NFL Week 8 Picks

How could the league give these fans a bye on Halloween weekend?
Someone in the league office needs to pay for this.

For as bad as the late games were last week, they are that good today.   After 4:00pm, we still have Pats-Steelers, a do-or-die game for the Eagles, and a possible chance of Tebowing.  I can't wait. 

Last week: 6-7, 5-8 Against the Spread (ATS)

Season: 65-38, 47-50-6 ATS

Colts at Titans - Chris Johnson, when you have to say that it's not your fault, it's probably your fault.  Tennessee is a couple losses away from the Jake Locker era.

Pick - Titans

ATS - Colts (+9)

Jaguars at Texans - I have two hard rules when I'm making suicide pool picks.  Never look ahead to next week, and never pick the favorite of the Houston-Jacksonville game.

Pick - Texans

ATS - Jaguars (+9.5) 

Vikings at Panthers - Cam Newton's second rookie QB duel of the season (he beat Blaine Gabbert and the Jaguars earlier this year) should be a good one.  I liked what I saw from Christian Ponder last week.

Pick - Panthers

ATS - Panthers (-3.5)

Saints at Rams - Things are looking up for St. Louis.  The Cardinals are World Series champs, and the Rams only have to get clobbered one more time before they finally face a team they can beat in Arizona next week.

Pick - Saints

ATS - Saints (-13.5)

Cardinals at Ravens - Speaking of Arizona, I thought the Cardinals gave up way too much for Kevin Kolb when they traded for him.  He's looking like yet another mediocre QB who Andy Reid made look like a Pro Bowler.

Pick - Ravens

ATS - Cardinals (+12.5)

Dolphins at Giants - The Giants have not lost a home game they were favored by double-digits in since...three weeks ago against the Seahawks.  The same Seahawks who lost 6-3 to the Browns last week.  Shoot me.

Pick - Giants

ATS - Giants (-10)

Redskins at Bills - I like Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the Bills awarded a big extension to coach Dick Jauron after a hot start in 2008, and they fired him the next season.  Why couldn't they let this season play out before making this big investment?  Clearly, Buffalo hasn't learned its lesson.

Pick - Bills

ATS - Bills (-4)

Lions at Broncos - Matthew Stafford's stats when throwing to Calvin Johnson: 679 yards, 10 TDs, 10.1 yards per attempt.  Stafford's stats when throwing to anyone else: 1,233 yards, 6 TDs, 6.1 yards per attempt.  Teams are learning that if you can contain Johnson, Detroit's offense becomes very pedestrian.

Pick - Lions

ATS - Lions (-3)

Patriots at Steelers - Pittsburgh is 1-6 against Tom Brady, and none of the five teams it has beaten this season has a winning record.

Pick - Patriots

ATS - Patriots (-2.5)

Browns at 49ers - It's probabe that San Francisco will have a whopping four game lead in the NFC West by the end of this game.

Pick - 49ers

ATS - Browns (+9.5)

Bengals at Seahawks - If there's anything Charlie Whitehurst and Curtis Painter have taught us this season, it's that you can't be a successful quarterback in the NFL with shoulder-length hair.  Tom Brady finally cut his mop, and he's now on pace to break Dan Marino's passing record.

Pick - Bengals

ATS - Bengals (-1)

Cowboys at Eagles - As a Giant fan, I will be rooting for Dallas in this game, despite the fact that they have a better record than Philadelphia.  Lose, and the Eagles are on the verge of elimination.  Win, and they're back in the playoff hunt.

Pick - Eagles

ATS - Eagles (-3)

Chargers at Chiefs - San Diego has had the benefit of being in one of the weakest divisions for the better part of a decade, and yet they still always manage to disappoint.  On Halloween night, I'm going with the coach who most resembles an axe murderer.

Pick - Chiefs

ATS - Chiefs (+3) 

Odds courtesy of USA Today.
Image found here.