LVH SuperContest 2013 Trial: Week 4

Another mediocre 3-2 week for me. Hey, at least it's not getting worse... not yet anyways!

Here are the Week 4 SuperContest odds.

And my picks: (Home team in CAPS)

Pick 1: Cincinnati Bengals (-4.5) over CLEVELAND BROWNS
The Browns did the opposite of what I thought they would do. They rallied together for a statement win. The statement being: "Management might want us to tank. But we are going to fight!". Well... that rally has run it's course. They usually don't last that long. Especially if you face a solid solid team like the Bengals.

Pick 2: Baltimore Ravens (-3) over BUFFALO BILLS
The Ravens offense is going to have that high scoring aberration game against that sorry Bills defense.

Pick 3: Seattle Seahawks (-2.5) over HOUSTON TEXANS
I know the Seahawks are on the road. And the Texans are not an easy out. But the Seahwaks defense should keep this game close. And there are very few QBs in this league that I trust more in close games than Russel Wilson.

Pick 4: DENVER BRONCOS (-10.5) over the Philadelphia Eagles
Peyton Manning is going to carve up that Eagles D..... yep... the Eagles have a D... i know it is hard to notice... unless of course they play Alex Smith. Even he was able to find Donnie Avery for large chunks of yards. Good Lord! Pay your mortgage, folks!

Pick 5: TENNESSEE TITANS (-3.5) over New York Jets
Yes. I'm still on the Titans' D train. They are going to feast on the rookie QB, who just played one of the worst defenses in the league (Bills). Welcome to the NFL moment for the rook!

ON THE BUBBLE:

* RAMS (+3) over 49ers: I expect this division game to be close and decided by a FG or less. Taking the home team that is given 3 points. duh! Plus, this is the Thursday Night game. Pay your mortgage with the under!

* Colts (-7.5) over  JAGUARS: The Colts will have to play really really bad to blow this one. This Jaguars team might get some garbage points to keep this close. But I expect a double digits Colts win.

* CHIEFS (-4) over Giants: Yep, I'm thinking the Giants are going to start 0-4. I know that old narrative of these cornered Giants. But I don't see anything in this team that suggests they have any semblance of fight left.

* Cardinals (+2.5) over BUCS: The Bucs are benching Josh Freeman. This is probably going to help them couple weeks down the line. But throwing that Glennon kid to the wolves not going to be pretty this week. The Cardinals have their own woes, but they should be alright this week.

* Dolphins (+6.5) over SAINTS: The Dolphins are for real? Let's see them prove it in prime time on MNF!

Contest Record last week: 3-2 
Contest Record Year-to-date: 8-7

"ON THE BUBBLE" Record Year-to-date: 7-8

LVH SuperContest 2013 Trial: Week 3

Making some progress here. I'm probably going to be out of contention if I don't get a few 5-0 weeks now.

Here are the Week 3 SuperContest odds.

And my picks: (Home team in CAPS)

Pick 1: MINNESOTA VIKINGS (-5.5) over Cleveland Browns
The Browns just traded away their best player on offense. Benched their QB for Bryan Hoyer (And yeah, sugar coat it all you want, but he was benched!). The players are either going to pull together and play hard or, do just the opposite - crumble from the feeling that the management brass has given up on the year. I'm betting the later. The Vikings have their own QB controversy brewing, but may take a couple weeks before that's going to pop it's ugly head.

Pick 2: Green Bay Packers (-2.5) over CINCINNATI BENGALS 
Yep. My homer pick. I think the Packers will win this game on the road. They are too good a team to start 1-2. Bengals are going to be a tough out though. Hoping the Packers O line can hold it's own against that dreaded Bengal's D-Line. Fingers crossed!

Pick 3: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-7) over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Patriots are giving only 7 points at home against teh 0-2 Bucs? Only 7 freaking points?!?! As Jason Whitlock would say ..... "Y'all ready to pay your mortgages?". And oh, the Gronk might be back too.

