As the season continues to move along, we keep finding out who is really a “Contender” and who is a “pretender”.  Next week I will break down who is a team that should be taken seriously, or again if they’re just pretending. Most of my divisional winners are holding up, but some have really let me down; (Carolina).

This week should prove to be another interesting one. With the worthless game between the Lions and Rams; (thank gosh it’s not on TV!), Brett Favre making his return to Green Bay, both the Broncos and Saints trying to stay unbeaten and Vince Young making his Titans debut this season, it should be a fun week of Football.

I think Brett Favre is going to tear it up in Green Bay and lead Minnesota to their 7th victory and really stick it to Packer nation, Vince Young will lead the Titans to their first victory, both the Saints and Broncos stay undefeated, and the match up between Philly and New York will go New York’s way, as the Eagles have to many players out.

Here is my complete Week 8 picks. I’ll update my standings next week and give a mid-season report of divisional winners too.

Texans, Bears, Cowboys, Lions, Colts, Dolphins, Giants, Broncos, Titans, Chargers, Vikings, Cardinals, Saints

Well, I have to say that I’m pretty happy with the way my picks have gone this season. I know I didn’t update in Week 5 what I had, but I finished 9 and 5 that week and had my best week in Week 6, as I posted an 11 and 3 mark to go to 58 and 31 overall.

My highlights from last week included the Chiefs picking up their first win of the season while also saying the Vikings and Saints would remain undefeated. This week however will prove to have some challenges as the Vikings again put their undefeated record on the line against a very good Pittsburgh team, while teams like the Eagles and Giants look to re-group after coming up short, and teams like the Rams and Bucs look for their first win.

But here we go for another exciting week of NFL football. Hope that my picks have helped you along the way. Here are my Week 7 selections:

Colts, Steelers (yes, they end Brett Favre and Minnesota’s undefeated streak), Patriots, Texans, Packers, Chargers, Jets, Bills, Falcons, Bengals, Saints, Giants and Eagles.

As noted above, the Steelers will beat Minnesota for the first time this year, New Orleans will move to 6-0 while the Jets end their losing streak. Check back next week to see how I did, and for Week 8 picks!

There is big news coming down from Ann Arbor. Athletic Director Bill Martin is going to step down after this year. His kill date? September 4^th 2010. Just long enough to see his last great impression on the University of Michigan officially unveil itself against UConn.

This notice of resignation definitely comes as a shock. But, does it reek of something more?

Bill Martin came in during a time of turmoil. Michigan Basketball was just getting out of a major infraction thanks to boosters and Chris Webber. He took the right steps to get that turned around within ten years. Making the right moves to save face with Tommy Amaker, (three NIT appearances with one championship) and then build upon that with John Beilein; a hire that led to a bid to the big dance in over a decade. He made people care about Michigan Basketball again for the first time in a long time. Don’t believe me? Say hello to the new program to expand/improve Crisler Arena along with space specifically designed for practice; before they had to split time to have practice space at Crisler.

Not only did he help out the basketball program he also helped out in other areas. Stephen M. Ross Academic Center, the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex, the new wrestling facility, the varsity tennis center, the Junge Family Champions Center, and oh yeah that small renovation on Stadium and Main. But, there are always two sides to a coin.

Granted there are many things to champion Martin for, but there are also things to berate him for as well.

The first thing that comes to mind, oh gee I don’t know, Coach Rodriguez. You know that other coach he hired. Like Beilein, Rodriguez too comes from West Virginia but with more “baggage” as some like to say. Baggage that includes the “messy” hiring from West Virginia that Martin agreed to pay 4.1 million dollars to settle, the first ever “infraction”, if you want to even call it that because it hasn’t been found to be true at all, to Michigan Football, and that whole GPA thing. Granted that GPA thing wasn’t Coach’s fault, but it’s a distraction nonetheless.

