Week three is in the rear view mirror, thankfully. I thought week two was bad for upsets; last week saw some ridiculous comebacks, overtime thrillers and some plain ol’ bad football and officiating that all resulted in losses.
Highlights from week 3 included: a colossal upset in Minnesota beating San Francisco, a massive collapse on the part of the Pittsburgh Steelers in losing to the Oakland Raiders and the New Orleans Saints are still winless after their matchup in Kansas City.
Week 4 in the NFL has some interesting contests. Can Denver and Washington snap their losing streaks? Can Arizona stay undefeated as they host Miami? Is this the week that Tim Tebow has an impact or will San Francisco rebound from their loss and bury the NY Jets?
It’s getting harder and harder to pick these games. There are so many variables that go into a selection; that to now factor in the horrific officiating is absurd. Any fan can see that the effort that the players put forth to win is becoming less and less of a deciding factor in the end-result. Despite it, lets get into it and pick em’.
Last week record was 8-8 with my lock pick and upset pick of the week both losing. Thus far the overall record is 28-20.
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens
A really quick turnaround for the Baltimore Ravens as they go from the Sunday night game against New England and then get ready for the Thursday nighter against Cleveland. Good thing there is no travel for the Ravens as they are staying at home. Second piece of good news is that they welcome Cleveland into their house. PICK: RAVENS
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
Looks like the Bills are down to their third-string running back in Tashard Choice as C.J. Spiller is out with a shoulder injury. The Patriots need to rebound from back-to-back losses to the Ravens and Cardinals. Brady rights the ship here, and Pats leave Buffalo with the win. PICK: PATRIOTS
San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets
NY Jets eked out a victory in Miami and have lost Darrelle Revis for the season to an ACL injury in the process. This does not bode well going up against San Francisco’s receiving corps and the passing accuracy of Alex Smith. Does Tim Tebow play a factor here? He might, once San Fran’s defense knocks Mark Sanchez out of the game. PICK: 49ers
Seattle Seahawks at St Louis Rams
I really thought that St Louis would put up a fight against the Bears; turns out they did not. Jeff Fisher’s teams are usually very prepared; the passing game was weak and the running attack was horrible. Seattle’s defense will continue to play well and get some take-aways. Marshawn Lynch will need 25 touches and a big game. The Seahawks almost seem prime for a let-down after their MNF larceny. This one has a 10-7 score written all over it. PICK: SEAHAWKS
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
The Panthers looked terrible against the Giants on Thursday night. The Falcons looked impressive and well rehearsed in their win at San Diego. It’s a bit of a crap shoot as to which Cam Newton will show up. I’ll stick with the sure thing in this matchup. PICK: FALCONS
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
Minnesota pulled off the upset of the week by beating the 49ers, and doing so convincingly. Christian Ponder played a near flawless game and the Vikings do a great job of sticking with the running attack in Adrian Peterson. With Stafford nursing an injury, it remains to be seen how effective he can be. Calvin Johnson continues to be a beast of a receiver regardless of who’s throwing to him. Something ‘bout those Vikings have me leaning their way. PICK: VIKINGS
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
The week 3 matchup of undefeated teams had San Diego come up lame against Atlanta. Meanwhile, Kansas City pulled out an overtime thriller against New Orleans. It would seem as though Matt Cassel is back on track and Jamaal Charles had a monster game on the ground. I'm not buying what San Diego is selling, weak wins against weak teams and bad losses against a good team. PICK: CHIEFS
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans
The Titans pulled out a nice victory last week against the Detroit Lions. Jake Locker seems to be getting more comfortable in the offence, which is good because running back Chris Johnson is invisible. Without a rushing attack and a means to chew up clock; the Houston offence will see a lot of the field. PICK: TEXANS
Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are a work-in-progress football team. Blaine Gabbert has not yet shown that he’s a NFL calibre quarterback. The Bengals on the other hand have themselves a keeper in Andy Dalton who was very impressive in orchestrating a victory in Washington. The deep threat combo of Dalton to Green is reminiscent of Boomer Esiason to Eddie Brown and equally unstoppable. PICK: BENGALS
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
The Raiders got themselves a win at home against the Steelers last week. Carson Palmer played well, his receivers actually caught the ball and Darren McFadden was able to get his game going. Denver played well against the Texans, but just ran out of time in their comeback bid. Denver’s defense should step up and stuff the run; forcing Palmer to rely on his receivers again. Denver snaps their slide with a home win. PICK: BRONCOS
Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals
Who would have thought that the Arizona Cardinals would be undefeated and in first place in the NFC West. Huge wins versus Seattle, New England and Philadelphia have put the football world on notice. It looks like Reggie Bush is ailing for the Dolphins who are going to need all their offensive weapons to have a chance in this contest. Arizona’s defense is just playing too well to give this one away at home. PICK: CARDINALS
Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
OK, I think the hype surrounding the Redskins is officially taken down a few notches. Tampa Bay was also taken down a few notches last week at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys as they looked awful. RGIII is getting the job done on offense; it’s the ‘Skins defense that needs to step-up. This should be a close game. PICK: REDSKINS
New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers
The Saints are still winless as they blew an opportunity in Kansas City to get a win. Pretty tough matchup here, when your defense is the worst in the league you can’t be excited to get the Packers in Lambeau. Aaron Rodgers might just throw for 500 in this game. That’s OK, because Drew Brees might do it too. The Packers will have Monday night revenge on their minds and should come out geeked-up for this. PICK: PACKERS
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia can’t help themselves when it comes to turning the ball over. They coughed it up three times against Arizona’s defense. At least Michael Vick didn’t toss any interceptions. The Giants went in to Carolina and laid a beat down on the Panthers. Back to back road games can be taxing, but I still like the Giants here. Tom Coughlin knows the value of this divisional matchup and will have his guys ready to go. PICK: GIANTS
MONDAY NIGHT: Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys
Jay Cutler rebounded somewhat from a dismal week 2 performance and piloted the Bears to a victory against the St Louis Rams. Tony Romo and the Cowboys did just enough to earn their victory at home against Tampa. Hopefully without any travel needs, the Cowboys will get some extra work in and figure out how to get a running game. The Bears are also looking for a running game since Matt Forte went down to injury. Another close game in big D. PICK: COWBOYS
LOCK OF THE WEEK: ARIZONA CARDINALS
UPSET OF THE WEEK: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS