Thursday, September 6, 2007
NFL "EXPERT" Picks
If you missed my posting last night, please scroll down. .
One of the offseason postings that has been quite successful the last three years is the NFL "Expert" Picks each week, so we are back again this year. There are some new panelists. We are expecting to have four Twins prospects on the panel this year including last year's overall champion, Kyle Waldrop. Kevin Slowey is back for his third year and vows to be much improved. (NOTE - So far, I only have the picks of Jeff Manship. Waldrop was traveling back to Tennessee following his season. Kevin Slowey had an afternoon game yesterday and the team is off to Chicago. Joe Benson and the Beloit Snappers started their postseason last night at Quad Cities. Their picks will be added as I receive them.)
Let's get to the football picks! Let's first introduce the panel. But before I do, I need to point out that there are some blanks remaining in the picks. I hope to receive those picks before Thursday's game. If not, I will select the home team (Indianapolis) for them in the first game. I hope that they will get me their picks before the weekend. Also, the list may include others that are not mentioned here. I definitely would encourage people to check out the links to the blogs of some of our participants. Please just take a minute and check out what they do.
As always, if you have any thoughts, please feel free to e-mail me, or leave Comments below. Have a great day!
"Expert" Panelists
Our 2007 panel now consists of 20 players (up from 12 two years ago and 16 last year... with more room to increase). Here is a very quick bio of each, so be sure to check out their blogs of web sites.
Seth Stohs - Me. I am the writer of this site, www.SethSpeaks.net - Please read the About Me section for a mini-bio of me (that hasn't been updated in a long time, since I started the site. One of these days, I will have to update it.
Roger Dehring - Roger has been contributing to this site for a couple of years now. He provides the weekly player and pitchers of the week in the Twins minor league system over at Twinkie Town. He is as knowledgeable of the Twins system as anyone I have talked to. This is his second year on the panel.
Stick and Ball Guy - writer of the site, you guessed it, Stick and Ball Guy - SBG is one of my favorite writers online. His (and ubelman's!) thoughts and opinions are always smart and sharp and incredibly interesting and thought-provoking. He talks baseball, football and basketball knowledgeably. This is his third year on this panel and will do a good job.
JD Arney - writer of the site, Red Reporter - JD is really a great blogger. If you're a fan of the Reds, or a fan of Wayne Krivsky, the former Twins assistant GM, or a fan of any of the former Twins players he keeps bringing in, you will want to check out his site. This is his second year on this panel.
Kyle Waldrop - Twins Starting Pitching Prospect - finished the 2007 season pitching for the Ft. Myers Miracle, he did get some time in New Britain as well this year - Waldrop was the Twins third first round pick (25th overall) in the 2004 draft out of his Tennessee high school. This is Kyle's second year on the panel. Last year, he was the overall champion, and seemingly won nearly every week.
Kevin Slowey - Twins Starting Pitching Prospect - Slowey was the Twins 2nd round pick (73rd overall) in 2005 after a stellar three year career at Winthrop University. As good as he was in 2005... and 2006... he was incredible this year for Rochester, putting up numbers that have not been seen in the International League for years. He is back with the Twins for September after spending the month of June with the team as well. He is now in his third season on this panel. He made strides last year from the bottom and vows that this is his year!
Jeff Manship - Many Twins fans were surprised that Manship fell to them in the 14th round of the 2006 draft, but we are thrilled he did. He dominated the Midwest League for the first half of the year, and did quite well after his promotion to Ft. Myers for the second half. After a very successful first full season, Manship is back at Notre Dame finishing up his degree. This is his first year on the panel.
Joe Benson - Benson turned down a Big 10 football scholarship to sign with the Twins after they took him with their 2nd round pick in 2006. He spent the entire 2007 season with the Beloit Snappers, playing the outfield, where his season was full of ups and downs but certainly also showed the immense potential he has. This will be his first season on this panel.
Will Young - writer of Will's Minnesota Twins Site - Will's site is great. He has really been making use of the Win Probability charts on his site. His incites on the Twins are great. Will also updates the Twins Organizational Big Board. This is Will's third year making football picks for this site.
John Bonnes - After a one year hiatus from the panel, The Twins Geek and big man at Gameday has come back. He was the guy all Twins bloggers learned from, and still is. This will be his second year on the panel, just not consecutively.
