NFL Picks - Week 11

November is upon us already, meaning the games get that much important as playoff seedings are decided, and the contenders are separated from the pretenders, the men from the boys, the wheat from the chaff if you will.

More cliches, anyone? No? Okay, lets get the picks rolling as we look to start up some serious momentum to finish with a flourish:

Thursday
NY Jets (+3.5) over NEW ENGLAND
Jets finally have discovered the potent ground game, and while there is no way they rack up totals like last week here in muddy Foxboro, the hunch here is that they'll ahve enough to grind out a tough win.
Jets 17 Patriots 14

Sunday
ATLANTA (-5.5) over Denver
Falcs dominant at home, Broncos can;t stop a decent rushing attack. We're through underestimating Atlanta. This one could be a blowout.
Falcons 31 Broncos 17

CINCINNATI (+9.5) over Philadelphia
Bengals are a little friskier at home, and should be able to hang tight with Philly team which could be looking ahead to Baltimore, then Arizona in the next two weeks.
Eagles 23 Bengals 21

Chicago (+5.5) over GREEN BAY
LIne seems a bit high, so we'll take the Bears, since they won't be fazed by any crazy weather in Wisconsin.
Bears 20 Packers 16

INDIANAPOLIS (-8.5) over Houston
Colts are wide awake and poised for a nice run. No way they let Texans control game as they did for about 54 minutes in last meeting.
Colts 30 Texans 13

KANSAS CITY (+4.5) over New Orleans
Chiefs have to win one of these close ones after falling just short last three games, right? No better option that here at Arrowhead against a fragile Saint team.
Chiefs 23 Saints 20

MIAMI (-10.5) over Oakland
It shows just how far the Fins have come in such a short time to see them laying double digits to anhyone, even a woeful bunch like the Raiders. Here, we just can't see the Silver and Black scoring enough, if at all, to get the cover.
Dolphins 24 Raiders 6

NY GIANTS (-6.5) over Baltimore
G-Men now embark on the tougher part of the schedule, but this is one poised group. Ravens have been a pleasant surprise, but we can see young Joe Flacco feeling some heat this week frmo the Big Blue pass rush.
Giants 24 Ravens 16

Minnesota (+3.5) over TAMPA BAY
Bucs better at home, but it looks like Adrian Peterson is upping his game. Bucs could be starting to fade here.
Vikings 27 Bucs 20

Detroit (+14.5) over CAROLINA
No logical reason to take the Lions, who have been absolutely dreadful. Jake Delomme looked off his game last week, so we'll go out on a very shaky limb and grab the boatload of points.
Panthers 27 Lions 15

Tennessee (-2.5) over JACKSONVILLE
Is this the week the '72 Dolphins pop the corks? Nope. Jags waaaay too inconsistent, and we can see the Titans grinding out an efficient road win.
Titans 20 Jaguars 16

SAN FRANCISCO (-3.5) over St. Louis
Rams can't be as bad as they showed the world last week, but the Niners are due to have a laugher, and will get one here.
49ers 30 Rams 17

Arizona (-6.5) over SEATTLE
Cards laying nearly a touchdown on the road, in November? Yep, we're in bizarro world alright.
Hawks are a mess, and this line is well within reach for surging Redbirds.
Cardinals 31 Seahawks 20

PITTSBURGH (-6.5) over San Diego
Bow your heads for the Chargers, whose season will suffer a nearly fatal blow with a loss here. Steelers are due to roll after tough home losses to Giants and Colts in recent weeks.
Steelers 22 Chargers 13

WASHINGTON (+1.5) over Dallas
Romo returns, but there are several other problems surrounding this team. Skin pass rush can and will force #9 to make mistakes, as he is prone to do. Grab the home team and the points.
Redskins 20 Cowboys 17


Monday
Cleveland (+4.5) over BUFFALO
Bills winless since granting a contract extension to coach. Coincindence, or simply the league catching up to the team? Not sure, but Buffalo really needs a win here to keep pace with Jets/Pats/Dolphins, and should get it, but it won't be easy.
Bills 23 Browns 20

Last Week: 6-8, yet again
Season: Let's just say we're still below 50% and leave it at that, okay?

