Last week, we saw the 49ers and Lions involved in a game that was entertaining both on and (especially) off the field, the Eagles rebound to their first win in five weeks, Tom Brady doing what you would expect Tom Brady to do and help the Patriots win on a game-winning drive, Tampa Bay claiming first place all to themselves and teams like the Giants and the Steelers scratching by their games with a victory, among others. In other words, it was another great week of pro football. This week? Well, let's just say that the expectations of another fine week isn't there (at least for me). Five of the six teams in a bye have 4 wins or more (Buffalo, Cincinnati, San Francisco, New England and the Giants) while the one that isn't (Philadelphia) is still an entertaining team to watch. Meanwhile, among the games that will be played, we have a 1-4 team taking on a 0-5 team, absolutely zero matchups between two over .500 teams, at least five games that are expected to be in a blowout, and only one to decide first place in a division (HOU vs. TEN). In short, on paper, it's not what I will call the best product the league is giving us. However, with the Bears and the Bucs battling in an intriguing matchup at London, the Chargers and the Jets squaring off after each coach took terrific shots at the other this past week, and the 5-1 Lions trying to rebound at home over a recovering Falcons team, I wouldn't be so shocked if these weeks slate of games surprise us all with some exciting, down to the minute finishes.
In the meantime, why don't you keep yourself busy with my predictions for this week's games. FWIW, we're six weeks in and neither mj50 and myself have yet to go under .500 at this point (last week, for instance, I went 8-5 while mj50 went a little better, going 10-3). In addition, this is the best start either one of us has ever had in the three year history of this picks column (60-30 for myself, 57-33 for mj50). Will both of our string of lucks continue, or will this finally be the week that the NFL gods inevitably shame us will a terrible record, as is usually the case with us after a large string of prosperity? Only one way to find out...
Let's begin (Note: all games are based on the Central time zone):
Washington Redskins vs. Carolina Panthers (-2.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Carolina
Don't really trust John Beck to win this game in what will be his first regular season start since 2007. Also, it doesn't really speak well of a team's chances to me when Vegas has a 1-5 team beating them despite the fact that they're a major contender for the NFC East crown.
mj50's pick: Carolina
Denver Broncos vs. Miami Dolphins (EVEN): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Denver
As if the Dolphins 1-12 record in their last 13 home games isn't a good reason enough for you to pick against them, consider this: for some reason, the Dolphins decided to make this the same game that they honor the 2008 Florida Gators BCS Championship winning football team, of which Broncos QB Tim Tebow was a part of. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like taking my chances on a team that will have more fans coming into their home game wearing Gator jerseys and cheering for the opposing team's QB, especially if that team is starting Matt Moore at QB.
mj50's pick: Miami
Atlanta Falcons vs. Detroit Lions (-3.5): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Detroit
Detroit is coming off a close loss trying to prove that their slip-up last week is not going to be a recurring theme for the rest of the year. In addition, I would much rather go with the 5-1 team that has the Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson combination anytime instead of the team with the 27th ranked passing defense who has beaten only one over .500 team this season (and that win should come with an asterisk since they probably would have lost that won too had Michael Vick not gotten injured in the middle of it).
In the meantime, here's video of the Harbaugh-Schwartz scuffle. I'd figure it's more interesting than the game that you're about to see me write about:
mj50's pick: Detroit
Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Seattle
Seattle is coming off a bye week, so they will head into the game well-rested and without the same kind of negative effect that West Coast teams normally have playing in a 1 p.m./ET game. Plus, the Seahawks offense has slowly gotten better by the week (a shutout in week 2 to a surprising 36 points two weeks ago), something that I cannot say about Cleveland. Both teams are matched up pretty evenly, though, so expect this victory to come in a close contest.
mj50's pick: Cleveland
San Diego Chargers (-2) vs. New York Jets: Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: New York
The Jets may have issues both at stopping the run and with the quarterback position, and San Diego is great both defensively and offensively, but I think they will still win because...well...hmm. Well, I'm not really sure why. Just have a gut feeling about this, I suppose. Moving on...
mj50's pick: New York
Chicago Bears (-1) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at Wembley Stadium in London, England): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Tampa Bay
This just feels like one of those games where two exhausted and jet lagged teams desperate to get into their bye weeks are going to play an ugly, ruff and tumble football game that will be close to very end. Because Josh Freeman has nine game winning drives and eight fourth quarterbacks in his short NFL resume already, I would much rather rely on him to churn out a victory for his team than I would with Jay Cutler.
