Week 8 NFL Picks

Alright going a different route this week.  You will find my picks in bold below.

Last week I was 8-5 and 48-23 67.6% correct on the season since starting back in week 4.

Arizona @ Baltimore 

• Arizona is averaging under 100 rush yds a game and the Ravens "D" is allowing under 100 yds per game.
• Ravens "O" bounces back this game after being embarrassed and faces an Arizona team in the bottom of the NFL in Defense
• Ravens have dominated at home outscoring our opponents 98-38

Minnesota @ Carolina

• Close matchup but I think I'm going with Minnesota
• Ponder is improving and threw for 219 and 2 TD's against GB, but did throw 2 picks
• Peterson ran for 175 against GB and is facing a team allowing 133 a game on the ground
• Newton may crush my pick but I'll take the chance

Jacksonville @ Houston

• Jacksonville "D" isn't all that bad. Can stop the run, and have decent corners
• Jacksonville "O" still looks bad.  MJD is a nice RB but you still have a rookie QB going up against another good "D"
• Slight edge this week for Houston

Miami @ NYG

• Not much to say about this match-up other than NY should be up early and score often
• If anything could point to the direction this Miami team is going, coach Sparano's home is on the market.

NO @ StL

• See above.  With a banged up Bradford and a N.O. defense that can pressure the QB I don't expect StL to get much going offensively.
• This is a N.O. "O" that just put up 62 points last week and I don't think they will put up those kind of points again, but it's not going to be a close game

Indy @ Tenn

• Indy isn't going to win this game either.  They are one of the front runner's in this "Andrew Luck Sweepstakes"
• Tennessee is just a better team than Indy is at this point.

Washington @ Buffalo

• I'm giving the edge to Buffalo this week as they are coming off their bye week.
• Buffalo has a better offense and defense right now as Washington is pretty banged up.

Detroit @ Denver

• Tebow uses his legs to make things happen, well this week he will use them more to run for his life.
• I thought Detroits "D" line would be too much for SF but they definitely will be too much for Denver

NE @ Pitt

• Brady is 6-1 against the Steelers lifetime
• Patriots coming off bye
• NE offense should put up enough points to win this one

Cincy @ Seattle

• Usually don't like east coast team travelling west but Cincy is coming off a bye
• Cincy looks better on both sides of the ball
• Thinking more along the lines of a 21-17 win for Cincy

Cleveland @ SF

• As with what I said above about east coast/ west coast I don't like Cleveland this game
• SF is the better of the two and will add to their lead in the West to go to a 4 game lead

Dallas @ Philly

• A lot of people going Philly this week but with this being a Div rivalry it could go either way I think
• Picking Dallas for the simple fact they have the better run defense and need the win to tie them for first in the division

SD @ KC

• Division game yes but KC was so bad to start the season I can't bring myself to think they will win this game even with them playing better.

Now that was ugly!

Alright so I haven't gone into too much depth in my thoughts on the games so far, but you got to start somewhere.  So let's start with this embarrassment that occurred on MNF.

I'll go ahead and start with the only positive of the night and that was the play of the Defense.  They played the way they should have against the leagues worst Offense who is only averaging 252.4 yards a game.  Thankful to get out of that terrible game without any injuries other than some stingers suffered by Reed and Cody.

Now for the rest of the team, AWFUL!  Alright so the Jags going into the game I think had the 8th best defense in the league but I was still thinking we would have got something going at least in the run game.  What I wasn't expecting was 8 carries for 28yds for Rice.  Was this really the game plan for our Offense this game to only have our backs carry the ball 12 times?  What did it get you 34yds.  Our line couldn't hold any kind of rush, our receivers couldn't get any seperation and we didn't help any of that by running the ball 12 TIMES!  There's been a lot of talk on Bmore sports talk radio about Flacco and how this is on him, and he's not the guy to get it done.  Which is the reason I don't listen as often anymore because it's all everyone harps on.  All this guy has done is improve year after year since he was thrown in his rookie season.  I'm not going to throw it all on Cam either, although you go out and sign Vonta Leach and you hand the rock off 12 times. I know I keep bringing that up but come on Cam.  In fact after Rice fumbled with 8:59 to go in the first quarter he didn't get another carry until 1:59 left to go in the first half.  We saw this last season in the playoffs when Rice fumbled against the Steelers.  He was on the bench and didn't get a carry until later in the game.  This guy has 4 fumbles in 765 carries.  I don't think you need to have him sit once he puts the ball on the ground.  He's pretty reliable when it comes to holding onto the ball.

