Wing Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding! Start Your Engines!I’m one game under .500 if you take away the first week of the season. I’m 47-38-1 if you give me the benefit of two off weeks… (week 1 and week 8) Basically, I’m looking for a line here… Throw me a bone. All weeks included, I’m 54-61-1… Hey, not even Einstein was perfect. I’m halfway through the year with nothing but the up and up in my near future. The goal is 15 games over .500 for the year. Stay tuned to see if I reach the plateau. week 10 has the makings of a make-up week. I’m looking for 11-3, which would bring me up and over Shaq’s free throw percentage for the year. This is how I’m going to do it…
Kansas City Chiefs (+1.5) @ Buffalo Bills – This is my best bet of the week. I know what you’re saying, that doesn’t mean dick, but listen to what I’m saying. Since Takeo Spikes injury, the Buffalo Bills usually stout defense has been a sieved to opposing rushing attacks. The Kansas City Chiefs, both with and without Priest, have one of the leagues most feared running games. Kelly Holcomb is a better option than J.P. Losman, but he won’t make the difference against the Chiefs. Trent Green will have on of his best games of the year, as will Tony Gonzalez. With the Bills keyed in on Larry Johnson, Green will find wide open spaces in the secondary.
Game Date: 11/13/05 13:05 ET
Washington Redskins (-2) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Washington Redskins showed me they were for real with a win over an emotionally charged Eagle team that was ready to play. Both teams played stern defense, but it was the Redskins who came away with the big play when the game was on the line. In some cases, you just have to admit you were wrong about a team and remove your foot from your mouth. This is one of those times. I’ve been hard on Joe Gibbs and the Skins. I’ve been critical of the Redskin offense. The bottom line is, Santana Moss is the real deal, Clinton Portis is a solid back, and Mark Brunell still has enough in the tank to get the ball to his two playmakers. Game Date: 11/13/05 16:20 ET
New England Patriots (-3) @ Miami Dolphins – The Patriots let me down for the millionth time. This time I was taking the Pats to pull out the upset. Sure enough, the Colts were much too good for Tom Brady’s Patriots, leaving me to question if the Patriots are indeed done. I predicted in my season preview that the Patriots would be lucky to be 4-4 halfway through the regular season. At 4-4 the Patriots still control their own destiny. They are the sure leaders of their division. Even if they continue down the path of mediocrity, they’ll beat out the Bills, Titans, and Jets with relative ease. Take the Patriots over the Dolphins in a game they should win. They’re still good enough to this kind of game.
Game Date: 11/13/05 13:05 ET
San Francisco 49ers (+13) @ Chicago Bears – I’ll be surprised if either of these teams score 13 points in this game. The 49ers will most likely rely on Cody “Couldn’t win at UW” Pickett while the NFC Norris leading Bears will bet their load on Kyle “Just enough to win” Orton. These two signal callers don’t make for an air assault, that’s for sure. The Niners will do their best to run the ball as much as possible, as will Chicago. That doesn’t sound like a 13 point spread to me. That sounds more like 17-7. Take the Niners for the single reason that both the Bears and San Francisco struggle to put points on the board. Game Date: 11/13/05 13:05 ET
Minnesota Vikings @ New York Giants (-10) – The Vikings got a big win against the up again down again Detroit Lions in week 9. That doesn’t mean they are good enough to play with the Giants. That means they are good enough to trick the betting world in to wagering on the “new” Vikings. Let me tell you something; the “new” Vikings are led by the “not so new” Brad Johnson. Betting on Michael Bennett busting out for another 100+ yard performance is a little bit of a stretch. Eli Manning is back at home, which means, he’s in his comfort zone. Take the Giants in a clubbing.
Game Date: 11/13/05 13:05 ET
Arizona Cardinals (+4) @ Detroit Lions – Up or down? How will the Lions play in week 10? Last week was down, so many would expect a little improvement… Ha! Don’t bet on it. The Arizona Cardinals are ready for a breakout game after falling to the bottom of their division. The Lions are an easy target, especially with Joey “DD” Harrington at the helm. Kurt Warner will manage his best game of the year, possibly even going turnoverless in Detroit. Customarily the Lions play better football at home. Customarily the Lions don’t suck.
