The Weekend in Football

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning meet up again in their storied careers for another installment this weekend of what has came to be known as "Brady/Manning Bowl". This game highlights a weekend of what I think will be excellent match-ups (Giants/Eagles, Steelers/Raiders, & Falcons/Rams).

A look back at their match-ups over the course of time:

September 30th, 2001: Brady beats Peyton in his first career start.
November 30th, 2003: Patriots win 38-34 in the RCA Dome.
January 18th, 2004: Patriots beat Colts in the AFC Championship Game.
September 9th, 2004: Patriots win 27-24 to open up the season.
January 16th, 2005: Patriots beat Colts in AFC Divisional Playoff game nearly a year to the day later.
November 7th, 2005: Colts win 40-21 on Monday Night Football.
November 5th, 2006: Colts win 27-20. Brady throws 4 interceptions.
January 21, 2007: FINALLY in the postseason. Peyton and the Colts are victorious. This is how you knew it was their year.
November 4th, 2007: Brady and the Patriots win 27-20 in the RCA Dome on a pass to Kevin Faulk late in the game.
November 15th, 2009: Maybe the most epic match up in the series. Belicheck goes for it on 4th down on Sunday Night Football and comes up inches short, allowing an Indianapolis victory 35-34.

Can you imagine if John Elway and Dan Marino or Joe Montana and Warren Moon had this many epic shootouts in their history? And we're not done yet. These two old stallions are playing some of their best football of their careers with their offensive weaponry units extremely banged up.

NCAA Saturday
#7 Wisconsin at Michigan**
You just have to wonder if Michigan can do their old foes the Ohio State Buckeyes a favor in knocking off the Badgers to possibly send the Buckeyes back to the Rose Bowl.

#9 Ohio State at #20 Iowa****

#16 Virginia Tech at #24 Miami***

#13 Arkansas at #21 Mississippi State***
Ryan Mallett looks to cement that 1st round draft status, if he hasn't already.

#8 Nebraska at #19 Texas A&M****

USC at Oregon State

NCAA Classic YouTube Clip of the Week:
Florida State during the glory days. On this night they would defeat Michael Vick and the Virginia Tech Hokies for the National Title. I wanted the Browns to draft Peter Warrick so badly to give Tim Couch a weapon. I loved Peter Warrick.





YouTube Classic NFL Clip of the Week:
This is the half time show from a 1993 game between the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos. My Lord, look at how young Mike Ditka looks. Hell, look at how young Jim Lampley is!

This game would end up being Bernie Kosar's final game as a Cleveland Brown. Children all over northeast Ohio would be saddened days later by the release of Kosar. I was in 5th grade. I'll never forget where I was when I heard the news.





Thanksgiving Recipe of the Week:

WHITE CASTLE TURKEY STUFFING

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 1    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Poultry

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
10                    White Castle hamburgers,
                Pickle removed
1 1/2   c            Celery, diced
1 1/4   ts           Ground thyme
1 1/2   ts           Ground sage
3/4   ts           Coarse ground black pepper
1/4   c            Chicken broth

In a large mixing bowl, tear the White Castle
hamburgers into pieces and add diced celery and
seasonings. Toss and add chicken broth. Toss well.
Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting. Makes
about 9 cups (enough for 10-12 lb bird).
NOTE: Allow 1 White Castle hamburger for each pound of
turkey, which will be the equivilent of 3/4 cup
stuffing per pound.

Bathroom Reading:
Deadspin Jambaroo
Deadspin's worst 100 Players in NFL History: [Part 1] [Part 2]
National Football Post on Donovan McNabb's deal
ESPN NFL Nation Final Word AFC North
Breaking: Colt Brennan injured in head-on car crash. Godspeed.

Sunday's NFL Picks:

Oakland (+7.5) at Pittsburgh***
I think that the Steelers will win the game, but not by the spread margin. Oakland can hand off to Darren McFadden enough to keep it close. Then they'll need Jason Campbell to make a play or two on the road against a very tough defense. Pittsburgh will get the win late coming off the loss last week.

Houston (+7) at NY Jets***
The Jets have been playing some really close games lately. They might be due for a blowout win at home, but the win is all they will get. Houston won't allow them to cover, even though Matt Schaub is banged up.

Baltimore (-10) at Carolina*
They're going down to Carolina, and they're pissed off! Brian St. Pierre look the fuck out, brah.

Washington at Tennessee (-6)*
The Titans are a good team at home. This is a game they need to take care of business decisively if they want to be a playoff team.

Green Bay (-2.5) at Minnesota****
Alright, so Brett Favre's last breath of life is sucked out against the Packers. I want to say this is going the other way. But I just don't see it.

Buffalo at Cincinnati (-5.5)*
Buffalo got off the hook last week. They won't go winless. But the Cincinnati Bengals will put a lickin' on them. The Bengals, by the way; are like a Ferrari that needs a new transmission dropped in it.

Cleveland (+2.5) at Jacksonville***
What the Hell. The Browns should have won last week against the Jets. The Jaguars give up more yards through the air than anyone in the league. The weather will be warm. Have a career day, Colt McCoy!

Arizona at Kansas City (-7)**

Seattle at New Orleans (-10.5)*
The Saints had the bye week to prepare for this one. I think Seattle is horrible.

Atlanta at St. Louis (+3)****
St. Louis is damn good at home. They believe in their QB and their coach. It will be Atlanta's last loss for a while. But Sam Bradford will show flashes of why he's 'the next one'.

Tampa Bay (+3) at San Francisco***

Indianapolis at New England (-3.5)*****
Wherever you're at Sunday, whatever you're doing, sit down and watch this one.

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (-2.5)*****
The Giants can't defend a scrambling QB worth a shit under Tom Coughlin. I remember back when they played Jeff Garcia when he was an Eagle. They would have never beaten him if they played 80 times. The Eagles are going to beat the Giants Sunday night. It's a crown jewel game, but this is my lock of the week.

Monday: Denver at San Diego (-9)**
The Chargers still haven't lost a game in November in how long?

• Subscribe to The Nosebleeds NFL Blog using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites