NFL Picks
I’m not even sure that people are still reading our NFL picks column anymore, but like a true champion I’m still writing them. It’s fair to say that this hasn’t been the greatest NFL season of all-time for us here at the Stool. But here is the thing about the NFL. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. These next few weeks are probably the most critical weeks of the year because the Holidays are right around the corner. It’s one thing to be broke in October and November, but everybody needs some extra scratch in December. Therefore, we burned the midnight oil here at the Stool pouring over all the information we could find to breakdown this week’s games. The results should be magic.
Season Record 16-20
Last Week 2-2
Mortal Lock Record 2-5-1
Oakland at San Diego -10
I’ve been singing the praises of the Chargers for the past two months. In my humble opinion, they are the best team in football. Unfortunately for the Bolts, they stand a real shot at being the best team ever not to make the playoffs. They are still on the outside looking in and need to catch Jacksonville to get into the dance. Last week they got a huge victory in OT vs. the Redskins which kept hope very much alive. This week the Chargers look to make it five straight as they get the Raiders at home for Sunday Night Football. Oakland is coming off a 12-point home loss to the hapless Dolphins last week. I may not be the smartest man in America, but even I know it’s never a good thing when you lose to a team whose coach openly said just a few days before the game that the Dolphins weren’t trying to win. The Chargers totally dominated Oakland in their earlier meeting this year and this game should just be more of the same. The Chargers can’t take any weeks off because of the tight playoff race so that means they’ll squash all the teams that aren’t as good as them. As a side note, I’ve already got the money spent from this game on an old school powder blue Chargers shirt.
Mortal Lock – Chargers
Green Bay at Chicago -6.5
I’m not ready to call the 2005 Bears the '85 Bears yet, but their defense is certainly playing great football. Chicago has won 7-straight games and they’ve held their opponents under 10-points in all but two games this season. And nobody has scored more than 20 on them all year. That’s pretty freaking good. One group of people that isn’t buying they hype is the wise guys in Vegas. How else can you explain that the team with the best record in the NFC isn’t even favored by more than a TD vs. the team with the worst record in the NFC? I guess the fact that Brett Favre is still considered a “gunslinger” is worth 3 points in Vegas. I think a tougher bet than picking a winner in this one would be betting on whether Brett Favre will go over or under 6.5 INT’s.
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The Pick – Bears
Atlanta at Carolina -3.5
This is a battle between two of the trendy picks to win the NFC. And it’s time to put up or shut up for both these teams. Just three weeks ago I was calling VIP Sports trying to get a line on the Panthers to win the Super Bowl. I was convinced that these guys weren’t only the best team in the NFC, but the entire NFL. Now I don’t know what to think after watching them lay two consecutive eggs vs. the Bears and Bills. Meanwhile, Atlanta has lost two consecutive games as the heavy favorite at home against Green Bay and Tampa Bay. (As a side note, I don’t count their last victory against the Lions as a real game because the Lions are a Division I-AA team.) Anyway, it seems like Michael Vick always struggles against good physical defenses and I expect him to struggle again here. I’m still clinging to the Carolina bandwagon and expect them to bounce back with a big performance here.
The Pick – Carolina
Jags at Cleveland +3
The reason this line is so low is because Byron Leftwich broke his ankle last week and is out for 6 weeks. But trust me when I say this is not a death sentence for the Jags. This is coming from a man who won a ton of money betting on David Gerrard and his ECU Pirates back in the day. There is a reason why despite Jacksonville’s solid record many Jags fans have been clamoring for David Gerard to get his shot anyway. Now he will. I don’t think Jacksonville will miss a step with Gerrard and should cover this game with relative ease. With the Chargers breathing down the Jags neck, every game is a must win for them. The Browns have no chance to beat a good team unless they are overlooking them- which the Jags can’t afford to do.
The Pick - Jags