Pick 4: Indianapolis Colts (+10) over the SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Nope. This ain't a hater pick. I just think with Trent Richardson now carrying the rock for the Colts, they should be able to cover this easy. Still expect the 49ers to win though.

Pick 5: TENNESSEE TITANS (-3) over San Diego Chargers
I'm riding the Titans' D-Train. They seem to be legit. Like them a lot this game, especially at home.

ON THE BUBBLE:

* Lions (+2) over REDSKINS: Not sure the Redskins can beat anyone with that Defense.

* Jaguars (+19) over SEAHAWKS: I know! I'm probably the only one that's picking the Jags to cover. I just think 19 points are too much to leave on the table.

* SAINTS (-7) over Cardinals: The Saints D seems under rated. They might be sneaky good. Like the year they won the Super Bowl. Well... good enough to beat Carson Palmer and his hobbled offense anyway.

* COWBOYS (-4) over Rams: Expect this to be a shoot out. Cowboys gonna get this at home.

* Bears (-2.5) over STEELERS: Just picking against the Steelers here. Can't see them beating an average team, let alone a good Bears team.

And yeah... it feels like a " lotta favorites cover" kinda week!


Contest Record last week: 3-2 
Contest Record Year-to-date: 5-5

"ON THE BUBBLE" Record Year-to-date: 3-7

LVH SuperContest 2013 Trial: Week 2

Ok, so that was not a hot start for me. Not by a long shot. Went just 2-3 last week. The silver lining is that two of the lines I didn't cover were because of: (1) a dumb late hit penalty by Tampa Bay and (2) a dumb pick 6 by Eli.

So, I'm going to delude myself to thinking I'm onto something here. Here are the Week 2 SuperContest picks.

On to my picks: (Home team in CAPS)

Pick 1: New York Jets (+11.5) over NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The Patriots are a little beat up at WR and RB (Amendola and Vereen are mostly out). Rookie WRs are going to have growing pains. Divisional games are bound to be close more often than not. The Jets D might be legit too. I don't believe the Jets will win this game, but 11.5 is too many points to leave on the table.

Pick 2: CHICAGO BEARS (-6) over Minnesota Vikings
Coach Trestman has this offense humming. The O line looked surprisingly good. Cutler was sharp (except for one throw). Peanut Tillman in the secondary is still that good ol' ball hawk we know him to be. The Vikings looked awful against the Lions. With the Lions loading up defenders in the box, Ponder still couldn't throw much. Recipe for disaster if he can't even throw enough to keep defenses honest and give Adrian Peterson a chance to do his thing.

Pick 3: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-3) over San Francisco 49ers 
The Seahawks at home. Enough said!
........... And one more thing......... Clearly the Game of the Week! Can't wait!

Pick 4: Carolina Panthers (-3) over BUFFALO BILLS
The Panthers held their own on D against the Seahawks. EJ manual is not going to be any better than Russell Wilson. And the Bills Defense is not as scary as the Seahawks Defense.

Pick 5: Tennessee Titans (+9) over HOUSTON TEXANS
The Titans Defense looked stout. This game will tell me if that was more the ineptitude of the Steelers' offense, or if the Titans indeed are that good. I'm betting on the later.

ON THE BUBBLE:

* Once again leaving out my homer pick: PACKERS (-7.5) over Redskins. Just about 4.5 points more than what I'm comfortable with, given the Redskins could pile up garbage points.

* Jaguars (+5.5) over RAIDERS: I'm taking the points in this bottom feeder match up. Pretty confident neither of these two can win a game by over 5 points. Against anybody!

* Saints (-3) over BUCCANEERS: The Bucs had a stinker last week. Not putting this in my top 5, because I want to see if the Bucs have a strong rebound. Or they might just be THAT bad!?!

