NFL 2010 Week 12 Thanksgiving Day Picks

Ok, Happy Thanksgiving.  Been cooking all morning and arguing about the Miami Heat with different people after their loss last night (I might have to post all of that stuff).  But I digress, let's take a look at the Turkey Day Games in the NFL.


New England @ Detroit - The Lions have been playing well and they are playing a dinged up Tom Brady.  Can the Lions finally play close enough to get a win on a nationally televised game with the world snacking on turkey?  I want to,...I mean I really want to, but I just can't.  Look for Suh to have a big game for the Lions.  Winner - Patriots. 


New Orleans @ Dallas - This is a big game for the Cowboys.  I loss here and I think we stop hearing about all of this Tony Romo returning stuff.  The Saints travel to Jerry's House and they should be getting Reggie Bush back today.  I am a little concerned for Bush because he hasn't been hit in that leg yet and I imagine that the Cowboys will be told to tackle low.  If that Cowboys defensive line can get some pressure on Brees, I expect this one to be closer than many think.  I think that the Saints are the better team, but for some reason, I gotta go with my gut on this one.  Winner - Cowboys.


Cincinatti @ New York Jets - Even the trash talk from this game doesn't have me excited.  Like I said, the Bengals are officially off of my pick list this year.  The Jets have found a way to win over the last few weeks and that has to account for something.  At the end of the day, I think they get way too much pressure on Carson Palmer and we may even see his brother in this game (replacing Carson).  If the Jets win this game, I can't wait to see TO's press conference.  This might make my entire day.  Winner - Jets. 


Who you got?

NFL 2010 Week 2 Picks

We definitely started the season off with a bang with our 7-9 record, so let's see if we can make less noise and some better picks.  

Pittsburgh @ Tennessee – Well Dennis Dixon gets his next test in Tennessee.  We all know from Week 1 that the Steelers defense can get them out of a lot of trouble, but the offense is going to have to step it up this time around.  The Titans will give the Steelers large doses of Chris Johnson, and I imagine that VY is going to have to throw the ball more than 17 times.  This ought to be quite the game.  Winner – Steelers.    

Miami @ Minnesota – Miami travels all the way to Minnesota and I imagine that their ground game will be ready to test the Vikings front 7.  The Saints seemed to run well against them in Week 1 and I think the Dolphins have a more dynamic group of runners.  I hope someone in Minny tells Childress that Chris Johnson got 27 carries in a laugher of a game last week for the Titans,…….give AP his carries!!!!  Winner – Vikings.

Arizona @ Atlanta – After giving away last week’s game to the Steelers, the Falcons are at home and hopefully they’ve implemented more than one pass play and more than 4 running plays or it’s going to be a long season.  The Cardinals can be tough against the run upfront, but I expect the home cooking to work in favor of the Falcons and give them their first win of the season.  Winner – Falcons.

Baltimore @ Cincinnati – When I look at this game, the one thing that comes to mind is that Cedric Benson was the first back in 61 games to get 100 yards on this Baltimore defense.  That’s a gauntlet being thrown down to this defense.  The Ravens on offense looked pretty good with Boldin last week and I expect some more work for Houshmandzadeh this week.  Which receiving core are you going to pick, Ocho and Owens or Boldin and TJ?  Winner – Bengals.

 

Kansas City @ Cleveland – The Chefs, they got their ‘i’ back so I’ll say the Chiefs surprised last week with a pretty good performance by beating the Chargers.  Cassel looked decent and the surprised play from the defense shocked me.  The Browns are already on quarterback number two with Seneca Wallace getting the start.  I can’t say much more about the Browns.  I think this one is closer than most expect, but I imagine that the Chiefs come out on top.  Winner – Chiefs.

Chicago @ Dallas – One team got a W with an asterisk (Bears) and the other got an ‘L’ for not showing up (Cowboys), so something’s got to give.  Hillenmeyer is out for the year with the Bears with a concussion, and DeMarcus Ware is coming back from a mild concussion himself.  What’s the over/under on the number of games Urlacher plays before he gets hurt?  There’s no way the Cowboys let the Bears come in and spoil the home opener for them, right?  Lots of running by the Cowboys and I expect Dez Bryant to show out.  Winner – Cowboys.

