NFL Week 12 picks

Well last week didn't go my way, but what's new. Loren is up by 6 or something like that. On to the picks.

Green Bay at Atlanta

Loren – Atlanta. Why The Falcons have won four tough close games in a row. Matt Ryan looks like he’s regained the form that led people to think he could be a pro-bowl QB. D is still a question but they’ve done enough.

Derek - Green Bay. True the Falcons have won four in a row but they won't make it five. The Packers are the best team in the NFC and will prove it over a tough and probable playoff preview opponent. Green Bay's D is good enough to stop both the Falcons passing and rushing attack.

Jacksonville at NY Giants

Loren – NY Giants. The Giants D will harass and interrupt Garrard all day long and the Jacksonville D isn’t strong enough to keep the game within reach.

Derek - NY Giants. Jacksonville, can hang with most teams for about a half. The Giants D will snuff out the Jags running game and Garrard isn't good enough to make up for it.

Tennessee at Houston

Loren – Tennessee. Maybe now that Vince Young is gone the Titans will get back to their bread and butter, letting the best RB in the league run wild. Houston has the worst passing defense in the league so even Rusty Smith should be able to keep the Texans honest enough to give CJ some running room.

Derek - Houston. With out a QB there will nine guys in the box all day. Johnson will have to earn every yard, sure he'll get his but it won't be enough.

Kansas City at Seattle

Loren – Seattle. KC is still in first place in the AFC West, playing the first place team in the NFC West. Unfortunately, these teams would both be doormats in one of the better divisions. I’ll take Seattle because they’re playing at home.

Derek - Kansas City. The Chiefs have one of if not the best running duo in the NFL. They'll be able to control the ball and pull out a win.

Philadelphia at Chicago

Loren – Philadelphia. The Eagles have crazy momentum, a ton of talent, and a bandwagon weighed down by all the people jumping on it. So why do I hesitate to pick them in this game? They beat statistically superior Giants D last week, but something about playing at Soldier Field makes me nervous. I think this will be a close game between division leaders.

Derek - Philadelphia. Philly is on a roll. This one will be a dog fight. This Vick guys seems to know what he's doing and as good the Bears D is they won't be able to shut down both Vick and McCoy.

San Diego at Indianapolis

Loren - Indianapolis. I picked against Indy last week because I believe Belichick knows how to prepare his D to face the Colts. I have no such confidence in Norv “I’m Getting My Butt Kicked And All I Can Do Is Sit Here And Look Smug” Turner. Indy big in this one.

Derek - Indianapolis. The Colts are a good team right? Right? Well I think they are but I'm not very confident in this pick.

Read the rest of this post...

NFL Week 11 Picks

Loren and I have been disagreeing on close games this season but he usually comes out on top, and after last week he's ballooned his lead to 5 games.

Washington at Tennessee

Derek - Tennessee. Tennessee didn't look that good last week against Miami, but Washington looked terrible vs. Philly. The Titans have the best RB in the game and a new weapon in the receiving core.

Loren - Tennessee. To much drama for the 'Skins, too much ground and pound by the Titans.

Houston at New York Jets

Derek - New York. Fine I'll admit I was wrong on my Jets won't make the playoffs prediction. Their D is good enough to stop Houston's high octane O. Couple that with the Texans inability to do anything on D makes this a Jets win.

Loren - NY Jets. Another middling year for the Texans in which they unexpectedly beat a few good teams (including the Colts) and lose just as many they shouldn't have. Consistency is a word the Texans need to learn. On the other side of the ball, the Jets have won two overtime games in a row. Good teams win those games and gain confidence from them.

Tampa Bay at San Francisco

Derek - Tampa Bay. I don't like taking teams that are traveling across the county, but the 49ers have played up and down this year and Tampa is finding it's groove.

Loren - Tampa Bay. Tampa's MO this year has been to beat the bad teams and lose to the good teams. They're also 3-1 on the road, so it's not difficult to figure out which way to go on this one.

Indianapolis at New England

Derek - Indianapolis. Very tough call for me. I'll go with Manning. I think he's due for a big game and he's been very good against the Pats lately, plus the Pats D is not as good as they're used too.

Loren - New England. Well, we need to have at least one game we differ on, so why not this one? The game is in Foxborough so the Pats have the crowd on their side. This isn't much of an advantage, though, with Manning's ability to use his hands, legs, Morse code and semaphore to communicate with his offense. But I was very impressed with the Pats D last week, and it looks like Belichick has worked his magic again with an under-performing defense.

NY Giants at Philadelphia

Derek - Philadelphia. Should be a good game too, but I think the duel threat of Vick will be enough to score against a good NY D. The Giants on the other hand will have a tough time running the ball.

Loren - Philadelphia. I really, really wanted to take the Giants here, but with the game in Philly, Vick playing with vicious confidence, and the entire Eagles team focusing on not just winning but destroying their opposition, I have to take Philly. Also, Eli Manning is still the Giants' QB. Yeah, definitely Philly.

Denver at San Diego

Derek - San Diego. Chargers are set to make their late season run.Rivers is on pace to break Marino's single season passing mark, and I don't think the Broncos can defend that.

Loren - San Diego. I wish I could take the Broncos here, but the goal is to win my contest with Derek, not make homer picks. The Chargers lead the league in passing yards (although Broncos are second and Orton is still underrated?!?!) and are only 16th in rushing the Broncos are dead last in rushing defense. The Chargers are also 3rd in passing defense. This adds up to a long day for the Broncos unless they can simultaneously plug the holes in the middle and force Rivers into his 3rd and 4th reads. Yeah, I don't think that's happening either.

Read the rest of this post...

Taking over the Talkin' Ball set

Portland Men on Sports good friend Adam was kind enough to give us a quick interview on the Talkin' Ball set after the Blazers home opener this year.

Read the rest of this post...

Now this is fantasy football

Loren and I were talking the other day and Loren came up with an idea for an ultimate fantasy football team. He and I'd each draft a team of all time greats without looking at their stats. Once we have our teams we would look them up and average out their best three year block. I won the coin toss and selected first.

Derek's team

QB - Dan Marino 375

WR - Jerry Rice 374

WR -Chris Carter 298

WR - Issac Bruce 253

RB - Preist Holmes 404

RB - Emmit Smith 357

TE - Tony Gonzalez 231

K - Jason Elam 117

DEF - Chicago Bears 190

Total -2599

Loren's team

QB - Kurt Warner 322

WR - Randy Moss 311

WR - Michael Irving 280

WR - Terrel Owens 323

RB - Marshall Faulk 443

RB - LaDanion Tolmelson 394

TE - Antonio Gates 244

K - Morton Anderson 108

DEF - Tampa Bay Bucs 166

Total - 2591

Read the rest of this post...

NFL Week 10 Picks

Loren and I picked 4 games differently last week ang thanks to 2 overtime come from behind wins he now leads me by 3.

Houston at Jacksonville

Derek - Houston. I think Houstons offense is that much better than the Jags, Houston has shown me something this year and the Jags havn't.

Loren – Jacksonville. I went over and over this one and finally chose the Jags just because they’re at home. Garrard has looked really good in 3 of his last 4 games and has a very respectable 98.8 passer rating. They are also 7th in the league in rushing. They both have soft Ds but Jacksonville has more momentum.

Cincinnati at Indianapolis

Derek - Indianapolis. Cincinnati is just not a complete team, they don't have one player who can beat you. The Colts are too good to lose this game and won't lose back to back efforts very often.

Loren – Indianapolis. I may have accurately predicted the Colts losing to Philly last week, but I still believe the Colts are an elite team. Any team would need a little time to adjust to new faces in the lineup, and I think the Colts are ready to get back on track. Playing in friendly confines will help.

Tennessee at Miami

Derek - Tennessee. Chris Johnson is going to gash the Fins. We'll see if Pennington can lead the Dolphins to TDs instead of FG, but I don't see that happening often.

Loren – Tennessee. I like Miami on paper, but less so on the field. Miami has a shot if they contain Chris Johnson and make the Titans throw the ball, but I don’t think they’ll be able to do that.

Kansas City at Denver

Derek - Kansas City. The Chiefs need to atone for the terrible game vs. the Raiders last week. I see the Chiefs gaining over 150 on the ground and Cassel taking advantage of a bad defense.

Loren – Denver. The Broncos have had a bye week to get healthy and recover. The Chiefs aren’t going to sneak up on anyone the rest of the season. I’m worried about what Jamaal Charles can do against this defense that let the Raiders run roughshod over them, but the plan of attack for the Broncos D should be shutting him down and double teaming Bowe leaving no options for Cassel.

New England at Pittsburgh

Derek - Pittsburgh. I might take the Pats if they were at home but the Steelers are just too good of a team to lose this one, they can play big.

Loren – Pittsburgh. It’s going to be a long night for the Pats. Pitt’s D got a little scare from the Bengals so I expect they’ll come out with a mind to prove they are the elite D in the league. Brady is already hobbling a bit, wait till he’s knocked on his butt for the eighth time.

Philadelphia at Washington

Derek - Philadelphia. Vick is back and that adds a huge element to the Eagles plans. I don't think Washington is going to be able to keep up.

Loren – Philadelphia. I just don’t think the Redskins have the tools to shut down this offense. Even though they are just a game behind the Eagles for second in the division, these look like two teams headed in opposite directions.

Read the rest of this post...

NFL Pick 'em - Week 9

Derek made up a lot of ground last weekend. Maybe at some point I'll figure out to bet with my head and not my heart.

On to this week's picks...

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati

Loren - Pittsburgh. Their D is having an epic year and the Bengals haven't really been clicking on offense. This could be an embarrassing day for the Bengals.

Derek - Pittsburgh. Cincinnati owned the Steelers last year but it should be back to the Steelers running rough shot over the Bengals this time around.

San Diego @ Houston

Loren - Houston. San Diego just is incredibly inconsistent. They lose to Oakland, St. Louis, and New England, but beat the Titans. Who knows what team will show up? The Texans have the firepower to keep Bolts on their heels and are looking to rebound from yet another loss to Indy.

Derek - San Diego. The Chargers are going to step it up one of these weeks and it might as well be this one. Stats wise Rivers is up near the top of the QB world. Now he just needs his D to step up.

Arizona @ Minnesota

Loren - Minnesota. So many expectations resting on the shoulders of some very shaky decision makers. Still, at least both teams think they're still in the hunt for a playoff spot with no one else running away with the divisions they're in. The Cards have been up and down this year while it's mostly been down for Minnesota. Still, AP is a difference maker and I don't want to rest my hopes on Derek Anderson on the road.

Derek - Arizona. I've got about zero faith in either of these teams, but one has a good coach. I'll take that and I'll go with the Cards and the Oregon connection, Anderson is back under center and he's good for one or two games a year.

Indianapolis @ Philadelphia

Loren - Philadelphia. I like the mobility of Vick over the speed of the the Colts' defensive ends. He's going to be able to buy enough time to find the receivers or tuck and run. Both teams are a little banged up, though, so this game will hinge on who steps up.

Derek - Indianapolis. I've said for weeks I'm picking the Colts the rest of the way. Manning isn't going to let this team lose. Did anyone see last weeks game?

Kansas City @ Oakland

Loren - Oakland. It pains me to have to take the Raiders, but I believe Run DMC is leading the league in rushing yards per game. The Raiders have looked good over their last few games but they have a really difficult schedule coming up so they need wins like this to challenge for the division. The KC defense will be on the field too much today and will ultimately cave.

Derek - Kansas City. A battle two surprising teams. My Oakland pick last week got me back in the competition but I can't go with the Raiders too many times in a row.

Miami @ Baltimore

Loren - Baltimore. The Ravens' D isn't quite the horror show it once was but it still has plenty of pop. I like the direction the Dolphins are headed but they just don't have the defense necessary to get the Ravens offense off the field so they can take a few more shots at the end zone.

Derek - Baltimore. Sure Miami hasn't lost on the road but we are talking about a supioror team in the Ravens. Miami will make some plays but won't be able to score much more than they're customary field goals.

Read the rest of this post...