Luv Ya Bum! 1929-2013

Another one of our iconic personalities in H-town passed away yesterday at age 90 in the person of beloved iconic Houston Oilers football coach O.A. 'Bum' Phillips  

The father of  Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips took over a downtrodden Houston Oilers squad in 1975 and led them to two consecutive AFC championship game appearances against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1978-79.  

Phillips loved the Oilers and once said of that NFL franchise up I-45, "They may be 'America's Team,' but we're Texas' team."   I will gleefully add the Oilers during his 55-35 tenure (4-3 in the playoffs) for six years to beat the hated Dallas Cowchips 30-24 during his tenure on Thanksgiving Day 1979 on a day in which Earl Campbell ran around, over and through the Cowboys defense for 199 yards.

He was born in Orange, TX and after a stint as a Marine during World War II and graduating from Stephen F. Austin in 1949, Phillips spent two decades coaching at the Texas high school level and as an assistant coach for Bear Bryant at Texas A&M, Bill Yeoman at the University of Houston, and Hayden Fry at SMU before making the jump to the professional ranks in 1967 as an assistant under Sid Gillman with the AFL's San Diego Chargers. Phillips came to the Oilers in 1974 as Gillman's defensive coordinator and became the coach and general manager of the team when Gillman resigned after that season.

Phillips was also one of the coaches credited with introducing the 3-4 defense to the NFL professional ranks that Wade coaches to this day.

His folksy ways, wit and coaching wardrobe of cowboy boots and cowboy hat while patrolling the NFL sidelines (except he didn't wear the hat inside domed stadiums) as the Oilers coach and engineering the trade with Tampa Bay to get Earl Campbell in a Columbia blue uniform made him a beloved figure inside Loop 610 during the Luv Ya Blue years.  

He also has another connection with the Texans in head coach Gary Kubiak being a ballboy for the Oilers.



Bud Adams firing him during the New Year's Eve Massacre in 1980 after a 27-7 wild card round playoff loss to the Raiders was a large part of the reason besides moving the team to Nashville in 1997 for the intense dislike H-town has for 'Bottom Line Bud'.

Phillips spent a few years down I-10 east coaching the New Orleans Saints from 1981-1985 before he quit.to do a little radio and television broadcast commentary before retiring to his ranch in Goliad, TX where he passed away. 

The legendary coach will be missed here, but for those back in the day Oiler fans like myself who got to meet him and also see him patrolling the Astrodome sidelines during the Love Ya Blue days, we'll never forget him. 

Luv ya always Bum and thanks for everything you did to make being an Oiler fan during  your Luv Ya Blue tenure something to be proud of and not to be embarrassed about.   

I also don't think Bum will have to beat on or kick down the Pearly Gates to get in

2013 Texans Watch-Four Weeks, Four Straight Aggravating Losses

As you probably guessed, I'm not too happy with my fave NFL team right now.   Thank goodness my alma mater is unbeaten and the Dynamo are making their usual late season surge toward the MLS playoffs to keep my Houston sporting pissivity to a minimum

And yes people, my TV is still intact. 

The Texans have had the number one ranked defense, but suck in stopping people in the red zone.   They have forced only three turnovers so far in this 2013 season.  The offense has now after today's game thrown a pick six in every game starting with the opening one against the Chargers.  And what's up with all the penalties being called on this team that have stalled drives at critical times or kept them alive for their opponents?  

Despite the Texans dominating time of possession in the first half against the Baltimore Ravens back on September 22, a critical second quarter pick six by Schaub gave the Angry Birds the lead and eventually led to a 30-9 rout at M&t Bank Stadium that knocked them from the unbeaten ranks and got this NFL losing party started.  

Good thing I didn't go double or nothing on the crab cakes Robyn Webb owes me from last year's rout we put on the Ravens at Reliant.   



The Texans get the Seattle Seahawks at home, are beating them soundly and I leave home for another event that Sunday with them comfortably ahead 20-3.  By the time I arrive at the venue for it I discover that Matt Schaub has tossed another pick six to Richard Sherman that tied the game with 2:40 left in the fourth quarter that they eventually lose 23-20 in overtime.    


The Texans then head to Candlestick Park and get embarrassed again on national TV.  Schaub starts this game against the 49ers like he did the San Diego one with a pick six that jump started their 34-3 blowout loss  

It was Schaub's NFL record fourth straight game with a pick six and had elements of the fan base here calling for his permanent benching in favor of TJ Yates.   After Schaub threw his third pick of that 49er game he was pulled.  The turnovers and stupid penalties on both sides of the ball didn't help either. 

Their latest loss came at Reliant to their third straight NFC West opponent in the St Louis Rams . The Texans once again moved the ball around at will but settled for field goals in the red zone. Arian Foster rushed 20 times for 140 yards, but penalties and four critical red zone turnovers turned this into a 38-13 rout as well.

And I have two words for the nekulturny bandwagon riding 'fans' who cheered when Schaub was carted off the field with a ankle injury after being sacked in the third quarter. 

Not cool.  

The 2-4 Texans have a trip to unbeaten (6-0) Kansas City looming next Sunday in which they will attempt to avoid going 0-for-October before their much needed bye week. 

They finally ended a touchdown drought that covered 9 quarters and 12 minutes of overtime when Ben Tate scored in the fourth quarter on his one yard plunge.   It was the first Texan TD scored since the second quarter of the Seattle game so I have some hope they'll get it together. 

When they come out of that bye week, they are facing a schedule that has the rest of their division games starting with the better than expected Colts team they have never beaten in Indianapolis, plus the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos, a fast improving Oakland Raiders squad and a Jekyll-and-Hyde like Arizona Cardinals team in which you don't know which one will show up on Sunday.

