NFL Week 3 review - The SFB Podcast (9/27/2011).....

So three weeks are complete in this NFL season and we are down to only three undefeated teams. Green Bay. Check. Detroit. A surprise, but OK. Buffalo. What? Please repeat that as you must be mistaken. No mistake as the Bills comeback from 21 down to upset the New England Patriots. We'll cover the Bills victory and the rest of the games from the NFL weekend. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: September 27, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NFL 2011 Preview - The SFB Podcast (9/7/2011).....

The NFL season starts tomorrow night with a match-up of the last two Super Bowl champions, when the Saints visit the Packers. After a summer of lockout talk, it is great to have real football so close. So, who will emerge from the 2011 season and become the champions. My pick is for the Packers to repeat adn I'll discuss why and who I think will join them in the playoffs. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: September 7, 2011 (right click to "save as target")
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NFL Wildcard Weekend picks.....

Mike beat me by two games in picking the winners straight up for the 2010 season. On my picks against the spread, I was on the winning side of the ledger and that is all I can ask for after 256 games. Now it is onto the playoffs and hopefully I can stay on the positive side of the tote board. Enjoy.

Week 17 picks: 7-8-1
2010 season: 134-108-14

Win/Lose picks:
Week 17 results: Mike (11-5) / Sal (11-5) / Guest (10-6)
2010 season: Mike (163-93) / Sal (161-95) / Guest (145-111)


Wildcard Weekend:

SEAHAWKS (+11) over Saints
The Saints start their Super Bowl defense against a Seattle team that many believe don't belong in the playoffs. Well, the Seahawks are here and they will not be the pushover many think on Saturday afternoon. The key to Seattle will be feeding off the excitement of a home playoff game and not allow New Orleans to jump to an two score early lead. The lack of a running game (both Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory are out), a short week with long travel and the Seattle crowd will add up to a game closer than many think, but in the end Drew Brees and the Saint offense will find enough holes in the Seahawk defense to get the victory and move forward in defending their crown.
Saints 26
Seahawks 17

COLTS (-3) over Jets
A rematch of last year's AFC Championship game and both teams are different from twelves months ago. While the Colt offense is less explosive without Dallas Clark and Austin Collie, the Jet defense is not as dominant as last year and gives up more passing yard and points than in 2009. At the end of the day it is just hard to go against Peyton Manning, especially at home. I would feel more comfortable if Clark or Collie was available, but Joseph Addai is there and that will help Manning keep the offense balanced. New York needs to run the ball and the Indianapolis defense has been better against the run the last quarter of the season and will need a big game from Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson to help keep Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis away from Mark Sanchez.
Colts 27
Jets 20

Ravens (-3) over CHIEFS
The veteran Baltimore team against the young Kansas City squad. While I think the Ravens have the best shot of the AFC teams this weekend to make the Super Bowl, this is a match-up that is the worst one that could have happened for the Ravens. The Chiefs have more speed than the Ravens and that is the one area where Baltimore is vulnerable. While I fully expect the Ravens to pound the Chiefs with Ray Rice and Joe Flacco using play action, it would not surprise me to see this a game where the Kansas City speed bothers Baltimore enough to keep it close. Plus add in the Arrowhead crowd, where the Chiefs only lost once this season, and Kansas City has the goods to be able to pull the upset. In the end though, one of those veterans on the Raven defense steps up and helps put away Kansas City.
Ravens 23
Chiefs 19

Packers (+3) over EAGLES
Green Bay was my preseason Super Bowl pick and I will not be changing now that the playoffs have started. Andy Reid is a great coach when he has time to prepare his team and by taking last week off against Dallas, manufactured a bye week and much needed rest for Michael Vick. The Packers will attack Vick with defensive back blitzes (most likely Charles Woodson) from one side and Clay Matthews from the other, so it will be up to Vick to stay in the pocket and find DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin with Packers flying at him. The Green Bay defense has enough speed to keep up with the Eagle speed and could upset Vick enough to where he tries to force the issues. On the other side, while the Packers will try to run the ball, Aaron Rodgers will be the key to getting the victory and his ability to beat the Philadelphia biltzes. Rodgers, with his receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver will expose the Eagle secondary and get Rodgershis first playoff win.
Packers 30
Eagles 17


