I’ll tell you what, this NFL Season is just flying by! I can’t believe we’re now into Mid November and Week 10. That is just crazy!
Last week I went 8-5 with my picks, and with a couple of lucky bounces, I might have been close to perfect. I did not see Green Bay imploding to give Tampa their first win, nor did I think Philly’s short yardage problems would re-surface this year. How about Houston having a chance late to beat the Colts? I thought I had that one nailed, but anyway, with the 8-5 I now sit 86-42 overall.
As for this weeks selections; I see the Titans winning their 3rd straight game and keeping alive the idea of running the table to go to 10-6. The Broncos end their 2 game losing skid and defeat the Redskins. And only one team will remain undefeated this week, which will be the Saints….as the Colts get knocked off on Monday Night Football against the Patriots.
Here are my picks: Titans, Saints, Dolphins, Vikings, Jaguars, Bengals, Broncos, Falcons, Raiders, Cowboys, Cardinals, Eagles, Patriots, Ravens.
I totally forgot about the Thursday night game with Chicago and San Fransisco, so I won’t count that game into this weeks totals.
Hope those help you in any league you may be playing in. Check back next week to see how I did, and Week 11’s picks.
So Week 9 of the NFL is now upon us, and that means we’re now at the midway point of the season with some surprising teams sitting on top of certain divisions (Denver, New Orleans, Cincinnati) while other favorites are sitting at or near the bottom (Carolina, Tennessee, Seattle). Of course with every midway point, its always fun to go back and see how the pre-season picks of the season have panned out, so I will go back and look at my selections as well as giving my Week 9 picks.
As for my picks overall, I now sit at 78-37 after going 9-4 last week and 11-2 in Week 7. I’m very happy that I have never been under .500 and that some weeks I’ve only picked one or two wrong games. Hope that my selections have helped some of you in single elimination pools, or weekly picks.
In Week 9 we will see some intriguing games and upsets this week. I’ll start with the undefeated Colts as they are in a trap game with Houston, and will suffer their first loss of the year. I think Houston is playing too good of football, and with the Colts coming off one of their worst games last week, it’s a given.
Even though Baltimore handed Denver their first loss of the season last week, I think Cincinnati is becoming the real deal and will defeat the Ravens. Can’t believe I’m saying that, but they’re playing good football.
The Giants will finally end their 3 game losing skid as they knock off the Chargers in the Meadowlands, while Titans will win their 2nd game in a row and move to 2-6 on the season, keeping Chris Johnson’s prediction of running the table alive, which was going 10-6.
The big game of the week (and my must watch) is the Eagles hosting the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Philly bounced back nicely the last couple of games after falling to Oakland, and so far are perfect in the East. I see them taking control of the division with a win over Dallas.
Now lets see how my Division winners are holding up at the midway point. My picks for the division were as follows prior to week 1.
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
I’m so far .500 in the AFC as the Patriots and Colts sit atop the East and South divisions. In the North my pick in Pittsburgh is tied with Cinci for the top spot while the Chargers are two games back of the surprising Broncos in the West.
As for the NFC, I am only 1-3 right now with Philly helping me out sitting atop the East with Dallas right behind them.
In the North, my pick in the Bears are now 3 games back of Minnesota who I never expected to start 6-0. Speaking of starting undefeated, I would have never thought the Saints would start the season 7-0 and lead the South, while last years powerhouse in Carolina fell to 3rd place.
Lastly, in the West, my pick in Seattle looks to not be a good team this year as they’re now two games back of Arizona and may not catch them with Matt Hasselbeck recovering from his broken ribs.
The one thing I can say though in confidence is it is early. Anything can happen in the next 8 games and some picks may hold up, while others falter, but that is what makes it fun…..as you never know what can happen on a week in, week out bases.
Check back next week to see how some of the key Divisional match ups turned out with my picks and for my Week 10 selections.
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.
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 4th 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.
