Doin Lines Week 9

Chappy: First off, the picture above was taken by my friend down in Huntington Beach of her friend and his kid showing up to their Halloween BBQ/party. Easily the best father-son costume combo I saw over the Halloween weekend or most disturbing, I’m not sure. Last weekend I narrowly avoided a three-week losing streak. With no NBA, it’s going to be nice to have Thursday night football returning in week 10, especially since it’s the Raiders-Chargers game in the inaugural Thursday game of the season. Just like the AFC West, the lines this weekend are hard to feel comfortable about, but here we go.

By:  After a stressful week of work, I finally took the time out to look at this week’s lines, afterwards, I couldn’t decide which was more stressful between the two.  Thankfully I’ve been making solid picks as of late, and I credit it to sticking with my gut instincts.  With that said, I’m still steaming from my decision to switch out my pick on my parlay card from Philly, to Diego last week.  Douche Bag Rivers strikes again.  On to the lines ~

Last Week: Chap (3-2), By (3-1)

Overall: Chap (21-16-3) By (18-14)

NYJ @ Buffalo (-2)

By picks the Jets (+2).  Buffalo sits atop one of the toughest divisions in football with a 5-2 record, they already defeated the division favorite Patriots once this season, but for the life of me, I still can’t look at them as a legitimate threat to win the AFC East.  Ryan Fitzpatrick and even more so Fred Jackson have had great seasons thus far, but neither I trust long-term.  That’s another discussion.  Truth is, the Jets are crazy underachievers, and similar to the Eagles, they just need to get pushed to the limit before they get things going.  Although I don’t put much faith in Mark Sanchez, I do believe the overall Jets team is far too talented to slip further behind in their division.  The turnaround starts this Sunday.  I think the Jets win by 10 or more.

Atlanta @ Indianapolis (+7)

Chappy picks Atlanta (-7). Is there any team that is winless that looks worse than Indy? Rhetorical question, and I think I’m going to make it a point to pick against them every week for the rest of the year. I’m starting to feel bad for Jeff Spicoli as everyone besides Pierre Garcon seems to have given up on him, which includes the defense. The Falcons are coming off a bye week, and probably saw how easy it was for the Saints to have their way with the Colts a few weeks ago, and should be able to copy some of that blueprint. I see this being decided by halftime, with Michael Turner holding the ball for more time than the Colts offense does for the entire game.

Cleveland @ Houston (-11)

Chappy picks Houston (-11). I don’t think it matters whether Andre Johnson plays in this game or not, Houston will win. The Browns have had milestone wins this season over, Miami, Seattle, and Indy. Wow, that’s pretty impressive Cleveland. This weekend they’ll go into the game without Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty, pretty much their offensive threats. The Texans have two RB’s that have nearly as many yards each as the Browns have accumulated total. I know it’s a QB’s world, but every team needs some kind of running game, unless you have a star QB, and the Browns don’t have that yet in McCoy. I see this ending like the game Houston played against Tennessee (41-7).

Denver @ Oakland (-8)

Chappy picks Oakland (-8). This might be my least confident pick, but all the other games on the slate don’t appeal to me, so I’ll talk about the Raiders. It’s a battle of two QB’s that are trying to prove themselves. Unfortunately only Carson has actually proved anything in the NFL, and he has the more well-rounded team. I think the main reason I’m feeling so confident about this game is because the Raiders are coming off a bye week and are healthier than they’ve been since week 1 in the secondary. They may be without McFadden, but I’d rather let his foot rest and wait to put him in against the Chargers next week when he’s 100% instead of 80% for two weeks. I guess that might not matter, because Tebow throws like Jamarcus hitting receivers feet or teammates on the sidelines with jackets on. I would like to see Tebow score a TD and jump in the black hole to get de-virginized.

San Francisco @ Washington (+3.5)

Chappy picks San Francisco (-3.5). I can’t believe I’ve seen the 49ers in the top five on power rankings lately. Not that it isn’t deserved, but who would’ve thought a coach would’ve made so much of a difference. The Redskins started the season well, but since week 4 they’ve been what I thought they’d be this year, crappy. The stout 49ers D should be able to stop a turnover prone offense, and may even outscore the Redskins offense. I’ll probably never say the 49ers offense looks explosive, but it has been a lot more competent than I expected this year. Gore should have a monster game against a defense that has given up a ton of yards on the ground to their last three opponents. I’m not even worried about the whole westcoast team flying to play an early game on the eastcoast…

By picks who else, SF (-3.5).  It’s crazy to think the 49ers are ranked #2 on ESPN’s power rankings as of Week 8, and I’m still not sure they’re deserving of it, but one thing’s for sure, they’re a helluva a team, and they got a helluva a coach.  Just think about how good Jim Harbaugh’s coaching has been this season.  Aside from questionable, conservative decisions he made in Week 2 against Dallas, he’s called perfect games this season.  This is virtually the same Niner team as last year.  Washington’s on the down, while the Niners keep rising.  With big road wins already against Cincinnati (in a hideous game), Philadelphia and Detroit, there’s no reason to believe San Francisco can’t take care of a Washington team which was recently shut out.  Niners by 7.

Green Bay @ San Diego (+5.5)

Chappy picks Green Bay (-5.5). The Phillip Rivers debacle in SD couldn’t make a Raiders fan more happy. Unfortunately the Chargers are still tied for first even with their best player sucking it up. If they are losing to teams like the Jets and Chiefs, then they pretty much don’t have any shot at beating the Packers. No need to write much here, except take GB with confidence!

By picks San Diego.  Yeah right, By picks Green Bay (-5.5).  Green Bay is the #1 team according to ESPN’s power rankings and they totally deserve it.  The only undefeated team left standing, and although there’s still a lot of season left, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were heading towards a perfect one.  Aaron Rodgers is the MVP, really no if’s, and’s or but’s about it.  And unlike Douche Bag Rivers, Rodgers knows how to make use of the talent around him.  The game will be relatively close all day, until the 2011 MVP pulls the Pack away for good.