So, here’s the rest of the week…
Sunday 1:00
Buccaneers @ Atlanta(-12)
Tampa is horrible, too awful to pick on the road.
Dolphins @ Buffalo (+3)
Hunh? The Bills can’t stop the run, the Dolphins mostly run. This won’t go well for Buffalo.
Browns @ Cincinnati(-13.5)
Intrastate hate game. Bengals need to right the ship, and nothing helps a team right the ship like facing Cleveland. Give the points.
Colts @ Houston(+3.5)
OK, so the Texans have mined the “miss the late FG to miss the tie causing overtime” successfully the last two weeks. I think they’re done, but Freeny is out, which means that the Texans will be able to throw some… so they lose by only a field goal… again.
Panthers @ New Jersey Jest(-3)
Ahh, the “no idea” spread from Vegas. Gang Green seems really ill of late, so I’m taking the points.
Redskins @ Philadelphia(-9)
Wow, that’s a lot of points for what might be another 7-6 game. Too many points.
Seahawks @ St. Louis(+4)
Only 4? I guess the Seabags aren’t very good on the road, but they should still cover this.
Sunday ~4:10
Chiefs @ San Diego(-14)
Since Denver won, the Bolts need to win to keep pace. I don’t like going against them late in the season… at least until the playoffs start. I’ll give the big number.
Jaguars @ San Francisco(-3)
Teams with a two-games-worse record should not be favored, even at home. I’ll take the points since Jax is right in the thick of a wild card fight and the Niners are just playing out the season now.
Bears @ Minnesota(-11)
Chicago is done and the Vikings are firing on all cylinders; they won’t take it easy on the Bears, either. Vikes huge.
Cardinals @ Tennessee(-2)
Having now seen it, I’m on the VY bandwagon. Give the two.
SNF
Steelers @ Baltimore(-2)
Big Ben is out and the Steelers look confused anyway. Give the two, again.
MNF
Patriots @ New Orleans(-1.5)
Not very many points.
Picks from Al’s email… but he flipped the Steelers pick because Big Ben is out.
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Sunday, 1pm
Buccaneers at Falcons (-12)
The Falcons desperately need a win and they play great at home against the spread. I like them to win big against the Bucs with Freeman in his second road game ever.
Dolphins at Buffalo (+3)
Crazy line giving only 3. Granted, the Dolphins D is nothing special, but the Bills have no O-line left! They should easily win by 3. I’ll give the points.
Browns at Bengals (-13.5)
I worry about the Bengals covering such a high spread. They also probably don’t care about this game so much. I’ll take the points and the Browns.
Colts at Texans (+3.5)
The half point looms large! Let’s face it. This is the Texan’s super bowl. If they don’t win this, they won’t make the playoffs. The Colts will play just well enough to win. I’ll take the points.
Panthers at Jets (-3)
Last week was the Jets’ biggest game. They were up for it…and they got beat, mostly because their QB threw to the wrong jerseys. They won’t be up for this game and will be chasing Stewart and Williams up and down the field. Sanchez won’t see the ball enough to make mistakes. Take the points and the Panthers.
Redskins at Eagles (-9)
The Eagles aren’t good enough to be favored by this much. The Redskins have a solid pass defense and the Eagles pass too much. On the other side, Campbell has been limiting his mistakes. In the first meeting he was picked twice. If that doesn’t happen, they should easily keep this game close or even win. I’ll take the points.
Seahawks at Rams (+4)
Boller sucks. Give the points.
Sunday, 4pm
Chiefs at Chargers (-14)
Big rivalry game. Chiefs just beat the Steelers. The Chargers will win, but I think this spread is a bit too high. They always play each other tough. I’ll take the points.
Jaguars at 49ers (-3)
The Jaguars don’t need this game. Factor in the long trip (last time they were on the west coast, they lost 41-0) and the big games coming up over the next few weeks and I figure the Jags just won’t put forth an effort. I’ll give the points.
Bears at Vikings (-11)
The Bears can’t run the ball and they’ll be down early. That means Cutler will have to do everything himself. That means sacks and turnovers because the Vikes have a good defensive line. I gladly give the points.
Cardinals at Titans (-2)
Seems like a good matchup, but remember Warner had a concussion and its not even clear Warner will play. Also, the Cardinals have a commanding lead and this game doesn’t mean much to them. Plus it’s a long trip to the East Coast. On the other side, the Titans are on fire. Young is a winner and Johnson has over 2000 yards rushing. I like the Titans big.
Sunday, 8pm
Steelers at Ravens (-2)
Big Ben will play, that means I like the Steelers. The Ravens simply can’t stop the pass. I’ll take the points.
Monday, 8pm
Patriots at Saints (-1.5)
I like the Saints. Some major defensive pieces are back from injury. Additionally, you cannot blitz Brees and the Pats don’t have much of a rush anyhow. Give the points.
Err, my pick for MNF is a little vague, saying “Not very many points.” What I meant to add is “Because it’s so few, give them.” Just want to be clear.