Week 12 Picks: Stuffed with Wins!

Tis the season to be thankful, and last week I was plenty thankful. It’s good thing to see a winning record after a weekend of games, especially when the wins column sports a double digit number. I went 11-4 last week minus the Bear/Miami game on Thursday, boosting my overall record to 70-53. I may not be in line to win the division if this were baseball but I might walk away with the Wild Card. Thankfully (again) this isn’t baseball season, it’s football season. Grab yourself a helping of Week 12 picks.

NE @ DET – NE. Spaghetti & meatballs, lamb and tuna fish, Detroit Lions and Thanksgiving. A tradition old as time, well at least 1934 when the Detroit team started to play on T-Day. Both teams have a quick turnaround this week, with both recovering from a Sunday game. With a 2-8 record, it’s unlikely that the Lions can win on the 25^th, making it their 9 loss in the last 10 Turkey Day games.

NO @ DAL – NO. Unfortunately  for Dallas, it doesn’t look like they’re going to get their 3^rd win in a row. The Saints, without a healthy running back are reliant on the pass. Good thing for them, that they’re a passing team. Dallas however, isn’t a passing defense. Expect the arrows to fly and Cowboys to be branded.

CIN @ NYJ – NYJ. After losing to Buffalo last week, Cincinnati will be lucky to get my blessing the rest of the year.

GB @ ATL – ATL. Said it 4 times, say it again… MATTY HEISMAN!!!!

PIT @ BUF – PIT. Pittsburgh has 3 losses this season. Baltimore, New Orleans, and the Patriots; the one thing they all have in common is that they all should be in the Playoffs come this January. Buffalo, will not be. I’ll take Pittsburgh.

CAR @ CLE – CLE. I didn’t realize that Carolina only had one win this year. I guess that happens when your quarterbacks combine for 6 passing touchdowns this year. It’s week 12 Carolina! Give that team the number one pick of the 2011 Draft.

JAC @ NYG – JAC. With Nicks and Smith both out for the Giants, it’s going to be interesting to see what their game play will entail. I’m assuming they’ll run the ball, but can they match the Jags in points, who are putting up an average of at least 3 touchdowns a game.

MIN @ WAS – WAS. Minnesota put up 3 points last week at home. How many can they put up on the road against a team that’s still fighting for the post season? Oh did I mention they have a new coach? This shouldn’t be a Dallas Cowboys rebirth game for the Vikings.

TEN @ HOU – HOU. There seems to be a lot of missed chemistry within the Tennessee club house. While the man responsible for the burnt bridges won’t be playing, I feel that they may be a little off this week, which makes it a perfect time for Houston to turn their bad luck upside down.

KC @ SEA – KC.  How do you not pick “the Chiefs” on Thanksgiving? Lucky for me they’re a good team.

MIA @ OAK – OAK. I hate choosing Oakland because every time they win, (even though it benefits my record) the Patriots draft pick moves further and further away from a top pick. If Oakland keeps it up, NE will be looking at a top 15 pick at best.

STL @ DEN – DEN.  I know Denver is a better team than they played last week. Even though they have 2 less losses than the Rams, I’m going to give them the old home field advantage pick. Basically because the Rams are 0-4 on the road.

PHI @ CHI – PHI. While some are saying that Chicago has an outstanding defense, last week was more of a fluke. You want to impress me Bears? Do it against a team with a quarterback and actual offense. The only quarterback they’ve kept contained this entire year that’s worth mentioning is Aaron Rodgers, and that was in week 3. I’ll take a reenergized Vick any day.

TB @ BAL – BAL.  Josh Freeman has been getting it done for the most part but now it’s time to face reality. Sure you’ve been Carolina twice and Cleveland, St. Louis, San Fran, Arizona, and even Cincinnati, but that’s not really saying much. All of them have losing records and are already calling this a rebuilding year. Now it’s time for Baltimore. The AFC North leading Ravens. The Flacco passing, Rice running, HOUS-YO-MOMMA TOUCHDOWN CATCHING Ravens!