Win/Lose picks:
Sal / Mike --- Seahawks at Saints ---
Mike --- Jets at Colts --- Sal
Sal / Mike --- Ravens at Chiefs ---
Sal / Mike --- Packers at Eagles ---

Wildcard Weekend - The SFB Podcast (1/7/2011)

The NFL Playoffs start on Saturday and we are down to 12 teams looking to win the Super Bowl. Will the Saints repeat as Super Bowl champions or do we get a new team holding the Lombardi trophy? Mike joins me to preview the four games and give our thoughts on who will move on to the Divisional Round. Plus we discuss the Baseball Hall of Fame voting and the NHL Winter Classic. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: January 7, 2011 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Fantastic Finishes - The SFB Podcast (12/21/2010).....

On Sunday, four NFL games were determined on the last play of the game (led by the Eagles comback over the Giants), while a few others were still up for grabs with a minute or so to go and all had some playoff implication attached to them. We'll look back at last week's games and discuss those great endings. Also a preview of the next to final week of the NFL season's schedule and a look at the playoff picture as it starts to get into better focus. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: December 21, 2010 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NFL 2010 - Week 15 picks.....

For the first time since 1992, I won't have to factor Brett Favre into the week's picks. Three games left on everyone's schedules and and only the Patriots have clinched a playoff spot. Quite a few nice match-ups this week and plenty of games with playoff and seeding implications. Who thought in week 15 the Colts could actually be knocked out of the playoffs?

As for the picks, the Redskins' holder and kicker helped Mike move ahead of me for the week and overall for the year. On the "spread" side, three "pushes" made the record nice, but I am getting tired of all these betting ties. Guess it is better than losses.

Below the point spread games are the win/lose picks of Mike, myself and our guest picker and podcast listener, Len.

NFL Week 15 picks (Home Team in CAPS)

CHARGERS (-9) over 49ers
Browns (+1) over BENGALS
COWBOYS (-6) over Redskins
Texans (+1)over TITANS
COLTS (-5) over Jaguars
Chiefs (NL) over RAMS
Bills (+6) over DOLPHINS
Lions (+5) over BUCCANEERS
Cardinals (+2) over PANTHERS
Saints (+2 1/2) over RAVENS
GIANTS (-3)over Eagles
SEAHAWKS (+6 1/2) over Falcons
Jets (+6) over STEELERS
RAIDERS (-6) over Broncos
PATRIOTS (NL) over Packers
Bears (NL) over VIKINGS

Week 14 picks: 9-4-3
2010 season: 107-88-13


Win / Lose picks:
Guest picker for week 14: podcast listener, Len

Week 14 results: Mike (12-4) / Sal (10-6) / Guest (12-4)
2010 season: Mike (132-76) / Sal (130-78) / Guest (117-91)

Week 15 picks:
--- 49ers at Chargers --- Sal / Mike / Len
Sal / Len --- Browns at Bengals --- Mike
--- Redskins at Cowboys --- Sal / Mike / Len
Sal / Mike / Len --- Texans at Titans ---
--- Jaguars at Colts --- Sal / Mike / Len
Sal / Len --- Chiefs at Rams --- Mike
--- Bills at Dolphins --- Sal / Mike / Len
--- Lions at Buccaneers --- Sal / Mike / Len
Sal / Mike / Len --- Cardinals at Panthers ---
Sal / Len --- Saints at Ravens --- Mike
Mike / Len --- Eagles at Giants --- Sal
Sal / Mike / Len --- Falcons at Seahawks ---
--- Jets at Steelers --- Sal / Mike / Len
--- Broncos at Raiders --- Sal / Mike / Len
--- Packers at Patriots --- Sal / Mike / Len
Sal / Mike / Len --- Bears at Vikings ---

NFL 2010 - Week 11 picks.....

The bye weeks are done and all teams have now played the same amount of games as we start the seven week home stretch. It is impossible to name a top team this year without finding flaws that make you question the selection. New England whips Pittsburgh after looking bad in losing to Cleveland. Dallas fires its coach, then goes into New York, knocks them around and looks like the team with thought they would be at the start of the season. Now we have Philadelphia looking like the kings of the NFL. Guess we will see.

As for the picks, I also did the impossible by being 3 games better against the spread than in straight picking of the winner. Hard to do.

Below the point spread games are the win/lose picks of Mike, myself and our guest picker and podcast listener, Casey.

NFL Week 11 picks (Home Team in CAPS)

DOLPHINS (-1 1/2) over Bears - Short week with a new starting quarterback does not look good for Miami, but they didn't have to travel so they have a slight advantage. The key will be if the Dolphin defense can put pressure on Jay Cutler to cause turnovers.
BENGALS (-4 1/2) over Bills - Buffalo finally got their first victory last week and look for two in a row against a reeling Cincinnati team. At home I expect the Bengals to show a little pride in their season and get a much needed victory.
COWBOYS (-7) over Lions - The only team without a home win this season resides in Dallas, but that will change this week as the Cowboys keep up the good play for new coach Jason Garrett and go into their Thanksgiving game on a little winning streak.
TITANS (-6 1/2) over Redskins - Washington seems to be a mess and were embarrassed last week by Michael Vick and now they get Chris Johnson and Randy Moss. Tennessee has two beat up quarterbacks, but whoever is back there needs to find Moss to help stretch the defense for Johnson.
Cardinals (+7 1/2) over CHIEFS Kansas City loses a tough one to the Raiders then gets blown out by Denver. They look to get back to the friendly confines of Arrowhead and back in the win column. Chiefs win, but the Cardinals give them a scare.
Packers (-2 1/2) over VIKINGS - A part of me wants to give Minnesota one more shot to gather themselves, but they get a Green Bay team coming off the bye and starting to get healthy. The Packers take advantage of the rest and help bury the Vikings for the season.
JETS (-5) over Texans - Houston's defense has been one of the worst in the league and their offense has not been as productive as prior years. New York has been sluggish the past 4 games, but will get healthy this week at home against the struggling Texans.
Raiders (+9) over STEELERS - Oakland has been a pleasant surprise and have been doing it behind the running of Darren McFadden. That will be tough against the Steeler running defense. Pittsburgh is coming off getting whipped by New England and will bounce back,but the Raiders will keep it close.
Ravens (-10) over PANTHERS - Carolina is down to their 3rd string quarterback against a Baltimore defense that can get after their opponents. The Ravens were stung in losing late last week to Atlanta, but had ten days off since then to get right. Expect a big game from Ray Rice.
Browns (+3) over JAGUARS - Cleveland loses a heartbreaker to the Jets, while Jacksonville wins on a deflected "Hail Mary". Have been very impressed by Colt McCoy managing of the Brown offense. The Browns have been playing tough and will take advantage of the Jaguars poor running defense with the big armed Peyton Hillis.
Falcons (-3) over RAMS - I so wanted to back St. Louis here, but I just couldn't pull the trigger. Again, the ten day layoff that Atlanta received is a plus this late in the season that they will take advantage of against the Rams.
SAINTS (-12 1/2) over Seahawks - The defending champions are "under the radar" sitting a game behind Atlanta in the NFC South. They are also coming off their bye week, getting Reggie Bush back and just getting healthy in general. Seattle has been poor on the road and it won't get any better against the rested Saints in the Superdome.
Buccaneers (+4) over 49ERS - I have been very late getting on Tampa Bay, while holding on to San Francisco. That gets reversed this week as I think the Buccaneers are playing well enough to go cross country and keep up this surprising season. The Bucs defense will be the reason they keep it close and could get the win.
PATRIOTS (-3) over Colts - Not a fan of giving points to Peyton Manning, even in New England, but the Colts are still beat up and will have a tough time against Tom Brady and the Patriots. New England rides their offensive success from last week at Pittsburgh to outscore Manning and the Colts.
EAGLES (-3) over Giants - Don't like be a "prisoner of the moment", but last week's results have to give you pause. While I think the Giants are not as bad as they looked or the Eagles as good, Philadelphia will ride momentum and the home field advantage to move to the top of the NFC East standings. Key for Michael Vick will be to avoid the big hitters on the Giant defense.
Broncos (+9 1/2) over CHARGERS - Are we seeing another San Diego late season surge in the making? Sure looks that way and they are being led by MVP candidate, Philip Rivers. The Charger offense is still without Antonio Gates, but will be getting Malcom Floyd back for the game and Vincent Jackson returns next week. Denver can score points and will score enough to keep this close, but the Chargers get the home win.

Week 10 picks: 9-5
2010 season: 72-63-9


Win / Lose picks:
Guest picker for week 11: podcast listener, Casey

Week 10 results: Mike (7-7) / Sal (6-8) / Guest (6-8)
2010 season: Mike (89-55) / Sal (84-60) / Guest (73-71)

Week 11 picks:
--- Bears at Dolphins --- Sal / Mike / Casey
--- Bills at Bengals --- Sal / Mike / Casey
--- Lions at Cowboys --- Sal / Mike / Casey
--- Redskins at Titans --- Sal / Mike / Casey
--- Cardinals at Chiefs --- Sal / Mike / Casey
Sal / Casey --- Packers at Vikings --- Mike
Mike / Casey --- Texans at Jets --- Sal
--- Raiders at Steelers --- Sal / Mike / Casey
Sal / Mike / Casey --- Ravens at Panthers ---
Sal / Mike / Casey --- Browns at Jaguars ---
Sal / Mike / Casey --- Falcons at Rams ---
--- Seahawks at Saints --- Sal / Mike / Casey
Sal --- Buccaneers at 49ers --- Mike / Casey
Mike --- Colts at Patriots --- Sal / Casey
--- Giants at Eagles --- Sal / Mike / Casey
Casey --- Broncos at Chargers --- Sal / Mike

NFL 2010 Kickoff - The SFB Podcast (9/9/2010).....

It is the start of the NFL season and I am joined by Mike to go over the week 1 games and give our thoughts about who will be the playoffs teams at the end of the season. Also, we start a segment of picking the winners of each week's games and also invite a "guest" to pick with us each week. This week, Mike's wife Kerri sent me her winners for week 1 in the NFL. If you would like to be the "guest", just contact us and we will set it up. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: September 9, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Week 1 picks:
Mike / Kerri --- Vikings at Saints --- Sal
--- Panthers at Giants --- Sal / Mike / Kerri
Sal / Mike / Kerri --- Dolphins at Bills ---
Sal / Mike / Kerri --- Steelers at Falcons ---
--- Lions at Bears --- Sal / Mike / Kerri
Sal --- Bengals at Patriots --- Mike / Kerri
Sal / Mike --- Browns at Buccaneers --- Kerri
Kerri --- Broncos at Jaguars --- Sal / Mike
Sal / Kerri --- Colts at Texans --- Mike
--- Raiders at Titans --- Sal / Mike / Kerri
Sal / Kerri --- Packers at Eagles --- Mike
Sal --- 49ers at Seahawks --- Mike / Kerri
Sal / Mike / Kerri --- Cardinals at Rams ---
Sal / Kerri --- Cowboys at Redskins --- Mike
Sal / Mike --- Ravens at Jets --- Kerri
Sal / Mike / Kerri --- Chargers at Chiefs ---

AFC Preview 2010 - The SFB Podcast.....

Will all the off-season publicity and signings push the Jets to their second Super Bowl appearance? Will Tom Brady and the Patriots regain their past glory? Will the Ravens offense be better than their talented defense? How does Pittsburgh survive the start of the season without Ben Roethlisberger and does the defense again play like "Steeler D"? Will the Chargers contract problems with some of their stars hold this very talented team back from greatness? Or in the end will everyone again be chasing Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts? Enjoy.

AFC 2010 Preview (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
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The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Super Bowl 44 & The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (2/8/2010).....

Super Bowl 44 is over and the New Orleans Saints are the NFL Champions after defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 down in Miami. Mike Tricarico joins me as we review the game and discuss why the Saints won, the Colts lost, and what we thought were the key plays in the game. We also talk about The Who's halftime show and the Super Bowl commercials. Got to love Betty White and Abe Vigoda. Enjoy.

Has a sports team or athlete broken your heart? Do you have a sports related romance story, or romance rlated sports story? Let us know here in a comment of on The SportsFan Buzz page on Facebook.

Mike on Twitter.

The SportsFan Buzz: February 8, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas

The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (2/4/2010).....

Mike Tricarico joins me on the podcast as we preview Super Bowl 44 between the Colts & Saints. Both of us give our thoughts about who will win the game and why. We also babble about the Pro Bowl, Rex Ryan's "one finger salute" and Kim Kardashian being "famous". We also go over some Super Bowl prop bets including Carrie Underwood's national anthem.

Has a sports team or athlete broken your heart? Do you have a sports related romance story, or romance rlated sports story? Let us know here in a comment of on The SportsFan Buzz page on Facebook.

Mike on Twitter.

The SportsFan Buzz: February 4, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas

The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (1/25/2010).....

All that's left standing after three weeks of NFL Playoffs are two teams, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. The Colts defeated the New York Jets 30-17 to take the AFC crown, while the Saints worked overtime in taking care of the Minnesota Vikings 31-28, to claim the NFC crown. Mike joins me on the podcast to review what happened on Championship Sunday, and thinks I set my daughter's bedtime too early. Enjoy.

*** I was incorrect when stating The Beatles did not win any musical Grammys prior to their breakup in January 1969. In fact they won five musical Grammys along with the many techincal ones I thought they had only won before they separated. This is why I talk sports and not music. ***

Mike on Twitter.

The SportsFan Buzz: January 25, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas

Championship Game Picks & The SportsFan Buzz (1/21/2010).....

The AFC and NFC Championships are on the line this weekend. Mike and I preview the two games and breakdown what we think the teams need to do to win. Do we think the #1 seeds will survive? Also, we poke a little fun at the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets. Enjoy.
Mike on Twitter.

The SportsFan Buzz: January 21, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas

(home team in CAPS)

Jets (+7 1/2) over COLTS
SAINTS (-3 1/2) over Vikings

Divisional Round (0-4) Yes, 0 wins!
2009 Playoff record (2-6)
2009 regular season (85-79-2)

Divisional Round Review - The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (1/17/2010).....

Mike and I review the four NFL Divisional Playoff games and discuss the New York Jets upset victory over the San Diego Chargers. And yes, I was 0-4 on my picks. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: January 17, 2010

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The SportsFan Buzz is also on Facebook.

Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas

One Hundred is Better than Perfect.....

After week 16 when the Indianapolis Colts gave away their chance at a perfect season, Mike Tricarico and I blasted the team on our weekly podcast. At the time, I went through a laundry list of reasons why I thought the Colts should have gone for perfection, with history (both all time and the Colts own) playing a major part of my reasoning.

Being remembered forever as a perfect team (What can you name faster, the winner of Super Bowl XIX or the only perfect team?) is forever, while unless you are part of the fan base for the team, or have the Elias Sports Bureau seared into your brain, it takes even the most ardent sport fan a little while to match Super Bowls played more then five years ago with its winner. (BTW, SB 19 winner was the 15-1 San Francisco 49ers)

Also the Colts history of coming out flat for their first playoff game after having rested players to finish the regular season and having the bye week has been the opposite of perfect. As a matter of fact, they are 0-2 in that scenario with losses in 2005 to Pittsburgh and to San Diego in 2007. So if I’m the Colts, maybe I try something different and let it all hang out to see if history can be made for the first time in 37 years.

Other parts of my thinking included the fact that Indianapolis had won many of their first fourteen games in comeback style and seven of them by four points or less. Besides Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark (more on them later), the rest of Peyton Manning’s weapons on offense had never been through the “playoff wars” before, so keeping them in rhythm and allowing them and Manning to keep their magic going in game situations seems like a good idea. Also, for Manning, while Super Bowls are how quarterbacks are measured, a perfect season capped by a Super Bowl would virtually lock him in as the greatest QB of all time.

Garbage, we were told by the Colts organization after their “white flag” effort against the Jets. “None of that personal stuff means anything to us” was the mantra coming from the locker room. Even Peyton Manning followed marching orders and did not sway the conversation to allow for any controversy. But what about the looks of disbelief on the sidelines as their first loss was being secured that Sunday, with their own home crowd booing them unmercifully? “Cameras didn’t capture the true picture” and the “fans are fans, and don’t realize the organization has a plan” were the bullet points used to answer those inquiries.

In the hours and days after the game there were many “pundits” (like what Mike and I did on the podcast and many others) along with former NFL players who questioned the Colts’ game plan and the discussions got loud. It was so bad in Indianapolis that the General Manager, Bill Polian, had to cut short his weekly radio show and the Colts website put out a request asking their fans to “let it go”. These were Colt fans who were upset at their own team. We haven’t even delved into the facts that by allowing the Jets a free pass; it blew up the AFC playoff picture.

Well, I still believed I was correct with my thoughts as the week progressed, but if the organization truly believed that ignoring history (theirs and the NFL’s) and focusing on the Super Bowl Championship was the way to get the job done, who was I say it was wrong? Bill Polian and Peyton Manning have more rings then I will ever have, so record be damned, the Colts were focused on a Super Bowl victory.

