Who thought we'd be excited about Lions/Niners: Week 6

Detroit/San Francisco
Who would have thought that this would be a highly anticipated game a few months ago?? The Tigers lost last night...the city of Detroit could use a boost.
Lions by 7.

St. Louis/Green Bay
The question of the season is how much can the Rams get for the #1 draft pick? Of course, they'll have to battle for it with Indianapolis.
Pack by 14 at least.

Carolina/Atlanta
The Falcons have been struggling lately, and the Panthers are very hungry for another win.
Panthers by 3.

Indianapolis/Cincinnati
The Bengals are a young team. They know they are not that good, but they really want to win. The Colts just feel like this season doesn't matter, and they are already looking to next season.
Bengals by 4.

Buffalo/NY Giants
You gotta believe!!
Bills by 7.

Jacksonville/Pittsburgh
I'm not really sure what the Jags are thinking right now. I think they're just running around trying to play football. It's not too pretty. On the other hand, the Steelers are the most up and down team this season. It's either 4 touchdowns or 2 interceptions for Big Ben.
Steelers by 10.

Philadelphia/Washington
They keep saying they're going to get better, but I think all hope is lost in Philly. All hope is definitely not lost in a revived Redskins team. Turns out Rex Grossman was not joking about that division title.
Redskins by 5.

Houston/Baltimore
Tough one to call here. Both teams are playing well. The Ravens are probably the more complete team right now.
Ravens by 4.

Cleveland/Oakland
Neither team is exceptionally good, but Cleveland is very inconsistent. The Raiders are a tough and resilient.
Raiders by 6.

Dallas/New England
America's Patriots and "America's Team." Can't get much better than that. One has to wonder how long the Pats can keep it up with the worst passing defense in the league. As long as Romo doesn't collapse, I can see how the Cowboys have too many weapons for the Pats defense to handle.
Cowboys by 3.

New Orleans/Tampa Bay
This could easily be upset city with the Saints playing a divisional rival on the road, but I'm not betting against Brees and my favorite boys from down da bayou.
Saints by 7.

Minnesota/Chicago
As much as the Bears seem to be trying to find themselves, the Vikings seem to be trying to find the Donovan McNabb of old. They just keep trying and trying. At some point, they're going to realize the season is a waste and follow the Broncos model. Just play the kid and see what he's got.
Bears by 4.

Miami/NY Jets
As much as the Jets are overhyped by...well, by only themselves, the Dolphins are in a horrible tailspin. Lots of talk that they would trade for Orton. I'm sure this excites Kyle Orton as he would play filler role waiting for next heir apparent. Yeah, his life has to be awesome.
Jets by 10.

Week 4 Predictions

Detroit at Dallas
Lions by 3.

Carolina at Chicago
Chicago by 4.

Buffalo at Cincinnati
Bills by 7.

Tennessee at Cleveland
Titans by 6.

Minnesota at Kansas City
Vikings by 1.

Washington at St. Louis
Redskins by 10.

New Orleans at Jacksonville
Saints by 14.

Pittsburgh at Houston
Texans by 4.

San Francisco at Philadelphia
Eagles by 6.

NY Giants at Arizona
Giants by 4.

Atlanta at Seattle
Falcons by 3.

Miami at San Diego
Chargers by 7.

New England at Oakland
Raiders by 2.

Denver at Green Bay
Packers by 7.

NY Jets at Baltimore
Ravens by 2.

Week 3 Predictions

New England/Buffalo
New England by 7.

Cincinnati/San Francisco
Cincinnati by 3.

Miami/Cleveland
Cleveland by 2.

Denver/Tennessee
Tennessee by 3.

Detroit/Minnesota
Detroit by 10.

Houston/New Orleans
New Orleans by 7.

NY Giants/Philadelphia
Philadelphia by 10.

Jacksonville/Carolina
Carolina by 6.

NY Jets/Oakland
NY Jets by 3.

Baltimore/St. Louis
Baltimore by 14.

Kansas City/San Diego
San Diego by 17.

Green Bay/Chicago
Green Bay by 4.

Arizona/Seattle
Arizona by 10.

Atlanta/Tampa Bay
Atlanta by 6.

Pittsburgh/Indianapolis
Pittsburgh by 7.

Washington/Dallas
Dallas by 3.

From Zero to Hero, From Hero to Zero

Every so often there is a shift in power when perennial powers have been around too long (see: Mubarak, Hosni and Qaddafi, Muammar). Now I'm not suggesting that the Patriots or Green Bay will be knocked down, but we did see the Steelers, Saints, and Colts go down last week. I am more so suggesting that we could be beginning to see a shift in power with some underdogs coming up. We'll see if some early success can carry over to Week 2.

Kansas City/Detroit

I'm riding the Lions train as long as it will go. They have a championship caliber QB, a great receiving corps, a decent running game, and a stellar defense. I think/hope and pray that this is their year. The city of Detroit needs uplifting. The Tigers and Lions both having good seasons makes for a happy city (and a great African safari).

Detroit by 6.

Oakland/Buffalo

In the spirit of keeping with our rising underdogs, I vote for Buffalo to have a 2-0 start. They actually have a competent quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick to go with their more than competent receiver Stevie Johnson. Oakland is getting better, but they were pretty sloppy last week against Denver. I'm just not a big Oakland believer, and let's go out on limb here with Buffalo.

Buffalo by 3.

Tampa Bay/Minnesota

Donovan McNabb needs to tuck his tail and retire. It's sad now. He can no longer retire with much on-the-field dignity. The Vikings need to try their luck with Christian Ponder. Let's see what the kid can do and if they need to enter the QB Sweepstakes next April. The Bucs lost a tough one to Detroit, but they will likely be able to knock off this NFC North team.

Tampa Bay by 7.

Chicago/New Orleans

Well, we don't have to guess who I will pick here. Da Bears played well last week, but do not look for a NFC South victory repeat. In all sincerity, the Saints will be too much for the Bears with or without Urlacher (and my thoughts and prayers are with him).

New Orleans by 4.

Baltimore/Tennessee

This could potentially be an over-confidant Ravens team after the obliteration of the Steelers last week, but the Titans looked little improved from last year. They couldn't even beat a Jags team who had changed QBs a week before the game. The Ravens have Ray Rice, a killer defense, and Joe Flacco (who still has not convinced me he will be a great QB, but he manages the game).

Ravens by 10.

Cleveland/Indianapolis

I know I said last week that I am no longer picking the Browns, but a week has helped my feelings. They blew it against a less than average Bengals team, but Indy is struggling and we are playing the underdog vs. perennial power game this week.

Browns by 3.

Jacksonville/NY Jets

The Jets are a very good team....a very good team that could potentially make it to a Super Bowl if Mark Sanchez has a good day. Their signal caller is just a little too hot and cold for my taste, and I'm not convinced yet. However, I think they are good enough to knock off a Jags team searching for identity, but the Jags have MJD. I never count him out.

NY Jets by 7.

Seattle/Pittsburgh

I think the Seahawks will hands down by in the Top 5 and score a nice QB in the draft next year. The Steelers had a nasty game last week, but are a top tier team very capable of rebounding.

Pittsburgh by 14.

Arizona/Washington

The Cardinals are better than last year especially with Kevin Kolb, but so are the Redskins. I liked what I saw from their highly improved defense last week. They were playing the Giants, and although I'm never big on the G-men, they are a respectable team. The Cards beat a struggling albeit improved a la Cam Newton Panthers team.

Washington by 4.

Green Bay/Carolina

It would certainly be fun to watch the league's worst team last year beat the Super Bowl champions. With this mood I am in tonight, I am almost crazy enough to pick the cats from Carolina...almost. Green Bay is good, great, marvelous. No way of getting around it. They are a complete team capable of going unbeaten. I'm not crazy enough to pick that even to stay true to my thesis.

Green Bay by 10.

Dallas/San Francisco

The Cowboys have a QB who cannot operate in clutch situations, and the Niners have a return may who certainly can. However, I don't expect this game to get in a clutch situation. (Well, except that Tony Romo needs this win) The Cowboys should run away early with this one, but who knows with the 'Boys.

Cowboys by 7.

San Diego/New England

San Diego had a very lackluster performance last week. I look for Phillip Rivers to rebound, but can he outplay Tom Brady? The Chargers need to win their division and have a nice playoff run to end this mediocrity. I'm just not sure they are in the same league (metaphorically speaking obviously) as the Pats. Although, this will be a good test for the Pats defense.

Patriots by 10.

Houston/Miami

Miami came out with a decent showing against the mighty Pats last week. They got manhandled by Tom Brady's "video game" numbers (Tedy Bruschi, I love you, but stop speaking. That was funny.) The Texans NEED a good season and are primed for it with the departure of the Colts (yes, as a whole).

Texans by 6.

Cincinnati/Denver

I am petty enough and honest to admit I am really not picking Denver (on principle) until they play Tebow. Yep, I'm an unashamed fan, and I just want them to give him a shot. If he fails, I will shut up, but I want to see him have his shot. Also, it helps that I am going with the underdogs this week. The Bengals will struggle this season, so why not let them start 2-0??

Cincy by 3.

Philadelphia/Atlanta

I'm not all hyped up about the Mike Vick return to Atlanta. Yeah, ok he left them out to dry, but they've been fine since. Falcons fans are happy with their team led by Matt Ryan, so why let their be bitter grapes? The Falcons lost a tough one last week and will very much be looking for a big win to solidify their status as a Super Bowl contender. I look for them to come out swinging.

Atlanta by 2.

St. Louis/NY Giants

I'm not really excited about this Monday night game. It's a battle of the battered. The Rams suffered some bad losses last week and the Giants lost half their roster before there was a roster. Eli Manning makes me go to sleep and forgets what color his receivers are wearing.

St. Louis by 2.

Let's set the record straight

After all of the talk about moving the kickoff to the 35 yard line, we had an NFL-record 8 kicks/punt returned for touch down this week. I know at least two were by rookies (Patrick Peterson, Randall Cobb). There could have been more, but those are the ones that come to mind. Not to the surprise of my fellow NFL blogger junkie, Trace Armstrong, but I failed to write my post before the season. In the spirit of wanting to go head to head with predictions this year, I will say what I would picked this weekend (yes, I will try to be as honest as possible.)

Green Bay 42, New Orleans 34

Sigh....There is no doubt I would have picked the Saints here. I am as biased as you can get for my team. I will pick them 100% of the time. Green Bay was tremendous and Aaron Rodgers is my fantasy QB (not a bad night for me). I like how one ESPN writer put it..."The Saints performance would have been good enough to top any other team in the league." Drew Brees was sharp, and I question the decision to put the game in the hands of a rookie running back. Nothing against Mark Ingram because he does get paid in the NFL now, but it's still a tough position.

Chicago 30, Atlanta 12

Not going to lie, I would have gone with Atlanta here. The Falcons fell apart, and QB Jay Cutler was ready to silence his critics. Atlanta better bounce back or they will look foolish for their draft day trades.

Cincinnati 27, Cleveland 17

Just when you think this is the year for the Browns. Colt McCoy showed tremendous promise during the preseason, and the Bengals always looked plain terrible. The tables were turned when it really counted. I would have gone Browns...never again.

Buffalo 41, Kansas City 7

I really would have picked Buffalo as an upset here. Ryan Fitzpatrick usually had decent passing stats last year, and Kansas City was blessed with an easy schedule. The Chiefs are looking to be exposed this time around. I admit that I never would have guessed it would be such a pounding. I think the Bills will be decent this year, but they always seem to live in mediocrity.

Philadelphia 31, St. Louis 13

This was an easy one. Although I had my doubts about Philly's touted offense in the first half, they quickly proved me wrong. The Rams left banged up losing Danny Amendola and Steven Jackson (and Sam Bradford to a less serious finger injury), and the Eagles proved they have more than just Michael Vick.

Detroit 27, Tampa Bay 20

This would have been a toss up, but I am unashamedly on the Lions bandwagon this year. They have been terrible for so long, they are due for a good season. They have a good defense, a potentially great QB, better than average receivers, and a mediocre running game. Good things are in their future.

Jacksonville 16, Tennessee 14

With the blow dealt to the Jags last week, I would have picked against them, but I forgot they had MJD. Tennessee just sort of showed up. I guess they too thought the departure of David Garrard would make this game easy.

Baltimore 35, Pittsburgh 7

I would have picked the Ravens here because I think this is their year, but not by as much as they won. You always expect this game to be close, but I guess the Steelers didn't get that memo. The Steelers should be embarrased...really embarrassed. Are they still licking their Super Bowl wounds?

Houston 34, Indianapolis 7

Poor Colts. How do you recover from losing your golden ticket? They just went from heroes to zeroes. From guaranteed playoff contenders to guaranteed playoff watchers. There is talk that even if Peyton can play, it wouldn't be worth it because they will have already lost too many games to make the playoffs. That has to feel great for the other 52 men on the roster who apparently are nobodies now.

Washington 28, New York Giants 14

Although I had some faith in the refurbished Redskins and had wondered about the depleted Giants' defense, I probably still would have picked the Giants, but not by much. Happy to see the Redskins do well, and their defense was scary good.

San Francisco 33, Seattle 17

In the battle of the irrelevants, I would have picked the Niners based on the mere fact that they had a QB that can sometimes perform, which is more than you can say for the Seahawks. I actually love Pete Carroll as a coach (and enjoy the fact that he is once again opposite Jim Harbaugh), but Tavaris Jackson as the QB you acquired in the offseason? He has to be worse than of the QBs Carroll ever had at USC.

San Diego 24, Minnesota 17

It scares me for the Chargers that the score was this close. Not only because Minnesota is shaky, but because Donovan McNabb threw for 39 yards....the whole game. The only reason the Chargers are not starting their season 0-1 is because of that. Every year, you think the Chargers will be good (I mean they have Phillip Rivers), and every year they disappoint. I would have picked them hands down, but by at least two scores.

Arizona 28, Carolina 21

I'm not this huge fan of Cam Newton, but he has to be the best at performing under immense pressure of anyone I have ever seen. Carolina did not win, but it had nothing to do with Newton's performance. I don't know anyone outside of the Newton family who could have predicted such a performance. I don't look for him to repeat every week, but it was a tremendous start. Ron Rivera has to be feeling good. I would have picked the Cards, but it would have been cool to see the Panthers come out with this win.

New York Jets 27, Dallas 24

Tony Romo has to be the most loved man in all of Texas right now. Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and Tony should have a party together and see how many tomatoes are thrown. He's a great QB...except when he needs to be. I would have gone with the Jets because I love Rex Ryan. If it was up to him, the Jets would go to the Super Bowl every year...or so he says.

New England 38, Miami 24

Tom Brady is a brilliant QB....ok, old news. However, Chad Henne showed up to play, and the Patriots' defense did not. It was a great win on the arm of Mr. Brady, but their defense has got to pick it up. I would have picked the Pats everyday on this one.

Oakland 23, Denver 20

This was a worse game for Denver than the score says. It was just not fun to watch. We saw another record broken here with Mr. Janikowski's leg bomb of 63 yards. He's the highest paid kicker in the NFL and the best player on the Raiders team. Well, ok maybe McFadden is decent. It was fun to watch that field goal though. Kyle Orton just has to be the most boring player ever. I know there is so much Tebow-mania, but even if Tebow wasn't there, one has to wonder if Orton jerseys would be a commodity. I would have picked Oakland on the mere fact that I am mad at Denver for not starting Tebow.

So there we have it...11-5 this week. Predictions for next week will hopefully be up tomorrow for those of you who were just waiting in anticipation for my post (all two of you).

As Christ Loved the Church...

“I, (insert name), take you (insert name), to be my (wife/husband), to have and behold from this day on, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; until death do us part.”

You may all recognize these as traditional marriage vows. I'm not really sure who coined this timeless sentence, but it is recognizable across generations and cultures. I was reading a lecture in my seminary class this week discussing the Church. You are all probably familiar with Ephesians 5:25 when the apostle Paul explains that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the Church. He likens Christ's love for the Church to a marriage relationship. As we are to all follow in Christ's example, wouldn't it be logical to make the assumption that we are to love the Church as Christ did?

I know many churches that adopt membership covenants that every new member is to sign. Some churches are afraid to do things of this nature because it may turn people away. Why is this? A number of reasons...some people are afraid of binding commitments, there are many controversial issues that people may disagree on, etc..

