November 13, 2007
NFL Week 11 Predictions
November 13, 2007, 6:33 PM | 11 Comments
Wow, last week was just nuts! It seems like there are a lot of anemic offenses in the NFL this season. San Francisco, Miami, Oakland, Minnesota, Baltimore and Tennessee to name a few. Last week was a perfect illustration culminated by a horrible performance by the 49ers on Monday Night Football.
I promised I’d focus on the positive this week though, so my poll this week will ask the question of who you think is the biggest (and most pleasant) surprise of this 2007-2008 season. For me, it’s got to be the Packers because no one expected them to be this good. I figured this season would be a bit better than last year, but in no way did I think that by week 11 the Packers would be sharing the lead in the NFC at 8-1. It’s been a pretty impressive year for Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.
I’d like to get your opinion though, so place your vote this week for your biggest surprise team of the year, and please feel free to post a comment and explain who you picked and why. Also, thanks to everyone who voted last week and selected the San Diego Chargers as the most disappointing team of the year.
So many teams are struggling with consistency issues this season and I’m really wondering when some of them are going to get it together? Just when the Saints looked like they were back on track, they got blown away by the St. Louis Rams. Minnesota got a huge win over the Chargers in week 9 and then turned around and laid an egg in Green Bay in week 10.
Anyways, I did pretty bad last week with only 6 correct picks (and 8 incorrect ones), which I think was the first time all year I’ve had a sub .500 week. Now that we’re past the bye weeks and each weekend is going to have a full 16-game schedule for the balance of the season, I’m hoping to have some better luck down the stretch.
Game of the Week: Patriots at Bills
If NBC thought this game was compelling enough to exercise their first flex option of the year and move this game to Sunday Night Football, then I think it’s good enough for my Game of the Week. Buffalo played an incredible game on Monday Night Football earlier this season and because the Bills hadn’t been in prime time for several years, they were really excited about the opportunity. Yes, they lost a heart breaker to the Cowboys, but they played extremely well and I think they’ll be up for this game against the Patriots as well. That doesn’t mean I think they’ll win though.
J.P. Losman seems like the AFC’s Rex Grossman to me. One game he can show up and shoot the lights out and in other games he can look lost, confused and downright bad. New England has had a full 2 weeks to plan for this game and I really don’t expect anything less than a 10 point (or more) win. It probably won’t be an easy one though, but for Buffalo to be competitive they’ll need to have a good start in the 1st quarter or this game could be as lopsided as the Patriots victory over… pretty much everyone but the Colts this year.
Here are my picks for week 11! Total so far this season: 96-48.
| Away | Home | Comments | Pick | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dolphins(0-10) |
 Eagles(5-5) |
The Dolphins came oh-so-close to winning their first game of the year against the Bills last week in what may have been their only shot until week 13 against the Jets. Their next 2 are in the state of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia this week and then Pittsburgh in week 12. | |
|
 Giants(7-3) |
 Lions(6-4) |
OK, so the Giants started this year 6-2… just like last year… and the year before. Will this be the year where they finally stay competitive down the stretch, or will they fade like that last 2 seasons? Detroit came back down to earth last week losing the the Cards and I think that even though they’re a tough team at home, they’ll lose again this week. | |
|
 Chiefs(4-6) |
 Colts(8-2) |
What a nightmare for Indy last week! Even if they only get one of their regulars back this week it would help, |
|
|
 Chargers(5-5) |
 Jaguars(7-3) |
The Chargers must be wondering how they won that game on Sunday night… when does Adam Vinatieri ever miss field goals… much less miss 2 in the same game? Even LT admitted after the game that the Chargers offense did absolutely nothing to win. Ouch! The truth hurts though, San Diego’s offense has been bad this year. It might be risky, but I’m goin’ with the Jags at home this week. Heck, after last week’s picks, I’ve got nothing to lose! | |
|
 Raiders(2-8) |
 Vikings(4-6) |
This is a hard game to pick now… Adrian Peterson IS the Vikings offense because without “All Day” they’re just not very good. We’ll find out just how good (or, bad as the case may be) they are this week when they play the lowly Raiders. This pick is a toss-up though. | |
|
 Buccaneers(6-4) |
 Falcons(3-7) |
Tampa Bay should be able to take a real strangle-hold on their division this week with a win over Atlanta. Yes, the Falcons are coming off a good win last week, but I don’t see them getting another W against the Bucs this week. | |
|
 Browns(6-4) |
 Ravens(4-6) |
Even if Steve McNair isn’t injured (shoulder), the Ravens need to bench him now cause he just isn’t getting it done. Derek Anderson continues to impress with each passing week, and the Browns offense is on a tear. | |
|
 Cardinals(5-5) |
 Bengals(3-7) |
The Bengals torched (relatively speaking ok?) the Ravens last week but it’s been an up and down year. The Cardinals are getting better every week and last week’s win over the Lions was a good example of that. This week, it’s tough, but I’ll take the Cardinals and Kurt Warner to pick apart the Bengals D… something the Ravens should have been able to do last week if they had an offense. | |
|
 Panthers(4-6) |
 Packers(9-1) |
Green Bay continues to impress week in and week out. Brett Favre is continuing to play at an MVP level and is having one of the best seasons of his storied career. The Packers need to stay focused and win this one at home, and I think they will. | |
|
 Saints(4-6) |
 Texans(5-5) |
What do you say about the Saints? After looking so bad at the start of the year, they turned it around only to lose another game to one of the worst teams in the NFL… at home! Will they get back on track this week? Well, they kind of have to. | |
|
 Steelers(7-3) |
 Jets(2-8) |
Two weeks off probably would’ve given the Jets enough time to game-plan themselves to another win over the Dolphins… but not the Steelers. | |
|
 Rams(2-8) |
 49ers(2-8) |
The Rams actually seem like they’re coming back a little bit this season. Their players are getting healthier and they won on the road last week behind a good offensive performance. I’m picking them to beat the 49ers this week as well, because San Fran’s offense is really struggling and probably won’t put up enough points to win. | |
|
 Redskins(5-5) |
 Cowboys(9-1) |
The Redskins are kind of like last year’s Packers. They’re a tough team to beat, but when push comes to shove, things just don’t bounce their way. Romo and Owens are having stellar years for the Cowboys, it’ll probably continue. | |
|
 Bears(4-6) |
 Seahawks(6-4) |
The Seahawks basically just need to keep doing what they did on Monday night (ie, throw the ball a lot) and they should be OK. Last week, Good Rex came in and saved the game for the Bears… which probably means there’ll be a Bad Rex sighting this week in Seattle. | |
|
 Patriots(10-0) |
 Bills(5-5) |
It’s been a pretty good year for the Bills, all things considered. Patriots still win though. | |
|
 Titans(6-4) |
 Broncos(5-5) |
It seems like Denver’s been on the prime time stage a lot lately. Can anyone tell me why? They played well last week against Kansas City, but their ofense is inconsistent and they’re riddled with injuries. This week, I’ll take the Titans for the sole reason that the Broncos are the league’s worst run defense. Is Vince Young the next Michael Vick—a running back who occasionally masquerades as a QB? | |
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My fingers will be crossed as I hope for a far better performance than last week. Check back after the games for more thoughts on week 11. Here are this week’s ESPN Expert Picks.
Update: 13-3 this week is a lot better than last week and brings my total for the year up to 109-51. Check back on Tuesday for week 12 picks!
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