Week 12 Picks

Carolina looks to continue its winning ways as 

it has opened the 10-0 and won its past 13 regular season games

(via huffingtonpost.com)

Philadelphia @ Detroit (-3) - The Lions are currently on a two game winning streak and expect to have a healthy Calvin Johnson.  The Eagles will start Mark Sanchez who has thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns (4 to 2) this season.

Carolina (+1) @ Dallas- The Panthers are vulnerable for a loss given that the Cowboys have Tony back  Romo.  Still, the Panthers appeared to be clicking on all cylinders last week in a blowout win against Washington and Romo was far far from perfect as he threw two interceptions last week against the Dolphins.  

Chicago @ Green Bay (-8.5)-  Green Bay appears to be back on track after a blowout win against the Vikings and look to maintain its division lead by taking care of business against the Bears, who got blown out by the Packers at home earlier this season.

New Orleans @ Houston (-3) - The Texans have won 3 of their past 4 games.  While New Orleans is coming off a bye, their defense is ranked last in the league and fired their defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.  

Minnesota @ Atlanta (-1) - Atlanta has lost its past 3 straight games and 4 of its last 5 games.  The Vikings 5 game winning streak just ended against the Green Bay Packers.  Matt Ryan is the superior quarterback to Terry Bridgewater who could struggle on the road against Atlanta's crowd noise.

Tampa Bay @ Indianapolis (-3 ) - Tampa Bay played great against Philadelphia and comes off their 2nd straight win.  They became the first road team in NFL history to throw for five touchdowns and run for 200 yards in the same game according to bucaneers.com.  Andrew Luck is uncertain about his return date, although Matt Hasselbeck is 3-0 as the teams starting quarterback.

St. Louis @ Cincinnati (-8.5) - Rams' wide receiver Stedman Bailey was shot in the head in the Miami area this past weekend.  

#Rams WR Stedman Bailey is out of surgery after several hours of extensive work. He'll be in the ICU for 3-5 days and doctors are hopeful.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 25, 2015

The Bengals appear to be playing much better football and generally have a habit of exploting poor quarterback play. Things could get even shakier for the Rams as they ignored the concussion suffered by quarterback Case Keenum.

NY Giants @ Washington (+2.5) - Look for this game to be a high scoring affair which is a toss up.  Washington is 4-1 at home while the Giants are 2-3 on the road.  The Giants ended up losing another game in tragic fashion to the Patriots.  Washington will need to establish its running game, limit mental mistakes such as interceptions and penalties to come out with a win in this one.  

Oakland (-2) @ Tennessee - Both teams come into this game with losing streaks, the Raiders have lost their past three while the Titans have lost their past two and and 8 of their past 9.  All of the Raiders wins have come against below .500 teams like the Titans.  It will be key for Amari Cooper to limit dropped passes which caused him to be upset in a loss against the Lions. 

Buffalo @ Kansas City (-6.5) - Kansas City has won its past 4 games as it defense has held its opponents to 13 points or less in its past 4 games.  Tyrod Taylor's injured his shoulder in a loss to the Patriots which could limit his productivity.

Miami @ New York Jets (-3.5) - Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins offense did not look great against Dallas last week.  While Tannehill's ball placement is pretty good, he has struggled with pocket awareness and staring down his receivers.  The Jets in the meantime look to end their 2 game losing streak against the Dolphins, who they beat by double digits on the road earlier this season.  

San Diego (+4) @ Jacksonville - While the Chargers have lost its past 6 games, the Chargers lost 5 of the six game by a single score. The Jaguars have won 3 of their past 4 games.  Look for the Chargers to come out motivated after getting manhandled by the Chiefs.

Arizona (-10.5) @ San Francisco - Tickets for the 49ers are currently selling less than parking passes.  Look for the Cardinals to exploit San Francisco's weak quarterback play as Colin Kaepernick is out for the season.

Pittsburgh @ Seattle (-4) - While Marshawn Lynch had sports hernia surgery, Thomas Rawls  has filled in as an adequate replacement as he carried the ball for 30 times for 209 yards against the 49ers last week.  The Steelers come into the game winning their past 2 games but could struggle because of Seattle's 12th man.

