Live Blogging the Bears Game
By Mike | December 2, 2007
I’ve been wanting to do this all year. This week I’m finally going to do it.
9:58 First Quarter - You couldn’t have scripted the first possessions much better. An interception on the Giant’s first drive followed by the Bears Offense dominating the Giants D. Grossman looked like an actual quarterback, rolling out and hitting Peterson for a big gain followed by three completions to Clark. Peterson looks good running, picking up yards that I don’t think Cedric would have gotten. So far so good.
7:00 First Quarter - Another decent defensive stand. A penalty gave the Giants a first down, but no more. And the Giants kicked it away from Hester. Can you imagine how valuable Hester would be on an offensive powerhouse like the Patriots or Cots? Giving Brady or Manning great field position all the time almost wouldn’t seem fair. At the Bears have a rather inept offense to counter the advantage Hester gives them.
5:00 First Quarter - Maybe I just don’t like Benson, but I think every yard that Peterson gets after initial contact is a yard Benson would have missed. That first down he just dove for is not something Benson would have done.
End First Quarter - Not a bad first quarter. It would have been nice if they could have stopped Toomer a few inches earlier so they’d be getting the ball back to start the second quarter, but all in all I have no complaints.
14:54 Second Quarter - gotta love it when they run a reverse right into your blitz.
12:42 Second Quarter - Long Bomb to Hester and he dropped a sure TD. That should have been caught without a doubt. That leads to a delay of game and then a sack for almost a safety. This could be a huge turning point in the game. And then the punt is partially blocked. A good team would be up 14 -0 here. The Bears will be lucky to get out of it 7-3.
11:56 Second Quarter - Why is it that every other team can rip off runs of 20-30+ yards against the Bears, but the Bears can never do it?
10:41 Second Quarter - Can you imagine the outrage if the Giants don’t score here after getting their TD called back due to a late challenge?
9:46 Second Quarter - Grossman is doing a decent job of avoiding the blitz. Outside of the almost safety last possession.
9:25 Second Quarter - Or Not.
9:07 Second Quarter - I don’t understand why the Bears got an illegal touching penalty. Isn’t it standard for the kicking team to try to down the ball inside the five on a kick? Or if the returner bails the kicking team is always the one that touches it once it stops rolling? How is that different?
8:45 Second Quarter - Seriously, how many times per game do Bears opponents rip off 30+ yard runs? Because more than one is at least two too many.
8:00 Second Quarter - They just mention that Archuletta was benched. Thank God.
7:51 Second Quarter - Eli is doing a very good Bad Rex impression. Let’s hope that changes the momentum a bit because things were not starting to look good.
7:06 Second Quarter - I was just about to say that the Bears were running too many short yardage plays and then they pull off a 50 yard pass play to Berrian. Nice catch.
1:39 Second Quarter - Nice pickup on third and long, followed by a nice scramble/dump off to Peterson. Davis is looking good on this drive.
0:30 Second Quarter - Holy Crap! The Bears just pulled off a successful screen play. I’ve been waiting years to see that.
0:10 Second Quarter - That’s the worst thing ever. If Grossman just fell out of field goal range by turning a sack into a sack for a huge loss I’m going to be upset.
End of Second Quarter - I’ll take the FG but it would have been nice if they could have scored the TD at the end of that drive.
15:00 Third Quarter - Devin Hester effect lets the Bears start on the 40 yard line. Not that it helps because they go three and out.
13:56 Third Quarter - FUMBLE!!! If you can’t stop the run, just take the ball away from the runner. The Bears need a TD here.
11:14 Third Quarter - Thats just horrible. A 15 yard penalty on third and short inside the 10 may have just cost the Bears at four points. Again, good teams score TDs there. The Bears settle for a field goal.
7:40 Third Quarter - Not a very good series. Peterson had a nice run, but followed it up with a five yard loss, and then that was followed up with a bad screen to Hester that lost a few more yards. They’ve started on the 40 yard line twice this half and failed to score on both occasions.
