We're on the downside of the NFL season - the season is past the halfway point, which means we're just getting closer to the long off-season of anti-football. The good news is that the games get more and more interesting until that point! Anyway, on to my picks.

• Arizona vs. Detroit (-3.5) (39.5 O/U): It's in Detroit, so Detroit has the advantage. Here's?a stat: Dennis Green is 8-16 as coach of the Cards. Guess which quarterback has all 8 wins? McCown, who was benched a couple of weeks ago in favor of Warner. Odd.
• Baltimore vs. Jacksonville (-6.5) (33 O/U): Before the season started, this looked like a?great match up. Now, it's just another W for the Jags.
• Houston* vs. Indianapolis (-17.5) (44.5 O/U): I don't think I've ever seen a spread this big. If any team is going to cover it, it would be Indy, but I think they'll have a bit of a lag after the big emotional win in New England on Monday. I know the record of teams coming off a road game on Monday night isn't great, but this is Houston. They won't have that big of a lag.
• Kansas City vs. Buffalo (-2.5) (41.5 O/U): K.C. loses Holmes for the year, but they were smart enough to make sure that Larry Johnson is ready to go - and he is. He's had a few great games this year, and now that he's the focus, he'll have a little more trouble getting those yards, but he'll get more carries. He'll do OK, and thus, so will the Chiefs.
• Minnesota* vs. New York Giants (-9.5) (45 O/U): Eli Manning is quickly starting to establish himself as a premiere QB in the league, and Minnesota won't tarnish that image.
• New England (-2.5) vs. Miami (41 O/U): New England needs to get back on track. Miami does too, but they won't this weekend.
• San Francisco* vs. Chicago (-13) (32 O/U): The spread and the over/under almost seem contradictory to me. If the 49ers score just 10 points, then Chicago can't cover and have the game stay under. I think it'll stay under: Chicago is without Thomas Jones and just don't put up points. The 49ers are, well, the 49ers. However, I do think the score will be closer than 13.
• Washington vs. Tampa Bay (0) (33 O/U): Expect a defensive, close game. Good battle expected here.
• Denver (-3) vs. Oakland (47 O/U): Denver should be able to run all over Oakland (literally!).
• New York Jets vs. Carolina (-9.5) (41 O/U): The Jets are a bad team this year, mainly because Pennington isn't playing. Carolina is playing pretty well right now, and showed last week that they can score too - Steve Smith is a solid receiver.
• Green Bay* vs. Atlanta (-9.5) (41.5 O/U): In my mind, Atlanta started the whole Green Bay slide a few years back when they beat the Packers in Wisconsin in the playoffs - something that was unheard of up to that point. Now, the Frozen Tundra doesn't seem as daunting, and Favre seems much more human.
• St. Louis vs. Seattle (-6.5) (51 O/U): A intra-divisional battle between the top two teams in the division. The winner of this is most likely the favorite to win it too.
• Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh (-8) (35 O/U): Any question on this one? Even with Charlie Batch at the helm, it's only Cleveland. Duce will get a heavy load, but that's why he was brought in.
• Dallas vs. Philadelphia (-3) (39.5 O/U): A great Monday night game, and Philly's only favored because they're at home. If the Eagles want any chance of recovering this season, they need to start giving the ball to Westbrook ON THE GROUND and not through the air. It's too easy?for defenses to pin their ears back and rush the quarterback while defending the pass when you don't have to worry about the run. Hopefully they'll figure out that soon, especially now that there will be no T.O. for the rest of the year. It's time to diversify!

Ok. I'll be back next week to review the results.