We’ve heard the saying this year: All in for Michigan. We’ve also heard rumblings throughout Rodriguez’s hire till now of people who aren’t. Granted, Martin didn’t want this job long term, even though 10 years is a pretty long time, but this abrupt end comes almost at a perfect moment. Is Martin the falling domino to something bigger?

To me this seems like a prequel. Does this send a reinforced message to Rich Rodriguez to win now or get out? I say “Yes”. It’s common knowledge that Athletic Directors like to bring in their own head coaches. People have thrown Rich into the hot seat since his 3-9 record. The burner got turned to High during this practice “scandal” but then back down to simmer after starting the season 4-0. With the so called “old guard” at Michigan holding fast in their ways, this will probably further send Rodriguez twisting in the wind. After all, who has his back now? Winning is the only cure. Rich knows this. He has said he would like to have a say in who gets hired, and for good reason. Head Coaches have a hard time surviving changes of this magnitude. One can only hope to see Michigan get to a January bowl. When Martin is gone next year, Rich will be in year three of four of his contract. If Michigan isn’t back to where most expect them to be, competing for a Big Ten Title, the New AD can win “traditionalists” back by making sure Rodriguez doesn’t get that extension or make the unpopular decision of granting him a much longer tenure in Ann Arbor.

 So, Martin has come full circle coming in times of turmoil only to leave in much of the same.

I don’t have a lot of time to go through my picks today as it is already Sunday and the games will kick off in just over an hour, so I will make this quick as to my predictions. This week though will be very exciting as a couple of undefeated teams will fall, bringing them back down to earth.

I’ll update my complete progress in my next blog, but for time purposes, I’ll just pick my winners.

Bengals, Packers, Vikings, Saints, Steelers, Panthers, Chiefs (yes, they get their first win!), Jaguars, Eagles, Cardinals, Patriots, Jets, Falcons, Broncos.

Check back next week to see how I did the last two weeks and to seem my total record for the season. Should be a fun day, enjoy the games!

Well I have to say that so far this NFL season has gone pretty much as expected, which is making most of my picks stand tall in the end.  I’m happy with my overall record which now sits at 38-23 after a 9-5 record last week, but I’m just waiting on that one week where I’m flawless or just have one or two wrong picks.

As for this week, my picks are: The  Bills, Steelers, Cowboys, Vikings, Giants, Eagles, Panthers, Ravens, 49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Patriots, Colts and Jets.

Check back next week to see how I do and what my record has climbed, or fallen to.

Well another week in the books, and a 10-6  finish last week with my picks which brings my total record to 29-18. I really thought I had the Vikings/49ers pick right, and it seemed that way until Favre did what the old Favre has done so often, and brought his team back late in the game.

This week brings in the first bye weeks, so teams like Philly can rest up their star players like Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook, while other teams have to fight their way through the injuries.

I’m going to change up how I pick the teams this week and just list them instead of saying who they will beat. So my picks are as follows:

Ravens, Redskins, Jaguars, Texans, Bengals, Colts, Giants, Saints, Bills, Cowboys, 49ers, Chargers, and Lions. Yes, the Lions will win their first road game this week against Chicago.

The Final game of the week is the one of the most intrigue, which is Brett Favre taking on the Packers on Monday Night Football. I truly feel the Vikings are going to stick it to Green Bay, and Favre will prove the point in a shoot out that he still has what it takes.

Those are my picks, will see how I do. In any event, it should be a very interesting week.

Well two weeks are in the books, and I currently sit 19-12 overall with my picks. Last week I had a pretty bad week after going 9-7, but some of the games I’ve picked wrong  have me scratching my head as to if the team is a possible division contender or an early pretender.

Teams like the Broncos who sit at 2-0, or teams like the Titans who are 0-2….which is more accurate of how their season will go? I’m thinking the reverse for both. Tennessee will bounce back while Denver will fold down the stretch.

As for my Week 3 picks:

Packers over the Rams

49ers defeating the Vikings (Going out on a limb)

Patriots beating the Falcons

Jets falling to the Titans

Philly over K.C.

Giants defeating the Bucs

Ravens beating the Browns

Jaguars falling to the Texans

Bears over Seahawks

Saints defeating the Bills

The Bengals falling to the Steelers

The Broncos over the Raiders

Miami defeating San Diego

The Cardinals beating the Colts

Cowboys over the Panthers

And the Lions will beat, yes I said it, they will beat the Redskins for their first win in 20 attempts.

I have to say this is the hardest week to pick so far with how certain teams have been playing. I somewhat think Carolina will get their first win against Dallas, but I’m not willing to bet on that. I also have a hard time with the 49ers and Vikings, but I’m willing to say San Fransisco will get it done. Check back next week to see how I did, and to see my Week 4 picks.

So Week 1 of the NFL Season is in the books, and I went 10-5 with my predictions. I could have had more, but the late rally by Tom Brady and the Patriots, along with Denver’s miracle 87 yard TD cost me two games.

As for my Week 2 picks, they’re as follows:

The Falcons over the Panthers

Vikings defeating the Lions

Packers beating the Bengals

Texans falling to the Titans

The Raiders downing the Chiefs

Jets over the Patriots

The Eagles (with McNabb) beating the Saints…..(Without) falling to New Orleans

The Rams falling to the Redskins

The Cardinals defeating the Jaguars

Seattle over San Fransisco

The Bills Beating the Bucs

Pittsburgh downing Chicago

The Chargers falling to the Ravens

The Browns over the Broncos

The Cowboys defeating the Giants

And The Dolphins will beat the Colts

Those are my Week 2 picks. Check back next Weekend to see how I did, and to see my Week 3 selections.

September 12th, 2009 by ryan.wooley

With the days becoming shorter and shorter, the kids back in school, and the changing of colors, it can only mean one thing; Fall is here!

Of course with every fall, sports fans look at the season ahead as a new opportunity for their beloved team to be competitive and eventually compete for a Championship. Every week this season I will give my predictions for the NFL and tally up my results at the end of the year.

But before I make my week 1 picks (even though the Steelers beat the Titans Thursday night), I want to preview who I think will be standing tall in the end as far as Division winners are concerned. My Week to week picks will be up every week before Sunday, so make sure to check back and see how I do on a weekly basis.

I’ll start in the AFC North with the Bengals, Ravens, Browns and Steelers.

When all is said and done it will be the Steelers winning the division as they’re the best team of the four. I believe the Ravens will struggle as Joe Flacco will come back down to earth and have a slump in his 2nd year, while the Bengals will ultimately implode yet again and the Browns will struggle with Brady Quinn at quarterback.

In the AFC West, the Chargers will once again sit atop the weakest division in football, as they have the most talent and experience. The Chiefs put all their eggs in one basket as they are hoping Matt Cassel can duplicate his 11-5 performance last year with New England….but don’t forget last season was his his first snap since high school, so he may have a tougher time this year. Looking at the Raiders, they’re a team that will be lucky to even win six games as they have holes all over their roster. Their defense should be good, but don’t expect much out of the offense. The Broncos meanwhile are going to figure out rather quickly that Jay Cutler may have been a baby, but he was their golden ticket to the post season and they will be the ones crying in the end.

For the AFC South I see the Colts returning to the top. Indy just has too much talent and last season they would have had a better shot at the division had Peyton played in the pre-season. Last years champs the Titans will once again be good, but will play 2nd fiddle in the division. Jacksonville will bounce back from a dreadful season themselves and cause havoc, while the Texans will again become bottom feeders.

Lastly for the AFC, in the East it will be a tight race between New England and Buffalo. Yes I said Buffalo. The Bills started hot last season and fizzled down the stretch, but if T.O. can play the way he played in Dallas he will help Trent Edwards out and lead Buffalo back to the playoffs. I however think that would be a wild card situation as Tom Brady returning will have New England back on top for the division title. The Dolphins again will be competitive and challenge the Bills for that 2nd spot in the division while the Jets will find out a rookie quarterback doesn’t always work out in the NFL. Mark Sanchez will struggle and realize he should have stayed in college for another season.

