After getting off to a poor start by picking (and hoping) the Buffalo Bills would defend their "home" turf up in Toronto over the New York Jets, perhaps I can right the ship the rest of the weekend, like I did last week when I hit on 12 15 games! I'll make all the picks today and then "Pick & Pan" the Baltimore Ravens at the Green Bay Packers' Monday Night Football tilt in tomorrow's post. So let's get to it:
Steelers over Raiders: With or without Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh will win this game at home over Oakland, which will have trouble traveling cross country to go into a tough place to play.
Saints over Redskins: This is probably going to be a tougher game than one might expect as the Washington defense is better than their record states. Their offense, however, is as bad as their record and New Orleans is as good as their record and one of the top two teams in the NFL, in my humble opinion.
Colts over Titans: Tennessee's amazing turnaround under Vince Young comes to a screeching halt as their past five wins have not and will not be extended to include an undefeated Indianapolis team, whom I see finishing as such.
Bears over Rams: Once again, the mere mention of St. Louis having Kyle Boller at QB is good enough for me to take Chicago, as poorly as Jay Cutler has played. This game might have ten interceptions between the two teams!
Bengals over Lions: Cincinnati gets a breather this week at home and Detroit begins to fade back to 2008 status.
Panthers over Buccaneers: The only reason I'm picking Carolina is for the home field advantage, as I would take Tampa Bay if the game was down south due to both teams disappointing seasons.
Patriots over Dolphins: I was tempted to put this game as an upset win for Miami, but somehow I just can't see New England losing two in a row and tighten up the race in the AFC East.
Eagles over Falcons: The loss of both Matt Ryan and Michael Turner plus the dome weather factor makes me think Donovan McNabb and Philadelphia have a great day in Atlanta (McNabb is my fantasy team's QB!).
Chiefs over Broncos: Here we go with my "Upset Special Pick of the Week" as I see Kansas City playing Denver tough in their home crib and coming away with the upset win to bring the Ravens closer to the Wild Card spot.
Jaguars over Texans: I'm actually rooting for Houston to go into Jacksonville to pull off the upset and push the Ravens even tighter into the Wild Card race, but can't see the Jags tanking so bad at home. Or can they?
Chargers over Browns: What? Are you kidding me? No.
Giants over Cowboys: As bad as New York has played lately, the Cowboys have done pretty much the same other than an easy win over Oakland on Thanksgiving Day. New York is playing for their playoff lives and get the 'boys in rough weather conditions at home after the snow and cold came to the area yesterday.
Seahawks over 49ers: While I think that San Francisco is the better team, they seem to be nowhere as good on the road as they've been at home, while I think Seattle takes this division game at home regardless of their record.
Vikings over Cardinals (Sunday night): A great game and perhaps Arizona can play a perfect game on both sides of the ball to win. However, I think Minnesota's a much more balanced team offensively and defensively, and oh yeah, they have these two guys named Adrian and Brett who have done pretty well so far in '09.
Last week: 12-3
Season record: 119-55