My NFL Playoff Predictions as of Week 15

NFL Playoff Predictions

as of week 15

My Predictions are exactly the same after week 15, the only thing that is a flip flop, based on week 17 games. I now have Oakland beating KC in week 17 which allows the Chargers to become the #3 seed in the AFC.   Everything else remains the same.

NFL Playoff Predictions

as of week 14

My friend put me on to this playoff predictive page that ESPN is on, and my quick predictions as of now look like this...

click on the image to enlarge

The 49ers will be the first team to enter the playoffs at below .500 based on this prediction.  This is with them losing on Thursday against the Chargers in San Diego but winning in St. Louis then beating the Cardinals in San Francisco to end the season.  Of course in my weekly picks I'm still picking the 49ers to win the game on the Thursday but for this Playoff Predictions page I went with a little more logic than faith.  But honestly the Chargers have lost to a few teams this year that people didn't think they would lose to, and we have had close games with with NFC 3 NFC teams that are for the most part playoff bound.  Greed lost us the game against the #1 seeded Falcons.


No matter how I picked the games the following teams were in it no matter what, Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Falcons, and Philly.  The teams that need the most from their own teams and loses by other teams were the Packers, Jacksonville, and Kansas City.  There was one way that I picked it where the NFC playoffs included Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and SF.


The Giants, Chargers, Colts, and Buccaneers were the teams that seemed like they were really on the bubble depending on several factors.

My Week 15 NFL Picks - Playoff Hopes...

My Week 15 NFL Picks

Although I knew it would be a tough game to win against the #1 rated defense in the league, as a fan I can't pick against my team.  I picked the 49ers to win against the Chargers.  It would've been an amazing win, and would've put out playoff hopes in our own hands, now we need to win our last two games at St. Louis and at home against the Cardinals as well as for the Rams & Seahawks to lose the rest of their games in order to make the playoffs.  Thats a tall order, but not impossible. Both the Rams & Seahawks have tough remaining schedules.  I think our toughest will be the divisional matchup against the Rams in St. Louis next week.

The game on Thursday could've turned out a lot less of a blow out if it wasn't for one series of plays.  We made a field goal, but a Chargers player got called for leaping, so we get the ball back with a 1st and goal. Alex Smith makes a run for it and dives... TOUCHDOWN!!! Wait Norv Turner challenges it, the ruling is overturned. Now its 4th down and inches.  We run the ball, get stopped, turn over on downs. On defense a shoving match breaks out, the ref tries to break it up and Justin Smith accidentally pushes him, then he gets ejected out of the game. So with in a matter of 5 minutes, we get 3 points, lose 3 points, get a TD, lose the TD, get on defense, lose our #1 defensive linemen.

After that point Phillip Rivers, who is a top 3 QB this year and definitely the best out of his rookie class of Big Ben and Eli Manning, seemed to have an abundance of time in the pocket.  You don't give a great QB that much time.  Prior to losing Justin Smith we were able to get to Rivers, and stopped them on a couple possessions.  Afterwards there was no stopping them.

Here's the accidental push that got Justin thrown out of the game and below it is that same ref tackling a running back in a play that he could've gotten a good amount of yards.  I wonder if the ref threw himself out of the game after that...





Read more about this situation here http://www.ninersnation.com/2010/12/16/1881380/justin-smith-ejection-video-referee-garth-defelice-overreacting-again

But here we go with the quick run down on my week 15 picks.

Cleveland over Cincy - The Bengals are playing for a QB next year via the draft obviously and the Browns have looked decent enough to win this game.

Dallas over Washington - I hate to make that pick but the Cowboys offense has come alive and the Skins offense has been in turmoil as of lately.  Not to mention the benching of McNabb, that really doesn't seem to help this situation, in my opinion.  I'm picking Dallas, but I would LOVE to be wrong on this pick.

Houston over Tennessee - the Titans seem lost.  The Texans have an explosive offense, so even with their suspect passing defense they should be able to beat the Titans and beat them early.

Jacksonville over Indy - eh... I want the Colts to miss the playoffs thanks to the Jags winning the division.  My future Parents-In-Law live in Jacksonville, so I'm going for the Jacksonville in this game.

Kansas City over St. Louis - KC got Matty back to run their offense after a week off.  The Chiefs have been a pretty good time this year, plus they need to win to win the division thanks to the Chargers win on Thursday. Chiefs all the way.  I think it will be close most of the game though, the Rams have proven to be good at home this year.

Buffalo over Miami - I picked the Bills FTW last week and I'm doing again this week.  Miami is also a confused team, I think the Bills can win this game based on the tougher games that they have played with better teams.

Philly over the NYG - Tough one to pick but I like Mike Vick and the Eagles better in this match up.  Thats all...

Tampa Bay over Detroit - Tampa is just a better team to me, and I think they still have playoff chances.

Arizona over Carolina - The Panthers stink.

New Orleans over Baltimore - Baltimore's defense has been horrible against the pass and against elite QBs as well as a few slightly above average QBs like Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Drew Brees is hot right now, I expect for him to give the Ravens secondary a run for their money.

Atlanta over Seattle - Atlanta wants to clinch that playoff victory as well as home field advantage w/the bye week.  They will do that this week in Seattle.  Bird GAME!  The Seahawks don't stand a chance in my opinion.

Oakland over Denver - The Raiders are just a better team than the Broncos, I don't think they will demolish them like last time, but they will win by at least 2 scores.

Pittsburgh over NYJ - This game is in Pitt and Pitt wants to clinch the victory and win their division, they need to do it here.  The Jets have been on a slump and I don't think they can get out of that slump this week against the Steelers.

New England over Green Bay - even if Rodgers was healthy my pick would be the same, but I would just call it as a close game.  The Patriots are the best team in football right now and they will put up 30+ points again this week.  The Packers might get 14.

