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THE WEEKLY BLITZ
Our FREE NFL picks versus the spread are purely for entertainment purposes only.  But, let's face it, being right (winning) is more fun than being wrong (losing).
 
Every week, the three "handicappers" at The Weekly Blitz will pick their three best NFL games against the spread (ATS).

Final results: Through Week 17, we have a combined record of 84-56-13 (60.0 percent) ATS.

  See also:
- Weekly Fantasy Football Rankings: QB - RB - WR - TE
- NFL Schedule - Tickets - CFB Schedule - Tickets
- 2012 Mock Draft Databases: NFL - NBA
- Our NFL Consensus Power Rankings
 
DAILY WEEK 14 LINES FROM SPORTSBOOK.COM
 
SUMMARY OF PICKS BY CONTRIBUTORS
Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
  Picks are for entertainment purposes only.
Picks and spreads are as of Saturday, December 10th at 1:17 p.m. ET
  Lines used are always as of the time the pick was made.
Date/Time (ET)
Favorite
Spread
Underdog
    Kevin
Dan
Sean
Thu, Dec 8 at 8:20 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers 14, Cleveland Browns 3
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
RAVENS
16.5
Colts
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
BENGALS
3.0
Texans
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
JETS
10.5
Chiefs
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
LIONS
10.0
Vikings
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
Saints
3.5
TITANS
        NO -3.5
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
DOLPHINS
3.0
Eagles
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
Patriots
8.0
REDSKINS
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
Falcons
3.0
PANTHERS
      ATL -3
 
Sun, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m.
Buccaneers
3.0
JAGUARS
         
Sun, Dec 11 at 4:05 p.m.
49ers
4.0
CARDINALS
    SF -4
SF -4
 
Sun, Dec 11 at 4:05 p.m.
BRONCOS
3.5
Bears
        CHI +3.5
Sun, Dec 11 at 4:15 p.m.
PACKERS
12.0
Raiders
        OAK +12
Sun, Dec 11 at 4:15 p.m.
CHARGERS
7.0
Bills
    SD -7
   
Sun, Dec 11 at 8:30 p.m.
COWBOYS
4.0
Giants
    NYG +4
NYG +4
 
Mon, Dec 12 at 8:35 p.m.
SEAHAWKS
10.0
Rams
         
       
 
Sports betting at Sportsbook.com
 
CONTRIBUTOR
  GAME 1
  GAME 2
  GAME 3
Kevin
2011 Record: 33-14-4 (70.2%)
  Bills at Chargers (-7)
  Giants at Cowboys (-4)
  49ers (-4) at Cardinals
  Chargers -7
  Giants +4
  49ers -4
  The recent success of the San Diego Chargers
in the month of December has been widely
publicized.  With quarterback Philip Rivers
under center, San Diego is 21-3 in December
(and 3-0 in January during the regular
season).  Against a depleted Jaguars
secondary, Rivers threw for 294 yards, three
touchdowns and no interceptions on Monday
Night Football. He now has back-to-back
games with no interceptions and a full
complement of offensive skill players healthy
and back in the lineup.  While the Chargers
have been inconsistent and bad this season,
the Bills have struggled recently as well.  After
getting off to a 4-1 start, the Bills have lost
six of seven games including their past five
games.  During their five-game losing streak,
they have scored more than 20 points only
once.  While the Chargers have struggled with
the health of their offensive line, the Bills
have recorded a league-low 17 sacks this
season.  Earlier in the season, the Bills were
creating plenty of turnovers, but they have
only four takeaways in their past five games.  
Only the Colts have less.  Perhaps I'm
making too many assumptions, but I like
Rivers to pick apart the Bills secondary and
continue his December dominance.
  Coming into this week's key divisional
matchup, the Giants are losers of four
straight games (to quality opponents).  
While there may not be any moral victories
in the NFL, the Giants have to feel as good
as one could expect after a close loss to
the unbeaten and reigning champion
Packers.  On the other hand, the Cowboys
are coming off an inexplicable loss to the
Cardinals in overtime.  While the Cowboys
may technically be in control of the NFC
East with a one-game lead over the Giants,
you can almost sense the division slipping
out of their hands.  After all, December
hasn't exactly been their month (unlike the
Chargers).  The Giants have won four of
their past six matchups over the past three
years.  Even if the Cowboys win this game,
however, it wouldn't surprise me if it's
decided by a field goal or less.  More than
anything, this game is a hunch, but I would
take the points and the mentally tougher
team here.
  The Cardinals have two things going for
them: (1) they have won four of their past
five games and (2) they likely won't face
49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.  However,
the Cardinals only loss during that stretch
was to San Francisco, 23-7.  That said, the
49ers have the league's top-ranked scoring
defense and run defense.  No running back
has gained more than 64 yards against
them and no running back has rushed for a
touchdown against them.  Considering
Beanie Wells is dealing with an assortment
of injuries himself, I don't expect the Cards
to buck the trend even if Willis does not
play.  While running back Frank Gore has
not run the ball as well as he did during his
five-game streak of games with 100-plus
yards, only four players have more
receiving yards than Michael Crabtree (270)
in his team's past three games.  In his last
matchup against them, Crabtree, who is a
start in
our Start'em, Sit'em this week, had
a season-high 120 receiving yards.  The
great thing about the 49ers and Jim
Harbaugh is you know he's not going to let
up at any point.  In fact, I wouldn't be
surprised if the 49ers had a big lead and
Harbaugh called timeout with 10 seconds to
go to call a flea flicker.
     
   

Dan
2011 Record: 24-21-6 (53.3%)
  Falcons (-3) at Panthers
  49ers (-4) at Cardinals
  Giants at Cowboys (-4)
  Falcons -3
  49ers -4
  Giants +4
  We are down to the playoff stretch run, and
it's always good to have divisional games to
fall back on as I enjoy the past trends for
forecasting purposes. The Falcons are coming
into this game after a lackluster performance
against the Texans and their third-string
quarterback, while the Panthers had an
impressive performance against Tampa Bay.
Atlanta has been money against Carolina in
recent history, as they have gone 5-1 against
the spread in their last six when playing the
Panthers. The Panthers also have had a very
porous defense allowing 132 yards per game
on the ground, and 27 points overall per
game. I like the Falcons vaunted rush
defense to shut down Jonathan Stewart,
DeAngelo Williams, and Cam Newton, while
the Falcons will use Michael Turner to batter
Carolina into submission.
  San Francisco has certainly been the darling
of the covering world this year, and after
seeing this line, I foresee their streak
continuing. The 49ers even under Mike
Singletary have had ownership of the
Cardinals, as San Francisco is an
impressive 6-0 against the number when
playing Arizona. When I look at the
matchup, it has been the case of the 49ers
defense getting the job done against the
Cards, as Arizona has only managed a total
of 29 points in their last 4 games head to
head. The Cardinals also have been
anemic on offense this year, averaging only
19 points per game, and they will face a
team that only allows 13.4 points per
game. I love the matchup of Frank Gore
going against a rushing defense that allows
119 yards per game, and for even Alex
Smith going against a pass defense that
allows 250 yards per game. Lay the four
points for the 49ers to continue their
dominance in the desert.
  At first glance I really wanted to stay away
from this game, but when looking deeper
there was just so many interesting historical
trends to ignore. The Giants have played
the most brutal schedule in the NFL, as
they have played New England, San
Francisco, New Orleans, and Green Bay who
are all in the top five of our weekly power
rankings. The Giants have done well
against the Cowboys recently, as they have
posted a 5-2 mark against the spread in
their last seven games. Dallas also has
been weak against the number this year as
they have gone 4-7-1 and they are on a
three-game ATS losing streak. Dallas has
been playing a weak schedule this year,
and in their last three they lost to Arizona,
and only beat Miami and Washington by a
combined four-point margin. I love the
Giants pass rush going up against a weak
Dallas line, and the Cowboys will have
trouble covering the physical Giants
receivers in Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz.
The Giants are battle-tested, and will take
this game to draw even in the NFC East.
             
Sean
2011 Record: 27-21-3 (56.3%)
  Saints (-3.5) at Titans
  Raiders at Packers (-12)
  Bears at Broncos (-3.5)
  Saints -3.5
  Raiders +12
  Bears +3.5
  The way New Orleans has been playing lately,
it is awfully tough to bet against them right
now. New Orleans is definitely a different team
on grass, but I think with their three-headed
rushing attack, and the way Drew Brees has
been playing lately they, will win this game
and cover. I think the key for the Titans this
week is Nate Washington (questionable), who
did not practice on Friday. Damian Williams
will be the Titans #1. This spells major trouble
for the Titans as they will need to have a big
game from Matt Hasselbeck and the passing
attack to win this one. Tennessee will need
either a HUGE game from Chris Johnson,
and/or to get a defense or special teams
touchdown to have any chance in winning this
game. Saints are too much for them, 31-20.
  Call this one a hunch game. I have backed
the Packers all season, but I think this
game is going to be closer than people
think. Oakland will get back to the football
that got them to the top of the AFC West
and that is with running back Michael Bush.
I think Bush is actually going to have a
pretty good game here. This game has
major letdown factor written all over it
especially after this past week's Giants
game. I think the Packers are the best
team in the NFL by far and will win the
Super Bowl this year, but I think Oakland is
going to be very tough here. I may even do
a small moneyline wager just for fun.
Packers, 28-24.
  Tebow-mania is officially over, or at least
on hold for one more week. Caleb Hanie
has looked awful as an NFL starter so far
for the injured Jay Cutler, and the Broncos
defense has been great in recent weeks.
This may spell disaster for some, but I look
at the other side of the ball as well and see
an even better Bears defense. Tim Tebow
is still Tim Tebow when it comes to throwing
the ball, and the Bears are going to give
him nightmares. This isn't the Minnesota
Vikings, Broncos fans. The X factor in this
one will be a big Devin Hester return. I
think the Bears go into Mile High this
weekend and beat the Broncos outright in a
low-scoring contest, 17-13.