Week 4 NFL Picks

Apologies for the delay in this post, I did not plan on having a tree knock out my internet this week.  Unfortunately, I have no excuse for my picks this year, which so far have been thoroughly mediocre.  Let's see if I can turn things around this week.

Last week: 9-7, 7-9 Against the Spread (ATS)

Season: 31-17, 20-23-4 ATS

Lions at Cowboys - Dallas, per usual, looks pretty at the skill positions and ugly everywhere else.  With Detroit's defense on the way, now is not the time to have communication issues on the o-line.

Pick - Lions

ATS - Lions (+2.5)

Saints at Jaguars - New Orleans' swiss cheese defense will be exploited by many quarterbacks this season.  Blaine Gabbert will not be one of them.

Pick - Saints

ATS - Saints (-8)

49ers at Eagles - Michael Vick's hand will be the story in this game, but Philly's defense will give them the victory.

Pick - Eagles

ATS - 49ers (+9.5)

Redskins at Rams - In 2008, the Redskins were rolling along at 4-1, until a last second field goal by the winless Rams set them on a path to another 8-8 season.  St. Louis' schedule gets a lot easier in a month, so stealing an early victory here is crucial.

Pick - Rams

ATS - Rams (+3)

Titans at Browns - Cleveland's first three games were against the Bengals, Colts and Dolphins, so its 2-1 record does not impress me.  I'll take Matt Hasselbeck, who has been playing better than expected in his new uniform.

Pick - Titans

ATS - Titans (PK)

Bills at Bengals - Quite the trap game for Buffalo, with Philly coming to town next week.  Then again, it's the Bengals.

Pick - Bills

ATS - Bills (-3)

Vikings at Chiefs - I don't care if it's in Kansas City, if Donovan McNabb can't beat the reeling Chiefs, he deserves to watch Christian Ponder start next week.

Pick - Vikings

ATS - Vikings (-3)

Panthers at Bears - Chicago has a critical game at Detroit next week, so it cannot afford to lose this one.

Pick - Bears

ATS - Bears (-7)

Steelers at Texans - Pittsburgh's defense is not playing up to it's reputation these days.  I think this is the week where it's exposed to the whole country.

Pick - Texans

ATS - Texans (-3.5)

Falcons at Seahawks - I doubt I'll be taking Seattle against any non-NFC West team this year.

Pick - Falcons

ATS - Falcons (-5)

Giants at Cardinals - Last week's enormous win aside, the Giants still have some glaring holes.  But Arizona has more.

Pick - Giants

ATS - Giants (-1.5)

Dolphins at Chargers - After a close one against the Chiefs, San Diego looks like it's once again lollygagging it's way through the first half of the season.  Expect a tight game.

Pick - Chargers

ATS - Dolphins (+7)

Broncos at Packers - Denver won't be the one to hand Green Bay its first loss.  It's about time the Broncos found out what they have in Tim Tebow.

Pick - Packers

ATS - Packers (-12) 

Patriots at Raiders - New England's defense sure looks awful, but Brady and Belichick rarely lose two in a row.

Pick - Patriots

ATS - Patriots (-6) 

Jets at Ravens - New York's run defense can't get as embarrassed as it did in Oakland, but Ray Rice will still find enough holes to make a difference.

Pick - Ravens

ATS - Jets (+4.5) 

Colts at Buccaneers - When the NFL scheduled this game for Monday Night, it was supposed to be a rematch of one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.  Instead, it will be just a weekly reminder of how lost the Colts are without Peyton Manning.

Pick - Buccaneers

ATS - Buccaneers (-10)

Odds taken from USA Today.