I have been in a sideways pattern with my picks the last three weeks. In case you think “sideways” is a bad thing, check your 401K and then let me know.
Still though, I feel a little short-changed – I have “mailed-in” too many picks. Last week was a great example, why would anyone in their right mind pick the Bengals or the Chiefs? And I took both of them.
And then I took two steel-toed kicks to the nuts with the Houston and Tampa Bay games.
When I looked over the picks this week, I felt really good that this might be an 11 or 12 win weekend. I feel like I am about enter “the zone.”
Side note – I am watching the World Series right now, reminiscing about being there in person last year.
Anyway, Longoria crushed a ball to left in the top of the 6th that was caught on the warning track. Joe Buck commented that the “wind kept that ball in the park”. OK, so for record if the wind held up a ball to left and hitting a ball to left would be NorthWest, wouldn’t the wind be blowing in from either North, NorthWest or NorthEast? Stay with me here. In the bottom of the 6th, Chase Utley hits a home run to right or NorthEast. Tim McCarver astutely comments “Longoria against the wind, Utley with the wind”. Huh? Maybe the flipped stadium configuration in between innings.
I checked and the wind is blowing out to right at 5 MPH, which means Longoria’s ball wasn’t knocked down by the wind at all. Nevertheless, McCarver is a moron.
Week 9 Picks:
Baltimore -7 over Oakland – Ravens checklist for Sunday: Run the ball – Check, Stop the Run – Check, Score on Defensive – Check, Cover the spread – Check
San Diego -3 over New Orleans – The NFL might want to move this London game to avoid the rainy season. How about July or August? Oh yeah, they used to do that – play a pre-season game over there, but somehow that wasn’t globalizing the game. What a joke? If this is anything like last year, this could be sloppy game with a ton of turnovers.
Kansas City +14 over New York Jets – The Jets just don’t look right to me. And you can never underestimate the Herm Edwards revenge factor.
Miami +1 over Buffalo – Why is this only a 1 one point spread? Not sure, but it looks like a trap to me.
Dallas -2 over Tampa Bay – I was totally prepared to hammer the Bucs as my best bet this week, but then I heard Wade is going to take over calling the defense (call it an audition for a coordinator job). Unless Wade is a lock down corner, I am not sure how big of an impact he is going to have.
But, here’s the deal – picking games in the NFL is less about knowledge and almost 100% about feel. And you know what, there is no reason Dallas should win this week, but they will and probably fairly easy.
Philadelphia -9.5 over Atlanta – The Eagles are incredible after a bye week under Andy Reid. And you can’t back a rookie on the road in a hostile environment.
St. Louis +7.5 over New England – I don’t think I have ever seen the fervor for a single player like I did this week for Benjarvis Green-Ellis-Johnson-Smith. The news broke that he was starting Thursday and you would have thought someone threw away a winning lottery ticket the way owners were dumpster diving.
Expect Kevin Faulk to go nuts!
Arizona +4 over Carolina – The Cardinals need a signature road win to validate them as contenders.
Washington -7.5 over Detroit – Detroit got their “garbage cover” for the year last week.
Cleveland +7 over Jacksonville – Rule #1 for the Jags – “Don’t pick them to cover a spread greater than three when they are clearly the superior team”.
Pittsburgh -3 over NY Giants – Big Ben is exceptional is these big regular season games, trust me on this.
San Francisco -5.5 over Seattle– How the hell does this game even get close to the posted total of 41.5? I love Mike Singletary and think you see his passion infused into this team right away.
Cincinnati +9 over Houston – Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Also, remember Ryan Fitzpatrick led one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history against the Texans.
Note: I did it again this week by taking Cincinnati and Kansas City. I am a glutton.
Indianapolis +4 over Tennessee – A season saver for the Colts – outright winner.
Last Week: 7-7
Season: 56-44-2
Best Bet: Philadelphia -9.5
Best Bets: 5-1-1
