Week Sixteen in the NFL......

With last week's tally in I finished 9-7 for the week and my season total is at 133-91. As I said you just never know the motivation inside any locker room at this time of the year. Our first Sunday game up has the 49ers at the Rams. I am hoping that either the Rams or the Seahawks do not take us further into mediocrity by both of them losing today and assuring a losing team the Division Title in the NFC West. I am picking the Rams to win the game and the Division with an 8-8 record. I am not an expert but I believe this was actually done before or at least I know a team has made the playoffs with an 8-8 record. The NFL should remedy this in the offseason but they probably won't. There are a couple solutions that I will tackle in the offseason when we are looking for some football to talk about. Next up the Jets have to travel to the frigid confines of Soldier Field. The Bears have been traditionally hard to beat at home in December & January and I see no reason why it should be any different today. Bears win. Titans at the Chiefs. The Titans are playing for respect the Chiefs for a Title. Chiefs at home win. Patriots at the Bills....although a Packer onslaught in New England last week scared the Patriots just a little, they still managed to win playing poorly. After that wake up call you won't see the Pats falter today. Their head coach(Belichick) will not allow it. Patriots on a mission win the game and the Division Title today. The Redskins travel to Jacksonville to face a good Jaguars team trying to keep pace the the Colts. Jags win at home. Dolphins at home against the Lions. What happened to the Dolphins? A few weeks ago in contention and now just about out of it. Lions going in different direction stun the Dolphins in an upset finishing their season. Lions win. Browns entertain the Ravens. For personal reasons I would love the Browns to upset the Ravens but the Browns have been riddled with injuries of late most notably they defensive leader Scott Fujita. Ask Saints fans what an impact he had in their Super Bowl run and they will tell you it was huge. The Ravens must win to keep pace and in Cleveland today they will. Ravens win. Giants at the Packers.....It looks like Aaron Rodgers will start and even with their backup QB they looked awfully good against a very good Patriots team. I have to go with the Packers to win at home. Giants have another late season collapse. Seahawks at Tampa Bay....Bucs finish off Seahawks as it should be. Colts at Oakland....Colts also know they have to win and will. Colts win on the road. Chargers at the Bengals.....again another must win for San Diego and they know what's at stake. Bengals too banged up to mount a challenge. Chargers win. Texans at Broncos...Tim Tebow gets his first win as a QB. Broncos win. Vikings at the Eagles...you'd like to see Brett go out in a Blaze of Glory but more than likely he will be on the sideline cheering on Joe Webb. Eagles need this game way too much to let it go to the Vikings. Eagles win. Finally we get to the Monday Night Contest you all have been waiting for. I will make this as simple as possible. Right now the Saints are the hungrier team. If you do not believe me just tune in Monday Night. The Saints have their backs against the wall and know that a win gets them to the Dance and that's where they want to be. Saints win put Division Title in limbo.....for one more week anyway. Have a great week and see you back here for the season finales. Should make for interesting football.

Thursday Night Football And Holiday Saturday Too......

It would be nice to see a competitive game tonight between the Panthers and Steelers, unfortunately we have two teams going in opposite directions however, John Fox should be given some credit for his team not losing their dignity. The Panthers are truly fighting to win, they just don't have enough horses in the stable. Too many injuries at the key positions and a couple of poor personnel decisions have reduce the Panthers to kitty cats. Of course John Fox will take the brunt of this but really not too many coaches around these days could have done much better with Carolina this year. The legacy of John Fox will be that he waited too long to upgrade his team and they got old. A tough lesson but one I bet he will not repeat at his next coaching stop. The Steelers are at home and need to stay ahead of the CRY BABY Baltimore Ravens. Ray Rice whined to the refs in Sunday's game more than 2 year old looking around his play pen for his NU NU! That's slang for PACIFIER for those of you in Baltimore. I have never witnessed so many players on a team complain about EVERY play! The Steelers will win tonight and hopefully they will win the AFC North.
Now for the Saturday game......As it is Christmas I will make my pick tonight. Dallas is at Arizona and Jason Garrett has the Cowboys focused not to mention he is auditioning for a job. Arizona, headed in the opposite direction finally has realized that they ARE NOT a good team without Curt Warner. Too bad it's too late for this season. Ken Whisenhunt will get another shot next year but he better have a better plan than he did this year or he'll be putting the house up for sale. Without a doubt he will be on the bubble next year. I like the guy so let's hope he can turn it around. Hey Curt! Would you consider pulling a Brett Favre next year? As for the game, Dallas has seemed to have gotten back some of their mojo. I am going with the Cowboys to win on the road.
Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Hope you and your families spend lots quality of time together over the Holidays. See you Sunday for the rest of my picks.

Week Fifteen in th NFL.....

Once again starting off the Football Weekend with a win as Thursday Night Football seems to agree with me. Another winner. Now to the record and not so good week last week. 8-8 for the week and overall 124-84. As I said the further into the season we go the harder it is to pick winners simply because you are not in those locker rooms listening to what's going on. We really do not know who is still playing with passion. But here it goes anyway from the fan's perspective.....Out the gate the Saints are in frigid Baltimore with another opportunity to prove they belong with the elites of the League. It really doesn't get any better. Win the game and more than likely they secure a playoff spot and make a statement to the rest of the League that they will challenge again for the title. It looks to me that the Saints are starting to hit their stride. The Ravens gave up 28 points to a Texans team that is trying to pattern themselves after the Saints. Fifteen of those points came in the last 6 minutes of the 4th Quarter and tied up the game which the Ravens had to win in OT. The Saints are deadly in the 4th Quarter and the guess here is if the game is close in the 4th the Saints will be the ones who prevail. Saints win and separate a little more from the pack. Next up....Jaguars at the Colts. Purely on the arm of Peyton Manning as I said last week the Colts won. Guess what? Same thing this week. Peyton will carry his team again. Colts win and tie up the AFC South. Eagles at New York to face the Giants. One of these teams will emerge as the Division leader and the other will be facing an uphill battle to secure a wildcard spot in the playoffs. The Giants lost to the Eagles in the last meeting 27-17 almost a month ago at Philadelphia. Since then the Giants have won 3 in a row while the Eagles are 2-1 and struggled against the Cowboys last week. There is a lot of film on Michael Vick since the last meeting so I believe the Giants will find a way to win this. Giants win and take the lead in the NFC East. The Chiefs at the Rams. The Chiefs started off the season so good and now are starting to falter. If they want to hold off the Chargers they must win today. Chiefs win and along with the Falcons beating the snot out of the Seahawks assure the NFC West will have a non-winning record team win the division and make the playoffs. DISGUSTING!!! Bucs win at home against the Lions and make a case for both wildcards to come out of the NFC South. Panthers finally get another win against the Cardinals. Texans on the way down lose to the Titans in Tennessee. Bills at the Dolphins. Miami still fighting for a playoff spot will dispatch the Bills. Dolphins win. Browns will sweep the Bengals this year winning the battle of Ohio and making sure Marvin Lewis will be out the door at the end of the season. Browns win. Redskins in disarray and having to travel to Dallas to face a new and improved version of the Cowboys. Cowboys win. Jets at Pittsburgh....Rex Ryan better get hold of the reins soon or that horse might buck him off. Steelers focused and moving in a different direction. Steelers win. Broncos and Oakland. If I were the Denver Broncos I would start Tim Tebow and give him a little experience. Absolutely nothing to lose. Alas, that won't help either. Raiders win. Packers will now know what it's really like to play in freezing temperatures away from home against a quality opponent. Patriots start the Packers slide and dim the light on their playoff hopes. Pats win.For the Monday Night Matchup the Vikings get to play a home game outdoors for the first time in many years. I believe it has been since the Bud Grant days for those of you as old as me. Outdoors used to be what made the Purple People Eaters tough. I believe the Vikings will reclaim some of that old magic and embarrass the Bears. Vikings win. Well that's my picks for the week. How about you? Enjoy the games!

Another Thursday Night Game......

Well once again the REAL Chargers showed up against Kansas City and won in convincing fashion. The trouble with San Diego is you never know what team will show up. San Diego will wrap up the season with a home game tonight against the 49ers and two road games at Cincinnati and at Denver; not exactly a cake walk for the Jekyll/Hyde Chargers. Kansas City who has a one game lead finishes at St Louis and a two game home stand vs Tennessee and Oakland. Arguably, the Chiefs although at home for two out of three probably have the tougher schedule down the stretch. Since the Chargers are 5-2 at home going into tonight's game and the 49ers are a dismal 1-5 on the road I am going to have to go with the Chargers to win. However, if the Chargers blow this one I will not only kick myself, I will refuse to pick them the rest of the way....even if they happen to back into the playoffs. Enjoy the game and I will see you Sunday Morning for the rest of my picks.

Week Fourteen in the NFL......

