As expected, the sportsbooks got their revenge last weekend. Three of the biggest consensus underdogs (St. Louis, Washington and Green Bay) all covered. Look for that public beatdown to continue this week.
I made my Miami pick on Twitter, so I’m 1-0 on the week. Lets see if this holds up.
Record to Date (Last Week)
Ryan: 58-57-1 (8-6-1)
Lions -3.5 over Browns. For most of the year, I was convinced that the Raiders were the most doomed franchise in the league. Then I saw Cleveland play on Monday. WOW. I know Detroit lost to St. Louis earlier in the year, but at least they had Stephen Jackson. The Browns literally have nothing. Drew Carey could start for them.
Bills +9 over Jags. Dick Jauron is gone, so the Bills’ “attack” might resemble more than your basic Pee-Wee Football offense. It’s usually tough to predict how teams will do after coaching changes, but this is a lot of points to work with. I’ll take the Bills to keep it close.
Chiefs +10.5 over Steelers. I liken this one to the Rams-Saints game last week. The overwhelming consensus is that the Steelers will show up and win by three touchdowns. But the spread has barely budged off of 10. Double digit dogs have been doing better in recent weeks, so this one could be closer than expected.
Colts -2 over Ravens. After that miraculous comeback, it’d be easy to say that this will be a letdown game for the Colts. But that would mean that you’d be picking against Peyton Manning. There are better ways to spend your money than picking against Peyton. I have the Colts losing next week, but not this week. The Ravens do need it a lot more, however.
Falcons +7 over Giants. The Falcons could be without the services of Michael Turner in this one, but Jason Snelling filled in well last week. Both teams need a win desperately, and the Giants are coming off of a bye in the midst of a four-game losing streak. I just think there’s too many points here.
Packers -7 over 49ers. Both teams got huge wins last week to keep their season alive. But the way the Packers won impressed me more than anything. Shutting out the Cowboys for most of the game bodes well for the rest of the year. I’ll take the Pack to keep up their momentum. The 49ers didn’t exactly dominate, even with all of Jay Cutler’s fail.
Vikings -11 over Seahawks. After last week’s loss (and feeling giddy about actually producing), T.J. Houshmanzadeh predicted that the Seahawks will win out. Nice lie, TJ. It’s hard to back Seattle playing in a hostile environment against a really good team. I’ll take the Vikes in a rout.
Redskins +11 over Cowboys. In an NFC East game, I’m usually inclined to take the points. A score like 24-14 gets me a cover, and I don’t think that’s too far fetched.
Bucs +11 over Saints. So much for going 0-16, the Bucs are playing some solid football under Josh Freeman. The Saints are showing some cracks in their armor without Darren Sharper. With him out again, fading that Saints defense is almost a no-brainer.
Cardinals -9 over Rams. I don’t feel confident one way or the other about most of these huge point spreads. However, I do know that the Cardinals’ offense is rolling and it’d be foolish to go against them. Kurt Warner is back in his old digs and he’ll have a big game.
Patriots -11 over Jets. Poor Rex Ryan. Not only is he going to be unable to eat crab cakes for the three hours that this game is going on, but his Jets are running into a buzz saw. This is one point spread I do feel confident about. The Jets are going to get destroyed.
Bengals -10 over Raiders. If this was any other team, it’d be a trap game. But I refuse to bet on Bruce Gradkowski. Not going to happen. Bengals coming off two huge wins and going west to face a bad team. It’d be called a trap game against anyone but Oakland.
Chargers -3 over Broncos. This game is off the board at just about every sportsbook. The only online book showing a line is BetJamaica, so we’ll go off their spread. Obviously, we know what’s at stake here. Both teams are 6-3. The Chargers are going in the right direction, while Denver is collapsing under the weight of their good start. I’ll take the hot team.
Eagles -3 over Bears. I’m picking based on what I want to see happen. I want the Eagles to sack Jay Cutler five times and get three interceptions. But considering this is Jay Cutler in primetime, three picks might be a conservative estimate.
Texans -4.5 over Titans. I’m pretty excited about this game because we get to see arguably the two best players in football in Kerry Collins and Owen Daniels Chris Johnson and Andre Johnson. Tennessee’s playing better, but Houston will be a greater test than the teams the Titans have played recently.
