HH's Hump Day NFL Pick'em - Week 4

Just like the Redskins' offense in Week 3, for the first time since we started doing the Hump Day Pick'em, I started showing some signs of life with my picks. I finished the week with a record of 9-6-1, which gave me a total of nine glorious points. It sounds fantastic, but was it enough to hold off our contestants from winning the fabulous prize for Week 3? Here were the results:

Contestant	Points
lesagecr	9
rowseyna	9
Theodore Gorath	8
O-Rak-Po	8
Redskins329	8
HogHunter	8
Redskins	8
Skins Fan ‘77	7
Bill-in-Bangkok	6
dave21110	4

It was! (Cue The Price is Right Loser horn)

As you know, if one or more of you tie with me, there is no winner.

However, as usual, the silver lining to this cloud of dismay is that our fabulous prize from Week 3 will carry on to Week 4. Plus, in addition to last week's prize, we will add a second fabulous prize that the winner of next week will have the opportunity to choose from.

Also, the Hump Day Pick'em staff and I have decided to make one more rule change. If there is a tie among two or more contestants who have beaten me fair and square, we will have a drawing to guarantee a winner from week to week. Of course, this only applies if you're good enough to beat me, which seems like a long shot looking at my recent results. My Week 3 totals have lifted my overall season record to 19-27-2.

Once again, for those of you who are new to our game, I state the rules:

This is a weekly contest in which I will make my game picks each Wednesday and invite you, the loyal Hogs Haven readers, to make your own picks in the comments section.

I will incorporate the spread as determined by Las Vegas the Tuesday before the games and you can earn 1 point for each correct choice. I will add up the points at the end of each week, and if there is one clear winner who beats me, that winner will earn a fabulous prize that will then be mailed to them. As now stated above, if there are multiple contestants tied for the lead who have beaten me, there will be a drawing to determine the overall winner. There will only be ten contestants other than me, so the first ten responses will get in.

Each week the prize will change and some weeks there will be no winner at all, as I will have made the most correct choices or tied for the lead with one or more contestants. Simple right??

Here are my picks for this week:

Thursday

San Francisco 49ers (-3) at St. Louis Rams: San Francisco golden-boy quarterback Colin Kaepernick was really upset last week with the loss to the Colts at home. That was compounded when coach Jim Harbaugh did not give the team the next day off and he had to cancel his usual Monday mani/pedi. Pick: 49ers (-3)

Sunday

Pittsburgh Steelers (-1) at Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson tweeted on Monday that his daughter was upset that the Vikings lost to the Browns last week. She also asked him why the team is keeping Christian Ponder in as the starter with a 65.9 quarterback rating, but he left that part out. Pick: Steelers (-1)

Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) at Buffalo Bills: If the Madden 25 simulation that I ran this week is accurate, E.J. Manuel will throw seven interceptions before the end of the third quarter and the Bills' head coach will concede and take the give-up loss down 34-0. Pick: Ravens (-3.5)

Cincinnati Bengals (-5) at Cleveland Browns: Two immovable forces will go head-to-head in this matchup of titans when the Bengals and their defense, having just taken down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, square off against Brian Hoyer and high flying Cleveland Browns. Who could possibly win this titanic battle? Pick: Bengals (-5)

Indianapolis Colts (-8.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars: You know it's bad when teammates are relieved to hear Blaine Gabbert is coming back this week. Pick: Colts (-8.5)

Seattle Seahawks (-3) at Houston Texans: Seattle golden boy quarterback Russell Wilson celebrated his team's 3-0 start by taking several selfies while getting a man/pedi on Monday and then sending the pictures to Colin Kaepernick. Pick: Seahawks (-3)

Arizona Cardinals (+3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: In order to sell out their home games and ensure they would be televised, the Buccaneers have started renting out sections of the stadium for birthdays and bar mitzvahs on game day. Pick: Cardinals (+3)

Chicago Bears (+3) at Detroit Lions: When informed that wide receiver Nate Burleson had broken his arm while in a car accident early Tuesday morning that occurred when he reached for a pizza that was falling off the passenger seat, Lions coach Jim Schwarts angered some of his players when his first question was "What kind of pizza was it?" Pick: Lions (-3)

New York Giants (+4) at Kansas City Chiefs: Giants quarterback Eli Manning is really hoping to notch a victory this week so that he will stop getting daily condolence e-cards from big brother Peyton. Pick: Chiefs (-4)

New York Jets (+4.5) at Tennessee Titans: Last week against the Chargers, quarterback Jake Locker led the Titans on a game-winning 94-yard drive with two minutes to go and no timeouts. Following the game, Titans players were impressed with the drive but stated quietly that Locker needed to work on his presence in the huddle, as he kept sobbing and saying "We can't do this!" Pick: Jets (+4.5)

Dallas Cowboys (-2) at San Diego Chargers: DeMarco Murray led my two fantasy squads to victories last week with 175 yards rushing. He will be happy to hear that while my hatred of him remains, my respect for him grows. Pick: Chargers (+2)

Washington Redskins (-3) at Oakland Raiders: Dictionary.com defines an abusive relationship as a state of affairs between two people characterized by wrong or improper action, either physical or verbal. Replace "two people" with "Mike and the Redskins". I give and give, and 0-3 is my reward. Pick: Redskins (-3)

Philadelphia Eagles (+11) at Denver Broncos: Just for fun, Peyton Manning has asked the league if he can change teams at halftime and see if he can bring the Eagles back. Pick Broncos (-11)

New England Patriots (+1.5) at Atlanta Falcons: After playing and losing to Lauren Tannehill's Miami Dolphins in Week 3, the Falcons get a bit of a respite this week with the Patriots at home. Pick: Falcons (-1.5)

Monday

Miami Dolphins (+6.5) at New Orleans Saints: I am now 1-0 when following Lauren Tannehill's lead and will continue to support her efforts. I am getting WWLTD bracelets made and they will be available for sale soon. Pick Dolphins (+6.5)

So there are my Week 4 picks. The winner this week may choose between the following two awesome prizes:

or....

That's right - the Scary Stories Treasury that I cannot get rid of or this sweet Knob Creek flask, which as you can see, retails at an impressive $7.95.

I will announce this week's results and the winner (if there is one) next Wednesday on the next Hump Day post.

Good luck!!