Once a Bengal, Now a Raider. Next Stop, He'll Retire!

It's been years since I've been obsessed with numbers in sports. From batting averages to YACs (yards after catch), I just love comparing and studying any and all statistics. However, for the last year and half that I've been making my NFL picks and my final calls have basically been centered around comparing statistics between the two opponents. Granted, I've gone 190-122 in that span, a winning percentage of 61%. That record might not look too impressive but to put it in football terms, there's only 14 coaches in NFL history as of 2008, with a better winning percentage.

This year has been a little more difficult when it comes to making picks. While I haven't had a losing week so far, I'm feeling the need to switch my reasons up a bit, especially after just barely crossing over the .500 line the past three weeks. So this week will look a little different. I'll be skipping the records, statistics, and rankings and shooting from the hip and heart instead. Here's hoping...

ARI @ BAL - BAL. Another battle of the birds. Let's face it, Baltimore played last week as if they were the Arizona Cardinals. I don't expect another fluke out of the Ravens, especially against a "Suck for Luck" team like the Cardinals.

MIN @ CAR - CAR. I'm all about the Cam Newton train. I've been saying it all year. However, there is something left to Ponder about the Vikings in this one. Of course, I'm talking about their young gun behind center. Unfortunately, Ponder hasn't been able to hook up with anyone but Michael Jenkins. Lucky for Minnesota, Carolina has an experienced secondary and even worse defensive line. I'm not expecting this one to be one sided, but it's definitely going to be high scoring.

JAC @ HOU - HOU. As of Friday afternoon, there was still the possibility of Andre Johnson being able to play. Frankly, I don't think Houston even needs Johnson to win this game. Arian Foster should be enough for them to win this Sunday.
 
MIA @ NYG - NYG. Eventually Miami needs to get their act together, but this week won't be one of them. It's going to be cold and New York this weekend and last time I checked, dolphins hate the cold weather.

NO @ STL - NO. It's been a long time since we've considered St. Louis the Greatest Show on Turf. But don't worry sports fans, there will still be a great show to watch on Sunday. I can't wait to see what New Orleans does to St. Louis after last week's Indy embarrassment.

IND @ TEN - TEN. The Colts are doing a great job in their "Suck for Luck" campaign. This weekend will be another great week to boost their lead in the polls.

WAS @ BUF - BUF. This game actually took me a while to make a decision on. I think I prefer Buffalo at home with the crowd behind them then John Beck with no Hightower or Santana Moss.

DET @ DEN - DET. As much, as much, as much as I WANT to choose Denver, this team almost lost to Miami last week. Tebow or now Tebow, Detroit isn't going to give away the game like the Dolphins did. Detroit had a tough game against Atlanta last week and struggling offense. This could be the game Detroit needs to turn their game around.

NE @ PIT - NE. I said I was shooting from the heart this week. LET'S GO PATS!!!

CIN @ SEA - CIN. Whitehurst or Dalton? Just for S's & G's, let's go Bengals!

CLE @ SF - SF. I love the roll that San Francisco is on, and I'm hoping it continues.

DAL @ PHI - DAL. Dallas has been playing so well lately even though they lost to the Patriots and steamrolled through a sad St. Louis team. Fortunately for the Cowboys, the Eagles have been on a bad luck streak recently.

SD @ KC - SD. I honestly feel that this one was a no-brainer. Kansas City hasn't done anything against a decent team besides Oakland last week, but can we even count that considering Oakland pretty much handed them the ball on defense? San Diego should have no problem taking care of business on Monday night.


***Lastly, I'd like to wish anyone who reads this a happy Sunday of watching football. My fiance's birthday is on Sunday, so it's safe to say I won't be watching much football. I'm okay with that considering my fantasy teams are set, my picks are now in, and the Patriots promised to win.***

#15 in Your Programs!

I wouldn't call last week a loss, but I definitely didn't win like I wanted to. I mean an 8-5 record is nothing to sneeze at, but I did have a couple discourages losses. However, as a Pats fan, I'm glad I got the Cowboys pick wrong. This week I get to take a break from either rooting for or against New England and tear up the schedule this week. Lot's of good match ups this weekend, unfortunately I won't be in any of the viewing areas to watch them. With out further delay, let's get to the most anticipated games of the week:

DEN @ MIA - TEBOW... I mean DEN. I'm very excited to see how Tebow does. Unfortunately for all you fans out there, I don't seem him doing well. His throwing motion is unorthodox and he'll need a hell of an offensive line to flourish with his go to running style. Don't get me wrong, I really want him to do well and he's got the Lord on his side (He'll tell you that). The best part about this game is that Miami is honoring the 2008 NCAA National Football Champions on Sunday. I can't for the life of me remember who the quarterback of that team was. If anything, it will feel like a home game for Tebow, especially when more fans will be cheering for him than the Dolphins.

SD @ NYJ - SD. Gonna have to go with Norv Turner on this one. He's pissed and he's got a team that can take down the Jets. Even though Antonio Gates might not be available, Vincent Jackson is still Philip River's #1 target. The only question is whether or not Jackson can break away from Revis Island. Even though the Jets had a promising win last week, it was against a win-less Dolphins team. No offense to New York, but I can't give them much credit for that.

CHI @ TB - CHI. Time to hit the pitch, as Tampa Bay and Chicago head across the pond to play a little pigskin. Skipping all the unnecessary puns, Chicago should be able to contain the Bucs, especially with Blount out for Sunday. Now they can focus their efforts on the air attack, which is where they've struggled this year, currently 25th in the league.

SEA @ CLE - CLE. Haven't been a fan of Seattle all year and now they've got a new quarterback starting in place of a horrific Tavaris Jackson. I'll take Cleveland's defense to hold off Seattle's pitiful offense.

ATL @ DET - DET. As much as I love Atlanta in this game, I like Detroit just a little more even without Jahvid Best. They're not at a total loss without Best. Detroit's running game hasn't really shown up at all this season with the exception of a few large runs, that have only happened fairly recently. Atlanta's defense is 27th in passing and 7th in rushing. Lucky for Detroit, they are a passing heavy team. Expect another 2+ Touchdown day for MEGATRON!!

HOU @ TEN - TEN. Coming off a bye week Tennessee is well rested for their game against Houston. Fortunately for the Titans, Houston doesn't have their #1 receiver, but they do have an explosive running back. Fortunately against for Tennessee is they have a great running back of their own. The problem is he hasn't exactly shown up so far this year.

WAS @ CAR - WAS. As much as I'd love to continue to ride along the Cam Newton train this week, I'm going to have to step aside and let Rex Grossman do the talking instead. Carolina is 1-5 on the season and the Redskins are one game back for the lead in their division. They'll need to pick up against Carolina because next week will be a tough match up when they head to Buffalo.

PIT @ ARI - PIT. As much as Pittsburgh is hurting, Arizona hasn't shown any signs of life and shouldn't against a team like the Steelers that are on a two game winning streak and trying to stay alive in the hunt for first place in the AFC North.

KC @ OAK - OAK. Carson Palmer or no Carson Palmer, I honestly don't see Kansas City beating a team like Oakland that's on a roll. They're seriously taking "Just Win Baby" to heart, especially this year for sure.

GB @ MIN - GB. Rogers' and company are on a roll and this week it doesn't seem to be any road block in their way.

STL @ DAL - DAL. Tough loss last week for Dallas but it will all come around this week. I love how teams are using teams like Indy and St. Louis as a bounce back game. How does 0-6 sound?

IND @ NO - NO. How does 0-7 sound? New Orleans all the way.

BAL @ JAC - BAL. Unless you have Ray Rice on your fantasy team, there should be no reason to watch this game on Monday night. I dont' know what they were planning when they scheduled this match up but it should be pretty one sided. 

Just Win Baby!

Last week was definitely a week to forget and habit I don't want to get into. I guess I'll have to blame it on my drive to beat my aunt in last week's pick-ems. This week, I've got ice water flowing strong and plan to not even come close to another 7-6 record (45-32 overall). I'm feeling double digits in the win column this week.

CAR @ ATL - CAR. After going to the NFC Championship game last year, it's a little disheartening to see the Falcons sporting a 2-3 record. The good news is they aren't in last place in their division. Instead, their opponent this week is, but not for long. With Jones (WR2) out for the Falcons, it will be up to Matty Ice to find a way to get into the endzone with sole receiver Roddy White. Meanwhile, Atlanta has some injuries on the defensive side which isn't good especially with the newly elusive Cam Newton behind center.

IND @ CIN - CIN. I think it's time to jump on the Andy Dalton train. It's a little train, but it does exist, all 1000+ yards of it. For a team that had it's quarterback abandon them at the beginning of the season, a 3-2 record is phenomenal at this point. With a struggling Colts team, I'd expect the Bengals to take advantage of their pain.

JAC @ PIT - PIT. Oh hi Pittsburgh, didn't know you had a quarterback behind center. Nice to see that your preseason is over and you can start putting up Super Bowl numbers. After completing a 180* Big Ben finally had a breakout game. For Pittsburgh's sake, let's hope those stats continue. They might actually surpass Cincinnati in the standings.