We struggle with commitment as a society, but shouldn't we, as Christians have a binding commitment to the BRIDE OF CHRIST? In a perfect world, people would view marriage as a binding commitment...as well as their commitment to the Body of Christ. There are going to be rough times, but when you do have those times, you remember the vows you took....for worse, poorer, sickness, to love, until death. When you have disagreements, don't settle for dissolution of relationship with "irreconcilable differences," but instead stay committed.

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life," but 1 John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." Be committed to your brothers and sisters, stay committed to the Body of Christ...His Church until death do you part.

Glorious Mayhem

The last 4 or so weeks of my life have been quite comical really. As most of you know, all of the Emersons resided under one roof for the holidays while Justin and Brittany's house was being finished. Although some people would rather walk over hot coals 70 times than be in the same room with their whole family for 5 minutes, this is thankfully not the case with us. Do we get on each nerves sometimes? Sure, but all in all, we love and appreciate each other.

Fortunately, this was over the holidays minimizing the exhaustion that would have surmounted during the normal work week. However, this was during the holidays...when you usually recharge after working like an animal normally. Haha...

The first night of togetherness was filled with elation after my brother returned from his month long overseas work. He had been in South Korea, home for 3 days, then back to Qatar. Most probably know the story of Qatar. In short, he arrived, got sick, didn't have proper working visa, had to go to Dubai, went to hospital, got medicine, went offshore, didn't get medicine we sent from US, finally came home. (that may have classified as a run on sentence...not totally sure, but it made for the world's largest sentence diagram with compound verbs). The day he got home, his fever spiked to 104+. This lasted for three days, and in the meantime, our 12 year old lab starts coughing up blood and massively losing weight. After many X-rays and blood tests on both human and canine, we had mono and a tumor. Justin had the mono, Queeny had the tumor. In the days following Dad, Mom, Patrick, Connor and, eventually, I got sick. None of us were believed to have gotten mono, but just bad colds, coughs, sore throats, etc.

As the healing process continued, Brittany eventually succumbed, and Dad passed a kindey stone (thankfully, he passed it!). The people and dogs seemed to be on the upside, but a few days ago, Brittany awoke throwing up. She had a horrible migraine (we theorize from strawberries..long story). Fortunately, she felt better by the afternoon. On the other side of town, her mom also was having dizziness and nausea issues.

They closed on the new house last Thursday, and the builder lost the keys. Is this really possible?! Well, we did round up the keys after a couple of days. You never really knew on what side of the bed Connor (the 3 year old) would wake up (literally and figuratively). Some days he would randomly tell you that he loved you. Other days, he would pitch a fit for absolutely no reason. Although this seemed bipolar, we had to stop and think about what 2010 held for the poor kiddo. He started school, had a baby brother, left the only home he has know, was homeless, got a new home, and his daddy was gone out of the country 70% of the time. It was a rough year for the dude.

Christmas morning was truly amazing with a 3 year old. His excitement and anticipation was unmatched. He woke up in the middle of the night and told his daddy he heard bells. When questioned, he said, "The sleigh bells!" His dad told him that he better go to sleep or Santa wouldn't land at his house. Apparently this is the easiest way to make a 3 year old sleep!! As he walked into the living room on Christmas morning, the wind made a giant "whoosh" in the fireplace. We told him it was Santa leaving. He totally believed us, and his blue eyes became as big as baseballs as he ran to try to catch a glimpse of the jolly man in red.

Yesterday, I tripped on Patrick's chair thingy in the hallway, The wall, thankfully, broke my tumbling fall. It was a hilarious reminder of the past month of my life. Toys, clothes, random junk EVERYWHERE, but it was really fun. I know we are all ready to have a little space, but I will miss those 4 (5 including Queeny) when they go. WIth Patrick's teething, Connor's bursts of energy in the morning, and T-Drew's unwillingness to use the bathroom outside due to Queeny's presence, it was never a dull moment. Last night, our neighbors decided it would be cool to light the remainder of their New Year's fireworks. These people clearly do not have toddlers as it kept Connor up for quite some time. However, it was sort of fitting for the end of a mayhem-filled time together. We all came out of it in tact and hopefully healing from our ailments.

Maybe sometimes we felt like proclaiming Philippians 4:13 (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.), but I would imagine for the most part it was a little more of Deuteronomy 26:11 (And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.)

We are blessed abundantly...and can spend several weeks together harmoniously! Haha...

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord, and may you live every day in 2011 serving Him!