I did not have the best week but I was still above .500 last week. Here are my picks for Week 11. Boy this season is flying by, oh, and picks are in bold....

THU, NOV 19
Miami at Carolina
-Both teams seasons are on the line. Miami has more talent so they will prolong their playoff hopes being crushed by another week.

SUN, NOV 22
Washington at Dallas
-Washington got a rare win last Sunday. They will not get a rare win streak this Sunday.

Cleveland at Detroit
-Is it right to call this game the loser bowl? Cleveland is just awful with no hope. The Lions are awful but at least they have some hope with Calvin Johnson.

San Francisco at Green Bay
-The Packers want to prove they are a playoff team so beating the 49ers is a good way to start.

Pittsburgh at Kansas City
-This one is over the minute the plane touches down.

Atlanta at NY Giants
-Common sense says the Falcons win this one but I got this feeling the Giants will pull this one out and save their season from crumbling.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay
-This one is over the moment they start the bus.

Buffalo at Jacksonville
-The Bills got a new coach but they will have the same losing result.

Indianapolis at Baltimore
-I could see Baltimore pulling this one out but after watching what Peyton Manning did to New England, I am not betting against him.

Seattle at Minnesota
-The Vikings keep rolling towards the NFC North crown.

Arizona at St. Louis
-Arizona keeps rolling toward the NFC West crown.

NY Jets at New England
-Bill Belichick must be thanking his lucky stars that the Jets are fading.

Cincinnati at Oakland
-I normally go with the West Coast team when a team from the eastern time zone visits. This is the Raiders we are talking about so I am taking the surging Bengals. Wow, who would have ever thought surging would be used to describe the Bengals?

San Diego at Denver
-This one could come back to bite me but Kyle Orton has a sprained ankle and if memory serves me correct, Orton sprained his ankle around the same time last season. We all remember how bad he faded last season after that problem.

Philadelphia at Chicago
-A primetime game on national television featuring the Chicago Bears. The over/under for how many interceptions Jay Cutler throws is at three.

MON, NOV 23
Tennessee at Houston
-Wonder if Titans owner Bud Adams will flip off his former city after the Texans snaps Tennessee's win streak?

Read why you should go to the Bradley Center to see this kid play at my weekly column on Sportsbubbler.com.

There have been great performances at the Bradley Center but I am talking about games I have seen live in person. I have seen LeBron drop over 50, Steve Novak's 41 on No. 2 UConn, countless Dwyane Wade games and Michael Redd's 57. All of them do not hold water to Jennings' 55 last night at the BC.

What made it so impressive was Jennings' 55 came out of nowhere. The guy did not score a point the entire first quarter. He went 4-of-13 from the field in the first half alone. The Bucks were down big at the half. Then suddenly, Jennings went off. He exploded like a volcano and he poured in 29 points in the third quarter alone. He went12-of-13 from the field including four three-pointers. It was like everyone else was playing bocce ball out there.

To say he was in a zone does not do his third quarter performance justice. He was playing at a level that are reserved for guys like Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlin and Kobe Bryant.

At one point, it looked like he could have closed his eyes, shot in granny style from halfcourt and the ball was still going to find the bottom of the net. What made his second half even more impressive was he kept looking to set up his teammates for baskets. Thankfully, his teammates had good enough sense to give him the ball back.

 I have never seen a prodigy at work in person until last night. He was a wunderkind, a Mozart, he was redonkulus. You have to go back to 1969 to find a Bucks player that fits that description and the slang at the time was groovy.

So I put Jennings' 55 as the number one overall basketball performance I have seen at the Bradley Center. Number two goes to Steve Novak because he was in that same type of zone and he single handily beat the No. 2 team in the nation when everyone thought UConn would win just by getting off the buss.

 Number three, LeBron killing the Bucks. The only reason I put it at three was James did most of his damage shooting the ball. While it is great to see LeBron show off his shooting skills (and I remember he did bury a 30-footer), I would've like to have seen him also drop a few dunks and a few "did you see that" type layups. Redd's 57 would be fourth because the Bucks lost that game. Number five would be Travis Diener pouring 34 on Wisconsin and pretty much single handily beating the Badgers when everyone thought the Badgers would smoke Marquette.

First off, let me emphasize the maybe in the title. Marquette has only played one regular season game against a program that is so bad that they are moving down to D-III next season. The only other game we can off of is that exhibition game against a team that was just happy to be invited into the Bradley Center without having to pay for a ticket. Not exactly two games you can use as an accurate litmus test to see if the fresh face Golden Eagles will successfully survive the Big East and life after Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews.

Hey, this team has to learn how to win at the collegiate level so I am not going to fault Buzz Williams for his first two games selections.

In fact, this season should be seen as exciting times for the Marquette program. That is right exciting times. A lot of new faces and a chance to see what those new faces can do. One thing I have taken away from this two game sneak peek is that this roster is loaded with talent. Exciting talent to be exact and talent that is budding with potential. Even better, some of these guys that were supposed to be just role players brought in to support the three amigos last season might actually turn out to make some names for themselves this season.

