Week One NFL Football Picks - 5-11
Week Two NFL Footbal Picks - 7-8
Week Three NFL Football Picks - 9-7
Week Four NFL Football Picks - 8-5
Week Six NFL Football Picks - 6-8
Week Seven NFL Football Picks - 7-7

Stress, work and other things have gotten me behind again on picks. I’m promising that once I finish this big redesign project for our main Literary Illusions sites, I’ll be updating these picks and this site on a much more regular basis.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Tampa Bay vs. Dallas

Winner: Tampa Bay

Washington vs. Detroit

Winner: Detroit

*This is my shock pick of the week. I think that Detroit might actually win their first game

Buffalo vs. Miami

Winner: Buffalo

St. Louis vs. New England

Winner: New England

*tough pick - both teams suck!

San Diego vs. New Orleans

Winner: New Orleans

Kansas City vs. New York Jets

Winner: New York Jets

Atlanta vs. Philadelphia

Winner: Philadelphia

Arizona vs. Carolina

Winner: Carolina

Oakland vs. Baltimore

Winner: Baltimore

Cincinnati vs. Houston

Winner: Houston

Cleveland vs. Jacksonville

Winner: Jacksonville

New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle vs. San Francisco

Winner: San Francisco

Monday, October 27, 2008

Indianapolis vs. Tennessee

Winner: Tennessee

Technorati Tags: football picks, NFL, sports, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Philadelphia, Washington Redskins, Week Seven, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals

Coach Rich Rodriguez has stepped into a bigger mess than he may have realized. The numbers prove he has the skill to take a losing team and turn it into a winning team within one year. He stepped into the role of head coach at Michigan during a year of transition. He lost the primary choice for QB he had to OSU. He ended up with a bunch of guys recruited by Lloyd Carr who were unprepared for a spread offense. Most of these guys are inexperienced freshmen, who have a lot of talent, but not much experience.

So, can we blame Rodriguez for Michigan falling apart mid-game or be glad there are definite signs of improvement?

Seriously, if you went into the Penn State game expecting Michigan to win, it was unrealistic. Michigan held its own while it could, but we saw why Penn has one of the top offenses in NCAA football. It’s hard to beat a team so in sync due to years of working together with a bunch of inexperienced freshman on the field, who still don’t even know how to work together yet. We saw promise in Steven Threet, but disaster when injury took him out of the game. The defense seemed to stop playing football come the fourth quarter. Not even Graham Cracker (Brandon Graham) could take down the offense.

There is a glimmer of hope through all the muddled darkness and roller coaster of potential wins for Michigan fans. Rodriguez never has a losing season twice. He just doesn’t. Not in his entire career as a coach. Every first year coaching his numbers have been bleh. The next year, he’s brought his players out to a winning season. Why can’t the same be true for Michigan?

(more…)

I really bombed last week. It was practically my worst week ever. Every once in a while this happens, but I am beefing up my picks for later today. Feel free to leave your own picks in the comment area. There were some big surprises last week (who knew Arizona could beat Dallas? Sure seems like Dallas has some kind of bad luck charm!), but this upcoming week isn’t nearly as unpredictable. At least, I like to think so.

Week One NFL Football Picks - 5-11
Week Two NFL Footbal Picks - 7-8
Week Three NFL Football Picks - 9-7
Week Four NFL Football Picks - 8-5
Week Six NFL Football Picks - 6-8

Here are my picks for this week. Honestly, there should be no big surprises as to who wins what game here. The biggest games that might go either way are San Diego vs. Buffalo (Buffalo has a habit of surprising in the most unlikely of wins), Carolina vs. New Orleans (with the way Drew Brees has been playing NOLA should be shoo in to win though), Baltimore vs. Miami (I believe Miami has that win in them), and Indianapolis vs. Green Bay (try to pick which one sucks the least - same with Cleveland vs. Washington).

Shock winners would be Detroit, Minnesota, and New England.

The win I’d laugh the most about would be: St. Louis. It seems like Romo just ain’t always on his game, but St. Louis stinks, so a win by them would make Dallas a laughing stock.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

San Diego Chargers vs. Buffalo Bills

Winner: San Diego

Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears

Winner: Chicago

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Winner: Pittsburgh

Tennessee Titans vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Winner: Tennessee

Dallas Cowboys vs. St. Louis Rams

Winner: Dallas

Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins

Winner: Miami

(more…)

I know I missed Week Five, but I’m really sorry about that. That darn flu virus was going around the house, so it was a hectic week. Still, I don’t believe in excuses, so here we go. Let’s get right into my picks for Week Six of the NFL football action.

Let’s check out my record for previous weeks:

Week One NFL Football Picks - 5-11
Week Two NFL Footbal Picks - 7-8
Week Three NFL Football Picks - 9-7
Week Four NFL Football Picks - 8-5

Sunday, October 11, 2008

Baltimore vs. Indianapolis

Winner: Baltimore

Detroit vs. Minnesota

Winner: Detroit

New Orleans vs. Oakland

Winner: New Orleans

Cincinnati vs. New York Jets

Winner: NY Jets

Chicago vs. Atlanta

Winner: Chicago

Carolina vs. Tampa Bay

Winner: Carolina

(more…)

As a Michigan fan, I’m depressed. It had seemed like Michigan had answered some of its questions. It had found a Quarterback that might be able to work on his game. Steven Threet had much work to do, but at least he was consistently being played and showed a lot of improvement during the second half of Michigan’s game vs. Wisconsin. Sam McGuffie seemed like the primary back, with Shaw and Minor coming in on occasional plays. Things seemed to be coming together.

Then Illinois happened. I don’t like Juice Williams. I think he and the Illini play dirty, but he did have a good game, walking all over the Wolverines last week. By the time Toledo drove up U.S. 23 to Ann Arbor, it was pretty much realized that the Wolverines’ confidence was shot. I don’t blame Rich Rodriguez. He is working with a team not designed for the spread offense he’s known to win with so well. Many of the new recruits were signed on by Carr before he retired. We can only look to Rodriguez to sign on better, more suited guys for next year and hope the inexperienced take on leadership based roles after experiencing time on the field this year.

This game was truly horrible. Steven Threet played so poorly in this game that Nick Sheridan had to be put in. Sheridan didn’t play much better. Even K.C. Lopata, who has been one of the most consistent players in the game, ended up boggling a last minute field goal that would have tied the game. These didn’t look like college athletes. They didn’t even look good enough to play high school football. It was not a fun game to watch.

There is sadness at Michigan because they deserve so much better. This is the first MAC game they’ve lost, ever. This is a sign they won’t be having a winning season. This is a sign they probably won’t be going to a bowl game. It’s been YEARS since Michigan had a losing season (I’m thinking the 1940s) and since they didn’t go to a bowl game. Rodriguez is doing what he’s supposed to. He can only do so much before it falls on the shoulders of these players. They boggle plays. They don’t have confidence. They freeze up on the field. They make stupid mistakes and while they haven’t really fumbled in their last game, they turned over the ball multiple times with at least three interceptions thrown right into the opposing teams’ hands.

I do have to say that I give kudos to the team from my hometown, the Toledo Rockets and to my cousin, Tom Amstutz (yes, Tom is my cousin (on my grandfather’s side), but there is no family loyalty when it comes to U of M) who coached a hard fought game. The Toledo Rockets outplayed the Wolverines. They really showed the Wolverines who was boss and they deserved the win because they fought hard enough for it. That being said, I don’t think this was necessarily the hardest team to beat.

(more…)

Movie Info:
Writers: Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly
Director: George Clooney
Cast: George Clooney, Renée Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Root, Wayne Duvall, Keith Loneker, Malcolm Goodwin, Matt Bushell, Tommy Hinkley, Tim Griffin, Robert Baker, Nick Paonessa, Nicholas Bourdages
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Universal Studios

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: April 4, 2008
DVD Release Date: September 23, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $18.99 Blu-Ray for $26.95

I was interested in seeing Leatherheads from the moment I saw the first promos for this movie. I like most of the movies that George Clooney is in and some of the movies that feature Renée Zellweger. I also like the vast majority of movies about sports, especially ones that verge on historical. The latter reason is the main reason I wanted to watch this movie.

While Leatherheads isn’t the greatest movie I’ve ever seen or even the greatest sports movie period, it is entertaining. I’m not a huge comedy fan. I’m more into sports dramas. Still, there is a certain charm about this film that made me compelled to watch it. I’m assuming that a major part of this is the excellent acting, because the actual script isn’t as strong as the acting warrants.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked this movie. The plot was quite strong in the beginning. It fizzled slightly in the middle, nearly stopped near the end, but picked up again to finish the movie off nicely. Despite the plot bumps, there was never a point where I wanted to turn the movie off. That being said, this isn’t a movie for  every sport fan.

There is a certain kind of audience that is going to like Leatherheads. Luckily, I fit into this audience. Those who like George or Renée will want to check this out. Those who enjoy period style movies might just want to check this out. Those interested in sports comedies, especially comedies about an earlier time period in America’s history will definitely want to watch this. Otherwise, I’m not sure you’ll like this movie. This is a major reason why I consider Leatherheads a rent before buying kind of movie.

(more…)

I’ve been with Michigan for about 17 years. That’s a major part of my life (I’m 27). You see, I wasn’t always a Michigan fan, merely because I didn’t know any better. I grew up in a Buckeye household, and like all little kids, was forced to wear the obligatory OSU gear my parents made me wear. When I went into 5th grade (I was about 10), I started to make my own sports decisions and one of the first was to become a Michigan fan.

I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy growing up a Wolverines fan in a home full of Buckeyes. I grew up in a small town right outside Toledo, Ohio. For those who don’t know much about Toledo, it’s home to the fiercest UM-OSU rivalry between Ann Arbor and Columbus. Located about 53 miles south of Ann Arbor (1 hour’s drive) and 140 miles north of Columbus (2.5 hours drive), Toledo is the biggest city between the Big House and the Shoe, making it the ideal place for a fierce UM-OSU rivalry. Nearly half of the city and surrounding area root for the Wolverines and the other half root for the Buckeyes. Considering this is the greatest college football rivalry of all time, things can get kind of crazy!

It’s funny because you’d think they’d be crazy in Ann Arbor and Columbus. Not so. The vast majority of people living in Ann Arbor are for UM. The vast majority of people living in Columbus are for OSU. There is no major rivalry going on in the cities, unless the opposing team and all their fans make their way to said city. It’s not like Toledo. Toledo is special if for no other reason than that it epitomizes how NCAA football and this massive rivalry have made their way into the lives of the people who consider themselves fans. NCAA football is huge in the Midwest and this rivalry can pit father against daughter, brother against brother and even wife against husband. There is no better (or worse) time in Toledo then in November, on Saturdays, especially *that* Saturday.

Now that you know a little about my history as a Michigan Wolverines fan, I want to talk about the Michigan legacy. I’ve heard “winningnest-shminingnest” Michigan is over”, “Michigan has no hope” and a variety of other negative comments concerning the newly re-formed Michigan team. I never gave up hope that the Wolverines would come back and make me proud. They did just that, beating rival Wisconsin 27-25 in last Saturday’s game. There is no doubt Michigan has a long way to go, but we’ve been able to get just a small peek into what new Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez is capable of accomplishing with these guys!

I know there have been naysayers about Rodriguez, but I’m not one of them. I like him. I think he’ll be excellent for this team. I’m glad he’s the new coach. Sure, they could have hired within Michigan, but after last season, the school needed a boost; something fresh and new. The Big Ten, as a whole, is becoming stale. We’ve seen the same ol’ same ol’ from schools like OSU. All of these schools need a makeover and now it just happens to be Michigan’s turn.

(more…)