Week Eight NFL Picks-Will The Craziness Continue?

Can you sensibly explain how the Giants won their outing against Dallas on Monday Night Football? Three interceptions and three fumbles and still scored 45 points to outlast the pathetic Cowboys. Brett Favre has become totally discombobulated. He now has ten interceptions to seven touchdowns for the year. When he looks out over the secondary he envisions himself running through tall green grass on the sand dunes of a faraway beach. Retirement is looking better all the time. San Diego is suffering a complete meltdown adding four more turnovers to their list of mishaps. Then, finally there is the Saints, who suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the lowly last place Browns. Great defense was the final analysis, but I think there is something more sinister happening here. The 2010 Football Follies continue.

Week Seven I was 9-5. Somewhat better, but considering the craziness, that is not bad. Washington is at Detroit. Detroit has been experiencing woes of its own, but you expect that out of the Lions. They are better than their record shows. Washington should win on good defense and Detroit gives up alot of run yardage. Can Cincinnati live up to their expected potential against Miami? Tune in Sunday to find out. Tampa Bay is fulfilling what was said of it at the beginning of the season, that it would take its division. Maybe, the jury is still out. The Bucs should win against Arizona. Indianapolis was beaten by Houston the first time around. It's not going to happen this time even with Clark and Collie out and Reggie Wayne left to be double teamed. The Colts will persevere.

Games to watch are Green Bay at NY Jets, Tennessee at San Diego, Minnesota at New England, Seattle at Oakland, and Pittsburgh at New Orleans. Oakland's Darren McFadden had a monster Sunday against Denver and should have a decent outing against Seattle. Seattle is 4-2. It should be close. I favor the Raiders. Collins and Young are both questionable with injuries. The Tennessee and Charger game is a tough one. The Chargers should prevail if they correct the disorder called the "muffs". The Pack is back and the Jets are on a roll. The Jets have alot going for them with the home advantage included. Roethlisberger is back and Pittsburgh appears unstoppable. Drew Brees was fleeced by the Brown's defense and the Steelers look to do the same. That brings us to Minnesota at New England. Favre has stress fractures in his ankle and Moss is probably looking for some pay back against New England. It is a tough call. Minnesota's defense will have to step up to win this.
 
SUN, OCT 31 TIME (ET)
Washington 23 at Detroit 20 1:00 PM FOX L
Ford Field
Jacksonville 24 at Dallas 21 1:00 PM CBS W
Cowboys Stadium
Miami 24 at Cincinnati 27 1:00 PM CBS L
Paul Brown Stadium
Buffalo 18 at Kansas City 20 1:00 PM CBS W
Arrowhead Stadium
Carolina 17 at St. Louis 21 1:00 PM FOX W
Edward Jones Dome
Denver 23 at San Francisco 24 1:00 PM CBS W
Wembley Stadium
Green Bay 24 at NY Jets 27 1:00 PM FOX L
New Meadowlands Stadium
Tennessee 20 at San Diego 30 4:05 PM CBS W
Qualcomm Stadium
Tampa Bay 20 at Arizona 17 4:15 PM FOX W
U of Phoenix Stadium
Minnesota 27 at New England 23 4:15 PM FOX L
Gillette Stadium
Seattle 21 at Oakland 26 4:15 PM FOX W
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Pittsburgh 28 at New Orleans 24 8:20 PM NBC L
TSuperdome
MON, NOV 1 TIME (ET)

Houston 22 at Indianapolis 32 8:30 PM W 

Lucas Oil Stad

Browns Defense Topples The Super Bowl Champs 30-17

Who Dat? What Dat? Where Dat? Why Dat? How Dat? Who, is the Cleveland Browns. What, was a big victory. Where, was the Superdome. Why, was great defense. How, was two interceptions for touchdowns. The Browns future before New Orleans looked bleak, but now the sky is the limit. The Browns stunned the Saints 30-17. Cool Brees got stiffled with a total of four interceptions and the Super Bowl Champs looked like chumps.