In this weeks MNF outdoor game in below freezing temperatures I'm going with Chicago over Minnesota.  The Vikings are using their 3rd string QB and the Bears can win the division with a win here.  I think it will mainly be a running game but it might be sloppy, neither team is used to the cold weather.

My NFL Playoff Predictions as of Week 14

NFL Playoff Predictions

as of week 14

My friend put me on to this playoff predictive page that ESPN is on, and my quick predictions as of now look like this...

click on the image to enlarge

The 49ers will be the first team to enter the playoffs at below .500 based on this prediction.  This is with them losing on Thursday against the Chargers in San Diego but winning in St. Louis then beating the Cardinals in San Francisco to end the season.  Of course in my weekly picks I'm still picking the 49ers to win the game on the Thursday but for this Playoff Predictions page I went with a little more logic than faith.  But honestly the Chargers have lost to a few teams this year that people didn't think they would lose to, and we have had close games with with NFC 3 NFC teams that are for the most part playoff bound.  Greed lost us the game against the #1 seeded Falcons.


No matter how I picked the games the following teams were in it no matter what, Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, Jets, Falcons, and Philly.  The teams that need the most from their own teams and loses by other teams were the Packers, Jacksonville, and Kansas City.  There was one way that I picked it where the NFC playoffs included Atlanta, Philly, Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, and SF.


The Giants, Chargers, Colts, and Buccaneers were the teams that seemed like they were really on the bubble depending on several factors.

My NFL Week 14 Picks - Peyton's Plight

Peyton's Plight

Well right now the Colts are a team actually in the playoff hunt instead of having their division secured at this point in the season for the first time in what seems like forever.  They are 1-2 in their division and the Jacksonville Jaguars are on top of the division.  Good thing for the Colts they have 3 more divisional games left starting with this week against the Titans.  The Titans are in complete disarray, they don't pose a threat to many teams at this point in the season.  The Texans have a good team, but their defense hasn't been great and they have allowed too many points.  So when they score a lot their opponents score more, you can't win anything like that. Now the surprising Jaguars have been winning close games and the recent games they have lost to good teams have been close as well.  Their team is playing like the franchise is on the line.  

I've always been a Brady over Manning fan except for when it comes to commercials, Peyton is definitely better than Tom when it comes to that.  But I do have a good feeling that the Colts will make a turn around in their season with 4 games left, 3 divisional games and 1 game against the Raiders.  They are the better team in the division but they are also very injured.  Peyton has been finding himself forcing passes that he might not have done before, this leads to interceptions, which leads to their team losing.  It seems like the teams in the AFC South have below average defenses so it will be their offense that wins the games. I have a feeling they will lose to the Raiders (sounds crazy right?) but if they can win the 3 divisional games they are playoff bound.  The Wild Cards in the AFC will go to the North and the East, so winning the division is necessary.

Lets start with tonight. Indy over Tennessee with ease.  Now Peyton won't put on the QB clinic that Mike Vick did against the Skins or that Tom Brady did against the Jets, but he will look more like the Peyton we knew last year in tonights game.

Buffalo over Cleveland: This is oddly enough a tough pick. If Buffalo gets their air game going they can win the game against a Cleveland team that will depend on the ground game and their defense/special teams.

Green Bay over Detroit: Do I need to explain this?  If Green Bay loses this game they don't deserve to make the playoffs this year.

Minnesota over NYG: this was a tough pick too but I just went with the home team.  I got a feeling Favre will take one snap to keep his streak going, then let Tarvaris Jackson & AP take over.  But if Favre plays the whole game the smartest thing he can do is just let AP control the game so that the Giants don't McNabb him.

Pitt over Cincy: Cincy is the bust of the year, they might as well just play for draft picks at this point.

Tampa Bay over Washington: Tampa is a good team and have shown it against some of the best, I think their defense and young offense will be too much for the beat up Skins on Sunday.  Plus the Skins have failed me in the picks too many weeks recently.

Atlanta over Carolina: Is it wrong for me to reference someone referencing me? Well like Mike said I said that Atlanta is due for a loss, it aint happening this week.  Actually only the Saints in week 16 have a chance to beat them. They play Carolina, Seattle, New Orleans, then Carolina again sounds like 13-3 to me.

Oakland over Jacksonville: Oakland has been playing tough football since getting beat by the 49ers in week 6 and they look like they want to sneak in and win the division and the Jags have been playing good football as well.  I just think the Raiders are a tougher team. The Jags have a good chance at home but I'll say it will come down to the last play and the Jags just won't get it this time.

New Orleans over St. Louis: I think the Saints are back on top of their game and the Rams suck on the road they won the last two on the road, but this one won't be as easy. I'm calling NO by at least 2 scores.

San Francisco 49ers over Seattle: The Seahawks have beaten us in the past two matchups, they were are only divisional loss last year, and the season opener will be the only divisional loss for the 49ers this year. The 49ers will win this one at home.  The Seahawks also appear to be confused at the running game and their WRs are dealing with injuries. Either Smith QB should be able to manage this game with no mistakes and get a 10 point win. My actual prediction is 27-16.

New England over Chicago: This is still a tough game no matter what happened against the Jets on Monday.  The Bears have proven to be a contender this year, but I think the Patriots will just show that they are the better team in this match up.

NYJ over Miami: Miami is still confused and the Jets practiced hard all week and they will show up on this game to prove to their fans that they should still be in the playoff/superbowl conversation.  Defense will win the game and make it a little more comfortable for Sanchez.

Denver over Arizona: I'm a little shakey about this pick.  Josh McDaniel's pass heavy team would mow over the Cardinals, I'm not sure which way they will go on Sunday.  If it becomes the Tebow show and Orton doesn't get the same chances he's had before it will be close.  Regardless Denver will win, their defense will pick apart the horrid Cardinal offense.

