CONTRIBUTOR
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GAME 1
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GAME 2
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GAME 3
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Kevin
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Tennessee Titans (-11.5) at Detroit Lions
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Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles (-3)
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New Orleans Saints at TB Buccaneers (-3.5)
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Titans -11.5
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Eagles -3
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Bucs -3.5
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2008 Record: 24-11-1 (68.6%)
See all 2008 Kevin picks
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The Detroit Lions, one of my picks last week
to cover, jumped out to a 17-0 1st-quarter
lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then,
the Lions imploded only as the Lions can
(o.k. maybe the Rams, Bengals and Chiefs
can too). The Lions were losing at the half
21-17 and the Bucs never looked back.
LenDale White publicly complained about
only getting 3 carries in their loss to the Jets
last week. He should get more carries this
week, but if he doesn't, how will he react?
But I expect a heavy dosage of Thunder and
Lightning this week. This game should be
over by halftime as the Lions have the worst
rushing defense in the NFL. My advice is to
plan dinner for 2 p.m. ET (roughly half-time
of this game) and then you have 2+ hours to
enjoy your Turkey feast.
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The Arizona Cardinals are one of the best
football teams in the NFL. Yes, the Arizona
Cardinals. They have the best WR corps in
football and Kurt Warner is a possible league
MVP. In fact, they rank second over in the
week 12 Domination Index. However, after
Donovan McNabb was benched last week, I
expect him to come out swinging and the
Eagles to bounce back. The one thing that
Warner has struggled with in the past is
hanging onto the ball with a fierce pass rush. I
expect Joe Johnson and the Eagles to throw the
kitchen sink at Warner. This will be a close
game with lots of drama. Everyone should be
"thankful" for the league adding a third
Thanksgiving Day game.
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The Saints offense exploded in the Dome
against the Packers on MNF. Drew Brees is
having a off-the-charts season. But the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers have only lost 3 games
by a combined 11 points (4, 3 and 4). No
team in the NFL has a better total scoring
margin in losses this season. The Bucs (5-0)
are tough at home as are the entire NFC South
division (21-2) this year. I going to stick with
the trend and take the home favorites.
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Jamie
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Indianapolis Colts (-5) at Cleveland Browns
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San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills (-6.5)
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Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders (-3)
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Colts -5
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Bills -6.5
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Chiefs +3
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2008 Record: 19-16-1 (54.3%)
See all 2008 Jamie picks
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Are the Colts back making the final push for
the playoffs? After some impressive road
wins in SD and Pitt, it is looking that way. The
Browns are forced to go back to Derek
Anderson which means at least they will have
the threat to throw deep this week but look
for the Colts to continue making the push
that ends with them in the playoffs.
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The Bills have been a tough team to figure out
all year. The 49ers on the flip side have been
easy to figure out which isn't a good thing for
them but it is for us. The 49ers got that lovely
long flight to the west coast which usually
doesn't go well for west coast teams especially
this time of year. All the trends I have seen on
this one also point to the Bills. Look for the
Bills to use home field in this one and win by
10+.
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The Chiefs with the new spread offense should
pull this out vs the Raiders as Thigpen,
although not a franchise qb in my opinion, has
been able to move the offense since the
change. This game I'm taking just because I
can't believe Oakland is giving points to
someone which has happened only a total of 6
times over the last 3 seasons. In those
games, they are 0-6.
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Dan
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Denver Broncos at New York Jets (-7.5)
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New York Giants (-3.5) at Washington Redskins
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New Orleans Saints at TB Buccaneers (-3.5)
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Broncos +7.5
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Giants -3.5
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Saints +3.5
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2008 Record: 21-15 (58.3%)
See all 2008 Dan picks
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First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone,
hope you all enjoy the gathering, the feast,
and hopefully some great football contests.
This pick is all about feel, after all, you must
be saying, this guy thinks a team that just
lost to Oakland at home, will post a win vs
the hottest team in the AFC? All the trends
point to a Jets walkover, Favre going against
the 25th-ranked pass defense at home, Kris
Jenkins going against a guy who wasn't even
on the practice squad at the beginning of the
year, and riding a streak knocking off the
vaunted Patriots and undefeated Titans. I
am a firm believer in history, and no matter
how it plays out, these still are the Jets and
they are due for a clunker. Denver has
beaten New York 2 out of the last 3 games,
and I would look for Jay Cutler to shred a
porous secondary. If Cassel can lay 400
yards vs this team, just think what Cutler and
crew can do. Take the generous 7.5 points
like you would a second helping of pumpkin
pie with the Broncos this week.
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This week's NFC East match up of the week,
brings the Giants to the nation's capital for a
crucial game. The Giants are on a roll, after
last week's beating of Arizona, they look to
keep the momentum rolling vs a Washington
team that is fighting for their playoff lives. New
York is an amazing 10-1 straight up, and an
even better 9-2 vs the spread. The Giants get
a boost this week by getting Brandon Jacobs
back into the lineup, and all he has done in the
past 2 games vs Washington is rush for 245
yards. The Redskins come in banged up, even
though Clinton Portis didn't show it against
Seattle, he is still feeling the effects of that
knee injury, and things don't look brighter
rushing into the teeth of the 6th-ranked
rushing defense, that is only allowing 84 yards
a game. I would look for the Giants defense to
confuse Jason Campbell, just like in week one,
and a big dose of Jacobs,Ward, and Bradshaw.
The Giants defense will be the stoppers in this
one, so lay the points and go with big blue.
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Intriguing match up, the Buccaneers have long
been considered the gold standard in
measuring defenses, and boast the #2
defense vs the pass this year. The Saints
come in after a statement game vs Green Bay
last week, and Drew Brees looks to continue
his march to the MVP and all time passing
yards record. The Saints even at 6-5, have
been a covering machine going 8-3 vs the
number this year. New Orleans took the first
game this year, while Brees enjoyed a big day
passing for 340 yards. Tampa comes into this
game after a rocky start vs the winless Lions
giving up 17 unanswered points to start. I
would look for Brees to win the game with his
arm, and bring even more interest into the
toughest division title fight in the league this
year. It's a dog type of week, so I am going
with the Saints to win on the road this week.
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Brendan
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Tennessee Titans (-11.5) at Detroit Lions
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Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys (-12.5)
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Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles (-3)
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Titans -11.5
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Seahawks +12.5
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Cardinals +3
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2008 Record: 22-12-2 (64.7%)
See all 2008 Brendan picks
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am going
to give you a 3 piece special with extra gravy
for the occassion. That's right, I am going to
pick all 3 Turkey Day games. In the first
game of the day we have Thanksgiving day
regular in the Detroit Lions. Normally I would
give them an edge since they are
accustomed to doing this on an annual basis
but not this year. I really don't like the
matchup vs the Titans. The Titans are
coming off their first loss of the year and will
look to take out some frustration against a
miserable Lions team. The Titans only give
up 15 points a game vs the Lions giving up a
league high average of 31.5. That right
there suggests a bigger line than 11. Expect
the Titans to dominate on both sides of the
ball and lay the points.
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In the next game Seattle and Cowboys'
castaway Julious Jones go into Dallas. In what
has been a disappointing year for Seattle I like
them to try and play spoiler and expect Jones
to be extra motivated for the game. Dallas
barely covered against the Niners last week and
just don't seem to be the team we all expected
them to be when the year began. To this point
in the year they do not rank in the top 10 in
offense or defense. While I do think the
Cowboys will win the game I will take the 12.5
points in what should be a closer game than
the spread suggests.
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In what I think is the lock of the day the
Cardinals are actually underdogs to a Philly
team who are in disarray. While the Eagles
have huge question marks at QB, Arizona has
little question who leads their attack behind
MVP candidate Kurt Warner. I actually think
being at home could hurt the Eagles because
once McNabb struggles they will be loudly
letting their frustrations known and as we saw
last week backup QB Kevin Kolb isn't any
better. Not only is Arizona the second highest
scoring team in the league but they also rank
#2 on the Domination Index so anytime they
are getting points against an inferior team
take it.
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Sean
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Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers (-3)
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Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles (-3)
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Indianapolis Colts (-5) at Cleveland Browns
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Packers -3
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Eagles -3
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Colts -5
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2008 Record: 24-12 (66.7%)
See all 2008 Sean picks
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This Packers' defense will not have as much
trouble with Carolina as they did against New
Orleans. The Panthers are the most
overrated team in the NFL in my opinion.
Green Bay with their loss on Monday Night
against New Orleans almost puts themselves
into a must-win situation this week. I think
Aaron Rodgers will get back on track, and
Ryan Grant will have another impressive
game and the Packers win it at home.
Green Bay 23 Carolina 17
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I love this game. Arizona isn't great
defensively, and Arizona's passing attack will
struggle against this Eagles defense. Don't get
me wrong, Kurt Warner & co. will be solid
fantasy football plays like they have been all
year, but I think Warner could have a similar
game like he had against the Jets earlier this
year. A ton of yards, but a bunch of turnovers.
Donovan McNabb was basically giving one last
shot with this team. If he fails this week, not
only is the Donovan McNabb era over in Philly,
but the Andy Reid era is over as well. I think
Philly scores early and often in this game.
Philly 41 Arizona 27
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No Brady Quinn which means, Derek Anderson
is back as the starter. Not a good thing if you
are a Browns fan. DA has looked terrible since
about 3/4 of the way through last season.
There is no reason either considering he has
some good playmakers in Edwards & Winslow.
Indinapolis showed the country last week, that
they couldn't be written off for 2008. Not only,
are the Colts back, but i can see this team
running the table and finishing 12-4, 1 game
back of 13-3 Tennessee for the division.
Indy 28 Cleveland 20
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