There wasn't much in the way of offense for the Browns. Phil Dawson was the top point getter on the offense with three field goals. Hillis had a touchdown off of a short run that was set up by an interference call on an attempted pass to Joshua Cribbs. Colt McCoy passed for only 74 yards and that is about it for the rookie other than catching a 13 yard pass from Hillis.

It was defense and special teams for the Browns all the way. Linebacker David Bowens intercepted Brees twice and scampered across the goal line on both. Scampered maybe a little much, more like trotted and skipped for the touchdowns. Perhaps Scott Fujita, who had an interception near the goal line, was a secret weapon seeing he is a former Saint and was familiar with their schemes. Maybe, maybe not. Sheldon Brown had the other pick. The defense was all over Brees and kept the Saints non-existent running game in check.

Drew Brees was passing like a bull let loose on a crowded street flailing and thrashing in all different directions looking to hit someone. Even though Brees had four picks he threw 56 times with 37 completions amounting to 356 yards, plenty enough to win any other game. The Saints are looking unchampion like through their first seven games and are 4-3. Still very much alive in spite of the mishaps.

The Browns are 2-5. They are still very much in need of an offensive attack. I still say Mangini needs to get Joshua Cribbs more involved in the offense, but with Colt McCoy at the helm getting the ball to Cribbs on a deep route will be a challenge. Until the offense is capable of doing that the only wins from here on out will be when the opposing team has a complete meltdown like the Saints. Cleveland is on a bye this week so they have some extra time to come up with some imaginitive schemes to dazzle their opponents. Come on Mangini, entertain us.

Week Seven NFL Picks-Hard Hitting

The Browns, Detroit, and Tampa Bay all lost last Sunday, so the 2010 season is returning to some resemblance of normality. Remember last week I said if those three teams won their games it would only confirm it will be a wacky Bizzaro World season. No apologies are necessary. The Brown's, who entered the season with higher expectations than what their record reflects, have been shredded by offensive injuries. Colt McCoy did a decent job considering the receivers he was left with in the Pittsburgh game. Detroit has been showing a desire to win, but is sabotaged weekly by unfortunate turn of events. Tampa Bay had been looking like a contender, but got clobbered by the Saints. St Louis on-the-other-hand beat San Diego and is in the thick of it in their division.

I was 8-6 in Week Six. Even the darts aren't helping in my quest for a perfect week. St Louis is playing Tampa Bay. I am taking the Buccaneers for no particular reason other than playing at home. You might say Jackson could be a factor in favor of the Rams and the Buccaneers running game has been non-existent, but Sunday that will change in what will be a close game. Baltimore should be able to handle the Bills and New Orleans will dominate the Browns mercilessly. Cincinnati at Atlanta and Washington at Chicago are both tough calls, but I am going with the home teams to win. Arizona at Seattle will decide the number one team in the division. Seattle will overcome.

The games to watch this week will be New England at San Diego, Minnesota at Green Bay, and NY Giants at Dallas. San Diego has been hurting itself by continous costly mistakes and New England has a strong offensive attack with the addition of Branch. It will be close and high scoring. New England will prevail with a strong blitz attack. Minnesota is strong all around defensively and offensively and Green Bay has been struggling. If Brett Favre can avoid the one costly pick the Vikings will win. The Giants offense is coming together, but their defense has been stepping up and Dallas is lacking the winning spark. Romo will be harassed and the Cowboys will trip over their own feet again.

This past week was controversial with all the concussions. The cameras can go into slow motion, but the players cannot. Once a player commits themselves there is no turning back and anything can happen. You have people moving in different directions and collisions are inevitable. Receivers and quarterbacks are often in vulnerable positions and you can tell a flagrant head shot from just plain aggressive football. Those should be flagged and fined. I have played football and butted heads on several occassions. That is the nature of the game.
 
