Week Seventeen

Owning Up

The unrest inside the Bengals locker room is being thrown into the public eye. Obviously, any team would be upset to have the 4-11 record that Cincinnati has. On their current two-game winning streak the Bengals have exposed where the real problem is on that team: play-calling.

I think it is safe to say that head coach Marvin Lewis will be out at the conclusion of this season. After hearing from countless Bengal fans, most also want offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski to be fired as well. Over the years and years of watching Bengals games, I have noticed a few things about the Bengals offense. The Bengals are at their best when they are pounding the ball with running back Cedric Benson and airing it out deep. During the Bratkowski years, some play-calls are just mind-boggling to me. In long-down situations, the Bengals will get a call of a draw play or a screen pass which is clearly not their game. It is essentially a waste of a down, leading to a lot of punts and sometimes desperation throws leading to interceptions. What Cincinnati needs to do is discover their identity and stick with it. They need to stop trying to make Bernard Scott into LeSean McCoy. That isn't what the team is all about. The Bengals have a traditional offense: an immobile quarterback, bruising running back, and sure-handed receivers. They cannot be turned into an offense like the Philadelphia Eagles. They need to run more like the Atlanta Falcons.

The play-calling is not the only problem. The defense has suffered quite a few injuries in the backfield including Roy Williams, Chris Crocker, Adam Jones, and more. They have gotten burned at the safety position all year. I think, however, with a high draft pick and some new faces on the sideline, the Bengals can return to playoff form.

Predictions


RT @Bradley_W_Parks: B+ Sports Picks: Pats, Jets, Ravens, Chiefs, 49ers, Lions, Jags, Bengals, Texans, Colts, Packers, Bucs, Eagles, Saints


Between last week's picks and the week before, my record was 18-11, pushing my season record to 118-82. Here is what I have for this week's games:


Falcons, Steelers, Lions, Chiefs, Patriots, Saints, Jets, Ravens, Chargers, Packers, Colts, Eagles, 49ers, Giants, Texans, Rams


p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter @Bradley_W_Parks.

Week Fourteen

Owning Up

A Patriots fan holds up a sign at Monday night's game.
(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Where are those New York Jets we saw earlier in the season? Yes, they are 9-3, but last week they were trounced by division rivals the New England Patriots. Still, Jets head coach Rex Ryan remained positive when he said that even though the Pats beat them so badly in Foxboro, they beat the Pats badly at home too so all is well.

But 45-3? The Jets beat the Patriots 28-14 when they played at home. That's a narrow escape compared to how badly the Pats bludgeoned the Jets on Monday night. Could it be as well in New York as Coach Ryan says it is?

In the past seven games, the Jets have not won by more than six points excluding the game in Cincinnati which they won 26-10. All of their wins in that span have come over sub-.500 teams, with both the Lions and Browns taking them to overtime. Also, in that span they were shut out by the Packers 9-0 and, as mentioned, clobbered by New England.

Even though they have come out of this seven-game stretch with a 5-2 record, the Jets seem to be in a bit of a slide if you look at it. Mark Sanchez and company look to get back on track this week against divisional foes the Miami Dolphins. The Jets are not in extremely hot water here as they do still sit at 9-3, as I mentioned. However, if they would like to live up to their Super Bowl expectations then they'd best be careful as we enter the final stretch.

Predictions


Last week marked my best week of predictions to date as I finished with a 12-3 record. That puts my season record at 90-66. Here are my teams for this week:

Browns, Packers, Steelers, Buccaneers, Falcons, Jaguars, Saints, Seahawks, Patriots, Jets, Broncos, Chargers, Eagles, Ravens, Giants


p.s. Be on the lookout for my top five NBA point guards this week!

p.p.s. In case I forget, good luck to my Ohio Bobcats in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Saturday against Troy.

p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter @Bradley_W_Parks.

Week Ten

Owning Up


Those tricky, tricky Browns have everybody stumped. Their big win over the Patriots proved me very wrong. I suppose we should be looking out for the Browns.


Well would you look at that. The Chargers have won a couple games in a row and are now back in the hunt at 4-5. Big ups to the Bolts for showing me up.


Along with the tricky, tricky Browns there are the tricky, tricky Raiders to look out for as they upset a solid Chiefs team last week.


The Colts v. Eagles game was close as expected, however, Michael Vick continued his Hollywood story by toppling Peyton Manning.


