NFL Week 11 picks

This NFL season is moving right along. Seems like just yesterday we were watching the first games of the year! Time goes by too fast and seasons can change in an instant, every possession every play becomes more intense as we inch closer and closer to the postseason. Last week produced high drama in the epic Patriots-Colts rivalry, now we as move forward some familiar long time rivals meet up: on to the games we go!

• Washington at Dallas: This is an ancient rivalry that holds much hatred. Fortunately I was able to attend one of these games in Washington a few years back. Let me tell you, you could just feel the unbelieveable emotion in the air. The Skins massacred the Cowboys thats day 35-0. I don't believe we'll see the same outcome or a blowout for that matter. I feel like the Redskins defense is the wild card in this game. If their D plays strong, forces Tony Romo into turnovers it could spell upset for DC. But it seems like a longshot and the Cowboys will use that ugly loss last week at GB to come out victorious. Dallas by 7.


• Steelers in KC: Pitt lost a close game at home last week. Let's rephrase that. The Steelers lost a close game to the Bengals and no longer control their own destiny when it comes to winning the division. Very interesting turn of events in the AFC North. I look for Pitt to come out angry and fired up, beating the Chiefs in an ugly game thats over at halftime. Pitt by 17.
• Browns vs. Lions: I don't care to waste much time on this game. The Browns are an embarrassement to the NFL. The Lions are improving and like them to win by 10.
• Seattle at Minnesota: On paper it looks like a mismatch. Vikings only have 1 loss coming into the game. The Seahawks do have a veteran quarterback and the Minnesota secondary is banged up. Ultimately I see the Vikes winning but it could be closer than many think. Minn by 4.
• 49ers at Green Bay: Both teams are coming off huge, season-saving wins. Niners coaxed Jay Cutler into 5 picks last week and Packers held Tony Romo and Dallas to a dismal day on offense. Both defenses are hot and believe this trend will continue. Expect the intensity and focus of Mike Singletary to be the difference here. SF over GB, 14-10.
• Atlanta visiting NY Giants: The bye week couldn't have come at a better time for the Giants. They are limping after their 5-0 start, having lost four straight games. At 5-4 we are no longer talking about this team being one of the best in the league, rather will they make the playoffs. The Falcons have lost three of their last four games, more importantly lost their beast of a running back Michael Turner to a high ankle sprain in Carolina last week. Both teams 5-4, not quite a must win game however there will definitely be a playoff-like, desperate atmosphere today. This one will come down to the wire, and if Turner was healthy I would definitely go with ATL. But I'm gonna go with my gut on this, Giants 28 Falcons 26.
• Buffalo at Jacksonville: Can the Jags build on last week's huge win at NY over the Jets? How will the Bills react to their head coach being fired this past week? Both teams are a disappointment this year. At the very least, the Jaguars have been trying to put things together over the last few weeks. Buffalo is a mess and I don't see things getting any better anytime soon. Jax by 10.
• Colts at Baltimore: We want to think this will be a close game. We want to believe the Colts will get their first loss of the year. Indy is still basking in the glory of their last second upset of New England (yes you read that correctly, last week's win over the Pats was definitely n upset because NE outplayed them for 98% of the game, don't get me started). The issue for the Ravens is their defense. Their offense has put up big numbers this year, however, their D is starting to show its age. They can't get off the field like they used to and more importantly they aren't coming up with the big turnovers to produce great field position or quick points. I see Indy winning by 13, unfortunately.
• Saints at Bucs: This one's over at halftime. Final score: 45-17.
• Cincy at Oakland: This one has letdown game written all over it. The Bengals are coming off their biggest win of the season, at Pitt. They are in the drivers seat for their division title and a possibe #2 seed in the playoffs. No way they lose to the Raiders right?? Well, the Raiders are changing quarterbacks and have upset teams that have come in unprepared this season (ask the Eagles). I do see Marvin Lewis showing tape of that game to his team to shock the hell outta them and make sure they don't take anything for granted. Bengals by 14.
• Cardinals at St. Louis: Looks like a blowout on paper, but everytime you think you have Arizona figured out they throw a curve ball. They are the most unpredictable team in the league. The most impressive stat about the Cards? They are 4-0 on the road. This game is on the road. The Rams only have Steven Jackson as far as offense is concerned and their D is a few years away. Arizona 35, Rams 21.
• SD at Denver: Wow, the Broncos 6-0 start seems forever ago, as does their rout over the Chargers a few weeks ago on MNF. Now both teams are 6-3 and this game will determine first place in the AFC West. Denver will likely be without starting QB Kyle Orton, forcing them to turn to Chris Simms. Advantage San Diego. The Chargers came out of the gate slow, as always, but now appear to be firing on all cylinders. I like SD to keep rolling and Denver to keep reeling. Chargers by 7.
• NY Jets vs. Patriots: The rivals collide once again Foxboro. For the Patriots, a chance to payback the team that held them without a TD in week 2. And for the Jets, an opportunity to turn the ship in the right direction. NY started off 3-0 and were the talk of the land as the new up and coming team. Not soooo fast my friend. They've lost 5 out of 6 games and are falling apart faster than USC's defense. So many storylines for this game. Last time the week before they played, multiple Jets players said to the media - "We don't want to just beat them, we want to embarrass them." Yep, sounds like a typical NY sports player. However, only problem was, they did just that. Holding the Pats to zero points in the 2nd half and blitzing Brady more than a female in Victoria's Secret on Black Friday. But that game was 9 weeks ago. Much has changed with both teams. The Jets have lost Kris Jenkins for the season. The Patriots have Wes Welker back and active for this game. Brady is starting to look like the Brady of old. After heartbreaking losses for each team last week, each wants to forget about last Sunday and get back on the winning track. I can't see the Jets keeping up with NE in this game. They won't be able to defense the Pats offense with a healthy Welker and Brady throwing with extreme accuracy. Mark Sanchez looks terrible these days and is showing everyone why rookies should spend their first season on the bench and not on the field leading the league in turnovers. Patriots win this one going away in the 2nd half, 38-17.
• Eagles at Chicago: Desperation is setting in for both teams. Cutler gave the game away last week in SF. All of sudden Chicago must be thinking life with Kyle Orton wasn't this bad, was it? The Eagles lost in San Diego and now are tied with the Giants in the standings. Philly will be without Brian Westbrook but I don't see that hurting them. Their rookie running back McCoy is something special. Combine that with the Eagles two young outstanding receivers and a banged up Bears D, I see Philadelphia coming thru with a huge win and leaving Chicago worrying about making the playoffs. Eagles by 13.
• Monday Night Football - Tenn at Houston: The Titans made Vince Young their starter, stopped their six game losing streak and now have won 3 in a row. Some of their players are talking playoffs although that seems a bit far fetched. The Texans at 5-4, desperately need a win to keep up with the very competitive bunch in the AFC. If Houston wants to go to the postseason this is a must win. QB Matt Schaub is quietly having a great year and Andre Johnson is a monster. Although the Titans are playing with a renewed sense of urgency I believe they come up a little bit short. Texans 35, Titans 31.

