NFL Picks: Week Five

I'm not going to have a prelude because I wrote a really in depth article on the state of the NFL and my take on its teams here.

As for the picks, I'm out front in our friendly competition by one game. Thus, the pressure is on for me to continue my "winning" ways. Here are the standings:

Standings    Last Week        Overall         Games Back
1. ME           10-3                21-8                 ---
2. Frank        9-4                 20-9                  1
3. Matt         7-6                 18-11                 3

On to the picks. As always, home teams in CAPS:

PANTHERS over Chiefs

The Chiefs aren't roping me in. They're not. Stop it. Just stop it. These are the kind of games that make people think Herm Edwards is a decent coach, plus the fact that he jumps around and yells a lot. Even with their hurting offensive line, I think Carolina dominates this one at home.

Bears over LIONS

Do you think Lions fans in attendance will actually be watching this game? Or do you think it'll just be a three-hour party to celebrate the demise of the Matt Millen regime? I can definitely imagine their fans just breaking out the beer, getting drunk, and high-fiving each other the whole game while Kyle Orton looks like Joe Montana in his prime for four quarters.

PACKERS over Falcons

This pick is based on the assumption that Aaron Rogers is playing. If this were a home game for Atlanta, I'd seriously consider taking the Falcons here. Who would've thought I'd be saying that three weeks ago?

Chargers over DOLPHINS

The Chargers can use these games to fatten up as they continue to get healthy and find their M.O. as a team. Meanwhile, I'm not sold on Miami at all. They had one decent win and that's about it. I'm not ready to "crown their a--es!!" yet, with all due respect to Denny Green.

GIANTS over Seahawks

Seriously, this Giants team is not that good. And yet I could definitely see them dominating a hurting Seahawks team to go 4-0 here. We're going to have to wait 'til they play Philly and Dallas to see how good New York really is.

EAGLES over Redskins

Ever since 2000 when they started this run, this Eagle team has a history of coming back from tough losses and always playing with pride. This just feels like a pride win to me. I know the Redskins just took it to Dallas in Dallas. I still can't shake the fact that they're not this good. Even without Westbrook, I think Philly defends this house for a win they desperately need. A loss here will seriously hurt their chances of stealing the division.

RAVENS over Titans

I haven’t picked the Ravens to win a game yet. So this is definitely not a homer pick. I think Tennessee is just due for a stinker. Sure, the Titans' defense is awesome, but the Ravens’ is just as good. Kerry Collins is the worst type of QB to be going against them, because he’s stationary in the pocket. And Baltimore has the team speed to at least somewhat contain Chris Johnson. Throw in the influential home crowd, and I say the Ravens take this in a tight one.

PS: I love how the Titans are trying to resurrect this old rivalry by saying dumb stuff. First off, in this supposed “rivalry,” the Titans won one important game (the 2003 playoffs). The Ravens won the single most important game (the 2000 playoffs, when Baltimore and Tennessee were the two best teams in the NFL) as well as went 7-4 against Tennessee in the Billick era. Hey Titans, where the ring at? Huh? Where it at? Yeah, I thought so.

Colts over TEXANS

The Texans gave Jacksonville a battle last week and might not be as bad as originally advertised. This game will be closer than expected. I think the Colts take it in the end because as bad as their line is right now, the Texans don’t have the D to take advantage of it, even with Mario Williams.

BRONCOS over Buccaneers

Is Brian Griese brain-washing people? Even Bill Simmons is riding his bandwagon right now. The Broncos' defense is terrible but I just don’t think he’s going to be able to take advantage of it in Denver. Throw in a rebound performance by Denver’s offense and I think they take this one pretty convincingly.

CARDINALS over Bills

Originally I picked Buffalo in this one but I changed my mind. I’m usually the one writing “You have to stick with your instinct,” but I think the Bills are due for a bad loss here. They’ve been really lucky the past few weeks. It's definitely better to be lucky than good, but at some point it does catch up to teams.

COWBOYS over Bengals

This could get ugly. Ocho, T.O. T.O., Ocho. Ocho, Ocho. T.O., T.O. T.O., Ocho, Ocho, T.O., T.O., Ocho, T.O., Ocho…

The game will be ugly as well.

Patriots over 49ERS

I want to hop on the San Fran bandwagon so badly but I need to see their offense do okay against a good D. Until then, I just can’t support them.

JAGUARS over Steelers

Both of these teams are hurting really badly and need this win. I just wasn’t that impressed with Pittsburgh on Monday. They got lucky to win that game at home and they know it. Meanwhile, Jacksonville is back home, still competitive, and David Garrard is pulling games out of his butt. I think Jax has the upper hand.

SAINTS over Vikings

The Saints are going to pass all night against the suspect Vikings secondary. You think Gus Frerotte is matching them point-for-point? Yeah, me neither.