Philadelphia @ Detroit – Mike Vick, glad to see you back in the saddle.  The Eagles finally announces that Vick would start (we knew this was going to happen, right?) and he has been practicing with the 1^st team all week long.  Vick should be a lot better prepared and the game plan should be wide open.  Shaun Hill will get the start for the Lions, so I expect that he’ll see a lot of blitzing from the Eagles, but they will double Calvin Johnson (they are smarter than the Bears), so this one may end up being a blowout.  Winner – Eagles.

Buffalo @ Green Bay – The tundra isn’t quite frozen yet, but the Packers are feeling a little sick from losing their starting RB, Ryan Grant, in their first game.  Because of Aaron Rodgers, they can pretty much insert running back X and keep that machine moving.  The Packers defense seems to be close to mid-season form and the Bills don’t have anyone.  Winner – Packers. 

Tampa Bay @ Carolina – Well, Week 2 and it seems as though Matt Moore will start this game, but if he does, I don’t expect him to end it on the field.  We will probably end up with a Jimmy Clausen sighting preparing for his Week 3 start.  Neither team is loaded but I bet against the Bucs last week and lost.  Winner – Bucs.

Seattle @ Denver – I don’t think many people outside of Pete Carroll’s office thought they would play like they did last week.  Is this a sign of things to come or an anomaly?  They go to Denver who may be able to provide them with some issues on the defensive side of the ball, but I’m not sure anywhere else.  I don’t actually believe this, but I’m going with,…..Winner – Seahawks. 

St. Louis @ Oakland – Talk about two bad teams (at least right now).  The Raiders will once again turn to Darren McFadden to see if he can pull the load, which he should against this defense.  Maybe they’ll even open things up a little for Jason Campbell and this one should be over by halftime.  Winner – Raiders. 

Houston @ Washington – This is the test for the Texans.  You come off a game where many thought you couldn’t beat the Colts and now you get a team in the Redskins that everyone expects you to beat.  Are the Texans going to step up?  We know Arian Foster won’t get 231 in this game, but I expect a better performance out of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson.  I liked the Redskins on defense last week and if they can keep that up, this won’t be the cakewalk that many think it will be.  This is the Texans year.  Winner – Texans.

New England @ New York Jets – I love the trash talk.  We all know that Moss plays when he wants and this is probably one of those where he plays.  Revis has a built in excuse with his sore hammy, but this will come down to whether the Pats can protect Brady.  As we saw in their game against the Ravens, they are going to bring it all day.  The Jets are just limited on offense with Shonn Greene (the dropsies) and Sanchez not wanting to complete a pass for more than 9 yards.  Winner – Patriots.

Jacksonville @ San Diego – Chargers, are you ready to start the season yet?  You are already looking up to the Chiefs in your division, and that should never happen.  Jacksonville surprised last week with a decent performance, but I expect the Chargers to be extra motivated after that debacle last week.  Winner – Chargers.

New York Giants @ Indianapolis – I guess this is Manning Bowl Part Deux.  Normally the better Manning should win this game and I think that holds.  Note to insurance agents, if an individual named Bob Sanders applies for any type of insurance, you probably want to deny him, he’s accident prone.  The Colts defense will be okay with Bullitt back there, but Peyton seemed to be already in mid-season form.  I’m just not a believer in Eli.  Winner – Colts. 

New Orleans @ San Francisco – I can already see it, Mike Singletary addressing the media after this game,…’I’d like to thank the Saints for kicking our a$$ like that because it’s something we need to learn from’.  Winner – Saints. 

Who you got?

TO a Cowboy No More

The Cowboys have released TO. (Take a breath, then respond). I guess Jerry Jones felt that it was time to cut the cord. TO hadn't really helped this team in the locker room and only moderately on the field. There is sure to be lots of fallout over this.

What would you have done? Is this a good move for the Cowboys? Is TO getting in the way of him breaking NFL receiving records? Is this the end of his career?

Highway to Hell

More rumblings out of Dallas. No TO didn't have a change of heart about his touches, and no, no one else on the team decided to voice their frustration with losing. The rumblings are coming from one of the Cowboys prized acquisitions, Pacman, umm I mean Adam Jones. The Cowboys, like any smart company, took on the risk of acquiring Pacman, I mean Jones, and they also put measures in place to make sure that risk is abated. Jones was provided with security, an apartment (that the Cowboys selected), and mentors, like Deion Sanders to be a phone call away. While most of this has kept Pacman (yes, I'm going to call him Pacman from here on out)safe and out of trouble, he and the organization are at odds about his living arrangements. Pacman is trying to move out of his company owned apartment and this should scare the isht out of everyone. Pacman has made it a few months (clean) and now he's going to try and keep this thing going on his own? All I have to say is that unless he's moving in with Deion and Pilar, this is going to be bad. No parental (well, team) guidance and Pacman will be at one of the many gentlemen, ummm, I mean sckrip clubs in Dallas, making it rain all over again.

