Tag Archives: picks

October 23, 2010

Doin Lines Week 7

By chappy81

A so-so week for me. My picks have felt like Gary Busey looks.  I swear at halftime of every game this weekend I thought I was a lock to win each pick, but unfortunately a lot of my teams were outscored in the second half just to disappoint me. At least I pulled out a .500 week for the first time in a few weeks, and am moving in the right direction. Maybe I should just be betting on the first half scores!

I had a “whatever” type weekend finishing 2-3-1.  Any momentum or confidence I had from busting out the whooping sticks two weeks ago has faded.  For some reason, all I can think about after writing that, is a line from Eminem’s Lose Yourself track, “Snap back to reality, OH, there goes gravity …”  Anyway, Chappy and I both picked Baltimore over New England last week, and of course, both of us ended up on the short end of the stick with that selection.  I’ll try not to peek over at who Chaps got this week for fear of an automatic loss.  On a side note, picking teams this year has been terrible for me, I feel like a jester trying to entertain a King, only to fail and hear him say, “FEED HIM TO THE LINES!“

(Was that funny?)

Week 7 (Chappy 2-2-2, By 1-3-2) Overall (Chappy 12-20-3, By 12-16-3)

Pittsburgh (-3) @ Miami

Chappy picks Pittsburgh (-3), Will the Steelers defense be as good with James Harrison pulling up on hits because he’s scared of a fine? I doubt it! The Steelers stop teams that are good at running holding opposing offenses to only 63 yards a game on the ground. If the Dolphins have a shot in this one it will be because Bess and Marshall have big games. This is the first time in a couple of years that the whole Steelers defense is healthy, and they’ve shown what they can do when they are healthy. They usually fare well in these physical match ups. I think Ben shook off all the rust he may or may not have had against the lowly Browns last week, and could have a big game if they keep Cameron Wake out of his face. The Dolphins were blown out at home against the Jets and Patriots, making me think the Steelers should do the same…

By picks Pittsburgh (-3).  What’s one way to steer controversy away from Ben Roethlisberger?  How about steering it towards James Harrison?  That’ll work.  Ben Roethlisberger, in his return from suspension, wasn’t even mentioned last week!  All the attention went to the league officials and James Harrison.  Everybody saw the steep fine the league struck Harrison with for his “illegal” hit, then everybody witnessed Harrison “contemplate” retirement after, which resulted in everybody NOT believing in him , which followed by Harrison coming back to no one’s surprise, after his day off.  Back to the games.  As good as Pittsburgh has been these past few weeks, it’s pretty scary to see how they’ll look once Big Ben gets back into rhythm.  Pittsburgh may be my favorite to win the Super Bowl as of now.  I know Miami is coming off a big win against Green Bay, but nothing can prepare them for the beating they’re going to get from Team USA.  The United Steelers of America.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Harrison responds by trying to hit someone even harder than he did Masshisname?  Or his boy, Cribbs.  Pittsburgh big.

Cincinnati (+3.5) @ Atlanta

Chappy picks Atlanta (-3.5), Carson Palmer has been good at one thing this year, and that’s turning it over at the worst possible times, like in the redzone. Matt Ryan has been just as up and down, but his team is pulling out victories. For Palmer it doesn’t really matter who his receivers are when he’s throwing it to the opposing team. We might see Michael Turner re-emerge against the leagues 19th ranked rush defense. If Atlanta is for real, they need to beat this Bengals team convincingly, especially since they can’t really find their footing so far this year.

By picks Atlanta (-3). Atlanta ran into a road block last week in Philadelphia, but that doesn’t stop me from believing the Falcons are the top team in the NFC South.  I think we know what we’re getting from Matt Ryan, a star that’s just on the brink of stardom, but the inconsistencies of Michael Turner and the Falcons running game has to improve for Atlanta to be truly considered a threat to dethrone the Saints as champs.  The Bengals’ season has been filled with ups and downs, but surprisingly, there isn’t much controversy coming out Cincinnati considering who their star receivers are.  But, with that said, both Chad OchoCinco and Carson Palmer have performed mediocre at best, and for the Bengals to be competitive, their two main stays must step up their game.  I don’t see that happening at Atlanta this week, and I feel a three-point spread is too little.  Falcons by 13.

Washington (+3) @ Chicago

Chappy picks Washington (+3), I can’t really stand watching either of these teams play. I guess I kinda like McNabb, but after that not a whole lot of love for anyone else. The Bears are piling up the injuries on defense, and it looks like McNabb could take advantage of that in this one. After starting 3-0 the Bears are starting to look like who we originally thought they were, a crappy team. I sort of feel bad for Cutler these past few weeks. He gets pounded every time he drops back. The Bears gave up 35 sacks in 2009. So far they’ve given up 27 sacks in six games for 2010. With the defense struggling, and the offense moving backwards half the time, I’ll take the points and Washington in this one. Besides McNabb is from Chicago, so I’m sure he’ll get some home-made chunky soup to enhance his superpowers.

Buffalo (+13) @ Baltimore

Chappy picks Baltimore (-13), the Bills are probably the worst team in the league. They could threaten the Lions 0-16 record, and looking at their schedule they really only have three more chances to win playing Cleveland, Detroit, and I’ll throw in the Jets since they play them week 17 when they will likely be resting their starters. I wonder if there’s a reverse of the 72 Dolphins, where the Lions would pop the champagne when someone matches their record so they aren’t alone in being remembered as the worst teams of all time?

San Francisco @ Carolina +3

By picks San Francisco (-3). San Francisco is coming off their biggest win of the season, their only win.  I’m normally hard on the 49ers, and if it were any other opponent they were facing this weak aside from Carolina, I’d probably go with them.  But Carolina might be one of the worst teams in the NFL, if not “the” worse.  Not sure why John Fox elected to go back with Matt Moore at QB, he has shown he isn’t capable of driving a team down field.  I would have stuck with Jimmy Clausen and start his development process early.  Regardless of who Carolina throws behind center, they’re incapable of getting the job done, similar to the 49ers.  At least the 49ers have Frank Gore and a tremendous defense.  49ers cover, and go on a winning streak of two.

