2010 Week #13

Here are the remaining picks for Week 13, a slate of dreadful games with the exception of the prime time affairs.

Fav

Spread

Dog

Dre

Jay

TENN(5-6)	3	Jack (6-5)			Jack	Jack
NYG (7-4)	7	Wash (5-6)			NY	Wash
MIA (6-5)	5	Cle (4-7)			Mia	Mia
Chi (8-3)	4½	DET (2-9)			Det	Chi
KC (7-4)	9	Den (3-8)			KC	KC
GB (7-4)	9	SF (4-7)			GB	GB
MIN (4-7)	5½	Buf (2-9)			Buf	Buf
NO (8-3)	6½	CIN (2-9)			NO	Cin
SD (6-5)	13	Oak (5-6)			Oak	SD
Atl (9-2)	2	TB (7-4)			Atl	Atl
SEA (5-6)	4½	Car (1-10)			Sea	Sea
IND (6-5)	5	Dal (3-8)			Dal	Ind
StL (5-6)	3½	ARIZ (3-8)			Ariz	Ariz
	Sun. Nite
BAL (8-3)	3	Pit (8-3)			Pit	Bal
	Mon. Nite
NE (9-2)	3½	NYJ (9-2)			NE	NY

Some of our thoughts and observations included:

• Kerry Collins returns to action for the Titans, but that doesn't do it for me or Jason.  We'll go with the Jaguars to cover against Tennessee, although I can see the Titans winning the game by a point or two.
• Jason will go with Washington to cover a TD against the Giants because New York is less than impressive at home, going 2-4 ATS at the New Meadowlands thus far this season.  I'll go with the Giants because Washington sucks hard.
• I'd like to go back and look up all of the 5-point home favorites someday, because 5 is a strange number.  It's several leagues short of a TD favorite, yet it's equally far ahead of a typical FG favorite.  We'll reluctantly go with Miami to cover 5 over Cleveland.  We have to pick against the Browns so long as they insist on starting the Human Interception Machine at QB.
• I kinda wed myself to the notion that the Detroit Lions were going to avenge getting screwed out of a win in Chicago at the start of the season by taking down the Bears in the rematch.  I wasn't counting on both the starting QB (Matt Stafford) and the backup QB (Shaun Hill) being unavailable for Detroit at the time of said rematch.  But I'm going with Drew Stanton and the Lions anyway.  The Bears are too full of themselves, having racked up 4 wins in a row, and Stanton should be able to do what made Stafford and Hill successful--throw the fucking pill to Calvin Johnson.  Jason will take the Bears because they're playing too well not to whip Detroit's 3rd-string signal caller.
• I don't think Kansas City has much of a future in the playoffs if they make it that far, but their schedule sure is on their side.  Their last 3 weeks, they've drawn a dog-ass Cardinals team, followed by a dog-ass Seahawks squad, and now this week, a dog-ass Broncos team that waxed the Chiefs by 20 in Week 10.  We'll go with KC to avenge that one.
• And we'll go with the Packers to wipe out Coach Psycho and San Fran in the frozen tundra, despite such a win putting a serious crimp in Jason's evil plans to get SF into the playoffs.
• Once again, we have to take our unofficial mascot, the Buffalo Bills, to cover the number but not win.  The Little Wrangler might pull it out, so to speak, but he won't do it by a TD.  And remember kids, when someone mentions Denver sending Peyton Hillis to Cleveland for Brady Quinn as the worst trade of the season, don't let them forget that mere weeks after Minnesota sent a 3rd-round draft pick to New England for the services of Randy Moss, coach Brad Childress kicked him off the team, unbeknownst to the owner, who subsequently fired Brad Childress.  Not that Moss would be doing anything, but if Vikings owner Zygi Wilf had just canned Childress at the same time that he acquired Moss, he'd still have him.
• Here comes New Orleans, quietly sticking a game behind the red-hot Falcons in their division and garnering almost no attention, stunning since they are the defending champions.  I'll take them to beat the fuck out of the pathetic Bengals.  Jason cites what could be bitterly cold weather as a factor in keeping this game close.
• San Diego, meanwhile, is sneaking up on no one, yet I will take the Raiders to cover that large number because they're not starting Bruce Gradkowski at QB (he hurt himself, so Tom Cable can't go to him anymore, not until next year) and because I want to see Chargers QB Philip Rivers continue to put up MVP numbers with his targets all limping around.  Seriously, he doesn't have a fully healthy receiver on the field, including his gimpy star TE Antonio Gates.  Rivers couldn't get into the end zone last week at Indy, and he might struggle similarly this week.  Jason thinks it won't matter, and he may be right.
• Jay struggled with the Falcons-Bucs pick, but grudgingly went with the sizzling Dirty Birds.  I didn't struggle--I'm going with Atlanta until they give me a reason to go against them.
• It was a struggle to go with Seattle, especially giving up points.  But that's how horrible the Carolina Panthers are.
• I'm sorry, Peyton Manning, but I have forsaken you.  You have looked so lost out there the last few games that I will now pick against you two straight home games.  Yes, I am taking the Cowboys to come in to Lucas Oil and light your Colts up, particularly on the ground, where Felix Jones doesn't have to worry about Marion Barber vulturing goal-line carries and can run up and down the field.  Jason believes in you coming back this week, but not me.  I do love your remaining schedule though, so I will jump back on your bandwagon starting next week.  Hope you will have forgiven me by then.  Love, your biggest fan, Dre.
• Jason will try to be slick and take the dogs to cover in this Rams-Cards matchup but not win.  I'll go with Arizona FTW just because of the faux controversy with Derek Anderson that took up so much importance this week.  I think the Cardinals will come back after that embarrassing Monday night game and postgame and play much better, and of course, I relish any justification to pick against Sam Bradford.
• Now, the two main events of the week.  On Sunday night, I'll go with Pittsburgh to get a big road win at Baltimore.  Ben Rapelisberger has been limping around with a walking boot all week, but I think that's bad news for the Ravens because he won't be as tempted to run around in or out of the pocket.  He'll just launch more deep balls for Mike Wallace.  Plus, I think the Steelers can sustain a running game against the Ravens, who have been getting gashed this year.  Jason takes Baltimore, no joke, because he's digging the Ray Lewis Old Spice commercial, where he reaches into his chest, pulls out a stick of deodorant, pulls from the deodorant "a universe where heartbreak and sadness have been replaced by Old Spice," then eats the universe and grows six illuminated heads.  Hey, that's the reason he gave me.  And he'll win the pick with that logic, too.
• And on Monday night, he'll take the Jets to cover because they've hung around every game they've played pretty much all year, so why not this one too?  I've got a reason why:  This is the pinnacle of Screaming Tom Brady's campaign to position himself as the most intense leader of a team in the NFL this season.  I can't think of any other reason for Brady to be so loud and yappy lately except he's trying to win an MVP award and he doesn't think his play will win it by itself.  But his play, of course, has to match the screaming, so I'll pick him and the Patriots to score 31 or so on the overrated Jets secondary en route to a loud, vocal 8-point or so victory.