Tag Archives: Detroit Lions

Red’s 202(4) NFL Conference Semi-Final Picks

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For those of you paying attention and thinking about throwing some hard earned money at the misnamed “gaming” industry this weekend, you might note that Red was 6 for 6 straight up last week.

For those of you playing the line, Red was 5-0-1, with only the Commanders/Buccaneers matchup being a push. Red doesn’t typically pick base on the odds, but you might just want to think about that.

So on to the misnamed “Divisional Round” – a round in which two teams who were not division champions could face each other. Red will go to the mat in fighting to call this weekend the Conference Semi-Finals – only because that is exactly what these games are. On to the picks:

Texans over Chiefs. Call Red crazy – he doesn’t mind because he probably is for making this pick. Let’s look back at the Texans’ painful playoff history against the Chiefs.

In the 2015 playoffs the Chiefs walloped the 9-7 Texans at NRG 30 to ZIP. This game was pretty much over after Knile Davis took the opening kickoff 106 yards for a score. Ugh. Red had almost forgotten that long Saturday afternoon.

What Red clearly remembers is the beacon of hope that shone in the first 18 minutes of the Texans/Chiefs game on Jan. 12, 2020. The football world was shocked when the Texans went up 24-0 on the Chiefs. Normality was restored by halftime with the Chiefs leading 28-24 in route to a 51-31 rout. It would take several years for the Texans to shake off that ass whomping.

So why should this year be any different? The Chiefs are not the same juggernaut they have been for the past many years. The running game is suspect. Mahomes has to carry the team – which would be a dream come true for most. CJ Stroud seems to have shaken off his sophomore slump and if Joe Mixon can bruise and cruise for over 150 yards and a brace of TDS, the Texans have a chance. But more critically, Red thinks the Chiefs have run out of rabbits and maybe even the hat to pull them out of. A team only gets some many miraculous finishes in one season. And the Texans showed real signs of life last week against a very good Chargers team. It’s a close call. Houston 27 KC 24.

Lions over Commanders. The Lions are the best team in the NFC by a long shot. Red thinks that only the Rams might have a chance against them if they make it through a frigid Sunday afternoon in Philly. Goff is playing at his best (ask the Vikings), Gibbs is bruising defenses and the Lions defense is good enough to hold down the fort. The Commanders have had a good season (meaning any season the Cowboys don’t win the NFC East) and certainly should be thinking they have a chance. But Red isn’t saying that. Take the Lions forget about the spread. Detroit 45 Washington 17.

Eagles over Rams. People are raving about how the Rams played down the stretch. But tell Red this, other than beating the Bills at home in a wild 44-42 game that could have gone either way – who did the Rams beat before waxing the overrated Vikings in the Wildcard round? The Patriots, Saints, Jets, 49ers, Cardinals – no one of consequence. Red knows you can probably say the same thing about the Eagles. And while Red doesn’t normally place much meaning in a regular season matchup, the Eagles did dispatch the Rams with some ease back in November. Only a garbage time touchdown by the Rams kept that game from looking like more of a rout. The Rams had no answer for Mr. Barkley who had 255 yards on 26 carries. Red will let you do the math. If Hurts has just an average game, with the best back in the game right now controlling the ball, Red just doesn’t see the Rams as being able to keep up. It may be close for a while, but the Eagles close out strong. Philadelphia 31 Los Angeles 20.

Bills over Ravens. Red hates picking this one. These are two teams who both deserve a shot at the Conference title. The Bills have been pretty consistent all year with but a few bumps in the road (maybe the loss to the Texans doesn’t look so bad and losing to the Ravens and Rams is no mark of disgrace). The Ravens started the season 0-2, then corrected course for a while beating the Bills 35-10, then it was up and down but come mid-December they have been really unchallenged and playing their best football. This one all comes down to who has the better game Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. The difference might be a single sack, an interception or a turnover on downs. This one is down to the wire as it should be. And is too much to ask for a blizzard game? Buffalo 31 Baltimore 28.

Red’s 2024 Weekly NFL Rankings – Week 14

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The closing stretch is near.  Who will be in? Who will be out?  Why are you asking Red?

