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!

Week 6 in the NFL......

Last week not too shabby considering I went out on a limb to pick a few upsets, The upset I didn't get right was the Rams win so I finished 10-5 for the week giving me a season total of 42-35. I am going to make it short on analysis as I have a busy weekend ahead so here we go.........I started out with a loss picking Pittsburgh on Thursday Night. Now for everyone else. Jets over the Colts. My upset special this week, the Browns over the Bengals in the battle of Ohio. The Eagles over the Lions. Falcons over the Raiders. Miami over the Rams. Ravens over the Cowboys. Bucs over the Chiefs. Cardinals over the Billls. Pats over the Seahawks. Niners over the Giants. Vikings over the Redskins. Texans get by the Packers in a close one. Broncos over the Chargers. Well that's my picks for the week. Have a great football weekend.

Week 5 in the NFL......

After going 11-4 last week I am finaly on the plus side at 32-30 for the season. Let's see if we can build on that this week although I have started this week 0-1 as I picked the Cards and they lost Thursday Night. Sunday starts with the Redskins at Atlanta. Finally a test for the Falcons defense against a truly mobile QB. RG3 should give them something different to look at. Redskins have enough to win. Giants over the Browns. Broncos travel to New England for another showdown between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. My first upset pick...I am going with the Broncos. Texans too much for the Jets on Monday Night. My next upset is the Dolphins over the Bengals. Reggie will play and play well enough. Dolphins defense is much improved over last year gets it done. Packers over the Colts. Looks like the injury bug has hit the Colts again. Too much Aaron Rodgers & Clay Matthews. Ravens over the Chiefs. Steelers at home against the Eagles. Hard to bet against the Steelers at home. Pittsburgh wins. Apparently, I am the only one who believes the Seahawks are good. Seattle over Carolina today. Bears over the Jags who are still searching. Minnesota handles the Titans. Vikings are much improved over last year. Forty-Niners at home will handle the Bills on their cross country trek. Finally, tonight on Sunday Night Football the Chargers are at New Orleans. Although the Saints are winless, they face a Chargers team that has yet to find an identity. Call it split personality, but they seem to choke when it counts most, couple that with a hungry and dangerous  Saints team with a lot to prove in front of the home crowd and it spells trouble for San Diego. In prime time over the last several years especially at home the Saints have been on fire. This game will probably be a little closer but look for New Orleans to pull away in the 4th Quarter for their first win of 2012. Have a great football weekend!

Week 4 in the NFL.................

I am honest and although I forgot to do my picks on this blog I did do them on Showtime's Beat the Insiders. I recommend you check it out. It's a lot of fun. Having said all that, my record last week was a dismal 5-11. Week 2  I was 6-10 and week One I was 10-5 so after 3 weeks I am 21-26 on the negative side but apparently I am not the only one who has been picking losers. Who would have thought the Saints and Packers in today's game would be a combined 1-5. Incredible! Or that the Seahawks and Forty-Niners would be 2-1 trailing the undefeated Cardinals. Yes sports fans like I said not long ago PARITY has come to the NFL.
Now for this weeks picks...I started out with a win with the Ravens over the Browns earlier this week on Thursday but that's no surprise. Patriots are only a four point favorite over the Bills but expected that to be enough. Pats win. San Fran is at New York to play the Jets and it'll take more than the Tebow option to beat that defense. Niners win. Seattle will beat the Rams in St Louis. Rams are still a year or two away. Atlanta at home against the Panthers. Falcons win. Although the Vikings look much improved Lions win at home. Chargers won't make the same mistake as the Saints when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium today. San Diego wins. Texans over the Titans. Bengals over the Jags. Cards over the Dolphins as home field advantage gives them a slight edge. The Bucs are better but will they have an answer to RG3? I don't think so. Skins win. Giants and Eagles square off in a divisional battle. G-Men come away with a road win. Bears are at Dallas and the Cowboys should get back on track in a hard fought game. Romo is due to throw a few more TD's. Cowboys win.
Lastly, the Saints are at Green Bay to face the Packers who are reeling after being robbed on Monday night. That could work for them or against them depending on how they channel it. The Saints defense has yet to demostrate they can play for four quarters. The challenge could not be any bigger as they face one of if not the best QB's in the NFL. I am afraid Saints fans I haven't seen anything that would indicate they can get it done. Conclusion....this one could get real ugly early. Packers win big. Sorry Saints fans. Well that's my picks for Week 4 how about you? Have a great football weekend!

Thursday Night Football.....

I'll make this brief. The Giants overcome the Panthers. Giants win. See ya this weekend!

