Cardinals @ Seahawks, Saints @ Giants, Lions @ Packers, Texans @ Patriots: Picks

Arizona Cardinals (+10) @ Seattle Seahawks

I love the Hawks. I think they’ll win. But with them, I just never know for sure. The same thing I’ve been saying about them absolutely rings true. Should they beat the Cardinals by a couple touchdowns? Yes. Will they take the chances offensively to upend Arizona in a laugher? History tells us, no. Wilson can handle what the Hawks ask him to do, he’s been nothing short of amazing during his rookie campaign, but for some reason the Hawks like close games, and that means +10 is the side to take.

New Orleans Saints @ New York Giants (-5)

Neither team has been brilliant, but the Giants have been much better. They are looking to secure a playoff spot here in the next couple weeks and this win is as important as ever. The Saints have been riding along with this hope of hopes that they could put an improbable run together and find the playoffs, only that was basically ended last week when they stunk it up against Atlanta and Drew threw 5 interceptions and not a single touchdown. So they’re out. I expect the Giants to dominate time of possession and oust the Saints easily.

Detroit Lions (+6.5) @ Green Bay Packers

This one is not easy, either, but Green Bay looks like a defense that will give up a ton of yards to the Detroit Megatrons. I think Aaron Rodgers and company find a way to win this one, but it’ll come down to the wire. The Packers just don’t have the rushing attack needed to hold off a lead. I wish it was a touchdown – I’d feel better with 7 points, but my numbers say go Detroit here.

Houston Texans @ New England Patriots (-3.5)

It is absolutely true that Houston has a good defense and they can run the ball against anyone. But, the Patriots do a good job of making their opponents do something they don’t want to do, and the Texans have trouble stopping elite passers. Basically, this Monday Night game could show us who the Texans really are, or it could show us that they can’t beat elite passers – maybe both? I’ll take the Patriots until I know better.

Vikings @ Packers-Seahawks @ Bears-Texans @ Titans: Free Football Picks

Houston Texans (-6.5) @ Tennessee Titans

This seems like a trap game, but the Titans just lost their offensive coordinator to the blame game (though I must say, taking your best offensive asset and making him run in a system that he is not suited for doesn’t make a whole lot of sense) and they aren’t very good in the first place. They don’t have a precision passer. Their run game has been better, but certainly there are still some question marks. And finally, their defense just flat out doesn’t help. I know the Texans have been beat up defensively, and they haven’t been as consistent offensively, but this is Tennessee.

Seattle Seahawks (+3) @ Chicago Bears

Well this line says that Seattle is winning. I’ve figured out over the years that home teams get 3 points when the teams are about even. Well, nobody that isn’t in the know believes that the Hawks are the better team. So Vegas is begging YOU to take the Bears here. Seattle NEVER wins road games. The Bears just have to cover three little points. The game is early, 10am Seattle time. The Bears have Jay back. The Hawks are almost surely losing a couple corners for the last 4 games of the season. But I’m telling you, when Vegas is begging for a bet, the other side shines through. And I see what they’re up to here. The Hawks are built defensively to stop the Bears. The Bears capitalize big time on turnovers, as the almost have to win the TO battle to win games (which people often overlook). Well the Hawks are careful, and unless a bounce goes haywire, they aren’t going to be giving any free points to Chicago. When it all rests on Jay and his O-line, things get wild. I’ll take Seattle.

Minnesota Vikings (+7.5) @ Green Bay Packers

Vegas is asking me to take the Vikes here, too. But I’m going to fall for the trap. Green Bay just hasn’t been good. Not offensively, and not defensively. The Vikings aren’t solid either, but with a very strong running game, and a more consistent lean on AP lately, I see them beating up the Packers’ defensive front to the tune of a lot of yards. Hopefully that will keep me in this one.