3:00 Third Quarter - 4th and inches. What are the chances the Bears make the stop here? Not so good. They had him in the backfield and failed to make the play. That’s the sort of thing that goes for a TD so I guess the Bears are lucky. Of coarse the drive isn’t over yet.
0:13 Third Quarter - Huge play by Tillman. Manning somehow eludes a sack on third and goal then Tillman boxes out Burris and makes the play. That has to be momentum killer for the Giants.
End of Third - And if that wasn’t how about a 45 pass to Clark. Not that I’m not pleased with Clark’s performance, but where is Olson? Has he caught anything today?
14:00 Fourth Quarter - Bears waste another opportunity to put the Giants away as they don’t even get a field goal out of it.
11:55 Fourth Quarter - Neither offense is looking very good. That works out OK for the Bears since they are ahead by at least two scores, but as I’ve mentioned a few times, it would be nice to see them make a few big plays and put this one out of reach.
9:10 Fourth Quarter - The Bears Defense is painful to watch at times in the fourth quarter. It seems like the other team just does whatever it wants as it drives the length of the field. The only good thing about this drive is that it is taking a bunch of time off of the clock. Its frustrating to see yet another back have a career game at the expense of the Bears D.
6:54 Fourth Quarter - Challenge of the incomplete pass in the endzone. Looks to me like he caught it. The ball skips, but it skips off his hands and into his grasp.
6:54 Fourth Quarter - Can the Bears have a large time consuming drive to ice this one? I’m going to bet on three and out followed by a Giants last second field goal to win.
4:45 Fourth Quarter - Well, I got the three and out part right. Peterson was close to springing a big run on first down, but a minimal gain on second and the sixth sack of the day on third put an end to that.
4:23 Fourth Quarter - The Bears are the worst 4th quarter team ever. How about they tackle some one?
2:00 Fourth Quarter - They are going to lose this game and there is no excuse for it. They had better field position all day and won the turnover battle. All they had to do was make a few plays on either side of the ball in the second half.
1:33 Fourth Quarter - So I was wrong. They scored a TD instead of the field goal. To be honest, if I was the Giants I would have stalled more and kicked a field goal. The Bears will now have a shot with Hester returning plus a minute and a half to work with.
0:54 Fourth Quarter. Short gains up the middle of the field aren’t going to work.
0:36 Fourth Quarter. You know what else doesn’t help? False Starts.
0:26 Fourth Quarter. Dropped passes aren’t a very good plan either.
0:00 Fourth Quarter. What a waste. They had so many opportunities in this game and can’t pull it out. I didn’t expect them to win, but they had every chance to do so and couldn’t capitalize. At least now we’ll not have to listen to the Bears claim they still think they can get into the playoffs.
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Mike’s NFL Picks 2007 Week 13b
By Mike | December 1, 2007
Its not even Sunday yet and I’m already 0-1 for the week. At least it was the Packers that lost.
Here are the rest of my picks for this week.
Atlanta Falcons +3.5 at St.Louis Rams. The Rams are getting back to where I expected them to be, and even without Bulger I think they should be able to get by the Falcons at home. Rams - 3.5
Buffalo Bills +6.5 at Washington Redskins. So, does Washington come out strong motivated by trying to win one for Taylor, or are they distracted and flat? I’m going to go with the latter, and take the Bills in this one. The Skins might with the game, but they aren’t going to be blowing anyone out. I’ll take the Bills plus the points.
Detroit Lions +4 at Minnesota Vikings. A passing team against a weak pass defense. Sounds like a good matchup for the Lions but it didn’t work out so well for the Giants last week and I don’t think Detroit will do much better. Especially in Minnesota. Peterson is going to be back too, and while he probably won’t get all of the carries, Chester Taylor has done pretty well in his absence. Vikings easily cover in this one
Houston Texans +4 at Tennessee Titans. Not sure where to go on this one. I guess I’ll take Houston plus the points.
