Week 11 NFL Picks-Green Bay Remains Undefeated

Winning in football is sometimes literally a matter of inches. This statement had verification in the Saints verses Falcons with the Falcons losing 26-23. San Diego got Bush-wacked and Palmer-ized by Oakland Thursday night. Pittsburgh gained control of the AFC North beating Cincinnati, while Baltimore sputtered against lowly Seattle. The Jets inability to put it in the end zone cost them against New England. Chicago topped Detroit and Green Bay had their way with Minnesota.

November 13, 2011, Atlanta verses New Orleans, a date which will live in infamy. The game was forced into overtime and Atlanta won the coin toss. Momentum appeared to be on the side of Atlanta. Mike Cox took the third down pass from Ryan. The oustretched arm of Cox in real time looked to have gotten the first down, but the replay showed he had bobbled the ball just before his arm crossed the stick. The Falcons now were faced with a drive ending fourth down. The obvious decision would be to punt, a no brainer, but the obvious was not today.

All eyes were on Mike Smith. A glaring fact: Go for it and fail, it would be a chip shot for New Orleans to win. If you are a gambler it could be likened to a moment you're standing at the Roulette Wheel with a wade of money in your hand and you pause to reflect, should I or shouldn't I. A decision that would have one of two outcomes. If you succeed, you will be celebrated with confetti showering down and corks popping. If you don't, it won't be confetti showering down, but a hail of disappointment and that was really stupid.

The offense got the green light and it was over at the snap of the ball. Turner couldn't get any momentum with his offensive line pushed back in his face and the Saints swarming to the ball. New Orleans took over, end of game, end of story.

It was the game to take control of AFC East because Buffalo lost to Dallas earlier. The Jets inability to score in the red zone and some stupid mistakes made it easy for the Brady Bunch. If you give Brady a minute of time, he will turn it into a score, and that is what Mark Sanchez did just before the half ended. Fumble a punt and throw an interception, thus turning the ball over to the Brady Bunch is only asking for trouble, and that is what the Jets did. Instead of taking advantage of the rag-tag defense of the Patriots, the Jets offense sat on the sidelines while Tom Brady performed his magic.

The New York Jets play Denver on Thursday night. Stop Tebow from running and it should be a farely easy victory. Is Dallas for real? They play Washington and it could get real nasty for the Redskins. Buffalo will be facing off with a surging Miami. Could go either way. San Diego is jumping from the frying pan into the pot against Chicago. A must win for both teams, especially the Chargers. Cincinnati needs A. J. Green against Baltimore and Baltimore needs to get focused. New England, on a Monday night at Gillette Stadium, mixed with some New England weather, could leave the Chiefs shivering in their feathers. I was 10-6 in Week 10.

THU, NOV 17                       TIME (ET)        TV          LOCATION
NY Jets at Denver                   8:20 PM         NFL      Sports Authority Field at Mile High

SUN, NOV 20                       TIME (ET)        TV          LOCATION
Tampa Bay at Green Bay       1:00 PM         FOX      Lambeau Field
Carolina at Detroit                  1:00 PM         FOX      Ford Field
Jacksonville at Cleveland       1:00 PM         CBS      Cleveland Browns Stadium
Oakland at Minnesota            1:00 PM         CBS      Mall of America Field
Buffalo at Miami                    1:00 PM         CBS      Sun Life Stadium
Dallas at Washington             1:00 PM         FOX      FedEx Field
Cincinnati at Baltimore          1:00 PM         CBS      M&T Bank Stadium
Arizona at San Francisco       4:05 PM         FOX      Candlestick Park
Seattle at St. Louis                 4:05 PM         FOX      Edward Jones Dome
Tennessee at Atlanta              4:15 PM         CBS      Georgia Dome
San Diego at Chicago            4:15 PM         CBS      Soldier Field
Philadelphia at NY Giants     8:20 PM         NBC      MetLife Stadium

MON, NOV 21                    TIME (ET)        TV          LOCATION
Kansas City at New England 8:30 PM         ESPN     Gillette Stadium

Week 10 NFL Picks-The Season Begins For Cincinnati

After what I thought was one of the best Sundays of football in the NFL's long illustrious history the saying, "That is a tough act to follow," is apropos. Teams like Baltimore, NY Giants, and Arizona proved "It ain't over till it's over." San Diego fell short of putting their game into overtime against Green Bay, but it was entertaining. The Chargers stand at a crossroads in their division. Cincinnati continues to surprise, but will be tested when they faceoff with Pittsburgh. Chicago exstinguished the fires of Philadelphia on Monday Night Football, but will be jumping into the frying pan against Detroit this Sunday. The line up looks good.

