NFL Week 6 Recaps

With the Vikings in their bye, I had some more time to flip around between games, which was ok. Anyway, a brief look at all the games will follow. But I'm sure you already guessed that.

Saints 27, Eagles 24 - I think I've been underrating the Saints a lot. I've been overly stingy with them in my predictions, but they have a very good RB in Deuce, a solid, accurate QB, and a plethora of options in the receiving game. As long as the defense is decent, they'll compete for the division title. The revamp in one year's time for the Saints is pretty remarkable.

Lions 20, Bills 17 - Ok, it may be time to start talking about Roy Williams as one of the best WR in the NFL, after hauling in 10 passes for 161 yards and a TD. He's always been extremely talented, but he's missed a few games in each of his first 2 years. If he can stay healthy the rest of the way, he's Honolulu bound. Also an encouraging sign for the Lions is that there was a Kevin Jones sighting! How about that!

Cowboys 34, Texans 6 - Ho hum. TO is still real good, the Texans still can't run the ball. Ron Dayne is just atrociously bad. There's not really much else to say about this game, other than to note that the Texans actually led 6-3 at half.

Panthers 23, Ravens 21 - You heard it here first, the Ravens are better off with Kyle Boller at QB than with Steve McNair at QB. McNair's not mobile anymore, doesn't have good arm strength, and isn't that accurate anymore. McNair is washed up. As for the Panthers, boy, they're pretty good with Steve Smith in there. 189 yards against the Ravens D? That just doesn't happen very often.

Giants 27, Falcons 14 - I am becoming more convinced every game... Michael Vick is not an NFL starting QB. Even after all of these years, he's just not a good passer and doesn't make great decisions in there. I honestly think the Falcons would be a better team with Vick at RB or WR and Matt Schaub at QB.

Titans 25, Redskins 22 - I've been defending the Redskins as a talented team that just needed more time to understand the offense and playbook, but I have a hard time defending them now. I mean, if you're a playoff team, you can't lose at home to the Tennessee Titans. You just can't. I've long said that Drew Bledsoe is not very good at all... well, Brunell is the worst starting QB in the NFC East.

Bucs 14, Bengals 13 - Another impressive performance for Gradkowski. These Bucs aren't all that bad. With a little luck, they'd have beaten 4-2 Carolina and 5-1 Tampa Bay... as for the Bengals, I can't really figure them out right now. Things started off so well, but their last 2 games they've scored 26 points. Not so good for a team that I thought had the 2nd best offense in football.

Seahawks 30, Rams 28 - Deion Branch, good to have you. 2 TD for the Hawks today. Just great efforts by both Hasselbeck and Bulger, but the real star of the game is Josh Brown. 2 49-yarders in the 4th quarter, and then a 54-yarder as time expires... that man has ice in his veins. Figuratively speaking.

Chargers 48, 49ers 19 - It's official, the Bolts are real good. It appears that Marty has loosened the reins fully on Rivers, and that's a very good thing. I realize it was only San Fran, but 29/39 for 334 yards is very nice. If Rivers can provide balance with LT and Turner in the backfield, the Chargers will be real tough to beat with that defense.

Steelers 45, Chiefs 7 - Not really much to say about this one. Pittsburgh just thoroughly dominated every facet of this game. And yeah, there was a reason I didn't like Brodie Croyle in the draft... 3/7, 23 yards, and 2 INT. Tough debut.

Jets 20, Dolphins 17 - Until the Jets packed it in sometime in the 4th, very nice game for them. Pennington was solid and got some big plays, and the Barlow/Washington duo provided balance in the running game. The positive for Miami is that they finally got Ronnie Brown on track, which is probably a good sign in the long run. Unfortunately, there's not many positives in falling to 1-5.

Broncos 13, Raiders 3 - A win's a win, but it wasn't all that impressive for Denver. If the Raiders were merely awful instead of terribly, completely awful, this would have been a tight game. Instead, the Raiders shot themselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers. Hey, it's the Art Shell Way.

Bears/Cards on Monday Night. I project the Bears to win by about 25. They're that good right now.

And that's your Week 6.

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 6

Back for another week of the greatly anticipated, never disapponting NFL picks against the spread! I don't want to keep you all waiting another word, so here we go.

