NFL Predictions - Week 6 (and Week 5 in review)

Just count on me to pick 11 games correctly this week. Seriously. I have now proven to be pretty consistent. The rotten Browns spoiled my chance at a 12-2 Week 5 though, with their touchdown-less victory over the Bills. And while we're on the Bills, I would highly recommend Googling "Bills billboard" and checking out the top hits. Talk about Buffalonians wanting to drive Jauron out of town...trust me, this will do it. Something about an unemployed college student from upstate New York spending his free time fundraising to publicly bash Buffalo's most prized sporting franchise...I've got goosebumps.

Anyway, I know I use "(insert surprising team here) is for real" a lot - especially this season - but along with the Vikings and Broncos, let me now add the Bengals to the list. As if their 4-1 record should come as a surprise. They've beaten the world champs and were an "immaculate deflection" away from an undefeated season. Brandon Stokley doesn't visit Cincinnati much nowadays. Look for a barn burner this week vs. Houston though. In other news, the birth of Miles Austin proved to be the Chiefs' downfall last week. So close to one hell of an upset special pick...if I do say so myself. I'd Austin's playing time should see an - uh - increase perhaps?

Final thought: Jack del Rio - the first midseason head coach canning of '09? Think about it. Here are my pix for Week Six:

Last week: 11-3
Overall: 55-21

Bengals over Texans
Packers over Lions
Vikings over Ravens

Saints over Giants
Steelers over Browns
Buccaneers over Panthers
Redskins over Chiefs
Seahawks over Cardinals
Patriots over Titans
Jets over Bills
Falcons over Bears
Broncos over Chargers



UPSET SPECIAL: Rams over Jaguars
SO UGLY, I CAN'T LOOK AWAY: Eagles over Raiders

NFL Predictions - Week 5 (and Week 4 in review)

The trend was broken last week as I minimized my losses from five to three (granted, again, I picked 11 games correctly). Not much out of the ordinary in Week 4. Let me just set the record straight: it is OFFICIALLY a bad idea to pick the Titans. I mean sure, they'll win a game at some point, but Tennessee has simply lost too many games already that they should have won. Unless they're slated to play the Rams, Chiefs, Browns and other, well, awful teams...avoid them at all costs!

We Midwesterners were just living for Monday night though. A great win for my Vikes at home against the Pack. Favre was brilliant. All is right with the world. Oh and don't look now, but the Denver Broncos are for real. I knew I made the right choice taking them over the 'Boys last week.

Week 5. Here we go.

Last week: 11-3

Overall: 44-18

Ravens over Bengals

Bills over Browns

Panthers over Redskins

Steelers over Lions

Giants over Raiders

Vikings over Rams

Falcons over 49ers

Cardinals over Texans

Broncos over Patriots

Seahawks over Jaguars

Colts over Titans

Dolphins over Jets

UPSET SPECIAL: Chiefs over Cowboys

SO UGLY, I CAN'T LOOK AWAY: Eagles over Buccaneers

NFL Predictions - Week 4 (and Week 3 in review)

I still haven't come down from my high off of "Favre to Lewis." What an unbelievable finish at the Metrodome on Sunday. And for all of you Favre-haters who too hastily deemed him an old, injury-prone has-been, please recognize. The missing piece is in place for my Vikings, and Favre, more importantly, is back and better than ever.

Once again, Week 3 netted me 11 correct picks and 5 incorrect, a pattern I hope to break for the better this weekend. In my best Elvis Presley voice, I say, "Thank you, thank you very much," for the Lions over Redskins selection. Other things of note: it is now officially a bad idea to pick against the Saints and Bengals, which I did this past week. Buffalo and Pittsburgh (respectfully) had good chances against them playing at home, but Nawlins and Cincy are for real. Finally, the Texans lost my mother and me close to $2000 in an online suicide pool after losing a barnburner to Jacksonville (come on, a game they DEFINITELY should have won). But hey, at the same time the seconds were ticking away in that game, Greg Lewis pulled in a game-winning touchdown pass out in Minneapolis. So, eh, all is good.

