Dawg Pound Daily staff picks: Week 13
Off of a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend, the Dawg Pound Daily staff is back for Week 13 after sleeping off the turkey, cranberry and leftovers!
And what a week it was. We saw the New England Patriots fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, leaving the Carolina Panthers all alone at 11-0. We also saw Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears defeat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night, along with the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Cleveland Browns on a game-ending blocked field goal returned for a touchdown.
As the upsets rolled in across the landscape, the staff strung together a combined record of 60-52 in Week 12 and overall for the season 425-351.
So here we go with our week 13 picks and our Browns bold prediction of the week!
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Murray Alexander. 1. team. 56. I don’t think this is going to be pretty. Hue Jackson is going to put another clown suit on Jim O’Neil. They just have too much for the Browns. Their only hope is if Andy Dalton struggles against a common opponent. <strong>Bengals 35, Browns 10</strong>. (59-38). Previous: 2nd
Previous: 1st. Thomas Moore. 2. team. 56. You may not have heard, but when Austin Davis takes his first snap from center on Sunday he will be the 24th different starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns since 1999. It will be an interesting test to see if what Davis can do with the offense, especially since the last two times the Browns faced the Bengals, they have been outscored by a combined 61-10. Coincidentally, both of those games saw Johnny Manziel under center for the Browns, but we are not allowed to point that out lest we rile up the Manziel Mafia. We’re comfortable saying the Browns will put up more than 1o points this weekend, but it won’t be enough. <strong>Bengals 28, Cleveland 14</strong> . (57-40)
56. Cincinnati wins. No question there. Bold prediction here, Austin Davis gets hurt and Johnny Manziel comes into replace him. Whether he plays well or not? We’ll see if I’m right. <strong>Bengals 35, Browns 28</strong>. (54-43). Previous: 4th. Brandon Lambert. 3. team
team. 56. After the Monday night debacle against the Ravens last week, I replayed the blocked field goal for a touchdown, muted it and played yakety sax instead of the sound. I must say it was rather comical and satisfying. I think I may watch the whole game Sunday with the sound off and yakety sax blaring in place of the play-by-play. <strong>Bengals 31, Browns 20</strong>. (53-44). Previous: 5th. Giovanni Castelli. t-4
t-4. team. 56. After witnessing possibly the most heartbreaking regular-season loss in franchise history, I cannot, in good faith, pick the Browns to win this week. That, and they are going up against one of the best teams in the league. The home crowd will still be reeling from the sham that was <span class=. (53-44). Previous: 3rd. Steven Kubitza
(51-46). Previous: 7th. Eric Szczepinski. t-6. team. 53. It can’t get any worse for the Browns, who sit at 2-9 on the season. So, why not win a surprising home game against the first place Bengals? Trying to keep the faith in one of the most disappointing and frustrating seasons in recent memory.<strong> Browns 24, Bengals 21</strong>
(51-46). Previous: 6th. Matthew Stevenson. t-6. team. 56. At this point, the Browns can only win by losing. The Bengals completely dominated the Browns earlier this season and there is no reason to think it won’t happen again, especially with Josh McCown out for the season. <strong>Bengals 34, Browns 13</strong>
8. team. 56. Unless newly-named starter Austin Davis gift wraps points (fumbled snaps, Weeden-like throwaways etc.) or we have more special teams disasters, the Dawgs have some fight left in them. The secondary steps up against the Bengals wideouts, Davis makes some plays down field against an eight-man front, but Mike Nugent kicks a game winning field goal. <strong>Bengals 19, Browns 17</strong>. (47-50). Previous: 8th. Roger Cohen