Sunday, October 30, 2011

Week 8 Predictions

I had a very busy week following week 7, and then was out of town for the past few days. So, as I was for several weeks earlier in the season, I am very late in writing my predictions post for this week.

Last week I was 7-6, so I still have yet to go negative on my predictions in any week, but it wasn’t a great week. I’ll look to improve on that this week. My total prediction record for the season is now 66-37. The following are my predictions for this week, with my predicted winners in bold.

Sunday, October 30

1:00pm
New Orleans @ St. Louis

Miami @ New York Giants

Jacksonville @ Houston

Arizona @ Baltimore

Minnesota @ Carolina

Indianapolis @ Tennessee

4:05pm
Detroit @ Denver

Washington @ Buffalo

4:15pm
Cincinnati @ Seattle

New England @ Pittsburgh

Cleveland @ San Francisco

8:20pm
Dallas @ Philadelphia

Monday, October 31

8:30pm
San Diego @ Kansas City

As always, thank you for reading and comments are always welcome.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Week 7 Predictions

This week is going to be a very important week in the NFL with many teams looking to keep playoff hopes alive and others hoping to save face. Last week I was 9-4 with my predictions, leaving me 59-31 for the season so far.

Below are my predictions for this week. Predicted winners are in bold.

Sunday, October 23

1:00pm
Denver @ Miami

San Diego @ New York Jets

I have begun to lose faith in Philip Rivers for this season, but the Chargers running game has been very solid and I have less faith in the Jets offense than I do in the Chargers offense. The Jets have been fairly solid for the most part on defense but I think San Diego will win a close one today.

Houston @ Tennessee

Atlanta @ Detroit

The Lions took a small step back last week against San Francisco, but the 49ers are having a good year and I do not think that game exposed the Lions as pretenders as much as it exposed San Francisco to be contenders. Atlanta has not really gotten things rolling yet and I think Detroit has the upper hand in this matchup pretty much across the board.

Washington @ Carolina

This is a tough pick for me to make. The Redskins have had a lot of trouble with running quarterbacks in the past, and Cam Newton is quickly proving to be one of the best running quarterbacks in the game, maybe even better than Michael Vick because he’s probably a better passer. But the Panthers defense has a lot of holes. Granted, the Redskins are starting John Beck this week and nobody really knows what to expect, but I figure he is not going to throw four picks this week and that in itself may be enough to put the Skins on top.

Chicago @ Tampa Bay

Seattle @ Cleveland

4:05pm
Pittsburgh @ Arizona

Kansas City @ Oakland

4:15pm
Green Bay @ Minnesota

St. Louis @ Dallas

8:20pm
Indianapolis @ New Orleans

Monday, October 24

8:30pm
Baltimore @ Jacksonville

Unfortunately, the past several weeks have been too busy for me to break away between classes, practices, and homework to write recaps of the weeks’ action. I will try to find time this week but do not be surprised if you do not see anything new until next Sunday, as has been the case recently. Thank you for reading, your support is appreciated.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Week 6 Predictions

I am way too close to game time so I am not going to give reasons for my picks, only predictions this weekend. Last week I went 10-3 for my predictions, so my season total is now 50-27.

As for my predictions for this week, they are below. As always, my predicted winners are in bold.

Sunday, October 16

1:00pm
Carolina @ Atlanta

Indianapolis @ Cincinnati

Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh

Buffalo @ New York Giants

San Francisco @ Detroit

St. Louis @ Green Bay

Philadelphia @ Washington

4:05pm
Cleveland @ Oakland

Houston @ Baltimore

4:15pm
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay

Dallas @ New England

8:20pm
Minnesota @ Chicago

Monday, October 17

Miami @ New York Jets

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Week 5 Predictions

I am running a little close to game time this week. I have not had time to do out-of-class writing all week so I never did get a chance to post a recap of week 4, and now I have less than an hour to get this week’s predictions up before the games start.

I was 11-5 with my predictions last week, bringing my season total to 40-24. This is the first bye week of the season, so there are only thirteen games being played this weekend. My predicted winners are in bold.

Sunday, October 9

1:00pm
New Orleans @ Carolina

Kansas City @ Indianapolis

Kansas City finally got their first taste of victory last week against Minnesota. They want more and even though Curtis Painter looked pretty decent last week, I do not have enough faith in him or the Colts to pick them to win any games yet.

Philadelphia @ Buffalo

This is a bit of an upset pick. Buffalo fell to Cincinnati last week, but that may have just been a trap game. Philadelphia is has not impressed so far and they have lost more than just one game they should have won.

Seattle @ New York Giants

Cincinnati @ Jacksonville

The Bengals have the second best rookie quarterback so far this year and Jacksonville still has not found their identity as a team.

Tennessee @ Pittsburgh

The Titans are hot, but Pittsburgh needs the win and they are at home. I think the Steelers will pull out a close one, though I do consider this a bit of an upset pick on my part.

Oakland @ Houston

Arizona @ Minnesota

4:05pm
Tampa Bay @ San Francisco

I really do not know what makes me pick San Francisco here. I have been on the Tampa Bay bandwagon since the end of last season, but I am going with the 49ers today.

4:15pm
New York Jets @ New England

I think the Jets have a shot with this matchup at home, but their offense has not been any more impressive than New England’s defense, and Brady shook off his 4-INT week 3 performance last week against Oakland (though it was not a phenomenal game for him). Look for Brady to have a big game today.

San Diego @ Denver

The Chargers have not been overly impressive so far, but the Broncos are reeling and the Chargers should pounce on this opportunity to really take control of the division with Oakland likely losing to Houston.

8:20pm
Green Bay @ Atlanta

This should be a great game and I am excited for it, but despite the Falcons looking to make up for their loss last year in the playoffs, the Packers are just too good in my opinion.

Monday, October 10

8:30pm
Chicago @ Detroit

No doubt in my mind here. Detroit has the better defense and the better offense, plus they are at home tomorrow night. Chicago is good enough to potentially keep this game close but Detroit should pull this one out.


Hopefully I will have some free time this week to recap this weekend’s games. My class schedule will not be quite as crazy so I should have time to get a post up. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy this weekend’s NFL action!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Week 4 Predictions

Last week was a very rough week for my predictions. I managed not to fall under .500 only because of Pittsburgh’s win over Indianapolis on Sunday night. The Redskins almost put me over .500 but it just was not meant to be and I finished 8-8 for week 3 and am now 29-19 for the season.

So here come my predictions for this weekend’s games. As always, my predicted winners are in bold.

Sunday, October 2

1:00pm
Detroit @ Dallas

As much as I want Detroit’s run to continue, Tony Romo gets another week to recover from his broken ribs and punctured lung. As it was, he played a pretty darn good game this past weekend and should have little trouble having an even better game next week. I do not by any means expect a blowout either way, and this has the potential to be one of the closest exciting games of the weekend.

New Orleans @ Jacksonville

There is a reason I (and the fans and experts on NFL.com) rank New Orleans #2 in the NFL after three weeks, and they will not fall to Jacksonville, regardless of where the game is played. The only thing that could make this a fairly close game is if Jacksonville gets to play in another monsoon, which they have experience in as of this past weekend.

Washington @ St. Louis

I keep flip-flopping on this one. St. Louis is 0-3 and needs a win badly. Steven Jackson is expected to be back to his old self this weekend, but the Redskins are coming off a heartbreaker of a loss in Dallas. Even though history does not look nicely on the Redskins when they are in St. Louis, if that could change any year, this might be it.

San Francisco @ Philadelphia

This is a risky pick. There is still no guarantee that Vick will play. In addition, if he does play he runs the risk of getting injured for the third consecutive week, and his hand may be more likely to be re-injured than he was to get another concussion. However, if Kafka is forced to come in again, he will have the experience of his past two games and, hopefully, the Philly fans to back him up, that is until he does something stupid and the fans destroy any confidence he might have.

Minnesota @ Kansas City

Minnesota cannot possibly blow another halftime lead could they? Well, at least for this week I am going to say no, they will not. It certainly has nothing to do with their talent in my opinion. More, it has to do with Kansas City’s lack of talent. I can definitely see Minnesota building another big early lead against the Chiefs, but I do not think Kansas City has the ability to overcome that, even in Arrowhead. In addition, Leslie Frazier acknowledged this week that he has not been using Adrian Peterson enough during the second halves of games this season. If he actually makes good on what those words imply he will do, they should finally get win number one.

Buffalo @ Cincinnati

Easy pick. Cincinnati has proven to be better than I gave them credit for during pre-season, but as long as they have not let that win over New England go their heads and they have gotten in a solid week of practice, the Bills should steamroll the Bengals. Don’t worry Cincinnati, it should be short and painless, or not.

Carolina @ Chicago

Cam Newton finally god his first taste of an NFL victory last week in a monsoon against Jacksonville, but Chicago is coming off a loss to division rival Green Bay. Cutler should have a much better game against the Carolina defense; that is if his offensive line can keep him upright. Though I do not expect it to be particularly exciting, this one has the makings of a shootout, but I give Chicago the edge both with talent and home field advantage.

Pittsburgh @ Houston

Houston had a great game against New Orleans last weekend. One of their scores was pure luck, but they still ran right with the Saints, who’s defense has proven to be at least as good as Pittsburgh’s has been so far this season. Sure, the Steelers blanked Seattle, but they were blown out of Baltimore and then nearly blown out of Indy. Now, they play in Houston and hope to win? I think not.

Tennessee @ Cleveland

Kenny Britt has pretty much been the Tennessee offense so far this season, and now he is gone for the season. Tennessee will win more games, but they will have to find their new identity before they do. They have Nate Washington, and Lavelle Hawkins has a few years under his belt but has yet to really emerge as a consistent option. And with Chris Johnson still yet to pull his weight, Cleveland should be able to pull out a win at home.

4:05pm
Atlanta @ Seattle

This will not be an easy win for Atlanta, but only because of Seattle’s 12th man. However, Atlanta knows that if they lose this game the remainder of their season could very well consist of them just trying to save face.

New York Giants @ Arizona

The Giants are in a three-way tie for first in the NFC East, but they are probably the best of the three right now, and Arizona has not come close to impressing me yet this season.

4:15pm
Denver @ Green Bay

You would be crazy not to pick the Packers this weekend; or would you consider yourself gutsy?

Miami @ San Diego

The Dolphins are fighting for Tony Sparano’s job. But San Diego is at home and Philip Rivers is coming off a bad game, and he has generally bounced back quite well after an off outing.

New England @ Oakland

Coming off an embarrassing loss, if New England loses this game, Patriots fans might have to wait until next year if they want another playoff appearance, but I do not expect things to get that far. McFadden should have a field day, but the Patriots will not let things get so close in Oakland.

8:20pm
New York Jets @ Baltimore

Baltimore has already been upset after a blowout win this season. This time they are coming off a blowout in St. Louis and they will not make the same mistake twice. Look for the Jets to fight to the death, but the Ravens should win this game on Sunday night.

Monday, October 3

8:30pm
Indianapolis @ Tampa Bay

Hopefully Indianapolis will have another good showing on national television, but I do not expect any miracles in this game. Tampa Bay might prove to be an even tougher opponent than the Steelers, especially with Kerry Collins possibly not playing this Monday night.

I will post a recap of week 4 sometime next week when I get a few free minutes. Be sure to like Puff on the NFL on Facebook. Also, I have created the email address cpuffnfl@gmail.com so if you want to give some feedback you can either comment on posts or via email.

Thank you for reading!