I dont have the time to do a full game, so allow me just a few quick thoughts on each game along with my picks.
COLTS OVER TITANS I'm beginning to wonder if 15+ years of Andrew Luck is worth degrading your dignity this much. In other news the Titans have been exposed as pretenders that have benefited from an easy schedule as well as a week two win over Baltimore in which the Ravens gave a C- effort after an emotional win over Pittsburgh. Still, the Titans win this one and Chris Johnson owners might finally get some production this week.
SAINTS OVER RAMS I can't think of a team that's more helpless than the Rams right now. They can't even Suck for Luck because they already have Sam Bradford at QB. Can the Saints win by more than 40 again? No. But it is in play. Saints win big.
GIANTS OVER DOLPHINS Wow, the early games really suck this week. The first three picks of the week involve over .500 teams playing the only three winless teams left in the NFL. Parity isn't dead yet, but it's at least in the hospital right now. Giants win big.
PANTHERS OVER VIKINGS And the first semi-interesting game of the week is between two last place teams. I do like what I saw from Christian Ponder last week. No, he didn't unleash the "I just whipped a pass five yards over a wide open guy" face that he trademarked at Florida State, but he did come close in the last drive. I actually liked what I saw from him. Composed, made good decisions with the football (for the most part), and he didn't try to win the game by himself. Of course, I like what I'm seeing from Cam Newton way more. Panthers win 23-17.
RAVENS OVER CARDINALS 4 awful games in the first 5! We're on pace for a record. The Steelers-Pats and Eagles-Cowboys games better be great to make up for this mess. The Ravens didn't show up yet again last week in an embarassing 12-7 loss to Jacksonville. Of course, Chris Berman (Definitely in my top three favorite broadcasters of all time) subscribes to the theory that one time is a mistake, two times is a trend, three times is a problem. I'm not jumping off the Ravens bandwagon yet, but I'm close. Ravens win 21-17.
TEXANS OVER JAGUARS And we're 5 for 6!!!! Can Roger Goodell call an emergency meeting to completely reshuffle this whole week? Please? And while we're here, did anybody luck out more than the Jags last week? If they got the Ravens that the Jets had to play (Yes, I'm a homer), it would have been 38-7. Possibly higher. My point is, the Texans are gonna light the Jags up like a Christmas Tree. 31-10 is the final.
REDSKINS OVER BILLS My first upset pick of the week is the Redskins over the Bills. I'm still not buying the Bills, they're a decent offense and a terrible defense benefiting from an average schedule (wins over Kansas City, Oakland, and Philly) and a lucky win over a marquee division opponent (a win over New England in which they trailed by 21 and Tom Brady threw four picks. I'm between 95 and 100 precent sure that's never going to happen again). I smell one of those "Easily winnable games that both teams don't show up for" games. 10-6 Redskins.
BRONCOS OVER LIONS BANG!! Upset pick number two! I'm getting off the Lions bandwagon until Stafford is completely healthy and Best comes back. Until then, the Lions are operating with the worst running back corps in the league and a quarterback that's one sack away from being out for the season (Not joking, the possibility definitely exists). I don't believe in Tebow, but this should be another game where neither team shows up and the final score is something like 7-6. I hate Week 8.
BENGALS OVER SEAHAWKS I'm starting to like the Bengals' offense. Dalton and Green are starting to develop timing and chemistry skills that are essential for an offense to work. The Seahawks, on the other hand, well uh, dont have that. T-Jax and Charlie Whitehurst wouldn't know timing if it hit them in the face. Bengals win by two scores. My god Week 8 sucks.
NINERS OVER BROWNS Everybody is calling this game an upset special, and that's my queue to go against it. Also, I feel like people are calling this game an upset because there's nothing else to call an upset. I mean, did you see the Browns last week? That's possibly the worst showing a team has ever given in a win. Now they have to travel to the West Coast to play a Niners team coming off the bye. Niners win big. Ugh, Week 8 is still awful.
STEELERS OVER PATRIOTS One of the two good games in Week Eight along with Eagles-Cowboys. It might be just me or my bias, but the Pats look relatively beatable this year. They dominated last year because they controlled the clock and obliterated everyone else in the turnover margin, not to mention they were great on Third Down. I don't really see that from this year's Pats. Are they good? Absolutely. But, I think that the Steelers finally break their losing streak to the Pats by keeping the chains moving and getting a few big turnovers. Steelers edge the Pats 27-23.
EAGLES OVER COWBOYS I was never sold on the Eagles (refer to my column on them after the Asomugha signing as proof), but I've also never been sold against them. I never thought that they would be the indestructible super team that everybody thought they wuold be, but I've picked with them more times than against them this year. It's kind of like holding bad cards in a Poker game and trying to win big money just bluffing through the round. This pick is the equivalent of going all in with a pair of twos. Eagles win 20-17 after a game killing pick by Romo.
CHARGERS OVER CHIEFS I'm still not buying the Chiefs. If they pull out a win over the Chargers, that would go a long way towards winning the AFC West and, who knows, I might even believe in them a little. However, I don't think that will happen. Chargers win 23-14.
