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 Thirteen

Owning Up

Chargers S Eric Weddle scores off a Manning interception.
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Where have the Indianapolis Colts gone? That is a question that seems to be resonating throughout the NFL right now. The Colts are sitting at 6-5, tied for the AFC South lead with Jacksonville. Usually, the Indianapolis is able to run away with the division. For quite a few years Peyton Manning and the boys have been a lock to win. People counted on it.

However, now the Colts are, as mentioned, tied for the lead at 6-5 with the Jags, followed close behind by both the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans at 5-6. For what reasons we don't quite know yet.

It is never easy to blame it on the great Peyton Manning and it still is, but their loss last week to the Chargers was not his best. Manning threw four interceptions with two being returned for touchdowns. The Colts defense only allowed one offensive touchdown, but the Chargers still managed to drop 36 to the Colts' 14. Therefore, although it is never easy to blame Manning, it is easy to say that without those four picks and two touchdowns the Colts would have had a much better shot at winning.

Moving forward, Indy simply needs to play like the Indy we know. It will be difficult with all of the injuries on offense including but not limited to Joseph Addai and Dallas Clark. However, as many have said before, Peyton Manning can make any offense look like an all-star team. Manning needs to cool down and continue playing at the high level he has played at his whole career.

Predictions

Last week went fairly well for me. I'm beginning to think I'm not too bad at making picks. Watch, this week I'll end up losing a large amount of games. Consider me jinxed. Last week I went 8-5 which leaves my season record at 78-63. I will try to improve on that this week with these picks:

Saints, Bears, Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs, Browns, Vikings, Giants, Chargers, Colts, Rams, Seahawks, Falcons, Steelers, Jets

p.s. I had a great time broadcasting the game last night. It's good to be back. Look forward to more high school basketball on ross.localsportsradio.com.

p.p.s. Shout out to my Phoenix Suns on winning a couple of games this weekend.

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

We'll all be witnesses

Tomorrow is the day Cleveland Cavaliers fans have been waiting for since Decision 2010: The day LeBron James returns to Cleveland to face his former team and his hometown that seemingly hates him. After watching the Dan Patrick Show this morning I find myself agreeing with Dan Patrick about what this game means.

Patrick along with special guests Jason Whitlock (FOX Sports) and Michael Wilbon (great American citizen and co-host of Pardon The Interruption) brought up the point that people are forgetting that there is a basketball game to be played tomorrow night. What fans or people simply interested in the LeBron James saga are waiting for is the initial reaction of the Cleveland fans. When the name "LeBron James" is read over the loud speaker, what will the fans do? I think most can agree that cheering is out of the question. Will they boo? How loud? Will they remain silent? In Miami's first game against Boston, every time James got the ball boos rained down upon him...against Boston!

We can only sit and wait to see what Cleveland fans will do tomorrow night before the game, but do not forget about the game itself. The Cavaliers are not exactly the cream of the crop, but the Heat are going through a rough patch right now and have not played well, or at least not as well as everyone expected. Wilbon predicts that the Cavs will win this one and I must agree with him. I am a firm believer in poetic justice. For example, when Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips incited a brawl by tapping St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina's shinguards and Molina followed up in his next at-bat with a home run. Therefore, on the grounds that poetic justice is always served I am picking the Cavs to win tomorrow. This should be a fun one.

p.s. The game can be seen live on TNT at 8 P.M. EST.

p.p.s. That game will be followed by my Phoenix Suns at the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 P.M. EST. I am actually much more excited for this game than the Cavs/Heat game.

p.p.p.s. Tune as Tyler Bridge and I call the "Battle of the Rams" as Ross takes on Badin in the opening weekend for high school boys basketball. All of the action can be caught on ross.localsportsradio.com at 7:30 P.M. EST.

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