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Over the next few weeks prior to 2012 NFL Draft we here at Sports News Center are going to explore all 32 teams & their needs in the draft; today we’re starting with the NFC West champion 49ers.

The 49ers were deficient in many areas in 2011 in spite of going 13-3 due to a fairly moderate schedule. Among those areas were QB, WR, DT, OG, S & CB. The 49ers seem to have incompetently given Alex Smith the reigns for another three years, but that doesn’t necessarily rule them out to draft a quarterback.

First Round Selection: The 49ers are in desperate need of someone who can play Defensive Tackle to spell Isaac Sopoaga from time to time. Ricky Jean Francois has proved to be a waste of a roster spot & Ian Williams is still a development project. If Dontari Poe (Memphis) & Devon Still (Penn St) are off the board at this point the 49ers will most likely confuse everyone by drafting Stanford TE Coby Fleener for some type of exotic three tight end packages.

Second Round Selection: The 49ers could go one of two ways with this pick. If they are unable to secure one of the premiere Defensive Tackle options in the first round they could potentially select a second tier defensive tackle who can still reek havoc; such as Michigan State’s Jerel Worthy. But since most people have seen tape of Mr. Worthy it’s likely he will be off the board way before the 49ers pick. So the option here would be to find the starting right offensive guard for 2012. Based on where the 49ers are positioned their best options are Jeff Allen (Illinois) or Amini Silatolu (Midwestern State). It is also possible this is where the 49ers reach on a Wide Receiver such as Nick Toon from Wisconsin to help give Alex Smith yet another weapon.

Third Round Selection: This is where the 49ers add Quarterback insurance by drafting Kirk Cousins of Michigan State. Alex Smith will continue to be nothing more than an average quarterback who will rely heavily on a dominant defense. The more options the 49ers have the better their chances. Kirk Cousins is in that Tim Tebow mold where he’s going to outwork everyone else on the team, but he can throw! If Cousins is off the board & the 49ers still haven’t added any Defensive Tackle depth it’s possible they take Jared Crick (Nebraska) here.

Fourth Round Selection: The 49ers have one cornerback in Carlos Rogers & received sporadic performances out of Brown, Brock & Culliver last year. The 49ers are looking to essentially have stars at every position they can. Tarell Brown is an adequate fill in guy, but it looks like the 49ers may have to use a cornerback by committee on the right side. As a result look for them to add someone else to the mix here such as cornerback Ryan Steed (Furman) or Coryell Judie (Texas A&M).

Fifth Round Selection: I look for the 49ers to trade up in the fifth round to add even more depth to the safety position by drafting either safety Philip Thomas (Syracuse) or Aaron Henry (Wisconsin). If the 49ers don’t trade up & haven’t added another Wide Receiver by this point they could potentially take Marques Maze out of Alabama here.

Sixth Round Selection: This pick will be the hardest to determine what the 49ers will do as there will be countless value picks left on the board for the 49ers needs. They could potentially go Wide Receiver with Michigan State’s BJ Cunningham. They could potentially go Offensive Guard with Temple’s Derek Dennis. They could go Cornerback with Hampton’s Micah Pellerin. But I suspect the pick here is to find a back for Ahmad Brooks by selecting Temple’s Adrian Robinson.

Seventh Round Selection: Like most teams in the NFL the seventh round is usually designated for players that have no shot of making your squad unless they can contribute on special teams. The 49ers have the best or second best (for you Raiders fans) punter in football & one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL, but things don’t last forever. David Akers is quite old so the 49ers would be dumb not to explore kicking options here such as Blair Walsh (Georgia) & Carson Wiggs (Purdue).

The 49ers have the luxury of being able to reach on a lot of these picks as they only really need a starting offensive guard after their haul, but that’s a good position to be in.

