Turkey Day Picks

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I know some are looking forward to a delicious and filling meal, spending time with family, and of course some football, even if the day games are as bad as ever. I'll give you my picks, but I have to wonder when the NFL is going to realize that giving Detroit a home game on every Turkey Day is a failed endeavor, with that being said, get your plates ready and here's some NFL Turkey Day picks!

Packers (+11) Lions- OK on paper this looks like a game that should easily go to the the Packers. JJ Stafford may not play, especially with the short week and it looks like Calvin Johnson is out as well. But the Packers don't protect the quarterback and it seems like a miracle that Green Bay is 6-4. The Lions have shown some life recently and I think they'll get up for their struggling city on Thanksgiving. The Packers need the game more and I think they'll win, but they won't cover the spread of 11 which is way to many points to give up, especially on the road.

Cowboys (+14) Raiders- The Raiders are awful. The Raiders are awful on the road. The Cowboys are going to win this one, they're also going to cover the spread meaning that everyone should plan their dinner for about 5:30, that way once you're fed up with the awful football that starts at 4:15, you can systematically miss the end of what figures to be a route.

Giants (+7) Broncos- Finally a game worth watching! Oh, what's that? You can't see it because its on NFL Network? Yeah, Mr. Goodell isn't listening. The Giants won last week, but it wasn't as pretty. Bradshaw is out and the fragile Brandon Jacobs is going to have to carry the load. The Broncos are in disarray after getting off to a surprising hot start and they are at home. The big questions is going to be can the Giants create turnovers and score off them? Or will Denver be able to move the ball on New York's defense at will. If it's the latter, chalk up a Broncos win. I think the Giants will come out firing, especially since the Cowboys will have already one and they will know they need to keep up the pressure with an imperative road win. I won't take the points especially with the Broncos playing in their building and on a short week but Denver is who we thought they were...before the season started.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Injury's a Concern for Gang Green

Just some notes ahead of tonight's Monday Night Football game, Jets at Dolphins. . .

The Jets injury report is just a bit longer than Jets fans would want. Some notables are Kerry Rhodes (Q, Knee), Damien Woody (Q, Foot), and Jerricho Cotchery (Q, Hamstring). Cotchery is the most frightening in this group although the others raise an eye brow. With Braylon Edwards coming over from Cleveland earlier in the week, you figure he slides into the number one spot if Cotchery is out. If that's the case, figure the Jets will run the ball a lot and assume Dustin Keller is going to get some chances tonight.

Woody would leave the Jets with hole up front, which would hinder the running attack and one would assume Sanchez will do a lot of rolling out away from trouble.

I have no idea what the situation is on Rhodes, but he's a big part of the Jets defense and if he plays will probably be doing a bit of blitzing against Chad Henne. . .

Here's a question, comment with your answer.
More Dolphins offensive plays out of the Wildcat or a normal formation?

-I think the Jets will get a heavy dose of the Wildcat, but the Jets are expecting it, so don't expect it until the middle part of this game. . .

The Jets went 3-1 in the first quarter of the season, much better than anyone expected. Now it's the second quarter, and they could make a bit of a run here over the next four (at Miami, Buffalo, at Oakland, Miami). A win tonight would go a long way.

It's All About AJ

It was too easy last winter to be lured into thinking that this Yankee Season was about CC Sabathia or Alex Rodriguez or Mark Teixeira. After all those are superstars, but let us not lose sight of what is really the linchpin of this team, it's AJ Burnett.

Perhaps never before has an overrated number two starter meant so much to a team as otherwise dominant as the 2009 New York Yankees.

But as I meander around a wet Yankee Stadium this evening, all my hopes for this season will be entrusted into the freakishly powerful, talented but disturbingly inconsistent arm of Burnett.

Yes, I am aware that this is just game 2 of the ALDS. Yes I know the Yankees will win this series regardless of whether Burnett succeeds or falters and yes, I know that whether or not he's successful, the Yankees have him signed for a ridiculous amount of money over the next four seasons. But this start means an awful lot more than meets the eye.

This is Burnett's first ever start in the postseason and while as a fan I have to give him the benefit of the doubt, the facts don't leave me very optimistic. He doesn't exactly seem to be the headstrong type that can settle down after an error. He tends to get overanxious in tight spots and misses drastically with his fastball and Joe Girardi has inadvertently and inexplicably put an enormous amount of added pressure on Burnett by starting the Beer League Softball Masher, Jose Molina behind the plate in place of Jorge Posada, one of the Yankees' all time greats.

If you have read the New York papers this week, it's clear that Burnett is being blamed for not being able to pitch to Posada, forcing Molina into the game by Girardi's hand. This presents two problems.

If Burnett struggles, he will get blasted even harder, I don't know if his fragile mold can handle that. But more importantly, what do the Yankees do if they reach a game 5 and Burnett has to pitch?

Do you start Molina and leave Posada on the bench? How do you sit one of your team leaders, especially when he's had such a great offensive year? How do you appease Burnett at Posada's detriment and what happens in future rounds?

Girardi has some work to do, but with all the chaos surrounding AJ Burnett, you can see his importance to this postseason.

NFL Picks Week 5

Minnesota (-10) ST. LOUIS- Minnesota 27, St. Louis 14

The Vikings are riding high off their win against Green Bay. They head on the road now to St. Louis and while 10 points is a lot I'll take Minnesota with the spread.

Dallas (-8) KANSAS CITY- Kansas City 17, Dallas 14

Tony Romo is faltering, the defense is not that good and KC is due to win a home game, plus can Matt Cassel AND Larry Johnson both be grossly overpaid?

CAROLINA (-3.5) Washington- Carolina 24, Washington 17

The Panthers just have to be better than this and I can't, no I won't trust the Redskins on the road.

PHILADELPHIA (-15) Tampa Bay- Philadelphia 31, Tampa Bay 10

Donovan McNabb is back and that is huge for the Eagles. Yes Tampa is that bad, they've got no chance on the road in a hostile environment. Looking for an X-factor? Expect Michael Vick to get involved in this one.

NY GIANTS (-15) Oakland- Giants 21, Oakland 13

The Giants are banged up, now on offense and defense. The general feeling is that Eli Manning will play, but it seems like a good week to sit him if you ask me. Still the Giants will win the game, but they are too banged up to cover an enormous spread. Giants win, but Oakland covers.

BUFFALO (-6) Cleveland- Buffalo 24, Cleveland 21

This has the potential to be one of the ugliest games in recent memory. Derek Anderson almost looked good last week, and that could have saved Eric Mangini's job. I've also heard some rumors that Anderson is actually thrilled to have Braylon Edwards out of town. Last week was a momentum builder for the Browns, but Buffalo is still the better team.

BALTIMORE (-8.5) Cincinnati- Cincinnati 17, Baltimore 14

We're all about to find out if the Bengals are for real, and I think they are. The Ravens are good, but they miss Bart Scott and maybe a little Rex Ryan as well. You have to feel good if you are in Cincinnati because Cedric Benson's risen out of the Chicago ashes and Carson Palmer has lured people into not realizing his talent over the last few years, but he can sling it.

Pittsburgh (-10.5) DETROIT- Pittsburgh 28, Detroit 13

Even if Matthew Stafford plays this one will be a laugher. The talent just doesn't match up and the Steelers are not going to be slow all year, they're too good.

SAN FRANCISCO (-2.5) Atlanta- Atlanta 21, San Francisco 17

This is going to be a good one, but I think San Francisco will come back to Earth a little bit. The signing of Michael Crabtree won't be an immediate factor and the health of Frank Gore is an issue.

New England (-3) DENVER- Denver 24, New England 17

Exactly none of us saw it coming, but Denver's defense is good, real good. The offense is coming into shape now as well and the Patriots are going to feel the loss of Fred Taylor way more than the New Englander's think. Tom Brady may throw the ball 55 times, but I like Denver at home in this one.

ARIZONA (-5.5) Houston- Arizona 28, Houston 20

A friend of mine recently told me "I wish I could parlay Kurt Warner not repeating last season with Kerry Collins not repeating last season." I think he's got a point, but Houston is painfully bad on the road and the Cardinal offense is bound to see some production.

SEATTLE (PK) Jacksonville- Jacksonville 35, Seattle 24

It's clear that the core of the Seahawks needs to change and the glory years are officially over. Jacksonville looks pretty good so far. The only reason Seattle puts up points is because this one is over early.

Indianapolis (-3.5) TENNESSEE- Indianapolis 34, Tennessee 27

This has the potential to be a good game if the Titans can harness some of last year. The Colts offense is as good as ever and that is a testament to how great Peyton Manning really is, given all the changes that have gone on around him.

NY Jets (-1.5) MIAMI- Jets 20, Miami 13

Look for a lot of running from the Jets and even more from the Dolphins. Chad Henne has his hands full with the Jets defense, but the game will be close because the Jets offense has been borderline anemic.

Jets choose the wrong man

By Alex Wolff

Once again the Jets have crashed.

Mark Sanchez has been named the Jets starting quarterback and once again Kellen Clemens, once the future has been cast to the curb, perhaps leaving his career in doubt.

But as Clemens prepares for his all too familiar role as the Jets’ number two, Sanchez is faced with the reality that after just one year as a starter at Southern Cal, and two error laden NFL preseason games, he is now the ready and able starter to lead a playoff caliber roster into the rigid, rugged and perfectly painful chess game that is the NFL.

Jets fans beware.

By selecting Sanchez now following a not so impressive first preseason start in which he threw an interception on his first pass, and nearly again on his second to go along with a fumble, it is obvious that Clemens had no chance in this battle from the beginning.

If Rex Ryan had any aspirations of looking at this battle with an unbiased eye, he failed. Nothing about Mark Sanchez’s start stood out, with the exception of his touchdown pass, but even that was suspect to the poor coverage.

And it’s that touchdown pass that appears to have won Sanchez the job, even though the recipient Leon Washington’s defender was five yards away from the play chasing frantically after the Jets’ best player.

The Jets’ brass apparently likes the way Sanchez rebounded after a poor start. They appreciate the way he didn’t crumble when things got tough, but they don’t factor in a lack of experience that was as evident in the Ravens game as his heroic rebound.

The question is what do the Jets gain by starting Sanchez over Clemens week one?

They stand to gain celebrity. Success would mean the spotlight on the young QB; it would mean the focus of the league and expanding the star power that the Jets have so obviously tried to gain over the last few years (Spygate, Favre, etc.)

But what they stand to lose is far greater.

Given that neither Sanchez nor Clemens has shown a clear edge over the other one must consider their skill set somewhat equal. If that’s the case and you expect similar levels of production, start Clemens.

Clemens has been a Jet longer. He has worked under offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer for years and understands the Jets offensive schemes.

But most importantly, he has played in the regular season. He’s studied under Chad Pennington and Bret Favre. He’s watched from the sidelines and seen the film, learned the terminology and dealt with New York. He’s been on the field, taken the hits and felt the speed of the NFL.

Clemens was once the Jets future quarterback and if he plays this year as a backup, only to be let go by the Jets after the year he may never get another shot to be a starter. Clemens has paid his dues and its time for him to get the shot at letting them pay off for the Jets.

And if Clemens fails? You can always name Mark Sanchez the starter.