4 & O W A Y T O GO (ME)

LAST WEEK

Well someone has to congratulate me. Why not do it myself???

THIS WEEK

Now the games are dwindling down to a precious few…… 3 actually. So let’s enjoy while we can. The 2 this weekend should and could be classics.

1. Denver -6 @ home or New England

Of cours,e this isn’t easy. Two great QBs. Tom Terrific has a better play off record but Peyton has the better team and is at home. In fact, it is amazing the Pats made it this far. All their best receiver’s from last year and in Denver (but on the other team), are in rehab or in jail. Could it be, oh I don’t know, Satan? Just kidding Belichick isn’t that bad. Just a great Coach with a great QB. Hate to bet against them but got to with the Broncos at home.

2. San Francisco + 3 @ Seattle

Seattle is great at home and just great period. However, the 9ers are on a roll and actually have just a little more over-all talent. In fact, these are the 2 best teams in the league period, and the winner has to be a favorite to win it all. SF has better receiver’s, a better front 7 on D, and a better.. well that is about it. But that should be just enough.

Lets enjoy it while we can Tony

1 & 3 That’s Not Like Me (OK Sometimes)

LAST WEEK

Lets pretend it didn’t happen.

THIS WEEK

The teams with the 2 best record should always win in the playoffs as they have a huge advantage. First they get a week off while the other teams play. Secondly, they get home field for one or both of their games. That means the teams without the by have will have to play an extra game, and probably go into the home field of the best 2 teams in their conferences AND win on the road. That means if you get the by, then all you have to be is the best team to get to the Super Bowl, but if you don’t get the by, then you have to be the Way better team to overcome that. Yet almost every year some one does just that, i.e. Baltimore last year. So should I go with the home team teams or not? Duh.
Either way, this is the best NFL week of the year and Way better than Superbowl week which is mostly for tourists! But not us hard core fans with no other apparent life. We like the Semi Finals week.

1. Seattle -7 @ home over New Orleans
This is the easiest pick of the week. Are the Saints capable of marching into Seattle and springing an upset? Definitely. But the odds and the crowd and the Seahawks personnel say no.

2. New England -7 @ home over Indy
Ditto! Colts and Andrew Luck are more than capable but why pick against Tom Brady at home?

(Now it gets tougher as the next 2 games I wouldn’t pick if I didn’t have to.)

3. San Francisco -1 @ Carolina
A really close call here. The Panthers are at home and well rested. And they were playing the best ball in the League at the end of the season. But the 9ers are just an All Star team with the beat players in NFL, so got to go with San Fran.

4. San Diego + 9.5 over and @ Denver
This is a total toss up. The Broncos are probably going to the Super Bowl, but the Chargers are the only team to kind of shut down the high flying Broncos. And they usually fly even higher in Mile High Stadium. (Or whatever they are calling it now.) My guess, and that is what it is, just a guess.. the Broncos win but SD keeps it close.

Happy Vegging. and enjoy as we only got 3 games Left!
Tony Stone

7 & 5 In Football Heaven I Am Still Alive

LAST WEEK

In my last full week of games, I did pretty well and ended on a high note. Meaning that I am going to break even for the season, and end up with the same 50/50 as the Dallas Cowboys. The good news is that while breaking even is not good when playing football, it is about as good as you can do predicting football. So Las Vegas wins again! That is the one thing you can bet the farm on every year.

NEXT WEEK
Now reality has set in and I am only going to have 5 games to pick from this week and progressively less each week until the Super Bowl. After that I will have no excuse but to spend more time with family and friends.

Bowl Games

1. Florida State – 8 over Auburn in the BSC championship game

Yes, the Tigers seem to be the team of destiny and why should I pick against destiny? Because the Seminoles are the better team. Of course we could say the same thing about Alabama right? In FSU’s last game, I saw them shut down Duke. The same Duke that just scored 48 against A&M. Now anyone could score against the Aggies, but still, I think the Seminoles D is probably going to be the difference.

NFL

2. Philly -2.5 @ home over New Orleans
With the playoffs all bets are off. But since I don’t bet, I will go with the obvious. The Eagles are on a roll, and the Saints don’t play as well outside, on the road in a hostile environment. I used to live in Philly and they take pride in being hostile.

3. Cincinnati -6 @ home over San Diego
Again the playoffs are different. Some team will rise up and surprise everyone, and it might be the Chargers. But the Bengals are better and at home in the Jungle. Should it be called a jungle when it will probably be 20 degrees?

4. San Franscisco – 2 @ Green Bay
It will be 20 degrees in GB also and Rogers and the Pack are back. But one more time I go with the obvious choice. Because the 49ers are just better all the way around.

Happy Vegging