Oakland (+8.5) @ Denver

Chappy picks Oakland (+8.5), The Raiders have no passing game, the Broncos have no running game. Which one wins? Campbell threw for 87 yards and two interceptions last week against SF, and showed shades Jamarcus all game long. I’m not sure why I’m picking the Raiders when I’m certain Gradkowski isn’t going to be back in the lineup. As it is right now his shoulder is still too hurt to go. I think we’ll probably lose this week, but since we beat the Broncos last year in Denver with Jamarcus as our QB I feel like they can at least cover. Orton is somehow a top QB in the league right now, and with no running game hopefully the Raiders can get some pressure on him. This is my least confident pick of the week, but that being said, it’s probably the only game I’ll pick correct!

New York Giants (+3) @ Dallas

Chappy picks NYG (+3), How is a 1-4 team a three-point favorite over a 4-2 team? Tough question to answer… Wade Phillips might be coaching for his job, but that doesn’t mean they should be laying points? I think this is an easy pick the way the Giants have looked over the last few weeks. I thought they’d be a solid team this year, and they are finally showing that they are. I like their pass rush to disrupt anything that Romo gets going. When you’re pretty confident of a team winning outright, they you should definitely take the points!

Minnesota @ Green Bay -2.5

By picks Green Bay (-2.5). Brett Favre has had the worse luck in terms of the NFL probing on his “inappropriate s ext messages” going public.  He gets to go back to Green Bay now, where the Packers’ faithful should and will be heckling the crap out of him.  I expect some great signs at Lambeau.  With that said, the Vikings are not the same team they were last season, and despite Green Bay struggling as of late, the Packers should be more than capable of finally winning one in the Favre vs. Rodgers era.  I am concerned with one thing in this match up … Randy Moss.  It’s definitely going to be fun to watch Charles Woodson and Randy Moss go at it for four quarters, but Moss tends to have huge, huge games at Lambeau.  I still think the Packers have enough to win, and being that the spread is 2.5, I think the Pack by a field goal is fitting.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

October 16, 2010

Doin Lines Week 6

By chappy81

Yikes, this season isn’t going so well for me on these picks, but at least I didn’t get skunked two weeks in a row in the win column. If my picks were a team right now, I’d probably be the Bills. Unlike the Bills, I still have hope for this season, because it only takes a couple weeks to drastically turn it around. The Bills might need at least two years to turn things around in Buffalo…

Big week for me last week, as I finally showed some life, going 4/5 on my picks!  But of course, the better news was the San Francisco Giants reaching the NLCS for the first time in eight years!  Oh, and taking Troy Glaus out in the process!  Aside from watching the Giants on Saturday, then a whole bunch of football on Sunday, I also have my fantasy basketball draft on Sunday, so needless to say, I’m a tad bit excited for the weekend to come!  Until then, let’s do some lines, shall we!?!?

Week 5 (Chappy 2-4, By 4-1) Overall (Chappy 10-18-1, By 10-14-2)

Kansas City @ Houston (-5)

Chappy picks Kansas City +5, last Sunday morning I was handed the Chiefs and Colts game on TV, so I watched. It was a lot closer than the 19-9 final score indicated. The Chiefs played Manning tough at Lucas Oil, and seemed to frustrate him most of the game. Seeing how well they did against Peyton and Co. makes me feel like they could do the same against Houston with their third ranked defense. The Chiefs were a couple of Bowe drops away from winning or being in the game in the fourth quarter, unfortunately he forgot how to catch the ball even when he was wide open. The biggest question in my mind is can Cassel actually get over 200 yards passing? I think he can against one of the leagues worst pass defenses. They made Gradkowski look like a top QB when they played the Raiders so why not Cassel? The Texans only put up 10 points against the Giants, and looked pretty bad, so they should be fired up and ready.  Problem is they aren’t usually that good at home going 4-5 in their last 9, so I think the Chiefs will be close enough to cover.

By picks Houston (-5): It’s hard to choose between these two teams, I like them both, but if it’s one thing I know about picking games, it’s not to have an emotional investment involved with it.  With that said, a good 73% of my picks come with emotional attachments, so if I can’t take my own advice, then I deserve the record I have.  Before I drown you all with self pity and sorrow, let me tell you why I chose Houston.  Simply put, they’re better than their 3-2 record.  They’re definitely better than what they put forth last Sunday versus the Giants, and you have to feel confident they won’t put up back to back stinkers at home.  I need Matt Schaub to show up this week, or else my fantasy season is over in football.  Kansas City hung with the Colts in Indy last week, but primarily based on their defense and Peyton Manning just having one of those games.  Their offense isn’t putting up consistent points, which they’ll need this week against Houston.  I have a feeling Houston’s offense will finally break out this week and turn this thing into a track meet.

Baltimore @ New England (-3) Continue reading

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

October 7, 2010

Doin Lines Week 5

By chappy81

That football is doing some serious lines!

Looks like we both need to re-evaluate how we are making these picks. We got one right out of ten last week, setting the lowest week total of wins since I’ve started doing this. Just like New Orleans picked itself up after Hurricane Katrina, we will have to do the same. We just need to hope that this turnaround happens a little faster than the real life one. This losing streak is showing me that no matter how much you think you know going into a game, you don’t really know crap compared to those lines makers. Just like the Geek and Sammy we have proven that we are good a pickin losers so far. It can’t be this bad for the rest of the year can it!?! I doubt it, so on to the picks.

