Week 8 NFL Picks

Miami at Cincinnati (-2) The Batman and Robin show has not been as good as advertised.  Carson Palmer has been hurt and not real good this season.   Pick: Dolphins 20-17

Jacksonville at Dallas (-6.5) – With Tony Romo injured Jon Kitna gets the start.  The move to Kitna might force the Cowboys to run the ball but either way the Cowboys can’t be trusted.  Pick: Jaguars 28-27

Washington at Detroit (-2.5) – The Redskins have the league’s worst defense in a statistical sense.  They still win games and will beat the Lions in Staffords first game back for the Lions.  Pick: Redskins 35-21

Buffalo at Kansas City (-8) – The Chiefs are at home and playing the Bills.  Pick: Chiefs 24-21

Green Bay at NY Jets (-6) – The Packers has a good offense but the Jets defense is better.  I expect the Jet’s DBs to stop the Packers and they will be forced to run and we will know how that works out.  Pick: Jets 20-17

Denver at San Francisco (-1) – Both teams are pretty bad.  Troy Smith will try to win his second career game.  Pick: Broncos 20-17

Carolina at St. Louis (-3) – The Rams are better than expected and should light up the Panthers defense. Pick: Rams 24-14

Tennessee at San Diego (-3.5) – Titans travel to San Diego to try and get Jeff Fisher’s first win against the Chargers.  Titans are improving and Chargers are disappointing.  Pick: Titans 24-21

Tampa Bay at Arizona (-3) The Max Hall love affair is over and the Cardinals now realize they don’t have a legit QB.  Pick: Buccaneers 31-24

Minnesota at New England (-5) – Brett Favre may not play and if he does, he shouldn’t.  Patriots at home will get it done. Pick: Patriots 35-24

Seattle at Oakland (-2.5) – The Raiders looked good against the Broncos but the Seahawks are better.  Seattle will show the Raiders that Jason Campbell really is not good.  Pick: Seahawks 24-10

Pittsburgh at New Orleans (Pick 'em) – The Saints are not playing like champions and the Steelers are. Pick: Steelers 35-31

Houston at Indianapolis (-5.5) – Texans beat the Colts once this year but it won’t happen again this year.  Texans have some injuries on the defense and Peyton Manning won’t forget the loss. Pick: Colts 35-21

Season totals:
Against the spread: 44-56-3
Straight up: 62-41

Evaluating Week 7 NFL Picks...

My best week to date this year....

Week 7
Against the spread: 8-6
Straight up: 10-4

Season totals
Against the spread: 44-56-3
Straight up: 62-41

Week 7 NFL Picks

Cincinnati at Atlanta (-3 ½) – Falcons are the best team in the NFC South and are hard to beat at home.  Expect them to run the ball alot on the Bengals. Pick: Falcons 20-14

Washington at Chicago (-3) – The Bears are at home but the offensive line is in shambles, Redskins will take advantage. Pick: Redskins 24-21

St. Louis at Tampa Bay (-3) – Sam Bradford has been impressive for a rookie but without a legit #1 wide receiver he has had trouble. Pick: Buccaneers 28-14

San Francisco (-3) at Carolina – 49ers are riding high after their first win, but they face a tough run team and alot of speed on offense which has given them trouble. Pick: Panthers 17-14

Buffalo at Baltimore (-13) – The Bills may not win a game all season. Pick: Ravens 41-14

Philadelphia at Tennessee (-3) – Vince Young is probably not playing for the Titans, and no DeSean Jackson for the Eagles.  Without Young, Titans are easier to defend.  Pick: Eagles 28-27

Jacksonville at Kansas City (-5 ½) – No David Garrard for the Jaguars and MJD will go against a tough run defense. Pick: Chiefs 35-14

Pittsburgh (-3) at Miami – Steelers have Big Ben back and their defense is one of the best.  Miami got a nice win last week in Green Bay but don't have a chance here. Pick: Steelers 24-17

Cleveland at New Orleans (-13) – Colt McCoy starts his second game in a row.  He looked good last week and should have a better week against the Saints.  Browns will keep it close. Pick: Saints 35-24

Arizona at Seattle (-5 ½) – The Seahawks are getting better and it is tough to win on the road.  New RB Marshawn Lynch will have a big game against Arizona. Pick: Seahawks 38-27

New England at San Diego (-3) – The Patriots are coming off a huge win and a need to figure out their pass offense.  The Chargers are not that good against the pass. Pick: Patriots 27-24

Oakland at Denver (-8) – The Raiders best quarterback is not playing so it doesn't matter who starts, they will lose.  Pick: Broncos 27-10

Minnesota at Green Bay (-2 ½) – Packers have a lot of injuries and are seriously slumping, while the Vikings are going the other way. Pick: Vikings 35-34

NY Giants at Dallas (-3) – Dallas is slowly imploding and the Giants defense has been impressive.  Romo will get beat up a lot this game. Pick: Giants 24-17

Season totals
Against the spread: 36-50-3
Straight up: 52-37

Evaluating Week 6 NFL Picks...

And the ineptness continues....

Week 6Against the spread: 6-7-1
Straight up: 7-7

Season totalsAgainst the spread: 36-50-3
Straight up: 52-37

Week 6 NFL Picks

I am embarrassed to even list my last week’s record.  Hopefully, this week will be a bit better. 

For the season I am 30-43-3 against the spread and 45-30 straight up.

San Diego (-9) at St. Louis – The Chargers passing offense has been quite impressive especially with Antonio Gates.  Rams are in the bottom half of the league on passing defense and I expect the Chargers to exploit it. Pick: Chargers 31-17

Oakland at San Francisco (-7) – The 49ers are 0-5 and can’t stop beating themselves.  They may have a chance to win but they will not cover.  Pick: Raiders 24-21

New Orleans (-4) at Tampa Bay – The Saints have been hurt by the Pierre Thomas injury as teams are not respecting their run game.  Until they can prove they can run it will be tough.  Pick: Buccaneers 21-20

Seattle at Chicago (-6) – The Bears have Jay Cutler back and are playing at home.  The Seahawks will not be able to score on the Bears strong defense.  Pick: Bears 21-6

Miami at Green Bay (-3) – Aaron Rodgers should play after having a concussion last week.  The Packers are going to be without Nick Barnett and Jermichael Finley for the rest of the year.  Pick: Dolphins 28-24

Kansas City at Houston (-4.5) – Texans defense has been horrendous and will have trouble stopping the Chiefs dual running attack. Pick: Chiefs 28-24

Baltimore at New England (-2 ½) – Patriots are without Randy Moss and will have trouble keeping the Ravens defense even.  Pick: Ravens 31-24

Detroit at NY Giants (-10) – The Giants are back on track and the Lions are the Lions.  Expect Shaun Hill to spend a lot of time on his back. Pick: Giants 31-14

Atlanta at Philadelphia (-1 ½) – The Falcons have not played their best, especially away from home.  They will show that they are a good team against the injured Eagles. Pick: Falcons 20-17

Cleveland at Pittsburgh (-13 ½) – Colt McCoy will get his first start and it will be rough for him. Pick: Steelers 35-14

NY Jets (-3 ½) at Denver – Jets pass defense will shut down the Broncos offense.  Brandon Lloyd gets evicted from Revis Island.  Pick: Jets 31-24

Dallas at Minnesota (-1) – Whoever loses this game will be in ESPN news coverage hell.  Vikings have some offense now with Moss.  Pick: Chargers 28-24

Indianapolis (-3) at Washington – Both teams are without their star running backs so it will depend on who’s passing offense has a better day.  Pick: Colts 24-20

Tennessee (-3) at Jacksonville – Titans are back on track and Chris Johnson has looked good especially last week against Dallas.  Pick: Titans 17-10

Evaluating Week 5 NFL Picks

Again, another terrible week of picking football games.  

Week 5

Against the spread: 5-9

Straight up: 6-8

Season totals

Against the spread: 30-43-2

Straight up: 45-30

It's obvious that I can pick who will win the game but not against the spread.  Thank god I quit gambling.

Week 5 NFL Picks

Last week I was 7-7 against the spread and 8-6 straight up. Not only am I not a real handicapper but I am so bad that I couldn’t possibly play one on TV.

Denver at Baltimore (-7) – Denver has had it pretty easy playing bad pass offenses so they had no need to run the ball. The Ravens are not a bad pass defense and today is going to be tough for Kyle Orton. Pick: Ravens 24-14

Jacksonville at Buffalo (Pick ‘em) – Both teams are pretty bad, but the Jaguars are coming off a huge win against the Colts. Pick: Jaguars 24-21

Chicago (-3) at Carolina – It’s hard to pick the Bears without Jay Cutler but they are playing Carolina. Bears’ defense will shut down the Panthers. Pick: Bears 14-10

Tampa Bay at Cincinnati (-6 ½) – The Bengals are coming off two back to back losses with the most recent against the Browns. They will come out today on fire and take care of the Bucs early. Pick: Bengals 31-21

Atlanta (-3) at Cleveland – The Falcons came from behind and beat the 49ers last week. They are not going to play catchup this week. They are going to need to shut down the Browns run game and make Seneca Wallace beat them. Pick: Falcons 24-17

St. Louis at Detroit (-3) – The Lions are the best 0-4 team in the NFL. They have been in almost every game and it will finally pay off. Pick: Lions 31-27

NY Giants at Houston (-3) – The Giants defense has figured out how to get after the quarterback but not stop the run. The Texans don’t want Matt Schaub to get killed so they will unleash Arian Foster on them. Pick: Texans 21-17

Kansas City at Indianapolis (-7 ½) – The Colts lost bad to the Jaguars but the Chiefs are a good team. Expect this game to be close. Pick: Colts 24-21

Green Bay (-2 ½) at Washington – The Packers defense is awful but they can put up some points. This will be an offense shootout with Aaron Rodgers leading the way. Pick: Packers 41-37

New Orleans (-6 ½) at Arizona – Rookie QB Max Hall is now taking over and he is a big fan of throwing interceptions. Saints will have a big day. Pick: Saints 27-17

Tennessee at Dallas (-6 ½) – Cowboys coming off the bye week have said that they plan to get Felix Jones more in the offense. Dez Bryant should be healthier and have more of a contribution. Pick: Cowboys 17-10

San Diego (-6) at Oakland – Phillip Rivers has been putting up huge yards in the air but won’t have to this week against the Raiders. Expect to see the Chargers run all day against the Raiders as their run defense is awful. Pick: Chargers 28-14
Philadelphia at San Francisco (-3) – With no Vick, this is the best chance the 49ers have to win. The 49ers will stop LeSean McCoy and make Kevin Kolb beat them. If Alex Smith can limit the interceptions, 49ers win. Pick: 49ers 21-17

Minnesota at NY Jets (-4) – Randy Moss is back in town to visit Revis island. The Vikings now have some legit wideouts and Percy Harvin is healthy. Favre is going to air it out against the Jets. Pick: Vikings 21-20

Evaluating Week 4 NFL Picks

Bad week this week in picking games.

Week 4
Against the spread: 7-7
Straight up: 8-6

Season totals
Against the spread: 25-34-2
Straight up: 39-22

Week 4 NFL Picks

I'm just catching my legs and this week should be pretty good.  My upset special is the 49ers over the Falcons.

BOOK IT!!!

Against the spread:
Last Week: 7-9
2010 season: 18-27-2

Straight up:

Last Week: 11-5
2010 season: 31-16

San Francisco at Atlanta (-7) – The 49ers typically show up against good teams so it would not surprise me to see the 49ers win especially when they will be running a different offense than the Falcons will prepare for. As bad as the 49ers defense is, they have been good at stopping the run against power backs which is all the Falcons have. Pick: 49ers 28-24

NY Jets (-5) at Buffalo – The Jets have been impressive and even Mark Sanchez looks good. The Bills only chance is to run the ball and the Jets have a stout run defense. Pick: Jets 21-3

Cincinnati (-3) at Cleveland – Cleveland’s ability to hang around some teams has been impressive but the Bengals have a pretty good run defense and will definitely make the Browns one dimensional. Pick: Bengals 28-21

Detroit at Green Bay (-14 ½) – Coming off a devastating loss against a division rival the Packers will come out and try to blow away the Lions. With Stafford still out and Jahvid Best injured the Lions offense will be unable to get much done. Expect Shaun Hill to spend a lot of his day meeting Clay Matthews in the backfield. Pick: Packers 42-20

Carolina at New Orleans (-13 ½) – Jimmy Clausen will start his second game of his NFL career and the Saints defense will have a huge game picking him off. Pick: Saints 28-10

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-1) – The Steelers have been impressive with their defense and ability to win with third and fourth string quarterbacks. Now they meet the Ravens and their defense and Charlie Batch doesn’t look as good. Pick: Ravens 14-13

Seattle (-1) at St. Louis – If Steven Jackson doesn’t play it may actually work out for the Rams, the Seahawks run defense has been pretty good so Sam Bradford should be able to light them up through the air. Pick: Rams 24-21

Denver at Tennessee (-6 ½) – Kyle Orton has been incredible this season. He is averaging 359 pass yards a game with a passer rating of 97.4. Chris Johnson hasn’t been Chris Johnson. Pick: Titans 17-16

Indianapolis (-7 ½) at Jacksonville – It doesn’t matter if it’s in Jacksonville. The Colts are hot and Austin Collie will have another 10 catches against the Jags. Pick: Colts 35-10

Houston (-3) at Oakland – Arian Foster should be able to have another huge game against the Raiders but so should Darren McFadden against the Texans. No quarterback needed in this game. Pick: Texans 20-14

Washington at Philadelphia (-6) – If Santa was booed in Philly, then so will McNabb. Michael Vick wins the Vick vs. McNabb showdown. Pick: Eagles 28-24

Arizona at San Diego (-8) – Disappointing year for the Chargers. Special teams are a disaster for the Bolts and Fitzgerald gets on track with Derek Anderson. Pick: Cardinals 21-14

Chicago at NY Giants (-4) – The Bears are impressive; I am very surprised that Cutler has not been sacked more. Martz is doing a hell of a job. Pick: Bears 21-17

New England (-1) at Miami – I have been impressed with the Dolphins defense and not so much with their offense. Good thing that the Pats defense is awful. Pick: Dolphins 35-31

Evaluating Week 3 NFL Picks

I still can't pick games worth a damn against the spread as I went 7-9 this week but I am seeing improvement.  Here's how I did:

Week 3
Against the spread: 7-9
Straight up:11-5

Season totals
Against the spread: 18-27-2
Straight up: 31-16

Week 3 NFL Picks

Last week I went 4-10-1 against the spread and 10-5 straight up.  For the season I am 11-18-2 against the spread and 20-11 straight up.  

It's a good thing I don't gamble....

Tennessee at NY Giants (-3) - Titans coming off an embarrassing loss against the Steelers will go into New York with something to prove.  Giants won't be able to run on the Titans.  Pick: Titans 13-7

Buffalo at New England (-13.5) - This game won't even be close.  The Bills entire offense comes through three good running backs.  Brady gets back on track and throws for 300 yards and stomps the Bills.  Pick: Pats 45-7

Cleveland at Baltimore (-10) - Joe Flacco needs to get on track and who better to get on track against then the Browns.  Pick: Ravens 21-10

Pittsburgh (-3) at Tampa Bay - Both teams have huge question marks; the Steelers are down to their fourth quarterback and the Bucs are riding some major luck.  Pick: Steelers 12-6

Cincinnati (-3.5) at Carolina - The Bengals defense is a bit overrated but with the Panthers going to start rookie QB Jimmy Clausen that just makes it easy for the Bengals.  The Bengals have a good offense and they show it off in Carolina.  Pick: Bengals  24-14

Atlanta at New Orleans (-4) - Saints barely get a win against the 49ers and show that you can run on them.  The Falcons like to run and have a better run game than the 49ers.  Pick: Falcons 17-14

San Francisco (-1) at Kansas City - Alex Smith looked better than he has been but the 49ers consistently get outcoached.  Arrowhead is hard to win at and Singletary is way over his head.  Pick: Chiefs 17-14

Detroit at Minnesota (-10) - The Vikings are getting Percy Harvin with a full week of practice but without a real threat at WR will have a hard time finding last year's offense.  They still win but not a big blowout.  Pick: Vikings 21-17

Dallas at Houston (-3) - The Texans are better than a wild card team they could win their division.  The Cowboys are a bad team with major struggles in the run game.  Arian Foster runs all over Dallas and Schaub has another huge game.  Pick: Texans 35-21

Washington (-3.5) at St. Louis - Donovan McNabb has found his youth.  He throws for over 350 yards and destroys the Rams.  Pick: Redskins 28-7

Philadelphia (-3) at Jacksonville - The Chargers beat the Jags pretty bad and the Eagles are better than the Chargers.  Michael Vick and Lesean McCoy have a huge day.  Pick: Eagles 42-10

Indianapolis (-6) at Denver - The Broncos defense will not be able to stop Manning without their two best corners.  Although, the Broncos offense will have a nice game it will not be enough.  Pick: Colts 37-21

San Diego (-6) at Seattle - Seahawks looked good in week 1 and bad in week 2.  They will look bad again in week 3.  Chargers, without Ryan Matthews, will beat Seattle who will cover.  Pick: Chargers 21-17

Oakland at Arizona (-4) - Raiders got lucky with Gradkowski but he is not the best QB on that team, Campbell is.  Fitzgerald is getting on the same page as Derek Anderson and it will show on Sunday.  Pick: Cards 21-14

NY Jets at Miami (-2.5) - Dolphins own the Jets with the wildcat and with their improved defense can cause problems.  Jets come down from their last week high and lose.  Pick: Dolphins 14-10

Green Bay (-3) at Chicago - Cutler will finally lose a game himself by throwing those interceptions that he is known for and Martz will get him sacked all night long.  Pick: Packers 27-14

Evaluating Week 2 NFL Picks

Well my picks seem to be going downhill.  Hopefully Week 3 will be better.  Picks should be out on Saturday.


Week 2
Against the spread: 4-10-1
Straight up: 10-5


Season totals
Against the spread: 11-18-2
Straight up: 20-11

Week 2 NFL Picks

Hopefully I can do better this week than I did last week.  To recap, I went 7-8-1 against the spread and 10-6 straight up.

Here are my picks, what are yours?

Kansas City at Cleveland (-3) - The Chiefs looked impressive against the Chargers and the Browns are without their starting quarterback, Jake Delhomme.  Chiefs 28-10

Buffalo at Green Bay (-12.5) - Buffalo has no chance in this game.  The game will get out of hand early even without a good offensive line or running back for Green Bay.  Aaron Rodgers throws for 400 yards and Packers win.  Packers 41-7

Baltimore (-2.5) at Cincinnati - This is a pretty good matchup.  Last week the Patriots put the Bengals got worked by the Patriots.  The score was not very indicative of how the game was played out.  I think the Bengals will make a better showing and win.  Bengals 13-10

Pittsburgh at Tennessee (-5) - Steelers are likely without nose tackle Casey Hampton and they go against the Titans who have Chris Johnson and the Titans defense.  Titans 17-6

Philadelphia (-6.5) at Detroit - Kolb is out this week with the concussion and Michael Vick is starting.  Vick should have a good game against the weak Lions defense.  Eagles 15-3

Chicago at Dallas (-7) - The Cowboys offensive woes are still troubling but I will take the Cowboys to win. Cowboys 17-14

Tampa Bay at Carolina (-3) - Carolina owns Tampa Bay and with their excellent run game they will win easy.  Panthers 28-10

Arizona at Atlanta (-6.5) - The Cardinals had trouble beating the Rams last week and now travel to play a good Falcons team.  Falcons will look to recover from their overtime last to Pittsburgh last week.  Falcons win easy.  Falcons 35-17

Miami at Minnesota (-5.5) - Dolphins had trouble putting the Bills away last week and Vikings looked inept offensively against the Saints.  Brett Favre may be regretting his decision to come back.  Dolphins 24-20

St. Louis at Oakland (-3) - The Raiders had trouble protecting Jason Campbell last week and its not going to be much easier this week with Rams defensive line.  Having said that, I think they Raiders defense shuts down the Rams.  Raiders 21-17

Seattle at Denver (-3) - Seahawks looked good last week against the 49ers and they should keep on a roll against the Broncos.  Seahawks 17-10