Game Date: 11/13/05 13:05 ET
Baltimore Ravens (+7) @ Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jaguars don’t usually play with a huge lead. The Jaguars don’t often score more than 21 points. With the Ravens playing better football of late, the Jaguars will be lucky to grind out a tough win at home against the aging Ravens. Fred Taylor won’t be available for the Jaguars, but their young receiving corps and the ageless Jimmy Smith will make enough big plays to down the Ravens. Not without a fight, which is exactly why the Ravens will cover the spread in Jacksonville.
Game Date: 11/13/05 13:05 ET
Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts (-17) – 17 points is tough, but not tough enough. I know the Texans covered last week against the Jaguars, but these aren’t the Jaguars, these are the 8-0, finally beat he Patriots, going 9-0 without question, Colts. The Colts won’t fumble their undefeated season chances against the hapless Houston Texans. Andre Johnson finally broke out of his season long slump with a whopping 91 receiving yards in week 9. Big F-ing deal! Getting excited about 91 yards is why the Colts will beat the Texans by 30 points. Game Date: 11/13/05 13:05 ET
New York Jets @ Carolina Panthers (-9) – The Carolina Panthers are starting to really come together. Imagine how good they’d be with the best defensive tackle in football, Kris Jenkins. With or without Kris, they’re still 10 points better than the Bollinger led New York Jets. Stephen Davis will finally have a good yard per carry average and Steve Smith will continue to dominate as he has all year. Don’t look now, but the Panthers are going for their 6th straight victory.
Game Date: 11/13/05 16:10 ET
Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders (+3) – The Oakland Raiders will stun the world by taking down the unflappable Denver Broncos. Jake Plummer can’t throw the ball, don’t be confused by his last two games, without a rushing attack Jake is nothing. The Raiders will stand stout against the Bronco blocking scheme, putting pressure on Jake to do the right thing. He’ll fail the test as the Oakland Raiders fight back to 4-5, giving their postseason hopes another week of survival. This game means too much to Warren Sapp, Randy Moss and the rest of the Raiders to give up a game to their rival Broncos in Oakland. Game Date: 11/13/05 16:10 ET
St. Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks (-7) – There are a lot of things pulling me in the Rams’ direction. The 7 points the Seahawks are giving is painful, the way Stephen Jackson is running the rock, and the way the Rams usually take care of the Hawks is another reason. But can I bet against the Hawks? No. Not after Shaun Alexander learned to lower his shoulder into opposing defenses, not after the Hawks went down to Arizona and came away victorious, and not after the way the Hawks finished off the Rams in their early-season match-up. Look for the Hawks to further distance themselves from the rest of their weak division. Don’t look too much into the easy Seahawk schedule, but if they win the games they should, they’ll have the best record in the NFC by seasons’ end. Game Date: 11/13/05 16:20 ET
Green Bay Packers (+9.5) @ Atlanta Falcons – Take the Packers? Green Bay has played close in too many games to bet against Brett Favre with 9.5 on his side. Green Bay’s 7 loses have come by a total of 40 points. That’s an average of less than 6 points difference, with 4 of those losses coming by 3 points or less. In other words, the Packers do just enough to screw you over when you bet against them. Don’t let Brett fool you; he’s still got enough gas in the tank to put points up against a Falcons defense that couldn’t sack Gus Frerotte once last week in Miami. Game Date: 11/13/05 16:20 ET
Cleveland Browns (+8) @ Pittsburgh Steelers – This marks my 6th underdog point spread of the week. I’m not sure Cleveland can score enough to beat the Steelers, but I am sure that Charlie Batch attempted 11 passes last week against the pathetic Green Bay secondary. If that’s any indicator on what’s to come in his second start, there is no way the Steelers will finish off the Browns easily. With Willie Parker out, the Steelers will rely on Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis to carry the load. Cleveland will be ready, take them with more than a touchdown on their side.
Game Date: 11/13/05 20:40 ET
Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles (-3) – It’s time for the Eagles to step up and play like the best team in the NFC. Even without TO, Donovan McNabb and the rest of the birds showed they can produce on offense. Reggie Brown is a solid talent. If you ask me, between Donovan and Brian Westbrook, the Eagles will run more in week 10 than they’ve done all year. Without TO, Donovan McNabb is the perfect rushing weapon to keep the Cowboys honest. Last week there were multiple times when McNabb had ample opportunity to pull the ball down and get an easy first down. He didn’t and they ran out of time against Washington. Don’t expect Andy Reid to make the same mistakes twice. Game Date: 11/14/05 21:10 ET
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