NFL Action- Week 12 Picks

It's Sunday!  It really should be renamed football day though, because in America it is how many people identify the first day of the week.  This week features many important match ups, including a big NFC North battle with the Vikings and Bears, the Giants and Packers going at it in a game where the Packers want revenge, and the Bills and Colts trying to work themselves into a wild card spot.  So without further ado, he are the Pick Professor's Picks for Week 12!

Pick Professor (a.k.a. Connor)

Bears vs. Vikings - This is  very interesting game and one which could help in deciding wild card spots.  These two along with the Packers are all good out of the NFC North.  The Bears are on a two game losing streak, and they have Jay Cutler back for this one.  However, the Vikings are another good team and I don't think the Bears will be able to deal with Peterson and end their skid.  

Prediction: Vikings 27-20

Bengals vs. Raiders - At 5-5 the Bengals will be looking to take one from the struggling 3-7 Raiders.  The Bengals had a great showing against the Giants in week 10, and manhandled Kansas City 28-6 last week.  Andy Dalton and A.J. Green have an even better connection this year with 911 yards and 10 TDs, and the Raiders don't have a defense.

Prediction: Bengals 34-16

Browns vs. Steelers - The Steelers will be looking to rebound after putting up only 10 points last week against Baltimore.  Their defense played great in that game, though.  The week before they only beat the Chiefs by 3 in a game the Chiefs played better in.  26 points in 2 weeks with Byron Leftwich meant time to change.  Charlie Batch, who's been with the team for awhile now, gets the start.  I don't know what that means, but the Steelers won't lose this game.

Prediction: Steelers 20-10

Colts vs. Bills - Andrew Luck is having a great season, but Ryan Fitzpatrick has as well.  The 4-6 Bills are looking for a win here, but they won't get it.  Reggie Wayne is already over 1000 yards on the year and Andrew Luck looks confident in the offense.  The Bills aren't going to blank anyone, that's for sure, and the Colts will take it comfortably.

Prediction: Colts 31-17

Titans vs. Jaguars - Jacksonville just can't win a game.  And the Titans need to.  Jacksonville is 29th in the league in scoring, and with Maurice Jones-Drew out, the team lacks offensive firepower. The Titans will take it.

Prediction: Titans 27-10

Broncos vs. Chiefs - The Chiefs are the lowest scoring offense in the league and Peyton Manning has 24 TDs passing.  The Chiefs have 6.

Prediction: Broncos 34-13

Seahawks vs. Dolphins - Both teams are desperate, but the Seahawks are in a better position at 6-4.  Russell Wilson is having a good rookie year, but Marshawn Lynch is having a career year this season, already over the 1000 yd mark.  Sidney Rice and Golden Tate are making a good receiving core, and this team is actually clicking on offense for the first time in a while. The Dolphins have had ups and downs, and an inconsistent season by Reggie Bush.  Today will be a down.

Prediction: Seahawks 31-20

Falcons vs. Buccaneers - The Falcons have all but clinched the NFC South with a 9-1 start, while the Bucs are surprisingly having a good 6-4 season.  Doug Martin is a rookie sensation with 1300+ total yards and 8 scores.  Josh Freeman is finally having a good year as well.  The Falcons will be tested by a good team today, and it might go into overtime, but the Falcons have a slight edge.

Prediction: Falcons 34-31

Ravens vs. Chargers - The Chargers have hit a huge skid, losing 5 of their last 6 to plummet to 4-6 on the season.  They have one chance to get back on the right track with a win against an unimpressive Baltimore team from last week.  The Chargers were the Saints first win when they were 0-4, and also fell to Cleveland.  Even with a win, looking ahead they have Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.  I can't see a string of wins, or even one of these three.

Prediction: Ravens 27-16

Cardinals vs. Rams - Larry Fitzgerald will take on Cortland Finnegan in this one, and the Cardinals will be looking for something against a 3-6-1 Rams team led by Jeff Fisher.   The Cards started 4-0 but have lost 6 in a row!  Kevin Kolb is playing, and hoping to grab a win since he's quarterbacked in all of the four victories before getting injured.  This one could legitimately go either way, but I think without Danny Amendola, the Rams aren't going anywhere.

Prediction: Cardinals 24-20

49ers vs. Saints - What a surprise the Saints have been recently!  They turned their season around and are now a reasonable contender for the playoffs.  The 49ers have some QB questions to be answered, and Colin Kaepernick played a great game last week.  Somehow I just think the Niners defense will be too much on this one, which is why I'll take the Niners in a close one.

Prediction: 49ers 30-28

Giants vs. Packers - In a typical Giants move, they G-Men can't win a November game.  The Big Blue have a horrendous November record in recent years, and are 0-2 this year.  This being the last one against the Packers, whom they've knocked out of the playoffs twice en route to titles in the last five years, the Cheeseheads will be looking for revenge.  This one will be a battle, a dogfight even, but history repeats itself, so I see a tight Giants win.

Prediction: Giants 38-34

Eagles vs. Panthers - Monday night is the worst game of the week.  A combined 5 wins between these two disappointing squads.  The Eagles are without Vick and McCoy this week, leaving Nick Foles a second start in a row.  Bryce Brown is expected to be the running back.  The Panthers are terrible as well, and there whole offense is Cam Newton, scratch that, there whole team is Cam.  He is experiences some sophomore blues this year, and hasn't really to expectations.  I see this as a toss up, but I'll give a nod to the Eagles who are playing for Andy Reid's job at this point.

Prediction: Eagles 21-20.

So, what do you think of my picks?  What are your picks?  Feel free to comment or message me with your input on the games as I'll do this every wick.  And thanks for reading.

Connor

Thanksgiving Recap: RG3 Shines, Texans Lucky

Thanksgiving Day came and passed, and while many people focused attention on food, there was some really good football being played as well...by teams not coached by a Ryan brother.   For the rest of them, they can really say they put out a good effort and put on a show for the fans.  Here's a breakdown of what happened.

 

Texans vs. Lions

Coming into this game at 4-6, this was one game the Detroit Lions desperately needed to win.  Going 4-7 would pretty much take them out of playoff condition, as they would need the Vikings, Cowboys, Redskins, Seahawks, Saints, and Bucs to all pretty much bomb their remaining games.  This was a game the Lions really should have won.  They offensively manhandled the Texans D, which was considered great until the last two weeks, giving up 37 to Jacksonville and 31 to Detroit, putting up 547 yards of offense, 441 of which were thrown by Matthew Stafford, who let's face it-throws for 300+ like every game.  The Lions simply just kept scoring, putting up points on long drives every time they touched the football.

The most controversial play occurred on an 81-yard touchdown run for the Texans by Justin Forsett in the third quarter.  With the Texans desperate for an answer and down 24-14, Forsett seemingly gets tackled, but then gets up and runs for the score.  Since all scores are reviewed, this one would have came back.  The catch is that Lions coach Jim Schwartz threw a challenge flag, and since you can not challenge a scoring play, a penalty was called, which Houston declined, giving them a score.  Had Schwartz not thrown the flag, the TD would have came back.  This became pivotal as the game was taken into OT, and the Texans eventually won.  So, the question is: did the decision by Schwartz lose them the game?

My answer is NO!  Of course that didn't cost the game, while it is the most obvious mistake, there is no saying the Texans wouldn't have scored a TD on that drive anyway.  And the Lions could have allowed less than 31 points in the first 4 quarters.  Also, let's look at the Lions 3 overtime possessions. Yes people, the Lions had 3 chances in overtime.  The results were fumble, punt, missed FG.  All of these results happened in Texans territory.  They could have scored 3 points on any of these drives and won.  

In conclusion, the Lions got robbed, but you have to know the rules.  And the Texans have clinched a playoff spot.  Good for them, we totally didn't see it coming.  Texans 34-31.

Cowboys vs. Redskins

The NFC East has underperformed this year, and both of these teams still have a shot at the division.  However, this game was very important for the Cowboys as winning could have put them half a game behind the Giants with the G-Men playing the Packers.  The Redskins were playing for their season.  Going 4-7 would be killer, but going 5-6 with tiebreaker on the Cowboys, potentially one game behind the Giants with a matchup against them in the next week.  

The Cowboys got off to an early 3-0 lead, and that was the score after the first quarter.  The Cowboys then put up potentially the worst quarter of the NFL season, only to be beat by the Jets 4 hours later.  What happened?  RG3.  He happened.  Romo struggled, throwing two picks, and Miles Austin was injured, while Robert Griffin and a rocket arm took over.  It started with a 68 yard pass to Aldrick Robinson, leading the fans to wonder where the defense was.  Dez Bryant fumbled on the next drive, which Alfred Morris would capitalize on with a touchdown.  Next time the Skins touched the ball, it went deep, 59 yards to Pierre Garcon.  After a Romo pick giving the Redskins field possession at the Dallas 33, Santana Moss got in the action, making it 28-3 at the break.  The Redskins were rolling, and pretty much had the game rapped up.  Or did they???

Something got into Tony Romo in the second half.  The Cowboys were back.  Romo was firing, and would finish with 441 yards.  After getting a field goal, the Cowboys stuck quickly with the third long score of the game, 85 yards to Dez Bryant on a perfect play.  The Redskins had another passing score to Niles Paul, but the Cowboys struck twice more in the fourth, and with a two-point conversion the score was 35-28. However, the Cowboys could not complete the comeback, and it ended Redskins 38-31.  Both teams now stand 5-6, and the Redskins will hope to draw blood against the Giants next week, while the Cowboys need to rebound versus the struggling Eagles.

Jets vs. Patriots

The Jets were the last 4-6 team of the day playing a better opponent, and for the sake of their season, they hoped to play like the Redskins.  The Patriots are cruising to another AFC East title, but another win is also valuable as they are now playing for home-field advantage.  

The first quarter had no score.  The second quarter had 38 points.  Exactly.  Wes Welker started the scoring spree with a 3 yard TD catch on the first play of the quarter.  The fun starts around the 10-minute mark, as the Jets fumbled three times and the Patriots score three touchdowns all in about a minute.  It starts with a Shonn Greene fumble in Patriots territory.  Next play- Shane Vereen 83 for a score off a short pass from Brady.  The Jets' second offensive play of the next drive was #1 on ESPN's not top plays.  Sanchez essentially runs into his own man, falls, fumbles, and the Pats take it to the house.  21-0.  The kickoff is then fumbled into the hands of Julian Edelman, who easily takes it for a score.  It is now 28-0 six minutes into the second quarter.  Tim Tebow can only pray as he doesn't take a snap.  This wasn't enough as Julian Edelman strikes again, this time with a 56-yard reception, and the half ends 35-3 with a Jets field goal.  

The Jets surprisingly showed bits of life in the second half, recording a safety, albeit by a penalty in the end zone, but hey-they scored.  On the next drive Bilal Powell runs for a touchdown.  Sanchez would later add in a throw to Dustin Keller, and the Pats would add Tom Brady and Stevan Ridley runs for touchdowns.  The game was very lopsided, and the Pats took it easily.  Patriots 49-19.  This is a testament to the Patriots.  49 points, and 59 last week against the Colts.  108 points over two games is third all-time.  After the game Rex Ryan said that the Jets were "as wounded as you can possibly be", but "not dead."  I would say they're dead, but they do have the easiest remaining schedule in football.  Anything can happen.

CONCLUSION

Turkey day had some good games going on, and a lot of points were put up in all three.  That's always fun.  So while the Lions and Jets had hopes practically vanish, the Redskins were given new life and are on a two game win streak.  I learned some things yesterday.  Here are those 10 things.

1) Andre Johnson still has it- NFL record 461 receiving yards in the last 2 weeks

2) The Patriots love sharing.  Yesterday 6 players scored touchdowns.  Tom Brady, Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman (2 scores) and Steve Gregory.

3) The favorite snack of the Jets is Butterfingers.  5 fumbles by five different people- 4 lost.

4) RG3 is even better than we think he is.  20-28 for 311 and 4 TDS.  OK he did throw a pick.

5) Cole Beasley is underrated .  He may be 5'8", but he was great in the slot for Dallas. 

6) Arian Foster knows where the end zone is.  6 scores in his last 5 games.

7) It is possible to throw for  a league leading 312 yards a game and be 4-7.  Sorry Stafford.

8) There are a lot of rules in football that we have never heard of.

9) Teams can't stop long plays.  6 scores of 50+ yards in 3 games yesterday.

10) The Jets coaching staff must really be against Tebow if they still won't play him.

Thanks for reading and check back frequently for more stories.

Connor