What is the writing equivalent to being so ashamed, that you can’t even show your face in public?  Would it be, being so ashamed that you wouldn’t want to let anyone read your words?  Because that is how I feel after three consecutive, embarrassing weeks of football picks.  If you fancy my words, or my humor, or perhaps lack there of, I appreciate your loyalty to me.  But please, I beg of you, please do not read my picks for … *gasp* my picks.  After going 1/5 last week, it absolutely dawned on me.  I suck at this.  I suck at this bad.  Do I give up?  No.  But I am not cruel enough to wish bad upon our readers, so I hope you all either run as far away as you can from my picks, or simply pick the opposite.  My picks should have yellow caution tape surrounding them.  With that said, here are this week’s losers …

Last Week (Chappy 0-5, By 1-4) Overall (Chappy 8-14-1, By 6-12-2)

Denver (+7) @ Baltimore Continue reading

14 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

September 29, 2010

Doin Lines Week 4

By chappy81

Lost in the Sunday sports shuffle I forgot fall was upon us. I was as excited about seeing the new “Eastbound and Down” series premiere as I was about the football games. There were a lot of shows just getting started, but this one was like watching the Raiders game for me. It didn’t disappoint, opening up with a messy cock fight, and ending with Kenny being left by his new Mexican homies, and returning to the mound. I’d recommend Eastbound and Down to any sportsfan, especially the ones that liked the movie Major League. Kenny Powers is basically a washed up Ricky Vaughn trying to remake himself into a star again. His mission is to convince himself, and everyone around him that he is still the best. There are classic lines every 2 minutes. Before we get to the real reason for the post, I’m wondering why didn’t I bet against every team that clinched a playoff spot yesterday, sans the Twins. They all lost, and hopefully typing this out will be a mental note to bet on those games after a team clinches a playoff spot in baseball. On to football, last week neither of us did well. I can’t get to .500, and By is going to have to have a helluva week to make up for this past one. Our results have me questioning if we can right the ship faster than the Raiders and 49ers!?! Hopefully so, or we could be in for a loooong season.

Well, I was absolutely destroyed last week.  I know I hit on 1/3 of my picks, but I don’t even want to look back at the two teams that came through for me.  Metaphorically speaking, last week was like eating a bad burrito that gave me the runs, now that it’s out of my system, I just want to forget about it.  I know it isn’t poetic, but it describes exactly how I feel.  But, as Jay-Z would say, “On To The Next One.”

Results for week 3 (Chap 3-3-0, By 2-4-0) Overall (Chap 8-9-1, By 5-8-2)

Denver @ Tennessee (-7)

By picks Tennessee (-7) Josh McDaniels was looking like a genius around this time last season, as his Broncos were undefeated and all the buzz.  Unfortunately they haven’t replicated the fast start in 2010, and heading into Week 4, things just got worse with the announcement of Knowshon Moreno missing his second straight game with a hamstring injury.  Kyle Orton has done a great job as the interim QB, but it hasn’t translated to wins.  Ultimately, Denver doesn’t have enough threats to compete with Tennessee.  For the Titans, Chris Johnson is a beast, we don’t have to get into it about him, what it all comes down to Vince Young.  If you throw away the Pittsburgh game, he’s done a good job directing the ship, and after dismantling the Giants in New York last week, I’ve seen enough from the Titans to feel confident in having them cover.

@ Pittsburgh (-1.5) vs. Baltimore Continue reading

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

September 23, 2010

Doin Lines Week 3

By chappy81
This week’s lines are brought to you by the legend Kenny Powers!

I can’t quite get to .500 on the season, and By fell just below .500 for the year. It’s always funny to see the games that you weren’t worried about go completely wrong, and the ones that you questioned picking, coming through without a hitch. I guess it just shows you how good those damn odds makers are, and just how much parody there is in the NFL, but they can be beat, and that shouldn’t be an excuse! Even if I’m more indecisive than all these head coaches are with picking a starting QB, it doesn’t mean that I can’t pick a winner, right?!? Now that I’ve completely lost you, I’m going to try to make this week’s picks without bias, ie. I’m not going to pick teams that I want to win! Rule number two for the week; if you see both of us pick the same team in the same game immediately pick the opposite way. We are 0-2 in games we both picked the same team; hopefully the odds will even us out soon.

Like Vernon Davis, I fell flat on my face on the guarantee to win ’em all.  I finished a dismal 1-2-2 last week, but honestly, I thought I came out better than that.  Philly was up big, and Oakland had St. Louis at home.  Those two should have been a lock to cover, but I check the final scores, and both teams let me down.  So this week I’m stepping my game up, not only more focused on spotting the winning lines, but I’m picking a career high six games!  So I’m giving you the quantity for sure, and perhaps … the … quality?  I guess we’ll find out come Sunday.  On to the picks!

Week 2 Results (Chap 3-3, By 1-2-2) Overall Results (Chap 5-6-1, By 4-4-1) Continue reading

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

September 15, 2010

Doin Lines Week 2

By chappy81

Week one didn’t go bad, but it didn’t go all that well either. I went a less than impressive (2-3-1), while By kept it mediocre with a 2-2 start. Now that we’ve seen a whole week of football action, we are experts and shouldn’t miss another pick for the rest of the year, right!?! I’m still shocked that By called that Texans game. I actually could see the Colts winning the next nine games without anyone noticing. I don’t buy TMQ’s argument that this is Armageddon because the Texans won, but do agree it would be hilarious if Houston ended up playing in the Super Bowl in Jerry Jones billion dollar stadium. Anyways, this should be another fun week, and I’m excited to win the money back that I lost in week one, so here are our picks for week 2!

What a roller coaster opening week for me.  I hit the ground running like a Chris Johnson breakaway, after my prediction of the Texans upsetting the Colts came true.  I began imagining myself hoisting up the “I Told You So” trophy after that one.  Unfortunately that image shattered immediately, as the Houston/Indy game didn’t equate to the biggest upset of the day.  The biggest upset of the day went to me.  Because I was so damn upset at my 49ers!  What a waste of one and a half hours of a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  As you can guess, I stopped watching midway through.  Anyway, to brighten up my mediocre week, let me just say, “How about ‘dem Cowboys, huh!?” I wanted to stay away from the Jets/Ravens game, but ultimately couldn’t resist.  I originally wanted to take KC over SD, but couldn’t pull the trigger on another significant upset.  Lesson learned, always go with the gut.  But like Chappy said, we learned everything I needed to know about all the teams after the first week, and ala Vernon Davis, I predict we win on all of our picks the rest of the way! Continue reading

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

September 8, 2010

Doin Lines Week 1

By chappy81

I’ve been impressed with the revival of Entourage this season. For the last couple of seasons, I thought the show was heading downhill, but this year they got Vinny on a drug binge, making bad choices, and dating a porn star. Excellent twist to what was getting to be a repetitive series. Speaking of things reviving themselves, and the true reason for this post, the NFL is bizzniizzzizzaacckk! This means that every team has hope again (including my Raiders and the overly optimistic prediction I made about them making it to the AFC Championship), but this also marks the beginning of gambling season, and the return of Doin Lines! Even if you aren’t betting on spreads, lets face it, there’s plenty of $10 bets thrown down on games amongst friends. I found myself enjoying keeping track of how I did against the spread last year, and ended the season doing surprisingly well considering I was way below .500 for awhile there, and had pondered giving up posting my picks out of sheer embarrassment. My comeback was strong, and ending 49-45-3 on the season, which made me want to see how I could do in my second year of keeping track. At points during the season, I was much more into making these picks correctly than keeping track of my fantasy teams. Not to say that I didn’t care about fantasy, but of all the fantasy seasons, football is the least attractive to me. It’s too much of a crapshoot, and everyone talks endlessly about their “squad”, which is more of a turnoff than a girl with a butterface. Instead of picking ALL of the games, we decided to each pick the top six or so games that we believe are either mortal locks, or very watchable. I did say “we” right!?! Well, this season, By has decided to join me on the adventure of posting picks, so I don’t feel like such an addict doing all these lines by myself! By also had a couple quick thoughts before we get started.

Before I reveal my picks, I must say I’m excited to hear that Entourage is back on the radar in terms of “must see” programs.  There was a point in my life where I looked forward to watching Entourage as much as I looked forward to watching a football game on Sunday, but then it slipped.  But from what Chappy just wrote, and from what friends have mentioned, Vinny addicted to hard drugs, Sasha Grey,  plus the return of Carla Gugino (who is one fine woman) equals the return of Entourage!  I have catching up to do …

Now, on to business … Continue reading

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 24, 2010

Revamped In The Right Areas: The Raiders Draft Came Out Pretty Good…

By chappy81

Match made in heaven? Sorry, you'll have to ask Rodger Lodge that one.

Wow, I never would have thought I’d say the Raiders had the best 2010 draft of their division, bus as I see it right now, we did! I wrote a week ago that I was scared as hell about what we’d do with our picks, because a lot of times, it isn’t always clear what Al was thinking or if he was really thinking at all. I’m not sure what happened in the draft room this year, but I have a gut feeling Mr. Burns let Cable give him some input into the picks. I mean, if Coach Cable is geeked to get a player, he must’ve had a hand in the decision. I have reserved high hopes this year. I could see them being the team that was good at the end of the year, or I could see them being terrible until it doesn’t matter and start winning then. Either way it feels like Cable does have a say in the teams decision making, unlike the past four or five coaches. Isn’t he the one that was highly against starting Jamarcus, and finally convinced Al to let him bench Russell. Cable knows how to reason with Al a little, and that is a rare thing, so I prey it keeps happening, so I can be excited about future drafts. Their best news is the guys we got wasn’t even the biggest news of the day. As Mceezy wrote about earlier. Who knows if any of these guys we drafted will work out, but I feel like we gave ourselves as good a chance at future success by picking some solid talent. Here’s how it all went down.

Pick #8 – Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama

I’ve heard a handful of people say they didn’t like the pick, but if picking him got Cable geeked, then he must see him as our defensive leader on the field. If you caught any of Bama’s games last year, he was the motor of that Championship defense, and seemed to be in the right places making the right plays more often than not. He was also in charge of all their audibles and led them to the 4th ranked defense in the nation. I’m glad we didn’t take Bruce Campbell like so many people were saying we would that might’ve set us up for the Robert Gallery version 2.0. Lando is a pretty safe bet to be good in the league, and he better be since we traded away Morrison to Jacksonville for a box of cracker jacks to move up a round in this years draft. I think we should’ve asked for more, but I like the receiver we got with the pick, which I’ll get to later.

Pick #44 – Lamarr Houston, DE, Texas

I wasn’t completely for this pick, but the more I thought about it the more I like it. The guy is durable, and can play in multiple spots on the line in the DT or DE spots. Weighing in at slightly over 300 pounds will make him a menace for any linemen to handle, especially since he does have speed, and one of those “motors” that Jaws is always talking about. Does that sound familiar to a guy we already have? Like say Richard Seymour. Seymour is the perfect guy to mentor him because he plays the same type of game that Houston does. It can’t hurt him to learn from the best in the business. This guy is good at stopping the run and paired with McClain it will be a much improved front line with a few less holes to run through. All in all, not a bad pick, he’ll look good in silver and black.

Pick #69 – Jared Veldheer, OT, Hillsdale Continue reading

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 17, 2010

Doin NBA Playoff Predictions

By chappy81

Yes, the playoffs are here, and whether your team made it or not probably changes your excitement level for the whole extravaganza. We are doing our second installment of predictions, we already put our baseball picks for the season up, and now it’s time predict how the NBA playoffs will play out. It’s about as competitive of a league as any I can remember,at least in the west, so this should be a great playoff run.

Western Conference Quarter Finals

By:  Dallas Mavericks in 6, Phoenix in 4, and Utah in 7, OKC Thunder in 6, what?  Yes, I said it.  Phil Jackson’s comments on Durantula was just the edge Durant needed to pull off the upset.  Kobe has not been himself from the second-half of the season going forward, and despite L.A. having a huge advantage in the paint, their Achilles heel has always been good point guards.  Russell Westbrook will give them fits.

Chappy: L.A. Lakers in 6, Dallas Mavericks in 7, Phoenix Suns in 5, Utah Jazz in 7 – It’s amazing how balanced the West is. Every team won 50 games, and it’s tough pick against anyone even the 8th seeded Thunder… The Suns got an easy draw playing the depleted Blazers. The best two series in the first round will be Dallas vs. SA, and Denver vs. Utah. I actually think that the Nuggets will win, but I want to try and jinx the Mormons…

MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 5, San Antonio Spurs in 7, Phoenix Suns in 6, Denver Nuggets in 7 – I like what’s going on with Phil Jackson and Kevin Durant, because a driven KD could push the series to the limit. The Mavs are stacked, but full of mismatched pieces; SA on the other hand has that familiarity as a unit that plays such a huge role in playoff series. Everyone’s writing off the Blazers without Roy, and rightfully so, but Portland is still good enough to keep it interesting. Denver having home court against Utah will make the difference, plain and simple.

Western Conference Semi-Finals

By: Utah in 6, and Phoenix in 7 –  I wouldn’t be surprised if Dallas defeats Phoenix though, as both teams are stacked.  I just like Steve Nash a lot, and so I chose Phoenix.

Chappy: LA Lakers in 6, Phoenix Suns in 7 – I’d be really happy if I was wrong and the Jazz upset the Lakers, and I fully believe it’s possible the way the Lakers played down the stretch, but still don’t see it happening. The Suns are my darkhorse this year. Since they decided to start playing a little defense, they’ve looked like champions. Is Amare playing for a new contract? Maybe, and if they get this far he may as well opt out of that last year on his contract, because he will get paid somewhere!

MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 6, Phoenix Suns in 6 – As much as I don’t want to agree with Chappy here, I don’t see it playing out any other way. The Lakers will be ready for the Nuggets this time, and now that Ron Artest is thrown into the mix, there’ll be so much emotional volatility on the floor that hijinx will certainly ensue. Phoenix vs. San Antonio is going to be a last man standing match. In the second round, I’m willing to bet injuries are going to be the deciding factor – and I’m betting it’ll be on the Spurs’ side. Steve Nash has to be thinking this is his last shot.

Western Conference Champions

Have you heard?!? Grant Hill still drinks Sprite!

By: Phoenix in 6, what!?!  Yes, finally Steve Nash gets the trip he deserves to the 2010 NBA Finals.  Too bad it’s as far as he gets this season 😦

Chappy: Phoenix Suns in 7 – I’m going to be completely wrong on this, but I’m really hoping that the 8 seconds or less pace of play can actually bring home a championship. I guess it’s the inner Warriors fan in me, that just wants to see it happen. Besides, who else in the league deserves a championship more than the most ridiculous man in the world. Nash will have more than one 20 assist game if they do make it this far. I bet he’d trade all those MVP awards in for one championship!

MCeezy: L.A. Lakers in 6 – I’d love to be wrong on this, but Phoenix vs. L.A. is one of those matchups where the former team is never going to get over the hump. If they’re going to, it will be the result of Nash having the series of a lifetime. Despite his multiple MVP awards, we don’t often mention his name in the same breath as the Kobes and Lebrons. This postseason will go a long way in defining his legacy. ….Assuming they do, in fact, make it this far.

Eastern Conference Quarter Finals

By: Cleveland in 4, Orlando in 6, Atlanta in 4 – (No Bogut out in Milwaukee), Miami (Yes Miami) over Boston in 6.  Dwayne Wade is playing at that level again, and we all know how he gets, when he’s at “that” level.

Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5, Orlando Magic in 7, Atlanta Hawks in 5, Miami Heat in 7 – I really want to pick Charlotte. Especially since SJax lead the W’s to a playoff upset of their own, but I think the Magic will be too much for them. Pierce will need to have a huge series if Boston has any hope. I’m hoping D-Wade is just too much and he takes over the series because nobody can guard him. Who knows, Sheed might even tip a few in for them. I’d love to see Lebron vs. Wade in the second round. The Hawks will take advantage of their deer in the headlights opponent.

MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5, Orlando Magic in 5, Atlanta Hawks in 6, Boston Celtics in 5 – Chicago always plays the Cavs close, but Cleveland is going to be too driven to let up against the Bulls. I’d love to have seen the Bobcats draw someone like the Cavs or Celtics, because then they could really embrace the underdog role and play inspired ball a la the 2007 Warriors. Instead, they’ll relax and subsequently get eliminated by Dwight Howard and Co. The Bucks are far from playoff tested, but they’ll find a way to steal a game or two from Atlanta. Everyone expects a long series from Boston and Miami, but Dwyane Wade is going to be held to 35ppg while the rest of the Heat are held in check.

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals

By: Cleveland in 7, Orlando in 6 –  I love Josh Smith so much, but he can’t match up against LeBron alone.  No one can, and as good as the Hawks are, LeBron is that much better.  Dwight Howard will ultimately be too much in the battle of Florida.

Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6, Atlanta in 7 – I REALLY like the Hawks this year, and hope they can put together a solid run in the playoffs. They along with the Magic are probably the most complete teams in the eastern conference. I’ll find it funny if my prediction works out, because the only real reason the Cavs got Shaq was to have someone to guard Dwight, and I don’t even have them in the conference championship!

MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6, Atlanta in 6 – These two series are nearly impossible to predict. You never know what you’re going to get with Boston, and you could say the same about Orlando, although they did dominate the season series against the Hawks. Some how, some way, though, you don’t see a whole lot of repeat series from year to year in the NBA. It’s amazing how we get new matchups each postseason. Instead of Cavs-Magic, it’ll be the Hawks’ turn to to stand on the brink of the NBA Finals.

Eastern Conference Champions

By: LeBron in 6 – The Cavs will exact revenge against everyone’s favorite pick in Orlando.  I know there are a lot of similarities in how Cleveland entered this season’s playoffs to last season’s, but the differences will be the turning point.  Shaq & Antawn.

Chappy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 – Atlanta might be a more complete team, but there’s just no way to knock Lebron out this year. He’s somehow better than last year, and will average a triple double in the series if that’s what it takes. If the Lakers get knocked out like I predicted, the NBA will force the refs to get the Cavs in the finals. Look for a poorly officiated series, and Lebron to finally get the cockiness that Jordan had. He’s already molding that arrogance if you haven’t noticed!

MCeezy: Cleveland Cavaliers in 5 – Just can’t see the Hawks hanging in a series this big. They will have flown under the radar to this point – first taking on the Bucks in front of 30,000 or so viewers. Then, their matchup with the Magic will play second fiddle to a Cavs-Celtics series. They’ll be thrust into the spotlight and forced to try to stop Lebron from getting to Kobe.

NBA Champions

Is this just an extension of Larry Johnson's Grandmama?

By: LeBron James. It’s simply his time.

