NFL 2010: Week 2 Picks

Great first week of football, uh? It had a little bit of everything. A couple of upsets (Texans bt Colts and Chiefs bt Chargers; which I called in my last week's picks, by the way). A few anemic offenses (Dallas, Washington, Falcons, Jets and Ravens etc); falling face down after all the thrash talk (Jets); a couple of choke jobs (Jake Delhomme and the 49ers as a team); a team robbed of victory because of stupid nuances / unclear interpretation of the rule book (the Calvin Johnson catch).

Week 1 also had some dreaded injury blows which always is a bummer. Of the myriads of injuries a few notable ones are Ryan Grant of the Packers, Kris Jenkins of the Jets and Bob Sanders of the Colts. The ghastly sight of Leonard Weaver's leg bending the way it shouldn't naturally and Stewart Bradley trying to stay on his feet before going down were scary moments. And a couple high profile QBs Kevin Kolb (concussion) and Matt Stafford (shoulder) were knocked out of their games (and possibly more).

But hey, football is underway and here are my Week 2 Picks:

Arizona Cardinals (+6.5) at Atlanta Falcons
I don't know what to make out of both these teams after their performances on Week1. The Cardinals did beat the Rams, but Derek Anderson looked awful. If the Rams aren't really that good, which seems to be the general consensus, it does not put the Cardinals in good light. The Falcons struggled on offense against the Steelers. Given, the Steelers D is formidable with Palamalu in there, still the Falcons could not eek out a win against the Big Ben less Steelers.
Outright Win:  Falcons
v/s the Spread:  Falcons (-6.5)

Kansas City Chiefs (+2) at Cleveland Browns
The Chiefs had an emotional win against the Chargers are now on the road. A let down is very likely. The Browns learned the hard way not to trust Jake Delhomme throwing the ball a lot. The Browns have got to trust their running game with Peyton Hillis and Harrison. Why Jerome Harrison does not get more touches than Hillis, I will never know. The last 3-4 weeks of the 2009 seasons are probably blacked out of coach Mangini's head.
Outright Win: Browns
v/s the Spread: Browns (+2)

NFL 2010: Week 1 Picks

The smell of real football is in the air. Kicks off with the Super Bowl Champs, the New Orleans Saints taking on Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. The first couple weeks are going to be hard in terms of predicting which teams are for real and which teams aren't. I'm giving it my best shot here.

For the record, with my picks in the 2009 season, I went 178-76. This year, I am going to make 2 picks for each game: a 'v/s the spread' pick and an 'outright win' pick.

Minnesota Vikings (+6.5) at New Orleans Saints
Its a rematch of the NFC Championship game from last year. In that game, in spite of the Vikings turning over the ball 5 times, the Saints needed a Favre INT and overtime to snatch a win. So, I think this game will be closer than people think.
Outright Win: Saints
v/s the Spread: Vikings (+6.5)

Miami Dolphins (-3.5) at Buffalo Bills
The Dolphins might be in for a surprise as to how good the Bills pass defense is. But, it wouldn't take long for them to realize that all they need to dominate the Bills is run the ball down their throat.
Outright Win: Dolphins
v/s the Spread: Dolphins (-3.5)

Detroit Lions (+6.5) at Chicago Bears
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Cutler-Martz marriage in Chicago. That lasted till a few snaps in the pre-season. I think we need a couple more weeks to gauge how it's going to work for the Bears. The Lions, although are expected to be bottom feeders again, now have a decent core to build upon. Especially on defense, Suh has the makings to be a perennial force to reckon with for opposing QBs. Watch out for the Lions to sneak up on the Bears.
Outright Win: Bears
v/s the Spread: Lions (+6.5)

Great Expectations: The Green Bay Packers 2010 season preview

Its been two whole seasons since Brett Favre has passed on the QB reigns to young Aaron Rodgers at Green Bay. While the way things went down was not pretty; starting with the tumultuous annual waffling of No.4 to his tactical move to get back into the NFC North Division with the Vikings a year later; the Packers now find themselves in a nice spot looking forward.

Favre was the iron man of football. His biggest attribute apart from his on-field exploits, was his tenacity to not miss a start in 16 years. The Packers knew every Sunday that he would be ready to pad up and play, whether it was a broken thumb or it was on off field family crisis.

The Packers should be encouraged by the growth of Rodgers in the last 2 years. Not only is he growing in front of our own eyes as a QB, he has also shown toughness and resilience, playing with injuries, and is yet to miss a start. It is safe to say that the Packers' decision to jettison Favre in favor of Rodgers has already been vindicated. In fact, it is general consensus that Rodgers is knocking on the elite clique of current day QBs. He might need a few playoff wins under his belt to clear all doubts.

So what else do these 2010 Packers have in store for us?

Aaron Rodgers: Nothing but net

Hope this is a preview to a long successful Packer career. But, he should work on his celebration moves though.



Go Pack Go!!

Steve Carell Parody of "The Decision"

Here's another parody of LBJ's "The Decision". This time its Steve Carell doing his thing at he 2010 ESPYs. Enjoy!

"The Decision!"

Here's Bill Simmons and Michelle Beattle playing "the decision". Only this time Bill is trying to figure out which team's season tickets he's gonna buy. It's a must watch!!

Fear of Legacy: The Wuss-ification of the NBA

Its a done deal!

LeBron James joins Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in an attempt to form a "Super Heat" team down in South Beach. While on paper this may look flashy, could it really be a juggernaut team that could dominate the league? How did LeBron handle the whole ordeal? What does this really mean to the future and legacy of LeBron?

I am sure people have mixed feelings about all this. Here are my two cents....

The Setup

LeBron has been with the Cavaliers for seven seasons.... seven long years. He was the city's only hope to bring home a championship title (of all sports). He has not been able to take them to that promised land. Not even close. The blame for failure does not lie solely on him. He never had that strong supporting cast that could help him on that journey to promised land. Not that the Cavs didn't try to get him help. It just turned out that they were simply not good enough.

Meanwhile, it so happens, either through coordinated planning or by chance, two other guys who also needed help, Bosh and Wade, were along with LeBron set to be free agents in the summer of 2010. The trio developed a bond between them during the 2008 Olympics. It is rumored that they had a pact to join forces and play for one team.

What better chance to fulfill that pact, at least for the three of the four than when they are free agents. Due to salary cap restrictions and other limitations, it was general consensus that any team could sign only two of the three guys and for obvious basketball reasons it was thought that Bosh would team up with either Wade or LeBron. But then the Miami Heat got creative with their roster maneuvering and somehow figured that they could sign all three. And voila... that what they did!


The Choices

LeBron had many options. Heck he could pick and choose wherever he wanted to go. At some of those teams, he might have been even given the freedom to pick and choose coaches and players. But, these must have been his serious considerations:

1. Loyalty: Cleveland
LeBron grew up in Akron and he has strong roots to Ohio. He was Cleveland's home grown hero. The city and its decades of misery and disappointments with sports are well documented. LeBron was that lone shiny star of hope. If he left that city, he would be ripping their hearts out and taking them with him.

Packers LB Barnett makes a bold prediction

The NFL off-season has been loud as usual. The news out of every team has been transitioning seamlessly from the draft to the Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and now heading to training camp.

This is when most so called "experts" in the media start giving out their Super Bowl predictions. These predictions are mostly going to end up being wild guesses as it turns out every year.

This year, the Green Bay Packers are in that conversation a lot. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that they finished last season strong. Also, they have a promising starter at QB in Aaron Rodgers and a young core of players on both offense and defense. They are the "fancy" pick for most experts this year.

While I have confidence in my Packers to do well, it makes me nervous as a Packer fan to see the  expectations being raised in this fashion. I have been a firm believer in getting through as much of the season under the radar. I do think swagger on the team helps. But it makes it way easier, with fewer distractions if you do not have a target on your back.

And you know what makes me more nervous? When guys on your team start predicting stuff, that's the kind of self-imposed pressure that gives fans like me fits. Here is Nick Barnett threading on water with a bold prediction.