NFL Week 11

Jets (-7) over Texans
The Texans ship is sinking. They've lost 3 straight and now have to go to New York. Even though the Jets have won both of their last 2 games by 3 points in overtime to the lowly Lions and Browns, both of those games were on the road. I think some home cooking will do the Jets some good here.

Ravens (-10.5) over Panthers
All you need to know about this game is that the Panthers are starting Brian St. Pierre at QB. Now, you may be wondering who Brian St. Pierre is. That is an excellent question. Here is ESPN's article on Carolina's decision to name St. Pierre the starter. The 5 highlights of the article:

5 - St. Pierre has thrown 5 passes in 8 seasons.

4 - He wasn't at anyone's training camp this year and last practiced last January.

3 - He was signed to the active roster on Tuesday. This Tuesday.

2 - Before Tuesday, he was a stay-at-home dad.

1 - Panthers' head coach John Fox's actual quote on his reasoning for choosing St. Pierre as his starting QB for this week was, "The guy has been in some games."

That's right, just having been in some games is good enough to start for the Panthers. You don't have to have played well in those games, just have to have been in them. This is the best a professional football team can do? Just take the Ravens.


Redskins (+7) over Titans
One of these teams will end a 2-game losing streak here. Both of them looked really bad last week. I'll just take the points. While we're here, what in the world is going on with the Redskins, Coach Shanahan, and Donovan McNabb? Two games ago, McNabb gets benched at the end of a close game for the atrocious Rex Grossman. After the game, Shanahan says McNabb didn't know the hurry-up offense the team needed at the end of the game. Then, he says McNabb actually does know the offense but was too out of shape to run it. Then it comes out that Shanahan doesn't like McNabb as his QB. Then, the Redskins bring in QB JaMarcus Russell for a workout even though he threw 3 TDs and 11 INTs last year and was recently arrested as part of a drug ring. Reports come out that Shanahan may bench McNabb for the rest of the season. So naturally, just hours before Washington's game last Monday, the Redskins announced they signed McNabb to a new 5 year $78 million contract extension. What? Sometimes the world just doesn't make any sense.

Lions (+6.5) over Cowboys
Dallas finally got a win in a big way last week, but I'm not buying a complete turnaround. I'll take the Lions and the points because, despite their 2-7 record, Detriot has only lost 2 games by more than the 6.5 points they're getting in this one. In fact, I might have even taken the Lions to win this one if QB Matt Stafford wasn't hurt again. This guy just can't stay on the field. He missed 6 games last year, has missed 6 already this year, and may not play again this season. It's getting a little out of hand. Kind of like Greg Oden in the NBA. It was announced that he will miss the remainder of the season again. Oden was the 1st pick of the entire draft and had many experts calling him a future all-star. By the end of this year he will have played in 82 games and missed 164. Although, I can't say Oden's injuries have been surprising considering he looked like Fred Sanford when he came into the league.


Packers (-3) over Vikings
Last week, Favre announced he was retiring at the end of the season. I feel like I've heard that before. So, that means it'll be 3 more weeks until he says he's coming back next year, 6 more weeks until he says he is undecided, and 1,000 more years until I want to hear about Brett Favre again.

Bills (+5.5) over Bengals
Just a really crappy game. Cincy has lost 6 in a row. The Bills just got their 1st win. And, I've already typed too many words about this game.

Raiders (+7) over Steelers
The Raiders are hot having won 3 straight. The Steelers got humiliated against the Pats last week. I think Pittsburgh will bounce back, but they never blow anyone out so I'll take the points. I'd also like to take a moment here and remember the wonderful and wacky Jeff Reed Era in Pittsburgh. He was by far the most entertaining kicker in the league. He kicked hard and partied harder. He got drunk at bars, danced shirtless on tables, took naked pictures of himself, destroyed convenience store bathrooms, and was known to throw parties at which he would dress like a professional wrestler complete with a championship belt. Nothing was unbelievable for this guy. I wouldn't have been surprised if he kicked a game winning field gold while smoking a cigarette. I wouldn't have been shocked if they caught him drinking from a flask during a game. No matter what, he made the life of a kicker interesting, and for that, he will be missed.

Jaguars (-1.5) over Browns
While Colt McCoy has been fairly impressive, Cleveland is just not a very good team. That loss to the Jets last week was particularly heartbreaking even for a Cleveland team. I mean I don't know what the people of Cleveland are doing to make God this angry, but they just can't catch a break. Jacksonville is full of old people and old people pray all the time, so God will probably make Cleveland lose again.

Cardinals (+8) over Cheifs
I'm not interested. I'll take the points.

Bucs (+3.5) over 49ers
How can the 3-6 49ers be favored over the 6-3 Bucs? Am I missing something here?

Saints (-11.5) over Seahawks
New Orleans is starting to get on a roll. Seattle's pass defense is ranked 28th in the league which is not good when you're facing Drew Brees.

Falcons (-3) over Rams
Atlanta looks like the best team in the NFC.

Colts (+3.5) over Pats
This feels like a field goal game to me, so I'll go with the points. Despite all the hype around the Jets at the beginning of the year, the additions the Ravens made on offense, and the quick start the Steelers jumped out to without Big Ben, it looks like the AFC might come down to these two again.



Eagles (-3) over Giants
Mike Vick has become unstoppable. He's throwing the deep ball just as good as he ever has. He's still outrunning entire defenses. He hasn't thrown an INT yet. The Eagles haven't lost a game in which Vick has played the entire game. I mean, if he were the Mean Machine's QB instead of Adam Sandler, that game in The Longest Yard wouldn't have even been close.





Chargers (-10) over Broncos
These two teams might combine for 100 points. If you like watching hard hitting defense, this game isn't for you. San Diego has won two in a row and tend to go on a streak this time of the year.