NFL Championship Game Picks

AFC Championship

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

Photo Credit: articles.boston.com

The last time these two teams met in the postseason, the Ravens came into Foxboro and steamrolled a banged up Patriots squad 33-14. Ray Rice ran for an 83 yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and the Ravens led 24-0 after one quarter. Baltimore's defense limited Tom Brady to just 154 passing yards and forced him into throwing 3 interceptions in one of the ugliest losses of the Brady/Belichick era. It's hard to envision history repeating itself today though, especially the way New England's offense is playing. The dynamic duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez at tight end has proved virtually unstoppable while New England has reeled off 9 straight wins. The two combined for 169 catches and 24 touchdowns during the regular season and added another 200 yards and 4 more touchdowns in the Divisional Round against the Broncos. Oh, and just to mix it up a little bit Aaron Hernandez was also their leading rusher last week. So Baltimore has to come up with a game plan to keep those two guys in check without exposing themselves to the dangerous Wes Welker in the slot. Is it impossible? No. I think the Ravens need to look at the film of the Steelers-Patriots game from earlier this year. Pittsburgh, who is built very similar to the Ravens, was able to get to Brady to the tune of three sacks and keep him out of rhythm allowing Pittsburgh to come away with a 25-17 win. And that's really the key for the Ravens on defense. They need to take Brady out of his rhythm and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. If they let him sit back and pick apart the defense, there's no way Baltimore comes out on top. As far as the Ravens offense goes, for all the talk about Joe Flacco this week, the key is still Ray Rice. If Rice gets his touches, the Ravens typically win. Ultimately I think this one stays close, maybe even coming down to the final possession, but I don't see Flacco outplaying Tom Brady in that scenario. Pick: Patriots 27 Ravens 23

NFC Championship

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

Photo Credit: 10jardas.com

I feel like most people are already prepping for a rematch of Super Bowl XLII with the Giants and Patriots throwing down again. While I think this would be a great game, much like their regular season matchup, I see just one problem with this scenario: The 49ers haven't been eliminated yet. New Orleans, who has a much better offense than New York does, scored on just 5 of 16 possessions last weekend and San Francisco's defense forced 5 turnovers. It's easy to say the Giants are red hot and playing great football right now, but they're far from infallible. That ugly 23-10 loss to the Redskins was only a month ago. Eli Manning threw 3 interceptions and was sacked 3 times in that game and San Francisco has a defense more than capable of forcing him into making those same mistakes. Additionally, the forecast in San Fran today calls for wind and rain. Who do you think that favors? The Giants running game ranked dead last in the NFL this year. The 49ers run defense ranks number one. The Giants allowed over 120 running yards a game during the regular season while the 49ers bring in the league's 8th best running attack. Yet nobody's talking about the 49ers. And I think the Giants, having just beaten the team with the league's best record, are going to come in overconfident and San Francisco is going to come out and punch them right in the mouth early just like they did to New Orleans. I don't think this one comes down to 'The Catch IV' but I like the Niners at home in the rain. Pick: 49ers 16 Giants 13


Last Week: 2-2
Postseason: 5-3

NFL Playoff Picks - Divisional Round

Went 3-1 last week and only Tim Tebow having the game of his life kept me from going 4-0. We'll see if we can keep that going into the Divisional Round. Here's my picks:

New Orleans Saints (14-3) at San Francisco 49ers (13-3)

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

It wasn't THAT long ago that these two teams were in the same division. Ah, the old NFC "West". New Orleans, St. Louis, Atlanta and San Francisco. Yeah, that made sense... Even if you factor in that the Rams used to be in Los Angeles that division was a stretch. Dallas in the East and Atlanta in the West? Maybe Miss South Carolina was right. Some people in our nation must not have maps. But I digress. This is one of the more intriguing matchups of the weekend. You have the high scoring Saints against the defense oriented 49ers. My gut tells me that even though San Fran is a higher seed, the Saints are better, but it's never as simple as that. All of the Saints losses this year have come on the road while the 49ers are 7-1 at home. New Orleans is built to play indoors and the wind and moisture in San Francisco will certainly slow them down on offense. Plus, San Francisco has playmakers all over the defensive side of the ball. The pick here is the Saints just because it's hard to bet on Alex Smith over Drew Brees, however if the 49ers can force a couple turnovers and 1) protect the football and 2) protect their quarterback (the Saints had 6 sacks against the 49ers in the preseason) then it would not be impossible for them to pull off the upset. Pick: Saints 27 49ers 16

