NFL Week 8: Meet Brodie Croyle, NFL Starter

I had my worst week of the year this past Sunday. And when I say “worst”, I mean only 6-6. There are a lot of so-called experts who would love to consistently go .500. So the record percentage drops a bit, and I’ll try to raise it back up this week. The records:
Overall: 64-29 (69%)
Vs. Spread: 56-33-4
After a down week, I’m due for a much better one, but still don’t use these picks for wagering purposes.

SUNDAY
Houston Texans (2-4) vs. Tennessee Titans (1-5)(-3)
1:00 p.m. LP Field
You have to hand it to Houston, despite being massively undermanned in every game they play, the team plays with heart. Now that Charlie Casserly is long gone, maybe the new regime can actually get some players on their offensive line whose talent matches the effort they give.
Pick: Titans

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (4-3)(-7.5)
1:00 p.m. Lincoln Financial Field
The Eagles deserved to lose last week. They were outplayed by Tampa. Matt Bryant’s miracle field goal only occurred because of Philadelphia’s ridiculous last minute touchdown by Brian Westbrook (during which there were two obvious holding infractions that weren’t called against Philly). The last couple of weeks, McHernia looks a bit sluggish out there. The Eagles eek out a win here, but are about to begin a three or four game losing streak after their bye week.
Pick: Eagles, Jaguars cover

Atlanta Falcons (4-2) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)(-3.5)
1:00 p.m. Paul Brown Stadium
My record picking the Falcons: 1-5. My record picking the rest of the league: 63-24. So it looks like another win for Atlanta this week.
Pick: Bengals

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) vs. New York Giants (4-2)(-10)
1:00 p.m. Giants Stadium
The Bucs were my upset special last week and they came through. I’m going to keep riding the Bruce Gradkowski horse until he lets me down.
Pick: Buccaneers

San Francisco 49ers (2-4) vs. Chicago Bears (6-0)(-15)
1:00 p.m. Soldier Field
Clearly we’re not going to know how good the Bears are until they lose in the second round of the playoffs. How does a division winner get this easy of a schedule?
Pick: Bears

Arizona Cardinals (1-6) vs. Green Bay Packers (2-4)(-4)
1:00 p.m. Lambeau Field
Even though Oakland managed to beat Arizona, the Raiders are still the worst team in the league. However, Arizona is getting awfully close to supplanting the Raiders. A loss to the Fightin’ Favres may be the advantage they need to get the first overall pick.
Pick: Packers

Seattle Seahawks (4-2) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (3-3)(-4)
1:00 p.m. Arrowhead Stadium
This may go down as one of the worst quarterback matchups of all-time. Seneca Wallace vs. Brodie Croyle sounds like a great high school match on a Friday night…not a Sunday battle at Arrowhead. At least Kansas City still has their running back healthy. So I guess advantage goes to KC. And yes, I just picked Croyle to win an NFL game.
Pick: Chiefs

Baltimore Ravens (4-2) vs. New Orleans Saints (5-1)(-1.5)
1:00 p.m. New Orleans Superdome
Vegas still doesn’t believe in New Orleans. Like I’ve said before, I don’t think New Orleans is losing a home game all season. And I still don’t think the Ravens should be considered a playoff team. At least Brian Billick is calling the plays now, because that’s exactly what the Ravens needed. It worked so well the past few seasons.
Pick: Saints

St. Louis Rams (4-2) vs. San Diego Chargers (4-2)(-9)
4:05 p.m. Qualcomm Stadium
For whatever reason, on my computer the word “Qualcomm” doesn’t get the little squiggly line that tell me that there’s a misspelled word. Yet, the word “Bengals” apparently is not in my computer’s vocabulary. That’s weird. Anyway, the Rams will probably make this one interesting against a weakened defense, but they’ll have no answer for LT. As long as Marty doesn’t have a brain fart, this should be a San Diego win. On another note, if Shawne Merriman loses his appeal, he should be suspended for a full season. 16 games and any playoff games this season. Maybe even longer than that. Baseball’s already been ruined by steroids, let’s not have the NFL go down the same road. The NFL has an opportunity to send a message right now.
Pick: Chargers, Rams cover

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4)(-9) vs. Oakland Raiders (1-5)
4:15 p.m. McAfee Coliseum
Am I the only one that thinks the Steelers should bench Ben Roethlisberger. Charlie Batch has looked great in the two games he’s played in. This has nothing to do with Roethlisberger’s concussion or his motorcycle injury or anything else. He looks awful this season. I would seriously consider starting Batch until Roethlisberger wins the job back in practice. Of course the Steelers would never do this with the money and hype tied into to Roethlisberger, but they may want to consider it before their season tanks even further.
Pick: Steelers

New York Jets (4-3) vs. Cleveland Browns (1-5)(-2)
4:15 p.m. Cleveland Browns Stadium
I don’t know why, but I just feel like the Browns take this one. Maybe because I can’t see the Jets going 5-3.
Pick: Browns

Indianapolis Colts (6-0) vs. Denver Broncos (5-1)(-3)
4:15 p.m. Invesco Field at Mile High
We’ve all heard about Denver’s defense by now. They’re allowing less than 10 points a game and no one is passing against them at all. But look at some of the teams they’ve faced: Kansas City (minus Trent Green), Baltimore, Oakland and Cleveland. Not exactly the most offensive juggernauts. The Denver defense is pretty good. If they can hold the Colts to 10 points, then we’ll start talking about them being great. But I see Peyton and the Colts putting up at least 24 points in the altitude, and I don’t see Jake Plummer keeping pace.
Pick: Colts

Dallas Cowboys (3-3) vs. Carolina Panthers (4-3)(-5)
8:15 p.m. Bank of America Stadium
Listen closely. Do you hear that? Sounds like something is crashing and burning. That would be the Dallas Cowboys’ season. I hope Facelift and Fat Ass have fun in salary cap hell after the year is over.
Pick: Panthers

MONDAY
New England Patriots (5-1)(-2) vs. Minnesota Vikings (4-2)
8:30 p.m. H.H.H. Metrodome
Wow, the Patriots actually have to play a team that has a winning record. How did the NFL allow that to happen? Couldn’t we free up Arizona or San Francisco for the Patriots to play? We wouldn’t want ESPN’s favorite team to have to exert themselves before the playoffs. The Pats opponents have a solid overall record of 17-22. In their only game against a good team (Denver), they were embarrassed. Just one of the many good reasons to take the minor upset.
Pick: Vikings

Bye Week: Buffalo, Detroit, Miami, Washington

Thankfully, there is no Redskins game to talk about. That means that you get the rest of the weekend off. Next week we continue with our NFL picks and the Predictor will step outside of sports and into politics as he tries to foresee the 2006 election results.