To Be Continued...

Unfortunately I don’t have time to write anything interesting this week. I really do have things to do with my life. I just spent almost three hours driving back to school so all I had time to do when I got back is write a little something for each game. I did make my picks yesterday, but I know people aren’t very trustful of others and I would lose all credibility if took the time to give my thoughts on the Thanksgiving games and made this post after the first set of games. I will get my two cents in this week though. You can bet the Lions are going to get some heat from me as well as McNabb. Yeah, that’s right, McNabb. I don’t care about how you did on Thursday, I’m not done with you yet. You’ve actually added fuel to my fire.

NY Jets (-8) over Denver

Let me be clear that this pick is NOT me jumping on the Jets bandwagon, but more of me jumping on the Broncos dilapidated rickshaw that is a sorry excuse for a bandwagon. They rival the Eagles for the most inconsistent, hardest-to-read team. They’ve beaten New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and San Diego, yet have lost to Kansas City, Oakland, and Jacksonville. I’m not completely sold on the Jets yet, but after their performances in the last two weeks this seems like an easy pick.

Buffalo (-6.5) over San Francisco

I’m going with tradition on this one, in that it is very hard for opponents to win in Buffalo in December (it basically is). And that goes especially for a 3-8 west coast team, despite the Bills recent struggles. Their offense explosion last week gives me hope they can pull this one out by at least a touchdown.

New Orleans (+4) over Tampa Bay

The Saints pretty much have to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive, and Drew Brees is a big time performer. He was my runner-up for MVP last week, and he certainly could win that award this year, but not if the Saints don’t make the postseason. They beat Tampa in their first matchup, and I’m going to bet that the Bucs defenders take at least a half to adjust to Brees after facing a Culpepper-lead Lions offense last week.

Green Bay (-3) over Carolina

This pick is very similar to the Buffalo one, in that opponents don’t go into Green Bay in December (it basically is) and come away with a victory. It’s also a play of percentages- Carolina: 6-0 at home, 2-3 on the road. Green Bay is a better team than 5-7, where a loss would put them.

NY Giants (-3.5) over Washington

The G-men are unfortunately the best team in football, and Washington has faded from the early season glory they showed. Granted that has been in part to Portis being banged up, but I don’t foresee a divisional grudge match here. Giants will win easily.

St. Louis (+7) over Miami

Steven Jackson is finally back for that Rams. Don’t get me wrong, St. Louis was never a good team, but they were competitive with Jackson. When he was completely healthy they beat Washington and Dallas, and gave the Pats a good game. Jackson is like an iron supplement for the Rams anemic offense. Combine that with the fact that Miami has screwed me the last couple times I picked them to cover (Oakland, Seattle) and I’ll take the Rams at home.

Baltimore (-7) over Cincinnati

Everyone saw what the Raven’s defense did to McNabb and the Eagles last week. This game won’t be much different. What are the odds of Ed Reed scoring more points than the entire Bengals team?

Indianapolis (-4.5) over Cleveland

I would hate to be a Browns fan. They don’t even know how to use the little talent they have. Brady Quinn is out for the season; Indy is rounding into postseason shape; all signs point to a Colts W.

Atlanta (+6) over San Diego

I think this is a fairly generous spread for the Falcons. I would like to highlight the subplot of Michael Turner returning to his old stomping grounds, where he served as a backup to LT for 4 seasons, watching him shatter the record books. Now that Turner has his time in the spotlight, he leads the league in touchdowns and is third in rushing yards. I’m a big believer in players shining in situations like this, and although there’s no hard feeling towards San Diego, I’m sure he wants badly to run all over them.

New England (-2) over Pittsburgh

As a Pats fan, this is it. This is the game. This game will answer the following questions: Is Matt Cassell for real? Are we going to contend for a title this year? Should we get excited for the remainder of the season, or just go back into sleep mode like we did when Brady got hurt? This is also a big game in terms of making the playoffs. The Jets have an easy schedule, and we need to keep up with Indy and Baltimore for the wild card spots.