Dux’s Picks: Playoff Record 2-6

Dux’s Analysis:
ravens – ray lewis will murder brady for the win
giants – alex smith sux
u cant spell ex-lax without alex smith

Sco0′s Picks: Playoff Record 5-3

Sco0′s Competent Analysis:
Due to the new kickoff rules starting teams farther from the endzone, 2011 was the year of record breaking offensive production. However, we’ve rung in the new year and it’s all about defense Defense DEFENSE! It’s playoff time and QBs are getting shaky in the knees while DBs are getting the hungries. This week, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers will be victorious, bringing slight redemption to their pathetic and stinky fanbases. Harbaughs unite in Indy and lick each other’s faces.

Fred’s Picks: Playoff Record 4-4

Fred’s Competent Analysis:
Everything’s coming up Harbaugh! While the Ravens struggled offensively against the impenetrable Houston Texans defense; the New England Patriots have a defense that is so horrible it broke records. The only team the Patriots beat of note was the Broncos. The Ravens have dominated against real teams: beating the Steelers twice, Bengals twice, Texans twice & 49ers. Just one of those wins is more impressive than all of the Patriots wins combined. John’s squad wins 27-13 because they are the far superior team.

Everything broke right for the 49ers this past weekend – Alex Smith became a quarterback & the Giants overcame repeated ref riggage to eliminate the only team in the NFC that could’ve sent the 49ers out of the playoffs. The Giants beat the Packers when the Packers played their worst game of the season & as mentioned they also beat the refs. Unfortunately the deck is stacked too high against Eli. Not only are the 49ers at home & therefore the refs will obviously rig in their favor, but it’s also supposed to rain all weekend in San Francisco; making an already illegally damp field even wetter. 49ers trounce Giants 33-19.

Grizzly’s Picks: Playoff Record 4-4

Grizzly’s Incoherent Babbling:
Patriots defeat Ravens 27-10
Patriots have offense and some defense
Ravens have defense and some offense
If the Ravens are as strong as they claim, why ddi they allow Houston to come all the way back
if not for the Ravens D, houston might have actually won that game
Patriots will just runover everyone on their quest to the SuperBowl
don’t let an early lapse in offense fool you
who cares if they are down 10-0? They might end up scoring the final 27 or so
they did it the last 2 weeks in the regular season and could do it again
Brady > Flacco

In an highly unlilkely NFC championship matchup, Giants WILL beat the 49ers
regardless, if there is a power outage, Giants will find a way to take care of Alex Smith
49ers beat everyone up in the NFC West and the West really isnt that good
Giants couldn’t beat the Redskins twice but, they beat Cowboys twice and took care if Green Bay at Green Bay!
Eli > Alex Smith
If the Giants trail in the 4th, Eli will put them out of their hole

49ers blew a 17 pt lead and trailed in the 4th before a miracle happened
Not miracles Sunday for 49ers
Not Today
No Boors Head Deli Meat for you
Giants win 16-13

Dux’s Picks: Last Week 1-3

Sco0′s Picks: Last Week 3-1

Fred’s Picks: Last Week 2-2

Grizzly’s Picks: Last Week 2-2

Dux’s Picks:

Sco0′s Picks:

Fred’s Picks:

Grizzly’s Picks:

It’s time once again for NFL picks.

Consensus Picks:

Sco0′s Analysis:
- Falcons will probably shutout Vikings
- Bengals somehow will beat Browns by 2
- Titans are terrible & Bucs will win by 24
- Cam Newton will fail for 3 quarters then beat Colts at end
- Cards only beat Eagles so they will lose rest of season, Rams win
- Bills are terrible but will come back to beat worse Jets
- Texans will run all over Jaggers
- Raiders will “raid” the Bears of a win
- Seahawks are making their run for the division. Seattle by 34
- Eagles don’t have Vick so they have a chance. They’ll lose by 4
- Tebow will win out. Broncos by 5
- Chiefs are done for the season. Steelers by 18
- Giants season is in freefall. Saints by 19

Arty’s Picks:

Grizzly’s Picks:

Fred’s Picks:

We’re back with more pickems. We’re becoming a popular place for guest pickers! We offer our picks on every game this week!

