Book Reviews and NFL Week 11 Picks

Read-Out from a Sabbatical

I planned on writing about the NBA this week, but I am honestly not interested in that sport yet this year.

There isn't really any reason to pay attention to the Association until Christmas Day anyway - we'll lock it in then.

I took a break from this blog after starting a new job last summer. The new job allowed me to stop burning more than two hours a day driving to work as I transitioned to commuting on the D.C. metro. Instead of ingesting two hours of sports radio a day while driving, I started reading a heck of a lot more.

I have learned a few things in my sports blog sabbatical from all of this reading: (1) Our 27th President, William Howard Taft was an incredible man, (2) William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying suuuuuuucks, (3) and I have to keep this blog short or I won't get it out once a week.

The stack on the right, along with two books not pictured, have been completed. I am working on the two on the left. Nothing about current sports, but definitely interesting stuff.

So, no in-depth look at the NBA, yet. But I am going to assign you some reading. Don't worry -- they are just articles, not books.

Remembering Botch: A Father's Tribute - This is on The Athletic and well worth a free trial (the site is worth the subscription if you forget to cancel). The article made me want to keep writing about sports and generally be a better person.

A white football coach, a historically black college and lessons that endure - I've been reading Jerry Brewer since I had a Seattle Times subscription from 2012-14. The article made me want to keep doing sports and generally be a better person.

Let's do some picks!

NFL Week 11 Picks

Dallas Cowboys (-6.5) at Detroit Lions: Dallas is coming off a loss and their offensive line is banged up. Detroit is coming off two straight losses and QB Matt Stafford will be out again. - COWBOYS

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (-2.5): These team has frustrated its fans with inept play over the last two weeks in losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins. Indianapolis will see QB Jacoby Brissett return from injury this week, but Jacksonville is coming off a bye and getting QB Nick Foles back from injury, too. - JAGUARS

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers (-4.5): Carolina has been a little schizophrenic since their bye week, Oct. 20...lose one, win one, lose one. Atlanta straight up changed their personality after their bye week...beating the 7-1 New Orleans Saints after losing six straight prior to the bye. So who is going to show up in this gridiron Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? - PANTHERS

Buffalo Bills (-6.5) at Miami Dolphins: It would be so Buffalo to reinforce failure and officially crank up their traditional late season swoon with a loss to 2-7 Miami today. Bills QB Josh Allen has had the Dolphins number with seven passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdown in three games against the Phish, according to Kevin Nogle of ThePhinsider.com. - BILLS 

Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings (-10): The 3-6 Broncos won their last game and then rested through their bye week. The Vikings won their last game over the Cowboys in Dallas and could be primed for a trap game. I just can't pull the trigger on a 10-point road dog, though. - VIKINGS

New York Jets at Washington Redskins (-2.5): This game wins the "Shittiest Game of the Week" award in a landslide. Redskins are coming off a bye which can give a team a decided advantage, but I would not bet on that in this instance. - JETS 

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens (-4.5): Whoo Boy, this should be a great game. Both of these teams have poor passing defenses. Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson has a 101.7 QB rating and Houston QB Deshaun Watson has a 107.1 rating. - TEXANS

New Orleans Saints (-5.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: New Orleans QB Drew Brees is a certain, first-ballot Hall of Famer, although probably a tad past his prime. Tampa Bay has the worst pass defense in the NFL. - SAINTS

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco (-10): Arizona QB Kyler Murray looked excellent (324 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) against that Buccaneer defense in a 30-27 loss last weekend. San Francisco has the 2nd best defense overall in the league. - 49ERS

New England Patriots (-4.5) at Philadelphia Eagles: The Patriots defense is stellar - 11th against the rush, 1st against the pass, 1st overall. Admittedly, they have played one of the weaker schedules. You have to assume they bounce back from their first loss coming off a bye week. - PATRIOTS 

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders (-11.5): The Raiders are better than expected and the Bengals are worse than expected. Cincinnati came off a bye with a home game last week against the Ravens and lost by 36 points. They won't lose by that much today, but they will lose. - RAIDERS

Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams (-6.5): Gabe Salgado of Athlon Sports sees this as a game between two excellent defenses and two struggling offenses. Salgado predicts Chicago winning a close one. I can't pick Chicago and QB Mitchell Trubisky in a road game against a great defense. - RAMS

Kansas City (-4) vs Los Angeles Chargers (at Mexico City): Kansas City has lost two of their last three games, and four of their previous six. Chief QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns last week in a loss to the Tennessee Titans in his first game back from injury. The Chiefs are getting additional players back from injuries this week. - CHIEFS

Enjoy the games.