College Football Results

Picking Spreads: 1-3

Season Spreads: 21-25

Picking Winners: 3-1

Season Winners: 32-14

What I Learned This Week

- The ACC can’t compete with the SEC. #7 Georiga Tech lost to unranked Georgia and #18 Clemson lost to unranked South Carolina. That’s not even mentioning Tebow’s final whomping of Bobby Bowden in the Swamp.

- Miami is still easily the second best team in Florida and will compete with UF for top billing next season.

- Arkansas took LSU to overtime and narrowly lost. The Razorbacks quarterback is just a sophomore. If he decides to continue playing college ball they could be a sleeper team waking up to compete for a national title come next season.

NFL Predictions

Season Spreads: 49-34

Season Winners: 61-22

Green Bay (-11) at Detroit: I like the Packers to cover the spread. They defeated Detroit 26-0 in their first match up this season and I don’t think this game will be much closer.

Oakland (+14) at Dallas: The Radiers are playing much better since the benching of Russel, aka Fat Albert. I think Oakland makes this close but a late game turnover will lead Dallas to victory.

Cleveland (+14) at Cincinnati: The Bengals look to avenge that late game break down against Oakland last week. I think Cincy’s defense shuts down the Browns and they cover the spread.

Jacksonville (+3) at San Francisco: A win for the Jaguars gets them looking great for a wild card spot in the playoffs. I think Jack Del Rio will have his men ready and the Jags get a road victory.

Can’t Pick These

Giants (-6) at Broncos: Who knows either of these teams true identities? A lot will be told about the direction of each squad’s season on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay (+13) at Atlanta: The Falcons are struggling. What a perfect time for the Bucs to come to town.

Miami (-3) at Buffalo: It really depends on the weather in this one. Miami should easily win and even if it’s cold the Dolphins starting QB Henne is from Michigan so he’s used to it. Still, if it’s crazy cold crazy things can happen.

Chicago (+11) at Minnesota: The Vikings should win even if they played blind folded but a rivalry game is never a sure thing, especially in the NFL. The spread’s a little high, too.

Washington (+9) at Philadelphia: The Eagles won by 10 in their first meeting but I’m not confident enough to guarantee anything because Philly’s success always depends on their play calling.

Indianapolis (-3) at Houston: This could be the game Indy losses to ruin their perfect season. A road rivalry game against a hungry team hunting for a playoff birth is never easy.

Kansas City (+14) at San Diego: The Chargers should stomp the Cheifs but the way Kansas City played against Pittsburgh last week I can’t count them out.

Arizona (+3) at Tennessee: Tennessee’s a lot like Arizona last year. They got blown out by New England and started playing hard when their season depended on it. The only difference is the Titans started off so bad that I doubt they can reach the playoffs let alone make it to the Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh (+3) at Baltimore: When the Steelers look down and out is when they play their best football. The Ravens are the same way. The loser here looks like they’ll be on the outside looking in come playoff time.

New England (+3) at New Orleans: It’s the old perfect team against the new perfect team. This will be some great Monday Night Football action.

College Football Predictions

There’s only a few weeks left to get my season spread winning percentage to .500 so I can at least say I’m bowl eligible. College spreads are way tougher to pick than the NFL. Below are my results thus far.

Season Spreads: 20-22
- Winning Percentage: .476

Season Winners: 29-13
- Winning Percentage: .690

Florida State (+25) at #1 Florida: The Gators will win but there’s no way they cover this spread. FSU wants to remain over a .500 ball club and shut Bowden critics up by defeating their in state rival Florida. The Seminoles haven’t been blown out yet this season and Florida hasn’t blown out a quality opponent yet. FSU will play hard and keep the game close but won’t have the talent to win at Florida.

#9 Pittsburgh (PK) at West Virginia: There’s no spread for this game so picking the winner and spread is all tied into one for me. I’ll take Pitt to give WVU their first loss at home this year. Pitt’s playing great and if they can win here and defeat Cincinnati at home next week then Pitt may get a BCS Bowl bid. There’s a lot looming for the Panthers and this game could be a trap but I think their head coach Dave Wan-stache will keep his team focused on the game at hand.

#17 Miami (-6) at South Florida: It’s USF’s chance to gain bragging rights as the second best team in the state behind Florida. Miami can only beat good teams when their struggling and USF isn’t struggling. Still, I think Jacory Harris will show why he was an all state player in high school and keep bragging rights with the Hurricanes by winning and covering the spread. I'll be there to watch!

