Basketball Picks
March Madness Picks
So within the past week or so three of the top 4 NCAA basketball teams have stumbled – KU, UK, and Purdue. So does that mean that Syracuse is the best bet for this year’s march madness picks? I don’t think the loss hurt Kansas much. They have sewn up the Big 12 regular season title and should be an easy pick for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. So do they need some motivation to go to Missouri on Saturday and win? Jayhawk fans are probably hoping that Sherron Collins has recovered from his emotional “Senior Day” and will be ready to lead his team to victory. Purdue has a lot...
NFC Championship Picks
Of course the first thing people think of when they talk about the Minnesota Vikings is Brett Favre and why not with a touchdown to interception differential of +30. But again we’re talking about defenses winning ballgames. The Vikings’ defense took care of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo last week with 6 sacks and 19 pressures. And the New Orleans Saints finally had their secondary healthy last week – just in time to play shutdown coverage against Kurt Warner. The Saints defense made sure that Warner couldn’t get comfortable and didn’t have tine to find an open receiver. So this...
AFC Championship NFL Picks
Some of last week’s NFL match ups could give us a preview into some of the favorite highlights coming up with the final four this week. Offense is fun to watch and talk about but defense is many times the key to winning. Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis couldn’t have done his job much better last week. Philip Rivers passed 45 times against the Jets but only 4 were thrown into Revis’ coverage area. And one of those was juggled and intercepted by Revis. This week Revis’ next challenge will probably be Colts Reggie Wayne. Will Peyton Manning have more success throwing the ball against Revis? Last...
NFL Playoffs Picks – Jets vs Chargers
The New York Jets rookie team is making people sit up and take notice. Everyone knows about rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and rookie coach Rex Ryan but the news from last week’s game was rookie running back Shonn Greene. Greene was filling in for injured Thomas Jones and ran like a man possessed. On the defense for the Jets, many think that Darrelle Revis is the defensive player of the year. Last week Revis shut down Ochocinco, just as he has done week after week. This week his job continues to get tougher with receiver Vincent Jackson, averaging 17.8 yards per catch in the playoffs with...
Cardinals vs Saints NFL Football Predictions
Do you love offense in the NFL? This will be fun for you then. The defense that can make a stop will be the deciding factor in this game. If a defense doesn’t step up then we could see another game like last week’s Cards/Packers game – a high scoring, offensive affair. It could be the last team with the ball wins. Even though last week it was the Cardinals defense that made the big play to win in overtime – for most of the game they were not much of a factor. And the Saints have just as many weapons in their offense as any team in the NFL. Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Jeremy Shockey,...
Cowboys vs Vikings NFL Playoffs Picks
Are the Dallas Cowboys the NFC team to beat? They have been putting up points early and often without careless mistakes lately. They have been keeping defenses guessing with their stable of running backs. Their own defense has given up only 4 touchdowns in 4 games. Nose tackle Jay Ratliff says it’s just people doing their job and everybody playing together. Sounds easy enough and the Cowboys are making it look easy too. Historically the Minnesota Vikings have been a run first offense until Bret Favre came to town. Have they become a pass first offense? Favre has over 4000 yards passing...
Ravens vs Colts NFL Playoffs Picks
A fast start and Tom Brady turnovers got the Baltimore Ravens into the next round of the playoffs. Now they face the Indianapolis Colts again but this time will be very different. Quarterback Joe Flacco has a sore right hip that might be worse than Joe & company are letting on. In the win over the Patriots, Flacco went 4-10 for 34 yards – that’s right – in the NFL a team won by passing the ball only 10 times for 34 yards. The Ravens say they adjust their game plan according to thee game and defenses but really? Flacco pretty much handed off the ball and stayed out of the way. Can...
2009 NFL Playoffs Picks
As the NFL playoffs approach, will the favorites fall or stand tall? Early in the season it seemed to be easy to pick some of the NFC games – after all the Saints were undefeated and the Vikings had Farve leading the way. Now, a bit more drama has unfolded. Did New Orleans peak too early? They had a near perfect game on Monday night of Week 12 beating the Patriots. But they seem to have (hopefully) hit bottom with an overtime loss at home to the 3-12 Tampa Bay Bucs. The Saints are fortunate that the falling Vikings lost to the Chicago Bears this week on Monday night. And how about those...
College Bowl Game Picks and Predictions
Now that the college football bowl teams have been announced, we can all start our predictions. But really, how do you analyze these games to pick a winner? First, these are teams from completely different conferences and areas of the country that have never played each other. Second, some of them are thankful to be playing one more game this season while others think they have been overlooked or underappreciated. So we have to look at the teams’ physical strengths and weaknesses, but also their mental toughness. The physical part might be the easiest part to research and analyze. What...
Does Peyton Manning get favorable calls?
I can’t count the emails I have received with someone who complains they aren’t making winning NFL picks because of favorable calls going to certain players. They ask if I think certain players are getting calls they don’t deserve and the short answer is yes. However, I have never seen a situation that these calls have any real impact on a game. Yes it may keep a scoring drive alive but it happens in games in which it is a multiple score victory. Let me break it down for you. The Indianapolis Colts are always accused of receiving calls in the favor of Peyton Manning. It is...
