Standings through Week 12…

1. Eric – Hutcinson, MN – 129 points
2. James – Lake Elmo, MN – 119 points
2. ME! – Minneapolis, MN – 119 points
4. Daniel – North Tonawanda, NY – 117 points
4. Clayton – Utica, NY – 117 points
6. David – Corona, CA – 115 points
6. Michael – Amherst, NY – 115 points
8. Felix – New York, NY – 113 points
8. Ethan – Indianapolis, IN – 113 points
10. Josh – Westerville, OH – 112 points
10. Jamin – Gresham, OR – 112 points
10. Paul – Virginia Beach, VA – 112 points
10. Susan – Lake Elmo, MN – 112 points
10. Jim – Loudenville, NY – 112 points
15. Dan – Pompano Beach, FL – 111 points
15. Darin – New Hope, MN – 111 points
15. John – Winooski, VE – 111 points
15. James – Houston, TX – 111 points
15. John – Oregon, WI – 111 points
15. Joel – Miami Gardens, FL – 111 points
15. Stephen – North Liberty, IA – 111 points
15. Clifford – Voorhees, NJ – 111 points
15. Karen – Tonawanda, NY – 111 points
24. David – Roswell, GA – 110 points
24. Jason – Powell, OH – 110 points
24. Eileen – Arlington Heights, IL – 110 points
24. Derek – Bakersfield, CA – 110 points
24. Matthew – Knoxville, TN – 110 points
24. Timothy – Fox Lake, IL – 110 points
24. Ron – Chino Hills, CA – 110 points
24. Curtis – Stewart, MN – 110 points
32. Daniel – Lansing, KS – 109 points
32. James – Georgetown, KT – 109 points
32. Gary – Los Angeles, CA – 109 points
32. John – Tulsa, OK – 109 points
32. Jared – Alexandria, VA – 109 points
32. Mark – Palmyra, NJ – 109 points
32. Matt – Cortland, OH – 109 points
32. Paul – Brooklyn, NY – 109 points
32. Norman – San Francisco, CA – 109 points
32. Michael – Clifton Park, NY – 109 points
32. John – Hartland, MI – 109 points
32. Steve – Fort Worth, TX – 109 points
32. Jeff – Laguna Hills, CA – 109 points
45. Daryl – Chalmette, AL – 108 points
45. Nick – Phoenix, AZ – 108 points
45. Justin – Jersey City, NJ – 108 points
45. Lisa – Rocky Hill, CT – 108 points
45. Ray – Fort Worth, TX – 108 points
45. Bill – Crofton, MD – 108 points
45. Nick – Yakima, WA – 108 points
45. Jim – North Mankato, MN – 108 points
45. Eddie – Nashville, TN – 108 points
45. Robert – Brooklyn, NY – 108 points

Okay, so roughly two weeks ago Tarvaris Jackson was an awful QB and the Vikings we’re maybe playing for a top 5 draft pick in 2008. NOW, Tarvaris may be “developing” and we’re in a position next week to win and suddenly be in contention for a playoff birth. Tarvaris has thrown the ball at our WR’s feet significantly less in the past two games, however I don’t know if I’m ready to crown him our QB. We’ll see how he does this week. Rookie of the Year – Adrian Peterson will be back in the lineup which means the Vikings are going to be tough to stop. Don’t let the bandwagon pass you by!

Good Luck in Week 13!

How did I miss every game and score a 0? I know I had the Colts and the Pats for starters. he odds I missed every game are as bad as picking them all correct.

Get this for a Miami game picker's Hell: I can't pick against the Patriots, but they may well run the table and RUIN THE DOLPHINS '72 PERFECT SEASON. Right now at 0-11, "the Perfect Season" is pretty much all we Dolfans have left... The other end of my Hell is that I can't pick the Dolphins to win, but if they don't win at least ONE game, they will surpass the record (0-14) Tampa Bay has been chained to since 1976 (stop laughing Tampa Bay fans). Talk about a Catch-22....

@Mark: If you'd like to send me an email from your account that you use to make the picks I can investigate. send to: matt@secondact.com

If you didn't receive a confirmation email after you submitted your picks, it means that your email address was input incorrectly during submission. This glitch is the first in a line of glitches I'd like to try to fix for next year.

If anyone else has questions feel free to just reply to the emails I send out. I personally receive all reply emails in my inbox, so don't hesitate to use that method to contact me. I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible.

@Joel: MIA over NYJ this week. It's going to happen. I think they know it's their only shot. And they probably feel pretty cheated out of a win last night.

This week is Miami's best chance for a win, and they should find a way to get it done... though I don't know how.

Don't strike up the band for the Vikings just yet. How is it that the teams outlook changes so much from week to week. Before the San Diego game, no playoffs.... beat the Chargers, and it's "Playoffs here we come!!" Then get crushed by the Packers, and were' talking draft picks. Squeak out a victory over Oakland, one of the worst teams in the league, and then get a surprising win over the Giants, who are supposed to be good (but aren't really), and suddenly people think the Vikings can win out. It seems that the team has always been like this... they are capable of beating any good team, but equally capable of losing to any bad team. I predict the Vikings will lose to Detroit this week, if for no other reason than I think they SHOULD win.

I think the fix was in on that New England Philadelphia game Sunday night, just as it was in the Dallas vs. Buffalo game earlier in the season. A double-digit underdog pretty much dominates the whole game and then loses by 3 ? I didn't see the whole game on Sunday, just the first half or 3 quarters, but it seems to me like Philly should have won the game, or New England should have dominated as they were expected. As it turns out, New England gets the win but doesn't cover, and Vegas probably takes in a LOT of money. (but none of mine)

As far as this weeks picks... I'd like to know what Bryan's wife and daughter think, because there are a lot of games that I don't know who to go with.

@Eric - When considering the Vikings ability to win and lose games you can almost always count on them to lose the easy games and win the harder ones. I thought we were going to beat Dallas earlier this year, and we looked good for a while and then lost it. But you're right, the Vikings are so predictably unpredictable and as much as I want them to win, the simple fact that I do want them to win, means they will lose.

I think the tough games to pick are going to be...
CLE @ ARI - Two high powered offenses that are playing decent D.
HOU @ TEN - Vince Young playing at home against his home-town team Houston, which didn't look as bad as the score showed in their game against CLE.
CIN @ PIT - If the weather cooperates it should be a good game... "should" be.
JAC @ IND - JAC always finds a way to make it close against IND.
TB @ NO - I don't pay much attention to this division but isn't this matchup always a shootout?

Eric, since you`re in 1st place, and I fell way behind because I missed getting my picks in 2 weeks ago, I don`t think its in my best interest to divulge my secret weapon, AKA, my wife and daughters picks. I need a miracle to catch up now, and I doubt I`ll be getting one.
Btw, the Pats are 20 pt favorites again this week....thank God we only pick winners and not point spreads.

I got started on this contest late, so there is no chance of me winning the TV, but I thought I read in one of the old blogs that there would be other prizes throughout the season. Has anything happened with that? Maybe a T-shirt for the Miami fan who picks the Dolphins every week, even though they never win a game? (except maybe this week)

Mystery Guest Picker/Everyone - You brought up something we've been discussing for a while. We were going to try to incorporate some kind of mid-season prize, but never really worked anything out, and the season upkeep has been more time consuming than initially thought.

We do however, have something planned for the end of the year. I'll probably address it in next week's Tuesday Email, and then post it again in next week's blog, but rest-assured there will be some consolation prizes.

I took Dallas tonight. Too bad I can't watch it at home.

Along with taking Dallas to win, I also took Green Bay to cover the spread (7 pts) with our CEO - Mark. I'm 0-2 on covering the spread this season (the other game we bet on was NE v IND (I had NE covering the spread).

I think I just need to stick to picking winners.