NFL 2011 - Week 6 picks.....

The bye week (while I despise them) look like they are lining up to help teams heal, while for others it will allow them to make the necessary adjustments to help their teams get back on track. The Lions and Packers are still the remaining undefeated teams, while the Rams, Colts and Dolphins are still looking for win number one.

A game under even for the week, which put the "losing" streak at three weeks, but the overall record is still sitting above the level mark. On to week six. Enjoy.

NFL 2011 - Week 6 picks (Home team in CAPS)

FALCONS (-4 1/2) over Panthers - Didn't see Atlanta having a must win game in week 6, but that is where the Falcons are at this week. They will need to keep Cam Newton under control, but being at home will help Atlanta get back on track.
GIANTS (-3 1/2) over Bills - Typical Giant letdown last week against Seattle and most will feel it continues against Buffalo, but here is where the New York will confound everyone and get the win over Buffalo. The Bills will put up points, but Eli Manning will put up more.
Colts (+6 1/2) over BENGALS - Indy had their chance for the win last week and end up blowing the 17 point lead at home to Kansas City, but they have been playing tough and keeping games close. See the same here as the Bengals win, but the Colts hang tough.
LIONS (-4 1/2) over 49ers - Potential playoff match-up? I would say this is the Lions' letdown week, but who thought the 49ers would be at 4-1 at this time? Detroit will have a struggle here, but with the game being at home, I'll give the edge to the Lions.
PACKERS (-14 1/2) over Rams - St. Louis is bad, while Green Bay is terrific. Packer players will pad multiple offensive stats.
Eagles (+ 1/2) over REDSKINS - I might be the last one beside Eagle diehards to still believe this team can win. Washington can put the dagger into the Eagle season here, but Philly will somehow get this win and muddle the NFC East even further.
STEELERS (-12 1/2) over Jaguars - Pittsburgh showed that they are not giving up on the season after last week's whipping of the Titans and I feel it will continue this week against a bad Jacksonville team. Just can't see the Jaguars scoring much against the Steeler defense.
Browns (+5 1/2) over RAIDERS - Emotional victory last week for the Raiders in Houston last week and this week they face a Cleveland team coming off their bye. Oakland will keep its winning ways, but it will be a struggle as the Browns keep it close.
RAVENS (-7 1/2) over Texans - Want to say the Texans keep it close, but Arian Foster is banged up and no Andre Johnson means not much offense for Houston against the Raven defense. Expect a big load of Ray Rice running and receiving.
Cowboys (+7 1/2) over PATRIOTS - New England faces another "Ryan" defense this week with Rob's Cowboys coming to town. Dallas secondary still a bit banged up. This should be a high scoring affair, but at the end the Patriots will get the victory, but Dallas stays with them throughout.
Saints (-4 1/2) over BUCCANEERS - Tampa Bay didn't even show up last week against the 49ers and that was a giant surprise. New Orleans had to work hard to get the victory in Carolina, but they could really put some distance between them and their division rivals with a victory this week.
BEARS (-3 1/2) over Vikings - Minnesota defensive line probably licking their chops to get at that Chicago offensive line, but do they have an answer to slow down Matt Forte? Vikings ran Adrian Peterson plenty last week, but will they do it again the Bear defense?
Dolphins (+7 1/2) over JETS - New York is on a three game losing streak and have the winless Dolphins coming to town. The Jets will "press" in trying to get off the losing slide and will allow Miami to keep it close and give them a scare, if not the outright upset.

Week 5: 6-7
2011 season: 39-37-1

NFL 2011 (Week 4) - The SFB Podcast (9/30/2011).....

Week 4 of the NFL season. Going to try and bounce back after my first losing week of the season. Below are my picks for the week, while the podcast will preview the week and breakdown the picks. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: September 30, 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 2011 - Week 4 picks (Home Team in CAPS)

Bills (-3 1/2) over BENGALS
BEARS (-6 1/2) over Panthers
BROWNS (-1 1/2) over Titans
Lions (+3 1/2) over COWBOYS
Vikings (-1 1/2) over CHIEFS
RAMS (pick) over Redskins
Saints (-7 1/2) over JAGUARS
EAGLES (-6 1/2) over 49ers
TEXANS (-3 1/2) over Steelers
Falcons (-4 1/2) over SEAHAWKS
Giants (-1 1/2) over CARDINALS
PACKERS (-13 1/2) over Broncos
RAIDERS (+4 1/2) over Patriots
Dolphins (+8 1/2) over CHARGERS
RAVENS (-3 1/2) over Jets
Colts (+9 1/2) over BUCCANEERS

Week 3: 7-9
2011 season: 26-21-1

This & That (Black Friday Edition 11/27/09).....

Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving with family and/or friends. If you decided to go out and do physical shopping on "Black Friday", hopefully you were able to purchase the items you targeted and didn't see too much bodily harm from shoppers in the stores.

--- The NFL version of Thanksgiving Football was a three course meal of complete turkeys. The heavily favored Packers and Cowboys won their games in easy fashion during the afternoon action. While in the NFL night cap, the Giants went to Denver to face the Broncos, and looked like they wanted to be anyplace but playing football on their holiday.

Green Bay's offense was moving right along in their 34-12 victory over the Detroit Lions. Donald Driver was the offensive star with his 142 receiving yards and one TD catch. The Packer did was solid all day, and seemed to show no ill effects from the injuries they have suffered on that side of the ball.

In an off the field story, Packer defensive back Charles Woodson donated $2 million to the new University of Michigan hospital. Bravo to Woodson for his giving back to his alma mater.

While in Dallas, the Cowboys' offense seemed to wake from their two week nap by gained 195 yards on the ground and Tony Romo playing mistake free football in rolling over the Raiders 24-7. The "bad" Oakland team showed up for this game, but they did manage to gain 124 yards on the ground against the Cowboy defense.

The Giants traveled to Denver to face the Broncos, but looked like they never really got off the plane. Denver looked like the team who started the season 6-0, in whipping New York 26-6. The Broncos dominated every facet of the game and look to be back on track, while the Giants look like they are in serious trouble with only 5 games remaining.

---The best game of the day was the college rivalry match-up between the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies. In a game that brings Texas a step closer to the BCS Championship game, the Longhorns beat the Aggies 49-39 in a good old fashioned shootout. The performance by Colt McCoy firmly moved him up the Heisman discussion, and to me I think he is the leader of the race with Florida's Tim Tebow and Alabama's Mark Ingram just behind the Texas QB.

The concern coming out of the game if you are a Longhorn fan, is giving up 39 points and 542 yards to the Aggies' offense. While Nebraska's offense isn't as explosive, I'm sure Coach Mack Brown will look for the defense to tighten up and play better before facing Huskers in the Big 12 title game.

Alabama faces Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Friday, while Florida hosts Florida State on Saturday, and if both clear those hurdles, it will set up the December 5th SEC Championship game as a "semi-final" to see who will be one half of the championship game participants.

Wonder what the rest of the holiday weekend sports has in store for us? Hopefully, I will be better then my zero for three turkey in picks on Thanksgiving Day.