Time to celebrate that great American pastime: gluttony! Despite a slate of bad matchups, turkey day is always a great day for football. The featured games this week are New Orleans at Dallas, Green Bay at Atlanta, Tampa Bay at Baltimore, and San Diego at Indianapolis.
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NFL Week 12 2010 Picks
Straight Up
| MATCHUP | Vegas Vinny | BostonMac | RJ | Peso* | Actual |
| Patriots @ Lions | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | |
| Saints @ Cowboys | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | |
| Bengals @ Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | |
| Titans @ Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | |
| Vikings @ Redskins | Vikings | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | |
| Steelers @ Bills | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Bills | |
| Jaguars @ Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | |
| Packers @ Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Packers | Falcons | |
| Panthers @ Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | |
| Chiefs @ Seahawks | Chiefs | Seahawks | Seahawks | Chiefs | |
| Dolphins @ Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Dolphins | |
| Bucs @ Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | |
| Eagles @ Bears | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | |
| Rams @ Broncos | Broncos | Rams | Rams | Broncos | |
| Chargers @ Colts | Chargers | Colts | Chargers | Colts | |
| Niners @ Cards | Cards | Cards | Niners | Niners | |
| Prev Week | 12-4 (.750) | 12-4 (.750) | 13-3 (.813) | 9-7 (.563) | |
| Overall | 93-67 (.581) | 92-68 (.575) | 93-67 (.581) | 91-69 (.569) |
Against the Spread
| MATCHUP | Vegas Vinny | BostonMac | RJ | Peso* | Actual |
| Patriots @ Lions (+7) | Lions | Lions | Patriots | Patriots | |
| Saints @ Cowboys (+3.5) | Saints | Saints | Saints | Saints | |
| Bengals @ Jets (-9) | Bengals | Bengals | Jets | Jets | |
| Titans @ Texans (-6.5) | Texans | Titans | Texans | Titans | |
| Vikings @ Redskins (-1) | Vikings | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | |
| Steelers @ Bills (+6) | Bills | Bills | Steelers | Bills | |
| Jaguars @ Giants (-8.5) | Giants | Jaguars | Jaguars | Giants | |
| Packers @ Falcons (-3) | Falcons | Packers | Packers | Falcons | |
| Panthers @ Browns (-11) | Browns | Browns | Browns | Panthers | |
| Chiefs @ Seahawks (+1) | Chiefs | Seahawks | Seahawks | Chiefs | |
| Dolphins @ Raiders (-3) | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Dolphins | |
| Bucs @ Ravens (-8) | Ravens | Ravens | Bucs | Ravens | |
| Eagles @ Bears (+3.5) | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | |
| Rams @ Broncos (-4) | Broncos | Rams | Rams | Broncos | |
| Chargers @ Colts (-3) | Chargers | Colts | Chargers | Colts | |
| Niners @ Cards (+1) | Cards | Cards | Niners | Niners | |
| Prev Week | 8-8 (.500) | 9-7 (.563) | 10-6 (.625) | 4-12 (.250) | |
| Overall | 73-82-5 (.471) | 84-71-5 (.542) | 74-81-5 (.477) | 64-91-5 (.413) |
* The peso is a coin flip of an old peso to pick the game.
Locks of the Week
Vegas Vinny: (4-7, Balance =$910). The Seahawks have the 30th ranked passing defense in the league. And since the bye week have shown a propensity to give up big yardage on the ground as well. The Chiefs have the best rushing attack in the league and Matt Cassell is starting to get better. The only reason this line is Seattle +1 is because of the home field advantage and Kansas City’s struggles on the road. I think the Chiefs run all over the Seahawks in a laugher. I’ll put $55 to win $50 on the Chiefs (-1).
BostonMac: (4-7, Balance =$545) Yes! I’m off the schneid! I broke my rules for locks last week and now I’m on a solid one-game winning streak. So let’s break some more this week. Don’t like to take featured games? Check. Don’t want to bet against an elite team at home? Check. Don’t bet a backdoor cover on a game with a 3 point spread? Check. Don’t like to bet more than $110 at a time? Check. The Packers won’t win against the Falcons this week, but they will lose by 1 or 2. Sorry, Matty Ice, but Atlanta, you’re fucking out. I’m fucking in. I’m putting $330 to win $300 on GREEN BAY (+3) on the road.
RJ: (6-2-1, Balance =$1235) This will be the cheapest, lamest, most uninteresting and uninspired LOTW I will pick this season, but the line is just too weak not to pounce on. There is nothing worse right now than Arizona Cardinal football. Many can argue that I must not be watching enough Carolina Panther football and while that may be true, I give the poor Panthers the benefit of the doubt with all of their injuries. I don’t give the Cardinals a free pass. They refused to accept that Kurt Warner was actually going to stay retired and now they’re stuck with the Anderson Hall Two-Headed Quarterback Suck Monster. It’s got to be awful for Cards’ fans: Anderson Hall starts, sucks, then Derek Max comes in sucks harder. Did I get the names right? No matter.
This also isn’t a ringing endorsement of the 49er brand of football we’ve seen this year. The Niners are coming off another embarrasing loss to the Bucs where they didn’t bother to find the endzone. However, the Cardinals barely found it in garbage time against the Chiefs. So in matching these teams up, I think the 49ers (-1) are the lesser of the two football evils on perhaps the biggest MNF dud ever to reach air. 55/50.
Burton: (5-5, Balance =$815). You know, I really don’t like any of the games this week to lock, so after making $500 (back) the last two weeks, I’m going small. Really small. Let’s try $33 to win $30 on Kansas City. Seattle is better at home than on the road, but the Chiefs are a better team. The Seahawks have struggled mightily against stronger backs for a few years now, and I expect Charles to destroy them. But honestly, I don’t care. Win or lose, this week is the trickiest of the season. Hopefully Vin and R.J. lose big so my $33 fail isn’t so terrible.
***This write-up was submitted before the podcast. On the podcast, I manned up and put $110 to win $100. Listen for yourself.***