1. Drew Brees, QB – New Orleans Saints
It’s impossible to pick anyone else for MVP at the moment. He leads this Saints team with his rallying warcrys before the game that even gives fires me up! He is also the main reason the Saints have the #1 offense in the league, and it looks like that should continue. If they end up undefeated and the Colts do too, we could easily have another Co-MVP year…
2. Peyton Manning, QB – Indianapolis Colts
He’s a tough luck number two in this race. I’d say it’s mainly due to the fact that he’s had a few rough games lately, and has been a little more mistake prone than we’re used to for his standards! He’d probably drop down the list if they actually lost any of those games, but they’re still undefeated! There’s nobody you’d rather have in the 4th quarter right now than Manning. He’s led 5 straight 4th quarter comebacks, and that alone puts him close to or at the top of most peoples MVP lists!
3. Brett Favre, QB – Minnesota Vikings
You won’t find any of us at Doin Work clamoring over Favre like the guys on TV, but you can’t deny what he’s done this year. He’s got the second best QB rating behind Brees, the second most TD passes, also behind Brees, and the second highest completion rate, behind Manning. Add to that, he’s only thrown 3 interceptions all year. That’s a good game for Jay Cutler!
4. Chris Johnson, RB – Tennessee Titans
With each week that Tennessee further turns around there 0-6 start to the season, Johnson’s place in this discussion elevates. He leads the NFL in rushing by over 270 yards, and his six consecutive 125+ yard performances puts him in Earl Campbell / Eric Dickerson territory. If Tennessee makes the playoffs, he makes it a four man race. If they lose their next two games, he drops out of the discussion completely.
5. Adrian Peterson, RB – Minnesota Vikings
It’s amazing that Favre’s play has made us overlook what a great season All Day is having. Maybe it’s just becuase the media has made it Favre’s team, but I’m betting if Peterson wasn’t around, Favre wouldn’t be #3 on our list today. Since he has to be accounted for, it’s no wonder Favre is having the type of season he is having! AP already is over the 1,000 yard mark, has 12 TD’s, and at 4.7 yards per carry. If he was on a worse team, he’d have better numbers than that! Really scary!
Honorable Mention: Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego and Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville
Sentiment for dropping the Lions from the annual Thursday docket has reached an all-time high this year, but personally, I think the Lions are a Thanksgiving Day tradition. They are the tryptophan to my NFL turkey. It’s just too bad they always play the FIRST game. At any rate, today’s game should be somewhat interesting, as Matthew Stafford will take to a national stage against a division rival. Today we’ll see if the Lions are headed in the right direction, or simply mired in another aimless so-called rebuilding phase. If only they had 
Atlanta owns the best record in the East, thanks to the spectacular play of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jamal Crawford. Orlando has had an equally impressive start while adjusting to the reinsertion of Rashard Lewis into the lineup. Three of the five best teams in the East reside in this Southeast Division, so tonight’s game will be a key step forward for the winner of this game in controlling the division – for the time being.
The Oakland Raiders have done it again. Coming in as huge underdogs to a Cincinnati team that finally had NFL experts convinced they were for real, the Raiders trailed for 59 minutes but managed to score twice in the last 33 seconds to record an improbable, come from behind, 20-17 win over the AFC North division leaders. Don’t have much of a recap, since the game was blacked out, as usual, here in Northern California, but this win just goes to show the team has the talent to compete with anyone. Well, almost anyone. But with Jamarcus Russell on the bench, Oakland obviously has a little extra confidence. The running game wasn’t much of a factor, totaling just 92 yards, but they did manage to gain a respectable 3.8 yds per carry. But it was the passing game that led them to victory. What’s funny is Bruce Gradkowski’s line of 17-34 for 183 yards is hardly an eye opener, nonetheless it was a performance that Raider fans would be happy to have, based on what Russell usually brings to the table. Moving forward, this is exactly what the Raiders need. With their remaining schedule, which includes 4 of their last 6 on the road, they’re not likely to make a playoff push of any kind, but they can use these last 6 games to build some confidence for next season. It’s conceivable they can win half of the games left on the schedule, and a six win season, sorry to say, would be a step in the right direction. The Raiders go to Dallas next on a short week to take on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day. Although the Cowboys have been inconsistent this season, including a close call against Washington today, there probably isn’t much hope for a win. One can only hope the team carries the momentum from today into this Thursday’s showdown and at least competes.
