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

Not a bad showing last week with 9-4 and 62-41 overall. Now to the picks...First up Tennessee entertains the Colts in Nashville. Although the Colts will make a game of it, if the Titans were watching any film they will be feeding the ball to Chris Johnson for most of the game. That should be enough to move the lowly Colts to 0-8 on the year. Titans win. Texans at home against the Jaguars. If you want to win week in and week out you must show consistency otherwise you are a flash in the pan. The question here is: Which team is the real Jacksonville Jaguars? I believe we'll find out this Sunday. I am going with the Texans to win. Baltimore will not be embarrassed two weeks in a row especially at home and especially against the Cardinals. Ravens win. Miami on the road to New York to face the Giants. Reggie Bush finally realized money isn't everything albeit too late. Giants win. Panthers have the Vikings in Carolina. The Cam Newton show will continue. Panthers win. The Saints are on the road once again after having decapitating the 0-7 Colts last Sunday at home. This time they face the 0-6 Rams. Same story different venue. Saints will let the Rams hang around till the second half then let Chris Ivory put some distance and wear on the Rams defense which is allowing 183 rushing yards per game to their opponents. Ivory will have fresh legs and Sean Payton will take advantage of that fact despite what you may hear the team say in public about slowly working him in. If Ivory gets hot, it could be a long day for St Louis. First half will be the Drew Brees show and the second half will go to Ivory to put a ribbon on it. Saints win. Buffalo is at home against the Redskins. Bills are strong at home. Fitzpatrick will do enough to get the win for Buffalo. Denver and Detroit face off at Mile High. Detroit could be developing a confidence problem. With 2 back to back losses at home, the Lions must travel to a hostile environment where the air is thin and the oxygen tanks are plentiful. Look for the Lions to stumble again. Tim Tebow gets a little more comfortable. Broncos win. San Francisco is at home against the Browns. The 49ers are playing very solid ball and they are not asking Alex Smith to win it for them. They have given opponents a steady diet of Frank Gore and will continue that theme on Sunday. Niners win. The Bengals at Seattle. Bengals are playing surprisingly well under QB Andy Dalton. Bengals win. Patriots on the road at Pittsburgh. Can Big Ben bring out the magic at home? Maybe, but it won't be enough to overcome the Nor'easter heading their way. Brady and Co make it out with a win. Dallas at Philadelphia. Although last week we saw a resurgent Cowboys team, look for the Eagles to take care of business. They can ill afford a Division loss at home. At 2-4, this is a must win for the Eagles and they will win. Finally, Monday Night Football has the Chargers traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs. The Chiefs are at home in primtime and need to keep pace. Matt Cassel will have a good enough night. Chiefs win. Well that's my picks for another week. Where's yours? Have a great football weekend!!!

Week 7 in the NFL...............

Another forgettable week,  last week,  for me with 7-6 which takes me to 53-37. Fortunately,  it is a marathon and I do have time to catch up. Now for this weeks picks...First up we have Seattle at Cleveland another "who cares bowl" I know but we still owe them a pick. I am going against the grain and picking the underdog Seahawks to win. What can I say I like Pete Carroll's enthusiasm. The Texans travel to Tennessee and are in desperation mode already. With Peyton Manning out the Texans thought they had the Division locked up. That's why you play the games. Texans backs against the wall. Houston wins. Speaking of desperation the Falcons find themselves in a precarious situation at 3-3 trailing the Saints and Bucs. Unfortunately for the Falcons they are on the road at red hot Detroit to face the Lions who are coming off a heartbreaker last week. Look for the Lions to rebound and the Falcons to slip again. Lions win. The Denver Broncos are starting a new QB in Miami this weekend. I WILL say I told you so. John Fox must have read my blog. Tim Tebow will start and the Broncos will win. If you play Fantasy Football make sure Tebow is starting for you this week. He is for me. Chargers are at the Jets. Jets will win. Chicago is at Tampa Bay and as much as I would like to see the Bucs lose here for selfish reasons, they won't. Just like everyone else they have seen the tape on Cutler. Ronde Barber will have a field day. Bucs win. Redskins at Carolina. The stange thing about the Redskins is that I thought they actually had solved the QB position, but apparently not. Young John Beck will start on the road. When in doubt always pick the team with the best QB and that would be Cam Newton. Panthers win at home. The Chiefs are coming off a bye and Matt Cassell is coming off a 4 touchdown no interception performance. The Raiders however must face the Chiefs with new QB Carson Palmer. I am glad Palmer has found a new home but winning will be a little difficult in his first appearance in the Silver & Black. Chiefs steal one in Oakland. The Steelers are in Arizona. Even with an injured Roethlisberger(and he's healthy again) the Cardinals would have trouble keeping pace. Pittsburgh wins. Green Bay at Minnesota. Another rookie QB starting, this time for the Vikings. Unfortunately the result will be the same...a loss. The Vikings problems go way deeper than the QB position. Aaron Rodgers will not work up a sweat in this one. The Pack wins this going away. Poor St. Louis they just can't seem to catch a break. Now this week they must face a very ticked off Cowboys team which will be ready to play at home in Jerry World. Dallas will open up a 0-6 wound on the Rams. Boys win it. Saints are back on Sunday Night Football in a game that should have been the match up of the mid-season. The Colts however are without their star QB and their defense is hurting. The Saints are back at home and know they let one slip away last week. This game should be over at halftime but knowing my heroes they love to keep it interesting so I am going to say the Saints will pull away in the 4th Quarter. Saints get needed win at home. Lastly, Monday Night has the Ravens at Jacksonville. Baltimore is way too hot and way too much for the Jags to handle. Ravens win. Here's where you speak up and give me your picks. How about it? Have a great football weekend!!!

