NFL Picks Week 4: Picks and Analysis for Both Primetime Games

Week 4 of the 2011 NFL season highlights the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets on Sunday Night, while the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers take center stage on Monday Night. 

The Jets-Ravens matchup should be a hard-hitting, pad-popping affair, and it's likely we'll see more offensive fireworks than usual. 

For the Colts, they'll look to send Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis at Josh Freeman to disrupt his poise in the pocket.

New York Jets at Baltimore Ravens

You may be thinking defense, defense and more defense in this one, but you could be wrong.  I don't see a 10-9 game like the one that kicked off Monday Night Football last year between these two clubs. 

The Ravens love utilizing Ray Rice in a variety of different ways, and they aren't shy about giving Joe Flacco ample opportunity to throw for 300-plus. Sure, they were dominant on defense in their two wins against the Steelers and the Rams, but the Ravens can undoubtedly put points on the board. 

Same goes for the Jets. They were ravished by Darren McFadden last week in Oakland and may have to win more shootouts than they did last season. 

Mark Sanchez is 10th in the NFL with 886 passing yards thus far, and he's finding Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress with surprising regularity. 

I think the Ravens pass rush, Rice, Flacco and the emerging Torrey Smith, will prove to be too much in a more offensive game than many people think. 

Indianapolis Colts at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

For me, the Buccaneers are the best team no one is talking about. They are extremely young, but are maturing each week, especially signal-caller Josh Freeman. Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn are tough covers, and LeGarrette Blount bulldozes his way to extra yardage after contact. 

The Colts offense is sputtering without Peyton Manning, which has forced the defense to be more resilient than ever. Tampa Bay's offensive line will have their hands full against Freeney and Mathis, but I think Freeman makes enough plays to lead the Bucs to their third victory on the season. 

The Colts just don't have enough offensive potency.