Oakland (-3) over Kansas City

Umm, don’t really care about this game. It could be interesting, and I’ll be interested for fantasy purposes (Tony Gonzalez). Both teams scored 31 points last week, but KC let up 54 to a previously heartless Buffalo offense and Oakland held Denver to 10.

Minnesota (-3.5) over Chicago

The Vikings really are good. They are. Everyone hates on them because their starting quarterback is Gus Frerotte, which is understandable. But seriously, try and look past the fact that he is their QB. If you can ignore that, you will see they are a good team. I like them to win the North.

Houston (-3) over Jacksonville

Another game that no one should really care about. I like Houston because they are at home and I want to believe that Andre Johnson is going to have a huge fantasy performance for me; I’m going to need it. At least Houston limits their problems to on the football field. They have that working in their favor.

Last week: 10-4-1
Turkey: 2-1
Season: 49-78-2

Turkey Day Special

Got to get to these picks early this week with the three Thanksgiving day games. Damn this job is demanding. I would much rather be doing something else, but the only thing on TV right now is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which makes me want to blow my brains out. It’s like slowly getting your teeth pulled out; absolutely brutal. Matt Lauer’s voice will haunt my dreams for a few weeks now. So this is actually a nice alternative. Hold on let me just mute the TV.

It is not a pleasant time to be living in Detroit. Those poor Lions fans may have to suffer through a winless season this year, on top of all the economic troubles going on up there with GM and the automotive industry. You gotta feel for all those people. What a golden opportunity they blew last Sunday against the Bucs. I must say though, if I was a Lions fan I would have been a little suspicious; I would’ve known it was too good to be true. First they drive down the field on their second possession of the game for a touchdown. On the following Tampa possession, they return a Garcia fumble to the endzone to go up two scores. Next offensive possession, they get a field goal. The Lions went up 17-0 before the Bucs managed to get their second first down, and they lead by that score at the end of the first quarter. Then, they remembered just who they were. Tampa drove the field and scored. Detroit went three-and-out. Tampa drove down the field and scored again. Culpepper threw an interception. Tampa scores and takes the lead just like that. From down 17-0 to up 21-17 in 12 minutes. Methinks maybe the Bucs were just trying to make things interesting? Make the people in Vegas sweat a little? Tease the Lions fans and give a little scare to their own?

The rest of the Lions schedule is as follows: Tennessee, Minnesota, at Indianapolis, New Orleans, at Green Bay. All signs are pointing to an 0-16 finish. If there’s one game they are going to win, maybe it is today, at home, in their traditional Thanksgiving Day game. Maybe they can rally themselves and take pride in defending the name of the Detroit Lions organization. Maybe they can be reminded of all the heroic Lions victories (??????). Maybe they will ask themselves: what would Barry do? Hey, if Tony Battie went 9-9 from the field and scored 20 points for the Magic last night, then anything is possible.

Woah, woah, woah, hold the phone. Rick Astley just made a surprise appearance at the Thanksgiving Day Parade and sang his timeless tune “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Unbelievable! Wow, now I believe that anything is possible in this world. All signs are pointing to a Lions victory today. That being said, I’ll take the Titans (-11) over Detroit. Sorry.

The ‘Boys are back in town. Romo is back in action and Dallas is getting back into early season form. They’ve got a couple of feeling-it-out games under their belt, and I fully expect them get back into contention in the NFC. As much as I hate to admit it, Owens had a crazy good game against San Francisco, and he’ll most likely have a similar day today. Dallas (-12) big over Seattle.

