Tuesday Teabag, January 7, 2014 – Moms Gone Wild!

Happy New Year Machine fans.  This year, we promise to bring you more of what you love.  More NFL Draft coverage, more gratuitous pictures of Kate Upton (you’re welcome), and yes, more teabags.  So let’s get right to our first teabag of 2014. Crazy Mom #1 Queary:  Is there a better group of sports fans than drunk moms?  Answer:  No.  They’re fun, totally irrational, DTF, and fiercely protective of their family.  And that was on full display last week at the Sugar Bowl, where Alabama played Oklahoma.  Let’s let the gif do the talking and then we’ll fill in the details: Alabama Mom As the story goes, as reported by our friends at Deadspin, Michelle Pritchett, sweet mother of three and an Alabama fan, was at the game with her family and was engaged in some harmless back and forth with some Oklahoma fans.  Then, things quickly got out of control.  As shown on the gif above (and youtube clip below) Michelle – mom jeans and all – launches herself several rows down and lands on top of the Oklahoma crew.  If you haven’t seen it (or even if you have seen it several dozen times, like us, it’s worth a view again): According to Michelle, she was just protecting her family (who was nowhere near danger, btw).  Said Michelle, “It escalated. When they said something to my son, I told them to shut their mouths.  They were telling my son to come down there and ‘do something about it.’ I said, ‘no, that’s not going to happen. This crap needs to stop.”  Michelle then goes full suburban mom, and both apologizes and takes no responsibility at the same time.  “I apologize to the whole Alabama team, to Nick Saban,” she said. “I apologize to the whole Alabama base.  That’s not the way I would normally handle things.  But when he told my son to come down there, that wasn’t going to happen.”  She then added, “Would I take that back? No.  He was out of control.” And, just so we’re all clear, Michelle was not, repeat, not, drunk.  “And I wasn’t intoxicated either.  I want people to know that. I’d had a couple of drinks, but I was not intoxicated.” Bweep, bweep, bweep…there’s The Machine’s Bullshitdar going off the charts.  Of course she was hammered.  That video has white girl wasted written all over it.  Perhaps it’s a cultural thing (The Machine is admittedly ignorant/scared of the South) but if by “a couple of drinks” she means a peanut butter jar of moonshine, then we’d agree she only had a couple of drinks. And we love her justification for jumping into a crowd of people at a sporting event in front of her family.  They [the big, mean Oklahoma fans] told her son to come on down, presumably to fight.  So mom, selfless, good hearted mom who just wants to protect her so (who, btw is nowhere in the video).  Ah, irrationality, a clear sign of drunk mom. Thankfully, more creative people love this story and have put together music montages for our viewing pleasure.  There are several, but we like this one (set to Sweet Home Alabama, heavy metal, and sound effects from Street Fighter) Sorry, one more, for you Miley Cyrus fans (looking at you, Roid Rage)

No one's good enough for my AJ, not even you Katherine Webb.

No one’s good enough for my AJ, not even you Katherine Webb.

Crazy Mom #2 Because one crazy mom isn’t enough…The Machine has another one for you.  We’re staying in the South and with Alabama, apparently a hot bed of milfs crazy middle-aged white women.  Dee Dee McCarron, mother to AJ McCarron, Alabama’s quarterback, is apparently still scorned that her little angel (pronounced “aiinjel”) lost the Heisman to FSU Quarterback Jameis Winston.  And when mom’s mad, she does what all rational people do…Tweet! Yes, after the historic National Championship Game Monday night between FSU and Auburn, truly a game for the ages, Heisman winning QB (and freshman) Jameis Winston was interviewed on the field.  Here’s what he had to say. What a moment for Jameis and FSU.  His remarks were genuine, heartfelt, and humble…three things that very few college freshman are.  However, Dee Dee (with a name like Dee Dee, do you get the sense a troubling day for her involves running out of fresh mint for her mint julep?) not happy seeing some other college quarterback share take the spotlight from her baby, instantly tweeted:

Bitter, much?

Bitter, much?

Her tweet was quickly deleted, but not before the damage was done.  Now granted, diction may not be Jameis’ strongest suit, but it’s clear what he’s saying, just as it’s clear Dee Dee’s tweet has a not so subtle racial overture.  To clear up any confusion, Dee Dee then tweeted:

As a general rule, if you have to send out a clarifying message that says “we are far from racist” it probably means you’re not as far as you think.  Is anyone surprised that Dee Dee’s twitter profile reads: “Proud Ma of 4 boys.  Feisty and will defend them to the end.”  Even if the end involves quasi-racist comments to the world.

Enjoy your teabag.

Wildcard Staff Picks ATS

REGULAR SEASON RESULTS
  Roid Rage     Ginger King     Dr. Mike     Vegas Vinny  
  W L T     W L T     W L T     W L T  
  131 117 8     135 113 8     132 116 8     121 127 8  
LOTW Record 10 8 0     8 10 0     7 11 0     11 6 1  
                                       
WILD CARD
THE GAMES
Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog
1/04 4:35 ET At Indianapolis -1 Kansas City
1/04 8:10 ET At Philadelphia -2.5 New Orleans
1/05 1:05 ET At Cincinnati -7 San Diego
1/05 4:40 ET San Francisco -3 At Green Bay
       
THE PICKS
  Roid Rage     Ginger King     Dr. Mike     Vegas Vinny  
  KC      INDY     INDY     KC  
  NO      NO     NO     NO  
  CIN      CIN     SD     CIN  
  SF      GB     GB     GB  
Straight Cash Homie!

Straight Cash Homie!

Wildcard Matchup Podcast

Wildcard Podcast, Big Red Sports Machine Style, enjoy:

2013 WC 

Trent who?

Trent who?

 

Wildcard Weekend is Here!!!

Finally, the playoffs are here!  College Bowl games have provided us a nice appetizer for the main event.  If history tells us anything, your Super Bowl Champion is playing this weekend.  The last three Super Bowl Champs (Baltimore, NYG, Green Bay) were Wildcard Weekend Warriors.  So who will win the Super Bowl?  Whoa, slow your roll, son…The Machine likes a little foreplay every now and then.  Let’s start with Saturday’s wildcard matchups.

Potential blackout looming???

Potential blackout looming???

Kansas City at Indy (-1)

Is anyone excited about this game?  It seems not, as Indy is having a tough time selling tickets.  How is it possible that this game (or any playoff game) would not be sold out???  As it stands, the Colts have until 4:35 pm today to sell the remaining 3,000 tickets to avoid a blackout.  How can you not sell out a playoff game?  Is watching Alex “Game Manager” Smith that bad?  Perhaps folks are still pissed at Trent Richardson for ruining their fantasy season.  The Machine’s guess:  those tickets get sold, and no blackout.  There are also unsold tickets in Cincy and Green Bay.  Interesting…

Anyway, back to the game.  This is a repeat of a Week 16 matchup, where Indy played at KC and completely dominated the Chiefs, winning 23-7.  The Colts are an interesting team.  They’ve had some inexplicable losses (blowouts to St. Louis and Arizona) and seem to struggle to find an offensive identity.  However, winners of 4 of their last 5, they are getting hot at the right time.

While Andy Reid is a lock for coach of the year, he faces a tough task on Saturday.  Injuries are starting to mount up for the Chiefs…Tamba Hali and Eric Fisher are likely out, and the statuses of Dwayne Bowe, Justin Houston, and Brandon Albert are murky.  Even if all (or some) play, they won’t be at 100%.  Notwithstanding, Jamaal Charles and Alex Smith will keep this game competitive, but Indy will be too tough.

Prediction:  The Machine likes Indy to cover, and we’ll take the over on crazy Irsay tweets.

Does Chip Kelly have special playoff smoothies?

Does Chip Kelly have special playoff smoothies?

New Orleans at Philly (-2.5)

For sure the marquee game of the day, Drew Brees and the Saints march into Philly to face the NFC East Champion Philadelphia Eagles.  This is a really tough game to predict.  All of a sudden, Chip Kelly is back to having a gimmicky revolutionary offense.  But is his defense enough to compete with the gun and gun offense of the Saints?  Also, Philly was a dismal 4-4 at home this year.  Fortunately for them, the Saints were even more atrocious on the road, going 3-5 (compared to a perfect 8-0 at home).  The Saints are also 0-5 all-time in road playoff games.