Predictions


Week Nine marked a good one for me as my picks led me to a 9-4 record for the week, bringing my season record to 54-47. Here is what I have this week:


Lions over Bills This is the battle of the two unluckiest teams in the NFL this season. The Bills have fought every game to lose only by a few in most. The Lions have done the same, with solid play at quarterback from both Matthew Stafford (when he has played) and backup Shaun Hill. One of these teams will catch a break. However, if there is a game to end up in a tie this year, it will be this one. 24-21


Vikings over Bears Last week's victory over the Cardinals should have done enough to energize Brett Favre and the Vikings. Although, the Vikes did not play particularly well they still managed to come back and win showing determination and fight. I like that win to boost their confidence this week. 28-21


Jets over Browns As well as the Browns have played under rookie quarterback Colt McCoy I still cannot bring myself to pick them, especially against a great team such as the Jets. New York's run defense should be able to slow down Peyton Hillis a bit, or at least enough to force McCoy to throw more. 24-14


Colts over Bengals As much as it pains me to continue picking against my hometown team, the Bengals have not proven that they can beat a team like the Colts. They have shown their comeback ability last week against the Steelers and also in Week One against the Patriots. However, they did not win either of those games. Manning and the Colts will not be as easy for the Bengals to contain long enough to come back again. Cardiac Cats fall. 28-17


Titans over Dolphins Even though the Titans have a game-time decision coming at quarterback with Vince Young still a little banged up, I do not believe Chad Pennington has what it takes to lead the Dolphins to a victory. The Dolphins have the weapons in Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, and Brandon Marshall, but they do not have a good leader at the quarterback position. Young and backup Kerry Collins are able to lead a team. Oh and did I mention the Titans picked up a guy named Randy Moss? That may help. 21-10


Buccaneers over Panthers I stand by my claim that the Panthers are the worst team in the NFL. The Bills, as I mentioned, play hard every game and are a group of winners that just cannot win. The Panthers are far worse than Buffalo and have all sorts of problems. Perhaps they should turn to third-string rookie Tony Pike at quarterback. Pike played well at Cincinnati and was in the Heisman race before he got injured. If Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen have not been able to do it, why not give Pike a shot? Carolina really has nothing to lose. 31-7


Texans over Jaguars This will be a tight game. The Texans began the year as if they would live up to the great expectations, however, have not as of late. The Jaguars, on the other hand, have not really had many expectations to live up to, so in a sense they have exceeded expectations. With the Jags playing well and the Texans not so much, this is a tough pick. But I have confidence it Matt Schaub's ability to get a W today. 28-21


Chiefs over Broncos Perhaps my biggest screwup of the season, the Broncos are no longer a dark horse in the NFL. They are not playing well at all and do not have much to look forward to as they sit at 2-6. Unless they run the table, this dark horse will stay in the stable for the rest of the year. 14-6


Giants over Cowboys I just love that the Cowboys continue to prove me right week in and week out. It is truly sad that a team with their potential has crashed and burned this season, but you cannot say I did not warn you. Dallas was far overrated coming into this season and has proven it every single game. This one shall be no different as the Giants have seemingly returned to their Super Bowl-winning form. 35-10


Seahawks over Cardinals Another screwup of mine, Seattle is no longer fun to pick in games. They sit at 4-4, the Cardinals at 3-5. The NFC West is shaping up to be exactly what it has been in the past: boring and exciting all at the same time. The Rams and Seahawks sit atop the division at 4-4, followed by the Cardinals, and in the basement is San Francisco who surprisingly is not out of it at 2-6. With dismal records and intense competition all at the same time, the NFC West is just being the NFC West. 17-14


49ers over Rams Two compelling games right in a row. How lucky am I? I like Troy Smith at quarterback as I always have. He is getting his shot and it is his job not to screw it up. Sports Illustrated's Peter King thinks that Smith will hold onto the job for the rest of the year at least if he plays well this week. I am right along with my fellow Bobcat, King, in that thinking. 24-20


Steelers over Patriots This could be the game of the year. Both the Steelers and Patriots sit at 6-2 and are playing completely lights out. It has shown how much Troy Polamalu means to the Steelers as he has provided a huge spark to that defense. New England has played well all around too. The one factor that caused me to swing toward the Steelers for this one was the Browns. The Steelers managed to defeat Cleveland, whereas the Patriots were trounced by them. It was the deciding factor for me. 35-28


Eagles over Redskins As I said earlier, Michael Vick is continuing his Hollywood story. This week should be no exception as he goes against the former Eagles quarterback Donavon McNabb. It should be a close one, but I like Vick in this battle. McNabb will either have a confidence boost or kill after being benched for Rex Grossman by coach Mike Shanahan in their previous game against the Lions. We'll see how that plays out on Monday night. 27-21


BONUS COVERAGE: Kanye West


This does not pertain to sports, but I have felt some extremely strong feelings about Kanye West's recent spouting-off about the media. West was angry at Matt Lauer and the Today Show for what West said was them trying to "force" his answers. I was curious as to what he meant, so I watched the interview online. All Lauer really did was ask West tough questions and he had no way to respond to them. It was a great journalistic triumph for Lauer to be able to give Kanye a question that he would have a lot of trouble answering.