Week 2 in the NFL..............

Well last week through everyone for a loop with the upsets; welcome to parity. This week will probably bring more of the same so let's see where I stand after going 10-5 in my first week. I'll start off with the home town guys first. I have to believe they will get the things corrected that need correcting specifically-enthusiasm and passion something Aaron Kromer doesn't show much of.
Saints should get on track this week. Saints over Panthers in a close one. Ravens found a new way to run the offense-NO HUDDLE and it works. Eagles will not be able to keep up Ravens win. Steelers at home against the high flying Jets. Steelers bring the Jets back down to earth with a win. Forty-Niners at home against the Lions. The Lions squeaked out a winner last week to an inferior team. The Forty-Niners will be too much defense for the Lions-Niners win. Denver at Atlanta.  This will be the battle of the no-huddle offenses. Although Manning is with a new team he is still the master and Matt Ryan is the apprentice. Broncos win in a shootout. For the rest of the games this is how I see it........
Chiefs over the Bills. Browns over the Bengals. Vikings over the Colts. Texans over the Jags. Patriots over the Cardinals. Giants over the Bucs. Raiders over the Dolphins. Redskins over the Rams. Cowboys over the Seahawks. Finally the Chargers over the Titans. See how you match up! Have a great football weekend.

Week One in the NFL..........

I know it's been a while but somehow with all this Bounty stuff going on in New Orleans, I've been bummed out. Anyway here we go with another NFL season and here are my picks this week. First up the aforementioned Saints at home against the Redskins. Saints win. Too much Drew Brees and not enough RG3. Patriots at Tennessee. Too much Tom Brady...Pats win. Forty-Niners travel to Green Bay. Although it isn't the frozen tundra today the Pack is too tough at home...Packers win. Steelers at Denver. If Payton Manning wasn't playing it might be a different outcome. Steelers always need a couple games under their belt before they start to gel. Broncos win in a close one. Bengals at the Ravens. Ravens too much at home. Chargers at the Raiders. Although Raiders much improved San Diego will win in a close one. For the rest of the league........Bears win over Colts. Eagles over the Browns. Falcons over the Chiefs. Jaguars over the Vikings. Jets over the Bills. Lions over the Rams. Texans over the Dolphins. Seahawks over the Cardinals and Panthers over the Bucs. Well that's what my first week looks like....How about yours? Have a great football weekend!

Finally!!! Football Season is around the corner. If you're like me the offseason has been nothing short of torture. If you're a Saints fan like I am,  it has been your worst nightmare...NO Kidding!!! Although everyone has their own opinion(you may not care very much for mine) I respect yours and hope you give me the same courtesy as you read further. In spite of what you may have heard,  if you live outside the New Orleans area, we are still very much behind our team. Whatever city you may hail from,  keep in mind the next time Roger Goodell goes off half cocked it could be your team he decides to lower the boom on. There's an old saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and Mr Goodell has taken it to a new level. I will make a prediction right now.  If Jon Vilma wins his lawsuit, meaning the NFL or more to the point Goodell himself cannot provide more than heresay evidence of any bounty program, or that Mr. Vilma's involvement is not proven beyond any reasonable doubt, the NFL Commissioner's position will be open in the near future. The owners will see the folly in keeping someone around who has a hidden agenda or is simply taking out his frustrations on someone he hates or dislikes. Notice I said someone not something. You see,  Roger Goodell has taken up for the Saints(the team) in the past,  but the bad blood between he and Sean Payton is well documented. Sean Payton beats to his own drum and doesn't much care for an ego manical commissioner who has a god complex. Payton has a pretty big ego himself and I am sure the room feels claustraphobic when they are in it together. This is probably why Goodell feels the need to show Payton who's boss. In the end the owners will see that Goodell is more trouble than he is worth. Especially, if it is proven that he has no concrete evidence to support all of the allegations he has made. He doesn't seem to understand that defamation of character is not protected by the CBA.  After the owners replace him and they should. They will need to establish an "Appeals Board" with say 5-7 onwers. The board could be rotated every year with a new set of owners. This way it would give each team a say in the process. The "Board" could be divided by having 2-3 reps from the NFC and 2-3 from the AFC each year with each conference alternating the extra rep. You could limit the appeal process to serious violations only and ones involving player suspensions. This way the board is not meeting everytime a player complains about a $10,000 fine. The "Appeals Board" could decide whether a suspension was warranted or if in their view too harsh and could reduce such penalty. If the player in question's owner is serving at the  time, that owner would need to recuse himself from the review. This makes the process more fair than the current one where the person delivering the punishment also hears the appeal which makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever. This same process would apply for coaches as well as referees. Ultimately, this would solve a lot off issues without players needing to get an attorney and file suit in court. Roger Goodell seems to think that now that football season is almost upon us everyone will forget and move on, but until Vilma's libel case is settled, like the season itself we are just getting started.

