Sunday to be Super for Colts or Saints?

by | Feb 7, 2010 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks

I don’t know if it means I know something or if it was a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut, but I nailed the conference championships, picking the Colts to beat the Jets both straight up and against the spread while guessing the Vikings would beat the spread but lose a close one to New Orleans. That puts me at 7-3 straight up and 6-4 against Vegas lines for the playoffs. And so on to the Super Bowl.

Straight up: Colts
Spread: Saints +5

The Super Bowl presents another intriguing match-up between two high-powered offenses going against defenses that have been vulnerable at times this season.

Among the most interesting aspects of this tilt will be the quarterback duel between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees – a match-up that brings back memories of Staubach vs Bradshaw or Montana vs Elway. With Dwight Freeney injured and either out or playing at less than full strength and the Saints sporting a very good offensive line, I expect Brees to have plenty of time to throw. The same should be true of Manning, who is rarely sacked.

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Zoneblitz Divisional Round Playoff Predictions

by | Jan 16, 2010 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks, NFL Random Thoughts

Some people call NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend the best of the football season. This season I think they are absolutely right on.

I love this weekend’s games. I’ve been studying them as time allowed all week and I’ve spent the last hour scouring the Internet and two newspapers looking for information. And I can’t get a good grasp on any of the four matchups.

I’m coming off of a pretty good week though. I hit three of four both straight up and against the spread last week. Hopefully that trend continues. Here are my thoughts:
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Zoneblitz brings back predictions for playoffs

by | Jan 8, 2010 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks

We dropped the prediction segment on the ZB Web site early in the season this year due to lack of cohesiveness, direction and readership. We’ll probably bring something pick-related, both straight up and against the spread, for next season. It’ll definitely be more organized than it was before.

That said, it’s the playoffs and with the beginning of the second season I thought I’d go back to making some foolish game picks.

So, for Wild Card weekend, here are my thoughts.
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Divisional playoff predictions

by | Jan 10, 2009 | NFL Gambling, NFL Picks

Hmm. Getting going a little late this afternoon, but so it goes. Here are my picks – both straight up and against the spread (Last week’s record 2-2):

Baltimore at Tennessee: Baltimore
I like the way the Ravens were playing at the end of the season. The defense should largely bottle up the Titans’ potent run game. It’ll be a low scoring game decided in the fourth quarter.

Arizona at Carolina: Carolina
Arizona mysteriously discovered a run game last week and it helped surprise and beat Atlanta. That won’t happen this week. The Panthers will be the dominant ground team and they’ll pull away in the second half to win handily.

Philadelphia at New York Giants: Giants
I think this is the most compelling game of the weekend. Both teams are playing well. In another low-scoring battle, I expect home field will win out in the end. The Giants’ three-headed run attack will wear down the Eagles just enough to pull it out.

San Diego at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh
San Diego has been on a roll of late, but they’re heading into the cold weather minus a full-strength LaDainian Tomlinson. Not that Sproles isn’t a solid replacement, but the Steelers defense is too good for the Chargers to win at less than full strength.