Great + Week 8 = My Fate

Wow! Jaw to the ground and pants a little damp. That was basically my reaction to some of last week’s games. The losses to New Orleans, Denver, and almost Baltimore should have never happened. You had the recent SuperBowl Champion Saints losing to the Browns, 30-17. Drew Brees even threw for more than 350 yards. The Broncos lost to the Raiders by a score of 59-14. They scored 8 touchdowns on Sunday. THEY’VE SCORED 9 TOUCHDOWNS THE LAST 4 GAMES!!! This performance never should have happened. And Buffalo took Baltimore into overtime and almost grabbed their first win of the season against a strong playoff contender.

I would have gone 11-3 last week if it wasn’t for two of those three games. Instead I’m sitting on an average 8-5. Oh goodie. Let’s see if I can improve this week. Safe to say I won’t be making quick assumptions.

DEN @ SF – DEN. I would like to apologize to our neighbors across the Atlantic for Roger Goodell’s decision to send DEN and SF over to you guys to represent the NFL. This will by no means be a Patriots over Titans shellacking. This is a 2-5 team verse a 1-6 team. I’ll let the run game decide this one. DEN has Knowshon Moreno healthy and ready to go in his second straight game and SF is 14^th statistically against the run. Sure why not. That stat sounds good.

MIA @ CIN - MIA. If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Miami is for real. They beat first place Green Bay, and lost to first place Pittsburg by 1 point. CIN is neither GB nor PIT. MIA should put up enough points to cover the Bengals.

WAS @ DET – WAS. Washington is the underdog in this game. Detroit is favored by 2 ½ points. I never thought I’d see the day that DET was favored when they weren’t playing a CFL team. This can only mean one thing. The team I would originally pick is now my SLEEPER PICK OF THE WEEK. I know it doesn’t really fit into the category but according to bookies, this would be considered an underdog pick. Washington now has Donovan McNabb and Santana Moss who absolutely kill the Lions. If I could, I’d be making bets on Washington in Vegas. Knowing me however, I’d end up locked on top of a hotel roof.

CAR @ STL – STL. The employee that helped me Saturday at Panera was a nice guy and he was a St. Louis Rams fan. This goes out to you Doug.

GB @ NYJ – GB. That’s right! I picked GB! Why not? They are both in first place (Green Bay is tied.) They have the same amount of talent except for the Jets running game definitely over powers the two. I’m hoping the Jets will over sleep the fact that they’re coming off the bye week.

BUF @ KC – KC. Okay I know I said I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions but KC is a team that should have no problem beating BUF. Buffalo will not go defeated this year. However, their first win won’t be against the Chiefs.

JAC @ DAL – DAL. There’s no doubt that Dallas has been the biggest disappointment this year. Everyone was predicting at least a little playoff fun but now sitting at 1-5, post season play looks slim to none. But every team that fights for the playoffs has a turnaround game. This could be their turnaround game. Say it with me now Dallas. Believe in Kitna! Roy Williams does anyway.

TEN @ SD – TEN. SD hasn’t won a game since week 4 and doesn’t have any time to regroup until week 10 when they have a bye. Even though they actually showed life against NE last week, that’s not saying much for Rivers and Company as the Patriots defense is far from the best in the league. Meanwhile, Tennessee hasn’t lost since week 4 and can play their hearts out this week because they’ll have two weeks to rest as their bye week commences around 7PM on Sunday night.

MIN @ NE – NE*. This game has one factor that needs to be put on the table in order to make this decision. *= If Favre doesn’t start, Patriots will win. Tarvaris Jackson cannot go on the field on Sunday and beat a playoff contender like New England when he hasn’t played a down since 2009 and even then he only had 21 attempts throughout the whole season. However, if Favre plays, I will never question that man’s ability to win games, considering he’s been doing it for 291 games.

ARI @ TB - TB. TB has lost and won against the teams they’re physically and realistically suppose to loss and win to. Sunday they face the Cardinals who are 3-3 and in second place in the pathetic NFC West. TB is in second place in the NFC South who has Atlanta and New Orleans in their division. Physically and realistically, TB should beat Arizona.

