2010 Week #3

Here are the very similar picks for Week 3.

Fav

Spread

Dog

Dre

Jay

SF (0-2)	3	KC (2-0)			SF	KC
Cin (1-1)	3	CAR (0-2)			Cin	Cin
BAL (1-1)	10 1/2	Cle (0-2)			Bal	Bal
MIN (0-2)	11 1/2	Det (0-2)			Det	Det
NYG (1-1)	3	Tenn (1-1)			NY	NY
Pit (2-0)	2 1/2	TB (2-0)			Pit	Pit
NO (2-0)	3	Atl (1-1)			NO	NO
NE (1-1)	14 1/2	Buf (0-2)			NE	NE
HOU (2-0)	2 1/2	Dal (0-2)			Hou	Hou
Wash(1-1)	4	STL (0-2)			Wash	Wash
Phi (2-0)	2 1/2	JACK (1-1)			Phi	Phi
SD (1-1)	4 1/2	SEA (1-1)			SD	Sea
Ind (1-1)	5 1/2	DEN (1-1)			Den	Den
ARIZ(1-1)	4 1/2	Oak (1-1)			Ariz	Ariz
		Sun. Nite
MIA (2-0)	1	NYJ (1-1)			Mia	Mia
		Mon. Nite
GB (2-0)	3	CHI (2-0)			GB	GB

Some of our thoughts and observations included:

• We absolutely cannot remember having this many common picks in a single week.  We only differ on two picks!  And not only that, but we're incredibly heavy on chalk.  Of our 14 common picks, only two are underdogs.  So we basically think that we know the NFL and that almost all of the Vegas favorites will shine through.  Lord, we better hope so.
• Jason will saddle up with Matt Cassel and the Kansas City Chiefs over Coach Psycho and the 49ers.  He likes the Chiefs' D to show against the weak San Fran offense at home.  I'll lean on Frank Gore to run SF to victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
• Neither of us are big believers in the Jimmy Clausen Experience, so we'll take the Bengals over the Panthers even though Carolina is at home.  That's a bad spot to make your first NFL start, against a defense that ranked 6th against the pass in the league last year.
• We know Jason's 3-word motto about Cleveland ("Fuck the Browns"), so it will apply here too, against an angry Ravens team bitter about bad ref calls that cost them dearly against the Bengals last week.  We're trusting that Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and the rest of the Baltimore offense can get it in gear well enough to score more than 10 points, which is necessary to cover the 10 1/2 point spread.
• Ah, the Vikings.  The Brett Favre Rule has done me well these first two weeks.  And Jason couldn't resist joining me this time in taking the points against the old man.  Eleven and a half is a lot of points, and the Lions have been competitive in each of their first two contests.
• Even though Giants minus 3 against the Titans smells like a push, we'll take the Giants to cover anyway.  Tennessee is a hot mess right now.  It's hard to imagine Vince Young being relaxed enough to play an effective QB versus the Giants defense knowing that his coach is itching to yank him out of the game if he doesn't perform flawlessly.  And I like Eli Manning for a big game coming off of a butt whooping by big brother Peyton.
• We are once again spitting in the wind and going against Jason's man crush Josh Freeman and the Buccaneers.  I was all ready to jump on the bandwagon, until I saw the opponent:  The Pittsburgh Steelers look to have the best defense in football.  They may be playing at an elite level because they have to thanks to their starting QB being MIA for the first 4 games of the season.  But whatever the reason, they have supported Dennis Dixon in two wins, and now will try to carry Charlie Batch to victory.  We say they get it done.
• It's hard to go against the Falcons after the pain they inflicted on Arizona last week, but we're believers in the Saints.  Two wins, and their best football still to come.  Should be a high-scoring shootout, and how can you go against Drew Brees in a high-scoring shootout?
• Trent Edwards out, Ryan Fitzpatrick in at QB for the Buffalo Bills.  We don't think it matters at all.  We talked a lot about the 59-0 pasting New England put on Tennessee last year, which shows what kind of game we think this will be.
• We'll go with the Texans over the Cowboys even though Dallas has "desperation" on its side as it tries to avoid being an 0-3 team.  It's really difficult to take the Boys until they show some cohesiveness in their offense.  Tony Romo isn't nearly good enough to take the team on his back and carry them without a running game.  Houston will be rocking for this one, and the playoff atmosphere can't work for the Boys because they've won one playoff game since the Clinton administration, and that was last year.  I'm usually the one who crushes a team's bandwagon when I jump on it, and I'm all in on the Texans, so if they get pounded in the ass by Dallas, I'll have to claim responsibility for that.
• The Redskins look good on offense even though their best receiver may be the H-back Chris Cooley.  Donovan McNabb is used to gaining yards through the air with crappy WRs, so this isn't an adjustment for him.
• McNabb's old team the Eagles can't get their QBs straightened out.  Coach Andy Reid insisted after last Sunday's win over the Lions that Kevin Kolb would take back his starting gig for the next game even though Michael Vick had played stellar football since replacing Kolb during the first game of the season.  Then a couple of days later with no explanation, Reid announced that Vick would start the next game.  Theories abound as to why Reid made such an abrupt about-face.  But it kinda doesn't matter.  Vick's a go, Kolb isn't, and that's the way it is until Vick's first loss or injury.  A lot of folks seem to have a problem with that.  I don't.
• In our second disagreement of the week, Jason will take Pete Carroll and the Seahawks to pull off another home upset, while I will go with the Chargers after witnessing last week against the Jags what happens when QB Philip Rivers is backed into a corner.
• We will take Denver and a somewhat large amount of points over the Colts, even after the offense clicked on all cylinders for Indy last week.  Denver is a tough venue for visitors, and QB Kyle Orton is hooking up with more people than Lindsay Lohan in jail.  He's spraying to all receivers in a wide open offense and looking like he may justify the money the Broncos gave him.  I'm going a step further and taking the Broncos to win.  I think the passing games will play evenly, leaving the Denver running game with Laurence Maroney and Correll Buckhalter to control the clock and keep Peyton Manning off the field.
• We can't get on the Bruce Gradkowski game plan.  Arizona is no great team, but at least they're not the Raiders.  And I'm becoming a fan of Cardinals RB Tim Hightower.  He may only have one big play per game, but that's one more than fellow RB Beanie Wells.
• We like the Dolphins to continue their excellent defensive play against that bewildering Jets offense, which posted way more points and yards last week than anyone thought possible.  A Sunday night affair in Miami, where they will be hyped for a rare prime time appearance against a hated rival?  And the Jets won't play their drunk, homeless-looking WR as much as they normally would?  Seems like bad news for Rex Ryan and the J-E-T-S.
• Jason has a theory on the Packers-Bears Monday night matchup:  He believes that the Packers would be ripe for the picking by the Bears if Chicago didn't have a 2-0 start to the season.  He thinks that Green Bay will be alert and ready for action because they can't sleep on the Bears, considering how Chicago played last week at Dallas.  I have to agree because I was going to pick the Bears to win until I realized that Green Bay would fall out of first place in the division if they lost.  I also trust the Pack's secondary to make a play in a shootout before the Bears can make a big defensive play.  It will be an electric atmosphere and fun to watch no matter who wins.