I am tremendously perplexed as to why Philadelphia is favored in the game tonight. McNabb got negative fantasy points last week. He has 7 turnovers in his last 2 games, and that includes last week’s game which he was pulled from, so it’s more like 1 ½ games. The Eagles were 0-1-1 in those games, and were lucky to come away with the tie against Cincy. This same thing happens every year it seems. Donovan starts the season out well and then begins to struggle and finishes poorly, and everyone in Philadelphia talks about getting rid of him and/or Andy Reid. It’s just a matter of time until they do both, and given McNabb’s comments after the game against the Bengals, that time should be now. What kind of idiot doesn’t know there are ties in the NFL? There have been ties in the NFL since McNabb has been in the league. The best part is when McNabb questions the rule by saying that he wonders what happens in a playoff game or the Super Bowl, like he thinks they would end either of those in a tie. You know what Donovan, don’t worry about that because your team won’t have to worry about that situation occurring, at least not this year. I forget if he graduated from Syracuse or left early before he could get his diploma, but I’m guessing the latter. Arizona (+3) over Philadelphia.

Come Up and Get Your Hardware

(Sorry, sorry, sorry I know I forgot to post it before the games started. I had a wild night last night and I couldn't even get out of bed to post this. It was a good night).

Week 12 already; only five more Sunday’s filled with football. Normally I would be very sad by this, I mean what am I supposed to do on Sunday’s if there is no football? I can’t watch movies on TBS, TNT, and USA for an entire day, that’s too boring and it can’t hold my attention long enough. Maybe for a couple hours max (I hate movies when there’s commercials in the middle of them). But, alas, college basketball season is here to catch me when I fall. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s not because of the holidays. Refer to my college basketball blog for more on my feelings in that area. Anyways, as I was thinking how little time is left in the season, I began to formulate my awards. Behold.

MVP- I gotta say, I thought the era of Kurt Warner being in the MVP race had passed 7 or 8 years ago, but clearly I was mistaken. Although, anyone who thought those days weren’t over is a fool. Regardless, Warner was brought in with the intention of being a mentor and back up to Matt Leinart; to help him develop and progress into the Cardinals long-term quarterback. Safe to say that he’s certainly earning his money. Warner at this point has led Arizona to a 7-3 record and first place in the NFC West, granted that’s not saying much because the NFC West is the Big Ten of the NFL, but first place is first place. Warner leads the league in completions (270) and completion percentage (70.9%) and is also first in QB rating (105.5). He is second in the league in passing yards with 3155 behind only Drew Brees (3251), and is also second in touchdown passes with 20 (Rivers, 21) compared to just seven interceptions. I would say this guy is playing like he’s young again, but when he was younger he was bagging groceries. Point is, Warner has introduced success to the desert and he’s going to lead the Cardinals to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
Honorable Mention: Drew Brees

NOTE: I believe it’s naturally assumed and goes without saying that this award be marked with an asterisk*. It would be incredibly unfair to the legendary Tom Brady if it wasn’t, because as we all know he would have defended his title easily if given the opportunity. The only reason this award would even have a chance of going to anyone else is because he’s not in the running.

Comeback Player of the Year- I think that in order to be named comeback player of the year, one has to have actually been there before. It’s kind of implied by the actual name of the award, but I’m going to make a semi-exception in this case. The winner? The one and only Kerry Collins. Yes, gray beard and all. Tennessee is out to a 10-0 start and is the only undefeated team in the league. Sure, Collins hasn’t blown anyone away with his numbers. The Titans have been winning with great defense and a solid running game, but that doesn’t diminish the job Collins has done. The Titans have won several close games, and they haven’t all been just because of the defense. Remember the comeback at Chicago? What about the overtime victory over Green Bay? Or the 14-3 deficit they erased against Jacksonville? Maybe he’s only thrown 8 touchdowns, but he’s only had 4 interceptions. He’s managed the game for the Titans without making mistakes, and he’s given them the offense at times when they need it. Most of all, he’s proven he can still win in this league.

