2013 Week 7 Thursday Night Pick and Wrap up

Firstly,

Seahawks (5-1) vs. Cardinals (3-3)

Pick: Seahawks

5. RGIII is not the same as last season. Recovered or not, he's clearly not the same QB. Not sure if the team is holding him back, or if he personally feels concerned about his recovery. 

4. The Rams are rising and no one is paying attention. (Everyone is too distracted by the Texans falling). 

3. The Lions are the real deal. (And yes, I will harp on it until they win a playoff game.)

2. There is a larger gap between teams -- basically it seems like teams tend to either be really good or quite bad, with a few teams floundering in between.

1. The power in the league is shifting slightly, from the traditionally good teams to some new playoff figures. 

Thursday Night Picks and Wrap Up

Bills (2-2) vs. Browns (1-1)
Pick: Bills

This was actually a tough game to pick because both teams have surprised the league so far this season. Both had big wins last weekend and both are under new leadership. The Bills beat a better opponent last week and their defense looked amazing.

Here are five things we learned last week:

5. The Texans are in trouble, though they know it and will try to fix it. However, it will probably be too late for them to catch the Colts.

4. The Steelers will not make the playoffs.

3. Having byes in week 4 isn't good.

2. Matt Flynn will never be a starting QB in the league.

1. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a ship that's sinking fast and will be the next New York Jets if they're not careful.

Thursday Night Pick and Wrap Up

Tonight, I am bold.
Tonight I am picking the Rams to beat the 49ers.
49ers (1-2) vs. Rams (1-2) 
Pick: Rams

Things we learned in Week 3

5. The Giants and 49ers are in trouble.

4. The Ravens are returning to championship form and haven't allowed a touchdown in the last two games.

3. Coaches are beginning to feel the heat (Schiano, Coughlin, Jim Harbaugh).

2. The Lions are going to turn the corner.

1. The Chiefs are the real deal.

Thursday Game Pick and Weekly Wrap

First, a game pick for the revenge game tonight:
Chiefs (2-0) vs. Eagles (1-1)
Pick: Chiefs
(Though I think it will be a good game and a close one. I have more faith in the Chiefs as a whole. They have something to play for.)

Let's take a look back at the week and discuss what we've learned about a few things. Here are the top 5 things we learned in week 2.

5. The 49ers have a weakness and are not the indestructible force previously believed to be, even within their division.

4. Patriots fans should be deeply concerned; maybe the Bills game in week one wasn't a fluke.

3. Could the Rams, Dolphins and Bills be the real deal?

2. The Jaguars will have the number one pick in next year's draft.

1. The Steelers will not make the playoffs. 

Super Bowl XLVII Prediction

Here it is -- the day we've all been waiting for.
The Super Bowl. The Big Dance. In the Big Easy.

First, let me say a few things. Yes, I am biased because I am a Ravens fan. I've gone so far picking them, I really can't in good conscious go back. And yes, I am here in New Orleans. And yes, I have real tickets to the game and will be in the Superdome tomorrow. And yes, it is going to be one of the greatest days of my life regardless of the outcome.

Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers
6:30 EST CBS
49ers by 4.5
Game Pick: Ravens    Spread Pick: Ravens
Reason: The Ravens are simply a better team than the 49ers. They're a more experienced team in so many ways -- vertern leadership, including a tenured head coach, playoff success and a quarterback who had just outperformed the two best quarterbacks of the decade. Football playoffs are all about the mometum, and guess what, the Ravens most certainly have it. Yes, the 49ers have had success. But the Falcons and the Packers are not the teams that the Broncos and the Patriots are. IF the Ravens can control Kaepernick, and I believe they can, they will win the game. Don't underestimate the 49ers, but I just believe that they're not ready and Jim isn't the coach that John is. Sorry. It'll be a close game, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Ravens pulled one out in a last mintue field goal. Take note, Justin Tucker, the world is watching.

2012 Week 14 Thursday Night Pick

Is this even a question? I would recommend watching this game just to see how Peyton plays. Maybe Carson Palmer could take some lessons tonight...

Broncos (9-3) vs. Raiders (3-9)
Pick: Broncos

2012 Week 13 Thursday Night Game Pick

Tonight is Falcons, Saints, round two. I have extremely mixed feelings about this game. On the one hand, the Saints are fighting for their season. They pretty much need to win this game to not see their playoff win close completely. But that being said, it didn't help them show up last week in the Dome against the 49ers. On the other hand, the Falcons tend to fold in big games. This would be just such a big game. It's really a toss up for me. Either the Saints or the Falcons could win this game. But I think it will be a close game.

That being said...
Saints (5-6) vs. Falcons (10-1)
Pick: Saints

I feel bold today!

Thursday Night Game Pick

Tonight the Cardinals and the Rams will be playing.
And I have a feeling the Rams could win. I'm going to go out on a little bit of a limb here and say that they might, and in fact, pick them to win! I think that the Cardinals have to lose at some point and the Rams have been playing pretty well lately. Football is all about trends, about momentum. So here we are.

Cardinals (4-0) vs. Rams (2-2)
Pick: Rams

Thursday Night Football Pick

Tonight, the Panthers and the Giants play. Despite the Panthers beating New Orleans, I don't think they can come back and beat the Giants. New Orleans has shown that they are a floundering team without Payton and co. With the Giants amazing fourth quarter performance against the Buccs last weekend, I think they have regained some momentum. I believe they will win this game.

Giants (1-1) vs. Panthers (1-1)
Pick: Giants

Thursday Night Football (early in the season!)

I'm not sure how they managed to wing Thursday night football this early in the season. I'm not a huge fan of Thursday Night football for a few reasons. 1. It's a school night and as a college student I do actually have homework to do. 2. It can only be seen on NFL network, a network I don't get at school and many people don't get in their homes.  3. A game like Packers/Bears is a game that most hardcore football fans would like to see and by limiting it the NFL is doing the fans a disservice.

All of that being said, I do think the Packers will bounce back and win tonight. They had a tougher test in Week 1 than the Bears did and are unlikely to lose two games at home.

Bears (1-0) vs. Packers (0-1)
Pick: Packers

Let's Build a Bridge -- 2012 Season Opener

The Giants will win this game. The last thirteen Super Bowl winners have won their season openers. They are playing the Cowboys. In New York. They will win. Let's briefly state why, no matter what Jerry Jones thinks, the Giants will win this game.
Eli Manning is better than Tony Romo. Besides the obvious reasons of two Super Bowl rings, Eli is clutch. Romo has shown that he can be (see the 49ers game last season), but he has also proven many times that he has a tendency to fall apart (see the Lions game last season). As far as other offense weapons, the Cowboys have a better running back in DeMarco Murray, but the Giants have better receiving options. They also have a stronger offensive line, which will be key in protecting Eli from DeMarcus Ware. Not only do the Giants have an edge on offense, but also on defense.
The Cowboys' scheme is so complex that most of the players couldn't even pick it up successfully last year. A second year in the system will do wonderfully for the players that are returning, but the Cowboys have also added several new pieces, notably Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne, to the secondary. These will probably be good moves in the long run, but they both have only had an off season to pick up Ryan's scheme and one is a rookie. Eli may have a field day, but I don't expect him to run all over them. But almost all of New York's defense is returning from that Super Bowl team, which is unusual (many players are normally lost to free agency after winning a Super Bowl). The whole defensive line is intact which has always been the strongest part of this unit. They will take advantage of the Cowboys suspect offensive line and have Tony Romo running all night.

Overall, the Giants are a stronger, more complete team. I'm not saying all of this means they will repeat as Super Bowl champions, but I do believe it means that they will beat the Cowboys tonight. Their slogan for the season is "Build the Bridge." The first brick falls tonight.

Week 5 picks

Here they are! Week 5.... hope you enjoy the snippy comments I felt compelled to include... 

Last week, 13-3 

Just saying.... 

Saints (3-1) v. Panthers (1-3)

Pick: Saints

Eagles (1-3) v. Bills (3-1)

Pick: Eagles (week the Eagles get back on track?)

Bengals (2-2) v. Jaguars (1-3)

Pick: Bengals

Seahawks (1-3) v. Giants (3-1)

Pick: Giants

Titans (3-1) v. Steelers (2-2)

Pick: Steelers

Raiders (2-2) v. Texans (3-1)

Pick: Raiders (“Just win baby”)

Chiefs (1-3) v. Colts (0-4)

Pick: Colts (Curtis Painter what?!)

Cardinals (1-3) v. Vikings (0-4)

Pick: Vikings

Buccaneers (3-1) v. 49ers (3-1)

Pick: 49ers

Chargers (3-1) v. Broncos (2-2)

Pick: Chargers

Jets (2-2) v. Patriots (3-1)

Pick: Patriots

Bears (2-2) v. Lions (4-0)

Pick: Lions (The Lions, on Monday night football?!?)