As fans we're seeing by far too much of one of these and not enough of the other. Maybe we wouldn't notice, or we might even forget how many plays yellow is thrown on the field if we saw more of the other...
Going into week six, the only word to describe the NFL this year is laughable. Laughable that the Jags are still in the toilet. Laughable that a team with as many weapons as the Lions have, they're not undefeated. Hilarious that Tom, Bill and company are as mediocre as a team can get without falling below .500. And how much of a laugh is it that the Chargers and the Eagles have the best records in the NFL going into week six. Wow, who would have thought?! So on we go into the picks for week six:
Colts at Texans: Well tomorrow night Luck will visit (s)Watt deep in the heart of Texas. These teams are even in record at an NFL average of 3-2. So I guess we have to look at yards given up and yards gained. Luck's ability to hit his receivers in the sweet spot nearly 70% of the time this year makes me think no matter what Watt is able to do, the Colts come out on top of this one by 10.
Patriots at Bills: Well one might say the Pats on this one no contest and I think you'd be right. Last weeks game vs the the Lions was a struck of luck for the Bills. Why? Scenario: Lions have a kicker that can function under pressure, they win by a field goal not lose by one. The Pats on the other hand legitimately thrashed the Bengals. I see this going lop-sided, in favor of the Pats, in a hurry. Mostly because the Bills defense just isn't that good. Pats over bills by 21. Ravens at Buccaneers: One of my best friends will probably begrudgingly agree with me on this one. Ravens by 10. Why? The Bucks are the new find a new way to lose team in the NFL. They get your hopes up through a really close game and then some how, every week, find a new way to blow it. Steelers at Browns: Both these teams are a little too unpredictable to just go with a gut feeling, mostly because my gut tells me there will be so many mistakes in this game that either team could squeak out a win here. But based on the stats, the Steelers have the edge in fewer points allowed and more points gained on offense than the Browns. Steelers by 6. Panthers at Bengals: There's a troubling stat in this match up for this game: third down conversions. The Bengals defense are surprising low compared to the Panthers in allowing teams to convert on third down. What I wonder though is that because teams are moving the chains on first and second down? I suspect not because the Bengals defense is only allowing an average of 19 PPG. And the Panthers are not the dominate team we saw last year, take for instance the squeaked out win last week against the Bears. I think the Bengals get another mark in the win column this week, Bengals by 7.
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Broncos at Jets: Broncos by 17. Why? Because the Jets have QB issues. They need a leader on the field on offense. Watching this team play you almost get the feeling like the QBs are looking for some kind of direction. Not sure if this is a coaching issue or a team chemistry issue, but this Jets team would be insanely lucky to see .500 on the season.
Lions at Vikings: This game should be a no brainer in favor of the the Lions. With AP out and the Vikings also having issues at QB, the Lions should win this with or without the new kicker having to do much. The Lions defense is one of the best in the NFL, which means they should have no problem shutting down this crippled Vikings offense. However the Lions, plagued with a few key injuries, may struggle to get something going offensively. They'll need the defense to carry a pretty big load on Sunday; some key third down shut downs and some points scored from the defense. They'll also probably need Prater to convert on some long attempts as the offense may not be able to get too far into the red zone. With all that in mind, Lions by 10. Packers at Dolphins: One wouldn't think so, but statistically, the Dolphins are the better team. Which is why I'm going to say that this game goes in the upset of the week, but not by a big margin. The Pack is on the road, in the heat, which also gives the Dolphins the edge. I would take the Dolphins by 7. |
Jaguars at Titans: If you're in the Nashville and don't care what game you're watching as long as you're at a NFL game, there are sure to be plenty of seats available. Neither one of these are impressing their respective fans. As bad as the Titans have been playing, the Jags defense will not be able to shut down the Titans mediocre offense. Titans by 10.
Chargers at Raiders: Chargers by 20. I'm not sure there's much to say about the Raiders, save for their bye week, they're as bad as the above mentioned Jaguars. The Chargers, on the other hand, are on some kind of weird, super human 'charge' through their schedule. I would go as far as to give the Chargers a 30 point win over the Raiders. Cowboys at Seahawks: While the 'boys have pulled out some decent wins over the past few weeks, I think the Seahawks will just be too much for Dallas both on offense and defense. I think we see another game where Romo gets frustrated and the 'boys self destruct. In the second half of the game you'll see the Cowboys go through the first four stages of grief. Sometime on Monday they'll hit the fifth... Seahawks over Cowboys by 21. Redskins at Cardinals: RG-who? Kissing Cousins-what? Yeah that's about right. The Redskins are in some kind of gradual self destruct mode. If you're not familiar, don't bother getting caught up because it will be entirely different QB melt down next week. Between the Jets and the Redskins it's like some kind of bad soap-opera where you know someone's going to be leaving the show forever, you just don't know how long it's going to take. The Cardinals will have their way with the Skins. Cards by 17. Giants at Eagles: This might be the most evenly matched and interesting game of the week. The Giants are looking to continue their streak of wins (which is amazing considering how much Manning likes to throw interceptions). While the Eagles are looking to go 2 straight. The Eagles are one of the two hot teams right now and I look for them to route the Giants by 10. 49ers at Rams: If you look at the stats there's one glaring issue for the Rams; an average of 152 yards of rushing allowed. That means Little Bo Peep and all her sheep could trot through the Rams defensive line for a good five to eight yard gain. If Kaepernick goes run, run, pass for most of the game I see this going 49-9, 49ers over Rams. |