NFL Picks Better But Not Great

Went 10-6 this past Sunday to raise my over all record 23-25.  I am glad I am not into fantasy football because I would be in last the way I'm going this season.  One reason I don't  Like fantasy is I think I would have a hard time pulling for a player in fantasy who was going up against either Carolina or San Diego.

Here we go:

Ravens 0-3 at Steelers 2-1:  No Big Ben but looks like this is a 6-10 season for the Ravens.  I'll take Steelers but this is a hard pick.  Steelers 16 Ravens 13

Jets 2-1 are Miami 1-2: Looks like Miami Can't score  and Jets probably can stop the Dolphins   24-13

Giants 1-2 at Bills 2-1:  I doubt the Giants can score enough to win this game.  21-13 Bills

Carolina 3-0 at Tampa 1-2:    Just seems like Carolina will play to the level of the team they are playing.  Some how or other they manage not to lose.  Carolina 26 Bucs 24

Eagles 1-2 at Redskins  1-2:  I think the Eagles will be near top of division by season end..  Philly 35 Skins 23

Raiders 2-1 at Da Bears:  0-3:  Raiders get Denver next week, might be for first place.  Raiders 26 Bears 10

Texans 1-2 at Falcons 3-0:  Can't see this being close.  Falcons 38 Texans 24

Chiefs 1-2 at Cincinnati 3-0:  bout time for Cincy to get clipped.  Chiefs two losses to Denver and Green Bay.  Cincinnati will not win this game.   KC 23 Cincy 20

Browns 1-2 at Chargers 1-2:  Chargers home Chargers Win 33-23

Packers 3-0 at 49's 1-2:  right now Packers best team in NFC.  9'ers are not very good. 34-20 Pack

Rams 1-2 at Cards 3-0:  Second best team in NFC is Cards.  I don't like what I see with Nick  Foles in St Louis:  Cards 31 Rams 20

Vikings 2-1 at Denver:  3-0:    I know they are undefeated but I don't see Denver winning AFC West but they will go to 4-0. 24-21

Cowboys 2-1 at Saints 0-3:  Boys will not play like Carolina did last week.. Big D 35 Saints 20

Lions 0-3 at Seattle 1-2:  Seattle is home and they have 12 players on field during home games. 26-22 Hawks.

Jags 1-2 at Colts 1-2:  Andrew Luck will throw a pick and will be behind for about five minutes Indy 38 Jags 16.

This is the first week with two teams having byes.

Rainy Function At The Junction

The game was put off because of Friday night weather but Monday was not much better and the show is on.  The home team took advantage in the first half to race out to a 21-6 lead but the Vikings score just before the half to make a 21-12 SouthWest Edgecombe lead.

The second half Tarboro fumbles inside their own ten yard line and gives the Cougars a 28-12 lead.  A poor snap by SWE results in a safety but in the battle of the unbeaten streak SouthWest Edgecombe is the 2015 Edgecombe County  champion. 28-14 over Tarboro.

There is no doubt Nash Central offense has improved drastically over the last few years.  Up to this point the Bulldog defense has not improved as much as the offense.  Tonight they had a tough foe and Bunn offense scores almost at will.  Bunn 77 Nash Central 37

Other Monday scores:

The Knights of Northern Nash have scored 73 points their last two games as they keep Smithfield Selma winless 35-7.

Fike 43 Corinth Holders 21. looks like Fike has found a defense knocking Holders to a one loss team
Hunt 21 Beddingfield 14. You want to compare scores?  Fike beat Beddingfield a couple weeks back 21-13.
Here's one I love DH Conley 37 Rose 14  wonder if Rose left their starters in this one to run up the score

Last year at this time Nash Central football player Houshun Gaines was making news declaring that he was accepting a football offer from University of Florida.  Florida burst his bubble by declaring no offer had been made.  One year later Gaines now at Virginia Tech is expected to be redshirted.  He wears number 41 and is listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 225.

Speaking of Virginia Tech it seems that the Hokies are going through the same events that both Florida State and  Penn State   Went through in when is it time for a legend coach to give up coaching.  Bobby Bowden at FSU and Joe Paterno at PSU both were duking it out as the all times wins leader in college football and both during their last five years or move no longer had their school as a major power.

