Brady Quinn's debut with the Browns..

Brady Quinn played above expectations last night against the Denver Broncos, however, history was against the Cleveland Browns last night. Denver had beaten Cleveland 18 out of the last 20, and 9 out of 10 IN CLEVELAND! Go figure. The ghosts of John Elway and Bernie Kosar must still be lurking in the Dawg Pound...I don't understand what happened to Cleveland in the second half.

Quinn played solid in the first half, connecting on 11/15? for two touchdowns to oft disillusioned TE Kellen Winslow. Both Jamal Lewis and Jerome Harrison were product four? carries in the first half, that's almost 100 total yds. rushing in the first half! It appears that Cleveland got a bit pass happy in the second half and got away from the run. Lewis finished with 60 yds. on 19 carries and harrison did not see the ball again. Granted, Quinn did not throw any INTs, but it appears that Denver CONTROLLED THE TEMPO in the second half of this game. The Broncos scored twenty one fourth quarter points, with Jay Cutler having a huge night, 24 - 42 447yds. 3 TDs, 1 INT. I did not expect Quinn to throw more than 25 - 27 times in this game, and I projected Jamal Lewis would have to rush for at least 90 yds. in order for Cleveland to win this game. Neither of those things happened. Quinn was 23/35, 239 yds., 2 tds. no INTs. Lewis finished with 60 yds. rushing on 19 carries. I was looking for Lewis to get at least 25 carries on the ground so Cleveland could keep Denver's offense off the field and control the clock. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN!

In conclusion, the BROWNS appear to be in an identity crisis. Quinn played well at QB, but the Browns have not established a solid defense this season and were exposed last night. Also, when it cam e time to control the tempo of this game, it appeared that Cleveland abandoned the running game, which does not say much for their offensive line. All in all, the Browns appear exposed on both offensive and defensive fronts. Also, the coaching staff has to prioritize where this team is going. I would suggest that Crennel adopt a "smash mouth" Bill Parcells style of ball control, game management style of play. After all, the Browns DO NOT appear to be one of the most talented teams in the NFL this year, and every win will come as a result of executing a well thought out game plan.

It looks like NEXT YEAR has arrived already in Cleveland.

Congrats Week 9 - Ring of Fire NFL Pick Winner!!!

The Long Island Statman WON the Week 9 Ring of Fire Morning Sports Bite Football Challenge!! with a solid 12 - 2 showing. His great picks included the JETS over the Bills, the RAVENS over Cleveland, the COLTS over the Pats, and the STEELERS over the Redskins. His TWO LOSSES were CINCY over Jacksonville and MIAMI over Denver. Here is the re-cap for the Week 9 Morning sports Bite competition. Thanks to everyone for participating.

FINAL RANK
LI STATMAN 12 - 2
JETSFAN196 11 - 3
MASTERSHAKE 10 - 4
PAUL - SKJ127 10 - 4
LEVI WOOTEN 10 - 4
KELLY TURNER 9 - 5
JOE MARINO 8 - 6
REDSOX047 8 - 6
JOE ALLEN 8 - 6
ALAN LUPIANI 8 - 6

Alan Show - WEEK 9 Ring of Fire NFL PICK CHALLENGE!

We have 10 participants this week! Thanks to the following individuals for participating:

Mastershake
Jetsfan196
Joe Marino
RedSox047
SKJ127 - Paul
Kelly Turner
LI Statman
Joe Allen
Levi Wooten

Link to spreadsheet:
RING OF FIRE SPREADSHEET LINK!

Week 8 "Ring of Fire" Winner - "Alan Show - MSB!"

Well, it was a hard fought competition, and fortunately for me, "The Alan Show - MSB" came out on TOP this week, for the first, "RING OF FIRE, WINNERS CIRCLE, NFL WEEK 8, NFL PICK COMPETITION." I rode the wave of early game (1:00PM) fortune as I went 9-0. I limped home winning only one of the late games, but it was enough to secure the victory as my closest challengers, RedSox047 and JetsFan196 both lost four games compared to my three and we all chose INDY for tomorrow night, so that makes me the WINNER by default. I can breathe a sigh of relief after picking the Bungles and losing a close one to the NY Giants tonight as I chose the Steelers. My other loss was Seattle beating SF. I should have known better than to back the shaky JTO show and a coaching change in SF.



I'd like to again thank EVERYONE who chose to participate in the week's, "Ring of Fire, Winner's Circle, Week 8" MSB - NFL pick challenge!


Alan Show -Morning Sports Bite

RedSox047

Ben Dubuc

Matt Schaefer

Scott from Philly

Paul Fiore SKJ127

Mastershake

Cristy Joy

LI Statman

JetsFan196


LINK TO SPREADSHEET! SEE BELOW


link to spreadsheet: RING OF FIRE SPREADSHEET LINK!


Thanks for listening to the, "Alan Show - MSB," MON - FRI, 9AM EST!!"

AND SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK 9 RING OF FIRE COMPETITION!!!