Parting thoughts: If the Patriots do not beat the Jets by at least 20 points I will be terribly disappointed. We can only pray that Brady and the offense put all the pieces together and score TDs at will, forcing the Jet's coach Rex Ryan into another postgame crying session. GO PATS!

4th and two: You play to win the game!

Alright everyone, I know it's been a while since I've posted something and after the Patriots awful collapse this past Sunday I must address what we saw. First of all, let's talk about the first 57 minutes of the game: awesome! What a fantastic display from the league's top two teams! Arguably the two best-run franchises in the NFL, New England and Indy treated us to one of the better games we will see played this season. Might this be an AFC Champ game preview? perhaps. But let's get down to the controversial moment of the game. Here's the situation, the Colts have just scored with a little under three minutes remaining in the game. Patriots up by six. Brady leads the offense out on the field. First play a run, no gain. Second down a pass good for 8 yards. Third and 2: incomplete pass, nearly picked off might I add. Now it's 4th and 2, the ball is spotted on the Patriots 28yd line. The Colts defense starts to run off the field, fired up that they had stopped the all-powerful NE offense. But wait a minute, Tom Brady is discussing something with Bill Belichick on the sideline. No way the Pats are gonna go for it? Are they? Yes they did go for it, and Brady threw a pass to Kevin Faulk, however, because Faulk bobbled the ball as he caught he did not get forward progress and the ball was less than a yard short. Colts take the ball, Manning goes down the field, and with 13 seconds left throws a TD pass and the hated Colts get a 35-34 win, leaving every Patriots fan shaking their head in disbelief, wondering how a game that was in our hands managed to slip away in the final minutes.
Well, I will tell you how the game slipped away. And guess what? I AGREE with Bill Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th down. Every sportscaster everywhere on every tv, radio, newspaper, website, etc is ripping Bill for his unconventional decision. The Patriots were 7 inches away from the first down. If they get the first down, Brady takes a couple of knees and all everyone is talking about is how Indy is no longer undefeated. However, that is not the case, the Patriots lost the game and I see the offense as the main reason for the loss. In the 2nd half, Maroney fumbles the ball inside the 2 yard line on his way to score, that cost us 7 points. Also, late in the game with NE up 10pts, Peyton Manning threw an INT, the Patriots had the ball on the Indy 35yd line, primetime scoring position. Yet the Pats settled for a field goal to go up 13pts instead of scoring a touchdown, which would have put them up 17. The defense played very well thru the first three and a half quarters. They started to fade a bit at the end but you can't fault them too much, they are playing against Peyton Manning and the guy is playing at an amazing level.
Many people are trying to say Belichick didn't trust his defense against Manning. I disagree. If he didn't trust the defense he would have told them to let the Colts score immediately when they got the ball so that the offense could have the ball back. Bottom line: Belichick tried to give his team the best possible chance to win even if it meant going against the grain and upsetting people all around the sports world. It didn't upset me at all. I love that my team is willing to take a risk to win a big game. This time it didn't work out. I do believe that we might see these two teams meet again, but for much bigger stakes. One thing is for sure, the Patriots players will remember this game and learn from it. That's one thing New England does better than EVERY team in the National Football League - get over a loss! The last time the Patriots lost 2 games in a row was in 2006. Impressive 3 year run, wouldn't you agree?
Enter the New York Jets week 11. The game is in Foxboro, MA. The Jets won the first time in week 2, 16-9. The Patriots didn't look good, Brady was rusty, Welker was out, the Pats defense was without MLB Jerod Mayo, so many things were not going in the right direction for NE. Well things have changed just a little bit... The Patriots are 6-3, the Jets are 4-5. Two teams going in opposite directions. About the only thing in common the two teams have is that they both blew 4th quarter leads last Sunday and had their hearts broken. The Patriots have been waiting for this game. They didn't like going to New York and losing. They didn't like not scoring a single touchdown. They didn't like watching the Jets celebrate after the game. I have a feeling this game will turn out a little differently. I look for Brady to lead the offense to a multitude of points and the Pats D to feast on a out-of-sync NY offense run by inexperienced rookie Mark Sanchez. What amazes me is how Jets fan still like to talk about how "great" their team is and how "awful" the Patriots' loss to the Colts was. Remember NY, your team is 4-5. You have more losses than wins. Mark Sanchez is tied for the league lead in turnovers. That's not a category you want to lead. Your coach is a crying, winy baby that makes excuses after losses rather than take responsibility for them. This NY Jets team is one that I enjoy hating and really enjoy watching implode. Should be a fun finish to the season with the Patriots rising up and the Jets falling down flat on their face. I look for a blowout in New England on Sunday afternoon: Patriots 38 Jets 17.

