction he was in Philadelphia and San Francisco. The Cowboys need to run, as in run the ball. They need to run it hard to open up the passing game even more. It’s great that the secondary in Seattle is going to be AWOL, but will it be enough? How many passes will Romo throw? It should be up there in the 50s should the Cowboys win this thing. It will probably be up there anyway in a loss. Case in point, the ‘boys need to score and score early and often. The Weatherman hasn’t made a prediction in a while, so he it goes on this: MUCH RAIN IN SEATTLE, but no tears: Seattle over the ‘boys 42-38.

Mavs at Spurs
Mavs continue the win streak and stretch it to 13 – score: 94-92. Winning shot knocked down by Howard.

Some News and Thoughts

Some may wonder what I may think of the Super Bowl this year… well, let’s see… I don’t like the bird fish and I am not a Steelers fan. But, between the two, I like the Steelers simply because of the accomplishment they have already made this post season. Vegas likes them too, but Vegas is only right a certain percent of the time, making them wrong the rest of the time. Seattle is hot. Pittsburgh doesn’t like to play at home. Mercy, mercy, me. I would think Pittsburgh would be the underdog… but Vegas likes them. So, to spite the world, I say Seattle. No real playoff experience and Pittsburgh can’t win every time away from home… a loss is bound to happen between the two, right? The real question is can Pittsburgh continue to win yet another game away from their house? I say no. It’s like a tornado putting together a plane… the odds are against them.

On a different note, the weekend was a great one. I went to the Rangers Fan Fest and got a ton of autographs, including John Wetland, who just signed with the Nationals. Kameron Loe also signed for us, and loved my son… I already have Orel, who is going to be an ESPN commentator. We got a ton of free stuff: tickets, baseball gloves, posters, and binoculars. Was it worth the five dollars to get in? Most definitely. I will be selling discount tickets to the Rangers soon to benefit the homeless. Links will hopefully be provided by an organization I have been working with over the past few months… more to come on that later. If you are interested, let me know by emailing me at jonathonray201@hotmail.com and include in the subject line: Discount Ranger Tickets along with questions/comments you may have. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY INFORMATION ABOUT PAYMENT MATERIAL – SUCH AS CREDIT CARD NUMBERS, BANK INFORMATION, ETC. I want to protect myself and you. Only send that information through an https website, due to security measures. On a different note, this company will be able to set up other people throughout the US if you are interested in discount tickets for a different team, such as the Braves, White Sox, Astros and Diamondbacks. Again, more information to come within the next few weeks. Johnny Out.

The Road to the Soup

The Road to the Soup…

Carolina (13-5) at Seattle (14-3)

Carolina: (13-5)
9/11: New Orleans L 23-20
9/18: New England W 27-17
9/25: at Miami L 27-24
10/3: Green Bay W 32-29
10/9: at Arizona W 24-20
10/16: at Detroit W 21-20
10/30: Minnesota W 38-13
11/6: at Tampa Bay W 34-14
11/13: NY Jets W 30-3
11/20: at Chicago L 13-3
11/27: at Buffalo W 13-9
12/4: Atlanta W 24-6
12/11: Tampa Bay L 20-10
12/18: at New Orleans W 27-10
12/24: Dallas L 24-20
1/1: at Atlanta W 44-11

Playoffs:
1/8: at NY Giants W 23-0
1/15: at Chicago W 29-21

Seattle: (14-3)
9/11: at Jacksonville L 26-14
9/18: Atlanta W 21-18
9/25: Arizona W 37-12
10/2: at Washington L 20-17
10/9: at St. Louis W 37-31
10/16: Houston W 42-10
10/23: Dallas W 13-10
11/6: at Arizona W 33-19
11/13: St. Louis W 31-16
11/20: at San Francisco W 27-25
11/27: NY Giants W 24-21
12/4: at Philadelphia W 42-0
12/11: San Francisco W 41-3
12/18: at Tennessee W 28-24
12/24: Indianapolis W 28-13
1/1: at Green Bay L 23-17

