NFL Week 13 picks

Record ATS:
Overall: 9-7
Best Picks: 4-2
Other Picks: 5-5

Best Picks:

Jacksonville at Indianapolis

Jacksonville is a team on the rise and Indy is a team whose offence is a little bit overrated at the moment. Marvin Harrison is not what he used to be and this should allow the Jaguars to key on Reggie Wayne and push Peyton Manning to try and force the ball. This could result in some interceptions for the Jaguars defence. On offence, Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard has been good all year and with a big performance against the Colts could start getting some recognition as one of the NFL's best at his position. These are two of the top three teams in the AFC and should be a tough game. Don't expect the Colts to run away with it.
Take Jacksonville +6.5

San Diego -6 at Kansas City Chiefs

Brodie Croyle's available for this game is in question and that means the Chiefs might start Damon Huard in this one. It shouldn't matter much though because the Chargers have twice as much talent as K.C. and should beat them easily even on the road. Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers got some confidence back against the Ravens last week and should have another good day throwing the ball. The Chiefs are poorly coached and can't score points. That's a bad combination against this San Diego team.
Take San Diego -6

San Francisco at Carolina -2.5

Carolina should not be favourite against anyone and may be the worst team in the league at this point of the season. With either David Carr or Vinny Testaverde at quarterback, I honestly don't know how they expect to score points against anyone. Trent Dilfer and Frank Gore both looked good in a win over the Cardinals last week and expect them to extend their winning streak to two games in Carolina on Sunday.
Take San Francisco +2.5

Cleveland at Arizona pk

The Browns are 7-4 and have the talent to make the playoffs, while the Cardinals lost a home game to the 49ers last week. Look for the Browns defence to force the Warner-led Cards into some turnovers and for Derek Anderson to continue to put up big numbers. This game should be an easy win for the Browns, as Arizona will be playing without their top defender in safety Adrian Wilson. Make some money off of this one.
Take Cleveland pk

Denver -3.5 at Oakland

Denver's loss against the Bears last week was agonizing to say the least, but I'm backing them again anyways on the road against the Raiders. Jay Cutler is passing the ball well and with weapons like Javon Walker and Brandon Marshall at his disposal, should have no problem running up the score on a Raiders defence that is average at best. The Broncos will make sure that their defence can't blow this one.
Take Denver -3.5

Tampa Bay at New Orleans -3

Jeff Garcia isn't healthy and the Bucs cannot continue to win without him being close to 100 percent. New Orleans has won five of their last seven and should be able to throw the ball at home against Tampa Bay.
Take New Orleans -3

New York Giants -1.5 at Chicago

The Giants need to forget about their awful performance last week against the Vikings and get back to how they were playing earlier in the year. Chicago's defence has looked average for most of the year, but looked better last week in a win over Denver. When gambling, never read too much into one week.
Take New York -1.5

Other Picks:

Atlanta at St. Louis -3

St. Louis' offence should have no trouble scoring on Atlanta's defence, but must stay away from DeAngelo Hall. Look for Stephen Jackson to have a big day for the Rams, while St. Louis' defence looked improved last week against the Seahawks.
Take St. Louis -3

Buffalo at Washington -5.5

The Redskins will be playing this game for Sean Taylor so look for a huge effort from them at home. Buffalo is making the right move by going back to rookie quarterback Trent Edwards, but he faces a tough task trying to score on an inspired Washington defence and will likely be without his top offensive weapon, Marshawn Lynch.
Take Washington -5.5

Detroit at Minnesota -4

The Vikings could sneak into a wild card position if they run the table and star rookie running back Adrian Peterson will be making his return this week. This game will come down to how much time Minnesota gives Kitna to throw the ball. If Kitna has time, it could be a long day for the Vikings secondary. However, Detroit's offensive line has looked terrible and this game should turn into a sackfest for the Vikings defence. Minnesota should have no trouble running on Detroit's defence and if Tarvaris Jackson can play a half-decent game, covering this spread won't be a problem.
Take Minnesota -4