San Diego over Kansas City: Matt Cassel is out this week. Rivers knows he needs wins, its December, all that means a win for the Chargers.  Yeah they lost last week, but the Raiders showed up the Chiefs are at a disadvantage.

Philly over Dallas: I just can't pick Dallas, but they have a good chance to win this game based on the way they have been playing.  Dez Bryant being out made a slight difference in my pick.  I think this game will play out much like last weeks Thursday night game between Philly and Houston.  Philly 35 - Dallas - 31

Baltimore over Houston: Defense vs. No Defense... Defense will always win.  The Ravens might let this game get scary or close, but I think they will win it in the long run and make it look good. 28 - 17, Ravens.

My NFL Week 13 Picks - AFC Playoff Preview Week

AFC PLAYOFF PREVIEW WEEK

Had a busy week, a busy day, and this weekend will be even more busy, so here's my quick rundown on my picks for week 13.  

First of all last week we got a preview of some possible NFC Playoff/Championship Match Ups with the Eagles vs. the Bears and the Packers vs. the Falcons.  This week we are getting the same but even more important from the AFC.  With the current standing in the AFC South and AFC West its most likely that the wild card teams will be from the North and East with that being said. Patriots vs Jets on MNF is a huge game, the best record in the NFL at 9-2, and after this regardless of winner or loser they will still be in the run for the playoff with a great record.

I'm taking the Patriots over the Jets on MNF.  I like both teams but the Patriots seem more solid.

This big game for the Marylanders this week would have to be other divisional rival/playoff preview of the two teams tied at 8-3 which is the 2nd best record in the league.  This is the 2nd time the Ravens and Steelers meet.  The first time Big Ben was serving his suspension.  This time Big Ben has a broken foot but plans to still play.  For that reason I'm going to take the Ravens.

The Ravens offense has been stronger this year, but the defense hasn't always looked as solid, but I think they can beat the Steelers.  Hopefully this will be a hard hitting and exciting match up for Sunday Night.  Hopefully for both playoff bound teams they don't get too many key injuries that they can't heal from before the post season.

I picked Philly over Houston, I made sure I announced this on Facebook and Twitter so that no one would say I switched my pick after the game, since I knew that I wasn't going to post these picks last night.  It was a back and forth game, but in the long run my Thursday pick was right again.

New Orleans over Cincy - Cincy should be playing for a 1st round pick now... Batman & Robin can return to the Batcave...

Chicago over Detroit - No need to explain

San Francisco 49ers over Green Bay - Thats my squad.  This was be amazing, a miracle, a huge win for us.  But its not impossible.  It will come down to turn overs and Special Teams, mark my word.  By the way I practically called that win and score for last week, I said 21-6 it was 27-6 and that Crabtree TD should have been overturned.

Jacksonville over Tennessee - who knows...  I don't trust Tennessee though and Jacksonville ALMOST won that game against the Giants last week like I predicted.

KC over Denver - Denver is flip floppy, KC knows that they could win the division but with San Diego so hot right now they can't afford to slip up anywhere.

Cleveland over Miami - this is just an upset I'm choosing.  Cleveland has been playing decent football, I don't trust Delhomme, but Miami hasn't been solid.  Cleveland it is.

Buffalo over Minnesota - this is another upset I'm picking.  Both teams have had bad years, and if Adarin Peterson doesn't play Minnesota might have a tough day.  They will get points but I don't think they will be as deadly as they need to be.  Buffalo has been playing good football against better teams.

Washington over New York - I jumped out the window with this one.  But hey you gotta do that sometimes. I'm not going to talk about it anymore, because I might change my pick if I think about it more.

San Diego over Oakland - The Raiders got hot, now they are luke warm. The Chargers are on Fire and they are 95% healthy now but all their weapons are on the field. I don't think the Chargers will lose anymore of their games this year, but I will pick against them when they face the 49ers out of  faith and loyalty for my squad.

Indy over Dallas - The Colts need to get it together, I think they can do it this week at home, it will be a tough one though.  Dallas is showing that they can be that team we assumed they would be.  Close call.

St. Louis over Arizona -The Rams are the better team, Arizona just got beat at home on MNF and they will get beat at home again on Sunday.

Seattle over Carolina - I would love if Carolina won this game to help move the Seahawks down the NFC West standings but Carolina just hasn't been able to get anything going.

Tampa Bay over Atlanta - The Buccs are due for this win.  The last game was in ATL and it was close and down to the wire.  I think they will pull this one off.  Atlanta is due for a loss as well.  But this will be their last lost for the season, the rest of their schedule looks like a cake walk, unless they start to sit starts to keep them healthy for the playoffs.

Why So Serious???

Lets start with Steve Johnson who last week had an excellent game and a great touchdown celebration against the Bengals directed at the self proclaimed Batman & Robin who have not been able save their city.  I picked Buffalo to win this game by the way...

Of course if you didn't see the Dark Knight you wouldn't understand why this was so great, but then again if you didn't see the Dark Knight you really don't understand greatness anyway.

But then this week the Bills played the Steelers and I predicted them to get handled by the AFC powerhouse team.  Nope, this one went to overtime.  The Bills had several chances to win, and Steve Johnson had several dropped passes, but none worse than that endzone drop in overtime with no one near him that would have made this a win for the ages.  But afterwards it seems as if Steve goes on twitter and blames God for his drops.  Good thing for him, he later came to his senses and cleaned the comment up a little bit, because I'm pretty sure the rest of his season would've gotten worse.

But enough about this dude lets talk about Derek Anderson! This sound bite has to get remixed by DJ Steve Porter into one of his songs or something.  Derek goes crazy on this reporter.  He was obviously laughing on the side, something had to be funny.  Even Gruden pointed this out during the game and expressed his disappoint in the fact that it didn't seem like he was taking it serious.  Regardless of what Anderson is still the starter, but I'm sure Arizona is playing for an early 1st round pick next year at this point.  They better hope the Panthers, Bills, and Bengals can win some games before the end of the season.