SD @ IND – IND.  I know that SD kicked me in the butt last week for not picking them and totally burning them at all angles, but I just can’t pick them just yet. Maybe if they’re schedule gets a little easier and they play a team like Oakland, or St. Louis, or Seattle. What’s that?? They lost to those teams?  And throw a “REBUILDING STAMP” on the 2010 Chargers season!

SF @ ARI – SF. Both teams are on the bottom of the NFC West barrel, which is I’m actually wordless on. I really have no insult in my back pocket for this one. It’s just sad. Thankfully (again), I’m usually sleeping during the MNF game. If I were you I’d catch up on my sleep too! Snooze fest coming your way this Monday Night!

Praying to Heaven for Week 11

Last week wasn’t one I really want to endure again. I only had 5 wins going 5-8, shrinking my overall record to 59-49. This means if I absolutely plummet this week, my loss record will cover my wins, so lets hope I do better this week. Unfortunately, and personally, I’m in the process of moving apartments which means these next few weeks will be contain short explanations. I apologize now but hopefully my picks will be a little better. Here we go:

BUF @ CIN – CIN. Cincinnati has been reeling for w in. They came close last week against Indy last week but no cigar. Now Buffalo is coming off their first win and should be excited to face a disappointing team like the Bengals. However, I think CIN will come out to play today. CIN is 2-7 but they’re not 1-8 like Buffalo.

OAK @ PIT – PIT. Pittsburgh might be just a little pissed about last week’s loss to the Patriots. I expect them to come out throwing against a team like Oakland.  Even though Oakland leads the AFC WEST, the talent isn’t the same as the AFC North, where Pittsburgh and Baltimore live.

ARI @ KC – KC. If all goes according to plan, the Kansas City Patriots should be first in the AFC West. That would consist of a loss for OAK and a win for KC. Well look at that, I’ve already predicted that. Go Figure! KC just got downed by Denver through way of the air, ground, and just about any other way you can think of. Facing Arizona is a perfect game to settle back into the winning ways.

CLE @ JAC – CLE. Time to watch out for Cleveland. They beat the Patriots and took the Jets into Overtime. Those two teams are two of the best in the league. I expect a great game out of Hillis this week. Even though the Jags have a good rushing defense, Hillis is doing a lot of his yard gaining outside the tackles with receptions.

HOU @ NYJ – NYJ. This is a match up I hope I lose. While I’ll be rooting for the Texans to take down the Jets, I still think New York is the better team. Houston has the talent to be the best, but they can’t defend the pass and luck just doesn’t seem to be on their side. Last week they lost on a hail-mary. This week they might just lose by the 2^nd quarter.

WAS @ TEN – WAS. Okay McNabb, time to put your new contract to good use. Show these Redskins fans that you still got it. As for Tennessee, sorry guys, you should have known that Indy would win the AFC South, again.

GB @ MIN – GB. Sorry Favre. This week you don’t have my blessing. Heck you didn’t have it last week either. I did however enjoy him flying under the SportsCenter radar this week. It was much more enjoyable to watch my standard 50 hours.

BAL @ CAR – BAL. I’m not picking Baltimore because of they lead the AFC North above Pittsburgh or because they should could come back after a tough loss against the Falcons. I’m picking them because I’m starting Falco and Rice in my fantasy league. LETS GO BALTIMORE!!

DET @ DAL – DAL. New Coach, New Attitude? I don’t know what got into the Cowboys last week but this should be an interesting matchup. I expect Detroit to come out throwing against a poor passing defense, but the big problem is, what else will they be able to do. The kicker is out, running back out, and quarterback out. DAL should have fun against this team.

ATL @ STL – ATL. MATTY HEISMAN!!!!

TB @ SF – TB. Josh Freeman didn’t disappoint last week and he won’t this week as well.

SEA @ NO – NO. Seattle is a horrible team on the road, averaging just over 10 points a game. Expect NO to run away with this one, even though both their running backs are hurt.