Houston at Tennessee -3.5

Tennessee's defence has struggled mightily without defensive MVP candidate Albert Haynesworth, but look for the defensive tackle to return to action in this game. This means Houston will have to pass if they plan on staying in this game and if they can figure that out, Matt Schaub could have a big day against the Titans secondary. Take the points in a game that could easily be won by either team.
Take Houston +3.5

New York Jets at Miami -1

This should be a tough game that goes down to the wire, but I just have that feeling it's time for Miami to finally win. In a matchup of two terrible teams, look for the home side to edge out the Jets.
Take Miami -1

Seattle at Philadelphia -3

Seattle just doesn't play well on the road and needed a second half comeback to beat the Rams last week. The Eagles can either look great or terrible, but if forced to wager on this game, I prefer to side with the home team after an inspiring performance against the Patriots last week.
Take Philadelphia -3

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh -7

This game features two teams who seem to be going in opposite directions in recent weeks. The Steelers lost to the Jets two weeks ago and then barely squeaked by the winless Dolphins at home by a score of 3-0 in what has got to have been the ugliest game of the year so far. The Bengals have won two of their last three, including a 35-6 victory over the Titans last week. Chad Johnson predicted that Cincy would run the table to finish the year and their recent play has gotten people talking about whether this might actually happen. While I don't buy into the hype on either front, the fact that the Steelers will likely be without wide receiver Santonio Holmes and safety Troy Polamalu make taking the points more attractive then giving them. Holmes is Roethlisberger's main deep threat and stretches opposing defences, while Polamalu is the Steelers best player on defence.
Take Cincinnati +7

New England -20 at Baltimore

Make no mistake about it, the Ravens are one of the worst teams in the league right now. New England will be fired up to show the world that their close game against the Eagles last Sunday night was an anomaly and should embarass the Ravens in their own backyard on Monday Night Football.
Take New England -20

NFL Sunday Week 11 picks

Short on time this week so here are the picks.
Season record ATS (since I started posting picks on this blog): 3-0

Best picks:
Jacksonville -9.5 over Buffalo
Seattle -3 over St. Louis
New Orleans -2.5 over Carolina
Arizona -10.5 over San Francisco
Denver +1 over Chicago
San Diego -8.5 over Baltimore

Other picks:
Tennessee -2 over Cincinnati
Kansas City -4.5 over Oakland
Houston +3.5 over Cleveland
Minnesota +7.5 over New York Giants
Washington +3 over Tampa Bay
Philadelphia +24.5 over New England
Pittsburgh -16 over Miami

Good luck!

NFL Turkey Picks - make $$$ as you're eating turkey!!!

Green Bay -3.5 at Detroit:

Detroit's strength is it's passing game and they should struggle trying to throw the ball against Green Bay's phenomenal secondary. Al Harris and Charles Woodson will shut down the passing game all day, while Green Bay's DEs should have no trouble putting pressure on Kitna all day long. Brett Favre is throwing the ball well and with Ryan Grant sparking the Packers running game, the Lions have no chance of stopping this potent offence.

Take Green Bay -3.5

New York at Dallas -14.5

I don't like stopping more than two touchdowns with anyone other than the Patriots, but I don't see how the Jets are going to keep up with the Cowboys passing game without wide receiver Laveranues Coles. Kellen Clemens is going to have to play a very good game without his best offensive weapon and I don't see that happening. Look for Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware to put pressure on Clemens and for Dallas to beat the Jets badly.

Take Dallas -14.5

Indianapolis -12.5 at Atlanta

The Colts and the Packers probably have the two best defences in the NFL right now. Having Joey Harrington at QB and going up against one of the NFL's best defences is not a good thing. Look for the Colts defence to make the Falcons look silly and for the Colts offence to embarass the Falcons defence all night long. Indy will be without Marvin Harrison again, but don't expect them to miss him much, as Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Anthony Gonzalez should be more than they need in order to eat the Falcons alive on Thanksgiving Thursday night.