Now before I go any further, I can already hear the “Well, see what happened to Wes Welker’s injury”, or the “What if Peyton got hit and was lost for the rest of the year” arguments. First, the Welker injury was a non contact injury and could have happened to anybody, at any time, especially if playing on a poor turf (more later), and could easily have occurred during a practice. Second, if we are going to pull the Peyton getting hit card, shouldn’t there be some evidence to back up that this could occur? The Colts and Manning have a great history of not allowing sacks of Manning, so why in the world does anybody think that it was all of a sudden going to change?

Anyway, on Sunday morning, I’m all on the Colts’ “forget history, let’s get the ring” bandwagon, and I’m ready to take the reigns. Let Peyton (to keep his consecutive game streak alive) and the offense run a series and then it’s off to the showers and maybe another commercial or two for Manning to help increase his Q rating.

Really, what else would the team do after pulling the starters the prior week from a game in front of their own home crowd, which they came into undefeated with possible history in front of them, which they were leading at the time of the substitutions, and with an opponent playing for their playoff lives? Then add the week’s worth of “talking points” and the fact that the game was in cold, snowy Buffalo, and their opponent, the Bills, were done with their season weeks ago. I mean, come on, maybe one series was even too much.

Here is where the story takes a turn and ankles break from jumping off the “records mean nothing, rings are the thing” bandwagon.

Seems Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark needed five and seven receptions respectively to reach the one hundred catch mark for the season. While nice, with the top seed wrapped up, the perfect season given away, and snowy conditions in Buffalo, there is no way the Colts would risk anything for personal milestones, would they? Well, it seems they would, and the Colts did just that on Sunday against the Bills. Wayne got his five catches, while Clark got his seven with Manning as their quarterback while playing in the snow.

I didn’t see a red practice jersey on Manning to tell the Bills not to hit him during the game. Nor did I see any “no touch” markings on Wayne or Clark, or anybody making sure they did not slip and injure themselves while route running in the Buffalo snow. Was there something going on that we were not privy to, to prevent any of those injuries the team was so concerned about the week prior while they went for these individual records.

So while the organization says perfection was not important, it does seem that keeping its top players happy and hitting milestones is important. How else can you describe what went on in getting Wayne and Clark those receptions? Claiming to not want to risk a Manning injury one week, was thrown aside to force passes to his two receivers to hit personal benchmarks. We are not even talking about NFL records on the line here. Just one hundred catch seasons for each player.

While getting to 100 receptions is nice, there is another question to add to the mix, and that is why not try to complete those passes to Clark and Wayne the prior week, at home in front of their fans, while still pushing an opponent that needed to win the game? Trying to get those receptions against the Jets would have knocked quite a few items off their “to do” list as the Colts could have achieved personal milestones while possibly keeping their perfect season alive in front of the home fans, and make a team earn its possible victory that was desperately needed for its playoff chances.

Instead we got a lay down against the Jets and a week’s worth of words that by the following Sunday’s actions on the field were all shown to be not quite so believable anymore.

I also wonder if some players on the team, who may have wanted to try for an undefeated season and may not play a position that has those type of milestones (offensive linemen, punter, etc.), are questioning why certain players were allowed to risk injury for personal milestones, while their own claim to fame of being part of a possible undefeated season was tossed aside?

If you want to go full throttle cynic and conspiracy theorist, you could wonder if the Colts would have rather given the Jets the playoff shot, while at the same time hurting the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers, who could be considered a tough match-up for the Colts, and had once before knocked them from the playoffs when Indianapolis had the AFC’s top seeding.

While I don’t believe that to be the case, I do believe that the Colts’ actions the past two Sundays raise more questions for the organization than it answers. In the end, none of this will probably matter to most sport fans if Peyton Manning and the Colts are the winners of Super Bowl 44, while others who wanted to witness perfection will wonder, “what if and why”.

The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (12/28/2009).....

16 NFL weeks down and one to go in the 2009 season. Mike Tricarico and I go over the week 16 games and discuss the NFC playoff teams and how the AFC playoff picture is shaping up. Mike and I also rant on the Colts giving up their pursuit for an undefeated season.

The SportsFan Buzz: December 28, 2009

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