Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Turkeys Everywhere You Look Edition

It is Thanksgiving Day and that can only mean one thing:

Bon Appetit, Lem Barney Fan!

It's a holiday tradition, old dude, kinda like the way you typically begin your Thanksgiving with a big ol' swig of Geritol!

If you were my age, you'd be thankful for Geritol, too.

I still have a year or two before I need to experience the thrill of iron supplements. But when it comes to picking games, forget the iron. It's solid gold, baby! Watch me work!

Glorious Green Bay Packers (+6) vs. Detroit Motor City Kitties. And the Packers are still alive, even after that tie game. It took a while, but Matt Flynn, prodigal son, has returned, and there was much rejoicing among the faithful:

Any person that thinks that the Lions are going to walk all over the Packers is sadly mistaken. Matt Flynn likes playing in this offense against Detroit. Last time he went up against Matthew Stafford and company, he threw six touchdowns. I don't think he'll throw six this time, but he should have opportunities against the still-weak Lions secondary. The issue, as always, with the Lions is dealing with Megatron, who is looking more and more like the best receiver outside of Jerry Rice in NFL history. The guy is a straight-up beast and is impossible to defend one-on-one. The Packers will have a safety over the top, which means they'll need to figure out how to cover Reggie Bush out of the backfield. Tough to do, but it can be done. And with Flynn at the helm, the Packers are back in it. Packers 42, Lions 31.

I wish I believed that, but I don't. I think Flynn will do well, but it's going to be hard to keep up with Stafford and his gang this time. The defense has been the problem lately, even more than the absence of Aaron Rodgers. Frankly, they don't have enough good players to handle the Lions. The thing is, Rodgers will be back and so the Packers will have a chance to get by the Lions, who will find a way to screw things up, because they are the Lions. But I have to reluctantly pick against the Pack this week. Lions 38, Packers 27.

Bear Down Chicago da Bearz (+1) vs. Minnesota Vikings. So, check this out. Vegas like the Vikings for a change, and I can't blame them. Did you see what the Rams did to the Bears defense last week? It was ugly. The Bears are doing a great imitation of the mid-80s Chargers these days; they score a lot of points but they give up even more. It's going to be hard for them to stop Adrian Peterson when they let something called Zac Stacy run wild over them. And while da Bearz have always had great special teams, Cordarrelle Patterson is every bit as good as Devin Hester. Maybe better. And don't forget that earlier in the year, the Bears struggled to beat the Vikings in Chicago, when they were fully staffed. Now? Not so much. Vikings 27, da Bearz 20.

The problem with your scenario is that the Vikings defense is even worse than da Bearz. This will be a high scoring game, especially in the Dome. Can Christian Ponder outduel Josh McCown? Is this a question that anyone really ever anticipated asking? Yet here we are. Bears 38, Vikings 31.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (+14.5) vs. Michigan State Sparty the Spartan. I don't know about you, old dude, but is Michigan State really the second-best team in the Big Ten? They can D you up; that much is certain, but can they score? The Gophers really showed us something last week against the Badgers. They are a tough-minded team and they are not intimidated any more. This has all the makings of a trap game for the Spartans, who are going to get caught looking ahead. Minnesota 42,  Sparty 17.

Uh, no. I agree that this could be a trap game, but there is no way the Gophers will score 42 points on Saturday. They might win, but it will be a tight game. Michigan State 21, Gophers 13.

Penn State Nittany Lions (+24) vs. Beloved Wisconsin Badgers. Man, Vegas is harshing on Bill O'Brien's ballclub! But are they right? They could be. Penn State has been a terrible road team this year and Camp Randall is a house of horrors for most visiting teams. Last time Penn State was in Madison, the Benster was in the house and the Badgers romped and stomped. It's possible that this weekend, the Benster might be back again. And will it be another romp and stomp? Well, consider that the last two times I was in attendance at a game I picked, both my teams romped and stomped. So Penn State, you'd better hope I don't show up. Wisconsin 48, Penn State 7.

Might happen. The Badgers need style points for the BCS. Badgers 42, Penn State 14.

Sorry we can't stay longer, but there's a turkey to eat. Happy thanksgiving, y'all! Ben out!