NFL Picks and Thoughts Week 12

Florida Football Magazine’s Week 12 NFL Picks

By Rudy Keezer
rk@ae-engine.com

Week 11 Results: 12 Wins 4 Losses
Season Record: 107 Wins 57 Losses

Win of Week 11:
Jaguars beating the snot out of the dysfunctional Chargers.

Power 5
1. Patriots (10-0) — From opening kickoff that just looked unfair.

2. Packers (9-1) – Packers seem to be getting better every week.

3. Cowboys (9-1) – If both teams can win on Thanksgiving there will be a showdown in week 13 Packers and Cowboys.

4. Colts (8-2) – Colts need to continue to fight through the injuries and get healthy for a deep playoff run.

5. Jaguars (7-3) – Florida team climbs back into elite 5. Hopefully they can stay a little longer this time around.

Thursday, Nov. 22
Green Bay at Detroit 12:30 pm
Does Detroit ever win on Thanksgiving?
Packers 37 Lions 24

N.Y. Jets at Dallas 4:15 pm
I would have never imagined the Jets would win another game all year if it wasn’t against the dolphins then they beat the powerful Steelers. Lightning won’t strike again this week.
Cowboys 45 Jets 13

Indianapolis at Atlanta 8:15 pm
The Falcons are only missing Mike Vick…take a look at the pieces the Colts will play without.
Colts 31 Falcons 13

Sunday, Nov. 25
Buffalo at Jacksonville 1:00 pm
Jags roll at home.
Jags 30 Bills 13

Denver at Chicago 1:00 pm
Coming in the season this looked like a great power showdown. Still a big game but only because loser will have a difficult time getting into the second season.
Bears 27 Broncos 18

Houston at Cleveland 1:00 pm
This is an exciting game. I advise you to tune if you have the NFL package.
Texans 31 Browns 30

Minnesota at N.Y. Giants 1:00 pm
Giants are fading but at least they are fighting this year.
Giants 31 Vikings 10

New Orleans at Carolina 1:00 pm
Another game that was supposed to feature to good teams but in reality has ended up being a game between two dissolving teams.
Saints 34 Panthers 20

Oakland at Kansas City 1:00 pm
Best wishes to Priest Holmes it was very brave of him to come back and give it a shot. I hope that the games he was able to play brought closure to his career.
Chiefs 17 Raiders 13

Seattle at St. Louis 1:00 pm
I have seen a good sum of people picking the Rams to upset the Seahawks. I do not see it happening the Seahawks are hitting their stride and could be dangerous in the playoffs.
Seahawks 34 Rams 24

Tennessee at Cincinnati 1:00 pm
The Titans are a little overrated but the Bengals are sinking fast.
Titans 23 Bengals 21

Washington at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm
This seems to be a close fun fought game every year.
Bucs 27 Redskins 23

San Francisco at Arizona 4:05 pm
If the Cardinals can get into the playoffs they will be a scary team.
Cardinals 31 49ers 9

Baltimore at San Diego 4:15 pm
Quick fact these two teams had the best records in the AFC last year and putting basically the same team on the field this year. To say the least both have fallen on hard times.
Chargers 26 Ravens 24

Philadelphia at New England 8:15 pm
When will Vegas put a line on the Patriots putting up a 100 on someone…my money would be when they play the Jets.
Pats 45 Eagles 28

Monday, Nov. 26
Miami at Pittsburgh 8:30 pm
ESPN cannot be happy with the terrible games they have gotten on the network this year.
Steelers 38 Dolphins 3

NFL Picks and Thoughts Week 11

Florida Football Magazine’s Week 11 NFL Picks

By Rudy Keezer
rk@ae-engine.com

Week 10 Results: 9 Wins 5 Losses
Season Record: 95 Wins 53 Losses

Win of Week 10: Packers dominating the Vikings.

Power 5
1. Patriots (9-0) — The Colts were an extremely tough test for the Pats but lets not get ahead of ourselves they still have to beat a real good Steelers team in order to run the table.

2. Packers (8-1) – Packers move up to their highest spot of the year after a powerful performance against the Vikings.

3. Cowboys (8-1) – Still rolling. 3 Games in 11 days might take a toll.

4. Colts (7-2) – The Colts have been hit with the injury bug…lets see what kind of depth they have.

5. Steelers (7-2) – Under the radar…they would be tough if they can get the bye week in the playoffs.


Sunday, Nov. 18
Arizona at Cincinnati 1:00 pm
Bengals come off a big win after shutting down the Ravens but look for Arizona to score big in this shootout.
Cardinals 38 Bengals 34

Carolina at Green Bay 1:00 pm
Panthers are looking worse every week. For once Brett will be the younger quarterback.
Pack 31 Panthers 10

Cleveland at Baltimore 1:00 pm
Will the Browns be able to come into the Raven’s house and put up points? Won’t matter because the Ravens hardly score any points.
Browns 23 Ravens 17

Kansas City at Indianapolis 1:00 pm
Colts are depleted but still have enough to beat the Chiefs at home.
Colts 31 Chiefs 17

Miami at Philadelphia 1:00 pm
Dolphins are bad and starting a rookie quarterback on the road is not going to make them better.
Eagles 45 Dolphins 3

New Orleans at Houston 1:00 pm
Saints come off a disappointing loss against a then winless Rams team. The Texans get some pieces back on offense.
Texans 31 Saints 30

Oakland at Minnesota 1:00 pm
Culpepper returns to Minnesota looking for revenge.
Raiders 24 Vikings 16

Pittsburgh at N.Y. Jets 1:00 pm
J-E-T-S L-O-S-E!!!
Steelers 37 Jets 16

San Diego at Jacksonville 1:00 pm
Chargers win over Colts probably mentally feels worse than a loss. Big win for the Jags last week.
Chargers 24 Jags 23

Tampa Bay at Atlanta 1:00 pm
Harrington really has not played bad this year. And 3 wins to date is more than most would have predicted for the Falcons before the season started. It is beyond me why he is going to get benched for a guy heavier than me.
Bucs 23 Falcons 13

Washington at Dallas 4:15 pm
The skins were going to have a difficult time slowing down the boys but without Sean Taylor they got no chance.
Cowboys 31 Skins 16

N.Y. Giants at Detroit 4:15 pm
Interesting game…one of these teams is going to be quickly sliding the wrong direction.
Lions 29 Giants 20

St. Louis at San Francisco 4:15 pm
This is a bad game. The highlight could be Steven Jackson putting up big numbers.
Rams 31 49ers 13

Chicago at Seattle 4:15 pm
The Hawks looked real real good Monday night. Question is was it just because they were playing the 49erless team.
Seahawks 24 Bears 23

New England at Buffalo 8:15 pm
Bills seem to be hip pick but look out for the screaming Pats coming off a bye.
Patriots 34 Bills 21

Monday, Nov. 19
Tennessee at Denver 8:30 pm
Is there any team more difficult to figure out then the Broncos?
Broncos 27 Titans 13

NFL Picks and Thoughts Week 10

Florida Football Magazine’s Week 10 NFL Picks

By Rudy Keezer
rk@ae-engine.com

Week 9 Results: 12 Wins 2 Losses
Season Record: 86 Wins 48 Losses

Win of Week 9: You guessed it…Pats over Colts

Power 5
1. Patriots (9-0) — The Colts were an extremely tough test for the Pats but lets not get ahead of ourselves they still have to beat a real good Steelers team in order to run the table.

2. Colts (7-1) – Colts can feel good that they could have won the game and next time they will have all their key players.

3. Cowboys (7-1) –Showdown this weekend with the G Men.

4. Packers (7-1) –Farve and company keep on winning but my a small margin.

5. New York Giants (6-2) –If they can knock off the Cowboys they have a chance for a bye and homefield if they lose they will be a wildcard.

