NFL WEEK 11 Picks

So much has happened this week in NFL, I don’t know where to

begin. The Colts lost their 2nd

straight game and DT Dwight Freeney who is out for the season.

Vikes’ RB, Adrian Peterson, has a torn

lateral collateral ligament in his right knee and will probably miss this

Sunday’s game. And now, the NFL has

reinstated RB Ricky Williams. He

will rejoin the Miami Dolphins next Monday when they begin practice for their

Nov. 26 match-up against the Steelers.

Why? Why is it, the NFL keeps giving this guy chances? The only reason he plays football is because

you can’t get paid to smoke weed all day.

Does the NFL not realize that the more he plays, the more he gets

paid? The more he gets paid, the more

weed he buys. The more weed he buys, the

higher he gets. The higher he gets, the

chances of him getting suspended again are greater. The vicious cycle continues with another reinstatement.

The NFL is ready to suspend

Broncos’ RB, Travis Henry, for 4 games because marijuana was found in his

system, yet you reinstate Ricky “Smoke Dogg” Williams. Nice job in keeping the image of the NFL

clean. I’ve got an idea, why don’t you

reinstate Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, and he and Ricky can do a United Way commercial explaining the

importance of saving your money for a “rainy day” and planting “trees” in the

community. What a joke.

1pm games:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-4) vs. Atlanta Falcons (3-6)

Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA

The Falcons have won 2 games straight with QB Joey

Hamilton leading the charge. Now, Byron

Leftwich is healthy and may start this Sunday against the Bucs. Bad move.

Hamilton is not the greatest of QBs, but he’s the Falcons’ hot hand. He’s won 2 straight for the Falcons and the

running game is looking alive. Head

Coach, Bobby Petrino, needs to stick to what he has been doing on

offense for this Sunday’s game and try to test the Bucs defense.

The Bucs have the 6th ranked defense in

the league while the Falcons have the 27th ranked offense. Since the running game is working, the

Falcons need to stick with it and wear down the Bucs defense so that they can

make some big plays. The Falcons also

need to contain Bucs’ QB Jeff Garcia and disrupt as many plays as

possible on offense.

The Bucs WRs need to get in the heads of the

Falcons’ Secondary and set the tone for the Bucs offense. That’s the key match-up for this game. It’s going to be interesting to see the how

the Bucs’ WRs match-up against the Falcons’ DBs. The Bucs have the 16th ranked passing offense while

the Falcons are tied for 10th in pass defense. With the better defense and the better QB,

it looks as though the Falcons may be back to their losing ways.

My Pick: Buccaneers

Arizona Cardinals (4-5) vs. Cincinnati

Bengals (3-6)

Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati,

The Cards defense

stepped up in last week’s win against the Lions. The Cards defense held the Lions to -18 rushing yards for the

game. That’s making a statement. The Bengals defense also looked alive last

Sunday against the Bills with a win.

Now both of these teams need to carry that same attitude into this

Sunday’s game.

The Cards defense is

tied with the Falcons as the 10th ranked defense against the

pass. The Bengals are the 5th

ranked passing offense in the league.

That’s the match-up right their.

With WR Chris Henry back with the Bengals, the WR trio of Henry, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Chad Johnson is lethal against

any defense.

With the Cards

forcing the 9 turnovers against the Lion and the Bengals forcing 6 turnovers

against the Bills, the defensive pressure should be in effect this Sunday. The Cards need to put pressure on QB Carson

Palmer and throw off the Bengals offense while the Bengals need to do same

thing to Cards QB Kurt Warner.

The Cards have the

better defense overall and with the Bengals run game still trying to find

itself, it’s looks as though the Cards will get to .500 this Sunday.

My Pick: Cardinals

NY Giants (6-3) vs. Detroit Lions (6-3)

Location: Ford Field, Detroit, MI

Both teams are 6-3 and are in the middle of a playoff

push. Whoever wins this game, will be

in the driver’s seat for 1 of the 2 NFC Wild Card spots. The Lions have surprised everyone with their

explosive offense and the Giants defense has been reminiscent of the old Bill

Parcells’s defense of the late 80’s an early 90’s.

As mentioned in the previous 2 picks, this is another good

match-up of WRs vs. DBs. The Lions are

the leagues’ 9th ranked passing offense while the Giants are the

leagues 9th ranked passing defense.

The Giants have the edge due to their 9th best rushing

defense in the league while the Lions are ranked 29th in rushing the

ball.

