Week 12: Turkey Week

Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson started off
the week with a Thanksgiving feast of the Eagles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is always a favorite holiday for us Stubborn OXen.  Along with getting to eat a lot, something at which we both excel, we also get to watch a lot of football, another thing we do very well.

From our families to yours, and from New Hampshire to West Bum-Eff New York, have a great Turkey Day!

Here are our picks for the week.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
Arizona over @San Francisco

Stally: The Cardinals proved last week by outlasting the Bengals that they're indeed one of the best teams in the league.  The 49ers, meanwhile, continued to prove that they can't score enough points to compete.  Last Sunday's home loss was San Francisco's fourth consecutive game with 17 points or less. This one might be closer than the last time they met, when Arizona won 47-7, but that's about the only thing to look forward to if you're a San Francisco fan.

Austen: Blaine Gabbert has been a nice surprise for the 49ers at QB, but he has still been one of the top-five worst starting quarterbacks this year. The Cardinals are looking to bury the Seahawks in the division race and try to lock up a first-round bye in the playoffs. This game will help them with both those causes.

Week 11: The Undefeated and Undisputed

Cam Newton said that if people don't like his dancing in the end
zone, they just need to stop him from scoring ... easier said than done.

See ya, Cincinnati!

The Bengals unexpectedly fell from the ranks of the undefeated in an ugly 10-6 home loss to Houston last Monday night.  That leaves just two undefeateds: New England and Carolina.  The two teams are vastly different in terms of their build and their (preseason) expectations, but at this point, both look like they could make for a very fun-to-watch Super Bowl of juxtaposing strengths if they stay on the collision course.

Not surprisingly, these two teams top this week's picks.  Here's who we've got along with the Patriots and Panthers:

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
@New England over Buffalo

Austen: Best team in the league at home against a rival they always dominate. The score of round one against the Bills this season looked closer than it was. The Pats dominated them. Might be an even bigger blowout this time around. 

Stally: The Bills won at New England last year for the first time since 2000 (the year before Tom Brady started playing).  It was a Week 17 game that meant nothing to the Patriots, and Brady only played half of the game.  That won't happen again this year, and it's still fair to say that New England doesn't lose at home to the Bills.

Week 10: Miracle at MetLife 2.0?

It has been a long time since David Tyree has been
relevant in the NFL, but the Giants will need some of his
magic to once again upset an undefeated Patriots team.

Every team in the league is at least half way through their season, yet we have more questions than answers when it comes to who are the legit contenders and who are the pretenders.

The Patriots, Panthers, and Bengals are leading the pack with their undefeated records. However, every other team leaves more questions than answers. Can Peyton Manning be good enough to keep a struggling offense afloat to help out the best defense in football? Will anyone emerge in the AFC Wild Card Race? Was the Falcons' early season success a mirage or can they bounce back after struggling heavily the last few weeks.

Some of these questions might be answered this week, but most might linger on for the rest of the season. Here is how the SOBs think the week will shake out:

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@Green Bay over Detroit

Stally: The Lions have become one of the most abysmal teams in the league.  They're just terrible.  The Packers need a rebound game after two ugly road losses (their only two defeats of the season) and this trip back to Lambeau will be just what they need.

Austen: Let's get one thing straight, there is nothing wrong with Aaron Rodgers. He is going to have one hell of a game this week and keep the Lions in contention for the first overall pick. 

Week 9: We Don't Like That

Kirk Cousin might have his own T-shirt, but even that
sweet T will not be enough to knock off the Pats.W

Week 9, really? Where does the time go.

This has been a wacky year so far to almost ludicrous proportions. Devonta Freeman leads the league in rush yards, yards from scrimmage, and total touchdowns. Chip Kelly's revolutionary offense looks like a bunch of high schoolers running around confused. Andy Dalton is the best quarterback in the league not named Tom Brady.

We have another fun slate of game this week. Watch and enjoy, after you read our weekly breakdowns of course.

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
@New England over Washington

Austen: Pats do not lose at home, especially to the Redskins. 

Stally: This was a pretty obvious pick.  The best team in the league at home against one of the worst teams in the league.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@New Orleans over Tennessee

Stally: The Saints defense didn't do Drew Brees any favors in his historic seven touchdown day, but the quarterback would not be denied.  The win gave New Orleans three straight against the Falcons, Colts, and Giants, all of whom are competitive.  It should continue to roll at home against an uncompetitive Titans team. 

Austen: Read between the lines of what Stally said above: the Saints defense is terrible. It took Brees seven touchdowns to knock off the Giants. This game should not be this high, despite the horrendous Titans coming to town. 

Week 8: Good vs. Bad & Bad vs. Bad

Get excited for games like Brian Hoyer
and the Texans versus the Titans!

We're on the road in San Francisco this weekend, fresh off having watched USC pull out a close one at Cal.  It's always nice to get together and do these in person.

There are two types of games this week: blowouts of good teams vs. bad teams and coin flips between mediocre or bad teams.  It's probably not going to be the most exciting NFL slate.

Here are our NFL picks for Week 8:

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@Atlanta over Tampa Bay

Stally: One of the best teams in the league at home against one of the worst teams in the league.  Um ... yeah.

Austen: No faults on this one. One team is good and the other is not. Tampa has some good pieces offensively for the future, but for now they are terrible.