P.S. - If you really want some good theater, check out the Giants this week, they host Atlanta and are looking to lose their 5th game in a row! Looks like a great weekend for New York fans!

The Evil Empire Strikes Back!

We knew it was coming. Sooner or later it was bound to happen. It had been 9 glorious years since the last time we saw Yankee players celebrating in late October into November. The New York Yankees are 2009 World Series Champs. That sentence leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth. So many emotions come to mind. Anger, shock, frustration, rage, resentment, sadness. I could go on forever. Truth of the matter is, we shouldn't be suprised. George Steinbrenner has been trying to buy NY a championship for 9 years now and the result was inevitable. The addition of C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira proved to be exactly what the Yanks needed to return to the top spot. What's worse news? I don't see the Yankees getting any worse next year. I would imagine Andy Pettite is done, but what a way to go. Think about this... Pettite was the winning pitcher for NY in all 3 series-clincher games. Pretty impressive. Mariano Rivera will be a year older, but I think anyone who watched the playoffs would agree he is still better than any other closer in the game. It's amazing that every single person knows exactly what he's going to throw, including the batter, yet there's absolutely nothing they can do about it. The Yanks offense will remain just as deadly with all the heavy hitters returning. Godzilla sure was a monster in the finale. Six RBI!?!?! Matsui drove in more runs than all the Phillies coan mbined! Great series between the Phils and Yanks. In the end, Yankees proved to be too strong on both sides of the ball which unfortunately leads to their 27th championship (Mike dry-heaving).
As you know I am a diehard, ridiculously loyal Red Sox fan. Watching the team I HATE more than any other in any sport celebrate as world champs is not a fun sight. In fact it's downright painful. The worst part is dealing with all the Yankee fans now. From family to friends to coworkers to strangers on facebook, everywhere and anywhere NY fans will be coming out of hibernation to rub it in my face that Boston's sworn enemy has achieved the ultimate prize. It's like watching your favorite character on your reality show of choice (Rock of Love Bus Tour anyone?) get eliminated, only to see the person you disliked from the moment you saw them win the whole damn thing. Annoying, aggravating, irritating, and just a pain in the... well you get the picture. I just want to reiterate I have such a passionate hatred for every team from New York it's kind of a problem I think. The only good thing is baseball is over. It's done. It's finished. Now we can focus on football. We can focus on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots march toward another berth in the Superbowl. We can dissect why the Jets are falling apart and how the Giants are slowly imploding. Ah, now we're talking, NY teams taking steps back. I don't know how or why but all I can offer is that I was wired this way. It's almost as if I had a traumatic experience as a child and the result is an intense, dedicated hatred towards this city. Except there's just one problem, nothing ever happened.
To finish this one off, I leave you with one final note about baseball: Congratulations to all Yankee fans everywhere. Your team finished #1. Enjoy it, relish in it because it won't last (I hope and pray). 2009 may have belonged to your beloved Yankees but in less than 2 months we will begin a new year and Red Sox Nation is ready for a fresh start in 2010. We will reload and be ready for you at Fenway Park to open the season in April. Remember, what goes up, must go down. My hatred for New York and the Yankees is at an all-time high. With that let's focus on football - I truly will enjoy watching the Giants and Jets choke the rest of the year!