Frankly, the Texans need to return to the football fundamentals.  Stop committing silly penalties. The receivers need to start coming back to the ball on those out routes to help Schaub out.   Get more creative in their play calling.  The Bulls On Parade need to create more turnovers.  

Whatever is ailing the Texans better get fixed fast because they are fortunate they have only played one AFC South Division game and already beat the Tennessee Traitors.   They are also 2-1 in their AFC conference games that go a long way toward breaking ties and determining who will get into the NFL playoffs at the end of the season. 

But their margin for error is shrinking and their time to turn this season around is dwindling.  .

2013 UH Cougar Watch-5-0!

The good news is that H-town has one unbeaten football team playing inside Loop 610, and nope it ain't the guys who get paid to play in Reliant Stadium.

The Cougars once again played some serious defense, forcing 4 turnovers to add to their NCAA leading +14 turnover ratio and limited the Memphis offense to five field goals.

UH needed the defensive bailout, because the Air Raid offense took awhile to get going with Memphis' number 15 FBS ranked defense holding the usually high octane Cougar offense to a season low 247 total yards. 

UH got the scoring party started at BBVA Compass Stadium early with a 17 yard O'Korn to Daniel Spencer touchdown strike on their opening drive after Memphis turned the ball over.

But after that initial UH touchdown drive, the Coogs couldn't muster any sustained offense.  The Tigers narrowed the gap to 7-6 before a Leone second quarter field goal pushed the lead to 10-6 and Memphis got another one from Jake Elliott to narrow it to 10-9 at the half. 

The Cougar offensive struggles continued into the second half and Memphis eventually took a 15-10 lead in the third quarter before a 33 yard goal line catch by Xavier Maxwell seat up the first of Kenneth Farrow's two scoring touchdowns. 

Welcome back, Kenneth! Boy have they missed you in red zone situations.  The subsequent successful two point conversion gave them a three point lead before UH put the game away in the fourth quarter for the 25-15 win. 

With the victory UH not only matched their disappointing win total for last season, but go to 5-0 to start a season for only the fourth time in school history.  They also joined Louisville and South Florida at 2-0 for the AAC lead.

“There’s nobody in our program satisfied winning five games,” UH coach Tony Levine said in a Houston Chronicle interview. “There is nobody in that locker room — players, coaches and staff — that is driving home saying one more win and we’re going to a bowl game. That’s not our focus.”

Especially since the Coogs are now in an AQ conference and the winner of the AAC title, at least for this season automatically qualifies for a BCS bowl. 

The undefeated Cougars get tested next week when those other Cougars from BYU come to Reliant Stadium followed by a AAC road trip to New Jersey to play Rutgers.

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions-Week 5

This was a good news-bad news week for me in this 2013 prognostication contest that has now hit Week 5.  The good news is I didn't have another sub-.500 week.   The bad news was I had to go 4-1 in my Week 4 afternoon and Sunday-Monday night games to go a pitiful 8-7.

Okay, I'm really getting tired of this slow start, and I'm not just talking about me in this 2013 NFL prognostication contest.    

The Texans played 3.5 quarters of football last Sunday against the Seahawks.   When I left the house to go to the Race Relations Forum they were comfortably up 20-3.   By the time I arrived at Resurrection MCC they were tied and in OT for the third game this year and subsequently lost 23-20 to go 2-2 on the year. 

There were some Texans fans (myself included) who were not too happy about the Matt Schaub fourth quarter pick six that tied the game.  It's the third consecutive game he's thrown a pick six and at 2-2 in the middle of a brutal stretch of their schedule we are concerned about our NFL ballers inside Loop 610, especially since the Bulls on Parade defense has played lights out save the Baltimore game.  

One disgruntled fan expressed himself in a beyond nekulturny way by paying $200 for a Matt Schaub jersey he subsequently burned.  

Dude, I get it you're PO'd at Schaub, but I can think of better ways to spend $200   

Schaub better step it up this Sunday night on national TV against the 49ers or else he may find himself in Week 6 on the bench looking at TJ Yates or Case Keenum in his spot.

It's now NFL Week 5 and only have fourteen games to pick because four teams are on their bye weeks.  The 1-3 Vikings and the 0-4 Steelers who played last week across The Pond, the 1-3 Redskins, and the 0-4 Buccaneers.  Speaking of stepping it up, same goes for me in this prognostication contest.  

Teams I'm picking to win this week are in underlined bold print.   Eli's and Mike's picks are here. 

Week 4 Results
TransGriot     8-7
Eli Blake        8-7
Mike Watts  10-5

2013 Season Record
TransGriot      36-27
Eli                  45-18
Mike              40-23

NFL Week 5
Bye Week: Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Washington, Tampa Bay

Thursday Night Game
Buffalo at Cleveland

Sunday Noon Games
New England at Cincinnati
Detroit at Green Bay
Seattle at Indianapolis
Baltimore at Miami
New Orleans at Chicago
Philadelphia at NY Giants
Kansas City at Tennessee
Jacksonville at St Louis

Sunday Afternoon Games
Carolina at Arizona
Denver at Dallas

Sunday Night Games
Houston at San Francisco
San Diego at Oakland

Monday Night Game
NY Jets at Atlanta

.

2013 UH Cougar Watch- Coogs Are 4-0!

While Computer Prime was in the shop, the NCAA college football season got cranked up along with the first year of my Houston Cougars playing in the American Athletic Conference, AKA the rebranded Big East.

They went 5-7 in their last C-USA season and were picked in the AAC preseason media poll to finish sixth in the league.  But historically my alma mater has a habit of exceeding football expectations in the first year they enter new conferences. 

So far it looks like that may be happening for this prepubescent Cougars football squad now.  

