Do
we know if Yankees "announcer" Susyn Waldman is under the proper
supervision of healthcare professionals today? We all know how
emotional she can get the very thought of Joe Torre
not managing the New York Yankees.
Speaking
of baseball, I have to admit that I’m enjoying the lackadaisical base-running
of Manny Ramirez for no other reason than it annoys the heck out of FOX’s Tim McCarver. You see, Red
Sox fans (which I sort of am) expect that out of Ramirez, and would only be
surprised if Manny actually ran out deep fly ball to right-center or scored
from second on a two-out single to rightfield.
If
the ever modest and humble Ramirez homers on Saturday night,
and stands to admire what assuredly is the prettiest homerun ever hit in the
history of mankind, McCarver’s head might physically
explode on live television. Can’t you already hear the mock disgust in Joe Buck’s voice?
As
for the picks, the 8-5 week I had in Week 6 will hopefully get me pointed
in the right direction.
Last week: 8-5
2007 Season: 42-43-4
New England (-16 ½) at Miami – This weekend, you’ll probably hear
a lot of things like “Oh, Tom Brady always struggles in that stadium” or “The
Dolphins are going to step up and win one of the ’72 team”. Both of which
are meaningless.
The
truth is Tom Brady and New England Patriots are on a mission to dominate the
NFL. This means running up the scores (which is why he’s on two of my fantasy
teams) and smashing all preconceived notions people had of the team. Since
the Patriots have the perfect season of the ’72 Dolphins clearly in their
sights, you can bet they’re going to try to dominate this game, as well, and
mercy isn’t something Bill Belichick is known for. Pick: Patriots -16 ½
Tennessee (-1 ½) at Houston – I know Vince Young really wants to
play against his hometown team, and one that passed over him in the 2006 NFL
draft, but the Titans are a good team who need him healthy for the second
half of the season. In other words, he won’t play, and Kerry Collins can’t
make the plays the Titans need Young to make for them to win. Pick: Texans
+1 ½
Tampa Bay at Detroit (-2) – I’ll say it again: This is the week
that losing their top two starting running backs and their starting left tackle
catches up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, right? Pick: Lions -2
Arizona at Washington (-8) – Who’s
playing quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals this week? Neil Lomax? Gary
Hogeboom? Hey, those guys aren’t much older than the QB that
beat them a week ago. Pick: Redskins -8
San Francisco
at NY Giants (-9 ½) – A
month ago, the New York Giants were 0-2 and I was tell you to go as “Unemployed
Tom Coughlin” for Halloween this year.
Now
the Giants are 4-2, a game behind the Dallas Cowboys, and a schedule that
should have them at 6-2 by the time they take a week off. Don’t ever let it
be said that this isn’t a crazy game. Pick: Giants -9 ½
Baltimore (-3) at Buffalo – The only way Willis McGahee could be
less popular in the city of Buffalo is if his last name
was “Norwood”. Pick: Ravens -3
Atlanta at New Orleans (-9) – As
a Seahawks fan, I’m not supposed to have an opinion other than the New Orleans Saints are back. Fortunately for me, I think it’s true. They showed signs
of this a week earlier against Carolina,
and really blew the doors open against the Seahawks. Pick: Saints -9
NY Jets at Cincinnati (-6) – This is a match-up of the 27th
and 28th-ranked pass defenses in the NFL, so this could turn into
a shootout. In which case, I’ll take Carson Palmer over Chad Pennington all
day. Pick: Bengals -6
Kansas City at Oakland (-3) – The
Kansas City offense has shown signs of life recently. Then again, isn’t everyone
beating the Cincinnati Bengals these days? In this classic AFC West rivalry,
I always lean towards the home team, and this one is no different. Pick:
Raiders -3
Chicago at Philadelphia (-5 ½) –
As long as someone translates "Don't kick it to Devin Hester" to
Philadelphia Eagles Australian punter Sav Rocca,
the Eagles should have "no worries". Pick: Eagles -5 ½
St. Louis at Seattle (-9) – If
I want to “win”, I should take the Rams and the points. I just have
a feeling that this is going to be another Seahawks-Rams game that is very
tight, with the winning points probably coming on a 40-yard field goal by
Josh Brown or something like that.
However,
I do have a 102-game streak of picking the Seahawks, regardless of what the
spread says. Pick: Seahawks -9
Minnesota at Dallas (-9 ½) – Adrian Peterson is a monster, and he’ll
be motivated in his first trip back to his native Texas as a professional,
but the Cowboys run defense is very good and Dallas gets a nice bounce-back
win against a team people can’t take lightly anymore. I just don’t think the
Cowboys can cover this large of a spread. Pick: Vikings +9 ½
Pittsburgh (-3 ½) at Denver – Both teams are coming off a bye weeks,
but for some reason only Pittsburgh
seems to be getting healthier. Pick: Steelers -3 ½
Indianapolis (-3) at Jacksonville – Finally
there’s a Monday night game worth tuning into. The Colts get a bunch of their
banged-up guys back from injuries, and they’ll need it against a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that is 2nd in the NFL in scoring defense.
I
know the Jags have won four in a row, and I know that David Garrard has played
the mistake-free football that has allowed people to forget about Byron Leftwich, but I don’t think they’ll be a road-block for the
Colts. A speed bump, maybe, but I like the Colts minus the points. Pick:
Colts -3
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