What a battle! Rams and Lions on Sunday! Don't miss it, you know, unless you have anything else to do at all. Like maybe wash your hair or alphabetize your CD collection or crochet a sweater. Otherwise, BE THERE!Houston at Buffalo – The Bills have won two in a row, but have been outplayed in both games and have only won because they were the beneficiary of 9 interceptions during that span. Matt Schaub will not throw four and a half interceptions this week, and the Bills will not win 3 in a row. Texans 29 Bills 13
Cleveland at Chicago – Last week I said that I didn’t think the Bengals could go into Soldier Field and beat the Bears. The joke was on me, because the game was in Cincinnati and while I was technically right, the Bengals didn’t go into Soldier Field, but they laid the smack down on the Bears. Fortunately for Chicago, they actually are at Soldier Field this week, and the other team from Ohio is significantly worse than the Bengals. The Bears rebound with a blowout win over a worthless Browns team. Bears 33 Browns 6
Seattle at Dallas – The Cowboys actually looked like an impressive team with something to prove last week as they obliterated a solid Falcons team. This week should be even easier at the new Texas Stadium, as the Seahawks have only looked good at home against crappy teams thus far this season. Cowboys 34 Seahawks 20
St. Louis at Detroit – Is it okay if we dub this game the Toilet Bowl? You know it’s a weird weekend when both the Titans and the Lions are favored to win. Thank God for fantasy football, as without it, I cannot think of a single reason to follow what happens in this game. Just for the sake of making a pick… Lions 26 Rams 23
Denver at Baltimore – Each week I pick against the Broncos, and each week thus far I have been wrong. Eventually this magic well will run dry, but I hope it’s not this week. The Ravens are on a three game skid, and this game is very important for their chances to make the postseason, I think the Broncos perfect run ends Sunday. (Keep in mind I hope I’m wrong with this pick.) Ravens 30 Broncos 24
San Francisco at Indianapolis – The Niners could really use a win, since their hot start they have cooled considerably to the point that Alex Smith is being given a second chance. Smith may have had a good second half against the Texans in a relief appearance, but I am dubious that he’ll find continued success in Indianapolis. The Colts have been red hot and Peyton Manning is playing some of the best football of his career, which is really saying something as he has had a hall of fame worthy career already. The 49ers slide continues as the Colts continue rolling. Colts 37 49ers 20
Miami at New York Jets – The Dolphins were steamrolling the Saints right before the half by a score of 24-3, but then Drew Brees flipped the on switch and suddenly the Dolphins gave up 36 points in the second half. While there are surely defensive concerns in Miami, the Jets offense is not going to be confused with the Saints offense. This should be a close game, it came down to a touchdown in the final ten seconds last time these two teams played, and I could see it being another see-saw type game. The Jets did score 38 last week, but it was against Oakland, so you have to discount them. Scoring on the Raiders is like aging in dog years, the numbers come fast and easy, but they need to be severely discounted. We’ll call it scoring in Raiders points. Every seven points against the Raiders is like scoring three against a real team. So they only scored 12.6 points if you measure it in Raiders points, which is probably a better measure. The Jets should score a decent amount, but they were not very good at stopping Miami three weeks ago. Perhaps I’d feel better about the Jets chances if Matt Sanchez agreed to keep eating hot dogs on the sidelines. Why not do it? They won 38-0 last time he did it. No hot dogs, no wins… Dolphins 30 Jets 27
New York Giants at Philadelphia – How strong is the NFC East, really? A few weeks ago, we may have thought it was the best division in football, but that was before the Giants dropped two straight games and before the Eagles somehow lost to the Raiders and only looked like a moderate force against a pathetic Redskins team. The winner here takes control of the division for the time being, The Giants have looked okay to me in their past two losses, they’ve just played tough competition. The Eagles have looked disinterested against poor competition, and I’m not entirely sure that they’re any good. Make mine Giants 28 Eagles 14
Jacksonville at Tennessee – Neither team is any good, but this game is interesting for a few reasons. First and foremost, Vince Young is going to return to the starting quarterback role because the owner wants him in there. Not sure Jeff Fisher agrees, but when the owner tells you to do something and you are winless and have just been roundly criticized for wearing a rival’s uniform, it’s probably best to do what your boss says. The second reason this game is interesting is because a the Titans are favored despite being 0-6 having lost their last game 59-0. Plus they are benching their starter from the past year and a half in order to start a mercurial quarterback with a reputation for being a tiny bit stupid, yet they are favored. Weird. Jaguars 26 Titans 16
Oakland at San Diego – I wonder if Richard Seymour is still anticipating the playoffs after getting lambasted 38-0 at home by the Jets. I am done looking for any home from the Raiders, they are a bad football team with bad leadership who are destined to walk the earth as the dregs of the NFL until they are either sold to a competent owner or until the clearly insane Al Davis breathes his last breath. JaMarcus Russell is a big fat quarterback with a rocket arm that has no guidance system. What good is it to be able to throw a football seventy yards from your knees if you have next to zero control over where it’s going to land? This is a game so easy that I don’t even think Norv Turner can screw it up. San Diego wins big. Chargers 37 Raiders 7
Panthers at Cardinals – Hey John Fox, stop putting games in Jake Delhomme’s hands! Your running game is the best thing you have, so you need to run, run, and then run again. You need to embrace the philosophy of old Texas head coach Darrell Royal who said, “There are only three things that can happen when you throw the ball and two of them are bad.” Well, when it’s Jake Delhomme throwing the ball, it’s much more likely that one of the two bad things are going to happen. This game was a blowout in the playoffs last year when the game was in Carolina, why should it be different this year in the desert? The Panthers are fatally flawed at quarterback, and they are throwing it way too much this year. The Cardinals are now on a roll, and I think they stay on it Sunday in the house of the rolling sod. Cardinals 24 Panthers 13
Minnesota at Green Bay – He played so long for Green Bay, it’s going to be weird seeing him on the field in a purple helmet plying his trade for the Vikings. Some might say he is a traitor, but if you’re still able to ply your trade, and they don’t want you anymore, why shouldn’t you be able to go to another team that gives you a great chance to win? I just think many in Wisconsin are being petty, and while he’ll probably be booed mercilessly, I for one will be cheering for him strongly on Sunday. I mean, Ryan Longwell is one heck of a kicker. Wait, who’d you think I was talking about? Packers 36 Vikings 33
Atlanta at New Orleans – The undefeated Saints bring their party train back to the Big Easy for a Monday Night divisional matchup with the Falcons. New Orleans is rolling, and I’m sure they’ll have the voodoo flowing Monday night against the Falcons. Atlanta was less than impressive against the Cowboys last week, and this is even a tougher test. I don’t think the Saints win ‘em all this year, but I do think they get this one. Saints 34 Falcons 17
My Picks Scorecard:
Last Week: 8-5
Season to Date 66-37
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