Another week of picks went somewhat successfully last week as my season pick percentage sits at .644. Now I know a monkey throwing darts at a wall could probably get roughly the same amount of picks right, but jokes on you, I don't play darts. On to this week's picks after the break.
Last Week: 8-5
Season: 87-56
NYJ at NE: Patriots- This may be a little homerish of me, but I do think that Cassel is playing better and that the Pats will force Favre into making some mistakes, but not having Adalius Thomas hurts them. Should be a great game to watch so coupled with the UM game tonight, it will be a nerve-wracking evening at the wing shack.
DEN at ATL: Falcons- My days of doubting the Falcons are over. Matt Ryan and Michael Turner have made a lot of prognosticators eat their words this year.
MIN at TB: Bucs- The warm Tampa weather and the rested Bucs will make for an uncomfortable stay for Gus and the Vikings.
BAL at NYG: Ravens- My upset special for the week. I don't fully believe the Ravens D can slow down Brandon Jacobs and Eli, but I wouldn't be shocked by it.
OAK at MIA: Dolphins- The sea-faring mammals get to sit back and enjoy the 1:00 start for the west coast team which also happens to be the Raiders while the Jets and Patriots beat each other senseless.
NO at KC: Saints- The Chiefs have not given up this year under Herm and I expect them to battle in this one. Tyler Thigpen has played better than people thought possible after his first appearance this year.
DET at CAR: Panthers- The Panthers had their "let's play like we suck" game last week and managed to win it, there should be a sharp looking playoff team out there in Charlotte on Sunday and no I don't mean the Lions.
PHI at CIN: Eagles- The Bengals front line will seem docile compared to what the Eagles tried to run through(twice including 4th down) last week.
CHI at GB: Bears- The groans for number 4 will increase exponentially in cheese country if the Pack loses this game and the Jets win theirs.
Hou at IND: Colts- The Colts will make the playoffs this year, I'm saying it now.
TEN at JAC: Titans- Has anyone noticed all twwl has done for the 9-0 Titans is show their remaining schedule in reference to their unbeaten season so far? Last year it was flashy graphics and machine-like sound effects for the Patriots; "Moss, Brady....pursuit of perfection."
ARI at SEA: Cardinals- The birds got over a huge hump on Monday by outlasting the 49ers, they now have the confidence they need to finish off the weaker opponents.
STL at SF: 49ers- Singletary will get his first win if his team plays like it did on Monday.
SD at PIT: Steelers- Zero conversation going on about the Chargers right now. I'll start some: they're overrated, the end.
DAL at WSH: Redskins- Both teams are having to battle for their playoff lives after being considered shoe-ins earlier. The Redskins have performed better with their backs against the wallthis year while Dallas threw-up all over itself.
CLE at BUF: Browns- Cheer up Buffalonians, the Sabres are doing well!
I know everyone is excited for Clue fun factoid this week and here it is: Howard Hesseman. Howard played the role of the undercover police chief posing as a religous zealot. He tells Mrs. Peacock "repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand." then arrests her, brilliant cinema. You may know Howard from his other roles like Johnny "Dr. Fever" Caravella in WKRP in Cincinnati but his most memorable role for me was as the teacher Charlie Moore in Head of the Class. I loved that show, even though I was young I had a serious boy crush on Simone(played by Khrystyne Haje), yowza. Robin Givens was also on the show which centered around a class of intelectually gifted but socially inept high school students and their teacher. After Givens' marraige to Mike Tyson it's hard to believe she could be intellectually superior to a potato. 
Thursday, November 13
Week 11 NFL Mr. Green Locks
Tuesday, November 11
NFL Week 10 De-Cleeting: Are they who we thought they were?
I did not catch most of the NFL action this on Sunday due to visiting my newborn nephew in Chapel Hill who currently is the size of a football, but I did see a few games and watched the Monday night debacle last night in the Pink Taco. Some thoughts on the action after the break.
Less Than Jake
That is what the Panthers got in terms of effort from their quarterback on Sunday, but luckily it came against the Oakland Raiders and Carolina got the win 17-6. Catfish already chronicled the putridity of Delhomme's performance, but use any cliché you want, the Panthers are 7-2. Once Jake gets back to the east coast and has some of that Bojangles' chicken, he will be right as rain. The Panthers defense is back to its NFC Championship form of a few years ago, forcing turnovers and pressuring the QB. You either have to look at this as great teams can win even though they struggle and have a bad day or the Panthers got a pass because they were playing an awful team. I'm usually a pessimist but in this case I'm leaning on the former.
Short week shenanigans
The rivalry between Bill Belichick and former assistant Eric Mangini will come to renew again this Thursday and the network you probably don't have. For the first time since the playoffs a few years ago there are serious season implications in the match-up. Both teams are tied for the AFC East division lead after New England beat Buffalo 20-10 and the Jets blew out the Rams 47-3. The Patriots got the better of New York in the first meeting but it was by no means a runaway. The Jets who had struggled with inferior competition (Oakland, KC) ran over the Rams as the good feelings Haslett brought in with his two-game win streak has evaporated. The Patriots defense stifled the Bills as they continue to slide back into their usual position at the bottom of the division. Whoever wins the game this Thursday does not automatically get the division, especially with Miami playing well, but they get a big advantage. The game should be a hard-hitting affair as neither coach is willing to hug it out...or are they?
