NFL Pick'em week 12

Well last week was a blowup for me. Minus 3 and sitting 10 back. Risky picks from here on out. Six games on the ticket this week.

NY Giants at Denver

Derek - NY Giants. Denver has hit a wall, and it's a big wall. Orton might be back, but does that real mean much? I mean think about it, I just said Orton, as in Kyle Orton to the rescue? Come on.

Loren - Giants. I have to think this is about the time the Giants right the ship and take control of the NFC East. The alternative is that the Cowboys run away with the division, and no one wants to see that.

Indianapolis at Houston

Derek - Indianapolis. As I've said before how can I go against them, do they have to lose at some point? Sure. Will it be this week? Maybe. However I'll go with the odds and the better team.

Loren - Indianapolis. Why change a good thing? Odds are with Indy and I haven't built my lead this year by going against the obvious picks. However, Houston does seem to play the Colts tight most years. For fantasy purposes, I hope Manning and Andre Johnson have huge, huge games.

Chicago at Minnesota

Derek - Minnesota. I think this is the easiest game to call this week. Chicago can't get it together, Cutler is falling apart, or has already fell apart. And the Vikes are making a living of beating bad and mediocre teams.

Loren - Minnesota. Derek hit the nail on the head, something bad has happened in Chicago and the Bears are in a tailspin. I had a feeling that life with Cutler wasn't going to be end of the rainbow that Bears fans predicted. In fairness to him, though, a decent wide receiver and a return to form by the defense would help a lot. Not going to happen this week.

Arizona at Tennessee

Derek - Tennessee. The Cards are dong well on the road, however the Titans can control the ball are playing well and Vince yes that Vince is leading the team. Who would have thought.

Loren - Arizona. I have a little bit of a lead so I can take a risk every so often. The Titans are playing with new found confidence, and Young certainly has sparked them. I don't think the Cards will be fooled. Remember, Tennessee's secondary is still suspect and, with the way Beanie Wells is playing, Arizona can now draw them in with the threat of the run.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore

Derek - Baltimore. Tell me that the Ravens D is not going after Big Ben? Headhunting is what it's called I believe, get him out of the game has to be an internal goal.

Loren - Pittsburgh. I guess I'm picking them just to be contrary. I know I should be picking Baltimore, but that's boring. I'll justify this by saying that it's entirely possible for the Steeler's D to win this game without the Steeler's O scoring any points.

New England at New Orleans

Derek - New England. Could this be a preview of the Super Bowl, same teams, same location? Anyway I think New England has a solid complete team, and I don't think they'll make a mistake like they did in Indy again.

Loren - New Orleans. I just realized I'm giving Derek plenty of chances to catch up this week. However, the Saints have a much higher powered offense than even Indy, enough to keep the Pats on their heels all game long. Should be a shootout and likely the most interesting game of the regular season.

Read the rest of this post...

NFL Pick'em week 11

Bill Belichick cost me a two games last week. Before he decided to hand Peyton Manning the ball, I was on my way to making up three games by going 5-0, while Loren was at 2-3, but things did not workout in my favor and I ended up only gaining a game. So down 7 games I sit.

Miami at Carolina

Derek – Carolina. I have to agree with Loren here, Ronnie Brown is what makes the Dolphins tick. Perhaps they can figure out a way to pull together and win some, but that will be down the road and not on a short week.

Loren - Carolina. Yep, that’s how important Ronnie Brown is to their offense. He keeps opposing defenses honest; without him teams can put pressure on Henne without fearing the wildcat. It’s going to be a long day for the Dolphins.

Atlanta at New York Giants

Derek – Atlanta. Yeah yeah, they did not look good last week, but the Giants have not looked good in five weeks. Matt Ryan can sling it and I think that will be enough.

Loren – NY. The Falcons are without their top two running backs, but that’s not the worst of it. They are facing a Giants team that responds well to pressure and, man, is there a lot of pressure in NY right now. I expect them to come out with guns blazing and never allow Matt Ryan to establish a rhythm.

Indianapolis at Baltimore

Derek – Indianapolis. Maybe the easiest pick all week, of course that means we’ll get it wrong, sorry for the curse Indy.

Loren – Indianapolis. Until they lose, I have no qualms picking them. Doubly so considering how anemic Baltimore’s offense has been of late.

San Diego at Denver

Derek – Denver. Ugg, I’m picking a team that I thought would have 6 wins tops this season. But hey I have to pick my spots at this point. The Charges always seem to get a raw deal while playing the Broncos, plus it’s played on a mountain or something.

Loren – San Diego. The Broncos are toying with starting Simms at QB, may be without their biggest weapon in Brandon Marshall, and don’t have a reliable running game. This season is quickly slipping away from the Broncos.

Cleveland at Detroit

Derek – Cleveland. The fun pick of the week, who knows who is going to show up. Most likely? No one. I’ll go against Loren here, although he seems to know a lot about bad teams.

Loren – Detroit. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Lions aren’t the worst team in the NFL. That doesn’t mean they’ll win this game, but they’ve got a legit chance against the car wreck that is the Cleveland Browns.

Read the rest of this post...

NFL Pick'em - Week 10

Well I’m still 8 games back after Loren and I went 3-2 last week. I called the Chargers but missed out on the Eagles. Good games this week.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

Derek- Pittsburgh. I don’t see too many teams beating the Steelers twice in a year. They are still the cream of the division and the Bengals have to prove it. Troy is back and he’ll keep the Steelers in the game.

Loren - Pittsburgh. The Steelers are playing inspired on both sides of the ball, but so are the Bengals. The Bengals may be slightly more polished offensively, but the Steelers are a much more lethal defensive unit. The Steelers secondary shouldn't have to cheat up to help with the run leaving Palmer with less space to throw to.

Atlanta at Carolina

Derek – Carolina. I’ll go with the home team that can run and control the clock. Turner is going to start slowing down after last years 439,568 carries. Look for the Panthers to play it safe.

Loren - Atlanta. Carolina has shown some signs of life, but the Falcons are just a better team. If they can make any room for Turner to run they should be fine.

Philadelphia at San Diego

Derek – San Diego. The Eagles have to be one of the biggest enigmas in the NFL, can’t beat Oakland or Dallas but take the Giants down. It seems to switch every week, until I see some constancy I can’t pick them.

Loren - San Diego. The Chargers have found an offensive rhythm and they are playing a team with inconsistency issues. Philadelphia has potent weapons but San Diego is more seasoned and consistent.

Dallas at Green Bay

Derek – Green Bay. I’m hoping Dallas’s egg is laid now. Normally they don’t finish strong and I don’t think they are going to play that well in Green Bay. Coming off the big division win I see them slipping.

Loren - Dallas. Don't feel good about this pick, but Green Bay hasn't shown me anything this year. Meanwhile Dallas is riding a mini-wave, getting everyone believing again before they lay a big egg at the end of the season.

New England at Indianapolis. Normally I would take the Colts here but I have to take some chances to catch Loren. This seems as good as beat as any. Wait I’m picking against an undefeated team…

Loren - Indianapolis. Lots of chances for Derek to make up games this week, but this may be his best chance. Indy hasn't been playing that well and has been lucky to pull out a couple of low scoring games. The Patriots want to turn this into a shootout and if Indy doesn't start strong they might be out of it early.

Read the rest of this post...

Ducks get caught in trap

Not that Stanford is a bad team by any measure; they have firepower and they have a great attitude. Oregon should have come out and lit them up on both sides of the ball, but the Ducks defense will have to shoulder the largest portion of blame for this loss. The unit that held decent Cal and USC offenses in check seemingly had no answer for Stanford, and it will likely keep them out of a BCS game.

Meanwhile, Oregon St. relies on Canfield's arm and he delivers a big win against Cal.

We've said it before and we'll say it again, the Pac-10 is a deep conference and compares favorably, top to bottom, against any other. Unfortunately, the Pac-10 also doesn't have one or two dominant teams that can be held up against the best of the Big 12 or SEC. That's what happens when the entire conference has depth, those teams end up beating on each other and no one emerges unscathed.

Read the rest of this post...

Blazers/Spurs thoughts

I gotta say, those white Rip City jerseys have grown on me. They were really slick last night with just the right amount of class while still using an overall design that was forward looking. Also, you know, it frickin' says Rip City.

You'll see a show in a few days in which we talk a little Blazers. Specifically, we discuss what's "wrong" with the Blazers. Well, not much looked wrong last night. And there's Nate, making me eat my words by consistently getting the matchup advantage against Popovich. At least in the first 3/4 of the game.

One more thing about Popovich. He get shabbier and shabbier every time I see him. He looks like a relatively upward mobile homeless man. Our friend Bruce is convinced Popovich will at some point replace McMillan. If that's the case he'll probably have regressed to wearing a bathrobe or sweatpants.

But Oden sure looked good last night. On a couple of occasions he worked Duncan and looked like an All-Star. We could be in for a ride if this starts happening consistently. With our current personnel, the only road to the Finals is one with Oden a factor at both ends of the floor.

The three guard lineup won't work against everyone, but it could against most because it gives the team so much flexibility. The permutations for subs are amazing, which is why Nate had better matchups.

Read the rest of this post...

NFL Pick 'em - Week 9

I made up a game last week on Loren, this might be the first week this season that I won. I'm down 8 now and ready to make a comback. Well I hope so anyway. On to the picks!

Baltimore at Cincinnati

Derek – Baltimore. I agree with Loren regarding the Ravens D, however I’ve never been a huge fan of Flacco, I don’t think he’s bad, I just don’t think he’s the bees knees. Anyway Cincy is a nice team, better then most thought they’d be, but they aren’t going to beat the Ravens twice in a year.

Loren - Baltimore. Baltimore’s D is on a mission and feeling good after handing Denver their first loss. Cincinnati is good, but Flacco is getting better every week and the Ravens feel like they have to show the league just how good their team is.

Carolina at New Orleans

Derek – New Orleans. At this point I’m looking for the loss on the Saints schedule, not offensive based team can go undefeated, so it will come and the Panthers could beat them if you gave them a couple more weeks to get together, but the game is this weekend and the Saints will be too much for them.

Loren - New Orleans. Seriously? There’s a question here? Maybe the over/under for the Saints. I’d put the line at 63.

San Diego at NY Giants

Derek – San Diego. I know I know, I’m taking a huge risk here perhaps not even a calculated risk, but I’ve got games to make up. The Chargers are good right? Right? They can travel across country and play a team that as of two weeks ago was the best in the conference? Right?

Loren - Giants. Giants at home, I’ll take’em despite an improved Charger’s offense. The Giants are tough, gritty, and can grind out yards with a variety of backs.

Dallas at Philadelphia

Derek – Philadelphia. They are playing well after their more than head scratching loss to the Raiders. I think the Eagles are the best team in the NFC East right now and I’ll take them over almost any team at home. Especially against a Wade Philipp’s team.

Loren - Dallas. Look, both of these teams are inconsistent and, at times, putrid. I just think that if they played this game 100 times, Dallas would win 51. Not a lot to go on.

Pittsburgh at Denver

Derek – Pittsburgh. Yes I want Loren to pick Denver. Pittsburgh is a good enough team to beat a not so good as their record indicates Broncos team. Oh and Polamalu is back.

Loren - Pittsburgh. As much as I want to pick Denver, there’s too much stacked against them this week. Pittsburgh’s D will harass Denver and lock down the line of scrimmage. Denver doesn’t yet have consistent running to open the field for Orton and keep defenses honest. It will be consecutive losses for the Broncos.

Read the rest of this post...