Another awful week. I only picked four correctly last week. And like before, I was not too far off the lead. Sean was our leader with seven, while everyone else picked six. Jason is at 105, while Gideon sits at 100. I am still in third, but with only 97. Then it goes Sean with 95, and Jon in last at 94 points.
Underdog Special: New England Patriots (+6.0)
I was annoyed about last week. I thought for sure the Broncos would win it at the end, but ohhh no. Hell, they could have kicked a last second field goal to at least cover the spread for me. Jerks. Anyways, funny story this week. I took the Patriots because…well the Steelers playing a bad team, we all know what will happen. I thought I made the bet, but I guess I did not. I checked during the game when the Patriots were on their first drive, and it was still in my bet slip. I hit bet, but as I did, the Patriots scored the touchdown, and the odds changed. So I ended up getting the Patriots at -1.5. Oops, but as this game goes on, I think I may make some money hahaha.
Underdog Special Record: 4-9 (-$5.23)
Steelers Prediction: Well my initial thought was they would win the game, but it would be close and ugly. But during that first drive, I started to think the Patriots would win. My original guess would be a win, so I will keep that pick here. Ugh, I hate football.
Steelers Prediction Record: 4-8
I want to talk about Manny Diaz taking the head coaching position at Duke. First, congratulations on the head coaching gig! Secondly, thank you for two seasons of what has probably been the best defense we have seen in a very long time.
Weirdly, so many fans are pissed about this move. I understand that it sucks to lose a coordinator, but how can you be mad at a guy for taking a promotion? You see so many comments about how Penn State should have paid him more. I do not think there are any coordinators who make more than a P5 head coach. Todd Monken, the OC at Georgia, makes $2 million. The HC at Georgia Tech makes $2.8 million. Gus Malzahn makes $2.3 million at UCF, but they just moved to the Big XII. I am sure when the money starts rolling in, they will give him a raise.
Coaches and coordinators constantly bounce around. The majority of them want to be head coaches at some point. No need to scream at them for being traitors, or curse the university for not trying to keep them.
The other thing about the Diaz hire that drives me crazy, is how fans fight with each other. There are a group of fans who feel he should have been promoted to HC, and James Franklin fired. This causes the Coach Franklin defenders to point out that Manny Diaz did not do a good job as the Miami HC. These arguments become heated, and it feels like there are folks out there who now want Manny Diaz to fail at Duke to prove themselves right. That is so stupid. I root for any of the coaches out there that have a connection to Penn State: Charlie Huff at Marshall, Ricky Rahne at Old Dominion, Brent Pry at Virginia Tech, and Joe Moorehead at Akron.
The Nittany Lions will hire a great defensive coordinator. There have been some interesting names tossed around, one of the more intriguing is Tom Allen, the former Indiana HC. He was a DC at USF and then Indiana. I like that move, something similar to the Diaz hire. I have complete faith in James Franklin when it comes to hiring a defensive coordinator.
