Orton Waives Goodbye and Thanksgiving Day Picks!

The Broncos waived Kyle Orton on Tuesday. After the Broncos started 1-4, Orton was benched in favor of Tim Tebow. From the moment Orton was benched, you knew his career in Denver was over. He will be a free agent next season, and there was no chance the Broncos were going to sign him. Kansas City claimed Orton off waivers, and it looks like Orton will get a chance to QB the Chiefs down the stretch, especially since Matt Cassel is on injured reserve. This does set up the possibility of an Orton-Tebow showdown in Denver as the Chiefs and Broncos will square off in Week 17. We'll worry about Orton down the road when we get to that point, but trust me I'm not shedding a tear about the end of the Kyle Orton Era in Denver. I wanted Orton gone in the middle of last season, and I finally got my wish. Of all the QBs that were tabbed as the successor to John Elway (A list that includes Brian Griese, Jake Plummer, and Jay Cutler), he was my least favorite and least talented. I'm sure someone will look at his numbers and say that he will somehow get the Chiefs into the playoffs and win the AFC West, but when you watch Orton game-by-game and snap-by-snap, you realize is simply isn't the guy. Let's just hope it doesn't come back to bite us the last game of the season.

Before I get to my Thanksgiving Day picks, did the NFL hit a home run with this year's slate of Thanksgiving games? It is great that the Lions are good this year, so adding them and the Packers is fantastic. The Cowboys are having a good season at 6-4, and having them go up against a feisty underdog like Miami, winners of three in a row, should be at least somewhat competitive. Lastly, the NFL Network nightcap features the Harbaugh brothers doing battle with their two teams a combined 16-4. Not a bad day for NFL football. One last thing on the Turkey Day matchups. I really liked the idea by the NFL to add the third game on Thanksgiving Night back in 2006. The only problem with the idea is that the games have been pretty non-competitive. Here are the games dating back to its' inception in 2006:

1)2006-Kansas City-19 Denver-10 (The "Jake Plummer Gets Benched" Game for all those Broncos fans out there.)

2)2007-Indy-31 Atlanta-13 (The "Oh Shit We Scheduled This Before We Found Out Michael Vick Was Running a Dog Fighting Ring" Game.)

3)2008-Philly-48 Arizona-20 (The "Never Rely on Arizona Or Other Western Teams Traveling East on a Short Week" Game.)

4)2009-Denver-26 Giants-6 (The "Josh McDaniels Was a Decent Coach For One Night" Game, and The "Moment the 2009 Giants Mailed It In" Game.)

5)2010- Jets-26 Cincy-10 (The "Hey Shove the Jets Down Everyones Throat" Game, and The "Wow! Carson Palmer Really Blows" Game.)

As you can see, the Thursday Night Thanksgiving Classic hasn't exactly lived up to that billing, but let's hope this year's game is a little better than the previous five matchups.

Here are the picks for Thanksgiving..........

Green Bay (-6) over DETROIT: I was going to pick the Lions all week mainly because they haven't won a Thanksgiving Game since 2006, Ford Field would be rocking, and the Packers are due for a loss; however, when I looked at it closer, I think the Packers win this game by at least 10 points. Here is why: First, the home field is important for the Lions, but their crowd isn't going to be pumped up for an early kickoff (12:30 EST) as opposed for a Monday Night Game like they played against the Bears in October. Plus, the Lions aren't playing well lately, and the Packers played Tampa Bay tighter last week, so they will be on their game this short week. Look for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to continue to be undefeated for one more week.

DALLAS (-7) over Miami: The Cowboys find themselves at 6-4 and tied for the lead in the NFC East. The Dolphins come in at 3-7 and winners of their last three. A lot of people have told the Cowboys how difficult this game could be and it is a classic trap game. I'm not buying it one bit. Give the Dolphins credit: They have played hard all year long, but this week the Cowboys dominate. I just can't shake the image of DeMarcus Ware tracking down Matt Moore all game long. The Boys win easily.

BALTIMORE (-3) over San Francisco: The 49ers have totally exceeded expectations and find themselves at 9-1. Every week, I am waiting for the Niners to play a dog game, and every week they prove me wrong. I just don't see them winning this game. Trust me, I'm not a believer in Baltimore, but this game just seems like a game the Ravens pull out near the end. Should be a fun game to watch, but look for the Ravens to finish the Niners off late.