Bill Simmons on CAR vs. DAL

[Montsta]

The guy is usually an uber-douche, but at least he showed us a little respect as far as the spread goes...

Panthers (+9) over COWBOYS

This line is absolutely absurd. Five points too high. Anyway, we need to fly Karl Malone into Dallas so he can officially hand off the "Undeniably Gets The Yips In Big Games & It's A Real Problem" torch to Tony Romo. Karl, if you're reading, the torch is in your garage. Go get it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmonsnflpicks/090925

On a side note: He had an interesting article on the Patriots and how they could be on the decline from their elite status. I only mention this because a few lines mention some poor draft choices, one of which I liked in particular, that I had forgotten about.

The following two drafts (2004-05) went fine. Nothing special. Things fell apart in 2006 when only kicker Stephen Gostkowski panned out. The Pats took Laurence Maroney over D'Angelo Williams, traded up from No. 52 (Greg Jennings) to No. 36 (WR Chad Jackson, a bust)

Did Belichick lose his touch, or has it just been a prolonged cold streak? Like with so many other teams, you could play the "damn, we could have had so-and-so" game with every Pats draft from 2005 to 2009 -- Frank Gore, Justin Tuck, Santonio Holmes, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jon Beason, Steve Slaton, etc. (it's a long list)

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/columns/story?page=simmons/patriots/090925

I know every team can do the "we could have had so-and-so instead of who we got" thing, but it's especially nice when it happens to NE.

[guyinchesapeake]

NE lost Brady and still went 11-5 against a tough schedule. As long as they can keep Brady healthy, they'll be alright and in contention for the playoffs. I'm not buying that the Jets are for real yet, Sanchez's 'rookieness' will manifest itself at some point.

I question the accuracy of that 9 point spread either way. At 0-2, you'd like to think the law of averages favors us. However, with Romo's abilities being questioned, I won't be surprised if he has a big game against us. If I recall correctly, he made his first NFL start against us in '06, the year we were supposed to 'walk' into the SB!!

An aside here: at what point do the Lions become the most dangerous team out there for any other team to play? Referring to that aforementioned law of averages, at some point they HAVE to win a game. As much as the 'Skins are struggling, that may happen this week.

[Montsta]

An aside here: at what point do the Lions become the most dangerous team out there for any other team to play? Referring to that aforementioned law of averages, at some point they HAVE to win a game. As much as the 'Skins are struggling, that may happen this week.

Agreed. I know they look bad. But one of these games someone is going to walk into the game thinking it's nothing and get trapped and embarrassed BIG TIME. I think it could be Washington this week, because they don't look very good from what I've seen so far.

[Cyberjag]

I wonder how we would have done last year if we lost Delhomme. 10-6 or 9-7 both seem in reach. I don't see us beating Green Bay or San Diego, and the Chicago and New Orleans games might have gone either way.

[bleys]

I wonder how we would have done last year if we lost Delhomme. 10-6 or 9-7 both seem in reach. I don't see us beating Green Bay or San Diego, and the Chicago and New Orleans games might have gone either way.

Have to say it would have been a drop off that could have kept us out of the playoffs.. perhaps a wild card.. I forget how the Saints compared last year, but ATL would have def won the division if we lost 1 out of 4 of those games.

[AKPantherFan]

Timing and LUCK are everything in the NFL. You have to get hot at the right time, its all about mentality.

If players believe in themselves, and their system then you see teams like the Pats, Colts, Steelers....

When they stat to doubt; you get teams like the Lions, Bills, Jags, ect......

Footballs greatest "test of wills" is played in your head....

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

The guy is usually an uber-douche.

If you do not get him...you just do not get him. I think he is the absolutely one of the funniest writers out there. If you look to him for sports guidance then the joke is on you.:chillpill:

[X-Clown]

Oh, I don't think people don't "get" him....it's just that when he slurps off everything Boston (which he does 95% of the time) it is obnoxious.

[Happy Panther]

The 9 point spread is surprising...but it also means a bunch of smart folks in Vegas are seeing a possible blowout which ain't good. The smart money has decided that the panthers are done?

On the flip side, I do think the panthers could win this outright and this pays 4.2-1 as I see it now. i might actually put some $$ on Carolina this week for fun!

Finally Bill Simmons is great IMO

[Matt Foley]

Oh, I don't think people don't "get" him....it's just that when he slurps off everything Boston (which he does 95% of the time) it is obnoxious.

Yeah, but he's up front about it, which is more than most in sports media. He's not a media person, he's a columnist, and he shares his teams with you so you can share his experiences. When he writes about a stomach punch game, you can relate.