Not only is it possible but now it is probable that a two-loss team will be playing for the national championship. Will that two-loss team be LSU, USC, Georgia, or dare I say Virginia Tech? I honestly have no idea and I really don't care. This is exactly what I wanted. I was rooting for Pittsburgh and Oklahoma last night and, at least for me, Christmas came early this year. Unbelievable.
Now, back to business. I don't plan on writing too much this week due to my running blog of today's Browns game. I practiced with two meaningless games and now I'm ready for the big time. A Cleveland Browns game. Saddle up and ride.
I'm on a two-week hiatus from these picks so I have a little bit of catching up to do. In Week 11 we saw the Browns win an improbable game against the Ravens and we saw myself post the best-ever record for a 16 game week. I went 13-3 and stretched my lead over Sara to nine games. Grothaus went 11-5 in week 11 to pull himself out of the cellar. Week 12 was not as exciting from the Browns perspective, but I was in attendance along with my dad and the Hunt's to watch Cleveland beat the Texans. Gus Johnson was on the call and I cannot wait to watch that on tape. Barnes, Jeff, and myself all went 10-6 last week setting us up where we currently sit. The standings reflect the 12 weeks we have completed thus far as well as the GB-Dal game on Thursday night. Devin, Bart, and Jeff were the only three to pick the Cowboys.
STANDINGS (after 12 weeks and one game)
1) Luke 105-72 (10-6)
2) Sara 95-82 (9-7)
3) Devin 93-84 (8-8)
4) Kevin 92-85 (7-9)
5) Jeff 91-86 (10-6)
6) Grothaus 88-89 (8-8)
7) Barnes 87-90 (10-6)
8) Bart 85-92 (5-11)
The tiebreaker question for week 12 was to guess the highest point total from the week 13 games. I was looking for a number but Barnes said he was picking Cleveland. I couldn't pass this opportunity up so we're going to switch it to teams instead of numbers. Jeff did not pick a team or a number so he gets Arizona. I'm picking the Patriots. Highest scoring team wins.
Oh, and I thought I would go ahead and get this out of the way early.
Kevin's Ballbuster Pick of the Week (2-5): Miami
The Ballbuster returns and he picks the winless Dolphins. Welcome to the life of Kevin Hunt my friends.
Onto the picks. We're being very brief here today and saving most of my time for the Browns-Cardinals blog. God help me.
Atlanta @ St. Louis (-4.5)
Bulger is not playing but there is no way I'm backing the Falcons on the road. Expect Steven Jackson to finally perform like the top three fantasy RB he was supposed to be all season today. Pick: St. Louis
ATL: Bart
STL: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Buffalo @ Washington (-6)
Tough one to pick here. Will the Redskins play inspired football in memory of Sean Taylor? Or will they flop after a very long and frustrating week? I have no idea. That's why I'm taking the points. Pick: Buffalo
BUF: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Bart
WAS: Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
Detroit @ Minnesota (-3.5)
Detroit plays bad football on the road and good football at home. However they have failed to cover their last two home contests and I expect them now to play better on the road. I can't believe I'm doing this, but here goes nothing ... Pick: Detroit
DET: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Bart
MIN: Sara, Devin, Grothaus, Barnes
Houston @ Tennessee (-4)
This one all comes down to one player. Albert Haynesworth IS playing. The Titans will shut down Dayne and win this one convincingly to get back on track. Pick: Tennessee
HOU: Sara, Devin, Grothaus, Bart
TEN: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Barnes
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis (-7)
This is the biggest game of the day as far as the AFC is concerned. The Jags remind me of the Browns who always seem to have trouble beating the Steelers. Well, the Jags always seem to have trouble beating the Colts. I expect a close game but as far as Brady's Bunch is concerned, we need Peyton to win this one in a rout. Pick: Jacksonville
JAX: Luke, Sara, Devin
IND: Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
New York Jets @ Miami (-1)
How bad do the Jets feel right now? Underdogs to a winless team in week thirteen? That's ridiculous. This is one of those games where I feel the oddsmakers know something I don't. I would have thought the Jets to be favored or at the very least a straight up pick'em. For that reason only I'm taking the Dolphins. (It's like I'm trying to blow this lead) Pick: Miami
NYJ: Sara, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
MIA: Luke, Kevin, Devin