The Sports Blog for the rest of us.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Welcome to Week 7
Sorry for not writing a column last week, I had a lot of work to do. Also, I'm lazy. It's too bad, because I went 11-2 with my picks last week. I know it's difficult to believe, but it happened. Anyways, here are your picks for Week 7 of the NFL.
LIONS OVER FALCONS I believe in the Lions almost as much as I still don't believe in the Falcons ( a win over the Panthers really did nothing to change my point of view). The Lions, for the first time since their Week 1 win over Tampa, did not play a complete game and they still almost beat the third best team in the NFC. That's an essential trait that a playoff team needs to have, the ability to win without playing their best. It's a skill that the Falcons obviously don't have (and might not develop for the rest of the season). Lions win 30-17.
BEARS OVER BUCS Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the NFL in London! I always love the International series for a variety of reasons. The fans never quite know how to react to two teams they don't care about, the turf is a mess and slows the games down, and most of the time it's rainy. Actually, on second thought, I hate the International Series (at least in London). The Bears fixed a lot of their issues in a dominating win in Minnesota last week, and I wouldn't be surprised of the Bucs suffer a hangover after a big win against New Orleans. I'm picking the Bears in an upset.
BROWNS OVER SEAHAWKS Do I have any confidence at all in Charlie Whitehurst? Uh, no. Any confidence in him being better than Tarvaris Jackson? It's a tough call. I guess my point in all of this is that if the QB you're starting this week has no value over T-Jax, things have gone horribly wrong for you. I think the Browns crawl back to .500 as Peyton Hillis guts out his injury to rush for his first 100 yard game of the season.
DOLPHINS OVER BRONCOS It's TEBOOOOOOW!!!!! Geez, for all the antipathy towards Tebow in the offseason (they made him seem like a cross between Ryan Leaf and JaBustus Russell), things have certainly changed. I was on the bus home talking about fantasy football with Ray, and he spent 10 minutes trying to sell me on Tim Tebow being his starting fantasy quarterback for the rest of the year. No, seriously. That conversation happened. I couldn't believe it. The guy can't pass, and his biggest strength, according to NFL Scouts, is salvaging busted plays. Essentially, he needs the called play to fail for him to succeed. HE NEEDS THE PLAY TO FAIL FOR HIM TO SUCCEED. Does that sound like a quality starting QB to you? Throw in the fact that the Dolphins' D (who can still overperform against struggling offenses) can still get after the quarterback (as long as the O-Line sucks, in which case Denver is a godsend) and you have an underdog. Overall, this is just about as interesting as a Week Seven matchup between two teams with a combined one win is going to get. Dolphins win 23-14.
TITANS OVER TEXANS I'm going with another upset pick this week. The Titans. Never underestimate the power of a team coming off the bye. They have a full two weeks to get healthy and work out any kinks that might still be causing problems. In the Titans' case, that means improving a porous secondary that surrendered five touchdowns to Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers' receiving corps. The Titans also have to work on getting the running game rolling. The offensive line has not lived up to pre-season expectations, and Chris Johnson is having an anti-contract year (a self-invented term for when somebody signs a big contract and then "suffers" (cough, cough) a "dip in effort, I mean, production"). Without Andre Johnson, the Texans' offense is forced to run through Arian Foster to some extent, and the Ravens made them pay for it. The Titans take definitive control of the division with a big win in this one.
JETS VS CHARGERS The Jets, like the Bears, fixed a few of their issues in a 24-6 win over the tanking Miami Dolphins (Suck for Luck is really up in the air between the Dolphins, Rams, and Colts). However, many issues still remain. The chief problem that still needs to be fixed is a lack of discipline on defense. Missed tackles and overpursuing was a huge problem for the Jets all night. They will need to be ironed out before facing the Explosive Chargers' Offense. Really, I don't have a lot of confidence in the Chargers. Their four wins came against teams that, combined, have just as many wins as the Chargers. In those games, dumb turnovers and red zone issues were huge problems for San Diego, and I don't expect them to get better. Jets win 17-14.
PANTHERS OVER REDSKINS The weekly edition of "Game that there is nothing interesting to comment on". Well, except for one thing. If you're substituting John Beck in for Rex Grossman, something has gone terribly horribly wrong. I'm picking the Panthers to finally win.
CHIEFS OVER RAIDERS Who assigns the values to NFL Players in trades? I've always wanted to know this. Who on Earth thought that Carson Palmer was still worth one, possibly two first round picks? Who? Not only that, but reports are starting to leak that Palmer might not even start this week. Nice job, Mark Davis. The apple fell about three inches from the tree on that one. I'm picking the Raiders to win this game just because I think the Chiefs are much closer to what we saw in Week One than what we saw in their past two wins. The Raiders get a win, but their playoff hopes as far as I'm concerned were dropped in to a pit as soon as Jason Campbell went down.
STEELERS OVER CARDINALS The Cardinals' season has been both encouraging and depressing. We've seen some good things from Kolb and Fitzgerald, but not as much as we thought we would. The Cards have shown signs of being an OK team (going up big on the Giants), but they haven't been able to produce any wins (1-4, including a fourth quarter collapse to the Giants). On the other hand, the Steelers look like they're regaining their swagger after beating Jacksonville and reclaiming their position as one of the AFC's elite. The Steelers only have one or two tough games left on their schedule, so it's entirely plausible that they could finish 13-3 with the AFC's top seed. Steelers easily beat the Cardinals after a four pick day from Kolb.
