Okay, so I'm now officially off of the Indianapolis Colts' bandwagon for picking them to win as my "Upset Special Pick of the Week." Twice in the past two weeks I predicted them to get off the 'schnide' and finally win a game and both times they've gotten blasted. Now I'm virtually certain they match the Detroit Lions of 2008 in futility and the only "win" they end up getting is the right to select Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
The Colts were just one of two Upset Specials to fail this week, but they had a lot of company as I had my worst week picking winners in 2011 and my second losing week in a row after starting the season on such a solid note. Let's get back on track with some solid picks this week in some key match-ups and I'll pick & pan the Ravens -Bengals game tomorrow morning.
Dolphins over Bills: Can you believe that this is NOT an Upset Pick? Miami is actually favored in this game off of their two wins in a row after seven straight losses to open the season, while Buffalo looked so promising but has lost two in a row to pretty much drop out of playoff contention.
Cowboys over Redskins: I thought about picking Washington to upset Dallas at home, but only for a second, as this rivalry is nothing like it once was. Dallas might be getting themselves in gear for a playoff run, while the Redskins are just looking pretty horrible and had suffered too many injuries to compete.
Jaguars over Browns: This game actually qualifies as my first "Upset Special Pick of the Week," as Cleveland for some reason is a one-point favorite over Jacksonville. My thought is that if the Browns can't beat the St. Louis Rams at home, then how can they beat a similarly pretty bad team in the Jaguars, who probably have a much better offense than St. Louis does?
Lions over Panthers: Oh my! Struggling Detroit needs to get ready for their annual Thanksgiving Day game but first will take care of business and make life miserable for Carolina QB Cam Newton, who will be facing his former Auburn teammate Nick Fairley for the first time in their pro careers.
Packers over Buccaneers: Do I really need to go into detail on this? Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers is having a magical season and there might not be a team on their schedule that can stop them from going undefeated (better be worried '72 Dolphins!). Tampa Bay is certainly not THAT team.
Vikings over Raiders: I'm going with Minnesota in a bit of an "Upset Special" according to the line, only because they are the home team and Oakland RB Darren McFadden is not playing. I love Adrian Peterson's ability and still question the Raiders abilities to win away from home in a non-division, non-conference game.
49ers over Cardinals: Baltimore better get ready to see a really good football team on Thanksgiving night as San Francisco is the real deal and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh's brother, Jim, is on his way to "Coach of the Year" honors in his first season. 49ers QB Alex Smith is playing like the 1st overall pick should, but only something like seven years later. Meanwhile, it appears it doesn't matter who is the QB of Arizona, as they are just plain bad regardless of who is under center.
Rams over Seahawks: Everyone is going to say that Seattle is going to win this game over a pretty bad St. Louis team, but their win over the Ravens last week was a perfect storm of a gift from Baltimore and they will return to sub-mediocrity, where the Rams have a chance to win their second in a row over two poor teams (Cleveland, Seattle).
Falcons over Titans: If Atlanta wants to have any post-season aspirations, they cannot lose two in a row at home and while Tennessee appears to be on the outside looking in on the playoff hunt, who knows in the shaky AFC South what could happen in these final six games of the regular season.
Bears over Chargers: San Diego is doing it backwards this year after getting off to a solid start, they've dropped four in a row and this week will make it five and their chances at the playoffs are fast slipping out of sight. Meanwhile, Chicago is on a four-game winning streak, playing great defense and QB Jay Cutler may be in the best zone of his career right now.
Giants over Eagles (Sunday Night Football): I so want to pick Philadelphia in an upset, as there appears no reason that they can win this game, so that's my reverse logic. No Michael Vick, a nightmare season after so many expectations, on the road at New York Jersey against a bitter division rival with their season on (or perhaps over) the brink. Sounds like a perfect game for Eli Manning to tank on national TV......Nah!
Patriots over Chiefs (Monday Night Football): I can't see what the schedule-makers ever saw in this game, unless they owe a huge favor to either Kansas City,...or New England. The only good thing about this is that most of us outside of KC or NE (and maybe including both places!) will be able to turn the tube off and go to bed early as this one should be a snooze-fest of the highest degree.
Lat Week: 6-9
Season Record: 88-57