Broncos won 26-13 on Thursday Night.
REDSKINS (-2.5) over Ravens
Let’s just recap what the Ravens have
done the past 2 weeks: It took a miraculous 4th n’ 29 conversion
which included a San Diego Chargers team which has all but given up + a
super illegal block by Anquan Boldin... and that was just to force
over-time. Then they followed that up with a divisional game against their
biggest rival who was starting CHARLIE BATCH at QB – and lost.
Meanwhile, Redskins fans are chanting “R-G-THREE!!!
R-G-THREE!!! R-G-THREE!!!” when the Giants were lining up for a punt on 4th
down. There’s still a return to come, with the potential of a return TD so the
fans won’t even see RG3, AND a commercial break but Redskins fans are just going
crazy over RG3.
BROWNS (-6.5) over Chiefs
After the events of last week that took place at the Chiefs
facility, taking to the road and letting more time for the incident to sink in
might spawn a bit of a letdown week for the Chiefs. The Browns continue to be pseudo-good,
or “decently bad” by NFL standards. And of course the Chiefs are still being
run by Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel which will end badly at the end of the
season for the duo.
STEELERS (-8) over Chargers
I’m not thrilled with having to give up
more than a touchdown here but nothing on this Chargers team makes me think
they have the type of personnel that would rally around the news they got earlier
this week. Once wildly speculated is now official that GM A.J. Smith and Head
Coach Norv Turner will be fired at the end of the season. Does Phillip Rivers
strike you as the type of guy who is going to get his teammates to buy into the
idea of giving Norv a strong end of season showing? Or does he strike you as
the guy who isn’t going to acknowledge a lame-duck coach giving him orders?
COLTS (-5) over Titans
These Colts are something special. It’s
just impossible to pick against them now. After watching the miraculous
comeback (the
Lions have a 99.9% winning probability with 3:33 to go in that game last week)
they pulled against Detroit, in a game they probably shouldn’t have covered in
also, I just can’t go against this ChuckStrong-LuckStrong movement. You have
cheerleaders shaving their heads, the whole Peyton-Luck torch passing, a rejuvenated
football frenzy crowd... too much good karma for them. Anything less than a
touchdown at home is gravy.
Jets (-3) over JAGUARS
Just look at this schedule in a vacuum: @ Jacksonville, @ Tennessee, home vs. San
Diego, @ Buffalo.... If you didn’t know what team that is, don’t all those
games seem kind of winnable? That’s the Jets schedule the rest of the way. By
the way, they’re 5-7 and there’s an outside change 9-7 gets them to the
playoffs. Now this is all leading up to an inevitable failure in a colossally
hilarious fashion. But a winning streak with potential playoff hopes has to
start somewhere.
VIKINGS (+3) over Bears
It’s like clockwork with the Bears. An aging D that slowly but
surely has injuries take their toll. No Brian Urlacher, no Tim Jennings. And
there’s an interesting theory being bandied about right now. Charles Tillman
hasn’t looked totally Tillman-esque the last little bit. Charles Tillman
recently had a baby... Charles Tillman might not be getting the requisite sleep
necessary to play professional football. Just a thought. And Adrian Peterson
has the ability to churn yards and make the Bears work the whole field to
score, something they can’t do very well. Bold prediction: Bears miss the
playoffs.
PANTHERS (+3.5) over Falcons
I’m still trying figure out how the
Falcons won last week vs. the Saints. Even with Drew Brees having his worst
game of his Saints career the Falcons still didn’t shine in a win. Over a
field-goal for the home team here and the Panthers are an incredible 0-11 in
games decided by less than a touchdown under Ron Rivera. Historically that
number should bend back towards the mean. From 1990-2011 7 teams were 0-6 in
similar games through Week 13, but after that those same teams went 8-2. And
the Falcons were lucky to escape with a win vs. these very same Panthers
earlier in the year.
BUCCANEERS (-7.5) over Eagles
The 3rd and final installment
of “Pick Against The Team That Is About To Fire It’s Coach”. The Bucs needs
this game to keep pace for the wildcard spot, and the Eagles are just a mess.
It took the ultimate back-door cover last week to beat the spread vs. the
Cowboys. I said last week I was prepared to have that blow up in my face... I
didn’t think it would include a final minute meaningless punt-return TD. Bryce
Brown has been fantastic for the Eagles these past 2 weeks, but I think he
regresses a bit and unable to put up another 150+ yard, 2 TD performance against
the Bucs.
BILLS (-3) over Rams
The Rams are kind of a poor-mans version of the Seahawks in the
sense that they play close in every game but on the road are a bit of a
different team (1-3-1 on the road). However, the Bills at home are a different
team (aside from the general let-down that they have been all year) and the end
of the season for the Bills has them playing 3 of 4 at home (really 2 of 4
since 1 of them is in Toronto), but I can see CJ Spiller going off in this game
with some nice complimentary running from Fred Jackson.
BENGALS (-3.5) over Cowboys
Remember last week when I said the
Cowboys were destined to win the Eagles game as a “look how good we can be”
game. Now that the playoff discussion includes them again, prepare yourselves
for a great letdown game here against the Bengals.
Dolphins (+10.5) over 49ERS
The Dolphins do have a formidable front seven and Colin Kaepernick
is going to have to win this game on his own. Mind you the 49ers defence should
have a field day now that Jake Long is out for the year, but this has some
back-door cover potential.
GIANTS (-5) over Saints
The Giants are priming themselves up for
a late season push all over again. In 1st place in the division but
by the narrowest of margins, but with a quarter of the season left.... It’s
Giants Time. And having this game at home could be huge for the Giants with the
home crowd helping the pass-rush against a pass heavy team.
SEAHAWKS (-10) over Cardinals
Seahawks at home. Seahawks at home. Seahawks at home. That’s all
you need to know about this game. But Russell Wilson at home has been nothing
short of brilliant and is making a strong push for Rookie of the Year, and the
Cards have been hapless since going 4-0.
Lions (+6.5) over Packers
There is a recipe for beating this Packers team but the Vikings showed
it last week, and if it wasn’t for Christian Ponder doing everything in his
power to ruin a terrific Adrian Peterson performance, they might have actually
been able to pull it off. But run run run. Mikel Leshoure should put up big
numbers against this Packers defence which is giving up an average of 31 yards
per drive vs. the Lions Offence which puts up 34 yards a drive. Expect high
scoring but that’s just the kind of game the Lions can operate in.
Texans (+3.5) over PATRIOTS
Finally some Monday Night games worth watching. This is as good as
it gets for the NFL. With Denver winning on Thursday, this game has tremendous
meaning to the Texans. Not just because it’s a measuring stick game vs. the class
of the AFC in the new millennium, but the Texans need a game like this to prove
to themselves that they can win the AFC and play in the Super Bowl. They’ll get
Jonathan Joseph back which is huge for their ailing defence. If Brooks Reeds
joins the fold as well on defence that could turn the tide their way and help
slow down the Pats just enough for it to matter.
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 7-9
Season: 93-96-2
No comments:
Post a Comment