CRAZY! For the last few years, he’s spent his time spreading hate about these two teams, in hopes of bringing them down. He’s attacked players, coaches, and owners alike with reckless abandon. He loves calling for Al Davis and Don Nelson’s heads. Recently, he published 
The 49ers and the Bears have both been very inconsistent this season and neither looks to be a playoff team at this pint, but then again everybody changes their mind from week to week… The 49ers have done well against very good teams, so I feel like they should pull this one out. Vernon even called their 
I’m kind of surprised that Cincy is a seven point dog in this one. The Steelers have played close games nearly every week, and haven’t been the model of consistency this year. Probably because everybody guns a little harder against the defending champs. I don’t see them covering against a team that is 5-0 as an underdog, which is exactly what this Bengals team is. I don’t think they’ll have the same kind of success they had against the Ravens, but I can see them winning outright, so there’s no reason not to take a touchdown’s worth of points! Pittsburgh doesn’t win these kind of games pretty, so I see this one coming down to a FG.
This pick goes against a lot of my personal gambling rules that I’ve made for myself, such as don’t bet on my team or bet on two crappy teams. Alas, I have to do it! This probably won’t be a “watchable” game for most fans, but the last time these two teams met, KC should have won the game, but blew it in the end. I can’t say enough bad things about the Raiders right now, but they are getting a few key guys back this week that may or may not help them including 
Well, I’ve gone back and forth on whether Arizona is for real or not. They like to mess with me by showing up only when I pick against them. Is that a sign to pick Seattle this week? Probably not, since Seattle hasn’t really shown that they can do anything well for very long let alone a whole game against a team that IS going somewhere. Warner can win a game with 5 TD’s for them and he can lose a game with 5 INT’s, and I don’t think the Seattle D has enough to get 5 picks. Boldin is supposed to be back as well, and I’m thinking since he’s been so pissed off that he didn’t play last week he’s going to have a big game against a not so great secondary.
Washington is arguably the worst team in the league, and I doubt they have enough in them to pull out any kind of upset on the road or even have enough defense to keep this one close. Atlanta is coming off a short week, but who cares when you get to play a team that can’t seem to do anything right. Matt Ryan and Gonzo should shred the middle of this defense all day long. If Zorn was a brand, he should probably start looking for a bailout plan. It’s been so bad in DC that the fans aren’t even allowed to bring in signs that make fun of this pathetic team. If I wasted my money to go watch my team lose games, I would demand the right to bring whatever sign I want into the stadium! I forecast Atlanta going up big early, and heavy doses of Turner throughout the second half.
I was disappointed to see the Saints not cover last weekend. I guess it was the opposite of the week before where Sharper snagged a pick 6 to cover with two minutes to go. This weekend, Atlanta scored in the last two minutes to cut the lead to 8 which killed the beating the spread hope, oh those Vegas guys always get you back (shaking fist in the air)! It was easily the Miller Lite disappointing moment of my Monday. New Orleans has proved they are good at two things. Scoring points, and putting pressure on opposing offense and making them make mistakes. Carolina’s offense just happens to have Jake Delhomme, who is turning the ball over like Matsui getting RBI’s. NOT a good thing going on anytime they are trailing, so I see no reason to doubt that the Saints will have neutralized the Panthers running game by being up by 21 at the half and forcing them to put it in Delhomme’s hands.
This should be a good one. I think it all comes down to Romosexual and whether he shows up or not. The Cowboys are so reliant on him, it’s pathetic. Any game he plays bad in they never win. In the always unfriendly City of Brotherly Love, I have my doubts of him settling down in this one. 
The Eagles are better than we all think. They’ve flown under the radar thanks to a mediocre record against a very weak schedule. Their only good opponent, New Orleans, beat them handily, and their other loss came at the hands of the Raiders. If the NFL had a BCS-style ranking system, that loss alone would’ve dropped the Eagles out of the top 25 altogether. BUT, if you take away those two games, they’ve handled their competition, albeit weaker competition, to the tune of double digit margins of victory. They got their first true test today, and dominated the Giants 40-17. Philadelphia’s remaining schedule is anything but easy, so we’ll see if their for real soon.
