Just a quick note about last night's West Virginia/Louisville game. Great game. Loved it. Tons of offense and very exciting players. Pat White, Steve Slaton, Brian Brohm are future NFL players and are as good as anybody in the country. The two team's defenses? Not so much. But to say Louisville couldn't compete or even possibly even beat Michigan or Ohio St. is flat out stupid. I would think it would be a game just like this where both offenses march up and down the field at will. If Louisville wins out they deserve to be playing for the national title. Ok then. Now that I've said my peace here's the NFL picks for the week:

^ = home team
Rams^ over the Chiefs
Sure the Chiefs and Larry Johnson are playing well lately, but the Rams are at home and that's the kicker for me. They'll get shredded again against the run but Bulger is playing well enough that the Rams will outscore the Chiefs.

Giants^over the Texans
It's time to stop talking about Tiki Barber's retirement and start talking about how well he's playing. He and Brandon Jacobs are enough of threat that Eli Manning can occasionally hit a receiver.

Jaguars^ over the Titans
Leftwich or Garrard? Doesn't matter because the defense will win this game.

Bucs^ over the Saints
Tampa will surprise another team. This time it will be Brees and the boys.

Cowboys over the Redskins^
I really want to pick against the Cowboys on the road this week but the Redskins haven't given much reason for optimism this year.

Bears^ over the Dolphins
Another mauling.

Bills^ over the Packers
Tough one to call. I'm going with Buffalo at home.

Bengals over the Ravens^
The Bengals get back on track by beating a tough defense.

Falcons over the Lions^
Does Vick continue to impress? Against the Lions I say yes.

Vikings over the 49ers^
I want to say the 49er defense is going to improve. But that would be stupid.

Steelers^ over the Broncos
A week more to clear the cobwebs and Roethlisberger ends up giving the Broncos their second straight loss.

Chargers^over the Browns
Over before it starts.

Patriots^ over the Colts
Game of the week of course. It's the Colt's run defense that will finally kill them. Maroney and Dillon will rack up huge yardage and Brady will get the best of Manning again.

Seahawks^ over the Raiders
Raider resurgence? Maybe not.


Last week: 8-6 (57%)

Overall: 78-35 (69%)

Here's what I thought about this week's action:

Chargers 38 / Rams 24
As a Ram fan this game was a painful reminder that their defense is still an Achilles heel. They couldn't stop the run at all and Rivers passed the ball effectively when he needed to. Still, despite my team getting spanked, I'm strangely optimistic. I consider the Chargers one of the better teams in the league and yet the Rams were able to still move the ball on them. And you know who Bulger reminds me of? Drew Bledsoe. No not the dude in the visor that's standing on Dallas' sidelines, but the early version in New England that picked apart defenses. Like that younger Bledsoe, Bulger is immobile but fairly accurate and a has good pocket presence. Which means of course the Rams better enjoy his production while it lasts. Charge QB Philip Rivers has that same feel behind center but obviously has more mobility. I continue to be impressed with him.


Colts 34 / Broncos 31
I'm sure all of Denver was saying the same thing I was when the Bronco's Mike Bell broke that big run and they went down and scored their last TD in this game. --- "Scored too fast, left too much time for Manning". So of course Manning carved them up and set Vinatieri up for the game winner. Best game of the day to watch in my opinion. Plenty of Manning to Reggie Wayne (10 rec, 138 yards 3 Tds) --which is nice to see because he really is nearly equal to Harrison in talent---plus like Harrison he seems like a nice guy. Also plenty of camera shots of Mike Shanahan giving us the usual creepy eyes --- an added bonus during Halloween time. The Broncos have to kick themselves over this one because Plummer played great (for the first time all season), and their running game shredded the Colt defense (not a shocker). Had their defense played up to par they win this in a laugher.


Falcons 29 / Bengals 27
If Vick keeps this up he and his Falcons may just be back on my "must Tivo" list. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Vick is on fire. He has never had two weeks like this his entire career (7 passing TDs). This is the QB we thought we were getting when the hype began 5 years ago. He was going to revolutionize the position as a threat with his legs and arm. Somewhere between balls being thrown at guy's feet or overthrown by 15 yards that promise got a bit waylaid. Now it's back and what are we to think? Is it all just a big tease before he crashes back to his one-dimensional self? Since I'm really not a Falcon guy, I don't give a crap. But as a football fan I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Seriously though would you have bet Vick would have a better passing day than Palmer?


Cowboys 35 / Panthers 14
We would be silly to write the Panthers off this season but they sure are a weird team so far aren't they? They gave the Cowboys a little help with all their mistakes but still I'm mildly impressed with the performance of Tony Romo. He's mobile and made some nice throws. If he turns out to be decent the rest of the season and helps send Dallas to the playoffs I may just have to stick my head in a blender.


Ravens 35 / Saints 22
It's no surprise that Reggie Bush didn't break out against the Baltimore defense. Still his rushing stats for the season are a real disappointment so far. If he ends up as just a receiving threat from here on out then he won't be quite the steal of the draft that New Orleans thought he was. The worst thing about this win is that now Raven coach Brian Billick's already inflated ego just got bigger. I'm not buying the offensive genius tag he got years ago in Minnesota. His Baltimore years have effectively popped that balloon. So the fact that they scored 35 this week doesn't exactly have me quaking in my boots if I'm playing them next. Also, if you tell me that you think Jamal Lewis is back to his old self then I'd have to call you a liar. Not to your face of course.


Raiders 20 / Pittsburgh 13
So that's a little weird. Oakland just beat the Super Bowl champs. The Raiders starting QB, Andrew Walter, was 5 for 14 and an interception. That's right. 5 complete passes. Stew on that one for a minute Pittsburgh. After looking fantastic last week (at least until he looked not so fantastic being carried off the field) Roethlisberger played like he couldn't remember his own name let alone the playbook. Yes that was the Raiders you lost to Ben. No I didn't stutter. Yep, the one with Art Shell coaching.


Bears 41 / 49ers 10
I guess Grossman is not one to dwell on the past is he? After one of the worst QB performances I've ever seen (last week), Rex returned to his 06 form and torched the 49er defense. That is if you want to call what they had out there as 'defense'. The 49er offense is slowly coming along but their defense is definitely a long way from competing. Chicago meanwhile still boasts a ferocious "D" and as a team they are the class of the NFC.


Giants 17 / Bucs 3
Plaxico Burress and his one handed TD snag was the catch of the day. Everything else about this game was forgettable.


Packers 31 / Cardinals 14
So when does Dennis Green get canned? Soon? The end of the season? Leinart's game against Chicago was such a tease. Now he's had two straight crapola games. Bummer for him. Meanwhile, I love that Packer RB Ahman Green had another good game. And who the hell is Vernand Morency? All he did for the Packers was average 9 yards a carry on his way to 101 yards. If Favre can get that kind of running game consistantly then the Packers are back in business. ----Of course it was Arizona. And they suck.


Chiefs 35 / Seahawks 28
Gracias K.C. That was a much needed Seattle loss for Ram playoff hopes. They kept me guessing though after they decided to make it interesting in the 4th quarter. Still, how about the backups QBs in this game? Huard's been playing like a starter this year (continues to amaze me) but Seneca Wallace showed some good instincts out there as well. He made some dumb mistakes but overall Seattle has to be encouraged by his play. They will need that in the next few weeks. Seattle is still a very good team. They are hurting with injuries right now but I'm not counting them out yet. If they can survive a couple of game without their stars they'll be primed for a stretch run. Damn them.


Jaguars 13 / Eagles 6
Was this as ugly as that score sounds? How have the Eagles fallen so low after a great start to the season? I'm baffled by their poor play. I know Garrard is going to get support to supplant Leftwich as the Jags QB but I'm not convinced he would be the answer either. He's had plenty of opportunity to impress before and he just seems to have valuable backup written all over him. But if your backup is better than your starter ( a real possibility in Jacksonville) then what do you do? Anyway, nice game by Fred Taylor (15 carries 103 yards) and another great game by the Jags' defense.


Titans 28 / Texans 22
Didn't watch a lick of this but apparently the Sage Rosenfel era has started in Houston. I mean has David Carr ever thrown 3 TDs in 17 minutes before? Start looking over your shoulder dude.


