The Point Spread Column

By: Bob Johnson   Date: November 17, 2005

There are a few things that I saw last week that really surprised me because I thought I was seeing double. Then, I saw it again! In the Browns-Steeler game with little time remaining in the first half, Brown QB Dilfer threw a pass downfield from his own 20 yard line. The Browns trailed by 3 points and should have either run or thrown a safe pass to the running back. They should have been content to run out the clock and go in at the half only down by a field-goal. Instead, the downfield pass was intercepted allowing Pitt to score a TD with only 6 seconds remaining in the half. The Steelers took a 10 point lead and momentum into the lockeroom at halftime. I wondered what idiot was calling the plays for Cleveland? Then, in the Monday night game, Drew Bledsoe did the same thing with his team tied 7-7 before the half. His interception led to a Philly TD right before halftime. Alas, the stupidity had not ended. Donovan McNabb did the same thing with just over 2 minutes left in the game and holding a lead. If the Eagles would have punted, they probably would have won the game. These coaches are paid lots of money to understand the strategy of football. Is it no wonder that there are so many bad teams? It seems that incompetence is spread widely throughout the league. I still can't believe my eyes. We had two months of consistent handicapping and our percentages got too high. So, the last 2 weeks we have suffered a "correction" which is normal. We look to get rolling strong into Thanksgiving. Remember all of our documented plays are on the PHONE SERVICE, not the newsletter. Now is the best time to join us as we historically have a good run near Thanksgiving.