The Bengals success this year covers the huge mistake they made last year, and that was putting Noshow-Cinco and TOed-Owens in the same lineup. Enough said about that. Two rookies have taken center stage in Cincinnati, Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. They have been the catalyst for the offense, but have been supported by a good defense. It has been said their schedule for the first half of the season might have something to do with it, but their first 8 games may have given them the time to prepare for what's coming.

The Pittsburgh game will test whether they can cut the mustard. Pittsburgh had victory snatched away from them by Baltimore and will be looking for redemption or someone to hit. It will be a good game, but in order for Pittsburgh to lose this one, they will have to seriously stumble.

San Diego is in a three way tie in their division. Philip Rivers doesn't like to lose. No suprising revelation in that statement. He puts his heart and soul into every game and when he does lose, you see the disappointment written all over his face. Mistakes have plagued his game play. He has been trying to force the ball into passing situations that backfire. San Diego takes on Oakland Thusday night. Injuries have been disruptive, but good teams overcome. Well, maybe if your not Indianapolis. What may help the Chargers cause, Ryan Matthews is expected to play.

San Diego's injuries will be offsetting because Oakland has injuries of its own in key positions, like running back Darren McFadden, who was having a great year. Michael Bush has been filling in very nicely. Carson Palmer is now calling the plays and is listed as probable. Despite San Diego's woes, the only way I see Oakland winning this one is by their defense stepping up and creating mistakes.

Detroit destroyed Denver before their bye, but Denver is not Chicago. The Lions are a dominate passing team with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Chicago's defense just shut down Michael Vick and company on Monday. So, Stafford and company will have their hands full, hopefully footballs. If their defense plagues Jay Cutler like they did Tim tebow, half the battle will be won.

Chicago's challenge will be to shut down Stafford and cover Johnson. The easier of the two would be to strike at the point of attack, Stafford. Chicago has the defense that can harrass and disrupt the quarterback via Julius Peppers, and Brian Urlacher dropping back into coverage. Jay Cutler has a rifle arm and if he is in rythmn with his receivers, Detroit will be looking from behind. All in all, if both teams live up to their expectations, it will be a good game. Maybe, one of those down to last minute thrillers.

I don't know what to say about the cleveland Browns. Luckily, they are playing St. Louis in Cleveland. At least they won't be in a hostile environment, but that could change. The Browns defense will have to control Steven Jackson, the Rams main offensive weapon. Unfortunately, they couldn't stop Arian Foster and Ben Tate last Sunday. Both Houston backs had a hundred yard plus day. Jackson will be like a fired up thoroughbred race horse waiting for the gates to open. The Browns coaching staff has finally wised up to using Joshua Cribbs at wide receiver. It's about time. This week the Browns are even giving consideration to using him at the running position.

THU, NOV 10                      TIME (ET)   TV     LOCATION
Oakland at San Diego             8:20 PM     NFL    Qualcomm Stadium

SUN, NOV 13                      TIME (ET)   TV     LOCATION
Arizona at Philadelphia          1:00 PM    FOX    Lincoln Financial Field
Tennessee at Carolina            1:00 PM     CBS    Bank of America Stadium
Houston at Tampa Bay           1:00 PM    CBS    Raymond James Stadium
Washington at Miami             1:00 PM    FOX    Sun Life Stadium
Jacksonville at Indianapolis   1:00 PM     CBS    Lucas Oil Stadium
Denver at Kansas City            1:00 PM    CBS    Arrowhead Stadium
Buffalo at Dallas                     1:00 PM    CBS    Cowboys Stadium
New Orleans at Atlanta          1:00 PM    FOX    Georgia Dome
St. Louis at Cleveland            1:00 PM    FOX    Cleveland Browns Stadium
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati          1:00 PM    CBS    Paul Brown Stadium
Baltimore at Seattle                4:05 PM    CBS    CenturyLink Field
NY Giants at San Francisco   4:15 PM    FOX    Candlestick Park
Detroit at Chicago                  4:15 PM    FOX    Soldier Field
New England at NY Jets        8:20 PM    NBC    MetLife Stadium

