Week 12 Picks

First off, I just want to thank everyone that's been following my blog for the past few weeks. Surprisingly, these blogs are way harder to promote than you can imagine.

Next, I wanted to give a shout out to the men and women overseas that don't have the luxury of being with friends and family this holiday season. Their sacrifice and commitment is second to none and I dare anyone to tell them otherwise. The blood, sweat, and tears that have been shed since 9/11 will certainly be remembered by my family this Thanksgiving and I would venture to say that many other families out there can say the same.

Before we get started here with picks, I'd like to mention that my record last week was 10-6 against the spread, 14-2 straight up, and 8-7-1 on the over/unders. So let's get those tickets ready to Vegas....I'm on a roll!

Now, on with the picks!

Green Bay (-12) @ Detroit O/U 48

This game just reeks. Detroit is coming off of a huge win against the Browns and will be playing without their starting QB (I stand corrected...Adam Schefter just tweeted that Stafford will start this week...Gutsy.). This was a no-brainer during the Brett Favre days in Packerland, but now that Dr. Aaron and Mr. Rodgers are playing QB for the Pack...anything's possible! My brain tells me Green Bay should enjoy a nice feast of tenderlions this Thanksgiving, but my gut tells me never to listen to my brain when it comes to the NFL. So....GB by 10 and UNDER

Oakland (+14) @ Dallas O/U 40

The Cowboys defense is just plain nasty. So nasty that Redskins QB, Jason Campbell, completed 13 of 13 passes on 3rd down for 150 yards and the Skins could only manage 6 points. This week the Cowboys offense was stripped by the local media of whatever shred of manhood they were clinging on to. I look for them to put the naysayers to bed and go looking for dinner against the lowly Raiders. Dallas by 17 and OVER.

NYG (-7) @ Denver O/U 42.5

Both teams are 1-4 in their last 5 games and have been written off by many so-called experts. Everyone had assumed that the "old" Giants were back after they jumped out to a commanding lead against the bandwagon Falcons. However, the Giants were outscored 24-14 in the second-half, but held on to win by a FG in OT. I believe this game will be low scoring and the Giants should be able to edge the overachieving Broncos with a late FG. Giants by 3 and UNDER

Week 12 Picks will be continued tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoys family, friends, football, turkey, stuffing, and dessert, in that specific order, this Thanksgiving. Best wishes!

All we could put together was one lousy TD?

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys – 11/22/09

Running Game Time Diary

12:03 – Just settled into the IKEA chair that was given to us by my wife’s sister and husband. Thanks guys for making football Sunday so comfortable. Felix with an excellent return out to the 35 yard line. It looks like his legs are back for the first time since coming back from injury a couple of weeks ago. That’s a good sign.

12:05 – Fox just zoomed in on Big Albert Haynesworth on the sideline….wearing street clothes…what a relief.

12:06 – In typical Tony Romo fashion, he over throws Witten on 3^rd and 5 and is fortunate that it wasn’t picked off.

12:08 – Huge 3^rd and 1 stand by the Cowboys D. Keith Brooking has been the biggest acquisition for the Cowboys this season. Brooking looks like he should’ve been a character in the movie Gladiator. He just reminds me of this burly warrior that feasts on huge turkey legs and then snatches up a couple of women when it’s time for bed.

12:14 – RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN, RUN….I like where Garrett is going with his play calling.

12:15 – Just as I wrote the previous line…Barber fumbles and Romo injures himself making the tackle after. Maybe I should stop writing. Cue the eerie Kay Jewelers commercial…the one where the guy makes a comment about how bad the storm is and his wife says something cheesy and he follows it with up with “I’m right here, and I always will be.” I still have no idea how he got from the storm to opening up that flashy necklace.

12:19 – Jason Campbell makes his one and only highlight reel play of the season. He spins out the grasp of THREE Cowboys and converts a 3^rd and 13.

12:24 – Great shot of Dave Campo (yeah the former head-coach) manning up to Terrence Newman (the most overrated player on the Cowboys). I would to run see Campo sucker punch Newman like Buddy Ryan did to Kevin Gilbride.

12:26 – Martellus Bennett just made his first significant catch of the season…in week 11. Remember all the talk about “Double Dynamite” before the season started? Maybe, they just wanted to ease into it.

12:28 – The Redskins have exactly one running back left in the game. So, Jason Campbell will have to throw the ball 40-50 times today...(smiling).

12:31 – Back-to-back weeks with scoreless first quarters for Dallas, yuck. It’s sad when our most valuable player after the first quarter is Tony Romo and it’s not for his passing ability. He saved a sure fire touchdown when he made the tackle after Barber’s fumble.

12:34 – Brooking CRUSHES Campbell for a 6 yard sack! I can’t say enough about him…Uh oh, Newman kills us again with an illegal hands to the face penalty….HOW CAN YOU PUT YOUR HANDS IN SOMEONE’S FACE WHEN YOU KNOW IT’S ILLEGAL?

