NFL Predictions - Round Three <ding>

In My Humble Opinion
1

Well the record dropped a little last week to 11-4, still 25-5 overall (much better than those guys at ESPN and The Sporting News, and they get paid to do this!). Once again, feel free to use these picks in all your betting needs, but don’t blame me if I go 3-11 and you end up eating mac and cheese all week!

Steelers 13 at Browns 17 (I just don’t have any faith in the Steeler O. The Browns looked good against a Bengals team that had all off-season plus a bye week to prepare for them.)

Bucaneers 12 at Lions 10 (Bucs will win in battle of defenses. Lions will go three weeks without an offensive TD.)

Eagles 23 at Packers 16 (I have to stick to my prediction that the Pack won’t win until 9/24 against the Cards.)

Falcons 28 at Panthers 35 (Should be a high scoring game. Last one with the ball wins.)

Bengals 6 at Jaguars 27 (I’m being kind to the Bungals here.)

Jets 13 at Bills 24 (Vinnie didn’t look very good on Monday night, and Rich stadium is tough on visiting QB’s.)

49ers 17 at Rams 45 (I don’t think the Rams - or anyone else for that matter - could slow down this offense if they wanted to.)

Chargers 10 at Chiefs 13 (I’m very tempted to pick the Chargers, but I can’t put that much faith in Ryan Leaf and that receiving corps.)

Broncos 17 at Raiders 33 (The Broncos have played some soft defenses so far. Not this week.)

Giants 27 at Bears 21 (I really like the Bears chances in this one, but McNown is their only running threat until they decide to bench Enis in favor of Allen.)

Vikings 24 at Patriots 20 (The Patriots continue their charge to a 4-12 season.)

Saints 13 at Seahawks 20 (I would not want to be anywhere near Holmgren if the Seahawks drop another one.)

Ravens 9 at Dolphins 3 (The Dolphins should be able to slow down the Raven O, but they don’t have any of their own.)

Cowboys 17 at Redskins 23 (I actually think the 'boys would have a better chance this season if they keep starting Cunningham instead of Aikman.)

There you go. A lot of games on tap for this weekend that really could go either way.

2

25-5 and nobody will post.

Gazoo heap, big prognosticator.

Points aside i agree with you for the most part.

Steelers will win on the strength of at least 1 defensive score.

Otherwise the Vikes could go either way but the safe money is on the Queens.

I could see New Orleans pulling it off(I know, I know! Commit me)Actually I probably just want to see how far that vein on Holmgren’s head can jut out before he blows. But I’ll pick the Saints to pull off the upset.

If Detroit had lost to the Skins they would be more dangerous. They have a way of biting people in the ass in the Silverdome.

3

Man, are you generous to my boys on the Bears. That was the single most ineptly played game I’ve seen in my 27 years last weekend, and I have no reason to see why they won’t continure this weekend against the Giants. 27-7, Giants.

4

Hmmm. It appears Kicker Mike Hollis might be out of action for awhile. (Quick, change your Fantasy Line-ups!!) New Score, same result.

Bengals 6 at Jaguars 26 (That’s 4TD’s, no PAT’s and one Two Point Conversion. ;))

Sledman- Yeah, like I said. There are a lot of games that could go either way. You mentioned three of them. (Sorry, I can’t see the Saints winning at Seattle.)

JosephFinn - Hey, give the Bears a little break. They were playing arguably the toughest team in the league. On the road. The Giants defense is no where near as tough as the Bucs, and the Bears get them at the friendly confines of Soldier Field.

5

Minor correction: It’s Bills AT Jets. I don’t think this will affect the outcome, though. The Jets won’t be able to run the ball.

6

Damn, why was I thinking it was in Buffalo? Too many wings last week at Sledman’s NFL party maybe. Yeah, I think the Bills still win, but give the Jets 4 more points (they get a touchdown instead of one of the field goals).

7

I’ll grant you that, but I didn’t see one good or even less-than-mediocre thing on our side of the field. It just got worse and worse, and I don’t think it will get much better. But here, look at what the Chicago Tribune’s John Mullin had to say in response to this question:
“It is evident that one of two things caused the embarrassing disaster: Either the coaches did a miserable job of preparing the team for Tampa Bay or the Bears do not have the talent or personnel to compete with the Buccaneers. Which is it? Either way, one or the other shouldn’t be paid this week.” --Rick Doucette, Indianapolis

"Why choose one or the other? When you lose 41-0, it was more than preparation and it was more than talent, which both players and coaches acknowledged afterwards.

What appears to have happened was a domino blowout: First, the Bears were not as ready as they needed to be emotionally, and they are trying this week to get more connected with each other to spark some of the chemistry and enthusiasm. Yes, these are professionals, but it’s still a game; you do best when you “play” football, and the Bears were tight.

Second, the Bucs are simply a lot better right now than the Bears. You saw the Bears add to their defense last off-season; the Bucs got Keyshawn Johnson, Jeff Christy and Randall McDaniel for their offense. The Bears didn’t gain much on them talent-wise.

Third, once things started happening, they took on a momentum of their own in that stretch late in the second quarter. The Bears are not 41 points worse than the Buccaneers, but they were that day, for a combination of reasons. Maybe nobody should’ve gotten paychecks."

8

This just in: Leaf’s been benched. Not sure if that should change your prediction, though…I’ve never even HEARD of their backup.

Oh, and it’s Ralph Wilson Stadium, not Rich (which is irrelevant since it’s an away game anyway). Given that Buffalo has one of only three NFL stadiums named after an actual person (Rich, ironically, was a dairy company, meaning that Buffalo switched from a corporate sponsor to a real name, rather than the current trend of the other way around), you should always make sure not to call it something it’s not.

9

Moreno is a former Bears back-up, and no I don’t think they’ll do any better under his leadership.

Sorry, you get used to calling a stadium something for so many years and then they change it on you.

This just in – Tim Dwight (WR-ATL) is out for a few weeks after emergency surgery (make the necessary Fantasy Football moves). No, it doesn’t change my pick.

10

Another This Just In – Cunningham is starting. Does this change your prediction at all?

11

I’m tempted to change the pick actually, but Dallas’ Defense is just too shitty. I will however bump the score up becuase I think Cunningham will open up the passing game better than a woozy Aikman. The Redskins will pretty much score at will though. Lets go with,

Cowboys 27 at Redskins 31

12

Giants 14, Bears 7.

Hmmm…

Looks like I overestimated the Giants offense. Some good stuff from the Bears, but I did have the Bears total scoring output dead on.

Still, the Bears should have gone for fourth-and-1 at the end. I think the field goal attempt was a mistake.

13

Gazoo said:

Y’know, I didn’t mind the fact the Steelers called their last time out to set up a play that didn’t work. I didn’t even mind that they tried a draw play–it made some sense, and they had plenty of time to spike the ball afterwards. But when you have 14 seconds left in the game, and it’s third and goal, and you have a patchwork offensive line and an immobile quarterback who gets sacked a lot, and you only need three points to tie the game and send it to overtime, THEN KICK THE FUCKING FIELD GOAL!

<clears throat> Sorry about that. Suffice it to say that I hope the entire coaching staff is put on a barge, towed out into the Ohio River, and sunk, and that all the players get jock itch.