The Sports Rumors

NFL Weekly Picks

I’ve put this set of picks together from my cell phone while sitting at Washington Dulles Airport. Hardest thing I’ve ever done… in my life.

Update: Apparently, my site is being a pain in the ass and isn’t accepting a lot of stuff from my phone so I’m attaching a link that you can use to view the picks. Sorry for the inconvenience guys. Follow the link below to my picks.

NFL Week Week 10 Picks

I haven’t been at near my computer much this weekend to be able to update that chart where I have my picks lined up against the ESPN Experts. However, I’ll have that up later today. In the meantime, I want to post my picks so that no one thinks I cheated when I suddenly go 100% correct on my picks this week. Below the outright picks I’ll put my spread picks. Enjoy!

I’m feeling a big week for the home teams…

Minnesota @ Green Bay

Jacksonville @ Tennessee

Denver @ KC

Buffalo @ Miami

St.Louis @ New Orleans

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh

Philadelphia @ Washington

Atlanta @ Carolina

Cinci @ Baltimore

Chicago @ Oakland

Dallas @ New York Giants

Detroit @ Arizona

Indy @ San Diego

San Fran @ Seattle

Picks Versus the Spread

At Tennessee -5 Jacksonville

At Kansas City -3 Denver

Buffalo -2.5 At Miami

At Pittsburgh -10 Cleveland

At New Orleans -10.5 St. Louis

At Carolina -3 Atlanta

At Washington -2.5 Philadelphia

At Green Bay -5.5 Minnesota

At Baltimore -3 Cincinnati

Chicago -3.5 At Oakland

Dallas -2 At NY Giants

At Arizona -2 Detroit

Indianapolis -3.5 At San Diego

NFL Week 8 Picks

Picks Versus the Spread

Went 7 for 7 last week… Lets see if I can do as well on the spreads as I am with the outright picks

Cleveland @ St. Louis (+3)

Detroit @ Chicago (-5)

Indianapolis @ Carolina (+7)

New York Giants (-9.5) @ Miami

Oakland @ Tennessee (-7)

Philadelphia (-1) @ Minnesota

Pittsburgh (-3.5) @ Cincinnati

Buffalo @ New York Jets (-3)

Houston @ San Diego (-9.5)

Jacksonville @ Tampa Bay (-3.5)

New Orleans (-2.5) @ San Francisco

Washington (+16.5) @ New England

Green Bay (+3) @ Denver

Monday Night Pick

Dallas Cowboys(-11.0) @ Buffalo Bills

I hate picking games where the line is so big because it’s really hard to tell what’s going to happen, no matter how much research you do. There are a few things to point out though. The Bills are hosting their first Monday Night game in thirteen years and are coming off of their first victory of the season. They might have a little bounce in their step, especially early. However, a bounce in your step can only do so much. You have to execute. The Bills have not done that for about 14 quarters out of 16 so far. As far as the Cowboys go, they are a high scoring powerful team. But let’s be careful before we crown them. They’ve played teams with a combined record of 5-15, including two winless teams (Miami and St.Louis). This game will be semi interesting to see if Dallas starts looking ahead to their big matchup vs the Patriots and perhaps overlook the Bills.

All that said, I highly doubt this game will be competitive and I am furious at whoever scheduled it. Granted, they probably didn’t think Buffalo would be this bad but still…no one wants to see this game. Thank God the Yankees game is on tonight.

Pick: Dallas

Spread: Dallas covers

Weekly Picks vs The Spread wk5

So based on my terrible 2-3 performance last week, I decided to throw in two bonus games this week. Instead of the 3 day games, 1 Sunday night game, and 1 Monday night game, you get 5 day games, 1 Sunday night game and 1 Monday night game. Enjoy!

Carolina @ New Orleans (-3.0)

This is the last time I’m going to roll the dice on the Saints. If there was ever a such thing as a must-win game, this is it. They’re already in an 0-3 slump and if they lose to Carolina, they should do the honors of buying the brown paper bags, and handing them out to their fans. However, I don’t think that the talented cast they have will allow them to lose their first four games. I see this as a rebound game and one that will give them a spark. Plus, Carolina is a very confused and disorganized team right now.

Pick: Saints

Spread: Saints Cover

Miami @ Houston (-5.0)

Houston should not have blown the game to the Falcons the way they did and they should, and will be mad. Winless Miami comes into to town and this team could not be more lost at this point. They have an old quarterback, a weak offensive line, an aging and passionless defense, and decent special teams. Houston should have no difficulty defeating the Dolphins and covering the spread.

