NFL Picks - Week 10

In My Humble Opinion
1

By the thunder god Raiden (hey, not all of us despise Mortal Kombat :slight_smile: ), what on earth happened to all our football fans? It’s almost 7:00 where I live…which makes it even later where the rest of you live…right now!

I mean, I’m preoccupied with a bunch of things, not the least of which are my main computer which is still in the shop (and they need a new hard drive, so I really have my fingers crossed on their being able to save my data), my eternally nebulous job situation, and a bunch of relatives visiting right now, but I can at least find time to tune in once a week!

Oh well, guess it¡¦s up to me to kick it off. (Man, what are the odds…) In fairness, my job is easier than anyone else¡¦s…I¡¦m just following my heart, after all.

This week¡¦s games -
Lions vs. Packers
Texans vs. Titans
Chargers vs. Rams
Giants vs. Vikings
Colts vs. Eagles
Falcons vs. Steelers
Saints vs. Panthers
Bengals vs. Ravens
Redskins vs. Jaguars
Seahawks vs. Cardinals
Chiefs vs. 49ers
Patriots vs. Bears
Dolphins vs. Jets
Raiders vs. Broncos (Monday)
Bye: Bills, Browns, Cowboys, Buccaneers

Bandwagon picks:
1. Dolphins
Could all the injuries have possibly hit at a worse time? (Please tell me that the talk of signing Troy Aikman was just a sick joke.) Well, I still don¡¦t think anyone¡¦s really taken charge in the AFC East, and this team still has the best shot to do it. Parity is nice, but, as any horse racing aficionado will tell you, an exciting race requires front runners.

2. Bears
I feel really strongly about this, one, because while this team didn¡¦t deserve all those lucky flukes last season, I don¡¦t think it¡¦s a .250 team either, and two, no NFC North squad should finish below the Vikings this season. No way, nohow. Patriots already have The Big One, so they can take a loss now.

3. Giants
Sometimes you just gotta go with the natural order of things…

4. Cardinals
What the frag. Beatable opponent, still in the playoff hunt on paper, need to show that they can win with a key player hurt (David Boston), and probably their last chance to have a winning record this year. I can bite one more time.

5.Raiders
Normally, I don¡¦t pick a side in a big rivalry. But the Raiders have lost twice in overtime this season, while the Broncos have won one…I¡¦d say the good karma is with the silver & black.

Speaking of the overtime controversy, they really just need to change one thing: the winner of the coin toss has the option of taking it on their own 10 yard line, or giving it to the other team on their 10. You can still win it with a field goal without the other side having a possession, but you gotta earn it now. This just makes sense to me. The current NFL ruls are structured to avoid cheap touchdowns (e.g. pass interference in the end zone); how is a cheap win acceptable? This also adds an element of strategy, because if your defense can make a stop, you¡¦ll have much better starting field position than if you took it at the 10.

Oh, and screw the college overtime, which is ridiculous. ¡§Unmanly¡¨ draw games for soccer shootout-style buffoonery is not a favorable trade.

2

Why would you pick the Raiders when they haven’t won a Monday night game in Denver since 1994? And they are on a losing streak?

3

I just couldn’t find the time this week. I guess we all had a bye.

4

I’m glad someone jumped in and started a thread, this week. I got started on a run down Thursday, but got sidetracked and never got the chance to finish it. Just for kicks, and so its not totally wasted I’ll most the comments I managed to get done.

Wow, look at all these pretty half-point spreads. Not even a single 3 or 7 pointer! Bad news for my Pick 5 pool, it had rolled over for 4 consecutive weeks going into last week meaning a single winner gets a prize of around $3000. I had visions of trips to Vegas, but sadly I went 2-3 in my picks, and some sap won the whole kitty himself. The vindictive part of me wanted it to split like 5 ways, but no luck there. Everyone has been having a real tough tme this season getting their “OMNI” picks, and my pool averages 2-3 each week, so the winners are rare and the overall total is probably going to be below .500, or at least real close to it. Hopefully I’ll score this week, I only won once last year and had to split it, and this year I’m 0-fer. I need a W this year to keep myself in the black overall. OK, enough about me, on to the games.

Sunday Games
Atlanta @ Pittsburgh 12:00pm (Pittsburgh by 5)
Duckett’s probably out, and I’m willing to bet that Bettis is healthy but sees limited action anyways. The Steelers were always best when they had multiple backs producing even when Bettis was running better than this year, so I’m not guessing this “contraversy” hurts them. The ball will get spread around plenty and they’ll end up with 200 yards on the ground total. The Falcons are all beat up, and their suprisingly strong defense will suffer. Vick won’t do much running against the 3-4, and without Duckett, they might become too one dimentional. I’m going to have to peg the Steelers for the win and cover here, as much as it pains me.