Syracuse (+14) at Connecticut: Nearly every game UConn played this season was close and this one will be no different. I think UConn gets the win but won’t cover the spread. This will be a highly emotional game for UConn as they try to become bowl eligible with a win in the midst of grieving their murdered team mate Jasper Howard. If the Huskies lose they still have a chance at bowl eligibility the following week when South Florida comes to town but that game will be much more of a challenge. The Huskies want to get this one in honor of their friend.

Can’t Pick These

#3 Texas (-21) at Texas A&M: A&M is all over the place with how they play week to week this season. They’ve been blown out, blown teams out, and been in close games. All I know is Texas better come to play because this is like A&M’s championship. If they can somehow ruin the Longhorns chances at a national title on national television during Thanksgiving night, A&M will proudly hold that moral victory as their trophy.

#2 Alabama (-10) at Auburn: This is the game before THE GAME for Alabama. There’s nothing Auburn would love more than to spoil their SEC rival’s national championship hopes before Florida gets the chance to in the SEC Championship game the week after. ‘Bama better not get caught sleepin’.

#18 Clemson (-3) at South Carolina: This would be a great bowl game. Both these teams play a lot alike and the reason for their difference in records is that one plays in the tough SEC and the other plays in the weak ACC.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

New Mexico (+45) at #4 TCU: I wonder if TCU will complete their undefeated season? Great scheduling Horned Frogs a 1-10 team to end the season with! I really hope New Mexico somehow pulls the upset that would be great.

Georgia (+8) at #7 Georgia Tech: Oh how Georgia would love to kill Georgia Tech’s hopes at a BCS bowl game while at the same time proving the SEC is a far superior conference than the ACC.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Young Vince; The Tennessee Titan

All it took was getting injured, being replaced as the starter while watching his team succeed, and contemplating suicide for Vince Young to mature and realize his potential.

The agonizing weeks that turned into months and ultimately a full year helped Vince Young make the transition from a great college quarterback to a quality NFL QB. Learning defensive schemes and coverages on the sidelines from the ultimate veteran Kerry Collins and the tenured leader Jeff Fischer fought off Young’s insecurities and over confidence in his athletic ability.

Young’s realization that unique athleticism doesn’t automatically convert into a successful NFL career saved his NFL life. It had to be painful watching his team play much better without him last year and even worse watching his team go win less while being told he isn’t even good enough to start on a terrible team.

Vince Young has been through some of the highest of highs and lowest of lows a football career can possibly take and he’s only 26 years old. Vince is still Young and his rebirth into the successful quarterbacking world proves he can overcome the most titanic obstacles.

He boldly predicted and guaranteed being inducted into the Hall of Fame. If he achieves leading the Titans to the playoffs after their 0-6 start, something that has never been done before, then his previous words and actions won’t seem so crazy. In fact, he can literally be heralded as Vince Young; The Tennessee Titan.

NFL Results

Picking Spreads: 2-2

Season Spreads: 49-34

Picking Winners: 3-1

Season Winners: 61-22

What I Learned This Week

- The Dolphins don’t need the Ronnie Brown run wildcat offense for success.

- It’s in Tony Romo’s DNA to struggle after the first week of November.

- Detroit and Cleveland do have offenses they just need to play against a terrible defense to show their skills.

- When a team’s special teams isn’t special, eehemmm… Steelers, it can hurt the team even more than a bad offense or defense.

- Indy knows how to win no matter what it takes in all aspects of the game. That mentality leads to playoff success.

- The Jets should be renamed the Stealth Bombers because they’ve flown off the radar.

- The AFC North lost their tough swagger.

- Denver’s done. Daniels, their head coach, doesn’t have the experience to get his team out of this slump. They do have veterans to help turn this around, but Kyle Orton is proven to be a loser and below average quarterback so that won't happen.

- Titans fans never have to worry when Jeff Fischer's at the helm. Even after a 59-0 stomping and losing their first six games some how Fischer got the team back in the playoff hunt and that somehow is the reemergence of Vince Young.

- The Houston Texans need a witch doctor to reverse their never better than average curse.

College Football Results

Picking Spreads: 2-0

Season Spreads: 20-22

Picking Winners: 1-1

Season Winners: 29-13

What I Learned This Week

- The Miami Hurricanes only beat struggling teams. They play in Tampa against the South Florida Bulls next Saturday for bragging rights as the second best team in Florida, and USF isn’t struggling.

- Sam Bradford made Oklahoma a national title contender. It’s usually said that one player can’t make a football team but it sure looks like it did for the Sooners. Without Bradford, it won’t be Sooner, but Later before they regain their elite status.

- Charlie Weis will add another percentage point to the unemployment rate in America once this season ends.

NFL Predictions

Picking Spreads: 47-32

Picking Winners: 58-21

Washington (+11) at Dallas: Washington makes this close but Romo will step up and finally pull out a tough victory for the Cowboys. The Redskins played much better last week by defeating Denver and I think they’ll make this closer than an 11 point game but don’t have the talent to win in Dallas.

Cleveland (+3) at Detroit: Detroit will cover the spread. It’s the battle of last years worst team and this year’s worst team. The Lions have improved enough to beat the Browns by more than three.

Pittsburgh (-10) at Kansas City: If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a Steelers fan it’s this… when one of their facets of the team play bad one game the next they play completely different. Last week Ben and the offense played terribly. I don’t know if it was a bad game for Ben or if it was that great Bengals defense, but either way their offense will put up at least 35 against the terrible Cheifs while holding Kansas City to under 20.

Seattle (+11) at Minnesota: Seattle’s struggles this year will get exposed even more against my pick for the best team in the league, the Vikings.

Can’t Pick These

San Francisco (+7) at Green Bay: The Packers lose to the winless Bucs then dominate the Cowboys. The 49ers look much improved to begin the year then change their quarterback half way through. Who knows what either of these teams really are?

Falcons (+7) at Giants: Both are great teams that are struggling. The loser might miss the playoffs.

New Orleans (-11) at Tampa Bay: Tampa made their last game close against the Dolphins, who made their game against New Orleans close. I know stuff like that never matters, but the Bucs have played much better the last two weeks and the Saints haven’t been playing as well. I think this will be closer than expected.

Buffalo (+9) at Jacksonville: The Jaguars aren’t consistent enough for me to pick them for this high of a spread.

Indianapolis (-2) at Baltimore: This is the game of the week. The Ravens are hungry looking to get in the playoff hunt and Peyton tries to keep his team undefeated.

Arizona (-9) at St. Louis: The Cardinals are playing well and the Rams are competing with the Browns for the worst team in the league. Still, this is one of those games Arizona loses. They tend to lose concentration when games don’t matter.

Jets (+11) at Patriots: Brady and his bunch look to bounce back against crying Ryan. Divisional games seem to almost always be close.

Cincinnati (-9) at Oakland: This spread sounds about right.

San Diego at Denver: A huge game in the battle for the AFC West Championship. Denver’s been disappointing and San Diego’s been surging.

Philadelphia (-3) at Chicago: The Eagles are much better but the Bears play good at home.

Tennessee (+5) at Houston: On Monday Night Football it’s time for Vince Young to show his maturity. He has the Titans winning again, but can they beat a playoff contender?

College Football Predictions

Picking Spreads: 18-22

Picking Winners- 28-12

#4 TCU (-31) at Wyoming: I hate taking spreads like these but I believe TCU can cover it this time. Wyoming was stomped at BYU 52-0 just two games ago. This one could be one of the most lop sided scores ever.

#8 LSU (+5) at Mississippi: I guess the betting sites wanted to lose some money. Mississippi is completely overrated and LSU just might be the best team overall in the country. They’ve barely lost to #1 Florida and #2 Alabama and are undefeated besides that. I think LSU will feel motivated to dominate this game and lose all those odds makers tons of money.

Can’t Pick These

#10 Ohio State (-12) at Michigan: Winning this game is Rich Rodriguez’s only shot at keeping this season from being a lost cause and maybe keeping his job.

Duke (+19) at #20 Miami- A Duke win will take Miami a huge leap back in getting back to national prominence while probably costing Randy Shannon his job.

Chattanooga at #2 Alabama- I visited Chattanooga, Tennessee once with my girlfriend. Her brother lives just outside in Ooltewah. It a nice town, doesn’t seem to0 much like they have a great football team, though. This game is such a joke there isn’t even a spread for bookmaker.com! Games like these should cost teams like Alabama the shot at a national championship.

FIU (+45) at #1 Florida: Those SEC schedules are tough but Alabama and Florida’s games this week are ridiculous. I just hope UF doesn’t fight with FIU like UM did.

#14 Penn State (-3) at Michigan State: MSU loves the upset. There could be one a brewin’ at Spartan Stadium.

Kansas(+28) at #3 Texas- What happened to Kansas? They started off 5-0 and haven’t won since. Kansas already gave up on their season and I can see this score getting a little ridiculous.

Ricky's Smokin'

Rushing for 122 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns on the ground and receiving for 19 yards with two receptions and one touchdown through the air proves Ricky isn’t so dumb after all.

He’s 32 years old but really, in running back years he’s 30 because of the two years he didn’t play. Those years off kept Ricky’s legs and body fresh while he did what he wanted. Now that he decided to come back and play he proves he’s still one of the best when he tries.

Ricky said he’ll retire next season. If he does the game will miss yet another mysterious running back that was one of the most talented in history. He adds his name to the list of great running backs (Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Robert Smith, and Tiki Barber) that ended their careers early and amongst controversy.

When The Smoke Clears: Ricky Williams

What a difference a joint makes. It can make a running back on his way to becoming a legend start passing the cheeba while passing up playing football. Smoking weed while traveling the world and giving massages sounds great until your high wears off you come back home and need a massage yourself because you remember your over eight million dollars in debt.

Ricky realized green money in his account is worth more than green weed in his lungs and he can’t visit all his favorite destinations while being in debt with the Dolphins.

After his short retirement he did the right thing both financially and emotionally by getting back into football. Once his Canadian Football days were done the perfect situation presented it self. Playing behind Ronnie Brown for the Dolphins keeps Williams from going bankrupt and gives him plenty of carries when Brown gets injured, which happens to Ronnie almost every year and has again with him being out for the rest of this season. Also, being out of the starting spotlight let shy Ricky regain his confidence both in his self and in his skills.

Since he woke up and cleared his system he stepped up and showed he’s still one of the best running backs in the world.

Now, tonight, when the smoke clears and it’s time to play he can show the world that Ricky is still Ricky, the greatest world traveling massage therapist NFL running back ever.

NFL Results

Picking Spreads: 2-2

Season Spreads: 47-32

Picking Winners: 3-1

Season Winners: 58-21

What I Learned This Week

- Thursday night football games are the worst idea the NFL ever had. I will get into this topic in another blog.

- If New Orleans has to eke out a win against the Rams then there’s no way they will go undefeated this season.

- Miami makes every game close no matter who they play.

- The Jets get worse every week.

- The Bengals have that tough mentality that earns playoff wins. They’ll go deep in the playoffs.

- Denver will let the AFC West lead slip out of their grasp and not make the playoffs. San Diego will charge right past the Broncos once again. A great start with a new coach, quarterback, and defense won’t change a thing.

- Carolina remembered their philosophy for how to win. Keep the ball in their running backs hands and out of Jake Delhomme’s! It's a good thing for the Panthers that Atlanta's Michael Turner got injured because he had 111 yards on just nine carries. Turner's a freakin beast!

- Will the late season losing culture in Dallas ever change?

- Finally Bill Belichick made a bad decision and proved that he is human.

Links To Sites Where My Blog Is Featured

In the left column of my blog page you will find all the new links to sites where my blog is now featured. Just scroll down and click on the link and it will bring you to my blog for each of these websites. These sites get much more traffic than here and will spark much more feedback and conversation whenever you comment on a blog I post.

Mostly I will be using my same blogs I write on here for each site, but when a site calls for it's own blog that is separated from all my others then I will do that as well.

If you're looking to get into debates or are interested in what other people would think about the comments you leave then this is your opportunity! I know it's more fun to leave a comment when you get reactions from different people and this is your chance to do so through my blog topics.

Click on the links, read my blogs, leave your comments and connect with the world through Edwin The Bear's Blogs.

College Football Results

Picking Spreads: 1-3

Season Spreads: 18-22

Picking Winners: 2-2

Season Winners: 28-12

What I Learned This Week

- With that huge win over Utah, TCU is making it difficult to argue against a playoff system for college football.

- When a team loses to Central Florida they can't be taken seriously. Houston, we have a problem.

- The Tennessee Volunteers are just like the Tennessee Titans. They have the talent but don't show up some games. It's got to be tough being a Tennessee fan this year.


- North Carolina and Butch Davis has Miami's number. Back to the drawing board for the Hurricanes. If they don't have a better record next year Randy Shannon will be gone for sure.

- Duke still has a long way to become a solid football program.

- USC got exposed and Pete Carroll couldn't handle it. He complained to Stanford's head coach Jim Harbaugh about running up the score afterwards at midfield. What does USC do every chance they get? It hurts being on the other side of a whooping huh Carroll? Besides, in college football the BCS points system is affected by the points scored and the amount of points a team wins or losses by so there's really nothing to complain about. It's stupid if you don't run up the score in college football. If Carroll has a problem with it he should bring it up at the next coaches meeting and not in the middle of a field crying about it while being a sore loser.

NFL Predictions

Picking Spreads: 45-30

Picking Winners: 55-20

New Orleans (-14) at St. Louis: The best versus the worst makes for an ugly game. The Saints easily cover the spread.

Denver (-4) at Washington: The Broncos break their two-game losing streak by spanking the offensive-less Redskins. I predict that Denvers defense will score more points than the Redskins offense.

Seattle (+9) at Arizona: The Cardinals usually don’t show up to play in games like these but I see Arizona scoring at will and covering the spread because Seattle is so depleted of talent and hampered by injuries.

Baltimore (-11) at Cleveland: The Ravens need a win and proved earlier this year they can blow out teams and one of those slaughters was a 34-3 demolishing of the Browns in week three. The Browns offense is so bad I’d be surprised if they can score a field goal. What a terrible game for Monday night football!

Can’t Pick These

Chicago at San Francisco: There's a reason I didn't pick or mention this game before it was played on Thursday. Not only do both teams stink but Thursday night games will always stink in general if something isn't done with the scheduling of teams that play these weekday games. I will get more into this topic in another blog.

Tampa Bay (+10) at Miami: I just don’t have enough confidence in the Dolphins receivers and linebackers to pull off a blow out win even against the one win Bucs.

Detroit (+17) at Minnesota: I expect this to be closer than most think but I can’t bring myself to say that the Lions can actually play good enough football to accomplish anything.

Jaguars (+7) at Jets: The spread seems about right.

Buffalo (+7) at Tennessee: I really want to pick the Titans to cover the spread but every other time I picked them this year I’ve lost.

Cincinnati (+7) at Pittsburgh: This is a playoff caliber game that will be closer than the spread.

Atlanta (-2) at Carolina: The Panthers need a win and they tend to play better in desperate situations but I could see the Falcons winning in Carolina.

Kansas City (+2) at Oakland: I’d rather watch my out of shape friends play football than see these teams. How can you pick when neither can score on offense or stop any one on defense?

Dallas (-3) at Green Bay: I know the Packers lost to winless Tampa last week and the Cowboys are playing great but I can’t count out Green Bay. They are a hard-nosed tough team that fight to the very end and Dallas is a soft team that plays well when it’s warm but falls apart when the weather gets cold.

Philadelphia (+3) at San Diego: Which team will play softer? These two are so inconsistent anything can happen.

New England (+3) at Indianapolis: Doesn’t this seem to be the game of the year every year? Indy’s played some close games recently while the Pats are playing like when they went undefeated again. Both teams know how to win. What a perfect game for Sunday night football!

College Football Predictions

Picking Spreads: 17-19

Picking Winners: 26-10

#15 Houston (-5) at UCF: I like Houston to cover the spread. Houston struggled with less talented teams in the past few weeks, for example defeating Toledo 46-45 last Saturday, but I think they’ll easily take care of UCF in Orlando. The Knights improved but not enough to keep this game within a touchdown.

#10 Iowa (+17) at #11 Ohio State: Almost every game Iowa’s played in this year was close and now because they lost one game everyone wants to write them off. News flash! Ohio State has two losses and is just as over ranked as Iowa! There’s no way the Hawkeyes get blown out even without their starting quarterback Ricky Stanzi. I do like OSU to win but not to cover the spread.

#14 Miami (-3) at North Carolina: Miami will cover the spread. North Carolina lost at home 16-3 against Virginia just over a month ago. Miami just stomped Virginia 52-17 last week. You do the math. I know UNC’s head coach Butch Davis used to be the Hurricanes' head coach and may have a few tricks up his sleeve but Miami’s athletes are so far superior to the Tar Heels it won’t matter.

#16 Utah (+20) at #4 TCU- TCU will win but won’t cover the spread. Utah lost only once this year and it was at #13 Oregon by a touchdown. I know TCU blows teams out a lot but Utah isn’t one of the normal soft schools the Horned Frogs play every week.

Games To Watch

# 25 West Virginia (+10) at #5 Cincinnati: If Cincinnati wins big they could jump #4 TCU, depending on the outcome of their game against #16 Utah, in the BCS standings. Only problem is I expect West Virginia to make the outcome even closer than the spread.

#1 Florida (-18) at South Carolina: This game could really go either way. South Carolina has talent and the old ball coach Steve Spurrier on their side but Spurrier is far removed from his coaching days in Gator country that ended in 2001. I could see UF’s superior roster making this a statement game but when your program’s long time coach is on the opponent’s side line you can never count them out.

Stanford (+11) at #9 USC: How is two-loss USC ranked in the top ten still? How are they ahead of one-loss Iowa and Pittsburgh? Pete Carroll must be the one totaling up the BCS standings' points every week.

#2 Alabama (-12) at Mississippi State: Those Mississippi teams love ruining the SEC championship contender’s seasons. Don’t be surprised if this turns into an upset. Alabama’s offense has struggled and a few turnovers could mean trouble.

My New Job Brings The New Age In Sports, Technologically Speaking

I am joining the Isaac Daniel Group, Incorporation in downtown Miami, FL as a sports blogger for their website. The spot where my blogs can be viewed isn’t created yet, but I will keep you updated. The plan is for me to continue a blog similar to what I do now while posting on here, on IDC’s website, and being linked to other websites. I will promote their new product, through blogging and I hope eventually other mediums like radio and television, while giving my insight into football and how the product can be used.

The product is called ID Coach. You can view what the product is and what has been in the works here. ID Coach will change the way coaches call games and players call plays.

I don’t want to get too much into everything just yet since I don’t start with the company until Monday but I feel this is the next big thing that will hit not only the football world, but in time the entire sports world in general.

The product is an electronic wristband that will eliminate the need for huddles, hand signals, play books and the possibility of the opposing teams stealing signs. Instead of giving signals to call a play it will all be done at the touch of this electronic device. The signal for the play goes out to the corresponding teams wristbands.

The CEO of IDG has already met with the NFL commissioners and the NFL is all in on this revolutionary idea they just want the product to be tried out on other leagues, such as the UFL, to make sure it works properly prior to implementing it into the NFL. ID Coach was launched in Tampa, FL during the Super Bowl last year where the CEO of IDG met with some of the NFL coaches, players, and former players. Here are some pictures proving the steps already taken in the implementation of this product into the NFL.

The new age of sports technology is upon us and I’m at the fore front of promoting the product and giving my opinion on how it can and should be used, how to make it better, and how to implement this into other sports besides football.

If you thought instant replay was breakthrough, wait until ID Coach hits the field!

NFL Results

Picking Spreads: 2-2

Season Spreads: 45-30

Picking Winners: 2-2

Picking Spreads: 55-20

What I Learned This Week

- The NFC North will have only one team representing them in the playoffs and that’s the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers and Bears are average teams at best. Actually, speaking of Green Bay, when you lose to a winless Tampa team you aren’t any good.

- The Bengals defense, especially against the run, has made Cincinnati a complete team and a contender for the AFC title.

- Baltimore’s only problem is they don’t know how to win. Big problem to have right? They have a deep and complete team but when there’s a second year starting quarterback and rookie running back that’s an issue. They have no leadership on offense. Their skilled veteran and should be leader on the offensive side of the ball is wide receiver Derrick Mason and he retired before returning this offseason!

- The Houston Texans are a damn good football team they just can’t ever seem to win enough to make the playoffs. Matt Schaub one way or another falls just short of getting it done way too much. That’s probably why he was Michael Vick’s back up before starting in Houston.

- Chad Henne is sick. Sick as in very talented and sick as in his receivers can’t catch a pass so it makes him want to puke. The Dolphins should let Ricky Williams and Pat White start as their wide receivers. They can’t be any worse at catching the ball than the guys they have playing now and that way Miami can utilize two great athletes that can’t get in enough because of the people ahead of them at their positions on the depth chart.