COWBOYS OVER RAMS It's happening again. The annual talk about "Hey, what's up with the Cowboys?" is in full swing, sure to be led on NFL Gameday Morning by Michael Irvin.
Irvin: " (imagine in a loud, annoyingly raspy voice)THE COWBOYS NEED TO PLAY PHYSICAL TODAY! THE COWBOYS NEED TO MAKE BIG PLAYS IN BIG SITUATIONS!!!!! (Rest of speech unintelligible. Might be coughing up sandpaper stuck in throat)"
Every single year, it seems like every analyst in America has a new opinion on the Cowboys. Personally, I lost interest in about every Cowboys angle after 2008. Romo's a choke artist, they're never properly rated (either so much talk about being overrated that they become underrated or vice versa), they win games that they should win, and they never fail to disappoint in big games. The Cowboys mop up the Rams, and then disappear next week against Philly.
PACKERS VS VIKINGS Remember back in my NFL Preview when I said that the NFL is set against repeat Super Bowl Champions and that a team would have to be way ahead of everyone else to win again? I'm beginning to feel that the Packers are way ahead of everyone else. They're closest competition in the NFC right now (statistically speaking) are the Niners and the Lions. As much as it's fun to watch two likable surprise teams, the reality is they don't hold a candle to the Packers. Their offense is amazing, Aaron Rodgers might be the best QB of the next decade (unless Andrew Luck is as good as advertised), and the Packers might just go undefeated. I don't think they will (too many things need to go right, you can't have any significant injuries, and you have to be pretty lucky along the way) but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. At this point, there's not that much to be said for their opponent, the Vikings. McNabb is washed up and it's time to look towards the future. It's Ponder time in Minnesota, and I don't think he'll forget his first NFL start after the Packers cover the spread twice or thrice over against the Vikes.
SAINTS OVER COLTS If only I were around in Eliminator challenge still (Sigh). What is there to be said for this game? The Colts have been self-destructing for weeks, and there's no point in stopping it now, not with Andrew Luck waiting in the next draft. The Saints win big over the Tanking Indianapolis Colts and regain the lead in the NFC South.
RAVENS OVER JAGUARS This is quite possibly the worst situation that Blaine Gabbert could be thrust in to right now. A decomposing offense playing on a national stage against one of the best defenses in the league that also likes to use lots of confusing formations? That's slaughter. That's the perfect storm of sacks, mistakes, and blank stares on the bench as the ESPN crew shows discouraging stats. I'm looking forward to it. Ravens win big.
LIONS OVER FALCONS I believe in the Lions almost as much as I still don't believe in the Falcons ( a win over the Panthers really did nothing to change my point of view). The Lions, for the first time since their Week 1 win over Tampa, did not play a complete game and they still almost beat the third best team in the NFC. That's an essential trait that a playoff team needs to have, the ability to win without playing their best. It's a skill that the Falcons obviously don't have (and might not develop for the rest of the season). Lions win 30-17.
BEARS OVER BUCS Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the NFL in London! I always love the International series for a variety of reasons. The fans never quite know how to react to two teams they don't care about, the turf is a mess and slows the games down, and most of the time it's rainy. Actually, on second thought, I hate the International Series (at least in London). The Bears fixed a lot of their issues in a dominating win in Minnesota last week, and I wouldn't be surprised of the Bucs suffer a hangover after a big win against New Orleans. I'm picking the Bears in an upset.
BROWNS OVER SEAHAWKS Do I have any confidence at all in Charlie Whitehurst? Uh, no. Any confidence in him being better than Tarvaris Jackson? It's a tough call. I guess my point in all of this is that if the QB you're starting this week has no value over T-Jax, things have gone horribly wrong for you. I think the Browns crawl back to .500 as Peyton Hillis guts out his injury to rush for his first 100 yard game of the season.
DOLPHINS OVER BRONCOS It's TEBOOOOOOW!!!!! Geez, for all the antipathy towards Tebow in the offseason (they made him seem like a cross between Ryan Leaf and JaBustus Russell), things have certainly changed. I was on the bus home talking about fantasy football with Ray, and he spent 10 minutes trying to sell me on Tim Tebow being his starting fantasy quarterback for the rest of the year. No, seriously. That conversation happened. I couldn't believe it. The guy can't pass, and his biggest strength, according to NFL Scouts, is salvaging busted plays. Essentially, he needs the called play to fail for him to succeed. HE NEEDS THE PLAY TO FAIL FOR HIM TO SUCCEED. Does that sound like a quality starting QB to you? Throw in the fact that the Dolphins' D (who can still overperform against struggling offenses) can still get after the quarterback (as long as the O-Line sucks, in which case Denver is a godsend) and you have an underdog. Overall, this is just about as interesting as a Week Seven matchup between two teams with a combined one win is going to get. Dolphins win 23-14.
