Arizona Cardinals Hire First Ever NFL Female Coaching Staff Member

When the Arizona Cardinals gather at University of Phoenix Stadium for their first training camp practice on August 1, there will be a woman standing on the sidelines watching practice, and she won't be holding a mike, be a player or coach's wife or a cheerleader.

The Arizona Cardinals have hired 37 year old Dr. Jen Welter for their training camp as a linebacker coaching intern  

Welter played 14 years professionally as a linebacker and running back, and one year against the boys in the the Champions Indoor Football League for the Dallas based Texas Revolution as a running back and special teams player before moving to coaching.

Welter has some impressive credentials besides actually playing football.   She is a Boston College grad with a master's degree in sports psychology and a doctorate in psychology.

So yeah, are the NFL boys ready for her?  If she can make them better players, they don't care.   And if the Cardinals like what they see, this training camp hire could turn into a full season gig for her.

Coaching is nothing more than teaching,” cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians said Monday. “One thing I have learned from players is, ‘How are you going to make me better? If you can make me better, I don’t care if you’re the Green Hornet, man, I’ll listen.’ I really believe she’ll have a great opportunity with this internship through training camp to open some doors for


At any rate, she's not only making history, but potentially opening doors for herself and other women who wish to have coaching careers in the NFL.

NFL Hires First Ever Female Referee

The 2015 NFL officials pool will have a groundbreaking member added to it in Sarah Thomas, who was recently hired as the NFL's first ever full time female official

The 41 year old Thomas is a mother of three and pharmaceutical sales rep when she's not on the gridiron, and growing up played softball and basketball.   She began her officiating career at the high school level in Mississippi and by 1996 was officiating at the Division I-A level in the state.

At that  time, the NFL wasn't the goal, but by 2007 Thomas was working games at the collegiate level in Conference USA.   In 2009 she became the first woman to officiate a college bowl game, the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl, and has worked the Senior Bowl, the Fight Hunger Bowl, and the Medal of Honor Bowl in addition to the C-USA Championship Games in 2010 and 2014.

She also worked two seasons as an official in the defunct United Football League.

In 2011 she became the first woman to officiate a game in a Big Ten stadium when Rice played Northwestern,, and was in the NFL's officiating development program in 2013-14 working NFL preseason games, minicamps, and training camps.

"My goal has always been to be the best line judge I can be any time I get the opportunity,"said Thomas at a Wednesday press conference. "I feel honored and blessed to be in the National Football League now."

Thomas won't be the first woman to work an NFL regular season game.  That honor went to Shannon Eastin, who was called up during the 2012 NFL officials lockout and worked preseason and regular season NFL games until the lockout ended.

While Thomas is downplaying her role in sports history, it's still a big deal to a league which is decades behind the NBA, Major League Baseball and FIFA when it comes to having female officials calling their games.

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Super Bowl XLIX Sunday

Well peeps, Super Bowl XLIX will be kicking off tomorrow between the New England Cheatriots Patriots and the defending NFL champion Seattle Seahawks, and I will be standing by with my snacks watching all the action along with my esteemed prognostication partners Eli and 2014 regular season champion Mike . 

Had a blast as usual competing with these two gentlemen in picking NFL games during the 2014 season, and look forward to doing so when the season cranks up again in September 2015.

I've gone 8-2 in the 2014-15 NFL postseason, and was perfec on Championship Sunday.

But it's time to pick who I  believe will be the winner of Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale. AZ.

One the surface, it looks like it's the New England offense versus the Seattle defense.    But you'd be surprised to know that the Seahawks actually had the number nine ranked offense in the league while the Patriots despite the media hype is only ranked 11th.

It's also no surprise the Seahawks thanks to Marshawn Lynch have the league's number one ranked rushing attack. We also know Seattle has the NFL's number one ranked defense that is capable of making Tom Brady have a very bad day.   Tom Terrific doesn't like it when he tastes turf on a regular basis or he has to move from his comfortable throwing spot in the pocket.  