Seahawks @ Dolphins – Raiders @ Bengals – Steelers @ Browns: Week 12 Picks

Seattle Seahawks @ Miami Dolphins (+3)

I really like the Hawks, even got over Pete Carol’s raw-raw antics and thin he’s one hell of a motivator and coach. I even hope I’m wrong about this. What I see is a Hawks team that doesn’t do a very good job playing to dominate. They play not to lose for much of the game and then rely on a couple key plays to seal the victory. Well, sometimes that doesn’t work out despite being better than their opponent. I like the bet with Miami – getting three, at home, playing a west coast team that is just about as far on the road as it gets.

Oakland Raiders (+8.5) @ Cincinnati Bengals

The Raiders aren’t good, but I’m willing to bet that Carson Palmer comes out and has a nice game against his former team, and despite being a high scoring game, keeps this one close enough to cover. All they need is big defensive play or a return on special teams and this one is a lock.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5) @ Cleveland Browns

This is just the type of team that Pittsburgh needs to get a much needed win. I know there’s no Big Ben, and the Browns are playing better of late, but this Steeler D is playing like it’s up to them if they want to win. I think they play dang near perfect and get a big road win against the Browns.

Panthers @ Bears, Seahawks @ Lions, Falcons @ Eagles, Redskins @ Steelers

Well, a 7-4-2 week in Week 7 wasn’t too shabby, especially when you consider the Bills’ absolutely terrible play calling and execution down the stretch, the Bengals’ self destruction, the two pushes (one, Seattle being a game that many of you bought at +7.5 and won), and the Raven’s no show. A solid week indeed. I’m back for Week 8. Here it goes…

Carolina Panthers (+7.5) @ Chicago Bears

Newton has been what many people expected him to be last year, obviously talented, inaccurate in key situations, and athletic as a runner but without all those touchdowns. The NFL definitely has a way of humbling folks, might even work on Cam… Probably not, but we’ll see. Bottom line here, the Bears aren’t as good as everyone thinks and the Panthers play a lot of close games. I’ll take the points.

Seattle Seahawks (+2) @ Detroit Lions

The Hawks are good. The Lions are bad. It is in Detroit and the Lions certainly are out to save their season, but sometimes will isn’t enough. The Lions won’t be able to run, and if the Hawks don’t go out and try to man up all day with the Lions WRs, then Stafford will continue to have a tough time with turnovers. I’ll take Seattle.

Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles (-3)

A couple things I know after years and years of picking games: 1) the Eagles ALWAYS win after a bye week. ALWAYS. Look it up. 2) Teams that are “great” are rarely actually great, and Atlanta is “great. 3) Undefeated teams usually don’t exist after Week 6. 4) Michael Vick is a pretty good player and if he’s played poorly, he’s probably going to have a couple great games to bring his numbers back around. 5) Teams that don’t run the ball well aren’t to be trusted. 6) I’ll take Philly at home.

Washington Redskins (+4.5) @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Team that should have won last week getting points against team that played poorly and won last week? I’ll take it. RG3 for the win.

Week 7 Thursday Night Football Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers Free Pick

Sure, it’s fair to say that the Seattle Seahawks are just a much better team at home than they are on the road, as they’ve struggled away from Century Link Field but that doesn’t mean their defense is any less impressive. This is a group that is very hard to score on, as Mr. Brady and the Patriots found out in the second half last week. The 49ers don’t really have a dynamic offense, so it’s not like they’re coming in looking to fire the ball down the field on the Hawks. Bottom line: it’s going to be a low scoring football game between two very good defenses going up against two very mediocre offenses. Rankings or statistics be damned, these are probably the two best defenses in football. So what’s it going to come down to?

It probably comes down to who can run the football and which team finds a little bit of lightening in a football. Either team could win this game, and the advantage has to go to the San Francisco 49ers, 4-2 this season (just like the Hawks), NFC Championship runner-up a season ago, playing at home, needing a win after a very poor performance last week against the Giants: but giving the Hawks 7 points is a delicious recipe for covering a spread, so I just can’t find it in me to take the home team 49ers.

Russell Wilson might be a rookie, and he might have low numbers, but there’s a little bit of magic in his game, and he certain won’t back down from a defense that will be set to stuff the run against the Hawks. That means a couple big chances from Wilson, and probably a couple big plays from a pretty underrated receiving corps. The Hawks won’t let the 49ers run game get going, and we saw last week that if the 49ers aren’t running, their passing show isn’t running on all cylinders either.

