NFL Week 12 Preview

Welcome to my Week 12 Preview! Let’s get right to the games.

At this point in the season my record for picking stands at 106-54, which is 66%.

One more thing. * means this is my “Game of the Week”. ** means upset pick alert! *** mean that this is my “Who’s going to watch this game?” pick.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

The Buccaneers are still struggling to move the ball. The Falcons should use this game to get back on track towards the playoffs. Pick: Falcons

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills

Even with the loss of Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams has stepped up in a big way. The Dolphins are still in the hunt and will use the Wildcat to defeat and overmatched Bills team. Pick: Dolphins

Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles

The Redskins’ defense held up very well against the Cowboys last week, but collapsed in the late going. They’ll most likely do the same again this week against an Eagles team needing a win to pick up some ground. Pick: Eagles

Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams***

This is an ugly matchup, featuring two poor offenses and defenses. In that case, expect a medium-scoring game with the Seahawks coming out on top. Pick: Seahawks

Carolina Panthers at New York Jets

The Panthers offense has been revived and so has their defense, somewhat. The Jets can not consistently score or defend, leading to an easy win for the Panthers. Pick: Panthers

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals

Surprisingly, the Bengals lost to a bad Raiders team last week. They won’t repeat the same mistake versus an even worse Browns team. Pick: Bengals

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

The Colts have won some close games recently. Meanwhile, the Texans have been falling off the playoff track. The Colts will continue their winning ways. Pick: Colts

Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers

The Chargers just defeated the Broncos to take the divisional lead last week, and can gain ground with a win here. They will. Pick: Chargers

Jacksonville Jaguars at San Fransisco 49ers

The Jags have been winning strong of late, and they’ll continue that against a team that has been failing badly of late. Pick: Jaguars

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings can use this game to put the Bears out of divisional commission and take an even greater lead on the field. Pick: Vikings

Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans**

This is my upset pick of the week. The Titans are going strong right now, and can continue an amazing quest for a playoff spot with a win here. Vince Yound will lead them to victory over an injured Kurt Warner and co. Pick: Titans

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens

The Steelers’ offense has not been playing well lately. They’ve been struggling to put up points, but their defense has starred. They may be able to defeat the Ravens if they can score. Pick: Steelers

New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints*

The “Game of the Week!”The Saints have struggled versus poor teams the past few weeks. The Patriots need to shut down the Saints running game to win. The Saints will get a taste of defeat for the first time as long as Belichick doesn’t make any more dumb calls. Pick: Patriots

NFL Week 12 Thanksgiving Day Preview

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all enjoying your turkey with cranberry sauce, or whatever else you eat. Let’s get right to today’s games.

Warning! Food similes ahead!

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions

The Lions are coming off a high-scoring gme with the Browns. The Packers have a much better defense than the Browns did, and the Packers’ offense versus the Lions’ defense is like turkey vs. tofu, with the Packers being the turkey. Pick: Packers

Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys

This game is like a bought pumpkin pie versus a homemade. You want the homemade, or in this case, the Cowboys. The ‘Boys haven’t had any high scoring games lately, but should rebound here versus the Raiders. Pick: Cowboys

New York Giants at Denver Broncos

This game is like cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes with your turkey. You can’t miss ‘em. This is a game between two struggling teams, but is the best of the lot. Here, I like the Giants, because they seem to have gotten back on track, while the Brocnos have continued to plummet. Pick: Giants

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings

Welcome to my Week 11 Power Rankings. See where your team is, see if they’ve moved up or down, and comment on what you think.

These power rankings are a database of five websites, plus my opinion.

Place	Team (1st Place)	Points	Last Week
1	Saints (4)	190	1
2	Colts (2)	188	2
3	Vikings	180	3
4	Patriots	174	5
5	Chargers	163	7
6	Bengals	162	4
7	Cardinals	154	9
8	Steelers	148	6
9	Cowboys	147	10
10	Eagles	137	11
11	Packers	127	14
12	Giants	126	16
13	Broncos	121	8
14	Jaguars	113	17
15	Ravens	112	12
16	Dolphins	103	18
17	Falcons	98	15
18	Texans	95	13
19	Titans	84	22
20	Panthers	76	19
21	49ers	70	21
22	Jets	69	20
23	Bears	62	23
24	Seahawks	48	24
25	Redskins	47	25
26	Chiefs	43	27
27	Bills	39	26
28	Raiders	32	28
29	Lions	24	31
30	Buccaneers	16	29
31	Rams	15	30
32	Browns	6	32

The top 4 was consistent the whole way through, with all sources going with Saints, Colts, Vikings, and Patriots. (Not necessarily in that order).

