Week 10 NFL Picks

Record to Date – (69-51)

 

Jacksonville @ Tennessee (-5)

Denver @ Kansas City (-3)

Buffalo (-3) @ Miami

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh (- 10 ½)

St Louis @ New Orleans (-11)

Atlanta @ Carolina (-4)

Philadelphia @ Washington (-3)

Minnesota @ Green Bay (-6)

Cincinnati @ Baltimore (-3 ½)

Chicago (-3 ½) @ Oakland

Dallas (-2 ½) @ New York Giants

Detroit @ Arizona (Pick)

Indianapolis (-4) @ San Diego

San Francisco @ Seattle (-10)

Week 11 College Picks, Yes Sir

Alright, this is getting dull. My picks are terrible. This college football season sucks, and so does the NFL season (I'm a Bears fan if you haven't picked up the hints). So, from here on out, unless I feel the inspiration it takes to write something that will get me hired by a paper, I'm not writing anything more until the holiday break for this blog. My reasoning behind this decision is simply fatigue on my part, well, on the University of Iowa's part more like. So, with that out of the way, here's this week's stellar picks.

Record to date – (48-32) – one behind the three way tie for the Daily Iowan's lead

Minnesota @ Iowa

Michigan @ Wisconsin

Auburn @ Georgia

Florida @ South Carolina

USC @ Cal

Arizona State @ UCLA

Wake Forest @ Clemson

Week 9 NFL Picks

I have to come out and say it. I can't wait for the Texans-Raiders game this week.

Record to Date – (63-44) – Lots of favorites this week

Washington (-4) @ New York Jets

Green Bay @ Kansas City (-2)

Arizona @ Tampa Bay (-3 ½)

Carolina @ Tennessee (-4)

San Francisco @ Atlanta (-3)

Jacksonville @ New Orleans (-3 ½)

Denver @ Detroit (-3)

Cincinnati (-1) @ Buffalo

San Diego (-7) @ Minnesota

Seattle @ Cleveland (-1 ½)

New England (-6) @ Indianapolis

Houston @ Oakland (-3)

Dallas (-3) @ Philadelphia

Week 10 College Picks

Record to Date – (falling off the wagon, and we're getting down to business this week) – 42-30

Iowa @ Northwestern

LSU @ Alabama

Arizona State @ Oregon

Wisconsin @ Ohio State

Michigan @ Michigan State

South Carolina @ Arkansas

Purdue @ Penn State

Florida State @ Boston College

Week 8 NFL Picks

Last Week – 57-37-8

Cleveland (-3) @ St Louis – I really don't understand why this spread is so close.

Detroit @ Chicago (-5 ½) – It's true, I am biased.

Indianapolis (-7) @ Carolina – Classic look ahead game for almost every other team in the league. I just think that Peyton Manning and the rest of the leaders on the Colts don't let the rest of the team look ahead to big games like the one against New England next week.

New York Giants (-10) @ Miami – London's Calling.

Oakland @ Tennessee (-7) – An extremely tricky game to pick, but with Vince Young back in Nashville, I'll roll with the Titans.

Philadelphia (-1) @ Minnesota – The Vikings offensive line makes all the difference.

Pittsburgh (-4) @ Cincinnati – The easiest game of the week to pick.

Buffalo @ New York Jets (-3) – The Jets are awful, and the Bills are dramatically improving week by week.

Houston @ San Diego (NL) – The Charger's success in this game depends on their ability to focus all week.

Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay (-4) – The Jaguars only have had five days to prepare, and their starting quarterback is out a month. You have to go with the Bucs here.

New Orleans (-3) @ San Francisco – I don't think that Trent Dilfer can score nearly enough points to keep the 49ers in the game, and he definitely can't win.

Washington @ New England (-17) – The Patriots are just too good to take the points.

Green Bay @ Denver (-3) – The Packers demise begins.

Week 9 College Picks

Record to Date: 38-26

Michigan State @ Iowa – The debate is - do I watch?

Ohio State @ Penn State – This is the best ABC could do for their primetime game? Look at the two pac-10 matchups, and tell me that you wouldn't rather see USC Oregon than Ohio State knock the tar out of JoePa.

Florida @ Georgia – The biggest cocktail party this side of Christiano Ronadlo's pool house goes to the Gators this year.

West Virginia @ Rutgers – This is where the games become very tough to pick.

Cal @ Arizona State – The first of two big questions in this matchup is how will California respond after their two straight losses? The second – is Arizona State good enough to win a national championship?

USC @ Oregon – This game is nearly impossible for me to pick, and I have already started praying to God that the fourth level Iowa City penthouse receives this game.

Kansas @ Texas A&M – Texas A&M is the worst 6-2 division I-A team in the country right now.

South Carolina @ Tennessee – Tennessee let me down last week, and they'll probably repeat that accomplishment this week too.

Bonus: This doesn't count towards my overall record, but I'll be pulling for Virginia Tech in tonight's game, and I fully expect them to come out with the victory.

Also, the World Series is over.

Week 7 NFL Picks

Do I love this time of year or what? You have the baseball playoffs, probably the best playoffs of any sport. There's the NFL and College seasons both in full swing, even though this college season has been rather boring for me (I'm a traditional kind of a guy). There's the soccer season, even though Chelsea is falling apart, especially with their best player Didier Drogba wanting out of Stamford Bridge. The end of the NASCAR season's ending, and the NBA is starting back up.

Not to mention, the leaves are changing. And the best thing of all about the fall season is the weather changing, which means that all the guys walking around in sandals have to put them in the back of the closet and switch to tennis shoes. Love it, and what I love more is if I had the gull to drop down some money on my football picks. And without further ado, here are the picks…

 

Record to Date – 49 – 31 – 8

 

Arizona @ Washington (-8 ½) – I've been reading things from the Redskins fans and players saying that they should be 5-1 or 6-0 to this point. I think that they'll start closing teams out late in games with Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. With that being said, I look for the Redskins to blowout the Cardinals this week with Tim Rataay just signing with the team last week.

Atlanta @ New Orleans (-8) – One win over a marginal team, and everyone's ready to crown the Saints. Not so fast our friends at bodog, take Atlanta, new quarterback Byron Leftwich, and the points.

Baltimore (-3) @ Buffalo – This line is surprisingly low, and I think that the bye week will help the Bills significantly, especially fixing their mangled defense.

New England (-17) @ Miami – Seventeen point underdogs at home? I don't believe I've ever seen that, and on a related note I saw on PTI today that they were arguing whether or not the Dolphins could pull the upset. I didn't listen for the answer because I am quite sick of sports talk television and radio right now, but the question that determines whether or not the Dolphins have a chance is – get ready for it – who is Miami's quarterback? Cleo Lemon, and when facing a team of the magnitude of the Patriots you're going to have to score quite a few points (See AFC playoffs last year), and I don't think Cleo Lemon will do this for the Dolphins Sunday.