SEA @ OAK – SEA. Really Darren McFadden? Really?  I feel like the Saturday Night Live anchors during their weekly segment. Really? Last week was like your entire career squeezed into one game. Seattle’s quarterback (Hasselbeck) doesn’t really have great stats for the year and their running backs are far from Pro Bowl selections. However, Seattle keeps finding ways to win. I expect the same from them this week, and NOT the same from Oakland this week. Really DMF? Really?

PIT @ NO – PIT. After a statistically great game against the Browns and depressing final tally, there’s no way I can pick the Saints to win against the predicted Super Bowl contenders. PIT should win this game, and expect a pick or two from Polamalu with trigger happy Brees behind center.

HOU @ IND – HOU. Indy was side swiped in game one of the season. Houston came out shooting. Peyton doesn’t have his full artillery with him. Austin Collie and Joseph Addai didn’t practice all this week. Dallas Clark is out for the season. The 31 year old wide receiver Reggie Wayne seems to be the only consistent player every week, and it’s not a good consistency. Houston is coming off a bye week and everyone who’s anyone seems to be healthy enough for the game. Last time they faced off, everyone learned who Arian Foster was. My opponents in Fantasy Football certainly have. I say Houston sweeps them for the season.

Also if you have any comments, questions, or opinions, please feel free to add below or you can email me at paulsnyderemail@gmail.com.

Why the Jets will win the AFC East...

Article is currently in production: check back later for the reasons behind this Patriots fan's predictions!

Sweep in Week Seven?? Hopefully...

Last week for the fun of it, I decided to flip a coin and then either debate the coins fateful decision or agree with it. The coin went 8-6 last week and I split down the middle going 7-7. Looks like I need a few more pennies for a decent thought. The good news is I'm 33-25 overall, still above .500!

Okay, let’s McCain this week and forget the change, Here's my week 7 picks!

CIN @ ATL – ATL. It’s interesting to see that the Bengals are statistically above .500 when it comes to Offense and Defense, yet they’re 2-3 with the only impressive win against Baltimore that happens to be their division rival. Against a top ten run defense, they should be fine if Carson Palmer lets it fly. However, I have a feeling that Matty Heisman might have that kind of Sunday. Matty Heisman don’t fail me now, even though you’ve failed me many times before.

PIT @ MIA – PIT. People laughed when I picked MIA over GB last week. And are they laughing this week?? Well yes because a coin beat me in fantasy picking, but that’s not the point. The Dolphins are for real. Believe you me!

BUF @ BAL – BAL. Not even worth the explanation.

JAC @ KC – KC. Jacksonville is having some quarterback trouble. David Garrard is out, Trent Edwards is likely out, and TIM TEBOW ISN’T WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR! Instead Todd Bouman will likely get the nod. You know Todd Bouman; the guy that hasn’t played a down since 2005. This should be a good bounce back day for KC after losing two straight.

CLE @ NO – NO. For explanation, refer to BUF/BAL game.

WAS @ CHI – WAS. Chicago is a great team defensively especially against the run. Too bad the Redskins are a passing team. CHI disappointed me last week against Seattle and that game should have been a lock for a team that leads the NFC North.

SF @ CAR – SF. SF came through for me last week. Granted it was against a team like Oakland but it still worked out for the best. SF got their first win and OAK continued to lose. WIN, WIN, and another WIN after Sunday. SF is a better team than 1-5, they just have a very tough schedule. Four of their losses have come from New Orleans, Kansas City, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, all teams that are playoff contenders.

STL @ TB – STL. Every week, STL does the opposite of what I think they will do. So this week I put the opposite of what I thought. I think they’ll lose so I’m picking them to win.

PHI @ TEN – PHI. When you think of a back up player coming to the rescue, Kerry Collins isn’t exactly my first pick, especially against a team that’s averaging 26 points a game. Even with DeSean Jackson out, Maclin, McCoy, and Celek should be able to pick up the extra slack. This might be a great game for Maclin who will now be considered the number one wide receiver.