Grizzly’s Picks:

Arty’s Picks:

MRM’s Picks:

Scoot’s Picks:

It’s time once again for some NFL picks. In addition to the Grizzly Bear & I giving our picks & thoughts; we have a guest “picker” this week!

Grizzly’s Picks:

Scoot Brueglen’s Picks:

Scoot’s Analysis:
The Jets are trash and should have 5 losses. Nick Folk will need 6 field goals to have a chance because Sanchez will certainly fail. Buffalo 24 – Jets 15

Tampa Bay always pulls out one big victory against the Saints each season. Since that has already happened, expect them to lose. Saints 44 – Bucs 21

The long awaited 2008 Superbowl rematch will expose the Giants. Since they no longer have helmet-catchers, they will flail and die. Patriots 44 – Giants 14

Packers look destined for a perfect season and their offense and defense will dominate the Chargers in all aspects. Chargers 24 – Packers 23

This snoozefest will be a game to forget for sure. Baltimore defense will turn meat patties into roethless burgers. Ravens 16 – Steelers 16

Bears will keep it close but we all know they’ll blow it. Black coaches have difficulties in pressure situations. Eagles 19 – Bears 16

Fred’s Picks:

Fred’s Analysis:
The Jets can’t run the ball well, they can’t pass the ball well & they can’t stop the run. The Bills picked off a future hall of famer named Tom Brady 4 times earlier this season. If Sanchez isn’t picked off 6 times I’ll be shocked. Bills roll 34-3

Neither Tampa nor New Orleans tried in their previous game. But New Orleans got killed by one of the worst teams in the league; at least Tampa got embarrassed by an average team. Therefore I think Tampa eeks one out here. Tampa 24 New Orleans 20

I expect a shootout here, much like their Week 17 matchup of yesteryear. Same result in the end Patriots 38 Giants 35

Rivers has yet to play a decent game this year & even if he has a good one here the Chargers can’t keep pace with Rodgers. Packers 47 Chargers 35

Unlike Scoot I have some insight on this game. The Steelers have a mediocre offensive line, so Big Ben will be small benjamin all day long. The Steelers also feature a mediocre running back; as a result Big Ben has to throw more. The Ravens have a great defense & should have no problems on offense against an aging, injured, decrepit defense of the Steelers. Ravens 39 Steelers 14

If Matt Forte doesn’t have at least 200 total yards of offense & three touchdowns against the porous Eagles defense then the Bears might as well cut him. But since Mr. Forte wants his money expect a hall of fame type day out of him. We’re talking better than Murray’s numbers against the Rams. That & a little ref riggage will prevent the Eagles from winning. Bears 38 Eagles 22

Week 5 offers a number of intriguing games. The Grizzly Bear & I are back to offer our picks for this week!

Oakland @ Houston:
Grizzly’s Pick: HOUSTON; Houston is the team to beat in the south
Fred MRMins Pick: The Raiders should be charged up after the passing of Al Davis but they are facing a team that is far superior. Look for the Raiders bereavement to keep the game closer than it should be with the Texans winning 31-20.

Tampa Bay @ San Francisco:
Grizzly’s Pick: TBAY; Tbay will show what philly and cincy tried to do the past 2 weeks but failed
Fred MRMins Pick: Potentially the best game of the week. Two teams destined for playoff contention can solidify their playoff hopes. Expect a defensive battle with the 49ers pulling it out 17-13.

Jets @ Patriots:
Grizzly’s Pick: JETS; jets WILL NOT go into their MNF game against Miami under .500
Fred MRMins Pick: The Jets have looked like a high school football team the last few weeks; expect that to continue with the Patriots smacking them around 45-3.

Green Bay @ Atlanta:
Grizzly’s Pick: GBAY; Atlanta is a diff team and will not win the championship game of last year that should have happened
Fred MRMins Pick: Atlanta’s offense has looked stagnant at times this season. Green Bay’s offense has yet to sputter this year. I expect more of the same with the Packers winning 42-24.