Because they are building a $105 million 40,000 seat on campus football stadium on the former spot that Robertson Stadium used to occupy that isn't scheduled to open until next August, their 2013 home games are being played at Reliant, Rice and BBVA Compass stadiums.

The Coogs got this 2013 football party started with a 62-13 August 30 thumping of the Southern University Jaguars from the SWAC at Reliant Stadium. 

The next week, September 7 they traveled to Philadelphia to make a little history and play the very first American Athletic Conference game against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. 

It was a tight and frustrating affair for the Cougars as they lost junior starting QB David Piland to a concussion and sophomore RB Kenneth Farrow to a season ending injury.

Piland's concussion paved the way for true freshman John O'Korn to take over the reins and his freshman counterpart Greg Ward to get some playing time.  The UH Air Raid offense moved the ball at will on the Owls until they got in the red zone, the Temple defense would stiffen and they would settle for field goals.  Cougar kicker Richie Leone kicked five field goals as they went an abysmal 1 for 8 in the red zone. 

Been watching the Texans too much.    

But the Cougar defense stepped up and got a red zone pick to end one Owl drive with them clinging to a 15-13 lead and stiffened on another drive that led to a missed 25 yard field goal that would have put Temple in front 16-15.   Ryan Jackson’s 8 yard fourth quarter touchdown run let the Cougars exhale and get out of town with a 22-13 win to go 2-0 on the young 2013 season and get their first AAC conference win. 

The Bayou Bucket showdown at Reliant Stadium with our crosstown rivals the Rice Owls was next up on the schedule on September 21.  It was in addition to being John O'Korn's first collegiate start a game chock full of offensive fireworks as the Cougars found themselves trailing 13-7 after the first quarter before they woke up and grabbed an 17-13 halftime lead.   

The Cougars built a comfortable 31-13 they took into the fourth quarter lead before Rice came storming back.  

Alex Lyons picked up a blocked Cougar field goal attempt with 2:18 in the game fourth quarter and raced 62 years for a Rice TD to narrow the lead to a scant five points.   Rice kicker Chris Boswell subsequently executed a highlight worthy back-footed onside kick the Owls recovered to give them one last chance to bring the Bucket to their side of town.

But a fourth down pass from the UH 36 on that potential game winning drive fell incomplete and the Bucket remains on the UH campus for the third straight year after the 31-26 win over the Owls to go 3-0.

Because the Cougars and Owls are now in different conferences for the first time since 2003, that was the last scheduled game between UH and Rice for the next four years.  Both schools have indicated they wish to continue the Bayou Bucket rivalry which has occurred since 1971.


Yesterday the unbeaten Cougars traveled down I-10 west to take on the 2-2 UT-San Antonio Roadrunners at the Alamodome for the first time. 

But this had the makings of a trap game.  The UTSA program may only be three years old, but it's headed by Larry Coker, who once led the Miami Hurricanes to a national championship in 2001.  UTSA sits in the second largest city in Texas and has quality high school programs in the area like Houston that produce lots of FBS caliber high school football players.  The Roadrunners recruited enough of them to where they went 8-4 last season and 3-3 in the WAC but because they are making the transition from FCS (Division I-AA) aren't fully bowl eligible until 2014.    

For three quarters UTSA stayed competitive with the Cougars in a back and forth game in which the lead exchanged several times.  It unraveled in the fourth quarter for the Roadrunners when Cougars defensive lineman BJ Singleton blocked a Sean Ianno field goal attempt that Brandon Wilson scooped up and turned into a 79 year touchdown that gave UH a 31-21 lead. 

It also turned a close game into a rout as the Cougars forced five fourth quarter UTSA turnovers including a 96 yard pick six with 48 seconds left in the game by William Jackson for a 59-28 win and remain undefeated in this 2013 football season. 

The 4-0 UH Cougars play their second AAC game on Saturday morning October 12 at BBVA Compass Stadium against Memphis.

Going to be interesting to see them trying to keep the forward momentum going in this inaugural AAC season with this freshman dominated squad.  .

Will be hoping they do. 

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions-Week 4

NFL Week 3 was ugly as I had a sub-500 week no thanks to all the upsets.  While I still have time to get back into this contest, I'd better do it fast because we're now a quarter of the way into the season and Eli is showing no signs of cooling off form his hot start.   I can't afford any more 7-9 weeks.

And yeah the Texans return to cha-cha football on offense against the Ravens didn't help me avoid a sub.500 week either. What do I mean by cha-cha football on offense? 

One, two, three, kick.  One, two, three, kick.

Moving the ball at will until you get to the red zone and you come away with field goals instead of touchdowns will get you beat against upper echelon NFL teams.  If the Texans consider themselves an upper echelon Super Bowl contending club, better start scoring TD's when they get it in the red zone especially since their schedule for the next two weeks ain't no picnic.

This NFL Week 4 we see the first two teams get their bye week as Carolina and Green Bay get to watch 'errbody' else play while they chill on the couch. 

The winless Steelers and Vikings are in London to play their regular season game at Wembley Stadium with the loser facing a long depressing plane ride back across The Pond pondering an 0-4 start and increasing chances of missing the 2013 NFL playoffs. 

We are starting to get a feel for which teams look like Super Bowl contenders, which ones look like pretenders, and which ones will be playing for the number one pick in the 2014 NFL Draft next May.

So I have some work to do to get back into this prognostication contest and only 15 games to select due to the bye week.  My picks as usual are in underlined bold print while Eli's and Mike's are here.