ARI @ SEA – SEA. Again this is one of those game that just doesn’t matter. Granted the winner of this game could decide who’s first in the NFC West, but the NFC West is usually full of wild card teams. (STL has to loss in order to separate the 3 teams.) With a balanced air attack and running game (Matt Hasselbeck and Marshawn Lynch) this team should do pretty well against a team that’s in the bottom 7 in run offense/defense and pass offense/defense. Again, HOW ARE THESE TEAMS FIGHTING FOR FIRST PLACE???

NE @ SD – NE. SD is hurting… Physically and Mentally. As good as this team is coming off the bye week, they are down in personnel. Their running back is probable, TE is questionable, 1 and 2 WR’s are suspended and doubtful. Even their kicker is out. This team is physically in trouble and after losing to Oakland two weeks ago, needed this week to mentally prepare for a offensive hungry New England team.

OAK @ DEN – DEN. Knowshon Moreno is back and ready for the 30th worst run defense in the league.

MIN @ GB – GB. Favre is back in Green Bay. Last time these two teams met up at Lambeau, Favre and Rodgers threw for 7 TDs and 0 INTs. This might be a very fun offensive game to watch. Good thing it’s being televised nationally. If GB really want to get into Brett’s head… they should give out free fake cell phone at the gates for all the fans. Make them the foam kind so that they can throw them on the field. Okay, maybe not such a good idea.

NYG @ DAL – DAL. DAL let me down last week. However I won’t be fooled again, which is why I’m picking them again for my SLEEPER PICK OF THE WEEK. DAL is getting worse and worse while NYG is getting better and better but, don’t be surprised if DAL has a good game on the ground with Tuck and Kiwanuka likely out for the Giants. While the offense might be bad in Dallas, their defense is statistically ranked top ten in passing and rushing. 

Also if you have any comments, questions, or opinions, please feel free to add below or you can email me at paulsnyderemail@gmail.com.

Hit Right or Go Home!

Football is a tough sport. It’s the only one of the four major sports where physical abuse on another opponent is actually accepted. You hit, push, pull, punch, kick, shove, grab, jump into, run into, and fall on top of your opponents. Even everything from under the pile eye gouging to pile driving quarterbacks is given just a wave of the yellow laundry. 

Recently the NFL doesn’t seem to be happy with the physical contact that players are exerting on each other. These flagrant hits and head to head contacts are giving the league reasons to fine and even suspend certain players depending on the severity of the hit.

Some are arguing that these new rules will soften the play of football or that hitting hard is simply “football” so it comes with the job title. While I do agree that the league is moving into a direction of more flags/less contact, it is hits like the one by Brandon Meriweather that need to be eliminated from the sport.

Flagrant hitting and trying to intentionally injure someone should not be tolerated in any sport. Some will say that what he did wasn’t intentional. Intentional or not, he attempted to “tackle” Todd Heap twice, once sending Heap to the bench.

Click Link for Video: Meriweather Lunges with Helmet

This quote was said by Meriweather on Monday on WEEI, “I'm going to be aggressive, point blank… I won't change my game, period. I'm sorry it happened.”

The man is opening admitting to everyone that he knows what he did is wrong and doesn’t plan to change, until…

A reason behind adding these fines and suspensions is to scare these player straight. Here is what Meriweather said after being fined, “I’m going to try my best to play within the rules, like my coach had always taught us.” (Looks like the league’s officials are on to something). Meriweather lost half of a week’s pay because of 1 hit. (Yes sadly he makes about 100K per regular season week.) And on a side note, you’re damn right you will listen to your coach. Belichick knew it was intentional; he sat him for the rest of the quarter after the second hit.

Every sport has its own protocol for weaning out the overall aggressive. The NBA gives out technical fouls and ejects players, who could be fined and suspended for their actions. The MLB gives out warnings and does the same with post game decisions. Some people will argue that the NHL welcomes fighting. That’s not true. While fighting is as much part of hockey as acting is in soccer, intentionally hurting someone in hockey is frowned upon. One man is currently suspended indefinitely because of an elbow to the face that caused a man to seizure.

Up until earlier this week, Football was the only major sport that quietly turned the other cheek when intentional injuries arose. Sure there were flags thrown and whistles blown, but nothing like fining 3 separate players in three different games.

These hits have no business being in the game. In fact, every time I see a hit like that, I cringe. Most people do. I’d rather see a hard clean shoulder pad hit any day. That way at least you know it was intentionally clean, and by the book (of football ethics.)

Click Link for Video: Forceful, but legal, Shoulder Tackle

There are also ways to hit someone without your shoulder pads, like using your arms to extend forward.

Click Link for Video: Arm Extention Knockout

Those two hits are fun to watch. I love to get excited about these hits. The two defenders are PLAYING the game. Following a code of ethics and giving a little extra in a positive way.

When a person lowers their head with intent to injure it really shows what kind of person they really are; thugs, punks, and just play DBs (and no not Defensive Backs.) The game of football doesn’t need players like this. I am completely on board with these possible suspensions and fines. It ruins the game when you have players doing things like this. A perfect example of this is Ray Lewis who always plays with an extreme level of intensity. While his passion is all that is right in the world, his style of play is the hard hitting football that needs to be taken down a notch. Sometimes I question is game play, because he always hits at 110% as if he really is trying to injure someone on every play.

While I’m all for the phrase, “using your head” it’s time for these players to keep their chins up and shoulders down. Either hit right or go home, and if you do choose to go home, make sure the door DOES hit you on the way out.

Pick (Week) 6... Sorry Favre

So last week didn’t really go as planned but it wasn’t a total loss either. I went 8-6 which discontinues my streak of 9 wins every week (26-18 overall). There were definitely a few upsets including the San Diego loss to Oakland and Arizona’s upset win over the Saints. This week looks to be even worse, a suicide pool’s worst night mare. Every game can go either way. I might as well flip a coin to pick the winners. (head tilting thought) Actually it’s not a bad idea. I’ll flip a coin and then dispute or agree with the coin, but this week will be up to the coin. The home team will be heads and I’ll go from there. Do your stuff coin.


ATL @ PHI – PHI WINS. So far, the coin and I have problems. Actually the coin needs a name. Someone I despise and would always disagree with no matter what he said. Lets call the coin Joe Morgan. So Joe says Philly is going to pull this one off. Well not without Michael Vick they’re not. This will be a great game on both sides of the ball. I can’t wait to see what the passing game of Matty Heisman does against the secondary of the Eagles.

KC @ HOU – KC WINS. I can see where J Morgan might pick the Chiefs to win this game. They’re coming off their first loss of the season to INDY, and Houston just got their Tex-asses beaten by the Giants. However, I think Houston will bounce back from an offensively sad game.

NO @ TB – NO WINS. Even though I predicted TB to win last week against the Bengals. This team will not put up numbers like this against NO, however, neither will NO. For the past few years, Reggie Bush hasn’t had a “real” place on this team. He’s been that guy you would draft “very” late more as a back up or someone who would pick up a few receptions each game. Now that NO doesn’t have Bush, they’ve never been so lost. The Saints put up 20 points against the Arizona Cardinals, one of the worst defensive teams in the LEAGUE!!!! I don’t see TB putting up the same numbers as last week, but I am predicting a win over the Saints.

MIA @ GB – MIA WINS. This game is going to be awesome, and this time, I’m actually going to continue to disagree with Morgan. Mia hasn’t proven that it can beat a worthy team and everyone but GB’s tight end is healthy enough to play this game, including Aaron Rodgers. Even though Rodgers is listed as a game time decision, he practiced fully on Friday and looks to be all set for Sunday.

SD @ STL – SD WINS. WOW… Joe Morgan and I actually agree. SD is better than last week… BY FAR. I will eat my hat (covered in hot sauce and cooked at 450 Degrees ) if they lose to Oakland again. It will not happen. Last week was a fluke. STL will not play well against the Chargers. Expect BIG numbers out of Rivers this game. Hopefully to Malcolm Floyd to boost my fantasy stats.

BAL @ NE – NE WINS. I don't have to explain how much of a Patriots fan I am. I love the offense, the players, the coaches, but there's one thing I do not love... yet, their defense. Their too young and don't work well together, but that could all change in a couple of years after they learn to play with each other. Until then, I'll take the running game of Rice/McGahee, and the passing attack of Boldin/Flacco. I'm taking the ravens.

DET @ NYG – NYG WINS. Detroit put up 40+ points last week against St. Louis. The Giants are NOT St. Louis. Giants win!

