Thanksgiving Leftovers...

As promised, here is the second segment of my weekly NFL picks:

Last Week: 9-7

Carolina (7-3, 3-2 away) at Buffalo (4-6, 4-1 home):
We all know how well my “winter weather theory” worked in the Thanksgiving game, but let me assure you; Buffalo does not play in a dome (just ask the Chiefs). The Bills are also 4-1 at home and the Panthers are only 3-2 on the road. Expect another rough day for the Panther passing game. Too bad they don’t have a running game because that’s how this one will be decided…

My Pick: Bills

Baltimore (3-7, 0-5 away) at Cincinnati (7-3, 3-2 home):
Yeah, Cincy may only be 3-2 at home as compared to 4-1 on the road, but two of those home losses were to the Steelers and Colts. Against the depleted defense of the Ravens, expect the Bengal offense to run rampant. If you weren’t convinced of the Bengals’ O before last week, you have to be now after they pummeled a solid Indy D on the ground and through the air only to lose a shootout…

My Pick: Bengals in a blow-out

San Francisco (2-8, 0-4 away) at Tennessee (2-8, 1-4 home):
Both of these teams are horrible, but I’ll take the home team in this one. The 49ers have yet to win a game on the road and the Titans at least have one quality player in running back Chris Brown. Who knows, against the porous secondary of the ‘9ers, maybe Steve McNair will conjure up flashbacks of three years ago when he was actually good?

My Pick: Titans

New England (6-4, 3-2 away) at Kansas City (6-4, 3-1 home):
As much as I love my Pats, their defense this year is atrocious (second to last in the league). They made Aaron Brooks look like Joe Montana last week before holding on for the victory. I expect the Chiefs’ offense to get up early in this one and never look back, with huge games from Larry Johnson and Trent Green. (Its’ ok, we could win only one more game this year and still back into the playoffs in the AFC Least)

My Pick: Chiefs

Cleveland (4-6, 1-4 away) at Minnesota (5-5, 3-1 home):
The Vikings are playing very well right now and I expect their run of success to continue in this game. Rueben Droughns will come back down to earth and the real story of the day will be the Vikings’ surprisingly solid secondary (led by Darren Sharper) making Trent Dilfer look like Trent Dilfer.

My Pick: Vikings

Chicago (7-3, 2-2 away) at Tampa Bay (7-3, 4-1 home):
The Bucs seem to have forgotten how to play defense in recent weeks…Fortunately they have in the same period figured out how to score. The D doesn’t matter against the Bears anyway who can only score when their defense sets them up in the red zone. This should be a low scoring affair with Tampa pulling out a close one at home. The Bears’ lack of offense has to catch up with them sometime…

My Pick: Buccaneers in a close one

San Diego (6-4, 3-2 away) at Washington (5-5, 4-1 home):
The ‘Skins downward spiral continues as Brees, Tomlinson and Gates come into town fighting for a wildcard berth. It seems that teams have figured out that they can double team Moss and none of Washington’s other receivers are capable of stepping up (especially with David Patton out for the year now)….

My Pick: Chargers

St. Louis (4-6, 1-4 away) at Houston (1-9, 1-4 home):
The Rams are only 1-4 on the road and without starting quarterback Marc Bulger; however I don’t think that the Texans (with their NCAA Division III-quality secondary) are capable of beating a team with any semblance of a passing game.
Expect big days from Martin, Holt and Bruce…
(Note: The one team that Houston beat this year(which was one of the few correct games that I called) was the Trent Dilfer-led Browns).

My Pick: Rams

Miami (3-7, 1-4 away) at Oakland (4-6, 2-3 home):
I’m not really going to get into this, but what was Nick Saban thinking at that press conference telling his team and fans that “the record doesn’t matter”? At any rate, the Raiders are the better team anyway, with a balanced offense, even without any contribution whatsoever from Randy Moss…

My Pick: Raiders

Jacksonville (7-3, 3-2 away) at Arizona (3-7, 2-3 home):
The Cardinals have been playing well lately, but I expect Byron Leftwich to come through in the 4th quarter and pull out the victory.

My Pick: Jaguars in a close one

Green Bay (2-8, 1-4 away) at Philadelphia (4-6, 3-1 home):
All the talk surrounding this game (outside of Terrell Owens getting the rest of the winter off) is about the Eagles’ injuries. Well, what about the Packers? Brett Favre hasn’t had his top two receivers healthy all year and their running game is relying on a back who couldn’t even find consistent playing time in college and is incapable of holding onto the ball. Plus, the Packers defense is awful. The real question is whether or not Favre will be a good sport and sign an autograph for Mike McMahon after the game.

My Pick: Eagles ( I guess my strategy is, if you keep picking them, they have to win eventually right?)

New Orleans (2-8, 1-4 away) at New York Jets (2-8, 2-2 home):
According to the statistics, I should go with the Jets here as they have some semblance of a defense. But how can you, as ESPN.com has, favor the Jets because of their running game? Curtis Martin has been banged up and has underperformed all year. The Jets in actuality have no offensive ability whatsoever, down to their third-string quarterback and with no real receivers other than Coles. Meanwhile, as awful as New Orleans has been this year, they can pass the ball…

My Pick: Saints win…nobody cares

New York Giants (7-3, 2-2 away) at Seattle (8-2, 5-0 home):
The Seahawks are undefeated at home this season and I expect it to stay that way. However, the Giants D should put up a pretty good fight and hold Shaun Alexander under 100 yards. In the end, the more consistent Hasselbeck will out-duel Manning in the 4th quarter…Stop the presses, Seattle is my pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl!! Is anybody ever going to start recognizing how good these guys are? I think this game will be a statement for them, helping them to make their case as the best team in the NFC…

My Pick: Seahawks

Pittsburgh (7-3, 4-1 away) at Indianapolis (10-0, 4-0 home):
If the Bengals couldn’t beat the Colts in Cincy with 2 weeks to prepare, than I can’t see how the Steelers, in Rothlisberger’s first game back from knee surgery, can pull of the upset, a week removed from losing to the Ravens. The Colt show rolls on…Look for the next potential first Indy loss a couple weeks down the road against San Diego.

My Pick: Colts