  1. Detroit Lions (11-1)  Red premiers a new feature beginning with the Lions this week.  Actually, before he was just too lazy to include W/L record.  Lions deserve this spot.  Can they keep their players on the field?
  2. Philadelphia Eagles (10-2) Eagles have inside track to No. 1 seed in NFC with only the Vikings and Packers nipping at their wings.  Red is not aware that birds have heels.  Feel free to correct him.
  3. Buffalo Bills (10-2) – Red loves a good blizzard game.  Apparently, as does Josh Allen. Was that the best touchdown of the year?  Once again, how did the Texans beat this team?
  4. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1)  Chiefs may be the worst 11-1 team in NFL history.   But they continue to win close one-score games. 
  5. Minnesota Vikings (10-2) Still doing it with smoke and mirrors.
  6. Green Bay Packers (9-3) Mirrors will need to be brightly polished and the smoke machine will need to be finely tuned against the Lions on Thursday.
  7. Pittsburgh Stealers (9-3)  Those who counted R. Wilson out are now licking their wounds.
  8. Denver Broncos (7-5)  Broncos wish they were in the AFC South.
  9. Baltimore Ravens (8-5) Are the Ravens swirling the drain?  Defense must step up or the Ravens will be grasping for the No. 7 seed in AFC.
  10. Washington Commanders (8-5) The Commanders are in the Top 10?  Are the end times near?
  11. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)  I don’t think any AFC team wants to face the Bolts in the post-season.
  12. Seattle Seahawks (7-5)  Geno is playing well again and has the Falconos Marinos (which is Red’s favorite Spanish name for an NFL team) on a roll.
  13. Arizona Cardinals (6-6)  You just never know which Cardinals team is going to show up on game day.
  14. Houston Texans (8-5)  Can they beat the Chiefs or the Ravens down the stretch?  Red is calling it now.  Yes and No.
  15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) What can you say about a team like the Bucs?  Red has no clue.
  16. Los Angeles Rams (6-6)  Could be trouble if they make the playoffs and get some key players back.
  17. Atlanta Falcons (6-6)  Cannot make up their mind.
  18. Indianapolis Colts (6-7) Colts are a living, breathing, walking embodiment of parody in that they are not out of the playoff picture yet.
  19. Dallas Cowboys (5-7) Two game winning streak has fans excited.  Calm down now.
  20. Miami Dolphins (5-7) Return on investment is very poor.
  21. San Francisco 49ers (5-7) Need to go 4-1 down the stretch.  And that would be a stretch.
  22. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)  Bengals cannot buy a break this season. Cowboys had better watch out.
  23. New Orleans Saints (4-8) Saints do not deserve a break.
  24. Chicago Bears (4-8)  Bears are simply broken.
  25. Carolina Panthers (3-9)  Showing signs of life.
  26. Cleveland Browns (3-8)  Jameis Winston is fun to watch – that is if you like roller coasters.
  27. Tennessee Titans (3-10)  Will Levis has not sucked for several weeks now.
  28. New York Jets (3-9)  Will they ever learn?  It’s not looking good.
  29. New England Patriots (3-10)  Red is going to write a poem about the Pats season. Ode to Hubris.
  30. New York Giants (2-10)  Do they Giants have one good game left in them?
  31. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10)  Casinos are packed.  Stadium – not so much.
  32. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10) Hopefully, the coaching staff is not foolish enough to let Trevor Lawrence play again this year and that is now confirmed.  All hail, Mac Jones – our reigning Dead Man of the Year!

Red’s 2018 NFL Predictions – NFC North

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May Red just say, “He hates this division.”  Red is not entirely sure why, but he has always disliked having to pick winners and LOSERS from this one.  Which is curious because the NFC-North contains three of the most venerable franchises in the league.   The Lions started as the Portsmouth Spartans in 1929 moving to Detroit in 1934 and played in the first official playoff game – the 1932 Championship against the Bears (played because the teams ended the season tied for first place).  The Packers joined the league in 1921, the second official NFL season.  And the Bears can lay claim being one of the two original NFL franchises (as the Decatur Staleys) still in existence.  The Arizona Cardinals (nee Chicago Cardinals) are the other.  The Vikings are the upstart newcomer having joined the league in 1961 to increase the NFL to a whopping 14 teams.

Minnesota Vikings –  New quarterback – new offensive coordinator – new challenge with first place schedule –  all could add up to a tough season.  Many commentators are looking at a difficult schedule and predicting a big fall off for the Nordic warriors.  Red doesn’t see the NFC -West as all that tough as the Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams and 49ers are all overrated.  The NFC – East component should be even easier unless the Bills and Dolphins step up – and Red thinks the more likely scenario has those teams stepping in it.  Red is not high on Kirk Cousins but he made a really pathetic OTNAs team look decent at times. The big question is what to do about the running game with the loss of Jerrick McKinnon and no real answer for a solid replacement.  So why the Vikings?  Like he said, Red has to pick someone.  Minnesota sleds to a tough 10-6 record.