Now New England's defense, while good, isn't at Seattle's game changing level.  It will be fun to see if they can keep Marshawn Lynch from going into beast mode or Russell Wilson from taking off on one of those backbreaking scrambles that tend to come at critical points in the game. 

Speaking of Wilson, he has a chance to make some history.  If the Seahawks win, Wilson would become the first African-American NFL QB to lead his team to back to back Super Bowl titles.

And yep, Glendale is a much closer trip for the 12th Man than it is for the Patriot fanbase.  Translation:  The Patriots may find themselves having to run silent counts to combat the noise generated by the 12th Man.

So who is going to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy when this game is over on Sunday? 

I'm picking the Seattle Seahawks to repeat as NFL champion

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Championship Sunday

I had an identical 3-1 record picking games during the Divisional Round, and just like last weekend, I benefited from a controversial call in a Dallas Cowboy playoff game in compiling my 6-2 playoff prognostication record.

This time (snicker snicker), the controversial call didn't benefit the Cowboys to the consternation of their fans and their legions of bandwagon riders.  

Oh well, the karmic NFL officiating wheel rolls that way sometimes, but now Cowboy Nation don't wanna hear that or get over it.

Life has moved on, and the NFL playoffs are in the Championship Sunday round.   Four teams battling to see who will face off in Glendale, AZ for the NFL title February 1.

And one of them ain't the Dallas Cowboys.

So now that I've gleefully gotten my hate on for the Cowchips, time to get serious and get back to NFL prognosticating.   I'll be predicting who will be the two teams you see fighting for NFL supremacy during Super Bowl XLIX.


NFC Championship
Green Bay Packers (13-4) vs Seattle Seahawks (13-4)

The early game on Championship Sunday is a rematch of the September 4 season opener at CenturyLink Field in which the Seahawks raised their Super Bowl championship banner and subsequently smacked the Packers 36-16.

But this one is for a trip to the Super Bowl.  I don't think the game will be a blowout, or Aaron Rodgers will be 'scurred' to throw to Richard Sherman's side of the field like they were earlier this season.

But Rodgers is basically playing this game on one leg, and while he got away with that against the Cowchips, the NFL number one ranked Seahawk defense is light years better.   If the Green Bay offensive line doesn't protect Rodgers or open holes for Eddie Lacy to run through, it's going to be another long day for the Cheeseheads in the Pacific Northwest.

The 12th Man will be very happy after this game.   Seahawks to win the George Halas Trophy


AFC Championship
Indianapolis Colts (13-5) vs New England Patriots (13-4)

The nightcap features the New England Patriots, who were expected to be here against the precocious Indianapolis Colts, who knocked off the Denver Broncos last week to get another crack at the Patriots.

It's Tom Brady vs my Houston homeboy Andrew Luck, who I get to hate on twice a year as the Texans biggest AFC South rival.

The Colts got drilled at Lucas Oil Stadium 42-20 back on November 16 as Jonas Gray ran over, through and around the Colts defense for 199 yards and four touchdowns.. 

Nobody gives the Colts a chance at beating the Brady Bunch (myself included) except for people inside the Indianapolis metro area, and even they are probably hedging their bets.   But an interesting stat to throw out there in that the Colts are 12-0 in rematch games.  

But this one is being played in Foxborough, the Patriots are 13-3 in home playoff games, and the Colts aren't the Baltimore Ravens. 

We'll see if the Colts pull off another upset, but I doubt it.  This is their fourth straight AFC title game appearance, and the Patriot fans at Gillette Stadium will finally get to see Tom Terriffic hoist the Lamar Hunt Trophy.

Patriots to win this game.

Hey Cowboy Fans, NFL Officiating Karma Is A You Know What

Y'all know I have no love for that NFL team that plays in Arlington and have been a Cowboy hater since childhood

And after watching the Lions get robbed by a jacked up call last weeks and Cowboys Nation telling the pissed off Detroit  fans to 'get over it', now after the officiating karmic wheel kicked their fave squad in the teeth, the griping about it has been loud and long.

And before you get started with that 'What have the Texans done?' line, they've won one more playoff game and one more division title than the Cowchips have in this decade, and they've only been around since 2002..