Note: I will be off to the Muck City Bowl (along with the NFL Films crew) so this week short and simple.

Sunday, Nov. 11
Atlanta at Carolina 1:00 pm
Falcons 23 Panthers 17

Buffalo at Miami 1:00 pm
Bills 31 Dolphins 17

Cleveland at Pittsburgh 1:00 pm
Steelers 27 Browns 24

Denver at Kansas City 1:00 pm
Chiefs 17 Broncos 10

Jacksonville at Tennessee 1:00 pm
Titans 17 Jags 16

Minnesota at Green Bay 1:00 pm
Packers 24 Vikings 13

Philadelphia at Washington 1:00 pm
Redskins 27 Eagles 24

St. Louis at New Orleans 1:00 pm
Saints 45 Rams 31

Cincinnati at Baltimore 4:05 pm
Ravens 24 Bengals 17

Chicago at Oakland 4:15 pm
Bears 24 Raiders 13

Dallas at N.Y. Giants 4:15 pm
Cowboys 31 Giants 28

Detroit at Arizona 4:15 pm
Cardinals 27 Lions 24

Indianapolis at San Diego 8:15 pm
Chargers 31 Colts 27

Monday, Nov. 12
San Francisco at Seattle 8:30 pm
Seahawks 31 49ers 13

NFL Picks and Thoughts Week 9

Florida Football Magazine’s Week 9 NFL Picks

By Rudy Keezer
rk@ae-engine.com

Week 8 Results: 10 Wins 3 Losses
Season Record: 74 Wins 46 Losses

Win of Week 8:
Packers beating the Broncos at Mile High on Monday Night.

Power 5
1. Patriots (8-0) —The Pats are still dominating everyone they play…nobody is mentioning they are running the football like the Packers.

2. Colts (7-0) –Either the Colts are a lot better than I thought or Jaguars are a lot worse. The Colts have played a much tougher schedule than the Pats. What does that mean? We will find out as the year goes on.

3. Cowboys (6-1) – Packers and Giants are gaining on the Boys in the NFC.

4. Packers (6-1) –Big win on Monday for the Packers who might have found a running game. Without a horrible 2nd half against the Bears the Packers would be undefeated.

5. New York Giants (6-2) –It wasn’t pretty in London but they got the job done.

Sunday, Nov. 4
Arizona at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm
Will the Bucs lose three in a row? The key to the game will be for the Bucs to shut down James and get to Warner. If this happens the Bucs win.
Bucs 24 Cardinals 23

Carolina at Tennessee 1:00 pm
I have no idea how either of these teams have a winning record. Look for the home team Titans to win a close one.
Titans 13 Panthers 10

Cincinnati at Buffalo 1:00 pm
These are two disappointing teams. The difference is the that the Bills are moving up and the Bengals are in a complete slide downward.
Bills 27 Bengals 21

Denver at Detroit 1:00 pm
Kitna predicted the Lions would win 10 games and everyone laughed now it looks like that was a low estimate. Which is hard to believe since at the start of the season they were winning with offense now they are winning with defense. If both elements show up at the same time watch out…
Lions 34 Broncos 23

Green Bay at Kansas City 1:00 pm
Statement: The Chiefs are not as good as their record…and the Packers may have found a run game.
Packers 27 Chiefs 17

Jacksonville at New Orleans 1:00 pm
New Orleans is on a nice win streak. Thing is they have not played anybody that looks remotely decent on the streak. Something you might not know though is the Saints have not given up 100 yards rushing in the last 5 games.
Saints 31 Jags 17

San Diego at Minnesota 1:00 pm
This should be fun game featuring the two best running backs in the league. Big difference is the Chargers have other weapons and the Vikes do not.
Chargers 38 Vikings 13

San Francisco at Atlanta 1:00 pm
Boo…Boo…Boo
49ers 17 Falcons 16

Washington at N.Y. Jets 1:00 pm
Not a good time for Clemens to start…the Skins D will be fired up after lost weeks embarrassment.
Skins 27 Jets 3