12:39 – Rock Cartwright makes his one and only highlight reel play of the year to convert a 3^rd and 2. (Shaking my head)

12:42 – Campbell get CRUSHED by Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Spencer…but guess what? He completes an 18 yard pass to Santana Moss to convert ANOTHER 3^rd and 8 situation.

12:46 – Redskins run a draw on 3^rd and 15 and settle for a FG. I sometimes wish the Cowboys would implement the FG strategy. FG’s are highly underrated in the NFL.

12:50 – The new Mastercard commercial with Peyton Manning is hilarious. I hope that he goes into acting full-time after retirement from the NFL. I’m afraid he’ll end up coaching some poor franchise that’s in an impossible situation for a few seasons, compiling an awful record and thus tarnishing is image forever with the younger generation. PLEASE PEYTON….DO NOT TRY TO COACH!

12:54 – Fox just cut to a highlight from the Vikings-Seahawks game. Favre to Harvin...what a combo.

12:55 – Roy Williams makes his presence felt with a key DROP on 3^rd down, again. Fool me once….shame on you? Fool me twice…shame on…you’re not gonna fool me again! Roy, please just take off your pads and give them to the equipment manager and turn in your pass to Valley Ranch before you leave the stadium. Thanks.

1:12 – Just noticed a graphic showing the Cowboys were about to be shut out in the first half of consecutive games for the first time since 2002. If we don’t get a FG soon, I might have to take a lap around my apartment complex to calm myself down.

1:16 – 2^nd and 23 from the Washington 43 yard line….pass complete to Bennett (3^rd big catch of the game) for 12 yards. Field Goal Range!!!

1:19 – 3^rd down: Romo to Williams….DROP. FOLK misses a FG from 40 yards. I’m depressed.

1:20 – Side note: I just checked in on the all-important Lions-Browns game and this is how bad those defenses stink: 24-24 with 5:01 left to play in the first half. Matt Stafford has thrown for 270 yards and 3 scores. Brady Quinn has thrown for 163 yards and 3 scores. They are terrible.

1:26 – Another one of those crazy challenges/ booth replays that happens in EVERY Dallas game. This one spurned from a play in which Campbell was running for his life and just ho-hum tossed the ball out of bounds as he stepped on the sideline. How can the Refs drop the ball on so many calls? How many zebras are out on the field? This game is still depressing.

1:30 – Troy and Joe are still rambling on and on about this booth replay and the repercussions of overturning the delay of game penalty. If I can sit here in my chair and know exactly what the call should be and where the ball should be spotted, but all of the refs on the field cannot even figure out how to clear this up, the NFL has a way bigger problem than Rush Limbaugh.

1:33 – Skins missed FG after all of that hoopla. I now understand why everyone in Washington and Dallas are fed up with their respective head-coaches: Washington 3 - Dallas 0 at the half. Break time! (Lunch, beer, laundry, and some more beer)

1:48 – Second half starts off just like it left off. Washington’s Devin Thomas has his career-best kickoff return out to the Wash 44 yard line.

1:58 – Campbell is 8-8 for 90 yards on 3^rd down so far this game. Unacceptable.

2:02 – It’s always nice to see Romo throwing out of his own end-zone. It’s kind of like running into your girlfriend at the movies and she happens to be with her “best” friend...who's a guy. It’s a little threatening, probably harmless, but you’re just waiting for her to screw it up.

2:07 – Campbell to Cartwright for 29 yards. We’re getting carved up by Washington’s scrubs. I feel helpless. I wish I had that “guy” that could take care of things like this. You always see them in those CIA/FBI thrillers, where they need some “specialist” to take out an impossible target. Target = Jerry Jones

2:14 – Romo airmails Williams on a 3^rd down play deep in their own territory. Our defense needs to make a BIG play. They’ve played their asses off up to this point, holding Washington to 3 points, and it’s about time that Campbell makes a critical mistake.

2:18 – Great pressure on Campbell again on 3^rd down…he completes ANOTHER 3^rd down pass for a first down. I’m glad Campbell saved his best game of the season for the Cowboys. The Redskins have cost me exactly 2 weeks worth of wins in my pick’em league because of Campbell’s ineptitude at QB.

2:22 – Campbell is now 11-11 passing on 3^rd down for 145 yards. Luckily, his last completion was short of the sticks. Field goal is good: Washington 6 – Dallas 0

2:27 – Romo rolls right and hits Miles Austin for a big gain! Why haven’t we thrown deep to Austin this game? Oh I forgot, we keep throwing the ball to Roy Williams.

2:29 – Following up the big play to Austin, Romo is sacked for a 5 yard loss.

2:31 – Back-to-back 1^st down passing plays for the Cowboys for a combined -5 yards. RUN the ball.

2:32 – Both 2^nd down plays have combined for 23 yards after those abysmal pass plays.

2:34 – 4^th and 2 for the Cowboys and Romo was in the grasp of the rookie, Brian Orakpo, and he forces a throw that’s picked off. Now I want throw something. Only in sports can you fail so many times at doing your job and still keep your job. Amazing.