(Ed. note: It should be pointed out that the Bears have won the majority of the time this season whenever mj15 has picked against them. Mere coincidence, or some Simmons-esque reverse jinx that mj15 is trying to make possible? In the words of Dean Pelton: "I'll never tell.")
mj50's pick: Chicago
Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans (-3): Sunday- 12:00 p.m.
mj15's pick: Houston
No Andre Johnson + No Mario Williams + Tennessee well rested coming off a bye week = no problem for the Texans.
mj50's pick: Tennessee
HALFTIME! This week, we have a stand up clip courtesy of the one, the only David Cross, better known as the "David" in the hilarious "Mr. Show with Bob and David" and the man who played Tobias Funke on the classic sitcom "Arrested Development." In this particular bit, he's talking about kids, and not in the way Larry the Cable Guy would like. David, the floor is all yours...
Pittsburgh Steelers (-4) vs. Arizona Cardinals: Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Pittsburgh
It's a rematch of Super Bowl XLIII, still my favorite Super Bowl of all time and one that I will continue to state is better than the one that preceded it, yet one that will be significantly less entertaining to watch. Pittsburgh is slowly but surely getting back into top form, winning four out of their last five games while slowly recovering from their large amount of injuries (they still have Casey Hampton and Jerome Harrison injured, but at least Rashad Mendenhall, Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace are back and able to play) while Arizona still remains that middle-of-the-road team you can never trust to win against a good opponent. Also, I see no reason as to why Kevin Kolb will have a great game against the the only team allowing less than 160 yards passing as of this moment. That's like counting on Rick Perry to out-wit Mitt Romney in a Republican presidential debate (Bam! Political Humor!).
On a random note, someone should really get into Roger Goodell's hatred of the Steelers. First, he gives James Harrison every fine that he can think of, and now this? Asinine!
mj50's pick: Arizona
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders (-4): Sunday- 3:05 p.m.
mj15's pick: Kansas City
Newly-arrived Oakland Raider Carson Palmer is reportedly not going to play in this game, so I guess this means that Kyle Boller will likely be starting. The last time a team won a game with Kyle Boller throwing the ball over 30 times came in October of 2007. In short, I do not trust the rest of this talented Raiders team to overcome this big obstacle under center. In addition, Kansas City usually saves it's best against their divisional opponents (see: week 3 versus San Diego), and I'd like to think that the bye week gave them a good amount of time to prepare to their arch enemy 1,800 miles West of them.
mj50's pick: Oakland
St. Louis Rams vs. Dallas Cowboys (-13): Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Dallas
St. Louis: the worst team in the league not looking to draft Andrew Luck as they already have a franchise QB in Sam Bradford, who is having the epitome of a sophmore slump this season. In fact, it hasn't been just Bradford that's been bad, but the entire team. Their offense has average a dead last 9.8 points per game while their defense have allowed over 400 yards per game on the other side of the football. This week, they're on the road, against a potent Dallas offense and a defense that is in the top ten in both sacks and turnovers. Will they finally get that win they've been so longing for? To borrow a popular saying around the Internet: No. Just, no.
mj50's pick: Dallas
Green Bay Packers (-9.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings: Sunday- 3:15 p.m.
mj15's pick: Green Bay
Hmm, should I go with the NFL's great, lone undefeated team, or do I go with that terrible team that has a rookie quarterback (Christian Ponder) making his first career start? (Thinking) Yeah, this one's not even close. Expect to see the Packers head into their bye a perfect 7-0 in blowout fashion.
Also, R.I.P. to Donovan McNabb's up and down 13-year career. I hope that man saved a lot of money from all those Campbell's soup commercials he made, because there is no way another team is going to want to have him on the roster after this season.
mj50's pick: Green Bay
Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints: Sunday- 7:30 p.m.
mj15's pick: New Orleans
Another Super Bowl rematch (XLIV) that will probably be dull to watch, with the Saints controlling this matchup from beginning to end at home. And yet, it will probably still pull in at least 25% better ratings than the World Series, because the NFL is the current king of American entertainment.
mj50's pick: New Orleans
Baltimore Ravens (-8) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Monday- 7:35 p.m.
mj15's pick: Baltimore
If only Jacksonville's offense (#32) played as well as their defense (#8), then maybe I would take them seriously to defeat the Ravens. Alas!
mj50's pick: Jacksonville
RECAP
The Undertaker at "WrestleMania" Lock of the Week: Dallas over St. Louis
The Japan over U.S. at the 2011 Women's World Cup Final Upset of the Week: Kansas City over Oakland
The "Star Wars" vs. "The Empire Strikes Back" "I'm Not Sure" Pick: Tampa Bay over Chicago
Next week, I've got a special treat planned for next week's column besides the usual picks, so be sure to stop by. Until then, enjoy the games, everyone!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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