I closed the gap in our straight picks with a 13-2-1 week, versus Andy’s 11-4-1 week.   He still has a five game lead on me, though, at 94-51-1 to 89-56-1.

And against the spread, I tied things up with a 9-7 week, while Andy went 7-9 overall, to bring both of our totals to 67-61-2.

And our Week 12 picks:

The ugly tie left the Eagles in sole possession of last place in the NFC East with a 5-4-1 record and on the outside looking in at the playoffs as the standings currently sit.

I have little problem with forcing the Eagles to watch the playoffs from their respective living rooms - you can probably make a strong, solid case that a team finishing in fourth place in their own division doesn’t deserve to go to the playoffs. … Except for the fact that if they resided in the NFC North, they’d be in first place.

Yes, the last place team in the league’s best division is better than the best team in a couple divisions - a byproduct of the league’s conversion to the four division format a few year’s back. So far the switch hasn’t allowed any sub-.500 teams into the playoffs, but inevitably it sometime will. And I don’t suspect you’ll get the three North teams tied at 5-5 apologizing if they do make it in or offering the Eagles the spot.

There probably isn’t much the NFL can do about this minor injustice - and maybe they shouldn’t. It makes sense that division champions make the playoffs. There was some talk last year about after two Wild Card teams had better records than division winners about letting those Wild Card teams host first-round playoff games - that’d be a starting point reasonable for discussion.

After that, though, despite having allowed fewer and scoring more points (not that these are perfect measures, but what else are you going to use?) than the three tied NFC North teams that are likely competing to go to the playoffs ahead of the Eagles, there probably aren’t many ways to rejigger the system without completely tearing up the whole format and starting over.

Thoughts anyone?

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During the postgame press conference he created somewhat of a shockwave by admitting he was not aware that games could end in ties.

That, along with his three interceptions, earned McNabb a D- ranking, for what it’s worth, from Ross Tucker at CNNSI.com. Granted, the Eagles’ tie with Cincinnati was ugly - and McNabb’s performance was pretty bad as well. Despite commentators saying as time was running out that the tie wouldn’t hurt them because it was a non-conference game, it does, in fact, hurt the Eagles because they play in the NFC East, where their 5-4-1 record leaves them firmly entrenched in last place. If the Eagles miss the playoffs, at the end of the season they’ll look back at this game as one reason why.

But I think it’s a little disingenuous criticizing McNabb too harshly for not realizing a game could end in a tie. Eagles Coach Andy Reid took the blame Monday for that lack of knowledge should fall on him. Who cares? Previous to Sunday, the only tie that has occurred since McNabb has been in the NFL occurred in November 2002 when Pittsburgh and Atlanta deadlocked at 34.

Previous to that game, the last ties were in 1997 - the Eagles were involved in one of those, a 10-10 thriller with Baltimore during which Bobby Hoying was the Philadelphia quarterback and Ray Rhodes was the coach.

Sure, Reid could have mentioned the tie factor to McNabb - probably should have somewhere along the line. But they happen so infrequently that it’s easy to see why they hadn’t come up. Even overtime games aren’t that common and when they do happen, someone almost always wins.

So, if you want to be critical of McNabb for his poor game management Sunday, by all means, go right ahead. If you want to bludgeon the Eagles for not coming to play against a down-and-out Bengals team, rip away. But if the best you can do is rip on McNabb because he might have thought there would be another overtime you’re wasting your time. It was such a rare occurrence that it’s something he hadn’t seen before and probably won’t encounter again.

EDIT: Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com on his weekly KFAN-AM radio interview this morning said McNabb admitting to not knowing about ties will hurt his career long-term. “This will hurt his legacy more than anything he could have ever done,” Florio said.

Huh?!?!? Am I wrong on this? Someone tell me why anyone should care about this? It’s something that happens every half-dozen years in the NFL. It hurts nothing - if I am wrong, school me, please.

Apparently $100 million was wagered on this game, $66 million of it on the Steelers, who were favored by four points, give or take depending on the venue. Thus, the final play was the difference between the Steelers covering the spread or not.

Conspiracy theorists apparently have concocted a brilliant story about the league getting a call from someone in Vegas discussing all the money that would be lost if the Steelers were allowed to keep the touchdown and then relaying that information on to game official Scott Green.

Conspiracy theorists, get over it.

NFL officiating has been, at times, abysmal this season. Quarterbacks might as well be wearing dresses for all the late hit calls and none of the zebras seem to be able to figure out what a fumble is anymore, which has screwed San Diego more than once.

But this was a remarkably fluky play at the end of a weird game that didn’t make a difference in the outcome of the game. Both teams, especially the losing Chargers, wanted to get off the field and Green was probably rushed a little bit into making the call, which, though wrong, was that LaDainian Tomlinson’s lateral went forward, thus ending the play.

It was weird, but I am highly, highly skeptical that there was anything crooked about it. It was too confusing a situation that happened way too fast for anything untoward to take place. So, gamblers, get over it. Sure, I like to see Vegas get beaten as often as possible. But football is a quirky game and weird things are going to happen sometimes.

if you can’t afford to lose it, don’t bet it in the first place.

The team threw eight-figure signing bonuses at a half-dozen players who, at least from an educated fan’s perspective, didn’t make any sense.

We even had the audacity in March to suggest that perhaps the team, ergo Al Davis, was trying to sign a collection of stiffs and dogs so gross that it would put Lane Kiffin in an unwinnable situation and give Davis a reason to get rid of him.

Well, it’s mid-November. The Raiders have the league’s highest payroll this year for yet another 2-7 record.
Kiffin is gone. A couple of the lesser-name guys like defensive end Kalimba Edwards, who has five sacks, have turned out to be solid additions. But as far as the big-name guys who backed Brinks trucks up to the front office complex to drive their bonus bucks home, we’ve been pretty close to right on the mark.

Here a synopsis of how some of the Raiders’ high-profile signings have worked out so far this season:

William Joseph: Cut after training camp then re-signed in early November. Has yet to appear in a game.

Kwame Harris: Missed two games in September. Has started the seven games he has played in, though he was replaced by Mario Henderson during the 2nd quarter of last week’s Carolina game, according to Pro Football Weekly. The publication also calls him a cake eater and says his best role would be that of a backup swing tackle.

Gibril Wilson: The best of the big buck signings reportedly has been inconsistent at times. But he does have 76 tackles and a pick and has come the closest, by far, of all the big money signings to living up to his hefty paycheck.

Javon Walker: Out for the season with an ankle injury that is reportedly going to require surgery. He caught 15 passes for 196 yards and scored once.

Tommy Kelly: Kelly is a solid player. He’s started all nine games with 35 tackles and two sacks. But Davis made him the 10th-highest player in the league this year and his numbers don’t represent that. He’s also reportedly on a list of players that Davis feels he could cut at any time.

DeAngelo Hall: The Raiders paid 2nd and 5th round draft picks and $8 million to play eight games before he was cut. He’s now with Washington. Stats Inc. attributed 40 receptions for 556 yards to Hall during the season’s first nine weeks leading RealGM Football to speculate that he might be the worst cornerback in the NFL.

The LA Times summed it up best, I guess, in its November 5 blog article headline. The Raiders, once known for their win at all cost philosophy, have had to slightly alter that motto. Now they go by this credo: “Just wince, baby!”

Okay, that’d be a stupid thing to think when it comes to gambling. And it probably does nothing more than tempt fate. But I did hit three of four Best Bets during week 10, just a week after flubbing all four of my picks.

Game by game, the Giants hung on to beat the Eagles straight up. The Vikings held on to beat Green Bay by a point but the Packers covered the spread. And Baltimore slobberknocked Houston, so not only did I hit my first three picks but they were all underdogs - a valuable thing when betting for real in Vegas.

I did stumble on picking the over in the San Diego v Kansas City tilt. But my 3-1 mark for the week brings me to 5-6 for the three weeks I’ve been doing these picks - not bad … if you take out the 0-4 second week. Uggh.

So, anyway, here we go with Best Bets Version 3:

1. New Orleans at Kansas City: Over 49.5
This is a high number, but Kansas City’s offense has come around a bit in recent weeks under the guidance of Tyler Thigpen. They’ve scored 19, 27 and 24 in the last three weeks and they get Larry Johnson, fresh from a four-game layoff for spitting drinks at women, back to lead the run game. And the Saints defense has disappointed this season, so figure the Chiefs to get into the 20s. Then, even with last week’s ugly loss to Atlanta, New Orleans has scored 20, 37, 35, 27, 31 and 32 in six of the last seven games. Plus, the Chiefs have six sacks this season - yes, six sacks. So assuming the 0.67 sacks they should get this week against Drew Brees doesn’t send the MVP candidate to the sideline, he should have plenty of time to pass. If he does, he will carve up the Chiefs secondary. The Chiefs have given up more rushing touchdowns than receiving ones (14 to 11) so expect whoever runs the ball for New Orleans to score this week too - but the Saints thrive through the air and whoever owns Brees, Marques Colston and most other Saints receivers this week should do well.

2. Tennessee (-3) at Jacksonville
Tennessee is still undefeated and Jacksonville, save for a dominating performance last week against winless Detroit, has looked as though they were ready to tank the season for about a month. Expect the Titans Mash-and-Dash attack of Lendale White and Chris Johnson to continue working their magic after a one-week drought against Chicago. The Titans will comfortably eclipse the three-point spread in this one.

3. Oakland at Miami: Under 38.5
This one might be a bit of a stretch but I think this week’s spreads are pretty spot on (using the Vegas.com Caesars-Hilton line again). Oakland hasn’t scored a touchdown in nine quarters and Miami’s defense has been solid. But four of the Dolphins’ five wins so far have come by 2, 9, 9, and 7 points. I expect the Dolphins to win and probably add a second double-digit victory to their resume. But it’ll be something along the lines of 17-6 or 21-9 in a low-scoring slug-fest.

The contract was supposed to cover licensing of electronic games, collectables, and other merchandise. The jury award included more than $7 million in actual damages and $21 million in punitive damages for the claim, which was originally filed by Herb Adderley.

Adderley wept following the announcement and told the Associated Press “I won three Super Bowls and this feels better than all of them combined.” NFLPA Acting Executive Director Richard Berthelsen told the AP the union planned to ask U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup to toss out the verdict. If that fails, the union intends to appeal.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the class action lawsuit cited, among other products, EA (Electronic Arts Inc.) Sports’ Madden NFL, a game series that features more than 100 “vintage” teams with nameless players resembling stars of old. Only active players received a cut of the licensing deal, “which surpassed $35 million for 2008,” the paper announced.

The players were represented by McKool Smith P.C. and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP. McKool Smith attorney Lew LeClair called the verdict “a great victory for the men who devoted their lives to building professional football,” according to a firm statement.

At least one retired NFL player, Dave Pear, posted an excited reaction on his Web site. “And we’re all still wondering just exactly how much the NFLPA and Players inc. wasted of the Union’s money (YOUR money) to fight this lawsuit over the past two years,” Pear wrote. “And how much more they’re probably considering to appeal the award?”

An exchange in the comments section written by Sharon Hawkins, wife of former Oakland Raider Wayne Hawkins, asks if former players could now create a class action about the NFLPA’s disability plan - another issue many retired football players are contesting.

Pear replies: “Hopefully this trial will go a long way to establish a consistent pattern of greed and fraud by those who were supposed to represent us!” He then adds that he plans to continue petitioning for justice for all retired players. That issue remains contentious as well.

This week, we were so busy trying to make a last second trade in Fantasy Football–a trade that didn’t happen, and may have cost us a win this week (since a couple of the players being discussed killed us Thursday night)–that we forgot to make our spread picks until this morning.

So here’s a two week update:

Week 9 Picks

We finished with 97 points, which dropped us 13 spots, to #43 for the season.

Week 10 picks:

An update on where we’re standing head to head will come later tonight.  Or later this week.

Or at some point this season.

One lesson I think I should learn is to just stay away from betting on Cincinnati games. You just never know what is going to happen when the Orange and Black hit the field this season.

In fact, bad teams in general have tended to screw me up this season, so perhaps staying away from Oakland, St. Louis and Detroit would be wise as well…

Nah.

So, here goes on week three of this effort. Heading into this week’s games, I was 0-4 last week leaving me 2-5 overall. I had trouble with the Vegas.com site I usually use for these picks, so today I’m using the LV Hilton lines from vegasinsider.com.

1. New York Giants (+3) at Philadelphia
This should be a fantastic game and I’m not discounting the Eagles having a chance to win. But the Giants look to me to be the best team in the NFL right now, save possibly for Tennessee. And they’ve already won big divisional games handily, both at home and on the road. If I get a chance to bet on the Giants and get points I’m going to do so.

2. Green Bay (+2.5) at Minnesota
My brother often criticizes me for betting on the games played by our home team Vikings and Gophers and he’s typically correct because sometimes emotions get in the way of making smart bets. This one, however, is solely by the numbers. Brad Childress is 0-5 against Green Bay and the Packers have been the more consistent team throughout the season so far. Is there a chance those trends change this weekend as Aaron Rodgers experiences his first start at Metrodome? Perhaps. But until it happens, the Green and Gold are the smart bet here.

3. Baltimore (+1) at Houston
Why so much love for Houston? The starting quarterback is hurt. The defense has been mediocre all season. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco is playing like a veteran and the Ravens’ defense continues to defy age. Ravens win this game straight up. The point is a bonus.

4. San Diego vs Kansas City: Over 47.5
Expectations were high in San Diego heading into the season but injuries have decimated a once-great defense. The scapegoat firing of Ted Cottrell leaves the defense in the hands of the capable Ron Rivera, except he’s never coached a 3-4 scheme before. That leads me to believe that even if the Chargers are going to improve some the rest of the way they’ll still give up some points. San Diego on offense will definitely score. I envision a 31-20-type score that covers even this fairly high over/under total.

Good luck.

Apparently Ben Roethlisberger was still in the locker room getting treatment on a shoulder injury. Save for his long windup, Leftwich looked pretty good on that first drive, nailing Nate Washington with a 50 yard pass that led to a touchdown run by Willie Parker.

Roethlisberger has been getting the crap beaten out of him weekly. But he was hardly the only one this week.

Kyle Orton is supposed to be out a month with a high-ankle sprain for the Bears while Matt Schaub will give way to Sage Rosenfels for at least a couple weeks while he recuperates from a knee injury.

Dan Orlovsky made room on the Detroit Lions roster as well by hurting his thumb - and gave offensive coordinator Jim Colletto an opportunity to put his foot in his mouth by saying he didn’t want to “embarrass” Drew Stanton by playing him now.

That doesn’t bode well for Chicago or Houston, or for Detroit, though their season is already pretty much shot. Dallas went from one bad backup to another on Sunday and both performed so badly that Wade Phillips described Brooks Bollinger as “just another quarterback.”

Then on Monday the Cleveland Browns announced that Brady Quinn will replace Derek Anderson as starter. I don’t think Anderson has gotten a ton of help and Cleveland has played a killer schedule. The quarterback play league-wide has been underwhelming this year. Save for a half-dozen competent to great QBs you can toss most of the ham-and-eggers into a bucket and not really know the distance.

Having two quarterbacks used to be a luxury. These days, it seems, having even one might make that statement true.