Browns 20 / Jets 13
Maybe I was wrong when I called Plaxico Burress' grab the catch of the day. The Jet's Chris Baker sure made a heck of reception at the end of this game. And I do think it was a reception. He would have come down in bounds in the endzone if he hadn't been pushed out. Terrible call by the refs that screwed the Jets. This is one of those stupid things that need to be fixed in the rulebook. Because it's a judgment call it's not reviewable. Say what? This seems like a classic example of what should be reviewable. What the hell is replay for if not to help calls like this. Time for a rule change.

Lots of games I'm interested in this week. Bengals/Falcons, Saints/Ravens, Chargers/Rams, Colts/Broncos are the ones that will be "must watch" status for me. Last week's picks didn't turn out so well (under 50% right) but I'm ready for a comeback. Without further adieu then:

^=home team

Bears^ over the 49ers
Was last week's game a hiccup for Grossman? The Bears should now know that you can't take any team lightly.

Bengals^ over the Falcons
Vick looked good last week but I'm taking Cincy at home.

Packers^over the Cardinals
So which Cardinal team will we see this week, the one that should have beat the Bears or the one that made the Raiders look playoff worthy? I'm going with something in between.

Titans^ over the Texans
Vince gets his revenge for draft day snubbing.

Seahawks over the Chiefs^
I never thought whether or not Damon Huard started would affect how I picked a game. I was wrong. If Huard plays I'm going with the Chiefs. But if it's Croyle as the starter against Seneca Wallace for the "Hawks" then is Larry Johnson the deciding factor? I say no. Seattle wins in the battle of the backup versus the backup to the backup. Still I'll check in on Saturday and see if Huard's status has been updated. If he plays this pick changes Saturday night.

Saints^ over the Ravens
This will be another tough test for the Saints. Brees can't make mistakes or this will be a battle of field goals that they may lose.

Giants^ over the Bucs
I don't think Tampa's luck continues this week.

Eagles^ over the Jags
Speaking of luck, the Eagle's mojo has to change right? How do they keep losing on the last play of the game? The Jags have been decimated by injuries and it's going to hurt them again.

Chargers^ over the Rams
Why am I picking against my team this week? Merriman wants to work out some roid rage frustration, that's why.

Steelers over the Raiders^
Even if Charlie Batch were to play I'd still make this pick.

Jets over the Browns^
I haven't seen anything in the Browns this year to make me believe in them.

Colts over the Broncos^
Defense versus offense. Considering the Colts are on the road I should probably go with the defense. But I won't.

Panthers^over the Cowboys
It's a good time to play the Cowboys. They are still a good team but it will take a few games for Romo to get settled.

Patriots over the Vikings^
The Vikings came through for me last week against the Seahawks. Can they do it again against another team I despise? I hope so but I just don't pick against the Patriots very often. It's easier on my psyche.

Last week: 6-7 (46%)

Overall: 70-29 (70%)

Random thoughts floating around in my noggin:

--Romo over Bledsoe? Who cares. As long as the "Boys" lose and I get more camera shots of Jerry Jones ready to cut his own fingers off, I'm good. A nervous and distraught Jerry Jones is much less creepy than a giddy Jerry Jones. Trust me on this one.


--I'm a semi-Charger fan but even so, Shawne Merriman's steroid defense is sounding lame. Aren't you sick of the "I didn't read the label on my supplement" defense? Can somebody please be a man and just admit they cheated and got caught? It's not hard. I mean I admit it when I get caught doing something stupid. On Sunday I snuck out of a church meeting and caught the second half of the Colts game. I got busted by the wife and totally took the heat like a man...or at least I didn't buckle at the knees and break into tears. That came later. Still you get the point. I told her the truth-- " I like football more than church". I even felt better after saying it. See Shawne, other than the fact that millions of dollars are on the line, our situations aren't so different. Come clean brother, come clean.


