Expert Football Picks

Terrelle Pryor and the #2 Ohio St. Buckeyes begin their season Thursday when they take on the Marshall Thundering Herd. Pryor is considered one of the odds on favorites by most NCAA football experts to win the Heisman trophy this year due to his combination of arm strength, accuracy and speed at the quarterback position. Going against a Marshall defense that allowed just under 25 points per game last year to their opponents in Conference USA, should be the perfect stage for Pryor to display his skill set and athletic ability. The Buckeyes have an extremely soft schedule in terms of the strength of their opponents, but because of the overall depth of the Big-10 will have no trouble staying atop the polls as long as they continue to win. Ohio St. football is based around one thing……defense!... 

The 2010 College Football season kicks off Thursday as 4 top-25 teams take the field. While Ohio St, Miami and USC are facing squads that are virtual “Cup-cakes”, the Pittsburgh Panthers have decided to begin their 2010 campaign against a Utah Utes team that is coming off of a 10-3 season that culminated with a Poinsettia Bowl win against the California Bears. Despite being slated to play just 2 teams that are ranked in the pre-season top-25, the Panthers will have a very difficult time navigating their schedule without a loss. Notre Dame is expected to be improved over last season. Louisville always has the potential to put up a ton of offense with their aerial attack. South Florida has proven to be an up and coming team in the college football ranks, and Cincinnati may have lost a ton... 

Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriguez better produce an 8 win season or he will not be back in Ann Arbor next season. Coach Rod has had two disastrous seasons at the Big House. Scrapping the traditional power football that Michigan has run for generations for the spread that Rodriguez made famous at West Virginia has not produced the results many expected. Football experts are picking the Wolverines near the bottom of the Big 10. Michigan has not been this bad for decades. Even during down years with Bo Schembeckler ans Gary Moeller the Wolverines still produced 7 or 8 wins and a bowl berth. Coach Rod has already had two losing seasons that are putting the administration on alert. Coach Rodriguez has been his own worst enemy. Violating NCAA rules for extended practice time has infuriated the administration.... 

Manny Ramirez was acquired off of waiver by the Chicago White Sox, and will join the team on Tuesday as they take on the pesky Cleveland Indians on the road. Ramirez has been out for several games this season due to injury, but is still batting .311 with a .405 on base percentage. “Mannywood” is no longer, but his contributions to this Dodgers team have been substantial. Manny batted .396 for the Dodgers when they picked him up prior to the trade deadline in 2008. He single handed led Los Angeles to the playoffs with his 17 second half homeruns. The Dodgers have underachieved all season long, and are currently 10 games back in the National League West, and 6.5 games behind the RED HOT Phillies for the wildcard spot. Their season is not officially over, but their lack of hitting is beginning... 

It looks like the NFL will approve an 18 game regular season with their next collective bargaining agreement. Commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners love the profits possibilities of a new 18 game season. Goodell just needs to get the players to sign off on this new format. Sports handicappers around the nation would love to extend the season 2 more weeks. Lets face it a 4 week pre season schedule is way too long. The NFL should have canned this long month long exhibition season that has fans falling asleep watching free agent hopefuls trying to make the squad.  Most football experts can handle a week or maybe two weeks of practice football. Fans are getting ripped off being forced to pay regular season prices for exhibition football. NFL picks sites and NFL players need to realize that... 

The American League East is by far the most competitive division in all of baseball. The New York Yankees may be the perennial powerhouse, but the Tampa Bay Rays have proven over the last few seasons that they can compete at that level. Despite being out of the discussion for most of the year, the Boston Red Sox have managed to hold it together and now find themselves just 6.5 games back of New York and Tampa. Boston has been decimated by injuries this season. They were expected to compete for the division title by most MLB handicappers when the season started, but key injuries to Dustin Pedroia, Josh Beckett and Jacoby Ellsbury have put the Boston behind the eight ball all season long. They have somehow found a way to still pound the baseball as they rank second to the Yankees in many offensive... 

Two of the top defenses from a year ago go head to head Sunday night. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos ranked amongst the league leaders in total defense last season, but neither of them were able to make the playoffs. Both the Broncos and Steelers will look to take their games to the next level this year. Defense is clearly the focal point for both teams as they used several picks in the NFL draft to maintain the defensive excellence that they have sustained throughout the last decade. Denver is in need of consistency. After the first 6 games of the 2009 season, most NFL experts including myself felt as though they were the real deal, and that making the playoff was a given. Little did we know that their offense would implode, and that their defense would sink to the level that... 

A rematch of Super Bowl XXXV will happen Saturday as the New York Giants take on the Baltimore Ravens in week 3 of the NFL pre-season. Obviously a lot has changed in terms of personnel since that game, but both teams still use a defensive philosophy to win. The Giants had a miserable second half of the year in 2009. After a 5-0 start, the New York defense fell apart as they allowed 40+ points in 5 of their final 11 games. They finished the year at 8-8 and well out of the playoff hunt. Many of the problems on defense were due to injuries, but they are healthy again for 2010, and loaded with talent. The Giants used their first 4 picks in the 2010 NFL Draft to strengthen their “D”. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is a freak! New York saw past his lack of experience and drafted him based on... 

The Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons are in very similar positions heading into the 2010 season. They both finished 2009 with poor seasons. They are both expected to improve this season, and they both were within 50 yards of each other in terms of total offense and total defense last year. Even though their records weren’t the same (Miami 7-9; Atlanta 9-7) in 2009, the closeness of their starts on both sides of the ball is remarkable. The Dolphins ranked 22nd in total defense last year while the Falcons allowed just 39 less yards and finished 21st. On offense, the Falcons ranked 16th with 5447 total yards, and Miami was just 46 yards behind them as they finished 17th. The differences in these squads are how they get it done. Miami has a more traditional approach as they pound the ball with... 

Tonight’s Colts @Packers game will be a shootout with two of the best QB’s in the NFL. Both Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers figure to play deep into the 2nd half. Most sports picks sites have posted a high total above 45 for this game. Game #3 of the pre season has always been the game most coaches use to get their starters at least 3 quarters of work. The final game of the pre season has most stars watching the game from the sidelines. Sports handicappers will finally see these two playoff teams are full strength. Forget that we are still in August both Manning and Rodgers have looked impressive in their limited action. For those who thought Rodgers has a wasted pick 5 years ago have been proven wrong now that the Packer QB has a pair of Pro Bowls appearances under his belt. In just two...