BUF @ NYG - NYG. There's something about putting pressure on Fitzpatrick that's got me taking the Giants in this one. I know many people thought the Giants failed to even show up last week against Seattle, but I have a feeling that won't be the same case this week against a productive Buffalo team. The pass rush should put enough pressure on Fitzpatrick to startle him while Eli should get tons of time with practically no pressure from the Bills defense. With three receivers like Cruz, Hicks, and Manningham... all Eli needs is a little time for these three to get open.

SF @ DET - DET. Can Detroit go 6-0? After impressive wins over Dallas and Chicago lately, I'd say grabbing win number six against San Francisco is pretty plausible. Stafford is playing out of his mind and Megatron seems to have no off button. They got some huge help from Jahvid Best last week, so that should help free up the already productive passing game if he can do some damage on the ground.

STL @ GB - GB. Green Bay is 5-0 and St. Louis is 0-4. Do I really need to explain?

PHI @ WAS - PHI. This is always a great divisional rivalry. I never would have thought at the beginning of the season that Washington would have a better record than Philadelphia at this point in the season. However, even with all the struggling that the Eagles have had to endure, I'm still picking them this week to win. It's just the safer bet. Washington just isn't producing enough points week to week for me to pick them against a team that's moments away from a break out game. With the Redskins putting up 16 and 17 points in their last couple games, I'd expect the Eagles to be in at least the 30s by the fourth quarter. It will be up to Washington to play catch up at that point.

CLE @ OAK - CLE. After a heart warming and highly emotional win against Denver last week, it's time to come back down to reality for Oakland. This week was the funeral for ex-owner Al Davis. Unfortunately for most professional teams, distractions (whether they be good or bad) usually hurt a team in the near future. With a healthy Peyton Hillis coming back and a well rested Browns team coming off their bye week, expect Cleveland to come out strong.

HOU @ BAL - BAL. Andre Johnson's out? No worries, they have Derrick Mason now! Sorry Houston, but Mason and Arian Foster won't be enough to out score the Baltimore Ravens, who are also coming off a bye. Schaub is still hurt and if he's hit even the slightest, might be sitting on the bench before half time. Look for Foster to take on a good part of the work load this week but it won't be enough to outscore the likes of Flacco and Rice.

NO @ TB - NO. After losing the first game of the season, the Saints have just been on a roll scoring big and racking up yardage. Brees will most likely surpass 2,000 yards this week. I see no reason for them not to keep up their winning ways until their facing a worthy opponent.

DAL @ NE - DAL. Don't adjust your screen. Yes, I, Paul Snyder am picking the Patriots to lose this week. I know it's shocking considering I always feel they can win every week and usually make my case why, but this week looks challenging. Romo has both of his top tier receivers available, and their facing one of the worst pass secondaries in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Cowboy's pass rush isn't terrible and should be able to put pressure on Brady, which never bodes well for New England. It will definitely be a high scoring game, but much simpler for the Cowboys when it comes to putting points on the board.

MIN @ CHI - CHI. Chicago is coming off a tough loss against Detroit and Minnesota is trying work off of their first win of the season. Sadly for the Vikings, they beat Arizona, which isn't much of an accomplishment. I'd pick da Bears to bounce back in this potentially easy match up.

MIA @ NYJ - NYJ. As much as it hurts me to make the pick, I'm going to have to go with the Jets this week. Without a solid quarterback and running back in Miami, how can you expect the Dolphins to keep up with the Jets that are determined to prove fans wrong. Evening their record is the only thing on their minds this week and it's going to happen.

I call my island.... Wilfork

Now week 4 was definitely a week of football I could get use to. Not only did I go 12-4, but the Patriots won and the rest of the AFC teams lost. That works for me. Overall so far, I'm 38-26 this season which is surprisingly on average about 10 wins less than the professionals. Last year was a different story with me far out in front of them.

This week might be one of those back in the gutter picks. Lots of tough match ups but this week is personal. My aunt, Annette, is out for blood against my picks. This week, I'm putting the professionals behind me and I'm out to destroy her record this week.

NO @ CAR - NO. New Orleans put up a good win over an (at the time) undefeated Houston squad. Now they turn their attention to a 1-3 Panthers team with a quarterback/wide receiver combo that could do some damage. Unfortunately, that's all Carolina has. The Panthers have scored 9 touchdowns all season and Drew Brees alone has score 10. Hmmm? I'll join Who Dat Nation for week 5.