Take Indianapolis -12.5

* Sunday's NFL picks will be up some time on Friday

Raps beat Grizzlies with efficiency

Jose Calderon was efficient and Chris Bosh was the heart and soul of the Raptors as they managed to beat an improved Grizzlies team 95-89 Wednesday night on the second night of a back-to-back on the road.

With T.J. Ford injured, Calderon got the start and he kept the offence executing with efficiency and the ball moving from baseline to baseline throughout the entire game. Calderon did a much better job than Ford has at getting his Raptors teammates to take the right shots and everyone seemed to get involved in the offence.

The ball went to Bosh when it should (22 points and 19 rebounds); Kapono got more open looks than he has had all year (14 points); Bargnani continued to take good, confident-looking shots throughout the game, despite missing all of his first half attempts and then caught fire in the second half (13 points and 11 rebounds); and even Jamario Moon had a big game offensively (12 points and 5 rebounds).

Bosh and Moon were once again warriors for the Raptors inside. They went after loose balls and rebounds all night and were the heart and soul of the team on a night they needed to get a win. Moon went up for a dunk that would have been the highlight of the year if he had thrown it down, but took a scary fall when Stromile Swift fouled him hard. Moon slammed his head on the floor and rolled around in pain for a minute or two, but came right back and hit his flagrant foul free-throw.

Jamario Moon is the best defensive player the Raptors have had since Marcus Camby and you can take that to the bank. Offensively, his shot is inconsistent, but he has shown signs of being able to knock down the open jumper. My only issue with Moon is that he should be attacking the basket in the halfcourt offence. He hasn't tried to drive in a halfcourt situation once all year and with his athleticism, I don't see anyone being able to guard him without fouling. The only legitimate reason for him to always shoot the jumper or pass, rather than drive to the bucket is if he has a terrible handle. I guess time will tell.

You have got to love the way Chris Bosh has been playing lately if you're a Raptors fan. He has shown a tremendous degree of heart and has worked his ass off for Toronto on defence and on the boards thus far. He hasn't been himself offensively yet, but his outside shot is starting to look more consistent in the last couple of games. Bosh still seems to be lacking a little bit of his spring that he had last year. I'm wondering if it's because of injuries or simply because he isn't at 100 percent in terms of his game shape yet.

I liked the way Sam Mitchell stuck with Bargnani even though he missed every shot he took in the first half. It paid off down the stretch as Bargnani knocked down some big fourth quarter shots from the perimeter.

Having Jose Calderon play big minutes for this offence was a breath of fresh air. I'm sick of seeing T.J. Ford dribble the ball around while everyone else on offence stands around. Calderon gets everyone touches and the ball seems to go where it should. I think his efficient play rubs off on everyone and the team plays smarter basketball as a whole.

The only bad thing about Ford being hurt is that we have to watch Darick Martin play point guard when Calderon needs a rest. After not playing in any of the Raptors first 11 games, Martin immediately missed two shots on his first offensive possession in the game. As usual, Raptors announcers Chuck Swirsky and Leo Rautins continuously praised Martin as he played like crap. What game are you guys watching?? Luckily, Sam Mitchell didn't leave Martin in for very long in the second half, giving Calderon an extremely short rest.

Without T.J. Ford, there was only one Raptor player in the game forcing shots and that was Juan Dixon. Leave him on the bench!

Important Fact of the Day: In the NBA's new +/- statistic that counts how many points a player's team gains or loses when they're on the court, Jose Calderon has beaten T.J. Ford 7 out of the 11 games in which both players have played in.

Monday Morning Throwdown

The story of the day was Terrell Owens and his four touchdown catches for the Cowboys, but the Patriots would not stand for it. Coming off of a bye, New England made sure that their offensive juggernaut stole the top headline, as Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes to Randy Moss in a 56-10 shellacking of the Buffalo Bills.