SUN, OCT 24 TIME (ET)
Cincinnati 20 at Atlanta 24 1:00 PM W
Georgia Dome
Washington 23 at Chicago 24 1:00 PM L
Soldier Field
St. Louis 20 at Tampa Bay 21 1:00 PM W
Raymond James Stadium
San Francisco 20 at Carolina 18 1:00 PM L
Bank of America Stadium
Buffalo 15 at Baltimore 24 1:00 PM W
M&T Bank Stadium
Philadelphia 21 at Tennessee 24 1:00 PM W
LP Field
Jacksonville 28 at Kansas City 17 1:00 PM L
Arrowhead Stadium
Pittsburgh 30 at Miami 23 1:00 PM W
Sun Life Stadium
Cleveland 17 at New Orleans 34 1:00 PM L
Superdome
Arizona 18 at Seattle 23 4:05 PM W
Qwest Field
New England 28 at San Diego 27 4:15 PM W
Qualcomm Stadium
Oakland 24 at Denver 20 4:15 PM W
Invesco Field at Mile High
Minnesota 27 at Green Bay 24 8:20 PM L
Lambeau Field
MON, OCT 25 TIME (ET)

NY Giants 28 at Dallas 20 8:30 W 

Cowboys Stadium

Week Six NFL Picks-Big Ben Returns

Cincinnati, Green Bay, Houston, New Orleans, and San Diego all lost this past week. What a crazy season. No undefeated teams remain and the way things are going you might see the Lions and Buccaneers in the playoffs. Oh the hell with it, let's add the Browns as a possible. I know you probably are thinking this guy has gotten out of touch with reality. But this coming Sunday if the Browns beat the Steelers, the Lions beat the Giants, and the Buccaneers beat the Saints you will be apologizing for even slightly entertaining such a thought. It's a Bizzaro World in NFL 2010.

I was 7-7 last week. Time to get out the darts, close my eyes, and let it fly. I am pretty confident about The Chargers winning over the Rams this week, that is if the Chargers use super glue in the huddle before every offensive play. The Steelers are an easy bet over the Browns with Roethlisberger returning. As it stands right now Cleveland is sending in rookie Colt McCoy. Good luck with that one. A snow storm would even the playing field in this one, but that is unlikely. The Tampa Bay and New Orleans game is a toss up. The Saints have been in Jello Land since the beginning of the season and Tampa Bay's defense has been on a tear and acting like division contenders. All the rest of the games, anything can happen. Peyton Manning didn't have a single passing touchdown against the Chiefs. This week he will be compromising the goal line frequently. He will have to because Donavan McNabb will be putting the pressure on the Colts secondary with an aerial attack of his own.

The contests to watch this week will be Baltimore at New England and Tennessee at Jacksonville games. It will be interesting to see what the Patriots will do without Moss. They have picked up Branch and said they were glad to have him back to help them win some games, hopefully more than "some". Baltimore has the strong running attack and Flacco is looking decent. It will be a tough, close game, but I am taking the Patriots for the win. Wes Welker will be the deal breaker. Tennessee and Jacksonville are always a good matchup. Jacksonville is tough at home. Both teams have a good running attack. The difference will be decided by the quarterbacks. Whatever quarterback will make the least mistakes will come out the winner for his team in this one. Between the quarterbacks Vince Young has the least amount of interceptions but Garrard has more touchdowns. Jacksonville will come off victorious.
 