TITANS OVER TEXANS I'm going with another upset pick this week. The Titans. Never underestimate the power of a team coming off the bye. They have a full two weeks to get healthy and work out any kinks that might still be causing problems. In the Titans' case, that means improving a porous secondary that surrendered five touchdowns to Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers' receiving corps. The Titans also have to work on getting the running game rolling. The offensive line has not lived up to pre-season expectations, and Chris Johnson is having an anti-contract year (a self-invented term for when somebody signs a big contract and then "suffers" (cough, cough) a "dip in effort, I mean, production"). Without Andre Johnson, the Texans' offense is forced to run through Arian Foster to some extent, and the Ravens made them pay for it. The Titans take definitive control of the division with a big win in this one.
JETS VS CHARGERS The Jets, like the Bears, fixed a few of their issues in a 24-6 win over the tanking Miami Dolphins (Suck for Luck is really up in the air between the Dolphins, Rams, and Colts). However, many issues still remain. The chief problem that still needs to be fixed is a lack of discipline on defense. Missed tackles and overpursuing was a huge problem for the Jets all night. They will need to be ironed out before facing the Explosive Chargers' Offense. Really, I don't have a lot of confidence in the Chargers. Their four wins came against teams that, combined, have just as many wins as the Chargers. In those games, dumb turnovers and red zone issues were huge problems for San Diego, and I don't expect them to get better. Jets win 17-14.
PANTHERS OVER REDSKINS The weekly edition of "Game that there is nothing interesting to comment on". Well, except for one thing. If you're substituting John Beck in for Rex Grossman, something has gone terribly horribly wrong. I'm picking the Panthers to finally win.
CHIEFS OVER RAIDERS Who assigns the values to NFL Players in trades? I've always wanted to know this. Who on Earth thought that Carson Palmer was still worth one, possibly two first round picks? Who? Not only that, but reports are starting to leak that Palmer might not even start this week. Nice job, Mark Davis. The apple fell about three inches from the tree on that one. I'm picking the Raiders to win this game just because I think the Chiefs are much closer to what we saw in Week One than what we saw in their past two wins. The Raiders get a win, but their playoff hopes as far as I'm concerned were dropped in to a pit as soon as Jason Campbell went down.
STEELERS OVER CARDINALS The Cardinals' season has been both encouraging and depressing. We've seen some good things from Kolb and Fitzgerald, but not as much as we thought we would. The Cards have shown signs of being an OK team (going up big on the Giants), but they haven't been able to produce any wins (1-4, including a fourth quarter collapse to the Giants). On the other hand, the Steelers look like they're regaining their swagger after beating Jacksonville and reclaiming their position as one of the AFC's elite. The Steelers only have one or two tough games left on their schedule, so it's entirely plausible that they could finish 13-3 with the AFC's top seed. Steelers easily beat the Cardinals after a four pick day from Kolb.
COWBOYS OVER RAMS It's happening again. The annual talk about "Hey, what's up with the Cowboys?" is in full swing, sure to be led on NFL Gameday Morning by Michael Irvin.
Irvin: " (imagine in a loud, annoyingly raspy voice)THE COWBOYS NEED TO PLAY PHYSICAL TODAY! THE COWBOYS NEED TO MAKE BIG PLAYS IN BIG SITUATIONS!!!!! (Rest of speech unintelligible. Might be coughing up sandpaper stuck in throat)"
Every single year, it seems like every analyst in America has a new opinion on the Cowboys. Personally, I lost interest in about every Cowboys angle after 2008. Romo's a choke artist, they're never properly rated (either so much talk about being overrated that they become underrated or vice versa), they win games that they should win, and they never fail to disappoint in big games. The Cowboys mop up the Rams, and then disappear next week against Philly.
PACKERS VS VIKINGS Remember back in my NFL Preview when I said that the NFL is set against repeat Super Bowl Champions and that a team would have to be way ahead of everyone else to win again? I'm beginning to feel that the Packers are way ahead of everyone else. They're closest competition in the NFC right now (statistically speaking) are the Niners and the Lions. As much as it's fun to watch two likable surprise teams, the reality is they don't hold a candle to the Packers. Their offense is amazing, Aaron Rodgers might be the best QB of the next decade (unless Andrew Luck is as good as advertised), and the Packers might just go undefeated. I don't think they will (too many things need to go right, you can't have any significant injuries, and you have to be pretty lucky along the way) but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. At this point, there's not that much to be said for their opponent, the Vikings. McNabb is washed up and it's time to look towards the future. It's Ponder time in Minnesota, and I don't think he'll forget his first NFL start after the Packers cover the spread twice or thrice over against the Vikes.
SAINTS OVER COLTS If only I were around in Eliminator challenge still (Sigh). What is there to be said for this game? The Colts have been self-destructing for weeks, and there's no point in stopping it now, not with Andrew Luck waiting in the next draft. The Saints win big over the Tanking Indianapolis Colts and regain the lead in the NFC South.