The biggest risers this week were the Giants, who moved up 4 spots, and the Packers and the Jaguars who each rose 3 places.

The biggest fallers were the Broncos and Texans, who each fell 5 spots. The Ravens also fell 3 spots.

The websites used were cbssports.com, nfl.com, espn.com, nfl.usatoday.com, and foxsports.com

The Saints defeated the Buccaneers 38-7 to stay on top of the Power Rankings.

NFL Week 11 Preview

It is time for another week of football, and right alongside you watching is your host, 360sportsjam/thisoldsoul/WordCrafter.

This week we have another great slate of games. There are some obvious picks, some tough ones, and some in the middle.

There are some games that are obvious. Therefore, I will not spend a paragraph dissecting why the Saints will destroy the Buccaneers or the Bengals demolish the Raiders. Totally unnecessary.

At this point in the season my record for picking stands at 94-50, which is 65%.

One more thing. * means this is my “Game of the Week”. ** means upset pick alert! *** mean that this is my “Who’s going to watch this game?” pick.

Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens haven’t had a good stretch of games lately. Their defense however, has improved in the past few weeks. However, it still won’t be enough to beat Manning and the Colts, who must prove that they can beat quality teams without “help” from the opposing teams’ coaches. Pick: Colts

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

The Redskins got a quality win last week against a quality team–with a backup quarterback. Now the Cowboys have a chance to increase their lead on the division with a win against a Redskins team that has a poor O-line. If they can keep the pressure on Jason Campbell, they’ll be able to win easily. Pick: Cowboys

Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions***

The Browns have been unable to score consistently since the beginning of the season. Meanwhile, the Lions have been facing a tough schedule and kept some of those games reasonably close with scoring the Browns could only dream of. Look for the Lions to take draft spot number four with a win today. Pick: Lions

San Fransisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

After a needed win last week versus the Cowboys, the Packers have the motivation they need to keep moving towards a playoff spot with a win over a 49ers team with not so great of an offense. Pick: Packers

Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Wings… sorry, I mean the Bills (it’s getting near lunchtime) have no run defense right now, and their secondary isn’t much better. The Jaguars will send one by land (Maurice Jones-Drew) and two by air (David Garrard and Mike Sims-Walker) to eat up a poor Wings team… sorry again, I meant the Bills. Pick: Jaguars

Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs

The Steelers’ offense did not have a good game last week versus the Bengals. They will rebound against a hapless Chiefs team. Pick: Steelers

Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings

Brett Favre will continue his way to the playoffs with another impressive victory over a Seahawks team that doesn’t even match the Vikings anywhere. Pick: Vikings

Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants

I’m tempted to go with the Giants, but I’m not sure. However, the Falcons running game took a blow with the loss of Michael Turner and Matt Ryan, their quarterback, has not been playing well lately. The Giants had a bye week to deal with their issues. They’ll most likely be back to their good form. Pick: Giants

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints have come close to some upset losses the past few weeks. But don’t worry, Saints fans. Your #1 ranked tea, in the 360 Sports Jam Power Rankings will still come out on top this week. Pick: Saints

Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams

The Rams came close to an upset win last week. But they won’t come close again. The Cardinals will use their superb passing game to give an impressive showing of strength. Pick: Cardinals

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos*

This game is extremely important. It will most likely decide who wins the AFC West. The Chargers have been playing stellar football the past couple of weeks, while the Broncos have fallen flat on their faces. The Chargers will take advantage of the Broncos possible lack of Kyle Orton to win decisively and even the odds. Pick: Chargers

New York Jets at New England Patriots

The Patriots are coming off a tough loss to the Colts. (Death stare at Bill Belichick). Moving on, they are looking for revenge and Bill Belichick will pull out all the stops to manhandle a fizzling Jets team. Pick: Patriots

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders

Moving on… Pick: Bengals

Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears

The Sunday night game is a tough call but with Desean Jackson, Donovan Mcnabb and Lesean McCoy, the Eagles should win if they come out to play. Pick: Eagles

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans

The Texans need a strong win to stay in the hunt of the playoffs, and the Titans offer that opportunity. If Matt Schaub can pass well and the running game pound it out, the Texans will dominate. Pick: Texans

That is it! Wednesday I’ll post my Power Rankings!