For the NFC West I see the Seahawks reclaiming their throne atop another weak division. With Matt Hasselbeck back under center and Jim Mora Jr taking over coaching duties, Seattle is poised at a run. The Cardinals won’t repeat their magical season last year but will sit in 2nd place within the West. Both the Rams and 49ers will of course be playing for next year, but it will be San Fransisco at the bottom. Not having a top draft pick on the field in Michael Crabtree will definitely hurt them.

In the NFC South, the Panthers will repeat as Champions. Carolina just has way to much talent with Jake Delhome at quarterback, Steve Smith at receiver and the 1-2 punch of DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart in the backfield. The Saints will then finish behind them as Drew Brees and company are poised for a big season. The Falcons will feel the same issue the Ravens will have with Matt Ryan at quarterback. They will be competitive, but miss the playoffs while the Bucs will sit on the bottom of the division.

For the toughest division in football, which is the NFC East, Philadelphia will reclaim their spot at the top. With Donovan McNabb coming off another great season, Brian Westbrook coming back from surgery, two more offensive weapons with Jeremy Maclin at receiver and LaSean McCoy in the backfield, and don’t forget about Michael Vick….Philly has what it takes to make a Super Bowl run. The Giants meanwhile will struggle this year as they’re still in need of a 1,000 yard receiver and cut Super Bowl hero David Tyree. The Cowboys will open their beautiful stadium but thats all the fans will have to cheer about as Romo and company continue the drought of no playoff wins since 1996, while the Redskins will round out the division on the bottom.

Last but not least, the NFC North will see the Chicago Bears take the reigns from Brett Favre and the Vikings in the end. With Jay Cutler now in the fold, Matt Forte in his second season and a defense that is as aggressive as ever, Chicago will sit atop the North. The Vikings and Favre will give them a run for their money, only to come up short and sit in 2nd place. The Packers meanwhile who started off hot last season and struggled defensively will see a slip on the offensive side this season, despite Aaron Rodgers who lit it up last year. And of course the Lions will be cellar dwellers again, but at least this time with a rookie quarterback that will win up to five games and give them an edge heading into next year.

So to recap:

AFC North: Steelers, Ravens, Bengals, Browns

AFC West: Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos

AFC South: Colts, Titans, Jaguars, Texans

AFC East: Patriots, Bills, Dolphins, Jets

NFC West: Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams, 49ers

NFC South: Panthers, Saints, Falcons, Bucs

NFC East: Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, Redskins

NFC North: Bears, Vikings, Packers, Lions

That’s how I see the season unfolding as far as Divisions are concerned. Obviously a lot can happen through out a season, but if all goes according to plan, that’s who will make the guaranteed post season slots as division champs.  My week 1 picks will be up before every Sunday, so make sure to check back!!

Week 1 Picks: (Minus Pittsburgh/Tennessee due to the game taking place on Thursday)

Dolphins, Bengals, Vikings, Colts, Saints, Cowboys, Eagles, Ravens, Jets, Giants, Cardinals, Seahawks, Bears, Bills, and Chargers

Michigan went down to Orlando, FL to meet up with Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators in the Capitol One Bowl. Michigan was seeking to give Lloyd Carr a proper sendoff, a victory. A much needed Victory. Michigan opened that season with devastating losses to Appalachian State and Oregon before going off on an eight game win streak. Needless to say, Coach Carr rode off into the sunset, on the shoulders of men who loved him, with that victory in-tact.

Rich Rodriguez, Michigan’s heir-apparent, stood on the sidelines watching that game knowing Carr’s program, starting January 2^nd 2008, would be his for better or worse. He and the Michigan faithful immediately began to clash from that point on.

