Saturday, November 05, 2005
NFL Week 9 Picks
I went 2-3 last week, which could have easily been 4-1 if the Redskins had even shown up and the Chargers or Chiefs could have found another TD laying around somewhere...aaauuuuuggghh. Now 18-23-1, a faint whiff of desperation is in the air. With an unheard-of nine home underdogs this week, I am ignoring them all, because most of them are terrible. Here is this week's six-pack, with fingers crossed.
Carolina -1.5 at Tampa Bay: Wideout Steve Smith is pound-for-pound the best player in the league. On a team that prefers to run the ball, he is leading the league in catches, yards and touchdowns, routinely abusing double-teams on almost every snap. Tampa's zone defense will fare no better.
Chicago -3 at New Orleans: This game might be close...for a while. Ultimately, the Saints will be unable to play the mistake-free game they need to win against the resurgent Bears defense.
Jacksonville -13.5 vs Houston: Congratulations to the Texans, who finally got their first win of the season last week. The Jaguars await to welcome them back to harsh reality. Namely, that they are very bad.
New York Giants -11 at San Francisco: Giants QB Eli Manning has yet to win a road game. Here's your chance, boy. The Niners are not the kind of team that has two consecutive good efforts in them, and are on their fourth quarterback of the season.
Seattle -4 at Arizona: "Touchdown, Shaun Alexander." Cardinals fans should get used to the sound of that, as they are going to hear it a lot on Sunday. Few players have a nose for the end zone like the Seahawks' workhorse. Arizona's defense will appear to be reenacting the French army during the first two months of WWII.
Washington vs Philadelphia over 40 total: The Redskins and the Eagles will both play better on offense than they did last week. I don't know who will win this game, but I'm pretty sure they'll both get past 20 points.
Carolina -1.5 at Tampa Bay: Wideout Steve Smith is pound-for-pound the best player in the league. On a team that prefers to run the ball, he is leading the league in catches, yards and touchdowns, routinely abusing double-teams on almost every snap. Tampa's zone defense will fare no better.
Chicago -3 at New Orleans: This game might be close...for a while. Ultimately, the Saints will be unable to play the mistake-free game they need to win against the resurgent Bears defense.
Jacksonville -13.5 vs Houston: Congratulations to the Texans, who finally got their first win of the season last week. The Jaguars await to welcome them back to harsh reality. Namely, that they are very bad.
New York Giants -11 at San Francisco: Giants QB Eli Manning has yet to win a road game. Here's your chance, boy. The Niners are not the kind of team that has two consecutive good efforts in them, and are on their fourth quarterback of the season.
Seattle -4 at Arizona: "Touchdown, Shaun Alexander." Cardinals fans should get used to the sound of that, as they are going to hear it a lot on Sunday. Few players have a nose for the end zone like the Seahawks' workhorse. Arizona's defense will appear to be reenacting the French army during the first two months of WWII.
Washington vs Philadelphia over 40 total: The Redskins and the Eagles will both play better on offense than they did last week. I don't know who will win this game, but I'm pretty sure they'll both get past 20 points.