NFL Week 11 Thursday Night Preview

It is time for another Thursday night game, and tonight’s game pits two even teams: the Panthers and the Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers

After the breaking news of the week that Ronnie Brown is out for the season, I can’t trust the Dolphins as much anymore. Ricky Williams will have to do the work of two, and Chad Henne will have to step up. The Panthers will keep going with their consistent running game and pass defense to score big and shut down Henne and the Dolphins. Pick: Panthers

Alright, that’s it till Saturday. Come back then for my Week 11 Preview Post!

NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

Welcome to my Week 10 Power Rankings. See where your team is, see if they’ve moved up or down, and comment on what you think.

These power rankings are a database of five websites, plus my opinion.

Place	Team (1st Place)	Points	Last Week
1	Saints (4)	190	1
2	Colts (2)	188	2
3	Vikings	180	3
4	Bengals	174	6
5	Patriots	168	5
6	Steelers	162	4
7	Chargers	150	11
8	Broncos	145	7
9	Cardinals	144	12
10	Cowboys	144	8
11	Eagles	125	9
12	Ravens	124	14
13	Texans	120	13
14	Packers	114	17
15	Falcons	111	10
16	Giants	109	15
17	Jaguars	93	20
18	Dolphins	90	18
19	Panthers	85	21
20	Jets	76	16
21	49ers	73	22
22	Titans	68	24
23	Bears	65	19
24	Seahawks	52	23
25	Redskins	46	27
26	Bills	45	25
27	Chiefs	37	28
28	Raiders	27	26
29	Buccaneers	22	29
30	Rams	21	31
31	Lions	14	30
32	Browns	6	32

The top 5 hasn’t changed, except for the Bengals taking the Steelers’ spot in fourth place. The Steelers fell to sixth. The Chargers and Cardinals each moved up to seventh and ninth, respectively. The Cowboys and Eagles each fell out of the top ten.

This week, the Chargers were the biggest risers, moving up 5 spots. The Packers took 4 spots away after their defeat of the Cowboys. The Falcons fell 5, and the Jets and Bears each dropped 4.

The websites used were cbssports.com, nfl.com, espn.com, nfl.usatoday.com, and foxsports.com

The Saints are on top again, and I got a new picture.

NFL Week 10 Preview

Welcome to my Week 10 Preview Post! I’ll be providing a short rundown of the games, why I think this or that team will win, and my pick.

This week there are some great matchups to watch, some easy to pick matchups, some horrible matchups, and some “toughies.”

At this point in the season my record for picking stands at 87-43, which is 67%.

One more thing. * means this is my “Game of the Week”. ** means upset pick alert! *** mean that this is my “Who’s going to watch this game?” pick.

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers

Carolina doesn’t have the strong passing attack that they’ve been hoping for. They have DeAngelo Williams, but he is not enough. The Falcons have the passing game, running game and defense tuned up after last week’s win against the Redskins. They’ll be able to defeat the Panthers. Pick: Falcons

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins

Josh Freeman got his first career win last week, but don’t expect another. The Dolphins have a better defense than the Packers did, and their Wildcat is the best, if not the most consistently used in the league. The Bucs are just not ready to compete now. Pick: Dolphins

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings

This is an easy game to pick. Brett Favre and the Vikings have the Lions, Seahawks, and Bears to prepare for the Cardinals and Bengals. The Vikings also might have the best record in the league by season’s end, looking at their schedule. They’ll easily be able to defeat the falling Lions. Pick: Vikings

Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets

The Jets need a win after a string of tough losses. They can beat a Jaguars team that is inconsistent at best. The Jaguars do not have a strong passing game, but neither do the Jets. The Jets have the better, more consistent running game, and a slightly stronger defense. Pick: Jets

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers will not make the same mistakes as last time, not with a division on the line. They have all their aspects running smoothly and if their defense can stop the Bengals’ offense, they’ll win a tough match. Pick: Steelers

New Orleans Saints at St. Louis Rams

Pick: Saints

As you can see, I won’t even bother to explain this obvious pick.

Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans

The Titans are rejuvenated. Vince Young is back, and they’ve responded, in both offense and defense. Meanwhile, the Bills haven’t made any progress at all. The Titans will roll over them and move to 3-6 on the season. Pick: Titans

Denver Broncos at Washington Redskins

The Broncos are coming off a tough loss to the Steelers. The Redskins are coming off a bad change of ownership. The Broncos will be looking for revenge and a bounce-back. Enter the Redskins. Their offense is a shambles and can’t put points up on the board. Their defense will have to step up, but the Broncos will easily be able to take advantage of mistakes along both of the Redskins’ lines. Pick: Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders***

One of the worst matchups of the year involves two bad defenses and two bad offenses, In this case, however, the Raiders have the running game advantage with Larry Johnson being cut this week. This will be the advantage the Raiders use. Pick: Raiders

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals

The Seahawks do not have a running game now and the Cardinals defense can stop them all day. I think Kurt Warner will have a big game and the Cardinals will snap their poor play at home this year. Pick: Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers

The Cowboys are rolling of late, leading the NFC East and beating the Eagles last week. But they must not get swelled heads and overlook a competitive Packers team. If they avoid the turnovers, they can beat a Packers team that has been so-so at home. Pick: Cowboys

Philadelphia Eagles at San Diego Chargers**

Even with Brian Westbrook back, the Eagles may not be able to get their running game going again. Their passing game supplements that enough, but the Chargers are looking to gain ground on the Broncos and know that this is a must win for them. They’ll be motivated at home to ride their passing game and sputtering running backs to the win. Pick: Chargers

New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts*

The “Game of the Week” is here once again, and this looks to be a great matchup for both teams. This very may well decide home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Patriots running game has been consistent lately, and their passing game has been stellar, with Randy Moss and Wes Welker on the receiving end of most of Tom Brady’s passes. Both defenses are hurt though, but mostly in the passing area. The run will be stopped here often, and it will be a battle of the passers. The Colts secondary is hurt badly and Brady should take advantage of that for a tough, medium-scoring win. Pick: Patriots

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

The Ravens have fallen off the AFC North wagon lately, falling behind the Steelers and Bengals. However, they will be able to easily beat a horrible Browns team that was No. 32 in the 360 Sports Jam Power Rankings. Pick: Ravens

 There you have it! Hopefully, Tuesday I’ll do a short recap of the week and Wednesday post my Power Rankings.

NFL Week 10 Thursday Night Preview

Tonight’s game is the first game of the year that is on a Thursday night since the beginning of the season, and there are Thursday night games every week after this. Because of this, I will have to preview that game every Thursday.

Tonight’s Game:

Chicago Bears at San Fransisco 49ers

I can’t trust the 49ers defense right now, but I can’t trust the Bears either. But I think the Bears D is better in this matchup and so is their offense. I’d also rather have Jay Cutler on my fantasy team than Alex Smith. Pick: Bears

Also I’m 87-42 right now at game picking, which is STILL 67%. Doesn’t matter though. We’ll see how I do tonight. Saturday I’ll do my really big weekly NFL  preview.

NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Welcome to my Week 9 Power Rankings. Assuredly these are a little late, but at least they are out. This week I introduce a new aspect of the rankings: the Last Week column. This allows you to see where your team was last week, and if they’ve moved up or down. I also started to use foxsports.com as part of my database.