--I don't agree with or even want to read everything Peter King writes (anyone remember the dissertation on his bowel movements?) but Mr. Starbucks does occasionally write something that stikes a harmonious chord whith me. His article on Monday discusses Giant Running Back Tiki Barber in detail. Specifically he calls Barber the best back in the land since 2004 and lays out a statistical chart to prove it. The Ladainian Tomlinson apologists are up in arms I'm sure over this. You hear over and over L.T. being called the best running back in football. It's sacrilege to suggest otherwise. After all, every announcer including Joe Theismann declares it to be so. Now I'm a big fan of Tomlinson and I agree that he is a great one, and even was the best back in football for a couple of years. Those years being 2002 and 2003. But bottom line, Barber is just as multi-talented, just as important to his team and statistics aside (although they are better too) he has been the better RB since 2004. So I think Peter King is right when he talks about Barber's place in football. But as alluded to earlier, I also think Peter King needs to lay off the Triple Grandes a bit more. Not only do I not want to know where he took his last dookie while he was on a plane but I also don't really care for his opinion that it makes sense for Tiki Barber to retire after this season. The idea is that we should all respect somebody's decision to walk away at the top of their game especially if that someone happens to be a banner human being with limitless potential in other areas. Screw that. It upset me when Barry Sanders retired, it angered me when Michael Jordan retired (the first time) and I'm pretty sure it would have pissed me off if I had been alive when Jim Brown retired. So while I don't put Tiki Barber up with those guys in terms of talent or career impact, he's still too damn good to retire. Some guys hang on too long and it's sad to see but I think it's a sin to leave when you're the best. At his age he's got another season or two left in him and then a whole life of living rich and sipping coffee on the broadcast set with King Latte.
---Of course I'm a selfish football fan and admittedly not worried about his health in those years ahead of him. Damn him for being so concerned about how he's going to get out of bed in ten years. I hate you Tiki Barber.......And I love you. -----I promised myself I wouldn't cry about this. Where are those freaking tissues when you need one?

The hypocrisy and inconsistency of NFL referees is just amazing. I watch NFL official Czar Mike Pereira defend the officials on a weekly basis to Rich Eisen of the NFL network when questioned on what seem to be ticky tack roughing the passer penalties. His point is that it's ultimately a judgement call and that the league's position is to err on the side of caution for the quarterbacks. And really I have no problem with that philosophy as long as some common sense is used (sadly lacking in the Bucs/Bengals game last week). But if that's the way officials have been told to call the game how do you explain the no-calls on hits taken by Payton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Hasselbeck this week? Manning and Hasselbeck both took not so subtle "woops, I'm falling into your knees and it's not on purpose" hits that the officials ignored. Hasselbeck was injured and Manning was lucky he was not. Earlier Manning had taken a hit that bent him backward by the neck. Now nailing a QB hard is not in itself a penalty; (nor should it be) but watch that Manning hit again. It's ugly. He was pulled backwards by the neck and if that's not roughing the passer I don't know what is. Roethlisberger's actually happened a little bit faster and because he was sandwiched it was tough to see that he took helmet to helmet contact. But he did and it should have been called. I like hard hitting as much as the next football fan. But if your going to protect the most valuable commodity in the game (QB) then be consistent about it.

A few other observations around the league:

Bucs 23/Eagles 21
Great win by Tampa but I don't know that I'm sold on Gradkowski yet. I mean it was Ronde Barber's two picks for TDs and kicker Matt Bryant's 3 field goals that won if for them (holy crap a 62 yarder to win it?). Admittedly, Gradkowski got them in field goal position and he didn't have costly interceptions. And speaking of costly interceptions.....after looking great to start the season, Donovan McNabb has looked pretty average his last two starts. But Brian Westbrook deserves some ice cream after the game he put together (over 200 yards total offense today). When he's on the field the Eagles have some punch in the backfield. If he could keep from getting injured we would be talking about him like we do Ronde Barber's multi-dimensional twin. You know, the one that thinks he should retire after this season. Dork.


Chiefs 30/ Chargers 28
Another long field goal to win a game . This one was 53 yards and at Arrowhead stadium that's pretty amazing. The Chargers got themselves in a hole early but did a nice job of making a comeback. But Kansas City is not a great place to come from behind. I still think the Chiefs are an average team that will probably end up 8-8, but their QB (Huard) is surprising the hell out of me and they certainly shouldn't be taken lightly by anyone. San Diego limps away with more than a loss with the injury of linebacker Shaun Phillips who leads the team in sacks (6). He's out for at least a month and that really hurts.


