Week 11 Picks

11 weeks in and only the Texans, Ravens, Jets and Packers are prepping for the Leinart/Bush Sweepstakes My picks have gotten better and better as time goes on, I can't expect to have 13-1 weeks all the time. Though the Skins let me down by blowing that lead and I should have known that the Vikes would make me look foolish when I didn't pick them, but lets be real no one saw that coming. In any case the picks will follow soon enough for this week. No more bye to deal with so the football junkies can get their full fix from here on in. College football is having its traditional rivalry week, with the exception of the Army-Navy and USC-UCLA game most of the storied rivalries are on tap this week. Though none of the big boys in the BCS mix are facing any real true test, these games should be top notch and I'll give you a couple to keep your eye on after the pro picks after a few observations on the sports world I find it hard to believe but I'm giving dap to Bud Selig, seriously. The shady o'grady car salesman (Thats what he was before he owned the Brewers and then became MLB commish) came up with a steroids/drug program with some teeth and one that make sense. 50 games for the first offense, 100 games for the second (both suspensions without pay) and in the words of columnist Mike Lopresti Pete Roseville for the third, a lifetime ban but players can apply for reinstatement after two years. Do you think anyone will get to that point? I don't, 1/3 of the season without pay hits the ball players where it hurts the most, in the wallet. Thats enough of a deterrent. The MLB players Union is in a corner, if they don't ratify this they'll look bad in the court of public opinion. I usually ignore basketball until the first of the year, I feel like both pro and college basketball matters little until the calendar turns and all the patty cake games in the college games are out of the way and the pro game has shook the pretenders out but I have to give props to one team and I know it will make some people grit their teeth, but lets give phat dap to... The Los Angeles Clippers! No seriously this team is not only playing well, but they have a better record than their more heralded roomies at the the Staples Center. The Lake Show with all the talk about Phil being back and Kobe being a leader the Lake Show has delved into their usual. Kobe wanting to be Jordan and Phil already looking like he's questioning his sanity for coming back. Well he can comfort himself in the thought that at least he's not coaching the Knicks. On the for real tip has anyone really given any thought to the college basketball season? As a UC alum, its been hard to really get up for the season. And no, you UK fanatics it isn't because you think I'm worried that the Cats will take lumps in the Big East. Maybe its because this football season is still playing itself out. Check back with me next month and I'll have something to say. Anyhoo, I'll keep my rants and ravings brief, submitted for your review and approval are this weeks picks. NFL SCHEDULE – WEEK 11 Sunday, November 20 Arizona (2-7) @ St. Louis (4-5) Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis-1:00 FOX Favorite-Rams by 9.5 The Rams are losing games that they should win, and winning games that they should lose. I hate picking games like this, but I have a feeling that the Rams will pick apart the Cards D with a more healthy offense. The Cards while strong in the passing game has a running game that no one fears, which the Rams know they can sit back and wait for their former QB Kurt Warner to try to force the ball and make mistakes. The Rams offensive balance should more than make up for the deficits that they have in the secondary. Pick-St. Louis Carolina (7-2) @ Chicago (6-3) Soldier Field, Chicago-1:00 FOX Favorite-Panthers by 3 If you like defenses, this is a game you'll love. Both teams bring slobberknocker defenses and prefer to keep the scoring low. The problem with Da Bears is that they have no real offense to utilize. Kyle Orton cannot be trusted to lead an offense and with no tangible running game that spells trouble against a hard charging, lightning quick Panther defense. The Panthers while no offensive juggernaut is capable of moving the ball with Stephen Davis and Jake Delhomme directing passes to the capable hands of Steve Smith. The Bears need only make a couple of mistakes and the Panthers will cash them in and put the Bears behind the 8-ball. Pick-Carolina Detroit (4-5) @ Dallas (6-3) Texas Stadium; Irving TX-1:00 FOX Favorite-Cowboys by 8 The Tuna must be living right, he gets the Eagles when they are down in mouth after the TO situation and then they get the Lions who everyone knows that Joey Harrington will not have back to back good games. The Pokes defense while a bit undersized are for the Lions a big step up from picking on a sorry Cards secondary. Roy Williams will not let Harrington get away with the kind of throws he made a week earlier. Dallas knows in the airtight NFC East they can ill afford any slipups and they won't do that here. Pick-Dallas Jacksonville (6-3) @ Tennessee (2-7) The Coliseum, Nashville-1:00 CBS