Backyard Brawl

If you like a good rivalry, then your eyes will be peeled to NBC at 8:20 tonight when the Giants take on the Eagles in Philly. There has been trash talk between the two teams, but mostly between Osi Umenyoria and  LeSean McCoy. These two have a very strong hatred for each other. They have had battles on the field and on Twitter. Tonight's game will come down to the wire. The key for the Giants is their Defensive Line. If these guys can get to Vick, the Giants will win. The Eagles need to try and target the Giants' secondary. Jason Pierre-Paul will have a monster game as the Giants will continue their dominance on the road and send the fans at Lincoln Financial Field home with a loss.

Primetime Pick

The Big 10 has had a very disappointing year. They have no teams ranked in the top 10 and have been terrible against AP Top 25 teams. The two best teams in the conference are Ohio State and Michigan State. However, OSU can't play in a bowl game this year because of NCAA sanctions. MSU is 3-1 with there only loss coming to Notre Dame. Le'veon Bell is the best offensive weapon that the Spartans have. Bell is a stereotypical beast. He is strong, fast, and can hurdle a defender when he needs to. He has been carrying this Spartan offense. The Buckeyes have their own playmaker. Sophomore QB Braxton Miller is running the show for Ohio State. Miller has lots of talent. Urban Meyer compared him to Tim Tebow. The big matchup will be MSU's D-line against Ohio State's Offensive Line. This game will be exciting, but I am really buying into Miller and this Ohio State team. For this week's Primetime Pick, I got the Buckeyes winning 30-20. The Buckeyes will look to take down the defending Big 10 Legends Division Champions tonight in East Lansing. 

Bring in the Refs!

Earlier yesterday, the NFL and the referees came to an agreement that ended the referees' lockout that has gone on for days. Luckily, the replacement refs that the league hired to fill in for the regular refs are gone. After Monday night's game between the Seahawks and Packers ended in chaos because of bad calls, I think the league kind of realized that they were going to lose money with the replacements on the field. Many coaches have been fined for arguing with the replacements. Bill Belichick was fined 50K for grabbing an official to get an explanation on a call. The game was losing integrity with the bad calls. One thing I have learned from all this is to not take the real refs for granted.
       

The Ravens' Revenge

Ray Lewis and his Ravens have waited months for this day to get their revenge on Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Patriots knocked Baltimore out of the Playoffs last January in the AFC Championship Game. Missed opportunities killed the Ravens. Billy Cundiff missed a chip shot field goal last year and Lee Evans dropped a ball in the corner of the end zone. Both would have sent Baltimore to the Super Bowl. The Ravens WR Torrey Smith is questionable for today's game after his brother died in a motorcycle crash early Sunday. He left the team hotel this morning. My heart goes out to him and his family. Both teams are coming off a loss. The Eagles squeaked by the Ravens last week with a 24-23 win. The Patriots were shocked by the Cardinals in Foxboro. Aaron Hernandez will not play tonight after an ankle injury in last week's game. This game will be a thriller, but I just think that the Ravens will come out with it. Football fans from across the country will tune into NBC at 8:20 to watch these two AFC powerhouses clash.

Saturday Pick'em

Tonight is full of some great college football games. There are three match ups that I will take a look at. Notre Dame will take on Michigan in South Bend. Notre Dame has looked pretty impressive in their first 3 games. Especially last week against Michigan State. There is a QB that I am looking forward to watching, and it is not Denard Robinson. Everett Golson is running the Fightin' Irish offense. He  can scramble and is very athletic. This will be a great game, but I think the Irish will take it.

There is a huge Big 12 battle in Norman. Kansas State is looking for revenge over Oklahoma. The Sooners won last year's game 58-17. Colin Klein and the Wildcats' offense have been lights out. Oklahoma has had a shaky start. This is their first challenge, though. Landry Jones will need to play well tonight. I am just not buying this Sooner team. A lot of offseason suspensions and injuries have hurt them. I think K-State will get the victory over the #6 team in the country. 

There is a battle between two top 10 teams in Tallahassee. Clemson and Florida State will go at it. The Seminoles are hosting Dabo Swinney and his Clemson Tigers. These are two of the best offenses in the ACC and in the country. This is Sammy Watkins 2nd game back from suspension. Tajh Boyd has looked good in the Tigers' first three games. FSU has its own playmaker in Chris Thompson. Thompson will be the key tonight for the Noles. This game will go down to the wire, but I think the Tigers' offense will carry Clemson to a victory.
I don't know about you, but I will just sit on the couch and watch some football tonight. 

The Most Anticipated Handshake in Football

Tonight, the Detroit Lions will head into Candlestick Park and take on the San Francisco 49ers. This is a rematch of last year's thrilling matchup between the two. However, there is tension between the two teams, especially the coaches. San Francisco won last year's game in exciting fashion. There was a feud between Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz. Schwartz complained that Harbaugh was acting like a child after one win. There was almost a brawl between the two teams and coaches. Tonight's game should be great, but I think a lot of fans will want to see the handshake after the game. This game showcases the best defense in the league against Matthew Stafford and Megatron's explosive offense.  This will come down to the last possession, but I think the Lions will squeak it out. NFL fans from around the country will watch not only the game but the post game coverage.

Battle at Spartan Stadium

Tonight, Notre Dame will take on Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan. This has been an interesting rivalry over the last few years. There have been some thrilling games between the two teams. You can't forget Mark D'Antonio's risky decision to do the fake field goal two years back in OT.     Both teams come in ranked in the top 20. Notre Dame had a scare last week against Purdue. They are sitting at the #20 spot. The Spartans have been very impressive in their first two games. Le'veon Bell has put up beast numbers in his first two outings. He is a serious contender for the Heisman if he keeps up these stats. Everrett Golson will be starting for Notre Dame at QB. This Michigan State D-line is the best line in the Big 10. I expect them to get to Golson a lot tonight. It should be neck and neck the whole game, but I think MSU will come out on top. East Lansing will be rocking tonight when these two teams hit the gridiron.

Game of the Week

The Game of the Week will be when the Dallas Cowboys travel up to Jersey to take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium to kick off the season. The Giants will unveil their 2011-12 Super Bowl banner. It should be a very emotional game for the G-men. They come in favored by 4 points. There has been a good amount of smack talk between these two teams. Tony Romo looked good in the preseason. He has some new targets at Wide Receiver like Dwayne Harris. Wide Receiver Dez Bryant has had some off-the-field issues this offseason. It looks like Jason Witten will be out for Dallas. The key in the game is the Cowboys' Defensive Backs. Morris Claiborne will have a tough job in his first regular season game. This should be a tight game, but I think the Giants' offense will come up big in the end.