- We must be about half way through the season because the San Diego Chargers are playing well again. They play soft to start the season, then start playing great until they reach the playoffs and fizzle out.

- Something is wrong with the Giants. Brandon Jacobs can’t run anybody over anymore, Eli Manning isn’t making the big incredible plays, and their defense can’t stop anyone when it matters. Good timing for a bye week… well that is if they work out the kinks and not work on everything going wrong when they thinks.

- Dallas and Tony Romo look more impressive with every game. Finally Romo has earned some of the praise he receives. The problem is the Cowboys always look good to start the season then play terrible in the later months. Let's see if they can finally keep looking good through November and December.

- Denver is a deep team with great leadership but doesn't have the talent at running back and quarterback to compete with the elite. Even their defensive secondary that is one of the best in the league has a little too much old aged veterans.

- Pittsburgh looks poised to repeat. If Ben can keep the turnovers to a minimum they will be playing in Miami to defend their Super Bowl.

College Football Results

Picking Spreads: 4-2

Season Spreads: 17-19

Picking Winners: 6-0

Season Winners: 26-10

What I Learned This Week

- If #6 Boise State played in the SEC they would be a .500 ball club.

- #12 Pittsburgh should be ranked higher. Pitt is a great team that is a one touchdown road loss away from being undefeated. I know they haven’t beat a ranked team yet, but when they play #5 Cincinnati in their last game of the year it will show the world that the Big East is a much better conference than critics give credit.

o How is Pittsburgh behind two-loss #8 LSU, #9 USC, and #11 OSU? LSU has two legitimate close losses to #1 Florida and #2 Alabama so I can see why they’re still in the top ten but USC lost to Washington, got spanked by #13 Oregon (who just lost to unranked Stanford), and just barely beat Arizona State 14-9! Then there’s Ohio State who lost to Purdue! What is it with the BCS loving So Cal and Ohio State?! USC and OSU don’t even deserve to be ahead of #14 Miami!

- Here’s more evidence that the BCS points system make no sense. #4 TCU jumped #5 Cincinnati! If Cincinnati or Pittsburgh, whichever wins the Big East, ends up playing TCU in a BCS game I promise you Cincy or Pitt will squash TCU with their Horned Frogs and all!

- North Carolina and Duke are still basketball schools. What a terrible 19-6 outing by both programs.

- Michigan sucks. Head coach Rich Rodriguez sucks. They have a great freshman quarterback in Tate Forcier and it sucks for him that he’s stuck as a Wolverine. Forcier could look on the bright side though; a lot of pro quarterbacks come out of Michigan.

- Notre Dame sucks. Head coach Charlie Weis sucks. They have a great quarterback in Jimmy Clausen that will be a pro.

- Notre Dame and Michigan are the same team. Traditionally great programs that took a dump the last ten years and can’t find a head coach to clean up the mess.

NFL Predictions

Picking Spreads: 43-28

Picking Winners: 53-18

Washington (+10) at Atlanta: Atlanta will cover the spread. Like I said before… the Redskins really are that bad.

Houston (+9) at Indianapolis: I like the Colts to win but not to cover the spread. The Texans defensive line will get enough pressure on Peyton Manning to keep their scoring drives to a minimum. Houston’s offense should be able to score against Indy’s D but not enough to pull out a victory.

Green Bay (-10) at Tampa Bay: Take the Packers to cover the spread in the battle of the Bays. Green Bay looks to avenge their Favre/Vikings beat down from last week and take it out on a winless Tampa team. The Packers have a couple of blow out wins already this season and I think this will be another one that goes in the slaughterhouse category.

Chargers (+4) at Giants: I see New York coming out strong and winning by at least ten all the while giving them confidence going into their bye week. New York’s toughness has been questioned in the last few weeks during their three game losing streak and when that happens the Giants seem to always shut the critics up with a strong performance. I think the Giants come out strong and make the Chargers look like the soft Norv Turner coached team that they are.

Can’t Pick These

Arizona (+3) at Chicago: The Cardinals have played great lately, but the Bears are great at home. Both teams tend to have bad games from time to time so I couldn’t pick this one.

Baltimore (-3) at Cincinnati: This should be one of the better games of the week. I believe whoever wins this game will get one of the two wild card playoff spots.

Miami (+11) at New England: The Dolphins haven’t been blown out yet this season, but the Patriots are a team that likes to run up the score. Miami did beat a Brady-less Pats team last year, but I don’t know if they’ll have it in them this season.

