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!

Great + Week 8 = My Fate

Wow! Jaw to the ground and pants a little damp. That was basically my reaction to some of last week’s games. The losses to New Orleans, Denver, and almost Baltimore should have never happened. You had the recent SuperBowl Champion Saints losing to the Browns, 30-17. Drew Brees even threw for more than 350 yards. The Broncos lost to the Raiders by a score of 59-14. They scored 8 touchdowns on Sunday. THEY’VE SCORED 9 TOUCHDOWNS THE LAST 4 GAMES!!! This performance never should have happened. And Buffalo took Baltimore into overtime and almost grabbed their first win of the season against a strong playoff contender.

I would have gone 11-3 last week if it wasn’t for two of those three games. Instead I’m sitting on an average 8-5. Oh goodie. Let’s see if I can improve this week. Safe to say I won’t be making quick assumptions.

DEN @ SF – DEN. I would like to apologize to our neighbors across the Atlantic for Roger Goodell’s decision to send DEN and SF over to you guys to represent the NFL. This will by no means be a Patriots over Titans shellacking. This is a 2-5 team verse a 1-6 team. I’ll let the run game decide this one. DEN has Knowshon Moreno healthy and ready to go in his second straight game and SF is 14^th statistically against the run. Sure why not. That stat sounds good.

MIA @ CIN - MIA. If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Miami is for real. They beat first place Green Bay, and lost to first place Pittsburg by 1 point. CIN is neither GB nor PIT. MIA should put up enough points to cover the Bengals.

WAS @ DET – WAS. Washington is the underdog in this game. Detroit is favored by 2 ½ points. I never thought I’d see the day that DET was favored when they weren’t playing a CFL team. This can only mean one thing. The team I would originally pick is now my SLEEPER PICK OF THE WEEK. I know it doesn’t really fit into the category but according to bookies, this would be considered an underdog pick. Washington now has Donovan McNabb and Santana Moss who absolutely kill the Lions. If I could, I’d be making bets on Washington in Vegas. Knowing me however, I’d end up locked on top of a hotel roof.

CAR @ STL – STL. The employee that helped me Saturday at Panera was a nice guy and he was a St. Louis Rams fan. This goes out to you Doug.

GB @ NYJ – GB. That’s right! I picked GB! Why not? They are both in first place (Green Bay is tied.) They have the same amount of talent except for the Jets running game definitely over powers the two. I’m hoping the Jets will over sleep the fact that they’re coming off the bye week.

BUF @ KC – KC. Okay I know I said I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions but KC is a team that should have no problem beating BUF. Buffalo will not go defeated this year. However, their first win won’t be against the Chiefs.

JAC @ DAL – DAL. There’s no doubt that Dallas has been the biggest disappointment this year. Everyone was predicting at least a little playoff fun but now sitting at 1-5, post season play looks slim to none. But every team that fights for the playoffs has a turnaround game. This could be their turnaround game. Say it with me now Dallas. Believe in Kitna! Roy Williams does anyway.

TEN @ SD – TEN. SD hasn’t won a game since week 4 and doesn’t have any time to regroup until week 10 when they have a bye. Even though they actually showed life against NE last week, that’s not saying much for Rivers and Company as the Patriots defense is far from the best in the league. Meanwhile, Tennessee hasn’t lost since week 4 and can play their hearts out this week because they’ll have two weeks to rest as their bye week commences around 7PM on Sunday night.

MIN @ NE – NE*. This game has one factor that needs to be put on the table in order to make this decision. *= If Favre doesn’t start, Patriots will win. Tarvaris Jackson cannot go on the field on Sunday and beat a playoff contender like New England when he hasn’t played a down since 2009 and even then he only had 21 attempts throughout the whole season. However, if Favre plays, I will never question that man’s ability to win games, considering he’s been doing it for 291 games.

ARI @ TB - TB. TB has lost and won against the teams they’re physically and realistically suppose to loss and win to. Sunday they face the Cardinals who are 3-3 and in second place in the pathetic NFC West. TB is in second place in the NFC South who has Atlanta and New Orleans in their division. Physically and realistically, TB should beat Arizona.

SEA @ OAK – SEA. Really Darren McFadden? Really?  I feel like the Saturday Night Live anchors during their weekly segment. Really? Last week was like your entire career squeezed into one game. Seattle’s quarterback (Hasselbeck) doesn’t really have great stats for the year and their running backs are far from Pro Bowl selections. However, Seattle keeps finding ways to win. I expect the same from them this week, and NOT the same from Oakland this week. Really DMF? Really?