Week 6 in the NFL.............

Not exactly a banner week but over .500 at 8-5 and 46-31 overall for the year. By the way if you want to have a little fun with the big guys you can go to www.beattheinsiders.com to take on Warren Sapp, Phil Simms, and Chris Collinsworth on their Showtime gig. Now on with the picks...Carolina at Atlanta. I've got to believe the Falcons will right this ship at home today. Atlanta wins. If not today, it will be a long, long season. Philadelphia at Washinton. The Redskins are playing well and the Eagles are not. It's as simple as that. Redskins at home too much for the Eagles. Skins win. Bills on the road at the Giants. Although the Giants have played a little better, the Bills are a "team" as Warren Sapp put it and I agree. Bills win. Colts at the Bengals. The Colts looked like they had a spark last week and Peyton Manning will at least be on the sidelines with encouragement this week. My upset special...Colts win. Steelers at home against the Jaguars. What do you think? With the Steelers defense and even a hobbled Big Ben the Steelers will take care of business. Pittsburgh wins.The surprising 4-1 Forty-Niners are at Detroit to face the 5-0 Lions. Probably no one considered this scenario at the beginning of the season. This will be another big test for the Lions and they should pass. Lions win. Green Bay at home against the Rams. Give it to the Pack. Packers win. Ravens over the Texans. Texans too beat up. Raiders at home against the Browns. Raiders win. The Saints travel to Tampa Bay to close out a 3-game road swing. Although the Bucs were exposed last week by the 49ers do not expect such a showing today by Tampa Bay. They will be up for the game and give the Saints all they can handle. In the end the difference again will be Drew Brees. Saints win. Patriots at home against the Cowboys.Are you kidding me? Pats win at home. Another upset I am picking today is the Vikings over the Bears. I know Chicago is at home. But I believe the Vikings found their running game last week with Adrian Peterson. If Peterson can put together back to back good weeks or even the threat of him running should open up the passing game for McNabb. Vikings win a close one. Finally, Monday Night Football has the hapless Dolphins playing the Jets in New York. Looks like Reggie should have taken that pay cut and stayed with the Saints. Now that Henne is out all the Dolphins have is Reggie Bush. As a Saints fan, let me say this to the Dolphin faithful.....HE IS NO DARREN SPROLES!!! Jets win big. That's my picks....What's yours??? Enjoy the games!!!

Week 5 in the NFL.................