Kansas City (+7) at Jacksonville: The Cheifs could pull this off against a very inconsistent Jaguars squad, but Kansas City is so bad I can’t see myself ever picking them.

Carolina (+13) at New Orleans: The Saints do score a lot but I just have a feeling that the Panthers and their running game could make this closer than expected. Also the Panthers have won their last seven games in New Orleans.

Detroit (+10) at Seattle: The Lions are better than people think and the Seahawks have the potential to be good but their offensive line doesn’t give Matt Hasselbeck enough time to show his greatness. The outcome of this game lies in the hands of the Seahawks offensive lineman.

Tennessee (+4) at San Francisco: The Titans have a lot of talent but don’t know how to use it and the 49ers coaching staff has done a great job making them a decent franchise again. I just never know about those Titans.

Dallas (+3) at Philadelphia: This could go either way. I’ve been impressed by Tony Romo this season but a disgruntled Roy Williams’ comments give me reason to believe there’s trouble brewing in the Cowboys locker room (that’s something new right?). As long as Philly balances out their offensive attack they should win, but Andy Reid may just have another play calling relapse giving the Cowboys some hope.

Pittsburgh (-3) at Denver: This is the game of the week and I think it’s going to come down to the last seconds. I like the Steelers to win especially if it’s snowing, but it could be even closer than a three point game.

College Football Predictions

Season Spreads: 13-17

Season Winners: 20-10

-#7 Boise State (-21) at Louisiana Tech: Boise will win against another mediocre football program but won’t cover the spread. Louisiana Tech has been blown out by more than 21 a few times this year but those games were on the road against good programs. They are 3-0 at home and although I don’t think they’ll pull the upset I do think they’ll make Boise upset by making the game close and moving BSU down in the BCS rankings after this week. BSU really does play against some BS Universities don’t they? They need to stop complaining and start scheduling some tougher opponents so they will get some BCS respect.

- Duke (+10) at North Carolina: Duke will make it closer than 10 but will come up just short. I can’t believe I’m even talking about these two teams playing football instead of basketball but they’ve both had solid seasons.

- Vanderbilt (+35) at #1 Florida: Florida will win but won’t cover the spread. The spread’s way too high and Vanderbilt has a terrible record but have lost a lot of close games.

- Connecticut (+17) at #5 Cincinnati: Cincinnati will win but won’t cover the spread. UConn is playing for their fallen friend and haven’t been blown out yet this season. There a tough team that will play spirited but will come up just short once again.

- #15 Houston (+1) at Tulsa: How is Houston the underdog in this one? Houston has only one loss and Tulsa just got beat at home by Southern Methodist. This is the most guaranteed pick of the season.

- #9 LSU (+8) at #3 Alabama: Alabama keeps winning close games and I think this will be no different. Alabama will pull out the victory by letting running back Mark Ingram take over the game while punishing and tiring out the LSU defense. I don’t think Alabama will cover the spread. This is the game of the week and LSU’s shot at getting back in the national championship race.

Can’t Pick These

Virginia (+13) at #17 Miami- Virginia is the most inconsistent college football team. They either play great or come out flat. Miami makes nearly every game interesting. This one could be closer than expected but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Wake Forest (+16) at #10 Georgia Tech: The Demon Deacons nearly beat Miami last week at home. I see no way GT loses here, but there’s a shot Wake could make it close. I wouldn’t pick it though because Wake is coming off a tough game and did lose at Clemson 38-3 earlier in the year.

#21 Wisconsin (-10) at Indiana: This could be an upset. Indiana plays well, as they showed at #4 Iowa last week, but seem to lose it in the fourth quarter. I just can’t pick a team that doesn’t finish well.

#19 Oklahoma State (-7) at Iowa State: Iowa State could pull the upset. They beat Nebraska earlier this season and are tough at home. OSU is coming off that tough Texas loss and might not have the spirit to care about winning anymore.

#24 Oklahoma (-6) at Nebraska: Both these teams were hoping for so much more this season. I have a feeling that Nebraska will come out strong trying to at least notch a nice win under their belt, but I don’t know if it will be enough.

#16 Ohio State (+4) at #11 Penn State: Great game between two teams that just can’t seem to get it done when it matters. Whoever makes the big mistake will go down.