CLE @ PIT – PIT WINS. Colt McCoy vs Big Ben… boys shouldn’t play with men.

SEA @ CHI – CHI WINS. Cutler or Collins... doesn't matter. With a running back like Matt Forte, a win will happen, especially against Seattle.

NYJ @ DEN – DEN WINS. Morgan has balls picking Denver. He better not bet them with the bookie, but he definitely has balls. Jets win this one E-A-S-Y... because they're better!

OAK @ SF – SF WINS. San Fran needs a win. At the beginning of the year, I'd agree that this was a lock, but Oakland has been surprising the CRAP out of me. All I want is a top five pick in next years draft, but if Oakland keeps winning, NE is looking at a number 10 or 12 pick. I'm not that excited. Thing could align this week for San Fran, so I'm going to go with the 49ners this game, even at 0-5. SLEEPER PICK OF THE WEEK.

DAL @ MIN – DAL WINS. DAL disappointed me last week. I thought they were really going to turn things around after the Bye week. Well Obviously.... I was DUMB... I was SOO DUMB. Well I will not be dumb again, which is why I WONT be taking the Vikings this week. Come on Cowboys!

IND @ WAS – IND WINS. Peyton vs. McNabb, well actually they never technically face each other at one time on the field, enless you count the coin toss. Washington moved up in the Passing Defense afte last week. They are now 30th instead of 31st. Expect a HUGE game from Peyton, especially since their offense surrounds the rotator cuff of Manning. Reggie WAAAAAYNE and Austin Collie "should" put up record fantasy points. Colts take this one against an extremely weak defense.
TEN @ JAC – JAC WINS. Honestly I couldn't care less. I really couldn't. Just for the sake of arguement, Titans win.

So, like I stated before, this week is a bad week to be in a pool (betting not swimming). There are too many games that could go either way. But we'll see after Monday who is truly right; Myself or Joe "the coin" Morgan.

Also if you have any comments, questions, or opinions, please feel free to add below or you can email me at paulsnyderemail@gmail.com.

The Drive for Week 5

Another week, another 9 wins. Unfortunately I was only able to predict how many I would, not so much how I’d get the win. I went 9-5 last week, which back in old days, puts me into the playoffs. I’ll take it, I guess. So far I haven’t had a stellar week, but I have put up a decent record. (18-12 overall) This week looks to be a little trickier. I’ll be tip toeing my way to 9(+) wins again this week. Let’s go…

JAC @ BUF – JAC wins. I can’t believe this game is going to be blacked out nationally. The good thing is that Bills fans won’t be able to watch their team go 0-5 in the comfort of their own home. Instead they have to pay to see it.

DEN @ BAL – BAL wins. We finally got to see the Ravens for what they are. They finally have another strong defensive team with all the weapons on offense to boot. Even thought Kyle Orton’s numbers are impressive (6 TD 1400+ yards), I just don’t see Denver keeping it up the entire season.

KC @ IND – IND wins. Don’t expect Peyton and Co. to take last week’s loss to the Jaguars lightly. Expect a HUGEEEEE game out of the Colts on Sunday. Peyton is averaging almost 3 touchdowns a week. It will be up to Kansas City to match it or lay down.

GB @ WAS – GB wins. Washing ton is still floating on air after last week’s division win over the Eagles. The Packers are an extremely strong offensive team, more so in the air, which is where the Redskins still sit at 31^st in pass defense amongst every team in the NFL.

STL @ DET –STL wins. Welcome to the perfect antonym of the Super Bowl. NOBODY CARES ABOUT THIS GAME. Bookies aren’t even taking bets on it because it’s that much of a waste of time. (That’s not true, Vegas takes bets on everything.) I can’t even believe that I wrote this much about this game. Moving on…

CHI @ CAR – CHI wins. Even though Todd Collins is replacing Jay Cutler this week, I’m still convinced that they’ll put up better numbers than Carolina. The Panthers have scored a total of 5 touchdowns… they entire year. (The Bears have 7… but still.)

