Running Diary for Colts and Titans

Got my radio on, and let's get the game going.  I've done this before putting together a live blog for what I was thinking during the Colts game, and I wanted to make sure I get back to it.  Not sure what to expect, but there better be a more concrete effort from the Colts today, and there's no way there should be another 62-7 loss.
  Sorry for the delay, took some time to carve up a pumpkin, and here are my thoughts on the first half.
So what's there to say about anything in that first half?  The Colts look terrible, and they just might be the worst team in the league.  Looking over scores, the Rams are beating up on the Saints and the Dolphins are playing tough against the Giants.  What are the Colts doing?  Finally getting some score during the third quarter, and even then it's a field goal.  Maybe they are on the suck for Andrew Luck campaign.  The one bright spot I can say about the Colts is Pat Angerer, who's leading the league in tackles.  Special teams aren't exactly special, especially after that blocked punt.  The offense moved a little bit on that last drive, but they need to put the ball in the endzone.

Here we are in the third quarter, and Titans got the ball with about 4:00 minutes left. Time for the defense to put the clamps on the Titans, and force a punt.  And they can't get off the field.  The Titans pick up the first down, and keep moving down the field.  But hey a penalty that brings the ball back.  So maybe the Colts can get a break for once.  Another chance to stop the Titans on this third down.  The Colts stop the Titans and get a punt.  Chris Johnson doesn't look like anything he used to be. You pay the man, and he performs like this.

Colts have the ball on the 20 yard line, and time to see where they can go.  Good pass to Dallas Clark, and he remains uninjured on the play.  A great pass to Pierre Garcon, who looks to be a key target for Curtis Painter, and someone who feels comfortable passing to each time.  The always interesting 3rd and 1 play for the Colts.  You know how often they DON'T pick this up for some reason.  Donald Brown should have picked up that first down before this, but got all hesitant and played footsie in the backfield.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Colts are moving the ball.  Time to punch it in the end zone, and make this game kind of close.  Still time left to go, and if the defense can make some stops, who knows what can happen.  Hey look Donald Brown with a touchdown run.  Makes up a little bit for that mess up on the earlier run.  He hit that hole and made sure he was going to score.  Colts pull into this game 20-10.

The Colts should have stopped the Titans on this third down play, but there's a screen pass to the running back, and Titans are moving the ball down the field.  There we go, Colts make the stop on another third down, force the punt, and get the ball back with plenty of time left in this one.

All right idea by the Colts here on this first down play, but a bad throw and it doesn't go to Garcon like it should.  And that drive gets halted with an interception, and the Colts look to throw this game away.

The Titans are trying to put this game away.  Big third down play here with almost five minutes left.  Too late, and the Titans score.  Looks like another loss for the Colts. Don't shave till the Colts win.

Nice scramble there by Curtis Painter.  Didn't think he had that type of movement in him.  Wow two tough runs by Painter on this series.  Maybe Painter should run the wildcat.  And an offensive lineman goes down, which is nothing new this season.  Had to go for it on that fourth down, but it went for nothing. Titans get the ball back, and probably run this down till the end of the game.

2:00 minutes left in this game, and those two minutes probably won't go quick enough.  Colts are still pushing it down the field, but too little too late.  Painter is running for his life out there.  He has 7 rushes for 79 yards,  not a bad day at all for his running game.  There we go, and the game is over.

On the Sidelines 24

On the Sidelines 24

With the NBA season not starting on time and MLB just finishing up, it looks like I'll be talking ALL NFL.  But in this episode, I will talk about the World Series, NBA news, and my NFL Picks.  

NFL News

NFL Standings Week 8 Schedule     My pick will be in BOLD Arizona at Baltimore Baltimore Minnesota at Carolina Carolina Jacksonville at Houston Houston Miami at NY Giants NY Giants New Orleans at St. Louis New Orleans Indianapolis at Tennessee Indianapolis Detroit at Denver Detroit Washington at Buffalo Buffalo Cincinnati at Seattle Cincinnati Cleveland at San Francisco San Francisco New England at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Dallas at Philadelphia Philadelphia San Diego at Kansas City San Diego

NBA News
More Game Cancellations

MLB News
St. Louis Cardinals win their 11th title

NFL Picks for Week 7

Almost at the halfway point, and teams are starting to separate themselves.  Still a lot of football to be played, and we'll start seeing who the contenders and pretenders are for this season.