Seahawks (-3) over Rams - The Rams are playing well, Shaun Alexander is out, and the Rams are at home... Rams in a route, right? Let's just say I'm not quite sold on St. Louis yet. Their wins are against Denver, @ Arizona, Detroit, @Green Bay, and their loss came against San Fran. Not exactly an incredible body of work there. Plus, they are still having problems putting the ball in the endzone when they get in the red zone. Matt Hasselbeck has to be star in this offense with Alexander out, and I think he'll have a big week.

Redskins (-10.5) over Titans - Let's just get one thing straight... I have no idea why that Colts/Titans game was that close. Indy at home against a Vince Young-led Tennessee Titans. By all means, that game should have been a blowout. But I suppose that's why they play the game. Regardless, I still think the Titans aren't very good, and the Redskins should be getting better and better with Al Saunder's offense every week.

Bills (-1.5) over Lions - Coming into the year I thought the Lions would be able to challenge for .500 and the Bills would suck... I've done a 180. Last week against the Bears notwithstanding, the Bills have shown to have a good running game, solid defense, and on rare occasions, JP Losman can do some things. Meanwhile for the Lions, the defense sucks, and the offense isn't all that great right now. Mike Martz-Ball is in full effect... meaning they pass the ball A LOT. Only problem is that their only playmaker on offense is Roy Williams, who will play but might be slowed by a back injury. I like the Bills to keep Detroit out of the win column.

Bucs (+5) over Bengals - Bruce Gradkowksi was impressive last week, and if he can be average, this Bucs team is not THAT bad. Heck, they were in the playoffs last year. The defense is older but still talented, and if they can get Cadillac going, he's a very solid back. Plus, I have the image of the Bengals getting shellacked by the Pats in my head. I think Cincy will probably win, but I'll take Tampa to cover.

Panthers (+3) over Ravens - Most of what I have read about Steve McNair with the Ravens so far has been positive, but I'm not sure why. I thought he was a great pickup for Baltimore, but he looked washed up. He's not very mobile anymore, he doesn't have great arm strength, and he simply hasn't been accurate. His QB rating is 67.0, and he's got a measly 5.5 YPA. They have a great offense, but the offense is led by two past-their-prime players in the backfield. I don't see this ending well.

Eagles (-3) over Saints - Finally, a Reggie Bush TD! Seriously, anyone notice Reggie Bush is leading the NFL in receptions right now. This man is just ridiculous. And don't think now, but Deuce is putting up very good numbers running the ball. Just a great, versatile 1-2 combo. However, McNabb is just playing too well right now. The Saints have obviously been very impressive so far, but I don't think they're on the Eagles level at this point.

Texans (+10.5) over Cowboys - First off, let me get something off my chest... DREW BLEDSOE SUCKS. He makes terrible decisions, takes terrible sacks, and that's not really a good combo. Wasn't the end of last week's game vintage Bledsoe? He held on to the ball forever, takes a huge sack, and gets put in an impossible situation. Now, he did get bailed out by the defense, so he's got another chance. And what does he do? Throws a TD to the Eagles. Vintage Bledsoe. That said, I think the Cowboys defense is too good to let them lose to Houston, but I'll take the Texans to cover.

Giants (+3) over Falcons - The terribly difficult opening schedule for the Giants continue, as they head to Atlanta. They've been a little inconsistent this year, a lot of that which can be tied to Eli Manning. But, they played very good defense shutting down the Skins this week, and with Jerrious Norwood possibly a little limited for Atlanta this week, I think the defense can play well enough again for the Giants to win this game.

Jets (-2.5) over Dolphins - Was there a more surprising score last week than Jacksonville beating NY 41-0? Granted, the Jags are more talented, but the Jets had been very competitive against solid teams all year. Really a weird game. Joey Harrington brings the Dolphins into New York this week, and I just have a tough time picking Harrington. All those years in Detroit, and he was still making awful, awful decisions... I think this will be a tight game, but ultimately the Jets will win after Harrington throws a bad pick in the 4th quarter. That's my prediction.

Chargers (-10) over 49ers - An amazing thing happened last week that you may have missed... Marty actually let Philip Rivers, you know, throw the ball against Pittsburgh, and amazingly, things turned out well. That can only be a good thing for San Diego. If Marty continues to get at least somewhat of a good balance run/pass, then the Chargers have the talent for a Super Bowl run. Rivers is talented, and LT/Turner is a great combo in the backfield. In other words, 49ers should have no shot this week... but you just never know with Marty.