First off, Rich’s first sin was that he was not a Michigan Man. Second was that Bill Martin, Michigan’s Athletic Director, agreed to pay Rodriguez’s much heated four million dollar buy-out from West Virginia. A buy-out that Rodriguez disputed because he was ”fired” from the program for looking at other jobs and one that most people felt that he should have paid for out of his own pocket. Then came the first meeting he held with his players. That didn’t go over too well either. After said meeting, Fans learned that Ryan Mallett, Mario Manningham, and Adrian Arrington would not be Wolverines any longer. Justin Boren also made the most noise leaving the program citing the lack of Family Values that Rodriguez and staff exhibited. Manningham and Arrington instead went quietly on ahead to the NFL draft, and Mallett, who believed he was chased out of Ann Arbor by Rodriguez because he didn’t “fit” the system, decided to Transfer to Arkansas. There were also claims of Rich being a Snake Oil salesman after he recruited Roy Roundtree from Joe Tiller and Purdue despite Roundtree’s commitment to The Boilmakers.

But despite all of that, Michigan Fans were anxious to see what Michigan would become in 2008 under RichRod and his staff. A staff that also includes a weight lifting Guru in Mike Barwis that planned to transform Michigan’s traditional big bruising linemen into smaller more agile ones. But, we all know the story. Michigan lost nine games for the first time in the program’s history, lost to a MAC team for the first time ever, and lost to Michigan State at home for the first time since 1991. Let the attrition begin.

Since then Michigan continued to lose players as well as people’s respect. One situation in particular was that of Kurt Wermers, an offensive lineman. He cited the same reasons for leaving the program that Justin Boren had prior to leaving Michigan. We only learned after places like ESPN and local media outlets blasted the program for having another player leave that the real reason why he left was that he was academically ineligible.

Another situation that immediately comes to mind is that of Justin Feagin. Justin was Rich’s first attempt to find an athlete to play QB in his system. After his attempt to play QB at Michigan, Justin was moved to play another key role in Michigan’s new found offense, Slot Receiver. Even then Feagin was continuously getting buried on the depth chart at Michigan. Once Coaches found out that he was dealing drugs on campus, Feagin was automatically kicked out of school and off the team. Many people began to bash Rich Rodriguez for recruiting this type of kid to his program. The Detroit Free Press’ Michael Rosenberg wrote an article saying what you don’t know does hurt you. Even though once RichRod found out the news about his player, he kicked the kid off the team. I continue to reiterate this because of the Jeff Smoker situation at Michigan State.

Smoker who dealt with substance abuse issues at Michigan State was kicked off the team by Bobby Williams in 2002. But he was later reinstated to play for the team, despite using and selling drugs, in August of 2003. A Similar offense, but he continued to play football whileFeagin did not. Plain and simple. MSU also gladly accepted Glenn Winston back to the team after he assaulted Michigan State’s Hockey player A.J. Sturgis last fall. Winston was let out of prison due to over population not on good behavior or anything like that. Yet, once he was let out, he was seen on the practice field an hour later. Is anyone going to call that foul play? If not, I will. That’s a textbook definition of the pot calling the kettle black.

Since 2008 it seems like bashing Michigan is the thing to do around here especially within the media.

Sunday’s issue of the Detroit Free Press held an article from Michael Rosenberg and Matt Snyder in which they describe how Michigan has “continuously” violated the NCAA’s rules. First of all it’s all hear-say if Michigan did or didn’t. Yet, it seems like these writers have made up their minds. The first line of the article already shows us that much. Last time I checked, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, right? It seems like the word allegedly was forgotten in two, actually three (let’s not forget the editor) people’s lexicon.

I can’t really take this article as credible despite the “numerous” reports from players. The article, for the sanity of the players, garner them anonymity, how considerate, so we don’t really know the true number who actually came forward. The article bounces anywhere from ten to six, from six to two, to numerous accounts of the violation in almost exact “detail”. The article also gives us two freshman player’s accounts of their time in Ann Arbor thus far:  “It’s crazy,” said Hawthorne, who was not complaining about his coaches and was apparently unaware of the time-limit rules. “I work out at 8. We’ll work out from, like, 8 to 10:30. We come back later, have one-on-ones, seven-on-sevens, a little passing. Then I’ll go watch a little film.” “Hooooo!” Stokes said. “A typical week is working from 8 a.m. in the morning to 6 or 7 at night, Monday through Saturday.” And that was starting in June? “Yes, sir,” Stokes said. “We do the weight room at least three times a week, and seven-on-sevens and one-on-ones. Speed and agility on the other days. Every day we have something new to get ready for the season. The coaches have done a great job of stressing the importance of getting us ready for the big season that we’re about to have.”Stokes was not complaining. Like Hawthorne, he apparently was unaware of the rules.