NFL Picks - Week 10

Another week, another bout of flirting with 50%. Madeness, I say, this league is madness!

In what appears to be a futile attempt to get back to sea level, we submit our Week 10 selections.

Thursday
Denver (+4.5) over CLEVELAND

Sunday
New Orleans (+.5) over ATLANTA
Tennessee (-3) over CHICAGO
DETROIT (+6.5) over Jacksonville
MIAMI (-9.5) over Seattle
MINNESOTA (-2.5) over Green Bay
NEW ENGLAND (-3.5) over Buffalo
St. Louis (+8.5) over NY JETS
HOUSTON (-1.5) over Baltimore
Carolina (-9.5) over OAKLAND
PITTSBURGH (-3.5) over Indianapolis
Kansas City (+15.5) over SAN DIEGO
NY Giants (+2.5) over PHILADELPHIA

Monday
ARIZONA (-9.5) over San Francisco

NFL Picks - Week 9

Time is short, onto the selections:

BUFFALO (-5.5) over NY Jets
CHICAGO (-12.5) over Detroit
Jacksonville (-7.5) over Cincinnati
CLEVELAND (-1.5) over Baltimore
Arizona (-2.5) over ST. LOUIS
MINNESOTA (-4.5) over Houston
TENNESSEE (-7.5) over Green Bay
KANSAS CITY (+8.5) over Tampa Bay
DENVER (-3.5) over Miami
NY GIANTS (-7.5) over Dallas
SEATTLE (+6.5) over Philadelphia
Atlanta (-2.5) over OAKLAND
New England (+5.5) over INDIANAPOLIS
WASHINGTON (-2.5) over Pittsburgh

NFL Picks - Week 8

Back to our regular format this week, despite having tied our season high last week after not publishing an entry on the site. Here goes nothin'.....

Tampa Bay (+3.5) over DALLAS
We can no longer depend on the Cowboys rising to the occasion, and as banged up as they are, they'll have all they can handle with the Bucs. Let the Wade Phillips Watch commence....
Buccaneers 24 Cowboys 16

DETROIT (+7.5) over Washington
Skins have been unable to blow anyone out all season, and we have a hunch this might be the week the Lions decide not to fall behind by three touchdowns before halftime.
Redskins 28 Lions 21

MIAMI (+1.5) over Buffalo
Flashback to the 70's, when the Bills were utterly unable to win in Miami. Fins can keep this one very close, and maybe steal it.
Dolphins 17 Bills 16

NEW ENGLAND (-7.5) over St. Louis
Are the Pats back? Are the Rams suddenly this much better? We don;t know, but we think New England can cover this number regardless.
Patriots 27 Rams 14

NEW ORLEANS (+3.5) over San Diego (game played in London)
Another pointless Euro-game. Going against the Bolts simply due to the 9 hour time lag. We can't put a team in Hawaii, but we can pull this crap every season?
Saints 20 Chargers 17

NY JETS (-12.5) over Kansas City
Chiefs, bad enough when at full strength, are going with a 3rd striung QB (Tyler Thigpen), and have benched Larry Johnson. Further, Jets are returning home after bad loss in Oakland. It's a recipe for a blowout.
Jets 34 Chiefs 10

Atlanta (+8.5) over PHILADELPHIA
City of Brotherly Love hosting a big sports Sunday, starting with this one. Falcons have been a tough out and can move to 5-2 (!) with win here. Eagles have been a mystery, and this line seems a bit high, so we'll take Matt Ryan and Co.
Eagles 21 Falcons 17