Favorite-Jags by 4 This game reeks of an upset, The Titans like to run and the Jags have all sorts of trouble stopping the run. The problem is the Titans have no credible passing game, no disrepect to an old pro like Steve McNair but the poor boy has no one to throw it to. The Jags are full of question marks though, especially if Fred Taylor isn't a go or not 100% dealing with an ankle injury. Byron Leftwich will try to get the ball to the dependable Jimmy Smith but something tells me that the Jags are waaaay overdue for a brain freeze game. Dare to go out on a limb, but this will be the upset special of the week Pick-Tennessee Miami (3-6) @ Cleveland (3-6) Browns Stadium, Cleveland-1:00 CBS Favorite-Browns by 2 The Fins make a cold weather city stop and school of thought is that they'll do poorly, not so in my school. The Browns have a puny offense and the Fins D is stout enough to have an easy go at it. Look for the increasingly hard to handle Ronnie Brown and the resurgent Ricky Williams to be the focal point of the Miami offense and pound the ball at the Browns D. Pick-Miami New Orleans (2-7) @ New England (5-4) Gillette Stadium; Foxboro, MA-1:00 FOX Favorite-Patriots by 9.5 This game reeks of upset potential as well. The Saints are refreshed after a badly needed bye week and the Pats buckled but didn't break in a tight contest in Miami. The Saints have the potential for an aerial show with Joe Horn and Donte' Stallworth stretching the field, but Aaron Brooks is the Webster's defintion of inconsistent. Though all signs point to a Pats team ripe for an upset. I can't see them losing back to back at The Razor. The Saints will make it interesting however. Pick-New England Oakland (3-6) @ Washington (5-4) FedEx Field; Landover, MD-1:00 CBS Favorite-Washington by 5.5 Both teams can put up the points, but the Raiders have a weaker secondary. With a healthier Randy Moss and Lamont Jordan the Raiders can better utilize a play-action passing game. The Redskins are getting tougher and tougher to beat at home and the Raiders aren't very good outside the black hole. If Clinton Portis gets his roll on, it could be a long day for the Silver and Black Pick-Washington Philadelphia (4-5) @ NY Giants (6-3) Giants Stadium; East Rutherford, NJ-1:00 FOX Favorite-No Line No DMcNabb, No TO, facing a Giants team that is angry over the stunning loss to the Vikes andremembering what happened to the Skins when their team patriarch Wellington Mara passed knowing that the G-Men are again playing with heavy hearts after losing team co-owner Lawrence Tisch to brain cancer. All one has to say to Philly is "Best of luck, my friend!" Pick-New York Giants Pittsburgh (7-2) @ Baltimore (2-7) M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore-1:00 CBS Favorite-No Line Does it matter who the QB is for the Steelers? Not really, they can put up enough points to run the Ravens out who have no idea who to turn to to QB their squad. Jamal Lewis looks lost and the Steelers will take every advantage they can. The Ravens have had massive trouble getting the ball into the end zone having gone 2 games with out scoring a touchdown. Even at home, doing that against a Steelers D will be lethal. Pick-Pittsburgh Tampa Bay (6-3) @ Atlanta (6-3) Georgia Dome, Atlanta-1:00 FOX Favorite-Falcons by 6 One of the better early games, the winner stays with in distance of the red-hot Carolina Panthers while the loser suddenly gets desperate. The Falcons came up woefully flat against a bad Packers team while the Bucs look to build on their last minute win over the Redskins. The Falcons want to get a lead early and not only pound the ball with their strong running game, but force Chucky to depend on Chris Simms to pass their way back in the game. Simms has yet to prove he can win in a hostile enviroment and the Georgia Dome will be hostile as any venue you can find. Pick-Atlanta Seattle (7-2) @ San Francisco (2-7) Monster Park, San Francisco-4:05 FOX Favorite-Seahawks by 11.5 I don't trust the Niners as far as I can throw them. In road games they are dead meat, but they play teams in the Old Candlestick tough. The Seahawks are trying to bear down for a playoff push and the Niners are but a speed bump in the way. The Niners have a puny offense and while the Seahawks are not that strong a defensive team, they shouldn't have a realShawn Alexander will have his way running through the leaky Niners defense and the Seahawks will use his running and a ball controlling offense to pound the Niners into submission. Pick-Seattle Buffalo (4-5) @ San Diego (5-4) Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego-4:15 CBS Favorite-Chargers by 10 This is a game that both these teams need badly to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Chargers are riding the redoubtable Landainian Tomlinson to wins and have rediscovered the budding talent that they have in TE Antonio Gates. Betting on the Bills is risky. One cannot be sure if JP Losman's solid performance against the Chiefs was a one time thing or a sign of things to come. The feeling is here that it was a one time fluky performance. Buffalo for better or worse has to ride or die with