The real equalizer here will be the weather.  With gametime temperatures in the 20’s, the weather will be the best player on Chip Kelly’s revolutionary gimmicky defense.  Philly has shown that it can play in the cold, playing in that memorable snow game against Detroit earlier this year.

Also, they have Shady McCoy, the NFL’s leading rusher, and the game’s best offensive line.  And Nick Foles has been on fire, throwing for 21 tds and only 2 ints in his last 8 games (not surprisingly, the Eagles were 7-1 over that stretch).

The Saints are an offensive juggernaut, and Rob Ryan has greatly improved their defense (do you hear that, Jerrah?).  On paper, the edge goes to the Saints.  It’s hard to think that, even with the weather, Drew Brees and co. will not find a way to exploit Philly 32nd (yes, dead last) ranked passing defense (told you it’s gimmicky). 

Prediction:  As much as it pains us to write this, The Machine likes the Eagles to prevail.  Running will come at a premium, and Philly is the number 1 rushing team in the league (Saints are 25th). 

At 53.5 points, we’re still fans of the over.  Actually, for those betting enthusiasts, tease the Saints with the over. 

Enjoy the games, and check back with us for our analysis of Sunday’s games.

2014 – Year of The Machine

While most of you are nursing (or soon to be nursing) your New Year’s Day hangover, The Machine has been busy breaking down playoff matchups, putting together our first mock of the year, and working on all kinds of new things for 2014.

Stay tuned for more of the stuff you love, from the guys you love more.

WEEK 17 Staff Picks ATS (2013)

WEEK 17
THE GAMES
Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog
12/29 1:00 ET Carolina    -6 At Atlanta
12/29 1:00 ET At Tennessee    -7.5 Houston
12/29 1:00 ET At Pittsburgh    -7 Cleveland
12/29 1:00 ET At NY Giants    -3.5 Washington
12/29 1:00 ET At Cincinnati    -6.5 Baltimore
12/29 1:00 ET At Indianapolis    -10.5 Jacksonville
12/29 1:00 ET At Miami    -5.5 NY Jets
12/29 1:00 ET At Minnesota    -2.5 Detroit
12/29 4:25 ET Green Bay    -3 At Chicago
12/29 4:25 ET At New England    -7.5 Buffalo
12/29 4:25 ET At Seattle    -11.5 St. Louis
12/29 4:25 ET At New Orleans    -12 Tampa Bay
12/29 4:25 ET Denver    -11 At Oakland
12/29 4:25 ET San Francisco    -1 At Arizona
12/29 4:25 ET At San Diego    -10 Kansas City
12/29 8:30 ET Philadelphia    -6.5 At Dallas
       
THE PICKS
  Roid Rage     Ginger King     Dr. Mike     Vegas Vinny  
  W L T     W L T     W L T     W L T  
Last Week 9 7 0     12 4 0     7 9 0     7 9 0  
Season to-date 119 113 8     124 108 8     123 109 8     110 122 8  
   CAR      CAR      CAR      CAR  
   HOU      TENN      TENN      TENN  
   PITT      PITT      CLE      PITT  
   WASH      NYG      NYG      NYG  
   CIN      BALT      CIN      CIN  
   JAC      JAC      INDY      JAG  
   NYJ      MIA      MIA      MIA  
   DET     DET       DET      DET  
   GB      GB      GB      GB  
   NE      NE      NE      BUF  
   SEA      SEA      STL      SEA  
   NO      NO      TB      NO  
   DEN      DEN      DEN      DEN  
   SF      SF      SF      SF  
   KC      KC      KC      KC  
   PHI      DAL      PHI      DAL  
LOTW  SF      CAR      DET      NO  
LOTW Record 9 8 0     8 9 0     6 11 0     10 6 1  

WEEK 16 Staff Picks ATS (2013)