And please Cowboy fans, don't start bragging about those Super Bowl titles.  Not only is that so 20th century, y'all haven't been to a Super Bowl much less won one in the 21st Century without buying a ticket for it or watching it on your big screen TVs.

Dez Bryant had an amazing and critical 4th down fourth quarter catch wiped out because of NFL Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 1 AKA the 'Calvin Johnson Rule'.   Yeah, he caught the ball, but he didn't according to that rule after making contact with the ground maintain control of it. 

Because he didn't do that, the catch call was correctly reversed after the challenge by Packers coach Mike McCarthy.   The Packers got the ball and the Cowboys never saw it again.

And in other news, Chris Christie is rumored to be heading to the NFL store to buy a New England Patriots jacket and a Seattle Seahawks 12th Man flag.

Yes Cowchip fans, I have some sympathy for you.  I and other longtime Oiler fans are still pissed about a lousy call in Three Rivers Stadium that robbed the Oilers of a tying touchdown in the 1980 AFC Championship game against the Steelers and possibly cost us a Super Bowl trip.

But not that much because of your Harris County bandwagon riders that crawled out of the closet,

They were insufferable as usual inside Loop 610 after being cricket chirping silent about 'Dem Boys' for the last three 8-8 seasons as the Texans were winning back to back AFC South titles

So yeah, NFL Officiating Karma is a you know what.

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Divisional Round

Went 3-1 on my Wildcard weekend round picks thanks to an assist from the refs in the Detroit-Dallas game.

Now we move on to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs in which all of the road teams have the formidable task of trying to oust teams that went a combined 15-2 at home.

How is this weekend going to shake out according to Moni?   Let's get busy.

Saturday Divisional Round Games

Baltimore Ravens 11-6 vs New England Patriots 12-4

Once more with feeling as the Ravens and Patriots battle at Gillette Stadium to see who advances on the AFC side of the playoff bracket.   The Patriots are a formidable 12-3 in home playoff games, but two of those lasses are to guess who?   The Ravens go up to Foxborough with the confidence of having beaten them there multiple times and Good Joe Flacco showing up and showing out as they dispatched their AFC North rivals the Steelers in convincing fashion at Heinz Field.

But the Patriots come into the game knowing this may be their best chance to get to another Super Bowl with Tom Brady at quarterback and if they can take down their playoff nemesis it will be a huge confidence boost.   And yeah, Darrelle Revis works for them now while the secondary has been the weak spot for the Ravens for much of the season.

While the Ravens have been on a roll and are motivated to as Terrell Suggs said "to ruin everybody's plans', the only plans getting ruined today are theirs.

Patriots to advance to AFC Championship game.

Carolina Panthers 8-8-1 vs Seattle Seahawks 12-4

The Panthers head to Seattle to take on the defending NFL champions at CenturyLink Field and the 12th Man will definitely crank up the decibel levels for this game.   Something else that has been cranked up lately is the Seattle defense.   They won their last six games to capture the NFC West and homefield advantage for the NFC playoffs, and were the Number one ranked defense in the NFL.

But the Panthers are no slouches in that department either, holding the Arizona Cardinals to a record low 78 yards in their 27-16 playoff win last week.   The Panthers are probably the team in the NFC closest to the philosophy of the Seahawks in term of having a defensive minded mentality, and the last time they faced each other it was a low scoring affair.  Carolina has also been playing must win games for a month just to get to the NFL playoff party, so they are already used to playing win or else football.

The difference in this game however is Carolina won't be playing at home against a third string quarterback, they will be facing Russell Wilson and a team that wants to repeat as Super Bowl champs.

And they will be playing the NFC title game in Seattle next week.    Seahawks to win this game

Sunday Divisional Round Games

Dallas Cowboys 13-4 vs Green Bay Packers 12-4

In the early Sunday game you have the first playoff matchup of these teams at Lambeau Field since the 1967 Ice Bowl game.   While it won't be as cold in Green Bay tomorrow as it was for that game, temp will be cold enough at 16 degrees. 