MON, NOV 14                    TIME (ET)   TV    LOCATION
Minnesota at Green Bay         8:30 PM    ESPN   Lambeau Field

It Was A Great Sunday Of NFL Football Games-Maybe The Best In Its History

The Browns are fading fast in the brutal, hotly contended AFC North. In a division where the Brown legacy is written all over it, the Cleveland Browns seem to be comfortable at the bottom year after year. Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns sister team, is riding high on two rookies, and the former Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, are sitting on top. Going into the final stretch of the season there is alot of football left to play between these teams, but after beating the Steelers it appears Baltimore is emerging as the favorite, for now at least. Stay tuned, that could change in a blink of an eye. Sunday's lineup produced a boat load of down to wire thrills.

Baltimore had been leading through most of the game until Mike Wallace came across the field to snag a Ben Roethlisberger pass that was meant for Antonio Brown in the end zone. It surprised Roethlisberger and stole a moment of glory from Brown. You take'em anyway you can get'em. The touchdown put the Steelers up 20-16 with alittle under 5 minutes left. The ball exchanged hands once more and then with 2:17 left on the clock it was Baltimore's possession.

Unflappable Joe Flacco faced the daunting task of taking it down field from his own 8 yard line. He was up to the challenge. The fans of Pittsburgh cringed and watched helplessly as the Ravens marched up the green methodically, but time was favoring the Steelers. Flacco, from Pittsburghs 37, went for it all. Torey Smith was streaking into the end zone wide open. The crowd gasped as the pass was right on target, but Smith had the familiar case of butter fingers, and the crowd cheered in relief.

Flacco's receivers would let him down a second time in the end zone when David Reed dropped a perfectly delivered pass. Flacco shook off the disappointment. He had to. There were only seconds left between him and defeat. The next play Flacco took the snap and set himself, the opportunity presented itself a third time and it was Smith in the right side of the end zone. Did Flacco on seeing Smith, for a brief moment in his mind, hesitate to throw the ball to a receiver who had previously let him down? We will never know. If he did, it went unoticed as the ball landed into the arms of a sliding Smith. Redemption is sweet. Victory is sweet. Baltimore defeated the Steelers for a second time 23-20.

Green Bay and San Diego traded scores throughout three quarters. When the Packers thought they delivered the final blow, San Diego would come storming back. Green Bay scored two touchdowns in the fourth and were comfortably in the lead at 45-24. Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson hooked up for two quick scores and the Chargers were suddenly back in the game at 45-38. With 1:05 left, the ball was back in the hands of Rivers at his own 31. A San Diego score would possibly throw the game into an overtime shootout. A pass to Antonio Gates put it at the 50 yard line. Now the end zone was in view and within Rivers reach, but a familiar Rivers nemesis reared its ugly head, the dreaded interception. A pass in the direction of Jackson fell short and it was over.

St Louis and Arizona, two teams with identical losing records faced off in Arizona. The two teams traded field goals for three quarters with the Rams in the lead 9-6. The world proceeded to fall apart for Skelton and the Cardinals. It began to rain safety's, two to be exact. St Louis was now winning 13-6. Arizona would finally tie the game in the fourth on a Skelton pass to Larry Fitzgerald. It wasn't over even though there was 51 seconds left on the clock for the Rams to do something. In football time, 51 seconds is alot, especially when you only need a field goal to win.

St Louis got that chance. From Arizona's 42, the ball left Josh Brown's foot, but we will never know if it would have been good because it was blocked. End of quarter. Now comes OT. It didn't last long, one possession to be exact. Patrick Peterson took a Donnie Jones punt 99 yards for a touchdown, Arizona 19-13 over St Louis. The sad thing about it, Jones had an opportunity to easily stop Peterson, but muffed it.

New England and NY Giants game ended with the Patriots being totally stunned. The NY Jets and Buffalo Bills traded blows with the Jets getting the better of the Bills. It was an exciting day of NFL football, maybe one of the best in its history. The Bears and Eagles are next on Monday Night Football. Will it continue?

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