The Chosen-Week 4

Season Prediction Tally: 32-16

Detroit at Chicago. Chicago is playing with more confidence, but so is Detroit. Don’t be surprised if the Lions come out on top in this one. Now that they have a taste of victory, morale is higher than its been in many years. Young gun Stafford is playing better each week, and you’d better contain Calvin Johnson. Still, the Bears are finding their groove, and are at home.

Pick: Bears

Cincinnati at Cleveland. I really like this Bengals defense. Rey Maualuga was a great draft pick and Antwan Odom has been on fire. They are high from an upset victory over the Steelers but the Browns are desperate for a win. Could be the Browns come out and suddenly execute well on both sides of the ball? Or not...

Pick: Bengals

Tennessee at Jacksonville. In the NFL its about talent, timing, remaining healthy, and luck. Tennessee was rolling with all of it last season, and were one of the teams to beat. Now they find themselves in an 0-3 hole, and two of their starting defensive backs may be out including secondary leader Cortland Finnegan.

What's worse is they are getting torched WITH all of their starters active. Who was it that said Albert Haynesworth wasn’t that important to this defense? Still, I have a hard time counting on Jacksonville to play well two games in a row, and an even harder time imagining the Titans at 0-4.

Pick: Titans

N.Y. Giants at Kansas City. Too much Giant. Not enough Chief.

Pick: Giants

Baltimore at New England. Baltimore is looking like one of the teams to beat. Tom Brady is still mad about not converting all of those red zone opportunities into touchdowns last week. I say he comes out fired up and again wills the Patriots to victory.

Pick: Patriots

Oakland at Houston. I made the mistake of expecting something more out of both of these teams last weekend. Houston is like Arizona, playoff-caliber offense one week, dominated the next. Oakland is usually just, well, bad, and if the pattern holds, Houston is ready for another round of good.

Pick: Texans

Tampa Bay at Washington. I am amped to see quarterback Josh Johnson make his first pro start. He is an outstanding athlete, in fact had the Bucs not yanked Leftwich for ineffectiveness last game they were planning on using JJ some at receiver. He ran a 4.5 40-yard dash at the Combine, and he’ll need all of that to get out of trouble behind the Bucs’ leaky O-line.

I want to write that JJ will waltz in, throw for 200 and run for 80, leading the team to their first win, but surely the Skins will be juiced to erase the embarrassment of losing to the lowly Lions.

Pick: Redskins

Seattle at Indianapolis. Don’t ever bet against Peyton Manning, he and and the Colts defensive line utterly destroyed the Cardinals on Sunday Night. He is the top fantasy quarterback in my league, even though everyone is gaga over Drew Brees. Aside from that, I do like Seneca Wallace, but he is not as effective as the injured Matt Hasselbeck.

Pick: Colts

N.Y. Jets at New Orleans. Sanchez is the toast of New York, Rex Ryan is a close second, and the Jets are 3-0. Hey, what can I say this team is playing some great football.

All the accolades are well deserved and they could be in this thing until the very end. That doesn’t mean they have the answer for Drew Brees and this high octane Saints offense though. They are also 3-0 and put up 48 on a solid Philly defense in their house, then 27 on a decent Buffalo defense in their house. This weekend they get the home crowd.

Pick: Saints

Buffalo at Miami. Talented Bills corner Leodis McKelvin is now on IR, and I can imagine a Chad Henne/Pat White/Ronnie BrownRicky Williams/Davone Bess wildcat being effective. Fins need a win.

Pick: Dolphins

St. Louis at San Francisco. Quarterback Kyle Boller will be good for the Rams, he may even lead them to the upset here. Yet Singletary is a motivator and doesn’t care for losing. That last second Favre bomb hurt, but Mike will have this team playing angry and the Rams can’t block. Glen Coffee is in line for a lot of touches.

Pick: 49ers

Dallas at Denver. Too bad Felix Jones can’t play, he has been looking explosive. I am not sure what to make of either of these teams. Eddie Royal and their other playmakers are being underutilized in Denver, and Dallas is unreliable. Can rookie Head Coach Josh McDaniels really go 4-0? Or is it defensive coordinator Mike Nolan who deserves the credit ? The Broncos lead the league in fewest yards allowed.

Pick: Broncos

San Diego at Pittsburgh. Troy Polamalu may play this weekend, and with home field advantage the Steelers (1-2) need it more than the Chargers (2-1).

Pick: Steelers

Monday Night Football

Green Bay at Minnesota. One scenario has Rodgers scorching the Vikings for the 400 yards and four touchdowns we all know he is capable of. The other has Favre throwing for 225 yards and two touchdowns and Adrian Peterson running for 180 yards.

Pick: Vikings

Byes: Arizona, Atlanta, Carolina, Philadelphia

Arizona is a mess right now. They are stacked with firepower, but can’t control the trenches. I am concerned that Ken Whisenhunt is at times a bit too predictable in his playcalling.

I think he should yield to Warner, Fitzgerald, and Boldin a little more and let them run the plays they like to. This could be a dominating, high scoring offense and sometimes Whiz holds them back. The running game could be special, if they could only provide enough blocking for Hightower and Wells who have the talent.

This bye week comes at a time when they are playing like a team that endured too many changes in the offseason to overcome. How they respond to this opportunity to refocus will go a long way in determining whether they are a playoff team or not.

Atlanta is doing just fine and should make it to the playoffs.

Carolina is one game away from panic mode. They gave Jake Delhomme a ton of money and he has so far not played well at all. If he struggles after the bye week, what are the Panthers’ options? I like the suggestion of Jeff Garcia signing on a lot. Even still, their defense is not very good. If they struggle for three or four more games, we’ll start hearing the fire John Fox bandwagon.

Philadelphia has depth, we’ve seen that. Kevin Kolb is a good player, McNabb and Westbrook may be back healthy but LeSean McCoy might be aight as the go-to guy. What do people want to see from Vick? I want to see him put in as running back and wide receiver on at least a few plays. This team has talent and always a threat to compete.