NFL Week 9 - Mac's Picks

NFL Week 9 – Mac’s Picks

Last week: 6-8

Overall: 60-55-1

Ok, I rarely mention other sports, but I was just watching the Celtics season-opener against the Knicks, and the Celtics can’t feel good about Mark Blount changing the pronunciation of his last name from Blount (rhymes with count) to blunt after they gave him a 6-years/$42M contract. The real life equivalent to that would be spending tens of thousands of dollars flying in all of your family and friends for your wedding, and on your honeymoon your wife tells you that her real name is Jim.

Anyway, let’s just move on to this week’s picks!

Atlanta at Miami When are the Falcons just going to go with the wishbone formation and run QB sweeps all game? If it weren’t for Joey Harrington, Vick would have the lowest passer rating in the NFC. Pick: Falcons –1 ½ (Hey, whatever works, right?)

Carolina at Tampa Bay Am I the only one that would give Steve Smith the MVP award simply for pretending he was in a row boat after prematurely celebrating what he thought was a TD (he was ruled down at the 1-yard line) against the Minnesota Vikings? Rowboat, Vikings-do you get it?

The loud noise you heard late Sunday afternoon was every sportswriter and NFL analyst leaping off the Buccaneer bandwagon. Who would’ve thought that a team would actually take a step backwards after Brian Griese suffered a season-ending injury? Pick: Panthers –1 ½

Cincinnati at Baltimore I’m sorry, but when Brett Favre has one of the worst games of his professional career and throws 5 interceptions, the other team should massacre the Packers. That didn’t happen for the Bengals last week, and I’d very concerned about the state of that team. When they can’t blow out a bad team (sorry, Bronk) at home, it’s not hard to find the answer to the “Who dey think gonna beat the Bengals” question they keep asking.

As for the Ravens, when Kyle Boller is stepping up his rehab in an effort to salvage the season, things probably aren’t going well. Pick: Bengals –3

Detroit at Minnesota Who the starting QB is going to be for the Lions is turning into a weekly soap opera, and I can’t help but think this is shattering the confidence of Dan Orlovsky, the team’s rookie QB from UCONN. It must be disheartening for the rook to walk into the film room and see the guys ahead of him on the depth chart watching Will & Grace.

And what else can possibly happen to the Minnesota Vikings? Did you know that their 3rd QB this week is Koren Robinson, who is 5th on the WR depth chart. Whoops! Pick: Lions –1 ½

Houston at Jacksonville I hate this game. On one hand, I vowed never to take a team coached by Dom Capers. Sure, they won last week, but c’mon, that was a fluke. On the other hand, you have the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are giving away 13 points to an opponent.

To cover that spread, the Jaguars would likely have to put 30 points on the scoreboard. Do you know when the last time the Jags accomplished that feat? December of 2001, when Elvis Joseph had 8 carries for 86 yards in a 33-3 win over the Vikings, who soon afterwards, fired Dennis Green. Pick: Jaguars –13

Oakland at Kansas City Ok, let’s look at this sensibly. Rare, I know. What are the Raiders equipped to do? With Kerry Collins, Randy Moss, Jerry Porter, Doug Gabriel, that would be throw the ball deep. And the Chiefs are 31st in the NFL against the pass. Good thing the Chiefs revamped that defense (again), eh? Pick: Raiders +4 ½

San Diego at NY Jets Who gets the start at QB for the Jets this week? Richard Todd? Ken O’Brien. Fireman Ed? What does it tell you about a game, when the 3 best QBs on the field are all wearing Chargers uniforms (Brees, Rivers, and of course, Tomlinson)? Maybe the Jets could borrow AJ Feeley for a few hours. Pick: Chargers –6

Tennessee at Cleveland Ah, this week’s “Rebuilding Bowl” pits two teams that are young and mistake-prone against one another. Whoever messes up the least will win. Prepare for a sloppy, penalty-filled affair, and we may even have a Charlie Frye sighting. Pick: Titans +2

Chicago at New Orleans The Bears are a tough, physical defense that puts a lot of pressure on the opposing QB, which means it’s time to fire up that blooper reel, as this week they’ll be facing the King of the Miscue, Aaron Brooks! Pick: Bears –3

NY Giants at San Francisco Last week, I almost declared the 49ers over the Bucs as my “Upset Special” of the week. Then I remembered how poorly the 49ers played in Washington, and that Ken Dorsey was getting the start at QB. I don’t have the same “gut feeling” this week, but I thought I’d mention it anyways.

What I do like is Cody Pickett, who is likely to start for the 49ers this week, and in 1997-98, qualified for the National Rodeo Finals when he was just 16 years old. Last week, he was on the punt coverage team and actually made a tackle. If you need any more useless information, e-mail me at bmcintyre@verizon.net. Pick: Giants –10

Seattle at Arizona Word of warning: Under Mike Holmgren, the Seahawks are 0-6 in games following the bye week. I, however, shrug off such things. The 2005 Seahawks are making a habit of exorcising their demons, and with the Cardinals losing Anquan Boldin for a couple of weeks, and going back to Kurt Warner at QB, I think the Seahawks can cross another one of their list. Pick: Seahawks –4

Pittsburgh at Green Bay Favre threw 5 interceptions last week (6, if you count the one that knucklehead had before the final play of the game), so you’ve got to expect him to rebound from that performance and play out of his mind this week. At least that’s what you would normally expect. Without the weapons, even Favre can become human. Pick: Steelers –6

Philadelphia at Washington I’m calling this one the “Fraud Bowl”. Yes, both teams have winning records, but I’m not sold on either of them, even if many still are. Philadelphia refuses to run the football, and now Terrell Owens is declaring himself “out” of the team’s next two games.

Washington didn’t even get off the bus to play the Giants last week, so I can’t take a team that gets shut out by the then 31st-ranked defense too seriously. But, I have to take someone in this one, so I might as well go with the home team. Pick: Redskins –2

Indianapolis at New England It’s true that Bill Belichick holds the title on Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. It’s also true that the Colts 7-0 record has been padded by a Snuggle-soft schedule consisting of NFL doormats. Still, one cannot ignore that the Colts are pretty talented football team.

With the injuries and inconsistent play of the Patriots secondary, the Colts laying 3 to the Patriots in Gillette Stadium really isn’t that shocking. Pick: Colts –3