KC @ IND - IND. This is Indy's week. If you happened to see the game last week, you probably had to do a double take on the Colts first drive. Personally, I thought it was Peyton Manning on the field running the offense. The rest of the game not so much, but that first drive was eerie. It should come as no surprise since he's been practicing under Manning's belt for a couple years. Last week, Kansas City got their first win which would sound promising if it was against the other defeated team, the Vikings. I'll take a Indy for their first win.

PHI @ BUF - PHI. I know that Buffalo is on some type of high right now, and last week was their first loss of the season, but this Philadelphia team is determined to put W's in the win column. Don't be surprised if Vick has a monster game against this secondary, but at the same time, Fitzpatrick could do the same against Philadelphia. Fitz-magic has had a knack for doing that this year. He's fifth in touchdown passes.

SEA @ NYG - NYG. Seattle proved that can put the pressure on when they have too and their offense seems to be slowly coming together. Before last week, the Seahawks had scored a total of 33 points in three games. Last week they put up 28. This could be a turn around moment for them, especially when Arizona was 21st in the league in team defense. Meanwhile, the Giants are 18th, which isn't much better. That could lead the way for a high scoring game. Unfortunately, the Giants have three wide receivers that are hungry for the football. There's a little bit of controversy floating around the field with Cruz and Manningham, so don't be surprised if one of them goes off to shut up the media.

CIN @ JAC - CIN. One of those couldn't care less about games but here's my pick anyway. I'm not going to pick Cincinnati to win, but instead I'm going to pick them not to lose. There really is no clear winner in the game.

TEN @ PIT - TEN. For some reason, some reason.... I like Tennessee in this game. I said the same thing about Detroit last week. For some odd reason, I like Tennessee. I really feel that Hasselbeck, even without Kenny Brit can do some damage against Pittsburgh. It shouldn't be to hard to stay even with them. The Steelers only big win came against an offensive struggling Seattle team. Last week they barely put up double digit points. Adding Chris Johnson in the mix for the Titans can certainly boost their stock on Sunday.

OAK @ HOU - OAK. Oakland played a hard fought game last week against New England, and Houston lost a hard fought game against New Orleans. Houston, however, lost their top receiver in Andre Johnson, while Oakland seems to be getting stronger in the run and pass game. That's if Campbell can keep the ball out of the defense's hands. He definitely had a couple brain farts from time to time but nothing that he can't bounce back from.

ARI @ MIN - ARI. I've said for weeks that Kevin Kolb needs to get his head out of his ass and start throwing like the quarterback we all thought he would be with Fitzgerald on his side. Now we've got an 0-4 Vikings team that's not even led by their quarterback, but instead their running back. It's sad when their running back is catching up to their quarterback in total yards. Football is slowly turning into a passers game if it isn't already, which means it might be time for Minnesota to go shopping, because McNabb isn't doing the trick. Stay tuned for the battle of the ex-Eagles quarterbacks!

TB @ SF - TB. This is slightly above the CIN/JAC game for me in terms of caring. I'll go with Josh Freeman and Co. considering that Alex Smith can't seem to do anything productive this season.

NYJ @ NE - NE. Big surprise, I'm picking New England. I truly believe it's going to be a tough match up, by no means do I think it's going to be a blow out. Both teams can put points on the board, the Jets just a need a poor defense to do so against. (Enter Patriots Defense stage left.) Even though the Patriots are hurt and young on defense, their offense is still putting up 30+ points each game. Even as bad as they are against the run and pass, I don't see Sanchez or Greene stepping up to outscore the Pats.

SD @ DEN - SD. As long as Vincent Jackson plays and Orton continues to disappoint fans, I don't see how San Diego loses this game.


GB @ ATL - GB. Atlanta hasn't shown any promise this year as I've said before, and they barely beat out Seattle last week. I think I'll continue to pick the high rollin' Packers. (Green Bay is also my suicide pick this week.)

CHI @ DET - DET. Detriot has to come back last week against Dallas, but they got it done. Who's to say they won't do the same against Chicago who's sitting sadly at 2-2. After four continuous weeks of scoring two touchdowns, is it safe to say Calvin "Megatron" Johnson will do it again.

Week 4: Something in the Buffalo Water

Last week wasn’t a total failure. To be honest I’ll take a 9-7 week all year. If it’s good enough to win an NFC West playoff spot, it’s good enough for me. Looking over this week’s games, it’s definitely a tough week in football pick-ems. But this is what I love to do each week so here we go:

CAR @ CHI – CHI. I’m all about the Cam Newton train and it was good to see Carolina get their first win last week. Unfortunately it was against Jacksonville. Meanwhile Chicago has been on a bit of slump, but it’s been against likes of Green Bay and New Orleans, two teams will be fighting for playoff spots. I’ll take Cutler in this one to do well with that young secondary.

