Rob Q. Ink - A Philly Sports Blog

          I should probably have let this go by now, but . . . nah. I just don’t like getting my pocket picked, even on hypothetical bets. (Yeah, right.) So, if you’re actually looking for my picks post on the NFL Week 4 – which you’re not because no one ever did – see the bottom of Tuesday’s post for my final picks wrap up. Or just watch one more video illustrating how everyone except the idiot who screwed up the Monday night game knows the last play wasn’t a damn touchdown. One more thing: all the people praising Sportsbook.com for refunding losing wagers on the game are suckers. It didn’t happen for U.S. customers, which was 99% of the people wagering on the game.           If the below video doesn’t work because I had the nerve to try to embed a non-YouTube video on Blogger – both owned by Google – see it here . The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , The Daily Show on Facebook

          As the networks and media outlets attempt to make the return of the regular NFL officials into an NFL Films style triumphant victory for the fans, I’m not buying.           Three weeks of tainted football , and now all is right with the world. Don’t think so.           Did the Packers and the fans still get jobbed Monday night? Did the owners and Roger Goodell spit in our faces?           Oh, yeah.           Even after the proverbial dung hit the fan on Monday night when the scab refs literally gave a game to Seattle on one of the most obvious bogus calls ever seen in sports, the NFL issued an irrelevant statement completely ignoring the interception that the rest of the world saw. And, yes, they cost fans millions of dollars when they lost bets because the replacement referees were literally and figuratively out of their league.           Yet, on Tuesday, local sports talker Mike Missanelli prattled on about misguided anger. Offering “ next level thinking” h

          The nightmare scenario happened for the NFL last night.           The Monday night game, one of the NFL’s showcase games, pitting Seattle against Green Bay ended on an unquestionably bogus call giving the Seahawks the victory on the last play of the game on a “Hail Mary” pass that was clearly intercepted by the Packers.           Two officials made different calls – one a touchdown and the other giving the signal to stop the clock (which had already hit 0:00), indicating that it was an interception.           But look a little closer. The referee calling the interception clearly looks at the other guy, who starts to put his hands up, and then the first referee signals touchdown. But the second guy was ultimately signaling to stop the clock, which is generally followed by a touchback signal. I really believe the official who signaled the touchdown was hoping the other guy was calling a touchdown and went with it.           Unbelievably, according to reports, the

          I have two genuine questions for Eagles / football fans who read this blog. 1)     Predictably, I’ve been ripped for declaring myself a Steelers fan. I get it. That’s fine. It’s a little boring when guys want to rip me for it on Facebook when they don’t bother reading the posts, especially when I have so few commenters. Regardless of that (if it’s possible), I’m curious how people can continue to say the same thing year after year and call themselves fans? I’ve been hearing it all morning on WIP. Andy Reid has to run more. Andy can’t adjust. Mike Vick has to stop turning the ball over. None of that is ever going to happen. Yes, the Eagles will have some big wins this season. But you know the ending as well as I do. They won’t win when it counts. It’s not just a week, or a season, or even an era. I did it for 40 years, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. Why do you? I won’t rip anyone that offers a real answer. Part of why I’m asking is I’m bored saying the same thing

          This was the worst weekend of watching the NFL that I can remember in years. The Eagles were the biggest fraud 2-0 team I ever saw. The Steelers defense just made Oakland look like the 49ers offense of the Joe Montana / Steve Young era. San Diego was 2-0 and scored 3 points against the Falcons at home. New Orleans has apparently taken the year off, and blaming Roger Goodell is justified but doesn’t change anything. The games go on forever.           Yes, my picks sucked – 1-5 for -91.45. I will not be posting any more picks for the foreseeable future.           If you want to blame my tirade on that, fine. I’ve been horrible.           If anyone wants to correct me, and tell me what was exciting about the NFL this season, please feel free. I think the Thursday games being on all season coupled with the replacement referees has helped the NFL reached its tipping point.           Did you enjoy watching the Dolphins and the Jets play extra football? How about Tony

          A couple injuries and Peyton Manning’s weak performance had me toward the bottom of Peter King’s fantasy football challenge last week. I hope for a bounce back week in all of my football prognostication efforts in Week 3 of the NFL. By the way, I may have mentioned posting my fantasy team early if I have a player in the Thursday night game. For the record, those players don’t seem to be available to draft in this contest as the website says the contest hasn’t started yet as of this morning.           Here’s my squad for the week:           QB Robert Griffin III $8,500           RB Ray Rice $9,100           RB Isaac Redman $5,500           WR Antonio Brown $6,000           WR Roddy White $7,500           WR Wes Welker $6,700           TE Brent Celek $5,700           K David Akers $5,400           D Chicago Bears $5,400             Salary Cap $60,000