San Diego at NY Jets 

San Diego is my Super Bowl pick, so I will go with the Chargers on this one.  They've been pretty good so far, but haven't beat anyone, and the Jets would be a great win to point to for the Chargers to say hey we beat someone.
Chicago at Tampa Bay 

I'm going with Tampa Bay on this game.  I think they can get to Jay Cutler a lot with their defense, and the offense will do enough to win the game.
Washington at Carolina 

I want to finally pull the trigger on Carolina in this game, but Washington hasn't looked too bad this year.  The Redskins lost last week, so maybe that will weigh on their mind, and they still have a shot in the division, so that's going for them.  Go with Washington Redskins in this game.
Atlanta at Detroit 

Detroit got a tough loss last week, so I see them rebounding and beating Atlanta this week.  The Lions want everyone to jump back on the bandwagon, and beating the Falcons would help that cause.
Seattle at Cleveland 

Cleveland should win this one, if they want to at least vie for a playoff spot.  
Denver at Miami 

Oh wow...this might be a tough game to pick.  Denver did look all right with Tebow coming into the game last week, and the Dolphins just look bad, so let's go with Broncos in this game.
Houston at Tennessee 

I think Tennessee takes this game and pads their lead in the division. Looks like the Texans are faltering a bit after a decent start, and who knows how much that is weighing in their minds.  
Kansas City at Oakland 

Surprisingly I am going with the Oakland Raiders in this game.  Their running game is looking like a beast, and they should be able to get some quarterback back there that can manage the game enough to win. 
Pittsburgh at Arizona 

Pittsburgh should be able to go all over Arizona Cardinals in a romp.
Green Bay at Minnesota 

Ditto for Green Bay in this game against the Vikings.
St. Louis at Dallas

Is this the week that St. Louis wins a game?? Probably not, the Cowboys should be able to take care of business, and make some way in their division.
Indianapolis at New Orleans 

This is finally a game that scares me for the Colts.  The Saints have been under the radar a bit, and could take that out on the Colts.  The Colts defense would need to step up and make plays to give the Colts a chance.  But I am rather nervous about the outcome of this game for the Colts.
Baltimore at Jacksonville

A Monday Night blockbuster between the Ravens and Jaguars??  More like a dud that the Ravens should dominate and take care of the Jags without breaking a sweat.

Going out on a limb

And I will say that the NFL is all about the quarterback.  Did I reveal anything new there??? Not really, but it is important to think how key a good quarterback in the league is.  Look at the Colts season, they wouldn't be 0-6 if Peyton Manning is back behind center.  Heck without Manning back there, he might as well get MVP votes because this season is truly showing how valuable he is.  Look at the Oakland Raiders, just giving up first round picks for a Carson Palmer who hasn't played this season, and said he wouldn't play for the Bengals.  Look at the Detroit Lions, what's the first thing everyone says about their team "as long as Matthew Stafford is healthy"...and then the thoughts about the Lions continue.  But then you look at teams that have won the Super Bowl, along with their quarterbacks, and wonder maybe that position isn't so key.  Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, but would you put him in any sort of elite status?  Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he's not anywhere near the elite quarterbacks. Just food for thought on this rainy day!  

On the Sidelines 23- NFL Rapid Reaction

On the Sidelines 23

Since missing out on this weekend's podcast, I wanted to make up for it with a special tuesday podcast of my NFL reaction. 

World Series- I'm going with the Rangers of Texas

Rangers and Cardinals Matchup

Not sure what to make of this World Series matchup, you have the Rangers just rolling along in the American League and making it to the World Series for a second time in a row.  They definitely had unfinished business from last year, so let's see how they can pull it off this year.  The Cardinals got hot at the right time, and took the momentum to make it to the World Series after being 10 games out of the wild card spot at one point.  It all begins on October 19th, and I think from a gut feeling I am going with the Rangers in six games.  All three areas of their game just seem to be on at the right moment, and I think they will take care of the Cardinals.  It would be  the first World Series for the Rangers, and Texas would get another major championship thanks to the Mavericks beating the Heat this past summer.  Everything is bigger in Texas and this Rangers team should be able to be deep in the heart of the fans there with a World Series Title.

Indianapolis Bloggers

Indianapolis Bloggers

I have joined up with this fantastic network of Indianapolis Bloggers, and look forward to the opportunities it will present.

Let's throw a hot dog at Tiger Woods!