PIT @ NO – PIT. After a statistically great game against the Browns and depressing final tally, there’s no way I can pick the Saints to win against the predicted Super Bowl contenders. PIT should win this game, and expect a pick or two from Polamalu with trigger happy Brees behind center.

HOU @ IND – HOU. Indy was side swiped in game one of the season. Houston came out shooting. Peyton doesn’t have his full artillery with him. Austin Collie and Joseph Addai didn’t practice all this week. Dallas Clark is out for the season. The 31 year old wide receiver Reggie Wayne seems to be the only consistent player every week, and it’s not a good consistency. Houston is coming off a bye week and everyone who’s anyone seems to be healthy enough for the game. Last time they faced off, everyone learned who Arian Foster was. My opponents in Fantasy Football certainly have. I say Houston sweeps them for the season.

Also if you have any comments, questions, or opinions, please feel free to add below or you can email me at paulsnyderemail@gmail.com.

Why the Jets will win the AFC East...

Article is currently in production: check back later for the reasons behind this Patriots fan's predictions!

Sweep in Week Seven?? Hopefully...

Last week for the fun of it, I decided to flip a coin and then either debate the coins fateful decision or agree with it. The coin went 8-6 last week and I split down the middle going 7-7. Looks like I need a few more pennies for a decent thought. The good news is I'm 33-25 overall, still above .500!

Okay, let’s McCain this week and forget the change, Here's my week 7 picks!

CIN @ ATL – ATL. It’s interesting to see that the Bengals are statistically above .500 when it comes to Offense and Defense, yet they’re 2-3 with the only impressive win against Baltimore that happens to be their division rival. Against a top ten run defense, they should be fine if Carson Palmer lets it fly. However, I have a feeling that Matty Heisman might have that kind of Sunday. Matty Heisman don’t fail me now, even though you’ve failed me many times before.

PIT @ MIA – PIT. People laughed when I picked MIA over GB last week. And are they laughing this week?? Well yes because a coin beat me in fantasy picking, but that’s not the point. The Dolphins are for real. Believe you me!

BUF @ BAL – BAL. Not even worth the explanation.

JAC @ KC – KC. Jacksonville is having some quarterback trouble. David Garrard is out, Trent Edwards is likely out, and TIM TEBOW ISN’T WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR! Instead Todd Bouman will likely get the nod. You know Todd Bouman; the guy that hasn’t played a down since 2005. This should be a good bounce back day for KC after losing two straight.

CLE @ NO – NO. For explanation, refer to BUF/BAL game.

WAS @ CHI – WAS. Chicago is a great team defensively especially against the run. Too bad the Redskins are a passing team. CHI disappointed me last week against Seattle and that game should have been a lock for a team that leads the NFC North.

SF @ CAR – SF. SF came through for me last week. Granted it was against a team like Oakland but it still worked out for the best. SF got their first win and OAK continued to lose. WIN, WIN, and another WIN after Sunday. SF is a better team than 1-5, they just have a very tough schedule. Four of their losses have come from New Orleans, Kansas City, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, all teams that are playoff contenders.

STL @ TB – STL. Every week, STL does the opposite of what I think they will do. So this week I put the opposite of what I thought. I think they’ll lose so I’m picking them to win.

PHI @ TEN – PHI. When you think of a back up player coming to the rescue, Kerry Collins isn’t exactly my first pick, especially against a team that’s averaging 26 points a game. Even with DeSean Jackson out, Maclin, McCoy, and Celek should be able to pick up the extra slack. This might be a great game for Maclin who will now be considered the number one wide receiver.

ARI @ SEA – SEA. Again this is one of those game that just doesn’t matter. Granted the winner of this game could decide who’s first in the NFC West, but the NFC West is usually full of wild card teams. (STL has to loss in order to separate the 3 teams.) With a balanced air attack and running game (Matt Hasselbeck and Marshawn Lynch) this team should do pretty well against a team that’s in the bottom 7 in run offense/defense and pass offense/defense. Again, HOW ARE THESE TEAMS FIGHTING FOR FIRST PLACE???

NE @ SD – NE. SD is hurting… Physically and Mentally. As good as this team is coming off the bye week, they are down in personnel. Their running back is probable, TE is questionable, 1 and 2 WR’s are suspended and doubtful. Even their kicker is out. This team is physically in trouble and after losing to Oakland two weeks ago, needed this week to mentally prepare for a offensive hungry New England team.

OAK @ DEN – DEN. Knowshon Moreno is back and ready for the 30th worst run defense in the league.