          I continued my horrible streak with a 1-3 week for -190.71 points. I also lost my survivor/eliminator pick with the Patriots, so I won’t be making any more of those this season. Here’s the run down:           MNF Pick: Denver +130 over Atlanta for -100pts           NFL Pick: Ravens +110 (money line) over Eagles for -100pts           College football pick: Alabama -20 over Arkansas for +19.05pts           College Football Parlay Pick: Michigan St -5.5 & USC -9 for -5pts           I’m not sure what, if anything, I’ll do this week or beyond. I feel more stressed losing picks I’ve posted than I do otherwise. For the record, I’m 331-332-10 for -199.75 points all-time, so it’s been mediocre up until these last two weeks of getting back into it. Even with this stretch, it should be remembered that I started doing this 8 years ago for entertainment only. It’s a little frustrating to see other guys boast about “10,000 star” plays that they never would have actuall

          It’s time for what is quickly becoming my favorite post to write. Here’s another Rob’s Rants: ·        I actually heard Ike Reese on Tuesday on WIP defending Jimmy Rollins’ occasional lack of hustle. Not only that, he did it by suggesting that Chase Utley might be able to play more often if he knew when to back-off. It was a completely absurd attempt to kiss the ass of an athlete. Reese is the same guy who defended Andy Reid last week by saying his play calling in the Eagles’ opener wasn’t a barometer for what might happen in the next game. Seriously? How about the fact that his play calling has sucked for 13 seasons?           Reese actually responded to my tweet calling his comment about Rollins “utterly stupid,” saying, “[T]hat’s why he’s missing more games each year. I said pick and choose his spots wisely. Maybe he would be available 5 days a week. [F]unny how we want Vick to be more careful with his body so that he [is] available every week. Why isn’t this log

          The NFL seems to have officially taken all of excitement out of kickoffs. They’re not even worth watching any more. It’s like an extended commercial break for the networks. They go to commercials after a touchdown or a field goal, return to show a touchback, and go back to commercials. It was bad enough when something might actually happen on a return. Now, it just adds to about a five minute gap between action.           If we accept that the old kickoffs are gone – and the idea of reducing injuries is at least commendable – I think I have an idea to bring some excitement back to the play. It’s a little “outside the box,” as they say, but keep an open mind. Here’s my suggestion: ·        Move the kickoff to the 50 yard line ·        Mandate a squib kick – the ball must bounce within 10 yards of where the kick is initiated ·        The receiving team cannot lineup anyone inside the hash marks before the 5-yard line and no one from the receiving team ca

          A few quick “slants” on the NFL’s Week 2: ·        I’m not ready to destroy the replacement officials like many other people, but disaster appears imminent. Both the Ravens and Patriots had game sealing TDs called back on very iffy calls and ended up losing. Offensive pass interference for basically hand-checking cost Baltimore, and holding, which could be called on any play, cost New England. Both teams should have won anyway, and both calls might have been made by the regular officials. But sometimes the appearance of impropriety is all it takes for there to be a problem. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is out of control. He’s made a mess of “Bounty Gate,” and the lockout of the officials is putting the season’s integrity in jeopardy. ·        It’s ridiculous that everyone is ripping Greg Schiano, Tampa Bay’s head coach, because his team actually tried to make a play on the final kneel down of the game. Ever hear of the original Miracle of the Meadowlands? As the h

          Two ugly games. Two comebacks. And the Eagles are 2-0 for the first time since they went to the Super Bowl.           This ugly win, 24-23 over the Baltimore Ravens, was one the Eagles don’t need to be embarrassed by. They slugged it out with a team known for playing hard fought games.           For a second straight week Mike Vick coughed up multiple turnovers, including 2 interceptions, and lead the Eagles on a late touchdown drive to give them a 1-point victory. He also lost a fumble, and overcame an offensive line that is quickly becoming decimated by injury. His passing yards were more impressive this week coming on a reasonable number of passing attempts. Vick was 23 of 32 passing for 371 yards for a touchdown.           LeSean McCoy also had a touchdown and lost a fumble, rushing 25 times for 81 yards.           Eagles receivers seemed to be very open all day. Brent Celek (157) and DeSean Jackson (114) had 100-yard plus games. Jeremy Maclin left the game

          I was at least in the top half of the Peter King fantasy football challenge last week, and I beat King for the week (by less than a point). My Survivor / Eliminator pick of Houston was the only thing I got right last week.           I’m going with the crowd again this week taking the Patriots in the Survivor pool. The Ink is at http://sportsnation.espn.go.com/fans/RobQInk.blogspot.com on espn.com if you want to compete against me.           Below is my fantasy roster under “robqink” for the week. I will update with any changes before 1 PM Sunday – hopefully, I don’t have anybody that’s been cut this week. Many thanks to one of my regular Facebook commenters for the assist last week. Here’s my squad:           QB Peyton Manning $8,300           RB Adrian Peterson $8,700           RB Ahmad Bradshaw $7,000           WR Julio Jones $7,600           WR Brandon Stokley $4,500           WR Deion Branch $4,500           TE Rob Gronkowski $7,500       

          At 0-6 for -65 points, I couldn’t have started the season off much worse last weekend. Here’s the carnage:           NFL Pick: Saints -7.5 over the Redskins for -15pts           NFL Pick: Packers -5 over the 49ers for -10pts           NFL Pick: Eagles -9.5 over the Browns for -10pts           College Football Pick: Virginia -10 over PSU for -10pts           College Football Pick: ND -14 over Purdue for -10pts           College Football Pick: Virginia -10 over PSU for -10pts           Obviously, I’m not changing my picks after the fact – not the I was out to prove that. And, yes, I’m 0-7 for -80 counting the NFL opener a week ago Wednesday, but that was in the previous Thursday to Wednesday “week.”           So far, I’m looking at a couple underdogs in the NFL and double-digit favorite in college football. Check the blog this weekend for my brilliant picks in Week 2.

          It’s that time of the week where I let it rip about whatever’s on my mind from the last week in sports. Here’s Rob’s Rants for the week:   ·        People in Philadelphia need to get over the 7 games that Mike Vick had two seasons ago when he looked like a quarterback who could run a west coast offense. I’ll admit it, I was loving it too. But he hasn’t even shown a resemblance to his play in that stretch since. I’m not saying he’ll never have a good game in this system again, but he’s not the guy. ·        Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Andy Reid only exacerbates the problem of his quarterback with the absurd number of pass plays he calls. Oh, wait, you have heard it before . . . for 13+ seasons. Vick attempted 56 passes in a 17-16 game in which he had a running back rush for 110 yards on 20 carries. That running back would be LeSean McCoy, by the way, who is only one of the best backs in the league. I’m at the point where I question if Steve Young or Joe Mo

          The Phillies are 4 games out of the Wild Card. They’ve won 6 games in a row, climbed back to .500 and are tie with the Brewers. The Pirates have lost 5 straight. The Dodgers and Cardinals have each lost 2 straight, and have a 4-game series this weekend to hopefully beat up on each other.           Dare we dream? For now, here’s a Hump Day Distraction of the Sarge:   Gary Matthews AKA Sarge – “Slide-Piece” Phillies Remix Posted by tappinskins

          Here are my “slants” on Week 1 of the NFL: ·        If I’m a Colts fan, I am pissed off. Peyton Manning looked pretty damn good to me on Sunday night. I understand Indianapolis was in a unique situation to draft Andrew Luck, and maybe that decision works out in the long run. But it was quite clear how much Manning meant to his team last year when they went from a legitimate Super Bowl contender to falling apart without him. Ask Chicago Bulls fans if they would have preferred to hold on to the Michael Jordan era as long as possible. ·        None of the tough guy football fans out there will admit it, but the fact that there’s another game in two days just doesn’t work for me. It’s too much. The Thursday night game was a cool thing that would pop-up in the second half the season when it first started. Now, they’re just ramming it down our throats. ·        People talk about baseball games going too long, but the NFL seems to be the league with that problem. The leag

          Does beating Cleveland by 1 count in the better than 8-8 record that so many are convinced Andy Reid needs to keep his job this season?           The Eagles displayed their typical unpreparedness for opening day under the head coach. The only difference was that they were playing a Browns team that is relying on a rookie quarterback and rookie running back to propel their offense.           That offense failed to take advantage of 3 Mike Vick interceptions, and managed only three field goals all day. The Cleveland defense took care of Vick’s other pick on the day – that’s 4 on the day – by taking it in the end zone themselves.           Vick did manage 2 passing touchdowns to guys in the green jerseys, and 300+ passing yards against a solid defense. He also engineered the winning drive, throwing a touchdown with just over a minute to play for the 17-16 win.           The Eagles “D” had 4 interceptions of its own and kept the rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden t

          Just for fun, I have a few predictions for the 2012 NFL Season. I don’t really like long-term picks because I’m very conservative with, e’hm, my “points” that I allot to this type of entertainment. But I think I have a few decent predictions this year.   Super Bowl Matchup: Broncos vs. Packers   Sleeper Super Bowl Champion: Broncos; Denver got a playoff victory last year with Tim Tebow at quarterback, and now they have Peyton Manning. It may be the greatest upgrade at the position ever. I have to assume he’s healthy; the guy is just too smart to risk permanent problems with his neck. Denver is +5000 to win the Lombardi trophy, which makes them possibly the best bargain of the year. The problem is there’s just too many things that can derail any team over the course of a season that turns great odds into a loss, and if I actually get the matchup right, I think the Packers are just better.   Super Bowl Champion: Packers; I still don’t get how Green Bay lo