Cincinnati @ Baltimore 12:00pm (Baltimore by 5½)
Jeff Blake starts again, and Ray Lewis is probably out again. Cincy is riding high after that first W, but now they go on the road against a divisional rival. Thats never any fun in this league, none more so than here where the Bengals have been out scored 75-0 in the last 3 visits. None the less, if both teams continue on their current pace, the Bengals should win. Kitna has been very accurate, Dillon has run well and Baltimore has given up some points in the last two games. Its a tough lot to tag your hopes on the Bungles, but I’m gonna tempt fate here and take the Bengals to upset. (I was considering hedging with a Balt win a and Cincy cover pick, but that’s a pussy move)

Detroit @ Green Bay 12:00pm (Green Bay by 10)
Lots and lots of BIG spreads this week, should be an easy week for the confidence league…which of course means that it’ll be a crap shoot in reality. Anyone expecting a repeat of the earlier match up between these teams? I didn’t think so. The only way the Lions hang in with the Pack the way they have been playing, especially in Lambeau is if Favre hurts that knee again. I don’t think the injury is that bad though. I’m guessing there’ll be another blowout, and this time Sherman, not being on national TV, will bench Favre when he gets a decent lead. So that begs the question, what are the odds of Detroit covering? Well, considering the circumstances I think its a poor choice to let any money ride on that, either way. I’m going to take a stab and say that the game is low scoring to a degree, and that Green Bay wins but Detroit manages to cover.

Houston @ Tennessee 12:00pm (Tennessee by 10)
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia 12:00pm (Philadelphia by 9)
New Orleans @ Carolina 12:00pm (New Orleans by 4½)
N.Y. Giants @ Minnesota 12:00pm (N.Y. Giants by 1)
San Diego @ St. Louis 12:00pm (St. Louis by 6)
Seattle @ Arizona 3:05pm (Arizona by 3½)
Washington @ Jacksonville 3:15pm (Jacksonville by 2½)
Kansas City @ San Francisco 3:15pm (San Francisco by 6½)
New England @ Chicago 3:15pm (New England by 3½)
Miami @ N.Y. Jets 7:30pm (N.Y. Jets by 3½)

Monday Night Football
Oakland @ Denver 8:00pm (Denver by 5)

And here are my OMNI picks
Philadelphia San Diego Arizona Kansas City New England

Hae picking against the Bears, and for 2 straight weeks it looks like it cost me. I won’t be doing it again, and what the hell happened to Philly?

5

Bandwagon picks aren’t about history, pepperlandgirl. Or logic. They’re about desperate hopes, WAGs, and trying to come up with something to say in the fading hours of Saturday night. Certainly my past picks have made this very clear.

Besides, riding a long streak is just asking for trouble…just take a look at how the Chargers have fared recently.

Nope, better to side with the scrabbling underdog. Elated if they win, not too bummed if they don’t. Considering the effect of recent world and personal events on my current emotional state, that’s nothing to sneeze at.

6

Okay, the results are in. For the benefit of the regulars who manage to find some time to browse this thread, here they are.

Atlanta +5 at Pittsburgh - Atlanta beats the spread easily because there was NO straight-up winner. Yep, you read right. The Steelers actually had a pretty good chance at the end, but the last-gasp hail mary fell a yard short. And in case you were wondering, yes, the tedious hashing about whether this “feels like a win/loss” or the “quality” of the draw or who it actually feels like kissing etc. etc. is already going on.

Cincinnati +5 1/2 at Baltimore - Buoyed by a strong second quarter, the gritty Ravens win both ways, taking the and-you-thought-the-XFL-was-bad Bengals by 11.

Detroit +10 at Green Bay - I used to own a computer football game where it was possible to create a team so overwhelmingly powerful, the opponents couldn’t get anything at all going. This game reminded me of that. Packers stampede with a 26-point win.

Houston +10 at Tennessee - Boy still no respect at all. Well, the Texans might not a happy camp, but their backers sure are. Titans by 7.

Indianapolis +9 at Philadelphia - Maybe it’s not just Donovan McNabb. Maybe it’s the bizarre continuum fluxes which allow the Colts to transform into an invincible juggernaut two or three times a season. Colts win both outright and for real in an absolute shocker, 22 points.

New Orleans -4 1/2 at Carolina - When does the hurting stop? Panthers throw away the win with a penalty at the most horrendous time, then make their backers miserable as well by giving up a touchdown on the last play of the game. Saints by 10 in a gut-wrencher.

NYG -1 at Minnesota - A new quarterback controversy? Fine, anything to draw attention away from one damn meltdown after another. Giants by 7.

San Diego +6 at St. Louis - Unusual come from behind win for the Rams…all too familiar stumble by the Chargers. Rams by 4.

Seattle +3 1/2 at Arizona - Once again, the Cardinals succumb to the pressure of being an overwhelming favorite :rolleyes:. Seahawks by 21.

Washington +2 1/2 at Jacksonville - Wasn’t the big concern supposed to be the Redskins running it up on other teams, not the other way around? Jaguars for real, 19 points.

Kansas City +6 1/2 at San Francisco - A lot tighter in both respects than nearly everyone anticipated; in the end, the Chiefs just weren’t clutch enough to pull it off. 49ers by 4.

New England -3 1/2 at Chicago - Prediction: Despite the downright friggin’ alarming trend of the Bears routinely blowing huge leads, most of their fans are going to grumble about how they were “robbed” and how “The Patriots always get all the calls”. Patriots pull off the miracle and almost make it a double, winning by 3.

Miami +3 1/2 at NYJ - Did I say the Jets were finished? I’m sorry. What I meant was that the Jets were finished if someone in this crazy divison would step up instead of it turning into a parity-drenched wild upset-choked furball year after year after year. Jets by 3, and you can rest assured that the gamblers are the only ones in Miami who’re happy.

Hey, this is actually kinda fun. Well, if this situation ever comes up again, I’ll always be here…