Rookie of the Year- With all due respect to the great class of rookie running backs (Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Steve Slaton, etc.), this award goes out to Matt “The Future” Ryan. Yes, I gave him a nickname myself, it has a nice ring to it. Ryan has taken the Falcons out of the basement of the NFC South and resurrected them to a 6-4 record. He has all the tools to become a star in the NFL, and he’s shown flashes of brilliance this season. He already has a go-to guy in Roddy White which is huge for young QB. To create that chemistry with a receiver and develop a comfort level is something key to helping a young quarterback succeed.

Most Improved Player- Is there any doubt about this one? The guy threw for 400 yards and rushed for 60, and he’s led the Patriots to a 6-4 record after Brady, the reigning MVP, was injured for the season in the very first quarter of the year. Even ignoring the stat line from that game, he proved he is similar to his mentor by being money in the clutch. After releasing that perfectly placed ball to Randy Moss to tie the game at the end of regulation, the recipient of this award became clear: Matt Cassell. After all, you can’t have a bigger improvement than going from not playing since high school to what he’s done.

Best Actor- An award inspired by the exquisite performances of Peyton Manning on the screen goes to the originator. No one has come close to dethroning the king. His brother Eli showed potential in the commercial with big bro and the William’s sisters, but he has since faded. When was the last time he came out with a new commercial? He gave up on himself too fast, it’s a shame. I do have to give honorable mentions to Jim Mora, Dennis Green, and Brian Billick in the new set of Coors Light commercials. Granted they didn’t really know they were acting, but those things are hilarious. Oh, and I was paroosing through youtube looking for these commercials but I didn't have any luck (granted I probably could've tried a little harder) but I did stumble upon this absolutely hysterical parody of those commercials. It’s done by a bunch of kids and they use the infamous tirade Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy from last year. Check it out.

Player You Love to Hate- I’m going to go in a different direction with this one. Everyone knows I love to hate on Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens and people of that stature, but right now I’m hating on a lesser known loud mouth: Joey Porter. Did you hear what he said to Keyshawn Johnson in an interview? I just saw it on the ESPN pregame show and I am fuming. I wasn’t going to have an award like this but Porter just instilled so much hate in me that I have to let it out. He told Keyshawn that he thinks that Pittsburgh could have smoked the Pats in those two AFC Championships they lost to them during the Pats run, and that the only reason they didn’t was because they must have taped them. Then, when I didn’t think I could hate anyone more than I hated him at that moment, he attacked the man himself, saying that Tom Brady is only as good as he is because he uses the alleged tapes. I cannot wait to see the Miami defense get smoked today by Brady’s understudy. I’m looking for an embarrassment of epic proportions, and I wouldn’t mind if Porter got hurt either. Career-ending would be nice. If you're a Pats fan and you're looking to get pissed off, here's part of the script from that interview.

“I am MAN” award- How could it be anyone besides Anquan Boldin? The guy had eight metal plates and forty screws inserted in his face, and then came back after only a month and picked up right where he left off: torching secondaries. Find me an example from someone else that proves they’re more of man than this guy. Go ahead and try. You won’t find anything.

Picks:

Cleveland (-3) over Houston- The Brady Quinn era takes form
Kansas City (+3) over Buffalo- Call it a hunch
NY Jets (+5.5) over Tennessee- Titans will continue to prevail in close games
New England (-2) over Miami- Redemption
Dallas (-9.5) over San Francisco- Remember when this game meant something?
Tampa Bay (-8) over Detroit- Culpepper: more INT’s then completions this game?
Philadelphia (+2) over Baltimore- McNabb’s IQ=7.9
Chicago (-7) over St. Louis- No Steven Jackson, no competition
Minnesota (+2) over Jacksonville- Jags need to start thinking about next year
Carolina (+1) over Atlanta- I have a man crush on Matt Ryan
Oakland (+8) over Denver- Over/under on people watching this game: 17
Washington (-3) over Seattle- People don’t seem to mention the Seahawks when they talk about bad teams and I don’t know why
NY Giants (-3) over Arizona- Warner only gets 400 yards this week
Indianapolis (+3) over San Diego- Two teams going in opposite directions
New Orleans (-1.5) over Green Bay- Fantasy dream game

Last week: 8-7
Season: 37-73-1

Who Really Won Thursday Night?