Tech is faced with the same problem. Frank Beamer brought VA Tech  from the unknown and ten years in a row they won at least 10 games and Mike Vick led them to a National Championship game.  Florida ST, Penn ST and now Virginia Tech hates to be the school that looks ungrateful for the service that these legendary coaches obtained while at their school.

Beamer wants to retire on his time schedule but the Hokies look to be headed for another year of 6-6 or 7-5 season.  The last 25 years they have been better than that but not Any more.

Gurley Plays First Game

Years from now Todd Gurley may not want to remember much about his first game other than it was his first game.  Gurley came in the first drive for the Rams in the second quarter and by day's end carried the pigskin 6 times for 9 yards.  He had one catch for 5 yards.

Coach Jeff Fisher of the Rams had said before the game that he wanted  Gurley to get some touches this week and feed him some more next week depending on how he felt after the game.  There is no doubt it will be a game to remember as the Rams ran out on the field The fireworks pyrotechnics caught a patch of  turf on fire.

  This caused a 25 minute delay as they had to vacuum all the plastic of the carpet and get up all the fire extinguisher residue up before they could play.  This modern world we live in.  Players use to play on fields where the infield from a baseball field portion of a stadium  was at one end.  Today the NFL protects their million dollar players at all cost.

Thank goodness for backup quarterbacks.  ECU turned to Backup quarterback James Summers late in the first half against Virginia Tech.  Tied 14-14 Summers ran 21 times for 168 yards the second highest rushing total in Pirate history for a quarterback.  He tossed one TD in leading the Pirates to another victory over the ACC.  It is their fifth win in a row.

Floundering North Carolina went with backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky  and the Carolina backup passed 17-20 and four touchdown tosses and propelled Carolina to their third win in four starts this season.

You would think on a rainy day in Durham Georgia Tech would control any game in the slop.  Duke  dominated the Yellow Jackets way more than Notre Dame did last week.

Don't care how you rate NC State's 4-0 start and it's competition they have dominated all four.  State will find out whether they are as good as their start Saturday hosting Louisville.

Winston Salem State wins the Down East Viking Classic 17-10 over Elizabeth City State.  If you listen to the David Glenn State wide radio show you would know during the fotball season he goes around with his tailgate tour and I e-mailed Glenn late last week requesting putting the Down East Viking Classic on his schedule next year.  No response as of yet.

Jordan Speith capped a great year  by winning the Fed Ex Cup championship yesterday on the PGA tour.  Two majors and two regular events and the yesterday's win.  Not a back year winning 22 million dollars on the year.

We Live In A It's Not My Fault World

The recent happenings that two high school players attacked a game official while a game was in progress in Texas is another example that our world is in deep trouble.  The reason supposedly was that that official use racial comments to those players. The aftermath has brought forth that an assistant coach encouraged the players to attack the official.  The other team involved says that no racial comments were heard by them during the entire game to either team.

This week the assistant coach has resigned his job after admitting that he told the two players to attack the Ref.  It is my opinion that that coach should be banned from every associating with high school people ever again.  If he is a class room teacher he should be fired  because that is no way for a person responsible to  teach our children  should teach.  To me this is a lifetime offense never to even teach again.

The players action deserves some type of punishment maybe to the point of banning them from playing any sports for the rest of the school year.  These two players were 15 and 17 and whether they know right from wrong they are old enough that they should. 

Sports has all kind of rules that try to make the game as fair as possible.  Jumping across the line too soon to get an advantage over the other team.  Blocking a player in the back when he is about to tackle your player.  Any time a player violates one of those rules they are punished with a penalty.  This assault on the official goes beyond breaking the game rules but is an act that is  criminal.

We have come to the point that you can no longer tell someone that his mama  wears army boots  like it was in my day.  We have come to the point in America that if you claim it to be so  then it is ok to opening destroy anything.  Now that all the facts are in on Ferguson Missouri and evidence is there that the police officer was assaulted in his car with the victims blood, we now live in a society that we now have every reason to burn the town down regardless of the truth.

We now live where everyone wants to be a victim  because if I am a victim then I can do anything I want and get away with it. 

