Since there’s a Thursday night game and I have the day off on Friday, I figured I’d post this earlier than normal. 9-5 last week (Again)…70-30 overall. I don’t have time to figure out those complex percentages though. The boys at the Sportingnews are starting to catch up too (69-31). It’s time for the close ones and the upsets to go my way again.
Lions 7 at Buccaneers 17 (Fantasy Football Tip: don’t start players who have Thursday games – they never seem to score and then Sunday comes around and you already have a zero or two in the boxscore. The Lions lost their big play threat in Crowell. That’s all the help the Bucs need.)
Cardinals 27 at Cowboys 31 (Aikman: 4 games–2TDs–9 INTs. Cunningham: 3–6–2. After Aikman throws his third INT this week, they’ll hand the reigns to Randall who will pull out the victory for the 'Boys.)
Bills 24 at Vikings 27 (In Buffalo this might be a different story. On the Astroturf, in a dome, don’t pick against the Rams or the Vikings. Okay, I’m going to have amend that one when they play each other, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.)
Bears 17 at Eagles 27 (I recall that before the season began, I predicted the Eagles would make the playoffs. It’s starting to look good. All right, before you go look it up, I also predicted the Bears to be a “most improved team” as well. You guys can be so anal sometimes, jeez.)
Browns 20 at Steelers 16 (C’mon Brownies! Get some more separation between you and that Pop Warner team from Cincy!)
Broncos 27 at Bengals 6 (If they wanted to, the Broncos could probably win this one 40-0. Shanahan showed last week (by pulling Griese) that he won’t do it.)
Patriots 13 at Colts 35 (The Colts, however, need to assert themselves and re-establish themselves as an elite team. Beating up on the Patsies will be a nice start.)
Saints 24 at Falcons 20 (Yep, picking the Saints twice in a row. As I said last week, Ricky is getting more room to run. This is why they got rid of Ditka. If all you have is a good running back and a couple of Billy Joes, the defense knows who’s getting the ball.)
Rams 24 at Chiefs 27 (Not sure about this one, but I don’t think the Rams’ll go 16-0 and this is one of the few I can see them dropping. It’s their first game of the year on natural grass (only the second that’s even been outside!), and the Chief defense and the Arrowhead crowd will add to their difficulties. Bad weather will only help the Chiefs chances.)
49ers 31 at Panthers 24 (Again, I refer back to an earlier statement – the Panthers of ’99 were a fluke. The 49ers defense is still pathetic, but they should be able to handle the newly-dubbed “Panthsies.”)
Titans 24 at Ravens 16 (You heard it hear first – the Ravens will score a TD. However, I predict it will be on defense or special teams. Not really anything the Ravens can do about it though if they bench Banks they’re left with Trent Dilhole. The Titans are back to pushing the AFC around.)
Seahawks 28 at Raiders 30 (I know, I dissed Sebastian last week. He made me pay for it with a game winning field goal. There’s grass at mid-field in Oakland now instead of the infield dirt. Watch the 63-yard record fall!)
Redskins 22 at Jaguars 24 (Redskin fans, sorry, I’m getting this one right. (If not, keep sending those cards!) Your defense is not as good as the Titans, and Fred Taylor is looking much better. Jimmy Smith better be OK, or I’ll be eating crow on this one.)
Dolphins 17 at Jets 13 (I’m very tempted to pick the Jets. But, as long as Zach Thomas plays, the Dolphins can control the run. Chrebet, Ward, and Coles are no match for the Miami defensive backfield. ‘Phins defense scores and wins it!)
Yeah, I know, for someone who’s trying to increase their winning percentage I took quite a few flyers. Oh well, go with the gut, ride ‘er ‘til she bucks ya or ya don’t ride at all, and all that. Time to hear from the dissenters.