You all know my code: you never give a good team 7 points. The Hawks might be what some fools will call “overachievers” but anybody who knows this team knows that they’ve been improving at a very high rate. This is a good Seattle football team and nobody deserves 7 points against them, especially on Thursday Night where defenses usually dominate the show.

Seattle Seahawks (+7) @ San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks vs St. Louis Rams Free Pick Prediction Point Spread Odds Line Week 4 09/30/2012

The Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams clash in a battle of NFC West division rivals on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

The game gets going at 1 pm ET on FOX.

NFL Handicappers odds had the Seahawks opening as 1-point favorites but bets on Seattle have pushed the ‘Hawks up to 3-point favorites. Seattle is a -140 moneyline favorite and St. Louis a +120 underdog. The over/under total is at 39.

Seattle is 13-1 SU in its last 14 games when playing St. Louis

Seattle is 6-1 SU in the last 7 head-to-head meetings in St. Louis, and 13-1 straight up in the last 14 meetings overall. The total has gone under in 4 of the last 6 meetings.

Seattle won 14-12 on a controversial last-second play against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football, and covered as 3-point home underdog. St. Louis lost 23-6 to the Chicago Bears last Sunday and failed to cash as a 7-point road underdog.

Seattle is 2-1 SU and 2-1 ATS and St. Louis is 1-2 SU and 2-1 ATS.

NFL Picks trends show that the total has gone under in 4 of Seattle’s last 5 games overall, and in 4 of Seattle’s last 6 games on the road. St. Louis is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games at home, and 5-14-1 ATS in its last 20 games overall.

The Seattle Seahawks vs St. Louis Rams free NFL betting pick is available right now to all callers to Lester’s courtesy line by dialing 1-800-293-0127.

Dallas Cowboys vs Seattle Seahawks Prediction Pick Point Spread Odds Line Week 2 09/16/2012

The Dallas Cowboys will be aiming for a 2-0 SU and ATS start when they go into one of the most hostile environments in the NFL Sunday, taking on the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.

This NFL matchup can be seen live on local FOX stations starting at 4:25 pm ET.

NFL Lines had the Cowboys opening as a 5-point favorite but money on the Seahawks has the Cowboys down to field-goal favorites. Moneyline betting odds have Dallas a -170 favorite and Seattle a +150 underdog. The over/under total is at 41.5.

The recent head-to-head series has the Cowboys with a 5-4 straight up and 6-3 against the spread edge in the past nine meetings, with Dallas easily winning the past three meetings, all in Dallas. The last time the Cowboys were in Seattle was 2007, when they lost 21-20.

Last week, Dallas (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) upset the Super Bowl champion New York Giants 24-17 and covered as a 3.5-point road underdog, with the score staying under the total. Seattle (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS) lost to NFC West division rival Arizona Cardinals 20-16 last Sunday and failed to cash as a 2.5-point road favorite.

NFL Picks stats show the total has gone under in 6 of Dallas’s last 7 games overall, in 6 of Dallas’s last 7 games on the road. The total has gone over in 5 of Seattle’s last 7 games.

The Dallas Cowboys vs Seattle Seahawks free NFL betting prediction is available right now to all callers to Lester’s courtesy line by dialing 1-800-293-0127.

Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals Prediction Pick Point Spread Odds Line Week 1 09/09/2012

The NFC West division rivals Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals open their 2012 NFL season schedules on Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Game time is 4:25 pm ET with live coverage on local FOX stations.

NFL Football Picks have seen plenty of line movement for this matchup, as the Seahawks opened as 1-point underdogs but NFL bettors have now been the Seahawks up to 3-point road favorites. Moneyline odds have Seattle as a -145 favorite and the Cardinals a -125 underdog, while the over/under total is at 41.

Seattle finished with a 7-9 SU and 10-5-1 ATS record last season while Arizona was 8-8 straight up and 9-7 against the spread.

