NFL Picks Week Five.

Last week was my worst week picking wise, going a whopping 5-8, bringing my record to an unspectacular 24-20 through my three weeks of picking. Here are the picks for this week. (home team in caps)

Tennessee over BALTIMORE: The 2008 Titans look to be for real with veteran Kerry Collins at the helm to go along with that punishing defense. I think the Ravens will provide a tough test for the surprising Titans on Sunday, but I think Tennessee will prevail in the end.

CAROLINA over Kansas city: The Chiefs are coming off of a surprising 33-19 trampling of the high powered Broncos last Sunday, but face a better defensive team this week in Carolina.

Carolina has been a better team with Jake Delhomme at quarterback and with Steve Smith back in the fold to go along with their two-headed running threat of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, they look to be too much for the young Chiefs.

Chicago over DETROIT: I'm not so sure about this pick, the Bears literally escaped last Sunday, winning a game they seemingly wanted to lose against Philadelphia. Detroit is still looking for that elusive first victory.

Desperation may play a factor for the Lions this week though and the fact that the Chicago secondary is very vulnerable. But I think the fact that the Lions still have nothing on defense will prove costly and take them to 0-5.

Atlanta over GREEN BAY: People may think I've gone insane with this pick, but I'm going with the upset this week. The Cheeseheads are without Aaron Rodgers and Matt Flynn was less than impressive in his NFL debut against Tampa Bay.

Matt Ryan has shown great poise thus far in his NFL career and if he gets protection this week I think he has the weapons to have some success this week. Michael Turner and Roddy White will need to have stellar games in this one as well.

Indianapolis over HOUSTON: Steve Slaton may have a big day against the Colts awful defense, but the Texans defense is horrible in all phases. Peyton and company are no doubt still licking their wounds from the heart breaking loss to Jacksonville two weeks ago and Houston looks to be in the way of a very pissed off Colts team.

San Diego over MIAMI: Not really a tough game to pick here. San Diego is an experienced, talented explosive team facing an inexperienced, less talented, less explosive Dolphins team. Poor Miami. San Diego will prove just to be too much in this one, it should be over early in Miami.

NEW YORK GIANTS over Seattle: This could prove to be an upset this week. The Giants really haven't played anyone worth mentioning besides Washington (ST. Louis and Cincinnati). Seattle is a good test to see what the Super Bowl champs are really made of.

Seattle has a better chance of winning now that Deion Branch and Bobby Engram will return to action. Seattle has to be thanking their lucky starts that they got through the first three games at 1-2 with how banged up they were. With that said, I think branch and Engram will take some time to get acclimated to game action. The Giants should outlast them in this one.

PHILADELPHIA over Washington:  Should be a typical NFC East battle, hard fought, lots of intensity, and lots of bad blood. Both teams are out to make a name for themselves on Sunday. Philly wants to prove that they really are a top contender and has to play with some consistency.

Washington comes in wanting to prove that last weeks win over the high powered Cowboys was no fluke. I'm picking Philly for two reasons: 1. Brian Westbrook- the guy is a game changer when he's in and no offense to Buckhalter, Westbrook is that damn good and is a threat all over the field.

Reason No.2: The Run Defense- Clinton Portis was able to gash the Cowboy defense last week and punish them up the middle, the Eagles defense has shut down the run in every game this year facing premier backs in three of the four.

DENVER over Tampa bay:   Should be a fun one on Sunday in Denver. Denver's defense will look to stop the high flying Buccs who have been solid both running and throwing for the past three weeks.

Denver gets a break this week with Tampa's No.1 passing threat Joey Galloway out with an injury. Jay Cutler and his receivers will prove to be too much this week, too many weapons, not enough in the secondary to handle all of them.

buffalo over ARIZONA:  We'll see if Buffalo can continue to win this week and move to 5-0. The leagues most surprising team needs to play better this week in the first half than they did against the hapless Rams last week.

If they fall behind early against the explosive Cardinals attack, they could be in for a long day. But I don't foresee that happening this week, Buffalo should come out on top this week with another hard fought victory.

DALLAS over Cincinnati: Chad Johnson has done it again. He's put his foot in his mouth when his awful team is playing one of the NFL's elite. He is in a bad position here and so are his Bengals. Tony Romo should have a field day with the Bengals defense, seriously, is there anyone on that team that can stop Witten, Barber Owens and Crayton? I don't think so. This one should be over from kickoff.

new England over San Francisco:  This is a statement game for the Pats here. They need to come out and prove that the embarrassing loss they suffered to the Dolphins two weeks ago was a fluke and shouldn't be expected.

San Fran has struggled where they were thought to be strong this year, on defense. They have struggled to stop every opponent they've come up against, and that trend looks like it could continue this weekend.

JACKSONVILLE over Pittsburgh: Although these two teams aren't in the same division, never were, there is some bad blood brewing between the two. The Steelers suffered two heartbreaking losses at the hands of the Jaguars in Heinz Field last year, one being in the opening round of the playoffs.

Big Ben is still struggling with an injury and his offensive line is still struggling to keep him upright. After starting 0-2, the Jags have rebounded to even their record at 2-2 with two very hard fought wins. I think their defense and they way they can create and force teams into turnovers will be the deciding factor for them this Sunday night.

Minnesota over NEW ORLEANS: I'm going with the upset in this one. I think Minnesota's defense and their ability to dictate how you play will be a big factor along with Adrian Peterson. While the Vikings struggle against the pass , they are really strong against the run.

As for the Saints, they are yet to impress me with their defense. They will have their hands full with the Viking offense, which has the ability to make plays down the field, which have been big for the Saints defense ans why they have struggled.