Week 3 Results
TransGriot    7-9
Eli Blake     12-4
Mike Watts   9-7

2013 Season Record
TransGriot      28-20
Eli                  37-11
Mike              30-18

NFL Week 4
Bye Week  Carolina, Green Bay

Thursday Night Game
San Francisco at St Louis 

Sunday Noon Games
Seattle at Houston
NY Giants at Kansas City
Baltimore at Buffalo
Arizona at Tampa Bay
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Cincinnati at Cleveland
Chicago at Detroit
Pittsburgh at Minnesota (London)
NY Jets at Tennessee

Sunday Afternoon Games
Dallas at San Diego
Washington at Oakland
Philadelphia at Denver

Sunday Night Game
New England at Atlanta

Monday Night Game
Miami at New Orleans

 

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions-Week 3

Now that's more like it!

I rebounded from my sorry for me Week One 9-7 NFL prognostication performance to have a much better 12-4 week.   But so did Eli who continues his hot start to his rookie NFL prognostication campaign with a 13-3 week while Mike slipped a bit to 10-6. 

But it's still early in this 2013 NFL prognostication contest.  As I and Mike both know it's a marathon, not a sprint.  We're only in Week 3 of the young NFL season despite Eli opening up an early four game lead on both of us.

I had a seven game lead last year that Mike erased, and in 2011 I erased a four game deficit with two weeks to go to tie Mike for the title.   One bad week from Eli (and it's coming) or a hot streak from either me or Mike and we'll be right back in it.    


While I was in Oakland I got to see parts of the Raiders home opening win over the Jaguars before Trans* H4CK judging duties called. 

I missed my fave NFL ballers beating the Tennessee Traitors at Reliant Stadium 30-24 in overtime to go 2-0 on the season.  The Texans as a result of that win took over sole possession of first place in the AFC South and the Colts loss to Miami.

But the Texans begin a brutal three week stretch of their schedule by playing the Not So Angry Birds in Baltimore this weekend and following that up with games against the Seahawks at Reliant and the defending NFC champion 49ers in San Francisco.   

Enough jibber-jabber, let's get to the Week 3 NFL picks since that's what y'all surfed over here for.

Teams I'm picking to win are in underlined bold print on the weekly schedule while Eli and Mike's picks are here at these links.

Week 2 Results                                                    

TransGriot    12-4
Eli Blake       13-3
Mike Watts   10-6
 .
2013 Season Record

TransGriot      21-11
Eli                  25-7
Mike              21-11

NFL Week 3

Thursday Night Game
Kansas City at Philadelphia

Sunday Noon Games
Houston at Baltimore
NY Giants at Carolina
Detroit at Washington
San Diego at Tennessee
Arizona at New Orleans
Tampa Bay at New England
Green Bay at Cincinnati
St Louis at Dallas
Cleveland at Minnesota

Sunday Afternoon Games
Atlanta at Miami
Buffalo at NY Jets
Indianapolis at San Francisco
Jacksonville at Seattle


Sunday Night Game
Chicago at Pittsburgh

Monday Night Game
Oakland at Denver

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions-Week 2

Like every other Texans fan in H-town I was up late Monday night watching my hometown NFL ballers stink up Qualcomm Stadium in the first half, then flip the script and outscore the Chargers 24-7 in the second half for a historic 31-28 comeback win 

That comeback win helped me go 9-7 for the opening week of the 2013 NFL season.  While that's above .500, not good enough if I want to repeat as the NFL prognostication champion, especially with two people in the mix this year.

It's also a trip that our newbie Eli beat both me and Mike this week  

So it's time to get busy with my Week 2 NFL picks.  Team I'm picking to win is in underlined bold print  Eli and Mike's picks are here.

Week 1 Records

TransGriot     9-7
Mike Watts  11-5
Eli Blake      12-4

NFL Week 2

Thursday Night Game
New England at New York Jets

Sunday Noon Games
Tennessee at Houston
Baltimore at Cleveland
Carolina at Buffalo
St. Louis at Atlanta
Minnesota at Chicago
Dallas at Kansas City
Miami at Indianapolis
Washington at Green Bay
San Diego at Philadelphia

Sunday Afternoon Games
Jacksonville at Oakland
Detroit at Arizona
Denver at NY Giants
New Orleans at Tampa Bay

Sunday Night Game
San Francisco at Seattle

Monday Night Game
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

2013 Texans Watch-Comeback!

In an opening game that had me wanting to throw stuff at the television at times, I got to watch a little Texans history at the end 

The Texans had a not so wonderful start to their 2013 NFL season in the Monday Night Football nightcap with Matt Schaub getting his initial pass of the season batted and intercepted deep in Texan territory and the Chargers quickly cashing it in for the opening touchdown.

The Texans trailed 21-7 at halftime and after the Chargers took the opening third quarter kickoff and rammed it down their throats for a 28-7 lead.

After that the Texans woke up and started playing football.  The Bulls on Parade shut down the Chargers offense for the rest of the game and Matt Schaub and company scored 24 unanswered points to orchestrate the biggest Texan comeback in their history. 

It was capped off by a game winning field goal by kicker Randy Bullock for the 31-28 victory and was also the first time they have ever beaten the San Diego Chargers as well

I'd rather have less stress while watching my fave NFL ballers, but it was nice to see them claw, scratch and fight their way out of a self created hole and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. 

The Texans play their home opener at Reliant Station Sunday against the Tennessee Traitors.   Hopefully they won't be getting off to an abysmally slow start in that game and that is not a trend.

     

2013 Texans Watch-Victory Over The Vikings

The 2013 NFL preseason got off to a successful start for my favorite football team despite ten starters watching it from the Mall of America Field sidelines either due to coach Gary Kubiak's decision or injury.

The Texans escaped with no further injuries and a 27-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings to open their preseason slate. 

As befits the first preseason game it was sloppy at times on both sides of the ball with some missed tackles, dropped balls and the like but got better as the game progressed. 

Matt Schaub was 5-for-5 for 34 yards on his opening drive in this Super Bowl or bust season in which he has pressure on him to elevate his level of play to help the Texans get to New Jersey this February. 

