Week 6: Steelers end perfection, Carr returns to right ship
Straight-up picks: 9-5
Spread picks: 9-5
Week 6 is upon us and looking ahead there are only 5 games on the schedule this week that feature teams with winning records. The first of two most are looking forward to are Thursday's contest of Philadelphia visiting Carolina (both 4-1). The second being Pittsburgh at the yet to be defeated Kansas City Chiefs. As for the other match-ups none is more intriguing to me than a couple of division games. Tied for first place in the AFC East are a pair of 3-2 teams. The Patriots head to 'New Jerseyyyyyy' to take on the surprising J-E-T-S! Then the Packers make their first visit to Minnesota's new building. Finally, a West vs. South contest as the Rams take their impressive start into Jacksonville to face the equally impressive Jaguars. Oh, and we still have three winless teams.
Byes: Dallas, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Seattle
We lost Ralphie May this week. As posted in a previous tweet Ralphie mentioned that he wanted people to make jokes and have fun when he died because "life is great."
Thanks for the jokes Ralphie, you're eating God's donuts now.
Sunday
(2-2) Miami 10, (3-1) Atlanta 27
Spread: Atlanta -10.5
This should be more lopsided than I'm letting on with my conservative prediction. Miami is bad. They managed to squeeze out a win against Matt Cassel last week (and we know how I feel about Matt Cassel). I don't see them fairing too well on the road against the NFC champs. Now Matt Ryan was looking very effective until he got a visit from the Bills defense. With the Bye last week I'm curious to see if Julio Jones plays. #TheseFishCantSwim
(1-4) Chicago 20, (3-2) Baltimore 27
Spread: Baltimore -6.5
Who was impressed with the debut of Mitchell Trubisky? No one. Absolutely no one. Not even his Mother. The Bears could have and should have won that game on Monday night. I think this team could be better. Time will tell. I'm taking Baltimore here, but I'm weary. This is the kind of spot where Baltimore (when favoured) will have a let down game. I can see them allowing Chicago to hang around all game and finally put them away with few precious moments. #FireJohnFox
(0-5) Cleveland 20, (3-2) Houston 33
Spread: Houston -9.5
Cleveland had more energy when Kevin Hogan came took over at quarterback in the second half against the NY Jets. I expect that energy to continue and lead to a Cleveland victory. But not in this spot. Watson is for real and had no quit in him at home against Kansas City last Sunday night. This is the first real quarterback Houston has had and he's good. Houston should have the 'W' wrapped up early in the third quarter. #BrownsLivesMatter
(4-1) Green Bay 27, (3-2) Minnesota 17
Spread: Green Bay -3.5
Lock of the Week alert - The Packers, specifically Rodgers showed no quit in Dallas. My Superbowl pick is looking alive and well. Look for Green Bay to avenge the loss in week 2 last season in Sam Bradford's Vikings debut. Minnesota has yet to gain their footing this season. Maybe next week Vikes. #LockOfTheWeek
(3-2) Detroit 37, (2-2) New Orleans 40
Spread: Detroit +4.5
Label this as the toughest game to predict this week. The last time Detroit was in New Orleans they played a near flawless game. In week 4 the Saints defeated Carolina on the road. The bye last week may hurt any momentum they have built in their last two games. Do we expect a fresh Saints squad moving forward (minus Adrian Peterson) or do the defensive woes continue return? I'm actually rolling with the Saints to win this in a close one.
(3-2) New England 27, (3-2) NY Jets 23
Spread: Jets +9.5
During the Rex Ryan era the Jets were often formidable up against Belichick's Patriots. Now in the Todd Bowles era...not so much. Believe me when I say the Jets will keep this game close, but ultimately have their three game win streak come to an end. #JetsMakeIt4?
(0-5) San Francisco 17 (2-2) Washington 24
Spread: San Francisco +9.5
San Francisco has actually played better than most will give them credit for. Looking at their five losses, only week 1 was an ugly game. Weeks 2 through 5 all games were decided by 3 or less. I'm not sold on Washington. I don't know who this team is yet. They have won games they were supposed to lose. Can they take care of business when they're supposed to win? This is the game to prove it.
(2-2) Tampa Bay 33, (2-3) Arizona 27
Spread: Tampa Bay -2.5
Tampa Bay is the better team. Simple as that. They had a chance to take down New England. It didn't happen. The Cardinals received a shiny new toy this week in the form of RB Adrian Peterson. The marriage didn't last long in New Orleans (there wasn't even a honeymoon). Arizona has really disappointed this season and are very far removed from the team we saw in 2015. Due to his health Bruce Arians has declared this as his last season coaching. I doubt this is the way he wanted to go out.
(3-2) Los Angeles Rams 26, (3-2) Jacksonville 24
Spread: Los Angeles +2.5
I just see more consistency with the Rams. It was amusing for me to see Jacksonville layeth the smacketh down on Pittsburgh. Jacksonville is alone atop the AFC South. You really don't know which version of the Jags will show up week to week. They destroy Baltimore (in London) and follow it up with a loss to the Jets. I feel like on even weeks the bad Jags show up. Being that it is week 6 the bad Jags will appear. #Jekyll&HydeTeam
(3-2) Pittsburgh 30, (5-0) Kansas City 26
Spread: Pittsburgh +3.5
It isn't often you can call a trap game for the home team (unless the example is the Cowboys). I don't want to make this call, but I see Pittsburgh with an upset here. Over the last couple seasons the Chiefs have been at the mercy of Pittsburgh. In many cases they were the better team. I expect the trend to continue. Pittsburgh rises to the occasion in these games. The beat down last week was just that, last week. It will be a close one, most likely the game of the week.
#Jekyll&HydeTeam2 #GameOfTheweek
(1-4) Los Angeles Chargers 21, (2-3) Oakland 23
Spread: LA Chargers +3.5
I'll continue to mention this week after week until his return, if Derek Carr was playing...
Wait, what?!? He's playing? How effective will he be though? This is a division game and these teams play one another close. This match up will be no exception. I could go either way on my pick, but I believe in the power of the blackhole. I expect an entertaining game. Oh I mentioned Green Bay as my pick for Superbowl Champion, the Oakland Raiders are the team I have them defeating. #ReturnOfTheCarr
(0-5) New York Giants 20, (3-1) Denver 27
Spread: NY Giants +11.5
I'm giving the G-Men some credit here, possibly more than they deserve. I don't know why, maybe I feel sorry for Eli Manning. The Giants brass went out and got some defense to compliment the offense were Eli and Odell Beckham Jr. were expected to shine. It didn't happen. OBJ is out for the season leaving Eli with very little to look forward to this season. I like everything about Denver. Kudos to Elway for sticking with Siemian. He has looked great this season. Only a trip to Buffalo has been a blip on the campaign. Most expect Denver to walk all over, or run all over New York rather. I could make a very good case for this being a lock game, but 0-for teams can sometimes be dangerous. I hope Peyton shows up to watch this one.
Monday(2-3) Indianapolis 23, (2-3) Tennessee 19 (Assuming Marcus Mariota does not play)
Spread: Indianapolis +1.5
Remember the Monday night wars of the 90's between WCW and WWF? When WCW assembled the New World Order and it was awesome! Hall, Nash, and a heel 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan. But then they quickly took a great concept and watered it down by adding tons of jobbers nobody wanted to see. The appeal was gone. That's how I feel about Monday night games now. What happened? This divisional game lacks any of the excitement that schedule makers expected to be giving us: Andrew Luck versus Marcus Mariota. The latter could make his return this week with an extra day to rest his hamstring. But NFL fans will likely be tuning in for a Jacoby Brissett versus Matt Cassel showdown. It's like if Vincent and Konnan became the big dogs of the nWo. I can see the ratings now. #WhenLifeHandsYouLemons
Thursday (Final)
(4-1) Philadelphia 26, (4-1) Carolina 27
Spread: Philadelphia +3.5
One of the the best games of the week. At this point both of these teams seem for real. The winner will look even 'realer' (oh I said it). This most likely turns out to be the best Thursday night game of the season. If there is one thing I've learned from being a fan of the NFL it is that hyped games disappoint 9 out of 10 times. Carson Wentz has taken good care of the ball and looks to continue his progress as an NFL quarterback. His counterpart, Cam Newton, is looking Superman-ish. His recent distractions away from the field hasn't affected his performance. I thought for certain he'd be less than stellar on the road against Detroit last week. He shined. Now back at home, under the lights, with a primetime audience he'll take his team to 5-1. I predict last second heroics and Carolina steals the victory away from a talented Eagles squad. #NoMoreColourRush
To sum it all up
Lock-of-the-Week:
Green Bay -3.5
Dawg Pound Picks:
Detroit +4.5
NY Jets +9.5
Pittsburgh +3.5
San Francisco +9.5
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