It also has the interesting angle of the 8-0 at home Packers facing the 8-0 road warriors in the Cowboys.   Something's gotta give there, and Green Bay fans are worried about Aaron Rodgers strained calf that might affect his mobility.   The Green Bay defense's task will be to ensure that Wisconsin homeboy Tony Romo gets introduced to the turf early and often. 

This game may come down to special teams, and Green Bay has had a league high seven kicks blocked while Dallas was one of eight NFL teams that didn't block one this season.

Picking the Packers in this one only because it's being played at Lambeau

Indianapolis Colts 12-5 vs  Denver Broncos 12-4

It's the first playoff matchup between Peyton Manning and the QB who replaced him in Indy in Andrew Luck..    It's also a matchup of the number three (Indy) and number four ranked offenses in the league.   The Broncos and Colts opened the season against each other in Denver with the Broncos delivering a 31-24 nationally televised spanking to the Colts that we gleefully enjoyed in H-town.

Denver has lately gone to more power running to complement the third ranked defense in the NFL and excel at stopping the run.   In this case they don't have to worry about the run since Indy sucks at it and it will allow the Denver front seven to tee off on Andrew Luck.

But they can't forget as they try to turn Andrew Luck into a pinata that Indy has the number one passing offense in the NFL, and will have to keep an eye and bodies on TY Hilton. 

But alas, Indy's season will end the way it started, with a loss in Denver.   Broncos to advance to the AFC Championship game.

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Wildcard Weekend

The regular NFL season is over, and I fell short of my goal of walking away with another prognostication title.   That's headed to Denver.

To make it worse, I have to hear it from the Harris County Cowboy Bandwagon Riders about their team finally making the playoffs after three consecutive 8-8 seasons.

Well, if JJ Watt wins the NFL MVP, I'll feel somewhat better about this 2014 season and finishing second in the prognostication contest.

But while I'm killing time waiting for the 2015 NFL season to start, time to use the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs to hone my prognostication skills.

Saturday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

Arizona Cardinals 11-5 vs Carolina Panthers 7-8-1

This is the Saturday early game.  The Cardinals were the hot team early in the season until the injury bug started decimating their roster and especially at quarterback.   The Panthers had all kinds of drama and adversity early and slumped to a 3-8-1 record at one point, but won their last four games to become the first team to repeat as NFC South champions despite the below .500  record.

But don't let that record fool you.   Carolina has momentum and is peaking at the right time of the year, while Arizona peaked too soon.   Doesn't help the Cards either they are on their fourth quarterback and playing this game in Charlotte after having the best record in the league at one point.

Arizona also has problems defending mobile quarterbacks, and Carolina has Cam Newton on their side and in uniform for this wild card game.

Picking the Panthers in this one.
 
Baltimore Ravens 10-6 vs Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5

The nightcap is the rubber match for these longtime AFC North rivals, and true to the nature of this series, they split the 2014 regular season series.   The Ravens beat the Steelers in Baltimore 26-6 during Week 2 while the Steelers returned the favor in Week 9 and thumped the Ravens 43-23 at Heinz Field.

The playoff game is at Heinz Field, and the AFC North champion Steelers come into it winning their last four games.   The Ravens won three of four down the stretch, but those games were to Miami, Jacksonville and Cleveland , and the loss was to the Texans. 

The Ravens chances to advance depend on which Joe Flacco shows up to play.  I'm betting it's bad Joe Flacco.    Steelers to win

Sunday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

Cincinnati Bengals 10-5-1 vs Indianapolis Colts 11-5

This is a battle of Houston area high school quarterbacks in Katy's Andy Dalton and Stratford's Andrew Luck.  It's a rematch of a Week 7 game in which the Colts over the Bengals 27-0 at Lucas Oil Stadium.   They rolled up 506 yards of offense in that shutout and held the Bengals to 135 yards of total offense and 32 yards rushing..

This trip to Lucas Oil Stadium will be different.  Dalton and his teammates will have to hear ad nauseum on that bus ride up I-74 the factoid that the Bengals last playoff win was against the Oilers in 1991, while the Colts may have a slight chip on their shoulder about pundits saying they play in the 'soft'.AFC South.

