NFL Week 4 2012 Predictions

Prediction record: 20-28 [0.42]

Le sigh! Right so it might look like we had a bad week last week (and by gum we certainly had a bad week) but there are some positives! *ruffles some papers* I seem to have lost the positives. So in the meantime let's take a look at my predictions for next week:

Thursday Night Football

Browns @ Ravens
I'm not sure this is so much a matchup as a comedy festival.
Ravens 23-16

Sunday Evening

Pats @ Bills
There really shouldn't be much competition here. Bills made short work of the Browns last week but this is the Patriots. To be fair, I'm not sure anyone expected New England to lose to the Cardinals but they've come off two straight losses so I'd be expecting Brady to be pulling out all the stops.
Patriots 52-28

49ers @ Jets
Now this match is interesting for several reasons, none of them begin with Tim Tebow. I'm liking 49ers despite a loss last week, they're probably the best team in the league. Jets just lost Revis [torn ACL] for the rest of the season.
49ers 34-0

Seahawks @ Rams
Seattle have shhhnaked their way into two wins so far this season against two very decent teams. St Louis meanwhile lost to Detroit and Chicago, registering their only win in a tight match with the Redskins.
Seahawks [19-13 Rams]

Panthers @ Falcons
Falcons 30-28

Vikings @ Lions
Good lord, should I comment on this matchup? Neither of these teams mean a huge amount to me. Based on last week's performance I'd say that Minnesota are in a better position to win, especially considering the Lions are bottom of the division.
Vikings 20-13

Chargers @ Chiefs
Kansas City have two odd losses and an even odder win. If I said last year that the Chiefs would have beaten the Saints but lost to Buffalo people would say I was cracked
Chargers 37-20

Titans @ Texans
Texans 38-14

Sunday Late

Bengals @ Jags
Bengals 27-10

Raiders @ Broncos
Oakland played a stunner against the Steelers last week, where did that come out of? Broncos were disappointing against the Falcons and the Texans, but then neither of them have lost games. On balance I think Manning will swing it.
Broncos 37-6

Dolphins @ Cardinals
Arizona, you say? 3-0, you say? They're one of only four teams to be undefeated so far this season and who saw that coming? Miami won well against Oakland but fell short of the line against the Jets and Texans (another team with an impeccable record). Safe bet seems to be
Cardinals 24-21

Redskins @ Bucs
Both teams are in poor positions. I think I'll call Washington because they've a veteran coach which makes all the difference.
Redskins 24-22

Saints @ Packers
New Orleans have yet to win their first match this season. The Pack had a rough week last week but at least they have one win under their belt. The odds are stacked well against the Saints in this matchup and for good reason. Much and all as I'd like to believe that Brees can pull it together, it just doesn't seem to be happening.
Packers 28-27

Sunday Stupidly Late

Giants @ Eagles [Match of the week]
It's a classic. Giants travel to Philadelphia to deal out some punishment. Now, Vick loves to run but he can also pass. Giants proved their worth against the Panthers showing they can contain a running QB. I think NY have it but that the Eagles could reach the playoffs ahead of them this year.
Giants [19-17 Eagles]

Monday Night Football

Bears @ Cowboys
Chicago have had their fill of problems already this year. Dallas looked great in their opening game against the Giants but really have lost their sheen with a bad loss to Seattle and only a slight victory over Tampa. Bears have two wins but against fairly junior teams in the league. It has to be
Bears

NFL Week 3 2012

Prediction record: 14-18 [0.44]

BOOM! Right troops, so we weren't as successful last week as we might have hoped. You may have noticed, and if not don't worry, that I'm changing the format on a weekly basis: I'm trying to find something that works while including all relevant information.

This week we're going for it all. So let's recall the punting unit, go for two and kick it onside.

Thursday Night Football
Giants @ Panthers
As a Giants fan I'm telling you I'm worried about this matchup. Cam Newton's Panthers have looked fairly well this season especially after last week's victory over the Saints. I have to say Giants. I don't think the Panthers are good enough yet.
Giants 36-7


Sunday Evening
Bucs @ Cowboys
Cowboys beat Giants, Giants beat Bucs and therefore.... NO!
Bucs [16-10 Cowboys]

Jags @ Colts
I've nothing against Jacksonville, they're just not the team that everyone wants them to be. They're coming to London for two years because they can't get their own fans to show up to their stadium. The Colts on the other hand have Luck; Andrew Luck that is.
Colts [22-17 Jaguars]

Bills @ Browns
Buffalo pulled some moves on Kansas City last week. Weedon defied my expectation of making it to the stadium without getting lost under an American flag and didn't fail to impress. Ryan Fitzpatrick went to Harvard - have I mentioned that already?
Bills 24-14

Jets @ Dolphins
Jets fell on their face against a decent Steelers offence last week while Miami splashed down on the Raiders. It really comes down to who you believe can win. I don't think Miami have everything right yet: they beat the Raiders, they haven't won the Super Bowl and I wouldn't get too excited about that. The Jets on the other hand are clearly still finding their feet. They need to get rid of Tebow and keep working with Sanchez.
Jets 23-20

Chiefs @ Saints
I expect the Saints to take control of their destiny in this match. Both teams are currently 0-2.
Saints [27-24 Chiefs]

Bengals @ Redskins
I was surprised by Sunday night's match, I think that the Redskins' Defence has a lot to answer for. Discipline wise I'm not sure the team are mature enough in some areas. Still I think Shanahan will rally his team. Dalton has looked pretty confident this season - don't forget he was the only rookie QB that made the playoffs last year.
Redskins [38-31 Bengals]

Rams @ Bears
Rams did well last week but were helped along with some rough calls. I think they'll have a tough time against the Bears. Cutler looked mopey after the defeat to the Packers but I'd expect him to be in flying form against St Louis.
Bears 23-6

49ers @ Vikings
San Fran have ploughed their way to two wins this season. Decent wins. Vikings have disappointed me in my predictions and therefore:
49ers [24-13 Vikings]

Lions @ Titans
Titans have yet to win a game. The dynamics are all wrong. Locker is doing certain things right but his team need to back him up. I expect Stafford to comeback with a win this week.
Lions [44-41 Titans]

Sunday Evening Late
Falcons @ Chargers
Futurama depicts Atlanta as a lost underwater city where the Coke factory has turned everyone into mermaids. San Diego is depicted as being pretty awesome in Anchorman
San Diego [27-3 Falcons]

Eagles @ Cardinals
I think Arizona got very lucky against an unwary Patriots. I don't expect that Reid will make the same mistake:
Eagles [27-6 Cardinals]

Steelers @ Raiders
Do I even need to say it?
Steelers [34-31 Raiders]

Texans @ Broncos
I like this matchup a lot because it brings together two teams that I think are a lot more alike than most people think. Both teams are really finding their feet: Texans after a fantastic playoff run last year and the Broncos with Manning. There's an element to which both teams will have to prove themselves over the coming weeks. I think the Texans defence is probably one of the best in the league so I'm going:
Texans 31-25

Sunday Evening Extortionately Late
Patriots @ Ravens [Match of the Week]
So the Ravens lost last week against a superior defence. They were unlucky. Patriots lost to the Cardinals: that's little short of sinful. I expect both teams to give it their all but I really think Baltimore might come out on top here.
Ravens 31-30

Monday Night Football
Packers @ Seahawks
Although the Seahawks put together a decent game against Dallas last week, I can't help but put that down more to the Cowboys having a bad day rather than Seattle being particularly good. Marshawn Lynch is a beast however. Still, I don't think they'll beat the Cheeseheads so I'll go with
Packers [14-12 Seahawks]

NFL Week 2 2012

It's Week 2 of the NFL season and there are some terrific games on. So far I'm not doing a bad job predicting the outcome of games. We came 8-8 last week so I'll look to boost performance this time round.

Thursday Night Football

Packers beat Bears [MATCH OF THE WEEK] 23-10 Cutler had a bad game
Let me just clear up that I've nothing against the Bears - they're a great team and continue to be. However I like Aaron Rodgers in this matchup. I'd expect this game to be very tight, could come down to FG points.


Sunday [evening]

Chiefs beat Bills (17-35)
Fred Jackson is out for the next few games and with him lies the Bill's best chances. I expect Cassel to teach the Harvard boy a few things.

Saints beat Panthers (27-35)
Should be no contest here. Brees has the experience and a decent defence behind him. He'll be gunning for a win after a humiliating loss to RGIII and the Redskins last week.

Bengals beat Browns 34-27
Amazing alliteration anticipated ahead of another... I give up. Bengals should win this one, I'd be very surprised if they don't. Brown's new QB Weedon got lost under the American flag last week - what does that tell you?

Vikings edge Colts (20-23)
Luck didn't have a great opener in all honesty. That's partially his fault, but it's also his receivers that are causing problems. All I've heard from NFL commentators is how much he's going to have to rely on Reggie Wayne - one WR isn't going to cut it in this league. He needs options. Vikings looked strong in their first week matchup against the Jags despite the scoreline. Expect Peterson to run all over them

Texans beat Jaguars 27-7
Schaub (the man with the toughest name to spell) was on form last week and I expect much of the same from this veteran. Jags put up a good show last week but my money's on the Texans

Raiders beat Dolphins (35-14)
Miami just don't seem like a fantastic team and the Raiders, while they had a shakey opener, are definitely the better team.

Patriots beat Cardinals (18-20)
Cardinals can expect a whooping.

Giants beat Bucs 41-34
Last week the Giants were shown up, embarrassed and given a firm wakeup call. Don't forget they only won nine games last season. Manning and the team better get back to work as Freeman and the Bucs look solid after their win last week.

Ravens beat Eagles (24-23)
Joe Flacco says he's the best QB in the league. Time to step up against the 'Dream Team' defence.

Sunday [late]

Cowboys beat Seahawks (7-27)
Different season, different uniforms, same old Seattle. If Dallas can put together a performance like last week's victory over the Giants they are in business. Shame no one likes the Cowboys though.

Redskins beat Rams (28-31)
RGIII is a beast, there's simply no denying it. I expect them to wipe the floor with the Rams this week.

Jets beat Steelers [NEXT BEST THING] (10-27)
Whoa whoa whoa! Where did Sanchez come from last week? Tough call on this one but you can't deny the Jets are starting to walk the walk. Also on a side note - their cheerleading squad are called the flight crew, which I think is just priceless.

Chargers beat Titans 38-10
Philip Rivers did his thing against the Raiders last week. Locker meanwhile is injured. CJ2K hasn't been on form the last few seasons - down to bad blocking

Sunday [extortionately late]

49ers beat Lions 27-19
SF are shaping up to be a fantastic team. Akers's FG last week was phenomenal last week - earned him a rare standing ovation in the Woolshed. Lions are a decent team but I think they'll have a long way to go to beat the Niners.

Monday [very late]

Broncos beat Falcons [BOOM!] (21-27)
Did you see Manning last week? BOOM!

NFL Week 1 2012

The return of the greatest game on turf is fast approaching. I'm excited and you should be too. This weekend will see 30 teams take to the fields all hoping for a decent start to the season. So this season I'm going to try make some predictions on who's going to win based on previous performance, injuries and all that jazz.

Cowboys currently on top of the NFL (for the only time this season) and Giants down the bottom (let's hope they don't go first to worst).

Predictions:

Bears beat Colts (41-21)
Going to say experience at the QB level will see Chicago take this one. Luck to throw an interception.

Eagles beat Browns (17-16)
Now I'm not an Eagles fan, but with the team they have they could go all the way this year. Browns, on the other hand have a decent run game but not much else. Big margin.

Lions beat Rams (27-23)
Battle of the QBs as Stafford takes on Bradford. Both QBs were first picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts respectively. Bradford hasn't had the success that Stafford has. Expect Megatron to make some amazing plays.

Texans beat Dolphins (30-10)
Houston went to the playoffs last year, that's not something to be sniffed at. By contrast the Dolphins signed Ochocinco then dropped him. One team is making good decisions - the other isn't.

Chiefs beat Falcons (Falcons beat Chiefs 40-10: whoops)
Gut feeling on this one.

Vikings beat Jaguars (26-23)
Being honest I have no feelings regarding either of these teams. I'd expect Vikings to win on the basis of experience.

Saints beat Redskins (Redskins take Saints out for a ride 40-32: delighted to be wrong)
RGIII versus Brees. Post scandal Saints take on the Redskins. I'd expect this to be a blowout. Will be great to see Griffin though. I'd be excited to watch him play.

Bills beat Jets (Jets beat Bills 48-28: Sanchez can play, who knew)
Tebow or Sanchez? A team that don't stop yapping on twitter take on the the Harvard graduate Fitzpatrick. NYC takes on New York State. Bills to win!

Patriots beat Tennessee 34-13
No competition here. Brady on fire.

Seahawks beat Cardinals (Kolb played well Cardinals win 20-16)
Another mundane game. Avoid.

49ers beat Packers (30-22)
I'm liking the 49ers this season, they had a great season last year and we can expect them to continue that trend. Definitely the matchup of the night!

Panthers beat Bucs  (I like Josh Freeman so Bucs winning 16-10 is still a win for me)
Cam Newton was on fire last season. Expect him to play well

Steelers beat Broncos  (Manning back on form to bring Broncos to a win 31-19)
An offseason is not enough for Manning to have adapted to the Broncos. Steelers will be looking to get revenge for the playoff defeat to Tebow.

Ravens beat Bengals
Shouldn't be much of a competition. Bengals are doing well under Dalton, but he's still got a long way to go. Ravens will be dominant as ever.

Raiders beat Chargers (22-14, no comment)
Bit of a surprise one here but Oakland have been getting better and better as the seasons wear on. Could be a class game.