NFL Week 12 Pick'ems

Gooble! Gooble! Gooble! It's Week 11 in the NFL, the 2nd best time of the football year. Why you may ask? Because it's mother fucking Thanksgiving Week, yeah! Of course we got the two turkeys playing on Thanksgiving (Cowboys and Lions), plus a third game that could be the talk of two regional areas. Then on Sunday we got 5 Divisional games, including two NFC playoff rematches that could be the things to come again come January. That being said, let's get started.

Last Week Record: 11-3
Season Record: 86-68-1

Thanksgiving Thursday Picks
12:30 p.m.: Houston Texans @ Detroit Lions
This is the first time the Texans get to play on Thanksgiving Day. The good news is that they are playing the Lions, who have a 33-37-2 record and lost 8 consecutive. After today, make it 9 and pencil in Houston as 10-1
Pick: Texans

4:15 p.m.: Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys
Yehaw! Nothin' like an ol' Cowboys vs. Indians to get the blood pumping, eh heh heh heh heh! That being said, Cowboys have pulled within 1 game of the NFC East division lead with a sloppy 23-20 OT win against the Browns. Unfortunately for them, they got the case of the injury bug on offense. On the Redskins side, they are finally going to get Pierre Garcon back after missing weeks with a foot injury. RGIII will take the #1 ranked offensive rushing attack and make Jerry Jones look like a jive ass turkey.
Pick: Redskins

8:20 p.m.: New England Patriots @ New York Jets
Losing TE Rob Gronkowski is going to hurt the Patriots. Not only does he provide the perfect receiving mismatch, expanding Brady's passing options, but he can block for the running game. Fellow TE Aaron Hernandez is still showing signs of his high ankle sprain is still bothering him. on the defensive side, even with newly acquried CB Aquib Talib, the Patriots defense continue to slide in defensive rankings in all categories. This will be the only time for the Jets to make some noise. They missed out on a 29-26 OT loss at Gillette a few weeks ago so now this is it.
Pick: Jets

Games to Watch:

Sunday 4:25 p.m.
San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints
A rematch of the Divisional Playoff game that was a nail biter and toe biter, a 36-32 victory for the 49ers in San Francisco  Now things are different as we shift to the Superdome in New Orleans for this classic showdown of top defense vs. top offense. Coming into this game, we have the Saints winning 3 games in a row to get to 5-5, including upsetting the 'perfect Falcons' in Atlanta in Week 10. Drew Brees leads the 2nd ranked passing attack with his 3,066 yards and NFL leading 28 TDs. But on the 49ers side, they boast the 2nd best overall defense in the league, including 2nd ranked against the pass. Though the 49ers may be without starter Alex Smith, Colin Kerpatrick showed that he could step in and efficiently run the offense. Expect a lot of ground and pound by Frank Gore against a Saints defense that has given up 157.8 rushing yards (32nd overall). Though the Saints might have an advantage that it's being played in their dome, the 49ers have t
Pick: 49ers


Sunday 8:20 p.m.
Green Bay Packers @ New York Giants
Like the 49ers-Saints, this here is another rematch of the other NFC Divisional playoff game, a stunning 37-20 blowout victory by the Giants who outplayed the Packers on all sides of the ball. But when they met in Week 13 last season, it was a 38-35 W for the Packers. Normally this would be a game Giants fans are nervous about since Big Blue is 4-5 under Tom Coughlin after a bye week. However Eli Manning and the Giants got some rest and regrouped with some of their key players (i.e. Bradshaw, Brown, Nicks, Snee, Phillips, Rolle)  were able to rest up and heal up as much as possible. Over on the Packers side, Green Bay has been winning games while seeing their top defenders (Woodson, Matthews) and top offense players (Jennings, Bulaga) go down with injuries. Not too mention that Aaron Rodgers has gone 85-129 (65.9% completion) for 982 yds, 11TD and 2INT in his last four games, all Ws. It could be another shootout between these two teams but what will seperate them will be the fact that the Packers will be without Clay Matthews yet again. Without him, expect Big Blue to make Packers fans turn green.
Pick: Giants

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Best of the Rest

Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns
The Steelers are going to be without 2nd-string QB Byron Leftwich after he suffered broken ribs from the Ravens game last Sunday. So we get to see Charlie Batch now in QB, who has a 5-2 record as a starter for the black and gold. However Cleveland will see this a a chance to steal away a victory. Though their record doesn't show it, the Browns have hung in each game. This will be the right time to get a victory when your opponent is hampered by injuries.
Pick: Browns

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs
No McGahee, no problem. At least the Broncos still got a healthy Peyton.
Pick: Broncos

Oakland Raiders @ Cincinnati Bengals
Expect Dalton to Green all day long in this one.
Pick: Bengals

Seattle Seahawks @ Miami Dolphins
The Seahawks are 6-4 but are horrible on the road at 1-4 and scoring 15 ppg while giving up 18.4 ppg. Miami has been struggling as of late, but will set things right at home.
Pick: Dolphins

Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
I'm very thankful I'm not a fan of either time. If I was, I'd be a Titan fan because they suck less.
Pick: Titans

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
For all the MVP talk surrounding Matt Ryan, he sure did a dude against the Cardinals with 5 INTs. Thankfully for him, the Bucs defense is nowhere near as stingy or tough, especially giving away their top CB Aquib Talib to the Pats. Expect a rebound game for Matty Ice.
Pick: Falcons

Buffalo Bills @ Indianapolis Colts
Colts were stunned against the Patriots, getting blown out in all aspects of football. Fortunately for Luck and Co., they face against one of the worst defenses in the NFL right now.
Pick: Colts

Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings
Bears were clobbered by the 49ers last Monday night. That blowout loss also brings into question Whether or not the Bears are contenders since they are 1-3 versus teams with +.500 winning percentages. With Jay Cutler's health in question, expect another game started by Jason Campbell and another loss as well.
Pick: Vikings

Sunday 4:05 p.m. & 4:25 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego Chargers
Piss poor team led by a piss poor QB, coached by a piss poor, and put together by a piss poor GM. Just bring back Marty Schottenheimmer already.
Pick: Ravens

St. Louis Rams @ Arizona Cardinals
Last time these two teams met in back in Week 5, the Rams smashed around Kevin Kolb including 9 sacks. This time around, the Cardinals are going to start rookie QB Ryan Lindley and they're getting back RB Beanie Wells from the 'early-season return' IR list. Still, these are the Cardinals and they lead the league in sacks with 44. You can put Kurt Warner, Jake Plummer, Neil Lomax, Jim Hart, hell even Paddy Driscoll and you'll still get the same results of a Cardinals QB on his back on the grass. 
Pick: Rams

Monday 8:30 p.m.
Carolina Panthers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Not even going to stay up to watch the first offensive series by any of the teams playing. But since I am a Giants fan, I'll root for any team playing the Eagles.
Pick: Panthers


-Ryan L. Fox