BALTIMORE (-6.5) over Oakland
Raiders got their win last week, now face hard reality known as the Ravens defense. This one won't be pretty, and is unlikely to show up on ESPN Classic anytime in the near future.
Ravens 20 Raiders 9

Arizona (+4.5) over CAROLINA
Gotta love the Cardinals, even though Panthers are a monster at home. This one could be wild, but it should stay close no matter what.
Panthers 31 Cardinals 28

JACKSONVILLE (-6.5) over Cleveland
Jags looking to start their run, and this is the perfect week to start.
Jaguars 27 Browns 13

HOUSTON (-9.5) over Cincinnati
Texans living large after back-to-back wins, should be able to keep it alive against the mess that is the Bengals. Houston moo cows will know better than to allow a back door cover like they did last week, right?
Texans 30 Bengals 16

NY Giants (+2.5) over PITTSBURGH
Game of the Week, no doubt. Giants need to put some heat on Big Ben or it will be a long day. Pitt ground game will struggle minus Willie Parker. Late figgie decides it.
Giants 20 Steelers 17

SAN FRANCISCO (-4.5) over Seattle
After having the crazy Manson-like eyes of Mike Singletary stargin you down all week, you think these Niners don't want to go out and tear something apart? Throw in a woeful road team like Seattle and you'll see the fur fly in Frisco.
49ers 30 Seahawks 10

MONDAY
TENNESSEE (-4.5) over Indianapolis
...and this is the week in which America finally discovers the Titans are for real. Colts have been so up and down, and will have all kinds of trouble moving the football against a fired up Tennessee bunch.
Titans 24 Colts 13


Last Week: 8-6
Season: 50-51

MLB Predictions - A Bold Look Back

That's right, we're doing something that one never sees the "Big Boys" do - actually reviewing the predictions we made back in March and gauging the results. As expected, they ain't pretty, but if you look back at the choices the ESPN "experts" made you'd likely find similar results.



First, the good. Where were we accurate?

Correctly picked as Division Winners (1 out of 6):
Chicago Cubs


Correctly picked as playoff teams (3 out of 8):
Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers


Closest to actual W-L record:
Milwaukee (90-72), which we nailed exactly!

Also: We nailed the Yankees missing the playoffs, which was nice.

Now, the suckitutde:

Tampa Bay- 76-86, 4th place (with the "watch out for them in 2009" warning)

Seattle - 92-70, AL Champs(!)

Detroit - 93-69, AL Central winner

NY Mets - 95-67, World Series Champions

The Mariners, in the World Series? Really? Reality showed this team succumbing to infinghting, bad play, and the worst record in baseball. Could not have been more wrong here. In a feeble attempt a defense, many other "experts" had this team making noise. Easily the worst pick we made, followed closely by....

Detroit. Man, this team put together a modern day Murderers Row, was armed with a bevy of good young arms, and seemed poised to stomp through the AL Central. Didn't happen. The Tigers stumbled out of the gate and were never able to recover, save for a brief run in mid-summer which propelled them back to .500.

Finally, the Mets. Ugh. We really thought they could erase the epic failure of 17 up with 7 to play and get the full redemption. Probably just our hearts winning out over our heads.

Despite these horrid results, we will not be deterred from rolling out more predictions next March. The jury is still out on if we will exhibit this level of honest reflection should the choices be so horribly off.

NFL Picks - Week 7

Last week, we were rushed/sick/busy, and didn't even enter the selctions until Sunday morning. As was to be expected, we had one of our best weeks of this wretched season, going 8-6. Verification of the choices is shown here.

Full Week 8 picks and analysis is coming, watch this space.

NFL Picks - Week 6

We're thisclose to giving up - the season is showing no signs of rhyme nor of reason. Miami smoking the Pats, then beating up the Chargers? Really?



Let's just get these out of the way, with the usual soon-to-be-disproven analysis:



ATLANTA (+2.5) over Chicago

Falcons showing plenty, especially at home. Figure this one to be close, so we'll grab the points.

Falcons 19 Bears 17



TAMPA BAY (-2.5) over Carolina

Bucs return home after tough loss in Denver, while Panthers might start slowly after last week's blowout vs. KC. Another close one, so we'll take the home team.

Buccaneers 20 Panthers 17



WASHINGTON (-13.5) over St. Louis

Are the Rams really this bad? Maybe not, but the REdskins sure do look to be that good, and it is hard to imagine them not being able to cover this number, even if it takes a late tack on score to do so.

Redskins 31 Rams 13



HOUSTON (-3.5) over Miami

A risky choice, but the Texans were a very solid team for 56 miinutes last week, and don't think every single player in that locker room isn't fully focused on taking out the frustration from that stomach punching loss. Picking against the Fish hasn;t helped us at all, but they could be due for a slight letdown.

Texans 23 Dolphins 17



INDIANAPOLIS (-4.5) over Baltimore

We can't really explain why we're taking the Colts, who have played about 34 minutes of good football thus far in 2008. Somethign seems off about this team, but we'll play the hunch that they will be able to string together a solid 60 minutes and gut one out to get their first win in their new digs.

Colts 20 Ravens 13



MINNESOTA (-13.5) over Detroit

So long as the Vikes tighten up their punt coverage, we see no reason why they can't enjoy a laugher here.

Vikings 34 Lions 16



NEW ORLEANS (-7.5) over Oakland

Just can't take the Raiders, who solved their "problem" by removing Lane Kiffin prior to last week's bye. Sean Payton will have his sloppy Saints ready to go this week after ugly MNF showing last week.

Saints 24 Raiders 14



NY JETS (-5.5) over Cincinnati

Bengals getting a little more respect from Vegas, hence this line. Jets, fresh off bye, should be ready to roll, and Bengals have played just well enough to lose last two. Look for Jet ground game to get back on track, enough to make Favre's play action that much more effective.

Jets 27 Bengals 17



DENVER (-3.5) over Jacksonville

Line seems a tad high, but Broncos have shown themselves to be very tough at home, while up and down Jags forced to make this gtrip after ugly game vs. Steelers. Close, but we'll take the Mile High guys.

Broncos 20 Jaguars 16



ARIZONA (+5.5) over Dallas

Cowboys have shown disturbing tendency to play to opponents level, and the Cards are just dangerous enough to stick around here. Will the house still be half filled with Cowboy fans, still?

Cardinals 31 Cowboys 28



SAN FRANCISCO (+5.5) over Philadelphia

Can't figure out the Eagles, who've gone from Super Bowl contender to also-ran in 3 short weeks. They're likely somewhere between the two extremes, and the hunch here is that the Niners can hang close, and maybe even steal this one.

Eagles 27 49ers 24



SEATTLE (-2.5) over Green Bay

Never in a million years would we think the Seahawks should be favored, but using the "Vegas knows something" theory, we'll take 'em. No further questions, Your Honor.

Seahawks 23 Packers 21



New England (+6.5) over SAN DIEGO

Another line which seems a little steep - Pats spent the week in Cali, and the Bolts have shown very little consistency thus far. Matt Cassell looked more confortable last week, and the San Diego pass rush has been nothing to write home about. Look for the Pats to add to further bury the Bolts.

Patriots 25 Chargers 20





Monday

NY Giants (-7.5) over CLEVELAND

Thanks, Powers That Be, for subjecting us to yet another nationally televised Browns game. Can we safely assume that the boys from Cleveland will not be part of any Flex scheduling come the second half? Please? As for the game, the Giants look very solid, and will not be deterred here.

Giants 24 Browns 10



Best Bets: Redskins, Vikings, Giants


Totals
Last Week: 6-8
Season Total: 36-38 (48.6%)



Best Bets
Last Week: 3-0
Season Total: 4-5 (44.4%)