NFL Week 3

Good morning everybody. Sunday number three of the 2015 NFL season is upon us, and after last week if you're participating in a survivor pool and you're still alive, congratulations. In a week that is indicative of how unpredictable this league has become, five of the six teams with the worst records last year all won; Tampa Bay, Oakland, Washington, Jacksonville, and the Jets. The sixth (Tennessee)? Lost to another perennial doormat (Cleveland). Doing some research on the fly as I typed this, it was the first time in NFL history that particular six-team combination (CLE, JAX, NYJ, OAK, TB, WAS) won on the same week. Of course, the Jags have only been around since 1995, and there were no Browns from 1996-1998. I guess it's like hitting the NFL lottery if you have a six-team parlay and pick THOSE teams to win (of course with bye weeks and head-to-head matchups that makes that accomplishment all the more difficult). Will it happen again? Not this week, as the Giants (as I said they would earlier this week) defeated the Redskins on Thursday Night Football. What about today and Monday?

Tampa Bay at Houston
The Bucs knocked a LOT of people out of their survivor pools with their upset win last week in New Orleans. More on the Saints later, but virtually NOBODY saw this coming. However, I did state last week that this game was going to be closer than many thought, which is why I wound up picking Pittsburgh instead of New Orleans. Smart move on my part. This week however, Jameis Winston meets JJ Watt, and Jadaveon Clowney. And the Bucs are without Austin Sefarian-Jenkins until mid-season. Uh-oh...
As bad as they are offensively, I'll pick the home team Texans in a squeaker. By the way it should be noted I'm 0-2 picking the Buccaneers so far, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that trend continues.

Jacksonville at New England 
Speaking of surprises, the JAGUARS winning over the Dolphins? Yep. So much for the Dolphins being that up-and-coming team in the AFC East, especially with that offensive line (more on that later). The depressing thing about that game is that half the fans went home disappointed, then again that ALWAYS happens in Jacksonville, regardless of who wins. Seriously, have you ever been to a game in Jacksonville?? I did when they were halfway decent many moons ago; I thought I was at a Jerry Springer Show casting call, and sure enough a fight broke out between two drunk Jags fans several rows behind me. No wonder hardly anyone likes them, even if Shad Khan is doing a lot for that community from what I hear. Anyway, their reward for beating Miami? A trip to Foxborough. Good. Luck. With. That.
Patriots in a romp.

Buffalo at Miami
Remember when this was THE rivalry in the AFC East? Pepperidge Farm remembers, because it was so long ago. It's the home opener for the Fish in the halfway-revamped SunLife Stadium, which is a good thing because the new aqua seats makes it that much easier to disguise all those empty seats at Dolphins games. Ok, I kid (although South Florida is a favorite target of @EmptySeatsPics on Twitter), but you KNOW the resurgent Bills will have strong showing by the Bills Mafia (I guess that's Buffalo's answer to the Raider Nation). Oh, and did mention the Dolphins offensive line? Oh yeah, and Richie Incognito returns to Miami! Hmm. That ought to be interesting.
Bills take it in Miami.

New Orleans at Carolina
Watching the Saints last week, Drew Brees did not look like the Drew Brees we know and love. His passes were flutterballs, and he was uncharacteristically inaccurate. Turns out he has shoulder issues and will not start in Charlotte today. Enter Luke McCown. I don't know what Jedi mind tricks he has up his sleeve, but he may have to use more than just the Jedi force against a formidable Panthers force in Luke Kuechly. Of note, the last time Carolina started 3-0? 2003. They wound up winning the NFC that year and lost a heartbreaker in a Super Bowl known more for the halftime show (thanks, Janet) than the game itself. Ugh, if only John Kasay had kept that kickoff inbounds...
In my SURVIVOR PICK OF THE WEEK, Panthers win it over a depleted Saints.

Atlanta at Dallas
No Romo? No Bryant? The Falcons are actually good again? Hmm...
Falcons in an upset.

San Diego at Minnesota
Congratulations to Philip Rivers on becoming the Chargers all-time TD leader, surpassing Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. Too bad I cannot trust this team whenever they go on the road; especially in back to back weeks.
I'll take the Vikings.

