Weekly NFL Related Humiliation (Week EIGHT)

Another week of mediocre match-ups. 3 of the 13 games this week are between two teams with winning records, and none of those are amongst the four games being televised in Los Angeles. Way to go NFL! I'm going to break form a touch, since there are only four games on TV this week, and pick from the 3 games with both teams above .500, plus I'll add the Houston at San Diego game that's being televised here, along with the Monday night game, which almost qualifies (Denver's at 3-3, Green Bay is rocking it at 5-1). The two games being televised here that I'm ignoring are the NYG v Miami game being played in London, and the New Orleans at San Francisco game which looks like a suckfest between two teams that have no hopes of making the playoffs this year. And My Nemesis Bill Simmons™ has his picks as usual, check over there and compare, also his weekly podcast (link is to a direct download of the 10.1MB mp3) includes an interview with Charles Barkley, never miss a chance to here what's on Sir Charles' mind, he's always a good listen. Now, on to the picks . . .

Indianapolis (6-0) at Carolina (4-2) Carolina +7.0 BS Picks Indianapolis
Indianapolis remain undefeated, and played very well las week beating up on Jacksonville on Monday night. Meanwhile, Carolina had a bye week last week. So you have short week v. week off. Couple that with home field advantage, and I don't see Carolina losing this, or at the very least, losing by more than a TD. Carolina has a solid defense, and should be able to handle the explosive Colts attack, even if older than I am Vinny Testaverde is taking snaps under center.

Houston (3-4) at San Diego (3-3) San Diego -9.0 BS Picks San Diego (sort of)
San Diego seems to have righted themselves, and despite the very Norv Turner-ish behavior of Norv Turner, I don't see this team getting screwed up by the tumult from this week's fires. The game will be at Qualcomm, the ocean breezes are back so the air quality shouldn't be too horrendous, and Houston is dealing with QB issues. So I expect the Chargers to run away with this one. When he went to press, there was no line on this game since where this game was going to be played was still up in the air. So I'll just pretend BS went with the same pick I did.

Jacksonville (4-2) at Tampa Bay (4-3) Tampa Bay -3.5 BS Picks Tampa Bay
Jacksonville is coming off of getting beat up on Monday night, while Tampa Bay is getting over beating themselves with a late turnover against Detroit on Sunday. Home cooking, and QB questions with the Jaguars are the deciding factor for me. The Bucs should be able to handle a good Jaguars team and cover the spread.

Washington (4-2) at New England (7-0) New England -16.0 BS Picks Washington
I hate giving up 16.0 points. But the Pats are the Pats this season, and to go against them, even when taking the spread into account would be foolish. The Skins are a good team, but are overmatched here. And what's the deal here. Mr. Boston aka My Nemesis Bill Simmons™ is picking Washington?!? He expects them to still go 19-0, just not 19-0 against the spread, but the way they've been spanking teams, there's no reason to expect them not to win by at least 3 TDs, so if I'm wrong on any game this week, I hope it's this one.

Green Bay (5-1) at Denver (3-3) Green Bay +3.0 BS Picks Green Bay
So the oddsmakers thing these teams are about evenly matched. A field goal advantage is standard for the home team when the teams are equal. I don't see it. Green Bay has played well, while Denver has been beaten soundly by the better teams they've faced (though they did surprise Pittsburgh last week). Expect the Broncos to go down in flames as if they were the Rockies against the Red Sox.