Place	Team (1st Place)	Points	Last Week
1	Saints (5)	191	1
2	Colts(1)	187	2
3	Vikings	179	3
4	Steelers	169	6
5	Patriots	167	4
6	Bengals	167	7
7	Broncos	155	5
8	Cowboys	153	9
9	Eagles	141	8
10	Falcons	135	12
11	Chargers	130	16
12	Cardinals	129	14
13	Texans	127	11
14	Ravens	117	10
15	Giants	108	13
16	Jets	102	19
17	Packers	95	15
18	Dolphins	94	18
19	Bears	84	17
20	Jaguars	73	21
21	Panthers	73	22
22	49ers	68	20
23	Seahawks	60	24
24	Titans	58	27
25	Bills	54	23
26	Raiders	38	26
27	Redskins	35	25
28	Chiefs	24	28
29	Buccaneers	24	32
30	Lions	24	30
31	Rams	17	29
32	Browns	6	31

This week, the biggest risers were the Chargers who moved up 5, and the Titans and Jets who moved up 3 each respectively. The biggest fallers were the Ravens, who fell 4, and the Packers, Bears, Giants and Texans who each fell 2. The Saints are still on top for the third week in a row, and I need to find a new picture.

The websites used were cbssports.com, nfl.com, espn.com, nfl.usatoday.com, and foxsports.com

The Saints are still on top, and remind me to get a new picture.

NFL Week 9 Preview

Welcome to my Week 9 Preview Post! I’ll be providing a short rundown of the games, why I think this or that team will win, and my pick.

At this point in the season my record for picking stands at 77-39, which is 66.4%.

One more thing. * means this is my “Game of the Week”. ** means upset pick alert! A new thing this week is my “Who’s going to watch this game” pick which is ***.

Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons

The Redskins’ O-line is extremely weak right now. The Falcons should take advantage of this to pressure Jason Campbell and put what remains of their passing game out of commission, then use their weapons to win. Pick: Falcons

Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears

Kurt Warner collapsed last week versus the Panthers, but should look to rebound versus the Bears. The Bears also haven’t been able to protect Jay Cutler, which should be something the Cardinals use to gain the upper hand. Pick: Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals were able to get by a tough Ravens’ run defense last time, and should look to do so again. The Ravens’ defense hasn’t lived up to expectations so far this year, and the Bengals should be able to stop the Ravens’ offense. Pick: Bengals

Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are a sure pick, just as long as Peyton Manning doesn’t flare out like last week. If he can keep up this week, they should overrun a poor Texan pass rush and defense. Pick: Colts

Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars***

The Jaguars have been up and down this year–mostly down. But if Maurice Jones-Drew has a big game, they should be able to support it with their passing attack and okay defense. Pick: Jaguars

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots

The Wildcat formation shouldn’t fool the Patriots at this point, and Brady looks to be back after sharpening his skills for a few weeks. And did I mention only 98 points allowed through the whole season and 94 points in the last two games for the Patriots? Pick: Patriots

Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 After coming off a tough loss to Minnesota, the Packers needed a bounce-back game.  And they got one. With the QB situation a mess, the defense horrible and the receiving corps in shambles down in Tampa Bay, the Packers should be celebrating a win already. Pick: Packers

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints

As if things couldn’t get easier for the Saints. They have the Panthers, Rams, and Buccaneers in a three-game stretch before the Patriots. They should take advantage of these games. Pick: Saints

Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks***

My second “Who’s Going to Watch this Game.” In any case, the Seahawks have the better team at this point and need this win for a morale boost. Pick: Seahawks

San Diego Chargers at New York Giants**

The Giants failed miserably last week and it’s only going to get worse. Their defense is in a funk right now and won’t be able to hold up against a potent Chargers offense. Pick: Chargers

Tennessee Titans at San Fransisco 49ers

The 49ers get a needed win here as Michael Crabtree is slowly becoming a big part of their team. The Titans just won’t be able to keep up with Frank Gore as well. Pick: 49ers

Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles*

This is an important battle for first place in the NFC East and is in a perfect time slot for TV viewers. However, the Dallas running game still is a question mark and the Eagles’ offense is rolling of late. Pick: Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos*

Another “Game of the Week.” This time, however, it is an easier pick to make. The Steelers’ defense can outplay the Broncos’ defense and offense any day, and the Steelers’ offense then takes advantage of that. Pick: Steelers

I hope these picks work out correctly. Hopefully, I’ll recap on Tuesday and post Power Rankings on Wednesday!