Another week, another pick em.  I must admit, its getting a little old doing the pick ems.  This week, time ran short on me and I am putting them up late.  Thats the horrible thing about working a day job and having blogging be your night gig.  If you actually go to sleep at a reasonable time of night, you don’t get much blogging done.  So, basically, blame me having to meet my hours requirement for the year on not posting.  Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I missed a week’s worth of picks.

Steven Jackson’s training camp holdout is now over 20 days long and he’s been fined over $300,000 for his insubordination. Strange that he isn’t there because he wants more money but is giving up $300k, weird how that works. In any case, he’s not close to coming into camp any time soon as his agents and the team have only just started to have “low-level” talks about a new deal, which is probably going something like

“He’s really not coming back is he?”
“Nope.”
“How much more does he want?”
“How much more you got?”
“Fuck you.”

At least that’s how I imagine it. What is lost in this coverage is not the impact that this is having on the team, SJax’s career, or his agent’s ability to land any more clients if this holdout doesnt work, no, what is lost in this coverage is the impact that this is having on fantasy football players everywhere.

It was bad enough last year when Jackson was hurt for most the year, and when he was healthy was running behind a shambles of an offensive line. Now, he hasn’t practiced a day of football leading up to the season. That isn’t good for you. Statistically, its horrible for you says Dick Vermeil,

“Carl Peterson did a study for the Kansas City Chiefs,” Vermeil said. “He’s one of the most experienced presidents-general managers in the National Football League.

“He’s been there since 1989, and he’s done studies as to holdouts. Not only in Kansas City, but all through the league. He says there’s a much higher correlation or a chance of getting injured after holding out, regardless of position.”

Someone is going to have to draft this guy, and draft him in the first round, and will basically be taking the old maid. Someone is going to look at his draft guides, see that there is no way that Stephen Jackson should be available at the 6th or 7th pick in the first round. Someone is going to have to now make a choice to either draft Marshawn Lynch, Clinton Portis or Stephen Jackson…and inevitably they will take SJax because “He’s only 25! He could run for 2000 yards! Its a steal!! It would be over valuing those scrubs taking them here!” That same someone, will end up losing this year for it.

I’m not sayin that someone is me…but i’m fuckin’ pissed about this holdout.

The Old Rich People are back and they come out firing with a scathing review of the state of the respective NFC & AFC Wests, in the form of a NFL commissioner’s statement being read at a press conference. Funny stuff as always.

Amazingly, that is not a photoshop, its an actual laundry detergent for athletes. Anyway, 0-7? Wow. The Rams are finding it tough to win without an offensive line and the Dolphins are finding it tough to win, um, period. The Dolphins legitimately have a chance to go 0-16 this year. Its would be a nice bookend to their perfect, 17-0 season with one of absolute failure. Lets see them pop some champagne for that! In any case, here’s a video for these two loser teams…the Saints are also included in this but since they won this week, I dunno if they should be. However, the anguish that is emoted on the screen are valid for all the fans of teams with sub .500 records out there.

Well the names have all changed since you hung around
But those dreams have remained and they turned around
Who’d have thought they’d lead ya here where we need ya?

Welcome back Gus. Watch those walls at the Ed Jones Dome. They too tall.

To welcome Gus back, lets take a look at career of getting the shit knocked out of him as provided by Woodcabinet Films.