NFL Wildcard Weekend picks.....

Mike beat me by two games in picking the winners straight up for the 2010 season. On my picks against the spread, I was on the winning side of the ledger and that is all I can ask for after 256 games. Now it is onto the playoffs and hopefully I can stay on the positive side of the tote board. Enjoy.

Week 17 picks: 7-8-1
2010 season: 134-108-14

Win/Lose picks:
Week 17 results: Mike (11-5) / Sal (11-5) / Guest (10-6)
2010 season: Mike (163-93) / Sal (161-95) / Guest (145-111)


Wildcard Weekend:

SEAHAWKS (+11) over Saints
The Saints start their Super Bowl defense against a Seattle team that many believe don't belong in the playoffs. Well, the Seahawks are here and they will not be the pushover many think on Saturday afternoon. The key to Seattle will be feeding off the excitement of a home playoff game and not allow New Orleans to jump to an two score early lead. The lack of a running game (both Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory are out), a short week with long travel and the Seattle crowd will add up to a game closer than many think, but in the end Drew Brees and the Saint offense will find enough holes in the Seahawk defense to get the victory and move forward in defending their crown.
Saints 26
Seahawks 17

COLTS (-3) over Jets
A rematch of last year's AFC Championship game and both teams are different from twelves months ago. While the Colt offense is less explosive without Dallas Clark and Austin Collie, the Jet defense is not as dominant as last year and gives up more passing yard and points than in 2009. At the end of the day it is just hard to go against Peyton Manning, especially at home. I would feel more comfortable if Clark or Collie was available, but Joseph Addai is there and that will help Manning keep the offense balanced. New York needs to run the ball and the Indianapolis defense has been better against the run the last quarter of the season and will need a big game from Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson to help keep Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis away from Mark Sanchez.
Colts 27
Jets 20

Ravens (-3) over CHIEFS
The veteran Baltimore team against the young Kansas City squad. While I think the Ravens have the best shot of the AFC teams this weekend to make the Super Bowl, this is a match-up that is the worst one that could have happened for the Ravens. The Chiefs have more speed than the Ravens and that is the one area where Baltimore is vulnerable. While I fully expect the Ravens to pound the Chiefs with Ray Rice and Joe Flacco using play action, it would not surprise me to see this a game where the Kansas City speed bothers Baltimore enough to keep it close. Plus add in the Arrowhead crowd, where the Chiefs only lost once this season, and Kansas City has the goods to be able to pull the upset. In the end though, one of those veterans on the Raven defense steps up and helps put away Kansas City.
Ravens 23
Chiefs 19

Packers (+3) over EAGLES
Green Bay was my preseason Super Bowl pick and I will not be changing now that the playoffs have started. Andy Reid is a great coach when he has time to prepare his team and by taking last week off against Dallas, manufactured a bye week and much needed rest for Michael Vick. The Packers will attack Vick with defensive back blitzes (most likely Charles Woodson) from one side and Clay Matthews from the other, so it will be up to Vick to stay in the pocket and find DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin with Packers flying at him. The Green Bay defense has enough speed to keep up with the Eagle speed and could upset Vick enough to where he tries to force the issues. On the other side, while the Packers will try to run the ball, Aaron Rodgers will be the key to getting the victory and his ability to beat the Philadelphia biltzes. Rodgers, with his receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver will expose the Eagle secondary and get Rodgershis first playoff win.
Packers 30
Eagles 17


Win/Lose picks:
Sal / Mike --- Seahawks at Saints ---
Mike --- Jets at Colts --- Sal
Sal / Mike --- Ravens at Chiefs ---
Sal / Mike --- Packers at Eagles ---

Wildcard Weekend - The SFB Podcast (1/7/2011)

The NFL Playoffs start on Saturday and we are down to 12 teams looking to win the Super Bowl. Will the Saints repeat as Super Bowl champions or do we get a new team holding the Lombardi trophy? Mike joins me to preview the four games and give our thoughts on who will move on to the Divisional Round. Plus we discuss the Baseball Hall of Fame voting and the NHL Winter Classic. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: January 7, 2011 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NFL 2010 - Week 9 picks.....

OK, not even the most ardent "Cowboy hater" would have predicted the Dallas Cowboys to be 1-6 (0-4 in The Palace) after eight weeks of this NFL season. Plus we have the Chiefs and Buccaneers sitting atop their divisions with 5-2 records. So should we say these are no longer aberrations, but how these teams really will look at season's end? The next few weeks should start to tell that story better as we head into November games and really separate pretenders from contenders.

As for the picks against the spread, we'll take anything on the winning side of the ledger.

Below the point spread games are the win/lose picks of Mike, myself and our guest picker and podcast listener, Aaron.

