Week 5 Picks

Fun sports night on Wednesday night. Rangers won, Red Sox lost. Yankees lost too, but that's okay, I'm not a Yankees fan anyways. :P DirectTV is showing its "Center Ice" NHL package free for the first week, so I got to flip around between a ton of games. I'll hold my initial reactions on the "new" NHL until a few more games, but I like what I see so far.

Note: Samichlaus is currently en route to Green Bay for this weekend's Packers game! So I'll post his picks when he gets them to me.

On to this week's football picks.. After just 4 weeks, I'm 15 games below .500, yikes. That'll be a tough hole to climb out of.

Last Week -
Samichlaus: 6-7
St. Ides: 4-9

Season -
Samichlaus: 29-30
St. Ides: 22-37

Ravens +1.5 over LIONS
Gut-wrenching controversial loss for the Lions last week. There are still tons of people saying that winning touchdown catch should not have been reversed after the replay. There are also reports that the young Lions receivers have pretty much quit on Harrington, and it's on the verge of an open mutiny. Oh, and WR Charles Rogers is suspended for drugs. Maybe he's running those routes sloppily because he's stoned, and not because he's protesting Harrington's poor play? Who knows. Ravens 20, Lions 13.

Bears +3.5 over BROWNS
The Browns have kept it close in their losses, and Trent Dilfer has looked like a solid starting QB. But the Bears defense ought to make things a lot more difficult for him. Bears 19, Browns 17.

BILLS -2.5 over Dolphins
I'm torn on this one. Basically, the Dolphins have been over-achieving and the Bills have been under-achieving. I was going to go with the Dolphins, until I heard that J.P. Losman has been benched in favor of Kelly Holcombe. Holcombe comes from the Browns, where he played well enough to force Tim Couch out. Hell, is Couch even in the league right now? Anyways, I like that Holcombe brings in some veteran experience, and I think the team respondes. Bills 23, Dolphins 17.

Pats +3.5 over FALCONS
Weird season for the Patriots. They're again decimated by injuries, yet they held it together enough to win in Pittsburgh two weeks ago. But the Chargers trounced them at home last week. I think their defense is really hurting right now, and Chad Brown isn't getting any younger. It really comes down to Brady winning games for them now. Although I'm tempted to take the Falcons, Vick will be a little gimpy, and this could be a big letdown game for them at home. Even if they do win, Pats should keep it close enough to cover. Patriots 27, Falcons 24.

PACKERS -3.5 over Saints
Did the Packers wake up in their near comeback last Monday night? Frankly, I'm sick of all the Favre retirement talk. But basically, they need to win some games, and what better time than against the ever-erratic Saints with Mr. and Mrs. Samichlaus in attendance? Packers 26, Saints 20.

RAMS -3.5 over Seahawks
Reverse psychology time! Both starting WRs for Seattle are likely out (Jackson and Engram). The Seattle defense could not get key stops on 3rd down last week. Following that heart-breaking loss, it'll be tough to win on the road with their key receivers missing, against a Rams team that beat them 3 times last season (including that playoff game in Seattle where Engram dropped the tying TD). Really, this game will come down to turnovers and which defense steps up. And as much as I'd like to say Seattle wins this game, really, this is the type of game I've watched them lose time and time again for over 20 years. Rams 37, Seahawks 31.

Bucs -3.5 over JETS
*RING RING* "Hello, Vinny? This is Herm Edwards. We know you were on your couch just two weeks ago sipping whiskey sours and eating potato chips watching the football games, but we need you. Think you can suit up and beat an undefeated Tampa Bay team that's playing excellent ball right now? No? Well, you can't be any worse than this Brooks Bollinger clown I somehow managed to keep on the roster. I'll see you tomorrow." Buccaneers 23, Jets 10.

Titans +3.5 over TEXANS
The Titans beat the Ravens and kept it close against the Rams. Which means that they can hang with bad teams. The Texans are a bad team. Titans 26, Texans 24.

NINERS +14.5 over Colts
Of course, the first week I don't take the Colts giving huge points, they cover. This week they're giving huge points again in San Fran. I'm really very tempted to take them. But that extra little half point putting the spread over 2 TDs is preventing me from doing it. They win by 14, due to a late garbage TD by the Niners. Colts 31, Niners 17.

CARDINALS +3.5 over Panthers
Did the trip to Mexico wake up the Cardinals? I couldn't force myself to watch the second half (and there was no fecal snow* in the forecast.. ), but apparently McNown actually got the offense going. As much as I don't want to see Arizona get on track, I think they do have decent talent on both sides of the ball, and if McNown can get some time to throw, they can win some games. Panthers almost let a pretty bad Packers team steal that win. Taking the home team with points. Cardinals 24, Panthers 23.

Eagles -3.5 over COWBOYS
McNabb and TO are tearing teams a part. The Eagles aren't even pretending to establish a running game and still throwing at will against opponents. The Cowboys just are not that good, and a tough defense like Philly will give Drew Bledsoe fits. Eagles 31, Cowboys 17.

Redskins +6.5 over BRONCOS
The Redskins should have lost last week, and should have only put up about 10 points. However, Mark Brunell does look comfortable back there and has found a rhythm. And the Redkins defense is pretty good, despite the Seattle offense moving the ball pretty well on them. The Broncos offense is nowhere near as good as Seattle's. Jake Plummer is way overdue for a bad game. No way the Broncos cover almost a touchdown, even if they do squeeze out a win. Wouldn't it be ironic if the Redskins rookie kicker cost them this game after winning it last week? Broncos 17, Redskins 14.

Bengals +2.5 over JAGUARS
I've stuck with the Jaguars too long after watching them beat Seattle in week 1, and keeping it close with Indy in week 2. Two weeks ago, they needed OT to beat the Jets. Last week, they did nothing offensively at home against a Denver defense that isn't exactly scary. This week, the Bengals continue to show the world they're not a fluke. Bengals 31, Jaguars 24.

CHARGERS -3.5 over Steelers
It took a couple weeks, but the Chargers offense is clicking on all cylinders right now. And Big Ben is making my Trent Dilfer comparisons look pretty bad so far this season. Although Trent Dilfer is making himself look better. If that makes sense. Anyways, LT runs wild again. Chargers 30, Steelers 24.

* Fecal snow... I mentioned this in last week's picks, and I guess it deserves some explanation. Back in college, one of my friends was taking some kind of social studies or socialogy or something class. Anyways, they were learning about Mexico, and the teacher explained the fecal snow phenomenon. From what I remember, basically, in the villages, piles of shit pile up, dry out in the sun, and then the flakes of dried poop blow around, creating a sort of "snow". Let's see what Google pulls up... Here we go, several articles talking about problems arising from overpopulation: "In Mexico City, there is a phenomenon known as "fecal snow" which occurs when the wind picks up the dried excrement lying about and rains it upon the city." This wacky weather condition also inspired a BDF song of the same name (which showed up on the first page of the Google Search). Maybe I'll share the lyrics someday...