Now, for me, there generally isn’t a whole lot of building, and instead, there’s a whole heap-load of destruction. I’m generally left to sweat out the 4 p.m. games with the hope of having a .500 day.
That, however, was not the case last week. With the Eagles covering Thursday night and with several strokes of good fortune, I was 8-1 heading into the 4 p.m. games. Then, well, then the NFL happened.
San Diego -13 over Oakland? Raiders win by 15.
Indy -5.5 over Dallas? Peyton Manning throws 25 interceptions.
Tampa Bay +3 over Atlanta? A kick return, of all plays, for a touchdown, just when it looked like Tampa Bay had the game wrapped up.
And so on, and so forth. Thanks to the Patriots, it was a 10-6 week, and there wasn’t a whole lot of sweating taking place on Monday night. Still, just as that 45-3 beatdown in New England showed, you just never know nothing in this game.
But there’s always next week.
(Home team in caps.)
Indianapolis (-3) over TENNESSEE
When you’re seeing headlines like this, you know things are really bad in Tennessee. Even with the banged-up “Peyton and the Mannings” limping into town.
Ridiculous Quote From Last Week’s Picks: “You just can’t trust [the Cowboys] for anything … except making mistakes. They’re good for that.”
Note: It was, quite obviously, Manning making all the mistakes last Sunday. Oh, the humanity of it all.
JACKSONVILLE (-4) over Oakland
I don’t know what to make of the Raiders. When they beat the Chiefs at home, Tom Cable went into his locker room and told his guys that the upcoming games were going to be that much tougher, now that they were a winning football team. They’d be playing for a playoff spot, and they’d have a target on their backs as a winning team.
How’d they respond? Well, they did so with a 35-3 loss to Pittsburgh and a 33-17 loss to Miami. Way to rise up.
So maybe they’re coming off a huge divisional win in San Diego, but with every game a must-win from here on out, I’m going to go back to doubting them.
(Oh, and they’ll have to deal with Maurice Jones-Drew, who couldn’t rush for less than 100 yards if he tried.)
PITTSBURGH (-8.5) over Cincinnati
Sometimes I think, “You know, that odd marriage between Bill Belichick and Chad Ochocinco just might work out.”
Then I turn on my television and see the latter yukking it up with Terrell Owens, just two days after their Bengals choked up their 10th loss of the season. Clearly, there isn’t a winning culture in Cincy — enough so to pick the Steelers to win big.
New England (-3) over CHICAGO
I’m really happy to see this line — not because I don’t think the Pats are good, but because they’re not 45-3 good.
Now, earlier in the season, the Pats followed up what was then their biggest win of the year with a stinker in Cleveland. It was probably the best thing to happen to the young team, which learned in a hurry that last week doesn’t matter.
The only concern I have about the Patriots taking care of business is that Soldier Field turf. Remember what it did to Michael Vick? But Belichick is the master of preparation (soaking practice balls in practice leading up to the 2008 Oakland game comes to mind), so it won’t catch the Pats off guard.
Cleveland (+1) over BUFFALO
All the Bills did last week was roll into Minnesota and get eviscerated by Tarvaris Jackson. For their “efforts,” they were named a favorite this week. OK, sure.
New York Giants (-2) over MINNESOTA
Do the Giants always have to be on television in New England? Or is that just a ploy from the NFL to get everyone to buy Sunday Ticket? I’m so sick of seeing them play every weekend that it’s gotten to the point where even those plain, flat gray pants bother me. Maybe they should just keep a camera on Keith Bullock‘s facemask the whole time. That’d be more fun.
DETROIT (+6.5) over Green Bay
The classic letdown game for the Pack, who just may be looking ahead to the Patriots, Giants and Bears before stopping by Ford Field. Last time these two teams met, Green Bay eked out a two-point win. Plus, the Packers are likely due for some punishment from the football gods after wearing those T-shirts to work last week.
Atlanta (-7.5) over CAROLINA
I wasn’t the only one who saw the game break that showed the Panthers up 14-0 and thought, “Oh, that’s sad that they’ll be blowing a double-digit lead soon.”
Sure enough, they were outscored 31-0 the rest of the way. Sad, really.
RQFLWP: “The Falcons simply cannot win this weekend.”
Note: In my defense, I was using faulty logic.
Tampa Bay (-2) over WASHINGTON
Congratulations to the Redskins, who officially waved the white flag in New Jersey last week. Donovan McNabb will be playing to try to convince Mike Shanahan not to cut him after the season, while the rest of the Skins only have something to play for if they own themselves in fantasy leagues.
St. Louis (+9) over NEW ORLEANS
Early in the season, the Saints let you know that they weren’t last year’s championship team anymore. While they’ve won five in a row now, they’ve made it too close for comfort against weaker teams like Dallas and Cincy.
Will that trend end this week with the return of Pierre Thomas? Here’s hoping it takes a week for the offense to get its groove back.
SAN FRANCISCO (-4.5) over Seattle
What’s that, NFC West? You have another divisional matchup this week that nobody in their right minds will watch? Cool. Let’s go with … the … Niners. Because I love the color of their pants.
NEW YORK JETS (-5.5) over Miami
No way the Jets lose like that again. Rex Ryan is clueless on many fronts, but he knows how to motivate his guys. Plus, the Dolphins looked as inept as ever last week. Plus, it’ll probably be 20 degrees in New Jersey. Plus, well, actually, that’s it.
Denver (-5.5) over ARIZONA
Let’s just jump on the “You can’t really explain it, but teams seem to win the week after they fire their coach” theory.
Kansas City (+6.5) over SAN DIEGO
Make or break time for Phil Rivers‘ Chargers. Who would’ve thought in the summer that this game would be so important?
Let’s hop on the “Matt Cassel is somehow in the top-five quarterback discussion train” and continue riding the “Romeo Crennel is part man, part god” train that I’ve been on since the beginning of the season.
RQFLWP: “The last time these two teams met, I made the mistake of thinking the Chargers would win in a cakewalk. … I intend to make the same mistake again.”
Note: Well, at least I’m consistent.
Philadelphia (-3.5) over DALLAS
In Weel 14 of the 2010 NFL season, Michael Vick is better than Peyton Manning. It might be the first time that’s ever been stated with confidence. For now, at least.
Baltimore (-3) over HOUSTON
Come on, three points? I know Joe Flacco‘s bouncer on fourth-and-you-need-to-complete-this-pass was bad, but what exactly is Houston going to do against Baltimore?
RQFLWP: “The Ravens should be able to rack up the sacks on the quarterback who’s never been afraid to get sacked eight times in a game.”
Note: Though technically, the Ravens only had three sacks, and though technically, it was the Steelers who came up with a sack to win the game … I did fall asleep watching this game Sunday night. So in my eyes, it never happened.
Note to that note: Making picks isn’t all that hard when you make your own rules.
Last week: 10-6
Season: 99-88-5