Chicago Bears  – Every season one formerly pathetic excuse for a professional football somehow picks itself up off the garbage pile and starts winning games.  Red’s pick for worst to (almost) first this season is the Bears.  Red’s just going with his ever growing gut on this one.  And Red will be putting an “I Like Mitch Trubisky” bumper sticker on his car – just so people will wonder – “Who the hell is Mitch Trubisky?”  To which Red could answer, “He’s the poor man’s Kirk Cousins.”  Chicago also goes 10-6 but only gets Wild Card spot – Maybe – stay tuned.

Green Bay Packers – Red admires the 200 some thousand Green Bay Packers, Inc. shareholders and the way this team has been run for almost its entire existence as a community project.  All professional sports teams should be owned and controlled in this fashion – not by some billionaire blowhard (Jerry Jones comes to mind for some reason) who could give a shit  about the average fan once he or she has paid for the season tickets.  The owner who won’t make sure the fans aren’t gouged at the concession stands and don’t have to sit in three hours of traffic to get home.  The owner who plays commercials at 120 decibels at every possible opportunity.  The “welfare queen” owner who sucks on the public tit and expects the taxpayers to make him richer just because he has deemed to grace their city with a professional football team – at least until there is greener turf somewhere else.  So while Red always wishes good things for the Packers, he also has to be honest with his readers and tell them – not this season.  A-Rodg carried them on his capable shoulders until going down last season.  Is he back?  If so, then maybe there is hope.  Or maybe not.  Green Bay is 8-8.

Detroit Lions –  The last good thing Red remembers about the Lions is reading Bobby Layne’s autobiography – Always on Sunday – in elementary school.  Red is not sure why his parents let him read about Bobby’s alcoholic womanizing, drunk driving, and non-stop partying but it sure opened Red’s eyes to the possibilities of life – or a certain kind of life anyway.  Unfortunately, Red’s athletic career and exposure to the side benefits of sports celebrity was cut short by a crippling lack of talent and a desire to keep his teeth.  Maybe Red was allowed to read this fascinating tome because Layne had been the hero at UT when Red’s parents were in school.  And maybe the curse of Bobby Layne is still hanging over this franchise.  Although possibly apocryphal, after he was traded to the Stealers in 1958, Layne supposedly responded to the trade by saying that “the Lions would not win for 50 years.”  Bobby apparently called for an extension at some point.  So while short on analysis here, Red has hopefully provided you some insight into the stupidity of this whole exercise.  Detroit stinks – 4-12.

 

Red’s NFL Picks – NFC North

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The division Red hates most of all.

Vikings.  What a start to last season with the Vikings coming out of the gate 5-0.  Then cold hard reality (like a Minnesota winter) set in and the team went 3-8 to finish the season.  But for the fast start an even season would have looked pretty good after losing Teddy Bridgewater to what may still prove to be a career-ending injury.  With Sam Bradford at the helm and little help from the running backs, the Vikings probably did about as well as could be expected.  Adding Latavius Murray and rookie Dalvin Cook will give SB some more tools and there have been improvement on the O-line, but this season will turn on the defense.  Mark Zimmer had the unit humming last year – ranking 3rd in yards allowed and 6th in points allowed.  They start the same basic unit this season with only Captain Munnerlyn and Chad Greenway gone.  Just a little better play from up and coming players like Danielle Hunter, Tres Waynes and Eric Kendricks could make this the second or third best defense in the league.  More turnovers and they are there.  Red likes the Vikings chances in an overall down year for this divisions.  Minnesota blows no one away but manages a title with a 11-5 record.

Packers.  Packers needed six consecutive wins to end the season after a mealy 4-6 to claim the NFC North last season. But guess what – they still have Aaron Rodgers and a talented crew around him.  That is, except for at tailback where the untested Ty Montgomery is stepping in. Opening with Seattle will be a reasonable test of the Pack and could set the tone for the first half of the season.   But it doesn’t get any easier for the Packers as they also face the Falcons, Bengals, Cowboys, Vikings and possibly dangerous Saints before a favorable Week 8 bye.  Expect a 4-3 record at the break. After that it is a bit easier.  Packers are 10-6 and in as the Wildcard.

Lions.  Matt Stafford is now the highest paid player in the history of the NFL?  Does that make any kind of sense – even nonsense?  No.  Even with the HPPITHOTNFL, the Lions were drubbed in the playoffs by Seattle. This year no one gets the chance to drub the Lions in the playoffs.  Detroit is an 9-7 team at best and while that got them a playoff beating last year – it won’t be good enough in 2017.

Bears.  Red swears the Bears will not switch gears and stay in arrears (in wins) this year, so hear this,  steer clear (if you hold your cash dear) of ever betting on the Bears – except to lose – Red fears.  Sorry.  Chicago 3-13.