Hopefully we can get Grubbs and Lee Evans back soon.  I think if we can get Grubbs back in the middle of that O line we can get better pass protection.  I'm curious to see Evans back on the outside.  You put him opposite T. Smith giving us speed on both sidelines and Boldin running in the slot along with Dickson/Pitta and Rice and now Flacco has serious options.

Anyway I'm not too worried about this game.  This team is too talented and better than what they showed in the spotlight of the world on Monday night.  I was worried about them going in too confident like in Tennessee and was in a way prepared for it.  Although I seriously didn't see us losing this game.  I thought we'd come out sluggish, but as the saying goes any given Sunday or Thursday or Monday.

NFL Week 7 Pick Results...Glad this week is over!!

Ugly, ugly week.  The positive is that I went 8-5 and that gave me more wins this week than points scored by my Ravens.  That put's me at 48-23 67.6% right so far this season.  Quick run down.  I thought Washington was better than that, seriously SD, should have picked Chicago, darn you Boller you're not even with the Ravens anymore and still ruining football for me, and like the Ravens offense I have nothing for ya.

Washington over Carolina     WRONG
Cleveland over Seattle          CORRECT
Atlanta over Detroit               CORRECT
Denver over Miami                CORRECT
SD over NYJ                         WRONG
TB over Chicago                   WRONG
Houston over Tennessee     CORRECT
Pitt over Arizona                   CORRECT
Oakland over KC                  WRONG
Dallas over St Louis             CORRECT
GB over Minnesota               CORRECT
New Orleans over Indy         CORRECT
Baltimore over Jacksonville  WRONG

Family Time

So last weekend we had our annual family picnic/reunion.  One thing I think we all say when the day is over is that we should do it more often.  Maybe even instead of the fall we do it both in the spring and fall.  It was a good day though, the weather was perfect and it was so nice to be around family you don't get to see a lot of throughout the year.  We started this a couple years ago when my grandparents passed and that would be my only regret with the family gathering is that we started this way too late.  Those we are missing today would have loved this day.  It's also so nice too see all the younger cousins out running around and playing together.  On Sunday we had my Grandmother over with some of the great grandchildren and had another cookout.  All in all it was a great weekend of family time!

Week 7 NFL Picks

Why waste any time let's get right down to it. Last week I was 9-4 and 40-18 on the season.

Washington over Carolina
Cleveland over Seattle
Atlanta over Detroit
Denver over Miami
SD over NYJ
TB over Chicago
Houston over Tennessee
Pitt over Arizona
Oakland over KC
Dallas over St Louis
GB over Minnesota
New Orleans over Indy
Baltimore over Jacksonville

Taking a lot of away teams this week.  We'll see how that pans out.

Week 6 Prediction Results

Luckily I was able to get the last two games this week to fall my way and push me to 9-4 for the week.  Which is a slight improvement from my 8-5 record last week.  My record for the season now sits at 40-18.


Atlanta over Carolina              CORRECT
Cincy over Indy                      CORRECT
Detroit over SF                      WRONG
GB over StL                          CORRECT
Buffalo over NYG                  WRONG
Pittsburgh over Jacksonville    CORRECT
Washington over Philly           WRONG
Baltimore over Houston          CORRECT
Oakland over Cleveland         CORRECT
NE over Dallas                      CORRECT
NO over Tampa Bay             WRONG
Chicago over Minnesota        CORRECT
NYJ over Miami                    CORRECT


I was going back and forth with the Detroit  / SF game and thought that the Lions D line would be too much for Alex Smith and the 49ers O line.  I was wrong, and really like the job Harbaugh is doing out there in SF.  Can't wait to see the Harbaugh brothers square off Thanksgiving day.  I'm not too worried about the match-up this season.  I think the Ravens can take it but we'll see as the game gets closer.