Indianapolis at Tennessee
This is the home debut for Marcus Mariota, and I wonder which Marcus we'll see? The one who torched an unprepared Bucs in Week One, or the one who butt-fumbled his way to a blowout loss in Cleveland last week? Either way I don't expect Andrew Luck and the Colts to have another putrid performance. Five turnovers? Yuck! They're better than this, and this week is a good time to prove that.
Colts spoil Mariota's home debut.

Oakland at Cleveland
After Johnny Football torched the Titans last week, the Browns decide to go...back to Josh McCown??? Cue the clip of Zach Galifianakis with his wheezy-sounding laugh. How refreshing it was though to see the Raiders have something to cheer for last week? By the way, check out this article by Amber Lee that tells us that Raider fans aren't the thugs many football fans think they are. Still, Mark Davis' haircut, my goodness...better than Josh McCown at quarterback though.
In a tossup, I'll take the Raiders in a mild upset.

Cincinnati at Baltimore
Home opener for the Ravens, and are they glad for that. Consecutive road losses at Denver and Oakland to start the season has to have John Harbaugh in a bad mood, and you know how fiery both him and Jim are.
Ravens roll at home.

Philadelphia at NY Jets
If you had told me at the start of this year that going into this matchup one team would be 2-0 and the other 0-2, you'd probably be right. However, it's the JETS that are unbeaten and the EAGLES who are winless. Come on Philly, get your act together. I thought you were the chic pick to take the NFC East this year and instead you're 0-2 and looking nothing like the offensive juggernaut we thought you would be. Then again, maybe it is Chip Kelly after all...too soon to tell yet though. Although maybe after this week it won't be too soon to tell. Too bad the Birds aren't at home to be blessed by the Pope, they could use it right about now.
Jets in a surprise. 

Pittsburgh at St. Louis
This is an interesting matchup. The Steelers offensive firepower against a pretty decent Rams defense. I like Big Ben though.
Steelers with a road win.

San Francisco at Arizona
Could it possibly be that the Cardinals may just be the team to beat in the NFC West? A convincing win this week could prove that.
Cardinals in the desert.

Chicago at Seattle
Finally, the Seahawks are home in front of the 12th Man, and after last week's debacle in St. Louis it couldn't come at a better time.
Seahawks roll.

Denver at Detroit
Time to sing along with the Peyton Manning Nationwide On Your Side jingle for this pick:
Broncos win on Sunday Night.     

Kansas City at Green Bay
While we're on the subject of auto insurance, the Monday Night game features State Farm pitchman Aaron (discount DAAAA-ble check!) Rodgers against a Chiefs team licking their wounds after their Thursday night collapse at home to Denver. Too bad for them they're in Wisconsin this week; more cheese for their whine.
Packers over KC.

So, to review:
HOU
NE
BUF
CAR (survivor pick)
ATL
MN
IND
OAK
BAL
NYJ
PIT
AZ
SEA
DEN
GB

Hopefully, a better Sunday is in store than last, when I went 7-9. Record for the year after TNF: 19-14.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

  
 

 

More random thoughts...

Good morning, a few things on my mind today.


School Zone Worries?
First off, something concerned me on my way to Spring Hill after work the other day; I was turning north on Henderson off Linebaugh, where apparently one of the charter schools in Hillsborough County is located. As I made my turn onto Henderson, I noticed traffic going into the school was at a near standstill as a result of parents dropping off their kids. However, I also noticed after completing the turn a young girl and her sister walking to school. Not that big of a deal, right?

Well not unless the school zone warning light isn't flashing, as was this case here. I did happen to see that this school zone sign was solar-powered, but the sun was BARELY over the horizon, so assuming the flashing light is indeed activated via solar power, there wasn't enough sunlight to trigger the device. Rather disconcerting if you happen to be a parent who has kids that walk to school in that vicinity.  Then again, I'm not 100% certain how these school zone devices truly operate.

If anyone knows for sure, drop me a line in the comment box or contact me via twitter @boneyscribe.


Rock The Vote, or Wag The Dog?
Another thing that happened to catch my ears that morning was that iHeart radio is teaming up with the Rock the Vote organization, which is a non-profit and (supposedly) non-partisan group that attempts to drive young adults to go to their polling places and vote in elections, especially during presidential cycles. When I heard about this partnership, I immediately called shenanigans. Why???