San Francisco @ New York Giants (-9) – I think the Giants have a shot at winning the NFC East title.

Tampa Bay @ Detriot (-2 ½) – Does somebody know something I don't? Detroit's hyped WAY too much.

Tennessee (NL) @ Houston – For Tennessee to have any chance, Vince Young must play. So, I'm picking the Texans because I think if Young does play he's going to be significantly limited, and the Texans will just tee off on him in the pocket.

Kansas City @ Oakland (-3) – Yeesh. There are about four games this week I don't really have any idea of who to pick. So I'll go with the team in this game with the best player on the field.

New York Jets @ Cincinnati (-6 ½) – I'm picking against the Bengals until they prove me wrong, and against the Jets there's a distinct possibility that this is that week.

Minnesota @ Dallas (-10) - The Bears are going to really look terrible after the Viking's christening against the Cowboys offense.

Chicago @ Philadelphia (-6) – I think the Eagles win, but the Bears keep it close (I hope).

St Louis @ Seattle (-8 ½) – A game like the Raiders-Chiefs where I really don't have any idea. But I think that the homefield advantage will play a factor before this game is over. With that being said though, I'm changing my mind and taking the points.

Pittsburgh (-4) @ Denver – If I could put money down on a game, it'd most likely be this one. I think the Steelers will use the Sunday night stage to announce themselves.

Indianapolis (-3 ½) @ Jacksonville – The Jaguars are on the cusp of being considered by the talking heads of ESPN to be a Super Bowl team, but I think that they'll have to wait a few weeks because Indianapolis will play exceptional coming off their bye week, which is huge for a finesse team like the Colts.

Week 8 College Picks

Record to Date – (33-23) – We're falling off the wagon as teams go deeper into conference play, but we'll try to correct the problem this week with some relatively easy games.

Iowa @ Purdue – Purdue will score 28 points, a feat which Iowa hasn't come close to on Saturday.

Florida @ Kentucky – I think Kentucky will suffer a let down after their gigantic win last week against LSU.

Michigan @ Illinois – Michigan continues their resurgence against a distraught Illini team.

Auburn @ LSU – LSU gets its act together, and makes its push for the national championship in an extremely physical game against Auburn.

Michigan State @ Ohio State – How is Ohio State the top ranked BCS team? The best two teams they've beaten are Purdue and Washington.

Miami @ Florida State – Two lackluster teams where the homefield advantage will make all the difference.

Tennessee @ Alabama – Two incredibly inconsistent SEC teams, and I'll just go with the hotter of the two teams.

California @ UCLA – UCLA really isn't that good, but with that being said I'm sure they'll beat Cal.

Week 6 NFL Picks

Record to Date – 42-27-5 – An ever improving record after an excellent Week 5.

Remember that we are using the lines provided by the great folks at bodog.com, and without further ado, here are the picks for this week.

Cincinnati (+3) @ Kansas City – I thought about going with the majority and picking the Bengals, but I don't have much confidence in a team with their best running back banged up and a terrible defense. On a related note, isn't Marvin Lewis supposed to be a defensive genius?

Houston @ Jacksonville (-7) – With Andre Johnson out, I have to pick the Jaguars – who are without a doubt the most underrated team right now in the entire league (Which may change after their game in two weeks against the Colts).

Miami @ Cleveland (-4 ½) – The Dolphins are going to break their winless streak one of these weeks, and I'm anticipating this week as being the time that the accomplish this.

Minnesota @ Chicago (-5 ½) – With the Packers back in their sights, the Bears will not squander their chance to run them down by losing against the Vikings (at least I hope not).

Philadelphia (-3 ½) @ New York Jets - Brian Westbrook is the engine in the Eagles offense, and it's a good thing for Philadelphia that their engine returns healthy after their bye week.

St Louis @ Baltimore (-10) – This is a difficult line to pick. On one hand you have the Ravens who are terrible on offense, and on the other you have the Rams who are also horrible on offense. So it's really a toss up.

Tennessee @ Tampa Bay (-3) – This line puzzles me a great deal because I think that the Titans are the better team, especially considering that Cadillac Williams is out for the year. So I'll go with the Titans in this game, even though something seems suspicious.

Washington @ Green Bay (-3) – The Redskins, along with the Jaguars, are vastly underrated. And this week I look for Jason Campbell to play very well against the Packers stout defense.

Carolina @ Arizona (-4 ½) – It's a bad sign when I don't even know who is starting for the Panthers, thus I'm going with Kurt Warner and the Cardinals.

New England (-6 ½) @ Dallas – This is must see television. For about 1 ½ quarters.

Oakland @ San Diego (-10) – Note to Norv Turner – run Tomlinson and Turner 35+ times and you win the ballgame.

New Orleans
@ Seattle (-7) – The Saints are really, really bad. But Shaun Alexander looks old a decrepit, and I think Seattle will win, but only by about ten.

New York Giants (-3 ½) @ Atlanta – Another puzzling line, but I'll go with the Giants until Joey Harrington shows consistency or is pulled.

 

Week 7 NCAA Picks

Record to Date – (30-18)

I'm starting to cut back the content for this blog because as I have previously said, I've started to develop ideas for a new website which I hope to launch in the near future. So, in the attempt to avoid significant burn out, I'm limiting myself in the length and content of my entries. With that said, here are my picks…

Illinois @ Iowa – With Dace Richardson's addition to the Hawkeyes list of injured players, I look for Illinois to stay on their current role.

Purdue @ Michigan – Ohio State mapped out how to beat the Boilermakers, and all Michigan has to do is follow their archrival's direction.

LSU @ Kentucky – Kentucky was ranked in the top 8 last week, which would lead most to believe that Kentucky and LSU (ranked #1) are rather evenly matched. This week, LSU illustrates the gigantic separation between the number one team and the field.

Missouri @ Oklahoma – The difference here is simply homefield advantage, but Missouri is an excellent team and will be very good for years to come (Also, they are the only team that has beaten Illinois this year too).

Auburn @ Arkansas – I don't have any idea who will win this game, but I'll go with the better offense and Arkansas.

Wisconsin @ Penn State – Both teams were vastly overrated at the beginning of the season, as was the Big 10 overall. And I don't really know who's a better team at this point, so I'll go with Penn State and the better defense.

Indiana @ Michigan State – Is Indiana for real?

Texas A&M @ Texas Tech – Texas A&M rides their strong running game to triumph over the pass happy Red Raiders.

Week 6 NCAA Picks

Quick and to the point today.

Record to Date: 26-14 (Tied with one, trailing one, and leading five Daily Iowan writers)

The winners are in bold.

Iowa @ Penn State

Florida @ LSU

Ohio State @ Purdue

Oklahoma @ Texas

Nebraska @ Missouri

Virginia Tech @ Clemson

Georgia @ Tennessee

Wisconsin @ Illinois

Week 5 NFL Picks

I'm currently in the process of completing a lot of school work and watching the MLB playoffs right now, so I'm just going to run down the picks without very much analysis. More detail will follow in the next few days about the state of the Cubs and all the teams in the baseball playoffs.

Here are my picks:

Record to Date – 32-25-4 (Good, but not spectacular)

Panthers @ Saints (-3 1/2) - The Saints simply are not a very good team, and even without Jake Delhomme, the Panthers defense should be stout enough to shut down the Saints offense.

Jaguars (-2) @ Chiefs – This is the game that I believe is an absolute lock. With that being said, I'm sure Kansas City will come out and beat the Jaguars by 27.

Lions @ Redskins (-3 ½) – Jason Campbell's improving, and the Redskins offense should have their way against a weak Detroit defense.

Falcons @ Titans (-8 ½) – Joey Harrington finds a way to keep this game within a touchdown throughout, but throws a late interception that allows the Titans to squeeze it out.

Dolphins @ Texans (-6) – No Andre Johnson, the Texans are no good.

Seahawks @ Steelers (-6) – I seriously thought about picking the Seahawks for this game, but I kept thinking back to the Steelers v. Bears game two years ago where the Steelers just kept running right at the Bears undersized defense. I foresee the same thing happening to the Seahawk's undersized defense.

Browns @
Patriots (-17) – This is an absolutely huge spread, and I think the Patriots end up only winning by 14 against an improving Browns team that I almost picked as my sleeper team in front of the Bills.

Cardinals (-3 ½) @ Rams – The Cardinals defense is probably the most underrated defense in the entire league.

Jets @ Giants (-3 ½) – Brandon Jacobs comes back and the Giants continue their upswing in the NFC East standings.

Buccaneers @ Colts (-10) – The loss of Cadillac Williams is absolutely huge for the Bucs. I sincerely hope that he does indeed get better after suffering an injury that for some reason reminded me a lot of Shaun Livingston's devastating injury last season. But, getting back to this game, I just think that the Bucs will be overmatched on the Indy turf against a team whose defense is improving every week.

Chargers @ Broncos (-1 ½) – I'm making the proposal that if Norv Turner does not run the combination of LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner 35 times, he should be fired on the spot.

Ravens (-3 ½) @ 49ers – The big question from this game is: are the 49ers a better team without Alex Smith playing quarterback? There's a likely possibility that the answer to that question is yes.

Bears @ Packers (-3 ½) – This is the Bears last stand. If they lose this game to the Packers, they can kiss the division championship goodbye and probably the wildcard too. I have a feeling that the Packers will end up winning, but I think it will be close. On a perpendicular subject, how is Chicago's quarterbacking messiah working out so far?

Cowboys (-11) @ Bills – I picked a lot of road teams this week, and the trend will continue here. If Dallas focuses throughout the week and Wade Philips can properly prepare them for the Bills, then the Cowboys will win big.

Week 4 NFL Pickoff

Hey Now. Back like I said I would be yesterday after I feel awful for completely misread the West Virginia-South Florida game. It doesn't help that Mos Def aka Pat White was hurt in the second quarter, in essence, taking away the running game from Steve Slaton. With that being said, the thing that killed West Virginia was their six turnovers. In any level of football, you can't turn the ball over six times and expect to win unless you have a great defense that can also create turnovers.

On a different note, how about those Cubs. It was an absolutely great game from Carlos Zambrano, which gave the Cubs seven solid innings, which allowed Sweet Lou to take him out without burning him out for the playoffs. What the Cubs clinching means is that it allows them to set their rotation for the playoffs with Zambrano pitching in the first game of the playoffs.

I really like the Cubs chances in the playoffs this year, and while I'll make my playoff picks once the seeds are set on probably Wednesday after I finish my last test, the Cubs are the early NL favorite to make the World Series.

But as we move into the best sports month of the year, there is a concoction of baseball, NASCAR, the basketball season beginning, soccer, and of course you have football.

On that, here are my NFL picks

 

Record to Date – 24-19-4

Raiders (+4) @ Dolphins – (My Pick = OAK 17 – MIA 16) - With Josh McCown injured, Daunte Culpepper steps in against his old team for the first time since he was released by the Dolphins over the offseason. With that being said, I think the Dolphins will struggle against the tough Raiders defense, and that will be the thing that decides the game. But on top of anything, I really don't know who's going to win. It's games like these that make me question why I pick all the games every week.

Texans (-3) @ Falcons – (My Pick – HOU 21 – ATL 10) - Matt Schaub goes up against his old team for the first time, just like Culpepper and Miami. I always wonder, not having been involved in one of these types of situations in my high school career, what it is like when a player goes up against his old team? In this situation, I expect that because Schaub did not start very many games in his tenure in Atlanta, that they won't have much information (like different tendencies that he has) to use against Schaub.

Ravens (-4 ½) @ Browns – (My Pick = BAL 27 – CLE 20) - I'm questioning this pick, mostly because I don't think the Ravens are all that good on offense. But we're going to give the Ravens one more week, and if they once again can't cover a point spread, we'll pick their opponent next week.

Bears (-3) @ Lions – (My Pick = CHI 23 – DET 14) - The reason I'm picking the Bears isn't because I am confident in their defense or the insertion of Brian Griese into the starting lineup. I just really want the Bears to play well and win.

Packers (-3) @ Vikings – (My Pick = GB 20 – MIN 13) - One thing will cement Brett Favre's resurgence, and that is winning in his personal house of horrors, the Humphrey Dome (if that's what they still call it). What I think about this game is that the Vikings are really offensively challenged, especially in the passing game. In turn, the Packers defense looks like one of the best in the league, and it is the defense more than Favre that will win this games for the Packers.

Rams @ Cowboys (-13 ½) – (My Pick = DAL 38 – STL 10) – St. Louis is a mess, and the Cowboys offense looks very, very good. This is a recipe for a blowout, and I also haven't picked a home team yet, so here is the pick.

Jets @ Bills (+3 ½) – (My Pick = NYJ 20 – BUF 17) – I'm sticking with my faulty sleeper covering this week, but I'm sure they won't. It's too bad that the Bills this season, because of all the defensive injuries they have had. Now they have Posluzney go down with a leg injury, and the Bills are in severe disarray. With this being said, I really don't like the Jets team, and I think they won't cover the point spread, and they could very well lose this game in upper New York.

Bucs (+3) @ Panthers – (My Pick = TB 23 – CAR 21) – After this win, I think the Bucs will announce themselves as the team to beat in the NFC South. Wow, I can't believe I just said that.

Seahawks (-2 ½) @ 49ers – (My Pick = SEA 24 – SF 13) – The Seahawks come out victorious in this game because of their defense will shut down the weak offense of San Francisco. The only thing that could hinder Seattle is turnovers by Matt Hasselbeck, but I don't think that will happen.

Steelers (-6 ½) @ Cardinals – (My Pick = PIT 31 – ARI 21) – I'm picking a lot of road teams, but I feel very good about this pick because the Steelers are playing very well. Even though Hines Ward is out this week, I'm looking for Willie Parker to effectively carry the ball often for the Steelers, and soon to be breakout wide receiver Santanio Holmes to pick up the receiving slack.

Chiefs @ Chargers (-12) – (My Pick = SD 27 – KC 7) – The Chargers are going to force Damon Huard to beat them through the air. Do I think he can do it? The score says it all.

Broncos @ Colts (-10) – (My Pick = IND 31 – DEN 10) – The thing that stands out in this game is the fact that the Broncos are owned by Peyton Manning and the Colts, and the Indianapolis defense looks like one of the best in the league right now. These two reasons are why the Colts will come out victorious.

Eagles (-3) @ Giants – (My Pick = PHI 24 – NYG 17) – The Giants are a mess, and they had no business winning last week's game against the Redskins. But they could easily beat the Eagles because both teams are so very inconsistent. The fact that I've picked so many favorites to cover this week is driving me crazy, but I'm going to once again pick the road favorite to cover with the Eagles and Donovan McNabb.

Patriots (-7 ½) @ Bengals – (My Pick = NE 41 – CIN 31) – The Bengals defense will have to force New England into at least three turnovers. But they won't and the Patriots will light up the scoreboard.

Here's my picks. A lot of favorites and a lot of road teams. And as I write this I'm also listening to the Iowa-Indiana game and Indiana just scored their second touchdown. Iowa's in serious trouble.

 

Week 5 College Picks

Alright, it's been an extremely tiring week for me because of the abundance of school work being placed on my shoulders. But I suppose that's what I signed up for, so we're not complaining here in the Iowa City penthouse but rather looking forward to this weekend to watch the beloved Cubs try to secure a playoff spot. But as an appetizer to what should be a fantastic baseball weekend, I'm going to try to improve on the 4-4 record I had last Saturday picking mostly inter conference college football games. Without further ado, we're going to listen to sweet sound of The Strokes and pick eight very difficult college games.

Record to Date – 23-9, better than all but one Daily Iowan reporter, Diane Hendrickson, who is pacing the field at 26-6.

Indiana @ Iowa – I'm debating whether to watch this game or read my marketing textbook. Using a horseracing analogy, Marketing is currently Secretariat and the Hawkeye game is the field. With this being said, I think the Hawkeyes are probably the safer bet to win, but the big thing in football is that however great your defense is, your offense will eventually have to score points for your team to win. Which is easier said than done for teams like the Chicago Bears and Iowa Hawkeyes with inept offenses.

West Virginia @ South Florida – A fantastic Friday night game on ESPN. It's too bad that Chris Speilman is broadcasting the game, which means that I will be doing something other than watch West Virginia murder the South Florida Bulls. I know, I know, South Florida beat West Virginia last year at West Virginia, but you don't really think that a game with three year starters Pat White and Steve Slaton among others will let this happen again, do you? To answer my own question since this is my blog and not a conversation, no, West Virginia's too good of a team to let that happen twice in a row. That is why I like West Virginia to score over 50 on South Florida and come out victorious.

Cal @ Oregon – This will be the game of the week, guaranteed. Giving myself some dap, something I rarely do, I've been saying since I was eight years old that the two most exciting conferences to watch are the Pac-10 and the SEC, in that order. This statement is no more true than this weekend with the spread attack of Oregon in Eugene against the best precision passing team in the country in California. I could try to break this game down, but I honestly have no idea who is the better team. So, I made my pick based on who has beaten the better team this year and the homefield advantage. I believe that Oregon's defeat of an underrated Michigan team (yes, you heard it here first) trumps Cal's defeat of Tennessee in Berkeley. Plus, I almost chose to attend Oregon and I would like to live their in the future because it looks very nice in the pictures, so that I'm sure somehow subconsciously played a factor.

Alabama @ Florida State – I have a very strong feeling that Alabama is overrated after beating Arkansas. With that being said, I watched the Florida State v. Clemson game earlier this year, and Florida State has absolutely nothing on offense. So, like the Cal @ Oregon game, I've made my decision on the homefield advantage, and I'm going with the Noles.

Michigan State @ Wisconsin – A common theme so far seems to be my recognition of overrated teams and making picks based on homefield advantage. The trend will continue here with a very overrated team, as witnessed in primetime last week against the pitiful Hawkeyes, Wisconsin, will be the pick because they are at Camp Randall in a very close game.

Notre Dame @ Purdue – Notre Dame can't score and can't defend. And in college football, not being able to do those two things is not good.

Clemson @ Georgia Tech – Clemson's two running back system trumps Georgia Tech's one fantastic running back. With that being said, Georgia Tech could easily beat the Tigers, because both teams are very inconsistent and the ACC is overrated as well (keeping up with the theme).

Auburn @ Florida – Supreme talent, speed, and left handed quarterbacking are a few of the many reasons Florida comes out victorious. Just a side note, if Florida wants to run Tim Tebow 27 times like they did last week, that's fine. But they better be praying to God, Jesus, and Allah that Tebow doesn't miss a single quarter in a tight game this whole year, because if he does the Gators will have no shot in hell in winning the national championship

Alright, there's the picks. There are some that are different from the DI reporters, but not many. Either today or tomorrow the NFL picks will be up with a Cubs column possibly coming in the near future. Keyword is possibly. Like I said previously, I've been extremely busy, and I can't make any guarantees.

I am also scurrently developing a business plan for my own website that I hope to launch either over winter, spring, or summer breaks. This site will be exclusively my writing about sports and other things, and I'm going to try to scour the blogging world and bring in some young talented writers to give their opinions on a host of topics in the sporting world. Also, my writings will increase in length and quantity once I have a break from school. So, I'll keep all of the readers I have out there posted (all three of you) on the progress of this business plan and all of the particulars.

Enjoy the games this weekend.

 

 

Week 3 NFL Picks

Update on the College Picks I made – 3-4, with the UCLA-Washington State game still going on. Ugh. But whatever, here are the quick hitter NFL picks with spreads provided by our good friend Bill Simmons because our other good friends at the legal because it's offshore gambling website bodog.com are having technical issues.

 

Updated -

 

Colts (-6) @ Texans – My Pick = Ind 31 – Hou 14 - I would seriously consider picking Houston if one of the best wide receivers in the league, Andre Johnson were playing in today's game. But he isn't, thus the pick is Peyton Manning and the improved Indianapolis defense.

Chargers (-5) @ Packers – My pick = SD 21-GB 15 - The pick is the Chargers, because of their strong pass rush against a relatively weak Packers offensive line. With that being said I would not be at all surprised if the Packers beat the Chargers in what should be one of the best games in the league.

Vikings @ Chiefs (-2.5) – My Pick = Min 14-KC13 – The choice goes to the stronger defense, but don't be surprised to see Patrick Surtain or Ty Law returning an interception for a touchdown to win the ballgame. But the team I feel is more likely to at least cover is the Vikings.

Bills @ Patriots (-16.5) – My Pick = NE 31 – Buf 14 – It would appear at this point and time that I am completely wrong about my sleeper pick. But the Bills have had to face three of the best AFC teams in their first three weeks with the Patriots, Steelers, and Broncos serving as their opponents. On a side note – how great is it to see that Kevin Everett will be able to walk within a couple weeks? But with that being said, I still like the Patriots to cover, but just barely in New England.

Rams @ Bucs (-3.5) – My Pick = STL 21-TB 20 - The Rams have to play better this week don't they? I really don't have anything to say about either of these teams because they thoroughly confuse me.

Lions @ Eagles (-6.5) – My Pick = PHI 24 – DET 13 – This will be the week that everyone finds out about both of these teams. If the Lions come out victorious, it can plainly be said that the Eagles are done and there is a good chance the Lions could win the NFC North and contend for the Super Bowl (I really hope that I don't have to contemplate this).

Steelers (-9) @ 49ers – My Pick = PIT 31 – SF 7 – What an AFC layoffs we're going to have if the Steelers continue to play like they have in the first two weeks. In addition, San Francisco has zero chance this week.

Dolphins @ Jets (-3) – My Pick = MIA 13 – NYJ 12 – This could be the worst game of the week, so in probably my most sound way of picking games, I'm going to pick the Dolphins to win.

Cardinals @ Ravens (-8) – My Pick = BAL 20 – ARI 10 – Baltimore's offense will have to play better in order to compete in the stacked AFC, but I expect the Ravens defense to shut down Arizona's offense in Maryland.

Bengals @ Seahawks (-3) – My Pick = SEA 38 – CIN 34 – The Seahawks better score, because you know the Bengals will put up at least 21 points. I expect Matt Hasselbeck to have a big game, and the Seahawks to prevail in the very tough Qwest field in front of the 12^th man (which was unfortunately lifted from Texas A&M).

Giants @ Redskins (-3.5) – My Pick = WAS 31 – NYG 21 – I've been saying this for a while, but the Redskins are very good. Especially Jason Campbell, who throws one of the best deep balls in the league. But the best thing about the Redskins is their running game and secondary, two units that will have a big game this week against the horrendous Giants.

Browns @ Oakland (-3.5) – My Pick = OAK 17 – CLE 13 – Can Derek Anderson repeat his Cincinnati performance? No.

Jaguars @ Broncos (-3) – My Pick = JAX 14-DEN 13 – I'm trying to vary from the Sports Guy's picks, but we are agreeing like crazy. Oh wait, here are some different opinions.

Panthers (-4) @ Falcons – My Pick = CAR 14 – ATL 7 – I have a feeling that this will be a truly ugly game. But once again, you have to go against Joey Harrington and the Falcons.

Cowboys @ Bears (-3) – My Pick = CHI 31 – DAL 17 – Please Rex, I keep defending you and you keep making me look like a moron. Please Rex, play well and don't turn the ball over. On a side note – the Cowboys are overrated.

Titans @ Saints (-4.5) – My Pick = Ten 31 – NO 14 – In addition to the Cowboys, the Saints are also overrated. The Titans defense will shut down the New Orleans offense, especially the Saints running backs. Expect this game to be really boring, and Vince Young to come out victorious, this time with LenDale White on his side.

 

I just finished this, but I'm just going to straight post it without proof reading because I need to go to bed because I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow. A concoction of NFL football, EPL Soccer, Computer Analysis, Communication Technology studying, Legal and Ethical Communications review, and a marketing meeting to break up the monotony of the day. Joyous joy.

 

 

 

 

Week 4 College Pickoff

Alright, we're back for more picks. This is going to be a short rendezvous, because I have a ton of things to do tonight.

Record to Date: 19-5. I have currently picked more games right than everyone of the seven talented writers at the Daily Iowan, expect Diane Hendrickson who has a magnificent record of 22-2 to date. Good for her.

Iowa @ Wisconsin – The Hawkeyes will play well on defense like they did last year, but the offense will not be able to generate enough in the passing game to end the longest winning streak in the country.

South Carolina @ LSU – I'm rooting for LSU to win every week because I would really like to see a USC-LSU national championship game.

Penn State @ Michigan – Penn State plays a more balanced, traditional offense that suites the strengths of the Michigan defense better than the spread offenses in which they were blown out by. With that being said, I still like Michigan in a closer than expected game.

Georgia @ Alabama – This is going to be an excellent game decided by, in my opinion, the home crowd.

Michigan State @ Notre Dame – You have to score points to win football games, and Notre Dame does not have an offensive touchdown in three games.

Illinois @ Indiana – James Hardy and Kellen Lewis prove to be too much for Illinois' young secondary.

Kentucky @ Arkansas – The Louisville and Kentucky game I picked last week didn't count because, apparently, I was on par with the DI reporters all along. But anyway, I nearly called it. With that being said, I like the running combination of Felix Jones and Darren McFadden to triumph over a Kentucky defense that I do not think is ready for it. (Good Analysis, I know)

Washington @ UCLA – UCLA starting quarterback Ben Olsen has been ruled out with headaches for Saturday's game, but with that being said, I still like the UCLA defense to step up to the challenge in the Rose Bowl.

 

 

 

Week 3 College Update

I forgot to put this in my post.

With my 12-3 record, I am better than six people, and down to Diane Hendrickson, who's 16-0 going into this week.

Week 3 College Picks

Last Week = 7-0, Updated picks to date: 12-3

Remember: These college picks are without point spreads, unlike my NFL picks.

I, for some reason, only picked seven games last week where the Daily Iowan staff picked eight. I believe the game that I didn't pick was the Texas-TCU game, but I'm not sure because I threw away last Friday's Daily Iowan.

So what I'm going to do to make it so that we're even is that I'm going to pick what I deem as the closest game for the week. That game, not included in the Daily Iowan picks will be..

Louisville @ Kentucky – This should be a great game with one of the most underrated players in the country in Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson going up against what appears to be a very weak Louisville defense. But in the end, I think the experience of Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm will prevail, and Louisville will barely escape Lexington with a close Svictory.

Here are the eight games that the Daily Iowan picked…

Iowa @ Iowa State – Iowa State will probably cover the eighteen point spread, but the Hawkeyes will have a relatively easy game shutting down the Iowa State offense with one of the best defenses in the Big Ten.

Notre Dame @ Michigan – The Michigan running game with Mike Hart will punish the Notre Dame offense in the lowest rated Michigan-Notre Dame game in twenty years.

USC @ Nebraska – The Trojans have the better defense, but not by much. This will be an excellent game, but USC will eventually come out victorious.

Tennessee @ Florida – I'm still unsure about Florida, who have a relatively inexperienced (throwing) quarterback, and they are also facing a very experienced quarterback in Tennessee's Erik Ainge. But Florida has the superior speed, so they are the pick in the Swamp.

Arkansas @ Alabama – People focus on stud running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, but the Arkansas defense will have to play very well in order for Arkansas to experience the same success they had last year. But I don't think they'll play well enough against John Parker Wilson and the Alabama offense on Saturday.

Ohio State @ Washington – The pick is Ohio State, who could be subject to an upset with inexperienced starters at both the quarterback and wide receiver positions. But I don't expect that upset to come this week against Tyrone Willingham's Huskies.

Boston College @ Georgia Tech – Georgia Tech looked fantastic against Notre Dame, especially their defense. And I expect another great game from the dreadlocked Yellow Jacket defense against, what I think, is a very overrated Boston College team.

Pittsburgh @ Michigan State – Who cares?

 

Greg Oden - Out for the Year

Some very disheartening news broke today out of Portland. First overall pick Greg Oden will miss the 2007-08 season after undergoing micro fracture surgery to attempt to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. This will be a huge blow to the Trailblazers, and especially to Oden himself, who has been questioned for his mental toughness.

The question facing Oden is how will he respond to this news? Will he be able to develop his offensive game after losing most of his explosiveness with this surgery? Will he show the same passion Amare Stoudemire showed when he was rehabbing after this same surgery? Will he ever live up to the hype of being the first overall pick, and will he be able to handle the tremendous burden of being the face of the Portland? Or will he succumb to injuries like much hyped Portland centers Bill Walton and Sam Bowie before him? The questions, unfortunately will go on and on concerning Oden’s performance and passion for the game when he comes back from the micro fracture surgery.

I’d just like to say that I hope that Greg Oden returns to his previous form and is successful rehabbing his right knee. I also hope that he and the Portland team evolves into one of the best teams in the league. Best of luck Greg for this year and the rest of your career.

Week 2 NFL Picks

It’s the second week of the NFL season, and I’m already burned out. I’ve heard that the best remedy is some time away from of football, therefore I plan to only watch the Iowa game on Saturday and maybe the Florida and Tennessee ball game down in the swamp on Saturday, but that’s it, only six hours. No USC-Nebraska, no Michigan-Notre Dame, no other garbage college football. I’m like the girl that says she’s waiting to have sex, yet gets drunk and gives oral sex every other weekend. Well I’m saving myself for the Sunday games, where we’ll tune in for a glorious day of pro football, with the best game Sunday night between New England and San Diego.

But while the Patriots and San Diego should be extremely entertaining, especially with what happened in last year’s playoffs, there are many other great games this week between up and coming teams, and teams that have had success over the recent stretch of two or three years (Tennessee – Indy, Pittsburg – Buffalo, etc).

Also, keep in mind that I pick games with regards to point spreads, and while the spreads do indeed change as Sunday approaches, that is something that I can’t control when I pick on Thursday or whenever I actually have time to sit down and right. So, the spreads I have listed are what was listed on Thursday on bodog.com.

Now that I cleared up that business here are my picks for week 2…

Record to Date – (7-7-2)

Buffalo @ Pittsburgh (-10) – My Pick = Pit 24 – Buf 17 – I picked the Bills to make the playoffs this year, and I believe that they have a chance to win this game in Pittsburgh. All reports from Pittsburgh’s victory over Cleveland last week say that the Browns were absolutely terrible, and that Pittsburgh didn’t play all that well. So, even though I think that the Steelers will be a playoff team, there’s no way that they should be ten point favorites against an underrated Buffalo team. So, Buffalo’s the pick.
Key to the game: JP Losman will have to break the 225 yard mark this week and have less then two turnovers to give the Bills any chance against one of the best defenses in the league.

Cincinnati (-7) @ Cleveland – My Pick = CIN 31 – CLE 17 – What a terrible franchise the Browns have become. How is it that throughout training camp you have your first string quarterback (Charlie Frye) take the majority of snaps with the first team. You then send him into the first game with the coaching staff not supporting Frye at all, and then your first string quarterback gets benched in the second quarter of the first game. And then, on top of all that, the Browns trade Frye, wasting all of those repetitions that could of gone to remaining quarterbacks Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. Morons. I read this week, I believe it was in Peter King’s Monday morning quarterback column, that Brady Quinn has only take 82 snaps with the Cleveland first team offense. When I consider this number, and then think about how Brady Quinn would do in week 2 against the Bengals, there’s only one thing that I think. He’s going to get killed. And that is why I’m picking the Bengals in what should be an absolute blowout, unless Cincinnati becomes complacent on defense (which is a distinct possibility).
Key to the Game = The play of whoever Cleveland puts in at quarterback is going to have to be stellar in order for the Browns to attempt to match the offensive attack of the Bengals.

Indianapolis (-7 1/2) @ Tennessee – My Pick = IND 31 – TEN 28 – I am really looking forward to watching this game. Last week the Titans were able to rush for 275 yards against a supposedly very good Jacksonville defense (who might be vastly overrated, but we will have to wait in order to verify this statement), and the Colts looked stout against the two headed monster of Duece McAllister and Reggie Bush last week. Something’s going to have to give. I expect Indy’s defense to hold up because they are fresh after an eleven day layoff, but they won't look nearly as good this week against a better offense.
Keys to the Game: Quarterback Vince Young will have to step up and give the Titans more than the 87 yards he threw for last week against Jacksonville, and the Titans secondary will have to jam the Indy receivers at the line to disrupt their routes (something New Orleans didn’t do in week 1).

Houston @ Carolina (-7) – My Pick = CAR 24 – HOU 21 – I was very impressed by Houston last week against the Chiefs (I know, it’s the Chiefs), especially with their defense. It seemed to me that the addition of Danny Clark really bolstered the linebacking corps, and gave a great amount of help in the middle of the field to stud middle linebacker DaMeco Ryans. And probably the instance where I was most excited about this week – other than the absolutely fantastic news that Bills tight end Kevin Everett was moving his limbs – was how Mario Williams played against the Chiefs (2 sacks, forced fumble, recovered fumble, and a fumble return for a touchdown. I hope that Williams will become a household name this year, and the Texans fans stop referring to him as ‘that Williams guy we chose instead of Vince Young and Reggie Bush.’
Key to the Game: The play of the Carolina secondary covering against by far the Texans best weapon, wide receiver Andre Johnson. If they stop Johnson, the Texans’ Jacoby Jones will have to step up in a hurry.

San Francisco (+3) @ St. Louis – My Pick = STL 27 – SF 10 – The Arizona-San Francisco second part of the Monday night double header was one of the worst football games I’ve ever seen in my life. Both offenses were awful and San Francisco was very lucky to have won the ball game (See: highlight of Arizona cornerback Eric Green not picking up a Arnaz Battle fumble with less than thirty seconds left to win the game), but St. Louis running back Steven Jackson also had a dreadful game last week against the Panthers. So who triumphs? In this situation, I expect the player to improve much quicker than the entire offense and actually hold onto the ball. I see the Rams coming out firing on all their offensive cylinders on their home turf, especially Steven Jackson.
Key to the Game: If the 49ers want to win this game all-pro running back Frank Gore will have to rush for more than 125 yards this week, because San Francisco’s passing offense is extremely poor.

Green Bay (-1) @ New York Giants – My Pick = GB 25 – NYG 20 – It appears like Eli Manning will not play this week, which means that the – for lack of a better phrase – hefty lefty Jared Lorenzan begins his journey out of the NFL Sunday against a very impressive Green Bay defense. I, being a Bears fan, always like to see Green Bay lose, but it would be especially nice to see it happen Sunday against the 280 pound Giants quarterback, simply for the weight concentrated headlines in the New York media Monday morning. With all that being said though, I think Green Bay will win in a very close game.
Key to the Game: Brett Favre not putting the Packer defense in bad positions with careless turnovers.

Atlanta @ Jacksonville (-10 ½) – My Pick = JAX 14 – ATL 3 – This was a very difficult decision because of a couple questions about Jacksonville that I simply couldn’t answer. How good is Jacksonville’s defense? Will they improve their rushing defense after last week? Can David Garrard put more than 10 points on the board? And the list goes on and on. While I don’t have the answers to those questions, one thing I do know is who’s starting for the Falcons. Key to the Game: Jacksonville stopping the two headed running tandem of Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood for the Falcons.

New Orleans (-4) @ Tampa Bay – My Pick = TB 21 – NO 13 – Even though I picked the Saints to finish second in my preseason rankings, I’m starting to convince myself that they are extremely overrated (mostly because they are now “America’s team,” so all the talking heads at ESPN are picking them). I have a feeling that the Bucs will play very well against the Saints, and I think the Saints will experience the same problems against Tampa Bay this week as they did last year, and eventually lose.
Key to the Game: The play of the Tampa Bay offense, specifically Cadillac Williams and the rushing game. The Bucs will have to control the ball to keep the explosive New Orleans offense off the field, and I believe they will.

Minnesota @ Detroit (+3 ½) – My Pick = MIN 23- DET 21 – Did you see Adrian Peterson last week? Well if you didn’t, you’ll get your chance this week with Chester Taylor injured, and the Detroit defense a bit suspect against the run, oh and did I mention with Tarvaris Jackson starting for Minnesota. If the Vikings find themselves trailing near the end of the game, they’ll have major issues, but I foresee the Vikings defense playing very well early in the game, thus creating many third downs of over eight yards for Detroit. From this, the Vikings will be able to control the field position throughout the game and eventually come out victorious.
Key to the Game: Tarvaris Jackson, who will undoubtedly be faced with tough situations throughout the game, must avoid committing turnovers and play well to keep opposing defenses honest against the run.

Dallas (-4) @ Miami – My Pick = MIA 18 – DAL 9 - This is an extremely difficult game for me to pick. Without Terrance Newman completely healthy throughout the entire season with the same injury that Andres Nocioni had for the Bulls last year, the Dallas defense will be extremely inconsistent at the cornerback position. With that being said, Miami has mediocre receivers and an aging quarterback, so the Cowboys could dodge a bullet this week. While the big Dallas win last week against the Giants says that the Cowboys have a stellar offense, I’m going to go against the grain and pick the Dolphins and their stellar defense to surprise a lot of people and take down the Cowboys.
Key to the Game: The Dolphin offense must show some signs of life this week, and NOT TURN THE BALL OVER, especially with the stellar Dolphin defense capable of winning a game all by themselves.

Seattle (-3) @ Arizona – My Pick = SEA 24 – ARI 14 – A three point line? I was very surprised to see this, and maybe there’s something that the gamblers see that I don’t? All I know is that I watched Arizona’s offense Monday night, and it’s safe to say that their offensive line still stinks, and they will struggle against Julian Peterson and the rest of the Seahawks suffocating pass rush. So the pick is the Seahawks down in the desert.
Key to the Game: Is Arizona’s defense that good, or is San Francisco’s offense that bad? Coming away from the Monday night game, that was the big question, and we’ll have the answer early in the Seattle-Arizona game this week.

New York Jets @ Baltimore (pick ‘em) – My Pick = BAL 34 – NYJ 3 – The biggest blowout of the week finds the Ravens avenging their loss to the Bengals by absolutely pounding the Jets on both sides of the ball. The Jets have all the signs of an one year wonder. Not to help their cause in this game, the Jets fans will be calling for Kellen Clemens in the third quarter after Chad Pennington throws his third interception of the day, this time to Ed Reed.
Keys to the Game: The New York offensive line will have to play open holes for Thomas Jones and keep the Ravens off of their frail quarterback for the Jets to have any chance of topping the Ravens. Also, Baltimore cannot turn the ball over six times and expect to contend for the Super Bowl like they hope. Steve McNair will have to play better this week.

Oakland @ Denver (-10) – My pick = DEN 31 – OAK 10 – I really want to pick the Raiders here, but they simply do not have even close to enough offensive power to defeat Denver at home. With the Broncos sending Champ Bailey and Dre Bly out to the cornerback positions, it allows safety John Lynch to come up to the box and stuff running back LaMont Jordan. Also, Denver will have to get a better performance from the vaunted running attack in the future when they have to face elite AFC competition. But for now, I expect the Broncos to easily defeat the Raiders at Mile High Stadium, and the big question will be whether or not they cover the point spread.
Key to the Game: For Oakland to have any chance both Josh McCown and LaMont Jordan will have to have big days statistically, and Oakland will have to score. A simple task in theory, but not if you’ve seen the Raiders over the last two years.

Kansas City @ Chicago (-13 ½) – My Pick = CHI 24 – KC 0 – This is an awfully big point spread, especially with the Bears having lost their best run stuffing defensive tackle in Dusty Dvorceck, and their best safety Mike Brown, both to torn Achilles’. I feel awful, especially for Brown, who has been one of my favorite players on the Bears defense since he came into the league in the same draft as Brian Urlacher. With that being said, I don’t think the Bears will miss Brown or Dvorceck this week against a totally inept Kansas City offense, but they will in the long run.
Key to the Game: The play of both quarterbacks will determine the outcome of this game. It’s too bad for the Chiefs that the Bears have the better quarterback, who has better offensive weapons around him, and a better defense to support him if he turns the ball over.

Philadelphia (-7) @ Washington – My Pick = PHI 21 – WAS 20 – This will be one of the best games of the second week, and I believe it will be the last minute heroics of Donovan McNabb that pulls the Eagles up to a 1-1 record. This game will be hotly contested, with a number of huge hits from stud Washington safeties Shawn Taylor and LaRon Landry, but in the end the deciding factor will be Brian Westbrook.
Keys to the Game: Jason Campbell will have to recognize the exotic blitz schemes that the Philadelphia will bring against him, and if the Redskins want to win Clinton Portis will also have to have a big game.

San Diego @ New England (-4) – My Pick = NE 41 – SD 17 - This will be the game of the week leading up to Sunday, but will turn into a laugher as soon as the teams take the field. The NFL, more than any other game, is about coaching. We see this every week in the NFL and college football, and it will be no more apparent than this week in the game between New England and San Diego. I believe that the Patriots will prove to the San Diego front office, who fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2, made the wrong decision hiring Norv Turner.
Keys to the Game: The San Diego offense versus the New England wide receivers is the matchup to watch in this game. So, the key to the game is the play of the San Diego Chargers’ secondary, who I fully expect to be torched this week.

Enjoy the games this week, and expect a reaction the college picks tomorrow and a Week 2 NFL reaction either Monday or Tuesday.

Week 1 NFL Picks

Record to Date – (0-1) UPDATED (Keep in mind, this is with point spreads posted on ESPN Wednesday) - 7-6-2

Denver @ Buffalo – I’ve said that my big sleeper team this year is Buffalo, and we’ll find out this weekend against the Broncos if I’m indeed right.

Philadelphia @ Green Bay – Green Bay will be improved this year, but Favre will continuously harm the team throughout the year, and week one against the Eagles is no exception.

Kansas City @ Houston – With Houston stacking the box against Larry Johnson, Houston will play well against both the run and pass squeaking out a close victory against the Chiefs.

Pittsburgh @ Cleveland – The Browns coaching staff has not shown any confidence in their quarterback Charlie Frye, stating that they’re going to take things week by week. So, playing with no margin of error and no confidence from his coaching staff, I expect Frye and the Brown offense to struggle against a tough Steelers defense.

Titans @ Jaguars – This is a very tough game to pick, but I’ll go with the superior defense and the better running back in Maurice Jones-Drew.

Atlanta @ Minnesota – The Vikings with their great offensive line and running game will make up for the ineffectiveness of second year starting quarterback Tavaris Jackson in what I think will be a very close game.

New England @ New York Jets – In a very close game I’m going to reluctantly pick the Patriots, even though both Rodney Harrison and Richard Seymour are inactive for the game today. Look out for Wes Welker and the passing game to have a big game against inexperienced cornerback Darrell Revais.

Carolina @ St. Louis – In a surprisingly low scoring game, I expect the Rams to come out victorious due to a superior offense and a few key turnovers committed by Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme. Expect to see backup Carolina quarterback David Carr in the near future.

Detroit @ Oakland – Detroit is very overrated, and Oakland is underrated. It will be exciting to see who starts for the Raiders, and I expect their defense to also play very good on Sunday defeating the Lions in another close game.

Tampa Bay @ Seattle – In the rout of the weekend, the Bucs will look extremely overmatched on both sides of the ball, and the Seahawks will look like the frontrunner in the NFC to make the Super Bowl.

Chicago @ San Diego – Rex Grossman will begin to show the world how much he is improved, and while Shawn Merriman will have a big day, the San Diego passing game will looked extremely overmatched by the Bears’ stellar back seven in one of the best games of the weekend.

New York Giants @ Dallas – Dallas is being extremely overrated by “experts” on ESPN and other websites, but the Giants are not very good. So I expect the Dallas defense to shut down the Giants offense, and subsequently win a snooze of a Sunday night game.

Baltimore @ Cincinnati - The Baltimore offense will step up and avenge a 13-7 loss at the hands of the Bengals last season.

Arizona @ San Francisco – The Arizona defense will play well, but so will San Francisco’s. The thing that tips the scales in favor of the 49ers is the home field advantage and stud running back Frank Gore.

ME vs DI - Week 2

Last Week = 5-3, better than two out of seven DI reporters, and tied with one DI reporter.


My Picks for this Week


Syracuse at Iowa – My Pick: Iowa 27 – Syracuse 10. The Hawkeye fans will be very quiet after the intros, and will be like that for the vast majority of the season. Also, I won’t be able to see this game while living in Iowa City because the lovely people at Mediacom – Iowa City’s cable provider - will not carry the game.

Virginia Tech at LSU – My Pick: LSU 27 – VT 7. I’m looking forward to this game so very much. Two of the three best conferences are playing against each other, and I expect Virginia Tech will be overmatched against the speed of LSU.

Miami at Oklahoma – My Pick: OK 24 – MIA 21. I’m pulling for Miami, but Oklahoma will win with a far superior offense.

Notre Dame at Penn State – My Pick: PSU 31 – ND 14. Penn State is a really good team who I think will win the Big Ten, and they are a dark horse to play in the national championship game. Mark it down. On a different note, Charlie Weis is the most overrated head coach in college football.

Nebraska at Wake Forest – My Pick: NEB 38 – WF 24. Although they will win this week, I remember a time when I used to think – “who would pick Nebraska over a school in California or Florida?” Now I’m glad to see that high school recruits are thinking like me.

South Florida at Auburn – My Pick: USF 17 - AUB 10. I was thoroughly disappointed with the Auburn offense last week against Kansas State, and I expect Auburn to once again struggle, but their defense will step up and win the game for the Tigers.

Northern Iowa at Iowa State – UNI 24 – ISU 17. In a battle of two division two programs, I'll take the team that one last year.