San Diego (-5) @ Kansas City
Taking the Chargers. I don't know why. In fact I KNOW I'm going to lose this one. Norv Turner works in mysterious ways. Pick: San Diego
SD: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
KC: Bart
Seattle @ Philadelphia (-3)
I wonder how many teams Shane Falco could start for? Would the Eagles be one of them? I mean McNabb's days are numbered there. Who better to "replace" McNabb than Falco? I also wonder how prison is treating the Reid boys? From what I heard it's better than living at their home. Pick: Seattle
SEA: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
PHI: Sara, Kevin, Barnes
San Francisco @ Carolina (-3)
Falco could start for BOTH of these teams. Pick: Carolina
SF: Sara, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes, Bart
CAR: Luke, Devin
Cleveland @ Arizona (-1)
This game scares me as a Browns fan. I really like this Browns team, but they have struggled on the road ALL season long. I hope I'm wrong with this pick ... Pick: Arizona
CLE: Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Barnes, Bart
ARI: Luke, Grothaus
Denver (-3) @ Oakland
I'm bringing back the Boring Game of the Week. This one takes first place. Pick: Denver
DEN: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
OAK: Bart
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-3)
This is a pretty big game for the Bucs. They won't be playing with Jeff Garcia (the modern day Shane Falco) which will hurt them. Pick: New Orleans
TB: Sara, Bart
NO: Luke, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
New York Giants (-2) @ Chicago
Don't know how many of you were watching this, but after the Mizz-OK game was out of hand late last night Brent Musberger could not stop talking about this NFL match-up. Your guess is as good as mind. I hope he retires soon. Pick: New York Giants
NYG: Luke, Sara, Kevin, Devin, Jeff, Grothaus, Barnes
CHI: Bart
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh (-7)
Pittsburgh has done nothing to impress me the last several weeks. Cincy on the other hand, well they put up 35 last week. I like what I see here. This Bengal team is going to be a tough match-up for everyone these last five weeks. Pick: Cincinnati
CIN: Luke, Devin, Jeff, Bart
PIT: Sara, Kevin, Grothaus, Barnes
New England (-20.5) @ Baltimore
The Patriots are the biggest road favorite in the history of the NFL this week. The scary part is that I only think they need to put up 24 to cover this one. After a tough game this week, Belichick will be ready to pounce. Pick: New England
NE: Luke, Kevin, Jeff, Grothaus, Bart
BAL: Sara, Devin, Barnes
This week we didn't have Bart's Thoughts of the Week so instead, we are going to have Jeff's Thoughts instead. He always comes through each and every week with a comment for every game. This is what he had on his mind this week.
Jeff's Thoughts for the NFL - Week 13 Style
"St. Louis-Still better than Atlanta even without Bulger.
"Washington-playing their hearts out for Sean Taylor.
"Detroit-I hate betting against Minnesota but I don't trust them.
"Tennessee comes back from the embarrising Bengals loss.
"Indy-Marvelous Marvin to the rescue.
"Jets-Miami could have scored on the Steelers and let em off the hook---go Jets.
"San Diego--Chiefs getting better but the Chargers need this one big time.
"Seattle--Philly left it all on the table against the Patriots.
"San Fran--Gore picking up the yards lately.
"Cleveland--hope no let down in the desert, Browns defensive secondary the key.
"Denver--Oakland improving but not enough today.
"Saints--Jeff Garcia is that important? I guess so.
"Gmen---I lose all the time on them--might as well keep it up.
"Bengals---yeah I am saying my prayers on this one--Browns always need help.
"Patriots-thought about picking the Ravens like I did the Eagles but the Ravens can't score!"
Thanks Jeff!!
Okay, that wraps it up for this week. If you would like to contribute at all to my Browns-Cardinals running blog then either send me an IM during the game or a text message. On behalf of everyone here in this pick'em league I hope that Sara did well on her LSAT she took recently. Best of luck to everyone this week and GO BROWNS!!
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
1 comment:
Like the post but how can you have Denver @ Oakland as the most boring game of the week?
You know the Dolphins still play football right?
Recap: Jamarcus Russell makes his first NFL debut, nothing spectacular, but hey he was in. The Raiders also put up 34 points, which is about 31 more than they would put up in any game last year.
Oakland vs. Green Bay, I expect a doozie!
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