Oh, to be young again. It wasn’t so many years ago that the Gehlke Bros. were in the flower of their youth, back in the days when Art Shell and Joe Gibbs were in their first tour of duty as NawFuL coaches... About three networks ago for John Madden... When the coveted Surfy trophy was little more than a lump of molten plastic in some trophy-maker’s mold.
It was also before Ben got involved in this prognosticating game we call Gehlke Bros. Football. In Week 1 of the new season, all the glory went to the young upstart as he cashed in on a bizarre scoreboard that saw 11 out of 16 teams winning on the road. Ben excelled where his elders unravelled, successfully picking Baltimore, Atlanta, the Jets and Minnesota when the rest of us gave them up for lost causes in the opening weekend. He also collected a win from host team Jacksonville to establish a solid early lead over his dad, who otherwise emerged as the victor between the more veteran Bros.
Glenn got his season off on a high note when Pittsburgh won an opening night come-from-behind game against visiting Miami. But Sean rebounded Sunday afternoon when his Jaguars polished off the supposedly new and improved Cowboys down in Florida. Then, as has so often been the case, the rubber game was decided Monday night, when the Chargers visited the Raiders. But in a rare twist, the Senior Bro got the win as the Chargers blanked the host Silver and Black, 27-0.
It all adds up to a one-game lead for Glenn — his first since the final week of the 2004 season. Ben, however, was the big winner with his 13-3 record. Glenn was second at 9-7, while the Junior Bro finished dead even at 8-8. We all picked winners New England, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, Arizona and Indianapolis. None of us predicted the wins of St. Louis or Cincinnati.
Total splits: 3
