Call it what you want...laziness, genius...whatever. But I picked up some much-needed ground last week and some much-needed confidence for the stretch run against Pommylee. I now stand at 25-27 against the Brit from Down Under. I gave Lee just enough rope to hang himself last week, and boy did he pick some doozies. Between his gambling losses and the Monday Night Football debacle that cost him one of his precious vacation days, I was not sure when we would hear from Lee again. But he is back with what appears to be a better set of picks this week. Looks like I might have to sprinkle in a few of my own selections to even things out.
Our picks after the jump.
Pommylee: Well, a terrible, terrible week for me last week--1 out of 4--just terrible. On the plus side, the one pick Kevin criticized (the Pats Pick) was the one pick I got right, so I enjoyed that.
What I did not enjoy was taking the Tuesday off of work here in Australia, all excited to watch my team for only the 4th time this season and after 9 plays I knew the game was all over. Just brutal for McNabb...14 points down before he got a chance to throw the ball. And plus running on 1st and 2nd down EVERY SINGLE TIME until we were 35 points down was a pretty good way to ensure that our 3rd down conversion was as terrible as it was.
Joey Galloway, F**KING BRUTAL, why is he even here? Are we really expected to believe that this grandpa is better than what DT could have done? The arrogance of Shanahan is just painful.
From the Research Department: I found out the thing Shanahan and Snyder have in common...they both have one playoff victory in their tenure without John Elway as their QB. So tell me again why Shanahan is such a genius?
Anyway, my venting is over. You don't come to this post for that, so here are my picks for the week. I'll do better this week.
Bills (+5.5) @ Bengals
Carson Palmer is terrible, the Bills play hard, maybe Cincy wins, but not by much. Pick...BillsBucs (+3.5) @ 49ers
How the hell are the Niners favored here?Tthis is just an insane line. Thanks for the money Vegas (or in Australia, the TAB). I will be putting a considerable sum on Josh Freeman in this game AT THE MONEY LINE and counting my money. Raheem Morris got a lot of criticism last year for their record, and maybe putting extra pressure on his team with the ‘Best in NFC' quote, but I think he might actually be a good coach. He has not had any late game clock management disasters so far, the team has drafted well and he has let a young QB blossom while developing a young defense into winners. Sounds like a good coach to me. Pick...BucsRaiders (+8.5) @ Steelers
This pick is a bit of a stretch, but I can see the Raiders covering, though probably not winning. But certainly the cover is on. That Steelers O-Line is brutal and Seymour could be the guy to punish their weakness. As I say, it's a stretch, but if the money comes for the Steelers and the 8.5 line pays more than even money, might be worth putting a lazy $50 on it, particularly seeing as you are playing with House Money after you clean up on the Bucs bet. Pick... RaidersSkins @ Titans (-8.5)
This hurts, but I really believe Jason Whitlock. I think this team has checked out on Shanahan after what he did to McNabb and Haynesworth. I mean why else would Big Al just so plainly mail it on primetime National TV, other than if the whispers in the locker room for the past fortnight have been anti-Shanahan and he knew he could get away with it with his peer group. I never put actual money against my team, but I wanted one more chance to vent in this column and I can see us getting pasted this week, V Young is Vick-lite and Haslets Bend AND Break defence is looking to get shredded yet again. My god I hate this current Redskins coaching structure more than Zorn, at least Zorn was clearly terrible and copped it from the media. But Shanahan has the majority of the media in his pocket which makes it all the more painful that as fans we see his missteps but he doesn't get called on it. I will say it once again, if by some miracle Shanahan wins a playoff game with the Skins, he will double both his and Snyder's non-Elway playoff win total. Pick...TitansI took an Annual Leave day for that shit on Tuesday... I AM SO F***ING ANGRY.
Well...looks like someone has a case of the Mondays...on Thursday! He did not write "Titans" on his email to me, but I attributed his pick this week to the Titans given his disposition and trash talk. We will all assume he is not betting any actual money on his team. Since I have the Skins here by default, I will also state for the record i have no actual money on the burgundy and gold either. I am ecstatic to have the Bengals, Steelers and 49ers though.
Here are the other games I like:
Houston Texans @ Ney York Jets (-6.5)
Good luck finding this line for less than 7 anywhere else. The jets have won two road games in a row in OT. The Texans have a quarterback who just got out of the hospital this morning. I see this being a breakout game for the Jets on both offense and defense.
Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars (-1.5)
Jacksonville got super lucky last week. Cleveland played one of the best teams in the league super tough. Good news for Cleveland fans: this game will not be blacked out in Cleveland.
Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings (+3.5)
The Packers are well-rested, coming off a bye to face a Vikings team that can't seem to shake the distraction bug. I see the Packers defense scoring multiple touchdowns in this one.