Alex Smith is better than Shaun Hill. Of course, Joey Harrington is better than Ryan Leaf, fender benders are better than 16 car pileups, and HIV is better than AIDS… so that’s not saying much. However, 
Jamarcus Russell is who we thought he was. Pardon the overused cliché, but it’s true. Each week, critics are intrigued by how Jamarcus Russell will respond from one week to the next. It’s finally clear that he doesn’t. He plays the SAME GAME week in and week out. He completes one of every three checkdown passes, he otherthrows his receivers wildly on the few long balls he attempts, and most of the time, he holds the ball too long, dances around in the pocket, and gets sacked, fumbles, or forces a throw which results in a pick. Watching Jamarcus Russell is like watching the Bill Murray classic, “Groundhog Day.” Only problem is, I know what happens in “Groundhog Day” so I at least don’t watch it anymore. Hopefully next weekend when the Raiders are on I’ll remember that I’ve seen this already.
I guess that’s how important Tommie Harris is to the Beard D, who, by the way practiced, and should be back this weekend. Derek Anderson is the proud owner of the leagues lowest QB rating, which can’t go down, right? I guess it could, but I think this should give the Bears D some much needed confidence after an ugly loss. Cutler hasn’t exactly been a Pro Bowler in Chicago, but maybe they just don’t know what to do with a quarterback since it’s been so long since they had one. It’s also a strong possibility that Cutlers’ receivers were just THAT good in Denver. They’re obviously are doing fine without him, so maybe Cutler was a little overrated. Matt Forte has been a ghost in the offense this year, but I’ll give both of their crappy starts a pass. They’ve had a fairly difficult schedule so far this season. Having the hapless Browns at home should be a good cure for them. Remember they beat Detroit 48-24 two weeks ago, so they are good enough to run the score up on crappy teams!
I know I reminisce whenever I go back to a former workplace whether its good or bad memories there are emotional ties, so I can’t see Brett being any different since he spent more time there than anyone expected. I’m looking for the crowd to get to him since they know him better than anyone. Rodgers on the other hand, looked bad in their last meeting as he was getting knocked down more times than Quagmire has pickup lines. I think he won’t be holding the ball quite as long this time around, and hopefully won’t try to force as many throws. Plus, wasnt it this time last year everybody loved the Jets because they were 4-2? I’m getting excited, it looks like Favre could still be on the path to mediocrity, and he’s one Charles Woodson interception away from losing two in a row. It might just be me, but don’t you think Aaron Kampman and Jared Allen should start a butt rock band 90’s style? Sure, Kampman cut his hair, but everyone got a glimpse of the long headbanger hair in his first year he can grow it!
I’ve been riding the Niners bandwagon for most of the season, but I’ll have to step off their train since they’ve lost for me two weeks in a row. I’m sure the Colts will give them all they can handle. Austin Collie has slipped into a very nice complement receiver to Reggie Wayne. The Colts defense is also going to get back Bob Sanders which should give them a little extra swagger. The Niners defense has been pretty good this season, but they haven’t faced an offense as good as the Colts. If the 49ers can somehow get the running game going, their stagnant offense might start producing. I’m not sure I buy the Alex Smith is a worthy first round pick yet, but he can’t be much worse than that Shaun Hill was under center.
This guy can’t win in the media or on the field. I kind of feel bad for him, but at the same time I don’t really care. The Bye week should be a tough opponent, but I still see him losing popularity and responsibilities before their next game!
Ah, and now to my Raiders. What a win last weekend! I really didn’t see it coming. I guess I want to thank the media and Giants players for getting those wall posting comments up in the Raiders locker room. It was a great defensive effort, and we finally see the reason that they made the trade for Seymour. Although they are more successful against teams that pass like the Chargers and Eagles, but struggle against balanced teams like the Giants and Broncos. Even with NY having a fairly balaced attack with a very good running game, the Raiders did beat them last year, which makes me believe that they can do the same this year or at least keep it close at home. Even though JaMarcus didn’t give me any added confidence in the offense last weekend, they did prove that they can convert a few third downs to at least give their defense a solid rest. I have a feeling they will bring the pressure once again against a shaky Sanchez. Did you see him on the sideline last weekend? I thought he was going to cry. If he’s closing in on the crying point, the New York media is going to tear him up. Hopefully it won’t come to that for him. Anyways, I’m sure Raiders fans will make him feel right at home after he throws his first pick.
Atlanta (+4) Over Dallas
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cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 