I'm off to a solid start this year, at 20-12 outright and (16-15-1 against the spread). The Upset Special moves to 2-0 after the G-Men beat up the Rams again (can I count a 12-point underdog as a double-upset special? :)
Carolina (+6) at Minnesota - The Panthers shocked the NFL world last year by upsetting the Vikings at home. Could they do it again? The Vikings just cut their kicker after last week's loss, and Aaron Schobel of Buffalo made mincemeat of the Vikings Offensive Line. Just wait until you see what Peppers does to them. Pick: PANTHERS NY Jets (+6.5) at Miami - The Jets have beaten Miami 8 straight times. I think that the Jets are in their heads, and more importantly, the Jets aren't nearly as bad as they looked last week. Pick: JETS Cleveland (+5) at Tennessee - I thought that the Titans were the gimmee of the week playing the Cowboys last week. I guess that's why they play the games. The Titans should rebound at home. Pick: TITANS (but Browns with the points.) Buffalo (+9) at Denver - The Bills played one of the greatest games in NFL History last week against the Vikings and are now brimming with confidence. The Broncos might be a little over-confident after beating St. Louis and San Francisco. More importantly, Buffalo features big WR's in Moulds, Price, and Reed as well as TE Reimersma and FB Larry Centers, all of whom won't be intimidated the way the smaller and faster Rams and Niners were. The Bills have shown that they have the offensive firepower to hang with anybody, and with clouds amazingly still circling around Brian Griese in Denver, the Broncos look primed for an upset. Pick: BILLS UPSET SPECIAL Dallas (+8) at Philadelphia - Quite simply the Eagles are for real and the Cowboys, last week notwithstanding, are not. Pick: EAGLES and to cover. San Diego (+1) at Arizona - Sure Thomas Jones looked great and all beating up on one of the NFL's worst run defenses last week, but that won't happen against Marty Schottenheimer and Company. This pick shouldn't even be an upset. Pick: CHARGERS Indianapolis at Houston (+12) - Yes, the Texans really are an expansion team. Pick: COLTS and to cover. Green Bay at Detroit (+7.5) - I've never thought that a team could go 0-16, until now. I presume there are only 7.5 points involved because of Brett Favre's history in domes. It won't matter. Pick: PACKERS and to cover. Kansas City (+8.5) at New England - Let's see, Kansas City has a QB, Trent Green, who usually looks lost on general principles up against Bill Belichick's defense that makes even Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning look lost. Pick: PATRIOTS and to cover Seattle (+6) at NY Giants - The G-Men are looking great after upending the Rams, and the 'Hawks have been cover-your-eyes awful so far. This week though, the 'Hawks get All-Pro OT Walter Jones back on the Line, which should open up Shaun Alexander again. Meanwhile, Seattle's biggest weakness has been rush defense, which the Giants will struggle to take advantage of with an injured Tiki Barber and a horrible Ron Dayne. In another upset... Pick: SEAHAWKS New Orleans (+2.5) at Chicago - The Bears are being killed by injuries on defense. After winning two squeakers, their luck is about to run out. Pick: SAINTS Washington (+6.5) at San Francisco - After struggling for two weeks, I think that this is the week that Jeff Garcia gets back on track. Pick: 49'ERS and to cover Cincinnati (+7.5) at Atlanta - Well, my surprise Super Bowl pick has broken my heart for two straight weeks. This time, they finally get over that hump against the Bengals who in disarray again as usual. Pick: FALCONS and to cover St. Louis at Tampa Bay (+1) - Could the Rams really go 0-3? Until they figure out these hard-hitting Cover-2 schemes, they really could. Even without Tony Dungy, the Bucs *live* for beating the Rams. Pick: BUCCANEERS ===== ---------------------------------------------------------- John D. Giorgis [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ba'atha delenda est! - Freedom is Not Free __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