The Patriots may have lost on Thursday night, but Matt Cassel certainly didn’t. I’m not saying Cassel doesn’t care about the team, and I’m sure he would love to lead the Patriots into the playoffs, but after Thursday’s 400 yard passing, 60 yard rushing performance, he has to be thinking just a little selfishly. This guy hadn’t started a game since high school before this year. He knows that the Patriots job is not his after this year, and he’s going to be somewhere else next year if he knows what’s good for him. His stock rises with every game, and he has to be thinking about contract offers after he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Personally I could care less about what happens to him after this year, I just want to see the Pats win, but you got to feel good for this guy as he develops right in front of everyone’s eyes. As for the actual game, well, screw the Jets I don’t want to talk about it. Patriots will still end up winning the division though; that is a promise.

Not an ideal start, but not a bad one. I’ll certainly take it and use it as a stepping stone. 8-5 last week; above .500, but not at a high enough winning percentage to ultimately meet my goal. It’s still going to have to improve from here on out. I did make a miscalculation last week however (sorry, the only math class I’ve taken in college was Baseball Statistics). I said that there were eight weeks left, 14 games a week, for a total of 112. Subtract one for the Thursday night game, and you get 111. What I forgot though, was that last week was the last week for byes. So, for these last seven weeks, there will be 16 games a week. Seven times 16 is 112. So, I thought I had 111 games before last week, but it turns out I actually have 112 as of right now. Let’s be realistic though, I’m way too busy a person to have my picks done before Thursday night, and there’s no way I’ll be able to get them done for the Thursday night games (which no one watches anyways because no one has the stupid NFL Network). I have too many things to do on my schedule, like sleep, eat, watch TV, paroose the Internet aimlessly, maybe go to an occasional class; I could go on forever. But anyways, let’s eliminate some of those games I won’t get to. I will be able to do all three on Turkey Day, and there is no Thursday game for week 17. Ok, so that’s a total of five games that I will miss. That brings my total games left to 107. After last week, my record has moved to 29-66-1. So now to officially announce what I must do to accomplish my goal: I must finish the season 72-34-1 or better to be above .500. Really not much different at all from last week’s prediction of 76-35. That means that 8-5, although not a bad start, is unacceptable from now on. 10-5 or better every week. Let’s get to work.

Atlanta (-6.5) over Denver

Montana to Rice; child’s play. Manning to Harrison; amateur hour. Matt Ryan to Roddy White is the connection of the future. They’re going to break all the records, and Denver’s suspect defense is going to help them on the way.

Miami (-10) over Oakland

Dolphin’s defense is going to literally eat the Oakland offense alive. They’re easily going to score more points on the day than Jamarcus Russell and Co.

NY Giants (-7) over Baltimore

Raven’s defense will keep them in the game, but ultimately I see more problems being caused by the Giant’s big play defense against the rookie Flacco, despite his solid play recently.

Indianapolis (-8) over Houston

As much as I hate to say it, back-to-back wins over New England and Pittsburgh have me starting to once again fear the Colts. With Sage Rosenfels at the helm for Houston, I feel my fears will only be reiterated this week.

Tennessee (-3) over Jacksonville

I find it hard to believe the Titans are still undefeated. They seem like the worst undefeated team of all time, but that’s just because that’s how the media portrays them because they can win ugly. Lots of people like this upset pick, but a big win over the powerhouse Lions doesn’t convince me that the Jags are good enough to win this game.

Green Bay (-3.5) over Chicago

I don’t know why I continue to pick Green Bay in all these tight games. I can’t give up on them though, and with a 40% percent chance of snow at Lambeau, I’m not going to start going against them today.

Philadelphia (-9) over Cincinnati

Cincinnati has played their NFC opponents close this year (Dallas, NY Giants) but that pattern is not going to continue. The Eagles will dump a heaping pile of points on the Bengals.

New Orleans (-5.5) over Kansas City

I refuse to go against Drew Brees if unless he is playing one of the best defenses in the league. Kansas City is not one of those, and even without Bush the Saints offense will continue to look good. They’ll be real scary when Bush gets back and everyone’s healthy.

Carolina (-14) over Detroit

Umm, I don’t know what to say. Do I really need to give a reason for this one? Nah, didn’t think so.

Minnesota (+4.5) over Tampa Bay

Adrian Peterson is the NFL’s version of LeBron James. He is the definition of a man. Minnesota is a good team that has suffered up until now because of a difficult schedule, but now I think is when they start to create some distance in the NFC North race, lead by AD.

San Francisco (-6.5) over St. Louis

49ers are looking for some redemption after Monday night’s fiasco. St. Louis still has no Steven Jackson aka no offense.

Arizona (-3) over Seattle

Hasselbeck’s return is not going to make a difference; Seattle has way bigger problems than who’s starting at QB. Warner will throw for his typical 500 yards, and the Seahawks will have no answer for Fitzgerald or Boldin.

Pittsburgh (-5) over San Diego

I really don’t know what to say about the Chargers. There is no reason they should be doing this poorly with all the talent they have. I didn’t realize the Norv Turner factor would have such a big affect. The Steelers may be banged up, but they’re still a better team than the Chargers are right now.

Dallas (-1.5) over Washington

Romo’s return will have to revitalize the Cowboys, because if they are going to make a push for the playoffs it’s going to have to start now. I think Romo will get right back into the swing of things, and I think he’ll make use of his newest weapon, the other Roy Williams.

Cleveland (+5.5) over Buffalo

The Browns have been just wading in the water all year until last week, when their offense showed some life under Brady Quinn. The decision to go with Quinn will benefit the Browns in the long run, and it will also benefit them this week against a team that's lost three straight.

Down To Business

I don’t know what to say. It’s not that I don’t care. Really, it’s not. So, maybe it does seem that every NFL team is out to get me and prove me a fool. That wouldn’t stop me. I still had a winning record before I stopped making picks after all. One of my friends called me out on this. He called me a chump, said I stopped making picks because I was too frustrated and too embarrassed. That’s just not the case. All I can say is that these last few weeks have been tough for me (and I’m not talking about my picks) and I just wasn’t able to stay committed. Things have changed now, and it’s time to get back on track. I’m going to prove that I have the knowledge and ability to conquer this paradox that is the NFL. With that said, here is my proposition to you. Every game, EVERY GAME, that I have missed over the last three weeks I will count as a loss. After my last set of picks, I had a record of 21-19-1. Three weeks of 14 games a week adds up to a monumental 42 losses. That puts me at a cumulative record of 21-61-1. My goal, which mark my words will be accomplished, is to finish the season above .500. There are eight weeks left in the season. Eight times 14 is 112, then subtract one for this week’s Thursday night game. That means I have 111 games left to go at least 40 games above .500, which means I have to be at least 76-35. This would put me at a final record of 97-96-1. There it is people, I’ve laid it all out on the table for you to see. It’s all business from here on out, so all you doubters can bring the hate. You will regret it. I am recommitted and determined, and I will not be stopped.

Picks:

Detroit (+6) over Jacksonville
Tennessee (-3) over Chicago
New England (-3.5) over Buffalo
New Orleans (+1.5) over Atlanta
NY Jets (-9.5) over St. Louis
Miami (-8) over Seattle
Green Bay (+2.5) over Minnesota
Carolina (-10) over Oakland
Kansas City (+14.5) over San Diego
Pittsburgh (-3.5) over Indianapolis
NY Giants (+3) over Philadelphia
Baltimore (+2) over Houston
Arizona (-9.5) over San Francisco