The recap
Seattle at St. Louis (+3)Seattle 30 St. Louis 28
Both teams only have one loss, surprisingly. Seattle was destroyed by Chicago in their last game and have had a bye week to recuperate. Either a bounce back, or more woes this week. St. Louis has an impressive 4-1 record, but other than Denver, they've beaten weak teams and their one loss is to the awful 49ers. Seattle has the kind of defense that can disrupt the hot Bolger and even though they will continue to miss Shaun Alexander for a few more weeks, they have enough other tools to handle a decent team on the road. I'll take the Seahawks and give up the points, and I'll do it with confidence.
Didn't get to see this game, but my pick was looking good till that late fumble. Seattle got lucky to escape with the victory, but they didn't cover the point spread, those bastards! Also, since he played so well, I may have to learn how to spell Bulger's name correctly from now on.
Another game not shown hereabouts. Vick and Dunn gained tons of yards on the ground as predicted, but they continued to do so while not scoring touchdowns. That's a problem. Again, to succeed in the NFL you need that short passing game, something that Michael Vick seems incapable of delivering on a consistent basis. But I still wish they'd show their games here more often, he's still the most exciting player in the league, even if he's a mediocre QB.NY Giants at Atlanta (-3)NY Giants 27 Atlanta 14
The Giants have been up and down, alternating losses with victories this season. By that reasoning this would be a week for them to lose. I think Atlanta will oblige them. Atlanta has looked good each week, or so I've been told, the only week they've been shown in the LA market was the reopening of the Superdome, and the Saints were not to be denied that night. I still don't believe in a QB that can't pass the 10-15 strikes with consistency, but they have enough defense to stay close and be ready to take advantage of the eventual Giants mistakes on offense. Also, the Giants are a good defense, but a slow defense, just the kind that the Vick/Dunn duo will destroy on the ground. I expect another lousy day statistically for Vick as a passer, but a victory anway. I'll take Atlanta and not worry about giving up the points, they'll win by at least a touchdown.
Philadelphia at New Orleans (+3.5)
The Saints are unbeaten in the Superdome, and Philadelphia is riding high after winning the TO Bowl. Donovan McNabb is starting to look like a pretty good QB again, but the Eagles defense hasn't been exactly stingy. The Saints are better on defense than the Eagles right now and will have to rely on a big play on special teams or a big play on offense to put enough points on the board to keep up with the Eagles' offense. The Saints defense is actually pretty crappy except for when they aren't. They are terrible in the red zone, but improving. I think the Eagles are ripe for a let down, and New Orleans will continue to win at home (but not next week against Baltimore). I'll take New Orleans and the points and be happy about it.
Wooho! The only pick I got right this week. I've seen the Saints play more than any other team this season (still looking forward to this franchise moving here to Los Angeles, rather than being La.'s team, they can be L.A.'s team). They are for real. Reggie Bush and Duece McAllister have been a great duo and Drew Brees has been a great leader for this team. Philadelphia still managed to almost win this game, and but for a late in the game, completely inexcuseable 12 men on the field penalty, would have at least gotten another shot at a score. These are two very good teams, and the home field advantage was most likely the deciding factor. They both look like solid playoff contenders in the relatively week NFC.
I've got an excuse on this pick. McNair was knocked out early. Baltimore still could have won this game (and covered the spread), but they failed to contain Steve Smith for the entire game. Steve Smith when healthy has managed to make some very good defenses look very stupid, and Carolina continues to be unbeaten with him in the lineup this season. The Panthers are a team to watch, and Baltimore were lucky to even score the 21 points they managed in this game (two TDs to Mark Clayton bounced off of other players into his hands, not something you draw up on the chalkboard).Carolina at Baltimore (-3)Carolina 23 Baltimore 21
Baltimore got embarrassed on the road in Denver on Monday. So they have travel and a short week working against them. But, their offense isn't as bad as it looked on Monday, and their defense still looked terrific even in a loss, so expect them to turn things around and hold Carolina under 14 points. Carolina has a solid defense and not always productive offense as well. On the road I don't think their defense will be able to hold Baltimore under 20 points, and given that they are going to have trouble scoring themselves, look for them to slip back to .500. I'll take Baltimore and give up the points.
Also, howabout that Monday night game? That was painful to watch. Though, Matt Leinart looks for real, and he said all the right things after the game, he had the right level of frustration mixed with optimism, and didn't point any fingers at anyone but himself. Class act, and will have an impact for years to come, and probably will have an impact the rest of this season. Arizona are almost a very good team, yet are already 1-5 (though if they finished off teams they had beat, they would be 4-2 right now). Chicago looked terrible on offense, yet eeked out a victory without an offensive touchdown and giving up six turnovers. In the postgame wrap up they mentioned the unique nature of erasing a 20 point deficit without the benefit of an offensive TD, or overcoming six turnovers.
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