CONTRIBUTOR
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GAME 1
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GAME 2
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GAME 3
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Kevin
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New York Jets at New England Patriots (-3.5)
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Arizona Cardinals (-3) at Seattle Seahawks
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Philadelphia Eagles (-9) at Cincinnati Bengals
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Jets -3.5
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Cardinals -3
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Eagles -9
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2008 Record: 20-9-1 (69.0%)
See all 2008 Kevin picks
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Currently tied for 1st place in the AFC East, the
Patriots and Jets battle on Thursday Night in
Foxboro. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, a.k.a. "The
Law Firm" because of all the names, had his
first career 100-yard rushing game last week.
He won't have second Thursday. Kris Jenkins
and the NY Jets are 5th in the NFL allowing just
76.4 rushing ypg. In the 3 games this season
that Thomas Jones had 20+ carries, he's had
100+ yards including last week's 149-yard,
3-TD performance against the Rams. I expect
the Jets to control the line of scrimmage in a
game that will be won and lost in the trenches
as long as Favre can fight his gun-slinging
tendencies. Take the points in what I expect
to be a close game.
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A lot has been made of the Cardinals' health
on offense, especially the passing game.
Hasselbeck, who will start in this game, has
played only 4 games and what WR hasn't
been hurt this season. But the bigger
problem that directly relates to this game is
the Seahawks inability to stop the pass. The
Seahawks are 31st in the NFL in passing ypg
(252.2). They have given up 14 passing TDs
and only intercepted 4 passes. Kurt Warner, a
legitimate MVP candidate, has avoided
mistakes and the Cardinals have arguably the
best WR tandem in the NFL.
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The Cincinnati Bengals are on the longest
(and only) winning streak of the year - 1
game. The Bungles have a real shot at
beating their own franchise record for
ineptitude when they won 2 games in 2002. I
expect Brian Westbrook, Donovan McNabb and
crew to light up the Bengals defense, which
has given up nearly twice as many points as
their offense has scored. Here are some more
numbers that support the Eagles: 5-1 against
the spread (ATS) as favorite of 3.5-9.5 points
this year, 14-2 ATS off a division game in past
3 years and 8-0 ATS off a loss to a division
rival in past 3 years.
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Jamie
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Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons (-6.5)
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Arizona Cardinals (-3) at Seattle Seahawks
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Dallas Cowboys (-1.5) at Washington Redskins
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Falcons -6.5
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Cardinals -3
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Cowboys -1.5
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2008 Record: 14-15-1 (48.3%)
See all 2008 Jamie picks
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Are you starting to believe in the Falcons and
Matt Ryan? I am, I still like the Broncos
passing game as well but this game will come
down to balance. The Falcons have that with
Turner but who do the Broncos have in the
running game this week? Hillis? Who? The
Broncos running game has been so bad they
just re-signed Tatum Bell. I actually also think
the Falcons have the advantage as well on the
defensive side of the ball. Take the Falcons
here.
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Arizona held on last week in a game they were
expected to dominate. Will the Hawks crowd
keep this one close? Maybe, but the Cards
have too many weapons on offense and will
win this one by 7+ this week. I don't see
anyway possible over 4 quarters, the
Seahawks being able to keep pace with
Warner and this high-scoring offense. Take
the Cards and give the points.
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Ok so this is the week for Dallas to make a
statement and show the last month has been
a fluke. With Newman, Romo, Kosier and
maybe even Felix coming back from injury, it's
time to put up or shut up. I'm expecting them
to put up. The Redskins are actually banged
up this week with Portis being 50-50 and Moss
being questionable as well. This game
basically comes down to a pick 'em and I just
don't see this as the week the Cowboys add
even more pressure by adding a loss.
Regardless of who plays, this one will be close
but the Pokes win it in the 4th mostly behind
Barber who should have more lanes with Romo
back under center. Look for TRRW to also
make more of an impact with the bye week
giving him more time to get used to the
playbook.