IND @ NE – NE. Do I really have to state my case for this one? Patriots at home, Peyton-Brady rivalry renewed. Let’s just hope this doesn’t come down to a 4^th and 2.

NYG @ PHI – NYG. What a game against Washington Vick had last week. Now let’s see how he does against a team that can defend. The Giants can definitely defend the run, being 3^rd in the league. Giants will take over 1^st place in the NFC East with a win.

DEN @ SD – DEN. SD has let me down so much in the past, you can see how I wouldn’t pick them again this week. Especially against a team that threw up 49 points last week. 

Make it, Bake it... Same Difference

The other day I was part of a party at work. There was cake, cookies, brownies, fake wine (grape juice), and a tasty treat by yours truly. No, my girlfriend didn't make it. After hearing about the company get together a day in advance, I had to scramble to either buy or bake something that night.

Walking around the supermarket, I decided to text one of my friends for some ideas. Bread bowls and chips were discussed until I realized the one actually good edible meal that I can cook. Pancakes! Looking like a fool with my pants on the ground... err... I mean, food in my hands, I ran around Price Chopper (that's Shaw's for all you non-New York/Vermont folk).

I had pancake mix, syrup, chocolate chips, and butter in my hands when I realized that this "treat" was going to cost me about the same as a meal from Dinosaur BBQ. I would know because I just had it. Full rack of ribs and Mt. Everest highly recommended.

So I put the different ingredients down and continued my search. That is until I came (pff... sorry... hehe) face to face with the pudding section. I tried to remember the last time I had pudding. No recollection came to mind so I started to grab the boxes. After filling my arms with pudding, there was one thing missing. A place to put it. I couldn't just bring in two bowls of pudding, so Googled how to make pie crust.

After skimming through my phone for recipes for 5 minutes I decided to go a different route, mini pre-made pie crusts. The interesting story about the pie crusts is that I think everyone thought I baked them, because every time someone asked who made the pie and other would say my name, they became wide eyed with an almost shocked look on their face.

NOTE: I never corrected anyone when they said I baked it, nor did I agree with the statement.

The mini pies were a success but far from the most popular item. For me it was a batch of cookies made by one of my co-workers. The thing about these cookies is that none even come close to comparing. I was spoiled with them when I first started working here, simply because there were 3 or 4 holidays in which to make them. For the last 10 months however, I've been without, and started to have withdrawals.

Let's just say I've only had two mini pies, and enough cookies to last me until Christmas. God Bless the Holidays!

Week 10 Picks: Just for Kicks

Last week, I went back to my usual ways, going 8-5, (54-41 overall). I don’t mind the norm since two weeks ago I endured my worst week of the season. This week however, I’ll have one less game to win or lose on because of the Thursday schedule that I forgot about. There are a lot of fun games to watch this week from McNabb vs. Vick: Round 2, to the Ryan Brother facing each other in Cleveland. And don’t forget about Sunday night football where two potential playoff teams battle it out in Pittsburgh. Without further distraction, here are my picks for week 10:


BAL @ ATL - N/A. This would obviously be blunder on this one. I meant to write this up earlier but never got around to it. I’m not going to penalize myself for it nor will I give myself credit for a win.

DET @ BUF – DET. That’s right Buffalo, even DET is going to beat you. 0-9 for you!

CAR @ TB – TB. Time for Josh Freeman to get it done. Carolina lost the first time at home against the Bucs. Why not lose away also?

MIN @ CHI – CHI. Didn’t you hear? Favre is retiring after this season. So he basically has one foot outside the door. Also, the Bears run defense is third in the league. Adrian Peterson is the only threat against Chicago this week. With the receiving core crumbling, AP has a lot of work to do. He won’t be able to do it by himself. So I don’t care if it’s Cutler or Collins, the Bears win this one.

