Last Week: 8-6
Season: 88-42
Record Picking Redskins Games: 5-4
Against the Spread: 18-15-2
Lock of the Week: 4-4-1

Last Week's Pats: Other than correctly predicting the Jets to upset the Bills, I didn't have to write home about. I did come close to nailing my big upset pick of Packers over Titans, but last time I checked, "close" don't mean jack squat.

Last Week's Apologies: Kind of a long list this week. I must start with the Falcons who made me look absoultely foolish by shutting out the Raiders in a game where I picked another upset. The Titans must also be laughing at me for picking against them (and losing) for the second week in a row. And yes, I made a last minute change and went with the Redskins over the Steelers, and predictably, lost badly.

This Week's Picks:

Denver at Cleveland: Two teams heading in the wrong direction; neither of them can stop anybody. Game could go either way, but I'll give a nod to the home team and first time starter, Brady Quinn.

Browns 27, Broncos 24

New Orleans at Atlanta: Even though they beat the lowly Raiders, I still came away impressed with the Falcons last week. Their offense is getting some much-deserved attention, but quietly their defense is putting together strong performances as well. Another really tough call, but I'm going to say Drew Brees gets the best of Matt Ryan this week.

Saints 31, Falcons 27

Tennessee at Chicago: The Titans have to lose eventually, right? Well, I'm not going to fall into that trap again. I've picked against Tennessee for two straight weeks, and I'm not going to make the same mistake a third time. This is probably the kiss of death for the Titans win streak.

Titans 20, Bears 17

Jacksonville at Detroit: How funny would it be if the Jaguars provide the first win of the season for both the Bengals and the Lions? Even though I think Jacksonville is a semi-gutless, poorly coached team, I'll give them a slight benefit of the doubt and say they avoid total humiliation this week.

Jaguars 22, Lions 16

Seattle at Miami: Dolphins are a bit tricky to figure out right now. Just when you think they might get rolling, they lose one they shouldn't, and right when you think they might get buried, they pull out a tough one. I don't see a slip-up for the Dolphins this week against the putird Seattle offense.

Dolphins 23, Seahawks 15

Green Bay at Minnesota: It's just getting to that time of the year when we start seeing some truly pivotal games around the league. With both of these teams sitting at 4-4, this game could prove to go a long way in sorting out the race in the NFC North. The Packers were my pre-season Super Bowl pick, and while it's pretty clear they aren't on that level, I still think they are the best team in the division and will eventually wind up the winners.

Packers 27, Vikings 20

Buffalo at New England: Speaking of pivotal games....if the Bills lose this week, things could start crumbling a bit in Buffalo, as they would clearly become the third or fourth team in the hunt for the competitive AFC East. Looks to me that while the Patriots are far from dominant, they have found a little groove and expect them to take care of business at home.

Patriots 26, Bills 17

St. Louis at New York Jets: Things were looking up for the Rams, then.....crash. Even though my gut is feeling an upset here, I'm going to stick with the safe choice.

Jets 23, Rams 20

Baltimore at Houston: If Joe Flacco is turning into a solid NFL starter, then the Ravens are a legitimate threat in the NFC. But I still see him taking some lumps along the way, and I'm going with a mild upset here.

Texans 17, Ravens 14

Carolina at Oakland: Easiest straight-up game of the week. Things are completely unraveling in Oakland.

Panthers 28, Raiders 13

Indianapolis at Pittsburgh: It's always hard to predict games pitting teams with "different agendas" at this point in the season. The Steelers are the better team and they are at home. Makes for an easy choice, right? Well, I think desperation matters, and for the 4-4 Colts, this is a crucial game for the rest of their season. Despite the fact that the Steelers defense looks downright nasty right now, I'm going with the upset, regardless of who starts at QB for Pittsburgh.

Colts 21, Steelers 17

Kansas City at Oakland: Not a bad BYE week for the Chargers, as their only competition in the AFC West (Denver) flopped at home against Miami. At 3-5, the Chargers are still very much alive in the division race and getting the Chiefs at home is an added bonus.

Chargers 29, Chiefs 16

New York Giants at Philadelphia: Another game pitting two teams at different "stages" right now. This is a much bigger game for Philly, especially considering they are at home. The Giants 7-1 start has provided them a nice cushion, even in the ultra-competitive NFC East. The Eagles look very sharp right now and I see them holding on a handing the Giants their second loss of the season.

Eagles 24, Giants 22

San Francisco at Arizona: A Monday Night dud. I suppose it's possible that Mike Singletary could rally his troops a bit given his emotional post-game rant two weeks ago and given two weeks to prepare for this game. But the Cardinals offense is simply too much for the Niners to handle. Arizona (as funny as it sounds) is going to crusie to the division title.

Cardinals 33, 49ers 20

4 To Score

Lock of the Week:

Saints (even) at Falcons. My locks of the week have been anything but this year, so I wouldn't rush off to Vegas quite yet.

2. Rams (+7.5) at Jets. I find the half point in this game highly tantalizing.
3. Patriots (-4) vs. Bills. Really only found two games I like this week, this was an uninspired third.
4. Texans (-2) vs. Ravens. Even less inspired than #3.