The game was turned over early to the second and third string players fighting to make both  teams or solidify roster spots.  One player that Houston fans were anxious to see play is first round draft pick DeAndre Hopkins and he didn't disappoint.

On the Texans first touchdown drive of the preseason that ate up 6:02, took 12 plays and went 85 yards Hopkins capped it off with a leaping catch of a TJ Yates pass for a 34 yard TD.  Yates finished his time in the game by going 13-of-21 for 151 yards with that TD while Case Keenum was 13-of-18 for 125 yards and a two yard bootleg toss to Lestar Jean that put the Texans up 20-13 early in the fourth quarter  

Keenum also led another TD drive capped off by a five yard Ray Graham TD run to put the Texans up 27-13.

The Texans didn't turn the ball over in this game while picking off two passes and recording four sacks of Viking quarterbacks. 

3.5 of those sacks were courtesy of starting nose tackle Earl Mitchell and his backup Terrell McClain.  It's another position Texans fans are watching since Shaun Cody left for Philadelphia.

Next up for the Texans is their preseason home opener at Reliant Stadium on August 17 against the Miami Dolphins. 
 

'Necessary Roughness' Season 2 Finale Tonight

I'm a big fan of the USA Network cable show Necessary Roughness, which follows the exploits of Dr. Danielle Santino who is hired by the fictional New York Hawks team to handle their mental health issues and eventually becomes a renowned sports psychologist.

Callie Thorne's Dr Dani character is based on the real-life story of Dr. Donna Dannerfelser, who was hired by the New York Jets as their mental health specialist.

In last week's episode setting up tonight's season finale Callie Thorne did an anti-bullying PSA for GLSEN that was put together with the help of GLSEN's Andy Marra.  .

In tonight's finale, the Hawks players who is about to come out of the closet is the team's starting quarterback.  It's going to be interesting to see how this affects the team chemistry, especially since the Hawks are chugging along with a 7-2 record and there were already some phobic remarks being tossed around in the Hawks locker room..

It's also ironic that the same quarterback who was less than supportive of star wide receiver Terrence 'TK 'King when he was going through his struggles, is now in the position of having to ask TK to have his back as he tries to come out of the closet.




While that hasn't happened yet, the odds are that we have already had or have playing right now NFL players who are in the closet.  It  is only a matter of time before this fictional coming out becomes a reality. 
 
We'll see what happens on Necessary Roughness at 9 PM CST  when this show airs how it plays out.

2012 TransGriot NFL Picks-Super Bowl XLVII

Well, I'd hoped my fave NFL ballers would be at the Mercedes Benz Superdome playing for an NFL title tomorrow, but unfortunately that isn't happening.

That game will take place between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers and be a coaching battle between the Harbaugh brothers.   It'll also be Ray Lewis' last NFL game after 17 seasons and maybe Ed Reed's last in a Ravens uniform

It'll definitely be an interesting one in terms of both teams having stellar defenses and explosive offenses. 

The Ravens and Joe Flacco like to go deep and hand it off to Ray Rice while the 49ers have a dangerous read option attack triggered by the speedy and strong armed second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The Ravens have been on a hot streak ever since they entered the playoffs.   So have the 49ers.  But the Angry Birds had the tougher playoff road that saw them take down Andrew Luck's Colts, Peyton Manning's number one AFC seeded Denver Broncos and the number two AFC seeded Brady Bunch to get to New Orleans. 

Granted, the Niners sent Arron Rodgers and number one seeded Atlanta packing in the NFC title game and were on a mission to get to the Super Bowl after their bitter overtime loss in the NFC title game at home to the New York Giants.   The 49ers are 5-0 as an organization in the Super Bowls

So who's going to win?    This is what Mike Watts had to say about it.   Ravens send Ray Lewis out in style hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy again  
 

 

NFL Referee Jerome Boger Making Black History

When NFL referee Jerome Boger steps onto the playing field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for Super Bowl XLVII, tomorrow, he will be making a little Black history when he does so.

Boger, who has been an NFL official since 2004 and was promoted to referee in 2006, will become only the second African-American to have the honor of being a Super Bowl referee.

Boger is the third African-American to become an NFL referee.  Johnny Grier broke the referee color line in 1988.  Mike Carey became the second Black NFL referee when he was promoted in 1995 in the wake of the additions of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars to the league creating the need for another officiating crew. 

The officials at the Super Bowl are chosen on merit, with the highest ranked at each position on the officiating crew getting the assignment.  The other criteria for their selection is they must have five years of NFL officiating experience and previous playoff assignments.

Boger has officiated four playoff games this postseason and finished the 2012 season as the league's number one ranked referee, but the vanilla ice flavored Hateraid started flowing once the NFL announced the Conyers, GA resident and former Morehouse College starting quarterback got this coveted assignment. 


This will be Boger's first time he has done so as the referee in a Super Bowl, but it is only the only the second time an African-American will have become a Super Bowl referee. 

Mike Carey was the first to accomplish that feat exactly five years ago at Super Bowl XLII back on February 3, 2008.

Yep, that was the one in which the New England Patriots dream of an undefeated season died in a monumental 17-14 upset loss to the New York Giants.

Congratulations to Jerome Boger for making that history.  To all the vanillacentric privileged haters whose white sheets are showing over his selection, frack y'all.  I didn't hear any of you complaining about the fact there were a total of 15 NFL head coaching and GM openings in this offseason and ALL of them went to white males.

That was especially galling to African-Americans n the wake of former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith being fired despite the team compiling a 10-6 record.

For the fans of the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, they hope that this is the only time the referee gets more press coverage than the teams involved in the NFL title game.

2012 TransGriot NFL Picks-Divisional Round

The 2012-13 NFL playoffs have moved on to the divisional round with both division champions winning in the AFC playoff bracket but Seattle taking out the Washington Redskins on the road in the NFC.wild card playoff bracket.

I'm happy my Texans won their deja vu playoff game over the Bengals, but it earned them a return matchup with the New England Patriots.  There are also return matchups between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens. 

So how will the Divisional Round shake out?    Here's how I think it will happen, and here's Mike Watts' opinion about the Divisional Round of the playoffs will go.   He got all four games right and I was 3-1 during Wild Card weekend.

Saturday's Divisional Round Games

Baltimore at Denver

This is a rematch of a December 16 game at M&T Bank Stadium in which the Broncos came into it with a 10-3 record and winners of 8 straight at that Week 15 point in the season.   The AFC North champion Ravens were in a funk at the time, missing Ray Lewis, Dannell Ellerbe, Marshall Yanda and Bernard Pollard from their defense and had just lost games with their AFC North arch rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins in OT.  It continued with a 34-17 loss to Denver that dropped them to 9-5 at the time. 

But this is the playoffs.  It's hard to beat a team twice in the same season, and the 13-3 AFC West Division champion Broncos come into it holding the number one seed, which hasn't always been a ticket to playoff success either.   They also have to deal with an emotional 11-6 Ravens team who is now healthy,  motivated to play hard for their inspirational leader Ray Lewis, and kick it up another notch in the playoffs.   

But this game is in Denver, when they only lost once at home during the 2012 regular season.  Peyton Manning will be motivated in his first playoff game for the Broncos and so will their defense.

Once again, it comes down to which Joe Flacco shows up and how many times the Angry Birds give the ball to Ray Rice. 

If the All-World Joe Flacoo shows up like he did last week along with the old Ravens defense, this could be a very interesting game.  If the football flaccid Flacco shows up and the Ravens defense can't keep Peyton in check, it will be a long sad last game for Ray Lewis.and the Ravens fans in Charm City.

I'm betting bad Flacco shows up.   Denver to win this one.

Green Bay at San Francisco

This is also a rematch of their season opening September 9 game at Lambeau Field in which the NFC North champion Packers stumbled and trailed 23-7 before putting on a furious 4th quarter rally that fell short and resulted in a 30-22 loss.   They were 2-3 out of the gate with one of the losses being the infamous 14-12 'Fail Mary' game in Seattle before they eventually sorted out their issues and finished 11-5.  

Alex Smith was the starting quarterback for the 11-4-1 NFC West Division champion Niners for their season opener, but after suffering a midseason concussion in that Week 10 tie against St Louis that forced him to sit out the next game, he found himself being replaced by Colin Kaepernick.  The second year quarterback made the most of his opportunity and compiled a 5-2 record as a starter.  One of Kaepernick's signature wins was a 41-31 triumph on national TV against the New England Patriots in Foxborough. .

This playoff rematch will be at Candlestick Park, and you'll have a playoff hardened Aaron Rodgers who just sent the Minnesota Vikings packing last week against a second year quarterback getting his first taste of NFL playoff action.   Both teams had solid defenses but different offensive styles and it will come down to which one imposes their style of play on the other. 

I repeat, it's hard to beat a team twice in the same season.  If 12-5 Green Bay turns this into a track meet, they win.   If the Niners get the lead and can play that ball control chew up the clock style game while pounding on Rodgers with that defense, they'll move on to the NFC Championship game.

It's going to be a close game, but picking the Packers to win

Sunday's Divisional Round Games 

Seattle at Atlanta

It's the 'Battle of the Birds' at the Georgia Dome in the early game between the 12-5 Seattle Seahawks and the NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons.   Seattle has a defense featuring their 'Legion of Boom' defensive secondary that is big (all 6'3"), fast and revel in lighting you up.  They have a Rookie of the Year candidate quarterback in Russell Wilson that has proven to be impervious to pressure and rolled to a 24-14 wild card round win in Washington last week. 

Atlanta's no slouch either defensively, but will be motivated to prove it in front of the home fans.  

The Falcons and their quarterback Matt Ryan are tired of being dissed by the NFL punditry and eager to atone for their past playoff flameouts.  Two years ago they had the number one seed and got waxed at home 48-21 by the Green Bay Packers who moved on to claim the Lombardi trophy two weeks later at the Jerrydome.  Last season it was the New York Giants ushering them out of the playoffs in a 26-2 blowout win at MetLife Stadium enroute to claiming the NFL title in Indianapolis 

Seattle is making their second consecutive road trip east from the Pacific Northwest.   Didn't affect them last week.  The fun matchup to watch will be the 'Legion of Boom' versus Atlanta's receiving duo of Roddy White and Julio Jones.  Ageless tight end Tony Gonzalez is still seeking that elusive Super Bowl ring to cap off a stellar sure bet NFL Hall of Fame career. 

Seattle will give them a battle, but picking Atlanta to win this one.

Houston at New England

In the Sunday afternoon game, it will be the rematch that should have been at Reliant but isn't between my 13-4 Texans and the defending 12-4 AFC champion New England Patriots.  

No one outside of Loop 610 gives the Texans a chance in this game.  Vegas has my hometown NFL ballers as 9.5 point underdogs.  Radio DJ Tom Joyner and his 'Joyner Jinx' is still rooting for the Texans.  The NFL punditry thinks it will be just like the 42-14 blowout game back in December that started the Texans late season swoon that cost them the AFC number one seed.  Ron Gronkowski will be back for this game, but so will Owen Daniels for the Texans. 

I'm sick of the Dallas Cowboy Harris County Fifth Column snarkily predicting another loss.   And what time does your playoff game kick off at Cowboys Stadium again?
.  

