Week 14: Confidence of the OXen

The Broncos made Austen look smart
with Thursday night's win. (AP)

After a few weeks of indecision, Austen and I have our swagger back.  Many of Week 14s' games are shaping up to be lopsided affairs, and the first pick of the week is already in the bag after a Thursday romp.

There will be a little disagreement near the end, but neither of us are predicting any outlandish upsets.  Most of the opposing picks come in games that both of us identify as coin flips to begin with.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick - Denver over @Oakland

Austen: Well this worked out just fine. How predictable was that? Carson Palmer turned the ball over multiple times, Darren McFadden was explosive but inconsistent and once again got injured, and Peyton Manning threw for over 300 yards.

Stally: I had seven games that I marked down as more or less sure picks.  This was near the bottom of that list, but I have little argument.  My biggest hesitation was taking the Thursday night team on the road, but there was just too much disparity in talent.  Can someone tell me why the mediocre-at-best Raiders have fired their head coaches after going 8-8 in each of the last two years?  Do they enjoy trying to find a coach that can lead them back to 4-12 futility?

Week 13: The Mayhem Continues

Tom Brady feast on AFC East. (Getty)

It's a tough week.  Austen and I seemed to agree on many of the picks, but even worse than last week, we had a lot of trouble ranking the games.

There aren't a whole lot of shoo-ins this week.  My first three picks all seemed logical, but all three teams are on the road, and that always causes some pause.  After going 12-2 in two of three weeks, I went a dismal 6-10 in an unsure week.  Austen didn't fair too much better at just 8-8, and both of us understand this could be another rough week with a lot of question marks.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick - New England over @Miami

Stally: With so much uncertainty, I'll go back to the well.  The Patriots have failed me very infrequently over the last decade-plus, so I'll go with them.  They also never seem to lose late in the regular season and I think Austen has more of a statistic on that.

Austen: Since 2010, the Patriots are 19-0 in the second half of the season. In a league with so much parity, that is simply astonishing. This stat just shows you how incredible Bill Belichick is at making adjustments to his personel. The Dolphins shocked me last week by beating the Seahawks, but Seattle has only won one away game all season (against the hapless Carolina Panthers). The Fins have no shot in this one.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick - @Green Bay over Minnesota

Austen: Greg Jennings is back which only makes this offense even more difficult to defend. I cannot remember Aaron Rodgers having two bad games in a row, so look for him to bounce back in an important divisional game after a stunning loss to the Giants.

Stally: The Packers got mopped up and poured down the drain in the Meadowlands last weekend.  They're also just one game better than Minnesota (7-4 compared to 6-5).  However, the Vikings looked miserable in a 28-10 road loss to Chicago last week, and I put this game in the same category, as it's a road trip to a strong division rival. Don't expect this one to be close.

Week 12: Football Feast

Redskins' tight end Fred Davis has officially dubbed
RG3 as "Black Jesus" for his miraculous rookie season.

I want to start this article by wishing everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving. Despite making my job more difficult, I am thankful for such a great slate of NFL games this week. Being able to sit down and watch three solid NFL games in a row on a Thursday is a great luxury that almost never comes along. Remember how many years we all had to sit through the Lions getting massacred on Thanksgiving? I am by no means a Lions' fan, but thank RG3 the Lions are relevant again.

Speaking of "Black Jesus" (thank you fellow Trojan Fred Davis for giving RG3 such an epic nickname), watching the hottest rookie in the NFL go into Dallas to possibly spoil the Cowboys' playoff hopes is one of the more interesting matchups of the week (more on that later).

With so much on the line this week with tons of divisional matchups, and some great grudge matches from last year's playoffs, there should be some serious dog fights. Here are the teams that Stally and I believe will have something extra to be thankful for.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick - Denver over @Kansas City

Austen: Peyton Manning is MVP worthy once again. The Chiefs are starting Brady Quinn. I am still unsure how Quinn is in any way an improvement on Matt Cassel. Say what you want about Cassel, but he actually has talent and his teammates respect him. I cannot say either about Quinn. Home field advantage will not save the Chiefs this week.

Stally: With the rivalry college game this weekend, I'd be interested in further discussing why USC's Cassel is a better choice than Notre Dame's Quinn, but who cares?  The Chiefs suck regardless.

Week 11: A Quiet Excitement

If you need three reasons to watch Jacksonville, here
you go ... too bad they're on the road this weekend. (Getty)

It really doesn't look like a great slate of games, but there's reason to be intrigued this weekend.  Acclaimed veteran Tom Brady goes against the young stud that is Andrew Luck.  The Steelers and the Ravens have their classic grudge match.  And, the Bears and the 49ers will size up their respective abilities in what could end up as a playoff rematch in January.

It might not be the best week for the NFL, but it's certainly not a snoozer week.  We know enough about how each team is doing to understand which of these games will have playoff implications and which clunkers we can skip.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick - @Houston over Jacksonville

Stally: Houston is a 15.5-point favorite.  I believe that's the highest spread of the season and it makes sense as there's an 8-1 team hosting a 1-8 team.  This was a no brainer.

Austen: Nothing more that needs to be said.

2012 Season Draft

It's probably only a matter of time before
Tom Brady wins another Lombardi Trophy.

Austen and Stally conducted the draft in person when Stally visited New York City on the weekend the NFL opened the season.  The picks below are reflected from that original "Season Draft."

Of course, the two got busy with Stally managing to type up his thoughts two weeks later and Austen not getting to do his part until a return from Europe nearly a month after the draft.  Even at that, Stally didn't get to responding until a while later, but we've kept the thoughts to Week 4 or earlier to avoid any time lapse.

1. New England Patriots (Austen, Pick 1)

Austen: The Pats are the best team in the league. Not sure weather or not they will be in the Super Bowl this year, but I think they have the best shot to get there out of any team in the league. They made the SB last season with an awful defense and their D should be significantly better with the additions of two all star rookies. Their offense has even more weapons and two developing running backs to help add balance. This team is scary good. Sometimes I really hate being a Jets fan.

Stally: But, I love being a Patriots fan!  The team should be better than last year with a young defense that was greatly in need of experience last year.