Well I started off this week with a win on Thursday Night and I needed it after a dismal 8-8 last week moving my season total to 116-76. Let's get the Party started.....The League wanted parity and they sure got what they wanted. Games scheduled this weekend were suppose to have all kinds of playoff implications and Division battles for first place but what we have is several games where the importance is one-sided. Take for example the first game we are going to look at....The Bengals at Pittsburgh. This was thought to be a battle for the Division lead when the schedule came out yet we have the Bengals fighting for a little dignity and Pittsburgh trying to extend it's lead in the AFC North. Steelers win. The Packers are at Detroit to face a very improved Lions team who each week seems to lose in the last quarter.The Lions need to read Drew Brees' book on how to "Finish Strong" Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity
I picked them last week but I can't do it this week. I have to give the edge to the QB for Green Bay. Packers win. Tampa Bay at Washington. The Bucs are so close and really should have won last week. I believe they get it done this week and keep themselves in the playoff picture. Bucs win. Falcons at Carolina.....what can you say about the poor Panthers? They just can't get a break. In their last four games they have the Falcons at home and away. Falcons dominate and win. Falcons are on a mission this season. The Browns are at Buffalo. Browns are going to round out this season on a high note. Browns win. Raiders at the Jaguars...The Raiders are for real. Raiders win in an upset. Seahawks at the 49ers....WHO CARES???. Seahawks need this to keep pace with the Rams. Seahawks win. Dolphins have to travel north to face the Jets. The Jets should be sufficiently ticked off about last week to come in with a little fire at home. Jets win. Broncos at the Cardinals. Who was the idiot that said Curt Warner was just another teammate? Broncos win. Chiefs at San Diego...Didn't we ask a couple weeks ago will the real Chargers please stand up? Well? Did they? Chiefs are for real and unfortunately for the Chargers they are still pretenders. Chiefs win. The Patriots at the Bears. Some say this could be your Super Bowl Preview however, I believe that the real Bears will be exposed today. Patriots win big. Eagles at Dallas in another game that should have had more meaning. Eagles need this more to keep pace with the Giants. Eagles win. The first of two Monday Night Contests has the Ravens at Houston. Somehow the Texans let this season get away from them. Ravens must win to stay on the heels of Pittsburgh. Ravens win. The second is the Giants at Minnesota. Even if Brett doesn't make his 298th consecutive start, I feel like the Vikings feel refreshed under their new coach AND they are at home. Vikings upset the Giants. Finally let's take a look at the home town boys. The Saints entertain the Rams at the Superdome in New Orleans. Sam Bradford is looking like a seasoned QB not the rookie he is. For Saints fans let's hope Gregg Williams can show Bradford a few things he hasn't seen. On the offensive side, Coach Payton needs to show a little patience and not always try to hit the home run play every series. Sometimes the best defense is keeping their offense off of the field. With a weapon like Chris Ivory the Saints need to run the ball more and use up that clock in long sustained drives. Keeping Bradford off the field could be the best defense. Saints win in a close one.

Thursday Night Football.......

An interesting matchup tonight to say the least. At the beginning of the season many fans marked this date on their calender thinking this would be a battle for 1st place in the AFC South instead we have two teams fighting for their playoff lives with the Colts slightly ahead at 6-6 and the Titans at 5-7. The Colts have lost their last three. I don't have the exact statistics on this but I would probably say the last time that happened was either when Peyton Manning was a rookie or before his arrival. The Titans have lost their last 5 in a row resembling their disastrous 0-6 start from last year but that's where the comparisons end.  The Colts are in dire straits with injuries to many of their key players on both offense and defense. The Titans have a different problem they are dealing with and maybe just as devastating. The Titans have a confidence problem along with a meddling owner which may be harder to overcome. Tonight will prove whether or not one person; one man can will his team to win. That person Peyton Manning is not used to losing. He's not used to throwing 10 interceptions in 3 games compared to 3 interceptions in his first 9 games. When your team is struggling and you are Peyton Manning sometimes you try to do too much. I believe Manning will settle down and look at the big picture. There is no room for any more errors. He must play error free and he knows it. Look for Peyton to settle down and take what the Titans defense will give him and slowly matriculate the ball down the field. Meanwhile the Titans will still be searching for a quarterback. Unfortunately for the Titans,  the tank is almost empty on Kerry Collins and the further down the depth chart the Titans reach at QB the scarier it gets. Colts find a way to win. Losing streak stops at 3. See you Sunday Morning for my Game Day picks. 

Week Thirteen in the NFL......