So Derek Anderson takes this serious? Rewind the video he doesn't look serious to me, lol.  The bad thing is he was a Pro Bowl QB not too long ago, lost his job, got a new job, lost it, got it back, and is still doing a piss poor job.  Other than Kurt Warner on the offense the Cardinals are missing only Boldin from last year, but were just a playoff caliber team and Superbowl contender.  Kurt was able to win games without Boldin.  I would've thought that any above average QB could step in and do at least half as good as Kurt Warner did last year.  I guess Derek nor Matt (or that other guy Max) are even a forth as good as Kurt Warner was.  He should come back, Favre is still playing, Warner seemed like he had a lot more in his tank than Favre does.

Why So Serious Derek? Your Career is OVER...

My Week 12 NFL Picks

Turkey Time!

I'm a little late with this post but I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and enjoyed their Thanksgiving day football.  Thanks to TNF the past couple of years we've gotten more than the traditional two games featuring the Cowboys and the Lions facing various opponents.  The 8:30 TNF game always feels like a bonus.  The bonus for me this week is that my 3 picks for Thursday turned out to be correct.

New England over Detroit: Seemed like a no brainer, but at the end of the first half I was a little in shock, but at that point the family and I headed to our first of three dinners, by the time we got to my aunts house the Patriots had turned the game around full circle. Cha Ching!

New Orleans over Dallas: The Cowboys have seemed renewed since dropping their coach, but the Saints are looking to get back into the Superbowl contender conversation with their starting distraction Reggie Bush back, so the Saints seemed like an easy win for me.  But this one came down to the wire.  When the family and I were at our 2nd dinner it seemed like the Saints had complete shut down the Cowboys.  But once again during our travel time to the 3rd dinner something happened.  The game was now close, and this game went to the wire! I would like to thank Roy Williams for helping me to get this pick correct.  Maybe she should be carrying the whole teams shoulder pads in practice this week.

New York Jets over Cincy: The Bengals are the largest disappointment of the season to me.  The 49ers, Cowboys, and Vikings are also disappointments but neither of those teams have reality shows and "Superhero's" on their team.  At the end of the night, this was an easy pick.

Green Bay over Atlanta: Honestly, I'm picking the Packers because my money league fantasy team is headed by Aaron Rodgers.  But this game could go either way.  I assume it will be a shoot out.  Green Bay has the better QB, but ATL has the better running game and better WR.  So what will decide this game is the defense, whoever turns the ball over the most will lose.

Pittsburgh over Buffalo: Yeah I've picked the Bills in past weeks, but not against the Steelers.  The Steelers are top 3 in the AFC, this will be an easy win for them as long as they don't underestimate the Bills.

Cleveland over Carolina: The Panthers suck.  The Browns have actually shown that they can beat teams, plus they are at home.

Jacksonville over New York Giants: This sounds like a stretch but the Jags are at the top of their division that includes the Titans, Colts, and Texans.  They are on a natural high right now, and they will look to keep that going against a Giants team on the decline of their season and dealing with several injuries.  Peyton can get it done with any WR staff, I'm not sure that Eli can do the same...

Minnesota over Washington: I want to take the Skins at home against a disappointing Vikings team, but I'm going to take the Vikes only because the fired their coach.  Not that Chilly was a bad coach and neither was Wade, but I guess making that change lights some fire under whatever team.  The Cowboys looked like we thought they would and with a backup QB, I'm looking for the Vikings to come to life as well. This is actually an underdog pick too.

Houston over Tennessee: I just think the Texans offense will take over this game.  The Titans looked confused last week, now they have a 3rd string QB running the show.  I think the Texans will prove to be the better team in this game.

Oakland over Miami: They both have tough loses last week, but I think the Raiders were expected to lose, Miami didn't seem to be able to do anything last week.  This game could go either way, but I'm going with the Raiders, they are just the faster team and I think it will help them in a redemption victory this week.  Plus they are at home.

Kansas City over Seattle: The Chiefs are actually a good team both teams are at the top of their division, but as time has shown over the past few years the NFC West is probably the worst division in the NFL.  The 2nd worst this year would have to be AFC West, based on team records.  I look for KC to destroy the Seahawks in this NFL West Superbowl.

Philly over Chicago: The Bears defense seems to be getting close to being back in form, but I'm going to go with the Eagles.  Its hard for me to pick against them going forward this season.  This should be a good game and I do think it will be close but the Eagles offense is just so much more explosive than the Bears offense.

Denver over St. Louis: The Rams have been good at home, but bad on the road.  The Broncos have a high powered offense, The Rams have an above average offense.  The Broncos should have this game put away by half time.

Baltimore over Tampa Bay: Tampa Bay is looking good in the NFC, but the AFC is a different ball game.  The Ravens are a top 3 AFC and top 3 NFL team right now.  The game might be close at the beginning but once the Ravens get warmed up, I look for them to take complete control of the game.

San Diego over Indy: The Chargers are getting key weapons back, even though they are missing Gates again, they have some other great WRs back in place.  The Colts are dealing with too many injuries.  I think it will be a close game, but the Chargers will continue their 2nd half of the season run to make the playoffs.  I called 31 to 27 in the Chargers favor.  The Colts will need a TD to win, and won't get it to end the game.

San Francisco over Arizona: Both teams have the same record, but the Cardinals have lost twice in the division and the 49ers have only lost once.  Another issue for the Cardinals is that they have allowed more points against them than the 49ers.  The Cardinals will continue their losing streak to 6 games in a row after this Monday.  I look for the 49ers to bounce back with their first road win of the season which will move them to 2nd place in the division.  I'm calling a score of 21 to 6 in the 49ers favor.

My Week 11 NFL Picks - A VICKtorious Revenge...