Even with RB Kevin Jones slowly getting his groove

back in running the ball, the Lions will still have to rely on their passing

game. Hopefully the Lions paid

attention to the Giants’ Secondary in last Sunday’s game and noticed how the

Cowboys took advantage of the Giants’ DBs in the 2nd half. The Giants still have the better D-line and

that will allow them to shut down the run and focus on stopping the pass. Let’s just hope the past doesn’t catch-up

with the Giants and they can finish the 2nd half of the season on a

high note and not fumble it away like they’ve done in season’s past.

My Pick: Giants

Carolina Panthers

(4-5) vs. Green Bay Packers (8-1)

Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI

Thankfully

this is a 1pm game. That way all of the

elderly people can stay up and watch 2 old men play QB in this match-up. Vinny

Testaverde will get the start for the Panthers this Sunday against Brett Farve and the Packers. You know the game ball will smell like Icy Hot and Ben Gay by the end of the game.

The

Panthers’ defense used to be a force to reckon with. Now injuries have decimated this team and it looks as though

things aren’t looking any better. The

Packers are on fire and they have found a running game in RB Ryan Grant. In the 3 games since their

Week 7 bye, he’s averaging 22 carries for 97 yards with 4.1 yards per carry and

1 touchdown. Not bad at all. But the Packers are ranked last in the

league in rushing defense and the Panthers have the 18th ranked

rushing defense in the league. Mr. Grant

will have a challenge ahead of him this Sunday.

Since

the running game isn’t the greatest for the Packers, the Panthers have to stop

Farve and the passing game. The Packers are ranked 10th in total

defense while the Panthers are ranked 28th in total offense. With

the better defense and the better QB playing, the Packers have the edge.

My Pick: Packers

Kansas

City Chiefs
(4-5) vs. Indianapolis Colts (7-2)

Location: RCA Dome, Indianapolis, IN

With a

rash of injuries, the Colts look to be in dire straits before season ends. Will they make the playoffs? Yes.

Will they have a bye in the first round? Not if they keep losing.

If the playoffs started today, the Colts would have a 1st

round playoff game against the Chargers.

What a difference 2 weeks can make.

The Chiefs also lost 2 games in a row as well, but with the AFC West

being as week as it is, they still have a chance to win it. They control their own destiny.

The

Colts will need some one other than Safety Bob

Sanders to step up for the defense.

Hence, recently signed DE Simeon

Rice, who was a solid pick-up for the Colt this week. The Colts are the leagues’

3rd best defense and with the addition of Rice, the rich get

richer. He will definitely be a

major contributor to the Colts defense and will fill the hole that was left by

Freeney due to injury.

The

Chiefs will start Brody Croyle this Sunday at QB. Hopefully he will give the Chiefs’ offense a

spark. TE Dallas Clark is good

to go this Sunday, but WR Marvin Harrison is questionable. Even with out Harrison, the Colts will still

move the ball with the other weapons they have on offense. And as long as Manning is leading the

charge, it may be a long day for the fans at Arrowhead.My Pick: The Colts

Oakland Raiders (2-7) vs. Minnesota Vikings (3-6)

Location: Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

Raiders’

QB Daunte Culpepper faced of against 1 of his old teams earlier this

year when the Raiders beat the Dolphins back in Week 4. Can he do the same against the team who

drafted him? Yes. The Vikes have the leagues’29th

ranked defense while the Raiders are ranked 17th. With rookie RB Adrian Peterson out of this

Sunday’s game with an injury, Chester Taylor will get the start. The Raiders have a solid defense, but their

offense is week. Don’t be surprised if JaMarcus Russell comes into Sunday’s game if Culpepper starts to

struggle.

With

their running game injured, weakness at the WR spot, and a revolving door of

QBs this season; the Vikes are struggling to put the pieces together. There are too many issues on the offensive side

of the ball for this game that gives the Vikes a chance. Look for the Raiders’ defense to attack the

line and put pressure on Tavares

Jackson. With the Raiders having the leagues 4th

best pass defense and the Vikes having the leagues 31st ranked passing

offense, the Vikes may as well add another “L” to the loss column.

Pick: Raiders

Miami Dolphins (0-9) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (4-5)

Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA

The

Dolphins need to try their best to attack the Eagles from the start. They need to try and set the tone on

defense. Come at the Eagles with

everything they got and play this game as if it was their last. It’s going to be a task considering that the

Eagles offense can be very explosive when they put their minds to it.

Donovan

McNabb’s knee is

getting better and although he didn’t practice for 2 days with a knee injury, Andy

Reid expects RB Brian Westbrook to play this Sunday. The Dolphins have decided to start Rookie QB

John Beck this Sunday.