Glad the Ravens were able to take care of Houston and we can go into these next two weeks against opponents we should easily beat.  Now a days I can't stand to listen to Baltimore sports radio because all everyone talks about is Flacco and criticizes every little thing with him.  Look you can't compare him to Brady, Manning, or even Rodgers!  I as well as many others will place them as elite QB's, but Flacco is a good QB.  Does he make mistakes? Yes, but so do these elite QB's mentioned.  We should be happy we have a good QB that can make plays and get the ball down field.  How long have we gone without a QB?  I don't know about you but I'm ecstatic we have Flacco and not a Stoney Case, Chris Redman, Kyle Boller, Troy Smith to name a few.

Week 6 NFL Picks

Alright well after going 8-5 last week I'm hoping to do better this week.  As of now I am 31-14 on the season.

Here's my thoughts...

Atlanta over Carolina   (Matt Ryan usually doesn't lose at home 20-3)
Cincy over Indy
Detroit over SF  (Giving the edge to the Lions "D" line)
GB over StL
Buffalo over NYG
Pittsburgh over Jacksonville  (Wouldn't mind being wrong though)
Washington over Philly
Baltimore over Houston
Oakland over Cleveland
NE over Dallas
NO over Tampa Bay
Chicago over Minnesota (Think Minn but they've messed me up each week)
NYJ over Miami


Let the games begin!

Country Roads

So we were to be heading over the mountain to visit family out in Wheeling, WV this past Friday which for us would have been a 3 day weekend.  Well Noah woke up Thursday morning with a rash all over his upper body  so my 3 day weekend turned into a 4 day weekend.  Which I'm not complaining especially since our little guy is alright.  Seems as though it was something he came in contact with and not a virus or anything which is good.  I tell you this because I have a warning for you parents with preschoolers.  The doctor gave us some Benadryl to give him and she told us to give it to him around bed time because it's more than likely going to knock him out.  Well if his side effects were going to be like mine when I take Benadryl he's definitely going to be out.  Guess what, he went to bed about 9ish and was up around midnight.  He ran around the house non stop from midnight until we left the house around 9:30am.  About two and a half hours into our drive he finally fell asleep for maybe an hour and a half.  The he was back up and when we got to Wheeling until he crashed around 8pm he ran around their house.  NEVER AGAIN will he get Benadryl.  So the warning to parents out there, not all kids crash after taking Benadryl so be prepared!

This weekend was awesome!  The weather was perfect, it was great to see family out there we don't get to see too much, and we had a blast!  Saturday morning we went to the former West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, WV which is one of the most haunted places in the US.  It was pretty cool to see the old building and structure and to see the Grave Creek Mound which is literally right across the street.    the mound is one of the largest conical type burial mounds in the US.  So it was pretty cool to see this history in person.

Saturday we went to Oglebayfest which was nice because the weather was perfect.  We went through the fair and crafts, and took Noah to the Zoo.  His favorite was the Kangaroos and the playgrounds along the way, but he wasn't too fond of the snakes.  Afterwards we continued Noahs playground hopping and went to downtown Wheeling along the Ohio river to a playground along the riverside.  With the weather and the sunset it was awesome down there.

We were sad to leave because we had such a great time.  On the way home I took a different route pretty much because I missed my exit, but instead of taking I68 which goes through Western MD we took I70 which runs through PA.  Let me tell you, I think PA roads are all under construction and by the looks of things when you drive through these construction zones not much construction is being done.  the most annoying part was that you're cruising along the highway and BAM 45mph zone.  That aside it's not a bad route because there aren't any mountains to climb.

Great weekend and we're looking forward to our next trip out there!

Week 5 Results...YUCK

Ouch 8-5 this week bringing my record so far this season to 31-14.  This week I'm going to bounce back.  Anyway here's last weeks results

Tenn over Pitt                   Wrong   OK so I was wrong...this week
Houston over Oakland     Wrong
KC over Indy                    Correct
Cincy over Jacksonville   Correct
NYG over Seattle             Wrong
Arizona over Minn  (I'm not picking the Vikings again)   Wrong  (Darn you Vikings!!!)
NO over Carolina             Correct
Philly over Buffalo            Wrong   I mean come on you would have picked Philly too
SF over TB                      Correct
NE over NYJ                    Correct
SD over Denver               Correct
GB over Atl                       Correct
Detroit over Chicago        Correct

Week 5 NFL Picks

So looking to add to my 23-9 record through 2 weeks here's my picks for this week.