Oh baby, Week 4 proves to be a good'un. And it will end just how it should: Packers at Vikings on Monday Night Football.

Fourteen games this weekend because of the bye week; let's pick 'em....

Last week: 11-5

Overall: 33-15

Bears over Lions

Bengals over Browns

Texans over Raiders

Colts over Seahawks

Titans over Jaguars

Ravens over Patriots

Redskins over Buccaneers

Bills over Dolphins

Saints over Jets

49ers over Rams

Steelers over Chargers

Vikings over Packers

UPSET SPECIAL: Broncos over Cowboys

SO UGLY, I CAN'T LOOK AWAY: Giants over Chiefs

NFL Predictions - Week 3 (and Week 2 in review)

For all the Chicago Bears fans whose hopes I unfairly raised early last week (after all, your team was facing the defending world champs)... you're welcome. And that Bears win over Pittsburgh was only the first of many Week 2 entries into the "teams-that-honestly-should-have-won-but-didn't" file. But I picked the Bears last week...let's just get that straight....

My copycat week of FIVE losses (and 11 wins) was made possible thanks to FIVE very unfortunate scenarios:

1) After nearly taking down the defending champion Steelers in the season opener at Pittsburgh, the Titans come home only to allow the Texans to steamroll them for 34 points...oh...and lose.

2) Tom Brady has all necessary offensive weapons to manhandle the new-look Jets...but fails to put a touchdown on the board in a 16-9 loss.

3) Week 1: Packers beat Bears; Bengals lose at home to Broncos. Week 2: Bears beat Steelers, making Packers Week 1 victory all the more significant; Bengals beat Packers at Lambeau? Unfortunately yes.

4) Before a regular season record-setting crowd of 105,121 at the new Cowboys stadium, Tony Romo goes for the worst outing of his career in Dallas, and the 'Boys lose by just 2 to the Giants. Imagine if he were on his game....

5) Finally Monday night, the Dolphins control the ball for THREE TIMES as long as the visiting Colts, they do everything right - everything in Tony Sparano's gameplan - and Indy wins.

Let's just pick Week 3, shall we? Look for this week to be in favor of the home team.

Last week: 11-5

Overall: 22-10

Jets over Titans

Raiders over Broncos

Chargers over Dolphins

Cardinals over Colts

Cowboys over Panthers

Ravens over Browns

Steelers over Bengals

Texans over Jaguars

Vikings over 49ers

Patriots over Falcons

Eagles over Chiefs

Giants over Buccaneers

Bills over Saints

Bears over Seahawks

UPSET SPECIAL: Lions over Redskins

SO UGLY, I CAN'T LOOK AWAY: Packers over Rams

NFL Predictions - Week 2 (and Week 1 in review)

Week 1 is in the books, and I'm off to a decent start. I managed to get double-digit picks correct but I still kick myself in the rear for the foolish Washington-over-New York pick, among others. The Seahawks' 28-t0-nothing pounding of the lowly Rams proved to be my most stellar of picks, because that 28-point margin of victory qualified as the biggest blowout of the week! So ugly, I can't look away? I think it was. I suppose Seattle is sharing that little moniker with the Eagles after the show they put on in Carolina, too.

Just a few more remarks before I move on to my Week 2 selections: Brandon Stokely, I hate you. Mark Sanchez, you're not supposed to win your first game as a rookie on the road. And Mike Singletary, well, mad props for going into the nest of the defending NFC Champs and coming away with a win. I took the Cards last week, but no hard feelings.

So here we go, with a game under their belts, here's how I believe the 16 matchups will fare come Sunday:

Last week: 11-5
Overall: 11-5

Falcons over Panthers
Packers over Bengals
Cardinals over Jaguars
Raiders over Chiefs
Patriots over Jets
Saints over Eagles

Titans over Texans
Redskins over Rams
Bills over Buccaneers
49ers over Seahawks
Broncos over Browns
Ravens over Chargers

Cowboys over Giants
Dolphins over Colts

UPSET SPECIAL: Bears over Steelers
SO UGLY, I CAN'T LOOK AWAY: Vikings over Lions

NFL Predictions - Week 1

As I sat in the last of my afternoon classes today, it hit me that I needed to do some severe redeeming of my reputation after my less-than-stellar, mid-season MLB predictions (I made them at the All-Star break and trust me, I couldn't be more off). So, of course, what better way to slowly pick myself up off the ground than to throw out some NFL predictions. No, I'm not foolish enough to attempt to forecast what the final standings and playoff picture is going to look like on this, September 10. No, no, no. I said "slowly pick myself up off the ground" for a reason.

