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NFL Sunday Picks

Joe Tufaro — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 10:56:10 +0000

We had a rough week last week going 9-7 thanks to some unexpected injuries, and some other strange happenings. We stand at 130-63 for the season including Thursday nights win in Pittsburgh. Here we go:

New England at Washington: The Redskin defense is pretty good, but still no match in the long run for the Patriots

PICK: NEW ENGLAND

Kansas City at New York Jets: The Jet offense will have it’s struggles again this week against a very strong K.C. defense. However Tyler Palko won’t mature much against the Jet defense. PICK: JETS

Houston at Cincinnati: Cincy’s defense might be a little much for the beat up Texans. I’m going with the home team with Cincy making it’s last stand at a playoff spot. PICK: CINCINNATI

Indianapolis at Baltimore: Even though Baltimore lost to Jacksonville earlier this year, I don’t think lightning strike twice, besdie The Ravens need to keep pace with the Steelers: PICK BALTIMORE

Minnesota at Detroit: Keep an eye on who is playing Qb for Minny this week. Christian Ponder wasn’t practicing during the week and might be out for this game. Joe Webb won’t scare the Lions and the Minnesota secondary allowed Tim Tebow to go 15-20! PICK: DETROIT

Atlanta at Carolina: I have been a big fan of Cam Newton this year, but the rest of the team needs some help, as he noted this week in the media. Atlanta needs to sew up the top Wild Card spot soon. PICK: ATLANTA

Philadelphia at Miami: Vick, Maclin, Matthews, all back….I’m guessing they need some time to get used to seeing each other again. Miami playing very well especially at home. PICK: MIAMI

Tampa Bay at Jacksonville: If Raheem Morris wants to have any sense of success this year, he needs to start winning again. Jacksonville didn’t look much better last Monday with a new coach. PICK: TAMPA BAY

New Orleans at Tennessee: New Orleans is on a roll. Tennessee coming off a good road win in Buffalo. I don’t see N.O. missing a step here. PICK: NEW ORLEANS

San Francisco at Arizona: Fantastic effort by Arizona last week beating the Cowboys in Overtime, and a nice pick by us. I think they spent a lot on that game. PICK: SAN FRANCISCO

Chicago at Denver: Chicago with no Qb and no RB…I’m not turing on Tebow now. PICK: DENVER

Oakland at Green Bay: This one is actually a tough one. The Green Bay defense could be susceptible to the Oakland running game and if Carson Palmer gets going with the Raider speed, there could be a lot of points scored here. Still think Rodgers is too much for anyone to handle. PICK: GREEN BAY

Buffalo at San Diego: San Diego needs this one, and all the rest. Buffalo blew their chances last week at home, this one across the country ends badly for them. PICK: SAN DIEGO

New York GIANTS AT DALLAS: I think the running game is back for the Giants and will help Eli exploit the Cowboy secondary. Dallas offensive line still a work in progress. PICK: GIANTS

Just for the record…here is where I register my picks every Thursday. http://poolhost.com

ESPN Experts Say…New York Giants Fall to the Pack

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:49:49 +0000

Well the picks are in, and most are in agreement that the Green Bay Packers will stay undefeated after their visit to Metlife Stadium. Given the well-publicized decline the Giants have seen these last few weeks I was surprised that three of our experts voted in favor of New York. But I see their point; [...]

ESPN Experts Say…New York Giants Fall to the Pack - GMEN HQ - GMEN HQ - A NY Giants Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

Does Defense Still Win Championships?

Joe Tufaro — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:26:21 +0000

There is an old saying that I have always believed in…Defense Wins Championships. However, after witnessing last nights game between the New Orleans Saints and The New York Giants, I wanted to take another look at that adage. The Giants, in a losing effort, had Eli Manning throw for 406 yards, while the team gained 465 Total Yards. The Giants had 29 first downs and were 5-11 on third down conversions. The Giants were reduced to throwing the ball throughout the second half as their defense could not contain the high wire act of Drew Brees and the Saints. So with a one dimensional offense staring at the Saints the entire second half, they allowed Eli to complete passes at will. Unfortunately, as we stated in our piece yesterday, without a running game this team is now the Eli Highlight Show every week. But more importantly, can you really be successful with just a great offense?

Let’s take a look at who many believe to be the top teams in the league and how they are faring defensively:

Green Bay: Ranked 30th in total defense averagng over 393 yards per game allowed

New England: Ranked 32nd in total defense

New Orleans: Ranked 25th in total defense

Chicago: Ranked 23rd

Houston, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore rank 1st to third in that order…….so if you still believe that Defense Wins Championships…One of those three teams will be wearing the crown come February.

Reviewing The Road Ahead: The Remaining 5 Opponents

Joe Tufaro — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:00:23 +0000

The New York Giants now have 6 games remaining with 5 different opponents, since the play the Cowboys twice down the stretch. Here is a weekly look at where those teams stand in their division, in their conference and how they are currently faring.

The Saints: The Giants(6-4) play the New Orleans Saints(7-3) next Monday night in the Superdome. The Saints lead the NFC South by one game over Atlanta, but have a 3-1 division record compared to The Falcons 1-2. Coming off a bye this week, the Saints play the opposite Prime Time schedule from what the Giants will be experiencing. They play Monday against New York and the following Sunday night versus Detroit in New Orleans as that game has been flexed by NBC. The Saints have the same high flying offense they have always had with Drew Brees at the controls. They rank First in Yards, 2nd in passing yards and First in points. It will be interesting to see how healthy the Saints return from their bye week. Their defense has been inconsistent this year and they will for sure be without LB Jonathan Vilma after he had surgery on his knee last week. The Saints are always a tough opponent, especially at home.

Green Bay: The Giants will host the Green Bay Packers on December 4th. Aaron Rodgers and the seemingly unstoppable Packer offense will be a major challenge for the Giants. The Packers currently at 10-0 are obviously leading both their division and the NFC. They play this Thursday versus Detroit and then get all that extra time off before they meet the Giants. The good news here is that the Packers are 21st in rushing and their defense has given up plenty of yards (31st in passing) and points. They take many chances knowing that Rodgers and the offense can make up for many mistakes if necessary.

Dallas: The Giants will play the division rival Cowboys twice down the stretch, first on December 11th, another Sunday Night Football affair in Arlington, and then on New Years Day in New Giants Stadium to finish out the regular season. The Cowboys had basically the opposite schedule form the Giants, with tough opponents early, and the supposed softer schedule late. The Cowboys also have made themselves better by finding a running game. DeMarco Murray has proven to be the missing piece to the offense and Jason Garrett’s Cowboys. Tony Romo still runs this team, and it will ultimately either succeed or fail because of him, but it gives him another weapon he did not have earlier in the year. These two divisional battles will no doubt decide the NFC EAST tittle.

Washington: The Redskins are a tough defensive team. Their offense however has fallen on hard times. They have lost starting running backs, tight ends, and receivers. And as the old saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, then really you have none. Another important division contest here that needs to be won not only for overall record, but for tie-breaking purposes.

The Jets: The Giants get to visit the Jets in their own building. On Christmas Eve the scrooge inspired Jets will try and save their season, and ruin the Giants all in one night. The Giants usually handle the Jets by doing what the Steelers did to them last year in the playoffs….run the ball. However, this years Giants team has had trouble getting any sort of running attack started, and if the offensive line continues to struggle, the Jets defense will make them look silly. This should be a low scoring affair, with all the struggles the Jet offense is currently experiencing. But this game is a long way off, and the implications of the contest are yet to be decided. We will keep our eye on this one as the weeks progress.

So….There you have it…..The Giants play two of the top teams in the NFC, both coming off extra rest in the next two weeks…one of those games needs to be won, or we leave our fate in the hands of others once again.