Seattle at Cleveland 4:05 pm
Branch and Hackett should be back for the Hawks. The Browns are tough at home.
Browns 31 Seahawks 30

Houston at Oakland 4:15 pm
I really would have liked to have seen the Texans have a healthy Andre Johnson this year.
Texans 31 Raiders 13

New England at Indianapolis 4:15 pm
Yeah I will be watching this game…and really wish Marvin Harrison was on the field.
Patriots 34 Colts 31

Dallas at Philadelphia 8:15 pm
This is a nice Sunday night game.
Cowboys 27 Eagles 17

Monday, Nov. 5
Baltimore at Pittsburgh 8:30 pm
Big Ben is playing really well. If I was Steve McNair I would sit out this game so I don’t further injure my many ailments.
Steelers 17 Ravens 9

NFL Picks and Thoughts Week 8

Florida Football Magazine’s Week 8 NFL Picks

By Rudy Keezer
rk@ae-engine.com

Week 6 Results: 9 Wins 5 Losses
Season Record: 64 Wins 43 Losses

Win of Week 7:
Colts pounding the Jaguars on Monday Night.

Power 5
1. Patriots (7-0) —The Pats are still dominating everyone they play…nobody is mentioning they are running the football like the Packers.

2. Colts (6-0) –Either the Colts are a lot better than I thought or Jaguars are a lot worse. The Colts have played a much tougher schedule than the Pats. What does that mean? We will find out as the year goes on.

3. Cowboys (6-1) – Still the best team in the NFC by a pretty good margin.

4. Packers (5-1) – Unlike in College Football a bye week doesn’t mean you will move up my Power 5.

5. New York Giants (5-2) – After losing their first two games and looking straight awful the G-Man have gone on a five game run...which will be six since they play the Dolphins this week.

Sunday, Oct. 28
Cleveland at St. Louis 1:00 pm
Steven Jackson is BACK…too bad his offensive line is not.
Browns 38 Rams 34

Detroit at Chicago 1:00 pm
Griese Griese Griese…Does anyone really think the Bears would not at least be two games better if Griese would have started the year?
Bears 31 Detroit 20

Indianapolis at Carolina 1:00 pm
The Panthers are not nearly as good as their record indicates. I don’t care who starts under center the Colts win easy.
Colts 34 Panthers 13

N.Y. Giants at Miami
The game that happened on another continent; everyone is bashing this game for where it is played. Nobody would care to talk about it if it were played in Miami.
Giants 45 Dolphins 10

Oakland at Tennessee 1:00 pm
Oakland has played better offensively this year but the Titans Defense is the real deal.
Titans 24 Raiders 10

Philadelphia at Minnesota 1:00 pm
Vikings are now saying they will increase Peterson’s work load the rest of the season. Glad to hear them admit to a mistake and fix it. Now before it is too late they need to take him off special teams.
Vikings 24 Eagles 20

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati 1:00 pm
Bengals turned it around last week only to face a team that is looking to rebound from a disappointing Monday night performance.
Steelers 31 Bengals 13

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets 4:05 pm
Bills are playing stronger than expected and even though I didn’t expect Jets to be good this year a lot of people did.
Bills 24 Jets 13

Houston at San Diego 4:05 pm
I am shocked that they will play this game in San Diego. The Chargers will play charged because of status of California or their heads will not be in the game. (Sorry for all players, families, and fans affected by fires)
Chargers 31 Texans 20

Jacksonville at Tampa Bay 4:05 pm
The Florida Showdown. Two badly injured teams try to get a bragging rights win and not lose anymore bodies.
Bucs 24 Jags 13

New Orleans at San Francisco 4:15 pm
The Saints have been winning recently but still do not look like the 2006 edition. Bush needs to break out.
Saints 27 49ers 17