* Lions (-1.5) over CARDINALS: The Lions just might be good. Definitely better than the Cardinals on paper. But can they avoid those dumb plays and put it together?

* Broncos (-4.5) over NY GIANTS: I'm taking Peyton Manning in this match up. But this also has some Giants' "rebound from a stinker" potential.


Contest Record last week: 2-3 
Contest Record Year-to-date: 2-3

"ON THE BUBBE" Record Year-to-date: 1-4

LVH SuperContest 2013 Trial: Week 1

I'm back! After a long (really really long) hiatus, I'm back!

Thinking of easing myself into writing here again; and not throw myself back to the wolves right away. Let's see how it goes.

Instead of doing the weekly game-by-game picks this season (which almost everyone with access to a computer and the internet does these days), I'm going to try simulate making my Vegas Hilton SuperContest picks here. It is my experiment to see how I'd fare in the real contest and maybe enter it someday (soon... next year.. maybe!).

Also going to drop a few lines with the picks, trying to explain the reasoning behind my picks.

I will be using the odds given by LVH (released every Wednesday around 5PM). You can find them here.

Here are my Week 1 Picks (Home team in CAPS):

Pick 1: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (-3) over Atlanta Falcons

Season opener at home for the Saints; they usually win those in the Superdome. Add to it that it's going to double up as a Sean Payton's welcome back party. Pretty strong feeling the Saints got this. The clincher for me is that, the probable regression to the mean for the Falcons (from last year's improbable good luck) is going to catch up to them.

Pick 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5) over NEW YORK JETS

The Jets are going to be bad. And that could easily be an understatement. The Buccaneers are expected to have an elite defense (especially their secondary) this year. Only if Josh Freeman from the first half of last season shows up, I'm sure I got this too. The under on this game will be a good bet too.

Pick 3: Kansas City Chiefs (-4) over JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

It's week 1. I'm going to try feast on some tentative lines on games involving certain teams the wise guys (I think) do not seem to have a feel about yet. The Chiefs are one of them. I expect them to be good this year with new head coach Andy Reid and new QB Alex Smith. Weapons like a healthy Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe don't hurt. And did I mention they play the Jaguars this week?

Pick 4: NY Giants (+3.5) over DALLAS COWBOYS

The Giants, of late, have had the Cowboys' number at Jerry World. I'm thinking that trend continues. The Cowboys have a talented roster. No question. But how much confidence can a Bill Callahan co-ordinated offense and a Monte Kiffin co-ordinated defense instill in you?    

Pick 5: CLEVELAND BROWNS (-1) over Miami Dolphins

The Browns are one of those teams that's expected to be taking a big step forward this year. Weeden has been good this pre-season (for whatever that's worth). Solid Defense coupled with Norv "the offensive co-ordinator" Turner's offense is gonna keep them in most games they play. The Dolphins are another team that's supposedly on an uptick; but I ain't buying that.


On the bubble:

* Was hard for me to leave out my homer pick, the Packers (+4.5) over the Niners. I just can't pick them Packers until I see their defense show some signs of containing the Niners with my own eyes, let alone stop them.

* The Seahawks (-3.5) over the Panthers seems like an easy pick on the surface. But I'm nervous to pick the Seahawks on the road. Maybe a few wins under their belt on the road early this season, and I might start riding them in this contest. Already plan on riding them at home a lot.

* Vikings (+5.5) over the Lions. Thinking.... Adrian Peterson on turf vs that Lions run D? .... Maybe I should have put this as one of my 5 supercontest picks!

* Patriots (-9.5) over the Bills. I need to see how explosive the Patriots offense will be this year with their new WRs and without their alleged felon TE.

* I also overcame the temptation to pick against the Raiders, even though they are given 9.5 points here. The Colts are another team that's expected to regress to the mean (along with the Falcons). I want to wait a week or two before involving these two teams in my final picks.


Contest Record last week: 0-0
Contest Record Year-to-date: 0-0