In the aftermath of the interview, West went on Twitter and rattled off a whole lot of things in an attempt to defend his inability to answer tough questions. Here is what he said in multiple tweets:


"I went up there to express how I was empathetic to Bush because I labeled him a racist and years later I got labeled as a racist....


While I was trying to give the interview they started playing the "MTV" under me with audio!!!!!!!


I don't mess with Matt Lauer or the Today Show ... and that's a very nice way for me to put it!


HE TRIED TO FORCE MY ANSWERS. IT WAS VERY BRUTAL AND I CAME THERE WITH ONLY POSITIVE INTENT."


West went on to describe how he is "tortured," "forced," and "misunderstood." That is not exactly it, Kanye West. We understand you perfectly.


Kanye West has taken his blunder and is attempting to blame it on everyone else. Why would it be his fault? West described later on Twitter about how he is a creator and said, "I just want to create." Nobody is trying to stop him from doing that. However, as his job is to create music, it is our (the media's) job to tell stories. Kanye needs to realize that as he is only trying to do his job, that is the same thing we are trying to do. Matt Lauer was doing his job by asking questions, however, West is trying to make up for his inability to answer coherently by saying that Lauer is in the wrong for "forcing" his answers.


Also, West was angry that the producers at the Today Show played the footage from the MTV Video Music Awards when West had taken the microphone away from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech. What he does not realize is that this is a regular practice. Somebody should explain to Kanye West that b-roll is used every single day in the media. It is video that pertains to what is being said that keeps the viewer from becoming bored with the same picture. West took it as the producers trying to make him look bad and addressed it on camera.


If only Kanye knew that he too is a member of the media before he took so many shots at us. He, along with other musical artists, is an editorialist and storyteller. He puts his views on things into his music and also tells stories through song for the public to see. If we break it down as such, Kanye West was taking shots at himself by taking shots at the media. He truly is troubled.


p.s. I am a huge fan of Kanye West's music, but he should not be trying to tear down the journalism field because he was made to look like a fool.


p.p.s. I am sorry for not providing a pick for the Thursday game. I probably will not be providing those picks any time soon. It throws off my schedule.


p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks

Week Nine

Owning Up


The Bengals once again let me down. A late pick thrown by Carson Palmer turned the lights out on that game.

Do I really have to own up to the Cowboys' loss? If you have read this blog before, you know how I feel about the Dallas Cowboys. I gave them the nod last week, but the Jags torched them. I proved myself wrong and right all at the same time.

Even though I picked the winner, I predicted a high-scoring contest between the Jets and Packers. Did anyone expect a defensive struggle with those high-powered offenses? I'll take the win, but in no way did I expect it to be a 9-0 one.

Warn the villages, the Chargers won.

Probably my biggest blunder of the week, the Seahawks getting destroyed by the Raiders. My "surprise" teams in the Broncos and Seahawks have gotten slammed by the Raiders two weeks straight. I've got my back against the mat on this one.

How about those Saints? That win against the Steelers was definitely their best of the season. The Saints have had a mysterious season and a backfield riddled with injuries, however, they got it done against one of the best teams in the league last week. Perhaps the Saints are back. We shall see.

Predictions


Last week was not my best as I went 6-7, however, my season record remains over .500 which is a good thing. I now sit at 45-40. Not great, but not terrible. Let us try to improve on that this week. Here's what I've got for this weekend's games:

Falcons over Buccaneers A tough pick this was as both teams sit at 5-2. The Bucs are 3-0 on the road heading into Atlanta, but the Falcons are 3-0 at home. These teams are essentially even on paper, but I will give the nod to the Falcons simply based on last week. The Bucs were able to beat the Cardinals but only by a slight margin. The Falcons are a much better team. 24-21


Bears over Bills No matter how many interceptions Jay Cutler throws, he manages to get scores for his team. I would give the nod to the unlucky Bills if it weren't for the Bears defense. Both teams will have their troubles on offense with turnovers as expected, but Cutler can still get in the endzone better than Bills' quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick can. 21-17


Patriots over Browns Despite Colt McCoy's solid play in his first two games, the Browns are still the Browns and the Pats are still the Pats. It seems as if Tom Brady and the boys have returned to their championship-winning form. 35-10


Jets over Lions The Jets had unfortunate offensive struggles last week against the Packers. I don't think they expected it nor did anybody else. I feel this week they will be looking to unleash against the Lions defense. I'm going with the Jets, but this should be a hot matchup. 28-21


Vikings over Cardinals Who would have thought that this would be the snooze-fest of the week? The Cardinals' struggles were expected after the retirement of Kurt Warner and the departure of Anquan Boldin before the season began. However, nobody expected these kinds of struggles from the Vikings. The plan should be very simple for the Vikes: get the ball to Adrian Peterson. Peterson is an absolute steed in the backfield and it seems like sometimes they forget to use him enough. 17-14


Saints over Panthers After that huge win against Pittsburgh, the Saints will be looking for a way to keep the momentum going. What better way to do so than to steamroll one of the worst teams in the league, eh? 31-7


Ravens over Dolphins The Fins were able to take advantage of the Bengals' poor play last week, but the Ravens are a different beast to tame. Joe Flacco has been loving the big target in Anquan Boldin and it shows. The Ravens cannot afford to budge a single inch with the Steelers right there atop the AFC North alongside them. They'll take this in a close one. 20-14


Texans over Chargers The Texans were put back in their place last week as the Colts toppled them in response to that Week One loss. However, today the Texans take on the Chargers, one of the leagues biggest mysteries this season. Although the Chargers got a big win against the Titans last week, I do not feel as if that will be enough to lift them up back to the Chargers of old. 28-24


Giants over Seahawks Like I said last week, I love picking the Seahawks. But last week's poor showing against the Raiders does not make me feel too confident in picking the Birds this week. The Giants have been one of the pleasant surprises of the season. I am excited to see what they can do later into the season and the postseason. 24-10


Chiefs over Raiders As well as the Raiders have played in the past two weeks, they are facing a much more formidable opponent in the Chiefs today. Another pleasant surprise, the Chiefs sit at 5-2 and have played simple but solid football. If the Raiders are to win it will not be by nearly as much as the past two weeks. Still I give this to Kansas City. 21-14


Colts over Eagles The much-anticipated return of Michael Vick comes today. The bad thing for Vick is that it comes against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, despite a few early slip-ups with the Texans and the Jaguars, have played extremely well. To put it simply, the Colts have been the Colts. I see them improving to 6-2 this week. 27-24


Packers over Cowboys Dallas's pass defense was absolutely scorched last week by David Garrard and the Jaguars. There is nothing that says Aaron Rodgers will not do even more damage to America's team. Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth may get tired of saying, "Touchdown Packers!" tonight. I see a blowout in the future. 38-14


Steelers over Bengals I'm sure when this game was put on the schedule, ESPN was not thinking the Bengals would be 2-5. After sweeping the AFC North last season and acquiring three huge offensive threats in Terrell Owens, Jordan Shipley, and Jermaine Gresham, things looked promising for the Bengals. However, Carson Palmer struggled early on and the defense has struggled all year. It seems nothing can go right for the Bengals. Still I feel like they will show up and give the Steelers a contest this week. On the other side of the field, the Steelers are looking to get back to form after a disappointing loss in New Orleans last weekend. 24-17


p.s. Those Ohio Bobcats have done it again, winning against Buffalo on Senior Night. Congratulations to my school!

p.p.s. My Phoenix Suns have a tough test tonight against the Hawks tonight. Steve Nash and the guys are looking to get up to .500.

p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks

Week Eight

Owning Up
The Broncos let me down. They made me look like an absolute fool. Hats off to the Raiders for allowing me to bask in shame.

I would also like to give a round of applause to Colt McCoy and the Browns for proving me wrong.

The Panthers managed to slip away with a win despite my indirect tag of "worst team in the NFL." Cheers to them.

Kevin Kolb let me down as well. Claps for the Titans for proving me wrong.


Predictions


I had a surprisingly good week last week! I went 9-5 to bring my overall record for the season up to 39-33. Maybe that was the push I needed to get on a roll. Let's try to top it this week:

Bengals over Dolphins I cannot really make too many more complaints about Carson Palmer. The Bengals' quarterback went for 412 yards and three touchdowns. And the best part for Bengals fans is that Palmer threw no interceptions. The bad part is that the Bengal defense does not seem up to the test. The offense has done its part, now the defense has to step up against the Dolphins today. 24-21


Cowboys over Jaguars I think Tony Romo getting injured last week was a wakeup call for the Cowboys. It seems that everything had gone wrong for America's team and Romo breaking his clavicle was the icing on the cake. However, I believe that now that the Cowboys have hit rock bottom, they will be able to pick themselves up, at least in this game. The wily veteran Jon Kitna will get it done for the Cowboys today. 28-20


Redskins over Lions I'm taking the Redskins, although I do think this will be a very tight match. The Lions, despite their 1-5 record, have played rather well. Now with a nearly 100 percent Jahvid Best in the backfield, I think the Lions could give the Skins a run for their money. However, I like how the Redskins have been playing. So much so that I could not pick against them today. 31-28


Chiefs over Bills Oh those poor Buffalo Bills. They have played some very good games this year, including last week's face-off with the Ravens. Even at 0-6 the Bills' season is not all bad. However, I believe they stay at .000 after today. Chiefs take it. 17-10


Rams over Panthers Wouldn't you know it, as soon as I claim the Panthers are the worst team in the NFL, they go and beat the 49ers. I do not get it. I'll call that win a fluke and I'll also take the Rams today, for they have been playing extremely well. Well enough for me to pick up their defense for my fantasy league. Don't let me down, St. Louis. 28-14


Packers over Jets This is an extremely difficult pick. However, I must stick to my Super Bowl team in the Green Bay Packers. The Pack have escaped some close contests to gather a few wins, but have also lost their fair share of close ones this season. And with the Jets playing as well as they have this season, it is hard to see how they can be beaten by a shaky Packers team. Maybe the Jets are just due for a loss. That's what I'll claim as reason for this pick. 42-35


49ers over Broncos And my dark horse pick has been proven untrue as of last week. Is it not the most beautiful poetic justice? I say the Broncos are a fantastic team and could possibly sneak into the playoffs this year, and then they get slammed in a 45-point loss to none other than the Oakland Raiders. I had to rub my eyes over and over again after that one. Therefore, for today's match in London I shall give the nod to the Troy Smith-led 49ers. I have faith in him and have since he came out of college, but it seems nobody else has. May the force be with you, Troy. 21-17


Titans over Chargers With the Chargers struggling as they have and the Titans getting Vince Young back this week, my job is made incredibly easy. The Bolts are just not the same team we have seen in the past few years. Maybe Vincent Jackson is in the right. Maybe they do need him. 24-17


Seahawks over Raiders I really like being able to pick the Seahawks. For some reason I am enjoying the fact that they are leading the NFC West and continue to win. Matt Hasselbeck looks like he is back, they have received a spark on special teams from Leon Washington, Marshawn Lynch has provided a boost, and Mike Williams is a terrific comeback story. The Seahawks are the story that nobody has heard about. I like it! 27-24


Patriots over Vikings In Randy Moss's return to New England with his former former team to face his former team (if that makes sense), Moss will not be satisfied with the result. The Vikings are the Chargers of the NFC. Nobody really understands why they are losing, but they are losing and will continue losing for the foreseeable future. 35-17


Cardinals over Buccaneers The Bucs' head coach Raheem Morris has given his team a very big claim to live up to. Morris says that his Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the best team in the NFC. That's quite a lofty statement. Even with a solid record and a nice bid of confidence from their head coach, I do not see the Bucs winning today. Derek Anderson was thrown back into the fire last week for the Cardinals and will be put out there today to lead the squad. I think he is up to the challenge. 17-14


Steelers over Saints The New Orleans Saints are not playing like the New Orleans Saints we have come to know and love. Last week was an absolute dismal loss to the Browns. The Steelers, however, have returned to form after a year off in 2009. Ben Roethlisberger has played well since coming off suspension and the Steeler defense is still the Steeler defense. They win this one. 31-21


Colts over Texans The Texans were able to shock the Colts in their first matchup this season. However, coming off a bye week, the Colts do not look to allow Houston to take advantage of them again. Losing Dallas Clark was a huge hit for the Colts, but they have dealt with injury in the past. The bottom line is Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning. He can make any receiver look good. 28-24


BONUS COVERAGE


Normally I wrap up this blog with my predictions, but I wanted to be sure to give a shout out to a fabulous musician this week. I'm quite a bit late, but my hat goes off to Matt Costa for yet another fantastic album. I highly recommend everyone go out and pick up his new album Mobile Chateau. It is truly beautiful music.

Also, I hope to post more often now that the NBA season has started. Basketball is more of my forte than football because I played basketball, so I hope to provide some information and opinions on what is going on in the NBA this year.

p.s. Another win for the Ohio Bobcats! We are now 6-3! Cheers, men!

p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks