Ah, it's that time of the year again, where we get our regular season superbowl. It's a good week, we now get football FOUR nights a week, I guess more if you count some of the lesser college games, WHICH I DON'T! Well, we have all assembled here to answer one question...WHO YA GOT!?!? Manning or Brady?
THU, NOV 12
Chicago at San Francisco (-3) - I don't know if anyone has noticed this or not, but the 49ers aren't that damn good. Sorry. They've lost 4 strait, and even in their three wins, two of them are against the sinkholes of the NFL in the Rams and Seahawks. Alex Smith is getting a lot of praise, but doesn't have a single win. Their pass defense has been suspect at best. Cutler needs a rebound game and he's going to get it here. Chicago with the upset.
SUN, NOV 15
New Orleans at St. Louis (+13.5) - What good can come out of this game? I almost feel bad for spags, he inherits a shit NFL franchise with old players and little fan support. Are the Rams even the 2nd most watched team in St. Louis, or do the Blues take that honor? New Orleans is going to win this game, but I'm going to take the Rams and 13.5 points because, quite frankly, noone else will.
Tampa Bay at Miami (-10) - I hate this game for Miami. Tampa is coming off an emotional first win with their new coach and fresh QB who looked pretty damn good in his opener. I think Miami is better than their record, homer in me, but realistically they've played very well against very good teams. You have to win games you're supposed to lose if you want to get recognized though, and Tampa did that last week. I like Tampa to keep this one close, Miami to win, Tampa +10.
Detroit at Minnesota (-17) - Fun Fact, Vegas is getting killed on making lines this year. If the oddsmakers could realistically get away with it, this game would probably be a 25 point spread. Noone in their right mind would take that, and if they lost, they would lose big. This has caused some pretty big tears in Vegas this year because they have to set the point spreads lower than what they realistically should be, and teams are still managing large blowout wins. You have to take Minnesota and the points here.
Jacksonville at NY Jets (-6.5) - I think this could prove to be a very interesting game for the Jets. There have been some teams that have just tore huge chunks of yards out of them on the ground. Will it happen again this week? Everytime I hear or see the Jaguars on TV, I automatically think of Katy Perry. It's really quite pleasant, but I'm reminded of her worst song...hot and cold. When Jax is on, they are on. When they're off, they're off, we just never know what the hell we're going to get. I think the Jets are going to take this one. Lay the points.
Buffalo at Tennessee (-6.5) - The soon to be 10-6 Titans get a home game against a really stout Buffalo pass defense. Will Vinsanity have a good game against this good pass defense, will Barr..Chris Johnson rip a hole through the Buffalo defense? Will TO put up 100 yards rushing? I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't really care. Tennessee to win, Buffalo +6.5
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-7) Any other week of the season, this may be the best game of the week. This week, it may be the third best. So much good NFL on this weekend, and I can happily say, I'll get to see this. Fairly excited for this game, because Pitt has just emerged (as should be expected) as one of the more dominating NFL teams after a 1-2 start. I know Cinci is firing on all cylinders, I know their running game is good, I know the defense is fantastic, but I just can't imagine them sweeping the Steelers. I think...no, I know...that Pitt is a better team than when these two teams met the first time. Pitt has it at home this time. Pitt to cover.
Denver at Washington (+3.5) - You look at this line, and say "What the fuck?" A 2 loss team against the Redskins is less than a 4 point favorite? I think there's a reason for that, and that reason is that Denver just really isn't that great. Good defenses have exposed them, and if Washington can put up some points, they'll win this game. I'll take Denver, but give me the points with the skins.
Atlanta at Carolina (+1.5) - Pretty big wildcard implications in this game. It's a long season, but that NFC wildcard spot is going to be hotly hotly contested. Not including division winners, there could be five teams in contention for those two spots. 10-6 may not lock a team in. If Atlanta wants to keep themselves strait, they need this game. I still like Carolina to pull this out at home.
Kansas City at Oakland (-2) - Not worth my time. KC.
Seattle at Arizona (-8.5) - Are they good? Are they not? Are they good? Are they not? I swear to god, Kurt Warner has the largest gap in history between his "on" and "off" switches. 5picks one week, 5TDs the next. The Cards have played better away than they have at home this year, a stark contrast from last year. They should still handle Seattle quite easily, who almost lost a home game to the Lions just a week ago.
Dallas at Green Bay (+3) - Again, one of the three best games of the week in my opinion, and thankfully, most of the country will see it. I think Vegas is giving Dallas WAY too much cred here. I know they've won 3 or four strait or whatever. I know they lead their shitty division. I know Romo is clutch in November. Breen Bay is on the ropes, and they're at home. They've taken two devastating losses in the past two weeks. The Packers are going to pick up the missing peices of Aaron Rogers from last week, ship them to Green Bay, and reassemble. Dallas is going to spend their week atop the East knocking back Mai Tai's with Milton, not a god damned Pina Colada. And no salt for the margarita. LOCK OF THE YEAR, Green bay +3.
Philadelphia at San Diego (-2.5) - God damned all these fantastic games. Why can't we spread these out to some of the shittier weeks? I really don't know who needs or wants this game more, and that's what makes is such a great game. I really have no idea who's going to win this game, it could be a pick em for all I'm concerned. They both handled their business against New York. I'll take the home team to cover, but no real justification for doing so.
New England at Indianapolis (-3) - So, despite New England stepping their game up tenfold over the past three weeks and Indi losing their entire secondary with less than a week to prepare, Vegas still thinks these teams are even on a neutral field, assuming the three point home bump? I find that somewhat surprising. I don't really worry about their secondary being young and inexperienced against Brady near as much as I worry about their preparation. They've find out, literally, jsut a few days ago that they'd be starting. Preparing against Manning day in and day out will allow any secondary to step up their game, but they haven't been practicing against Manning all year. Brady is going to have a damn good game. With that said, New England also has their slew of injuries to deal with. Since I like this game to be a shootout, the total points scored will probably be under 45. I said Indi about 2 weeks ago, and I'm sticking to my guns. Indi, lay the points.
MON, NOV 16
Baltimore at Cleveland (+11) - All the great games on Sunday and we get this on a Monday. I wish they could flex the Monday night games, there's too much good football for one sunday. I'll continue the chalk picks and take Baltimore to win. I'll take a reinvigorated quinn lead Browns team at home +11.
With that said, I asked in the opening "who ya got? Manning or Brady?" Best QB is...?
Manning.
Stats:
Last week:
ATS: 7-6
Strait up: 7-6
On the Year:
ATS: 62-65-2 (Creeping up to .500)
Strait up: 87-42
I'll leave week 9 thread open til tomorrow.