NFL Picks, 2012 Season Week 4

by | Sep 25, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

Nobody gave the Vikings a chance to beat San Francisco, not even Dan Zinski (@VikingAgeDan, @TheVikingAge), senior blogger at Viking Age Guy. “Honestly I thought they had no shot,” he says. “I’m not ashamed to say that. I figured they’d scrap through and maybe make it interesting before San Fran took control. I wasn’t ready for them just out-muscling the 49ers.”

But Zinski and the rest of the world were wrong. Minnesota beat San Francisco at its own game for what I believe is the upset of the season so far. I think the Vikings are still a year or two away from being a real contender, but Christian Ponder is giving the team’s fans reason for optimism. Zinski originally believed the Vikings were a four win team at best, but he’s revised his outlook, now giving the team a shot at 8-8.

“They should be in most games,” he says. “I’m still concerned about their defense and the lack of a deep passing game. But I’m becoming a Ponder believer and he has some legit weapons in Percy Harvin and Kyle Rudolph.”

Zinski joined Zoneblitz as the site’s celebrity game pick blogger for week four.

Week three was pretty brutal across the board, with my picks (Tony) edging Andy’s by one game (9-7 vs 8-8), while our guest blogger @moleandmeares finished 6-10 for the week. For the season, I’ve taken the lead, but we’re all separated by only two games:

Week Three Season Total
Tony 9-7 27-21
Celebrity bloggers 6-10 26-22
Andy 8-8 25-23

Week four picks:

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NFL Picks, 2012 Season Week 3

by | Sep 18, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Picks

After two weeks of the regular season Philadelphia has turned the ball over nine times – and won two one-point games. When congratulated on the start, Chris Meares of The Mole & Meares Show described the feat as … well, Un$%&@believable.

We’ll see if Meares can match his favorite team by beating us at our picks for week three.

Last week, bloggers from The Landry Hat and HogsHaven both took their best shot. The Landry Hat struggled during a tough week to a 7-9 finish. HogsHaven matched Andy with a 9-7 mark. Tony grabbed top honors for week two with a 10-6 mark. So here is where we stand for the season so far.

Week two Total
Celebrity bloggers 9-7 20-12
Tony 10-6 18-14
Andy 9-7 17-15

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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…)

In depth: Seattle Seahawks

by | Feb 2, 2012 | 2011 season, 2012 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

When the 2011 season started, I expected to hear a lot of talk about Seattle competing for the rights to draft Andrew Luck. As the season wore on, the Seahawks did get more and more media attention, but it was for the strong play of Marshawn Lynch and a resurgent second half of the season, not for a push toward futility.

There are a number of areas where the Seahawks still have room for significant improvement. But if they can add a few pieces this team could be a threat as soon as 2012, says Keith Myers, editor and lead writer of the Seahawks’ fan blog called 12th Man Rising. Myers recently shared his thoughts on where Seattle should be headed from here with Zoneblitz. Here’s what he had to say:

Zoneblitz: Is Tarvaris Jackson a long-term answer at quarterback or will the team have to address that position again? (more…)

NFL Best Bets: 2011 season, week 16

by | Dec 20, 2011 | 2011 season, NFL Gambling

I continue to wish I’d spent the last six weeks in Las Vegas, having nailed another 4-0 week and running my totals for the last month and a half to 19-5. That could turn at any time of course, and probably will, but the run has upped my season record to 32-27-1.

Tony only hit two of his four bets last week but he nailed his upset of the week, calling Indy’s first win of the season with a +245 payoff. He’s going out on an even bigger limb with his upset pick this week.

The 2-2 mark puts him at 28-32 for the season.

All in all it would have been a good weekend for both of us to be watching games from a sports book in Sin City. It feels to me like the lines on week 16 games are a little bit tougher, but we’ll make another run at it. Here goes:

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