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The Harmon Football Forecast is one of the most highly regarded and widely read sports features in the country, published in over 200 newspapers.
| Harmon Stat Pack | |
|---|---|
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Wk 6: 13 picks
Right: 2 Wrong: 11 Pct: .154 |
YTD: 85 picks
Right: 42 Wrong: 43 Pct: .494 |
| Harmon's archive | |
It all began when Bob Harmon began predicting college and NFL games in 1957. He devised a mathematical formula that picked winners correctly between 72 and 78 percent of the time; most seasons getting almost 75 percent of his picks right.
Today, Jim Harmon and his staff are the only forecasters who predict exact scores and chart every college and pro team.
Thursday's game (10/25/2001):
| Indianapolis 32, *Kansas City 15 |
| The best the Chiefs can offer defensively is an O.K. secondary, which won't be good enough against the best air game this side of St. Louis. In '00 Indy took its fifth straight from K.C., 27-14. |
Sunday's game (10/28/2001):
| Arizona 17, *Dallas 13 |
| The Cardinals will win only if their suspect defensive line rises to the occasion against the Cowboys, who can run well. Arizona and Dallas have beaten each other at home the past two seasons. |
| *Baltimore 26, Jacksonville 14 |
| Unable to do much to challenge the Ravens' stifling defense or stop their improved offense, the Jaguars will drop their third in a row in the series. In 2000 the scores were 39-36 and 15-10. |
| Cincinnati 21, *Detroit 19 |
| This is a tough choice, because the Bengals aren't good on the ground and awful through the air, as usual -- they're weak all over on offense. Cincy won the last matchup, three years ago, 34-28. |
| *Denver 35, New England 17 |
| Not a tough choice, which makes it a prime candidate for an upset -- like last year, when N.E. beat Denver 28-19. If the Patriots could only pass, they could exploit the Broncos' major weakness. |
| Miami 20, *Seattle 17 |
| With the Seahawks' solid run defense matching up well against the Dolphins, who are at their best on the ground, this should be close. Miami began the season last year by blanking Seattle 23-0. |
| Minnesota 23, *Tampa Bay 19 |
| Focused on ball control rather than going long, the Vikings surprised the Buccaneers a month ago, 20-16. T.B. doesn't score a lot, so Minnesota can pull off its first series sweep since '92. |
| N.Y. Giants 29, *Washington 14 |
| Overlooked amid all the bad news for the Redskins, their secondary is playing well -- which won't help against the Giants, who prefer to run. N.Y.'s defense shut Washington down in Week 4, 23-9. |
| N.Y. Jets 24, *Carolina 17 |
| After butting heads with St. Louis and before heading to New Orleans next week, the Jets can't afford to lose to the largely defenseless Panthers. The teams have met twice; each has won once. |
| *Philadelphia 28, Oakland 21 |
| It's strength against strength -- the Raiders' pass-happy attack against an Eagles' air defense that's as good as any in the NFC. Oakland bombed Philly 48-17 the last time they tangled, in '95. |
| *St. Louis 27, New Orleans 23 |
| A third straight crucial NFC West showdown for the Saints, whose defense can keep them close, but the Rams no doubt want revenge for getting eliminated from last year's playoffs by N.O., 31-28. |
| *San Diego 31, Buffalo 12 |
| How to describe the Chargers? Certainly not with "predictable," but we think they can take the Bills, who can't seem to stop the run or the pass. Buffalo was a 27-24 OT winner over S.D. in '00. |
| San Francisco 20, *Chicago 13 |
| Da Bears are full of surprises, but their offense can't keep up with the 49ers. This game will be closer than last year's, though, when S.F. kept Chicago off its half of the field and won 17-0. |
Monday Night (10/29/2001):
| *Pittsburgh 24, Tennessee 12 |
| With the defense to shut the Titans down and a ground game they can't stop, the Steelers should easily end Tennessee's seven-game series winning streak. In '00 the Titans won 23-20 and 9-7. |
Open date: Atlanta, Cleveland, Green Bay
* Denotes Home Team
* Note: Picks are straight up.
Broadway Joe