A VICKtorious Revenge...

In week 4 the Redskins stopped Vick short of the endzone, and also put his season on pause just when most people thought he was returning to greatness.  A sandwich tackle to prevent a touchdown led to broken ribs, trouble eating, sleeping, sitting down, breathing and a host of other things.  Not to mention it lead to a divisional win for the Redskins in Philadelphia for a game that people were calling the McNabb homecoming game.  

As a 49ers fan I was happy about this, because honestly at 0-4 I was scared for my team to face Michael Vick (I can't call him Mike anymore this dude has show tremendous growth over the past 2 years) in the form that he had been in the previous weeks.  None the less we still lost to Kolb in a game that will be remembered for Alex Smiths mistakes, his attempted benching, his blatant unapproved of the benching, him returning to the field and kicking David Carr of the field to almost mount an amazing come back.  But in the long run too many mistakes & turnovers will lose you a game no matter how much heart you have.

But either way I'm sure this haunted Vick and fueled his eagerness to get back on the field and prove himself as he sat on the bench watching Kolb take over the team (not that there is any bad blood there).  This year is important for Michael, he's playing for next years contract whether its with the Eagles or with someone else, the better he does the more money he will get in the off-season, he can't prove himself from the bench with broken ribs.  His first game back he played a back and forth game with future Hall of Famer possible top 5 QB of all time Peyton Manning, and he won.  Then on Monday Night Football, a stage for the world to see, he faced the team that injured him in their home, after weeks of their team going through a Quarterback/Coach crisis that ended with a multi-million dollar deal for McNabb to "solidify" him as the starter.  Well it seem like Vick and the Eagles wanted to make other headlines in Washington.  The first play of the game was a close to 90 yard pass and catch for a TD from Vick to DeSean Jackson and that ignited a flurry of air and ground assaults that the rain in Landover, MD couldn't put out.  Vick scored 6 total TDs and had the best game of his career and embarrassed the Redskins, 59-28,  in what is probably the worst loss of recent years (the only other one I can think of is the 52-7 loss in New England back in 2007).

I'm happy to see Vick back in rare form, I wasn't happy about the win, I did pick the Redskins to win that game, but it was amazing to watch history live at the stadium from great seats on the 40 yard line.  On the radio earlier that day Redskin & Football great Sam Huff down played Michael Vick saying "he's ok, but he's nothing compared to *some old dude's name I don't remember* that guy was the fastest and best QB ever", I'm sure Sam is kicking himself for that comment.  Michael Vick can lead the Eagles to multiple Superbowls and possibly be mentioned in a top 5 QB ever conversation if he can continue to play at this rate for another 5-8 years.

My first pick this week will be Philly over New York Football Giants, the Giants usually look good for a half of a season, well they started of 6-2 (I believe), so that half appears to be over after that surprising loss to the Cowboys last week.  I'm going with Philly for that reason, I'm also going with them because I just can't pick against Vick at this point in the season.  Its like picking against Peyton or Brees last year, or Picking against Brady in 2007, I just can't do it!

TNF: Miami over Chicago - I like Thigpen as a versatile backup QB, I trust him more than Cutler, Grossman, or any other QB that has worn a Chicago jersey in recent years (maybe except Orton).  

Buffalo over Cincy - I picked Buffalo last week and I'm going with them again, Cincy continues to disappoint.  Buffalo is a team that has almost won too many games and have come close against way tougher opponents than Cincy.

Dallas over Detroit - Detroit hasn't won on the road in the last 2 seasons, I don't think they will do it here either.  The Cowboys look like a new team, like the team they were projected to be.

Washington over Tennessee - The Redskins are better than they looked on MNF last week.  They are able to score point a lot more this year.  I think they will give Vince Young a hard time and as long as they don't allow Chris Johnson to have a career game they can win this game in the 4th Quarter.

Kansas City over Arizona - Arizona stinks.  KC still seems legit, even after the Denver loss last week.  The AFC West can be won by any team in it at this point. (IMO)

Green Bay over Minnesota - Aaron Rodger will place ownership on Favre much like Favre did to him last year.  The Vikings are in complete disarray, their circus of a team has been a disappointment this year.

New York Jets over Houston - I don't believe in Houston.  I don't think the Jets will have a field day, but I think their defense will win the game for them at the end of the game.

Pittsburgh over Oakland - This is a logical pick.  Part of me feels like Oakland can do it and actually of the 1:00 games I'm most interested in this one.  It feels like an old school clash of the titans type of game.  Pitt on paper is a better team, but Oakland has started to do great things in the 2nd half of the season.

Baltimore over Carolina - I'm not explaining this pick...

Cleveland over Jacksonville - Cleveland is a tough team, I think they can pull out a win at home against the Jaguars.  It might be a close game, this one can go either way.

Atlanta over St. Louis - St. Louis has been good at home this year, but the Falcons have proven to be a top contender this year and I think they can give the Rams another loss.

New Orleans over Seattle - The Saints are the Saints.  Reggie Bush (no hydro) will be back on Sunday to add as another distraction or weapon or whatever he is, but he helps them win.  The Seahawks are just eh...

San Francisco over Tampa Bay - I think this will be a close game, looking at stats the teams a very similar, the only difference is that Tampa Bay has been able to pull out wins even though they made some mistakes. San Francisco lacked that ability, but as of recently they stopped making mistakes so they are able to win.  I think they will win this game on Sunday at home.  The team has confidence in their new Smith QB.

New England over Indy - This can go either way.  I'm giving Tom Brady the edge because he's at home.

San Diego over Denver - The is the Chargers time of year, I think they will score at will on the Broncos, but they will need their defense to show up so that this is a close game/shoot out to the very end.

42 Things That Change When You Have A Baby

A lot of these are taken from a woman's perspective but I can definitely say that as a new father only 3 months into it, I can completely understand and agree with a large majority of the following 42 items.

photo by AM Photography

What changes when you have a baby? A better question may be: What doesn't change? Here, writer and mom Rebecca Woolf lists her most notable post-baby observations. Then scroll down to read our favorite comments from readers about how their babies changed their lives.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...
1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom

5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara

[Many readers begged to differ, saying things like, " I disagree with number 12. My dogs are my additional children," "Nothing about previous babies, whether two- or four-legged, changes when a new miracle comes along," "My dog will never be 'just a dog," and "This is sad to me. My dog is still my baby too."]

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey

14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom

15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom

16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona

17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara

18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution. — Anon.

19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart. — Brooke&Boys

20. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them. — Anon.

21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts. — Anon.

22. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"! — gummismom

23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect. — japanese_macaque

24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING! — DylanLsMom

25. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!" — Anon.

26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child. — Treasor

27. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo." — littlehulk2008

photo by AM Photography

This article was taken from the BabyCenter website

My Week 10 NFL Picks - Quick Run Down

Last week I only had 2 picks wrong and won $180 in a weekly football pool that I'm in, hopefully I can do it again this week, so I can start my Christmas shopping.

Thursday Night football has returned.  I enjoy this because it means that I'm not watching Greys Anatomy and Private Practice with the wifey, but I'm in the mancave with an ice cold beer watching what I enjoy most....FOOTBALL.

This week started with a great Bird Game, two QBs drafted the same year that could've played for either team and both have been playing quality football since coming into the NFL.  Ravens at Falcons.

I'm starting out bad because I did something that my SAT Prep teacher told me to do.  I made a pick then I turned around changed it at the last minute.  I originally picked the Falcons, but last minute I changed my pick to the Ravens, thinking that this was the first real defense that the Falcons would face this year.  It was a good game and could've gone either way but never the less, I picked the Ravens and I was wrong.

Roddy White is a monster...

Buffalo getting their first win over Detroit.  I think this will be a no defense, high scoring game, and very beneficial to fantasy owners.  But I think Buffalo has been a good team that hasn't been able to finish games, but they should be able to finish and win this one.

Minnesota over Chicago... Just because I figure Favre needs to turn it on at some point and the Bears have been on and off in my opinion.

Cleveland over the New York Jets.  Not sure why I picked this but that just how I feel.

Cincinnati over Indy.  I think I'm going to regret this pick but the Bengals need this win more than the Colts.

Tennessee over Miami.  If Moss likes this team like he says he does, he should have a big day, which means the Titans should win and Chris Johnson should have a good day too.

Tampa Bay over Carolina.  Carolina stinks. Tampa should have fun in this game.

Jacksonville over Houston.  Houston's pass defense stinks, Jacksonville might relive that Cowboys game, but Houston can score too, so it might be a high scoring affair.

Kansas City over Denver.  KC is a better team.  The Raiders might win the division even though it seems like it was KC's division to own, until last week.

New York Football Giants over Dallas.  The Giants should steamroll these dismal Cowboys team.  I don't see a new coach, who was already the offensive coordinator making the calls last week, making a difference this quick.

Seattle over Arizona. Both teams seem offensively lost to me. This could go either way, so I just picked one.

San Francisco over St. Louis.  This is a must win for the 49ers at home coming off of a bye week.  If they don't make any mistakes and the O-Line holds up like it did lask game against Denver then this will be an easy win.  This might be more of a true test for Troy Smith than the Broncos.

Pitt over New England.  Defense wins championships.  I think the Patriots will be fired up after that loss last week, but these are arguably the best two teams in the NFL right now, so it should be a good game.

Washington over Philly.  The Skins are at home, McNabb as been in the media the past two weeks since the benching.  I think he will go out there with something to prove.  If he makes mistakes early then I do believe the Eagles will capitalize.  But regardless I'm going for the Skins in this game.

How Android, BlackBerry and iPhone users see one another

This is classic and very on point.  Model/Superstar iPhone users, Brainy Genius Android users, and Business mogul Blackberry users.  The funniest parts are the dinosaur (old technology) and the Steve Jobs worshiping witch...."anything you create Steve I will buy....".  Not sure that I get the pizza boy, maybe they are saying that Android users don't look as business savvy. 

http://www.androidcentral.com/how-android-blackberry-and-iphone-users-view-one-another

via

http://www.csectioncomics.com/2010/11/iphone-vs-android-vs-blackberry.html

Muting Virtual Life...

Recently I "lost" a conversation in my gmail as I was actively responding back and forth with someone.  I thought it was the weirdest thing but it appears that I triggered GMAIL's muting function which seems like it could become very helpful for certain conversations.  If you find yourself in an email with a lot of people in it that turns into a "Reply-All" forum and the emails are flooding your inbox without you having an interest in whats being said or joining in on the conversation, mute it.  Come back to it later if you want.  But at least you won't get anymore notifications for it.  I don't have much use for it right now, but knowing that its an option might make me use it in some situations.

Then I started to think about some of the other social networks that I use that give you the option to mute conversations or people.  Facebook, if you add a friend from High School or College that you really don't care about what they have to say day to day, Mute them, they no longer show up on your timeline.  Sweet! I have 600+ friends, best believe a good number of them are muted.  Why not just delete them right? Nah...some of them I'm cool with, but I'm not really concerned with their 35 status updates a day.  At that rate they are blocking out the people I'm actually closer to that may only update once a day or once a week.

Google Buzz also has a mute feature, its practically the same as the GMail feature.  With Buzz it comes in handy if you decide to reply to something, that you didn't expect would start a conversation for a week. Mute! No more emails or notifications with senseless responses.  Facebook should do that too, for when people reply to statuses or to pictures and they really don't care what other people are replying to it.