Jimmy Butler looks like he is becoming a legitimate second scoring option and being able to take some of the scoring load off Lazar Hayward's shoulders. Through most of last season, Butler epitomized gun shy but now he looks comfortable and confident going to the hole. If Butler keeps on developing, Hayward might not have to score 35 points a game just to give Marquette a prayer.

David Cubillan is looking like that player we saw when he first showed up on campus--knocking down shots and playing on a motor that does not stop. The Junior Cadougan loss might not be as bad if Cubillan can keep playing to the form he has shown.

 Some of these fresh faces look like they can be really good players down the road and even in the immediate future so a 12th place finish might not be Marquette's destiny after all. Then again, they have only played MSOE and the Centenary Gentlemen so now is not the time to say the 2005-2006 will repeat itself. Injuries and inexperience could plague this team at anytime.

Though, that is not to say now is not the time to think things will not be so bad after all. I still believe Marquette's season will shake out one of three ways--really bad, 16-15, or exceeding expectations.

Right now, I think the first scenario probably will not happen. A combination of a lot of injuries, a lot of immaturity and the Big East would have to happen and I do not see inexperience completely getting in the way to have this season result in a tough to watch ending. Also, this talent looks good enough to pull off a few extra wins in the Big East  that many pundits do not see happening. I like what I see in Dwight Buycks, Jeronne Maymon and Darius Johnson-Odom enough to start thinking that this team could finish better than 16-15. Maybe an 18-13, 19-12 finish.

Sorry for not going all out with a NCAA prediction but I have seen a lot of teams (especially Marquette) struggle to replace 67% of their scoring right away. Hey, the sky is the limit with this team. They may just shock the college basketball world like this program did in '05-'06. One thing is for sure, they certainly have the talent to prove those that are predicting Marquette's demise might be greatly exaggerated.

This season is just flying. It seems like only yesterday we were talking about the Packers great preseason. Here are my picks for this week (Picks are in bold)....

Thursday, Nov. 12
Chicago at San Francisco
-The Bears never play well in San Francisco. Then again, they have not been playing well in any city lately.

Sunday Nov. 15
New Orleans at St. Louis
-This game is over the moment the Saints' team plane enters Missouri airspace.

Tampa Bay at Miami
-It took Tampa nearly a year to get a win. It may take a few more weeks before they get win number two.

Detroit at Minnesota
-The Lions always play the Vikings tough until the fourth quarter.

Jacksonville at NY Jets
-This one might be more entertaining than yard work.

Buffalo at Tennessee
-Turns out Vince Young is the difference between winning and losing.

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
-The Steelers get some revenge from that early season upset in Cincinnati.

Denver at Washington
-Maybe the Broncos are not as good as their start to the season but they are definitely good enough to avoid losing to the lowly Redskins.

Atlanta at Carolina
-The Falcons have a bright future ahead of them while the Panther continue to fade into rebuilding.

Kansas City at Oakland
-This game could be considered a form of torture in some civilizations.

Seattle at Arizona
-The Cardinals officially wrap up the NFC West with this win.

Dallas at Green Bay
-The Packers could respond from last week's debacle with a win. Then again, they could respond with another frustrating loss. The way this line has protected Rodgers, I am going with scenario two.

Philadelphia at San Diego
-East coast team visiting a west coast team. In that case, always go with the West Coast team at home.

New England at Indianapolis
-Could this be a preview of the AFC Championship Game?

Monday, Nov. 16
Baltimore at Cleveland
-Cleveland fans were planning a boycott of the first half. The entire country should plan a boycott of the second half considering this game will be over by halftime.

Undisciplined, underachieving and now the Packers just lost to a team that has not won a game in nearly a year. Yep, you can be justified to demand that Mike McCarthy find a spot on the unemployment line.

Talk about a fall from grace. Two years ago, McCarthy was a genius. Now it looks like he barely has control of his team. Let’s see since that magical 13-3 run two seasons ago, the Packers are now 10-14. A team that was one game away from the Super Bowl two seasons ago is now sputtering and is officially in the wilderness with a slim chance of finding its way out.

10-14 since 13-3 makes you cringe doesn’t it? It is an ugly 10-14. Poor offensive line play, a poor pass rush, penalties, a secondary that usually looks lost in pass coverage, poor offensive line play, abandoning the run, lots of penalties, not committing to the run enough, a quarterback that holds onto the ball too long, lots of penalties, poor offensive line play and this list can go on and on.

You can read the rest at my weekly column on Sportsbubbler.com.

I talked about the trade with my fellow colleagues, Justin Garcia and Armen Saryan about J.J. Hardy being shipped to Minnesota. Take a listen, if for anything, you can hear why Armen thinks Hardy being traded is going to help his love life.

Picks are in bold...

Washington at Atlanta
-This one is over the moment Matt Ryan shows up at the stadium.
 
Arizona at Chicago
-Larry Fitzgerald may set a NFL record against the Bears struggling secondary.
 
Baltimore at Cincinnati
-This one could go either way so I'm going with the Ravens' defense on this one.
 
Houston at Indianapolis
-The Colts got a scare last week and they may get another one in this game. When this game is over, expect the Colts to stay undefeated.
 
