Week two of the 2009 NFL season is about to begin and already teams are looking at hard times. The Eagles are without Donovan McNabb, LT won’t go for the Chargers, and the Lions still haven’t won a football game since the 2007 season. My picks are off to a less than spectacular start too. I’m 8-6 so far but it’s all downhill from here..

As always I don’t pick games involving the Philadelphia Eagles during the regular season. Continue reading if you enjoy torturing yourself.

The winning side is in bold type.

Oakland Raiders +2 at Kansas City Chiefs

Houston Texans +7 at Tennessee Titans

New England Patriots -3.5 at New York Jets

Minnesota Vikings -10 at Detroit Lions

Cincinnati Bengals +8.5 at Green Bay Packers

Carolina Panthers +6 at Atlanta Falcons

St. Louis Rams +10 at Washington Redskins

Arizona Cardinals +3 at Jacksonville Jaguars

Seattle Seahawks +1 at San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers +4 at Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns +3 at Denver Broncos

Baltimore Ravens +1 at San Diego Chargers

Pittsburgh Steelers -3 at Chicago Bears

New York Giants +3 at Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts -3 at Miami Dolphins

We’re down to the best 8 teams in the NFL. There are plenty of subplots to each game. The New England Patriots pursuit of perfection is the top story of the playoffs. The Cowboys-Giants game is the most interesting this weekend.

I’m an Eli Manning fan, so I want to see if he’s really turned the corner. Eli can make all of the throws, but he gets rattled under pressure. He’s gonna have to stand in against the Dallas pass rush so I hope he’s settled his nerves problem. TO’s ankle injury and recovery are the key to the game. The Cowboys offense can’t move without Owens on the field. We’ve all seen how well TO heals so I expect him to be on the field and good to go. The lingering issue is gonna be the play of Tony Romo. If he plays poorly, Romo’s Cabo vacation with Jessica Simpson is gonna get the blame. If he plays well, then he’s white Jesus.

I was 4-0 straight up but 2-2 against the spread wildcard weekend. I thought Seattle would win but not cover, and I thought the Jags would win and cover. Close..

As always, the home team is in bold type.

Green Bay -8 over Seattle
Saturday 1:30 pm PST on Fox
Prediction: Packers 27 Seahawks 17

New England -13 over Jacksonville
Saturday 5:00 pm PST on CBS
Prediction: Patriots 31 Jaguars 17

San Diego +8.5 over Indianapolis
Sunday 10:00 am PST on CBS
Prediction: Chargers 23 Colts 20

Dallas – 6.5 over New York
Sunday 1:30 pm PST on Fox
Prediction: Cowboys 27 Giants 20

Tags: NFL, Free Picks, NFL Playoff Schedule, Football

Team Jessica Simpson has been successful at revitalizing Nick Lachey’s ex-wife’s image. Jessica chillin at Texas Stadium and hanging out en México con Tony Romo have made her national news.. Again. But Jessica Simpson’s dad isn’t the only one cashing in on her resurgence. The oddsmakers are getting a piece of Jessica too.

Online sportsbook, Sportsbook.com, has set a line on whether or not Jessica Simpson will be in attendance at the New York Giants/ Dallas Cowboys game. Now we’re wagering on Jessica Simpson public appearances..? I’d say we’re about 3 or 4 weeks into the Apocalypse.

Yes (Must be shown on TV) -120

No (Any wagers placed after the result is public knowledge will be no action) -120

I know that this would probably be all kinds of illegal, but couldn’t Romo and Jessica make a quick 10gs? If I was Romo, I’d have every 5th cousin I could dig up opening online betting accounts. Tony should think about it. He’d have some walking around money for next week’s trip to Hawaii.

Jessica Simpson Will be a “No Show” at Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Game Says Bookmaker. (Gambling 911)

Tags: Jessica Simpson, Tony Romo, Giants Cowboys, NFL

I don’t pick sides in games involving the Philadelphia Eagles. The home team is in bold type.

Cincinnati +3 over Cleveland

Green Bay -8 over Chicago

Indianapolis -7 over Houston

Kansas City +5.5 over Detroit

New England -22 over Miami

Buffalo +3 over NYG

Jacksonville -13 over Oakland

Washington +6 over Minnesota

Arizona -10 over Atlanta

Seattle -11 over Baltimore

Tennessee -8.5 over NYJ

Tampa Bay -6 over San Francisco

San Diego -8.5 over Denver

I don’t pick sides in games involving the Philadelphia Eagles. The home team is in bold type.

Seattle -7 over Carolina 

Cleveland -5′ over Buffalo

Kansas City +2′ over Tennessee

Baltimore -3′ over Miami 

New England -21 over NYJ

Arizona +3′ over New Orleans

Pittsburgh -3 over Jacksonville

Green Bay -8 over St. Louis 

Atlanta +12′ over Tampa Bay

Indianapolis -10′ over Oakland

Detroit +10 over San Diego 

NYG -5 over Washington

Chicago +10 over Minnesota

I went 7-5 last week, bringing my season total to 49-51-9. This is now the second week that I’ve been below .500 for the season. I gotta get things turned around in a hurry. The season started off so promising.. I was 11-2-2 out of the gate, and I’ve been 38-49-7 since. I’m the Minnesota Vikings of NFL picks.

Chicago, St. Louis, Miami, and the N.Y. Giants have a bye week, and I don’t pick for or against the Philadelphia Eagles. A Philly win over the Cowboys would have my squad right back in the NFC East mix.

The home team is in bold type.

Atlanta -3 over San Francsico: Enjoy it now ATL, because I probably won’t pick you in another game this season. At St. Louis on Dec. 2 is a slight possibility, but you guys will probably let the Rams off the 0-16 hook.

Buffalo +1 over Cincinnati: This is an easy pick. I’m taking the better team. The semi-mighty Bengals have fallen. Cincy was in the playoffs two years ago, and now they’re pure trash. They need to blow this thing up in the off season and start over.

Detroit -3 over Denver: This line seems too low to me. The Bronco offense can’t find the endzone, and the Lions light it up at home. The oddsmakers are the oddsmakers for a reason, but still, seems kinda low.

Green Bay +2 over Kansas City: The positives for the Chiefs are they’re coming off a bye week, playing at home against a team that played on Monday night. The bad news is they’re playing Green Bay’s defense and the Chiefs are the only team that Brett Favre has never beaten.

Minnesota +7 over San Diego: Adrian Peterson has played like a monster in the first half of his rookie season. He’s pretty much the only bright spot for the Vikings.. And I’m still taking the Vikes.. Dumb.

Jacksonville +3.5 over New Orleans: The Saints have looked good lately… Against Seattle, Atlanta, and San Francisco. The Jags are the best team the Saints have faced in over a month, and I don’t think New Orleans is up to the task.

NYJ + 3.5 over Washington: I don’t know what it is about this game, but I see the Jets winning. Something about New York’s 30th ranked offense and 29th ranked defense has me believing that they’ll keep this game close.

Tampa Bay -3.5 over Arizona: The Cardinals are the exact type of team that the Bucs need to play after last week’s tough loss to Jacksonville.. A crappy team. Tampa should beat them by at least a touchdown.

Tennessee -4 over Carolina: I have to believe that the 2nd best team in the AFC South can handle the 1st place team from the NFC South. Right? The Panthers are 4-0 on the road and 0-3 at home. Their first 4 road games were against the Rams, Falcons, Saints, and Cardinals.. a combined 7-22 on the season.

Cleveland -1 over Seattle: I usually don’t like teams that aren’t favored by at least 3 at home. A point doesn’t show a lot of confidence in the Browns, but Seattle’s weak. Shaun Alexander is far removed from his MVP season, and the defense doesn’t seem to crack like they use to… Speaking of defense, Cleveland has none, which probably explains the line.

New England -5.5 over Indianapolis: The only game that matters this week… Well, besides Eagles/Cowboys. I’ve been saying that I’m taking the Patriots every week until I see a reason not to. I gambled a couple of weeks ago and took the Dolphins to cover against the Patriots, which, as we know, was a huge mistake.. Kinda like me thinking the wildfires would affect San Diego’s play last week. New England has been destroying the league and they’re not gonna stop until they hold up the Lombardi Trophy…

On a quick sidenote. I’ve heard or read people making reference to Bill Belichick being Darth Vader. C’mon people, to quote Mark Jackson, “You’re better than that”. Calling Bill Belichick Darth Vader makes you seem like an idiot. Belichick is clearly the Emperor. He’s evil, wears a hooded jacket, and he’s guiding his young protegee, the real Darth Vader, Tom Brady. Remember, Darth started out good, but he fell victim to the temptation of the Dark Side… This also means that Tom’s son with Bridget Moynihan is Luke Skywalker, and that TB has a daughter that Bridget was wise to keep from him…. It’lll be a good game tho.

Houston +3 over Oakland: And this will be a bad game.

Pittsburgh -9 over Baltimore: Steve McNair’s back this week for the Ravens, but who gives a damn? The Ravens are a hollow 4-3. Their 4 wins are against the Jets, the Cardinals, the Niners, and the Rams, and they’ve lost at Cincy, Cleveland, and Buffalo. The Steelers victory over Seattle is their only win over an alleged good team, but they’re still good enough to beat Baltimore by 10.

Tags: NFL Week 9, NFL, Free Picks, Colts Patriots

Now, before I get to my picks.. Why does a woman take your number or give you her number, with no actual intent of ever speaking to you? Fellas, it’s happened to all of us. You meet a PYT, you’re choppin’ it up, things are going good. The numbers get exchanged, and you never hold a meaningful conversation with her again. You might talk to her for about 20 seconds a couple of times, but you’ll always be calling at a bad time… Or you just get her voicemail, leave a couple of non-Swingers style messages, and she’s still not calling back.. I hate that. It’s like having money on a team that’s favored by 3 and kicks a late field goal to win by 1 or 2. If you’re not gonna cover, why bother winning? If you don’t wanna talk, why bother with the number thing?

All right.. Atlanta, Dallas, Kansas City, Arizona, Baltimore, and Seattle have bye weeks. Remember, I don’t pick for or against the Philadelphia Eagles.. But they sure as hell better find a way to beat the Vikings if they have any hope of saving their season.

The home team is in bold type.

Indianapolis -7 over Carolina: This has all the makings of a trap game for the Colts. Road game, on grass, against a team coming off a bye, and the week before the showdown with New England. I think Indy stays focused.

Detroit +5 over Chicago: The Bears pulled out a miracle win last week, but they don’t look like a team that’s ready to string victories together. This seems like a field goal game to me.

Pittsburgh -3.5 over Cincinnati: The Bengals whooping up on the Jets does not mean that they’re ready to turn things around. The positive for Cincy, the Steelers are 1-2 on the road. The negative for Cincy, they’re still the Bengals.

NYG -9.5 over Miami: The game’s being played in London, but Miami’s considered the home team.. I have no idea what playing in England is gonna do to each team so I’m going with the Giants being able to handle the change better.

Cleveland -3 over St. Louis: The Browns aren’t that good, but the Rams are that bad. Cleveland could win this game by double digits.. Of course with my recent pick history, the Rams will probably pick up their first win.

Tennessee -7 over Oakland: Wow, a home team. I remember when Eddie George useta go off against the Raiders.. Eddie’s not walking through that door, but they won’t need him as long as they have Rob Bironas.

Buffalo +3 over NYJ: This game was literally a coin flip for me. I can make an argument either way, but the quarter landed on heads.

Houston + 9.5 over San Diego: The wildfires in San Diego will unfortunately have an effect on the Chargers. It’s only human nature. The Bolts should still win the game, but don’t be surprised if they look disjointed.

Tampa Bay -4 over Jacksonville: If this is Donovan McNabb’s last season in Philly, I see three places he could easily end up. In Minnesota with Brad Childress, In Chicago, or in Jacksonville. Why Jacksonville? Because, if a team can cut a black quarterback and replace him with a black quarterback, and then the new quarterback gets hurt and is replaced by another black quarterback, that team has a thing for black quarterbacks. How about this slogan “The Jacksonville Jaguars, the Kim Kardashian of the NFL”?

New England -16 over Washington: I went against the Patriots last week like an idiot. I instilled the always take the Patriots rule and broke it. I’m dumb. I highly doubt the Patriots will look past the Redskins to the Colts. The Pats are on a mission to crush the league, and they look like they will.

San Francisco +2.5 over New Orleans: For some reason I see the Saints coming out and laying an egg this game. They’ve been in a fog for most of the season, and don’t look right.

Green Bay +3 over Denver: I have zero faith in Green Bay’s ability to suddenly discover a running game, but I’m taking them anyways. The weather might be in the 40s on Monday night, which is fine with the Packers.

Tags: NFL, NFL Week 8 Picks, Sports, Free Picks

I don’t take sides in any game involving the Philadelphia Eagles.. For the most part. If they were to make the playoffs, I would include the Eagles in my game predictions. Cleveland, Green Bay, San Diego, and Carolina have the bye week. The home team is in bold type.

Arizona +7 over Washington: It’s gonna be Kurt Warner with tape and a brace on his elbow, or Tim Rattay at qb for the Cardinals. It sounds like either way, it’s gonna end up being Rattay under center. I’m banking on the Redskins looking ahead to playing the Patriots next week.

New Orleans -9 over Atlanta: The Saints can’t be all the way back based on one game, but Atlanta’s struggling. Leftwich takes over Harrington… We’ll see.

