We went 1-1 last week, losing with the Vikings (surprise, surprise…), who laid a egg on defense at home against the hapless Browns, but we won as both the Chargers and Packers covered for us paired together in a teaser. That brings the season totals to 12-4 overall 5-3 in teasers. This week Ernesto the Prediction Iguana has been hard at work, (while I was on the golf course), and he passes down this wisdom for the week:
ROAD WARRIORS
Ravens +2.5 at BILLS
Colts -1.5 at JAGUARS
A litmus test for the Colts going on the road in a vicious and crucial divisional game, they need to win to be considered a serious contender. The Bills often show early season fire, and the Ravens are banged up, but I still see Baltimore finding a way to win.
RISING STARS?
CHIEFS +1 vs. Giants
Bengals +2.5 at BROWNS
Is it just the typical early season chaos? Or is it an emerging trend? The Chiefs haven’t had a positive outlook this good in 20 years – they might even give the Broncos a run for the division, and what a miracle story if Andy Reid somehow gets to the Super Bowl. Hey Philly! Maybe it’s you! The Bengals beat the Packers, a clearly better team, and dominated the Steelers. Can they take it on the road? They’ll have to if they want to be taken seriously. With the Steelers down and the Ravens banged up, guess who takes the division?
OH YOU!
Dolphins-SAINTS OVER 41
Steelers-VIKINGS UNDER 49
Pittsburgh and Minnesota have girls but they still can’t score, but everyone can always score in Miami and New Orleans! After all…where would you go to score? PA and MN or Nola and South B?
Finally, this week Ernesto and I want to waive a fond farewell to another Animal Kingdom Media Giant. Syracuse’s iconic Doppler the Weather Cat is retiring after almost 20 years on screen reporting the weather for Matt Mulcahy and crew – the gold standard of Syracuse broadcast news. Doppler meowed his way into all our hearts, and brightened even the snowiest Sibera-cuse day. Smarter than Donna Shalala, better looking than Jim Beoheim, and able to sink more free throws than any of those ham-fisted clods on the b-ball team, Doppler was a local star and belongs in the Greater Syracuse Hall of Fame.
Good luck to your replacement, and enjoy the caviar, tuna, and industrial strength catnip that you surely earned.
Here, for posterity, is Doppler’s final weather forecast for Syracuse…and when it came to predicting snow, he was an even better prediction pet than Ernesto!