Trevor Born - writer of The Twins Junkie - Trevor is a 18 year old student, just beginning his collegiate career. He has done a great job on his site, but you can also find him frequently in the pages of the Star Tribune. He tells me that football ranks as his third favorite sport behind baseball and basketball. He prefers the Gophers, but is still a rabid NFL fan. He won this league two years ago, but fell back to the back last year. I'm sure he is hoping to reclaim his title as league champ.
Nick Nelson - The college student is one half of the team that combines to give up Nick & Nick's Twins blog where they do great work covering details of the Twins. This is Nick's first year on the panel.
Josh Johnson - Another collegiate, Josh recently started his own Twins blog at Josh's Thoughts. He got off to a great start with great analysis, minor league updates and a couple of big interviews. This is also his first year on the panel.
Josh Taylor - Yet another guy in college, Josh writes a great Twins blog at Taylor's Twins Thoughts. There is some focus on the Twins minor league system including great organizational reports and such. This is his first year on the panel.
Bill Ferris - writer of The Detroit Tigers Weblog - Bill is obviously a Detroit native and a fan of the Tigers so be sure to go to his website to see how the Tigers and their fans are dealing with the team's rough second half. I did a Q&A with Bill early in 2005. This is his second year of making picks.
Al Bethke - writer of Al's Ramblings - Al does a wonderful job writing a blog which primarily discusses the Milwarukee Brewers, but he also touches on all kinds of topics. As with Bill, this is his second year in the contest.
Cory Hepola - Sports Anchor at WENY-TV in Horseheads, New York, also see coryhepola.com - I coached Cory for a few years, from Little League through Babe Ruth. He was one of the good kids. He was also quite the basketball player in high school. After four years at my alma mater, Concordia College, Cory is now a sports anchor. But it does seem that football is Cory's best sport. This is Cory's third year on the panel.
Wes Holtsclaw - Wes is the Sports Editor for the Elizabethton (TN) Star newspaper. He has been covering those incredible E-Twins for several years. He also has been writing a blog called Off the Press.
Mike Brasel - One of my best friends since we were both about 6. He is listed as the left fielder for my Best Players I’ve Played Ball With team. After serving in the Navy for 6 years, Mike went back to school and became an engineer. He’s also a pretty smart football person, who I turn to for fantasy football advice!!
Now, please remember that more picks should be coming in throughout the day on Thursday, so be sure to check back from time to time. There may also be other panelists that decided to participate. Let's get to the picks:
WEEK 1
Seth Stohs Roger Dehring Kyle Waldrop Kevin Slowey Jeff Manship Joe Benson SethSpeaks.net Twins Minor League Expert Reigning champ, and Twins pitching prospect Twins starting pitcher Twins Pitching Prospect Twins Outfield Prospect New Orleans @ Indianapolis Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Miami @ Washington Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Carolina @ St. Louis Rams Panthers Rams Rams Rams Rams New England @ NY Jets Patriots Patriots Patriots Jets Patriots Patriots Atlanta @ Minnesota Falcons Vikings Vikings Vikings Falcons Falcons Tennessee @ Jacksonville Titans Titans Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars Titans Kansas City @ Houston Texans Chiefs Chiefs Texans Chiefs Chiefs Philadelphia @ Green Bay Packers Eagles Eagles Packers Eagles Eagles Pittsburgh @ Cleveland Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Denver @ Buffalo Broncos Broncos Broncos Bills Broncos Broncos Tampa Bay @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Chicago @ San Diego Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Bears Detroit @ Oakland Lions Lions Lions Raiders Lions Lions NY Giants @ Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Baltimore @ Cincinnati Bengals Ravens Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Arizona @ San Francisco Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals 49ers 49ers 49ers John Bonnes Stick & Ball Guy Will Young Nick Nelson Josh Johnson Josh Taylor Twins Geek and mngameday.com Stick & Ball Guy Will's Twins Blog Nick & Nick's Twins Blog Josh's Thoughts Taylor's Twins Thoughts New Orleans @ Indianapolis Colts Colts Colts Colts Saints Colts Miami @ Washington Redskins Redskins Redskins Dolphins Redskins Redskins Carolina @ St. Louis Rams Panthers Rams Panthers Panthers Panthers New England @ NY Jets Patriots Patriots Jets Patriots Patriots Patriots Atlanta @ Minnesota Vikings Vikings Falcons Vikings Vikings Vikings Tennessee @ Jacksonville Jaguars Jaguars Titans Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars Kansas City @ Houston Texans Texans Texans Texans Chiefs Texans Philadelphia @ Green Bay Eagles Eagles Eagles Packers Eagles Eagles Pittsburgh @ Cleveland Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Denver @ Buffalo Broncos Bills Broncos Broncos Broncos Bills Tampa Bay @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Chicago @ San Diego Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Bears Chargers Detroit @ Oakland Lions Raiders Raiders Raiders Lions Lions NY Giants @ Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Baltimore @ Cincinnati Bengals Bengals Ravens Bengals Ravens Bengals Arizona @ San Francisco 49ers 49ers Cardinals 49ers 49ers 49ers Cory Hepola Vic Quick Wes Holtsclaw Howard Sinker Tim Kohlemainen LaVelle E. Neal WENY-TV KOTA-TV Elizabethton Star Section 220 Truth About Cats & Blogs Twins Insider New Orleans @ Indianapolis Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Saints Miami @ Washington Redskins Dolphins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Carolina @ St. Louis Rams Rams Panthers Rams Panthers Rams New England @ NY Jets Patriots Patriots Jets Patriots Patriots Jets Atlanta @ Minnesota Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Tennessee @ Jacksonville Jaguars Titans Titans Titans Jaguars Jaguars Kansas City @ Houston Texans Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Texans Chiefs Philadelphia @ Green Bay Eagles Packers Eagles Packers Packers Eagles Pittsburgh @ Cleveland Steelers Steelers Steelers Browns Steelers Steelers Denver @ Buffalo Broncos Bills Broncos Broncos Broncos Bills Tampa Bay @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Chicago @ San Diego Chargers Chargers Chargers Bears Chargers Bearz Detroit @ Oakland Raiders Lions Raiders Lions Raiders Lions NY Giants @ Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Baltimore @ Cincinnati Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Ravens Bengals Arizona @ San Francisco 49ers 49ers Cardinals Cardinals 49ers 49ers Al Bethke Bill Ferris JD Arney Mike Brasel Melissa Lien Trevor Born Al's Ramblings Detroit Tigers Blog Reds Reporter Fantasy FB Guru SethSpeaks.net Twins Junkie New Orleans @ Indianapolis Colts Saints Colts Colts Colts Colts Miami @ Washington Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Carolina @ St. Louis Rams Rams Rams Rams Panthers Rams New England @ NY Jets Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Atlanta @ Minnesota Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Tennessee @ Jacksonville Jaguars Jaguars Titans Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars Kansas City @ Houston Texans Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Texans Texans Philadelphia @ Green Bay Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Packers Eagles Pittsburgh @ Cleveland Steelers Browns Steelers Browns Steelers Steelers Denver @ Buffalo Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Tampa Bay @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Chicago @ San Diego Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Chargers Detroit @ Oakland Raiders Lions Lions Lions Lions Raiders NY Giants @ Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Baltimore @ Cincinnati Bengals Ravens Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Arizona @ San Francisco Cardinals 49ers 49ers 49ers Cardinals 49ers
Summary
Looking at the selections of the panelists, here is who the collective "We" think will win each game:
Thursday night -New Orleans @ Indianapolis - Colts 21-3Sunday -Miami @ Washington - Redskins 22-2Carolina @ St. Louis - Rams 16-8New England @ NY Jets - Patriots 20-4Atlanta @ Minnesota - Vikings 20-4Tennessee @ Jacksonville - Jaguars 16-8Kansas City @ Houston - Tie 12-12Philadelphia @ Green Bay - Eagles 17-7Pittsburgh @ Cleveland - Steelers 21-3Denver @ Buffalo - Broncos 19-5Tampa Bay @ Seattle - Seahawks 24-0Chicago @ San Diego - Chargers 20-4Detroit @ Oakland - Lions 15-9NY Giants @ Dallas - Cowboys 24-0Monday Night -Baltimore @ Cincinnati - Bengals 19-5Arizona @ San Francisco - 49ers 16-8
As always, please feel free to e-mail me, or you could also leave Comments down below.
Thanks again for stopping by this site. If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.