Picks of the Week

Traveling down to the Steelers-Dolphins game as I type my picks - I am not driving - so just picks with no analysis again this week. You can look to previous picks for the rules I follow.

Falcons -3
Titans -3
Rams +3
Steelers -3
Jaguars +9
Ravens -13
49ers -3
Bears -3
Cardinals +7
Raiders +7 1/2
Patriots +2
Vikings +2 1/2
Giants +3

Big Bet of the Week
Saints -13

Previous Week's Record 8-5-1
Year to Date: 46-40-4
Previous Week's Big Bet: 0-1
Big Bet Year to Date: 2-4
Previous Week's Winnings $85
Winnings (Losses) Year to Date: ($160).

Picks of the Week

I am late once again, so only short abbreviated picks this week.

Saints -4
Chargers -8 1/2
Steelers -14
Falcons +2
Lions +10 1/2
Ravens +2 1/2
Chiefs +4 1/2
Dolphins +3
Jets -3 1/2
Raiders +7
Vikings -1 1/2
Colts -3
Titans -3

Big Bet
Bears -6

Previous Week's record: 7-5-2
Yar To Date: 38-35-3
Big Bet Previous Week: 0-1
Big Bet Year To Date: 2-3
Winnings (Losses) Last Week: ($15)
Winnings (Losses) Year To Date: ($245)

Picks of the Week

Since I am out-of-town and it is almost game time - only short abbreviated picks this week.

Ravens -7
Packers -2 1/2
Indianapolis -7
Houston -3
Detroit -3
Atlanta -3
Cincinnati -6 1/2
Chicago +1 1/2
Jacksonville +1 1/2
Tennessee +7
San Diego -6
Philadelphia +3
New York Jets -3 1/2

Big Bet
New Orleans -7

Previous Week's record: 6-8
Year To Date: 31-30-1
Big Bet Previous Week: 0-1
Big Bet Year To Date: 2-2
Winnings (Losses) Last Week: ($445)
Winnings (Losses) Year To Date: ($230)

Picks of the Week

A strong week 1, and two 8-8 weeks. Let's see how I can do during the first weeks of byes. We will pretend that I bet $100 on each game, with one game each week going for $250. Winnings/Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig, which just makes the math that much simpler. All spreads are used from the same site each week, as of the time I do the picking. On to the picks.

Tennessee Titans -6 1/2 v. Denver Broncos
Denver is going to have a really tough time dealing with Chris Johnson. But then again, who doesn't.

Baltimore Ravens +2 1/2 at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers cannot go 4-0 without Roethlisberger, can they?

Cleveland Browns +2 1/2 v. Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati hasn't really started clicking yet, and Peyton Hillis gained 144 on the ground against the Ravens.

Detroit Lions +14 1/2 at Green Bay Packers
Detroit has shown that they can score some points against anybody. Green Bay will win, but not by more than 2 Touchdowns.

New Orleans Saints -13 v. Carolina Panthers
Defending champions at home against a rookie quarterback. Easy pick.

Atlanta Falcons -6 1/2 v. San Francisco 49ers
Atlanta showed their mettle against the Saints, while the 49ers are already imploding.

St. Louis Rams +1 1/2 v. Seattle Seahawks
It may be because I am ridiculously stubborn, but I just don't believe in the Seahawks. Bradford is an NFL quarterback already.

New York Jets -6 at Buffalo Bills
Tough to pick against a Harvard quarterback, but Rex Ryan is going to test his knowledge of defenses. Fitzpatrick has been good enough that the Bills just cut Trent Edwards.

Houston Texans -3 at Oakland Raiders
Tough defeat for the Raiders last week. Tougher team to come back against this week.

Arizona Cardinals +9 1/2 at San Diego Chargers
Is San Diego's slow start just that a slow start, or is it a sign that they just are not that good?

Philadelphia Eagles -5 v. Washington Redskins
So, has anybody heard anything about McNabb's return to Philly this week?

Chicago Bears +3 1/2 at New York Giants
I know the Giants are the home team, but how are they favored. If the Bears were not my favorite team, I would have made this game my big bet of the week.

Miami Dolphins +1 v. New England Patriots
The Dolphins always play the Patriots tough.

BIG BET OF THE WEEK

Indianapolis Colts -7 at Jacksonville Jaguars
Just too much talent versus not enough talent.

Previous Week's Record: 8-8
Year to Date: 25-22-1
Big Bet Previous Week: 1-0
Big Bet Year to Date: 2-1
Winnings (Losses) Last Week: $70
Winnings (Losses)Year to Date: $215

The Ole College Try

Welcome to the almost weekly perspective of college football. For those that don't remember, I write this column as if every player is a Heisman Trophy candidate. Why? Because it is ridiculously ludicrous that the networks, including the World Wide Leader, nay, especially the World Wide Leader, emphasize the Heisman Trophy race this early in the season. After all, who knew who Mark Ingram was at this time last year. Regular readers will remember, or at least can go look up, my initial column last year where I accurately predicted the third straight sophomore Heisman winner (so what if it wasn't Jacory Harris?) Consider this my sarcastic homage to stupid reporting.

Heisman Watch

Quarterback Edition

Favorite - Terrelle Pryor - Ohio State - The legitimate front runner for this award after gaining 42,000 total yards in the last two games, or at least, that is what ESPN has led me to believe.

Andrew Luck - Stanford - This is now a two person race, unless Oregon's defense totally decimates Luck this weekend. Luck has taken over the favorite for first draft pick from fellow Pac-10 QB Jake Locker.


Rising - Denard Robinson - Michigan - A tremendous athlete at the QB position. He leads the nation in rushing. The nation. As a QB!!!

Falling - Case Keenum - Houston - No ACL, No Heisman.

Running Back Edition

Favorite - John Clay - Wisconsin - 501 yards and 6TDs. Big test this week as Wisconsin, with the tenth best rushing attack in NCAA, goes against Michigan State, with the tenth best rushing defense in the NCAA. Somethings gotta give.

Sleeper - LaMichael James - Oregon - He made Oregon fans forget about LaGarrette Blount last year, and he is making them care about him this year. A big game against Stanford would vault James into the national spotlight, and Oregon into the national championship hunt.

Rising - Kendall Hunter - Oklahoma State - 8TDs so far this year and 7 yards per carry. He is no Denard Robinson, but then again, who is.

Falling - Trent Richardson - Alabama - Not necessarily because of anything that he has done, but simply because of what Mark Ingram has done. It became fashionable when Ingram was injured for some analysts (myself included) to say that Richardson might even be better than Ingram. He is not.

Defensive Leader - Monte Te'o - Notre Dame - 54 tackles so far this season. Of course, he seems to be the only person tackling anybody for Notre Dame.

Player to Watch

Trey Burton - QB/RB - Florida - 6 TDs last week against Kentucky, including 5 rushing TDs on 5 carries. This guy is a talent, and with Demps being injured, should have more plays called for him against Alabama.

My New Favorite Player

Taylor Martinez - QB - Nebraska - First of all, he's Hispanic. Second of all, he's a QB. 9.4yards per carry, 8 TDs and just shy of 500 yards rushing. Oh yeah, and he is a freshman.

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

The Georgia CB who allowed Arkansas' receiver to score the go-ahead TD in the last second a couple of weeks ago. He is so unimportant to me, I don't even want to look him up.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Les Miles - LSU - For coming out and insulting the LSU fans for booing during the games. Les, the fans are not booing your players, they are booing you.

Predicted BCS Championship Game Matchup
Boise State v. Alabama - Alabama looked beatable against Arkansas, and Boise State handled Oregon State, putting them on a crash course for the BCS Champtionship game, depending on what happens in the Oregon - Stanford game, especially if Oregon wins.

Rant(s) of the Week
Why can't any team find helmets that stay on the player's heads during the game? Seriously, now that I have mentioned it, watch how many helmets fly off for no reason.

Congratulations of the Week

Boise State - Again. They didn't make the rules, but they have beaten the only two teams on their scheduled.

Under Performance of the Week

Texas. I mean they haven't had a running game for a while, but boy-oh-boy did they look awful against UCLA.

Offensive Play of the Week

Defensive Plays of the Week

Stanford FB/LB Owen Marecic scores a rushing touchdown, then intercepts the next offensive play for a TD. Two touchdowns on two consecutive plays, one on offense and one on defense You don't get any better than that.

Last Week's Trivia Answer

TCU QB Andy Dalton is tied with the most wins in school history. With who is he tied?

Slingin' Sammy Baugh.

Trivia Question of the Week

Nebraska Freshman QB Taylor Martinez has 532 yards rushing through the first four games. What is the NCAA FBS freshman rushing record, and who holds it?

Matchup(s) to Watch

3. Wisconsin v. Michigan State - As stated above, the tenth best rushing team against the tenth best rushing defense. If Wisconsin wins, they could emerge as the biggest challenger to Ohio State's potential undefeated season, Big Ten championship, and potential BCS championship birth.

2. Florida v. Alabama - Could be a preview of the SEC Championship game. Florida seems to be playing better after routing Kentucky, but Alabama is most likely too strong. The big question is does Florida learn something from this game that they use to beat Alabama in December.

1. Stanford v. Oregon - This could be the most exciting game of the season. Actual potential for 100 points to be scored.

Picks of the Week

This is abbreviated for now because I am typing on my phone. I will turn it into a proper post later, but I need to get my picks on record first.

Ravens -10 1/2
Steelers -2 1/2
Titans +3
Saints -3
Patriots -14 1/2
Lions + 11 1/2
Chiefs +3
Texans -2 1/2
Eagles -2 1/2
Rams +4 1/2
Raiders +4 1/2
Colts -5 1/2
Chargers -4
Dolphins -1
Packers -3

Big Bet - Bengals -3

Last Week 8-8
Big Bet 0-1
Last Weeks Earnings: (245)
Year to Date: +145

Picks of the Week

AFter a pretty good start, I think I learned some things about teams that could contribute to a continued winning streak. Let's at least hope so. We will pretend that I bet $100 on each game, with one game each week going for $250. Winnings/Losses will be calculated including a 10% vig, which just makes the math that much simpler. All spreads are used from the same site each week, as of the time I do the picking. On to the picks.

Kansas City Chiefs +3 at Cleveland Browns
There is no telling who is going to start, or finish, at QB for Cleveland. Kansas City looked good against the Chargers. I look for them to at least keep it close, if not win outright.

Green Bay Packers -12 1/2 v. Buffalo Bills
Long time followers of this blog know that I hate giving up double digits. Not this time.

Tennessee Titans -6 v. Pittsburgh Steelers
With Roethlisberger this game would be entirely different. I look for Vince Young to make several more key plays than Dennis Dixon will.

Philadelphia Eagles -6 1/2 at Detroit Lions
Just a hunch, because of the return of Michael Vick.

Chicago Bears +7 at Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys offense has struggled the entire preseason and first game. Julius Peppers cannot wait to see Alex Barron lined up across from him.

Carolina Panthers -3 v. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With or without Matt Moore, Carolina's running backs are just too tough for Tampa.

Atlanta Falcons -6 1/2 v. Arizona Cardinals
This is not Arizona's year.

Miami Dolphins +5 1/2 at Minnesota Vikings
Miami always plays good teams really tough. Should be a close game.

St. Louis Rams +3 1/2 at Oakland Raiders
Sam Bradford can definitely play in this league.

Seattle Seahawks +3 1/2 v. Denver Broncos
We will find out if Seattle's first game was a fluke or not.

Houston Texans -2 1/2 at Washingotn Redskins
Houston is really, really good. Should be favored by 6 1/2.

Jacksonville Jaguars +7 at San Diego Chargers
I just really cannot figure out Jacksonville. I am taking a flyer on them this week.

New England Patriots -3 at New York Jets
Both teams played like polar opposites last week. Not a good omen for the Jets this week.

Indianapolis Colts -5 v. New York Giants
Indianapolis lost to a really good time. Not sure the Giants are as good as they looked in Week 1.

New Orleans -5 1/2 at San Francisco 49ers
I don't think San Fran is as bas as they showed last week, but they are not as good as New Orleans.

BIG BET OF THE WEEK

Baltimore Ravens -2 1/2 at Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals looked more like the Bungles of the past last week, while the Ravens now have an offense. That is really scary for the rest of the AFC.

Previous Week's Record: 9-6-1
Year to Date: 9-6-1
Big Bet Previous Week: 1-0
Big Bet Year to Date: 1-0
Winnings (Losses): $390