Divisional Round Playoffs......

I know that everyone is picking the home teams. This week might be different. First up the Saints are at San Francisco trying to win their first road playoff game. In a year of firsts the Saints will accomplish one more. Saints win. In the late game the love might be for Tebow but the talent at QB is on the opposing team today. Tom Brady and company will put on enough offense to fend off the Broncos.
Tomorrow the Giants are in snowbound Lambeau and they will not be intimidated. Giants surprise upset and end the Packers hopes of repeating. The Texans are faced with an enormous task in Baltimore against the Ravens. Ravens have had two weeks to get healthy and prepare and they are at home. The Cinderella story Texans ends this weekend. Ravens win. Enjoy the games.......

Playoffs?!?!?!!!

Yes,  it's that time a year when the new season starts. Just to put a bow tie on the regular season,  I finished last week with 11-5 and 156-100 on my picks for the season. Now for the playoffs...The Saints at home entertain the Lions. All indicators are the Saints will win this one...Undefeated at home for the first time in Saints history in 2011; Averaging over 40 points per game at home; And more importantly the defense has allowed less points in the last half of the season than they did in the first half. Case in point...since the Bye in week eleven the Saints defense has allowed and average of 18.5 points per game. In their last eight games the Saints defense has allowed 18.75 points per game. In their five home games since their loss to the Rams in St Louis, the Saints have allowed an astounding 18 points per game. You do the math. If the Saints are averaging over 40 points per game in offense and the defense is only allowing 18 points per game at home the conclusion is easy...Saints win. The Bengals are at the Texans. If history is any measure, it is very difficult your first time out,  in the playoffs, just ask the Saints. Pair that with a beat up team,  injury wise,  the Texans will face an uphill battle. My upset special,  take the Bengals to win. Falcons will need a perfect game in New York. The Giants are hitting their stride at the right time though,  so I am going with the Giants to win. Pittsburgh is at Denver. I told you at the beginning of the season watch out for Tim Tebow and that he would likely be the starter by mid-season. He has really inspired his team but unfortunately he plays for a coach, John Fox, who lacks imagination. Tebow going forward will need a good QB coach and an innovative Offensive Coordinator to utilize his talents and make him a better passer. Barring a surprise on Sunday,  even a beat up Steelers team is better than a healthy Broncos team. Tebow will need to be flawless and somehow NOT one-dimensional. If the Broncos can pull that off then they have a chance. I am going with the Steelers though, to win. Let the playoffs begin......Enjoy the weekend. 

Final Weekend Regular Season

Sorry about last week but what can I say "It's Christmas"!!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year to all! For all of you and me this will be on the honor system but for Week 15...I was 8-8 and last week 9-7 for a season total of 145-95. Again I make all my picks on "Beat the Insiders". You should try it out, It's fun. Now to the picks for the final week of the regular season. The Saints will edge the Panthers and finish undefeated at home for the season. For a wing and a prayer Saints fans would love for the Rams to repeat what they did to them against the Niners. Alas, it won't happen today. Niners win. Jaguars over Colts. Texans trash Titans dreams with a win. I am going against the grain here but I am going to pick the Packers to win. Here's my analysis...the Lions have only pride in a win today. You are either a 5-Seed or a 6-Seed. Do you risk injury just to win a meaningless game in Green Bay? Are you really thinking we don't want to play the Saints in round one? I don't think so. I think the primary thought is to stay healthy for the playoffs. Period. Packers win. Eagles over the Redskins. Andy Reid saves his job for another year. Patriots looking to secure the Number One Seed will beat Buffalo. Another game where I differ...Bears over the Vikings. Miami will be without the services of Reggie Bush. Jets will win one for Rex. Atlanta over Tampa Bay. Falcons need an ego boost into the playoffs. Ravens already in the playoffs get caught looking ahead. Bengals have more to play for win at home. Pittsburgh over Cleveland. Broncos at home win game and Division. Orton is one person and football is a team sport. Chiefs look to build for next year with Romeo Crennell. Cards over the Hawks. Raiders at home put the final nail in Norv Turners' coffin and the Chargers' season. Giants at home too much for the wounded Cowboys. Giants win Division and vault into the playoffs. It should be an exciting weekend...Enjoy it! Next Week....The Playoffs!!!