2:36 – I’m almost certain the NFL instructed the Offensive coordinators in this game to keep the score low. I haven’t seen a single pass over 15 yards the entire game.

2:43 – Missed FG for Washington again! Wow, there’s no reason we should be in this game.

2:46 – Joe Buck just announced Romo’s QB rating – 35. Ouch. I think Chris Simms had a higher rating last week.

2:49 – Amazingly, Romo has hit Austin twice and Witten twice during their 5 play 50 yard drive. Who’s name wasn’t mentioned in that sentence? Roy E. Williams. Sit down, Roy.

2:52 – TOUCHDOWN Boys! Romo finds Patrick Crayton after buying some time and the Cowboys take a one point lead. Come on Defense it’s time to unleash DeMarcus Ware and Jay Ratliff!

2:58 – Mike Jenkins goes to the ground for what seems to be the 8^th time in the past two weeks. Get out of the game. Where are the doctors in situations like this? If he keeps this up next week, I’m writing a letter to the head trainer of the Cowboys. Not only does it SLOW the game way down, it also makes Dallas appear to be desperate that Jenkins remain in the game.

3:02 – FINALLY! Spencer comes up with a huge interception after Bowen got a hand on Campbell’s pass. The Cowboys are kneeling it to clinch their 7^th win of the season. Ugly, horrific, boring, anticlimactic….insert your own negative adjective here to describe what everyone just witnessed.

A few thoughts about the game:

• There’s no reason Dallas should have won this game. The game-ball should go to Suisam who went 2 for 4 on field goals for Washington and unintentionally saved Wade Phillips from the media this week.
• If this is the same Dallas team that knocked off the Eagles in Philly earlier this month, I’m not looking forward to see how far we regress when December rolls around.
• Wade, oh Wade. You’re hanging by a thread big guy. He may be safe for now, but his team is seriously under-performing against inferior opponents. Nine times out of ten, that comes down to poor preparation and poor coaching.

NFL - hitting it's stride in Week 10

Stunned. Shocked. Flabbergasted. Those were my reactions to the end of the Colts - Pats game, the most anticipated game of the season. Indy's improbable comback was the icing on an NFL cake that even the Cake Boss could appreciate.

The NFL couldn't have scripted yesterdays contests with any more drama. It felt like every game was another installment to the Jason Bourne trilogy.

Quick recap of the televised games:

NE 34 @ IND 35

By far the most entertaining match up on Sunday's slate. The two best QB's in the league put on an aerial display that included a combined 680 yards and 7 TD passes. What people will remember most about this instant classic, is Bill Belichik's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28 yard line with 2:00 left in the game. Peyton Manning should consider endorsing hypnotic products and services, because there's no way Belichik goes for it if Chad Henne is standing on the other sideline.

(If Chuck Norris didn't wear Peyton Manning pajamas before last nights game, he certainly will be now.)

DAL 7 @ GB 17

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Dallas games are painful to watch. Not just because I'm a fan, but because there seems to be at a minimum 8 coaches challenges, 26 TV timeouts, 5 two-minute warnings, 3 players carted off, 37 holding penalties, and 4 shots of Wade Phillips celebrating like the fat guy from Teenwolf when he hits his free throws. Sloppy play, poor play calling, and a lack of discipline proved to be more than the Cowboys could overcome. Green Bay's defense looked solid and Clay Matthews, along with A.J. Hawk will be a talented core of LB's for years to come.

Side Note: Is anyone else as sick of the Bud Light "Too light, Too Heavy" commercials as I am? The lady using the nail gun to pin on her beau's boutonniere was pretty funny, but I get it already...Bud Light's not too light and it's not too heavy. One last thing...give it up on the Bud Light Lime already...if we want lime in our beer, we'll do it ourselves...with actual lime juice, thanks.

CIN 18 @ PIT 12

First place in the NFC North was decided by the boot of Shayne Graham and the stifling defense of Cincinnati. Graham's four second-half field goals were too much for the hometown Steelers to overcome. Cincinnati held the Steelers to a paltry 3.6 yards per play and sacked Big Ben four times. Pittsburgh finds itself in unfamiliar territory after losing both games to the Bengals this season. They're now two games behind the Bengals heading into Week 11.

DET 10 @ MIN 27

I mentioned Lions Rookie Matthew Stafford in an earlier blog post and brought up a few numbers that might relate to the Lions poor record this year. In an encore performance, Stafford attempted over 50 passes for the second straight week. So let me get this straight...it's Favre vs. Stafford, Good vs. Bad, no one believes you can win, and you want to lay the game on the shoulders of a baby-faced, 21 year-old rookie QB? They pay Coach Schwartz a considerable amount of money to make decisions like that. Run the ball, play defense, kick field goals, keep it close, and most of all keep yourself out of 3rd and Lake Michigan.

That's all for the recap! Enjoy tonight's scintillating contest between the Old Browns from Baltimore against the New Browns from Cleveland.

This week's picks will be posted on Thursday afternoon prior to the game.