Week 5 NFL Picks

Last Week:
9-5 Straight Up
3-11 Against the Spread
Year to date:
38-24 Straight Up
31-31 Against the Spread
3-1 Upset Specials

Green Bay Packers (-2.5) @ Washington Redskins
Coming off what can only be described as a "bad win" last week, the Packers now must go forward without middle linebacker Nick Barnett and offensive lineman Mark Tauscher for the rest of the season. Barnett's injury will hurt, but it remains to be seen if Tauscher will be missed. The Redskins looked decent in an upset over injury-riddled Philladelphia last week.

Jacksonville Jaguars (-1) @ Buffalo Bills
A possible trap game on the road here for the Jaguars, who are coming off a huge upset of Indianapolis last week, especially with this game being one of the Bills only opportunities to avoid going 0-16. I just don't see the Bills being able to contain MJD this week, however.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+6.5) @ Cincinnati Bengals
I'm not making this my upset special, because I'm not as sure about this one. The Bucs have looked almost decent this year though, and the Bengals aren't really that good.

Atlanta Falcons (-3) @ Cleveland Browns
Not sure why this line is so low. The Falcons are looking like the new favorite in the NFC South, while the Browns are bringing back interception-machine Jake Delhomme. Three seems like a better fit for the over/under on Atlanta picks this week.

St. Louis Rams (-3) @ Detroit Lions
Both of these teams look like they're ready, not necessarily to be contenders, but to compete on a weekly basis. At the very least, they've both moved up out of the bottom of the NFL hierarchy. I'll take Sam Bradford, who has clearly already learned how to win in the NFL, and the points on the road.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Indianapolis Colts (-7)
Who are these Chiefs? And for that matter, who are these Colts? We knew one of these teams would be undefeated coming into this game, but it wasn't supposed to be Kansas City. A win could cement the Chiefs status as a contender, and close the window on the Colts as currently constructed. Manning gets the benefit of the doubt for one last week.

Chicago Bears @ Carolina Panthers (-1)
This line moved 3.5 points after it broke that Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler would miss this game. Count me among the many not trusting Todd Collings and the Bears offensive line on the road. The Panthers showed signs of life in a two point loss to New Orleans last week.

Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens (-7)
Kyle Orton has been on fire this year, against a couple of legitimate defenses, at that. He gets probably his most brutal test of the season here, so if he gets out with a win, we might need to add him to the list of elites. Ray Rice is healthy, but has been ineffective by his own standards thus far this year.


New York Giants @ Houston Texans (-3)
I'm making this call under the expectation that Andre Johnson plays and is at least somewhat effective. Even without him, however, I think the Texans win this game. Arian Foster has taken a huge load off of Matt Schaub and the passing game this year.

New Orleans Saints (-7) @ Arizona Cardinals
The Saints have not look like Super Bowl champions yet this year, despite their 3-1 record. However, the quarterback controversy in Arizona is between terrible and really terrible, so I don't think it matters this week.

Tennessee Titans (+6.5) @ Dallas Cowboys
*Upset Special* The Cowboys have done everything in their power to shrug off their lofty pre-season expectations. The Titans, on the other hand, have looked like contenders all year.

San Diego Chargers (-6.5) @ Oakland Raiders
The Chargers looked like their old selves again last week in blasting Arizona. There's no reason to believe they don't win by double digits here...expect that twice this season, we've said that and they lost. The Raiders will be without oft-injured running back Darren McFadden this week.

Philadelphia Eagles @ San Fransisco 49ers (-3)
Two things to note: The Eagles have lost about 24 guys to injury this season, and this is the 49ers last chance to turn their season around. I don't trust Alex Smith, but Kevin Kolb hasn't looked good this year, either.

Minnesota Vikings (+4) @ New York Jets
Turns out we do get to see the Randy Moss-Darelle Revis match-up we were cheated out of two weeks ago. The Vikings and Favre should fired up after a big acquisition, but it remains to be seen if the old man still has the ability to throw it deep and accurately enough to find Moss.We