Finally my favorite Twitter application (one of the things I miss from my Blackberry days), Ubertwitter came out with a mute function.  This one is for the people on your timeline that have 50 updates an hour and it really doesn't interest or entertain you.  Instead of hurting their feelings and deleting them as a friend, just click mute. The other nice feature is that you can choose how long you want to mute someone for.  I guess that comes in handy if you don't want to hear people tweet every 2 minutes when Real House Wives of Atlanta, Greys Anatomy, True Blood, or whatever Award Show is on.  Just mute them for an hour or two and you can still read your timeline with out the bombardment. (you should definitely click that link, lol)

While social networks have seemingly taken over, people are starting to regret being SO connected to everyone all the time.  As time goes on Mute will become a favorite of a lot of people and I'm sure Facebook, Twitter, and whatever else is popular will continue to add filter functions to make using their site more comfy to the user that doesn't want to know everything or show everything...

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=47787

My Week 9 NFL Picks (Week 8 Reviewed)

The Return of Vick...Again...

I was looking for a picture of Michael Vick and Peyton Manning together an thats what came up.  Its a funny picture, its even more funny to think how those running backs seemed like they were at their prime, where are they now?  But either way I'm going to say the Eagles vs the Colts on a short week for Indy and following a bye week for Philly will be the game of the week.  One QB known for his arm and coaching skills vs another QB know for his legs and his ability to get out of sticky situations.  I haven't looked fully into this but I'm told this is the only game this week where both teams actually have a record above 500.  People have said Peyton is having his best season start (statically) of his already great career, others have said Vick looks new and improved, he no longer seems one dimension, defenders have to fear his legs and his arms now.  

I'm picking the Philadelphia Eagles to win this game in over the Indianapolis Colts in a very high scoring affair. This was a pick I went back and forth about, but the Eagles will be more refreshed and the Colts had long game against the Texans on Monday.  The game is in Philly and I've been told that the Eagles have not lost a game coming off of bye during the entire Andy Reid era. Plus the Colts are banged up... Eh...its a toss up.

Side note these two have only met twice, one regular season game where the Colts beat the Falcons 38-7 in Indy at the beginning of Vicks return from his injury in 2003 and a 2005 Hall of Fame (preseason) game in Tokyo, that the Falcons won 27-21. But Matt Schaub was the hero in that game, Vick and Manning threw less than 8 passes.  So I guess people can call this their first "real" meeting.

Ok here's a quick version of the rest of my picks for this week.

Tampa over Atlanta - this should be an interesting game, but Tampa is hot and they are still trying to sell the dream of being the best in the NFC, I'm reaching into my pocket but I'm still not buying it.

Chicago over Buffalo - The Bills stink, I doubt they will get their first win against a team with a good defense.

New England over Cleveland - Cleveland stinks too, they won't put up points like they did against the Ravens or the Saints this week.  The Patriots have too much discipline to lose a game like this.

Minnesota over Arizona - this could go either way, the Vikings need a win bad, especially to solidify them getting rid over Randy Moss.  The Patriots have been wining with out him, I'm not sold on how much the Vikings will but they should be able to get this one.

Jets over Detroit - the Lions looked good last week and have put up good offense this year, but I'm really not sold on them winning games.

New Orleans over Carolina - The Saints are just a better team, even on their worst days. 

Baltimore over Miami - the Dolphins are a good team but they have had a tough schedule and this week it gets worse.  The Ravens are rested and they have reviewed where their defense has been making mistakes. The Ravens will win this one by about 10 points.

San Diego over Houston - Houston's defense sucks, Philip Rivers is going to have a field day.  This might be a high scoring back and forth game, but at the end of the day the Chargers will win.  Hey its their time of the year.

New York Football Giants over Seattle - The Seahawks made us believe they had talent, but they are falling apart, the Giants on the other hand have been getting better as the weeks go on, they should have an easy time ripping the feathers of these birds.

Oakland over Kansas City - 2 or 3 weeks ago I would've picked the Chiefs, but the Raiders have been going crazy lately.  They look like they could win their division like some predicted before the season.  The Chiefs have looked good too.  This will be a game that comes down to the last 2 minutes.  It won't be a blow out.

Green Bay over Dallas - Green Bay should get their "swagger" back on this game after not scoring any touchdowns in last weeks win over the Jets.  If the Jaguars dismantled the Cowboys, I'm afraid that the Packers might dress up as the Raiders and treat the Cowboys like Broncos...

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati on Monday Night Football - The Steelers are one of the top 3 teams in the NFL even after losing last week, but I really don't think they will lose 2 weeks in a row, especially not in prime time. 

Last Weeks Picks

Cincy over Miami - WRONG

Dallas over Jacksonville - WRONG, this was shocking to me, I thought the Jags were bad, I guess the Cowboys are worse

Washington over Detroit - WRONG - McNabb could've had a chance to win the game if they kept him in. Crazy Fact: "In the past two seasons, the Detroit Lions are 2-0 against the Washington Redskins and 2-19 against all other teams."


Kansas City over Buffalo - Was closer than I thought...


St. Louis over Carolina - Of course...


New York Jets over Green Bay - WRONG eh...what can I say, I doubt anyone would've predicted the score in this game.


San Francisco over Denver - Yeah Baby!


San Diego over Tennessee - Higher Scoring than I thought


Oakland over Seattle - PUNISHMENT!


New England over Minnesota - After losing like that Moss knew he didn't want to stay there. The Patriots are currently the best team in the league, without Randy Moss.  Oh and Favre is old and banged up...


Tampa Bay over Arizona - WOW this was a high scoring affair, and Arizona scored its first passing touchdown of the month on October 31st... The Cards could've won, but they aren't really built to win.


Pittsburgh over New Orleans - WRONG - but I'm glad to see the Saints acting like they just won the Superbowl


Indy over Houston - It wasn't gonna happen twice in one year under Peyton's watch...


