posted on 2004-10-05 at 00:13:24 by Joel Ross

For the first weekend, I was actually able to sit down and watch a full game (well, switch between two games of choice). Anyway, here's how the week ended up:

  • New York Giants 14, Green Bay 7 (-7): My picks always is contingent on Brett Favre being in the game. Usually, that's a pretty good bet in itself, but today, Favre was knocked out a little early. Who would have thought the Giants would be on a three game winning streak at all this season? Eli Manning better get used to the bench, because Warner is looking pretty good.
  • Philadelphia 19 (-9), Chicago 9: After two weeks of saying "Not picking Chicago with 9 points was a mistake," I can finally say it was the right choice. It just took one of the best teams in the NFC to make it so.
  • Washington 13 (-3), Cleveland 17: Washington isn't as good as I thought they were. And Cleveland is a little better.
  • New England 31 (-5.5), Buffalo 17: It's 4th down and you've got a good drive going. You're down by 7, and have a chance to go for it, or kick a field goal. What do you do? Go for it! What's the worse that could happen? Miss the conversion? No big deal. Play tight defense, and you'll get the ball back. Sounds like a plan! What happens? Two men come across the line untouched (the running back actually ducks out of the way). Fumble. Touchdown. New England blitzed numerous times and had men untouched through to the ball. The same guy from the same place three times in a row. In a row! No wonder Buffalo lost, and New England has won 18 straight.
  • Oakland 17 (-2.5), Houston 30: I told you that Houston should be the favorite. Did you listen? Well, as predicted right here, Houston not only covered, but won.
  • Indianapolis 24 (-3.5), Jacksonville 17: 24 points against one of the better defenses in the league? No problem. And from what I've seen, they haven't even been using Edge like they could be. He seems to be underutilized. Rightfully so, when you have Manning to Harrison, but underutilized none the less.
  • Cincinnati 17, Pittsburgh (-4.5) 28: Tommy Maddox? Who's that? These two quarterbacks should both have solid careers. I look forward to seeing those two match up in the years to come.
  • Atlanta 27, Carolina 10 (-3.5): It looks like Week Two Atlanta showed up, and they trounced Carolina. Maybe if the Odd Week Falcons show up, Detroit will have a chance next week.
  • New Orleans 10 (-3), Arizona 34: Did you know that Arizona is allowed to win games? I thought it was a rule that Arizona had to lose, but apparently, they just usually play that bad. They should play more like this more often. But let me know before you do it again, ok?
  • New York Jets 17 (-6), Miami 9: Miami is 0-4 now. Like I said earlier, at least they won't collapse in December. That's pretty bad when that's best thing going for you.
  • Denver 16 (-3), Tampa Bay 13: I saw the second half of this one. Very boring. And the spread was exactly covered, basically making the game null. One note though: Quentin Griffin is not as good as everyone thought at the beginning of the season.
  • Tennessee 17 (-3), San Diego 38: I always wondered how San Diego could be as bad as they have been. I remember watching Brees in college, and LT is awesome. Maybe they've started hitting their stride? Or does losing McNair affect their defense too?
  • St. Louis 24 (-3.5), San Francisco 14: I flipped it on around 9:45, and it was 17-0. A few plays later, it was 24-0, and half time. My thoughts? Could the 49ers be shut out two weeks in a row? Then I realized I didn't care enough to finish watching. UPDATE: Turns out St. Louis backed off, and let the 49ers score a few. This one is closer on the scoreboard than in real life, though.
  • Kansas City vs. Baltimore (-5.5): Unbelievable. Kansas City isn't supposed to have any defense, and their offense hasn't been great. Yet I turned it on just at the start of the fourth quarter, and Kansas City was up by 10! And they're all over Baltimore's offensive line - pushing right through to Boller.

Not a great week, and it's late, so here's a quick review of where I stand.

 This WeekSeason
Against The Spread6 - 7 (46.2%)29 - 28 (50.9%)
Head to Head7 - 7 (57.1%)35 - 25 (58.3%)

At least I'm still above .500, but falling fast. I should have time to post for next week's games, but it may be short and sweet.

Categories: General