WEEK 16
  THE GAMES
Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog
12/22 1:00 ET Miami -2.5 At Buffalo
12/22 1:00 ET At Carolina -3 New Orleans
12/22 1:00 ET Dallas -3 At Washington
12/22 1:00 ET At St. Louis -5.5 Tampa Bay
12/22 1:00 ET At NY Jets -2 Cleveland
12/22 1:00 ET At Kansas City -7 Indianapolis
12/22 1:00 ET At Cincinnati -7.5 Minnesota
12/22 1:00 ET Denver -10.5 At Houston
12/22 1:00 ET Tennessee -5.5 At Jacksonville
12/22 4:05 ET At Seattle -10.5 Arizona
12/22 4:05 ET At Detroit -9 NY Giants
12/22 4:25 ET At San Diego -10 Oakland
12/22 4:25 ET At Green Bay Pk Pittsburgh
12/22 4:25 ET At Baltimore -2.5 New England
12/22 8:30 ET At Philadelphia -3 Chicago
12/23 8:40 ET At San Francisco -12 Atlanta
THE PICKS
Roid Rage     Ginger King     Dr. Mike     Vegas Vinny
W L T W L T W L T W L T
Last Week 12 4 0 11 5 0 11 5 0 7 9 0
Season to-date 110 106 8 112 104 8 116 100 8 103 113 8
MIA  MIA MIA MIA
CAR  CAR CAR NO
DAL  DAL DAL DAL
STL  STL TB TB
NYJ  NYJ CLE NY
INDY  INDY INDY KC
CIN  CIN CIN CIN
HOU  DEN DEN DEN
JAC  JAC JAC TENN
ARI  ARI SEA SEA
NYG  DET DET NY
SD  SD OAK SD
GB  PITT GB PITT
BAL  NE NE NE
CHI  PHI CHI CHIC
SF  SF ATL SF
LOTW BAL  NE DAL DEN
LOTW Record 9 7 0 7 9 0 6 10 0 9 6 1
Epic. Fail. Again.

Epic. Fail…..(Again)

WEEK 15 Staff Picks ATS (2013)

WEEK 15
THE GAMES
Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog
12/12 8:25 ET At Denver -10.5 San Diego
12/15 1:00 ET At Atlanta -6.5 Washington
12/15 1:00 ET San Francisco -5.5 At Tampa Bay
12/15 1:00 ET Seattle -7 At NY Giants
12/15 1:00 ET At Cleveland Pk Chicago
12/15 1:00 ET At Indianapolis -5.5 Houston
12/15 1:00 ET Buffalo -2 At Jacksonville
12/15 1:00 ET New England -2.5 At Miami
12/15 1:00 ET Philadelphia -4.5 At Minnesota
12/15 4:05 ET At Carolina -11 NY Jets
12/15 4:05 ET Kansas City -4.5 At Oakland
12/15 4:25 ET Arizona -2.5 At Tennessee
12/15 4:25 ET New Orleans -5.5 At St. Louis
12/15 4:25 ET At Dallas -7 Green Bay
12/15 8:30 ET Cincinnati -2.5 At Pittsburgh
12/16 8:40 ET At Detroit -6 Baltimore
THE PICKS
Roid Rage     Ginger King     Dr. Mike     Vegas Vinny
W L T W L T W L T W L T
Last Week 6 9 1 9 6 1 5 10 1 8 7 1
Season to-date 98 102 8 101 99 8 105 95 8 96 104 8
SD  DEN DEN DEN
WASH  WASH ATL ATL
SF  SF SF SF
SEA  SEA SEA SEA
CLE  CHI CHI CHIC
INDY  INDY INDY INDY
JAC  BUFF JAC BUFF
MIA  NE NE NE
PHIL  MINN MINN PHIL
NYJ  NYJ NYJ CAR
KC  KC KC KC
ARI  ARI ARI ARIZ
NO  NO NO NO
GB  DAL GB DAL
PIT  PITT PIT CIN
BALT DET BALT DET
LOTW PIT      CHI     INDY     PHIL
LOTW Record 8 7 0 6 9 0 5 10 0 9 5 1
It's all fun and games until someone gets deactivated for the final 3 games!

It’s all fun and games until someone gets deactivated for the final 3 games!

Week 14 – Fantasy Waiver Wire Pickups

Alright, so you’ve made it to the playoffs.  Congrats.  Now, it gets real.  Win you stay in.  Lose, and you get to watch your friends play on and listen to your spouse complain about what a waste of money you’ve spent on “fantasy games.”  But you don’t want to be that guy, that’s why you’re here, and that’s why we’re here for you.  So here are our top waiver wire pickups.

Montee Ball, RB Denver (percent available in Yahoo! leagues, 61%)

Just hold on to the ball.

Just hold on to the ball.

Ball is finally showing the promise that led many people (including The Machine) to draft him as the first rookie RB (over the likes of Eddie Lacy and Gio Bernard).  However, an early case of fumbleitis put Ball on the bench.  It looks like he’s worked his way back to splitting time with Knowshon, and, with Moreno a little banged up, Montee’s been getting more touches.  Last week, he had his first 100 yard game, rushing for 117 on 13 carries against KC.  This week, Denver’s home against Tennessee, and Montee should see between 15-20 touches.

Michael Crabtree, WR San Francisco (54%)

Guess who's back?

Guess who’s back?

We told you to get Crabtree last week, when he was available in more than half of leagues.  He only saw 4 targets last week, but had a 60 yard reception, giving the Niners the deep threat offensive weapon it so desperately needs.  With another week under his belt, Crabtree’s targets should increase.

Donald Brown, RB Indy (50%)

Indy has finally realized that Trent Richardson is a bust, and has turned to Brown as the featured back.  He more than doubled the amount of carries compared to Trent last week (14 to 5), and is being used almost exclusively in the redzone.  That’s where Brown’s value really is.

Trent who?

Trent who?

He’s got a tough matchup this week against Cincy, and while he may not post huge yards, his use in the redzone carries always make him likely to score.  Brown’s a low end RB2 or Flex.

Josh McCown, QB Chicago (40%)

Just throw it to Alshon.

Just throw it to Alshon.

McCown just might be the savior for your fantasy team.  Over his last two games, McCown’s averages more than 350 yards/game, with 4 tds and 1 ints.  He’s filled in quite admirably for the oft-injured Jay Cutler.  In his 6 starts this year, McCown has 9 tds and only 1 int.  He’s got a Monday Night matchup against Dallas, and should continue his hot streak.

Ladarius Green, TE San Diego (25%)

Chances are good for another TD this week.

Chances are good for another TD this week.

Who is Ladarius Green?  He’s a matchup nightmare.  A 6’6” athletic freak that runs a sub 4.5 40.  Although the TE position in San Diego has historically been filled by Antonio Gates, Ladarius’ athleticism has forced him into the lineup.  He’s scored a touchdown two weeks in a row, and is facing a Giants D that gives up plenty of yards in the air.

WEEK 14 Staff Picks ATS (2013)

WEEK 14
  THE GAMES
Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog
12/5 8:25 ET Houston    -3 At Jacksonville
12/8 1:00 ET Kansas City    -3.5 At Washington
12/8 1:00 ET At Baltimore    -7 Minnesota
12/8 1:00 ET At New England    -12 Cleveland
12/8 1:00 ET At NY Jets    -3 Oakland
12/8 1:00 ET At Cincinnati    -6 Indianapolis
12/8 8:30 ET At New Orleans    -3.5 Carolina
12/8 1:00 ET At Philadelphia    -3 Detroit
12/8 1:00 ET At Pittsburgh    -3 Miami
12/8 1:00 ET At Tampa Bay    -2.5 Buffalo
12/8 4:05 ET At Denver    -12 Tennessee
12/8 4:25 ET At Arizona    -6.5 St. Louis
12/8 4:25 ET At San Diego    -3 NY Giants
12/8 4:25 ET At San Francisco    -3 Seattle
12/8 1:00 ET At Green Bay    Off Atlanta
12/9 8:40 ET At Chicago    -1 Dallas
THE PICKS
Roid Rage     Ginger King     Dr. Mike     Vegas Vinny
W L T W L T W L T W L T
Last Week 5 10 1 6 9 1 11 4 1 6 9 1
Season to-date 92 93 7 92 93 7 100 85 7 88 98 7
JAC  JAC JAC JAC
KC  KC KC KC
BAL  MINN BAL BAL
NE  NE NE NE
NYJ  OAK OAK OAK
INDY  CINN INDY CINN
NO  NO CAR CAR
DET  DET DET DET
MIA  PITT PIT MIAMI
BUF  TB BUF TB
TEN  DEN DEN DEN
STL  ARI ARI ARIZ
SD  SD NYG NYG
SF  SF SEA SEA
DAL  DAL DAL DAL
LOTW NO  NO KC SEA
LOTW Record 7 7 0 5 9 0 4 10 0 8 5 1