SUN, OCT 17 TIME (ET)
Seattle 15 at Chicago 22 1:00 PM FOX L
Soldier Field
Miami 23 at Green Bay 28 1:00 PM CBS L
Lambeau Field
San Diego 32 at St. Louis 17 1:00 PM CBS L 
Edward Jones Dome
Baltimore 20 at New England 211:00 PM CBS W 
Gillette Stadium
New Orleans 30 at Tampa Bay 24 1:00 PM FOX W
Raymond James Stadium
Detroit 17 at NY Giants 28 1:00 PM FOX W 
New Meadowlands Stadium
Atlanta 21 at Philadelphia 20 1:00 PM FOX L 
Lincoln Financial Field
Cleveland 18 at Pittsburgh 27 1:00 PM CBS W 
Heinz Field
Kansas City 17 at Houston 23 1:00 PM CBS W
Reliant Stadium
Oakland 24 at San Francisco 18 4:05 PM CBS L
Candlestick Park
NY Jets 21 at Denver 20 4:05 PM CBS W
Invesco Field at Mile High
Dallas 24 at Minnesota 27 4:15 PM FOX W
Metrodome
Indianapolis 34 at Washington 27 8:20 PM NBC W
FedEx Field
MON, OCT 18 TIME (ET)
Tennessee 20 at Jacksonville 23 8:30 PM
EverBank Field

The Browns Lose More Than Just The Game-Now What To Do?

Atlanta Falcons batter the Cleveland Browns 20-10. Quaterbacks limping, running back hobbling. Well, so much for a turn around. The Browns are back in the losing category, probably for good unless Mangini begins to change his stubborn ways and tries something inspiring. Yah, for a couple of weeks Hillis was running over 100 yards in each game and the Browns won one of those games.

Whoopty do. The Browns were still missing a passing attack. The bottom line is you cannot be successful in the NFL if you don't challenge the field vertically. The Browns need to get Joshua Cribbs more involved in the passing attack. Mangini is making the same mistakes he made last year until he woke up and began to utilize Cribbs more aggressively. The Browns play Pittsburgh this week and guess who is back, Ben Roethlisberger. How did the Browns beat the Steelers last year? Well, the weather was a little nasty for one.

Brett Favre just can't shake the one devastating mistake that has been plaguing his play these past few years. One minute he is flying high only to come crashing down the next. It is petty much heart breaking to see that happening to such a great player. Favre was unstoppable in the second half of Monday Night Football flicking touchdown passes with ease and hacking away at the Jets tenuous lead. In the closing minutes it looked like the Vikings were going to snatch victory right out the Jets hands.

Vikings ball on their own 16 with 1:48 left and down 22-20. First play Favre passes incomplete deep right to Moss. Next play defender falls down, Harvin wide open, Favre passes over Harvins outstretched arms for what could have been a huge gain and a demoralizing blow. Third down, play begins, Favre is forced to his right and sees Shiancoe open and throws the ball to him, but didn't see Lowery who was shielded by other players jump in front of Shiancoe where the pass bounced off his facemask and into his arms. How quickly the game changes. One minute celebration, the next deflation. The Vikings are down, but are they out? Dallas Cowboys are next. Stay tuned, the football follies have just begun.

Week Five NFL Picks-Who Will It Be Week

The biggest shocker of Week Four was the Colts loss to the Jaguars and the fashion in which it was accomplished. A one desparation shot at the crossbars with the game clock almost spent succeeded and Josh Scobee was running around like a crazed madman. The 59 yard field goal left the Colts with their jaws on the ground and handed them their second loss. Crucial mistakes by the Colts assisted in their downfall. The best game of the week in my opinion was the Steeler and Ravens matchup. It was head to head all the way to the end. With a few ticks left on the clock Joe Flacco found T.J. Houshmandzadeh wide open in the end zone for the winning score. The most lopsided victory of the week goes to the Patriots on Monday Night Football against Miami by the score of 41-14. This one was all defense and special teams for the Patriots. Miami looked solid until after halftime when it all unraveled.

I was 9-5 in Week Four. Decent, but still have to improve. Trying for that perfect week. This weeks game to watch is the Atlanta-Cleveland game. Can the Browns make it two in a row? Atlanta is hot and the Browns will need to be on their toes, especially Dawson, since Atlanta likes it close having played two overtime games thus far this season. I'm picking the Browns at home. The question this week involves the Detroit Lions. Can they get their first win? You can't fault them for trying because trying is what they have been doing week to week. What can go wrong does go wrong in the Lions case. This week against the Rams the Lions will have their opportunity, if some odd thing doesn't mess it up.