With only 5 wrong it came down to points for the tie breaker in my money pool.  I almost won $160 last week but I picked the MNF game to be a bit more high scoring.

My Week 7 NFL Picks

The Return of the KOLVICK???

Ok ok ok, Kolvick is a bit of a reach, but with Kolb looking good now that he's healthy and Vick possibly being cleared to play this week, we all know Philly has a QB controversy.  Honestly if they go back to that dumb crap of letting they alternate downs or possessions they will lose more than half of the rest of their games.  A QB needs to be in rhythm and keep that rhythm to be a successful leader.  Not to mention the team, they need one leader to rally around.  The 1971 Cowboys tried it and failed horribly until they finally named Staubach as the starter instead of alternating downs between him and Morton each down.  Kolb has promise and whats to lead this team, Vick looks to be in great form, but doesn't care if he leads the Eagles or another team in my opinion, this year is more of an interview process for him so he can get the big check somewhere next year.  Hope its not Oakland, thats where Quarterbacks go to die, plus I think they would persuade him to fight dogs or some other animal again.  Alex Smith is cool, not really a leader, but Michael Vick for the 49ers would be amazing.  I'm done with that here's my picks.

Eagles @ Titans: I'm going with Philly no matter which QB starts.  I think if Desean Jackson doesn't play there will be a slight difference in the game, but not enough for them to lose to Tennessee.  The Eagles only concern should be stopping the run aka Chris Johnson.

Bengals @ Falcons: The Falcons should bounce back this week.  I'm sure the T.Ocho show will party up and let their presence be known in Atlanta, but I don't think their team has it all together to win in Dirt Bird Stadium.  Matt Ryan should have a great game.

Redskins @ Bears: I'm going to put my faith in the Redskins on this game.  The Bears looked good at the beginning of the season, but as of lately they have shown us they aren't really that team that beat the Packers on Monday night.  They will have a decent running game, but nothing through the air will lead to a bunch of field goals.  The Redskins offense lead by McNabb will (hopefully) put up a lot of points early, they will just need to run the ball late to seal the deal.

Jaguars @ Chiefs: Chiefs, the Jags suck. Even if their starting QB is there, they suck.  The Chiefs are looking like the truth this year, and I'm not just saying that so I feel better about them punishing the 49ers in week 3.

Steelers @ Dolphins: I'm picking the Steelers, defense wins games and championships. The Steelers have been stellar this year, and now with Big Ben in full effect its going to take someone more consistent than the Dolphins to take them out.  I think it will be a close game and to the wire but better than the "Ugliest NFL Game Ever Played", but at the end of the day the Steelers have what it takes to finish strong FTW.

Browns @ Saints: No brainer...the Saints, even though I picked against them last week, it was more so a divisional thing. We all know they are better than the Browns.  We might get a glimpse at the Saints from last year for a moment this week.

Rams @ Buccs: I'm taking the Rams just like I did last week, they are this years comeback kids, we all thought it would be the Lions, but they have been played with key injuries. The Rams over the Buccs. I'm seeing a high scoring game but not a blowout.

The No Longer Winless 49ers @ Panthers: Going into the season there were only 4 games I would pick my team to lose (Saints, Falcons, Packers, and Chargers), well we lost the first 5 games which included 2 of those teams I mentioned, and the other two teams are losing games everyone would've picked them to win. I say that to say its no way I'm picking my team to lose to the Panthers. 49ers all day baby.  We need a team slogan....instead of Wale's "No Days Off", ours should be "No Alex Smith Mistakes" if we can do that we can win. Alex isn't the leader for the future but he is 8-0 when he's the reason for 1 or less turnovers.

Bills @ Ravens: The Bills are NOT my pick for any game, and they will get murdered in the Ravens nest and all of the Ravens players will get acquitted of all charges come Monday morning...just kidding. But I think this is gonna be ugly, but it will be a great confidence builder for the Ravens.  They might even get a chance to let some of the backups get in the game. The Ravens by more than 3 scores.

Cardinals @ Seahawks: A divisional battle, but the Seahawks have proven themselves this year, and even more so at home.  The Cardinals are in QB confusion right now, I believe that the Seahawks defense will take full advantage of that.  Not to mention the Seahawks have their home crowd to act as a greater distraction aka the 12th man.

Raiders @ Broncos: I'm going with the Broncos.  I'm hoping (for fantasy reasons) McFadden comes back for the Raiders but even with a great game from him, I don't think they have what it takes to beat these Broncos.  Look for some more TeBow this week, but not too much...Orton owns the starting position.

Patriots @ Chargers: The Chargers proved last week again that they aren't the team they should be and I'm sure LT2 is enjoying it more than the opposing teams.  The Chargers won't have a chance against the Patriots, especially if Antonio Gates doesn't play.  Their Running game isn't all the way there and the passing game is suffering.  I'm still rooting for Rivers (he's my QB in my NFL.com league) and I hope Gates plays (I have him in my CBS aka Money league), but the Patriots are so much better of a team, this should be an easy win after last weeks battle.

Vikings @ Packers: I'm taking the Packers for the revenge.  Last year Favre & the Vikings beat the Packers 2 times and was hoping to beat them again in the playoffs.  The Vikings even with Moss have some defensive issues, but so do the Packers.  I'm calling for a sloppy game with a lot of mistakes but a lot of scoring but the Packers win down the wire by 6-8 points.

Giants @ Cowboys: The Giants should get a divisional win this week.  The Cowboys will make mistakes as always and the Giants have a defense that has become good at capitalizing on mistakes.  I'm gonna give the Cowboy's performance in this game the good ol Wade Phillips *yawn*.  By the way Wade needs this win for his job, and the rest of the NFC East needs the Cowboys to win so that they can move up in the division, especially the Redskins (the only team with divisional wins).  I'm still picking the Giants though, the Cowboys are in disarray.