Now I can't even count on the Raiders to be terrible?



Speaking as a Seahawks fan, suffice to say I was more than a little disheartened that my team lost to the team that lost to the Raiders 4 days later.

Cleveland (+3) over ATLANTA 
Whoa there sailor. Yes, it's true that the Falcons lead their division, and it's true that the Browns bring up the rear in theirs, but Cleveland is actually 6-4, and the Falcons are just 4-6. I know, the horror! Not only are the Falcons 4-6, but they are 0-6 against every single team they have played that does not belong to the NFC South. And last I checked, Cleveland doesn't belong to the NFC South.

PHILADELPHIA (-11) over Tennessee
On the one hand, Philadelphia is much better than Tennessee. On the other hand, 11 points is pretty steep considering Philadelphia's defense isn't any good and they're starting Mark Sanchez at quarterback. Yeesh, I'll hold my nose and roll with Sanchez for this one.

NEW ENGLAND (-7) over Detroit
One of these teams is coached by Bill Belichick. The other is coached by Jim Caldwell, whose best attribute is that he's not Jim Schwartz. Oh, and Belichick's team is at home.

Green Bay (-8.5) over MINNESOTA
Tedd Bridgewater is going to have to try and keep up with Aaron Rodgers. That's not going to end well.

INDIANAPOLIS (-13.5) Jacksonville
Picking Jacksonville in this one, even with the almost-two-touchdown-spread, is essentially picking Andrew Luck to suffer an injury that removes him from the rest of the game sometime in the first half. I'm not going to do that.

HOUSTON (-1.5) over Cincinnati
This game comes down to whether we get Good Andy Dalton or Bad Andy Dalton. With JJ Watt making his life miserable all day, I'm banking on Bad Andy.

Tampa Bay (+5.5) over CHICAGO
Lovie's revenge. I just don't think either of these defenses is going to do a whole heck of a lot to stop the other team's offense. And between these two quarterbacks, I can't say I trust Jay Cutler will do a significantly better job than Josh McCown of protecting the ball and making good decisions.

Arizona (+7) over SEATTLE  
I do have Seattle winning this game, because the Seahawks desperately need it or the playoffs essentially become a pipe dream. But I have seen nothing since week 2 this season to indicate they can put a good team away, even at home. Even when Drew Stanton is the opposing quarterback. Seattle's passing offense is simply broken right now.

St. Louis (+5.5) over SAN DIEGO 
Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense hasn't been fully right for a while now. Meanwhile the Rams defense seems to have found itself and starting performing to expectations. Or even surpassing them, seeing as they held the Broncos offense to 7 points last weekend.

DENVER (-7) over Miami
Miami's pass rush can rival the Rams', and the Rams held Denver's offense to just 7 points last weekend. I don't think Miami can replicate that in Denver, and I don't like Ryan Tannehill's chances to keep up with Peyton on the road. It won't be a blowout, but with Emmanuel Sanders back and Julius Thomas possibly playing too, I have Denver covering.

SAN FRANCISCO (-9) over Washington
Given that the Redskins are imploding more and more each week, I'm not sure how high this spread would have to climb before I'd give serious thought to picking Washington. I think it would have to almost double.

Dallas (-3.5) over NEW YORK GIANTS
If the past two weeks have established anything, it's that the Giants can be run on. Dallas is in the process of running DeMarco Murray into the ground for one reason or another, so this seems like a bad matchup for the Giants. Of course, any offense with a pulse would be a bad matchup for the Giants at this point.

NEW ORLEANS (-3) over Baltimore
You can throw on the Ravens defense, so the Saints should be able to win this one at home in prime time.

BUFFALO (-2.5) over New York Jets
So my family took a short trip to Chicago last weekend. We were flying back on Wednesday, and the gate next to us was a Southwest flight to Chicago. No less than 5 times in the 30 minutes before that flight started to board, the gate attendant announced that
1. Yes, the flight was still scheduled to take off on time and land at the Buffalo airport.
2. The passengers on the flight were likely going to be stranded at the airport when they arrived, as no one was allowed to be driving on the roads. Police were giving tickets to anyone out driving on the roads because there was so much snow hitting the area.

So yeah, things have been insane in Buffalo. Heck, the team is asking for volunteers to help shovel out the stadium so they can play their game against the Browns next weekend. The team hadn't held a practice all week until Friday night (in Detroit) because the players and coaches literally couldn't get to the stadium.

So why am I picking the Bills? Defense and pass rush tend to travel well, and Michael Vick is going to be running for his life on Monday night.

This Week: 0-1 (D'oh!)
Last Week: 7-7 (.500)
2014 Season: 89-71-1 (.556)