Tenn over Pitt  (Steelers are too beat up and can't stop the run)
Houston over Oakland
KC over Indy (Both teams equally suck. Maybe I should pick a tie)
Cincy over Jacksonville
NYG over Seattle
Arizona over Minn  (I'm not picking the Vikings again)
NO over Carolina
Philly over Buffalo
SF over TB
NE over NYJ
SD over Denver
GB over Atl
Detroit over Chicago

Week 4's Results

I wish I would have picked the first 2 weeks of this season but after going 12-4 in week 3, this week I'm down a game.  I went 11-5 in week 4 and so far in 2 weeks I am 23-9.  Even though I'm kicking myself for not taking Detroit and SF I will definitely take it!


Buffalo over Cincy           Wrong
Tenn over Cleveland       Correct
Houston over Pitt             Correct
Dallas over Detroit           Wrong
Philly over SF                  Wrong
Chicago over Carolina     Correct
Washington over StL       Correct
NO over Jacksonville       Correct
Minn over KC                  Wrong
NYG over Arizona            Correct
Seattle over Atlanta         Wrong
GB over Denver               Correct
NE over Oakland             Correct
SD over Miami                 Correct
Baltimore over NYJ          Correct
TB over Indy                    Correct


I was afraid to take Detroit over Dallas because I really thought they were due for a loss, and I was equally afraid to take SF because I thought it would be tough with travel.  I forgot that they stayed in PA last week. Oh well let's see what week 5 brings.

Race of the ages

Why the race of the ages well, because that's probably the last 5k I'm going to be doing.  Well at least the last one I will be running.  Overall I was happy with the race, but it reminded me why I haven't ran in any others.  One because I'm out of shape and two I hate running.  I like running while playing in a game like baseball or football, but constant running I'm not a fan of.  Not taking anything away from those who enjoying running, it's just not my thing.
We get there the morning of the race and it was freezing.  It probably didn't help that I was wearing shorts, but anyway it was 45 degrees and rainy.  So standing around while everyone tried to figure out where the start was felt like forever.  They finally get it all straightened out and we start walking to the starting line and everyone starts to follow us.  I remember thinking on the way down "This probably isn't good that everyone is following US", well because that's going to put us in the front of these 120 people marching down the hill.  My fears were correct as we were in the front when the gun went off.  Now when we pulled into the park it looked fairly level.  Not many hills at all and the ones we could see weren't too bad.  Well it didn't take long before we reached the hills.  Remember we're not runners so these hills hurt us.  Our only thought was let's push through, try to reach our goal of 45 minutes and whatever we do don't finish in last.  We pushed through and finished.  Not at our goal of 45 minutes but close.  We finished in 51 minutes, and most importantly we didn't finish last.  Now that it is over I am not only sore but I am very proud of us for pushing through and finishing the 5k.  This race I think kind of summed up our relationship and our infertility journey because through out the whole race we stuck by each others side and pushed each other through until we reached our goal.  Just when I didn't think I could go any further especially after the hills because my calves were burning so bad Morrisa pushed me through and got us going again, and I think I was doing the same for her when it got tough for her.  She is an inspiration to me to push through tough times.  It makes me think back when we fought through the treatments and everything she put herself through physically, mentally, and emotionally and I am forever in debt to her for giving me our amazing son.
Going and seeing all the families and all the couples there brought back all of the emotions we faced. Looking back we wouldn't change anything for the world.  Not only because now we have Noah, but because of that journey as hard as it was it made us who we are today in our faith in God and in our relationship.
As we were leaving we met and amazing woman whom we told this was our first 5k and she was curious as to why we chose this one.  We were telling her because this cause and Shady Grove meant a lot to us and she asked about our story.  We told her our story and she shared her's and it really hit home how lucky we are.  She said, "IVF didn't work for me but I still feel so blessed."  I commend all the husbands for what we go through emotionally in this journey especially those with medical challenges, but to the women you truly are amazing!