So, that proves…what exactly? Again it’s merely hear-say evidence.  The two players don’t mention that the coaches were there, instead Rosenberg and Snyder assume that “we” didn’t mean the players getting together on their own, like everyone does to bond in College Football. It was well known that Florida’s Tim Tebow would wake up his teammates at 5 or 6 in the morning to work on timing and routes this summer. That sounds like a violation to me if we are going by Snyder and Rosenberg’s standards. BUT many media outlets spoke of Tebow’s leadership, and getting high demand of his teammates just to make sure they stayed on top of the College Football world. After their last Championship, Florida went 9-4 with that Loss to Lloyd Carr’s team…yeah. Furthermore, when the Freep mentioned that the former NFL players that came back to work out with Barwis called the work absurd. Every regimen is different. If you work out, you know that no two trainer’s programs are the same. The article also tells of Graduate Assistants calling players asking them if they were at practice. If they aren’t with the team they would look as to why and would “ignore” the players when they said that they were in-class. G.A.s keep a tally, of players attending workouts. Thats it. Nothing more. Even if it felt like the coaches were watching and evaluating their play, they weren’t.

Ok? Again I’m left asking what does this prove. Feeling like being coached and actually being coached are way different from one another. Keeping a tally of who is working hard and who isn’t doesn’t bother me. It’s seeing who is competing for playing time; who is actually trying to make Michigan better. Last time I checked that is never a bad thing especially when you’re trying to install a new offense that nobody in your program has gone through or after your team put up 9 losses when you could have gone 5-7 in 2008. Also players have reportedly missed practices for class time, and Rich Rodriguez has openly stated that in his pressers after practices when people have questioned their absences. Yet the Freep has seemed to forget that minute detail. They also forgot to add this little tidbit from a current player’s father “Michael spent more time this summer on class work than any thing else,” freshman tackle Michael Schofield’s father wrote to The Wolverine (a magazine that follows Michigan Athletics exclusively). “He came home to visit, and there were no Barwis police chasing him making him practice. He played basketball, goofed around with other sports athletes at the dorms, like all college kids do. To say that these kids are training or being made to train over the NCAA limits is untrue… what my wife and I like about Michigan Football was the commitment to education first.” To further back that up, Rich Rodriguez has the football team’s GPA at the highest it’s ever been. That too would be incredibly hard to do if the “Barwis Police” were on these kids 24/7.

For whatever reason, it seems like there is an axe to grind with Rich Rodriguez and this Program. Michigan has never violated the NCAA’s Rules, and I don’t think they’d start now. If this were the case why wasn’t this brought up while Barwis was working with Coach Rodriguez in West Virginia? Do you think a member of the American Football Coaches Association’ board of trustees is that dumb? Compliance Director Judy Van Horn doesn’t believe so. It’s her job to keep this program in check: “Compliance and administrative staff conduct in-person spot checks of practice during the academic year and summer. We have not had any reason to self-report any violations in this area with any of our sports.” I’ll take her word over anyone else’s especially if the NCAA wasn’t notified by the players themselves. And, believe me they would have been protected by them too and it wouldn’t just be seen as a “favor”.

If you want to grind an axe with Michigan, be my guest. The line for that is long. But, without an investigation from the NCAA or real reasons other than players not used to working this hard, whether it be from players that are used to a High School regimen or players from an older regime, then this point is just hear-say and pure speculation. That’s it and nothing more. Until we receive word from the NCAA, it doesn’t matter.