If ever there was a reminder of how hard it is to predict football, last week was it. After Cincinnati went up 21-0 and 28-7 on San Diego, I thought that my pick of the Bengals was looking pretty good. 42 points in the *second half* later, my pick was up in flames. Ditto for my Upset Special, the Rams, which somehow found a way to lose on a field goal with 9 seconds left. And just like that, I fell two more games behind my Dad in our annual battle - and down 8 games with 8 weeks left, the season is slipping away.. St. Louis at Carolina - The Rams are going from Seattle to Charlotte this week, and couldn't get the job done against a depleted Seattle team. I don't see how they fare much better here. Pick: PANTHERS
New England at Green Bay - The Patriots have inexplicably lost two in a row. Having seen the Packers in their slug-fest with the equally-bad Bills two weeks ago, I can't fathom how they'd make it three in a row. Pick: PATRIOTS Atlanta at Baltimore - The Falcons have driven me batty this year, pulling a huge upset in Cincy, and then blowing it to the Lions and Browns. On paper, the Ravens' pass rush should terrorize this team, but I'm going to go with Atlanta just because whatever I think about them never seems to work. Pick: FALCONS Oakland at Kansas City - The Chiefs finally get Trent Green back this week, but alas Tony Gonzalez is hurt. Fortunately, its only the Raiders this week, who might not be able to score a point on that defense, although I guess Chiefs 10 to Raiders 3 is more likely.. Pick: CHIEFS Buffalo at Houston - Three years ago, the Texans came to Buffalo and won, a game that seemed to serve as the death knell of the Gregg Williams coaching era in Buffalo. Houston may do the same thing for the QB era of JP Losman era this week, with two straight weak performances, a third straight against the woeful Texans could make his position truly untenable. Pick: TEXANS Minnesota at Miami - Dome teams always seem to fare badly on the road. Last time out, the Vikings managed to lose to the Niners, and Dolphins have a more ferocious defense. Pick: DOLPHINS Cincinnati at New Orleans - This game could have a lot of fireworks, as both teams have really shoddy defenses and great offenses. I still think that the Bengals are a potential playoff team, but with the losses mounting on their season, they simply need this one more. Pick: BENGALS UPSET SPECIAL Chicago at NY Jets - Congrats to the Jets for upsetting the Patriots last week. Pick: BEARS Tennessee at Philadelphia - Well, watching Vince Young and Donavan McNabb make plays could make this game worth watching - for a little bit anyways. Pick: EAGLES Pittsburgh at Cleveland - I'm still perplexed as to how the Browns upended the Falcons in Atlanta last week, but Pittsburgh is trying to salvage their season, and won't be blowing this one. Pick: STEELERS Washington at Tampa Bay - Everyone in DC knows that the loss of Clinton Ports has ended the Redskins' season. the Bucs, though, are still gaming. Pick: BUCS Detroit at Arizona - Another dome team on a road could be the recipe for the Cardinals to finally put things back together. Pick: CARDINALS Seattle at San Francisco - The Seahawks have basically clinched their division without the All-Pro QB and RB. Just imagine what's going to happen now that they are getting healthy. Pick: SEAHAWKS Indianapolis at Dallas - I can't imagine how the Colts are underdogs in this one, the Cowboys are better with Tony Romo, but not *that* much better. Pick: COLTS San Diego at Denver - This could finally be the year for Marty Schottenheimer, with the way that offense is clicking on all cylinders, I have to give them the edge. Pick: CHARGERS NY Giants at Jacksonville - The Giants had a really tough schedule this year, and now the injuries on that team are going off the charts. Yuck. Pick: JAGUARS _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