 

Most of the other match-ups this week are your pretty standard, run of the mill games. The only exception will be the game between the Vikings and the Jets. Randy Moss is back and Brett Favre has a big piece of the offensive puzzle completed. The Jets are on a winning streak and will be getting a piece of their offensive puzzle in place with Santonio Holmes returning. Who will have the biggest impact: Moss or Holmes? Stay tuned to Monday Night Football. It will be a good one. Oh, almost forgot the Giants and Texans game.  Run Foster run. Nothing more needs to be said.

 

SUN, OCT 10 TIME (ET)

Jacksonville 21 at Buffalo 18 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W

Ralph Wilson Stadium

Tampa Bay 15 at Cincinnati 24 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L

Paul Brown Stadium

Atlanta 20 at Cleveland 23 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L

Cleveland Browns Stadium

St. Louis 14 at Detroit 18 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W

Ford Field

Kansas City 17 at Indianapolis 34 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W

Lucas Oil Stadium

Green Bay 30 at Washington 23 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L

FedEx Field

Chicago 25 at Carolina 21 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W

Bank of America Stadium

Denver 17 at Baltimore 24 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W

M&T Bank Stadium

NY Giants 27 at Houston 30 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L

Reliant Stadium

New Orleans 23 at Arizona 12 4:05 PM FOX Tickets L

U of Phoenix Stadium

San Diego 28 at Oakland 20 4:15 PM CBS Tickets L

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Tennessee 18 at Dallas 17 4:15 PM CBS Tickets W

Cowboys Stadium

Philadelphia 24 at San Francisco 20 8:20 PM NBC Tickets W

Candlestick Park

MON, OCT 11 TIME (ET)

Minnesota 27 at NY Jets 24 8:30 PM Tickets L

New Meadowlands Stadium

Browns Top Bengals 23 to 20-One Giant Step Forward

The Bengals were ripe for the taking and the Browns did just that, they took it to them by a TKOwens and Browns fans everywhere finally had something to celebrate. Despite the win, the Browns were dominated across the board in every category of offense by the Bengals except one. But if you can't put it across the goal line it means nothing. Seneca Wallace again still did not impress me with a 74.9 rating and the bright spot of the offense for the second straight week was Hillis.

It was imperative to keep the ball out of Palmer's hands near the waining minutes of the fourth quarter with the game close. Peyton Hillis was called upon to grind out the final four minutes and he did exactly that. In those minutes Hillis had a 24 yard scamper. Hillis had 102 yards and one touchdown for the day. Seneca Wallace had 184 yards and one touchdown with an interception thrown in for good measure. Phil Dawson scored 11 points and was perfect with three good field goals. I would say it was a good combined offensive effort after all is said and done.

The game ball however goes to the defense this week even though Owens continuously burned the secondary with 222 yards but amazingly only one score. They pretty much harassed Carson Palmer with seven QB hits and four sacks. That harassement resulted in two Palmer fumbles that went the Bowns way. The last one came at a crucial time and gave the ball to the Browns to finish out the game.

The Bengals have been floundering since the beginning of the season despite what should be a one-two punch in their receiving core, Owens and Ochocinco. Todays loss to Cleveland puts them at 2-2. The road ahead for the Browns is treacherous and slippery.
 
Pittsburgh was stunned by Baltimore and host Cleveland next. The Steelers no doubt will have fresh in mind the loss Cleveland handed them in their last meeting and this weeks stinging loss. It looks to be a punishing game. An opportunity presents itself for the Browns with Roethlisberger still out and contigent on whether they will be able to weather the Steelers defensive onslaught. After that they face the stumbling New Orleans Saints in the Superdome who barely survived Carolina. First, Cleveland will have to ground the Falcons this weekend. If the Browns prevail over the next three weeks, expectations will heighten and anything can be possible.