The Sports Brief's Week 9 NFL picks

Trick or treat from The Brief.

Last week was somewhat of a recovery for The Brief, although Rich was still below .500 with his picks at 6-8. Random Rob rebounded from a tough week 7 to once again take the crown. I'm waiting for Rob to hit the proverbial wall in his rookie season. This is getting downright ridiculous.

Speaking of ridiculous, how about Danyelle Sargent as a sports reporter? In case you're not familiar with Sargent or her work, here's a snipet from a couple years ago when she was working for ESPN. Talk about a brutal opening to the show. Sargent vented her frustration to the producers in the back, but didn't realize she was sharing it with the millions watching at home. It's now classic YouTube material:



Anyway, Sargent was at it again last weekend as she is now working as a sideline reporter for FOX. Before the 49ers and Seahawks game, Sargent pulled aside Mike Singletary for a pre-game interview, the significance being that it was the first time Singletary was leading the troops onto the field as the head coach since Mike Shula got canned. The interview started a little something like this:

"I heard that your mentor Bill Walsh was one of the first phone calls that you made when you found out that you had the job. What does it mean to you to be the head coach of the 49ers?"

Singletary was caught off-guard, understably so since Walsh died in July 2007 and Singletary actually played for the Bears. If anyone was his mentor, it was Mike Ditka. Apparently producers were screaming wildly in Sargent's ear, because she stopped the interview saying, "I'm sorry. Oh. I'm sorry. What, what did I, what was wrong?" Did she do any preparation for this interview? Or did she simply rely on football knowledge she clearly didn't possess? Regardless, what an idiot. The video of the interview was available on the internet earlier this week but has since been taken down. Nonetheless, she's been taking a lot of heat for it. Could this have been the beginning of the end for Singletary, leading to that solid post-game press conference meltdown?



Another solid YouTube clip from this past week's football action. Gotta feel bad for this kid. What the hell are these carts doing in the back of the end zone? Going all out to make a catch and this is how he's rewarded. As much as I want to fault the QB for making such a terrible throw, the WR had to realize at some point that the ball was clearly way out of the back of the end zone. It wasn't even close. I won't put this on the same level as Dan Orlovsky bad, but jesus, this is bad. So in the resulting injury. If you couldn't handle Willis Mcgahee, Napoleon Kaufman or even Alvin Mack getting his leg stretched another foot and a half in the program, this video isn't for you.



Here's McGahee's injury at Miami in the National Championship game:



And different sport here, but you gotta love a little Sid Vicious:



Alright, onto this week's picks...

Keefe’s picks:

Last week: 6-8; Overall: 54-62

Bills -5.5 over Jets
Bears -12.5 over Lions
Bengals +7.5 over Jaguars
Browns -1.5 over Ravens
Cardinals -2.5 over Rams
Texans +4.5 over Vikings
Titans -6.5 over Packers
Buccaneers -8.5 over Chiefs
Dolphins +3.5 over Broncos
Cowboys +7.5 over Giants
Eagles -6.5 over Seahawks
Falcons -2.5 over Raiders
Patriots +5.5 over Colts
Redskins -2.5 over Steelers

Besse’s picks:

Last week: 7-7; Overall: 60-56

Bills -5.5 over Jets
Bears -12.5 over Lions
Bengals +7.5 over Jaguars
Browns -1.5 over Ravens
Cardinals -2.5 over Rams
Texans +4.5 over Vikings
Packers +6.5 over Titans
Chief +8.5 over Bucs
Dolphins +3.5 over Broncos
Cowboys +7.5 over Giants
Eagles -6.5 over Seahawks
Falcons -2.5 over Raiders
Patriots +5.5 over Colts
Redskins -2.5 over Steelers

Random Rob:

Last week: 9-5; Overall: 67-49

Bills -5.5 over Jets
Lions +12.5 over Bears
Bengals +7.5 over Jaguars
Ravens +1.5 over Browns
Rams +2.5 over Cardinals
Vikings -4.5 over Texans
Packers +6.5 over Titans
Buccaneers -8.5 over Chiefs
Dolphins +3.5 over Broncos
Cowboys +7.5 over Giants
Seahawks +6.5 over Eagles
Raiders +2.5 over Falcons
Colts -5.5 over Patriots
Steelers +2.5 over Redskins

-Bess