RAVENS OVER JAGUARS This is quite possibly the worst situation that Blaine Gabbert could be thrust in to right now. A decomposing offense playing on a national stage against one of the best defenses in the league that also likes to use lots of confusing formations? That's slaughter. That's the perfect storm of sacks, mistakes, and blank stares on the bench as the ESPN crew shows discouraging stats. I'm looking forward to it. Ravens win big.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Welcome to Week 5
First off, I would like to give a very big shout-out to everybody reading this column via the scholastic play by play sports broadcasting camp mainpage, where this blog is among the three blogs of the week. I would like to thank the counselors there for supporting me and the blog as well as all the friends that I made there. I wish I would have watched Anchorman enough times to think of a quote to leave here, but I haven't. I'll just have to leave the Anchorman references to Jon Jaffe. Anyways, let's get to the picks.
EAGLES VS BILLS
Blowing a 20 point lead to the 49ers? I didn't know the Eagles suddenly played in Boston (sorry SBC Boston campers. Would it help if I said that Rug Burn Ball seems fun?). The Eagles have way too much talent on both sides of the football for another collapse to happen, but that's what we thought after the first two losses. Other teams have exploited the fatal flaw in the Eagles' defense, they are tremendously soft in between the tackles. We saw a little bit of this on their Week One win, where Steven Jackson busted off a long touchdown run before getting injured. The Eagles rank 30th in the league against the run, surrendering over 120 yards per game. Frank Gore absolutely crushed the Eagles up the middle in the final drive, finishing the day with 127 yards. The Bills blew another lead (through the first four weeks, four leads of 20 or more have been erased. The most times that has happened in an entire season before was four. If there were ever a tombstone for the four-minute drill and fundamental football, the 2011 season would be it) to the Cincinatti Bengals. Up 20-6, the Bills watched the Bengals rally back for a 23-20 win. I can't believe I just typed that sentence. Anyways, I like the Eagles' chances against one of the worst defenses in the league (25 points per game given up so far). The Eagles get back on track with a 30-17 win.
JAGUARS VS BENGALS
Have you ever had something where there was two choices and you would always pick the wrong one? That's kind of where I'm at with Cincy right now. I'm 0-4 picking games that involve the Cincinatti Bengals. At this point, I'm trying to figure out what my gut is telling me so I can go against it. My gut tells me Cincy for this one because Jacksonville is awful and the Bengals finally have some momentum, but I'm going against that advice. The Bengals are a young team that came through with a huge win last week, so you would expect a let-down facing a bad team on the road. Maurice Jones-Drew hasn't been able to get anything going as of late, and he's too good to stay quiet for this long (which is why I'm trying to get him on the cheap in my fantasy league). Expect Jones-Drew to have a big game and Gabbert to notch his first win as a pro as the Jags beat the Bengals.
TITANS VS STEELERS
Yep, I dont believe in the Steelers anymore. I just watched my AFC Super Bowl Pick get burned by Arian Foster (not really that bad until you remember that he was just coming back from a strained hamstring and Gary Kubiak told the media that he hoped to limit Foster to 15 or 20 carries. Eventually, he was willing to risk injury to his star RB just to take advantage of the success he was having). That's especially disturbing because I thought that would be the one problem that the Steelers would never have in my lifetime, a lack of physicallity (I think that's a word). The Steelers were destroyed at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and that led to big chunks of yardage for the Texans. Then we have the Titans, who are secretly pretty good. They dominated the Ravens earlier this year and Matt Hasselbeck looks like he has a chance to stay relevant for a few more years (anytime a QB starts after 40, we should call him a Favre. Can't you see some studio analyst saying "I like this kid's durability. He's a serious contender to be a Favre in 15 years"? Yep, me too.) after great games against the Browns and the Broncos (I mean, they are the Browns and Broncos, but still). Chris Johnson also looks like a threat to revive his season against a worn-down front seven. For my upset pick of the week, it's the Titans over the Steelers.
CHIEFS VS COLTS
I'm 2-7 this year picking games where both teams have under two wins. I can't even think of a good joke to make about this game. Colts win 27-17. Next.
RAIDERS VS TEXANS
This is a sleeper for Best Game of the Week status. It's also the fantasy clash of the week as Darren McFadden (the number 1 back) squares off against Arian Foster (presumed to be in the top 3 after coming back from a hamstring injury. Hopefully the trend that Foster started of posting injuries on Twitter wont last. I dont need to see groin injuries being posted online). I'm inclined to go with the Texans on this one because they finally look like a fundamentally sound team (making smart passes, generating a good push at the offensive line, everything. I think they're defense collectively generated a few pulses last game) and the Raiders, well, they're the Raiders. Texans win this game on Foster's legs by the score of 31-23.
CARDINALS VS VIKINGS
The Cardinals showed signs of life last week before their defense choked away a big fourth quarter lead against the Giants. One positive that did come out of the defeat was Beanie Wells. I can't stress how much Beanie has sucked over the past few years, but he seemed to start turning things around in the Giants game. Over 120 yards on 27 carries and three TDs is a solid day, and its downright great in comparison to the ineptitude (an SAT/pompous librarian approved word!) he has displayed over the past few years. Meanwhile, nothing seems to go right for the Minnesota Vikings. Squandering both 17 and 20 point leads, and then capping it off by losing to the Chiefs? Ouch. Carinals win 21-17.
SAINTS VS PANTHERS
I wanted to pick Carolina in this game. I really did. After all, I'm a firm believer in the Newton-Smith partnership that has blossomed in the early goings of the season. However, that would be a stupid pick. New Orleans has shown that their offense is a force to be reckoned with, even if their defense isn't on par with the rest of the league. Brees is an early nominee for MVP, and the Saints (along with the Ravens) are the team I can see standing up to the Packers in the playoffs. They have an identity and the talent to live up to it, and that's a commodity in today's NFL. Then again, you might not want to take the Saints if you're betting the spread (big favorites against Cam Newton? Not a good deal. By the way, notice how I've completely jumped on the Cam Newton bandwagon. My NFL Preview says that he has "the chance to be the biggest bust in the past decade". Now? GO CAM NEWTON!!! Although, the fact that he racked up 31(!) fantasy points against me last week had something to do with it). The Panthers have covered in every game so far this year. However, I'm picking the Saints for a 27-23 win.
SEAHAWKS VS GIANTS
The Giants are my Week 5 Eliminator Pick (I hate picking the Giants just as much as everybody else, but there are no other options for this week) by default. I hate having to pick Eliminator Challenge weeks by default and with everybody else (I always try to never go for the game that everybody is picking. There's a reason that 50,000 people don't win Eliminator Challenge), but this one seems like a lock. The Giants win by two scores. If they lose, I'm picking against them out of spite for the rest of the season.
BUCS VS 49ERS
Every week, the media looks for cute angles on the previous week's events (It doesn't just happen after Week 1!). Some of them are legitimate, most of them aren't. One of the angles that I heard was "The Bucs are the second best team in the NFC! This could be their year!" Geez, some people really need to switch to decaf. The Bucs are not the second best NFC Team. Or the third. Or the fourth. Or possibly not even the fifth. They haven't been able to play a complete game or convincingly beat a good opponent. Then again, neither have the Niners. This is a major letdown game for another young team like the Bucs. Coming off a tough Monday Night game, going to the West Coast, and playing a surprisingly frisky 49ers team? Count me in. 23-20 Niners.
CHARGERS VS BRONCOS
There isn't much hope for the Broncos anymore. After getting dismantled by the Packers, the Broncos have to trudge back home to play a traditionally unpredictable Chargers team. One thing, however, is always predictable. Check out the Chargers' previous playoff seasons. 2009 Week 7, Win against the Chiefs 37-7. 2008 Week 14, Win against the Raiders 37-7. 2007 Week 5, Win against the Broncos 41-3. In each Chargers season, they have an absolutely monster game against a terrible division opponent, usually in midseason (this has gone one for 5 or 6 years now). This feels like one of those games. Rivers is overdue for a great game. Chargers win by at least 17 (I already picked the Chargers in Eliminator. Crap).
PATRIOTS VS JETS
The one thing that I never, ever want to do is to pick against my favorite team. I did. The one thing that I would rather jump in to a shark tank than do is to make an Eliminator Challenge pick against my own team. I almost did that too. It's hard to overstate how much the Jets' offensive line sucked last week, but I'll give it a try. Sanchez drops back to pass, having had three sack-strips against him, two returned for touchdowns. There is a regular four man rush for Baltimore and, no joke, two of them CAME FREE. They didn't make a good move past the linemen. They were completely untouched as Sanchez ran away like he was fleeing the mafia as he threw the ball in to the ground. This happened with five offensive linemen. The running game hasn't been good, the offensive line has sucked, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Jets will win this game. The Jets' D will keep it close, but I'm wiping away tears as I pick the Pats to win this one.
PACKERS VS FALCONS
Whenever NFL Gameday shows a highlight bit of Eli Manning throwing for a touchdown, Deion Sanders yells "I BELIEVE IN ELI!!!" No, Seriously. I BELIEVE IN ELI!!!! Why is this relevant? This is what I've been yelling at the Falcons since I made them my Super Bowl Pick, only I've been yelling I DONT BELIEVE IN YOU, FALCONS!!!! I dont believe in them now any more than I did before. Bits of Denver Broncos defenders are still stuck to the bottom of Aaron Rodgers' cleat as he tore them apart for 6 TDs. Same bad defense, same great offense, same result. Packers win 37-23.
BEARS VS LIONS
I BELIEVE IN THE LIONS!!!!! It might have taken me two weeks longer than everybody else, but I finally believe in them. Facing a good team on the road, down by over 20 points, the Lions pulled it out again. I'm still shocked. Calvin Johnson is putting up the most dominating performance I've ever seen from a wide receiver in the NFL (Don't forget, I was born after Jerry Rice and Randy Moss' prime). Over the last few seasons, there has been an ongoing debate about this. Well, Andre Johnson looks good. If Randy Moss can get it together, he could be the best. Don't forget about Fitzgerald. Well the debate is over. Calvin Johnson has just settled it with 8 touchdowns in four games (the people who picked Johnson in fantasy football have to be high fiving themselves right now). And dont forget about the Lions' pass rush, now that Nick Fairley is back. Between the Bears' struggling offensive line and Jay Cutler's destructive tendencies (I love it when fans discuss their QBs like a bomb that could explode in a mushroom cloud of interceptions at any moment. Except when it's my QB. Then I hate it), this game has all the makings of a double digit win for the Lions.
Thanks for reading and dont forget to read next time for Week 6 picks. I BELIEVE IN THIS COLUMN!!!
EAGLES VS BILLS
Blowing a 20 point lead to the 49ers? I didn't know the Eagles suddenly played in Boston (sorry SBC Boston campers. Would it help if I said that Rug Burn Ball seems fun?). The Eagles have way too much talent on both sides of the football for another collapse to happen, but that's what we thought after the first two losses. Other teams have exploited the fatal flaw in the Eagles' defense, they are tremendously soft in between the tackles. We saw a little bit of this on their Week One win, where Steven Jackson busted off a long touchdown run before getting injured. The Eagles rank 30th in the league against the run, surrendering over 120 yards per game. Frank Gore absolutely crushed the Eagles up the middle in the final drive, finishing the day with 127 yards. The Bills blew another lead (through the first four weeks, four leads of 20 or more have been erased. The most times that has happened in an entire season before was four. If there were ever a tombstone for the four-minute drill and fundamental football, the 2011 season would be it) to the Cincinatti Bengals. Up 20-6, the Bills watched the Bengals rally back for a 23-20 win. I can't believe I just typed that sentence. Anyways, I like the Eagles' chances against one of the worst defenses in the league (25 points per game given up so far). The Eagles get back on track with a 30-17 win.
JAGUARS VS BENGALS
Have you ever had something where there was two choices and you would always pick the wrong one? That's kind of where I'm at with Cincy right now. I'm 0-4 picking games that involve the Cincinatti Bengals. At this point, I'm trying to figure out what my gut is telling me so I can go against it. My gut tells me Cincy for this one because Jacksonville is awful and the Bengals finally have some momentum, but I'm going against that advice. The Bengals are a young team that came through with a huge win last week, so you would expect a let-down facing a bad team on the road. Maurice Jones-Drew hasn't been able to get anything going as of late, and he's too good to stay quiet for this long (which is why I'm trying to get him on the cheap in my fantasy league). Expect Jones-Drew to have a big game and Gabbert to notch his first win as a pro as the Jags beat the Bengals.
TITANS VS STEELERS
Yep, I dont believe in the Steelers anymore. I just watched my AFC Super Bowl Pick get burned by Arian Foster (not really that bad until you remember that he was just coming back from a strained hamstring and Gary Kubiak told the media that he hoped to limit Foster to 15 or 20 carries. Eventually, he was willing to risk injury to his star RB just to take advantage of the success he was having). That's especially disturbing because I thought that would be the one problem that the Steelers would never have in my lifetime, a lack of physicallity (I think that's a word). The Steelers were destroyed at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and that led to big chunks of yardage for the Texans. Then we have the Titans, who are secretly pretty good. They dominated the Ravens earlier this year and Matt Hasselbeck looks like he has a chance to stay relevant for a few more years (anytime a QB starts after 40, we should call him a Favre. Can't you see some studio analyst saying "I like this kid's durability. He's a serious contender to be a Favre in 15 years"? Yep, me too.) after great games against the Browns and the Broncos (I mean, they are the Browns and Broncos, but still). Chris Johnson also looks like a threat to revive his season against a worn-down front seven. For my upset pick of the week, it's the Titans over the Steelers.
CHIEFS VS COLTS
I'm 2-7 this year picking games where both teams have under two wins. I can't even think of a good joke to make about this game. Colts win 27-17. Next.
RAIDERS VS TEXANS
This is a sleeper for Best Game of the Week status. It's also the fantasy clash of the week as Darren McFadden (the number 1 back) squares off against Arian Foster (presumed to be in the top 3 after coming back from a hamstring injury. Hopefully the trend that Foster started of posting injuries on Twitter wont last. I dont need to see groin injuries being posted online). I'm inclined to go with the Texans on this one because they finally look like a fundamentally sound team (making smart passes, generating a good push at the offensive line, everything. I think they're defense collectively generated a few pulses last game) and the Raiders, well, they're the Raiders. Texans win this game on Foster's legs by the score of 31-23.
CARDINALS VS VIKINGS
The Cardinals showed signs of life last week before their defense choked away a big fourth quarter lead against the Giants. One positive that did come out of the defeat was Beanie Wells. I can't stress how much Beanie has sucked over the past few years, but he seemed to start turning things around in the Giants game. Over 120 yards on 27 carries and three TDs is a solid day, and its downright great in comparison to the ineptitude (an SAT/pompous librarian approved word!) he has displayed over the past few years. Meanwhile, nothing seems to go right for the Minnesota Vikings. Squandering both 17 and 20 point leads, and then capping it off by losing to the Chiefs? Ouch. Carinals win 21-17.
SAINTS VS PANTHERS
I wanted to pick Carolina in this game. I really did. After all, I'm a firm believer in the Newton-Smith partnership that has blossomed in the early goings of the season. However, that would be a stupid pick. New Orleans has shown that their offense is a force to be reckoned with, even if their defense isn't on par with the rest of the league. Brees is an early nominee for MVP, and the Saints (along with the Ravens) are the team I can see standing up to the Packers in the playoffs. They have an identity and the talent to live up to it, and that's a commodity in today's NFL. Then again, you might not want to take the Saints if you're betting the spread (big favorites against Cam Newton? Not a good deal. By the way, notice how I've completely jumped on the Cam Newton bandwagon. My NFL Preview says that he has "the chance to be the biggest bust in the past decade". Now? GO CAM NEWTON!!! Although, the fact that he racked up 31(!) fantasy points against me last week had something to do with it). The Panthers have covered in every game so far this year. However, I'm picking the Saints for a 27-23 win.
SEAHAWKS VS GIANTS
The Giants are my Week 5 Eliminator Pick (I hate picking the Giants just as much as everybody else, but there are no other options for this week) by default. I hate having to pick Eliminator Challenge weeks by default and with everybody else (I always try to never go for the game that everybody is picking. There's a reason that 50,000 people don't win Eliminator Challenge), but this one seems like a lock. The Giants win by two scores. If they lose, I'm picking against them out of spite for the rest of the season.
BUCS VS 49ERS
Every week, the media looks for cute angles on the previous week's events (It doesn't just happen after Week 1!). Some of them are legitimate, most of them aren't. One of the angles that I heard was "The Bucs are the second best team in the NFC! This could be their year!" Geez, some people really need to switch to decaf. The Bucs are not the second best NFC Team. Or the third. Or the fourth. Or possibly not even the fifth. They haven't been able to play a complete game or convincingly beat a good opponent. Then again, neither have the Niners. This is a major letdown game for another young team like the Bucs. Coming off a tough Monday Night game, going to the West Coast, and playing a surprisingly frisky 49ers team? Count me in. 23-20 Niners.
CHARGERS VS BRONCOS
There isn't much hope for the Broncos anymore. After getting dismantled by the Packers, the Broncos have to trudge back home to play a traditionally unpredictable Chargers team. One thing, however, is always predictable. Check out the Chargers' previous playoff seasons. 2009 Week 7, Win against the Chiefs 37-7. 2008 Week 14, Win against the Raiders 37-7. 2007 Week 5, Win against the Broncos 41-3. In each Chargers season, they have an absolutely monster game against a terrible division opponent, usually in midseason (this has gone one for 5 or 6 years now). This feels like one of those games. Rivers is overdue for a great game. Chargers win by at least 17 (I already picked the Chargers in Eliminator. Crap).
PATRIOTS VS JETS
The one thing that I never, ever want to do is to pick against my favorite team. I did. The one thing that I would rather jump in to a shark tank than do is to make an Eliminator Challenge pick against my own team. I almost did that too. It's hard to overstate how much the Jets' offensive line sucked last week, but I'll give it a try. Sanchez drops back to pass, having had three sack-strips against him, two returned for touchdowns. There is a regular four man rush for Baltimore and, no joke, two of them CAME FREE. They didn't make a good move past the linemen. They were completely untouched as Sanchez ran away like he was fleeing the mafia as he threw the ball in to the ground. This happened with five offensive linemen. The running game hasn't been good, the offensive line has sucked, and there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Jets will win this game. The Jets' D will keep it close, but I'm wiping away tears as I pick the Pats to win this one.
PACKERS VS FALCONS
Whenever NFL Gameday shows a highlight bit of Eli Manning throwing for a touchdown, Deion Sanders yells "I BELIEVE IN ELI!!!" No, Seriously. I BELIEVE IN ELI!!!! Why is this relevant? This is what I've been yelling at the Falcons since I made them my Super Bowl Pick, only I've been yelling I DONT BELIEVE IN YOU, FALCONS!!!! I dont believe in them now any more than I did before. Bits of Denver Broncos defenders are still stuck to the bottom of Aaron Rodgers' cleat as he tore them apart for 6 TDs. Same bad defense, same great offense, same result. Packers win 37-23.
BEARS VS LIONS
I BELIEVE IN THE LIONS!!!!! It might have taken me two weeks longer than everybody else, but I finally believe in them. Facing a good team on the road, down by over 20 points, the Lions pulled it out again. I'm still shocked. Calvin Johnson is putting up the most dominating performance I've ever seen from a wide receiver in the NFL (Don't forget, I was born after Jerry Rice and Randy Moss' prime). Over the last few seasons, there has been an ongoing debate about this. Well, Andre Johnson looks good. If Randy Moss can get it together, he could be the best. Don't forget about Fitzgerald. Well the debate is over. Calvin Johnson has just settled it with 8 touchdowns in four games (the people who picked Johnson in fantasy football have to be high fiving themselves right now). And dont forget about the Lions' pass rush, now that Nick Fairley is back. Between the Bears' struggling offensive line and Jay Cutler's destructive tendencies (I love it when fans discuss their QBs like a bomb that could explode in a mushroom cloud of interceptions at any moment. Except when it's my QB. Then I hate it), this game has all the makings of a double digit win for the Lions.
Thanks for reading and dont forget to read next time for Week 6 picks. I BELIEVE IN THIS COLUMN!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)