NFL Week 9 picks (Home Team in Caps)
Bye Week: 49ers, Broncos, Jaguars, Rams, Redskins, Titans

Buccaneers (+9 1/2) over FALCONS - Tampa Bay's 5-2 record is a bunch of "smoke & mirrors", but they are an improved team. I think they keep it close against Atlanta.
BILLS (-1) over Bears - Chicago is off a bye week and Buffalo is playing the game in their second home of Toronto. The Bills have been close to getting their first win the past couple of weeks and finally pull it out this week against Jay Cutler and the Bears.
Patriots (-6 1/2) over BROWNS - Cleveland has been playing close games and have looked ok at times, but I have a strange feeling that if given the opportunity, Patriots' coach Bill Belicheck takes it to his former division rival Eric Mangini and his Browns.
Jets (-3 1/2) over LIONS - The first meeting between the top two quarterbacks taken in last year's draft. There is a part of me that want to take the Lions and maybe even outright, but I just can't pull the trigger on Detroit. Will be interesting to see how the Lions' front four does against the New York offensive line.
VIKINGS (-8) over Cardinals - The Minnesota defense has to take advantage of playing against an offense led by Derek Anderson and without a healthy Beanie Wells. Not sure who will catch the ball for the Vikings, but I hear their running back is pretty good.
Saints (-6 1/2) over PANTHERS - I give the Panthers a second chance last week and they dive on me. The Saints gets a huge push from that victory over the Steelers and start a roll back to the front of the NFC line.
Dolphins (+7) over RAVENS - Miami and Baltimore both play tough football by trying to run the ball and play good defense. Even though the Ravens are home and off the bye, that formula of running and defense should make for a closely played game.
TEXANS (-1 1/2) over Chargers - I am not thrilled picking the Texans here as it seems like they peaked when they beat the Colts in week one, but the Chargers are too beat up and with Antonio Gates joining that injury list it points to a Houston home victory.
Giants (-5) over SEAHAWKS - The New York defense gets after the quarterback and that will make for a long day for new starter Charlie Whitehurst. The long trip from coast to coast can be a speed bump, but the Giants are coming off their bye and that should negate that effect.
Chiefs (+3) over RAIDERS - Both teams have been running the ball real well and that has been the biggest reason for their respective turnarounds. The Kansas City defense is a little better against the run and quicker than the Raiders, and those advantages help lead the Chiefs over their rivals from Oakland.
Colts (+2 1/2) over EAGLES - Michael Vick comes back this week and could give the Indianapolis defense some trouble, but Peyton Manning will bother the Philadelphia defense even more.
Cowboys (+9 1/2) over PACKERS - Dallas is a train wreck, but the Packers are coming off a good road win over the Jets and have a much needed bye week in front of them. Those factors lead to a game that is still a Green Bay win, but closer than many expect.
Steelers (-3 1/2) over BENGALS - Last year Cincinnati swept the AFC North games in taking the division, while this year they are fighting for their season in week nine. Pittsburgh took a loss last week in New Orleans and will look to get back on track and get a little payback at the same time.

Week 8 picks: 8-5
2010 season: 58-51-8


Win/Lose picks:
Guest picker for week 9: podcast listener, Aaron

Week 8 results: Mike (7-6) / Sal (9-4) / Guest (7-6)
2010 season: Mike (71-46) / Sal (71-46) / Guest (57-60)

Week 9 picks:
--- Buccaneers at Falcons --- Sal / Mike / Aaron
Mike / Aaron --- Bears at Bills --- Sal
Sal / Mike / Aaron --- Patriots at Browns ---
Sal / Mike / Aaron --- Jets at Lions ---
--- Cardinals at Vikings --- Sal / Mike / Aaron
Sal / Mike / Aaron --- Saints at Panthers ---
Sal --- Dolphins at Ravens --- Mike / Aaron
--- Chargers at Texans --- Sal /Mike / Aaron
Sal / Mike / Aaron --- Giants at Seahawks ---
Sal --- Chiefs at Raiders --- Mike / Aaron
Sal / Aaron --- Colts at Eagles --- Mike
--- Cowboys at Packers --- Sal / Mike / Aaron
Sal / Mike / Aaron --- Steelers at Bengals ---

NFL Week 4 review - The SFB Podcast (10/5/2010).....

A quarter of the season is complete for most teams and I am not sure that we have more answers than questions still after 4 games. One of my questions is, "are we seeing good football"? Week 4 was the first of the seven bye weeks, so we did not have a full slate of 16 games, but we still had games. I'll take a look a what happened in week 4 and how things are looking as we head into the second quarter of the season. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: October 5, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NFL Week 3 review - The SFB Podcast (9/28/2010).....

Three weeks into the NFL season and we are left with only three undefeated teams (Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Chicago), and all three are quite the surprise. On the other side of the coin, there are five teams without a victory (Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Carolina and San Francisco), and only the Bills were really expected on this list. I'll take a look at all 16 games and give my thoughts about the how's and why's of the week that was. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: September 28, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NFL Week 2 review - The SFB Podcast (9/21/2010).....

Yes, I was completely wrong in thinking Mark Sanchez and the Jets would not bounce back against the Patriots. As with almost every NFL week, there are just as many questions as answers after the games have been played. I'll take a look at each of the sixteen games from the weekend and give my thoughts about what went on in the games and what we might be able to take from the results. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: September 21, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.