NFL Week 9 Predictions

OK. I went 9-5 last week and my overall for the season is now 66-50.

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1) NY Jets vs. Buffalo: This should be an exciting game. I'm going with the home team. Winner = Buffalo

2) Detroit vs. Chicago: The Lions are just a bad football team right now. Winner = Chicago

3) Jacksonville vs. Cincinnati: I don't understand how Marvin Lewis still has a job. Winner = Jacksonville

4) Baltimore vs. Cleveland: This game is a tough one for me to call. I think it will be a defensive struggle with several turnovers. Winner = Cleveland

5) Green Bay vs. Tennessee: The Titans didn't impress me last week against the Colts. I'm going out on a limb here and picking the Packers. Winner = Green Bay

6) Arizona vs. St. Louis: The Rams have been playing better football since Jim Haslett took over the helm, but I have to go with Kurt Warner and the Cards. Winner = Arizona

7) Houston vs. Minnesota: My gut tells me this will be an interesting game, but I am going with the home team. Winner = Minnesota

8) Tampa Bay vs. Kansas City: This is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. Winner = Tampa Bay

9) Miami vs. Denver: The Dolphins have surprised me a couple of times this season. Still, I have to go with the Broncos at home. Winner = Denver

10) Atlanta vs. Oakland: I think the Raiders will keep this one close, but the Falcons should take it. Winner = Atlanta

11) Dallas vs. NY Giants: The Cowboys won't even be competitive in this game with Brad Johnson under center. Winner = NY Giants

12) Philadelphia vs. Seattle: I think the Eagles will destroy the Seahawks. Winner = Philadelphia

13) New England vs. Indianapolis: The Colts' backs are against the wall. If Indy loses this game they will have no chance of making the playoffs. I think Peyton and company will circle the wagons. Winner = Indianapolis

14) Pittsburgh vs. Washington: I could honestly see this game going either way. The Steeler defense impressed me last week, though. Winner = Pittsburgh

NFL Week 8 Predictions

Man, it doesn't seem like there is any consistency in the NFL this year. Usually by Week 8 you have a pretty good idea who is for real and who is not. I dropped my Power Rankings a few weeks ago because it was starting to seem like there was the Tennessee Titans and then everybody else. I went 7-7 on my predictions again last week and I now sit at 57-45.
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1) Tampa Bay vs. Dallas: No Tony Romo equals no offense for Dallas. Winner = Tampa Bay

2) Washington vs. Detroit: The Redskins have been unpredictable, but the Lions have been very predictable. Winner = Washington

3) Buffalo vs. Miami: I like what Tony Sparano has done in Miami, but I think Buffalo should win this game easily. Winner = Buffalo

4) St. Louis vs. New England: This game actually intrigues me. Both teams have been playing above their heads lately and this could be an interesting game. Winner = New England

5) San Diego vs. New Orleans: Again, we have two teams that have been very unpredictable. My gut tells me to go with the Chargers. Winner = San Diego

6) Kansas City vs. NY Jets: I'm not drinking the Jets' Kool Aid any longer, but I still feel like Brett and the boys are better than the lowly Chiefs. Winner = NY Jets

7) Atlanta vs. Philadelphia: Jeez, again with the unpredictable teams playing each other this week. I'm taking the Eagles at home. Winner = Philadelphia

8) Oakland vs. Baltimore: This could be an interesting game. My gut tells me that the Raven defense is going to make Russell look even worse than he really is. Winner = Baltimore

9) Arizona vs. Carolina: Here we have two more teams that perform like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The difference in this game will probably be the performance of Kurt Warner. I'm taking the Panthers at home. Winner = Carolina

10) Cleveland vs. Jacksonville: The Browns' defense has been impressive in every facet of the game this year except in run defense. The Jaguars like to run the ball and they do it pretty well. Winner = Jacksonville

