Football predictions: 2005

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:28 am

The only home team I give any chance is Dallas. They're playing very well right now, but so are the Broncos, who have been able to anonymously hide behind the juggernaut in Indianapolis and the AFC North fratricide between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

Denver has very quietly gotten into 2nd place in the AFC playoff picture and they're doing it the old fashioned way: defense (5th in points allowed), solid running game and mistake-free QB play (with Jake Plummer, no less). Dallas uses the same basic forumla, but I think the Broncos are just better.

qwertitus · Post by **qwertitus** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:42 am

My weekend picks, which being a Giants fan, were hard to make.

Baltimore at Cincinnati
Carolina at Buffalo
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Cleveland at Minnesota
New England at Kansas City
San Diego at Washington
San Francisco at Tennessee
St. Louis at Houston
Jacksonville at Arizona
Miami at Oakland
Green Bay at Philadelphia
N.Y. Giants at Seattle
New Orleans at N.Y. Jets
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 8:05 am

I am undefeated after the first day of games! Woo-hoo!

Here is my full slate of picks:

Atlanta at Detroit
Denver at Dallas
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Carolina at Buffalo
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Cleveland at Minnesota
New England at Kansas City
San Diego at Washington
San Francisco at Tennessee
St. Louis at Houston
Jacksonville at Arizona
Miami at Oakland
Green Bay at Philadelphia
N.Y. Giants at Seattle
New Orleans at N.Y. Jets
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis

Here's another week where I'm picking a bunch of road teams . . . I think the football gods might make me pay.

And could there be a week with more meaningless, boring games? MIA/OAK, SF/TEN, GB/PHI . . . yech. And then ESPN saddles us with the Saints/Jets on Sunday night; surely not even Joe Theisman can make this sound like a good matchup.

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 1:36 pm

Weekend Picks:

Baltimore at Cincinnati
Carolina at Buffalo
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Cleveland at Minnesota
New England at Kansas City
San Diego at Washington
San Francisco at Tennessee
St. Louis at Houston
Jacksonville at Arizona
Miami at Oakland
Green Bay at Philadelphia
N.Y. Giants at Seattle
New Orleans at N.Y. Jets
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:24 am

Cincinnati
Carolina
Chicago
Minnesota
New England
San Diego
Tennessee
St. Louis
Jacksonville
Oakland
Philadelphia
Seattle
N.Y. Jets
Indianapolis

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 11:08 pm

Bengals
Panthers
TB
Vikings
KC
Chargers
Titans
Rams
Jags
Dolphins
Eagles
Seahawks
Saints
Steelers

Gwalchmai · Post by **Gwalchmai** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 8:34 am

Atlanta at Detroit
Denver at Dallas
Baltimore at Cincinnati
Carolina at Buffalo
Chicago at Tampa Bay
Cleveland at Minnesota
New England at Kansas City
San Diego at Washington
San Francisco at Tennessee
St. Louis at Houston
Jacksonville at Arizona
Miami at Oakland
Green Bay at Philadelphia
N.Y. Giants at Seattle
New Orleans at N.Y. Jets
Pittsburgh at Indianapolis

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:07 pm

Why did I take the Patriots over the Chiefs in Arrowhead?

::banging head against wall::

How 'bout them Texans?

Phreddie · Post by **Phreddie** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:09 pm

How 'bout them panthers?

qwertitus · Post by **qwertitus** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:39 pm

How 'bout them Texans choking? I pick em, they do great, and give up a double didget lead.

The Z · Post by **The Z** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 6:47 pm

How about Brett Favre? What is it now, 20 TD's, 20 INT's?

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 7:07 am

Three people went into the Monday night game 14-1: Bloodstalker, Gwalchmai and Tybaltus. BS was the only one who picked the Steelers, so that leaves Gwally and Tybaltus as the closest anyone has come to perfection this year. Interestingly, both were undone by the Fish upsetting the Raiders.

This week's results are:

Gwalchmai 15-1 (93.75%)
Tybaltus 15-1 (93.75%)
Bloodstalker 14-2 (87.50%)
Hill-Shatar 13-3 (81.25%)
qwertitus 13-3 (81.25%)
The Z 13-3 (81.25%)
Weasel 13-3 (81.25%)
HLD 12-4 (75.00%)
Jwmblade 11-5 (68.75%)
Kipi 8-8 (50.00%)
Home Team Wins 7-9 (43.75%)

Bloodstalker, Jwmblade, The Z and Weasel all made the jump to the 100-win club. The overall results are:

Hill-Shatar 40-12 (76.92%)
qwertitus 32-14 (69.57%)
Gwalchmai 119-57 (67.61%)
Tybaltus 118-58 (67.05%)
HLD 115-61 (65.34%)
Weasel 111-63 (63.79%)
The Z 111-65 (63.07%)
Jwmblade 107-69 (60.80%)
Home Team Wins 106-70 (60.23%)
Bloodstalker 100-75 (57.14%)
Kipi 29-33 (46.77%)

Next week's games are:

Atlanta at Carolina
Buffalo at Miami
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Dallas at N.Y. Giants
Green Bay at Chicago
Houston at Baltimore
Jacksonville at Cleveland
Minnesota at Detroit
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Arizona at San Francisco
Washington at St. Louis
Denver at Kansas City
N.Y. Jets at New England
Oakland at San Diego
Seattle at Philadelphia

The Z · Post by **The Z** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 9:35 pm

Panthers over Falcons - Should be a lot of running room for Davis and Foster
Bills over Dolphins - I think Buffalo's D can step it up
Steelers over Bengals - Homefield...Still a stretch though
Giants over Cowboys - I don't think Feely will miss three in a row this week
Bears over Packers - No more gambling on the Pack for me
Ravens over Texans - Lewis might get back to back 100 yard games for the first time in a while
Jaguars over Browns - No Leftwich, still think Jags have the edge
Vikings over Lions - Minnesota's really coming on
Buccaneers over Saints - Tampa can stop Brooks unlike the Jets
Colts over Titans - I think this is a lock
Cardinals over 49ers - At least Arizona has Warner, Fitzgerald, and Boldin
Redskins over Rams - I think the Skins' O should dominate St Louis's D
Chiefs over Broncos - My gamble of the week
Patriots over Jets - Pats should bounce back against horrid NYJ
Chargers over Raiders - Chargers are going to push hard for a playoff berth
Seahawks over Eagles - I believe in Seattle!

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 1:07 am

[QUOTE=HighLordDave]
Kipi 8-8 (50.00%)
[/QUOTE]
Heh, second time in a row when I get 50% by picking teams randomly :laugh:

Atlanta
Miami
Cincinnati
Dallas
Chicago
Houston
Cleveland
Detroit
New Orleans
Indianapolis
Arizona
Washington
Denver
New England
Oakland
Seattle

qwertitus · Post by **qwertitus** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:25 pm

Atlanta at Carolina
Buffalo at Miami
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Dallas at N.Y. Giants
Green Bay at Chicago
Houston at Baltimore
Jacksonville at Cleveland
Minnesota at Detroit
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Arizona at San Francisco
Washington at St. Louis
Denver at Kansas City
N.Y. Jets at New England
Oakland at San Diego
Seattle at Philadelphia

HighLordDave · Post by **HighLordDave** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 6:47 am

Atlanta at Carolina
Buffalo at Miami
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Dallas at N.Y. Giants
Green Bay at Chicago
Houston at Baltimore
Jacksonville at Cleveland
Minnesota at Detroit
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Arizona at San Francisco
Washington at St. Louis
Denver at Kansas City
N.Y. Jets at New England
Oakland at San Diego
Seattle at Philadelphia

I know Favre has owned the Bears over the past few years, but this year his team just isn't good enough, especially on the road.

Houston, Dallas, New Orleans have officially moved into "implosion" mode, and I'm not sure the Eagles aren't on their way there, too.

St. Louis is better with Mike Martz locked out of the building.

There are lots of important division games with playoff implications (DAL/NYG, CIN/PIT, ATL/CAR, DEN/KC) and I'm going with the home teams in all the ones that matter.

roboluv · Post by **roboluv** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 8:11 am

voodoodali fanmail : )

[QUOTE=VoodooDali]
@Roboluv: Hey SYM - I finally have a fan! Thanks!!!

Sorry, I don't post much anymore. One reason is that I had to prevent BS from laying claim to being a great lurker.

This year has been really hard for me to find the time or energy to post much. One problem I have right now is that I am running a business and have so little free time anymore. That's good news in a way, because my company is becoming more successful.

SYM can be very addictive and it's hard for me to just do a little. I have a tendency to go all the way with it. Also, the death of my brother one year ago really made me kind of isolate myself.

I am finally crawling out of that hole, though.

On a lighter note, this football thread was actually started by one of my very favorite SYMians, Gwally. "Hugs" @Gwally. They had started a football betting pool at Gwally's work (BTW is it all archaeologists, Gwally?), and he initially asked for help in picking teams. I got involved in football because of my SO, who is a sculptor and a sports fan. Now I know more about the game than he does! .[/QUOTE]

: ) omg - there was a response to my fan mail!!
i'm really sorry about your brother - i've had some sudden deaths in my family in the past couple of years - i guess it's just plain weird to say that "something good" came out of any of this but it did reinforce that life is NOW and i try not to leave any argument unresolved (...starting to sound like a hallmark card, eh?)
about that involvement due to a significant other... *argh* when it goes "the other way" it ain't as cool. my SO is truly awesome and smart as a whip but she is also passionate about knitting and instead of sophisticated cats she's got a chihuahua... - because of her i've knitted a hat and a pair of socks but i'm having a hard time getting into the chihuahua-love....
anyway. back to work. i doubt you'll even find this post - it took me about a month and a half to find yours. but then again - i'm not an experienced gamebanshee so that might be understandable.
cheers
oh dear - just realized my post is so out of context for the thread... let me think... i predict there will be more football playing in 2006! (did i slip under the radar, perhaps?)
r

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 4:11 pm

Atlanta at Carolina
Buffalo at Miami
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Dallas at N.Y. Giants
Green Bay at Chicago
Houston at Baltimore
Jacksonville at Cleveland
Minnesota at Detroit
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Arizona at San Francisco
Washington at St. Louis
Denver at Kansas City
N.Y. Jets at New England
Oakland at San Diego
Seattle at Philadelphia

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 11:02 pm

Atlanta over Panthers- Vick always gives Carolina fits, and this year the Panther running game isn;t quite what it should be.
Miami over Bills- Dolphins may not win many games, but they will play stron to finish.
Steelers over Bengals- Steelers need to rebound. Bengals still not wuite ready to take the division away from Pittsburg
Cowboys over Giants- And I hate to say this. But Vowboys are better team overall.
Bears over packers- Someone shut the Chicago fans up. Rant to follow my picks.
texans over Ravens- Raven don;t even have defense to carry them anymore
Jags over Browns- Browns suck
Vikings over Lions- It wasn't all Mariuchi. this week starts to proove that.
TB over Saints- strictly because I refuse to pick the Saints.
Colts over Titans- that really caused me to think
Niner over Cards- Based on last years sweep by the Niners
Rams over Skins- Rams have the offense to come back late in games, Washington can't hold a lead late in games.
KC over Denver- Denver won;t win out. KC at home. I'll take my chances on the Chiefs this week
Pats over jets- Jets really need help
SD over Raiders- Chargers on a run for the playoffs.
Seahawks over Eagles- Eagles are getting what's coming to them

Rants- The Bears and their fans are making me absolutly sick. This team will make the playoffs, but for the love of Buddy Ryan, please shut up about the 85 Bears comparisons. yes, the Bears play good defense, but no they are nowhere near the level of the 85 Bears. People were scared to death of the 85 Bears. they won games before they ever set foot on the field by pure intimidation. this Bears defense is good, but no better that last years Skins defense or any of the other recent d's like the Ravens, Steelers, Bills...you get the point. Some Chicago player hinted at remaking the Super Bowl shuffle. I hope they do. It'll give them something to watch after they get sent home in the first round of the playoffs.

Eagles, Eagles, Eagles. Who cares? Ok, I was sympathetic when they canned Owens, I thought it was a needed move. But they lost my sympathy when they filed a complaint against Jerry Jones for saying he'd never been against hiring talented players with a history. Tampering? Tampering with what? The Eagles don't even want owens back? So why do something like this if not simply to be a jerk about it? Oh, one more thing about Owens, yes, he has an attitude problem, but the Eagles need to come off their high horse. Yes they had him sign a waver to play before the SB last year. Any team would, and for all Owens faults, he doesn't lie. Have \distorted opinions maybe, but not lying over something so factual. Besides, the Eagles in my opinion are no worse or better than they have been the last 4 years. If you give them the exact same schedule they have this year with last years talent on the opposing teams, they would have beaten Dallas twice, Washington, Denver(Plummer last year would have blown it), and the Giants. Those five extra wins they've been basically guarrantteed the last few years would have put them at 10-1,on a 10 game winning streak, everyone would have been talking about how unstoppable they are, and they likely would have lost in the playoffs. This was never a dominant team in it;s own right. It was the only team in a pool of garbage so it's record was always bloated. If they truly were as dominant as people want to believe, they would have won their conference more than once. New England did. Hell, the Bills did in the early '90's. The fact is, they just aren;t the only tough guy in the neghborhood anymore. they are exactly today what they have been the past few years, an average team. the only difference is their not the only team in the division anymore.

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Sat Dec 03, 2005 4:40 pm

Atlanta
Miami
Pittsburgh
N.Y. Giants
Chicago
Baltimore
Jacksonville
Minnesota
Tampa Bay
Indianapolis
San Francisco

St. Louis
Kansas City
New England
San Diego
Seattle

GO BEARS!! GO EAGLES!!