Week 11 is a very important week for not only fantasy owners, but for many NFL teams. There are several rivalry games this week. The NFC East is in rivalry week. The Cowboys take on the Washington Redskins at 1:00 ET. On Sunday Night Football, it’s the Eagles at the New York Giants. Baltimore and Cincinnati battle at 1:00 for the top spot in AFC North.
There are several key injuries this week. Ray Lewis is questionable for the start of the game. It was believed that his injury was season ending but he believes he will be able to play. Leon Hall of the Bengals is also ruled questionable but it doesn’t look like he will be playing. Julio Jones is out this week as well. Ahmad Bradshaw is out again for the Giants and, staying in the same game, Michael Vick was ruled out with a couple broken ribs.
The Jets and Broncos started the week off on Thursday. The Jets lost 17-13 to a late running TD to none other than Tim Tebow. Like I said earlier, the Bengals play at the Baltimore Ravens. Both have key injuries that will play a huge factor in the game. Jacksonville plays the Browns which should be a great game. Just kidding. The Panthers visit the Lions without Jeremy Shockey. Green Bay looks to move to 10-0 against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Buffalo takes on Miami, Oakland plays Minnesota and Dallas and Washington round out the 1:00 games.
Starting at 4:05, the Cardinals will play the 49ers. The 49ers gain Frank Gore, who has been slightly injured. Gore is a key factor in this game, but the 49ers should win this game with ease. The Seahawks then visit the Rams at the dome. Tennessee plays the Falcons. Ryan needs to bounce back. Look for Tony Gonzalez to have a big game with Julio Jones out. Struggling San Diego plays the Bears and the Eagles play the Giants tonight. On Monday, The Chiefs visit New England. New England can gain a lot of ground with a win on Monday.
So here are my picks…..
Cincinnati 20
Baltimore 23
Jacksonville 27
Cleveland 17
Carolina 24
Detroit 31
Tampa Bay 17
Green Bay 42
Buffalo 34
Miami 20
Oakland 20
Minnesota 27
Dallas 34
Washington 23
Arizona 17
San Francisco35
Seattle 16
St. Louis 14
Tennessee 21
Atlanta 31
San Diego 17
Chicago 31
Philadelphia 20
New York 31
Kansas City 16
New England 28
So let me know Who Ya Got?!
We have a pretty good matchup for this weeks Monday Night Football game. The Bears come into Philadelphia with a 4-3 record. Jay Cutler has led his team with 1702 Passing yards and 9 TDs. The Eagles, or "Dream-Team", bring a 3-4 record into the Monday Night game. After starting off slow, Michael Vick has hit his stride with 1852 Passing Yards and 11 TDs.
The Bears have been known for their Defense. Brian's Urlacher, Julius Peppers and Lance Briggs have given out plenty of bruises this year together. The teams weakest part has to be their offense. Jay Cutler has struggled for the Bears. He has found a way to get his team 4 wins this season. Along with returning sensation Devon Hester, Matt Forte has proven he is worth a healthy contract. Forte has 672 yards on 124 carries and 2 TDs. He also has 419 receiving yards and 1 Td. He is a big factor in this game.
On the Philadelphia side, Mike Vick has been a fantasy football hero. His versatility has made him one of the best QBs in the league. LeSean McCoy has been just as impressive this year. The 3 year vet has 754 yards on 135 carries and 8 TDs. Although DeSean Jackson is not the team leader in the receiving category, DeSean is one of the fastest players in all of the NFL. If Vick gets the ball into Jackson's hands, it can be deadly.
The key for the Bears is to match Vick. The Eagles are coming off of a huge defensive performance against their rivals the Cowboys. If Jay Cutler and make time for himself and make his passes, the Bears can stay in the game. For the Eagles, Vick and McCoy have to establish the run game. The Bears D is tough. If they can get the run game going, they should come out with a W.
And my prediction is......
Chicago Bears 17
Philadelphia Eagles 27
The countdown is on to the rematch of Super Bowl 42. The New York Giants travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots. This is expected to be a very good game. The Patriots who are coming off of a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping to put an end to their losing ways and to the Giants winning streak. The Giants have had bad news come their way this week. They are without Running Back Ahmad Bradshaw, Center David Baas, Wide Receiver Hakeem Nicks and their 2011 first round pick, Prince Amukamara, is also expected to miss Sunday’s game.
The Patriots have, if not the best QB, then the 2nd best QB in all of the NFL this year. Tom Brady has proven himself to be resilient and make huge plays for his team. The Patriots running game has been okay this year but they have not proven to be a factor in their wins. The Patriots defense has also been a con this year. They have let up some big plays, and have not been able to stop good offenses.
For the Giants, their first half of the schedule has been pretty easy. They come into the game with a 5-2 record. The key to the Giants success is going to be Eli Manning. With two huge offensive players out in Bradshaw and Nicks, Manning is going to control the tempo of the game and make sure is receivers are on the same page. The Giants defense leads the NFL with 26 sacks. If they can find a way to hang with Wes Welker and put Brady onto the turf, they will come away with some turnovers.
I believe this game will be pretty close. I think Tom Brady will have the usual “Brady-like” game. I think this game relies on the Giants defense. If they get tired and let Brady have plenty of time in the pocket, they will have no shot. They need to get to Brady and mess up his timing. Eli Manning has been playing well but it is very hard to win at Gillette Stadium. Plus the Giants injuries do not help them at all.
With all of this in mind, my prediction for this week’s matchup is……
New York Giants 27
New England Patriots 23
Two game have gone and passed and we find ourselves in a tied series. Both games have been nail biters. The Rangers had a big come from behind win last night in the ninth inning to tie the series up at a game a piece. The series has been looking very promising. The two teams seem very similar and have had hard fought games. This is a very hard series to predict because both teams are so similar that not one team overpowers the other. But here goes nothing.
Coming into the World Series I had a feeling that the Rangers would win in 5 games, however that changed after the first few innings of the first game. The Cardinals are on a hot streak. The started the series off at home which was a plus. I thought pretty hard on this series. I want to say that the Cardinals will win the series, if they can do it they will do it in game 7 at home. However, i can't see the Rangers losing back to back years. It is hard enough to make it to the World Series.
The Cardinals have won two World Series titles under La Russa in this decade. Although La Russa is the better manager, the Rangers seem to have a slightly better team at the moment. They're lineup is stacked and they have a solid bullpen. The Cardinals might be slightly distracted after Albert Pujols decided not to meet with the media after last night's loss. The media made a big deal about this and started asking the whole organization about it. With all these facts here is my prediction.
Game 3 Winner
Texas Rangers
Game 4 Winner
Texas Rangers
Game 5 Winner
St. Louis Cardinals
Game 6 Winner
Texas Rangers
Let me know Who Ya Got?!
So in a couple of minutes the 2011 MLB Playoffs will be under way. After an unforgettable Wednesday night of baseball, it is about time the Playoffs are here. There was one blowout on Wednesday that sealed another day for the St.Louis Cardinals. They soon found out that they were the 2011 NL Wild Card winners after the Braves rookie closer, Craig Kimbrel, blew a one run lead in the ninth. The Phillies went on to beat them with a bloop single by Hunter Pence in extras. The Boston Red Sox also blew a lead in the 9th inning. With two outs, Papelbon was rocked for a RBI double and an RBI game-winning single that should have been caught. Exactly 3 minutes later, after coming back from 7-0, Evan Longoria of the Rays hit a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 11th inning against the AL East Division Champion Yankees.
The resilient Rays will face off against the ALWest Division Champs Texas Rangers today at 5:30. The Rays send out the rookie Matt Moore against C.J. Wilson. The later game is the Detroit Tigers against the New York Yankees. The soon to be Cy Young Award winner, Justin Verlander, will go up against the Yankees ace, C.C. Sabathia. In the National League, the Phillies will throw Roy Halladay and the St. Louis Cardinals will throw Kyle Lohse. The Arizona D'Backs will throw ex-Yankee great, Ian Kennedy.
This year's playoffs promises to be exciting. I hope it is more exciting that this past week's Wednesday night of baseball. Here are my predictions.....
The Texas Rangers will go on and win the series in 5 games against the Tampa Bay Rays. Their pitching staff is much better than the Rays and the Rangers give their pitching staff plenty of run support.
The New York Yankees might lose game 1 but win win the series also in 5 games. While the Tigers have Justin Verlander, the Yankees are a better hitting team and have a great bullpen to shut down their opponents.
The Phillies will have no problem in the NLDS. The starting rotation is way to tough to beat. The Phillies will win in 4 games.
For the final match up, I'm going with the Brew Crew in 5 games. While the D'Backs have good pitching, the Brewers have the edge in starting pitchers and have a better lineup.
So there are my predictions. Let me know Who Ya Got?!
With one week left in the 2011 MLB Season, there are several pennant races left. Three divisions have been clinched so far. The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NL East with an impressive 98-58 record as of today. The New York Yankees clinched two days ago with a 95-61 record. The Detroit Tigers also clinched their division with a 90-66 record.
In the AL West, the Rangers have a magic number of 2. They play Seattle and should clinch the division this weekend. With the Rangers clinching, that leaves the Red Sox, Rays and Angels in the Wild Card Race. Boston leads these two teams by 2 games, 2 1/2 games over the Angels. The Sox start a Aseries with the Yanks tonight if the rain holds up. Rays play the Jays and the Halos play the A's.
The Brewers also have a magic number of 2 as they start a series against the struggling Marlins. The Cards are making a late run but it doesn't look like they have a shot at the division. In the NL West, the D'backs have a magic number of one as they face the 2nd place Giants. This is a huge series for both teams. If the Giants can manage a sweep, their quest for a repeat will look a lot better. In the Wild Card, the Braves have a 2 game lead over the Cards. The Braves start a series against the Nats this weekend. The Giants are 4 games behind the Braves.
My prediction for the playoff bracket is....
AL West - Texas Rangers
AL Wild Card - Tampa Bay Rays
NL Central - Milwaukee Brewers
NL West - Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card - St. Louis Cardinals
So Who Ya Got?! Who do you think will join the Yankees, Phillies, and Tigers in the playoffs?
Week 2 Monday Night Football Matchup, St. Louis Rams vs. New York Giants. Both teams come off of a loss. The Rams have suffered a huge injury to their starting running back Steven Jackson. Sam Bradford also suffered an injury to his hand but it looks like he will play.
Injuries are familiar to the New York Giants after suffering many off-season injuries. As of Monday it looked like the G-Men would be without Justin Tuck and Hakeem Nicks. It looks like the Giants will have both of them starting in the game tomorrow night.
Both teams are in need of a win. Although the Rams played good offense against the powerful Eagles D, they are still without their star running back. The back Cadillac Williams is a nice fit for their Offense. The Giants are in need of a win. The Redskins won already, so they need to win to stay in contention with the other 3 NFC East teams. The Giants should take care of business on the ground and as long as Eli Manning throws the ball safely, the Giants should take the W.
My pick for this MNF game is.......
Giants 31
Rams 17
Let me know WHO YA GOT?!