Denver Tebows Broncos (9-8) at New England Patriots (13-3)

Photo Credit: nepatriotsdraft.com

The Broncos have no business even being in this game. That said, that makes them one scary opponent. They've already played the Patriots once this year, and while they lost, it's seldom as easy to beat a team the second time you face them. Just ask LSU. I really don't want to say the Broncos have a chance, but I didn't give them a chance last week either. Plus, the Broncos are built to win in New England in the winter. They can run the ball as good as anyone, and they play defense. And this wouldn't be the first time Brady and Belichick have lost to the Broncos in the playoffs. Flashback to January 14, 2006 - exactly 6 years ago today. The Patriots turned the ball over 5 times and lost 27-13 to a team quarterbacked by Jake "the Snake" Plummer despite outgaining the Broncos 420-286. I don't see that happening today, but the blueprint is there. Pick: Patriots 34 Broncos 17.

Houston Texans (11-6) at Baltimore Ravens (12-4)

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

This is where the Texans stagecoach turns back into a pumpkin. Third string quarterback T.J. Yates has been a great story leading the Texans to their first ever division title and their first ever playoff win, but I don't see a scenario where they beat Baltimore in Baltimore today. I know the Ravens have laid some eggs this year (see @Tennessee, @Jacksonville, @Seattle, and @San Diego), but they were 8-0 at home including wins over the 49ers, Bengals, Jets, Steelers and these same Texans by a score of 29-14 back in Week 6. Joe Flacco and the Ravens have been playing second fiddle to the Steelers for years, but now they finally have a chance to really do something special, and I don't see them screwing that up. Pick: Ravens 24 Texans 13

New York Giants (10-7) at Green Bay Packers (15-1)

Photo Credit: articles.nydailynews.com

The shootout between the Giants and Packers in Week 13 was one of the most entertaining games of the season with Green Bay needing a last second field goal to eek out a 38-35 win. Now the two teams get set for the rematch, only this time it's in Green Bay and the Packers have had an extra week to get healthy and prepare. The Giants are certainly playing inspired football right now, as evidenced by their 24-2 win over the Falcons last weekend, but they cannot afford another slow start especially on the road against a prolific offense like Green Bay's. The Giants need to score early and need to establish their revitalized running game if they are to have any chance. Think the Giants can't win at Lambeau? Don't forget, just a few years ago the Giants went into Green Bay in a playoff game and stunned Brett Favre and company in overtime to earn a chance to take on the unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl. And we all remember how that turned out.  Pick: Packers 35 Giants 27

NFL Wildcard Weekend Predictions

BENGALS (9-7) at TEXANS (10-6)

Two rookie quarterbacks go head to head in this one in a rematch of a Week 14 game that went down to the final seconds. Houston won that one 20-19 in Cincinnati when T.J. Yates hit Kevin Walter on a 6 yard touchdown pass with just 2 seconds left on the clock. Yates threw for a career high 300 yards that day, but the Texans have since lost three straight. The Bengals aren't exactly on a roll themselves though having concluded the regular season by allowing 221 rushing yards in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Houston should have wide receiver Andre Johnson available for this game, something they didn't have during their regular season matchup, and his presence should both help out Yates, while also preventing the Bengals from loading up the box against Houston's second ranked rushing attack. Cincinnati is 0-7 this year against playoff teams, and as much as I like Andy Dalton and company, I don't see them breaking that trend this week. Pick: Texans 24 Bengals 20

LIONS (10-6) at SAINTS (13-3)

New Orleans beat the Lions 31-17 back in Week 13, and I have a hard time seeing this one going any differently. Drew Brees threw for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns in that game, and the Lions secondary is coming off a week in which they allowed seldom used backup Matt Flynn to throw for 480 yards and 6 touchdown passes. And let's face it, Matt Flynn is no Drew Brees. Outdoors, I'd give Detroit a shot, but with this game being played in a dome, and considering the Saints haven't lost in New Orleans all year, I'd say the writing's on the wall. That said, I expect Matt Stafford and company will make it interesting, so don't expect a blowout. Pick: Saints 34 Lions 27

 FALCONS (10-6) at GIANTS (9-7)

Of the four games this weekend, this was the one I had the toughest time picking. Atlanta has won 8 of 11 and two of those three losses were against the Saints. The Giants have bounced back after 4 straight losses to win 3 of 4 and take the NFC East title. The Falcons struggle on the road, but the Giants haven't exactly lit it up at home, and both teams have playmakers on both sides of the ball. If the Giants can bottle up Michael Turner and make the Falcons one-dimensional I think that gives them the edge in this one. Look for Eli Manning to have a big day and get the Giants into the next round. Pick: Giants 27 Falcons 21

STEELERS (12-4) at BRONCOS (8-8)

Who would you rather have? A hobbled Ben Roethlisberger or a struggling Tim Tebow? After reeling off 6 straight wins, the Broncos suddenly find themselves losers of three in a row and were outscored 47-17 by the Bills and Chiefs to close out the season. And Pittsburgh's defense is nothing like what Tebow has ever seen. Even with Big Ben banged up and Rashard Mendenhall done for the year, the Steelers are still too talented for Denver. Pick: Steelers 24 Broncos 10

Week 11 NFL Picks

Time for my NFL picks once again and just like last week I'm headed into Sunday already 0-1. Last time it was Carson Palmer and the Raiders beating San Diego and this time it was Tim Tebow driving the Broncos 95 yards late in the 4th quarter to defeat the Jets. Who saw that one coming? To be honest I was tempted to pick against New York, but I couldn't bring myself to pick Tebow against the Jets defense. May need to start rethinking how I pick Broncos games. Anyhow, here's the rest of my picks for Week 11:

Photo Credit: wsau.com

Buffalo (5-4) @ Miami (2-7) - Miami is playing better lately, but I still think the Bills are the better team here. Traditionally whatever I say the Bills will do, Buffalo will do the opposite, but I still like them here. Pick: Bills

Cincinnati (6-3) @ Baltimore (6-3) - Is there a team less consistent than Baltimore? Two wins over Pittsburgh, but losses to Jacksonville and Seattle. How do you explain that? And today they're going to be without emotional leader Ray Lewis. Still, I have a tough time picking against them at home. Pick: Ravens

Jacksonville (3-6) @ Cleveland (3-6) - Not a lot of bright spots to this season for the Browns, and I don't see them getting better against Maurice Jones-Drew and the Jags today. Pick: Jaguars

Dallas (5-4) @ Washington (3-6) - The emergence of DeMarco Murray has jumpstarted the Dallas offense and has them looking they might be the best team in the NFC East. Washington meanwhile has fallen apart after a fast start. Pick: Cowboys

Carolina (2-7) @ Detroit (6-3) - The Lions have lost three of four, but the schedule gets easier today as the struggling Panthers come to town. Look for the Lions D-Line to get after Cam Newton and give him problems as the Lions gets back to their winning ways. Pick: Lions

Tampa Bay (4-5) @ Green Bay (9-0) - Rodgers is putting up record numbers this season. Tampa Bay isn't going to change that. Pick: Packers

Oakland (5-4) @ Minnesota (2-7) - No Darren McFadden for Oakland today, but the Raiders are starting to click with Carson Palmer. Adrian Peterson should have a big day for Minnesota, but I don't think it will be enough. Pick: Raiders

Seattle (3-6) @ St. Louis (2-7) - Last year this matchup decided the division. A little less on the line this year. I think Seattle is poised to fall back down to earth after a huge win against the Ravens last week. Pick: Rams

Arizona (3-6) @ San Francisco (8-1) - The Niners are 8-1. Crazy. Should be 9-1 after today as I don't see the Fordham alum John Skelton and the Cardinals offering much resistance. Pick: 49ers

Tennessee (5-4) @ Atlanta (5-4) - No real reason to pick the Titans this week, but I'm going to do it anyways. Maybe Atlanta will go for it on 4th down inside their 30 a few more times today to help me out. Pick: Titans

San Diego (4-5) @ Chicago (6-3) - Gonna break from tradition this week and actually PICK the Bears instead of going against them. The Chargers are having all kinds of problems while the Bears Defense is starting to look formidable once again. Plus, if they continue to keep Cutler's jersey clean, only good things can happen. Pick: Bears

Philadelphia (3-6) @ New York Giants (6-3) - This feels like a trap game. Michael Vick is out which means Vince Young will be quarterbacking the Eagles. He won't have Jeremy Maclin to throw to, but the Eagles still have a lot of weapons on offense. Vince Young is like Tebow in that he always seems to win games. It would not surprise me if the Eagles stole one here, but I'm still taking New York at home. Pick: Giants

Kansas City (4-5) @ New England (6-3) - There's no way Tyler Palko quarterbacks a team that beats New England. Unless Brady's knee gets destroyed (which actually happened against the Chiefs before), there's no way New England loses this game. Pick: Patriots

Last Week: 9-7
Season: 96-50

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Hellickson, Kimbrel Named MLB Rookies of the Year

Congratulations to Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson and Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel for being respectively named the American and National League Rookies of the Year.

Photo Credit: espn.go.com

The 24 year old Hellickson won 13 games for the Rays and had a 2.95 ERA over 29 starts while helping Tampa steal a playoff spot from the Boston Red Sox. Hellickson was unbeaten in 5 September starts, 4 of which came against the Red Sox and Yankees as the Rays made up 9 games down the stretch to clinch the AL Wild Card berth. He received 17 of a possible 28 first place votes easily finishing ahead of the Angels' Mark Trumbo, Kansas City's Eric Hosmer and New York's Ivan Nova becoming just the second Ray to ever win the Rookie of the Year Award joining current teammate Evan Longoria who was the winner back in 2008.

Kimbrel had a rough end to the season blowing a save on the final day that led to Atlanta missing the playoffs which makes it easy to forget just how ridiculously dominant he was the rest of the year. The 23 year old's total body of work led to him being the first unanimous selection for the NL Rookie of the Year since Albert Pujols back in 2001. Kimbrel set a rookie record with 46 saves and fanned 127 hitters in just 77 innings. During one stretch over the summer, Kimbrel appeared in 38 straight games without allowing a run. Kimbrel's teammate Freddie Freeman finished second, while Philadelphia's Vance Worley was third, and the recently kidnapped and subsequently rescued Wilson Ramos was fourth.

And I just want to remind everyone, that I called it.

Week 10 Picks

Coming off just an abysmal job of picking in Week 9 I'm already 0-1 in Week 10. SWEET. Yeah, that's right Mike, I picked against your Raiders on Thursday. Anyhow, maybe, just MAYBE, I can salvage some dignity this week and get back to picking some winners. I wouldn't hold my breath though. Here's a quick rundown of my Week 10 picks:

Photo Credit: cbsnews.com

Oakland at San Diego - Already blew that one. Thanks a lot Philip Rivers.

New Orleans at Atlanta - The Falcons usually give New Orleans problems, but I expect the Saints to be prepared for that today. Pick: Saints

Buffalo at Dallas - The Bills are coming off a bad loss against the Jets while the Cowboys are starting to put things together with a strong running game. I like the Boys at home. Pick: Cowboys

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - The Steelers are coming off a last second loss against the Ravens on Sunday night and I expect they'll try and take it out on the Bengals. We'll find out just how good Andy Dalton really is today. Pick: Steelers

St. Louis at Cleveland - Sam Bradford versus Colt McCoy. Once upon a time this matchup was a headliner. Now we'll be lucky if anyone pays attention. I like the kid from Oklahoma here. Pick: Rams

Denver at Kansas City - Tebow is 2-1 as a starter now meaning he's won more games this year than Sam Bradford, and the same amount as Cam Newton. Still, I have to pick against him here. Pick: Chiefs

Tennessee at Carolina - Tennessee just kills me on picks. Why change my strategy now though? Pick: Titans

Jacksonville at Indianapolis - I can't think of a single reason to pick the Colts against ANY opponent right now. Pick: Jaguars

Washington at Miami - Rex Grossman is back under center for the Skins. I smell a victory. Pick: Redskins

Arizona at Philadelphia - Do or die game for Philly as they're 3-5 right now. I think they pull it out against a struggling Cardinals team. As long as they don't kick it to Patrick Peterson. Pick: Eagles

Houston at Tampa Bay - The Bucs added Patriots castoff Albert Haynesworth this week. I don't think it makes a difference as Houston's power running game should continue to roll. Pick: Texans

Baltimore at Seattle - In a battle of birds, I see Baltimore continuing to fly high. Pick: Ravens

Detroit at Chicago - The Lions are still without Jahvid Best, but they should otherwise be healthy coming off their bye week. They took it to the Bears earlier this year with big plays, and they should still be able to do that this week. Pick: Lions

New York Giants at San Francisco - I expect the 49ers to get their second loss here. The Giants are coming off a big win on the road in New England and just keep overcoming injuries. Eli Manning is playing at a high level and in a close game I like him a lot more than I do Alex Smith. Pick: Giants

New England at New York Jets - The Patriots find themselves in a precarious position having lost two in a row. Could they possibly lose 3 straight? I don't think so. Pick: Patriots

Minnesota at Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers and the Discount Double Check should move to 9-0. Pick: Packers.



Last Week: 6-8
Season: 87-43

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NFL Week 9 Picks

Cutting these a little close to kickoff, so I'm gonna be brief with these today:

Miami at Kansas City - Chiefs have won four straight, Dolphins are horrible. Pick: Chiefs

Atlanta at Indianapolis - Indy isn't doing anything to suggest they're getting closer to that elusive first win. Pick: Falcons

Tampa Bay at New Orleans - The Saints just gave the Rams their first win of the season and they already lost to Tampa once. There's no way they don't get up for this game at home. Pick: Saints

New York Jets at Buffalo - I'm sure Buffalo is going to screw me on this one as per usual, but I like the Bills at home today. Pick: Bills

Seattle at Dallas - Still not a fan of Seattle's quarterback situation. Pick: Cowboys

Cleveland at Houston - Even with injuries, Houston has too many weapons. Plus, Peyton Hillis is ailing again. Pick: Texans

San Francisco at Washington - Two teams headed in opposite directions. The Redskins are dealing with lots of injuries while the 49ers have proved they can win with Alex Smith. Pick: 49ers

Cincinnati at Tennessee - The Red Rifle is due for a bad game one of these days, right? Why not today? Not crazy about this pick because I feel like the Titans lose whenever I pick them, but I think this is a winnable game. Pick: Titans

Denver at Oakland - A pivotal AFC West matchup featuring Tim Tebow and Carson Palmer? Who saw that one coming? Pick: Raiders

New York Giants at New England - No Ahmad Bradshaw and no Hakeem Nicks for New York making it tougher for the G-Men to capitalize on the fact that the Patriots play almost no defense. Pats don't typically lose two in a row. Pick: Patriots

St. Louis at Arizona - Rams looking to build some momentum after a big win against  New Orleans. The Cardinals just blew a huge lead in a demoralizing loss to the Ravens and now Kevin Kolb is hurt. Pick: Rams

Green Bay at San Diego - After the Chargers meltdown on Monday night, hard to see them dealing the Pack their first loss. Pick: Packers

Baltimore at Pittsburgh - Steelers are playing a LOT better than they were the last time these two teams met. Ravens are playing worse. Pick: Steelers

Chicago at Philadelphia - Philly is starting to get things together after a slow start. Hard to pick against them at home. Pick: Eagles


Last Week: 9-4
Season: 81-35

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NFL Week 8 Picks

Spending the weekend with the wife and the in-laws out in Oregon so gonna keep this short and sweet.

Cardinals at Ravens - Baltimore will bounce back from Monday's debacle. Pick: Ravens

Vikings at Panthers - In a battle between rookie quarterbacks, I'm taking Cam Newton over Christian Ponder. Pick: Panthers

Jaguars at Texans - The Jags aren't as good as they showed on Monday night. Pick: Texans

Dolphins at Giants - Miami has all kinds of issues, Giants should roll. Pick: Giants

Saints at Rams - C'mon Man! Pick: Saints

Colts at Titans - Indy is coming off a demoralizing 62-7 loss and Tennessee is better than they showed against Houston. Pick: Titans.

Lions at Broncos - Tebow doesn't win two in a row. Not yet. Pick: Lions

Redskins at Bills - Washington is banged up with injuries to Hightower and Moss. Pick: Bills

Bengals at Seahawks - I like the Red Rifle over the struggling Seahawks. Pick: Bengals

Browns at 49ers - San Francisco is a complete team. The Browns are not. Pick: 49ers

Patriots at Steelers - It doesn't seem like Pittsburgh EVER beats New England. Pick: Patriots

Cowboys at Eagles - This one is a toss-up so I'm going with the home team. Pick: Eagles

Chargers at Chiefs - Antonio Gates is back so San Diego should win. Pick: Chargers


Last Week: 8-5
Season: 72-31


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