Playoffs:
1/8: Washington W 20-10

So let’s see… since the 2-2 start for Seattle… they have gone 12-1, beating the Giants, ‘skins, and the Colts… and let’s not mention 83-3 run they had between Philly and the 9ers. The water birds can play. The two teams have played only twice, once during the 2000 season (in Carolina, who won 26-3) and in the 2004 season (in Seattle, who won 23-17). Now… here’s the fun part. Carolina seems to like playing on the road and Seattle likes to play at home. In fact, Seattle hasn’t lost at home this season yet. YET. When you are 9-0 at your house… it gives you confidence. And Jake the Snake likes to see prideful souls fall. This guy is like Magic Joe… the guy just performs when you don’t expect it. Logic is screaming that Seattle is going to take this one but yet my heart says the Cats will prevail once more to take some Campbell’s home. Cats like soup… and, well, the water birds… they seem fishy to me… not sure why. Of course, on the other game… the Steelers cheat and Denver… the Denver Broncos… well, let’s just get a strong lead pencil and put them on in to a XL shirt… I don’t think any other team can breathe that cold air in Colorado anyway. Denver will outdo Pittsburgh by 31 to 17 and Carolina will be blessed with the miracle and win it 24 to 20. So… we shall see on Sunday if Mr. Chicken is right. Laterz.

Monday Morning

Hello all... I didn't post over the weekend due to depression of all my teams biting. I sat and did the math. My Rangers would need to win 77% of their games from here on out IF Oakland and everybody else did 1 game under 500 the rest of the way. And that's if they get a tie for the wildcard. A tie. Let's face the music. Rangers are done for this one. BUT NEXT YEAR, BABY! World Series Rings. I'm telling you now.

My streak ended yesterday. Phil Nevin really does suck. He went 0-3 for me. With only 42 days left for the season, I am out of the running for the "Beat the Streak" contest. BUT NEXT YEAR, BABY! Do you see a theme here?

So... Let's see what's on the bill for today...

Cowboys

Cowboys vs. Seahawks - Preseason, so who cares? These are much harder to predict due to too many variables, but Wild Bill may still make it interesting... optimism says Boys on top 24-17.

Astros

Astros vs. Padres - Oswalt vs. Williams - Oswalt is very good on the road, but has a 4-8 record on the road. To complicate things, Oswalt has a 4.71 ERA in his last 3 starts. Williams, however, has been worse with a 5.94 ERA. Oswalt holds the Padres hitters to a .232 ave over 142 at bats with 14 walks. Williams holds (and this is a streach to say "holds") the Houston hitters to a .294 ave in 238 at bats with 22 walks. Well, I think the numbers speak for themself. Houston over the Padres 7-4.

Braves

Braves vs. Cubs - Hudson vs. Zambrano - Wow, the Braves are going to get slapped around today. Zambrano has thrown down the Braves quite well. In 61 at bats, he has K'd 14, but given up 8 walks. More importantly, though, is the average against him - .148 - Chipper Jones has the best average against him with 11 at bats and 3 hits for a .273 ave. Now onto Hudson. With 108 at bats against him, Cub hitters have a .250 ave (27 hits) and 9 walks. They have K'd 20 times, so actually, this should shape up to be a good pitching duel. I think the Braves will struggle more than the Cubs, though and that is how I call it - Cubs 3-1.

Now to the minor leagues...

Phillies

Phillies vs. Giants - Lieber vs. Lowry - Both are 3-0 in the last 3 starts, Lowry has a .79 ERA over that span, and Lieber has a 2.84 ERA. Philly is hitting .412 against him in 17 at bats (no dingers)... Jonathan Ray Lieber (Am I supposed to like this guy now due to his name?) has held the Giants to a .259 ave with 19 walks (220 at bats). Notable is the 6 trippers he has given up. Tucker, Durham, Snow, and Alou are pretty consistent against him through the years. So, let's see... this is a tough call, but I would have to say Phillies due to the Giants (they suck) inability to win a consistent basis, Lieber has been around, and I can't go against another Johnny Ray. So, Philly 6-4.