Clearly an off-week for the Furnace last weekend as the Dolphins ‘Walk-Off’ safety in their OT win over the Bengals, and the Jets upsetting of the Saints, both did us in. It seems we’re a lot like the Jets; doing well in odd weeks and poorly in even ones which should bring us some success this week.
*Home team in CAPS
Bills over the STEELERS- These are two pretty bad teams with just 5 wins between them after nine weeks of football. We’re picking the Bills because their defense (which did not allow the 9-0 Chiefs one offensive touchdown last week) is better than the Steelers. Big Ben has thrown nine interceptions and has been sacked 31 times this season. The Steelers gave up 55 points to the Patriots last week, 34 to the Vikings and 40 to the Bears earlier in the year. E.J. Manuel returns on Sunday which is another plus for Buffalo.
#7 Ben Roethlisberger getting sacked earlier in the season, one of 31 so far, will face a Bills defense that got to seldom-sacked Alex Smith twice last week. Photo: Tom Uhlman/AP
Bengals over the RAVENS- The Bengals should have won their fifth game in a row on Halloween but instead took a heartbreaking OT loss at the hands of the Dolphins on a safety. Tough game to call this week as the Bengals are on the road and are dealing with the losses of MLB Rey Manualuga and DL Geno Adkins. Since they will have a full 10 days in between games, Cincy should be more rested and prepared for Sunday’s contest.
COLTS over the Rams- Another tough game as the Colts have not been overpowering in their wins of late taking their last three by six, six, and three points. However they have wins against some top caliber teams including Denver, S.F., and Seattle to their credit and frankly in a game that pits Andrew Luck against Kellen Clemens, we’ll go with Luck…
49ERS over the Panthers- Carolina has been a force winning their last four in a row as Cam Newton, a former 1st overall pick, has reminded us of how explosive a quarterback he can be after a stunning 2012-’13 season. The 49ers who have a five game winning streak of their own have put up 35-34-32-31-and 42 points in those five. It will be a challenge for the Panthers to put up those kind of numbers against a defense as stingy as S.F.’s.
Texans over the CARDINALS- Case Keenum, third string backup to Matt Schaub, has been the most exciting thing to happen in Houston since the Rockets had the Twin Towers, Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, both playing back in the 80’s! Keenum and the Texans almost defeated the Colts and the Chiefs in his two games, losing them both by a combined 4 points. In the two games Keenum has started, the 25 year old threw for 621 yards, had 4 touchdowns, 0 INTs and a 118.0 QB rating. He will be the reason the Texans will snap their six-game losing streak this Sunday.
#7 2nd year undrafted QB Case Keenum has a cannon for an arm throwing for at leat 25 yards five times in his only two games. AP Photo
FANTASY FURNACE 
No truth to the rumor after last night’s disgrace , Native American Indians will abandon all protests concerning the Washington Redskins and the continued use of the “word” Redskins being used in the franchise’s name. A spokesman for the group , has stated that the team has caused them enough embarrassment and after the defeat on Thursday , they have had enough . Can’t say that I blame them !
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Me neither.
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I can only hope and pray that the Thanksgiving Day games which are normally afforded to the Cowboys and Lions are not as equally abysmal ! There has to come a time to do away with this tradition of having both Dallas and Detroit in featured games on this , one of the most festive occasions of the season .
Sad news about Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett and the fact that he’s now suffering with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy ) as well as the early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease ,
tophatal ………..
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and Giants star Leonard Marshall who has the same condition as well. Very sad Al..
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See the deteriorating health of both Bernie Kosar and Jim McMahon as to how dire a situation this has now become . Even with the monies set aside in that laughable legal settlement , which to my mind the plaintiffs (over 4200) were hoodwinked into taking by their lawyers at the behest of the defendants (NFL & union) . $ 1 billion was simply a joke , considering the NFL is an annual $ 7.2 billion business .
The NFL and the NFLPA (Players’ Union) may well believe that they can rest easy , but their continued mistreatment of these retired veterans is no different than that of the federal government’s mistreatment of military veterans in this country with the VA (Veterans Administration) acting as a proxy and conduit for the continued incompetence being shown . I say that from a personal standpoint having worked with US military veterans in assisting , counseling and advising them on seeking recourse to obtain benefits being wrongfully denied them . Having served in the British military (ten years [Royal Marines]) I feel that the camaraderie, no what part of the service where one serves with distinction , we’re all brothers in arms .
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I am a veteran of six years of military duty and although I don’t have the extensive background as you, I have seen enough to keep me up at night. There really is distinct corellation between the CTE epidemic in the NFL and what the VA has failed to do for our veterans. Both cases, simply put, are a travesty..
Regarding the NFL, if the NFLPA was okay with the settlement, how then do things change for the ex-players? Would a new commissioner help at all? Or are the lawyers all to blame?
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It becomes a travesty and even bigger tragedy when we continue to hear the same repeated excuses from the NFL and the federal government and VA for continued incompetence .
The NFL and union simply got their lawyers to dupe the plaintiffs in terms of the settlement , That $ 1 billion will not be paid as a lump but in increments over a time frame agreed to and we are told that some that money will be used in the furtherance of medical research into neurological disorders . Considering that the NFL had their own inhouse research that was being conducted for several years and then seeking to discredit research conducted by the likes of UCLA Berkley , Harvard Medical School , Stanford , Sloane Ketterng and Johns Hopkins , why would anyone now believe that the league and union still has those veterans’ best interests at heart ?
Roger Goodell and NFLPA (union) Executive Director DeMaurice Smith are both self-serving buffoons !
More coming out concerning Richie Incognito and the fact that prior to this most recent incident concerning Jonathan Martin , he sexually harassed a female patron a charity golf tournament .
If at all interested let me know what you think ? Click on the links shown below to view .
http://tophatal.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/we-tend-to-see-what-we-want-to-see-and-not-what-has-actually-taken-place/
http://tophatal.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/lets-go-by-the-numbers/
http://tophatal.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/no-sleep-til-brooklyn/ /
tophatal ……………..
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Yes, I heard about that incident with the female patron and what Incognito did with a golf club. He’s a disgrace to the sport, his family, and to the human race!
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What’s even more disgusting was the interview with Fox’s Jay Glazer and how tepid it just happened to be , with the player trying to make himself a victim and Glazer not having the temerity to ask the real tough questions . Is it me but are the sports’ fans here in the US as apathetic about the behavior of athletes as they are when it also concerns politics ? Richie Incognito verbally disparages a teammate and specifically that player’s mother by suggesting what he’d like to do to her sexually and everyone is trying to make light of that fact and using this ” bs ” about freedom of expression . . What about common courtesy and decency in the midst of this all ?
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