The Week 6 Picks

Please ignore the intermittent Phillies updates in between games, as I'm knee deep in Game 1 right now. [1-0 Dodgers, at present.]

Match-up: Cincinnati (+5.5) @ New York Jets
Breakdown: Big news in Jets camp from the bye week? Brett Favre stuffed a dead animal in teammate Eric Barton's locker. Got to love the camaraderie of the locker room.
Straight Up: New York Jets
Against the Spread: New York Jets

[Pat Burrell leads off the second inning with a single.]

Match-up: Chicago (-3.0) @ Atlanta
Breakdown: I'm guessing the young Falcons carry the momentum of last week's statement win in Green Bay into this one and upset Chicago.
Straight Up: Atlanta
Against the Spread: Atlanta

[Jayson Werth grounds into a double play. None on, two outs.]

Match-up: Baltimore (+4.0) @ Indianapolis
Breakdown: Luck was a huge factor for both teams last week - good for Indianapolis, bad for Baltimore. The karma will even up this week.
Straight Up: Baltimore
Against the Spread: Baltimore

Match-up: Carolina (+1.5) @ Tampa Bay
Breakdown: Sure, I'll take the Panthers and a point and a half against the Jeff Garcia and the Bucs.
Straight Up: Carolina
Against the Spread: Carolina

[Uh-oh. Manny's up again.]

Match-up: Detroit (+13.0) @ Minnesota
Breakdown: The Vikings stole one from the Saints on Monday. Not sure why I like Detroit and the points, maybe the short week for Minnesota?
Straight Up: Minnesota
Against the Spread: Detroit

Match-up: St. Louis (+13.5) @ Washington
Breakdown: The Rams have had more coaches this season (2) than they do wins (0). The dominance of the NFC East continues.
Straight Up: Washington
Against the Spread: Washington

[Whew. Ramirez popped out. Two on, two out in the third.]

Match-up: Oakland (+7.0) @ New Orleans
Breakdown: The Saints wasted an amazing individual performance by Reggie Bush on Monday. Bush returned punts 64 and 71 yards for touchdowns and almost broke a third. New Orleans shouldn't need that much to beat the Tom Cable's Raiders.
Straight Up: New Orleans
Against the Spread: New Orleans

Match-up: Miami (+3.0) @ Houston
Breakdown: Sage Rosenfels is out, Matt Schaub is back in for Houston. That doesn't take away the sting of last week's come from ahead loss. A win might, though.
Straight Up: Houston
Against the Spread: Houston

[Still 1-0 Dodgers after three. The Fightins have to start hitting. Tim McCarver is a douche bag.]

Match-up: Jacksonville (+3.5) @ Denver
Breakdown: The Jaguars couldn't cash one in against a depleted Steelers team in a game they had to have. My guess is the loss sends them into a downward spiral.
Straight Up: Denver
Against the Spread: Denver

[Sacrifice fly by Blake Dewitt. 2-0 Dodgers. Crap.]

Match-up: Dallas (-5.0) @ Arizona
Breakdown: Hope the Cowboys spring for a nice hotel room for Adam "Pitfall" Jones.
Straight Up: Arizona
Against the Spread: Arizona

Match-up: Philadelphia (-5.0) @ San Francisco
Breakdown: Donovan McNabb is embarrassed by the Eagles' play over the last two weeks. As he should be. So should Andy Reid. And Marty Mornhinweg. And the receivers. Oh, and thanks to the Daily News for pointing out that the Birds could have taken Felix Jones in the first round instead of trading down. Like I needed to be reminded of that.
Straight Up: Philadelphia
Against the Spread: Philadelphia

[Something is clearly wrong with Chase Utley. 2-0 Dodgers, end of four. Not nervous - yet.]

Match-up: Green Bay (+2.0) @ Seattle
Breakdown: Remember how hot the Packers were at the start of the season? Three straight losses have them road dogs in Seattle, where lame duck Mike Holmgren appears to have lost his team.
Straight Up: Green Bay
Against the Spread: Green Bay

[Another freakin' ground out? Could we hit a ball out of the infield tonight, please? 2-0 L.A. Bypassing nervousness, skipping right to anger.]

Match-up: New England (+5.0) @ San Diego
Breakdown: Sooner or later, the Chargers have to get their collective heads out of their backsides and play to they ability. This week with the Patriots in town would be a good time to start.
Straight Up: San Diego
Against the Spread: San Diego

[Thank you, Carlos Ruiz! One on, two out in the fifth.]

Match-up: New York Giants (-7.5) @ Cleveland
Breakdown: The Browns will need to do something to justify the multiple national television appearances bestowed upon them. Giving the defending champs a game would suffice.
Straight Up: New York Giants
Against the Spread: Cleveland

[And Hamels is aboard. Two on, two out. Come on, J-Roll!]

Bye: Buffalo; Kansas City; Pittsburgh; Tennessee

[Fly out to end the inning. Still down two, and it's getting late early.]

Week 5: 8-6-0 (.571); 7-5-2 (.583)
2008-09 Season: 43-31-0 (.581); 37-34-3 (.521)
Lifetime: 1009-600-1 (.627); 799-778-33 (.507)

[Nice double play, Rollins to Utley to Howard. 2-0 after five and a half. I've gotta go cheer 'em on.]