Despite having a 4-5 record, the Eagles have the 7th ranked

defense in the league. Talk about

throwing this kid into the Lion’s den. The Eagles have too many weapons for the struggling Dolphins on

both sides of the ball and it’s going to take a miracle for Beck and the

Dolphins to pull out a win this Sunday.

Pick: Eagles

Game of the Week: San Diego Chargers (5-4)

vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

(6-3)

Location: ALLTEL Stadium, Jacksonville, FL

The

Chargers had a good win last week against the Colts in the Sunday Night game

while the Jags defense and ball control helped beat the Titans. Both teams are in the thick of the playoff

hunt and this game has a playoff feel to it.

The

Chargers have the lead in the AFC West while the Jags are 1 game behind the

Colts. So there’s no need to get into

the importance of this game. The

Chargers made 1 fatal mistake last week against the Colts; they let their guard

down. They allowed the Colts to get

back into the game. They can’t allow

that to happen this late in the season, they have to go for the jugular from

the get go.

The spot

that hurts them the most is their passing game. The Chargers are ranked 25th in the league in passing

offense. Thankfully, the Jags have the

25th ranked passing defense.

QB Philip Rivers has been off his game this year in throwing the

ball. This may be the game where he

gets his rhythm back.

The Jags

need to run the ball against a weak Chargers rush defense. The Chargers are ranked 21st in

the league in defending the rush and the Jags have two solid RBs in Fred

Taylor and Maurice Jones- Drew.

The Jags have the leagues 3rd best rush offense with those

two leading the way. With the Chargers

D-line beat up, the Jags chances to win this Sunday is very strong.

Pick: Jags

Cleveland Browns (5-4) vs. Baltimore Ravens

(4-5)

M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore,

The Ravens have always depended on their defense to

come through for them to win games.

Well, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Although the Ravens have the 5th

best defense in the league, their offense is in shambles. The Ravens have the leagues’ 23rd

ranked offense. With confusion at the

QB position and a head coach who is as egomaniacal as Megatron, it looks as though there may be some

changes in Baltimore at the end of the season.

Kyle Boller will

get the start this Sunday. He didn’t start in the Week 4 match-up against the

Browns. The Browns won that game

27-13. The Browns are playing good,

solid, fundamental football on the offensive side of the ball. The Browns have the 10th best

passing offense in the league. The Ravens have the 13th best pass

defense in the league. The Browns have

to do the same thing they did in this game that they did in the first match-up,

attack the Ravens from the air. The

Browns had 202 passing yards in the last match-up and with Kellen Winslow, JR and Braylon Edwards having

a good year; look for the Browns to use the same formula again.

The Ravens need to grind it out on the ground with

RB Willis McGahee and their run game. The Browns are ranked 28th in

rush defense. If they can establish the

run game, they can wear down the Browns defense and got to the big plays in the

air. But the Browns like a “shoot-out”

and with Boller as the starter, there’s not enough ammo for the Ravens to hang

with the Browns.

My Pick: Browns

New Orleans Saints (4-5)

vs. Houston Texans (4-5)

Location:

Reliant

Stadium, Houston, TX

The

Saints started out cold, then got hot, and then lost to the Rams last

Sunday. The Texans started out hot,

then got cold, and then beat the Raiders 2 weeks ago before their bye. The Texans have the 18th best

defense in the league while the Saints have the 6th best

offense. Let’s be clear, the Saints

can move the ball. Reggie Bush

has stepped up his games as the main RB for the Saints and Drew Brees is

throwing the ball very well. The Saints

need to continue to use a solid mix of run and pass to catch the Texans defense

off guard for big plays.

The

Texans need to attack the ball. They

need to go after anybody and everybody who has the ball in their hands. It doesn’t matter if it’s the ref, they need

to let their defense do the talking in this game and shut the Saints offense

down early in the game. If the Saints

get the win, they’ll be .500 and right in the middle of the NFC South

race. It looks as though the speed and

ability of the Saints offense is too much for the Texans defense.

Pick: Saints

4pm games:

The “I Could Care Less” Game of the

Week:

Pittsburgh

Steelers (7-2) vs. NY Jets (1-8)

Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford,

The

Steelers are ranked #1 in every

defensive category in the league. The

Jets lead the league in having the most fans leaving by halftime due to their

poor play. The Jets are already out of

the playoffs, so this is a good time for the Jets and Head Coach Eric Mangini to start some of

the young guys on the team and give them some real playing experince.

If the Jets can try to establish the run on offense and attack the

Steeler’s O-line , they have a chance to win this Sunday. The Steelers have too much on both sides on

the ball for the Jets to handle and it looks as though the Jets’ will have a

long day in the Meadowlands.

Pick: Steelers

Washington Redskins

(5-4) vs. Dallas Cowboys (8-1)

Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, TX

The Cowboys have pretty much set the tone for the NFC and it

looks as though everyone else in the NFC has to play catch-up to get within 10

feet of the Cowboys. Their offense has

been on point all season long and their defense is getting stronger each

week. They have the 2nd best

offense in the league and the 7th best defense in the league.

What’s even more impressive is that the team is more relaxed

than last year’s team. But if you get

to relax, mistakes will happen. The

Cowboys have to avoid making the penalties they made last week against the

Giants and keep their heads in the game.

The Redskins have to find a way to shut down the Cowboys

WRs. The Redskins are ranked 22nd

in the league against the pass while the Cowboys have the 3rd best

passing offense in the league. With

Safety Sean Taylor out with an injured knee, the Redskins ass defense is

in for a world of trouble against the Cowboys WRs.

Pick: Cowboys

St. Louis Rams (1-8) vs. San Francisco 49ers (2-7)

Location: Monster Park, San Francisco, CA

Whoever

is calling this game on Fox should be placed on “suicide watch” because this

game is going to be brutal. Both of

these teams are plagued with injury, both teams have holes throughout their

offensive and defensive lines and both teams are in the basement of the NFC

West.

The

49ers looked awful in the Monday Night game and as long as the O-line keeps

breaking down and won’t protect the QB, the 49ers will continue to look

awful. QB Alex Smith told the

media that he’s still bothered by the shoulder injury he suffered earlier in

year. That means Trent Dilfer

will get the start at QB for the 49ers this weekend. Too bad the Rams defense will be all over Dilfer like a cheap

suit this Sunday.

The Rams

offense is starting to get it together.

With the 49ers having the 21st ranked passing defense in the

league, look for the “Greatest Show on Turf” to live up to that claim

this Sunday in San Fran.

Pick: Rams

Chicago Bears (4-5) vs. Seattle

Seahawks (5-4)

Location: Qwest Field, Seattle, WA

The

Seahawks have sole possession of 1st place in the NFC West after the

beating they put down on the 49ers. The

Bears had a good game from Rex Grossman last week against the Raiders

for the win. Wait a minute; did I just

say Rex Grossman? Yes sir. Grossman came in for Brian Griese in

last week’s game when he injured his shoulder with 2:00 minutes left to play in

the first half. It looks as though

Groosman will be the starter while Griese heals.

The

Seahawks defense has played well this season.

The Seahawks have the 11th ranked defense in the league and

they are taking on the 24th ranked offense in the league. The Bears need to get the running game

involved in the offense to have a chance against the Seahawks. The Seahawks have a choice between ground

and air to use against the Bears. The

Bears have the leagues 21st ranked defense this year. With all of the injuries that have taken

place on the Bears’ defense this year, it looks as though the Seahawks will

walk away the winners in this game.

Pick: Seahawks

Sunday Night Game:

New England Patriots (9-0) vs. Buffalo Bills (5-4)

Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo, NY

The

Bills have been playing good football this season and are in 2nd

place in the AFC North. They are

placing their bid for 1 of the playoff spots.

Watching the Bills, you have to admire their “never give up” attitude. When you look back at their Week 5 match-up

against the Cowboys, the Bills hung in there with the Cowboys until the very

end. You can teach “heart”, you have to

be born with it. This year Bills have a

lot of heart and it will show this Sunday Night against the Pats and Ralph

Wilson Stadium.

If the

Bills can find a way to get to QB Tom Brady and shut down the passing

game, they have a good chance to win.

They also have to protect the QB and give him time to get the ball out.

RB Marshawn Lynch is out with an ankle injury, so look for the Bills to

try and air it out on offense.

The Pats

just have to keep doing what they’ve been doing. What do you expect me to say about a team that’s undefeated? They’re already doing whatever I would have

suggested. Let’s move on.

Pick: Patriots

Monday Night Game:

Tennessee Titans (6-3) vs. Denver Broncos (4-5)

Location: Invesco Field, Denver, CO

The

Broncos are a much better team than what their record suggests. They’ve been known to make RBs out of

anybody. RB Selvin Young is

emerging to be a top RB in the league and will do so if he stays in

Denver. Too bad they’re going up

against the 2nd best defense in the league.

The