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THE WEEKLY BLITZ
Our FREE NFL picks versus the spread are purely for entertainment purposes only.  But, let's face it, being right (winning) is more fun than being wrong (losing).
 
Every week, the three "handicappers" at The Weekly Blitz will pick their three best NFL games against the spread (ATS).

Final results: Through Week 17, we have a combined record of 84-56-13 (60.0 percent) ATS.

  See also:
- Weekly Fantasy Football Rankings: QB - RB - WR - TE
- NFL Schedule - Tickets - CFB Schedule - Tickets
- 2012 Mock Draft Databases: NFL - NBA
 
DAILY WEEK 8 LINES FROM SPORTSBOOK.COM
 
SUMMARY OF PICKS BY CONTRIBUTORS
Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
  Picks are for entertainment purposes only.
Picks and spreads are as of Saturday, October 29th at 1:27 p.m. ET
  Lines used are always as of the time the pick was made.
Date/Time (ET)
Favorite
Spread
Underdog
    Kevin
Dan
Sean
Sun, Oct 30 at 1:00 p.m.
TITANS
9.0
Colts
         
Sun, Oct 30 at 1:00 p.m.
TEXANS
9.0
Jaguars
      JAX +9
 
Sun, Oct 30 at 1:00 p.m.
PANTHERS
3.5
Vikings
         
Sun, Oct 30 at 1:00 p.m.
Saints
13.5
RAMS
         
Sun, Oct 30 at 1:00 p.m.
RAVENS
12.5
Cardinals
    BAL -12.5
  BAL -12.5
Sun, Oct 30 at 1:00 p.m.
GIANTS
9.5
Dolphins
        MIA +9.5
Sun, Oct 30 at 4:05 p.m.
BILLS
5.0
Redskins
      BUF -5
 
Sun, Oct 30 at 4:05 p.m.
Lions
2.5
BRONCOS
    DET -2.5
   
Sun, Oct 30 at 4:15 p.m.
Patriots
2.5
STEELERS
      NE -2.5
 
Sun, Oct 30 at 4:15 p.m.
49ERS
9.0
Browns
         
Sun, Oct 30 at 4:15 p.m.
Bengals
1.5
SEAHAWKS
         
Sun, Oct 30 at 8:35 p.m.
EAGLES
3.0
Cowboys
    PHI -3
   
Mon, Oct 31 at 8:40 p.m.
Chargers
3.5
CHIEFS
        SD -3.5
                 
Note: Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, NY Jets, Oakland and Tampa Bay are on bye in Week 8.
                 
       
 
Sports betting at Sportsbook.com
 
CONTRIBUTOR
  GAME 1
  GAME 2
  GAME 3
Kevin
2011 Record: 33-14-4 (70.2%)
  Cardinals at Ravens (-12.5)
  Lions (-2.5) at Broncos
  Cowboys at Eagles (-3)
  Ravens -12.5
  Lions -2.5
  Eagles -3
  To say that the Ravens' offense sputtered in
Week 8 would understate how badly it
performed.  The offensive playcalling and
performance left Terrell Suggs and everyone
else "
baffled."  Not only did quarterback Joe
Flacco throw for a season-low 137 yards, Ray
Rice, the team's do-it-all back and most
explosive offensive player, had only eight
carries.  The last time he had fewer carries
was his rookie season when he backed up
Willis McGahee.  And the Ravens did not get
their first first down until the third quarter.  
There is no doubt that Rice will see a boost in
his workload in Week 8.  While the Cardinals
are allowing only 3.8 yards per carry, they also
have allowed eight rushing touchdowns -- only
three teams have allowed more.  As far as
Flacco's performance goes, he has alternated
from solid to poor performances throughout
the season.  Here are his yardage totals from
Weeks 1 to 7, respectively: 224, 197, 389,
163, (bye week), 305 and 137.  Against a
pass defense that ranks in the bottom five in
the NFL, Flacco should bounce back this
week.  From a defensive standpoint, the
Ravens are as good as it gets as they rank
first in defensive scoring (13.8 points allowed
per game) and have created 19 turnovers (six
interceptions and a league-high 13 forced
fumbles).  After last week's disappointing loss
in prime time, the Ravens will take out their
frustrations all game long on the Cardinals
and this game will turn into a laugher.  When
the Ravens are big home favorites (10.5
points or more), they typically take care of
business: 11-4 against the spread.
  Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow led the
Broncos to an amazing come-from-behind
victory as he worked his magic last week on
"Gator Day" in Miami.  Regardless of what
tricks Tebow may have up his sleeves at
home this week, a repeat performance is
unlikely.  While I admire his determination
and will and he makes plays as a runner,
there is little debate when it comes to
Tebow's accuracy.  Several of his throws last
week weren't even close to their intended
receiver.  The Lions rank ninth in the NFL in
pass defense (204.6 yards allowed per
game), have sacked the quarterback 17
times and are one of five teams to
intercept double-digit passes.  It appears
as though quarterback Matthew Stafford,
who has a sprained ankle, will play on
Sunday.  While it would be hard to not have
good chemistry with Calvin Johnson,
Stafford and Megatron have connected on a
league-high ten touchdowns through their
first seven games.  Johnson has 100-plus
yards in three straight games and in four of
his past five games.  The Lions are 4-0-1
ATS in their past five road games and the
Broncos are 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18
games overall.
  Based on expectations entering the
season, both the Cowboys and Eagles enter
their Sunday Night Football matchup as two
teams not living up their potential.  Not
only do the Eagles have a worse record
(2-4) than the Cowboys (3-3), but the
"Dream Team" entered the season as the
Super Bowl pick for many.  Coming off the
bye, betting against Eagles coach Andy
Reid has been a losing proposition.  In the
game immediately after the bye in his 12
seasons as head coach of the Eagles, Reid
is 12-0.  Led by the league's top-running
quarterback, the Eagles rank first in the NFL
in rushing offense (170.0 YPG).  Meanwhile,
the Cowboys rank first in the NFL in rushing
defense (69.7 rushing yards allowed per
game).  The Cowboys have waived running
back Tashard Choice to activate linebacker
Bruce Carter,
their second-round pick, from
the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.  
That said, I expect the Eagles to use
LeSean McCoy more in the passing game
than they have this year.  McCoy, who led
running backs in receptions (78) last year,
has only 21 receptions for 123 yards, but
McCoy is averaging a career-high 94.8
rushing yards per game (fifth in the NFL)
through six weeks.  Philadelphia, who has
yet to allow a 300-yard passer this season,
picked off Rex Grossman four times in their
last game.  For the Cowboys, Tony Romo is
prone to mistakes in key moments as
evidenced by the team's historic blown
leads to the Jets and Lions.  In a must-win
situation (falling to 2-5 would be a nearly
insurmountable hurdle), the Eagles
continue their game-after-bye winning
streak under Reid.
     
   

Dan
2011 Record: 24-21-6 (53.3%)
  Jaguars at Texans (-9)
  Redskins at Bills (-5)
  Patriots (-2.5) at Steelers
  Jaguars +9
  Bills -5
  Patriots -2.5
  So we have arrived at the halfway point, and I
still think that the AFC South is up for grabs.
Sure, Jacksonville's offense hasn't lit anything
on fire, but their defense is certainly firing on
all cylinders. The Texans walloped the Titans
last week, and will return back home a team
that bested the Ravens on Monday night. The
historical numbers certainly favor the Jags in
this matchup, as they have gone 3-1 against
the spread in their last 4 against the Texans.
The Texans have already announced that
they will be without Andre Johnson, and they
are a rough 1-2 against the number when he
does not play. Jacksonville checks in with the
10th-best defense, and they only allow 19
points per game. I love the big number in
division games, so I will take the 9 as
Houston is good, but not 9 points better.
  The Bills have great news, and not-so-great
news, as they have signed Ryan Fitzpatrick
to a long-term extension, however, they
placed Shawne Merriman on IR to close out
another sad year of his career. The
Redskins will start John Beck again, and
were dealt a crushing blow as sometimes
first string running back Tim Hightower has
been lost for the year. The Bills will have
home cooking of sorts, as they will play in
Toronto for their yearly revenue grab across
the border. The Bills are an impressive
5-2-1 in their last 8 at home against the
spread, and have dominated Washington in
the past going 5-0 against the number
when playing the 'Skins, going all the way
back to 1993. I just don't trust a John Beck
offense missing Hightower, Cooley, and
their best wideout in Santana Moss to hang
with the Bills. Lay the 5.5 for the Bills in
Canada, eh?
  I am a pretty blatant Patriots homer, and I
usually try to stay away from predictions on
my home team, but the Patriots just seem
to always have the Steelers number. The
Patriots have gone 4-1 vs. the Steelers
against the number, and Pittsburgh has
been average this year posting a 3-4 record
against the spread. Tom Brady is an
impressive 6-1 against the Steelers in his
career, and even though Pittsburgh has the
best passing defense in the league, the
Patriots have always been able to exploit
them with the spread offense. I still don't
buy the Steelers this year, due to the fact
that most people were burying them 3
weeks ago, and they still have that opening
day stinkbomb to own up to. I like the Pats
by 10, as they always play well at Heinz
Field.
   
             
Sean
2011 Record: 27-21-3 (56.3%)
  Dolphins at Giants (-9.5)
  Chargers (-3.5) at Chiefs
  Cardinals at Ravens (-12.5)
  Dolphins +9.5
  Chargers -3.5
  Ravens -12.5
  Way too many points here: Don't let the
Dolphins record fool you. They are not this
bad. Miami still has a pretty solid defense,
and playmakers on the offensive side of the
ball. I think Daniel Thomas & Reggie Bush
can have a pretty good game against the
Giants. New York has had some issues
themselves, mainly injuries but they are
getting healthy at the right time. I think the
Giants win this game, but I don't think they
have the killer instinct to put anyone away,
and Eli Manning still makes too mamy
mistakes. This game will be closer then
people think. Giants win 23-16.
  It's tough to come back to San Diego after
last week's meltdown versus the Jets, but I
guess I am a sucker. I look at Kansas City
and San Diego and I see a legit Super Bowl
contender on one side, and a team who
should be picking in the Top 10 next year
on the other side. Kansas City is on a 3-
game winning streak after a terrible start,
but they beat Oakland who started Kyle
Boller and was without Darren McFadden
most of the game, the worst team in the
league in the Colts, and the Vikings who
were awful with Donovan McNabb at QB.
Playing in Arrowhead is tough, but Kansas
City is just too banged up and San Diego is
too good to let a team this bad beat them.
San Diego wins easily here 31-13.
  I absolutely love the Ravens in this spot,
after an absolute stinker Monday night
versus the Jags. The Ravens are back for
some home cooking. They are 3-0 this
season ATS at home, and all 3 games they
have won by a big margin. (28,17 and 15).
All three of those games were against legit
playoff contenders (Pit, NYJ and Hou).
Arizona is nowhere near a playoff
contender, in fact, they are a mess right
now. Kevin Kolb has not worked out so far
as expected by me. Their top running back
"Fragile" Beanie Wells is out with another
injury. There will be an Alfonso Smith
sighting this week. Arizona is in the bottom
1/4 in pretty much every defensive stat. I
expect Ray Rice to have an Arian Foster vs
Tennessee big game this week and the
Ravens will blow out the Cardinals 41-10