New England @ Denver (+3) - Brock Osweiler makes his second consecutive start and appears to be an upgrade over Peyton Manning.  The Patriots are having trouble fielding a decent receiving corp due to injuries to Edelman and Amendola and could struggle to create offense on the road against the Bronco's defense.

Baltimore @ Cleveland (-3) - Josh McCown and the Browns managed to beat the Ravens earlier this season on the road and now the Ravens will be without Joe Flacco for the remainder of the season.

Last week: 10-3-1
Total: 80-57-6

Week 11 Picks

The Jaguars and Texans game may be the  least exciting game this season Tennessee @ Jacksonville (-3) - Jacksonville has won 2 of its past 3 games.  Tennessee has won 2 of its past 9 games.  Jacksonville also has homefield which could be a significant factor with short rest on a Thursday night game.   Washington @ Carolina (-7) - Kirk Cousins won NFC offensive player of the week for the 2nd time this season.  If Washington somehow comes away with a win this week, they could seriously entertain the idea of making it the playoffs.  Still, Carolina is undefeated and their defense should do a lot more to contain Washington than the Saints did last week. Oakland (-1.5) @ Detroit -  Detroit did look impressive at times against the Packers in their first win Lambeau since 1991.  Still, the Raiders could bounce back against the Lions after losing last week to the Vikings.  Dallas @ Miami - Tony Romo makes his return and even a rusty Romo is a significant upgrade for what Dallas has been throwing out there at quarterback.   Dallas proceeded to six games and celebrated by getting Romo back to the lineup by cutting Brandon Weeden.   Indianapolis (+6) @ Atlanta - The Colts may be without Andrew Luck, but Hasselbeck has been an adequate replacement as he is 2-0 as a starter this season.  The Falcons did have a bye to rethink its overall strategy after losing 3 of its past 4 games.   St. Louis @ Baltimore - While it remains questionable what St. Louis offense will look like as they go to QB Case McNeenum over Nick Foles, the Ravens have bigger questions on they are playing for this season after losing last week to the Jacksoville Jaguars.   New York Jets @ Houston Texans (+2.5) - Houston has been playing well, winning 3 of its past 4 games and looks to perhaps shore up a run for a playoff spot in a weak AFC South.   Green Bay @ Minnesota (+1) - Its time to take the Vikings seriously who have won its past 5 games.  The Packers are struggling with consecutive losses to the Broncos, Panthers, and Lions.   Tampa Bay (+5.5)  @ Philadelphia - Mark Sanchez playing in place of Sam Bradford appears to be a downgrade for the Eagles.  The Buccaneers  will attempt to win consecutive games for the first time this season.    Denver (+1) @ Chicago - This feels like a game where Broncos right the ship again.  Although if they do not, Peyton Manning could hear more noise about him getting benched since he has the worst quarterback rating among active starters.   Cincinnati (+5) @ Arizona- While the Bengals struggled immensely against the Texans, they could respond with a better effort and are still playing for a top seed in the AFC.   San Francisco @ Seattle (-12.5) - Seattle looks to take out revenge of its frustration on the 49ers after last weeks loss against the Cardinals. Kansas City (-3) @ San Diego - The Chiefs have bounced back with 3 consecutive wins.  The Chargers are coming off a bye but have lost their last 5 games.  Buffalo (+7) @ New England- New England could have a hard time replacing Edelman in the short term which could make this a relatively close game.  Tyrod Taylor struggled in his last meeting against the Patriots but has played much better lately.  
Last week: 6-7 Total: 70-54-5

Week 10 Picks

 Rex Ryan looks to get revenge against his former team

(via CBSSports)

Buffalo (+2) @ New York Jets - LeSean McCoy had injury to his shoulder but is able to play in this game.  Tyrod Taylor looks like the better of the two quarterbacks.  Geno Smith plays against Ik Enemkpali who is an honorary team captain.

Detroit @ Green Bay (-11.5) - Green Bay has lost two games in a row but look to get on track against the Lions.  This is the first time in three weeks that the Packers will not be playing an undefeated team.

Dallas @ Tampa Bay (-1.5) - Tony Romo still is not back and the Bucaneers look to get back on track after a double digit loss to the Giants.

Carolina (-5.5) @ Tennessee - Carolina just rolled past the Packers.   If it was hard for Aaron Rodgers to get it going against the Panther's defense, the same could be true for Marcus Mariotta.

New Orleans @ Washington (+1) - These are two evenly matched teams.  I will take Washington at home with the points although it could get ugly for Jay Gruden and Washington if they manage to lose this one.  

Miami +6 @ Philadelphia - Perhaps coach Campbell can get back to running the ball against the Eagles.  Sam Bradford was impressive against Dallas but has more or less been inconsistent this season.

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh (-5.5) - In what is likely to be the battle of backup quarterbacks, Landry Jones has the statistical advantage over Johnny Manziel, a superior supporting cast, and is also playing at home.

Jacksonville @ Baltimore (-5.5) - Jacksonville has played well the past couple of weeks.  Still, I expect Baltimore to be amped up for this one as they come off a bye.  

Minnesota @ Oakland (-3) - This is a battle of surprise teams.   Minnesota has looked really good but struggled against West Coast opponents like the 49ers and Terry Bridgewater is out.  I expect Oakland to rebound after a close loss to the Steelers.

Kansas City @ Denver (-6) - Peyton Manning was unable to pull it out against the Indianapolis Colts.  The Chiefs appear to be cursed against the Broncos and have not beaten Manning since he joined the Broncos.  

New England (-7) @ NY Giants - While Eli Manning has played especially well against the Patriots, including two Super wins, the Patriots offense could get going against a Giants defense that has struggled to create a pass rush .

Arizona @ Seattle (-3) - Look for Seattle to win a close one against the Cardinals as it is always hard for the road team to get it going in Seattle's especially loud stadium.  Both teams are coming off byes.  

Houston @ Cincinnati (10.5) - Cincinnati is still undefeated and is looking to prove a point as being one of the top teams in the NFL.  While Houston is coming off a bye and a win against the Titans, the Bengals should have more than enough rest coming off a Thursday night game.

Last week: 5-8

Total:  64-47-5

Week 9 Sunday Picks

Cam Newton and the Panthers 

look to remain undefeated against Green Bay 

(via ESPN)

Oakland @ Pittsburgh (-4.5) - The Raiders are streaking but look for Roethlisberger to shake off the rust in his second start back from injury.

Jacksonville @ New York Jets (-7.5) LOCK - The New York Jets look to put the clamps on the Jaguars after losing two straight to the Patriots and the Raiders. 

St. Louis (+2) @ Minnesota - This will be the battle of the best running backs in the league including rookie Todd Gurley and Adrian Peterson.  The Rams defense is more imposing and perhaps Nick Foles can play well on the road with a good running game behind him.

Miami @ Buffalo (-3) - Miami has been playing better lately but last time they played Buffalo, they were lost 41-17. 

Tennesee @ New Orleans (-8) - Tennessee looks to get a boost from firing its head coach but New Orleans plays better at home.

Washington (+14) @ New England - New England is a favorite playing at home and getting extra rest off of a Thursday night game.  Still, Washington is coming off a bye and Kirk Cousins may put together back to back solid games.

Green Bay @ Carolina (+2.5) - While Aaron Rodgers could have a bounce back game after a disappointing performance, the Packers have struggled against the run and Carolina's defense could do enough to remain unbeaten.

Atlanta (-7) @ San Francisco - San Francisco now turns to Blaine Gabbert who has been terrible in Jacksonville.  Atlanta looks to make up for last weeks loss against the Buccaneers.

New York Giants (2.5) @ Tampa Bay - After losing last week, the Giants look to avoid consecutive losses to hold on to their division lead.  

Denver (-5) @ Indianapolis - Denver looks to put the clamps down on Andrew Luck after holding the Packers to less than 200 yards of offense.  

Philadelphia (-3) @ Dallas - Dallas will remain underdogs as long as Tony Romo is sidelined.

Chicago (+4) @ San Diego - While both teams have two wins, Chicago has been the slightly better team with Jay Cutler under center.  

Last week: 6-5-2

Season: 59-39-5

Week 9 Thursday Night Pick

Johnny Manziel was pulled over by police after

arguing with his girlfriend and was drinking.

And he's starting this Thursday

(via Rantsports)

Cleveland (+12) @ Cincinnati - The Bengals are undefeated and Johnny Manziel failed to lead the Browns to any points last time these two teams met.  Still, Cleveland looks like a better team than last year's team and it could be close given that they are division foes.