Head to head, Arizona is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Seattle, the total has gone over in all five of the past five meetings in Arizona, and the total has gone over in 11 of the last 16 meetings overall. The teams split their two meetings last season, each winning and covering the point spread at home.

NFL betting trends show the total has gone over in 5 of Seattle’s last 6 games overall, and in 9 of the Seahawks’ last 13 games on the road.

Arizona is 5-0 straight up in its last 5 games at home, and is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games overall.

The Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals free NFL betting prediction is available right now to all callers to Lester’s courtesy line by dialing 1-800-293-0127.

NFL Free Picks for Week 17 Football Matchups

Seattle Seahawks (+3) @ Arizona Cardinals
Tough one, but Pete Carol gets his guys to play hard and with nothing on the line for either side, I’ll always take a team he coaches. I like Lynch to have a big day to end a great year, even though the Cardinals defense has been tough down the stretch. I just like the Hawks a lot better in this one.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons (-11.5)
I was a little confused earlier this week, but the Falcons are in. They might not put out a full effort on Sunday, regardless, as it’s almost certain that with Green Bay resting, Detroit will win, and Atlanta will be destined for the 6 seed. Still, I can’t buy the Bucs right now. Did I mention that Tampa mailed it in 6 weeks ago?

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns (+7)
The Browns have a solid defense and the Steelers will be holding some guys out and trying to keep Ben in long enough to cover. Smells like a gross game plan that won’t work out. The Browns are good, but they’re tough, tough enough for +7 in this situation.

Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals (+2)
I know, I know, the Ravens have said the right things all week long, and they are looking for a first round bye and home field advantage, and this could be looked at as a playoff game for them if you squint your eyes, cock your head to the left, and keep the sun out of your eyes with your hands (like Tiger Woods when he’s putting). But the bottom line is that IT IS A PLAYOFF for the Bengals. They win, they continue, they lose, they’re out. I have to take the home team getting points, a good team, playing a loser out game against a team that is already in. Call it “want to”.

Seattle Seahawks @ Chicago Bears NFL Week 15 Free Picks

Seattle Seahawks @ Chicago Bears NFL Week 15 Free Picks: The Hawks are playing some pretty good football and the Chicago Bears just aren’t. I think some of it has to do with Matt Forte, his contract situation, and his injury. Everyone on the Bears (and most of the league) know that Forte is one of the better players in the game, and definitely a top running back. He’s been everything to the Bears’ offense since Kyle Orton was wearing that ridiculous facial hair and winning football games in Chicago. It took Cutler a while, but he eventually figured it out as well; he started handing the ball to Matt and checking it down to him in the passing game. If you can make Jay Cutler check it down, your talent is respected. But the Bears didn’t want to pay him like a top running back (despite him being young and very good and the most important part of their offense). Then he sprained his knee a couple weeks ago and everyone in Chicago took a deep breath (other players as well) to consider the situation. I think it’s hard for guys to see that transpire and not think twice about their situation. Thinking twice in football is not a good thing. You add that to the fact that Chicago’s offense is no longer a threat to move the ball down the field (without Jay and Forte) and now defenses can key in on the first 15 yards. The Bears are struggling, and while the Hawks could be a good team to sneak out a win on, they’re playing pretty good football as well.

Seattle’s defense is a very good unit. They are especially physical and big, which is tough for the Bears’ soft little receivers to deal with, and with no Cutler it will be tough to beat them deep. The Hawks front 7 is also legit, as they’ve shut down just about every rushing attack they’ve faced all season long.

Seattle’s offense isn’t pretty, but they can run the darn football and Tarvaris Jackson is starting to form a nice relationship with two young guys that weren’t expected to do anything this year (Golden Tate and underafted rookie, Doug Baldwin). Baldwin has been legit all year while Tate is picking it up of late. The key cog in Seattle is BEASMO (beast mode) Marshawn Lynch. He’s just flat impossible to tackle with the first guy – probably running as well as any back in the league right now. I think the Hawks win on the road, something they don’t do often.

Seattle Seahawks (+3.5) @ Chicago Bears

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