Right up to this point I have never seen the coach, players or ref involved other than hearing accounts of the attack on radio.  I don't know what the truth is but I do know we live in a world today that truth no longer matters as long as I can play the victim.  I would really like to know what the score of the game was at the time this assault took place.  I bet they were losing the game.

Our world is falling apart and I think we can all think when it started to happen.  When God was taken out of the schools we have now raised three generations of children that don't know who God is.  They have never opened a bible and seen the truth and when you have no knowledge of right and wrong you will always do wrong first because that is easier to do.  I would almost bet that the coach is of these three generations.  If so we have in place a society where right and wrong will be  less important.  That does not lead us to a very promising future.

Brings Back Memories

First of all found out something about this blog Friday night that I didn't know. My regular Friday blog during football season is my guesses about college football.   I wrote it earlier in the week and saved it to use on Friday.  Since Rocky Mount  moved their game to Thursday night I wrote about the game Thursday night.  Some time Thursday I accidentally hit the publish button and for a couple of minutes my college picks were on line.  When I discovered it I took it off line and after the few  Friday night games were over I added the scores to the college picks and hit publish.  I guess since it was originally published  Thursday my college football guesses are before the Rocky Mount game report. I think I have learned that I had better watch what button I touch on any report that I have done ahead of time.

Now let's turn the clock back to memories.  Friday night not many schools in the area were brave enough to slosh through the rain but Southern Nash did.  You all know I spent a lifetime doing play by play of Ahoskie High and through 1992 Hertford County.  HC played Southern Nash in the 3-A  playoffs two years in a row back in the ninety's.

They met each other for the first time in 1990 in Ahoskie and the Firebirds won 37-21.  The very next year on a night just like last night they met in the playoffs at Southern Nash.  As I recall the rain was worse in fact at the coin toss the Football Friday camera crew which were at mid field to show the toss put the camera on the feet of the players and their shoes were under water.

It turned out to be a classic game as Southern Nash won again 18-14 and they held Hertford late in the game from scoring.  So I know because I was  there that night that Southern Nash loves to play in the mud and it worked again last night.

It is funny how you remember things but earlier in the day at that point in my life I sold mobile telephones and pagers and I had been in the woods in the middle of Northampton County where we had installed a telephone on a log truck. By late morning on the way to Halifax Road just outside Dortches to show a customer how to operate his new cell phone  going through Weldon on highway 301 I was shot by a BB gun.

Yes that's right it was about 95 degrees that day an as I'm riding through Weldon my passenger side window blows up.  I thought maybe it was so hot that my window exploded.  I stopped by the road to figure out what happened and realized that I had been hit in my right rib.  Since I was going down 301 toward Halifax I stopped at the Sheriffs office and told those folks something had happened to me and I don't know what.

I thought that a piece of glass had hit me when the glass shattered an my skin had produced one drop of blood but nothing had entered me.  The deputy got on his hands and knees as sifted through the glass which was all over my car.  He found a slug which could be shot from a BB gun.

So later that night after driving on in to Rocky Mount with a passenger side window blown out helping a new customer with a phone drove back to Ahoskie only to return to do play by play in a rain storm at Southern Nash.

So every time I see Southern Nash play  in a sloppy field it brings back to me a day  out of my past which includes The Firebirds and a busted window and what a trooper I was with a band aide on my right rib to let everyone know back home a playoff football game.

Gryphons Rebound

Smithfield Selma @ Northern Nash moved to Monday 7pm
Bunn @ Nash Central Monday 6:30

Kipp Pride @ North Edgecombe Monday
Rocky Mount Prep @ Word of God Postponed

There were a couple of questions that the Rocky Mount Gryphons needed to answer early in this game with Hoke County.  Did the Gryphons still have concussion like symptoms after the crushing loss to Rose? Would the Gryphons take the 0-5 Bucks seriously?

The answer was no lingering effects from the Rose game and yes the Gryphons were ready to play.  What they ran into was the third best team that they have played to this point in the season and the Gryphons shut out the Bucks in the second half for a 35-14 victory.

Rocky Mount took the opening kickoff and promptly Moved  down the field aided by a long pass to get the ball deep in Hoke County Territory. Terrell Forbes off left tackle scored from two yards out to give Rocky Mount a 6-0 lead at the 9:40 mark in the first quarter.