TB @ CIN – TB wins. Well it’s finally official. Not even the great Terrell Owens can save the Bengals. T.O. had 200+ yards, 10 receptions, and 1 touchdown against Cleveland, and they still lost. Cincinnati has lost to both Carolina and Cleveland this year and Tampa has WON both games against Carolina and Cleveland this year… see where I’m going with this yet?

ATL @ CLE – ATL wins. Cleveland isn’t that good a team, even with the win against the Bengals. (The Bengals have yet to arrive, so I can’t even give Cleveland credit for that win.) Matty Heisman does it again this week, hopefully with the help of Roddy White to boost my fantasy stats.

NYG @ HOU – HOU wins. Not only are the Giants 2-2, but they should be 1-3. Last week’s disturbing over the Bears was like watching Varsity take on a bunch of Pee Wee players, while the quarterback used his non throwing arm to pass to receivers who catch with their feet. In other words… the defense was fun to watch, but the offense barely showed up. The Giants are going to have to put up some points in order to keep up with high soaring, huge scoring Texans.

NO @ ARI – NO wins. It looks like I wrote “no wins,” as in a tie. However, that won’t be the case for this game. No explanation, New Orleans destroys.

TEN @ DAL – DAL wins. UPSET PICK OF THE WEEK!!!! Well, kind of… DAL is coming off a bye week after going 1-2 to start the season. Tennessee is 2-2 but hasn’t shown its true potential yet. I still think that Chris Johnson will have a 100+ yard day but I think Romo and the boys are going to pull this one off.

SD @ OAK – SD wins. COME ON TOP 5 DRAFT PICK… COME ON TOP 5 DRAFT PICK! In case you didn’t know, The Patriots get Oakland’s first round draft pick in 2011. The worse they do, the better position the Pats are in, so I repeat… COME ON TOP 5 DRAFT PICK!

PHI @ SF – PHI wins. Michael Vick will be out this week and Kevin Kolb will be starting in his original place as starting quarterback. The team practiced all pre season as Kolb as the starter so they shouldn’t have a problem beating the 0-4 49ners. Easy win for Philly this week.

MIN @ NYJ – NYJ wins. Just because Moss was traded… no just kidding that’s not the reason, well it’s one of the reasons. Minnesota is struggling right now. They have 1 win and it was against Detroit. Granted it was a division win, but that’s not really going to help them. No offense to Randy Moss, but the Vikings need more than a deep threat. Don’t even get me started on Brett “the pervert” Favre… naked old men are gross, even by text message. Revis should be a go for Sunday, hamstring permitting, and so expect Moss to actually work hard against the Jets’ secondary.

So there is week 5 in the books… written and posted. I hope you enjoy the games and interesting matchups. I however, will be missing this week’s games to attend a friend’s wedding in New Hampshire. My special congratulations to Curtis Hartson and Ashley Ames this weekend, the future Mr. and Mrs. Hartson.

Also if you have any comments, questions, or opinions, please feel free to add below or you can email me at paulsnyderemail@gmail.com.

Week 4 Picks... Easy as Pie! (Victory Pie)

One of the greatest things I love about football is that the season is only 17 weeks long. While some of you may say the season isn't long enough and you'd rather see more football, I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm saying I love it for a different reason.

I love the length of the football season because betting is easier. You only have to change a fantasy line up 17 times as opposed to baseball which is every day from the beginning of April to late September. Also, because the players have one game a week, you can sometimes have a player that puts up Hall of Fame numbers every week. You don't see Albert Pujols going 4/5 every night with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs, but you could have Peyton Manning throw for more than 300 yards and 2 touchdowns every week.

I also love it because it's easy to pick winners of each match up only 17 times, which I'm currently doing. Last week I went 9-7, which isn't bad. I figure if my record is good enough to take the NFC West Division, then I'm in good standing (pun intended).

This week sets me up for at least the same amount of wins. There are 9 games that are pretty much a lock, making week 4 a suicide poll participant's dream. Let's start off with the easy wins.

NYJ @ BUF - NYJ wins. Buffalo is notorious for giving the Jets trouble, but these aren't your ordinary Gang Green team. Last year the two teams split the series. Don't expect the same this year, unless half the team takes a vacation on Revis Island.


