Should I even bother doing this after having such a terrible week last week? I was 0-4 on Sunday and needed a great performance by Jared Allen and the Vikings in order to avoid the donut....I can't remember the last time I had the donut when picking that many games in 1 day, but it's happened before and it's enough to make you never wager on anything ever again...
Interesting week for bettors because you have 4 games that are predicted to be blowouts....I've always found that these games can be more difficult to predict than games that are supposed to be competitive because there are a couple of other factors that you may get in these games that you wouldn't get in others...
For example, in the Eagles-Bucs game today, if the Eagles jump out to a huge lead at halftime, we could see Andy Reid take out Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook to save them from possibly hurting themselves again after coming back from injury....it wouldn't be a big deal at all if they only had to win by 3, but with the spread at 15.5, then that has to be considered....
A quick aside about big spreads....I still find it amazing how the oddsmakers in Vegas can put up a huge spread for a college football game and be pretty close a majority of the time....example: Baylor-Oklahoma yesterday has a spread of 25.5 for Oklahoma....final score: Oklahoma 33-Baylor 7 for a margin of 26! Incredible!
Alright, here's my picks for today:
Minnesota -10.5 over St. Louis
There are some people that are worried that there might be a hangover for the Vikings after such a big win last week at home against Green Bay, but luckily, they get one of the worst teams in the NFL to help them cure that hangover...the once mighty Rams have reverted back to being a running joke in the league....the Vikings should dispose of them easily....
Oakland +15.5 over New York Giants
I'm banking on a couple of things happening here....first off, I'm looking for the Giants to run, run and run again to save Eli from having to do too much on what is supposed to be a tender foot....therefore, we may have a quick game with the clock constantly running....the second thing I need is just a few points from the Raiders offense....I'm worried about that second thing....
Pittsburgh -11 over Detroit
With Matthew Stafford out or hobbling for the Lions, that leaves Daunte Culpepper to fend for himself against a talented Steelers defense....for whatever reason, the Steelers D has take off the fourth quarter and it's cost them a couple of games, but they held off the Chargers in the fourth last week and I think they'll be lights-out in the fourth this week and protect their big lead....
Jacksonville +1.5 over Seattle
I really like the Jags here....they got off to a slow start, but they've played really well the last couple of weeks including a destruction of the Titans a week ago....Seattle still has a lot of question marks even with the return of Matt Hasselbeck...I'll take the more consistent team any day of the week....
Indianapolis -4 over Tennessee
As I talked about on the football show on Friday afternoon, the loss of Albert Haynesworth has been way more detrimental to the Titans defense than anyone could have thought.....what was supposed to be a top 5 defense in the league has quickly become a defense that much closer to being in the bottom 5...Peyton will carve them and send the Titans to 0-5...
Alright, enjoy the games today and if you haven't done it already, enjoy turkey dinner....I get it tonight with my parents and then again on Monday night thanks to Rosalie....mmmm.....I'll just try and not fall asleep during the Sunday nighter from the heavy gravy, stuffing and the turkey...it sounds sooooo good!