The Bucks fumbled the kickoff and found themselves at the one yard line. A procedure penalty backed the ball to the three inch line but the Bucks kept the ball for 14 plays until they were stopped at the fifty.  They ate up almost all of the quarter.

Rocky Mount quickly moved the ball to the eight yard line and scored on the first play of the second quarter on a quarterback sneak by Forest Bell to give the Gryphons a 14-0 lead after Nick Bynum rolled in for the two point conversion.

Looking for the pass Hoke sprung tailback Jacob Rushing for a 54 yard jaunt and with the two point conversion the score at the 10:17 mark in the half to make the score 14-8.  B J Sanders scored from three yards out on the Gryphons third drive of the game with 49 seconds in the half.  The extra point made it 21-8 but Rushing broke another biggie and Hoke scored with 18 seconds in the half on 12 yard pass from quarterback Kevin Thorpe to wide receiver Andre Pegues.  They missed the two pointer to cut the lead to 21-14.  Despite only 18 seconds the Gryphons ended the half deep in Hope County territory.

Hoke opened the third quarter having to punt the ball.  The Gryphon offense scored on every procession in the third quarter twice so with an offense that punched  out yardage whenever they needed it.  BJ Sanders scamper 22 yards to give the boys in blue a 28-14 lead.

Another punt by Hoke gave the Gryphon first team offense one more try and they scored with 59 second left in the third on a three yard run by Angelo Collins.  The defense once again put a stop on a
Hoke drive and Jason Battle turn the game over to the second team and many snaps were waiting for the clock to get to five seconds to snap the ball.

Hoke County having trouble stopping  the run were at the mercy of Forest  Bell as he  hit four of five in the game passing for near 100 yards.   Gryphons get a week off and head to conference play standing at 4-2.  Gryphons 35 Hoke County 14.

Upcoming College Football Weekend

Friday night scores
North Raleigh Christian Academy 31 NE Carolina Prep 6
RMA 62 Wilson CC 26
Southern Nash 49 Ayden Grifton 33

The games were of more quality this weekend so after a 27-3 record  the first two weeks, dropped to 10-4 running my record to 37-7.  Several teams idle this week but plenty games to pick.

Samford 2-1 @ Louisville 0-3:  This is Samford not Stanford.  Louisville will finally get in the win  column.  The Ville 38 Samford. 16

LSU 3/0 @ Syracuse 3-0:  LSU might be best in SEC while Syracuse is in the middle of ACC.  LSU 26 The Orange 10

Northern Illinois 2-1 @ Boston College 2-1:  This will be a ball game.  BC was shutout by Florida State while NI almost took down Ohio State.  NI goes into Boston and wins.  27-17

Boise State 2-1 @ Virginia 1-2:  The team with the blue field travels east and picks on the ACC.  BS 34 Thomas Jefferson 24

Miami 3-0 @ Cincinnati 2-1:  No doubt the quality of games is getting better.  This is a tough road game for the Canes.  The Canes struggle but pull out a win.  Hurricanes 27 Cincinnati 24

Virginia Tech 2-1 @ ECU 1-2:  This is best Tech team in a while.   ECU still trying to find themselves.  You can count on a supreme effort from the Pirates but the Hokies win in Greenville.  30-20.

Georgia Tech 2-1 @ Duke 2-1:  both teams lost last week but Tech probably lost more than Duke in Defeat.  I am not sure Duke is as good this year as recent years.  Tech in order to still be in the running for a major bowl needs this one.  Tech 36 Duke 27

Delaware 1-2 @ North Carolina 2-1.  I smell 60 for the Heels.  Delaware hasn't really played anybody and are 1-2.  1-3 by dark Saturday.  Carolina 56 Blue Hens 20

NC State 3-0 @ South Alabama  2-1:  The Pack looks for real but they can't afford to head into Louisville game on a downer so they don't need to be looking ahead.  Pack finishes their non conference schedule 34 20 over S Ala.

The ACC was 3-2 in the ACC/Big ten Challenge if you want to call it that.  Those games tore my week up since I had call on only one ACC to win.