I'm with the Herm
Well, first let's get this out of the way:
Secondly, I don't see why people are getting on Herm Edwards for going for two at the end of this game. He thought he had a good play dialed up and what is the big difference between 2-7 and 1-8, a few draft positions? The Chargers won the game 20-19 after failed two point conversion, in which KC quarterback Tyler Thigpen was forced to throw the ball into coverage. The Chiefs' tying touchdown was the result of a questionable pass interference call on Clinton Hart. It what I guess was a make-up call for the officials, they let Hart molest Tony Gonzalez on the 2 point try. I don't know if that evens up the previous call, but it was absolutely ridiculous for the refs not to throw a flag on that 2 point attempt.
We wanna crown the Cardinals
In a crazy Monday night game that had just about everything, the Cardinals stopped the 49ers on the 2 yard line to preserve a 29-24 win. San Fran should get a lot of credit for coming out and playing the way they did after the debacle that took place in Mike Singletary's first game as the interim head coach. There was even a great moment that he shared with Vernon Davis after Davis caught a TD pass right before halftime. Of course Vernon had to get an unsportsmanlike penalty on that one but there were still hugs all around. There was also lots of bad officiating to go around. I doubt that these officials will be getting gold stars. Flags being picked up for the wrong reasons after a blown call occured about a tipped ball, one of Antrel Rolle's INTs called back for an offside that the replay showed was questionable if not non-existent, and some bad holding calls to boot. The big moment came for Singletary and the 49er coaching staff in the final moments when a play was called for a quick hand-off to Michael Robinson on what they thought would be the goal-line. But the replay from the play before showed Frank Gore tripped and fell back at the 2 and half. At that moment, something should have been done to prevent that play from being run. The San Francisco sideline should have run out screaming for Shaun Hill to spike the ball, instead Singletary just shrugged and thought maybe the play would work. It didn't and Robinson got stuffed. Perhaps the play should have been called after the refs spotted the ball and if it was, why would Mike Martz call that play? Either way, the Cardinals now have a 4 game margin over the other bad teams in the NFC West. Now they have to find out how to continue to find ways to win, and limit their mistakes before the playoffs arive.
Thursday, November 6
Week 10 NFL Mr. Green Locks
Another week has passed and over time my pick percentage is increasing. Last week was a good week for picks and I hope to continue the trend. Read on for my week 10 picks.
Last Week: 10-4
Season: 79-51
DEN at CLE: Browns- Browns win but Quinn is less than impressive I think.
TEN at CHI: Titans- Be prepared to hear the term "manage the game" at least 30,000 times during the previews of this game and the broadcast itself. The Sex Cannon receives a bum deal having to go against the Titans in his first start.
JAC at DET: Lions- With the Jags in disarray, and the possibility of Culpepper starting, this is my upset special of the week.
SEA at MIA: Dolphins- The topic that most media outlets jumped on because they are too unoriginal to develop their own NFL stories was whether the Dolphins can win the AFC East. Of course they can and they probably will win Sunday.
GB at MIN: Packers- Somewhere the plan went horribly wrong for the Vikings. Tavaris Jackson was supposed to slowly guide the ship as Purple Jesus ran over people and the diuretic fueled D-line plugged up the opposing attack. The Packers are hanging by a thread and cannot afford to lose this one.
BAL at HOU: Ravens- The Texans seem to take one step forward one week and then two steps back the next.
STL at NYJ: Jets- Not only do I predict the Jets winning, I predict it will be as ugly as their last two wins.
NO at ATL: Saints- Week off for the Saints, criss-cross country travel for the Falcons and Matt Ryan due for a rookie-type game.
BUF at NE: Patriots- The dream continues to slip away for Buffalo, but cheer up it's hockey season! The Patriots concoct a win in this one.
CAR at OAK: Panthers- It is the Mortal Kombat moment for Carolina in this one; the Raiders are standing in a daze...FINISH HIM!
IND at PIT: Steelers- If the banged up Patriots defense held the Colts to 18 points at home, the Steeler D should make them pay on the road.
KC at SD: Chargers- The Chargers have no one to blame but themselves (and Norv) if they can't come back and win the AFC West.
NYG at PHI: Eagles- It's statement time for the Eagles, prove you're a playoff team or get out of the way.
SF at ARI: Cardinals- MNF for these two and it's not even in Mexico City! The Cards flex their muscles on the national stage in this one.
For the Clue fun fact this week we focus on the year the movie came out, 1985. Ronald Regan began his second term as president, the world was introduced to New Coke, the first Nintendo was released in America, and Reggie Bush was born. In sports Dan Marino got his ass handed to him by Joe Montana in Dan's only Super Bowl appearance, Villanova pulled a huge upset over Georgetown in the Final Four, the Lakers beat the Celtics in 6, and Don Denkinger became hated for all time in St. Louis. Time may pass, but bitterness over sports injustices never fades away.
