Week 10 NFL Picks

Holy crap, it's week 10 already. The season just flies by. Speaking of flying, I'm home now. And before I get to the picks, a couple of flight related pieces of etiquette:

1. Hey guy next to me, I've made my peace with the fact that you are pretty much an inconsiderate ass, with little to no regard for other passengers, so I've given up on battling for an arm rest and conceded defeat. This, however, does not mean it is ok to let your bulbously fat arms hang OVER the armrest, and intrude into my personal space. If you can't handle the little seats, buy two tickets for each flight you take. Or die.

2. There are only three times when you should recline your seat: 1) In first class, 2) when there is nobody behind you, or 3) if the row behind you is an exit row. That's it. Otherwise, the people behind you have very little room, and reclining makes it worse. I have accepted the fact that people do exist who feel the need to recline in other situations, but if you do recline, have the decency to lean back. There was a guy today who reclined as soon as we took off, and then leaned forward to read his book, not even using the reclined seat he so desperately needed. That should be a kicked off the plane type offense.

3. Not plane, but if you missed it Garnder-Webb knocked off Kentucky last night, completely screwing up the Coaches v Cancer classic. It was all set up for Kentucky, Memphis, UCONN, and Oklahoma to win their regionals and meet up in New York, but instead Gardner-Webb will be showing up. It must be awesome for those guys.

On to the picks, (11-2 last week by the way):

Miami +3 vs. Buffalo: The Bills are hot, winning three straight and Lee Evans is finally showing some signs of life, having a big day last Sunday. However, Miami is going to win one of these days, having been close in a number of games so far, and at home against Buffalo feels like that kind of game.

Pittsburgh -9.5 vs. Cleveland: The Steelers are looking more and more like they might be a juggernaught in the AFC, but nobody is talking about them because of the Colts and the Patriots. They are just crushing teams. The Browns are a solid team, but they are the kind of team that beats the bad teams and can't hang with the big dogs.

Kansas City -3 vs. Denver: These two teams baffle me more than the whole Travis Henry situation. Denver can beat the Steelers, but has also been completely destroyed by the Lions and the Chargers. Kansas City looks solid some weeks, and like complete crap the next. I have no idea.

Tennessee -4 vs. Jacksonville: Quinn Gray or David Garrard won't matter, the Titans defense is good enough to hold the Jags down - other than the Texans in that really weird game, nobody has been able to put points up on Tennessee. They just keep rolling along, beating the teams they are supposed to beat. Put them in the NFC, and they might be a Super Bowl contender.

Green Bay -6 vs. Minnesota: Ooooh, big rivalry game, how exciting. I don't even know who is playing QB for the Vikings this week, but I bet whoever it is, he sucks. Good thing the Vikes have Peterson and that offensive line. The problem, however, is that the Packers have been very good against the run this season, and that was against teams that actually had quarterbacks. The Vikings have shown themselves to be a tougher opponent than I thought they would be, but they really match up horribly against Green Bay.

Washington -2.5 vs. Philadelphia: This line makes zero sense, thus I'm very suspicious. However, I can't get away from the fact that Philly sucks. The Redskins have struggled the last four weeks, but have still managed to go 2-2. As far as the Eagles go, they have that one impressive win against the Lions and that's pretty much it. I don't get it.

New Orleans -11.5 vs. St. Louis: Stupid Rams. Every time they have a big line like this, I figure it's way too much, and every time it isn't. So this time I'm going with the team that is hot, seems to have figured out their offense again, and is capable of putting up big points against the crappy Rams. So it'll probably end up 21-17.

Carolina -4 vs. Atlanta: I actually had this whole game written up with the Falcons as the pick, and then I read that Testeverde is starting, not Carr. It seems weird to say that I have way more confidence in the Panthers with a 44 year old mid-season signing than their actual back up in there - but hey, that's David Carr. Testeverde actually uses Steve Smith, which, you know, seems like a good idea.

Baltimore -4 vs. Cincinnati: These are two of the three most disappointing teams this season matching up. The difference: The Ravens still have something to play for and really need this game. I'm counting on them bouncing back from back-to-back losses - including getting embarrassed by the Steelers - by coming home and crushing a Bengals team that might be ready to completely fall apart, if it hasn't already.

Chicago -3 @ Oakland: Look how far the mighty bears have fallen. From Super Bowl last year to only favored by three against Oakland, who continues to look worse and worse from week to week. It almost makes me want to go down to Alary's some Sunday and quietly laugh. Although the Kaiser would probably end up kicking my ass.

NY Giants +1.5 vs. Dallas: The Giants have won six in a row, and are putting themselves in position to be the team to beat in the NFC. Dallas beat the Giants by 10 at home in week one, but that was a long time ago, and a very different Giants team. The Cowboys are good, but this is a statement game for the Giants and I think they pull it out, unlike Maddog.

Detroit +1 @ Arizona: The roar has been restored. The Lions have struggled on the road a bit, but it's the Cardinals. No problem.

Indianapolis -3.5 @ San Diego: This was a tough game to call, and it's hard to remember just how dominant the Colts have been, now that they have that loss to the Patriots on their record. San Diego is a truly schizo team, and I think the Colts put the Pats loss behind them and continue on to 15-1.

San Francisco +10.5 @ Seattle: I don't care how bad the 49ers are, there's no way they're losing by more than 10 against the crap that is the Seahawks. You know, the Seahawks have only beaten one winning team so far - Tampa Bay. Their other wins are against teams that are a combined 4-20. This is not a good team.

Last Week: 11-2
Season to Date: 66-53-9