Pick: Houston

Spread: Houston Covers

Seattle @ Pittsburgh (-6.0)

Seattle is starting to get back into the groove we’ve seen them be in the past few seasons, while Pittsburgh is coming off of a heat-check loss to the Cardinals. Both teams are going to try and impose their style of play early and it’ll be interesting to see if Seattle’s west-coast offense wins the battle or Pittsburgh’s balanced attack. Shaun Alexander is not 100% but Morris is a more than capable backup. Hasselbeck has also been on point the past few weeks and he seems to have found a good number two guy with Bobby Engram. Look for a close game that the Steelers will win, but not by more than 6.

Pick: Pittsburgh

Spread: Pittsburgh doesn’t cover

Cleveland @ New England (-16.5) *BONUS PICK*

Is there really that much to say about this game? The Patriots are at home… and, well… the Patriots are going to win. I don’t know why the spread isn’t higher. Should be around 19 or so. Because even if it was, I’d still pick the Pats to cover. They are THAT good. Everyone knows it now.

Pick: Patriots

Spread (BONUS): Patriots Cover

Tampa Bay @ Indianapolis (-9.5) *BONUS PICK*

I do have to admit; I was wrong about the Bucs. They are a pretty good team. Oh wait, the Bucs have beaten three teams with a combined record of 2-9. The Bucs are overrated and people are sweating them WAY too much. Give me Indy, give me Peyton, and give me the points. You can have your mediocre Jeff Garcia.

Pick: Colts

Spread (BONUS): Indy Covers

Chicago @ Green Bay (-3.0)

Spread Pick

So I guess everyone was wrong and Brett Favre was right about his decision to come back huh? Shut up, you know you were saying for him to retire too. I have to admit, it’s really great to see him playing with the fun and excitement, even at the tender age of 68. I love the Packers defense and I love the Packers chances of winning the division.

Pick: Green Bay

Spread: Packers Cover

Dallas (-10.5) @ Buffalo

Monday Night Pick will be out Monday

Last Week: 2-3

Season: 11-8-1

I’m in Mediocre City … but we’ll fix that this week.

NFL Picks vs The Spread - Wk 2

Indianapolis (-7.0) @ Tennessee

I’ve heard a lot of chit chat over the past week by people saying that the Titans will keep it close against the Colts or that the Titans have the Colts’ number. No. They don’t. They won one game against the Colts last year by three points and lost the other by a point. That’s not happening this year. And I don’t know how one win and one close loss means that a team has another team’s number. Here’s how close the Titans were vs. the Colts in their last six meetings. Won by 3, Lost by 1, Lost by 33, Lost by 21, Lost by 27, Lost by 14. I know Vince Young was not present for all but two of those games but Young isn’t going to be lining up to cover Harrison or Wayne on go routes either. I’m sure the Colts are tired of hearing about how the Titans can compete with them and will come out strong because of it. A lot of people are taking Tennessee versus the spread this week but I’m not. Give me Peyton all day with a 33-13 type of score.

Pick: Colts

Spread: Colts Cover

Green Bay @ New York Giants (-2.0)

The Packers are going to be 2-0 after this game and here’s why. The Giants defense is miserable. They can’t stop the run and they can’t stop the pass. I knew this before they lost to the Cowboys. They lost starters on defense in the preseason and weren’t very strong to begin with. Throw in the fact that Eli most likely will not be playing and there goes your chance to score twenty points. Even if Eli played, he’s not moving the ball against the Packers defense. Throw in ANOTHER setback; that being the health of runningback Brandon Jacobs. The Packers D will eat up the Giants the way they did McNabb last week.

Pick: Green Bay

Spread: Take Green Bay

Minnesota @ Detroit (-3.0)

Man am I excited for this game. This is the chance for Jon Kitna to shut up the people who were making fun of the fact that he was confident and thought the Lions could win 10 games this year. Their offense looked superb against an Oakland defense that is no slouch. Mike Martz dominates in his second season with a team and just look at the weapons that Detroit has. Mike Furrey led the NFC in catches last year and he’s their third wideout! Tatum Bell did a good job moving the ball with 5.8 yards per carry, and as long as Kitna stays away from making major mistakes, the Lions will win this game without a problem. The only thing the Lions should be wary of is #28 in purple. Adrian Peterson showed what he’s capable of. However, I think Detroit will get up early and force the Vikes to pass.