Losman's growing pains with Kelly Holcombe out and they go down hard here to a no-nonsense Charger squad that is trying to keep Denver in its sights and Kansas City off its back in the tight AFC West. Pick-San Diego Indianapolis (9-0) @ Cincinnati (7-2) Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati-4:15 CBS Favorite-Colts by 5 The big game of the week has two high-powered offenses and two better than advertised defenses. The Colts are no stranger to big games like this, but one has to wonder if the Bengals will get stage fright again. Their last two highly advertised games against Jacksonville and Pittsburgh resulted in losses. The critics say that both teams have built their records on the backs of weak competition. We'll see which team is the real deal. The Colts cannot afford to have the type of special teams gaffes that they got away with against Houston as Cincy will cash those opportunites like welfare checks. The Bengals on the other hand can't be pushed around like they have been in losses and the Colts have the pushers on both sides of the ball. This game will be a shootout and though this one I won't be sad if I'm wrong. I can't see the Bengals pulling a repeat of their upset of Kansas City from 2003. The Colts have too many weapons and the Bengals have a little more growing to do. Pick-Indy NY Jets (2-7) @ Denver (7-2) Invesco Field @ Mile High, Denver-4:15 CBS Favorite-Broncos by 13 The Jets continue their death march with another hostile venue trip against a playoff bound squad. The Broncos will do little to ease Herm Edwards pain and wishing that this season would be over. With the Jets puny offense, it will be soon. The Broncos are trying to keep the distance between themselves and pursuing teams from KC and San Diego. With a tough trip to Dallas on the docket four days after this one, the Broncos will pounce on the Jets early to avoid any real struggle and get prepped for a Thanksgiving battle. Pick-Denver Kansas City (5-4) @ Houston (1-8) Reliant Stadium, Houston-8:30 ESPN Favorite-Chiefs by 6.5 I'm annoyed that the Texans who have all the personality of field turf have a second primetime game. It still speaks volumes that the NFL still think of the Bengals as a lop-eared mutt, that gets hidden away from sight. That said, the timing of this game could not be worse. the Texans despite their scrappy effort against the Colts are out of their league and the Chiefs angry over a poor showing against a Bills team that they should have beaten are in no mood to play nice. This game will be a repeat of the last time the Texans were on Sunday Night, uggggly and over quick. Pick (Survivor of the week)-Kansas City Monday, November 21 Minnesota (4-5) @ Green Bay (2-7) Lambeau Field; Green Bay, WI-9:00 ABC Favorite-Packers by 4 Please everyone stop with the "Oh its Brett Favre's last game on monday night and he's going to go off." I have a hard time believing that Brett Favre will just fade away after this season considering the number of injuries that his team has had to deal with. That said, the Vikings have pipe dreams of getting back into the weak NFC North race. The Packers will be plenty fired up and the game will be tight, but the Vikes have just enough talent to hang on. Pick-Minnesota Last Week 10-4 Overall: 90-54 (blog) 87-57 (pick 'em group) College Games to watch Ohio State @ Michigan Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI-1:00 ABC Both teams have an outside shot at winning the Big Ten title, though they need Penn State to lose. But both teams could be at the bottom of the conference and this game would still be a high drama, tension filled contest. The Bucks rode the high-wire play of Ted Ginn Jr. to a rout of Michigan who went to the Rose Bowl anyway, neither team will go there this year as the BCS championship is there this yeat, but bragging rights are still on the line and its fun to watch each teams fans go out of their way to irritate one another Alabama @ Auburn Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL-3:30 CBS Called the Iron Bowl, this one the the SEC's best known and fiercest rivalries. The names in this rivalry are a who's who in college football from Bo Jackson to Bear Bryant to Pat Sullivan to Joe Namath this game drips with history and drama. These teams have more mascots and nicknames than should be allowed. Auburn will answer to Tiger or War Eagle, Bama is the Crimson Tide but their mascot is an elephant. Auburn currently holds a three game winning streak over a weakened Bama squad, do you think the revitalized Crimson Tide wants to change that? Cal @ Stanford Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto CA-7 ABC People remember this matchup for the Stanford band running on the field prematurely in 1982 as Cal pulled off an improbable multi-lateral kickoff return. (I've watched the replay and all the laterals were legal) Many forget that the play cost Stanford QB John Elway his lone shot at going to a bowl game (There were considerably less bowl games then) Cal is a lot better this year than the Cardinal but one can never tell in rivalry games like this one and in front of their home crowd anything can happen.