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.