The Super Bowl...............

Well it's come down to the final two teams. The Forty-Niners are the favorite to win this year's Lombardi. Let's examine this a little further. Sometimes there are more variables than the ones that appear on the surface. Do you believe in destiny? I do. All you have to do is look at the charmed season of 2009 when the impossible happen against all odds. The Saints won the Super Bowl in a season where everything seemed to fall their way. There was the unbelievable 2nd half comeback in Miami against the Dolphins for the win. Later in the season there was the strange interception bounce in the air to a waiting Redskin, again on the road in Washington, and there was Robert Meachem stripping and stealing the ball going the other way for a touchdown. That's the sort of season the Ravens have had. First, Ray Lewis goes down with an injury then Terrell Suggs, then Ed Reed is in and out of the line up all year. Towards the end of the season the head coach fires his offensive coordinator. All this and the Ravens lose 4 out of their last 5 games only winning against the Giants to go to 10 wins and a date with the Colts in the Wildcard Round. Destiny? Next they faced a heavily favorite Broncos team in Denver with a stout defense and an potent offense led by Peyton Manning in the frigid Mile High air and the Ravens manage to pull out a miracle 70 yard pitch and catch at the end of regulation to tie it up at 35. Then after several exchanges of possessions and a second overtime the Ravens kicker nails a 47 yarder for the win on the road. Destiny? Three years ago another team of destiny had a similar path, not exact mind you, but similar. Now after a season of ups & downs with my picks and finishing to this point at 178-88, better than both Phil and Chris on Showtime's Beat the Insiders, I am here to tell you the Ravens are a team of Destiny. The Ravens are probably one of the few defenses that can stop Colin Kaepernick and the Forty-Niners. Keep in mind Atlanta's defense stopped him for a couple quarters. Are the Ravens a better or worse defense than the Falcons? You can answer that question yourself. Is Peyton Manning a better QB than Colin Kaepernick? Again, what do you think? The most underrated QB in this game is Joe Flacco. He is ready to take the next step and be a Super Bowl winning QB. Kaepernick on the other hand is still too caught up in trademarking his stupid touchdown celebration of kissing his bicep and he has yet to complete a full season as a starter. Good luck with that Colin. The Ravens will be victorious and get their second Lombardi Trophy to take home. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will ride off into the sunset with a ring on their finger,  for Lewis it will be his second ring, and he is the only Raven left from their last Super Bowl team. Enjoy the game it should be a good one and if not we always have the commercials to look forward to.

The Post Season......

I know it's been a while as I am still getting over the depression of my beloved Saints not being in the post season. Anyway, my picks have still been pretty spot on as I finished the season ahead of both Cris Collinsworth & Phill Simms on Showtime's Beat the Insiders.com. Last week I was 4-0 on Wildcard Weekend, however this weekend I started 1-1 as the Broncos blew a fourth quarter lead and let the Ravens back in it  and eventually winning. Today, I am picking the Patriots to win over the Texans and my upset special...take the Seahawks over the Falcons. Until the Falcons actually do it, they haven't proved they can win when it counts. Also, Pete Carroll has his team playing with a lot of confidence. The Seahawks were down 14-0 in the first quarter last week on the road and for a relatively young team did not lose their composure. I was impressed. Even though I picked them last week, I never imagined they would win it like that. If the Seahawks win today, and I believe they will, they will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They already have the 49ers' number. I don't believe they are intimidated by the Falcons or by any other team for that matter. The AFC now boils down to the Ravens or the Patriots. If the Patriots stay the course they will get their chance at another Super Bowl. Enjoy the games today and I'll see you next week. 

Week 12 in the NFL........

I do make my picks on Showtime's Beat the Insiders and believe it or not the last two weeks I've gone 11-3 which brings my season total to 100-60. I came close to being upset by several picks but my picks pulled it out in the end. So here we go with Week 12 starting with Thanksgiving Day Football. First up Dallas entertains the Redskins at Jerry World. Sorry Cowboys fans Dallas is on the decline and Washington is on the rise. Skins take it from the Boys. Next up the Lions host the Texans. Texans win this going away. They are for real this year and probably will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The late game on Thanksgiving night has the Patriots traveling to New York to face the Jets. Unless the Jets bring out Tebow Mania they pretty much don't have a prayer. Pats win. Now for the rest of my picks. Titans over the Jags. Colts over the Bills. Steelers over the Browns. Bengals over the Raiders.Broncos over the Chiefs. Chiefs are horrible. Seahawks over the Dolphins. Fish will get taken to school. My first upset of the weekend take the Bucs over the Falcons. The Falcons are struggling and are on the road against a tough division opponent. Bucs win in a close one. Chicago will bounce back and beat the Vikings. Ravens over the Chargers. Cardinals over the Rams. My next upset take the Giants over the Packers. Giants are at home with their backs against the wall. Tom Coughlin will have them ready to play. Panthers put another nail in the coffin of Andy Reid with another Eagles loss. Finally my last upset special and really depending on who you talk to the game could be considered even by game time. The Saints at home against the 49ers. The 49ers are somewhere under a 3 point favorite which means the oddsmakers are giving the Saints a good chance to win this game. If history tells us anything the Saints have won the last six consecutive regular season games against the 49ers and their only loss came last year in San Francisco in a barn burner in the second round of the playoffs. Many people felt if the Saints would have won that game, they would have represented the NFC in the Super Bowl since the NFC Championship game would have been in New Orleans. The Saints will be fired up for this game with a little flavor of revenge on their minds. Saints win in another nail biter

Week 10 in the NFL...............

Another solid week last week going 10-4 for a season total of 78-54. This is going to be quick as I am running out of time. Started off the week with a win as the Colts beat the Jags on Thursday. Bucs over the Chargers. Miami over the Titans. Patriots over the Bills. Ravens over the Raiders. Broncos over the Panthers. Giants over the Bengals.Vikings over the Lions. Seahawks ovewr the Jets. Cowboys over the Eagles. 49ers over the Rams. Bears over the Texans. Steelers over the Chiefs. Finally, Saints fans don't worry be happy. Saints have beaten the Falcons 10 out of the last 12 meetings and always play them tough at home. Saints win in a close one as Falcons lose their first game. Have a great football weekend!

Week 9 in the NFL.......

Last week I was 9-5 which brought my season total to 68-50. At least this week started with a win as I picked The Chargers on Thursday night to beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs need more than a new coach to change their fortunes. As for my picks this week here we go....The Packers are home against the Cardinals. Packers win. Lions over the Jaguars. Chicago over Tennessee. The Broncos are hot right now and hitting their stride. Even though they played the worst defense in the League and possibly the history of the NFL(See the New Orleans Saints), they are still playing at a high level over the last few weeks. Broncos over the Bengals. Redskins at home over the Panthers.Ravens over the Browns. Miami brings the Colts down to earth with a win at Indy. Texans over the Bills. Seahawks over the Vikings. Raiders over the Bucs. Giants over the Steelers. Giants are having a charmed season so far. Falcons over the Cowboys. Cowboys will put on a good show but Falcons will win this home game in the 4th Quarter. Lastly, the Saints are in prime time again; this time against the struggling Eagles. Michael Vick will get his plays because the Saints have the worst defense in the League, however the Saints always seem to show up in their night games especially at home. I am giving the edge to the Saints on this one. The Saints probably take this game past the 2-minute warning before putting the Eagles out of their misery. Look for the backup QB for the Eagles if Vick struggles early. Have a great football weekend!

Week 8 in the NFL....................

Not a bad week last week as I went 10-3 bringing my season total to 59-45. Unfortunately, I started off this week with a Thursday Night loss as I picked the Vikings and they didn't fair well against  Tampa Bay. Here's the rest of my picks for the weekend. New England over St. Louis. Steelers over the Redskins. Seahawks over the Lions. Bears over the Panthers. Green Bay over the Jaguars. Miami over the Jets. This is my upset special. Chargers get back on track with a win over the Browns. Tennessee seems to be finding a rhythm all of a sudden. They will win at home against the Colts. Falcons over the Eagles as Philly is struggling to find itself again. This could be Andy Reid's last season. Raiders over the Chiefs. The G-Men over the Cowboys. Giants looking like a Super Bowl Champion. In my second upset special on Monday Night Football, the Cardinals at home against the Niners. San Francisco showing signs of weakness. Arizona will show they have a pretty good defense as well. Look for the Cardinals to pull one out possibly by a fieldgoal. Cards win. Lastly, my home boys the Saints travel to frigid Mile-High and not only will they be dealing with the altitude but also the elements as it could possibly be snowing tonight by gametime. The temperature should be around 37 degrees by kickoff. This all does not bode well for Joe Vitt's debut as the interim head coach tonight. Sorry Saints fans but the Broncos win this one. The Saints defense especially the secondary will get torched tonight. Our only hope is that Drew Brees can keep it a game. The Broncos have an  All-Pro secondary led by Champ Bailey. Saints fans get out your rosary beads early and start saying your novenas because the Saints will need all the intervention you can muster. Have a great football weekend!

Week 7 in the NFL.....

Last week even though I was dead on on a couple of my upsets, I also got upset with a number of my picks going 7-7 last week and bringing my total for the year to 49-42. Let's see if I can do better this week. Starting off the week on a good note with a win picking the Forty-Niners on Thursday night gives me a little more confidence going into this weekend so here we go......Vikings at home over the Cardinals who looked strong out the gate but have since struggled. Vikings seem to be getting better. Cowboys are due to bounce back. Boys over the Panthers in Carolina. Saints seem to have turned the corner and with the addition of Jonathan Vilma back on the active roster they should get an emotional boost. Saints over the Bucs in a close one. Green Bay is stuggling but looked real strong last week. They also may have turned the corner. Pack over the Rams. The battle for the NFC East today between the Giants and the Redskins should be the game of the week. Look for the Giants to edge out the Redskins with home field advantange.  The Texans are in a freefall all of a sudden  and must prove they were not a fluke. Not likely today against a determined Ravens team. Baltimore wins this one. Tennessee of late has looked better but they will struggle in Buffalo today as the Bills will win. I'll give the Colts a slight edge today over the Browns simply because they are in front of the home crowd. Colts win. I know I am going out on a limb as the Patriots have not lost 2 games in a row that many times in the last 10 years but the Pats are banged up pretty bad and have struggled of late. For my upset special this week the Jets pull this one out in a tight game. Raiders over the Jaguars. Black & Silver looking tough. Steelers over the Bengals. Finally on Monday Night Football the Bears over the Lions. That's my picks how about you? Have a great football weekend!