Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! This begins the holiday stretch from Thanksgiving to New Years. It’s a time of great joy, tons of special eating occasions, and lots of football. In honor of the holiday, here is my annual list of the things I am most thankful for at this joyous time of year.

I am thankful…

That Tony Romo is back.

I am not Greg Hardy’s Secret Santa.

My locker isn’t located directly next to J.J. Watt’s, because it seems like that would be pretty loud.

I don’t have Rob Ryan in charge of my defense, diet, or hair care.

The new Star Wars movies are coming out, so I can forget the last three.

I’m not a Browns fan, because that grease-fire-train-wreck-clown-autopsy would drive me away from football and into following pro lacrosse.

That I don’t have to be in charge of the NFL officials, because after Thursday’s Bills-Patriots game, I’d have them all deported.

Ryan Mallett isn’t in charge of airline arrival times.

I never have to tackle Adrian Peterson. I shook hands with him back in 2003, and my knuckle bones still ache from that every time it gets cold. I can’t imagine trying to slow that guy down.

My preseason pick of the Chiefs to win the AFC doesn’t look as flat-out stupid as it did a couple of weeks ago.

That thanks to social media, I can still keep up with friends and family without having to actually talk to them, because some of those guys are nuts. And I’m sure they feel the same way about me.

I’m not committed to betting on the Bengals in the postseason yet.

I am not on the College Football Championship Committee.

That I am long gone from television, even though people at Walmart still seem to think that’s where I work.

That I’m not in charge of deciding if Matthew Stafford, Jay Cutler, Colin Kaepernick, or anyone on Washington’s roster is worth being a starting quarterback next season.

I can still change my Super Bowl predictions, which at this point I think would be Patriots over Cardinals.

For family and friends, for loved ones near and far, and for this time of the year that brings us all together.

That I’m not the one to have to tell Peyton Manning it’s over.

On to the picks.

In week eleven, things were a catastrophe for me. I wound up 1-5 for my worst week of the year, not counting that week in the summer where my wife got angry with me and glued a Nickelback CD into my car stereo. It was a “Greatest Hits” CD, which only had one song on it. At least then I was able to wreck the car and get out of it, it’ll be a lot harder to come back from 1-5.

I’m still 40-28-2 on the year, there’s still plenty of time to cling to a positive record. Here’s my picks for Thanksgiving. Remember, these are for the purposes of discussion only. As always, no wagering.

Philadelphia (NL) at Detroit – As a holiday warning, do not attempt to watch this game after a full meal.

Pick: Eagles

Carolina (-2) at Dallas – Greg Hardy this week said he felt like “the world’s against him,” which is actually the least-crazy thing he’s said since he came to Dallas.

Pick: Panthers

Chicago (+9) at Green Bay – It’s debatable whether Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the league, but he’s already clearly supplanted Peyton as the best commercial pitchman.

Pick: Bears

I’ll also take dressing over stuffing, potatoes over cranberry sauce, and rolls over biscuits. Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone, eat wisely, and enjoy both spreads, table and point.

– Reid Kerr talks a lot, as his wife always reminds him. Reid’s novel “The Great Texas Trailer Park Escape” is available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com. You can always tweet questions, comments, and angry messages to him at @reidaboutit.