Week three picks!!!!

Greetings SBS fans, and sorry for the delay! A little miscommunication betweens St. Ides and me and the weeks pics are late again. But as we like to say around here better late than never. Or something like that.

What a week for St. Ides! A fantastic 11-5 start marks a career best first week for the Irish genius, and plants a "north pole" firmly up Ol' Samichlaus's ample keister. Yep, Ol' Samichlaus dropped a real stink bomb on our minions last week, but I'm looking for a strong comeback. Remember, it isn't how you start, it's where you finish. Just ask the Mets and the Red Sox. But what does the I-genius have to say?

Off to a good start! (One of us...)


Last Week:
St. Ides: 11-5
Samichlaus: 5-11

Cardinals +7.5 over RAVENS

Let's not talk about the Cardinals win last week over Seattle. Let's just say I'm not too high on the Ravens after they barely beat the Jets last week. How old is Steve McNair these days anyways, 59? Ravens 16, Cardinals 13.

Actually you're right about McNair. He's 59. Do you know what keeps him feeling young? 69. I'm going to take the Ravens at home, and I'm probably going to regret this. Ravens 24 Cardinals 10


STEELERS -8.5 over Niners

Niners are 2-0 and all the "experts" who were predicting them to win the NFC West are like "Told ya so!" Relax, fellas. They needed last second scores to beat the Cardinals and Rams. Their offense is dead last in the league in yards. Look for them to remain dead last after this one. Steelers 23, Niners 13.

The Steelers will stop the run and put pressure on Alex Smith. They're a good AFC team with a good QB who reminds me a lot of Trent Dilfer in his prime. I like the Steelers too: Steelers 27 Niners 17


TEXANS +5.5 over Colts

Somehow, like the Titans, the Texans usually stick close with the Colts. I'll take the home dog, thank you very much. Even though they'll sorely miss Andre Johnson. Colts 26, Texans 21.

The Colts are the second youngest team in the league next to my Packers, and the Texans are on the rise. Ya gotta hand it to their GM: the trade for Shaub was brilliant and Ahman Green is playing like a young man. I like the Texans to keep it close: Colts 31 Texans 28


Bills +16.5 over PATRIOTS

Way too many points for a divisional game. Way too many. Or is it....? I'm not going to spend too much time on the Patriots. Sorry Anonymous, but even without the whole cheating scandal, I think Belichick's cockiness (rubbing off on their fans?) is getting old. Tom Brady still gets alllllllllllllllll my love though. Patriots 30, Bills 17.

I love the Patriots, and I love Bill Belichick. There's a class act. Here's whats going to happen: The Bills fly in on Friday, giving Belichick all day Saturday to fly to Buffalo, fuck Dick Jauron's wife and daughters, and fly back by Sunday morning to coach another Patriots win. But man, 16.5 is a lot of coin. I'll take the Bills: Patriots 27 Bills 13

Dolphins +2.5 over JETS

Take note of what I said last week about the Jets bad karma for blowing the whistle on the Pats. File that away. And then we'll revisit it in Week 17 when they're 3-12. Shaky QB. Shaky O-line. Shaky RB situation. Dolphins 20, Jets 10.

Ah! Begorrah with the superstitions! The Jets play the Fins like the the Titans play the Colts. Jets by a field goal: Jets 27 Fins 24


BUCANNEERS -3.5 over Rams

Marc Bulger signed a huge new contract just before the season started. And his numbers look pretty good. But here's what doesn't look so good: 0-2. Both losses at home, where just a few years ago they were virtually unbeatable. And Bulger is getting absolutely clobbered back there. Here's another prediction: he doesn't make it past Week 7. Bucs 23, Rams 17.

St. Ides correctly points out that Samichlaus is living in the past. If the Rams can't win at home, what chance do they have on the road? Meanwhile the Bucs are still a well coached team. I like the Bucs to win easy: Bucs 27 Rams 17


Vikings +1.5 over CHIEFS

*Sniff sniff* What's that smell? Oh, it's the Stinker of the Week! I'm glad Samichlaus has finally seen the light and admits Herm Edwards is a terrible coach. I haven't seen that series he mentions, but from what I've read and heard, not only does good ol' Herm come across as a bad coach, but he's about as sharp as a bowling ball. Meanwhile, the Vikings have some serious QB issues. I think their D is probably good enough to win this one. They have an excellent run D, and the Chiefs have zero passing game aside from Tony Gonzalez. Vikings 16, Chiefs 10.

I'll tell you what the HBO mini series showed me: Herm still thinks he's one of the players. Sorry, but he's not a leader. The truth is he had success with the Jets, but the bigger truth is his act wore thin in a hurry. Meanwhile the Vikings aren't much better. They've got a good running game and a decent young QB but not much else. I'm going with the AFC team at home where they used to dominate. Chiefs 27 Vikings 20


PACKERS +4.5 over Chargers

Holy poop, could the Packers be a playoff team? Well, they're 2-0, their defense has looked about as solid as could be expected so far, their offense showed some life against the (admittedly, awful) Giants D. And Favre has had a ridiculously high completion percentage. There's still some questions at RB and maybe a lack of depth at WR, but at least they've got options. As for the Chargers... not sure if I said this last week or not, but I see them underachieving by quite a bit this year. Expectations are way high. Too high. Yes, they have LT, but opponents gameplan for him now. And Phillip Rivers is still young and fairly unproven. But the X-Factor? Norv Turner at head coach. The dude has had like ZERO success as a head coach, he's supposed to start now? If football is a game of chess, Norv is still playing checkers. I wouldn't be too surprised to see the Packers win this outright. Packers 24, Chargers 23.

