This opens the door for some competition for the spot behind Ahmad Bradshaw.  Currently on the roster are Andre Brown, D.J. Ware, and Da’Rel Scott.  Scott has tremendous speed at 5’11″ 195 and has shown some potential.  It looks like the Giants will probably draft a RB or two for depth in the middle to late rounds.  Expect the competition to be between these three mainly, with D.J. Ware having a slight edge starting out due mainly to his experience and tenure with the team.  However, if Da’Rel can stay healthy he can contribute in many ways.  Take a look at a few clips of Da’Rel’s work. Da’Rel Scott Fake Punt  Da’Rel Scott 97 Yard Run

Pretty impressive stuff…..Let’s see if he can take advantage of the situation.

Now, no one is going to mistake any Harbaugh for Josh McDaniel, Peyton Manning is more established and proven than Matt Cassell, and Alex Smith is no Jay Cutler, but the chances of losing all of them is a possibility.  Harbaugh and Alex Smith were said to have a special relationship, one built on trust and belief in each other.  It was said that that was all Alex needed was someone to believe in him, trust him, and give him his opportunity to prove himself.  Harbaugh did all of  the above and the 9ers won 13 games during the regular season and hosted the NFC Championship game last season. Now it seems like Harbaugh is willing to gamble that all away.  Alex Smith has visited the Miami Dolphins and is headed to Seattle for a visit.  Peyton Manning, it has been reported, wants to stay in the AFC for a variety of reasons, including not having to face the Giants and Eli in the playoffs.  I would suggest that San Francisco would be the place to go if you wanted to Guarantee a playoff match-up with Eli, not avoid one.  So, Here are the 49ers, 13-3 last season, with a home playoff win against the Saints, and a very well played overtime loss to the Super Bowl Champions, without a QB on their roster.

Peyton may very well choose Denver or Tennessee….Alex Smith might be so put off that he signs with Miami or Seattle, or Denver.  Matt Flynn could go to the team Smith doesn’t choose, and the 9ers could be left standing when the music stops.  I understand this might be worth the risk, but the result might be disaster for San Francisco and coach Harbaugh.  Even if Alex Smith stays the relationship will always be damaged and may break the team apart.

We will know more Monday or Tuesday as Peyton makes his decision.

Mario will add a dimension to the offense in the bay area, except he seems to fill the same role as Moss, a speed guy that stretches the defense.  Moss of course has better hands, and if healthy will be the bigger threat, which will help Mario and Davis. The problem right now in SF is who will the QB be?  Alex Smith seems a bit upset at the courting of Peyton Manning, and is exploring other options.

We wish Mario the best as we do all that leave our beloved Giants to explore other options. San Francisco seems like its on a good path to success, if the front office and head coach don’t get in the way. Congrats Mario and we will see you soon!

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

With a final of 16-6 in the books the older Harbaugh brother came out on top as Baltimore defeated the 49ers.  A very close defensive  battle ended with Baltimore getting a little more offense out of their QB than San Francisco got out of Alex Smith.

A very good day of football and a very Happy Thanksgiving hopefully had by all!  Good night everyone and I we will see you tomorrow with a look back at this week 25 years ago, and a look ahead to Monday night and the New Orleans Saints!

Green Bay Packers (10-0) vs Detroit Lions (7-3)  Thursday  12:30 EDT on Fox.  The Lions finally bring a team to the Thanksgiving Day game.  Not since the days of Barry Sanders have the Lions looked so capable, and they found a running game last week which will certainly serve them well.  Green Bay, of course, is now in the position of chasing history.  The ever elusive undefeated season on the line every week from now till February 5th in Indianapolis.  Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the game currently, and should provide some pre meal entertainment for all.

Miami Dolphins (3-7) vs Dallas Cowboys (6-4)  Thursday  4:15 EDT on CBS.  This game just a month ago looked like it would be the worst game ever played on Thanksgiving Day.  With the Cowboys struggling with injuries and the lack of a running game, and Tony Romo being inconsistent the Cowboys were going nowhere.  In walks DeMarco Murray and suddenly the Cowboy offense works again.  The Cowboys now lead the NFC East.  The Dolphins on the other hand were a defeated team, had a coach that was about to be fired, and couldn’t win a game even when leading by 15 with 2 minutes to go.  What’s changed?  The last three weeks the Dolphin defense has allowed  3, 9, and 8 points respectively while scoring 31, 20, and 35.  As a wise man once said….It’s not who you play, but when you play them.  This game could rival the famous snow game between these two teams……or it could be another waste of three hours of advertising.  We will see.

San Francisco 49ers (9-1) vs Baltimore Ravens (7-3)  Thursday 8:20 EDT on NFL Network.  In a game many won’t see, if you don’t get the NFL Network, the brothers Harbaugh clash in this Prime Time affair,  The Surprising 9ers travel to Baltimore with their young QB Alex Smith, and a pretty good running game.  The Ravens have a pretty good running game themselves and a struggling young Qb in Joe Flacco.  The Ravens are showing some age on their great defense and the offense has just been too inconsistent, but they have been finding ways to win.  This game will be all about hard hitting defense, and probably some trickery thrown in somewhere.  This contest will without a doubt come down to Special Teams, Turnovers, and who has the nerve to pull out the big play.  Look for these two brothers to have their guys ready to play, and a few tricks up their sleeves from the backyard as well.

So while their are no guarantees……except that we will all be stuffed by the end of the day…….this Thanksgiving Day at least gives hope to the prospect of three good football games to enjoy before, during, and after dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone form the staff of GMENHQ.COM and thank you for your support!

Offense:  The 9ers are a pure running team.  They find all sorts of ways to get Frank Gore in good positions.  Their two running backs have a total of 999 yards on the ground so far this year.  They have a young and talented offensive line whose athleticism has proved to be it’s strength.  In my opinion Alex Smith, the QB, is still not ready to win at this level.  He has been kept under wraps, been given safe throws to make, and has not been asked to win a game without his running attack.  He has thrown for less that 1500 yards this season with a completion percentage of 64% and has been sacked 19 times.  The San Francisco team has some talent to catch the ball in Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, and Tedd Ginn Jr. however Smith’ accuracy on anything too far down the field is still a problem.  The 9ers will throw to backs, TE’s, and even some offensive tackles, in order to keep the opponent guessing, and to provide Smith with quick short throws.

Defense: Ranked number 1 against the rush, and first in points allowed with just 14.  They haven’t played many good scoring teams, and therefore that rank might be a little optimistic.  They are an impressive +12 in turnover ratio and have 22 sacks.  They are a strong 3-4 defensive team against the run, but rank 30th against the pass.

Specials:  Here comes another explosive special teams layer in Tedd Ginn Jr.  He has kickoff and punt returns for T.D’s, and can ruin any game in a hurry.  They have ex-Eagles kicker David Akers who is 19 of 21 with a long of 55.  With Alex Smith being a liability the 9ers don’t hesitate to call on Akers to put points on the board.

The call here for the Giants is simple.  Make Alex Smith beat you.  While looking out for play action passes the Giants will face their toughest task to date stopping the run.  The 9ers run the ball an average of 30 times a game while averaging 59 plays a game.  Look for the Giants to stack the box, play the three safeties a lot, and do whatever they can to force San Francisco into third and long.

As of this writing it looks like the Giants will be without Ahmad Bradshaw again this week, but Hakeem Nicks seems on track to go.