Indianapolis went 5-2 down the stretch, but both losses were to the Patriots and Cowboys.  So did the Bengals, with both losses being to their AFC North nemesis the Steelers.

Over the last few weeks the Bengals have been using a devastating rushing attack anchored by rookie RB Jeremy Hill.    That will be their key to the Bengals finally getting that playoff monkey off their backs   The health of AJ Green will also be a factor because he still hasn't been cleared to play after suffering a concussion in the Steelers loss and he also missed the Week 7 game.  

The Colts will lean on Andrew Luck to carry them to another playoff win, but he has no running game to help him out and has been turnover prone this year.

If the Bengals can control the clock, force some turnovers and AJ Green can play, they have a shot.   But this game is at Lucas Oil, and the Colts don't lose many there. 

Colts to win this one.

Detroit Lions 11-5 vs Dallas Cowboys 12-4

In the nightcap the Detroit Lions head to Jerryworld for their NFC wild card game against the (yuck) NFC East champions.  Matthew Stafford played his high school ball in the Dallas area at Highland Park HS, where he led the Scots to the 2005 Texas Class 4A Division I title.

But it's NFL titles he's chasing now, and the Lions will have a tall task in stopping the Cowboy trio of Dez Bryant, NFL rushing champ Demarco Murray and Tony Romo.   Having Ndamukong Suh on the field will help the NFL's Number one rushing offense, since he won his appeal and got the one game suspension reduced to a $70K fine instead.

The Lions have a playoff history monkey to get off their backs as well.  They have only won two playoff games in the Super Bowl era, and their last win came in 1992

The opponent they defeated?   The Dallas Cowboys.

This playoff game will be Dallas' offense vs. Detroit's defense.   Only one will prevail, and if the Cowboys get to play ball control like they have all season, they will win.   If Detroit shuts down that rushing attack and forces that weak Dallas defense to play extended minutes, could be a very happy day for Matthew Stafford.

Naah..Dallas to win this one.

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks Week 15

Had another great week of picking NFL games with a respectable 11-5 Week 14 record.  

However, it still wasn't good enough to make a dent in Mr. Watts' sizable lead and I have only three weeks left in the regular season.

Our WTF Game for Week 14 had to be the San Francisco 49ers losing to the Oakland Raiders.

I guess the Raiders wanted those NFL Bay Area bragging rights worse than the Niners did.

Speaking of football teams, my fave NFL ballers have a critical game this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.  However, the Texans are 0 for Indianapolis in their franchise history, and probably need to win this game and the upcoming ones against the Ravens and the Jaguars to finish 10-6 and have a shot at joining the AFC playoff party.

Will they do it?  Not sure.   The Texans have had buzzard's luck in the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Stadium.   It was self explanatory when Peyton Manning was the Colts QB, but the Texans inexplicably lost a game in Indy when the Colts were struggling to finish 2-14 and they were rolling to an AFC South division title.

We'll see if that negative 0 for Indy streak ends when they kick off at Lucas Oil Stadium at 12 noon CST.

I know JJ Watt will be on his A+  NFL MVP level game.   Just need Ryan Fitzpatrick to play somewhat close to that level for the next three weeks.

But back to discussing the 2014 prognostication season for a moment.   Me and my fellow prognosticators all tied for top honors last week, but that was not the case in Week 14.  Mike rolled to a 13-3 record to pad his lead to a whopping 11 games.  Short of a massive collapse, he's well on his way to taking his first  solo  prognostication title.

Well, at least I'm not bringing up the rear this year. 

Week 14 Results

TransGriot    11-5
Eli                 10-6
Mike             13-3

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     133-74-1
Eli                  127-80-1
Mike              144-63-1

It's Week 15.   Sixteen more games as some NFL teams jockey for playoff positioning while others are fighting for 2015 NFL draft positioning.

