Top Shelf Games: Talent-rich, highly competitive and aged in oak barrels... spiritually speaking
Denver Broncos (-3) at New England Patriots - Brady-v-Manning 16.0 is the obvious choice for Lady Blitz Game of the Week. And it's set up to be another classic with both of these quarterbacks playing out of their minds in recent weeks. Weird fact: this is just the third away game for the Broncos so far this season, which may mean nothing, but could also mean they get off to a slower start than usual. Denver's the better team all around, but I just can't pick against the Pats at home right now.
Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5) - Oy. This is the part of the season when you really come to loathe Thursday night games because you don't know how injuries will impact your Sunday and Monday picks. The Cowboys have been pretty dodgy about what's going on with Tony Romo's back, and even if he plays, my guess is he won't be able to gunsling as accurately as he has been this season. Making things more interesting, the Cardinals are actually pretty good against the run and have a hot hand in a healthy Carson Palmer. So I'm putting some faith in Bruce Arians and some favorable circumstances for Arizona to sneak past a solid Dallas team.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (PK) - I'd be better off flipping a coin on this one, which is probably the case for many games this weekend. Vegas thinks so too. I really like how Baltimore is shaping up on both sides of the ball, but there's no answer for the three-headed monster of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell. I see the Steelers wearing the rival Ravens down in the second half and forcing Baltimore to rely too heavily on Flacco.
Well Drink Games: They may surprise you from time to time without all the high expectations
New Orleans Saints (-3) at Carolina Panthers - I'm not sold on the Saints winning this one. Despite a strong win on Sunday night, they have yet to keep it together on the road this season, it's a short week, and the Panthers almost always have their number these days. BUT Carolina will also be starting undrafted Canadian rookie David Foucault (really!) at left tackle along with two other newbies on the offensive line. That's bad timing now that New Orleans is showing signs of life in its pass rush, so here's to hoping the Saints can keep Cam Newton off balance just long enough to get it together on offense.
San Diego Chargers at Miami Dolphins (-1.5) - Do you suppose that the Chargers might step it up now that the Chiefs are starting to breathe down their necks in the AFC West? This could get wild and sloppy since I never quite know who will show up for these teams week to week, but San Diego has been the more consistent, well-rounded team to this point so I see them rallying after a tough loss in Denver.
St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers (-10) - This could get ugly quickly for the Rams, but maybe they'll have another "kitchen sink" kind of game like they did hosting the Seahawks a couple weeks ago. Too bad the 49ers will probably be ready for it and starting to get healthy on defense again.
Indianapolis Colts (-3) at New York Giants - It probably won’t matter much in the end for the Colts since they still seem like a straight shot for the AFC South, but last week’s defensive collapse against the Steelers raises questions. Meanwhile, the Giants have to be envisioning this as a must win situation in the middle of their schedule from hell which includes consecutive division losses to the Eagles and Cowboys and three more weeks of crime and punishment with the Seahawks, 49ers and Cowboys again. Yeesh. If Luck and Manning happen to get into a shootout, I know where I'm putting my money.
House Punch Games: Most likely to be lop-sided, sloppy and/or otherwise painful to digest
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cleveland Browns (-6.5) - So the Browns aren't as good as we thought, especially with Alex Mack out for the season. Sad thing is, they would probably be leading the NFC South by 3 games if they had the pleasure of trading divisions with the Buccaneers.
Washington Redskinks at Minnesota Vikings (PK) - I have really good or really bad news for Redskinks fans! RG3 is slated to start on Sunday. As long as he's not disastrous, it should be enough for Washington to get past the shaky Vikings - they've had trouble keeping Teddy Bridgewater upright all season just as Washington is coming off one of its best pass-rushing performances to date.
Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks (-15) - That's a tall order for a point spread, even for the hapless Raiders. But unless they're on a steady diet of deer antler spray and Super Mario invincibility stars between now and Sunday, Oakland isn't getting out of Seattle alive.
So How's My Pickin'?
Last Week's Record: 10 - 5
Season Record: 74 - 46 - 1
No comments:
Post a Comment