NFL Week 17

Detroit +7.5 at Green Bay
Jacksonville +9.5 at Houston
Indianapolis -7 at Tennessee
Baltimore -13 versus Cleveland
New England -5 versus Buffalo
Miami -6 versus Nee York Jets
Chicago +6 at Minnesota
San Diego +1 at Kansas City
Was hinting +5.5 versus Dallas
Philadelphia-+2.5 at New York Giants
Carolina +3 at Atlanta
New Orleans -4 at Tampa Bay
St. Louis +12.5 at Seattle
San Francisco -6.5 versus Arizona
Oakland +14 at Denver
Cincinnati +3.5 at Pittsburgh

Week 16

Eagles -7
Niners -1

Week 15

Chiefs -10.5

Ravens -14

Steelers -3

Colts -7

Bengals +2.5

Dolphins +9

Panthers -3.5

Giants -7

Packers -3.5

Lions -7.5

Jets -3

Broncos -4

Niners +9.5

Eagles -3.5

Bears +3

NFL Week 14

Chi +3.5 vs Dal

Cin -3 vs Pit

StL -3 @ Was

NYG -1 @ Ten

Car +10 @ NO

Min -5.5 vs NYJ

Bal +3 @ Mia

Ind -3.5 @ Cle

TB +10 @ Det

Jax +5.5 vs Hou

Den -10 vs Buf

KC -1 @ Ari

Phi -1.5 vs Sea

SF -8 @ Oak

NE -3.5 @ SD

GB -13 vs Atl

2014 NFL Week 13 Picks

Week 13

Chicago +7 at Detroit

Philadelphia +3 at Dallas

San Francisco -1.5 versus Seattle

Indianapolis -9.5 versus Washington

Buffalo -3 versus Cleveland

Cincinnati -3.5 at Tampa Bay

Tennessee +7 at Houston

St. Louis -6.5 versus Oakland

Carolina +2.5 at Minnesota

Pittsburgh -4.5 versus New Orleans

New York Giants -3 @ Jacksonville

Baltimore -6 versus San Diego

Arizona -2 at Atlanta

New England +3 at Green Bay

Kansas City +1.5 versus Denver

Miami -7 at New York Jets

2014 NFL Week 12 Picks

If I were a betting man:

Oakland +7.5 versus Kansas City

Chicago -5.5 versus Tampa Bay

Atlanta -3 versus Cleveland

Cincinnati +1.5 at Houston

New England -7 versus Detroit

Green Bay -9 at Minnesota

Tennessee +11 at Philadelphia

Indianapolis -14 versus Jacksonville

San Diego -5 versus St. Louis

Seattle -7 versus Arizona

Miami +7 at Denver

San Francisco -9 versus Washington

Dalla s-3.5 at New York Giants

Buffalo -2.5 versus New York Jets

New Orleans -3 versus Baltimore

2014 NFL Week 11 Picks

If I were a betting man

2014 NFL Week 10 Picks

If I were a betting man: Atlanta -2.5, Jacksonville +7, and Arizona -6.5

Cincinnati -6 versus Cleveland

Atlanta -2.5 at Tampa Bay

Kansas City -1 at Buffalo

Jacksonville +7 versus Dallas (in London)

Detroit -2.5 versus Miami

Tennessee +10 at Baltimore

San Francisco +5.5 at New Orleans

Pittsburgh -4 at New York Jets

Oakland +11 versus Denver

Arizona -6.5 versus St. Louis

New York Giants +9 at Seattle

Chicago +7 at Green Bay

Carolina +7 at Philadelphia


Last week: 10-3
Season total: 73-58-3

2014 NFL Week 9 Picks

If I were a betting man: Cardinals +2.5, Vikings -1, and the Colts -3

Week 9

New Orleans -3 at Carolina

Minnesota -1 versus Washington

Arizona +2.5 at Dallas

Philadelphia -1.5 at Houston

Cleveland -6.5 versus Tampa Bay

Kansas City -9 versus New York Jets

Jacksonville +10.5 at Cincinnati

Miami -2 versus San Diego

San Francisco -9.5 versus Saint Louis

New England +3 versus Denver

Oakland +14 at Seattle

Baltimore -1.5 at Pittsburgh

Indianapolis -3 at New York Jets

Last week: 8-7
Season total: 63-55-3

2014 NFL Week 8 Picks

Week 8

San Diego +9 at Denver

Detroit -3.5 versus Atlanta (in London)

Minnesota +2.5 at Tampa Bay

Chicago +6 at New England

Kansas City -7 versus St. Louis

Carolina +5.5 versus Seattle

Buffalo +3 at New York Jets

Miami -6 at Jacksonville

Houston -3.5 at Tennessee

Cincinnati +2 versus Baltimore

Philadelphia +1.5 at Arizona

Indianapolis -3.5 at Pittsburgh

Oakland +6.5 at Cleveland

Green Bay +2.5 at New Orleans

Washington +9.5 at Dallas

Last week: 7-8
Season total: 55-48-3

2014 NFL Week 7 Picks

Week 7

If I were a betting man: I'd parlay Buffalo -5.5, Indianapolis -3, and Pittsburgh -3.

New England -9.5 versus New York Jets

Baltimore -6.5 versus Atlanta

Buffalo -5.5 versus Minnesota

Chicago -3 versus Miami

Indianapolis -3 versus Cincinnati

Jacksonville +5.5 versus Cleveland

Detroit -2 versus New Orleans  

Carolina +6.5 at Green Bay

Tennessee +6 at Washington

Seattle -6 at St. Louis

Kansas City +3.5 at San Diego

New York Giants +6.5 at Dallas

Arizona -3.5 at Oakland

San Francisco +7 at Denver

Pittsburgh -3 versus Houston

Last week: 11-3-1
Season total: 48-40-3

2014 NFL Week 6 Picks

Week 6

If I were a betting man, you know I'm always inclined to include the Monday night game in parlays for hedging purposes, so it's no surprise I'm including the Niners -3.5 in a good matchup. I'd throw them in with New England -2.5 and Pittsburgh +1.5.

Indianapolis -2.5 at Houston

This was a little tough for me at first due to the history of home field advantage on TNF, but like I tweeted, I couldn't use that as an excuse to go against Andrew Luck. He's just playing on another level right now, and his favorite weapon, T.Y. Hilton, kills the Texans every time.

Uh oh defenses: Gronk's healthy.

New England -2.5 at Buffalo

The Patriots looked more like the team we're used to seeing in prime time, and I think they'll keep it up despite playing in a hostile environment. The Bills' pass rush worries me a bit, but New England's offensive line seems to be hitting their stride. The pass protection has gotten some help from the tight ends since they've gone back to more 12 personnel sets as Tim Wright has become more acclimated alongside Rob Gronkowski, and they should have nice matchups in coverage, as well.

2014 NFL Week 5 Picks

Week 5

If I were a betting man, hedging against the Patriots on MNF would have worked last week, and I'll recommend the same strategy this week. I'd parlay Cleveland +1.5, New York Giants -4, and Seattle -7.

Green Bay -9.5 versus Minnesota

This was an easy call as soon as Teddy Bridgewater was announced as inactive. I immediately added the Packers D/ST in one of my fantasy leagues and fired them up, along with Eddie Lacy, in a DraftKings league. Unfortunately, I happened to pick a league that didn't get filled and was thus cancelled without me realizing it, negating my value picks for that team. (Not that anybody really cares besides me.)

Something that bothered me in what was an otherwise uneventful second half was Phil Simms continuing the narrative that Bridgewater dropped in the draft due to a lackluster pro day. That bothered me at draft time, as well, and it's idiotic if true. I wholeheartedly agree with Jim Nantz: why does one showing negate a whole season's worth of scouting? Or in this case, Bridgewater was the best quarterback in his class for two years; you can't ignore his whole body of work.

Chicago +2.5 at Carolina

Reaves had some fans in the draft community.

I picked against both these teams last week, but I didn't expect them to struggle like that. The Bears at least looked good in the first half before HaHa Clinton-Dix made a great play to force Martellus Bennet into a bobble outside of the end zone and the clock to run out. On the other hand, the Panthers are missing a lot of bodies, and while undrafted rookie running back Darrin Reaves could provide a spark, I don't think the matchups are in their favor, especially in pass the passing game

2014 NFL Week 4 Picks

Week 4

If I were a betting man, I'd parlay the Lions -1.5, the Colts -7.5, and the Patriots -3.

Washington -3.5 versus New York Giants

Have I mentioned how much I hate Thursday games? The home teams had covered every week until this week, and with Jon Beason still out, I thought Alfred Morris would help mitigate the risk of Kirk Cousins turning back into a pumpkin. I should have seen this coming with Eli Manning looking more and more comfortable in this fast paced offense and facing a bad secondary. At least I was right about Rueben Randle?

Buffalo +3 at Houston

Tying my upset of the week to E.J. Manuel might not be the smartest thing I do this week, but the Texans got exposed a bit last week. If the Bills can get ahead early and move the mall consistently with their running game, they can take advantage of Ryan Fitzpatrick's limitations. Buffalo's already playing stout run defense, and although Alfred Blue looked good (as I had hoped), Houston needs the hobbled Arian Foster to be a workhorse. However, I retain the right to rescind this pick if DeAndre Hopkins makes another ridiculous one-handed catch.

An illegal formation robbed a catch of the year candidate from counting.

2014 NFL Week 3 Picks

Week 3

If I were a betting man, I'd parlay Baltimore -1.5, New Orleans -10.5, and Carolina -3. Chicago +3 also got serious consideration, but you could still hedge on the SNF like MNF.

Tampa Bay +6.5 at Atlanta

Well that didn't go well. While I tweeted that the Falcons would definitely win, I took the points because I thought the Buccaneers would at least be competitive. I underestimated the injuries to their defense, especially on the line, but they're the most disappointing team in the league to me.

Dallas -1 at St. Louis

Murray just kills the Rams.

I still don't believe in the Cowboys defense, but I believe in Austin Davis even less. DeMarco Murray's breakout game as a rookie was when he went for 253 yards and a TD on 25 carries against the Rams, and with the way the Cowboys offensive line is playing, I'd expect more dominance against a St. Louis team that gave up 144 yards to Bobby Rainey on the ground last week. If the Rams do compete, it'll likely be on the back of Jared Cook since the Cowboys get killed by tight ends, but I wouldn't count on Davis until he proves it.

2014 NFL Week 2 Picks

If you missed last week's post, I'm tweeting out Thursday night picks and using vegasinsider.com for the lines each week.

Week 2

If I were a betting man, I'd parlay the Buccaneers -5.5 and Titans -3.5 with the Colts -3 on Monday, although you could talk me into the Jaguars +6 in place of Indy.

Baltimore -2.5 versus Pittsburgh

I got my tweet out late on Thursday, so I'm including a screenshot to show I was definitely in on the Ravens this week. It's amazing how often a team bands together and is galvanized in the face of adversity on a short week. Of course, being the home team on TNF definitely helps.

We'll have to keep an eye out to see whether Baltimore will stay dedicated to the run after the Week 1 debacle of allow Joe Flacco to fire up 62 passes after benching Bernard Pierce for his first career fumble. The big back looked better in this one along with old Cal favorite Justin Forsett, but that may have been a result of the Steelers getting gashed by the exact same zone blocking scheme that nearly cost them their opener, as well. The good new for Pittsburgh is that Le'Veon Bell looks great in an offense that was done in by red zone miscues, punctuated by an interception that Ngat-a whole lot of d-lineman can make. *crickets* Let's move on...

Miami +1 at Buffalo

As the line indicates, this is one of the toughest picks of the week with both teams coming off huge upsets. I'm going with the more talented team even though they're on the road and out their entire linebacker core because I still don't trust E.J. Manuel to be consistent. He could get rattled by this Dolphins defensive line that was all over Tom Brady in the second half last week. With how good Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon are at defensive end, I wonder if they'll convert last year's third overall pick, Dion Jordan, back to outside linebacker once he is reinstated with the league's new drug policy.

Alfred Morris needs to be consistently fed to get a W.

Jacksonville +6 at Washington

I actually think Washington wins this game at home, but the line is way too high given the talent levels of these teams. Of course, I thought the Jaguars would cover last week's +10.5, and they blew a 17-0 lead in agonizing fashion: a fumble return for a touchdown when down 10 with 1:24 left. I think whichever team stays patient with the running game and gets their workhorse back more touches takes this one.

2014 NFL Week 1 Picks

Football is finally back, and I'm so excited that I'm bringing back my weekly picks. I'll try to keep the explanations succinct, especially in my new If I were a betting man feature that will focus on my favorite parlay options for that week. On weeks that I get these posts up after the Thursday night game (which will be most weeks), I will include a link to my tweets that announce the pick. Lastly, for consistency I will be making these picks based on the lines at vegasinsider.com.

Week 1 

If I were a betting man, I would make two separate 3 team parlays this week to cover the five picks I like. The Chargers +3 would be the one that I double up on with both Patriots -4/Vikings +3 and Steelers -7/Niners -4.5 since I think that's best value pick of the week and so that I could make hedge bets on MNF if I make it through the Sunday games.

Green Bay +5.5 at Seattle

Well, we're clearly off to a great start! Having arguably the best safety in the league, Earl Thomas, moonlight as a punt returning despite having hardly any experience at even the college level helped make this one close early. However, once Bryan Bulaga (a former first round pick who has had trouble staying healthy) was injured and replaced at right tackle by Derek Sherrod (a former first round pick who has had trouble staying healthy), Aaron Rodgers and the Packers had no chance against the league's best defense with that crowd noise.

I thought it'd at least be a good game with Green Bay having a legitimate chance to win and thus took the points. Not that it matters, but the Seahawks calling a Spider 2 Y Banana play on 4th and 1 with the game already out of hand was...interesting. Do you think Pete Carroll was hoping to be asked"What's your deal?"

New Orleans -3 at Atlanta

Brees' new toy might make a big impact.

The Falcons beefed up their line on both sides of the ball, but they have questions on the edges. I don't think they'll be able to get any pressure on Drew Brees, so the most intriguing aspect of this game to me is how first round pick Brandin Cooks will be utilized. The small speedster was already likely to get a lot of the underneath targets and special teams touches that used to go to Darren Sproles, but now that second year breakout candidate Kenny Stills is out for this game, Cooks could be in line for a more diverse role as the clear cut #3 target next to Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston doing their work in the middle.

The Saints' biggest acquisition, Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd, will be put to the test right away as he tries to help contain Julio Jones and Roddy White now that they're healthy and in line for the majority of the 119 targets that went to the now-retired Tony Gonazlez. Levine Toilolo has some potential with this size but is better suited as a blocker than a receiver for now. This game has some shootout potential, especially if Steven Jackson doesn't show any lingering effects for his hamstring issues. New Orleans is vulnerable against the run, but at the end of the day, they'll get more stops than the home team.

2014 NBA Lottery Mock Draft

The most exciting draft in recent memory is almost upon us, so it's time to lay out my best guess at how the lottery is going to play out (there will be so many trades that trying to predict the rest is a crap shoot). The picks are how I think the draft actually will play out, but I make sure to specify how the teams should pick. Player details (age on draft night, height in shoes, weight, wingspan) are courtesy of draftexpress.com and ESPN.com.

1. Cleveland: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas SG/SF. 19, 6' 8.75", 197, 7'0"

Wiggins caught scouts' attention in 2012

What the pick should be: Wiggins. Longtime followers know that I've been a fan since he dominated the 2012 Nike Hoop Summit as the youngest player there, and he topped my draft board even before Embiid broke his foot. He has the second highest ceiling while also maintaining a high floor; at the very least I expect a 3-and-D wing similar to Trevor Ariza, which isn't bad at all considering Ariza is about to get another large free agent contract. I can see the comparisons to Tracy McGrady due to his size and fluid athleticism, but for now, he reminds me most of a young Paul George (it's no coincidence that I compared PG to T-Mac before the 2010 draft). He'll provide lock-down perimeter defense right away while his ability to create remains a work in progress. His jumper was streaky, but his form looks improved in his workouts in Santa Barbara (catch UCSB's Thunderdome make an appearance near the end).
Why this is the pick: The Cavs were ready to take Embiid after he impressed them in workouts, but that is when the stress fracture in his foot was discovered. They could trade down to a team that is in love with Wiggins like Philly and pick up Thaddeus Young and one or two of the Sixers' five 2nd round picks while still getting the other Jayhawk at #3. A young veteran like Young would fulfill ownership's mandate to add an impact player to compete now. If they keep the pick, Parker may be the choice because he is the most NBA-ready prospect on offense while bringing the least risk, but I believe Wiggins will help this team the most since he'll fit in at both the 2 and the 3, he'll provide defense for a team that badly needs it, and he won't need to fight for shots with Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, or Anthony Bennett. He should benefit from the spacing of the NBA game, and I'm intrigued by the system new coach David Blatt will bring from Europe.

The Warriors nab Kerr; now what?

After a year off due to focusing on work, I finally found some personal time to dust off this blog. The timing of Steve Kerr's official press conference and the NBA Lottery results didn't hurt, either.

The meme on the left comes (courtesy of Steve McPherson) hilariously depicts just how much Warriors owner Joe Lacob wanted Steve Kerr to coach his team, while the picture of Kevin Love on the right (from two years back) happens to resemble Joaquin Phoenix in the Spike Jonze film that the meme orginiates.

Kerr said at his introductory press conference yesterday that this team could use a stretch 4.

Love shot 37.6% on 6.6 three point attempts per game this season, is threatening to leave Minnesota next summer, and is apparently intrigued with the Warriors.

See where I'm going with this?

Now that the Warriors have gotten the coach they set their eyes on, the next logical question is "where does he want them to go from here?" My answer is an all out trade for Kevin Love.