Shootout in Big D - NFL Monday Night Football Wrap Up Week 2

If you watched the game last night you saw an amazing display of fireworks coming from each team. I for one had picked the Eagles because they normally play the Cowboys tight and something about Tony Romo with the ball in hands (or lack there of) at the end of a big game. This was a heavyweight slugfest with the Cowboys coming out on top. Things I noticed:

Donovan McNabb - Man, I'm sorry. I had you pegged as delirious with your proclamation that you guys were going to win big this year, along with SI forecasting that the Eagles will be in the Superbowl this year. I talked about you not having anyone to throw the ball too, except Westbrook and LJ Smith (whom you ignored last night and cost me my Fantasy Football game), but you are proving me wrong after week 2. Has anyone, and I mean anyone thought about how good this guy could be with a legit #1 receiver? Again, can't they get Anquan Boldin?

DeSean Jackson - Set a record by having two 100+ yard games in his first two starts. Will forever be remembered for his (2nd) bonehead play to toss the ball away at the one, something close to a Leon Lett play. Dude, finish the play, then celebrate. I'm not going to ride him because everyone else will do that for weeks and years to come, thanks to You Tube.

Marion Barber III - Ummmmm,......I'm not sure how much better this guy can get. He runs hard, catches the ball well, and seems to be pretty durable when you consider his running style. Should we be mentioning this guy as one of the best in the game now? Right up there with LT and Adrian Peterson?

Tony Romo - I guess if we just get this guy some stickum, he'll be ok. He really only made about 4 bad plays last night, and two of them happened on the fumble (the fumble and then not falling on the ball to give the Eagles the safety instead of the TD).

T.O. - What's his fascination with Usain Bolt? This is the second week in a row that T.O. has impersonated the sprinter during a game. Last week it was getting in the starting block and firing off after his TD (which he was fined for, stupid move by the league), and then on his 72 yard TD reception last night he broke the tape at the end zone as he crossed the line. T.O. became #2 on the NFL Career Receiving TD list. He's only a mere 65 behind Jerry Rice (yes, Rice was that good).

This game puts Cowboys are 2-0 and the Eagles at 1-1. The NFC East will be exciting this year if the games are played like this. I ended the week going 12-3 on picks, so all in all a good week.

Loyalty

Much has been said lately about a certain guy who wears his loyalties on his sleeves (and hats too). The city of Cleveland has an issue with their star LeBron James rooting for teams other than those in Cleveland. LeBron has been seen wearing a Yankees cap on several occasions, says that he grew up loving the Chicago Bulls, and he supports 'America's Team', the Dallas Cowboys. A lot of people point out that LeBron is from Cleveland and should give the home teams some love (Browns and Indians). WHY is this a big deal? When he was growing up the Browns weren't that good, the Bulls were killing those good Cavs teams and the Indians were the Indians. I grew up and rooted for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins. I actually grew up in between those states on the Eastern seaboard. I rooted for the Bulls until a family member played against them in the Finals. I don't even like baseball that much, but I rooted for the Braves. We all have allegiances. I have an uncle that roots for, now get this, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Carolina Panthers. Figure that out if you can. LeBron grew up watching Jordan destroy the league and have a certain swagger about him. Those Bulls teams dominated people. I'm sure that now when LeBron plays the Bulls he doesn't ease up on them because he grew up liking them. The Cowboys were winning with one of the best running backs to ever play the game in Emmitt Smith (all time leading rusher in the NFL) and the flamboyant Michael Irvin. They had one of the best offensive lines I have EVER seen because Troy Aikman can still speak intelligently, and we know he really can't take a hit. The Yankees, even if you don't watch baseball, they are probably two teams that you've heard of, the Yankees and the Cubs.
Cleveland fans, what you should be worrying about is whether Danny Ferry can get the pieces around LeBron so that LeBron can bring a trophy to Cleveland before he bolts for New York. That would be something to be upset about, something that should draw the ire of fans, not the fact that LeBron has other allegiances in sports.