NFL Picks, 2012 Season, Week 13

by | Nov 28, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

In what should surprise nobody, the NFL Network just reported that the San Francisco 49ers will start Colin Kaepernick this weekend against the St. Louis Rams. Kaepernick’s passing numbers haven’t been overwhelming in the two games he has started since Alex Smith suffered his concussion. But he’s unquestionably jolted an already strong team into another gear.

Smith has developed into a very solid quarterback and he really doesn’t deserve yet another downside to a career that got off to a slow start, in part due to coaching and system changes. But keeping the athletic Kaepernick in the lineup makes all the sense in the world, agrees Steve Spooner, team editor at 49ers Gab.

“The 49ers are making the right move by sticking with Kaepernick,” he says. “He has the hot hand right now and has added an extra spark to the offense.”

Spooner joined Zoneblitz.com as guest picker for week 13. He follows Richard Hill from Pats Pulpit, who went 9-7 in week 12. It was a tough week with a couple of real upsets and a bunch more close calls. Tony and Andy both went 10-6, leaving Tony with a three-game lead for the season.

Week 12 Season
Tony 10-6 115-60-1
Andy 10-6 112-63-1
Celebrity Bloggers 9-7 109-66-1

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NFL Best Bets: Week 12 – 2012

by | Nov 21, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Gambling

This is a terrible week for betting. Injuries and other abnormal situations have left five lines at near pick ‘ems and a couple more still not even on the board yet. And then there is the Monday night game – one does have to wonder if the “N/A” for that snoozer is “Not Available” or “Not Applicable,” since it’s not an NFL game.

Anyway, I pulled off my second straight 3-1 in week 11, so I’m inching ever closer to .500. Well, I’m still a ways off at 19-25, but 6-2 over the last two weeks is acceptable.

Tony still has a one-game lead for the season, but he dropped from 4-0 in week 10 to 2-2 in week 11. Here are the picks for Thanksgiving weekend. (more…)

NFL Picks, 2012 season, Week 10

by | Nov 5, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

They’ve been criticized for playing a soft schedule, which so far has included only one opponent with a winning record at the time of their game. Their quarterback was demonized for shoving an offensive lineman during a nationally televised loss to Green Bay.

But since that week two loss, the Bears are 6-0 and they looked like the real deal Sunday in putting a 50-spot up against the Tennessee Titans. Like Jay Cutler or not, believe in that supposedly aging defense or not, it’s a team that, at this point, looks loaded.

“The 2012 Chicago Bears have what it takes to make a trip back to the Super Bowl,” says Jake Perper, owner of Bearsbacker.com. “The Bears’ defense is elite, the Bears’ special teams is rock solid and the Bears’ offense is coming together, especially the running game with Matt Forte. If they can continue to stay healthy and can continue to create turnovers at will on defense, they will be hard to stop.”

Perper notes that the offense has to limit its mistakes and the team cannot afford many scares such as the one posed by a plucky Carolina squad a week ago. The tough part of the schedule, including back-to-back contests with Houston and San Francisco and four remaining division games, will determine where this team goes. But Perper is a believer.

“I think when it is all said and done, this year we will be calling them contenders.”

Hard to argue based on what we’ve seen so far.

Perper joined us for the week 10 pick segment. He follows Steve Isbitts from JoeBucsFan.com. Isbitts struggled to an 8-6 finish while Tony dominated at 11-3 and Andy was close behind at 10-4. That leaves the collective blogger community tied with the brothers heading into week 10. Ahh, the drama.

Week Nine Season
Celebrity Bloggers 8-6 83-49
Andy 10-4 83-49
Tony 11-3 83-49

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NFL Best Bets: Week Nine – 2012

by | Nov 1, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Gambling

I went to Las Vegas last weekend armed with the confidence of having gone 3-1 in my best bets in week seven. I then proceeded to get hammered, both at the blackjack tables and in the sports book, where I won a small bet on Notre Dame at +400 on the moneyline, but lost three others.

I also had another rough week against the spread on this site, going 1-3 (though I did hit my upset pick) and dropping to 11-21 overall. Tony has not been a ton better. He’s 13-19 for the season, having gone 2-2 last week.

We’d probably both be well into our second or third set of broken legs had we placed any real money on these bets. But since it’s all pretend and nobody should really be taking us seriously by this point, (gambling is bad …  but so much fun!!!) we’ll do it again.

Here goes:

Andy

Atlanta (-4) vs Dallas – The Cowboys, to me, are just a mediocre team. They’ve got wins against Carolina, Tampa Bay and division rival New York. They’ve got losses against Chicago, Baltimore, surprising Seattle and those same Giants. So they mostly beat bad teams and an occasional division opponent and they mostly lose to good ones. The Falcons won’t put up the same offense they have all season. Dallas remains good against the pass. They’ve lost against the spread in both of their last home games, but those were 10 and seven point spreads. This one is just four. Five of their seven wins have been by more than that and this one will not be an exception.

Arizona at Green Bay: Under 43.5 – Cardinals games have gone under the number seven out of eight times this season, including four times in a row. The defense isn’t going to stop Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay, but it’ll slow them down some. It’s succeeded in holding New England to 18 and Philadelphia to six in contests against teams that theoretically had good offenses. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have scored 36 points in the last four games. This is a recipe for another under.

Philadelphia at New Orleans: Over 52 – Up until last week, New Orleans had not scored fewer than 24 points all season. The defense has not given up less than 24 either. Philadelphia is fighting for its season, while Andy Reid and Michael Vick are, respectively, coaching and playing for their futures as well. I’m not sure if the Eagles are good enough to beat New Orleans on the road, but I do expect them to improve on their season high of 24 points. This should be a plenty high scoring game.

Upset of the week: Tampa Bay (+105) at Oakland – I saw the Bucs firsthand last week and they looked impressive in a win against Minnesota. They’ve had 10 days off so I don’t expect the long trip across the country to be all that troublesome. They’re still not strong against the pass, but they’re effectively stopping the run. And the offense is coming together nicely around Doug Martin and Josh Freeman. Oakland is coming off a two game winning streak, but beating Jacksonville and Kansas City this year isn’t really all that impressive. I think the Bucs are headed in the right direction and they get to .500 with a win here.

Tony

Houston (-10) vs Buffalo – I am shocked that this is only 10 points. Houston has a dynamic offense and a stout defense, even without Mario Williams. Buffalo…does not, even with Mario Williams. Enough said.

Indianapolis (+1.5) vs Miami – Indy is playing well, and playing at home. The Dolphins have played better than expected, but there is a chance that Ryan Tannehill won’t play on Sunday, with knee and thigh injuries. Matt Moore is a decent backup, but realistically if Tannehill sits, the Colts can focus even more attention on Reggie Bush, and even if Tannehill plays, I think the Colts can win this one outright.

Carolina at Washington: Over 46.5 – In the showdown between Cam Newton and RG3, the hot rookie QB from last year that has struggled as a sophomore vs. the current rookie that is “tearing up” the league (I’m not sold), I think they can each put up 23 points easily. Then again, I’m notorious for missing these, so feel free to take the under. I won’t be offended.

Upset of the Week: Philadelphia (+155) at New Orleans – There is serious talk of benching Michael Vick, and if he struggles against the Saints, I would be shocked if it doesn’t happen, even in game. For some reason, I don’t see it happening. I see Vick rebounding (for this week) to hold the job, and tantalize the Eagles just enough to hang on to the job for another week or two, before finally bombing for the season and costing Andy Reid his job.

To see our picks for the week, click here.

NFL Picks, 2012 season, Week 9

by | Oct 31, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

Josh Freeman has looked great for the better part of a month. Doug Martin seems to be getting it. And Tampa Bay’s run defense is right there with the best in the NFL. When the Bucs destroyed Minnesota last week, it put Tampa in a position to end the first half of the season at 4-4 and spend the second half chasing a playoff spot.

Fans talking playoffs may be jumping the gun a bit, but this team is on the right track, says Steve Isbitts, co-founder of JoeBucsFan.com.

“Sober, reasoned Bucs fans are largely happy this season is playing out as expected with encouraging, inconsistent football,” he says. “Look for the Bucs to continue to be very physical and explosive with mixed results. This is a .500 team on the right track. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

Isbitts joined Zoneblitz as our celebrity guest blogger for the week. He follows Barrett Walton from the Texans Bull Blog, who scored a 9-5 record in week eight. That tied with Tony. Both were two games behind my 11-3 record – which was good enough to overtake Tony and jump into second place for the season. I’m comin’!!!

Week Eight Season
Celebrity Bloggers 9-5 75-43
Andy 11-3 73-45
Tony 9-5 72-46

So here are the picks for week nine.

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