My NFL Week 5 Picks - For the Birds...

I feel like I've used this picture before, but now its completely different. Mentor and Mentee from the Philly Byrd Gang will get a chance to square off and the only thing on the line is their future.  McNabb may think its Kolbs fault he got the boot from Philly, but wouldn't it be justice served if the guy that McNabb co-signed to come to Philly (Vick) is the reason that Kolb got the boot as well.  The bad thing is that none of the Byrd Gang QB's from 2 years ago are off to a good start.  Although Vick is putting up great fantasy numbers, real fans are getting their hearts broken at 1-3.  The Arizona Cardinals are sitting at 1-3 as well, they haven't played bad but they haven't finished games.  Then the Minnesota Vikings, who have become the choke artist team for the first quarter of the season, losing most of their games after having a nice lead at the half, are 0-4.  When teams are 0-4 usually you see coaches get fired or QBs get replaced.  With Christian Ponder already stating that he's excited to learn from a Pro Bowler but he wants that #1 spot, not later but right now, I think McNabb might have the most at stake right now.

Therefore in the battle of the former Eagles I'm picking Minnesota over Arizona

Here's my quick run down for the rest of the games:

Philly over Bills - I think the emotions and anger from last weeks game that was theirs for the taking that they ended up losing will fuel the Eagles to come together as a team and win this pivotal game on the road.

Carolina over  New Orleans - This is one of my underdog picks, I'd just like to see Cam win this divisional match up, plus its a home game, so I'll use that as my reason for giving them the advantage on this one.  On paper its seems like Carolina has the better pass defense thus far.  Not that they can stop Brees, but maybe they can make them rely on the run more than usual.  The bad thing is that I have both QBs on one of my Fantasy Teams, I haven't started Cam yet, but I'm considering it.

Houston over Oakland -  this might be the first time I picked against the Raiders, but the Texans have their running game back and even with out Andre Johnson I think they will have enough of a passing game to make the difference.  Plus their pass rush is pretty good, Campbell will be under pressure.

Indy over  KC - Honestly even though Indy lost on Monday, they looked like a better team than the Kerry Collins lead team.  I'm going with them for the win at home.

Cincy over Jacksonville - Just don't believe that the Jags can win games and Cincy has a nice defense.

NYG over Seattle - The Seahawks appeared to develop a passing game with Sidney Rice healthy, but the Giants have a much better passing game, as long as they don't leave this win up to chance and actually play like the team that they are, this should be an easy win.

Pittsburgh over Tennessee - this won't be an easy win, I'm giving Pitt the home field advantage on this one.  The Titans seem like a great improvement over last year, while the Steelers seem to still be on their Superbowl hangover.  Hopefully for them this home game can help them shake it off.

San Francisco 49ers over Tampa Bay - My reasons are this. I'm a 49ers fan. The Buccs had a short week. Last year Tampa came to town and held the 49ers scoreless at home for the first time since the 70s, which also lead to the firing of Singleterry.  Not that Harbaugh is anywhere near a hot seat of any sort, but this will be big redemption game for him at home for 1 the overtime loss against the Cowboys at home and for 2 to show that he's here to clean up the mess of the past 7 years.  Last reason is that Tampa is better when their run game is thriving, the 49ers have one of the toughest Run Defenses in the league, if McCoy had a bad game imagine how Blount will do.

San Diego over Denver - The Chargers are just a better all around team, I would be shocked if the Broncos win, even though they are at home.

New England over NYJ - I can't see Brady and the gang getting beat at home by the No Offense Jets.  Not to mention the Jets defense doesn't look as well put together as it did last year.

Green Bay over Atlanta - Sure the Falcons have home field advantage, but this isn't last years Falcons or the Matty Ice that we've seen in the past, furthermore Aaron Rodgers has become unreal this year, this is a career year.  On top of that they know that in order to win their division this year that have to be flawless.  The Packers have 5 more games that could be tough, including this one (ATL, SD, DET, NYG, DET) but at the rate they are going this looks like undefeated team that might do what the Patriots could do against the Giants in the Superbowl a few years ago. Yeah I Said It, someone alert the '72 Dolphins. LOL.

Detroit over Chicago - This hasn't really been an exciting match up in awhile but I think the Lions won't need to make any comebacks to win this game.  I think it will be close but I'll give Detroit the advantage for being at home and for having a better Passing Game.

Update: ESPN decided to highlight the Eagles QBs in an article as well, I guess great minds think a like. All three are having a tough year.  But the season is far from over for either of them, well at least not yet.

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.