Miami at New England
-I do not see the Pats getting burned by the wildcat for the second straight season.
 
Green Bay at Tampa Bay
-The scheduling gods smile down upon the Packers.
 
Kansas City at Jacksonville
-Yard work will be more entertaining than this game.
 
Carolina at New Orleans
-I say this every week and I will say it again, can anybody stop Drew Brees?
 
Detroit at Seattle
-Kansas City at Jacksonville will be more entertaining than this game which is not saying much.
 
Tennessee at San Francisco
-The Titans may have finally got that first win but they will not get that first win streak.
 
San Diego at NY Giants
-Something tells me the Giants will bounce back and beat the Chargers. Why? Every time I take the Chargers they usually lose.
 
Dallas at Philadelphia
-And so begins the Cowboys slow and painful fall from the playoff picture.
 
MON, NOV 9
 
Pittsburgh at Denver
-Still not sold that the Broncos are better than the defending champs

Fire them, run them out of town, treat their dogs like Dan Devine's was treated. Okay, so maybe the response has not been that harsh where fans want to wish harm upon the family pets. The masses are starting to grumble that the two men responsible for running Brett Favre out of town should start packing their bags as well.

 The angst is growing and I wonder is it because the two men who had enough gall to move forward without Brett got beat twice by the very same man that was left at the train station? Is it because you are just sick of watching this team year in and year out get younger and younger and get worse in the standings? It can be tiring year after year  wondering whether you are watching a football team or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Maybe you are just tired of watching the defense not be able to find the quarterback. Maybe it is frustrating watching Aaron Rodgers run for his life every snap. You begin to wonder whether you are hearing him call out an audible or a Hail Mary. It has got to be tiring watching revolving doors block better than the Packers offensive line. Watching the field littered with flags that are bound to go against the Packers has got to make any true green and gold loyalist check into cheap fares out of town for McCarthy and Thompson.

Maybe the calls for their heads is coming from watching teams like the Vikings get built the way Super Bowl teams are supposed to be built--mostly through the draft with a nice blend of key VETERAN free agent additions and some bold trades that put a team over the top. Instead, you are stuck watching a team built on nothing but hopes, dreams and fifth round draft picks.

The last time the masses groaned for a firing like this was around 2004. That was the last glory run of Mike Sherman. The team rallied and won the division. The next year, the Packers collapsed like a house of cards. So is that maybe why those that want McCarthy and Thompson gone are feeling the need to bang the drum so loud again? Does it feel like history repeating itself?

I'm wondering if some have come to the realization that the partnership of Thompson & McCarthy (that sounds more like a law firm by the way and less like a GM/coaching combo) built up a 13-3 team and really did nothing to make that team any better. Maybe it is time to realize that the furthest Thompson can take this team is one game from the Super Bowl and that he does not have a clue on how to get the team over the hump.

Then again, all this anger could be because the Packers just got swept by the Vikings and a few wins will make everyone feel better.

As the clock ticked down on the Vikings win over the Packers, Fox broadcaster Thom Brennaman kept mentioning that it is time to move on. He was right. Brennaman also caught himself by saying it still may take a long time for the whole Packer nation to truly move on. Heck, closure may not come until that day Mark Murphy steps up to the podium, fires Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy along with announcing that he too is stepping down and Bob Harlan, Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren are returning to run the show.

That scenario probably has about as good a chance of happening as a Packer offensive lineman keeping Jared Allen away from Aaron Rodgers. What scenario can happen right now is that we should take Mr. Brennaman's advice and move on. Two games and two Brett Favre wins. The old gunslinger got one half of his revenge. He showed that he still has it. I'll admit I thought Brett would throw nine picks in these two games. Instead, he threw seven touchdowns and played it safe by trusting his teammates. He was vintage Brett, the man that an entire legion of fans came to know and love. So the Brett Favre zealots are justified. Great, now move on and focus on the bigger picture like the problems the Packers have (which are many).

-JS Photo | Benny Sieu

Now, it is over. It is bed time. We have let this saga stay up way too late. It has given us every excuse to avoid turning out the lights but now it is time to tuck this saga in. Some of you may hold out hope that this saga may wake up in the middle of the night looking for a midnight snack, i.e. a playoff matchup. Well, that is just not going to happen.

Sorry Packers fans but with the problems in the trenches, the penalty issue and the defense's knack for giving up one too many big plays, there is not going to be a round three in the playoffs. That is not to say the Packers still do not have the talent to grab a wild card spot. It is just that the Packers do not have the talent to go deep enough into the playoffs to meet the Vikings. The Vikings are going to be either a one or a two seed. The Packers, well, they will be lucky to win a playoff game just to get another crack at Brett.

So it is time to put this Favre thing to bed once and for all. Time to stop debating on whether it was right to move on without Brett. Time to stop cursing his name for signing with the dreaded Vikings. Brett won the battles and it looks like with the talent around him, he will win the war when the Vikings capture the division. There is nothing we can do about it unless the Vikings have a collapse of Chicago Cubs proportions. So can we please say good night to the Favre drama and focus on the real problem? Like when will Murphy step up to the podium to make that Ted Thompson announcement?