NFL Picks, 2012 season, Week 8

by | Oct 24, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

The Houston Texans took advantage of an injury-depleted Baltimore Ravens defense on Sunday but also stymied what had been one of the league’s more interesting offenses at times during the 2012 season en route to putting an impressive beating on the once-vaunted purple-and-black.

It was the latest and most convincing win in a season full of them so far for the Texans. It also erased the sour taste of a blowout defeat at the hands of the surging Packers from a week earlier.

It leaves the Texans with a 6-1 record heading into the bye. And don’t expect them to let up once they return from a week off. “This team is one of the more focused in the league,” says Barrett Walton, managing editor of Texans Bull Blog. “The rest of the schedule is fairly weak with only the Patriots and Bears looking like reasonable challenges.”

Walton sent a lengthy collection of thoughts that we’ll soon turn into another post. In the meantime, suffice it to say that he thinks this is a team that football fans should get comfortable watching for the next few years. “This franchise is built to last,” he says. “And you can expect to see this team on top for several years to come.”

Walton also joined us as this week’s guest blogger for the pick segment for week eight.

By all appearances, week seven was the easiest one for picking so far. In our confidence pools, several people got every game right or missed just one. On Zoneblitz, an easy week means Andy and I only got three wrong, while our guest blogger Kevin McCauley from the Acme Packing Company missed just two.

That moves our guest celebrity bloggers to a three game lead over me and a four game lead over Andy for the season: (more…)

NFL Picks, 2012 Season, Week 7

by | Oct 16, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

It’s been an up and down season for Green Bay so far, but the Packers came out of hiding on Sunday night. A six touchdown performance by Aaron Rodgers showed that the green and gold still has at least the opportunity and talent to put a beat down on any team in the league.

But they still need to gain some consistency.

“I think we’ll know whether or not the Packers are back on track if they can put together a consistent string of victories,” says Kevin McCauley, managing editor of the Acme Packing Company blog. “While the win over the Texans was great and could end up as the catalyst that jump-started the Packers’ season, we didn’t learn anything on Sunday night. We know the Packers have the talent to drop six touchdowns on anyone. What we don’t know is whether or not they have the mindset, depth and coaching to perform consistently.”

McCauley is our celebrity guest blogger for week seven. Week six was another close week, despite there being numerous differences in picks amongst the three of us—our guest blogger eked out a one game margin, going 8-6 for the week vs. 7-7 for Andy and Tony.

Week Six Season
Celebrity Blogger 8-6 55-36
Tony 7-7 53-38
Andy 7-7 52-39

This week, not nearly as much differentiation, as Andy & Tony matched all picks, while McCauley places his faith in the Vikings, Buccaneers and Steelers.

(more…)

NFL Picks, 2012 Season Week 5

by | Oct 2, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

The offensive line still isn’t very good. The running game needs a lot of work. And the quarterback play is … unpredictable. But the Arizona Cardinals are 4-0 for the first time since before I was born.

Scott Allen, editor of the Raising Zona blog, says he’s surprised at how well the season started but adds that expectations have now risen.

“I can see them winning at least the next two games, although the Miami game should teach the Cards to take nothing for granted,” he says. “Once they hit Minnesota on October 21st, all bets are off.”

Allen joined Zoneblitz with his picks for week five. He’s got a tough act to follow. Last week’s picker, The Viking Age’s senior blogger Dan Zinski, hit 11 of 15 games to pull our celebrity blogger contingent into a tie with Tony for first place.

Andy and Tony tied at 10-5, leaving Andy two games behind Tony and the bloggers for the season.

Week Four Season Total
Tony 10-5 37-26
Celebrity bloggers 11-4 37-26
Andy 10-5 35-28

Here are the picks for week five. (more…)

NFL Best Bets: Week 3 – 2012

by | Sep 19, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Gambling

Good grief, what was I thinking last week. Hindsight is 20/20, but wow. Betting an over on a 51? That’s a huge number for an NFL game. Betting on Kansas City on the road coming off an awful week one performance? Not the strategy a fortune won at gambling is made of.

I paid the price with an 0-4 week, bringing my season total to 1-7. Tony’s misses were a little less stupid than mine, but he still was only 1-3, so his season total is 4-4.

We’ll still give it another go this week – but you might have better chances of winning big if you do the opposite of what we suggest.

Here goes: (more…)

ZB Notebook 09-17-12

by | Sep 18, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Random Thoughts

I had planned to start this notebook with an item on the improvements made by rookie quarterbacks in their week two showings as compared to week one, but the ineptitude of the replacement referees manning the Falcons/Broncos Monday night game was so great that the issue almost required response.

Industry observers, media, former officials, players and seemingly everyone else out there had already been commenting on how the officiating in week two took a huge step back after the replacements did a passable job in week one.

For various reasons I didn’t see much of the Broncos/Falcons game last night. But the write-ups are all over the Internet. Pro Football Talk called the officiating performance an embarrassment to Commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners. I would have to agree.

As many have said, including Tony Dungy on Sunday Night Football, the replacements seem to have no concept for pass interference, defensive holding and illegal contact. Sometimes players are getting called for barely making any contact – if any – at all. Other times near muggings go uncalled.

I can’t remember which of the national pundits I heard commenting on this as well, but one of my biggest pet peeves is when a running back is clearly stopped and the whistles have been blowing for several seconds, but a gang of defenders continues to drive a ball carrier back 10 to 15 yards to make sure he actually goes to the ground.

Those are the situations where injuries are going to happen and those situations warrant personal foul penalties being called. Those calls are oft-ignored when the regular officials are calling games, but it’s gotten ridiculously out of hand at times with this current crop of replacements. I tried to give the subs a break – after all, it is not entirely their fault they’re in the positions they’re in. But week two was a disaster and it is time for the league and the regular refs to get on the same page and get their issues solved.

On to other issues. (more…)