Chappy: Phoenix Suns in 6 – I don’t really think they will win it all, but I’d love to see a winner come out that wasn’t Lebron or Kobe. I’d also like to see Lebron latch onto another team for next year, which would in turn make the current Cavs team into a 7th or 8th seed next season. Reiterating a previous point, I really would like to see the Suns win to prove that the Warriors playing the style can get it done in the playoffs. Plus, how can you root against Grant Hill and Nash getting a title!?!

MCeezy: Utah Jazz in 4 – How did we get here? you’re asking yourself. When was the last time I hit a 14 team parlay? Never. So why should I expect to predict correctly the first 14 series? Therefore, although the Jazz don’t get out of the first round in my scenario, I’m predicting that Jerry Sloan coaches his heart out to win that elusive NBA title and perhaps the respect of my grandfather, Roy, UT resident Jack Christensen; who adamantly maintains that Jerry Sloan has been the one thing holding the Jazz back all these years.

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

December 31, 2009

Doin Lines Week 17

By chappy81

I made it through my first published season here on Doin Work (minus one week when I was gone). I have to say that I’m pretty happy with the results considering I made myself pick a few here and there just because I knew they’d be on TV and interesting. I found that when I was a more avid gambler, I never really won or lost much, which probably wasn’t a bad thing! This season pretty much reflected that. I went (3-2-1) last week bringing my season record to (45-42-3). Unless this week goes terribly wrong, I should end the regular season above .500. I’m extra scared of this last week of the season, because you never know which playoff teams will rest guys. It’s almost like betting on pre-season games… Obviously the teams that need to win to get in are full throttle, but the teams that are already in and have a limited need to win this week are kind of scary. Kind of like wondering what the new year will bring tomorrow scary. As always the home teams are in bold.

Buffalo (+8) Over Indianapolis

Will Peyton pout on the sideline this week too?

Will Peyton be pouting on the sideline again this week?

With headliners at the franchise quarterback spot, we have a hall of fame duo of Fitzpatrick versus Painter. If you aren’t already extra excited about this one, you might be the type of person that needs to cancel their Antiques Roadshow on the DVR, so you can re-watch this epic battle over and over for weeks to come. I forsee this being a battle for which QB can keep his rating over 50! I know that the Bills have locked up last place in the AFC East, and the Colts have locked up the 1st seed in all of the AFC which might make some think it’s a meaningless game. I guess I’ll agree, but it DOES look like a good game to bet on. The Colts laid down for the Jets last week with a pissed off Peyton strolling the sidelines, so I think the Bills can cover this one. Speaking of the Jets, if they make it in the playoffs, they are the luckiest potential playoff team out there. They play the best team in the league (Colts), who rest guys, and then another playoff team (Bengals), that will likely rest up for their first round match up. Talk about a cake walk schedule at the end of the year against playoff teams! The Bills will be playing all their starters, and whether they play good or not it shouldn’t matter too much since they should easily beat the Colts 2nd team.

Texans (-8) Over New England

The Texans have a shot at making the playoffs for the first time in their franchise history (8 years). I figure they are going to give it everything they have, and pull out victory. They’ve been playing very well as of late, and have given themselves an opportunity to make some history for themselves. Andre Johnson has been nothing short of unstoppable, and pulling in over 450+ yards in the last three games has him atop the league leader board in receiving yards. The Patriots on the other hand, will be a guessing game on what Bellichick will do. He’s been very evasive on what his plan is with his players and their playing time. My guess is he doesn’t  play his starters for that long, and that would mean the Texans could put up huge points on a very weak 2nd defensive unit from New England. I see the Pats going into pre-season mode. If they rest Brady, Moss, and Welker for most of the game, this one shouldn’t be all that close as the Texans run the score up in their home finale.

San Francisco (-7) Over St. Louis

There is no game on the slate I feel more comfortable picking. The Niners desperately want to end the season 8-8. They had a few unlucky breaks this season that kept them from being within reach of a playoff spot, but Singletary won’t let them lay down for the final game of the year. He’s instilled a strong sense of pride, that this organization was lacking since Mariucci left. The Rams desperately want to lock up the #1 overall pick. Tanking this game would give them just that. It’s hard to pick the Rams in any situation, but here it would be plain ridiculous as they seemed to have taken the last seven weeks off after nabbing their sole win of the season. The only buzz in St. Louis is: What’s up with Holliday? Did the Cards sign him yet? The 49ers do have a lot of weapons aside from Frank Gore now. Crabtree and Davis are good complements to Gore, and have shown that they can efficiently work within the passing game. Problem for them is Alex Smith isn’t the answer at QB. I think even if they still only had Gore and Patrick Willis, they could cover the spread without breaking a sweat. Mark this as a lock on your gambling slate!

Chicago (-3) Detroit

Speaking of not messing with draft pick chances, why wouldn’t the Lions lay down for one more game to secure the #2 pick in next years’ draft? I tried to answer this question, and figured that since there isn’t one reasonable answer, this has to be a safe pick. The Bears pretty much sucked for most of the year, whether it was Cutler, injuries, or bad coaching they looked like cubs not bears more often than not. Cutler has a chance to hit 30 interceptions for the season if he can throw four this week, but I think they’ll end this year on a high note as much as I don’t want to see it. A two game winning streak might give them a little confidence going into next year. I’ve tried to look at any possible bright side for them to this season, and there aren’t many. Last week, when they looked pretty good against the Vikings most likely was, their brightest moment of the year. It also gave me hope that the Vikings could get knocked out of the playoffs sooner than later, and end all of the Favre talks for a few months, until he decides if he wants to keep playing! I could never see Detroit beating the Vikes, so the Bears must be halfway decent. This is my 2nd favorite pick of the week!

