This Week's PicksBy Andy Ross | Monday, October 28, 2002 I went 10-4 in my debut last week. Could have been worse. This time I'm going to attempt to pick against the line also. The Falcons-Saints and Broncos-Patriots are probably the two biggest this weekend. If you want to make some money on Saturday go with Notre Dame to cover the 10 point spread against Florida State. Irish Coach Ty Willingham has his team believing they can win the national championship. When was the last time the 6th ranked team in the country was a 10 point underdog to a lower ranked team?
Had it not been for the injury to Steeler RB Jerome Bettis, I would have counted Pittsburgh to my stone cold lock of the week. Baltimore is on a 4 game winning streak against the line while Pittsburgh has won its last two. Ever since Pittsburgh put in QB Tommy Maddox it has started to look like a contender again. So I will still say, go with the Steelers to win by 3 at least, even though Baltimore looks good also.
Detroit has not covered on any of its road games this year, while it has covered each time at home. However, it has been playing good football since inserting QB Joey Harrington. Buffalo is definitely going to win, and I'll just go ahead and say they'll win big at home. You might think Buffalo might let down after winning in Miami, but Detroit could just as easily let down. I'm just worried Buffalo will be looking ahead to a huge Patriot show down next week.
This is my stone cold lock, Tampa Bay will annihilate Carolina this weekend. Carolina has looked like crap the last 4 weeks, and I'll take an eager Bucs squad coming off another defeat against fellow Super Bowl contender Philadelphia. It still remains to be seen Tampa can beat a contender (see loss to the Saints also) but I do know they can beat up on lesser opponents.
Two very disappointing teams, both coming off a bye week. I guarantee you that the Bengals will knock of someone good this year, but Tennessee may just not be good enough. The Bengals QB situation is a joke—tell me the last time playing musical chairs with QBs worked at any level. Titan RB Eddie George is getting anxious to return to his old form, and I think he will this week, as the Titans win big.
What a boring game. Somehow Dallas has squeezed out 3 victories this year. Now they are starting a Chris Weinke aged QB. For someone reason I think Seattle will win this. Let's face it, this game might be the worst to watch this Sunday. Seattle seems like it could be pretty good: solid offense led by Alexander and Dilfer, and then there's John Randle and Shawn Springs on defense. Who does Dallas have? Emmitt Smith? His pursuit of the rushing record is a detriment to the team. So I'll take the Seahawks.
The Raiders really let me down last week. I'm not sure how they'll respond. I know they've won their last 5 against the Chiefs though. The Chiefs play hard every week and either cover or come damn close. I can't say the Raiders will lose, but I can say they won't cover. If Kansas City played in another division, they'd be a first place team. Raider K Janikowski's inconsistency really costs them in tight games. The Raider offense just has too many ways it can mess up. Running 5 yard patterns and never getting yards after the catch is not a good offensive system. What will happen when the weather is 25 degrees in the playoffs?
I think we can officially declare Chicago to not be a good team after it has dropped 4 straight. And we already knew that about the Vikings. Viking Coach Mike Tice has lost his team. Both teams have pretty lousy records, but if you look close, you will notice that the Bears are losing to good teams (Saints, Bills, Packers) while the Vikings are losing to bad teams (Seahawks, Jets, Panthers). The Bears won the first one, and they will win the rematch.
Both these teams appear to be the real deal. It looks like Falcon QB Michael Vick is finding he niche. The Saints have covered 6 out of 7 times this year. They can put some points on the board. The Saints also have a bye next week, which means they will be eager to play well and then relax for a few days. I'm going to go with the Saints to win and cover the spread.
I talked a lot of crap about the Browns last week but they went out and won. I think both teams might be figuring their seasons out. The Jets are pretty desperate at this point, and QB Chad Pennington looks like he learned something in his 2 years on the bench. I'm going to pick the Browns here because they always keep the game close. The Jets look like the pack it in when they go down by a few points.
Believe it or not, this a first place showdown. The 49ers are definitely going to win this game, it's just a matter of who's going to cover. Both games the Cardinals have lost this year have been by 8 points. The 49ers have not looked as dominant as we thought they could have been this year. I would pick the Cardinals to cover, but that game last week against Dallas was so pathetic I can't do it. So I'm taking the 49ers to win big.
Houston really disappointed me by not covering last week in Cleveland. Interesting side story in this one is the Tony Boselli saga. There are some murmurs in Houston that they got damaged goods when they picked up Boselli in the expansion draft. The Jaguars started off real strong but have stumbled recently. I'm going to take the Jaguars to win, but the Texans to cover. If the Texans don't cover this week, then I'll stop taking them.
How will the Patriots do after 3 straight losses and a bye? 2 weeks is a lot of time for Patriot Coach Bill Belichick to game plan. I really hate the Patriots with a passion, but I think they'll get back on track this weekend. Denver's the best team in football possibly, but with all the parity, that doesn't mean much anymore unless it's January. The got lucky last week in Kansas City.
Indianapolis is 4-2 but 1-5 against the line. The Colts are not that good of a football team. But neither are the Redskins, and Redskin Coach Steve Spurrier is trying to prove to everyone that you can succeed with musical chairs at quarterback. Something tells me the Redskins will step up big on national TV. The Colts definitely did not last week. If the Redskins just hand the ball off to Stephen Davis they will be alright. I'm taking the Redskins.
The Eagles proved last week that they are a legitimiate Super Bowl contender in a weak NFC. The Giants proved in their last game (a 7 point loss to the Falcons who were without Michael Vick) that they are a bad football team. I can't imagine the Eagles not winning this big, so I will take them. I know the Giants are coming off a bye, but I just can't imagine them staying in this game. |
Article ToolsRelated Articles· Fitz and Schul Defeat Sobriety and Bad Cinema · Fitz and Schul Defeat Sobriety and Bad Cinema: The Story of F. Scott Fitzgerald at Winter Carnival · Wright to Step Down in June 2009 · Winter Carnival: The History
Advertisement  Advertisement |
|
|
Copyright © 1996-2008 The Dartmouth Review |
||