HOU @ JAC – HOU. It’s hard to believe that the Jaguars have the same record as Houston, especially with the amount of talent that Houston has. Sometimes, Texas shows up, sometimes they choke. After an embarrassing loss to SD last week, I expect a whoopin’ coming for the Jags.

TEN @ MIA – TEN. Miami rolled over to Baltimore last week, so this week they’re planning to switch things up a bit. They’re bringing back their former starter, Chad Pennington. That’s right, they’re trading Chad for Chad. Pennington is undefeated against the Titans (2-0 but who’s counting), however, this is a different Titan team, because now, the Titans are Straight Cash Homie!

CIN @ IND – IND. I know that both teams are struggling. Indy is suffering because of injury but there doesn’t seem to be any communication in Cincy. There isn’t a leader within the entire Bengals squad, unlike the Colt that have a few of them. Indy should come up on top, they also may be pissed about their recent loss. The Bengals secondary isn’t really the greatest in the league, 17th overall against the pass.

NYJ @ CLE – NYJ. I know that Cleveland destroyed the Patriots last week, but the Jets aren’t the Patriots. I already chose the Jets to win the AFC East a few weeks back. They are an overall better team, defensively and offensively. Plus, Rex won’t lose to his brother. Say it with me now, ANA-GONNA-HAPPEN!

KC @ DEN – KC. Denver is a loss cause. And the Chiefs have proven their worth so far this season. They’re top of the AFC West and the Broncos are on the bottom. KC should win this pretty easy.

STL @ SF – STL. Everyone is taking the 49ners in this game, which I don’t really understand. The writers and analysts on ESPN all have SF winning, but SF is 2-6 and their only wins are against Oakland and Denver. Sorry, San Fran but that doesn’t impress me. I’ll take Bradford and Jackson any day.

SEA @ ARI – SEA. This is one of those games that I couldn’t care less about. I’ll take Seattle just because I don’t think Arizona has any handle on their team at all. The Cardinals are bottom five in Pass/Run Defense/Offense. I’ll take Seattle.

DAL @ NYG – NYG. You really want me to explain?? Dallas has no quarterback, coach, and owner with a brain. Nice stadium, but they’re not playing there this week. Giants win, how you say, “BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG!!!!!”

NE @ PIT – PIT. Being a Patriots fan, it really hurts me to pick against my beloved team. However, I’m trying to be realistic. Pittsburgh has a better running game and the best statistically run defense, which will force the Patriots to throw the ball where Polamalu will be waiting.

PHI @ WAS – PHI. I know this is McNabb vs. Vick round 2, but is it really? The Redskins just lost to Detroit and Philly just beat Peyton Manning and Company. Even with some of the defensive backs unable to play due to injury for Philly, I still see the Eagles coming out on top for this one. I just don’t have any faith that the Washington defense can contain a comfortable Vick this late in the season.

Patriots Lake Erie Nightmare

I didn’t even have to watch Sunday’s game to know how it went. I could not only tell from the reaction of my friends on Facebook and Twitter, but from the voices of Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork on WEEI 850 Boston Sports Talk Radio. The updates were negative, the tweets were atrocious, and the tones of voice of the two New England stars were disheartening.

Thankfully, I didn’t get to watch the game on Sunday, because I had family plans. But I do know others that took the 3 hours out of their day of rest to watch the AFC East leading Patriots fall to second place again.

Although Cleveland is only 3-5, you wouldn’t have guessed it from the way they played and celebrated. You could even go far as to say that the Patriots never even showed up in Cleveland. From the highlights alone, you can tell the game was a struggle to watch.

Meanwhile, Cleveland was playing to their fullest potential. Wide receivers were catching everything and their running back Peyton Hillis was more like Walter Payton. He was unstoppable. The man is listed as 240 pounds, but we all know that’s not completely true. The man is like a jauggernaut on the field, and averaged just over 6 yards a carry which is insane to think about considering the Patriots run defense is statistically the best in the league.