CIN @ CLE - CIN wins. The Battle of Ohio. While this match up is always fun to watch, don't expect much. Cleveland is 0-3 and Cincy is a strong 2-1 after a great win over Baltimore and cake walk over Carolina.

DEN @ TEN - TEN wins. I know that some people will argue that this isn't an easy pick. I'm going to say it is. Denver has yet to prove they're a contender, especially with a loss to Jacksonville and they're now without their starting running back. Tennessee's running back just got back into the swing of things with another 100+ yards rushing performance and Vince Young looks to be ready to take the helm once again.

CAR @ NO - NO wins. The Saints may not have running back Pierre Thomas due to any injury but that's not really a problem considering they're last in the NFL in rushing yards. No problem in Louisiana, the Panthers might as well stay home.

DET @ GB - DET wins. HAHAHAHA just kidding. GB wins.

SF @ ATL - ATL wins. The Falcons are coming off a couple huge wins, including a division win over the Saints. Look for another high scoring game in Atlanta.

HOU @ OAK - HOU wins. Even if Oakland were facing a high school team, I wouldn't pick them to win. The Patriots get Oakland's first round pick in next years draft. The worse they do the better it is for New England. COME ON TOP 5 PICK!!

IND @ JAC - IND wins. These picks are actually easier done than said.

ARI @ SD - SD wins. San Diego has been waiting for a game where they can explode on offense. I expect this game to be much like Arizona's 41-7 loss against Atlanta. The Chargers get their starting left tackle back and star rookie running back. All will be well in San Diego.

That's it for the easy pickems... now time to do some work.

SEA @ STL - SEA wins. I'm not sure how Seattle has two wins but they do. And they're a lot better than the Rams, who might be playing without Stephen Jackson this week. Now St. Louis has no running game and has to rely on rookie sensation Sam Bradford. Say it with me now... anagonnahappen!

BAL @ PIT - BAL wins. I love this match up. I may be quick to take the Ravens in this one, especially with Ray Rice an uncertain for game time, but I can't help it. I didn't think the Steelers would be 3-0 with a chance to go 4-0 before their starting quarterback sets foot on the field. This is my SLEEPER PICK OF THE WEEK. (just started that right now) While the Steelers' defense is better than Baltimore, and the offense proved it can put up numbers, even with Charlie Batch behind center, I'm still going with my gut here and picking the Ravens.

WAS @ PHI - PHI wins. This game could be the greatest game of Donovan McNabb's career. He get's traded in the off season, but not just to any team. He's traded to the division rival. He gets to face his old team, old coach, old back up quarterback, and none the less, in PHILLY. However, he doesn't really have that great of a team to back him up. He's only thrown for two touchdowns and his running game is... feeeh. Meanwhile, Michael Vick has two extraordinary wide receivers in DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The Redskins' secondary isn't good enough to hold them down, nor are the line backers quick enough to catch Vick outside the pocket.

CHI @ NYG - NYG wins. Here ya go Giants fans. I'm backing you up this one time. I don't think da-Bears are that good, even if they are 3-0. This may be a great opportunity for the Giants to get back on track. New York is a passing team facing a bad passing defense. While da-Bears are a good passing team facing a good passing defense. For the first time in my life, I'm actually rooting for Eli to pick up a win. Don't expect this everyweek.


NE @ MIA - NE wins. Go ahead and say it. A biased pick. Maybe so but... let's analyze this further. This game is not going to be a defensive show down. I think that's pretty obvious. The Patriots have scored an average of 30 points a game and the Dolphins have scored an average of 17 points a game, with one of those games coming against the Buffalo Bills. What you're proposing is that the Dolphins need to stop the likes of Tom Brady passing to Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Julian Edelman, and two BEASTLY tight ends. I just don't see that happening; just like I don't see the Patriots defense stopping the rushing game of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. It's not news that New England is horrible at running the ball as well as stopping the run.

I expect this game to be a huge high scoring game, but don't expect the Dolphins to keep up.


So there's my picks for week 5. With the beginning of bye weeks occurring this week, I only have 14 games to choose from, but I'm at least predicting a 9 win week. Time will tell for the other match ups.

Also if you have any comments, questions, or opinions, please feel free to add below or you can email me at paulsnyderemail@gmail.com.