Falcons 41/Steelers 38
Nice game by Vick. We rip him for poor passing performances and so we should praise him for a nice one. As long as he doesn't announce that he's arrived as a passer as he did last season following a good game then we'll let bygones be bygones. But still there has never been any doubt about Vick's arm strength and the tight spirals he throws. If a QB could win games based on dazzle ability, the Falcons would have a stranglehold on the Super Bowl. Today Vick was accurate and the Falcons really did win this one through the air rather than the ground. And despite the Steelers record, they are a good team and before Roethlisberger was knocked out I thought he was playing pretty well. His last 2 games have been complete turnarounds compared to his early season play. I wonder if Ben ever watches "My Name is Earl"? And if so, does he ever wonder what he did to piss off karma?


Raiders 22 / Cards 9
Boy, I'm glad Denny Green helped his team deal with their anger issues this past week. That way now they can move on to their "pathetic loser" issues that loom large. And perhaps he can help Edgerrin James deal with his delusions. "I wasn't prepared for this, man, I really wasn't," James said. Really Edge? You weren't prepared to lose with a team that defines the L word? Don't worry dude, Coach Green will stop by to give you another tour of the stadium. That always cheers you up. He might even give you some cash for you troubles. It worked last time. -------By the way I believe we had a Randy Moss sighting.

Vikings 31 / Seahawks 13
Thank you Minnesota. Now I just hope the Rams can take advantage next week. How about that 95 yard run by Chester Taylor? Pleasantly surprising. You know the Vikes have a tough game against the Patriots next week but after that they play the 49ers, the Packers, the Dolphins, and the Cardinals. It's entirely conceivable that they are 8-3 when they play the Bears on Dec 3. I'm starting to rethink my prediction of Minnesota not making the playoffs. If they beat the teams they should, they could make things interesting.


Broncos 17 / Browns 7
Another great game by the Bronco defense. Another decent game by Bronco running back Tatum Bell (114 yards). Another crappy performance by Jake Plummer (48% completions, 2 Int). Winning sure makes a difference eh? Had the defense not been stellar so far, we would be witnessing the beginning of the Jay Cutler era.


Colts 36 / Redskins 22
As I mentioned earlier, Manning is lucky to come out of this one still standing. If he ever goes down, so do the Colts. It's nice to see the Colt offense really look good again. Harrison and Wayne were great and actually Colt rookie running back Joseph Addai is growing on me (85 yards, 7.7 avg). Maybe he'll become more of an option as the season progresses. They'll need a running game eventually. Unfortunately for the Redskins things are only going to get worse. Their remaining schedule is brutal. They have Dallas, Philly--twice, Tampa (suddenly dangerous), Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis and the Giants to finish up. Despite my completely moronic pre-season prediction (division title, NFC championship game) I don't like their chances to pull it together anytime soon.


Jets 31/ Lions 24
Lions WR Mike Furrey and Jets RB Leon Washington had great games.
Yeah, I don't know who the hell these guys are either.


Packers 32/ Dolphins 24
ok I lied. I know Furrey played for the Rams the last two seasons. That just shows you the depth that St. Louis has at WR. --anyway back to the this game which comes as relief to the Packer faithful. Favre may have hung em up tonight had he lost to Joey Harrington. Instead he got a nice game from Ahman Green (118 yards) and inspired play by his defense and the Packers send the Dolphins further into their tailspin. Culpepper over Brees. Culpper over Brees. Culpepper over Brees. Sorry Nick Saban. I'm sadistic, what can I say?


Texans 27 /Jags 7
I should have figured that with all the injuries on defense and the bum ankle Leftwich was sporting the Texans would have more than a good shot of winning this game. Look out now, Houston has two wins and Carr has a QB rating over 90. Tennessee is next and Vince Young will be looking to prove something to the team that passed him up.


Bengals 17 / Panthers 14
I almost recorded this game but luckily I set the Tivo for the Atlanta game instead. Wise choice I think. A tough and quality win for the Bengals is nice I'm sure, but Cincy only interests me if they're scoring. I'm kind of shallow that way.


Patriots 28 / Bills 6
This matchup is so predictable it's almost sad. Sad that I don't bet on it every year that is.