Cleveland’s celebration was the craziest thing to watch the entire game. You’d think they were planning the parade route for Monday. The coaching staff was doing back flips, literally, and the players even pored Gatorade on Mangini.

Sadly for the Patriots, they won’t be able to return the favor until probably next year, and even that isn’t a guarantee. If the Patriots lose to a team in their division, then they’ll have the chance to beat them in game two. Now, Mangini and company can hold this over their friends on the Patriots for possibly years to come. 5-3 or 6-2 doesn’t matter at this point when you play ex-players and ex-coaches.

As far as the Patriots are concerned, this one is going to sting for a while. But every realistic Pats fan figured we’d be at least 6-2 at this point, we just weren’t sure where the losses would be coming from.  Possibly Baltimore and Minnesota at the beginning of the year, but they’ve overcome that. I’m more than happy to be 6-2 at this point and in prime playoff contention.

As for Mangini, he just has to worry about keeping his job when his team continues to not make the playoffs for the 8^th straight year.

Week 9, the short version

Unfortunately, this week will be cut a little short on the explanations. It’s not because of my 5-8 record last week, 46 and 38 overall. (Okay well that’s only like 75% of the reason.) The other 25% is that I’ll be busy all day Sunday and won’t even be able to watch my wins accumulate. I will however have my Droid handy with live updates.

Week 9, coming at ya:

NYJ @ DET – NYJ. Detroit has two wins, but I’m not buying it. NYJ will bounce back hard against the Lions this week after throwing up a donut against the Packers.

MIA @ BAL – MIA. I said at the beginning of the season not to sleep on Miami. This team is very good and has proven it over the last few weeks. Won against GB, lost by 1 against PIT, and won against Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Baltimore has been on struggles lately, losing to 1^st in the NFL, New England Patriots, and slim win over last place in the NFL, Buffalo Bills.

NE @ CLE – NE. Colt McCoy has been named starter for the Browns. With no real threat at WR, the Browns will have to beat the Patriots on the ground, and right now NE is 12^th in Run Defense. Oh and the Patriots are number 1 in the NFL rankings. Did I mention that yet??

SD @ HOU – HOU. I just can’t trust SD anymore. Houston should bounce back from a tough beating by the Colts.

CHI @ BUF – BUF. SLEEPER OF THE WEEK!! Sorry Detroit, you will continue to be known for the defeated season, and no one can take that away from you. CHI is not that good of a team, their division is horrible. Go get em’ Bills!

ARI @ MIN – MIN. Harvin is hurt, Favre is recovering, and Moss is gone. Here’s what hasn’t changed; Arizona is horrible. Their only notable win was against New Orleans, and that might not even be worth mentioning considering the way the Saints are playing this year.

TB @ ATL – ATL. It’s the battle for 1^st in the NFC South. Josh Freeman vs. Matty Heisman. Will the ex-wildcat take home the glory, or with the Golden Eagle steal the spot light. Only time will tell. Okay, times up… Falcons win.

NO @ CAR – NO. Carolina is sitting pretty at 1-6 but I think I’ll go with the defending champs on this one.

NYG @ SEA – NYG. Seattle is a completely different team when they play at home. They are undefeated at home and score an average of 27 points at home and 11 points on the road. I do however have faith in the Giants who are rolling on a 4 game win streak right now.

IND @ PHI – PHI. This game is going to be an offensive show down. Even better now that Vick says he’s going to play and Jackson says he’s ready to go. Even though Peyton is 100%, his surrounding weapons need some refurbishing. With Clark and Collie still out, he’s going to have to pull some magic from a place I’d rather not venture.

KC @ OAK – KC. Just because I hate Oakland.

DAL @ GB – GB. Come on Dallas. Really? Jacksonville at home? Really?

PIT @ CIN – PIT. How lucky can a team like the Bengals be during a game and still lose. That catch by Owens off of the defender last week was fun to watch. Lucky, but fun to watch, and yet, they still lost. I don’t even have 0% faith in them winning. I have -50% faith in them. So you can run and tell that… Homeboy!