Well, if memory served me correct, "Rock the Vote" was first utilized in the 1992 presidential election cycle, and one of the biggest driving forces behind it was MTV. And, if memory serves me correct, who made an appearance on MTV that election cycle? One William Jefferson Clinton. And I can't seem to recall then-President George H. Bush making an appearance on MTV.

And who won the election that year? Hmmm...

So now, here we are with RTV teaming up with iHeart Media, which up until last year was known as ClearChannel. Their vast group of radio stations has a working agreement with Fox News to air news updates on the hour and half-hour. I don't think I need to tell you which way that organization leans politically. Also, let's take a look at three of their biggest names in talk radio that has many affiliates on iHeart Radio: Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity.

Glenn Beck: evangelical right wing homer.
Rush Limbaugh: the most recognizable right wing homer in talk radio.
Sean Hannity: arguably the biggest right wing homer out there.

See where I'm going with this? Hopefully I'm wrong, but this reeks of shenanigans in my opinion.


Football
I was called out this week by my nephew. Why? Because he wants to know how good my football picks are. This just in: they aren't. 7-9 last week after Monday night's debacle in Indy, and that makes me 18-14 on the young season. Tonight, I try to get back on the winning side as the Washington National Football League club takes on the NY Giants. Here's a dubious honor the Giants hold: last week they became the first team in NFL history to lose consecutive games in which they held double-digit leads in the 4th quarter. No, not even the Bucs in their sordid history have done that. (On a tangential note, RIP Richard Williamson, former Bucs head coach who died last night.) With that in mind, I'm a little leery picking the Giants at home, however, these aren't the Falcons and Cowboys they're playing. I should feel a little more confident for tonight. Not my knockout pick (I'm still alive there, thanks Steelers), but I'll take the G-Men tonight.

The rest of my picks will be this weekend.


Papal Matters
I won't see this, but the Pontiff is speaking to Congress in Washington today. I imagine considering the social issues that have been in the forefront of the news cycle this year it will be interesting to hear about Pope Francis will have to say not only today, but this weekend in New York and in Philadelphia. I guess I'll read about it via twitter or hear it on the news. I know, night shift problems.

On that note, I guess I better get some sleep. Enjoy your Thursday!

NFL Week Two and some random thoughts...

Good morning, everyone. Thought I'd begin this week with some things that have been on my mind

So how long before Donald Trump's lead in the polls suddenly vanishes into thin air? I hear he's trailing Carly Fiorina in one poll amongst New Hampshire Republicans. It certainly didn't help his cause that he was caught in a bit of a lie by Jeb Bush during Wednesday night's debate, nor did it help that he stood silent the next day when an attendee at a town hall meeting in NH put his foot in his mouth; a silence that Trump broke yesterday.

While we're on the subject of islamophobia, good for Ahmed Mohammed that he's moving to a different school after this week's ridiculous arrest for bringing a clock to the Dallas-area school he currently attends. However, as radio host Todd Schnitt brought up on Twitter this week, there may be a different controversy surrounding Mohammed.

Speaking of twitter and on a personal, many thanks to you for allowing me to crack the 600 follower mark this week.

Is it me or do there seem to be a LOT more popup ads wherever you browse nowadays? It's almost as bad as television, especially if you're for example watching a Rays game on Sun Sports and you see that God-forsaken Tropicana "Good Morning!" spot. Every. Bleeping. Inning.

Speaking of the Rays, they're toast. Wait until next season...and hopefully a vastly improved bullpen.

With the Rays out of the way however, at least here in the Tampa Bay region can focus on the defending NHL Eastern Conference Lightning. Training camp has begun and FanFest is today at Amalie Arena; I may try to go there today.

Also happening today; the majority of week 2 of the NFL season, after last week (and Thursday night), I'm 12-5 in picks, and last week's survivor pick (MIA) won. What about today and Monday? Well for starters, I'm hoping the Bucs don't get embarrassed like they did last week. That was probably the most ashamed I've ever been as a Bucs fan, and given that franchise's history, that takes a heck of a lot for THAT to happen. This week it's New Orleans at the Superdome.

My friend from Albuquerque, Nikki (Bucs_Princess on Twitter), will be in attendance for today's game with her friends. Nikki also happens to be a huge Auburn Tigers fan and was in Baton Rouge for their game yesterday against LSU. Unfortunately for her, things didn't turn out very well. One can only hope today will be a lot different...

