NFL Picks: Week 6

After the news of the past few days, I expect a pissed off Peterson to have a great game. Photo from sports-kings.com

Thank you to the Detroit Lions for deciding to wait until after I posted my picks to decide that Calvin Johnson wouldn't be able to play. I really appreciate that. I also really appreciate the fact that the Lions are completely worthless without him.

I'm seriously wondering if the Jaguars should remain an NFL team. They failed to cover a 12.5 point spread against Sam Bradford and the Rams. May I remind you that these are the same Rams who were dominated for the first half in Week 2 (before a comeback that didn't really have a chance) by the otherwise winless Atlanta Falcons. These are also the same Rams who were blasted by the Cowboys and 49ers in the next two weeks. Just demote them to the CFL, or the SEC. Shouldn't they just forfeit every game (especially this week, we'll get to that) so that their fans don't have to watch them and TV stations don't need to apologize for broadcasting them...in Florida.

But of course, my favorite part of last week is that one of the few games I got right involved my Jets. I don't know how they did it, but they won. They beat the Falcons in Atlanta thanks to a beautiful drive by Geno Smith at the end of the game.

Unfortunately, Julio Jones is on my fantasy team...

Now onto this week...and well I ended my four game streak of winning Thursday night picks after ending my nine week stretch of having a .500+ record. This isn't fun. Here was my pick, which I made on twitter as usual (@WilliamBotchway):

BEARS (-8) over Giants. 

In fact, read the whole tweet.

I was wrong not only on the game, but in saying that the Bears are good. They have a lot of holes that were shown off on Thursday. And while they still won because they were facing a bad football team, but they have an inconsistent defense that can only do well if they are causing turnovers. And they were causing turnovers here, but they still failed to cover this spread.

So now I'm 0-1 on the week and 41-35-2 on the season after a bad 5-9 week that looked even more abysmal at around 7:30 PM last week when it was sitting at  3-8. Thank you to the 49ers and Jets for saving me.

UPSET ALERT next to games in which I think the underdog will win outright, not just cover. Home team in CAPS 

Bengals (-6) over THAD LEWIS. Back when Lewis made his first career start in Week 17 of last season for the Browns, I referred to the Browns as Thad Lewis mainly because I had no idea who the hell he was. Well guess what, I still don't know who the hell he is. And he's starting for the Bills. So as long as he is their starter, they will be known as Thad Lewis. #ThadLewisMafia. As for my pick...well...it's Thad Lewis! At least it's not Tuel Time this week. 60 minutes of Tuel Time is too much for humans to deal with.


BROWNS (+3) over Lions. This line is assuming that Calvin Johnson is playing...I think. If the line changes in the morning because of injury news surrounding Megatron, I have the right to change my pick. Because I said so. But I think that the Browns have the defense to slow down Detroit just enough, and the home field advantage should help them at least cover if not win, even if Johnson plays. Maybe I'm overestimating Brandon Weeden again. UPSET ALERT.

CHIEFS (-7.5) over Raiders. Okay, Terry Pryor looked decent last week, but I still can't get behind him. Especially not against this Chiefs defense. If he has any success throwing the ball against one of the best pass defenses in the league, you have my attention Terrelle.

VIKINGS (-1) over Panthers. My sincerest condolences to Adrian Peterson and his family for the loss of his two year old son. It's just a disgusting situation, and really makes me sick. Just awful. Unfortunately, there's still a game to play here, and I don't mean to demean the importance of Peterson's situation by moving on so quickly, but I have to. Peterson is in fact playing, and because of these events, I'm sure it's going to be emotional and I'm sure he's going to run through every Panther in his path even if their run defense is strong. Good luck Adrian, the whole world will be behind you.

JETS (Pick'Em) over Steelers. One team is 0-4. The other is 3-2. The 3-2 team is at home, yet this line is even. I don't even know how to explain this stupidity.

Eagles (-2.5) over BUCCANEERS. Mike Glennon. The Eagles aren't good, but we saw last week that they can cause turnovers. And well...Mike Glennon.

RAVENS (+3) over Packers. This is an interesting one. The Ravens aren't as bad as people may think, and playing at home they should at the very least keep it close. It will be a fun one, I think the Ravens win here. UPSET ALERT.

Rams (+9) over TEXANS. I don't know what to think about either team here. Matt Schaub has been terrible and Sam Bradford is always terrible. Both defenses should be decent, but are struggling so far. So good luck predicting this one.

BRONCOS (-26) over Jaguars. It started as Broncos -28, and now that it has dropped, I'm taking the points and hiding. I'm going to lose on a backdoor cover, but I don't care. The Jaguars have reached a point of futility that people are laying 26 points against them and having no second thoughts about it.

Titans (+14) over SEAHAWKS. This line is a bit too high. Yeah it's Ryan Fitzpatrick on the road, but the Titans are decent. After taking the Broncos, I guess I'm just averse to gigantic lines.
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PATRIOTS (Pick'Em) over Saints. Okay the Saints are legit. I give up. I was wrong. But you know what? Playing in Foxborough against a good Pats team doesn't seem like a winning situation. It will be close, but the home team should pull it out.

49ERS (-10) over Cardinals. The Cardinals confuse me, but I don't think it will matter which version of them shows up here. They are facing the Niners in San Francisco, good luck. I think it's interesting that Jim Harbaugh has returned to a power run game recently. It's a good decision that utilizes the strength of their team: running back depth and offensive line play. I see people talking about how bad Kaepernick is when rather, the coach realizes that without Michael Crabtree the receivers are weaker and now it's better if they go run first. When he is asked to make a play, Kaepernick will be golden, don't you worry. But of course, this move depletes his fantasy value, messing up my beautiful fourth round pick. So thanks for that Jimmy.

COWBOYS (-5) over Washington Professional Football Team. Despite losing last week, the Cowboys cemented themselves as clearly the best team in their division. The offense is great, and while the defense is porous, it won't matter in the NFC East. They can outscore anyone, especially going up against three of the worst defenses in the league. This line is too low.

Colts (Pick'Em) over CHARGERS. Maybe the Colts are really good. I don't understand how, but it's happening. As for the Chargers, they are so comically inconsistent that I don't know if I can pick them again this year. What team will show up?

Last Week: 5-9
This Week: 0-1
Season: 41-35-2