Baltimore -3 over Buffalo: The fans in Buffalo are waiting for Willis McGahee. The Bills are coming off a bye week but I still think rookie qb Trent Edwards will be overmatched.

Minnesota +9.5 over Dallas: The Boys will come out with something to prove after getting handled by the Patriots. The Vikings are gonna have to use ball control to stay close in this game.

Miami +16 over New England: I’ve been taking the Patriots until further notice.. This weekend is further notice. I can’t bring myself to pass up 16 points for a NFL team at home. I don’t care who the two teams are. It’s gotta be tough for the Patriots to get it up for Cleo Lemon and the Fish after facing the Dallas Cowboys.

San Francisco +9.5 over NYG: Classic team off of a bye week vs. team that played on Monday night matchup. To tell the truth, I don’t know what the stats are in this situation… It seems like it should add up in favor of Frisco.

Tampa Bay +2 over Detroit: If you look at the stats, neither of these teams are impressive. Tampa’s 4-2 record and the Lions’ 3-2 record are what really matter. Tampa Bay needs the win to take over sole ownership of 1st place in the South, while Detroit is trying to gain ground on the idle Packers. Tampa wins the game.

Tennessee -1 over Houston: This is an if then pick. If Vince plays, I’m going with the Titans. Vince has to play the entire game for this pick to be valid..Yes, I’m hedging.

Oakland -3 over Kansas City: Yawwn..

Cincinnati -6 over NYJ: The Jets are terrible, the Bengals are terrible but Cincy will be less terrible on this day. If Marvin Lewis quits now, he still has time to get his name in the mix for the Yankees job.

Seattle -8.5 over St. Louis: This pick is all about the St. Louis Rams being the biggest disappointment on turf. How many experts picked them to make the playoffs? Hell if I know, but it was a lot.

Pittsburgh -3.5 over Denver: I have to take the Steelers here. Denver hasn’t played up to the level I was expecting from them this season.

Jacksonville +3 over Indianapolis: The Colts are undefeated no more. Jack Del Rio and his team are gonna pull off the upset on Monday Night Football.

Tags: NFL Week 7, NFL Picks, NFL, Point Spreads

Little did I know that Bill Parcells’ quarterbacking commandments would bring quite a bit of traffic to YBB.. If you stopped by for yesterday morning, and the site was down, thank Mr. Parcells. I have to say, there are either a lot of aspiring quarterbacks out there, or Bill Parcells is the E.F. Hutton of the NFL studio. Either way, everything’s running smoothly now..As far as last week, wow what a week it was. Dallas pulled out a miracle, Leinart’s season is over, the Steelers stomped the Seahawks, and the Colts and Patriots played like the elite teams that they are. As for me.. I was under .500 (5-8-1, 34-31-7 on the season), and now fun time’s over. It’s time to right this ship.Buffalo, Denver, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Detroit have the bye week. And, as always, I don’t pick for or against my beloved Philadelphia Eagles. The home team is in bold type.

Cincinnati -3 over Kansas City: Time for the Bengals to start their run to respectability. It won’t look like it at first, but the Chiefs will send their fans home disappointed.

Houston +6.5 over Jacksonville: Don’t ask me how the Jaguars do it but they win… And it’s usually ugly.. So the Jags win but they don’t cover.

Cleveland -4.5 over Miami: Trent Green got knocked out last week, and Joey Porter’s trashing Kellen Winslow jr… Doesn’t sound like a team headed in the right direction. Back to back road games will leave Miami drained in the second half.

Chicago -5 over Minnesota: The Bears pulled out the victory over the Pack last week, but I’m not willing to say that they’re back. They don’t have to be “back” to take down the Vikings. In a scheduling quirk, Minnesota is playing it’s 3rd of 4 road games in a row. They had a bye week last week to break up the monotony.

Baltimore -9.5 over St. Louis: The Rams are 0-5 and have lost their 2 road games this season by a combined score of 59-10. Even the unimpressive Ravens should beat them by 2 touchdowns.

Tennessee +3 over Tampa Bay: This is an interesting game. Both of these times are fighting for respect, and a victory over the other would go along ways to establishing some. Both teams stomped the Saints, and lost to the Colts.. If I had to pick a game that was most likely to push, it would be this one.

Green Bay -3 over Washington: The Redskins have been a nice story for the first quarter of the season. Jason Campbell’s played well, and the defense is quietly shutting people down. I still like the Packers this weekend. Under 40.5 anyone?

Arizona -4.5 over Carolina: If David Carr can’t go, the Panthers are gonna start 43 year old Vinny Testaverde. Carolina is 3-0 on the road, but that was before they ran into Kurt Warner.

New England -4.5 over Dallas: This game features great names and matchups. Brady vs. Romo, T.O. vs. Moss, the Patriots D vs. the Cowboys D. Bill Belichick vs. Wade Phillips. Wait. What? Yeah, I’m rollin’ with New England.

Oakland +10 over San Diego: I feel like I’m taking a chance here. Not because it’s the big bad Chargers against the lowly Raiders, but because Oak-town might be without Warren Sapp and Derrick Burgess.

Seattle -6.5 over New Orleans: The Saints are bad this year. I know, that’s a major news flash. But what I’m saying is, it’s time for me to quit holding out hope that they’ll get it turned around… Especially up in the Pacific Northwest.

NYG -3 over Atlanta: This is gonna be the Monday Night game? This is a joke… Funny how this season can not escape Michael Vick.

Tags: NFL, Week 6 Picks, Football, Sports, Point Spread

I went 11-2-2 last week.. Remember that I don’t prognosticate for or against the Philadelphia Eagles, so that’s why I’m a game short. I hope (for your sake) that I stay hot, but what goes up, must come down. If you don’t like riding with road teams, this post might not be for you.

The home team is in bold type.

Buffalo +9.5 over Pittsburgh: Buffalo could have won the game outright last week if Losman had picked up a first down instead of going deep on a crucial 3rd down late in the 4th. The Steelers won big last week but it was Cleveland.

Cincinnati -6.5 over Cleveland: The Browns looked like hot garbage last week, but I think back t0 7-8 years ago when teams were terrible against the line after playing the Ravens. Baltimore would beat you up so bad that it lasted an extra game. Not this week.

Tennessee +7 over Indianapolis: Indy looked invincible against the Saints, but the Titans played the Colts close twice last year, including a 20-17 victory at home.

Carolina -6.5 over Houston: Do what you want with this pick.. I thought Carolina would lose last week and they stomped the Rams. Houston played ok against the lowly Chiefs, but let’s see them do that on the road.

St. Louis -3 over San Francisco: Ok, I’ll give the Rams one more chance. The Niners looked terrible for 98% of the Monday night game, and still pulled out a victory. They’ll play a little less crappy this week, but they’re going home 1-1.

Green Bay +1.5 over NYG: The Giants will run a record number of quarterback sneaks if Eli doesn’t play on Sunday. Even though I didn’t completely stick to this last week, I’m always wary of a team that’s not favored by at least 2 at home.

Atlanta + 10.5 over Jacksonville: This game’s a toss up to me. The Jags could win this game 34-7 or 20-10. I’m going 20-10.

New Orleans -3 over Tampa Bay: Jeff Garcia got sacked 3 times last week and then Luke McCown came in and got sacked twice for good measure. The Bucs offensive line is gonna get arrested for attempted murder.. They already tried to kill Chris Simms.

Minnesota +3 over Detroit: I think Minnesota’s the better team on paper so I’m going with that. I can’t tell jack from last week.. The Vikings beat up the Falcons, and Detroit survived Oakland. If Minnesota wins, they haven’t played anybody. If Detroit wins, fire up the “Are the Lions that team this year?” talk.

Dallas -3.5 over Miami: I hate that hook, but the Boys looked pretty tough last week… Except in the secondary. Glad to see they straightened that out over the summer.

Seattle -2.5 over Arizona: Arizona was involved in that crapfest of a 2nd Monday night game last week. I think that’s the first time in NFL history that two squads played down to the level of the broadcast team.

Baltimore -10 over NYJ: Some places have a line on this game, some don’t. So, Kellen Clemmens is getting his first start on the road at Baltimore… Against a pissed off 0-1 Ravens team in their home opener.. When it seems too good to be true, it usually is but F it.

Denver -9.5 over Oakland: Mike Shanahan enjoys nothing more than beating down Raiders. He’ll be all smiles on Sunday.

Chicago -12 over Kansas City: There’s that whole “On Any Given Sunday” saying but I’m not buying it this Sunday. Damn near two touchdowns is a lot to give any NFL team, but the Bears are in the same boat as the Ravens.

San Diego +3 over New England: The Chargers are looking for a little payback, and I don’t care how great the Patriots are, they’d have to be robots to block out everything that happened this week. Goodell handed out his punishments but he’s still pissed. I’m sure he told the refs for this game to make Tim Donaghy proud.

My Picks Aren’t Good Enough For Ya?
Week 2 NFL Picks. Courtesy of Dan Shanoff
Bash Your Bookie Bets: Week 3 (College) Courtesy of Barking Carnival

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Tags: NFL, Week 2 Picks