With today being the World Series off day, it would've been easy for me to take advantage of that and break down Tony LaRussa's outmanaging Ron Washington in Game 1 and outmanaging himself in Game 2, but I'm not going to. Nope. Not today. Today gives me a good opportunity to switch gears and unveil the weekly football picks. So, that's what we're going to do.
Seahawks at Browns: Cleveland-Neither one of these teams is good, so I'm going to take the one that's at home. Side note regarding this game, Colt McCoy is now my fantasy quarterback. I added Jason Campbell for the Rams' bye week, and he promptly got injured. With Bradford also out this week, I needed a QB, so McCoy it is.
Falcons at Lions: Detroit-The Lions are no longer undefeated after falling to San Francisco last week. The ensuing controversy regarding the Jim Schwartz-Jim Harbaugh handshake aside, Detroit lost to a good team in the 49ers. Now they take on another good team in Atlanta. The Falcons have alternated wins and losses this season, and are coming off a win over the Panthers. That combined with the fact that the game's in Detroit is enough to convince me that the Lions are going to bounce back and pick up the W.
Texans at Titans: Houston-This battle for first place in the AFC South pits a Texans team that got slaughtered in Baltimore last week against a Titans squad that's coming off a bye (and was smoked in Pittsburgh the week before that). This is Houston's chance to prove its the best team in this division. Even without Mario Williams on defense, I think the Texans ARE the better team. Houston wins on the road to take over the division lead.
Broncos at Dolphins: Miami-The first "Suck for Luck" elimination game is also Tim Tebow's first NFL start. Conveniently, it comes in Florida, where Gators fans will probably make up a majority of the attendance. The Dolphins are still my pick to land Andrew Luck, but I do think they'll pick up their first win of the season in this one.
Chargers at Jets: Jets-I'm not sure if you're all aware of this, but Rex Ryan made some comments about the Chargers and Norv Turner during the week. He's also confused as to why the Jets aren't favored in this game against the AFC West-leading Chargers. Yes, they lost three straight before getting off the skid last week, but in fairness, they played the Dolphins. Regardless, I don't know why the Jets are the underdogs, either. LaDainian Tomlinson has a big day against his old team in a Jets win.
Bears vs. Buccaneers: Tampa Bay-The annual London game takes the Bucs (and their owner Malcolm Glazer, who also owns Manchester United) across the pond for the second time. Their opponent is the Bears, who make their second straight appearance as the road team in an international game (they played the Bills in Toronto last year). Chicago is favored, but Tampa Bay is coming off a huge win over New Orleans that moved them into first place in the NFC South. Because of that momentum, plus the fact that this isn't their first time playing in London, I'm taking the Bucs.
Redskins at Panthers: Washington-The Rex Grossman Era in Washington lasted a whole five games. Was last week's loss to the Eagles a sign that the Redskins are actually the team that the rest of us all thought they were? It'll be tough to tell how much of a lasting impact that loss will have. They're playing the Panthers this week.
Chiefs at Raiders: Oakland-The Carson Palmer Era in Oakland begins. I'm not sure how rusty he'll be having not played in the NFL all season, but how hard is it to turn around and hand the ball to Darren McFadden? I still don't think Oakland's that good, but neither is Kansas City. And the Raiders haven't lost a division game in two years. That's not going to change on Sunday.
Steelers at Cardinals: Pittsburgh-It's the first meeting between these teams since Super Bowl XLIII, which the Steelers won on a touchdown in the final minute. This game won't be anywhere near as close, but the result will be the same.
Rams at Cowboys: Dallas-I'm not really sure how it world out that the St. Louis Rams ended up playing a road game against the football equivalent of the team that the St. Louis Cardinals were visiting in the MLB playoffs on back-to-back Sundays, but they have. This one's even crazier because the Rams-Cowboys game at Jerrywood takes place just a few hours before the Cardinals and Rangers meet in Game 4 of the World Series across the parking lot. That's one crazy Sunday in Arlington, Texas! The Cowboys win part one of the sweep.
Packers at Vikings: Green Bay-Now that the Lions have lost, the defending champs are the only remaining undefeated team. Whether it's Donovan McNabb or Christian Ponder or even Brett Favre at quarterback, I don't see that changing against the Vikings.
Colts at Saints: New Orleans-For the second straight year, the NFL has scheduled a Sunday night game opposite the World Series. When the schedule came out, it looked like this would be a great matchup, the first between the Colts and Saints since Super Bowl XLIV. Instead, it's a first-place team against a team that's winless and looks clueless without its leader. I'm still convinced the Colts will eventually figure out how to win a game without Peyton. It won't be this week, though.
Ravens at Jaguars: Baltimore-The AFC South is giving the NFC West a run for its money as the NFL's worst division. The Ravens have won three straight and might be the best team in the AFC. I'm not entirely sure why they decided to make America endure a Monday night game in Jacksonville. Or why they picked a game the Jaguars have absolutely no chance of winning.
Last Week: 9-4
Season: 57-33
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