Jacksonville Jaguars +7 at Indianapolis Colts. A lot of people are calling for Jacksonville to win this one. I won’t go quite that far, but I do think they’ll come within seven.
New York Jets +1 at Miami Dolphins. I really hate the Dolphins, and it would be great if they could have an 0-16 season to go with their undefeated season. I hope the Jets pull this one out. If they can beat Pittsburgh they can beat Miami, right?
San Diego Chargers -6.5 at Kansas City Chiefs. Both of these teams have to be pretty disappointed with their seasons so far. I don’t see it getting any better for KC though. Not this week anyway. I’ll take the Chargers minus the 6.5
Seattle Seahawks +3 at Philadelphia Eagles. This could be a pretty good game since both teams pass way more than most other teams. Seattle has better receivers, and possibly a better QB so I’m taking them with the points. For those of you counting at home, I’ve only taken one home team so far this week. That’s probably not a good plan is it?
San Francisco 49ers +3 at Carolina Panthers. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes these two teams longer to score than it took Pittsburgh and Miami last Monday. These team’s offenses are so bad it makes the Bears look like the Patriots. The Panthers will win this one, but it won’t be pretty. I’ll take them minus the points.
Cleveland Browns -1 at Arizona Cardinals. I can see this one going either way, and apparently so can the rest of the public since the spread is only a point. I have to take another road team though as I think the Browns will be able to out gun Arizona.
Denver Broncos -4 at Oakland Raiders. I might have to flip a coin in this one. I’d take the Bronco, but they’ve had some games where they just looked horrible this year. Take last week’s choke against the Bears for example. I guess the Broncos always have a good rushing offense and the Raiders are one of the worst in the league against the run, so based on that I’ll take Denver minus the four.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3.5 at New Orleans Saints. The Bucs have QB issues, and the Saints are capable of having an explosive offense so I’ll take New Orleans minus the points.
New York Giants -2 at Chicago Bears. Ugh. Are the Giants in their traditional second half flop? It sure looked like it last week. I still don’t have enough confidence to pick Bears in any game, even with two points and at home. I’ll take the Giants minus the points.
Cincinnati Bengals +7 at Pittsburgh Steelers. I hope Pittsburgh’s field is a little better this week, or there might not even be seven points scored all game. The Bengals have shown me nothing all season though so I’m going to bet against them and take the Steelers.
New England Patriots -21 at Baltimore Ravens. I said I’d take the Pats until they failed to cover. That happened last week. Everyone in the media seems to think that the Eagles found the way to beat New England and that other teams will use the same strategy. If I know one thing about the Pats its that they are one of the best coached teams in the league. If you think you are going to beat them using the same approach as the team they just played, you are going to be sadly mistaken. No way that whatever the Eagles did works again this year. Baltimore has no offense to begin with and I think their D is starting to get past its prime. I’ll take the Patriots minus 21 on the road.
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Mike’s NFL Picks 2007 Week 13a
By Mike | November 29, 2007
Stupid Thursday night games. I haven’t had time to make all my picks for the week yet, but I can at least put tonight’s game up. Its been a long week and I was actually looking forward to watching the game, but then I realized that its on the NFL network and I can’t see it. Way to go NFL. Way to take one of the more intriguing games of the season and make it unavailable to a large part of your audience.
Anyway, here’s my pick:
Green Bay Packers +7 at Dallas Cowboys. Green Bay is a bit banged up but I think they’ll at least keep this one close, if not pull off the upset. I’ll take the Packers plus the points.