All along I've said the Chargers would win this game easy. They should be able to get Antonio Gates matched up against any of our linebackers and this should open it up for LT to have a breakout game. But I also said that Norv Turner couldn't possibly fuck up a team with this much talent, and I was wrong about that. The Packers are a hot team now, and they're starting to get a little swagger back, but I don't think they've got enough to compete with the Chargers. I can only hope that the reverse mojo holds true. Chargers 31 Packers 21

Lions +6.5 over EAGLES

I refuse to take the Eagles until McNabb demonstrates he has more than one good leg or they bench him. Oh, and Jon Kitna is playing the "It was a miracle from God!" card regarding his ability to get back into the game last week after suffering a concussion. Back to McNabb - I'm seeing flashbacks of a year ago when the Dolphons traded for Culpepper, and he was so incredibly immobile because of his healing knee injury that he was a disaster. Hell, Culpepper still hasn't recovered. Watching McNabb hop and skip and hobble around on Monday night looked eerily similar. So much for morons who picked the Eagles to win the NFC. They stink. Lions 27, Eagles 20.

I'm not jumping off the Eagles peepee, err, bandwagon quite yet, though if they lose this week all hell will break lose in Philly. That crowd is just waiting to turn on McNabb, aren't they? With that, I think the Eagles finally put together a win with a solid D that will confuse the young Detroit offense. Philly 23 Detroit 10


Bengals +3.5 over SEAHAWKS

So much for the reverse jinx last week. This week, it's not reverse jinx. It's just that frickin Bengals offense is scary. (So is their defense, but all it takes if one horrible loss like last week for me to revert to pre-2005 "we always fine a way to lose games" mentality.) Bengals 63, Seahawks 60.

I LOVE the final score! Truthfully, that's not unreasonable, but I like Seattle at home to win. Oh, and I take back what I said about the Bengals being a good football team: they're not. Seattle's loss last week was an aberration. They'll win this week and cover: Seahawks 34 Bengals 24

Browns +3.5 over RAIDERS

I told you guys the Raiders weren't so bad! They SHOULD have won in Denver last week. Devious tactic by Mike Shanahan to wait til the last possible second before calling a timeout on the winning kick by Janikowski. Meanwhile, the Browns may have found their offensive groove. People know who Derek Anderson is now. The Brady Quinn Era is officially on hold. Browns 20, Raiders 17.

I heard that Shanahan learned that trick from Belichick, who developed the technique while filming himself with another man's wife. I like the Browns to win and cover: Browns 27 Raiders 20


BRONCOS -3.5 over Jaguars

I took Maurice Jones-Drew in one of my Fantasy leagues in the 2nd round, and people were like "Oh awesome pick!" and "Damn, I was gonna take him next!" He's gotten me 6 frickin points in 2 weeks. Fred Taylor is still prominently featured in their offense. And their usually stout defense took another big hit this week when they lost one of their starting safeties for the year. Meanwhile, the Broncos are 2-0 with 2 last second winnning field goals. They won't need that this week. Broncos 23, Jaguars 13.

I like the Broncos as well. There's a team that's been tested thoroughly the first two games and has found a way to win... and I always like them at home. Broncos 20 Jaguars 10


Panthers -3.5 over FALCONS

Maybe Samichlaus is right about the Falcons being cursed this year. Though their defense hasn't looked bad. Panthers 17, Falcons 10.

Home dog ehh? I'll bet Mike Vick can tell us all about "home dogs". Look for Carolina to shoot, electrocute, drown and in one case body slam the home dog: Panthers 27 Falcons 17.


REDSKINS -3.5 over Giants

This line seems a bit low considering how awful the Giants have looked... Almost smells like a trap... Redskins 27, Giants 20.

Yeah... what's up with the line? The Giants looked like a team in disarray against the Packers, as if they've lost all sense of belief in their head coach. The Skins haven't exactly over impressed anyone, but they're 2-0 and I think when Sunday's over they're going to be 3-0. Skins 27 Giants 17.


BEARS -3.5 over Cowboys

I hate both these teams. But I think I hate the Cowboys slightly more. Hopefully the Bears will break the legs of TO AND Romo. That'd be nice. I'm still waiting for a team with a halfway decent offense (read: not the Dolphins last week) to exploit the Dallas safeties who can absolutely not cover the pass. I don't think it's gonna be Grossman, but who knows. Bears 20, Cowboys 13.

This is the best D that Romo has faced thus far. I think that both of these teams are overrated, especially the Bears, but I think the Bears D is the difference maker. Romo's going to get better as time goes on, but this game will be a painful learning experience. Bears 24 Cowboys 17

Titans +4.5 over SAINTS

Vince Young vs. Reggie Bush. Who wins? I don't care that much really, but I think the Saints are due for a win. They can't be THAT bad after the awesome year they had a season ago, can they? Saints 26, Titans 20.

OK, paranoid conspiracy theory number 1: The Saints weren't very good last year, it was all a fix. This year we're seeing the real Saints and they aren't that good. Meanwhile the Titans played pretty well against the Super Bowl champs. They're getting 4.5 and I think they win it outright... Titans 27 Saints 21