As for my picks today and Monday?

Bengals over Chargers
Panthers over Texans
Bills over Patriots
Titans over Browns
Giants over Falcons
Steelers over 49ers
Cardinals over Bears
Saints over Bucs (may be closer than you think though)
Vikings over Lions
Rams over Redskins
Ravens over Raiders
Dolphins over Jaguars
Eagles over Cowboys
Packers over Seahawks
Colts over Jets

My knockout pick this week? Can't use Miami; I used them last week. Of the games I've picked, I'm not very sure about CIN, BUF, and NYG. Same can be said for PHI, though I may want to use them later in the year should I still be alive. I also don't really want to use IND & BAL this early. I think I may (albeit unwisely because of how early the season is) pick the Pittsburgh Steelers for this week's survival pick.

That's all from me for now, enjoy your Sunday!

Remembering America's Darkest Day

Tomorrow marks the 14th anniversary of arguably the darkest day of this generation's history; the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. As the years have gone on, I have heard many conspiracy theories regarding controlled demolitons, missles being launched, inside jobs, blah blah blah. I have also watched ad nauseum television coverage of this sad event from YouTube.

 In my opinion, it was clear to me that it wasn't an inside job by our government; we were caught with our pants down, plain and simple. We had zero idea that the terrorists who committed this heinous act would hijack planes and use them in kamikaze-style attacks on both towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. There was a heightened security alert that day, but it was for Americans abroad, not at home (go back and look at the news coverage). A missle didn't hit the Pentagon, it was indeed an American Airlines jet; Flight 77. No missle shot down United flight 93, passengers heroically stormed the hijacked cockpit before crashing into a wooded field near Shanksville, PA. And while jet fuel indeed doesn't melt steel beams, it can weaken them to a point where it no longer supports a tangible weight. That caused the towers to collapse, not a "controlled demolition."

If you happen to get the chance tonight, take a look at YouTube and search for RKOwens4. He has a concise series of videos that debunk every 9/11 conspiracy theory that is known. Here is a link to one of these videos; The Top Five 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Debunked.

 May we never forget the tragic events, the lives that were lost, and the first repsonders who were so valiant in their efforts on America's Darkest Day.

Is This Thing On?

Hello. In case you're wondering what this is, well, this is my blog that I have unearthed after burying it for the better part of the last three years. I used to do this sort of thing every so often until for I guess what came out to be a lack of time to devote towards this as well as various other reasons; forgetting I actually had a blog being one of them. But I may as well try to bring this back.

One reason I decided to bring it back is because if I wanted to express my opinions, thoughts, etc. I normally would turn to twitter. But as all of you reading this that use twitter realize, you can't write that much on there without making a number of separate posts. So, here I am.

Now some of you are asking yourself, what the heck is a boney scribe? Well, boney scribe (and yes, it's misspelled, more on that later) is a nickname that has stuck with me ever since I was a little kid living in  the Orlando area. I don't know why, because I never asked--likely because I was the baby in my family--but my mother and four of my five siblings had nicknames for me. Nincompoop, Spotted Gopher, Skeleton, and Skinflint were four of them. The other one, given to me by the youngest of my three older sisters, was Boney Scribe. Whenever she wrote the name down (when getting Christmas gifts, playing cards, etc.), the always added an "e" to the word "bony". Hell, I was too young to care how it was spelled to be honest, and so when I decided to go ahead and use that nickname for my twitter account, as well as this blog, I thought it was only fitting to go ahead and use the misspelled word as a wink and a nod to my childhood. Love you, sis.

So why was I so named? Well I'm sure you've heard the term "runt of the litter", and that's pretty much what I was. I don't believe I weighed five pounds when I was born on that snowy Friday in Atlanta in 1974, and I never was all that big growing up, which is a huge reason I didn't play sports although I had wanted to. But that was the reasoning for why I was so nicknamed, and no I don't find it unflattering at all; it's a term of endearment.

In the future, I hope to use this blog to give my opinion on a number of topics, make picks on football games (without too much analysis; sports were meant to be fun and an escape from everyday life; stats can be boring and I'm not a rotisserie geek), and share with you things here I may not be able to share on other platforms of social media such as my Boneyscribe pages on Twitter and Instagram. So yes, my blog has returned, and as the kids say nowadays, "IT'S LIT!"



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