Week 12 Football picks

Three games on Thanksgiving. Lucky us!

Patriots (-6.5) @ Lions: of course Brady is playing, forget that questionable tag
Saints (-3.5) @ Cowboys: it's time to stop the Cowboys roll
Jets (-9.5) vs. Bengals: too bad this won't be a heated rematch of last year's playoffs
Falcons (-2.5) vs. Packers: the Falcons are 5-0 at home, last two against good teams
Steelers (-6.5) @ Bills: this could have the feeling of a Steelers home game as fans travel well
Panthers (+10.5) @ Browns: I like the large spread even though the Panthers are pathetic
Jaguars (+7.5) @ Giants: strange spread with the Giants missing key wide receivers
Redskins (-2.5) vs. Vikings: watch out for the Vikings energy under new coach
Titans (+6.5) @ Texans: third QB starting for the Titans, but not against the best of defenses
Seahawks (+1.5) vs. Chiefs: two surprising division leaders at 5-5 and 6-4
Raiders (-3.5) vs. Dolphins: Thigpen did not impress in his start last week
Bears (+3.5) vs. Eagles: home team getting a lot of points for having the same records
Buccaneers (+7.5) @ Ravens: the Buccaneers are surprising but should get more respect
Rams (+3.5) @ Broncos: the Broncos laid down to a divisional rival on Monday night
Colts (-3.5) vs. Chargers: should be a fun, interesting game
49ers (-1.5) @ Cardinals: these could have been the two best teams in the division

Week 11 Football picks

I'm not feeling too good about this week, and already have a loss from Thursday. A lot of even matchups in my mind in this crazy season.

Dolphins (-1.5) vs. Bears: thought the Dolphins could hold on at home using wildcat
Bengals (-5.5) vs. Bills: similar records, but a lot more talent on the Bengals
Lions (+6.5) @ Cowboys: the Cowboys should get a close first win at home
Ravens (-10.5) @ Panthers: Brian St. Pierre will be on his back for most of the game
Browns (+1.5) @ Jaguars: Colt McCoy has been impressive, but so have the Jaguars
Steelers (-7.5) vs. Raiders: bouncing back with another home game
Redskins (+7.5) @ Titans: Vick made the Redskins look worse than they are
Chiefs (-7.5) vs. Cardinals: Cassel and Charles lead the Chiefs to victory
Vikings (+3.5) vs. Packers: I'll take Favre and the home points against his old team
Texans (+6.5) @ Jets: the Jets have just been getting by recently
Rams (+3.5) vs. Falcons: both teams are better at home and this game is in St. Louis
Buccaneers (+3.5) @ 49ers: a long cross-country trip won't slow down the Buccaneers
Seahawks (+11.5) @ Saints: too many points not to take a division leader
Colts (+3.5) @ Patriots: the Colts could break Brady's home winning streak
Giants (+3.5) @ Eagles: maybe sticking with my heart too much but it should be close
Broncos (+9.5) @ Chargers: another close divisional matchup

Week 10 Football picks

Lots of road teams:
Ravens (+1.5) @ Falcons (from Thursday)
Lions (+2.5) @ Bills: stay winless, Bills
Vikings (-1.5) @ Bears: Martz offense going down
Jets (-3.5) @ Browns: another former team for Mangini
Colts (-7.5) vs. Bengals: clearly the Colts are rolling
Titans (-.5) @ Dolphins: Pennington starting now
Buccaneers (-7.5) vs. Panthers: disappointing and injured Panthers
Texans (+1.5) @ Jaguars: close divisional matchup
Broncos (+.5) vs. Chiefs: not believing in the Chiefs still
Cowboys (+13.5) @ Giants: the Cowboys should keep it close enough
Seahawks (+3.5) @ Cardinals: the Seahawks could take the division
Rams (+5.5) @ 49ers: the 49ers' last chance to make a run
Patriots (+4.5) @ Steelers: seems like a lot of points for Belichick
Eagles (-3.5) @ Redskins: McNabb having problems with Shanahan

Week 9 Football picks

What a terrible way to lose in survivor. The Cowboys were still playing like crap and down all game to the Jaguars, ending my season halfway through it. If I was still in it, the Patriots would be the best pick, but I used them in week three. The only other logical pick it seems is the Jets, on the road in Detroit. Again, only 13 games this week, with six teams off.

Buccaneers (+8.5) @ Falcons: aren't these two teams tied for the division lead?
Bills (+2.5) vs. Bears: two consecutive road overtime losses for the Bills
Patriots (-4.5) @ Browns: McCoy has had a tough start to his career against the Saints and Steelers
Lions (+4.5) vs. Jets: while the Jets should win, these are two decent defenses
Cardinals (+8.5) @ Vikings: another strangely large spread, two equally bad teams
Panthers (+7.5) vs. Saints: just a case of taking a big home underdog
Dolphins (+5.5) @ Ravens: the Dolphins are playing well enough to keep this close
Texans (+1.5) vs. Chargers: the Chargers are leading the league in offensive yards, but turnovers kill
Seahawks (+5.5) vs. Giants: would have like the bigger line, which moved after Whitehurst was tabbed for first start
Chiefs (+2.5) @ Raiders: you wouldn't have thought at the beginning of the season that these two would be on top
Colts (+2.5) @ Eagles: a rare game as an underdog for the Colts
Packers (-7.5) vs. Cowboys: the Cowboys are so bad and look like they don't want to play hard
Bengals (+4.5) vs. Steelers: a hard-fought game on Monday Night Football

Let's have some fun with over/unders (from Bodog):
TB @ ATL: over 45
CHI @ BUF: under 41.5
NE @ CLE: over 44
NYJ @ DET: under 42.5
ARI @ MIN: over 43
NO @ CAR: over 40.5
MIA @ BAL: under 41
SD @ HOU: over 50
NYG @ SEA: under 41
KC @ OAK: over 41
IND @ PHI: under 47
DAL @ GB: under 46
PIT @ CIN: under 41

Week 8 Football picks

Maybe I should have saved the Chiefs for this week because they are playing the Bills. So I don't have Yahoo users' most popular pick this week and have to choose between a bunch of single-digit percentages of users' picks. As bad as the Cowboys have looked, they also had good moments against the Giants, some with Romo and some with Kitna against the prevent defense. Kitna was not ready last week, but he is not an invalid and should do well this week, along with their running game, against the Jaguars, so it's the Cowboys for their first home win for me.

All home teams are favored this week, including the designated home team in London, the 49ers:
Dolphins (+2.5) @ Bengals: the Bengals are a mess
Cowboys (-2.5) vs. Jaguars: the Jaguars couldn't do much for the last two weeks
Redskins (+2.5) @ Lions: the return of Matthew Stafford will be a painful one
Chiefs (-7.5) vs. Bills: heartbreaker for the Bills last week in overtime
Rams (-3.5) vs. Panthers: the Rams are chugging along winning every home game, losing road games
Packers (+6.5) @ Jets: the Packers have enough healthy talent to keep it close
49ers (-.5) vs. Broncos: a couple disappointing teams will probably put on a show in London
Titans (+3.5) @ Chargers: I see this game decided by a late field goal
Buccaneers (+3.5) @ Cardinals: the Buccaneers can slide into a tie for first place in the NFC South
Patriots (-5.5) vs. Vikings: Randy Moss can't help the Favres and his foot injuries enough
Seahawks (+2.5) @ Raiders: the Seahawks are the surprising only team to be above .500 in the NFC West
Saints (-.5) vs. Steelers: by this spread, the Steelers are the better team, but it's Halloween in New Orleans
Texans (+5.5) @ Colts: I'll take the team that won the first game with the points

Week 7 Football picks

Time to get risky with survivor. I'm going with the Chiefs this week to knock off a Jacksonville team that looks depleted after a 30-3 Monday Night Football loss to the Titans. It's a short weeks and their quarterback was injured, making the Jaguars ripe for the picking.

Falcons (-3.5) vs. Bengals: should be getting more of a point spread
Redskins (+2.5) @ Bears: the Bears are only getting the requisite points for being home in an even matchup
Eagles (+3.5) @ Titans: I should have had more faith in Kolb
Chiefs (-5.5) vs. Jaguars: the lock of the week
Dolphins (+3.5) vs. Steelers: should be a dogfight
Saints (-13.5) vs. Browns: time for the Saints to dominate again
Buccaneers (-2.5) vs. Rams: a couple of down teams with good records
49ers (-3.5) @ Panthers: I guess people still think the 49ers will be good
Ravens (-13.5) vs. Bills: the Bills' winless season continues
Cardinals (+5.5) @ Seahawks: who knew Max Hall could play?
Patriots (+2.5) @ Chargers: the Chargers are 2-0 at home but the Patriots are hot
Raiders (+6.5) @ Broncos: the Raiders could be ahead of two teams in the division if they win
Vikings (+2.5) @ Packers: the trendy Super Bowl pick has too many injured players
Giants (+3.5) @ Cowboys: if the Cowboys lose, Super Bowl talk is over

Week 6 Football picks

Luckily, I have two survivor entries, and I went with my gut in the main one that I had been making the picks posted here, so I'm still alive with the Falcons. This week, it makes perfect sense to take the Giants, who are resurgent, against the Lions, a dangerous team but still not too good. The Giants don't seem to play any easy games the rest of the way, as they have yet to start their division schedule.

Bears (-6.5) vs. Seahawks: Orton coming back to lead Martz's offense that was good before meeting the Giants
Ravens (+2.5) @ Patriots: could be the game for AFC supremacy
Giants (-10.5) vs. Lions: the Giants defense is taking over again
Falcons (+1.5) @ Eagles: tough matchup on the road, but no Vick for the Eagles
Browns (+13.5) @ Steelers: look for a low-scoring game on both sides
Dolphins (+1.5) @ Packers: Rodgers is playing, but the Packers have many injuries
Rams (+8.5) vs. Chargers: enough talent to take the home team with the points
Buccaneers (+5.5) vs. Saints: the Saints are not doing well enough to get this big of a cushion on the road, in division
Texans (-4.5) vs. Chiefs: the Texans should bounce back against a Chiefs team over their heads
Raiders (+6.5) @ 49ers: the 49ers will pick up their first win in a close game
Broncos (+3.5) vs. Jets: the Jets will not pull away on the road
Vikings (-1.5) vs. Cowboys: one team is going to be 1-4
Colts (-3.5) @ Redskins: the Colts don't look great, but Peyton Manning always is
Titans (-3.5) @ Jaguars: the Titans should be better than the Jaguars in the end