But as Herm Edwards says, that's why you play the game.   The NFL South Division champion Texans aren't chopped liver and have 8 Pro Bowl selections for a reason.  The Bulls on Parade looked good in the 19-13 playoff win over the Bengals.  Arian Foster had 140 yards rushing and when he does that, the Texans win..

As a Texans fan, they can't play any worse against the Patriots than they did that night, and what a lot of people fail to realize is that all the breaks went the Patriots way.   Kareem Jackson fails to recover a Stephen Ridley fumble on the Pats opening drive, the next play they score.   JJ Watt forces a fumble that ends up getting recovered for a Pats TD. 

The Texans are putting together a nice drive trailing 7-0 that ends up with Schaub getting picked when he tried to force a pass to Andre Johnson.  Arian Foster gets held to 46 yards on 16 carries. The Bulls on Parade get almost no pressure on Brady and that will kill you, especially if you're trying to play man coverage against this team.

And I'm going to repeat this one more time,  it's hard to beat a team twice in the same season.

Yes, the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl last year but they lost.  They had a similar situation in 2011 in which they were 14-2, had the number one seed and faced a Jets team they'd blown out 45-3 in Week 13 in the divisional round of the playoffs.  But it was the Jets who walked out of Gillette Stadium with a 28-21 win to face the Steelers in the AFC championship game. .

They are also facing a Texans team who has no pressure on them because everyone expects them to lose and want to atone for getting embarrassed on national TV.  . 

They won't if the following things happen.   They get their ball control offense cranked up and make Tom Brady sit on the sidelines picking splinters out of his uniform.  I don't know of any NFL offense that can score points while sitting on the sidelines.   The Buls on Parade show up and show out by putting Brady on his GQ behind a few times, force turnovers, and Shaub and the offense turn Patriot turnovers into touchdowns while minimizing their mistakes.   

And you know what, I think they'll shock the NFL world and do precisely that.  Texans in an upset.  .

. 

2012 Texans Watch-On To Foxborough!

The Texans over the month of December have not exactly shown us Houston fans they are the same squad that swaggered and dominated NFL competition through the first 12 games of the season. 

They entered their playoff game with an outlook as cloudy as the rainy overcast Houston weather that kept Reliant Stadium's roof closed and a fan base that had seen far too many of these NFL seasons that got our civic hopes up but ultimately crashed and burned for our local NFL franchise.

Well, the Texans have been saying all year they wanted to slay some demons and make new and wonderful NFL history for our city.  They took the first step in their road to the Super Bowl in their deja vu rematch with a Cincinnati Bengals squad that had won seven straight and wanted to slay a demon of its own in terms of not having won a playoff game in 22 years.

In front of a record crowd of 71,738 that included former Oilers great Earl Campbell the Bulls on Parade showed up Saturday along with a Texans offense at its clock controlling best.   They held the ball for nearly 39 minutes as Arian Foster rushed 32 times for 140 yards and a touchdown.


They are still having issues finishing drives with touchdowns as Shayne Graham's four field goals attests to.  It didn't help that Matt Schaub threw a pick six in the second quarter for a brief 7-6 Bengal lead but followed it up with a drive that led to a Graham field goal that put them up at the break 9-7.

But with the Bulls on Parade forcing turnovers and not allowing the Bengals a single third down conversion, the Texans sent the Bengals packing again with a nerve wracking 19-13 win.   

They now earn a return trip to Foxborough to play a rested New England Patriot squad that embarrassed them on national TV 42-14 last month to start their four game funk and that no one outside of Loop 610 thinks they can beat.   In fact the early Vegas line has them as 9 point underdogs.

We'll see next Sunday.

2012 TransGriot NFL Picks-Week 17

Last week of the 2012 NFL regular season and all of the games are being played on Sunday.   

Many of them have playoff ramifications.  Some teams are playing for NFL playoff seedings or just to make the playoffs.  Others have players and coaches trying to impress since it will be the last games in their current NFL locales. 

They are auditioning either for their own coaches and owners or the coaches and owners of other teams so they will be collecting a fat NFL paycheck for the 2013 season. 

All Kansas City and Jacksonville are playing for the number one and number two picks in the 2013 NFL draft and which team gets which pick.

Speaking of playing for NFL seedings, my hometown NFL ballers stunk up Reliant Stadium last week and now find themselves in a must win game against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium to clinch the number one seed throughout the AFC playoffs and that precious week off.   If they lose to the Colts, they could potentially slide all the way to the number three seed.  I'd rather be playing Denver or New England at Reliant, not there in January.

Me and Mr. Watts are still tied after 16 weeks of picking games.  I thought the 49ers would play a more competitive game than they actually did but correctly picked the Saints taking out the Cowboys even if they did need overtime and a holy roller style fumble recovery to do so .  Mike changed his pick in time for the Jets-Chargers game otherwise I'd have a one game lead on him going into today.

This it is.  Drama once again in the final week of our 2012 NFL prognostication contest just like last year..  Which one of us will be the winner?  Or will we tie for it once again?

Mike's Week 17 picks are here, mine are in underlined bold print.  . 

Week 16 records 
TransGriot  12-4
Mike Watts 12-4

2012 Season Records
TransGriot  152-87-1
Mike Watts 152-87-1

Week 17

Sunday, December 30

Jets at Bills
Ravens at Bengals
Browns at Steelers
Texans at Colts
Jaguars at Titans
Eagles at Giants
Bears at Lions
Buccaneers at Falcons
Panthers at Saints

Sunday Afternoon

Dolphins at Patriots
Packers at Vikings
Chiefs at Broncos
Raiders at Chargers
Cardinals at 49ers
Rams at Seahawks

Sunday Night
Cowboys at Redskins

2012 Texans Watch-Bah Humbug!

The 12-2 Texans had a couple of things on their NFL to do list today before they kicked off their last regular season home game at Reliant against the Minnesota Vikings.  

