NFL Week 7: Arthur Treacher's

Arthur Treacher's! Those of us who remember the 70s remember this restaurant and the ubiquitous green and yellow design. It was THE place to get fast food fish - no one else had it at the time, except for the popular Filet O Fish at McDonalds. And it was cultural! You felt British just going in there and ordering "chips" instead of fries.

And it was good! I recall the fish always being "meaty", the filets were big, and the fried coating was excellent - not greasy. They did fish right. They also did chicken, shrimp, and clams - but the main attraction was the fried filets.

The franchise started in 1969 in Ohio - in Columbus - and quickly grew. In the mid 70s, Arthur Treacher's grew to about 820 franchises. The green and yellow lanterns were everywhere! I remember them very faintly when we lived in Detroit, Cincinnati and Lansing. Maybe it wasn't a "treat" like Friendly's, but it was fun to go there to mix it up and not have burgers when you go out.

So who was Arthur Treacher? Apparently, he was the butler in many of the old Shirley Temple movies of the 30s and 40s. He didn't own the restaurant chain, but lent (sold?) his name to it - to give the restaurant a real British feel. He popped up as a spokesman in the 70s for the franchise before dying in 1975. Kind of a weird history there.

The demise of the restaurant came in the late 70s with the "Cod Wars". Apparently, there was a lot of conflict on who owns the North Atlantic waters to fish for cod - which as the fish that Arthur Treacher's used. It came down to Ireland and the UK- and Ireland prevented the UK to fish for cod in their waters. This drove up the price of cod - and Arthur Treacher's was in a bind.

They tried to use another type of fish - pollock, I think - and it didn't work. The product suffered, prices were out of control, and restaurants started closing. The franchise fell apart in the 80s and 90s. A buyer was found in the 2000s - the Nathan's hot dog chain! - and now there are some Nathan/Arthur Treacher's restaurants in food courts - and there are 7 stand alone Arthur Treacher's restaurants in New York and Northern Ohio. I haven't been to one up there - yet.

Can America use a fast food fish restaurant? Does Long John Silvers count? Does anyone go there? What about Captain D's fish food - seen in many urban places? The way things seem, there's no market for fast food fish anymore. That's too bad - since Arthur Treacher's did it the right way.

Here are some commercials - all from the 70s, of course

1. Shhhh!  The secret is in the cooking.

2. What the hell is this? The Godfather mixed with the restaurant. And the tagline- "We are something else". Does that work?

We're on a bye this week - so maybe we can find the "right way" to run this offense and defense after blowing a big lead vs. Seattle. And New England awaits next week...

On to the games:

LAR 31, Atl 27.  This is the perfect game for Jared Goff to get on track. Atlanta's pass D is so awful. And I have no faith in Matt Ryan anymore.

Buf 20, Mia 10. I don't see Buffalo's offense- very run based - getting more than 20, unless there's plenty of turnovers. That will allow Miami to keep it close.

Jax 24, Cin 20. Could be a let down spot for the Jags - I think the league is catching up to Minchew. But really, we can't trust the Bengals until they win.

Min 24, Det 20. I didn't see all the bad calls against the Lions - but those will be costly come December. Minnesota should run all over the Lions here in a low scoring battle.

GB 20, Oak 17. Something is just off about the Packers offense - probably all the WR injuries. I just can't pick Oakland here given their travel schedule. They haven't been home in 5 weeks.

Ind 23, Hou 20. Off a bye, and better coached, Indy will use the strategy they used vs. KC to control the ball and keep it away from DeShawn.

NYG 28, Arz 20. This is the perfect defense for Daniel Jones to face - and at home, even, I can't trust Murray on the road- yet.

SF 27, Was 13. Boy, San Fran's D is impressive. How will Case Keenum or Haskins score for Washington? And the San Fran offense is so balanced...

Ten 23, LAC 20. How do you trust either of these teams? Can Tennessee even score with Tannehill? How will the Chargers self-destruct...again?

Chi 23, NO 16. I think this is the perfect spot for the Bears - off a bye, against a Saints team that has had so many big games. The D will rise up and shut Teddy and the Saints down.

Sea 30, Bal 20. Baltimore is a fraud. There, I said it. They should have killed the Bengals last week, but let them in the game. A halfway decent offense will expose them.

Dal 31, Phi 24. Another "spot" game - good spot for Dallas here to come back after the Jets disaster. And the Eagles' injuries are still an issue.

NE 27, NYJ 17. The Jets are a new team with Darnold - they can move the ball, and their D is legit. This may be closer than we think.

Best bets: 12 of them this week. Last week: 6-6-1; overall: 44-41-2
ATS: last week 3-4; overall 21-31-1
Over/under: last week 3-2-1; overall 23-11-1

LAR/Atl over 54.5
Mia +17
Buf/Mia under 41
Min -2
Hou/Ind under 47
NYG -3
SF -9.5
LAC/Ten over 40.5
Chi -3.5
Sea -3
Dal -2.5
Phi/Dal over 48.5

Supercontest picks: last week 2-3; overall 12-18. Ugh.

Mia +17
NYG -3
Chi -3.5
Sea -3
Dal -2.5

Four favorites. Ugh.....