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NFL Week 12 Pick Results
By Mike | November 27, 2007
I thought I was going to be able to pull off two winning weeks in a row, but alas the favorites couldn’t cover their huge point spreads, and I just missed. On the plus side, just when I was about to give up, I won my first Fantasy Sports Live contest during the Thanksgiving games. My 7-9 this week brings my year to date to 63-84-11.
| Away Team | Pts | Spread | Pts | Home Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 37 | -4 | 26 | Detroit Lions. |
| New York Jets | 3 | +14.5 | 34 | Dallas Cowboys. |
| Indianapolis Colts | 31 | -12.5 | 13 | Atlanta Falcons. |
| Tennessee Titans | 6 | -1.5 | 35 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Buffalo Bills | 14 | +8.5 | 36 | Jacksonville Jaguars. |
| Oakland Raiders | 20 | +6 | 17 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Houston Texans | 17 | +3.5 | 27 | Cleveland Browns |
| Seattle Seahawks | 24 | -3 | 19 | St. Louis Rams |
| Minnesota Vikings | 41 | +7 | 17 | New York Giants |
| New Orleans Saints | 31 | -3 | 6 | Carolina Panthers |
| Washington Redskins | 13 | +3 | 19 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| San Fransisco 49ers | 37 | +10.5 | 31 | Arizona Cardinals |
| Denver Broncos | 34 | +1.5 | 37 | Chicago Bears |
| Baltimore Ravens | 14 | +10 | 32 | San Diego Chargers |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 28 | +23 | 31 | New England Patriots |
| Miami Dolphins | 0 | +16.5 | 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers. |
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Mike’s NFL Picks 2007 Week 12
By Mike | November 21, 2007
Week 12 starts early. Be sure to get your bets in on time, if you are so inclined. I feel like I’m finally starting to get the hang of this point spread thing. Maybe I can make a run at 500 for the season.
Green Bay Packers -4 at Detroit Lions. I throw up a little bit in my mouth every time I have to pick the Packers, and I’ve been picking them a lot this year. It would almost ruin my Thanksgiving to have to watch them win, but since they’re playing the Lions, I think I can live with it. Packers minus the four.
New York Jets +14.5 at Dallas Cowboys. 14.5 is a lot of points to give up. I would probably take the Cowboys at 13 or even 14, but the 14.5 means they have to win by more than two touchdowns, and that’s a tall task for any team not from New England. I’m sure Dallas will kill the Jets, but coming within two TDs is reasonable, so I have to take the Jets. Maybe they can pull a huge upset two weeks in a row.
Indianapolis Colts -12.5 at Atlanta Falcons. I think injuries are going to prevent the Colts from blowing anyone out like they may have earlier in the year, but against the Falcons, in prime time, after two less than impressive games, I think they just might do it. I’ll take the Colts to cover.
Tennessee Titans -1.5 at Cincinnati Bengals. I think I promised never to pick the Bengals again this year, but I’m going to do it anyway.
Buffalo Bills +8.5 at Jacksonville Jaguars. Apparently I only paid attention to the Jaguars during the weeks that they stink, because I think they are pretty bad, but they seem to be near the top of other people’s power rankings. I’ll defer to the experts here and take the Jacksonville. I’m going to assume that Buffalo won’t score more than three offensive points. We’ll see.
Oakland Raiders +6 at Kansas City Chiefs. I don’ think these two teams like each other very much. I don’t think the Raiders are very good, so I expect the Chiefs to blow them out. Chiefs minus the 6.
Houston Texans +3.5 at Cleveland Browns. I’m not sure what to expect from Houston, but I think the Browns are pretty good and they’ll be able to outrun the Texans, but at TD or more.
Seattle Seahawks -3 at St. Louis Rams. Hmmm. The Rams are starting to look like their old selves again. Can they continue their winning streak? I’m going to go with no. Can they come within the three points? probably not. I’ll take Seattle.
Minnesota Vikings +7 at New York Giants. Chester Taylor had himself a pretty nice game last week. Unfortunately for him and the Vikings the Giants are just a tad better than the Raiders. I think the Vikings are going to have trouble scoring in this one and the Giants will run away with it. Hopefully it will be a shootout because I have a bunch of Giant’s and Chester Taylor on my fantasy team, but I have a feeling it will be pretty one sided.
New Orleans Saints -3 at Carolina Panthers. The Saints need an easy opponent to bounce back against and lucky for them the Panthers are going to be that team. Even with Steve Smith the Panther’s offense is pathetic and their defense isn’t as good as it has been in years past. If the Saints offense starts clicking they will run away with this one, if not they’ll still cover.
Washington Redskins + 3 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I’m still not sold on the Bucs. I’ll take the Skins in this one.
San Fransisco 49ers +10.5 at Arizona Cardinals. I never thought I’d see the day when Arizona is a ten point favorite, but I’m going to have to take them anyway. Their receivers are too good, and the Niners offense is almost non-existent.
Denver Broncos +1.5 at Chicago Bears. I can’t believe the Bears are favored in this one. Sure, on any given day they have a chance to win, but I certainly wouldn’t bet on it. Even if they are at home and against a fairly weak Denver team.
Baltimore Ravens +10 at San Diego Chargers. Its hard to know which Chargers team will show up, but I think they tend to get the good one when they are playing at home, so I’ll take them over a Raven’s team with almost no offensive capabilities. The only way the Chargers don’t cover is if they have a turnover returned for a TD.
Philadelphia Eagles +23 at New England Patriots. +23?!?! When will the madness end? Thats at least four scores! And I feel like I have to pick them too. At home against almost anyone how can you bet against the Patriots? They are winning by 30 on a regular basis. New England is just too good. I have to take them. Until someone other than the Colts can come close I’m going to stick with them.
Miami Dolphins +16.5 at Pittsburgh Steelers. Anther double digit spread. I’ve taken a lot of favorites this week, but I’m going to stick with it. The Steelers lost to a bad New York Jets team last week. They are not going to let that happen again. Look for a final score like 38 - 3 or 31-0, something in that range.
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NFL Week 11 Pick Results
By Mike | November 20, 2007
Not a bad week last week as I went 9-5-2, bringing my season total to 56-75-11. Pittsburgh really killed be, both in this and in my Fantasy Sports Live picks where I had Rothlesburger, Ward and Parker on various teams, none of which did anything for me.
Here are the results in all their glory
| Away Team | Pts | Spread | Pts | Home Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Chargers | 17 | +3 | 24 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | +15 | 13 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Oakland Raiders | 22 | +5 | 29 | Minnesota Vikings |
| Cleveland Browns | 33 | -3 | 30 | Baltimore Ravens |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 31 | -3 | 7 | Atlanta Falcons |
| Arizona Cardinals | 35 | +3.5 | 27 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Miami Dolphins | 7 | +10 | 17 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| New Orleans Saints | 10 | +0 | 23 | Houston Texans |
| Carolina Panthers | 17 | +10 | 31 | Green Bay Packers |
| New York Giants | 16 | -3 | 10 | Detroit Lions |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 16 | -10 | 19 | New York Jets |
| Washington Redskins | 23 | +11.5 | 28 | Dallas Cowboys |
| St Louis Rams | 13 | -3 | 9 | San Francisco 49ers |
| Chicago Bears | 23 | +5.5 | 30 | Seattle Seahawks |
| New England Patriots | 56 | -16.5 | 10 | Buffalo Bills |
| Tennessee Titans | 20 | +2 | 34 | Denver Broncos |
Short week this week with three games on Thursday. I’ll try to get my picks up tomorrow night. I know you are counting on them.
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Mike’s NFL Picks 2007 Week 11
By Mike | November 17, 2007
Bye weeks are over, so now I can incorrectly pick 16 games.
San Diego Chargers +3 at Jacksonville Jaguars - I’m not sure what to make of either of these teams. I want to pick the Chargers, but that’s because I still think they are as good as last year’s team, which they obviously are not. Not that Jacksonville is impressing me this year either. I’ll take the Bolts plus the points, but I’m not real happy about it.
Kansas City Chiefs +15 at Indianapolis Colts - 15 is a lot of points for the Colts to be giving up, especially now that they lost Freeny and probably won’t have Harrison again. I think Indy will win, but 15 is a lot, so I’ll take the Chiefs.
Oakland Raiders +5 at Minnesota Vikings - Based on last week’s performance I can’t take the Raiders for anything less than 10 points. I don’t care who they are playing. Even without AP the Vikings will win this one easily.
Cleveland Browns -3 at Baltimore Ravens - If the Cinci Defense can contain the Ravens, so can the Browns. And I think Cleveland can actually get in the endzone a few times.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3 at Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons are a lot better than I expected them to be this year, but that isn’t exactly saying much. The Bucs should have no problem with them.
Arizona Cardinals +3.5 at Cincinnati Bengals - Both of these teams are horrible, but for some reason I still believe in the Bengals. I’ll take them minus the three and a half.
Miami Dolphins +10 at Philadelphia Eagles - Ten is a lot for the Eagles to be giving up, even against the pathetic Dolphins, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
New Orleans Saints +0 at Houston Texans - Just when it looked the Saints had turned it around, they lost to the lamest show on turf at home last week. Now they’re a pickem at Houston. I think last week may have been a fluke, so I’ll give New Orleans another chance this week.
Carolina Panthers +10 at Green Bay Packers - Carolina is just not very good. And Steve Smith might not play. Green Bay will run up the score easily in this one.
New York Giants -3 at Detroit Lions - I still can’t believe the Lions have won as many games as they have so far this year. They are playing a good team this week, and I think they’ll be exposed. I’ll take New York minus the three.
Pittsburgh Steelers -10 at New York Jets - Lot of high spreads this week, but when you have one of the league’s best teams playing one of the worst, that’s what happens. And once again I’m going to take the favorite and lay the double digit points.
Washington Redskins +11.5 at Dallas Cowboys - The Skins aren’t going to win this game, but it is a strong rivalry game, so they’ll at least play them tough. I’ll take Washington plus the 11.5.
St Louis Rams -3 at San Francisco 49ers - I think I promised myself I wouldn’t pick either of these teams for the remainder of the season, but since they are playing each other, I guess I have to pick one. Based on last week’s performance I have to go with the Rams. Maybe getting healthier is all they needed to not be a complete embarrassment.
Chicago Bears +5.5 at Seattle Seahawks - I would take Seattle -15 in this one, but since they are only laying 5.5 I’ll take them without a second thought.
New England Patriots -16.5 at Buffalo Bills - I’ve heard a few people actually pick the Bills to win this one. I don’t think so. While the Bills are a decent team, the Pats are too good. The Bills might cover, but I’m going to stick with New England.
Tennessee Titans +2 at Denver Broncos - I hate the Broncos and for that reason alone I’m taking Tennessee.
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NFL Week 10 Pick Results
By Mike | November 14, 2007
Just when I’m starting to think I might understand this year’s NFL, I go 3-10-1 last week, to bring my year to data to a pathetic 47-70-9. The following teams I will be betting against for the remainder of the year: Carolina Panthers, San Fransisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Raiders. Teams on my shit-list for losing games to horrible teams last week are KC and New Orleans, Detroit. This whole picking teams against the spread and displaying my picks on line for the world to see/mock is really causing me to hate a number of teams. I just wish it was possible to bet against them all.
Here are last weeks results:
| Away Team | Pts | Spread | Pts | Home Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 28 | +4 | 13 | Tennessee Titans |
| Denver Broncos | 27 | +3 | 11 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Buffalo Bills | 13 | -3 | 10 | Miami Dolphins |
| Cleveland Browns | 28 | +10 | 31 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| St. Louis Rams | 27 | +11.5 | 29 | New Orleans Saints |
| Atlanta Falcons | 20 | +4 | 13 | Carolina Panthers |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 33 | +3 | 25 | Washington Redskins |
| Minnesota Vikings | 0 | +6 | 34 | Green Bay Packers |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 21 | +3.5 | 7 | Baltimore Ravens |
| Chicago Bears | 17 | -3.5 | 6 | Oakland Raiders |
| Dallas Cowboys | 31 | -2.5 | 21 | New York Giants |
| Detroit Lions | 21 | +0 | 31 | Arizona Cardinals |
| Indianapolis Colts | 21 | -4 | 23 | San Diego Chargers |
| San Francisco 49ers | 0 | +10 | 24 | Seattle Seahawks |
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Go Illini
By Mike | November 11, 2007
Maybe its because they won a total of 5 games in the four years I went to U of I, but I never expect much out of their football team. And while no one can argue that they aren’t significantly improved from prior years, going to Ohio to face the #1 team in the nation seemed like a bit of a stretch. Giving up a TD after two plays didn’t do much for my confidence either. But then they settled down, and started holding the Buckeye’s offense and before I knew it, we had knocked off the number one team in the country.