Alan Show -MSB Ring of Fire Week 8 Pick Competition

So far today I am 9-0. Lets see how the rest of the day goes....

I’d like to thank EVERYONE who chose to participate in the week’s, “Ring of Fire, Winner’s Circle, Week 8” MSB – NFL pick challenge!

Alan Show -Morning Sports Bite
RedSox047
Ben Dubuc
Matt Schaefer
Scott from Philly
Paul Fiore SKJ127
Mastershake
Cristy Joy
LI Statman
JetsFan196

LINK TO SPREADSHEET! SEE BELOW

link to spreadsheet: RING OF FIRE SPREADSHEET LINK!

Thanks for listening to the, “Alan Show – MSB,” MON – FRI, 9AM EST!!”

9-5 ain't bad for Week 7...

...but with a bit more foresight and listening to MY OWN ADVISE!, I could have easily been 12-2 at worst this past week. Watch out for week 8 as we begin the second half of the NFL season. Man up and stop by the “Alan Show” – MSB to throw your hat into the ring for the Week 8, “Pick Off.” So far, “Jetsfan196” says he will compete against one of the top sports minds here at Youcastr, that being yours truly. Remember to stop on by the MSB (9AM EST) and SIGN UP!!

Some things to think about:

1) Does Peyton have the tools on offense for the Colts to make a serious run?
2) Will the Giants live up to the hype, especially on the D side?
3) If Drew Brees throws for 4,000 yds. much less than 5,000, will the Saints make the playoffs?
4) Will Brad Childress be with the Vikes coach next year if the Purple People don’t get to the playoffs?
5) How good can the Bears be this year?
6) Will Wade Phillips last the entire season in Dallas?
7) Have the Chargers seen the last of their elite days atop the AFC?
8) Will the Patriots excel, and if they do, will Matt Cassel go elsewhere next year?
9) Will this season be an * in Brett Favre’s career?
10) Will the Dolphins win six or more games?
11) Will the Bungles and the Lions go winless this year?
12) How good can AZ be? Will Kurt Warner throw for 4,000+ this year?
13) Seattle sucks, what will it take for them to be good again? Last year for MH?
< 14) What are the chances of the Bills finishing 13-3? I say 65%.
15) Will St. Louis be make the playoffs?
16) Will the Redskins make it to the SuperBowl?
17) Will Clinton Portis be MVP?
18) Will Jeff Garcia win comeback player of the year?
19) I can’t think of anything to say about San Franciso? Except will Frank Gore finally go to a playoff contender?
20 ) Kansas City…ummmmmm…Herm gone after this year?
21) Lane Kiffin to the Chiefs? ala Mike Shanahan?
22) Speaking of Mike Shanahan, will he be in Denver next year?
23) Will the real CATS please stand up? Yes, I am talking about you Jags and Panthers!
24) Dawg Pound or Brown Dawgs? TBD…BBQ time coming soon? Week 9?
25) Oh yeah, Will rookie Falcon QB Matt Ryan ever come back down to earth with the rest of us?
26) Big Ben chimes into January? or will it be an early Christmas due to lack of a consistent running game. ( Not worried about the D too much.)
27) Can the Baltimore Ravens be the first standout defensive team since the 1986 Chicago Bears to win a Super Bowl without a steady quarterback?
28) Will Al Davis bring back Kenny Stabler and Cliff Branch next year?

Ok, that’s all I can think about right now, back to some more in-depth, up-to-date research and analysis, otherwise known as, “HARD WORK.

OK, this is more like it...NFL Week 7

..It looks like I am going to be 6-2 in the early games this week (if Chicago hangs on.) In hindsight, I could have easily been 8-0 in the early games if I had just followed my own advise. In my two losses, I picked Miami to beat Baltimore and New Orleans to beat Carolina. I don’t know what I was thinking because both Baltimore and Carolina are top three defenses in the NFL. The Ravens took a tough loss against Indy last week, so I went with the Dolphins at home. I learned that Miami ain’t no Indy on offense, and for that matter, Baltimore ain’t no Houston on defense.

Secondly, I was impressed with New Orleans showing against Oakland at home last week and conversely, I wasn’t impressed with JD and Carolina’s offense. Again, I learned that Carolina ain’t no Oakland on defense, and New Orleans ain’t no Tampa Bay on defense.

Surprise, surprise…my three upsets came through: St. Louis over Dallas, Chicago over Minny, and Buffalo over San Diego. The Cowboys are starting to look like the Bungles on the field and the Raiders in the front office. Kyle Orton played steady enough and the D came up big for Chicago. Buffalo game managed the heck out of San Diego at home and Trent Edwards played solid in his return from a concussion.

Ok gotta run, tune in for a brief MSB tomorrow @ 9AM EST.

Lupiani “The Alan Show” – Morning Sports Bite.

Late game picks:

Houston over Detroit
Indy over Green Bay
NY Jets over Oakland
Cleveland over Washington
Tampa over Seattle
NE over Denver