Week 11 Picks for Every Game

It's about to get real in the final stretch of the season, but there are few Top Shelf games this week to show for it.  At least the hotly anticipated first blood will be drawn between the Chiefs and the Broncos this weekend.  I'll be picking the obvious there and whole lot more in your Lady Blitz Week 11 picks:

Top Shelf Games: Talent-rich, highly competitive and aged in oak barrels... spiritually speaking

Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (-8) - Boy do I hope this one's close and that all of those KC defensive Pro Bowlers are worth their salt against MVPeyton.  I'd love the Chiefs to extend their Cinderella story for another week, but when it comes down to it, is there any chance that Alex Smith can go toe-to-toe for four quarters with Manning?  I think not at Mile High.

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints (-3) - Just how good or bad are the 49ers this year?  Save perhaps the first week of the season when they handled the Packers at home, they haven't exactly had a quality win.  Beating the Saints in the Superdome would go a long way in restoring confidence in this preseason favorite, but I think New Orleans looks like the more balanced team for a first time in a while this time around.

New England Patriots at Carolina Panthers (-2.5) - The Panthers had no problem shutting down Colin Kaepernick on the road, but can they do it again against a Patriots team that just seems to be hitting its stride with a healthy Gronk and Danny Amendola?  Carolina's bread and butter has been stopping the run, but the Patriots are just fine with throwing the ball 45 times a game.  There's no counting the Panthers out these days, but if for wishful thinking alone, the Pats put surging Carolina back in its place on Monday night.

Well Drink Games: They may surprise you from time to time without all the high expectations

Indianapolis Colts (-3) at Tennessee Titans - Here lie two teams coming off of embarrassing losses to the Rams and Jaguars, respectively, with some divisional dust left to settle.  Both the Colts and Titans have had a lot of positives to hang a helmet on this year, and if Tennessee's defense can step back up to its early season form, they may have a shot now that Indy is reeling without its full arsenal.  Nevertheless, when the question comes down to Andrew Luck or Ryan Fitzpatrick, it ain't much of a question.

Detroit Lions (-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers - Did you know it's been 20 years since the Lions claimed a division title?  Reggie Bush is no Barry Sanders, but he sure is good enough in tandem with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, and the Steelers sure don't have a lot of answers on that once-vaunted defense these days.

Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5) - Fact: the Eagles have yet to win a game on their home turf this year, so the Redskins may have a dumb luck chance.  Of course, Washington is also responsible for our collective overreaction to Chip Kelly's "unstoppable" offense back in Week 1 with little evidence to show that the defense will be remotely improved this time around.

San Diego Chargers (-1.5) at Miami Dolphins - The Chargers will be heaving a sigh of relief after this game against the Dolphins, their final early east coast game during a very challenging schedule.  You can definitely make a case that Miami's ship has sailed because of a bizarre locker room scandal, but just as importantly, they're down two offensive lineman and even worse off in the running game.  The Chargers have no such problem running all over SunLife with Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews.

Baltimore Ravens at Chicago Bears (-3) - It may not be all that exciting between Joe Flacco and Josh McCown, but this is a pretty big game for two teams looking in from the outside in their divisions.  I have no idea what's going to happen with so many questions on offense for the Ravens and Bears, but the home team has been more consistently productive to this point with and without Jay Cutler.

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals (-6) - Somehow, three quarterbacks later the Browns could still technically win the AFC North and the Bengals/Ravens are doing a great job of drawing out Cleveland's futile hopes as long as possible.  You can set your watch to the annual Cincinnati plateau, so don't count the Browns totally out.  Just don't bet on it like this weirdo.

Green Bay Packers at New York Giants (-6) - Let's be clear here.  The Giants are still a pretty bad team.  Trust an Eli Manning fantasy owner on that one.  They ought to win this one and keep the 3-game winning streak on the burner, but I'm going to blindly throw the ball into triple coverage that Eddie Lacy can run on New York and Scott Tolzien is just good enough to manage this game.

House Punch Games: Most likely to be lop-sided, sloppy and/or otherwise painful to digest

Atlanta Falcons (-1.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - I'm conflicted about this meaningless game.  Tampa finally overcame its winless season against a Dolphins team that was rather distracted about not being distracted last week.  Atlanta might be down to literally Harry Douglas if Tony Gonzalez can't start, but they also get back Sean Weatherspoon on defense.  The Falcons can win the Futility Bowl, I guess.

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills (-1.5) - Conundrum: Since the Jets have been riding the win-loss-win-loss rollercoaster, what happens after a bye week?  They haven't been the prettiest of contenders, but much like Leslie Frazier in Minnesota last year, Rex Ryan continues to make something out of nothing.  In an anything-goes second tier in the AFC, I like these Jets.

Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans (-7) - The poor Texans are officially cooked with Arian Foster out for the season and fewer wins than the Jaguars and Buccaneers in the past month.  But I love what Case Keenum is cooking, and given the Raiders' inconsistencies on defense, Houston at least deserves a moral win in front of whatever fans remain.

Arizona Cardinals (-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars - Don't look now, but the Cardinals could actually overtake the 49ers for the 2-seed in the NFC West with a little help.  Arizona is ready for the Bruce Arians revolution to begin, but that also means they may not be low enough on the draft totem pole to replace Carson Palmer next season.  In the meantime, they should enjoy the rec league game in Jacksonville.

Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks (-13) - What would the Vikings give for it to be 2009 again right about now?  Instead they get another trip to the ninth circle of visiting teams in Seattle where they have no prayer unless AP's got about 400 yards in him.


So How's My Pickin'?
Last Week's Record: 9 - 5
Season Record: 95 -52