Oakland (+10.5) Over Baltimore

The Charlie Frye era in Oakland hasn’t been anything to write home about. I hope this era will mercifully end at the conclusion of this season. He played bad last week including 3 interceptions against a pretty bad Cleveland Browns team, but the Raiders play surprisingly better at home, and keep it close. Last season they ended Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes with an upset victory that had people hoping that Jamarcus had finally taken the next step. Sadly Raider Nation was given some false hope, and he regressed into oblivion. Frye did have a bright spot last week as he threw for 333 yards. If he can keep from throwing picks in the redzone, they should at least cover the spread. Hopefully they’ll come back with a heavy dose of Michael Bush, since he looks like their best running back. Baltimore’s playoff hopes hinge on a few things happening, but they need this win to get in. I think they might be watching what is happening in the other games more than the one they are in, and get upset. I’m not sure why, but I just don’t see why everybody likes Flacco so much. He’s more hot and cold than a bi-polar Texan without his gun. There’s always at least one WTF kind of upset game each week, and I’m predicting it will be this one!

Tennessee (-4.5) Over Seattle

The Titans played really bad against SD, or it could be that the Chargers ARE that good. I’m thinking that was the case, so there’s no reason not to pick them this week. I’m sure they’d love to end the year at 8-8 giving them plenty of hope for next season in the rejuvenated Vince Young era. Not relying on old man Collins to lead the way can only do wonders for this team. I see Chris Johnson getting his 128 rushing yards this week to get to 2,000 rushing yards on the season. I’m betting he will break a couple 50+ yard runs, that is unless, the endzone is too close when he breaks them! The Seahawks are a team that regresses each week, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that they’ll get blown out. Forsett still isn’t getting enough touches! When will this change? I guess not for this season, since they’ve all but mailed it in. Watching them play it’s amazing that they’ve even won 5 games this year. Julius Jones is not as good a play maker as Justin Forsett, get it right over there Jim Mora Jr.

Philadelphia (+3) Over Dallas

I’m not sure why, but lately I’ve become somewhat of an Eagles fan. Maybe it’s because they are on Fox every week or it might have something to do with one of my favorite college players (Desean Jackson) coming into his own in Philly. He’s been making a huge difference every time he gets the ball. Mcnabb looks like he’s moving into the been there done that mode, which he has, and has to be pretty comfortable playing that role by now. He also looks like he loves his latest crop of offensive weapons that he’s been given. Celek has even been making huge strides, and even though Mcnabb couldn’t quite make good on his promise of getting him into the pro bowl, Celek still had a great season either way. I keep waiting for Dallas to fall apart at the hinges, but it keeps not happening! It’s that empty feeling of hoping that your getting something for Xmas, but in the end you don’t get it. That’s how I feel every time I watch the Cowboys hoping for a loss. Maybe it’s more rooting for Romo to fail. Maybe it’s disliking Jerry Jones. It’s just fun to them fail I guess. I’m sure both these teams will be playing everybody, so if they happen to meet in the playoffs they will have home field over the other team. Let’s hope Romo fumbles another field goal attempt!

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

November 5, 2009

Doin Lines Week 9

By chappy81

Rachel_Watson Bucs Cheerleader

Last week was good to get out of the way! The teams that had been covering all season (Indy and New Orleans) finally let me down. Oh well, I’m sure they could care less that their undefeated streak vs. the spread was broken. I had a really hard time last week flip flopping on my choices all the way up to game day, and this week looks like I might be having more tough decisions again. I went 2-4 and now am 20-22-1 on the year. You know how there are people that smell so bad that you can almost taste their awfulness? That tasty smell are the teams that have a week 9 bye; Oakland, Cleveland, Buffalo and St. Louis. What makes this week even more interesting is that there are a lot of 10+ point spreads with the mentioned teams sitting it out! I guess that shows you the parity in the league this season. As usual the home teams are in bold.

Cincinnati (+3) Over Baltimore

Carson Palmer Chad Ochocinco

Carson's been with Chad long enough to understand him... Or not!

The cardiac cats always seem to be in very tight games whether they end up pulling out the W or having a heartbreaker. Baltimore played an inspired game last week blowing out the Broncos and showed that they are still the force that many people put as the best team in the league early on. Baltimore seems to have a hard time putting in efforts like that in back to back weeks, so I see this being a close one. Cincy showed some promising flashbacks from that very explosive offense they had a couple of years ago. I don’t see Palmer and Benson having that same kind of success they had against the Bears, because this Ravens unit is better. It does look like their offense is rejuvenated, and with the presence of a running game they can move the ball late to tire out the elders on the Baltimore D. Since the Bengals are at home it’s tough for me not to take the points, especially since I could see them winning outright!

Atlanta (-10) Over Washington

roddy white catchWashington 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.

Announcers talking about Brett Favre on Minnesota’s Bye Week (-50) Over the amount of coverage the Rams receive for the rest of the season.

I mean this line is self explanatory, but I would seriously bet on this!  This would be exclude plays and mentions of the Rams defense getting shredded against a good team!

Green Bay (-10) Over Tampa Bay

Ah, we move onto the only team left that still could match the Lions amazing winless record. The Bucs haven’t really shown that they even want to be out there on Sundays, and especially don’t show up against any team that is deemed competent. I wonder if you’ll be able to hear Packers fans in the stands since there’s no way this one will be sold out. Tampa does have an amazing crop of cheerleaders though, so fortunately Rachel won’t be the only one we see this season! It could very well be a fantasy firework show from Aaron Rodgers who has put up big numbers against some of the best of defenses in the league, and going up against one of the worst I foresee a 5 TD day. I bet the Packers D might even out score the Bucs in this one.

New Orleans (-13) Over Carolina

Darren Sharper interceptionI 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.

San Francisco (-4) Over Tennessee

I don’t really like this pick that much, but since the Niners held Indy in check I don’t see any reason that they can’t take the Titans down during their miserable season. The SF offense has looked a little better as of late with Alex Smith taking over. The emergence of Crabtree last weekend coupled with Vernon Davis’s breakout year it has to mean only better things are in store for them! Having some threats will even open up some more room for Frank Gore to run, and maybe give him a little less wear and tear so he can stay in the lineup. Tennessee has officially fallen into the crappy team section, which confirmed my preseason thought that they were a fluke last year. A Kerry Collins led team is never the way to go! They finally figured that out and threw Vince in there, but it doesn’t seem to matter at this point. The only thing exciting about them is Chris Johnson.