Houston (-3) at Washington - Texans defense was impressive last week against the Colts and so was their run the game.  Texans looks to open up the passing game.  Texans 28-24

Jacksonville at San Diego (-7) - Chargers offense will improve this week but they still will not cover the spread.  Chargers 14-10

New England Patriots (-3) at NY Jets - Can Revis shut down the "slouch" Randy Moss.  It will be a tough day for Tom Brady against the Jets but the Patriots are a better team and prevail.  Patriots 17-10

NY Giants at Indianapolis (-4.5) - Offense will be a premium for this game.  There is no way the Colts go 0-2.  Colts 35-27

New Orleans (-5.5) at San Francisco - There is problems in San Francisco and they probably are not fixed.  Singletary is slowing losing this team with their failures on the offensive side of the ball.  49ers defense will slow down the Saints but not enough to win the game.  Saints 42-14

Evaluating Week 1 NFL Picks

Not my best week that I have ever had.  I definitely thought that the San Francisco 49ers would beat the Seattle Seahawks, and the San Diego Chargers to beat the Kansas City Chiefs.  Other than those, no real other surprises.

Against the spread: 7-8-1
Straight up: 10-6

Week 1 NFL Picks

I blew it for the first game and did not post my pick in time for the Saints/Vikings game but I would have taken the Saints (-5) and been wrong.  So to start I am 1-0 straight up and 0-1 against the spread.

Here are my picks, what are yours?

- San Francisco (-3) at Seattle: 49ers go up to Qwest Field and get their first win of the season.  Big win for them as they are expected to win the NFC West.  Seattle is bad all over and 49ers win by 10. 49ers 27-17

- Tennessee (-6.5) vs. Oakland: The Raiders are improved but Jeff Fisher is going to make sure that the Titans are not going to start 0-6.  Raiders also have some questions about their rush defense and that could mean Chris Johnson has a huge game.  Titans 31-17

- Carolina (+6.5) at New York Giants: Carolina beat the Giants last year and I have some serious questions about the Giants defense.  Giants 21-17

- Miami (-3) at Buffalo: The Bills are still bad and Miami has a new toy, Brandon Marshall.  Dolphins 28-9

- Atlanta (-1.5) at Pittsburgh: The Steelers will be starting Dennis Dixon at QB and although he is a nice player he will not be able to get a victory here.  Falcons 21-10

- Detroit (+6.5) at Chicago: Two bad teams meet each other.  If the Lions can get to Cutler then they will win big.  Bears still not have found a decent wide receiver and they have Martz as their offensive coordinator.  Lions 14-10

- Cincinnati (+5) at New England: Bengals have some weapons on offense and the Patriots are a question mark but    the Pats are at home.  I don't see how the Bengals could come in and win.  Patriots 27-24

- Tampa Bay (-3) vs. Cleveland: Browns will be the worst team in the league this season.  Mangini is not a good head coach and Delhomme is not the answer at quarterback.  Tampa Bay is a better team and win easily.  Buccaneers 10-3

- Denver (+3) at Jacksonville: Kyle Orton has had a great pre-season and although they are likely not as good as last year they should be able to beat a team that just can't get it done in the Jaguars.  Broncos 10-7

- Houston (+2) vs. Indianapolis: Texans are finally going to get over the hump and beat the Colts with Arian Foster having a huge game.  Texans 34-31

- Green Bay (-3) at Philadelphia: The Packers are probably the best team in the NFC and the Eagles have some questions at QB.  Packers 42-17

- Arizona (-3.5) at St. Louis: This could be the battle of last place for the NFC West.  The Cardinals are starting Derek Anderson and the Rams will have many growing pains.  Low scoring game with a lot of turnovers. Cardinals 12-3

- Dallas (-3) at Washington: Just like when McNabb was with the Eagles he doesn't have a lot of options.  The Cowboys win in DC.  Cowboys 14-10

- Baltimore (+2) at New York Jets: The Jets are extremely overrated and Sanchez looks awful.  The Ravens meanwhile have gotten much better.  Ravens 17-14

- San Diego (-5) at Kansas City: Chiefs are bad and so are the Chargers as they lost their three best players from last year.  The AFC West is awful but someone has to win the game.  Chargers walk over the Chiefs.  Chargers 20-10