Washington at New England 4:15 pm
Fact you might not know: Redskins D is very good. However the Patriots Offense is a little better.
Patriots 27 Redskins 20

Monday, Oct. 29
Green Bay at Denver 6:05 pm
My memory is not what you would call great but to start the year a lot of people had the Broncos as a top 5 team and the Packers as a bottom 5 team. How things have changed.
Packers 24 Broncos 23

NFL week 7 Forecast and Thoughts

Florida Football Magazine’s Week 7 NFL Picks

By Rudy Keezer
rk@ae-engine.com

Week 6 Results: 7 Wins 6 Losses
Season Record: 55 Wins 38 Losses

Win of Week 6:
Patriots handling the now beaten Cowboys.

Power 5
1. Patriots (6-0) — It is starting to look like the chances of the Pats winning the next 10 games are better than losing one.

2. Colts (5-0) –They take the week off and move up a spot in the Power Poll…life is good for the Colts.

3. Cowboys (5-1) – Still the best team in the NFC by a pretty good margin.

4. Packers (5-1) – Starting to look like a magical year for the Packers after winning a scrappy game against the Redskins.

5. Jacksonville (4-1) – Celebrate…First time this year a Florida team has made the top 5 ranks.

Sunday, Oct. 21

Arizona at Washington 1:00 pm
Sounds like Kurt Warner wants to start this game…might not be a good idea. Redskins will play fired up coming off a tough loss.
Redskins 24 Cardinals 16

Atlanta at New Orleans 1:00 pm
Watch out the Saints won last week and could start a streak this week against the dysfunctional Falcons.
Saints 41 Falcons 24

Baltimore at Buffalo 1:00 pm
The Bills seem to play a lot tougher at home but look for McGahee to run with revenge in mind against his old team.
Ravens 24 Bills 13

Minnesota at Dallas 1:00 pm
The search for the league’s next Barry Sanders is over. I am ready to anoint Adrian Peterson that guy. Now some advice for the Vikings…stop using him on special teams and risking injury.
Cowboys 38 Vikings 31

New England at Miami 1:00 pm
Tom Brady to Randy Moss. Tom Brady to Wes Welker. Tom Brady to Ben Watson. Tom Brady to Stallworth. Tom Brady to Randy Moss…and a couple FGs later…
Patriots 41 Dolphins 13

San Francisco at N.Y. Giants 1:00 pm
Giants looked awful after week 2 skip forward to week 7 and they are pretty darn good.
Giants 31 49ers 17

Tampa Bay at Detroit 1:00 pm
Interesting game of two teams playing well this year.
Bucs 31 Lions 27

Tennessee at Houston 1:00 pm
Will Vince Young play? Will Andre Johnson play? Two teams possibly missing their best player battle.
Titans 24 Texans 20

Kansas City at Oakland 4:05 pm
Just 7 weeks ago the AFC West looked like possibly the best division in the NFL now .500 gets you a tie for first place.
Oakland 24 Chiefs 20

N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati 4:05 pm
Jets are HORRIBLE…Bengals are HORRIBLE.
Bengals 34 Jets 24

Chicago at Philadelphia 4:15 pm
Key to an Eagles victory…Do not kick to Devin Hester. Not sure if anyone has noticed but the Bears are not stopping the run this year. Westbrook is going to blow up.
Eagles 34 Bears 24

St. Louis at Seattle 4:15 pm
Reward---Lost Seahawks Defense for past two games…Will they find it against a bad Rams team?
Seahawks 31 Rams 17

Pittsburgh at Denver 8:15 pm
Denver has been hit with the injury/weed bug and the players that are on the field have not picked up the slack.
Steelers 24 Broncos 6

Monday, Oct. 22
Indianapolis at Jacksonville 8:30 pm
Huge…Huge Monday night game. (Almost makes up for the Falcons playing on two Mondays this year) Jaguars are playing really well right now and will be at home in front of (unusual) sold out crowd.
Colts 38 Jags 34

NFL Picks and Thoughts Week 6

Florida Football Magazine’s Week 6 NFL Picks

By Rudy Keezer
rk@ae-engine.com

Week 5 Results: 10 Wins 4 Losses
Season Record: 48 Wins 32 Losses

Win of Week 5:
Cowboys unbelievable comeback on Monday night to set up a rare match of two 5-0 teams in week 6.