Steelers (-7) over Chiefs - Is this the week the Steelers start in any way resembling the team they were last year? Damon Huard's been a nice story, but this Pittsburgh defense is too good to let him beat them, right? Roethlisberger can't continue to play this badly, can he? Well, I'm banking on that here with a pick of Pittsburgh, but I'll admit I'm not real confident about it.

Broncos (-14.5) over Raiders - Doesn't NBC get to pick what game they want in the Sunday night time slot? Or is that only later in the season? Please tell me it's just later in the season and this game was chosen well in advance... because it could be awful. The Raiders suck badly, and Denver's defense is dominant. To put it in perspective... Denver is averaging just over 12 points per game this year - and they're favored by 14.5. Uh yeah, this should be a real awesome game to watch.

Bears (-10.5) over Cardinals - The Bears are looking simply unstoppable. Rex Grossman is playing very well and getting the big play. The defense is the best in the NFL. The average score of Bears games this year is something like 31-7. Oh yeah, and the Cardinals are starting a rookie QB, their best WR is hurt, and their O-Line is dreadful... I'm quite surprised the line isn't higher.

Hopefully I can rebound from a poor week last week.

Last Week: 4-7-3
Season: 37-32-5

College Football Picks: Week 7

And we're back with another thrilling edition of the picks, as we get close to the release of the BCS rankings, which are always fair and without controversy. Anyway, the picks:

Iowa St @ (23) Oklahoma
Each team remains winless in the Big 12, which makes this basically a must-win if they want to have any small chance at contending for a conference title. Iowa St. was thought to be able to compete this year, but they have really struggled... their 3 wins have all been tight this year, against Toledo (45-43), UNLV (16-10), and Northern Iowa (28-27... and by the way, go Univeristy of North Dakota, a D2 school, who went to Northern Iowa and won 35-31 earlier this year!). Iowa St. still has the weapons, especially offensively, to get it done in the Big 12. Unfortunately, they don't have the weapons to stop Adrian Peterson. OKLAHOMA 24-16.

(19) Missouri @ Texas A&M
If Iowa St. has been the disappointment of the Big 12, Missouri has been the revelation. Some thought the Tigers would struggle after the loss of Mr. Everything Brad Smith, but Chase Daniel has stepped in and played great football. Meanwhile, every game is big for Dennis Franchione, who's trying to save his job with the Aggies. Call me crazy, but with the 12th Man, I like the Aggies in a mild upset over a good Mizzou club. TEXAS A&M 28-24.

Arizona St. @ (3) USC
The year started with high hopes for the Sun Devils, with two good QBs returning and a talented offense. Things haven't exactly materialized. Sam Keller transferred, and Rudy Carpenter isn't exactly setting the world on fire. Meanwhile, the Trojans just continue to do what they do, which is win. A lot. Even with all the losses USC experienced offensively, they are still stacked with Booty at QB, all the young RBs, and the great WRs. ASU has a shot if Carpenter can get back to last year's form, but I don't see it happening at USC. USC 34-21.

(4) Michigan @ Penn St.
The Wolverines are playing like one of the best teams in the country, but they received some bad news when they found out Mario Manningham will miss this game. The Wolverines have lots of options offensively, but Manningham might have been the best, already with 9 receiving TDs. But even with him out, they still have enough weapons with Henne leading them to get by the Nittany Lions, in a rematch of the most underappreciated game of last year. MICHIGAN 28-21.

(2) Florida at (11) Auburn
And for the second straight week, Florida is in what looks to be the game of the week. Last week they took on LSU at The Swamp, but now they'll travel to take on a reeling Auburn team after an ugly defeat at the hands of Arkansas. Coming into the year, I was a really big supporter of Auburn, but they had some things exposed last week. They O-Line did not do a very good job of opening up holes for the talented RBs, and Brandon Cox can't win a game by himself, especially with a dirth of good WRs.

Meanwhile, the Gators played their best game of the year in handling LSU. The offense was solid, with Chris Leak taking the majority of the snaps, but Tebow playing great in relief, not only in the short yardage run game, but also throwing the ball a little. 2 passes last week for 2 TD... that's efficiency. Bottom line, I believe in a thing called Urban Meyer. Consider me firmly on the Gator Bandwagon. FLORIDA 24-13.

Of course, that just means you shouldn't be betting on Florida this week!

Last Week: 3-2
Season: 22-8