Last Post of 2014

And just who allowed Ndamukong Suh to play on Sunday in Dallas? Appeals officer Ted Cottrell, you can send me the cheque for the fine. I will gladly file it under the category of college fund for my son.  Tsk. The Yellow Flag of Shame hits number ninety for the Detroit Lions for being one of the most penalized defensive linemen.

Bowl Matchup for December 31, 2014

1. Peach Bowl: Ole Miss vs. TCU 
2. Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. Arizona
3. Orange Bowl:  Mississippi State vs. Georgia Tech. I long to hear Howard Cosell say the name of this particular game.  It was a New Year's tradition.  Continue to rest in peace, sir.

ESPN Capital One Bowl Mania - For December 29, I finished out at 2-1 with the surprise (to me) ending of the Music City Bowl.  Irish faithful never doubted.  I have never been a Notre Dame Irish fan.

New Year's Eve Confidential:  If you must be out and about, be safe and sane.  Lady Grid out.

Bowl Wrap-up: December 30, 2014

Let me start off by saying that assistants should never initiate contact with opposing players that does not say, "Good play even though we're on opposing sides." A Yellow Flag of Shame for the Texas A&M assistant who did not display class during the Aggies' triumphant showing in the Liberty Bowl. Tsk!

Bowl Tally for December 29, 2014:

1. Liberty Bowl: Texas A&M vs. West Virginia - correct!
2. Texas Bowl: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Texas Longhorns - correct!
3. Russell Athletic: Oklahoma vs. Clemson - WRONG! What a spanking for the Sooners when you saw the final score.  Wow.

(2-1 on the day, and 15-6 overall; it's a 93.2% accuracy rate according to ESPN's College Bowl Mania)

Bowl Predictions for December 30, 2014:

1. Music City Bowl: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. LSU Tigers
2. Belk Bowl: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Louisville Cardinals
3. Foster Farms Bowl: Maryland Terps vs. Stanford Cardinal

Lady Grid out.

Black Monday Indeed

Good morning, glories!  So far, we've seen the NY Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and the Chicago Bears experience coaching and front office changes.  The majority of those were firings with the exception of University of Michigan's newest coach, Jim Harbaugh.  Wow.  I wonder if more movement will take place and who will assume these new roles of leadership.  My best wishes to those who have been let go; I pray they land well.

The regular season has concluded, and now the "second season" of the NFL begins on Saturday after that Steelers-Bengals game.  Congratulations to all division winners, including my son's beloved Panthers.  We'll take a look at the match-ups later, and I will be certain to let you know who I favor to win.

My alma mater plays in the Liberty Bowl against West Virginia University.  I am picking the Aggies to win this one.  Lady Grid out.

Last Regular Game of the Season and a Bowl or Two of Stew

I wish all of you a fantastic Saturday after Christmas.  This entry will require a cup of hot cider or hot cocoa to sip as you peruse.  First of all, a Yellow Flag of Shame finds its way to the lap of Josh Gordon, the recalcitrant Cleveland Browns WR.  If you need a mentor to keep you on the up-and-up, please contact me.  It’s free of charge.  I only want you to stay accountable and have your name in the papers and social media for positive reasons.

Secondly, it’s time to pick some games.

1. Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins – I really hope the ‘Boys aren’t in a “look to the future” type of mentality that would allow Washington a victory at home.  Finish strongly, ‘Boys!
2. Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens – Now that Jonathan Manziel is on IR, it remains to see how the Browns will bounce back.  I’ve news for them; Terrell Suggs dines on any QB.  He doesn’t care who sacks and packs.  Ravens win even after that baffling display from last week.
3. Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans- the Titans will pay the price of the injured pride of the Colts and their star QB Andrew Luck.  Sorry, guys!
4. Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans – J.J. Watt leads an MVP-worthy performance as the resurgent Texans flatten the Jags.  Sorry, Jaxson De Ville!
5. San Diego Chargers at Kansas City – Philip Rivers is a dangerous man, hence my moniker of Peck’s Bad Boy for the Alabama native.  Andy Reid is a formidable strategist who will coax a highlight reel-level performance from his team.  Who wins? Push.  I just want to enjoy the show.
6. NY Jets at Miami Dolphins – Who knew this would be the most likely final stop of the Rex Ryan Farewell Tour? Black Monday looms large for this rather fascinating coach who reportedly had some type of thing for feet.  Go figure.  Fins win unless the Yets chant, “I think I can” like mad and win one for Coach Ryan.
7. Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings – Jay Cutler baffles me with his up-and-down play; he has a Herculean arm when he uses it.  Too often, the receivers aren’t catching it.  I’m dropping Martellus Bennett on my fantasy team.  He scored zero points last week, but I don’t blame him; it’s just a game, and I get to chose who I think will earn me the most points.  My husband is beating me on ESPN’s Gridiron Challenge.  I think I’ll have to make him a nice dinner since I lost fair and square.  Next year, he’s going down!
8. Buffalo Bills at New England – how many ways can Bill Belichik dismantle a defense? Start counting from the first snap.  Pats bounce the Bills like big rubber ball.
9. Philadelphia Eagles at NY Giants – hubby wants both teams to lose, but that’s not possible, so we’ll settle for the Giants winning. We hope.  We sincerely hope since the Iggles are out of the playoffs.  Hear evil laughter.
10. New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The cannon will sound about two or three times, but the Saints will sound off on the Bucs more.  They’ve been pretty good on the road.
11. Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons – The formerly known as “dirty birds” will want to pluck up Sir Purr and his friends and dash their hopes on the rocks of despair.  Cam’s in the lineup, so it’s going to be fun to watch.  My son desperately wants his beloved Panthers to triumph and take the NFC South crown with a 7-8-1 record.  Just the idea of a losing team winning the division deserves a Yellow Flag of Shame, so there!
12. Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers – Aaron Rodgers is feeling better, and they’re playing in Lambeau.  The Lions proved last week that the cold was not always their enemy.  The temperature’s supposed to be around 25°F tomorrow.  As much as I want my beloved Megatron to embarrass the Packers’ D, it’s not going to happen.  Next year, Calvin!
13. Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos – let’s hope that C.J. Anderson has a good week, the General tosses several TD passes and zero INTs, and that the Denver D, led by DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller are all moving in a positive direction toward victory.  Yee-haw! Broncos win.
14. Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers – Colin’s been kind of off his game, and then he shows flashes of brilliance.  Patrick Peterson wants to show some brilliance with a pick 6, even if he causes it to happen and doesn’t run it in himself.  The Cards are dangerous at this time of year, and they win their last road game of the regular season.
15. St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks – this one might have been interesting if we had the “greatest show on turf” matched up against the present defensive combinations of the Seahawks. I’d probably have to vacuum up at least one bag of popcorn after screeching in excitement about a big play.  Enough dreaming.  Seahawks roll the Rams to Loser Lane again.  Keep your tempers, boys!
16. Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers – This is the absolute last regular season game of the NFL for 2014.  Sigh. The Bengals upended the General’s apple cart last week, and he had four INTs.  Ugh.  I bet the Steelers burst their bubble at Heinz Field.

Speaking of staying accountable, here is my tally for College Bowl Mania so far. My picks are bolded for your reference.

1. New Orleans Bowl – Nevada vs. LA-Lafayette, correct!
2. New Mexico Bowl – Utah State vs. UTEP, correct!
3. Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Colorado State, WRONG!
4. Potato Bowl – Western Michigan vs. Air Force, correct!
5. Camellia Bowl – South Alabama vs. Bowling Green, correct!
6. Miami Beach Bowl – BYU vs. Memphis, correct!
7. Boca Raton Bowl – Marshall vs. Northern Illinois, correct!
8. Poinsettia Bowl – Navy vs. San Diego State, WRONG! Why did I pick against the Midshipmen?
9. Bahamas Bowl – Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky, correct! What a wild finish that one was this week. Woo-hoo!
10. Hawai’i Bowl – Fresno State vs. Rice, correct!
11. Heart of Dallas Bowl – Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech, correct!
12. Quick Lane Bowl – Rutgers vs. UNC, correct!
13. St. Petersburg Bowl – NC State vs. UCF, WRONG!
14. Military Bowl – Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech, WRONG!
15. Sun Bowl – Arizona State vs. Duke, correct!
16. Independence Bowl – Miami vs. South Carolina, correct!
17. Pinstripe Bowl – Boston College vs. Penn State, in progress at time I went to press.
18. Holiday Bowl – Nebraska vs. USC, in progress at the time I went to press.

Yes, I'll be playing ESPN's Gridiron Playoff Challenge this year.  Bring it, don't sing it!

Lady Grid out.

Egg Facial Time - Ugh

I cannot believe that all three of my picks were wrong for the professional games yesterday.  Yellow Flag of Shame to me that looks like an egg facial.  Ugh.  I can’t resist choosing sides again.

