NFL Picks
Last posting I described Tennessee at Washington as a 'can't fail, mortal lock' pick of the week.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. The Skins lost 22-25.
I also picked the Chargers and the Donkeys to beat the 49ers and the Raiders (correct), but the margin of victory predictions were off. San Diego won by 29 points and Denver won by ten.
So here are the rubbish predictions for this week, broken down into vaguely interesting clusters.
Someone must win:
Arizona (1-5) at Oakland (0-5)
One win between them, the Cardinals are 0-2 on the road and 0-1 vs AFC teams. The Raiders were described on the web this week as the 'unofficial train wreck of the NFL' and seeing as though the Cards almost beat Chicago last Monday night, I'm taking Arizona with Anquan Boldin running riot through the Oakland secondary even though Arizona OC Keith Rowen was relieved of his duties during the week. Matt Leinart will also make *l D*v*s' decision not to draft him look like one of the stupider decisions amongst some very stupid ones that have been made in Northern California over the last few years.
It's very demoralising being a Raider fan right now. It wasn't as vocal as this when Cath and I were at Monster Park in pre-season in 2003 (we were under the scoreboard on the left of the video) but you get the general idea.
Miami (1-5) v Green Bay (1-4)
Dolphins - but does anyone actually care? I know I don't, although I'm really hoping that my decision not to pick up Joey Harrington this weekend doesn't backfire.
Lopsided:
Denver (4-1) at Cleveland (1-4)
Not that I've been paying much attention to this, but apparently there are a lot of ex-Browns on the Denver roster (including the entire starting D-line) and vice versa. Makes you wonder why the same players didn't do so well in Cleveland. Perhaps it's got something to do with Mike Shanahan being a good coach. I wonder if it's the same Mike Shanahan that got the boot from the Raiders in 1989? This game is The MSK Fantasy Meltdown of the week, because the Ashton Gators are having to start Charlie Frye at quarterback as the Saints have the week off.
Another Sunday afternoon on the Cleveland Browns sideline
Indianapolis (5-0) v Washington (2-4)
Colts. Seemingly lost in all the hype about the Bears (I've been listening to 670 The Score recently and anyone would think Da Bears had already booked their trip to Miami in February), the Colts are 5-0, despite giving up the most rushing yards per game in the NFL. Yep, the Colts everyone thought would be undefeated last season are playing the team I picked to win last week, which makes The MSK Official Suicide Pick Of The Week the Baltimore...sorry...Indianapolis Colts.
Black hi-tops? Check. Crew cut? Check. Not Payton Manning? Check.
Jacksonville (3-2) at Houston (1-4)
Byron Leftwich may not play, but that probably won't make any difference: David Carr drops back to throw - and Rashean Mathis picks him off. Jaguars.
New England (4-1) at Buffalo (2-4)
Through clenched teeth: Patriots. Big DCF* here though.
Philadelphia (4-2) at Tampa Bay (1-4)
There is something deeply satisfying seeing Jon Gruden not doing very well. And there is money at stake on the Eagles. Donovan McNabb leads the league in passing yards, passing TDs and passer rating which is probably all you need to know. If that wasn't enough, he also advertises winter coats of the type you apparently need indoors in Philadelphia.
So another win for the Eagles then, even though the branded Eagles parka will never come close to achieving the cultural icon status of the M65 fishtail parka.
Blah blah blah AFC West matchup blah blah blah. I have money on the Chargers and the first helmet I ever wore was a Chargers one. Chargers, possibly by a lot.
I Find You Strangely Attractive:
New York Jets (3-3) v Detroit (1-5)
Jets, although this could be an interesting one because Roy Williams now seems to be fulfilling his potential (he has 552 yards receiving) and the Jets pass defence isn't great. Congratulations to the Detroit Tigers on reaching the World Series, three years after losing 73% of their games - I'm going to pick them to beat the St Louis Cardinals purely on the basis of having spent a ridiculous amount of my life listening to soul music from the Motor City.
Pittsburgh (2-3) at Atlanta (3-2)
I wonder how many times Ben Roethlisberger is going to throw towards DeAngelo Hall? I still think the Steelers will win. One of the Sky Sports games on Sunday.
Games of The Week
Cincinnati (3-2) vs Carolina (4-2)
After a 3-0 start, the Bengals have lost their last two and meet a Panthers team apparently going the other way after starting 0-2. The Carolina and Cincinnati offenses are rated 18th and 19th respectively but the Panthers have the edge overall with a better running game which will probably tell in the end as the Bengals run D is much poorer than it's Carolina counterpart. DeShaun Foster has 72% of the carries and 69% of the yards, but the Bengals defense will also have to contend with Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson. This could be over by the end of the third quarter - Panthers.
Seattle (4-1) v Minnesota (3-2)
The late game on Sky Sports on Sunday. The Seahawks are one of the two teams with winning records that have given up more points than they've scored (the other is Carolina) and in their last three games they've given up an average of 31 points, which - along with Shaun Alexander still being injured and Bobby Engram being diagnosed with Graves' disease this week - ought to provide some encouragement for the Vikings.
The other angle here is whether there'll be any leftovers between Steve Hutchinson and his former team. (Note to self: Hutchinson wears 76) and how many times (and how successful) the Vikings will be with Chester Taylor running to the left side of the line.
I'm going to take the Seahawks here, purely because they've been dominating at home. But they won't win by much in a low scoring game.
New York Giants (3-2) at Dallas (3-2)
Big game not only for both of these teams but also for one of my pre-season investments. In all likelihood the loser will find themselves two games behind the Eagles in the NFC East.
Loads of different angles with this one: Bill Parcells coaching against one of his former teams is always an interesting, especially as it could be argued that he's never really attained the same level of success since he left the Giants in 1990. Then there's also the 'will he/won't he' rumours swirling around about current leading rusher Tiki Barber considering retirement and - of course - Terrell Bloody Owens. Even this article in The Onion sounds as if it has the ring of truth about it.
The Giants MNF record over the last four games is poor even though they currently have the upper hand in the series against Dallas and won in Atlanta last weekend. I'm taking Dallas here because their defence is a little better, but once again this will be a close one - Cowboys 21 Giants 17.
Right, I'm off to the shop round the corner to indulge in some hunter/gatherer type activities before settling down to watch Manyoo v Liverpool. Check back later in the week to see how wildly inaccurate these picks were!
* Don't Care Factor
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