Weekly NFL Related Humiliation, Week 06, The Picks

I can do no worse than last week, so things are looking up! (bet some stock traders are saying the same thing)

Oakland Raiders (1-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-3) my pick New Orleans -6.5
If New Orleans hadn't blown last Monday's game against Minnesota with those numerous turnovers, they'd probably be two TD favorites in this. New Orleans looks like a bargain in this, they'll rebound from their mistakes, and the Cable Guy's NFL head coaching debut won't go so well, I predict. (I forgot to complain about the Raiders being on local air, seeing the Saints make up for it, they're my favorite team at the moment, even if they haven't lived up to their potential the past season and a half)

Chicago Bears (3-2) at Atlanta (3-2) my pick Chicago -3.0
Both these teams are 3-2?!? Whodathunkit? I expected both these teams to be 1-4 at this point, so I'm not sure which of these teams being half way decent is more surprising. Given the crap Atlanta went through last year, I'm leaning towards Atlanta, but Chicago's gotten surprisingly solid play out of Orton. The Bears defense and special teams will be the difference in this one, they'll disrupt Atlanta, and make the Falcons rookie QB, Matt Ryan, look like, well, a rookie QB.

Dallas Cowboys (4-1) at Arizona Cardinals (3-2) my pick Arizona +4.5
Maybe Dallas isn't so good afterall. I had them making the Superbowl this year, but now I'm not so sure. They only have one loss, but their four victories haven't been dominant, and they have vulnerabilities on defense, and the Arizona offense is well suited to exploit those soft spots. It'll be a shoot out. Both teams ought to put up scores above 30 points. So regardless of who wins, definitely bet the over 52.0 points on the total, that's the surest bet this week (just like last week's under on the TEN v BAL match up).

New England (3-1) at San Diego (2-3) my pick San Diego -4.5
San Diego's favored by more than a field goal in this game? Not going to stop me from picking them, but that's a bit surprising. Neither of these teams can beat Miami for some reason, but have looked decent against everyone else they've played. New England needs to keep the score low to win, and I don't think they can against San Diego. Beyond not wanting to drop down to 2-4, the Chargers have the extra motivation of their AFC Championship loss to help motivate them. I expect the Chargers to be fired up, and not only win, but pour it on and humiliate the Pats for the home town crowd.

NY Giants (4-0) at Cleveland (1-3) my pick NY Giants -7.5
Damn it, Damn it, Damn it. OK I admit it, the Giants don't suck. Not only do they not suck, but they're the best team in the NFL, and look like they have a solid chance to appear in back to back Superbowls. The Browns, on the other hand, do suck, and will get killed in this game. This will be lopsided, and ugly to watch, so don't, there's better ways to spend a Monday night than to watch this crap.

So those are my week 6 picks. No predictions on my predictions this week. Will do a top 5 team rundown again, though (in reverse order, to build suspense)

5) Carolina Panthers - They're a solid all around squad, don't make mistakes on offense and play well on defense, it should be a good enough formula to win their division, and make some noise in the playoffs

4) Dallas Cowboys - They remain in the top 5, at least until they get thumped by Arizona tomorrow...

3) Tennessee Titans - One of two undefeated teams remaining, they look like the team to beat in the AFC at the moment.

2) NY Giants - I can't bring myself to make them #1, sorry, can't do it, they caught the Redskins while they were still getting used to their rookie coach, and otherwise they've beaten up on creampuffs. I'm still not completely sold on them.

1) Washington Redskins - After stinking up the joint against NY Giants the first week, they've rattled off impressive victories, and are done with all their in division road games, which should be a huge benefit down the road. Even though the Giants are undefeated, the Redskins have the inside track on the division title in the best division in the NFL. As long as Campbell, and Portis play as well as they've been playing, they're the team to beat.