Thursday Night Game
Arizona over St Louis

Sunday Early Games
Pittsburgh over Atlanta
NY Giants over Washington
New England over Miami
Kansas City over Oakland
Indianapolis over Houston
Cincinnati over Cleveland
Baltimore over Jacksonville
Green Bay over Buffalo
Carolina over Tampa Bay

Sunday Afternoon Games
NY Jets over Tennessee
Denver over San Diego
Detroit over Minnesota
Seattle over San Francisco

Sunday Night Game
Philadelphia over Dallas

Monday Night Game
New Orleans over Chicago

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks Week 12

It was a Sunday full of upsets that nearly sent me to another below .500 record but I ran the table in the afternoon and Sunday and Monday night games to salvage a 8-6 record out of it.

One of those games I didn't get right was the Texans beating the Cleveland Browns.  It featured JJ Watt scoring his second offensive touchdown of the season on a marvelous catch.

Watt is the first defensive lineman since 1948 to score at least 4 touchdowns in a season, and there may be more of them in store for the hardest working d-lineman in the NFL before this season is over.

Yeah, he's earning every penny of that new extended contract that makes him the highest paid defensive end (for now) in the league.

NFL Week 12 is upon us, and this is the last week of the season in which teams get a bye week.  This time it's the Steelers and Panthers that get to have a seat and watch everyone else play.

That means only 15 games to pick this week.and I have to make up ground on Mike fast instead of just mirror his weekly record.. My picks for this week as usual in underlined bold print.

Week 11 Results

TransGriot     8-6
Eli                 5-9
Mike             9-5

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     101-59-1
Eli                    99-61-1
Mike              108-52-1

NFL Week 12

Thursday Night Game
Kansas City over Oakland

Sunday Early Games
Cleveland over Atlanta
Philadelphia over Tennessee
New England over Detroit
Green Bay over Minnesota
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Houston over Cincinnati
NY Jets over Buffalo
Chicago over Tampa Bay

Sunday Afternoon Games
Seattle over Arizona
San Diego over St. Louis
Denver over Miami
San Francisco over Washington

Sunday Night Game
Dallas over NY Giants

Monday Night Game
New Orleans over Baltimore

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks Week 9

We are now past the halfway mark of the 2014 NFL regular season and our prognostication contest. 

While once again I had a respectable week picking games, the frustrating pattern continues with one of my opponents doing slightly better.

Hey, considering the drama I've been through over the last few weeks, it's amazing I'm still in this.

And it's always a good week when the Texans beat the Tennessee Traitors and the Cowboys lose.

But I also lost ground on Mike, who expanded his lead to three games in our contest no thanks to Tampa Bay blowing that game to Minnesota in OT.

It figures the one week I pick the Arlington Cowchips to win, they revert to past form and lose at home to the Washington Need To Change Their NFL Nickname From That Racial Slur ASAP.

As I mentioned, the Texans ended that three game losing streak (and they are  out of my blogging NFL doghouse for now), but they face a Philadelphia Eagles team that will probably be pissed off when they come to NRG Stadium.

Well, let's get to my Week 9 NFL picks.   Only 13 games to select because there are six teams on their bye week (Falcons, Bills, Bears, Lions, Packers and Titans)

My picks are in underlined bold print as usual, and when Eli and Mike's are available, they'll be linked to later.

Week 8 Results

TransGriot  9-6
Eli               8-7
Mike           10-5

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     77-43-1
Eli                  76-44-1
Mike              80-40-1

NFL Week 9

Thursday Night Game
Carolina over New Orleans

Sunday Early Games
Cleveland over Tampa Bay
Dallas over Arizona
Philadelphia over Houston
Kansas City over NY Jets
Cincinnati over Jacksonville
San Diego over Miami
Washington over Minnesota

Sunday Afternoon Games
San Francisco over St Louis
Denver over New England
Seattle over Oakland

Sunday Night Game
Baltimore over Pittsburgh

Monday Night Game
Indianapolis over NY Giants

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Week 8

It's the halfway point of the 2014 NFL season, and at this point in the season long prognostication battle I've been waging with Mike and defending champ Eli it has been tight.