11) Cincinnati vs. Houston: History tells us that it is pretty difficult to go 0-16 on the season. But, I'm starting to think the Bungles have a real shot at making history. Winner = Houston

12) NY Giants vs. Pittsburgh: The Giants play their best when they can get pressure on the opposing quarterback, and the Steelers offensive line hasn't been very good this season. I'm going against the experts and picking the Giants. Winner = NY Giants

13) Seattle vs. San Francisco: The battle of the underachievers! I'm taking the 49ers at home. Winner = San Francisco

14) Indianapolis vs. Tennessee: The talent level in Indy has dropped off dramatically this year, and the Titans are starting to believe in themselves. The difference in this game will come down to coaching and Tennessee has a humongous advantage in that department. Winner = Tennessee

NFL Week 7 Predictions

Wow! Week 6 was another rough one for me as I barely broke even with a record of 7-7. That now puts me at a dismal 50-38 on the season.

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1) San Diego vs. Buffalo: It looks like the Chargers have it rolling now. Winner = San Diego

2) Minnesota vs. Chicago: The Bears are at home and I'm betting they are a little ticked off after last week's fiasco against the Falcons. Winner = Chicago

3) Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati: The Bungles will keep stumbling along. Winner = Pittsburgh.

4) Tennessee vs. Kansas City: The Titans should take care of business. Winner = Tennessee

5) Dallas vs. St. Louis: The Rams shocked me last week with their victory over Washington, but I don't think the Rams are good enough to do it two weeks in a row. Winner = Dallas

6) Baltimore vs. Miami: The Dolphins are at home and I think they will find a way to take advantage of Baltimore's inept offense. Winner = Miami

7) San Francisco vs. NY Giants: We saw last week that the G-men have some weaknesses, but they are still too good for the 49ers. Winner = NY Giants

8) New Orleans vs. Carolina: I have decided that the Panthers are pretenders (again). Winner = New Orleans

9) Detroit vs. Houston: Just when I didn't think the Lions couldn't get any worse they went and traded Roy Williams to Dallas. Winner = Houston

10) NY Jets vs. Oakland: This game will probably be closer than what people think, but I can't pick against Brett Favre in this game. Winner = NY Jets

11) Indianapolis vs. Green Bay: I'm not sure what to think of Indy at this point in the season. The Colts looked like they found their fire last week so I am going to ride the momentum wave and pick them again. Winner = Indianapolis

12) Cleveland vs. Washington: I don't think Derek Anderson is capable of playing two good games in a row. Winner = Washington

13) Seattle vs. Tampa Bay: I have underestimated the Bucs all year and I am not going to do it again this week. Winner = Tampa Bay

14) Denver vs. New England: I just think the Broncos have too much on offense for the aging Patriot defense. Winner = Denver

NFL Week 6 Predictions

43-31 for the season so far. Now for the Week 6 predictions.
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1) Chicago vs. Atlanta: I believe the Bears' defense will be too much for the Falcons offense. Winner = Chicago

2) Baltimore vs. Indianapolis: I think this will be a low scoring game and that favors the Ravens. Winner = Baltimore

3) Detroit vs. Minnesota: I'm not really sure what kind of team Minnesota has, but I am pretty sure they are better than the Lions. Winner = Minnesota

4) Oakland vs. New Orleans: The Raiders are probably going to be fired up for the new coach, but the Saints are a better team and they are at home. Winner = New Orleans

5) Cincinnati vs. NY Jets: The Bengals couldn't even beat the Browns, and Carson Palmer isn't playing again this week. Winner = NY Jets

6) Carolina vs. Tampa Bay: I have underestimated the Bucs all year and I am going to pick against them again this week. Winner = Carolina

7) St. Louis vs. Washington: Jim Zorn and the Redskins have been impressive so far this season. The Rams have not. Winner = Washington

8) Miami vs. Houston: This is a tough one for me to call. I'm going with the home team. Winner = Houston

9) Jacksonville vs. Denver: I think this one is a toss up. Jacksonville is a better team than they have shown this season and I don't think Denver is as good as they appear. I'm going with the home team. Winner = Denver

10) Dallas vs. Arizona: I want to pick the Cardinals, but I just can't. Winner = Dallas

11) Philadelphia vs. San Francisco: The Eagles are really banged up this week. The 49ers aren't very good. Winner = Philadelphia

12) Green Bay vs. Seattle: The Seahawks are not the same team they used to be. Winner = Green Bay

13) New England vs. San Diego: The Chargers aren't a very good team right now, but neither are the Patriots. Winner = San Diego

14) NY Giants vs. Cleveland: The only chance the Browns have is if Derek Anderson gets hurt in warm-ups and is unable to play. Winner = NY Giants

Week 5 Predictions

I went 8-5 last week, but I strongly feel I would have gone 9-4 if Carson Palmer had played for Cincinnati. I am now 35-25 on the season. Now for my Week 5 Predictions:

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1) Kansas City vs. Carolina: The Chiefs looked much improved last week, but I'm still going with the Panthers. Winner = Carolina

2) Chicago vs. Detroit: Don't look now, but the Bears are starting to look like a contender in the NFC North. Winner = Chicago

3) Atlanta vs. Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers is hurt, but it looks like he should play. Winner = Green Bay

4) San Diego vs. Miami: San Diego should win this game, but don't be surprised if the Dolphins make a game of it coming of their bye. Winner = San Diego

5) Seattle vs. NY Giants: The Seahawks are starting to get healthy, but I look for the G-Men to look refreshed after their bye week. Winner = NY Giants

6) Washington vs. Philadelphia: This game could be a tough one for the Eagles, but I'm taking Philly at home. Winner = Philadelphia

7) Tennessee vs. Baltimore: This will be a smash mouth football game that will tell us a lot about the Titans. Winner = Tennessee

8) Indianapolis vs. Houston: The Colts' offensive line is starting to get healthy. It looks like Ugoh and Pollak will return this week. Winner = Indianapolis

9) Tampa Bay vs. Denver: I lost a lot of confidence in Denver last week. My head tells me to go with the Bucs, but my gut tells me to take the Broncos. Winner = Denver

10) Buffalo vs. Arizona: The Cards are turning the ball over too much for my taste. Winner = Buffalo

11) New England vs. San Fransisco: The Patriots had a week off to think about their embarrassing loss. Winner = New England

12) Cincinnati vs. Dallas: This is a no-brainer. Winner = Dallas

13) Pittsburgh vs. Jacksonville: The Steelers are banged up and the Jags are starting to find their mojo. Winner = Jacksonville

14) Minnesota vs. New Orleans: The Vikings aren't a horrible team, but I have to go with the Saints at home. Winner = New Orleans

15) Cleveland Browns: The Browns don't play a game this week, but I have a feeling they will find some way to lose to themselves in practice during their bye week. Their pathetic win last week against a "Carson Palmer-less" Bengals team was probably the worst thing that has happened to the Browns since they signed Derek Anderson to that huge contract. Now it looks like Anderson will hold on to the starting QB job for the foreseeable future. I just don't know how many more 10-25 for 125 yards with 3 interceptions and 1 touchdown games I can stomach.

NFL Week 4 Predictions

I'm 27-20 on my picks after the first three weeks of the season. Its not too bad, but its not real good either. Let's see if I can improve on my record.
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1) Cleveland vs Cincinnati: The Great American Suck-Off! This is a tough one to call because Derek Anderson is starting but may not finish the game. If Brady Quinn comes in early the Browns may have a chance. Since Romeo is the Browns' coach I am going to guess that Quinn doesn't come in soon enough or maybe not at all. Winner = Cincinnati

2) Minnesota vs Tennessee: I think the Titan defense will be too much for the Vikings. Winner = Tennessee

3) Denver vs Kansas City: The Broncos are gonna score a lot of points and the Chiefs will not. Winner = Denver

4) San Francisco vs New Orleans: I'm going with the Saints even without Shockey. Winner = New Orleans

5) Arizona vs NY Jets: This one has me scratching my head. The Cards may be better than I thought, and the Jets may be worse than I thought. I'm going with the home team. Winner = NY Jets

6) Green Bay vs Tampa Bay: I just think the Packers are a better team. Winner = Green Bay

7) Atlanta vs Carolina: The Panthers should win this one easily. Winner = Carolina

8) Houston vs Jacksonville: The Jags have their swagger back. Winner = Jacksonville

9) San Diego vs Oakland: This won't even be close. Winner = San Diego

10) Buffalo vs St. Louis: The Rams may go 0-16. Winner = Buffalo

11) Washington vs Dallas: I think the Redskins will make a game of this, but Washington just doesn't have enough. Winner = Dallas

12) Philadelphia vs Chicago: The Eagles should blow Chicago off the field. Winner = Philadelphia

13) Baltimore vs Pittsburgh: Big Ben will have a long day without Willie Parker, but in the end I think the Steelers will pull out a low scoring affair. Winner = Pittsburgh

9/25/08: My Power Rankings

1) Dallas Cowboys: They're winning, but I'm still a little suspicious of their defense.

2) NY Giants: Everybody is entitled to a bad game every once in awhile. Luckily for the G-Men they were playing against the Bungles.

3) Philadelphia Eagles: Philly beat a pretty good Steeler team and played the Cowboys very tough in Dallas.

4) Pittsburgh Steelers: I know they lost last weekend, but perhaps Philly is just that good.

5) Tennessee Titans: We won't find out what they really have until Week 8 when they play the Colts. But, the Titans definitely look better with Collins under center.

6) Denver Broncos: They can score some points.

7) Buffalo Bills: Narrowly escaping with a win against the Raiders didn't impress me much.

8) Green Bay Packers: They lost to Dallas, but they still look like a playoff team to me.

9) San Diego Chargers: Could it be?

10) Indianapolis Colts: Poor officiating cost the Colts the game against Jacksonville, otherwise they would be 2-1 right now heading in to their Bye Week.

The Cleveland Clowns

Did anybody else read the great AP story about the Browns/Ravens game? The first sentence of the story actually made me laugh out loud, "The Baltimore Ravens were struggling to score, and then Derek Anderson came to the rescue.
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How much longer is Romeo Crennel going to stick with Anderson? After 3 games, Derek Anderson's stat line for the season reads like this:

43 completions in 93 attempts with 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Oh yeah, it also reads that he has zero wins and three losses.
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DA now has a whopping 46% completion percentage through three games and he looks absolutely putrid on the field. The NFL's QB ratings after week 3 haven't come out yet, but I think it is safe to say that Anderson will rank near the bottom in every significant category once they do. Say what you want about Charlie Frye, but even Charlie completed over 62% of his passes in the 21 games he played for the Browns.

And don't give me any of that crap about the Browns facing tough defenses in their first three games. Matt Schaub completed 25-33 for 202 yards against the Steelers in Week 1 and Donovan McNabb completed 24-35 for 196 yards against Pittsburgh in Week 3. Donovan McNabb also went 25-37 for 281 yards against Dallas in Week 2. As I am writing this I'm watching Aaron Rodgers put up some decent numbers against Dallas in the Sunday night game. Sure, the Packers are losing, but Rodgers is currently 10-17 for 153 yards.

Anderson has now played in 24 games for the Browns and sits at a career completion percentage of a measly 55%. And, the argument can be made that Anderson has had a much better receiving corps (and team) to work with than Charlie ever had.
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I think it is time we get to see what Brady Quinn can do. Lord knows he can't possibly do any worse than what Derek Anderson has done so far this season. Of course, Quinn seeing any real playing time would mean that Romeo Crennel would have to make an actual coaching decision. And, based on Romeo's "decision making" over the past couple of season's I'm guessing that we probably won't be seeing Brady Quinn until it is entirely too late.

Forget about Derek Anderson, maybe somebody needs to fire Romeo Crennel. I don't know about you, but I am getting sick and tired of the Cleveland Clowns.
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UPDATE

I've gotten two emails this morning from Cleveland fans trying to tell me that DA is struggling because his receivers are dropping passes that they should be catching. Are you FU$@ING kidding me?

The reason the receivers aren't making an extreme effort to catch the ball this season is because they are scared to death that they are going to get their heads taken off when they try to make the circus catches that are required to catch a pass from Derek Anderson. The receivers made those types of catches last year, but I am guessing they are starting to get a little tired of Anderson throwing them balls that leave them totally exposed over the middle with Ray Lewis running at them with a full head of steam. That pass to Winslow yesterday was a prime example of what I am talking about. Anderson should have thrown that ball low and slightly behind Winslow so that K2 had to go to the ground to catch it. That way Winslow wouldn't have been de-cleated by a 250 pound freight train. How much longer do you honestly think Winslow is going to keep trying to catch those balls before he just shuts it down like Edwards?

Give me a break, people. Anderson is the same QB he has always been. He's not getting worse. He has always been this bad. He will continue to be this bad as long as Romeo keeps playing him. Its time for a change, for better or worse.

NFL Week 3 Predictions

I don't think there is any way I can do worse than I did last week, so here goes.
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1) Kansas City vs. Atlanta: This is a tough one to call. Winner = Atlanta

2) Oakland vs. Buffalo: I think the Bills should win this one fairly easily. Winner = Buffalo

3) Tampa Bay vs. Chicago: The Bears have surprised me with their toughness so far this season. Winner = Chicago

4) Houston vs. Tennessee: Anything can happen in the AFC South, but I think the Titans have too much for the Texans. Winner = Tennessee

5) Carolina vs. Minnesota: The Vikings have played hard nosed football in their first two games but I don't think the upgrade at QB will be enough to help them against the Panthers. Winner = Carolina

6) Miami vs. New England: No contest. Winner = New England

7) Cincinnati vs. NY Giants: That sound you hear off in the distance is the moving truck pulling up in front of Marvin Lewis' house. Winner = NY Giants

8) Arizona vs. Washington: My head is telling me to go with the Redskins, but my gut tells me the Cards are gonna take it. Winner = Arizona

9) Detroit vs. San Francisco: This one is a toss up. I'm going with the home team. Winner = San Francisco

10) St. Louis vs. Seattle: Another tough one to call. Winner = Seattle

11) New Orleans vs. Denver: My crystal ball tells me the Broncos are going to score a lot of points. Winner = Denver

12) Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia: Another tough one to call. When I think it is close, I always go with the home team. Winner = Philadelphia

13) Jacksonville vs. Indianapolis: The better defense wins the game between two teams struggling with injuries on offense. Winner = Jacksonville

14) Cleveland vs. Baltimore: The last I checked Derek Anderson was still listed as the starting QB for Cleveland. Winner = Baltimore

15) Dallas vs. Green Bay: The game of the week as far as I'm concerned. I'm going out on a limb. Winner = Green Bay

16) NY Jets vs San Diego: I think the Jets will make a game of this, but the Chargers are going to play pissed off after last week's debacle. Winner = San Diego

Kornheiser Comment On MNF

Did Tony Kornheiser step over the line on MNF with his not so funny comment about our friends south of the border? Check out what he said here.

I must admit that I totally missed the comment during the broadcast. I didn't miss the comment because I wasn't paying attention. I missed it because I had the TV on mute. I have been muting all the MNF games since Tony was added to the cast. I can't stand the guy and I don't think he is funny at all. I want to watch the football games and not be bothered by some idiot who knows nothing about the game jabbering away non-stop about worthless crap that I care nothing about.