Perfectionist
Objectively Correct
Can anyone in their right make a prediction like this except for a Cards fan? Oh would make a lot of people eat crow after todays game.
link: to entire article
CARDINALS (+1.5) over Falcons
One of my favorite rewatchable cable movies is "Cast Away," although one scene has recently started to bug me: After Tom Hanks' character gets rescued, he goes on a whim to see his former fiancee (Helen Hunt) late at night. They catch up for a few minutes, say their goodbyes, then she lends him one of their cars and he starts driving away. Suddenly, Hunt screams after him and runs down the driveway to catch him ... and even though it's a thunderstorm, he somehow hears her, puts the car in reverse and they make out in the pouring rain before deciding that this can't work and she needs to go back in the house. This all happens in about 90 seconds. He's nice enough to give her a lift back to the garage. She gets out and walks into her house completely drenched. And Hanks drives off, presumably closing that chapter of his life.
One problem: Are we really expected to believe that her husband never woke up during any of this?
Imagine you're married to the lady who was engaged to someone who was stranded on a deserted island for four years, dramatically escaped, became a worldwide celebrity and now was back in your town. Imagine your wife is an emotional wreck about the whole thing. Imagine your dining room is covered in maps and sketches as she spent the last few days trying to figure out exactly how Hanks escaped. Aren't you waking up every time she gets out of bed for a glass of water? Aren't you jumping at the sound of every car door slam? Wouldn't the noise of your wife screaming "Chuck!" outside your house in the wee hours send you outside wielding a shotgun? HOW THE HELL DID HE SLEEP THROUGH THIS? How? She made Hanks coffee, gave him their car, opened their garage, screamed his name, made out with him on their street ... and he was just catching some Z's the whole time? I can't handle it.
Here's the point: You wouldn't notice this mistake the first time you watched the movie, or the 10th, or maybe not even the 20th. Eventually? You would notice it. And that's how I feel about this Falcons-Cards game. The Falcons couldn't look like an easier pick until you start tossing it around for the 20th time. My turning point happened in Monday's "BS Report," when our friend Mike Lombardi confessed that, as crazy as it sounded, he loved the matchup for the Cards. What??? How could that be?
I started picking the game apart. Atlanta has a rookie QB (Matt Ryan); Arizona has an experienced QB (Kurt Warner). Arizona is 6-2 at home; Atlanta is 4-4 on the road with three double-digit losses. Atlanta's running game has been significantly less effective on the road (check out Michael Turner's splits); if that trend continues this Saturday, that puts the game in Ryan's hands ... and, again, the history of rookie QBs in the playoffs isn't good. And if that's not enough, everyone on the planet loves Atlanta. Why? Why is it so obvious that a 4-4 road team is going to beat a 6-2 home team? What about the crowd? What about the nerves of a rookie QB in a playoff game? What if the Cards can throw on them and turn the game into a shootout? What if they get anything from Edge James, who showed a pulse for the first time in three years against the Seahawks last week?
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The Falcons, like Ellen, don't look as great from every angle.
In that same podcast, Lombardi and I wondered if the Falcons might lack an extra gear for the playoffs. I called them an Ellen Barkin Team; in other words, they exacted the most out of what they had, exceeded all expectations and looked good as long as you didn't catch them from the wrong angle. If they were at home for this one, I'd love them. On the road with a rookie QB against a team that can score in bunches during a weekend when we have four road favorites, two Obvious Games and two rookie QBs? Not as much. Something screwed up has to happen in Round 1. Might as well be the first game. And if you think there isn't some "Nobody believed in us except the people in this locker room!" potential with the Cards here, you're crazy.
The Pick: Arizona 34, Atlanta 17
link: to entire article
CARDINALS (+1.5) over Falcons
One of my favorite rewatchable cable movies is "Cast Away," although one scene has recently started to bug me: After Tom Hanks' character gets rescued, he goes on a whim to see his former fiancee (Helen Hunt) late at night. They catch up for a few minutes, say their goodbyes, then she lends him one of their cars and he starts driving away. Suddenly, Hunt screams after him and runs down the driveway to catch him ... and even though it's a thunderstorm, he somehow hears her, puts the car in reverse and they make out in the pouring rain before deciding that this can't work and she needs to go back in the house. This all happens in about 90 seconds. He's nice enough to give her a lift back to the garage. She gets out and walks into her house completely drenched. And Hanks drives off, presumably closing that chapter of his life.
One problem: Are we really expected to believe that her husband never woke up during any of this?
Imagine you're married to the lady who was engaged to someone who was stranded on a deserted island for four years, dramatically escaped, became a worldwide celebrity and now was back in your town. Imagine your wife is an emotional wreck about the whole thing. Imagine your dining room is covered in maps and sketches as she spent the last few days trying to figure out exactly how Hanks escaped. Aren't you waking up every time she gets out of bed for a glass of water? Aren't you jumping at the sound of every car door slam? Wouldn't the noise of your wife screaming "Chuck!" outside your house in the wee hours send you outside wielding a shotgun? HOW THE HELL DID HE SLEEP THROUGH THIS? How? She made Hanks coffee, gave him their car, opened their garage, screamed his name, made out with him on their street ... and he was just catching some Z's the whole time? I can't handle it.
Here's the point: You wouldn't notice this mistake the first time you watched the movie, or the 10th, or maybe not even the 20th. Eventually? You would notice it. And that's how I feel about this Falcons-Cards game. The Falcons couldn't look like an easier pick until you start tossing it around for the 20th time. My turning point happened in Monday's "BS Report," when our friend Mike Lombardi confessed that, as crazy as it sounded, he loved the matchup for the Cards. What??? How could that be?
I started picking the game apart. Atlanta has a rookie QB (Matt Ryan); Arizona has an experienced QB (Kurt Warner). Arizona is 6-2 at home; Atlanta is 4-4 on the road with three double-digit losses. Atlanta's running game has been significantly less effective on the road (check out Michael Turner's splits); if that trend continues this Saturday, that puts the game in Ryan's hands ... and, again, the history of rookie QBs in the playoffs isn't good. And if that's not enough, everyone on the planet loves Atlanta. Why? Why is it so obvious that a 4-4 road team is going to beat a 6-2 home team? What about the crowd? What about the nerves of a rookie QB in a playoff game? What if the Cards can throw on them and turn the game into a shootout? What if they get anything from Edge James, who showed a pulse for the first time in three years against the Seahawks last week?
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Theo Wargo/WireImageThe Falcons, like Ellen, don't look as great from every angle.
In that same podcast, Lombardi and I wondered if the Falcons might lack an extra gear for the playoffs. I called them an Ellen Barkin Team; in other words, they exacted the most out of what they had, exceeded all expectations and looked good as long as you didn't catch them from the wrong angle. If they were at home for this one, I'd love them. On the road with a rookie QB against a team that can score in bunches during a weekend when we have four road favorites, two Obvious Games and two rookie QBs? Not as much. Something screwed up has to happen in Round 1. Might as well be the first game. And if you think there isn't some "Nobody believed in us except the people in this locker room!" potential with the Cards here, you're crazy.
The Pick: Arizona 34, Atlanta 17
