Week 10 Pick Ems

UPDATE 1:55 AM 11/11/07 – Changed my pick from Carolina to Atlanta.

What, the Pick Ems, on a Friday?

Must be Christmas time.

I knew I was going to blow last week, and blow I did. Even one of my two “sure things” (ahem Chargers) lost! Hell, the Chargers blew!

J.D. picked with his heart, against the AFC West, and blew me out of the water.

He did so well I was blown away.

Last week

Kyle – Against the Spread – 1-5 (.167)
Straight up – 6-7 (.462)
Jonathan – Against the Spread – 4-3 (.571)
Straight up – 9-4 (.692)

To Date

Kyle – Against the Spread – 10-17 (.370)
Straight up – 80-49 (.620)
Jonathan – Against the spread – 17-17 (.500)
Straight up – 80-49 (.620)

Yeah, I blow, I’m hanging my head in shame. At one point I had a huge lead on J.D., but he’s caught up and now we’re tied. I guess that’s fitting for the midpoint of the season.

8 rematches this week, kinda weird. Even weirder? The away team won most of the time, so these rematches mostly have home teams who beat the other guys on the road already. You’ll see the REMATCH ALERTs below.

Looks like Jonathan and I only differ in one game- Jags/Titans. Season’s bragging rights thus far are on the line in this one game. GO JAGS! (See UPDATE above).

Kyle’s pick	Kyle’s Thoughts/Notes/Ramblings	Jonathan’s pick
	JAC (+4) @ TEN – REMATCH ALERT – In Week 1, these two teams played in Jacksonville and Tennessee blew them out of the water. Something like 280 rushing yards or some ridiculous number. They won’t get that this week – in a defensive juggernaut, I’ve got 13-10 Jaguars.
	DEN (+3) @ KC – Must-win game. Lose this one and the AFC West, and playoffs, and my “Anything can happen in January” theory is all but gone out the window. We may still pull it out but we need to start winning some time, and being 2 games behind the Chiefs isn’t exactly comforting. 24-23 Broncos.
	BUF (-3) @ MIA – It feels good to be right about something this season, and it looks like I was dead-on with my prediction of the Bills being the 2nd best team in the AFC East, as well as potential Wild Card winner. They’re in the thick of things and should take care of business against Miami. 31-17 Bills.
	CLE (+9.5) @ PIT – REMATCH ALERT – Pseudo-rematch. There’s a big difference between the Charlie Frye Browns and the Derek Anderson Browns. The only similarities between the Week 1 Browns that got blown out and the team that will take the field Sunday are the helmets. I’ve still got Pittsburgh, 23-13.
	STL (+11.5) @ NO – The Saints have bounced back to win 4 in a row and should keep the streak going against the awful Rams. The difference is the line play on both sides of the ball – through 4 weeks, Drew Brees was getting hit as bad as anybody, and the defensive line had yet to disrupt enemy passers. Night and day as both lines have stepped up. In a SHUTOUT that could cost Scott Linehan his job right now, I’ve got the Saints 35-0.
	ATL (+4) @ CAR – REMATCH ALERT – Panthers had the division lead and let the 0-4 Saints come back and take it away from them. As long as Vinny Testeverde is playing, they have a better shot. Neither offense is that good, but both defenses are BAD, so in a high scoring affair, I’ve got 31-24 Panthers.
	PHI (+3) @ WAS – REMATCH ALERT – Washington went to Philly and took care of business. But the Redskins have been playing bad, bad, football lately, no matter what the win/loss column tells you. Not that the Eagles are playing much better, but I’m going out on a limb with this one and taking the Eagles, 22-21.
	MIN (+6) @ GB – REMATCH ALERT – The freshest face vs. the oldest face. Packers-Vikings is always a good game (sorta like our Chiefs-Broncos), but I think the Packers come away with a season sweep. Packers 27, Vikings 14.
	CIN (+4) @ BAL – REMATCH ALERT – Cincinnati actually won this game in the first week of the season. Remember ex-Bronco Mike Myers scoring a touchdown to win it? Yeah, weird. Not gonna happen again. Neither will the Bengal defense’s four turnovers for 24 points. The Ravens defense will show up just enough to win. Ravens 17, Bengals 15.
	CHI (-3.5) @ OAK – I haven’t heard, but is this game being blacked out too? Nah, probably enough Bears fans desperate to see their team win. Bears 20-10.
	DAL (-1.5) @ NYG – REMATCH ALERT – Game of the Week, probably, unless the Chargers make it interesting. If this game were three weeks ago I would have taken the Giants, but something about their bye week curse (they always lose after) and their season meltdown (2-6 down the stretch) last year makes me take the Cowboys, 42-31.
	DET (+1) @ ARI – The two biggest sports bloggers on the Net, representing Fanhouse and Deadspin respectively, have a friendly wager on this game. The terms? A post on the other’s site. We sports bloggers are a different breed, indeed. Oh yeah, 44-7 Lions, because I’m bitter.
	IND (-3.5) @ SD – The Colts are fumingly angry mad. Fumingly. They’re so mad you can’t make up words to show it. You thought Tom Brady had an off game last week… wait til you see Philip Rivers. 31-17 Colts.
	SF (+10) @ SEA – REMATCH ALERT – 23-3 Seahawks was the result of the last game. Of course, then, the Seahawks looked like they were back in 2005 form. They’ve returned to their not-so-good ways. Then again, Alex Smith is the lowest ranked quarterback in the NFL in passer rating. Great Monday Nighter, eh? 26-11 Seahawks, because I can’t immediately figure out how to reach either point total, but these two team will find a way.