Chicago @ Detroit:
Grizzly’s Pick: DETROIT; Detroit to remain undefeated
Fred MRMins Pick: The Bears are a mediocre team that seems to have outplayed who they are for some time now. The Lions continue to improve in every facet of the game. If Stafford doesn’t get hurt the Lions should coast to a 34-10 victory.

Not too many games in Week 3 that won’t be blowouts, so the Grizzly Bear & I will pick the games that should be interesting.

Houston @ New Orleans:

Fred’s Pick: New Orleans defense has looked terrible against everyone this year, so expect Houston to win by 2 TDs
Grizzly’s Pick: Houston by 1

New England @ Buffalo:

Fred’s Pick: Upset Special!!!! Expect Buffalo to win on a late field goal
Grizzly’s Pick: New England by 2 TDs

Green Bay @ Chicago:

Fred’s Pick: Green Bay coasts to a blowout victory 34-10
Grizzly’s Pick: Green Bay in a high scoring affair

Atlanta @ Tampa Bay:

Fred’s Pick: Atlanta wins it late, but not as late as Grizzly thinks! A late TD by Ryan leads Atlanta to 17-10 victory.
Grizzly’s Pick: Atlanta over Tampa Bay in OT

It’s that time of year again folks. The Grizzly Bear & I give you our Week 2 NFL picks. Since there are only 5 games anyone will be watching this weekend, we’ve decided to focus on those games. Jaguars @ Jets, Cowboys @ 49ers, Chargers @ Patriots, Eagles @ Falcons & Rams @ Giants.

Jaguars @ Jets:

Fred’s Pick & Thoughts: The Jaguars are one of the worst teams in football. They barely beat one of the other bottom feeders for this upcoming season last week. Expect much of the same from the Jets this week as the Jaguars bigger weakness if their pass defense. The Jets always start slow so this may be a game at halftime, but expect the Jets to win comfortably. Jets 31 Jaguars 10

Grizzly’s Pick & Thoughts: Jets SHOULD win by 2 TDs

Cowboys @ 49ers:

Fred’s Pick & Thoughts: The Cowboys already had one of the worst secondary tandems in the NFL coming into the season. And after numerous injuries in Week 1 the team will most likely be starting a number of people they signed off the street earlier this week. The 49ers finally have a coach who understands Alex Smith is Trent Dilfer circa 2000. As a result Alex Smith will be kept on a short leash like he was in Week 1. The Cowboys allow Tony Romo to chuck the ball all over & as a result he often costs his team the game. Expect nothing less in this game. 49ers 20 Cowboys 14

Grizzly’s Pick & Thoughts: Cowboys, they won’t blow a 4th quarter lead

Chargers @ Patriots:

Fred’s Pick & Thoughts: This game will be nothing more than a shootout. The Patriots released their best secondary player, so look for Philip Rivers to pass for 400 yards in this game. Look for much of the same from the Patriots. Both teams have average cornerbacks & safeties. Both teams have mediocre running games, so expect it to be a matter of who passes for more touchdowns: Brady or Rivers. While very few bet against Brady I tend to do so. Chargers 42 Patriots 38

Grizzly’s Pick & Thoughts: Patriots & their fans will be drunk because of Tom Brady’s words

Eagles @ Falcons:

Fred’s Pick & Thoughts: The Eagles only won in Week 1 because Steven Jackson got injured. On very few carries Jackson had over fifty yards & a touchdown. The Eagles linebackers are the worst in football, so expect every running back the Falcons have to run through, around & over the Eagles. Matt Ryan will prove he is a better quarterback for Atlanta than Michael Vick ever was as the Falcons rout the Eagles. Falcons 45 Eagles 21

Grizzly’s Pick & Thoughts: Eagles 16 Falcons 15

Rams @ Giants:

Fred’s Pick & Thoughts: Both teams lost to inferior teams in Week 1. Both teams are looking to rebound from disgraceful losses. The Rams will most likely be without their starting running back & Sam Bradford should start but may be ineffective due to a finger injury. The Giants should be able to do enough to win this game, if the Giants lose – their season is lost. Giants 20 Rams 9

Grizzly’s Pick & Thoughts: Giants 21 Rams 14