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Dan
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New York Jets at New England Patriots (-3.5)
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Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons (-6.5)
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Arizona Cardinals (-3) at Seattle Seahawks
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Patriots -3.5
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Falcons -6.5
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Cardinals -3
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2008 Record: 19-11 (63.3%)
See all 2008 Dan picks
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And we are back on the short week, if the
players have a quick turn around time, well so
be it for the hard-working EDSFootball
contributors. On paper, this game looks as
even as possible, both teams playing well,
rounding into form for the post-season stretch
drive. The Jets and Pats are both 5-4 vs the
spread, and 6-3 straight up this year, and in a
game that has huge playoff implications the
Pats have the home game. This is the game
that Belichick circles on his calendar, I know he
never looks forward to anything but the next
game, but this one is always marked in red
from the start of the season. There is nothing
that the hoodie likes better than beating Eric
Mangini, and not shaking his hand after doing
so. Historically the Patriots have won 10 of the
last 11 matchups, and are 1-0 vs Gang Green
in the Matt Cassel experiment. Even signing Ty
Law, and waving him in front of the Patriots
bench will not help, Belichick will have his team
very prepared and flying around Thursday
night. The Jets will be looking to have 4 wins in
a row for the first time since 2004, and even
with Brett Farve and his new hero status will not
get the job done.
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Wow, can you say Atlanta and playoff berth in
the same sentence? It feels like a long time
that has been mentioned, you know before
the franchise QB scrambled off to jail. The
question is does anyone in Atlanta really care
that the Falcons have a great look at post
season play, led by Michael Turner and strong
Rookie of the Year candidate Matt Ryan. The
Broncos come in off a win vs Cleveland, and
were very fortunate to be gifted that W, but
not as bad as thier game vs San Diego.
Denver's real problem is it's rushing defense,
they are ranked 27th vs the run, while they
get a lopsided matchup vs Atlanta's 2nd
overall rushing offense. It will be a long day
for the Mile High Crew, as Turner comes into
the game averaging close to 120 yards in the
Georgia Dome, and Denver yields an average
of 146 yards per game. Also, sticking with the
running theme, the Broncos don't have
anyone, as they are counting on a backup
fullback that blocked for Darren McFadden and
Tatum Bell, who is 2 years past his prime. The
Broncos also post a 2-7 record vs the spread
so lay the points and bust out the Dirty Bird,
peace up and A-Town down for the cover!
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Time to keep on riding the hot team, and
although Arizona did not post a winning
number this week, they are still on fire. Mr.
Peabody has activated the way back machine,
and the Kurt Warner of 1999 has stepped out
into the spotlight, and if he keeps up his pace,
he may be in line for his 3rd MVP award. The
Cardinals have the best receiving trio in the
league right now, and they found the ultimate
man to pull the trigger on this explosive
offense. The second-ranked passing offense
must be licking their chops to be going against
Seattle's 31st ranked passing defense, who
are giving up an average of 252 yards a
game. Seattle hopes to get a shot in the arm
this week, as their quarterback Matt
Hasselback returns from a lengthy hiatus.
Hasselback is a good QB, but even he will not
be able to even up Seattle's 4-5 record vs the
spread. I would look for Arizona to air it out
over a battered secondary, and the use of Tim
Hightower's ability to catch out of the backfield
in the Emerald City. Even though Seattle is a
small dog at home, I am going against this
trend by laying the points and picking the
Cards. Oh, and I wouldn't be surprised if
Warner has thrown for three touchdowns
before the National Anthem has finished.
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Brendan
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New York Jets at New England Patriots (-3.5)
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St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers (-6.5)
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Cleveland Browns at Buffalo Bills (-5)
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Jets +3.5
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49ers -6.5
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Browns -5
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2008 Record: 18-10-2 (64.3%)
See all 2008 Brendan picks
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In the early game this week the AFC East lead
is up for grabs. Both the Patriots and Jets
appear to be hitting their stride as they head
into the second half of the season. The Jets
seem to be the hotter of the two teams after
they set a franchise record last week and put
up 40 points in the first half against the Rams.
Favre has been cutting down on his turnovers
and they have been letting Thomas Jones
carry more of the offense. The Jets are 7-0 all
time when Jones scores a touchdown and
Jones' team has won the past 14 in a row when
he scores. I expect the Jets to continue to
work the run to setup the pass instead of vice
versa which will then be able to exploit a
depleted New England secondary. The Jets are
second in the league in sacks with 31 and I
expect them to get after Cassel as his
weakness is decision making and holding onto
the ball too long. In what I think will be a very
good game take the Jets and the points.
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After watching that Jets game last week, one
thing was very apparent. The Rams have
pretty much given up already. They may
already be looking towards next year's draft
and hoping to land their next franchise QB.
They again will be without Steven Jackson and
their offense was so inept without him they
even had to resort to putting Trent Green in
the game, which, as you can expect, did not
go so well. On the flipside, I liked what I saw
out of the 49ers on Monday night against
Arizona. I think they were one or two plays
away from pulling that out and can use that to
feed off of and take their frustration out on
the woeful Rams. The Rams allow the second
most rushing yards per game so expect the
49ers to feature a steady dose of Frank Gore
and beat the Rams handily.
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Again I am going by recent body of work but
last week the Bills did not look good against
the Pats. This is a team that started out hot
and has really started to struggle in the past
few weeks. Their offense does not seem to be
clicking at all and Marshawn Lynch does not
appear to be 100%. They were playing
backup Fred Jackson a lot last week while
Lynch sat on the bench with a towel over his
head. On the other hand the Browns made a
bold move at QB and brought in highly-touted
Brady Quinn and in his first game put the
Browns in position to win a nationally-televised
game but the Browns defense could not stop
the Broncos when it counted. The Browns have
had some extra time to prepare for this game
and I look for Quinn to build on his promising
first game and the Browns to keep it close or
possibly pull off the upset on Monday night.
Take the Browns and the points.
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Sean
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Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers (-14)
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New York Jets at New England Patriots (-3.5)
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Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons (-6.5)
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Lions +14
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Jets +3.5
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Broncos +6
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2008 Record: 19-11 (63.3%)
See all 2008 Sean picks
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By my sportsbook, double-digit dogs for the
season are a perfect 10-0 ATS. I expect this
trend to finally die this week with Miami ripping
Oakland a new one at home, but I will take
the points in this contest. Detroit has enough
weapons on offense to muster up enough
points to stay within two touchdowns against
Carolina. Jake Delhomme looked like garbage
throwing 4 picks last week against the Raiders.
Even with Drew Stanton at QB running the
option in hurricane katrina, they will keep it
close enough.
Carolina 30 Detroit 17
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First off, I am not a big believer in either of
these teams. The AFC East has benefited as a
whole from playing the worst division in the
NFL in the NFC West. This is one of the big
reasons why these teams records are inflated.
The Patriots have had problems scoring points
this year. New England has only scored over
20 pts this year 3 of 9 games, and that was
against Denver, San Fransisco & St.Louis, all
teams that have been beat up on all year.
Granted New England's defense hasn't giving
up more than 18 pts in over a month, but this
week they play one of the most explosive
teams in the NFL. The NY Jets have the third
most points in the NFL this year, #1 in the
AFC. The Jets run game has looked strong.
New England is still missing a lot of key
players, and I think Mangini and co. will keep
this game close. The Jets also have a very
underrated defense that gets overlooked. I
am taking the Jets with the outright upset,
just too bad that half the country misses out
because they have no NFL Network.
NY Jets 23 New England 20
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First off, Denver's defense is absolutely
horrible. Michael Turner & Co. will be able to
run at will against this defense. Matt Ryan also
should have a big game, but so will Jay Cutler
and his weapons. I really think Tony Scheffler
is the missing link with this awesome. Two
outstanding wideouts in Royal & Marshall, and
Scheffler in the middle. This is a completely
different offense with a very good pass
receiving TE on it. Atlanta doesn't exactly have
the best defense either. I think Cutler and co.
will keep it close. Atlanta is undefeated at
home this year, and I like them to win this
game, but I think it is going to be one of
those whoever touches the ball last wins kind
of contest. I wish everyone luck betting
against Tennessee this week as well.
Atlanta 38 Denver 34
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