But I did hold the overall lead in our competition for six weeks until I slipped and had that 9-5-1 Week 6 while Mr Watts was going 11-3-1 to take over the lead by one game 

Well, in Week 7 It came down to the Texans-Steelers game to sort out who not only won the week at 11-4, but who would take the lead in our competition.   No thanks to the Texans having a late second quarter meltdown Mike and Eli won this week.

Thank heavens this competition is still tight and I have eight weeks to stay in position to win it. 

But I'm so pissed off at the Texans right now I don't even want to post a pic of them after this game that they threw away.   I'll let y'all look at Adriana Lima instead.

Well, here's this week's picks.  15 games once again with the NY Giants and San Francisco 49ers on their bye week.   My picks as usual will be in underlined bold print, Mike and Eli's will be here once they become available.

Week 7 Results

TransGriot   10-5
Eli                11-4
Mike            11-4

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     68-37-1
Eli                  68-37-1
Mike              70-35-1

NFL Week 8

Thursday Night Game
Denver over San Diego

Sunday Early Games
Houston over Tennessee
Detroit over Atlanta
Tampa Bay over Minnesota
Buffalo over NY Jets
New England over Chicago
Seattle over Carolina
Miami over Jacksonville
Baltimore over Cincinnati
Kansas City over St Louis

Sunday Afternoon Games
Philadelphia over Arizona
Indianapolis over Pittsburgh
Cleveland over Oakland

Sunday Night Game
Green Bay over New Orleans

Monday Night Game
Dallas over Washington

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Week 7

Getting closer to the midway point of what has been not only a competitive NFL season, but a tight competition for the 2014 season prognostication championship between myself, Eli and Mike.

Once again I had a good week, but not good enough. My esteemed competition had double digit wins with Mike taking Week 6.

So yeah, gotta step it up now that I no longer have the lead.   NFL Week 7 is upon us with another 15 games to select from,   Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are on their bye week.

So let's get busy and see if I can do better than last week.

My picks will be in underlined bold print, when Mike and Eli's are available I'll link to them.

Week 6 Results

TransGriot.    9-5-1
Eli                  10-4-1
Mike              11-3-1

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     58-32-1
Eli                  57-33-1
Mike              59-31-1


NFL Week 7

Thursday Night Game
New England over NY Jets

Sunday Early Games
Baltimore over Atlanta
Washington over Tennessee
Seattle over St Louis
Cleveland over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
Buffalo over Minnesota
Chicago over Miami
Detroit over New Orleans
Green Bay over Carolina

Sunday Afternoon Games
San Diego over Kansas City
Arizona over Oakland
Dallas over NY Giants

Sunday Night Game
Denver over San Francisco

Monday Night Game
Houston over Pittsburgh

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks- Week 6

I had another fantastic week picking NFL games, going 12-3 in Week 5.

Only problem, that wasn't good enough to win the week.   Eli and Mike beat me because of the result of the Dallas-Houston game that ended with the (yuck) Cowchips winning in overtime.

No rest for the Texans, because they now have to dive into AFC South play and deal with H-town homeboy Andrew Luck and his Colts coming to NRG Stadium for a nationally televised first place showdown.

Since the Texans have yet to win a game in Indianapolis, this one is magnified.  

So they better handle their football business    Great place to start would be to play four quarters of football and force teams to try to come back on them instead of the other way around.

Speaking of handling football business, time to get the Week 6 picks out of the way.   Only 15 games to pick because the Chiefs and Saints are on their bye week.

My picks will be in underlined bold print, Eli's and Mike's I'll link to here once they are available.  Our prognostication contest is still tight, and I'm still leading, but not by much.

Week 5 Results.

TransGriot   12-3
Eli                13-2
Mike            13-2

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     49-27
Eli                  47-29
Mike              48-28

NFL Week 6

Thursday Night Game
Houston over Indianapolis

Sunday Early Games
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
New England over Buffalo
Cincinnati over Carolina
Tennessee over Jacksonville
Green Bay over Miami
Detroit over Minnesota
Denver over NY Jets
Baltimore over Tampa Bay

Sunday Afternoon Games
San Diego over Oakland
Atlanta over Chicago
Seattle over Dallas
Arizona over Washington

Sunday Night Game
NY Giants over Philadelphia

Monday Night Game 
San Francisco over St. Louis

NFL Flags Muslim Player For Prayer

The NFL used to be the most PR savvy professional sports league in the country.  

But lately it has been buffeted by multiple scandals and kerfluffles, while seeming to be hellbent on liking up to the sarcastic nickname of the 'No Fun League'  

I enjoyed watching the New England Patriots get their butts kicked by the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.  I enjoyed watching this 39 yard pick six by Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah that helped propel the Chiefs to their 41-14 win over the Patriots. 

What has people pissed off is that after the pick six, Abdullah prayed in the end zone for a moment and was flagged for a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct for 'excessive celebration'.

Okay, I have a problem with that after having to watch Tim Tebow multiple times and a long line of Christian NFL athletes proselytize their faith after scoring TD's. 

Abdullah is a devout Muslim who skipped the 2012 season so that he could take part in the Hajj to Mecca with his brother Hamza Abdullah, who played in the NFL for several seasons.   Both wanted to take part in the Hajj while they had the means to do so.   Hamza Abdullah has yet to be picked up by an NFL team since making that journey, while Husain is now in his second season with the Chiefs after playing for the Minnesota Vikings from 2008-11.  

Abdullah also practices the traditional fast that happens during Ramadan even though it falls during training camp.

The problematic penalty flag also drew the attention of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.  The organization issued a statement early Tuesday asking that the NFL take steps in response to the growing backlash citing the problematic nature of the penalty.

"To prevent the appearance of a double standard, we urge league officials to clarify the policy on prayer and recognize that the official made a mistake in this case," said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.

The NFL to their credit, acknowledged that Abdullah and the Chiefs shouldn't have been penalized   Even Abdullah noted that it was probably the end zone slide before the prayer that drew the flag. 

"I'm pretty sure he understands who I am, what my faith is," he said in a ESPN interview. "And again, I think the prostration is all right. It's the slide. Come to a full stop, get down, make the prostration, get up and get out."
 

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Week 4

I rebounded from that subpar 7-9 Week 2 to have a great Week 3.  While my 11-5 record was outstanding, unfortunately Eli matched me and Mike's 13-3 was even better. 

So my initial advantage I grabbed with that outstanding Week 1 has shrunk to a one game lead.  But this contest is never a sprint, it's a marathon with the strategy of having more good weeks than bad ones so you come out on top at the end of the season

Speaking of coming out on top, that's not what happened for the Texans in New Jersey last weekend as Bad Ryan Fitzpatrick showed up at the worst time with Arian Foster on the bench nursing a sore hamstring. in their 30-17 loss 

And I have  another piece of advice for coach O'Brien.  Throw  Deandre Hopkins the ball more often.

Buffalo comes to NRG Stadium to play, and it is imperative the Texans get whatever ailed them in last week's game fixed fast.   We Texans fans still remember them getting off to a 2-0 start and subsequently losing their next 14 games, so they better handle their business this week and especially next week at Jerryworld.

So let's get to the Week 4 NFL Picks.     We have teams starting to go on their bye weeks, so only 13 games to pick.   The Cardinals, Bengals, Browns, Broncos, Rams and Seahawks get to watch 'errbody' else play this week while the Raiders and Dolphins game will be played at Wembley Stadium in London.  

My picks are in underlined bold print.   Eli and Mike's picks will be here.

Week 3 Results

TransGriot   11-5
Eli                11-5
Mike.           13-3

 2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot    29-19
Eli                 28-20
Mike             28-20  

Thursday Night Game
NY Giants over Washington

Sunday Early Games
Houston over Buffalo
Green Bay over Chicago
Indianapolis over Tennessee
Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay
Baltimore over Carolina

Miami over Oakland (London)
Detroit over NY Jets

Sunday Afternoon Games
Atlanta over Minnesota
Philadelphia over San Francisco
San Diego over Jacksonville

Sunday Night Game
New Orleans over Dallas

Monday Night Game
New England over Kansas City