Pick: Detroit

Spread: Detroit Covers

San Diego @ New England (-3.0)

The Game of the Week, without a doubt. The Patriots were questioned and called out all week. Their Super Bowl victories and their legitimacy were questioned. ESPN.com’s poll showed that the majority of the nation feels that those wins are now tainted. Realize that the Patriots players heard this all week. They’re going to be angry and San Diego is going to pay for it. The Chargers defense was solid last week but the offense looked awful. LT didn’t do much on the ground and Phillip Rivers failed to pass for a touchdown. I feel the Pats defense is better than the Bears. And again, they will be angry…especially at LT who called out their coach last year. The flipside is that the Chargers have their own bone to pick after the way the Pats mocked them after defeating them in San Diego during the playoffs. This game looks like it will be low scoring but I have a feeling that the Pats might blow it open early. Don’t be surprised if the Pats score 27 on the Chargers. Either way, low scoring or not, Pats will cover.

Pick: New England

Spread: New England Covers

Monday night pick will be up on Monday.

NFL Week 1 Picks vs The Spread

(First one is Thursday’s Game, from previous article.. Sunday’s Games are below)

New Orleans Saints @ Indianapolis Colts (-5.5)

The most surprising team in the league takes on the defending Super Bowl Champs on Thursday night in what should be a great game to start off a season. This game is filled with plenty of star power; Reggie Bush, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees to name a few. Here’s what you need to know:

Offense: Though the Saints’ Drew Brees led the league in passing last year (even ahead of Manning), they couldn’t reach the Superbowl in a pitiful NFC. They have a balanced attack coming out of the backfield with Reggie Bush and Deuce Mccalister but the wide receivers are still a bit of an unknown, especially with the departure of Joe Horn. Rookie Marcus Colston had a surprisingly good season but his production dropped as more and more teams caught onto the rookie’s deep ball antics. The Colts have added that coveted third wide receiver to compliment the Harrison-Wayne duo. Harrison may be reaching the latter stages of his career but flipside of him is Reggie Wayne, who is emerging into a star. Joseph Addai is anticipated to have a breakout season. Throw in a solid third wide receiver in Anthony Gonzales and you have the makings of another 30ppg offense.

Defense: The Colts defense was terrible for most of last season. The run defense was among the worst in the league and that would scare you normally, considering the fact that the Saints pack a double RB combo. But the Saints defense isn’t much better. What does that mean? It means that the Colts will be putting up points, and putting up points fast. The Saints won’t be running the ball much if they’re down 14-0 in the first quarter and that’s when Dwight Freeney is also at his best.

Prediction: Colts Win Result: 41-10 Colts Victory

Spread: Colts cover Result: Colts covered.

—

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns (+4.5)

A 1pm matchup of two AFC North rivals. The Pittsburgh Steelers, led by new head coach Mike Tomlin, look to get back to their winning ways of previous years. Ben Rothlisberger also looks back to get on track after having an awful season last year, in which he led the league with 23 interceptions. The Cleveland Browns are in the rebuilding phase, and have been for as long as I can remember. Hyped up quarterback Brady Quinn will not be the starter; instead Charlie Frye will bring his inaccurate arm and lack of strength and try to lead the Browns to an early season upset in Cleveland.

Offense:

I have a lot of confidence in Ben Rothlisberger getting back to making the good, safe decisions that he did his first season in the league by checking down early and often and taking the 7 yard gain instead of throwing 20 yards down the field. It helps that Willie Parker will be shouldering a lot of the load coming out of the backfield. The new Steelers offense won’t be like that of previous years. It will feature multiple wide receiver sets one play, then back down to two tight end sets the next. Look for a lot of mixing of plays and a healthy balance between the run and the pass. Make no mistake about it though, the Steelers will try and open things up with the run first, and that is where Parker is so valuable to Big Ben’s success and comfort in the pocket. The Browns don’t have much to bring to the table with Quinn on the bench. Frye has made some good plays but has made more worse decisions. He isn’t accurate and can’t squeeze the ball into tight spots. Braylon Edwards has yet to step into the role of a true number one receiver. Kellen Winslow is the best offensive weapon that the Browns have. The acquisition of runningback Jamal Lewis may look good in theory but don’t expect this to be the Lewis of old. He’s an aging back and well know how runningbacks’ skill sets dwindle as they get closer to age 30. Well Lewis is 28 and his yards per carry have been below 4 for the past two seasons (3.4 and 3.6).

Defense:

As if Cleveland’s offense wasn’t already facing enough problems due to lack of talent, they now get to face a ferocious 3-4 style defense that the Steelers bring. Throw in the fact that Mike Tomlin is a defensive mastermind and you have the makings of a disasterous day for the Cleveland offense. Their only chance of staying in this ballgame past halftime is either their own defense making plays, or Lewis dominating the Steelers line. I don’t see either of the two scenarios happening. The Browns defense is not bad itself. They bring a 3-4 to the table as well. The Browns have a lot of young talent, particularly outside linebacker Wimbley. They have the talent to put on a good pass rush but with Parker running the way I predict him to, a pass rush won’t matter. The one advantage the Browns have is in the special teams.