Fan Says Movie Inspired Throw Hot Dog Tiger Woods

Oh I know that I've seen so many movies and got inspired to do something "courageous and epic."  I would think that throwing a hot dog on a golf course doesn't exactly rank up there in that aura.  Now throwing a beer on a feisty basketball player, that's "courageous and epic."  I wonder what movie that guy was watching when he threw the beer.  Tiger Woods did miss the putt, so maybe that hot dog disturbance mentally screwed him up.  If I saw a hot dog flying in my direction, I'd be mentally off for a minute wondering what did I do to earn a flying hot dog?  Congratulations to this guy for being my lame story of the week! 

Colts Review Against the Chiefs

What can you say about Sunday's game against the Chiefs? The Colts were up 24-7 at one point, and couldn't put that team away. I don't want to lose faith in the team, but it's hard now. Looking at the schedule, they have the Bengals of Cincinatti next up, and could get a win there. But after that, it's hard telling. This was probably the easy part of the schedule. It's hard to pinpoint what needs to change. Picking up third down conversions would be easy to say. How about making tackles? I feel like the defense flies around so much, and just doesn't get those tackles they need to. They want to make a huge hit and not make a hit to get the guy down. So let's stiffen up the tackling. Curtis Painter looks better back behind center, but that offense line still needs to open up holes for the running game. Dallas Clark doesn't need to be dropping passes like he did Sunday. So there's definitely things that can be corrected, so the Colts can head into that right direction. Still not into the "Suck for Luck" campaign. There's talent on this team that could be a winning team, and I want to see that happen.

3 Strikes and I'm Out

I wanted to give the baseball playoffs some love, so here are three thoughts I had on the playoffs right now.




Strike 1- The Favorites are Gone
The Yankees and the Phillies were the favorites to be in the World Series, but they're out in the first round. I hate the Yankees, so I'm fine with them being gone. Especially getting bounced by a team like Detroit where I am sure the payrolls and talent level aren't exactly on par. The Phillies had such a strong pitching squad that it's amazing to think they went down like they did. The Cardinals did get hot at the right time, and have thrown themselves into the NLCS, so kudos to them. They will face a tough Milwaukee team, but who knows if St. Louis has some October magic in them.

Strike 2- The Rangers are still there
The Texas Rangers made it to the World Series last year, and look poised to do it again. They made quick and easy work of the Tampa Bay Rays, and now face that tough Tigers squad.

Strike 3- It's a good time to be a Detroit Fan
With the Tigers in the ALCS and the Lions doing well, it's a great time to be a fan up there. The Red Wings might be able to get started hot in the NHL, so good times up there in the Motor City. I am sure they would love a World Series Title, but I bet they would love their Lions team to beat up on the Packers when they play each other soon.

On the Sidelines 22- Horsing Round the NFL

On the Sidelines 22- Horsin' Round the NFL

Follow @stephenA1181

A different format today that's all NFL driven. I will be talking about the Colts game against the Chiefs, NFL Standings, and my NFL Picks. 

Start Curtis Painter

I never thought I would say those words, but at this rate, he's the starter the rest of this season right?  Or at least starting on Sunday against the Chiefs.  Why the Colts just don't come out and say that is weird to me?  At this rate, the Colts are 0-4 playing against a Chiefs team that's 1-3, so might as well throw Painter out there, and give him the chance to show what he can do.


The team must have a little bit of faith in him to keep him around this long, and if he's not starting then why would he still be around?  Reggie Wayne has been very vocal about giving Painter a chance, so you don't want to stir up anything and let Kerry Collins have his job back even though in the NFL that's how it works.


Hopefully, the fans can rally around Painter, I mean I've seen some good things from him, so let's get him out there in front of the home crowd, and give him a chance to win a game for the Colts.  As long as that defense can continue to step up like in the Pittsburgh game, and keep the Colts in the game, then Painter should be able to do something and manage the game.  That's what most of the NFL teams what in their quarterback anyways, someone to be there and manage the game. You don't always have to have the flashy numbers, but do enough to get a score.  Here's the Support Painter tour starting now.

NFL Week 4 Reactions

There's your Monday Night Football Crew

Chicago Bears 34 Carolina Panthers 29
Another win for the Bears as they put away Cam Newton and the Panthers.  Matt Forte ran all over the Panthers as he racked up 205 yards.  What a running day for him.  Cam Newton threw well over 300 yards, but couldn't get the job done for the Panthers.

Cincinnati Bengals 23 Buffalo Bills 20
The Bills had a bit of a letdown with this game, but after beating the New England Patriots in the fashion they did, it was almost expected.  The Bengals were glad to take advantage of that, and get a late field goal to win the game.

Tennessee Titans 31 Cleveland Browns 13
A tale of two different teams.  I thought the Titans wouldn't be that good, and I thought the Browns would be better.  But the Titans get another win, and move to 3-1 and towards the top of the AFC South.  The Browns drop to 2-2 right in the middle of the AFC North.

Detroit Lions 34 Dallas Cowboys 30
This is a statement game for the Lions to show they are for real this year.  They are one of two undefeated teams, and just keep finding ways to win games.  This game they were down by double digits in the second half, and just turned it on in that fourth quarter.  It helped that Tony Romo threw some bad interceptions, but you need to convert those into points.  Calvin Johnson is beast mode this year, but needs a better nickname than Megatron.

Kansas City Chiefs 22 Minnesota Vikings 17
The Vikings are still winless after four games, and just look like a bad team.  The Chiefs get the win, but do they look much better?

Washington Redskins 17 St. Louis Rams 10
The Rams are another winless team that can't get it together yet.  The Redskins are actually doing better than I would have thought sitting at 3-1 and near the top of their division.  They aren't doing it pretty, but ugly wins the game as well.

San Francisco 49ers 24 Philadelphia Eagles 23
The 49ers beat the Dream Team, as if they were really a dream team.  That's why it goes to show don't pat yourself on the back before you do a good job.

New Orleans Saints 23 Jacksonsville Jaguars 10
The Saints beat a bad Jags team, nothing more you can say about that.

Houston Texans 17 Pittsburgh Steelers 10
Maybe a statement game for the Texans as they look to do something special this season.  But then again, this Steelers team didn't look that good last week, so how good are the Steelers?  This was a game that the Texans should have won, and they did, so that's a step in the right direction for them.

New York Giants 31 Arizona Cardinals 27
The Giants caught fire in the fourth quarter as they put up 21 points, and put away the Cardinals.  The Giants are sitting atop the division as well, maybe a bit of a surprise for them.

Atlanta Falcons 30 Seattle Seahawks 28
The Falcons get the better of this bird fight and hold off the Seahawks late to win the game.

Green Bay Packers 49 Denver Broncos 23
The Packers look great this year, and Aaron Rodgers might be staking his claim for early season MVP as he threw for 4 touchdowns in this game, and got 6 total touchdowns.

New England Patriots 31 Oakland Raiders 19
The Raiders couldn't pull off the upset against the Patriots, and drop to 2-2 in their division.  Not a horrible performance against New England, and they probably had a few chances to get back into this game, but couldn't do it.

San Diego Chargers 26 Miami Dolphins 16
Are the Dolphins the worst team in the NFL?  They look like they're not even in games, and they lose their quarterback in this game.  The Chargers are showing they can be a good starting out team, and let's see if they can actually do something this season.

Baltimore Ravens 34 New York Jets 17
If you wanted an ugly game, you got it with this Sunday night affair. But with these type of teams, what else would you expect?  The Ravens look like the best team in the AFC North, and possibly in the AFC overall. The Jets just can't seem to get it together this season, and wonder how long Rex Ryan will be around.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 Indianapolis Colts 17
The past two games this Colts team has looked so much more competitive than the 0-4 team they are.  I know it's not a win, but playing tough and having chances to win the game is much better than not being in the game at all.  Curtis Painter gets his first start here, and looked good on some of his passes.  He found Pierre Garcon on two touchdown passes.  The defense couldn't stop Tampa Bay on quite a few third downs, which is never going to help win a game.  The defense still looked good at times here, and I think the Colts are making steps towards a better team.  They get the Chiefs next week, and should be able to finally get that first win.

On the Sidelines 21- Football, Baseball, and Basketball, Oh My!

Curtis Painter gets the call to start

On the Sidelines 21- Football, Baseball and Basketball Oh My!

Giving out my expert opinion on the baseball playoffs.  Also giving out my NFL Picks for Week 4, and talking a little bit about the Colts week.  

NFL News
Indianapolis Colts Start Curtis Painter Monday

Terrell Owens Heading Across the Sea

NFL Power Rankings

 NFL ESPN Picks

MLB News
Arizona Diamondbacks Milwaukee Brewers Previews

St. Louis Cardinals Philadelphia Phillies Preview

Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Preview

Detroit Tigers New York Yankees Preview

NBA News
NBA Talks Continue Despite Tense Moment

Big Z to Retire after 13 years