1. Minnesota Vikings at Miami Dolphins – Teddy Bridgewater is my rookie QB favorite, but Ryan Tannehill, a former Texas A&M player, dominates the day.  Fins win.
2. Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans – Joe Flacco leads the Ravens’ scoring and sends the Texans below .500.
3. Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears – Megatron has a mammoth day against a defense that is a sieve. Lions win.
4. Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers – Jonathan Manziel have a higher QB rating than last week’s 1.0, but the Panthers defense will give him a hard time. Even with a banged-up Cam Newton, the Panthers are favored to win.
5. Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints – Yawn fest for me although the Saints are projected to win; their home record says otherwise.  Who Dat? Oy vey. I’m going to pick the Saints and take a nap.
6. Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Bay Battlefest with the Packers taking out their frustrations from a road loss to the Bills last week.  Sorry, Tampa Bay!  Very few cannon blasts today.
7. Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers – KC started out so well and has sputtered a bit; the Steelers want to keep the dream alive and have a knack of making opponents pay at Heinz Field.  Steelers smash ‘em.
8. New England Patriots at New York Jets – If the Jets’ record were reversed, this might be interesting. As it is, Pretty Boy will get the opportunity to chat up his lovely wife and make dinner plans for their favorite haunt during fourth quarter because Coach Belichick will have to call off the dogs.  Patriots paste the Yets.
9. Buffalo Bills at Oakland Raiders – Bills ride in high after their win over the Packers last week.  The Raiders just won’t be able to muster up that third victory.
10. New York Giants at St. Louis Rams – Eli Manning is a nice guy, and I respect that he has two Super Bowl rings; however, the Rams will be ready for some good old-fashioned smash-mouth football.  Rams roll the G-men.
11. Indianapolis Colts at Dallas Cowboys – We know that the ‘Boys need to win one of the next two games for playoff considerations.  This isn’t that game.  Andrew Luck hooks up with his talented WR corps to burn the Dallas D on a couple of big, jaw-dropping plays that will make the highlight reel.  Sigh.  Colts cudgel the Cowboys. Save your strength for next week!
12. Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – with the revolving door at QB in Arizona, they’ve managed to mount an impressive record and still keep on winning.  I think the Seahawks will wreak havoc in this aerial duel.  Defending Super Bowl Champion Seahawks soar over the Cardinals, unfortunately.
13. Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals – Peyton Manning remains on my fantasy team despite his illness and injury last week.  You don’t mess with the General.  The Bengals are riding the high of the recent drubbing of in-state rival Cleveland, but this fixes their little red wagon. Broncos bust up the Bengals.

College Bowl update: 4-1 on picks so far. I was 5-0 here but chose Colorado State on my ESPN account.  Go figure. 

Lady Grid out.

Bowls and a Couple of Pros

Good luck in Austin, Daylon Mack.  Coach Strong has been all about the discipline of the young men on his team, and that is laudable.

The bowl season line up for later today:

1. New Orleans Bowl with Nevada and Louisiana-Lafayette – I think the Ragin Cajuns will defend their New Oreleasns Bowl streak for the fourth year running.
2. New Mexico Bowl with Utah State vs. UTEP – It’s been a long time since the Miners have seen the inside of a college bowl, but Utah State Aggies prevail.  Sorry, UTEP.
3. Las Vegas Bowl with Utah vs. Colorado State – Will the Colorado State Rams break the losing cycle against the Utes’ squad? It’s not likely, but it could happen.
4. Idaho Potato Bowl with Western Michigan vs. Air Force – The Falcons managed to beat the Boise State Broncos and will burst the Cinderella-esque bubble of the Western Michigan Broncos.  Maybe next year, Western Michigan, maybe next year.
5. Camellia Bowl with South Alabama vs. Bowling Green – Bowling Green wants to end its losing skid after winning the MAC East, and the South Alabama Jags had a formidable non-conference schedule to sharpen their claws, so to speak.

The NFL games feature a pair of regular season games on a Saturday.  Woo-hoo!  The only downside is that there could be fewer touchdowns to celebrate on NFL RedZone on Sunday. I'll manage.

1. I truly thought the Titans would win the game the other night.  Oops!
2. Philadelphia at Washington means agony for me and others in Cowboys Nation because we just know that the Eagles will tear up the Redskins, and we're left holding the bag while facing off against Indy.  Ugh. Doom, despair, and agony. My fingers are crossed for a miracle; however, I am realistic girl.  Iggles win. 
3. The more entertaining game will have Peck's Bad Boy Philip Rivers squaring off against the 49ers coached by the "will he or won't he" candidate of the moment.  Distractions can make squads sloppy. Most folks are picking the Bolts. I'm not most folks. Kaepernick gets it together on the offensive side of the ball, and the 49ers prevail.

Lady Grid out.

Lady Gridiron Sports Rant: Midshipmen Win/Week 15 Pro Analysis

Lady Gridiron Sports Rant: Midshipmen Win/Week 15 Pro Analysis: The Midshipmen beat the Black Knights for thirteen years in a row; it was fun to watch the last quarter of the game with Daddy as we saw th...

Midshipmen Win/Week 15 Pro Analysis

The Midshipmen beat the Black Knights for thirteen years in a row; it was fun to watch the last quarter of the game with Daddy as we saw the last touchdown, fumble recovery, and field goal. To see these stalwart young men who are preparing to defend my freedom shed tears as some of them sang their song for the last time as seniors was touching.  May God protect their paths as they go into active duty one day soon.

Congratulations to Oregon Ducks' quarterback Marcus Mariota, the new Heisman Trophy winner by a landslide.  

Now, it’s time for the professional assessment.

1. The Arizona Cardinals avoided shutout by winning the field goal bowl against St. Louis.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers will pluck the Falcons down Georgia way.
3. Miami gets manhandled by the Patriots. Need I say more?  I love Ryan Tannehill, but it’s just not in the cards.
4. In yet another rematch of NFC West teams, we wonder if Colin Kaepernick’s offensive woes will cease in the Hawks’ Nest.  That’s a funny one!  Tell me another joke. 
5. Kansas City plays lights out with Oakland and keeps the Raiders with a deuce in the W column.
6. The Jacksonville Jaguars will wonder why the trip was necessary to Baltimore.
7. Teddy Bridgewater, who is one of my favorite rookies, comes to the Motor City only to watch Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson light up the scoreboard.  Lions win.
8. The NY Yets will sputter and fail back west in Tennessee.
9. Carolina Panthers (sans Cam Newton) hosts Tampa Bay. Fans wonder: will the winning streak continue? Not if the Buccaneers have anything to say about it. Bucs win.
10. Indy’s offense led by Andrew Luck will toy with Houston but beat J.J. Watt and the Texans in the end.
11. Cleveland, led by Jonathan Manziel as QB, hosts Cincinnati. The Dawg Pound will howl with agony as the Bengals D torments the young man from my alma mater.
12. Green Bay likes to beat teams at home or on the road; the Bills won’t stand a chance later today.
13. The General vs. Peck’s Bad Boy: Denver will score touchdowns against AFC West foes with the return of Julius Thomas as an offensive weapon.  Sorry, Chargers, Broncos win to keep their playoff picture focused.
14. Washington in NY against the Giants. Meh. The Giants will beat their division rivals, but the more interesting game is played in the evening in Philadelphia.
15. Dallas is perfect on the road so far, and it’s December. Cowboys surprise their fans and edge the Eagles by two points.
16. New Orleans visits the Windy City and blows the Bears away, much to the chagrin of Jay Cutler who has been somewhat inconsistent in the scoring category after inking that multi-million dollar deal. Yergh.  Saints make a case for the NFC South on Monday night.

Lady Grid out.

A Few Words - December 13, 2014

The UNC Tarheels take on the UK Wildcats.  Good luck, Heels. You may need it. I've been a Carolina fan for a while, and I still believe.

The Army vs. Navy game kicks off at 2:00 P.M. CST, and as the daughter of a submariner, I am pulling for the Midshipmen to continue their winning streak that dates back to 2002.  Sorry, Black Knights, aka ground pounders. Tradition continues.

In one week, the college bowl madness begins. I'll fill you in on my choices as time gets closer.  Be ready for tomorrow's NFL matchups and picks for winners, losers, and also-rans.

Lady Grid out.

The Lady Returns!

I've spent several Sundays happily watching NFL Redzone and then belatedly realized I hadn't posted a single syllable about the current NFL and NCAA Football seasons.  The drought ends today!

1. Megatron is still one of my favorite receivers.  I have him on my fantasy team; when he has bad days, I don't post ugly words on Twitter or any other social media.  That's bad manners.
2. The NFC South. Yellow Flag of Shame for the entire division with those abysmal records. Nothing more needs to be said until next year.  I do pray for Cam Newton to make a complete recovery after the automobile accident on Tuesday.  My son is still a fan.
3. Peyton Manning may have ended his streak of games with a TD pass at 51, but the General is still tops in my book.  He is such a student of the game and worthy of so many accolades.  He's still one of my QBs on my team.
4. The Dallas Cowboys have a winning record. I need to pinch my arm again.  The Dallas Cowboys have a winning record.  They may actually make the playoffs.  I need to pinch my other arm.  Ouch! Back in August, I made some predictions that were less than flattering.  It's nice to be wrong.
5. C.J. Anderson is an incredible running back!  I think I'll keep him for my team.  
6. Ryan Succop is a reliable kicker, but I think I'll go with whoever is playing the Jags or Redskins this week.  Limber up, dude!
7. J.J. Watt is my boy, and he tickles me by catching those TD passes.  I'm not sure how the Texans will fare against the Colts O-line this weekend.
8. For Thursday Night Football, the St. Louis Rams host the Arizona Cardinals.  I think the Cards will at least keep the Rams from shutting out three straight opponents, and I hope they win.  Go Cards!

Lady Grid out.