MIN @ GB – GB. Favre is back in Green Bay. Last time these two teams met up at Lambeau, Favre and Rodgers threw for 7 TDs and 0 INTs. This might be a very fun offensive game to watch. Good thing it’s being televised nationally. If GB really want to get into Brett’s head… they should give out free fake cell phone at the gates for all the fans. Make them the foam kind so that they can throw them on the field. Okay, maybe not such a good idea.

NYG @ DAL – DAL. DAL let me down last week. However I won’t be fooled again, which is why I’m picking them again for my SLEEPER PICK OF THE WEEK. DAL is getting worse and worse while NYG is getting better and better but, don’t be surprised if DAL has a good game on the ground with Tuck and Kiwanuka likely out for the Giants. While the offense might be bad in Dallas, their defense is statistically ranked top ten in passing and rushing. 

Also if you have any comments, questions, or opinions, please feel free to add below or you can email me at paulsnyderemail@gmail.com.

Hit Right or Go Home!

Football is a tough sport. It’s the only one of the four major sports where physical abuse on another opponent is actually accepted. You hit, push, pull, punch, kick, shove, grab, jump into, run into, and fall on top of your opponents. Even everything from under the pile eye gouging to pile driving quarterbacks is given just a wave of the yellow laundry. 

Recently the NFL doesn’t seem to be happy with the physical contact that players are exerting on each other. These flagrant hits and head to head contacts are giving the league reasons to fine and even suspend certain players depending on the severity of the hit.

Some are arguing that these new rules will soften the play of football or that hitting hard is simply “football” so it comes with the job title. While I do agree that the league is moving into a direction of more flags/less contact, it is hits like the one by Brandon Meriweather that need to be eliminated from the sport.

Flagrant hitting and trying to intentionally injure someone should not be tolerated in any sport. Some will say that what he did wasn’t intentional. Intentional or not, he attempted to “tackle” Todd Heap twice, once sending Heap to the bench.

Click Link for Video: Meriweather Lunges with Helmet

This quote was said by Meriweather on Monday on WEEI, “I'm going to be aggressive, point blank… I won't change my game, period. I'm sorry it happened.”

The man is opening admitting to everyone that he knows what he did is wrong and doesn’t plan to change, until…

A reason behind adding these fines and suspensions is to scare these player straight. Here is what Meriweather said after being fined, “I’m going to try my best to play within the rules, like my coach had always taught us.” (Looks like the league’s officials are on to something). Meriweather lost half of a week’s pay because of 1 hit. (Yes sadly he makes about 100K per regular season week.) And on a side note, you’re damn right you will listen to your coach. Belichick knew it was intentional; he sat him for the rest of the quarter after the second hit.

Every sport has its own protocol for weaning out the overall aggressive. The NBA gives out technical fouls and ejects players, who could be fined and suspended for their actions. The MLB gives out warnings and does the same with post game decisions. Some people will argue that the NHL welcomes fighting. That’s not true. While fighting is as much part of hockey as acting is in soccer, intentionally hurting someone in hockey is frowned upon. One man is currently suspended indefinitely because of an elbow to the face that caused a man to seizure.

Up until earlier this week, Football was the only major sport that quietly turned the other cheek when intentional injuries arose. Sure there were flags thrown and whistles blown, but nothing like fining 3 separate players in three different games.

These hits have no business being in the game. In fact, every time I see a hit like that, I cringe. Most people do. I’d rather see a hard clean shoulder pad hit any day. That way at least you know it was intentionally clean, and by the book (of football ethics.)

Click Link for Video: Forceful, but legal, Shoulder Tackle

There are also ways to hit someone without your shoulder pads, like using your arms to extend forward.

Click Link for Video: Arm Extention Knockout

Those two hits are fun to watch. I love to get excited about these hits. The two defenders are PLAYING the game. Following a code of ethics and giving a little extra in a positive way.

When a person lowers their head with intent to injure it really shows what kind of person they really are; thugs, punks, and just play DBs (and no not Defensive Backs.) The game of football doesn’t need players like this. I am completely on board with these possible suspensions and fines. It ruins the game when you have players doing things like this. A perfect example of this is Ray Lewis who always plays with an extreme level of intensity. While his passion is all that is right in the world, his style of play is the hard hitting football that needs to be taken down a notch. Sometimes I question is game play, because he always hits at 110% as if he really is trying to injure someone on every play.

While I’m all for the phrase, “using your head” it’s time for these players to keep their chins up and shoulders down. Either hit right or go home, and if you do choose to go home, make sure the door DOES hit you on the way out.