BUF @ CIN – BUF. As much as it hurts me to pick Buffalo after the win they put up last week, I’ll be going with them again, especially against the Bengals. Their offense seems to have no limits, and personally I don’t see the Bengals stopping Fitzpatrick and Jackson.

TEN @ CLE – TEN. Since the only good thing to come out of the Cleveland teams is Peyton Hillis, I’m not worried about Hasselback putting up numbers, since Hillis doesn’t play defense. No offense Cleveland fans, but I’m all about the Titans this week. We might even see Chris Johnson get some significant playing time, which is even worse for Cleveland to handle.

DET @ DAL – DET. The Lions have their first real test this weekend. They’ve barely had to show up against the three teams they’ve faced so far (Tampa, Kansas City, and Minnesota.) Now they have to face a tough Dallas team. Fortunately for Detroit, Dallas is banged up pretty bad. They’re could be without their two best wide receivers and we all know Romo is hurting from those busted ribs. I expect Detroit to put up the same amount of points on the board, and don’t think the injured Cowboys can keep up.

PIT @ HOU – HOU. I love this game. Really wish it was going to be televised. Unfortunately, I’ll have to watch the little circles move across the computer screen. While I really want to choose Pittsburgh to win this game, my guy is telling me Houston. I have been going 9-7 these past two weeks so that’s why I’m taking a leap on this game.  Arian Foster might not play, but that doesn’t mean that Tate and Schaub can’t get the job done. Big Ben has had to rely on the run the last few weeks, and I expect more of the same this week. Mike Wallace might finally have a good game for them however, especially with a young secondary chasing him around the field.

NO @ JAC – NO. No explanation necessary. Also picking them in my Suicide Pool.

MIN @ KC – MIN. Sorry Kansas City, I just don’t see you stopping Adrian Peterson. This might even be a great game for Minnesota to finally get in a throwing groove and get McNabb comfortable in the pocket.

SF @ PHI – PHI. I thought Philly was suppose to be the dream team? Maybe it’s time to wake up and play some real football. San Fran is 2-1 but their wins are against Seattle and Cincinnati. I’ll take Vick and Co. to do well against a non contender.  

WAS @ STL – WAS. If Steven Jackson isn’t 100%, I’ll take Rex Grossman. I just don’t see how St. Louis can keep up with a constant offense like Washington. Now, Grossman didn’t put up big numbers last week, but they were finally playing a tough defensive team in Dallas. Meanwhile, the Rams just got beat badly by Baltimore. I just don’t see them coming out on top.

NYG @ ARI – NYG. Hi I’m Kevin Kolb and I want to leave being a backup quarterback in a possibly championship bound team to suck for a franchise that can’t get off the ground. Come on Arizona, you had to beat Seattle last week and you could barely put up double digits in points. And now you’ve got a Giants teams that’s finding lots of reasons to bELIeve in this season. They just beat the “Dream Team.” Should be pretty easy to beat the “Dead Team.”

ATL @ SEA – ATL. Battle of the birds! Which one is Angrier? (Get it?) I’ll take Matty Ice. He needs a break out game.

DEN @ GB – GB. Another reason unneeded. Denver hasn’t proven anything this year and Green Bay keeps #winning.

NE @ OAK – NE. Nice win last week Oakland, but don’t get too worked up about it. The Patriots are never a happy bunch after a loss, especially one against a divisional rival. Just tuck away that win and tuck away your heads in between your knees because the Patriots plan to tuck that loss behind them and start a new winning streak.

MIA @ SD – SD. As of Saturday morning, everyone for San Diego was healthy for Sunday’s game. In that case, I guess I’ll take San Diego at home against an 0-3 Miami team that just keep seem to put anything together.

NYJ @ BAL – BAL. This was actually the last pick I decided to make. It took me longer than usual to pick this game. I’m going with Baltimore for one big reason. I think their secondary can take care of Sanchez. That being said, the Jets have always been a running team but so far this year they have struggled to do so, putting a lot of pressure on their “Sanchise Quarterback” to get the job done. Meanwhile, Flacco and Rice have been rolling with the punches and putting up some impressive numbers with the small fluke in Tennessee.

IND @ TB – IND. Congrats Indy, you’re finally on my win list. You’ve grinded it out this long, now I honestly think you’ll survive this week, especially after almost beating out Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Tampa just can’t seem to stay constant. They score, they don’t, they don’t again. They lost to a struggling Atlanta team and that should make for a great match up between these two teams. Jump aboard to the Kerry Collins train… ALL ABOARD!