Power 5
1. Patriots (5-0) — Anybody really disagree with the Patriots being the best team in the best league?

2. Cowboys (5-0) – I’m no statistician but the Cowboys overcoming 6 turnovers by their QB to win against the Bills must be extremely rare.

3. Colts (5-0) –It is a little surprising that once again the Colts start the season 5-0 and more surprising is the idea that the 5-0 starts could continue for at least the next few years.

4. Packers (4-1) – Packers lose but remain in my 4 hole because they should have one the game and their running looks like it might show some life. Doesn’t hurt they play in a cupcake division—and for that matter conference.

5. Steelers (4-1)—Seems like at least once or twice a year the Steelers dominate at home the way they did Sunday against the Seahawks. The key for the Steelers is to see them continue to overcome injuries.

Sunday, Oct. 14
Cincinnati at Kansas City 1:00 pm
*laughing at Larry Johnson fantasy owners* Instead of holding out for more money Larry Johnson probably is wishing that he held out and demanded a trade.- - This is the perfect week for LJ to have a break out game against the No-LB Bengals.
Chiefs 24 Bengals 20

Houston at Jacksonville 1:00 pm
The Jaguars have completely shut down the run on defense this year. This week they won’t have to shutdown the run because the Texans have no run game. The Jags seem to be the Jerkyl and Hyde team that has good weeks and bad weeks.
Texans 17 Jags 13

Miami at Cleveland 1:00 pm
The Browns have been playing pretty decent ball lately. Are the Dolphins finally going to get a win this week?
Dolphins 31 Browns 27

Minnesota at Chicago 1:00 pm
The Bears had a difficult time stopping the Packers lack of run game last week…now come Adrian Peterson and the strong Vikings offensive line.
Vikings 19 Bears 10

Philadelphia at N.Y. Jets 1:00 pm
Brian Westbrook looks to be back in the lineup and that should scare the Jets. My take- - Jets have no chance at the playoffs and the Eagles are in a must win situation to have a chance of reaching the post season.
Eagles 37 Jest 24

St. Louis at Baltimore 1:00 pm
McGahee runs all over the Rams—enough said.
Ravens 24 Rams 10

Tennessee at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm
Interesting game—Interesting subplot will be if the Bucs and make it through a game without losing a top player. The Bucs play tough at home.
Bucs 17 Titans 13

Washington at Green Bay 1:00 pm
Two teams that are surprisingly off to a hot start. The Skins defense is much improved and will shut down the Packers.
Skins 17 Packers 13

Carolina at Arizona 4:05 pm
Vinny steps out of line of the Social Security office to beat the almost as old Kurt Warner. Nope afraid not!!
Cardinals 31 Panthers 17

New England at Dallas 4:15 pm
This is the showdown of the year so far. I have yet to see anyone pick the Cowboys do I dare be the first. The Patriots will have a poor game this year. Why not this week on the road?
Cowboys 31 Patriots 30

Oakland at San Diego 4:15 pm
Raiders are much improved and Culpepper gives them the best chance to win. LT normally runs over the Raiders D and I don’t see that changing this week.
Chargers 41 Raiders 24

New Orleans at Seattle 8:15 pm
Few know this but Seattle is a tough place to play. It will be even a tougher place to play this week with the Seahawks coming home after a butt whipping in the steel city. Hawks 27 Saints 24

Monday, Oct. 15
N.Y. Giants at Atlanta 8:30 pm
This game might have looked interesting when they put the schedule together…now it just looks like a dull game on Monday night.
Giants 23 Falcons 14