Before I get into my picks, I would like to confess my admiration for the latest NFL New Era caps. Let's be honest here, the old 39Thirty caps were probably made only to be worn in the 90's. In come these slick and stylish 59Fifty head gears that can be worn casually almost everywhere. Heck Hakeem Nicks doesn't care about his salary as long as the Giants are providing him with enough caps. By the way, they're also Jerry Jones approved.
Pittsburgh Steelers -3.5 vs. Philadelphia EagleThe Steelers D has not looked very impressive so far but some heavy reinforcements are on their way with the return of Troy Polamalu and James Harrison. The Steelers will be ready; well prepared for Vick and company after their early bye week. Ben Roethlisberger has taken his game to another level this season, and even against a good Eagles secondary, he should have some success against them. Coming off a bye week and playing at home, the Steelers will beat the Eagles and cover the spread.
|James Harris (left) and Troy Polamalu return for the Steelers following their week 4 bye.|
Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins 'OVER' 51The Falcons are 3rd in the league scoring 31 points/game while the Redskins are 4th scoring 30.8 points/game. The total has gone OVER in all 4 of Washington's game this season while the Falcons have gone OVER in 2 of their past 4 games. I envision RGIII and Alfred Morris to run freely against a weak Falcons run D and both teams to put up some big points in a tightly fought contest.
New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers 'OVER' 53Say what you will about the Saints, they can still score in bunches. Brees is still an elite quarterback with solid talents around him. Saints D on the other hand would probably allow Mark Sanchez to throw 4 TD's and Shonn Greene to rush for over 100 yards against them. Whichever Charger gets the majority of the carries on Sunday (my bet is on Mathews), look for him to torch that D. The total has gone OVER in 4 out of 4 New Orleans games this season. The total has gone OVER in 9 of San Diego's last 12 games on the road.
Minnesota Vikings -5.5 vs. Tennessee TitansWhen I try to visualize this game, I have great difficulties figuring out how the Titans will score in this game. With injuries to their QB (Locker) and top WR (Britt), and an almost non-existent run game (although they looked better last week), the Titans chances look bleak this week. Look for the Vikings to throw some pressure toward the slow footed Hassleback and force some turnovers. The Vikings also have a balanced offense and with Jerome Simpson's return, they will be able to keep opposing D's honest, opening up more lanes for their run game and short passing game.
Houston Texans -8 @ NY JetsThe Jets have to wait at least one more week until their D can get some rest. The trouble with the Jets this week is their biggest weakness, rush D (allowing 173 rushing yards/game) is also their opponents' biggest strength, rushing (gaining 136 rush yards/game). The Jets offense seems to be in complete disarray and missing Santonio Holmes to an injury hurts Sanchez. I have a slight fear that after witnessing more Mark Sanchez struggles against the Texans, Rex Ryan will put in Tebow who will rally his troops and turn it into a close contest. Chances are Rex won't figure that out in time and will be handed another big loss at the hands of the Texans.
|The Jets season isn't about to get any better against the Texans|
Last week: 3-2