To call this game embarrassing for the Bills would be an understatement. It was one of the worst NFL beatings I've ever seen and to make matters worse, it happened in Buffalo on prime time Sunday night television.

Bill Belichick was obviously pissed off about how close the Colts came to beating the Patriots two weeks ago, and my theory is that Belichick and Brady did nothing but think about how badly they were going to beat Buffalo for two weeks straight.

The camera shots of the Bills home crowd seething as Belichick continued to pile on the points were priceless and even an inspiring pre-game speech from recovering Buffalo tight end Kevin Everett couldn't will the Bills to make this game close.

The Patriots are truly the best NFL team I have ever seen by a long shot and I don't see how they are going to lose with the incredible focus instilled in them by the maniacal coach/quarterback combination of Belichick and Brady. If you ever had any doubt about how serious of a competitor Tom Brady is, then you have got to watch his reaction to the intentional grounding penalty he took in the first half of the Bills game. At the time, it was already evident that the Patriots were easily going to win the game, but Brady had murder in his eyes, berating the officials like they'd just cost him the game. Admirable or crazy? I'm not sure what to think.

New England easily covered the spread and I am wondering if Vegas can make the line high enough to draw any action against the Patriots in the coming weeks.

Another huge story line on the day was the Cleveland Browns 33-30 overtime road win over the Ravens. The Browns were involved in another nail biter that ended in controversy. After leading for the entire game, Cleveland allowed the Ravens to score 16 straight points and take a 30-27 lead with under a minute left. After an inspired kickoff return by Joshua Cribbs, the Browns called on kicker Phil Dawson to attempt a 51-yard field goal to tie the game.

The kick hit the goal post, then bounced on what seemed to be the crossbar before falling back down short of the goal post. As the Ravens left the field to celebrate their win, a discussion between the refs ensued and it was determined that the kick went through the uprights before banging off the curved centre support and bouncing back out. In other words, the kick was good and both teams had to come back onto the field to play the over time period. The Ravens had to be called back out of their locker room and ended up losing 33-30.

The win gives the Browns a 6-4 record and puts them back in the hunt for the AFC North crown after the Steelers lost a 19-16 shocker to the Jets in OT. The Browns now sit one game behind the Steelers and while the Browns have an easy schedule the rest of the way, Pittsburgh still has to play New England and Jacksonville.

It was obvious from the start of the Jets-Steelers game that Pittsburgh was not prepared. The Jets were focused and the Steelers weren't, leading to another letdown that was similar in nature to the ones they have had on the road in Arizona and Denver already this season. With their lack of consistent focus, the Steelers will never be able to compete with the Colts or Patriots in the postseason. Put them on your list of AFC pretenders.

Speaking of pretenders, the Colts continue to struggle, squeaking out a 13-10 win in Kansas City. Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri missed two field goals to start the game, but managed to nail the 24-yard winner with four seconds left in regulation.

It's never easy to beat the Chiefs in K.C. and Jared Allen should not be taken lightly by anyone. While the Colts have one of the best defences in football, injuries are beginning to hurt them and Peyton Manning does not have the abundance of weapons that Tom Brady is enjoying in New England. Indy should be able to continue winning in spite of their injury troubles and if they can get healthy for the playoffs, they should at least be able to give the Pats a good game in the AFC Championship. The Colts are definitely still contenders.

Speaking of contenders, the Packers have got to be considered as one of the top teams in the NFC. While the Giants were considered to be the Cowboys top challengers for the conference just a few weeks ago, the Packers and Cowboys now look to be on equal footing from where I'm sitting.

The Packers are solid from top to bottom and Favre may be having his best season ever. With up and coming offensive weapons like Greg Jennings and James Jones, as well as Donald Driver, Koren Robinson and Donald Lee, the Packers suddenly have a ton of weapons. They also seem to be developing a running game with Ryan Grant. Their biggest strength however, is their defence, which may be the best in the league. If Favre can keep his composure, the Packers should be able to shut Dallas down with their defence when and if the two teams collide.

Week 11 Observations:

Looks like Jeff Garcia is going to the playoffs for the second straight year. After leading the Eagles to an unlikely playoff berth last season, Garcia has got to be one of the most underrated players in the NFL. He is the epitome of a winner and his Bucs sit in first place in the NFC South with a two game lead over the Panthers and Saints.

Can Kurt Warner actually lead the Cardinals to the playoffs? With the Cards 35-27 win on the road in Cincy, they are now 5-5 and sit only one game behind the Seahawks for the division lead, but...

Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is red hot. He whizzed the ball all over the field against the Bears this week and has been looking unstoppable with a sub-par supporting cast on offence for weeks now. For those of you who have already ruled out Seattle's chances of winning the NFC, please beware.

The Saints just aren't good.

David Garrard is efficient and the Jags have a good running game and a good defence. They are a team built for the playoffs.

Chester Taylor: 22 carries for 164 yards rushing in a 29-22 win for the Vikings over the Raiders. Adrian who??? Maybe, Minnesota's offensive line has more to do with AP's success than people are giving them credit for.

The Giants bounced back from their tough loss to Dallas last weekend with a big 16-10 win against Detroit on the road. It says here they will be making a playoff appearance this season.

Dallas' defence sure had a tough time stopping what was supposed to be a bad Redskins offence. Jason Campbell had 348 yards passing against the Cowboys secondary.

Worst thing I saw today:

Trailing the Steelers 16-13 with 37 seconds left and one timeout remaining, the Jets had a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line after Kellen Clemens completed a 14-yard pass to tight-end Chris Baker. Plenty of time to score right? Wrong. In a move that blew my mind, the Jets decided to spike the ball and waste first down, leaving them with 37 seconds and a timeout to run two plays from the 5. After failing to convert the touchdown on second or third down, the Jets were forced to attempt a game-tying field goal, leaving the Steelers with 23 seconds on the clock to try and win the game. Not only did the spike waste a down that could have given the Jets a win in regulation, but it also gave the Steelers time to try and win it. How in the world does an NFL coach make that sort of decision? Where's your head at Mangini?

Monday Night Football preview:

Tennessee at Denver -2

Tennessee is coming off a bad performance against Jacksonville, while the Broncos played well last week in an easy win on the road over the Chiefs. The Broncos have been inconsistent all season and the big question is what team will show up for Denver? The simple fact is that Vince Young, Jeff Fisher and company know how to win. Don't read too much into last weekend's results. Jacksonville is one of the top teams in the AFC and the Chiefs can't score. The Titans should have some success against the Broncos defence on Monday Night. I think Vince Young will step up in this game and be a difference maker, although with Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth a big question mark, this is not a strong play in my opinion. Take the points and the Titans if you must. Titans +2.

Raptors settle for loss against Jazz

The Raptors ended their two game winning streak on Wednesday night, losing 92-88 to the Utah Jazz at home.

I don't know who the Raptors were today, but they weren't who I thought they were that's for sure.

The problems began early for Toronto, as they continuously settled for casual outside jumpers for almost four full quarters.In a tough home game against one of the West's best teams, Raptors all-star Chris Bosh looked hesitant to attack the basket until the final few minutes of the game. Bosh clanged brick after brick off of the backboard instead of getting to the free throw line like he had been doing in Toronto's past couple of wins.

T.J. Ford, Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon were also dreadful in the loss. Bargnani looked totally lost in all facets of the game. He couldn't buy a bucket on offence, looking hesitant even when he took good shots and was completely lost on the defensive end of the floor.

Ford and Calderon struggled as well at playing the point for the Raptors, combining for six turnovers in what was surely their worst performance of the year so far.

Ford didn't help the Raptors shooting problems by taking stupid shots on a handful of possessions and made a poor decision on the Raptors last offensive possession, killing any chances Toronto had at tying the game. On the play, Ford passed the ball back and forth with Kris Humphries before finally forcing an off-balance three point attempt with Jazz centre Mehmet Okur's hand in his face.

Ford has to understand that he's not playing five-on-one basketball no matter how good he is at hitting big shots down the stretch.

The entire game was despicable to watch for any basketball fan. It showcased two of the NBA's best teams playing like high schoolers. Both teams couldn't hit a shot for most of the game before finally deciding to execute their offences in the final half of the fourth quarter. Once they got serious, neither team could stop each other, as the Raptors made a serious run, but fell short because of fantastic execution by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, who outplayed Ford and Bosh when it counted.

The poor effort was inexcusable on the Raptors part. Their refusal to attack the rim for most of the game cost them the win.

If you were a hardcore Raptors fan watching this game, it was definitely the most frustrating performance of the season. After the loss, I just sat on the couch shaking my head in complete disbelief, discouraged after hoping the Raptors would make a late comeback and get a win that they should have had easily if they had played a decent game.

Although it makes me sick when I read about taking positives out of losses, especially with a team that has top-level talent and should be winning, there were a few things for Raptors fans to be optimistic about in the loss.

Anthony Parker continued playing great basketball for Toronto and continues to hit almost every three pointer he attempts from the corner.

Another positive for the Raptors was Jamario Moon. Wow! I can't stress enough how impressed I am with this 27-year-old rookie. I'm starting to think he may be the third best rookie after Durant and Horford. What an amazing find by Bryan Colangelo.

I know we haven't seen much of him, but Moon can seemingly do it all. There is no one in the league that has more athleticism than Moon. He is a good one-on-one defender and his shot blocking presence in the paint consistently changes opposing players' shots. Moon has already successfully defended Luol Deng and Andrei Kirilenko, two very good players who do not allow their shots to be altered easily.The Raptors defence seems to be on a different level with Bosh and Moon in the game at the same time, either changing shots or swatting them away with their long arms with consistency.

The rookie also looks polished on offence. So far he has done a great job finishing around the rim and seems to be able to hit open shots. I feel stupid saying it, but the way he plays reminds me of T-Mac and I would love to see the Raptors run some iso plays for him. If Moon can continue to get more confident and more comfortable in the NBA, I don't know if there's anyone that will be able to defend him. Hopefully, I'm not getting ahead of myself!

It was also good to see Juan Dixon on the bench where he belongs. With all of the great shooters on the Raptors, there's no reason for them to put the erratic, turnover-prone Dixon on the court. Dixon is often times taken advantage of by taller, opposing shooting guards and should not be playing on a regular basis considering the Raptors have Parker, Moon, Delfino and Kapono on the roster.

With the way the Raptors played, it was amazing they were good enough to stay in the game against one of the NBA's best teams for four quarters and that in itself shows how talented this team really is. If the Raptors had played even close to good, they would have run away with the win and this bodes well for their playoff aspirations.

Unfortunately though, this does not change the fact that the Raptors are 4-4 after eight games. They should consider this a major disappointment. They must play harder and attack the rim on a more consistent basis from now until the end of the season if they hope to be taken seriously as championship contenders.

On another note, I believe the Raptors are sorely missing the edge that MoPete brought to this team last year. Peterson was a leader on and off the floor and played hard on a consistent basis. Despite his inconsistent shooting, Peterson brought an energy with him every night that doesn't seem to be present this season. The Raptors need to have a swagger when they come out of the locker room and let's hope they can find some attitude from somewhere soon.

Sports blog

Hey All,

This is going to be an opinionated sports blog, focusing on professional sports. Specifically, I'm going to start by writing about the Toronto Raptors on a regular basis, as well as periodic posts about the NFL and MLB. Look for my weekly NFL picks against the spread. I win!