Prediction:

This game will start off close, and that will last all but a few minutes. Pittsburgh is far superior on offense and has a veteran group of guys on defense. The Browns also won’t be able to move the ball and I’ll be surprised if they score more than one touchdown. All signs point to a big win for the Steelers, on their way to a good season.

Steelers Win

Spread: Steelers Cover

—

New England Patriots (-6.5) @ New York Jets

This game is filled with storylines. The Belichick vs Mangini drama. Are the Patriots really going to be that good? Will Moss make the big plays he’s expected to? Will Thomas Jones prove to the Bears that he was the better runningback? How small of a leash is Chad Pennington on with Jets fans? It’s definitely a can’t miss game.

Offense:

Clearly, the advantage here goes to the Patriots. Superior quarterback, up and coming runningback (Lawrence Maroney) plus a veteran Corey Dillon) duo. Top notch receivers (Moss, Welker, Stallworth). A solid and experienced veteran group of guys protecting Brady. Doesn’t get much better than that. The Jets are no slouch either though. Don’t forget that this was the team that went 10-6 last year, without the presence of a dependable runningback. Chad Pennington is a very accurate quarterback, when given the time. They also have a veteran wideout in Laveranues Coles to go along with young stud Jerricho Cotchery, who had over 80 catches last year. I think if this game was in New England, the Pats would have the clearly dominant offense. But since they are playing in New York, which will be a psyched up crowd, I would give only a slight advantage to the Patriots.

Defense:

The Pats have the more experienced defense that’s seen it all. It also helps that they got playmaker corner Asante Samuel back with the team. This defense adjusts week to week and suffocates offenses, starting with the run game. This game will be determined on how well and quickly the Pats defense shuts down the Jets running game. The Jets defense is led by Jonathan Vilma and brings a variety of different packages as well. Go figure, Mangini learned a lot from Bellicheck. The Jets defense puts a lot of emphasis on plugging the gaps first and then bringing outside blitzes. The key for the Jets isn’t to necessarily shut down Lawrence Maroney; but to take away the short passing game of the Pats. If you take that away from Brady, you have a chance.

Prediction:

Given the fact that this game is being played in New York, and the fact that the Jets hate the Patriots more than the Patriots hate the Jets, I predict a defensive battle and a close game. I don’t think either team will score over 25 points. As long as the Jets stay patient and stick to the run, along with not letting the Pats jump ontop early, look for the Jets to have a chance in the fourth quarter. In two meetings last year, the Jets lost by a combined total of 10 points. I have the Pats winning, but not by more than a few… something in the 21-17 ballpark.

Spread: Patriots don’t cover.

—

Chicago Bears @ San Diego Chargers (-5.5)

I would love to break this game down and spit out 5 gazillion stats at you and stuff but it’s plain and simple; Chargers are going to win this game and they’re going to win it by a lot.

Offense:

There really is no comparison. L.T. is better than the entire Chicago offense combined. Throw in Antonio Gates and a solid offensive line plus a young, up and coming quarterback who knows what he’s doing and sprinkle a bit of Norv Turner’s offensive genius and you have the makings of an offense that will rival the Colts for the most explosive in the NFL. The Bears have Rex Grossman who is so unpredictable that it’s not even fun to make jokes about. I don’t have a lot of faith in Cedric Benson and think the Bears made a big mistake in letting Thomas Jones walk. Bernard Berrian is a game changing type of receiver with his electrifying speed but again, look who’s throwing him the ball.

Defense:

Here is where the teams are fairly even, though I still give a slight edge to the Chargers. Everyone knows about the Bears defense and Urlacher and Mike Brown and Tommy Harris. And of course everyone knows about Shawn Merriman, who I believe is going to be the defensive player this year and next year. The Chargers play a confusing and frustrating 3-4 defense that allows Merriman to get into the backfield early and often. Olshansky is a headache at defensive end and Luis Castillo had 7 sacks coming from the opposite end. In short, the Chargers defense puts lots of pressure on the quarterback and Rex Grossman is not good under pressure.

Prediction:

Don’t expect a close game. The Chargers will jump ahead early and never look back. 31-13 is the type of score I’m predicting.

Spread: Chargers Cover

*I’ll have the Baltimore-Cincinnati Monday Night Special out either late tonight or tomorrow.

(I can’t wait to see this awkward postgame moment)