One of those tasks was to slow down a rampaging Adrian Peterson who was only 294 yards from breaking Eric Dickerson's all time single season rushing mark of 2105.   The second was to clinch home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by defeating the Vikings, a team they were 0-2 lifetime against.

Well, they got half the job done today.   The Bulls on Parade defense did their job and held Peterson to 85 yards rushing, but the offense was pathetic, lacking a sense of urgency and alarmingly flat for a team that had a chance to handle their NFL home field business. 

The 23-6 lump of coal loss in our Christmas stockings means that next week's finale against the Indianapolis Colts is not only a must win game for the now 12-3 Texans, the starters are now going to have to play some significant minutes to do so.  A loss at Lucas Oil Stadium drops them all the way to the number three seed and has them playing road games in the playoffs against New England and Denver instead of in the climate controlled confines of Reliant Stadium. 

Then again, if they don't get their act together on the offensive side of the ball, it might be a short playoff run no matter where they play the game.

2012 TransGriot NFL Picks-Week 16

With Christmas rapidly approaching the usual Thursday night game has been shifted to Saturday and there's no Monday night game this week because it's Christmas Eve.   That gives me a few extra days to ponder how this weekend's NFL games will play out. 

You can call my favorite NFL ballers the back to back AFC South Division Champions after beating the Indianapolis Colts 29-17.   

Thanks to the early Christmas present we Texans fans received from the San Francisco 49ers when they beat New England 41-38 Monday night, the Texans can clinch home field throughout the AFC playoffs with a win tomorrow against the Minnesota Vikings or in their regular season finale next week against the Colts.

And speaking of beating people, after Mr Watts erased my seven game margin and took a two game lead going into Week 15, he (cough, cough) gave it right back and we're tied once again.  

So with just two weeks left in the season it's a fight to see who will emerge victorious in our 2012 NFL prognostication battle.  Yes, I plan to do this again during the 2013 NFL season, but now it's time for Moni to handle her 2012 NFL prognostication business. 

Mike's picks are here, mine are as usual in underlined bold print.   May the best Texan (pun intended) win.


Week 15 records 
TransGriot  10-6
Mike Watts 8-8

2012 Season Records
TransGriot  140-83-1
Mike Watts 140-83-1

Week 16

Saturday, December 22
Falcons at Lions

Sunday, December  23
Titans at Packers
Raiders at Panthers
Bills at Dolphins
Bengals at Steelers
Patriots at Jaguars
Colts at Chiefs
Saints at Cowboys
Redskins at Eagles
Rams at Buccaneers
Giants at Ravens
Vikings at Texans

Sunday Afternoon
Browns at Broncos
Bears at Cardinals
Chargers at Jets

Sunday Night
49ers at Seahawks

2012 Texans Watch-Back To Back AFC South Champs!

My fave NFL ballers put on their deep steel blue uniforms, shook off the beatdown they received at the hands of the New England Patriots last Monday and welcomed Andrew Luck back home by pinning him and his Indianapolis Colts with a loss at Reliant.


The 29-17 win clinched the AFC South title for the second straight year for the Texans.  They rolled up 417 yards of offense in this game, with Arian Foster leading the way with 165 yards rushing on 27 carries and Andre Johnson catching 11 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. 

The Bulls on Parade also showed signs of getting back to normal with JJ Watt getting closer to Houstonian Michael Strahan's single season NFL sack record of 22.5.   JJ is having an NFL defensive MVP type season and is at 19.5 sacks after taking Luck to the Reliant Stadium turf three times. 

The Texans also received an early Christmas present a few hours later when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Patriots 41-34 in Foxborough.


All the 12-2 Texans have to do is win one of their two remaining regular season games against either the Minnesota Vikings or the regular season finale versus the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium and they will clinch the number one seed and home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Congrats on winning the AFC South title for the second season in a row.  But the eyes of every Texans player and fan are turned east toward New Orleans.   They took a major step toward making that happen today.

2012 TransGriot NFL Picks-Week 15

Well, was not a good Week 14 for me or my Texans.   They took a 42-14 buttkicking at the hands of the New England Patriots.  After holding as much as a seven game lead for most of the season I'm now trailing Mike by two games with three weeks to go no thanks to the Buffalo Bills expensively sorry defense blowing their lead against the St. Louis Rams.

But as Mr Watts painfully remembers,  I erased a four game deficit last season in less time.  I have three weeks left starting with this one.

I know what happened the last time the Texans embarrassingly lost a nationally televised game.  They took out their frustrations at Reliant on the Angry Birds.   This time it's Andrew Luck coming back home as the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts and the Texans needing a win to clinch their second straight AFC South division title and needing to just win baby to stay ahead of the Patriots for the number one AFC playoff seed.

Let's just say the Colts picked a bad week to be coming to Reliant for this crucial game.

Well, gotta handle my Week 15 business and stop the bleeding  Tired of the mediocrity that's allowed him to inch ahead and erase my lead in the first place.   Mike's picks are here, mine are in underlined bold print.

   
Week 14 records 
TransGriot  8-8
Mike Watts 10-6

2012 Season Records
TransGriot  130-77-1
Mike Watts 132-75-1

Week 15

Thursday, December 13
Bengals at Eagles

Sunday, December 16
Packers at Bears
Giants at Falcons
Buccaneers at Saints
Vikings at Rams
Redskins at Browns
Jaguars at Dolphins
Broncos at Ravens
Colts at Texans

Sunday Afternoon  
Lions at Cardinals
Panthers at Chargers
Seahawks at Bills
Steelers at Cowboys
Chiefs at Raiders

Sunday Night
49ers at Patriots

Monday, December 17
Jets at Titans