I was back in form going 12-4 last week and 38-26 for the season. This week could be a back breaker though. Several trick games on tap this week. First up the Saints travel to Carolina to face rookie QB Cam Newton and the Panthers. Newton has broken the rookie record of most passing yards by a rookie in the first 4 games of a NFL season averaging right at 346 yards passing per game. Not to mention the rush yards he has along with the touchdowns. If the Saints wish to make a statement that they are back to 2009 form, this game would be the one they want to win for sure. It is a Division game first and foremost which makes it a little more important than the rest. I could be reading them wrong but I believe that this is another special Saints team. They must win the ones they are supposed to win. This game would fall under that classification. Saints win in a close one. Philly at Buffalo. The Eagles are reeling and appear to be spiraling out of control. The Bills are for real. Buffalo wins. Bengals at the Jaguars...Jack Del Rio is on his last leg. Look for Jacksonville to pull the plug on the Del Rio era by mid season should the Jaguars fail to turn it around. Bengals upset Jags. Cincy goes home with another win. Giants at home against the Seahawks. Giants look to have a little momentum going. Giants win. Titans at Pittsburgh. I know what you're thinking...The Steelers haven't been themselves. Look for that to get corrected at home on Sunday. Steelers win. Raiders at the Texans. If the the home teams were reversed I might pick it differently. Texans squeak out one at home. Colts at home against the Chiefs. Last week the Colts fought hard against a very good Tampa Bay team on the road. The only game the Colts were really out of was game one against the Texans. The defense is coming around in spite of the injuries. Look for the Colts to turn it around at home. Colts win first one. Vikings at home against the Cardinals. Vikings also get first win. Tampa Bay at San Francisco. I am a believer! The Bucs are for real. Tampa Bay puts the 49ers away in the second half. Bucs win. Broncos entertain the Chargers at Mile High. If John Fox goes an entire season without finding a way to get Tim Tebow on the field, he should be fired. With that kind of talent, you don't want Tebow warming the bench. You already know how I feel about the Chargers. Sooner or later they will implode. Broncos win at home. Jets at New England. Tom Brady is just too much for Jets "D" and the Jets "O"  Line will not have an answer for the Patriots interior defensive rush. Pats win. Green Bay at Atlanta for a re-match of last years' playoff game. Same teams; Same venue; Same result. Packers win. Finally, the Hank Williams Jr "Less"  Monday Night Football will feature the Bears at Detroit. The Lions are without a doubt on a roll with an incredible come from behind victory last week. The Lions are for real. Lions win.
A quick note about Hank Williams, Jr. If you haven't read the story, you can google it. I am not going to repeat the entire thing here. My question to all of you is this: When did free speech all of a sudden become the judgement of others? Sometimes free speech is offensive no doubt. Sometimes it goes against what we believe or would say ourselves. No matter what though, FREE SPEECH is at the very core of the foundation of this country. You should go back and study your history. In the early years of this country, things were said about and to fellow Americans that at that time were considered far worse insults, however, in those days we realized the importance of our fellow Americans right to say it. Now, in the 21st Century, apparently if what you say isn't Politically Correct, then you are chastized by the Media as being offensive and in some instances you risk losing your livelyhood. I don't always agree with what others say, but I do respect their right to say it. Just a thought......Have a Great Football Weekend!!!

Week 4 in the NFL......

Not a good week with 5-11 after going 15-1 the week before. I am 26-22 for the season. Let's see if I can do better this week. First up the Saints travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars. The last time the Saints were in Jacksonville, they lost a heart breaker. After the incredible River City Relay to draw within one point of a tie and send the game into overtime, John Carney missed the extra point. After the game Carney said the sun must have gotten in his eyes. Let's hope we fare better this time and we should. Gregg Williams should provide the defense with enough plays to confuse rookie QB Blaine Gabbert. Drew will be Drew and the offense should score 30+ to win. Saints win first of 3 road games. The Chiefs played their hearts out last week and had a chance to win. This week the Vikings will be too much. The guarantee here is one team will still be winless. That team will be the Chiefs. Vikings win. Bears take on the Panthers at home. Bears win....way too tough for Carolina in Chicago. Titans take on the Browns. Tennessee appears to have straighten out whatever was wrong. They are playing better team ball. Titans win. Texans at home against the Steelers. Texans have something to prove in front of the home crowd. Texans win. Eagles at home against the 49ers. Too much speed on Philly's side and even if Vick can't play Vince Young will be enough to handle the lowly Niners. Eagles win. Redskins at St Louis. Rams Bradford trying to win it all by himself. Grossman has learned to manage the game and realized he can't win it by himself. Buffalo at Cincinnati. Bengals still searching. In Buffalo, the Bills have found it. Bills win. Detroit at Dallas. I respect Tony Romo for even suiting up last week. Playing like he did was incredible. The Lions "D" will not be so kind. Matt Stafford will show why he belongs in the conversation. Lions win. Giants at Arizona. Looks like New York will get Umenyoira back this week. That's not good news for Kevin Kolb. Giants win. Falcons on the road cross-country to visit the Seahawks. Atlanta realizes this is a must game if they are to keep pace with the Saints and Tampa Bay. Mike Smith will have them ready and focused. Falcons win. You got to feel sorry for the Broncos. Not only do they have to face the undefeated Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, they have to play them in Lambeau. The Pack is back. Packers win. Raiders entertain the Patriots. Oakland would like to be on the porch with the big dogs, unfortunately for them, it won't be this week. Patriots win. My upset special is the Dolphins over the Chargers. Chargers always lose the ones they're supposed to win. Dolphins win. Ravens at home against the Jets. If this were New York my pick might be different. Ravens win...way too tough at home. Finally, Tampa Bay gets a shot at Primetime against the broken down Colts. Bucs win big as Indy continues to slide.
Well, there's my picks....How about you? Can you outpick the crazy fan?