Philadelphia (-3) Over Dallas

Frank Drebin Naked GunThis 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. Frank Drebin, I mean Wade Phillips is lucky anytime they are successful. He doesn’t put them in good positions to succeed, but just gets plain lucky. On the other side Philly looks about as good as they ever have. Team chunky soup was supposed to be explosive because of Westbrook and Vick, and Brian has been in and out and Vick is ineffective thus far. The good news is they haven’t needed them as they have weapons all over the field, in Desean, Maclin, and McCoy. Mcnabb is always on the verge of Romo type stinker game too, but it usually comes on the heals of an injury opposed to randomly popping up, except that Oakland one he got a pass since the offensive line forgot they were blocking that day.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

October 22, 2009

Doin Lines Week 7

By chappy81

My favorite Rams Cheerleader

Kate is my favorite Rams Cheerleader

Hmm, maybe I’m not cut out to do this anymore for our blog. It seems like my record is going downhill faster than Southern California is getting pushed out of the playoffs. After going 2-4 last week, I’m under .500 for the first time on the season at 14-16. I missed three games by 2 or less points last week which really hurt, and made me realize once again that Vegas is way too good at making these lines! I guess it always goes in waves with football, so good news is I’m due for a winning weekend after two miserable ones. Anyways, here are my week 7 picks, and as always the home teams are in bold.

Indianapolis (-13) Over St. Louis

Hmmm, REAL tough one here! I think I’d give early MVP Peyton after a bye week 21 points over the Rams. I don’t think the Colts will overlook the Rams, the way the formerly undefeated Eagles overlooked the Raiders last weekend. It’s nearly impossible for teams to compete with the Colts when they have two weeks to prepare, so this should be a massacre. I doubt this game will be worth watching, but it’ll sure be worth betting on! If the Rams weren’t close to the league lead in penalties, I might give them a small shot to cover, but as of now I’m putting this one down as my lock of the week. On a side note, if you’re wondering why there’s a beautiful lady at the top the last two weeks, I’ve run out of interesting pictures of chalk lines, so I’ll be picking a hot cheerleader/fan of the losing team in my favorite pick of the week. So in case you were looking for something positive about Rams, at least there’s Kate…

I'd really like to see Cribbs on a good team.

I'd really like to see Cribbs on a good team.

Green Bay (-7) Over Cleveland

I won’t make the same mistake twice of underestimating the Green Bay offense against a crappy team, and the Browns are just that. Last weekend made me realize that the Packers are at least organized enough to destroy the lower class of the league. This has the same set up as last weeks Lions matchup, and unless the Browns get a few kickoff returns from Cribbs they might not even get on the scoreboard. If I were Cleveland, I’d lock Joshua up since he seems to be the only thing right about the Browns these days. Anyways, I think Aaron Rodgers will keep fantasy owners, Green Bay fans, and gamblers happy with a big game similar to last week. This unfortunately is another unwatchable game on the weekend slate, and it looks like were already going to go three for three on the snore-a-meter with my next pick.

New England (-14.5) Over Tampa Bay (London)

Brady finally put up those video game numbers that we’ve been waiting all season for.

Brendan Frasor's best role all-time

Brendan Frasor's best all-time role

It’s pretty obvious he wasn’t missing those deep routes with Randy this weekend, so I look for that connection to finally start getting some consistency that we once saw. The only thing that makes me hesitate picking the Pats in this one is that last years game in London, the field was a total mess, and produced a very low scoring snoozefest. I haven’t really read up on whether or not they’ve made adjustments to the field to handle this game, but you have to figure it’s at least improved. With Tampa giving up as many points as the other team wants to score, it’s impossible not to pick the Pats here. The Bucs are about as well rounded as Brendan Fraser in the beginning of Encino man. If it wasn’t in London, this might very well be blacked out.

San Francisco (+3) Over Houston

I guess I jumped on the San Francisco bandwagon sometime early this year, and can’t seem to get off. They’re 4-1 vs. the spread, so you have to take the points when they’re given to you. The bye week came at a perfect time for them as they came off a loss that they really didn’t show up for. I look for them to bounce back in the same way Atlanta did against them after their bye week. I’m sure Singletary had them working out extra hard on their so called break. It’s also the first time we’ll see Crabtree on the field. Whether he makes a difference or is even on the field much remains to be seen, but they did open up a roster spot for him this week. Either way it’s just nice knowing that Hammer is on his side, and is ready to help show him the path to blowing boatloads of cash quick! I’m not quite sure I understand the Texans this year. They lose to Jacksonville and Arizona, but beat Cincy and NY Jets. They are about as up and down my picks this season, and only play well every other week, I like this as their off week, and losing to the 49ers outright.

Oakland (+6) Over NY Jets

Mark Sanchez Mexican JetsAh, 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.

Matt Ryan Throwing FalconsAtlanta (+4) Over Dallas

HOTlanta has been impressive this year, and I feel are being slightly under rated by the line makers this weekend by giving Dallas more than a FG for their home field advantage. The Falcons only subpar performance of the season was against the Patriots, and since that stumble they’ve been rolling. Their defense is better than I thought it would be this year, and is carrying them nearly as much as their highly touted offense. I see them putting up some big numbers against an over rated Dallas team. Wade Phillips will sink this ship sooner rather than later, so brace yourself for a possible losing season in Dallas. I think having Wade as the coach automatically discounts whatever benefits that a bye week has for a team. I mean they barely escaped an awful Kansas City team, and they’re getting four points against a better team!?! I guess that’s what happens if you’re a hometeam in your billion dollar supermall stadium. I guess a lot of fans in Texas are betting on their team, and raising that line.

New Orleans (-6.5) Over Miami

As much as I boasted about New Orleans in my best of the undefeated teams post, I’m a little concerned about giving up 7 points to a road team. Yes they beat down the Giants in their friendly confides, but this team has to have a let down at some point this season. Miami can control the clock for long periods of time, and is bound to have a few new wildcat variations in store for this weekend coming off a bye week. I’d be a little higher on Miami and their two game winning streak if they had beat teams that were close to New Orleans caliber. The Jets win was impressive, but if I’m going to pick the Raiders to cover in that one, I have to pick the team I dubbed the best in the league. The Dolphins defense is an aging one, and Brees will outsmart them whether it’s checking to a run or bombing it down field.

13 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports