My Official Green Bay Packers blog

Here we are, a brand new football season, a clean slate with your bookie. Time to place your bets on the NFL. And as luck would have it, one of the sponsors of our site will let you do just that. Quite a coincidence, really. And to commemorate that coincidence, this year I’ll be making my picks against the spread, Vegas stytle (instead of straight up, betting-against-your-gramma style). As always, winners are in bold.

Detroit (-3) @ Atlanta - Detroit has lost more games this decade than any other team in the NFL. But Atlanta’s in even worse shape right now.
Cincinnati (-2) @ Baltimore - He’s now legally named Chad Ocho Cinco. How funny is it going to be to hear Dierdorf or Michaels have to call him Ocho Cinco this season? That alone is worth the two points today.
Seattle (+1) @ Buffalo - Do the oddsmakers think Buffalo is that much better this year? Are they really worried about Hasselbeck’s back? Some are saying Holmgren’s swan song might rock.
New York Jets (-3) @ Miami - Favre is Favre, even with a new cast, and Miami is, well, Miami.
Kansas City @ New England (-16) - The Patriots backup QB was born when I was a junior in High School. He’s gonna get schooled if he gets into this game.
Tampa Bay @ New Orleans (-3)
St. Louis @ Philadelphia (-8) - Ok, Donovan. This is your best last chance to prove to the world that you’re an elite QB. Get it rolling this year or start making calls to Jim Kelly for advice on how to live with being an almost-great.
Houston @ Pittsburgh (-6 1/2)
Jacksonville (-3) @ Tennessee
Dallas (-5) @ Cleveland
Carolina @ San Diego (-9) - I’m not a fan of the the primary weapon of one team getting his first licks in the regular season, but I still think the team is too good to lose the home opener.
Arizona (-2) @ San Francisco - Washed up QB with the yips faces off against cast-off QB from the Detroit Lions. Must miss TV.
Chicago @ Indianapolis (-9 1/2) - This will be a nice tune-up game for Manning and the boys.
Minnesota @ Green Bay (-2 1/2) - This is no homer pick. For the seven minutes I watched, I thought the Vikings looked tough against the Steelers. I was ready to pick ‘em. Then I remembered it was the Vikings. In Lambeau. I look for this to be a squeaker.

So to recap, I picked the team giving points in every game except one. Genius? Not in control of my faculties? Yes.

Technorati Tags: NFL, Week 1, Picks, Gamble, Gamble, Gamble

I skipped a few of the quizzes this year, but I must have done pretty well; now that the NFL regular season is over, my teacher said she was going to take for a vacation in Mexico for a few days.  She leaves love notes on the skittles she puts in my desk, so I’m pretty excited about the trip.

Here’s the stats for the season:

Week 1: 10-6
Week 2: 12-4
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 5-9
Week 5: 7-7
Week 6: 7-6
Week 7: 12-2
Week 8: 8-5
Week 9: 11-3
Week 10: 5-9
Week 11: 10-6
Week12: 11-5
Week 14: 11-5
Week17: 10-6

For a grand total of 127-81. My correct pick percentage was 61% for the season - enough to earn a few bucks.

And a trip to Mexico.  Hasta la teacha, baby.

Technorati Tags: 2007, NFL Season, Pick Review, Teacher’s Pet

With almost all of the playoff slots for both the AFC and NFC having already been settled, there are only a few games that hold any importance this weekend. New England/New York has to be the one with the most national interest (@ Tiki Barber - no, not because the Giants are in that game, you girlish dope). Seeing if the Patriots can wrap up a perfect 16-game regular season is probably worth watching.

But like the government can snatch grandma’s house in the name of infrastructure, the NFL has commandeered this game for it’s cable-access quality NFL Network.

Seems counterproductive to pull all the best games, only to show them on your soviet-state run network where the color and play-by-play guys are given a “No-no” sheet before each game of the things they can’t speak of on the air, lest their families end up doing hard labor in northern Minnesota.  Then again, if you can improve the on-air talent and chemistry and get on as a standard cable channel, in a few years we could be pledging allegiance under the flag of the United World States of Football.

Ok, ok.  To the picks.  Winners are bold.

NE @ NYG - The Pats don’t want anything left to chance - Brady’s replacement will come in when it’s 47-0 with 8 minutes left in the 3rd.
SEA @ ATL
DET @ GB - The Packers have nothing to gain except some emergency practice for the second-stringers.  The Lions can’t even be spoilers, and I have my doubts that they’ll buck up and play for Rod in freezing temps with nothing hanging in the balance.  But they could surprise us.
SF @ CLE
JAC @ HOU
CAR @ TB
BUF @ PHI
NO @ CHI
CIN @ MIA
DAL @ WAS The equation here is pretty simple - win and you’re in.  Dallas also has nothing to gain with this game, so look for them to treat it like a preseason game.
KC @ NYJ
STL @ ARI
SD @ OAK
MIN @ DEN - If Washington loses and the Vikings win, the Vikings are in.  I wouldn’t mind having the Packers pull the Vikings over their lap for one more good spanking this season (if they meet in the playoffs).
PIT @ BAL
TEN @ IND-There are some crazy betting lines this week - hard to decide who’s going to show up and who isn’t when there is little but pride on the line.

I’ll tally my season totals after this week - they suck generally, and I’ve missed the last few weeks, so don’t plan on being impressed.

Technorati Tags: NFL, Weekly Picks, 72 Dolphin Champagne Getting Stale