By Paul Schmidt
Another week, another winning week. I’m on a roll with these picks, although I did only go 3-1 last week. What the heck is wrong with the Titans?? Or is Kerry Collins just remembering he’s Kerry Collins? Or drinking again?
Now we’re getting into where the books and oddsmakers really should have a pretty good handle of what’s going on, so this week it’s even more important to be very careful about which games you wager on. Look at all those lines this week — there’s literally only one line that jumps out as insane, and you better believe that we’re going to lead off the picks with that game….
Dallas -3 at Denver
So…let me get this straight. Dallas has a good week one, loses at home to the Giants, and then squeak by a terrible Carolina team, again at home…and that leads to them laying three points on the road? To ANYONE?? I don’t think Denver is as good as their 3-0 record, but that Cincinnati win is looking a lot better now, even if it was a fluke.
Don’t ever, ever forget that Denver is one of the toughest places to go on the road, either…the altitude, that crowd and the way the stadium was built to shake when the crowd gets loud…it’s intimidating. And Denver wins this game outright.
Pick Denver +3
St. Louis +9.5 at San Francisco
The Rams are just terrible. Although they might be a little bit better wiith Kyle Boller at quarterback. That right there might be the most telling thing you can say about the Rams though, that Kyle Boller makes them a better team…yikes. Plus you’re putting them on the road against a good 49er squad that won’t miss Frank Gore, then you’ve got to feel good about San Fran’s chances.
And about that Frank Gore injury, really, don’t worry about it. Glen Coffee is more than capable of filling his spot.
Pick: San Francisco -9.5
Buffalo (PICK) at Miami
In case you haven’t figured out this week’s theme, it’s that “We Heart Injured Quarterbacks!” Now, to be fair, if Chad Pennington had been playing and this line was, say, -6 in facor of Miami…I think I still like Buffalo.
Instead, we’ve got Tyler Thigpen maybe, Chad “Don’t call me Sonja” Henne. It’s just not a good situation in Miami this week, and it looks like they will fall off a lot from last year.
Pick: Buffalo (PICK)
Tampa Bay +8 at Washington
How awful are the Buccanneers? REALLY awful. REALLY REALLY awful. And you know what? I liked the Redskins laying 8 BEFORE Tampa Bay coach Rahim Morris announced that Florida Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson was going to start at QB for them. Apparently he doesn’t have much going on after this weekend with the Marlins.
What? It’s a different Josh Johnson? That I’ve never heard of before this week? And now he’s ACTUALLY a starting QB in the NFL? Seriously??? And I can wager actual money against him?
Even the Redskins, as bad and dysfunctional as they are, can’t screw this up.
Pick: Washington -8
Last Week: 3-1
For the Season: 9-3