I don’t follow college football very much, but given how the Bears are doing, and how the Illini basketball team is likely to do, maybe I should. If Zook can get one of the top recruiting classes after some of the abysmal seasons the Illini have put up recently, imagine what he can do when they have a respectable team. Now if only we can get him to recruit for the basketball team.
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Mike’s NFL Picks 2007 Week 10
By Mike | November 10, 2007
I’m a bit late on getting my picks out there this week. Apologies to those of you who were waiting for me so that they would know who to bet against. Lets get right to it, shall we?
Jacksonville Jaguars +4 at Tennessee Titans - I would take Jacksonville here, but they are not playing as well as I have expected them to lately, and last week I finally came around to the Titans and was rewarded with a correct pick. I’ll take the Titans minuys the four here.
Denver Broncos +3 at Kansas City Chiefs - Even though the Chiefs will be without Larry Johnson I don’t see the Broncos coming close in this one.
Buffalo Bills -3 at Miami Dolphins - The Bills are apparently better than I’ve been giving them credit for, and the Dolphins are awful. Take the Bills, give the three.
Cleveland Browns +10 at Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers are good an all, but the Browns score a lot of points, and I don’t know if Pittsburgh can outscore them by 10. I’ll take the Browns plus the ten.
St. Louis Rams +11.5 at New Orleans Saints - I guess the Saints have turned it around. It took me a few weeks longer than most to acknowledge that fact, but I’ve finally come around. And the Rams are not good. 11.5 is a big number, but I think the Saints will do it.
Atlanta Falcons +4 at Carolina Panthers - I have no confidence in this pick as Carolina’s QB situation makes the Bears look good, but I can’t pick Atlanta, no matter who they are playing. Just get Steve Smith the ball and let him win the game for you.
Philadelphia Eagles +3 at Washington Redskins - I’m not sure what to expect from either of these teams, but I’ll take the Skins at home minus the three over the Eagles.
Minnesota Vikings +6 at Green Bay Packers - Tough call. Both these teams are infinitely better than I expected them to be this year. Can the Packers D stop Peterson? I’m going to say yes. At home I think the Packers can take down the Vikings, even minus six points.
Cincinnati Bengals +3.5 at Baltimore Ravens - Two teams who are significantly worse than I expected them to be this year. I’ve been picking the Bengals to win all year and been getting burned so I’ll take Baltimore this time, though they’ll probably win by three just to screw me.
Chicago Bears -3.5 at Oakland Raiders - How the Bears are favored on the road against anyone is beyond me. Much as I’d love to pick them this week, I have a bad feeling about this game.
Dallas Cowboys -2.5 at New York Giants - I think this will be a good game to watch. The Giants have really fallen off in the second half in the past few years, so we’ll have to see how they do this year. Its not going to start off well for them though as the Cowboys are pretty good, and should win this one easily.
Detroit Lions +0 at Arizona Cardinals - I’m surprised about this line. I expected the Lions to be favored by a bit as they are having a pretty good year while the Cardinals have been sliding lately. Lions.
Indianapolis Colts -4 at San Diego Chargers - Another good game to watch and another tough one for the Colts. I expect both these teams to be mad after what happened last week, but I don’t think the Chargers are going to be able to do anything about it. At least not against the Colts.
San Francisco 49ers +10 at Seattle Seahawks - The Niners have been terrible this year, but ten points is a bit much to be giving up, so I’ll have to take them.
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