I'm going week by week. Game by game. And I'm dumbing it down. Every week, I'm going to give you the winners of each game. No lines. No spreads. No scores. No top performers. Nothing fancy. Just winners. In addition, I'm going to give you one predicted upset and one predicted blowout. Because let's face it: every week some team pulls off the unthinkable (or conversely, lays an egg) just to piss us die-hard forecasters off. Yes, meteorology majors, this job is suitable for you, too. All that said, here goes Opening Week. Where's Matt Hasslebeck's head when you need a rub?

Steelers over Titans

Falcons over Dolphins

Ravens over Chiefs

Panthers over Eagles

Bengals over Broncos

Vikings over Browns

Texans over Jets

Colts over Jaguars

Saints over Lions

Cowboys over Buccaneers

Cardinals over 49ers

Packers over Bears

Patriots over Bills

Chargers over Raiders

UPSET SPECIAL: Redskins over Giants
SO UGLY, I CAN'T LOOK AWAY: Seahawks over Rams

Should have known

Call it what you want - I've been back and forth about Brett Favre being under center for the Vikings about as many times as he's contemplated retirement. And it's no coincidence. Every time he's bid farewell to the league - more importantly to the city of Minneapolis - I've breathed a deep sigh of relief. But boy, every time there's been talk of a return, my heart skips a beat in excitement. What do they call that? A closet Brett Favre fan? No. No way. Not after the years he spent ripping apart my Vikings secondary (okay, okay...which isn't saying much). Not after he tainted his own precious reputation by refusing to loosen his death grip on the NFL, after the world agreed it was his time to go. There's no...possible...way...I could like Brett Favre.

But I do. He's going to take us places. Quarterback was the only missing piece of the puzzle last year when the Vikings finally reached the playoffs. They had the most dynamic ground attack in the league with Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. Both are back. Both are healthy. Not to mention the solid work that backups Ian Johnson (former Boise St. star) and local Iowa boy Albert Young are putting in. Shoot, the Vikes can be dangerous no matter who is taking snaps, that's for sure.

The recieving corps got a boost with Percy Harvin. Bernard Berrian will continue to do work, and this is the year Sidney Rice needs to prove he won't have to battle rookie WR's for the no. 2 spot any longer (although no one would blame him for losing that spot to Harvin this season...that guy is special).

With Hutchinson and Co. manning the O-Line and the Williams Wall clogging holes on the D-Line (pending their punishment for violating the league's substance abuse policy - yeah, both of them), the Vikes are as good as any in the trenches.

In my opinion, Leber, Henderson, and Greenway represent the finest linebacking corps in the league, hands down. They're all back and healthy. And of course you won't see any flashes of greatness from the secondary. The d-backs were already less than impressive, and Darren Sharper left the Twin Cities for New Orleans. Unless teams figure out that their game plan should be 95% pass, 5% run against the Vikes, the mediocre secondary won't hurt us anymore than it did last season.

All that said, Favre is the missing piece we Vikings fans have longed for ever since Daunte Culpepper left town. The fact that it's, well, Brett Favre is still shocking. Tough break for Sage and T-Jack. Their QB battle is now for the backup position, and that's the part of this whole scenario that pains me the most. Is it fair? Probably not. But does that matter? Not in the slightest. The Minnesota Vikings need a Superbowl. A Superbowl win. The "0-for-4" has been staring us in the face for decades.

Green and yellow aside, indecisiveness aside, the fact that he's kept Vikes fans guessing all summer aside, I hereby place my faith and the future of the Minnesota Vikings organization (well, for the next two years anyway) into Brett Favre's capable hands.