- Saints 17, Falcons 14 - Well that wasn't so much fun... first, the small picture... Drew Brees threw the ball wherever he wanted to all night long, and while he is still having trouble taking care of the ball, he was able to slip in and out of trouble all night with quick sidesteps and deliver the ball... Matt Ryan wasn't terribly efficient (15 of 29) and generally unimpressive, but he didn't make any mistakes... the real problem offensively was the ineptitude of the running game... Michael Turner rushing 17 times for 48 yards and fumbling on the Saints 1-yard line doesn't present what the Falcons need to win a big game... simple as that... I was impressed by the defense overall, and they obviously made big plays with the Davis pick-6 and the Abraham INT, but with the small caveat of whiffing on 8-9 potential sacks... have to get the QB on the ground if you're going to blitz basically every play against empty sets.... that said, if you told me they'd hold NO to 17? I'd expect a win... anyway... overall? I don't think it means a whole lot... we know what New Orleans is... they can't run the ball, but when you have Brees, you have a chance... and for Atlanta, if they take care of business at home against Carolina, all roads to the Super Bowl go through the Georgia Dome, and it's tough to pick against them there...
Elsewhere...
- Pitt 78, Uconn 63 - An undervalued matchup of top-10 Big East teams goes to Pitt... they led throughout, and while Kemba Walker got his 31 points... they forced him to take 27 shots to do so... I always enjoy Pitt... Gibbs and Wanamaker are gritty, and they defend like crazy as a unit...
- NBA Box Score Check - 3 straight wins for Orlando who seems to be coming together... the addition of Ryan Anderson off his injury has really helped (10 and 12 last night), but Turkoglu looks rejuvenated... Minnesota got a blowout win over NO behind Beasley's 30, 9, and 7... he's flying under the radar, but filling it up... what a steal for Kahn... The Hawks cruise in Milwaukee... simple formula... Al Horford played 41 minutes and had 18 and 12 last night... and Josh Powell didn't play... thanks Larry... Dirk Nowitzki went down last night (length unknown) but Dallas gets the win in OKC despite Durant's 28... Break up the Rockets! Back to .500 at 15-15... here they come! lol... Portland edges Utah 96-91 behind Aldridge's 26... nice to see him take on the #1 scorer role... and of course, Double-Double watch!... Blake Griffin with 26 and 14 to keep his steak alive while Kevin Love comes in with a "paltry" 16 and 11 to match... the streaks continue....
What to watch for...
- Tuesday night... football!?... Vikings @ Eagles at 8:00 on NBC.... doesn't mean a whole lot standings-wise with Philly having clinched the NFC East, but fantasy championships make this a must-see for anyone involved...
- Lakers @ Spurs - 8:30 NBA-TV - An awesome matchup... LA off back to back home blowout losses, traveling to red-hot San Antonio... and Kobe seems angry...
- Minnesota @ Wisconsin - 7:00 ESPN2- A really nice big 10 hoops matchup to get conference play kicked off... I love Wisconsin under Bo Ryan...
- Bowl Games... It's about time that I feel obligated to alert you of decent matchups... West Virginia vs. NC State at 6:30 (ESPN) in the Champs Sports Bowl.... and Missouri vs. Iowa at 10:00 (ESPN) in the Insight Bowl... for the record, I like WV and Iowa...
Enjoy the games...
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