Well evidently I was trying to give myself more losses than I actually had....If you find my numbers to be different just let me know which week I messed up. I have myself for the season at 108-68 with last weekend helping out at 10-6. Already started this week with a win on Thursday. Now for the rest of my picks for this week....I'll take the Colts to snap out of it at home against the Cowboys. Colts win. Look for the Rams to also snap back and put an exclamation point on the Cardinals dismal season. It's real simple Arizona fans....NO CURT WARNER!!! Can you think of a more pathetic game than the Panthers at Seattle? I am going off the beaten path with this one and picking the Panthers, the first of two of my upset specials today. The Panthers will hand the ball off to Stewart and play keep away from the Seahawks. This is just the kind of game the Seahawks lose...a game they SHOULD win. Panthers win in a big upset further clouding the NFC West. In my second upset special I am going with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to pull one out at home against the mighty Falcons. The Falcons are possibly still a little worn out from the battle at home against Green Bay in which they had to fight to the end to win that one. Now they are on the road against a very underrated Bucs team. Josh Freeman will have a good day. Tampa Bay wins. Raiders at San Diego....Will the real San Diego Chargers please stand up???!!! The Chargers look like a team that has turned the corner. The Raiders are no push over this season so this should be a battle to the end. I have to give the edge to the Chargers simply because of number 17. If not for Phillip Rivers the Chargers would be bottom feeders. But then I guess you could probably say that about three quarters of the teams in the NFL who would lose their starting QB. Chargers win in a close one...more than likely whoever has the ball last wins this one. Broncos at the Chiefs...I can't pick Denver anymore. They are just too erratic. Chiefs win at home. The Jaguars travel to Tennessee to play the Titans. This is another "Pick 'em" but I'll go with the Titans at home. Browns at Miami...Simple Miami needs it more. Miami wins. Vikings entertain the Bills at the Metrodome. Vikings have found new life in their new coach. Vikings win at home. Brett has another big day. Bears at Detroit...if the Lions weren't so beat up I'd give them a chance. With both Matt Stafford and Shaun Hill sidelined I just can't see the Lions having much success. Bears win. 49ers at Green Bay. The only way the 49ers could win in Green Bay would be if Joe Montana or Steve Young were suiting up. Green Bay gets their confidence back. Packers wins. The Giants host the Redskins in an NFC East division battle. All the markers say the Giants should win but this too will be a close one. With their top two receivers injured in Nicks and Smith look for the Giants to try and pound the ball with Brandon Jacobs, especially since the Redskins are hurting up front. Giants win. The last of the early games has the Saints at Cincinnati where the high temperature today is supposed to be 33 degrees. A huge contrast to the Superdome where it's a balmy 72 degrees. The Saints travel well but not necessarily in cold weather. For the Saints to win they will need to use their work horse Chris Ivory and soften up that Bengals defense. If Drew Brees has to throw the ball more than 30 times the Saints might be in trouble. Still I have to pick the Saints to win in this one as they seem to have found their mojo. Look for Greg Williams' defense to aggressively go after the ball as the Bengals have quite a few turnovers this season. In the night game the Steelers have to go into a hostile Ravens home stadium. The Steelers were more consistent at the beginning of the year. Now they seem to have gone off the track a little. Ravens are tough at home. Ravens win.  Finally on Monday Night Football we have a excellent game scheduled. The Patriots play host to the Jets. This should be a dogfight and whoever wins takes sole possession of 1st place in the AFC East. Look for Rex Ryan to add a wrinkle or two. Ryan knows in order to beat Belichik's Patriots he will have to find a way to out coach one of the best coaches in the business. I believe the Jets are a little more hungry right now. Jets win in a great Monday Night Game. Okay there you have it......My picks for this week. Let's see how well you can do against my record. It is open to everyone so give me your best shot! Have a great week!

Thursday Night Football.......

Once again a pretty good football game tonight. The Texans , coming off of an emotional win against the Titans  must travel to a chilly Philly and play outdoors against a determined Eagles team that is wanting to show a national audience they are not the team that imploded last week against the Bears. Eagles win at home. See you Sunday!

Season Stats...

I am going to have to go back and check my season totals and will report those Sunday Morning. I do have last weekend's results(including Thanksgiving Day) which were an improved 10-6 with the 49ers putting an exclamation point on the weekend by doing exactly what I said they would do---muddle up an already very muddled NFC West. Does any team from the NFC West deserve to be in this years' playoffs? Tell me what YOU think!