Week 3 NFL Picks

            A deer had a death wish and decided to jump into the side of my car, which wouldn’t of been a big deal if I wasn’t driving it at the time. We’re keeping the analysis short, but just know that No Credentials bounced back from a terrible Week 1 to claw back over .500 for the season.

1-1 TITANS (-3) over 1-1 Chargers

            We’re still riding the Titans bandwagon, even after their disappointing overtime loss in Houston.         

0-2 VIKINGS (-7) over 0-2 Browns

            Not totally comfortable laying a touchdown with Christian Ponder as my quarterback, but that’s outweighed by a team who just traded it’s best player and is starting Brian Hoyer at quarterback.

(EDITORS NOTE: Before the deer ruined my Wednesday night, I was fully prepared to type a piece on the Trent Richardson trade, but we’ll settle on a short analysis here. To make a long story short, it’s a great trade for Cleveland. Runningbacks have virtually no value on rebuilding teams, and shipping Richardson out while he still had the illusion of value was the right thing to do. Conservative fans of the Browns won’t agree, but anyone with foresight can see that the extra first round pick will be a much valuable tool for Cleveland to use in attempting to land a true franchise quarterback)

0-2 Buccaneers (+7.5) over 2-0 PATRIOTS

            Tampa’s defense is legit, but Josh Freeman is atrocious. It will be a third straight ugly Patriots victory.

1-1  RAVENS (+2.5) over 2-0 Texans

            Houston hasn’t looked great in its first two wins, and Baltimore needs a win over a quality opponent to reestablish themselves as contenders.

1-1  COWBOYS (-3.5) over 1-1 Rams

            Dallas’ week two loss wasn’t horrible (for Vegas purposes, they covered the spread). They get back on track against St. Louis.

2-0 SAINTS (-7.5) over 1-1 Cardinals

            Do yourself a favor and bet the over.

1-1  Lions (+1) over 0-2 REDSKINS

           The Washington ship is going down, and it’s going to be Mike Shanahan that eventually pays the price for it. Matthew Stafford could throw for 600 yards in this game if it’s close.

1-1  BENGALS (+3) over 1-1 Packers

           Cincinnati has the right parts to frustrate the Packers offense, and the emergence of Giovanni Bernard adds an element of explosiveness missing since Corey Dillon’s prime.

0-2 Giants (-1.5) over 0-2 PANTHERS

            In what is essentially an elimination game, we think the Giants take care of business.

2-0 DOLPHINS (-2) over 1-1 Falcons

            It feels weird to bet on Miami when they are favored in this type of match up, but their defense is strong enough to exploit the weaknesses along the Falcons offensive line.

1-1  49ERS (-10) over 1-1 Colts

           After last Sunday’s stink bomb in Seattle, this is not the week to catch the 49ers. They are going to be pretty pissed off.

2-0 SEAHAWKS (-20) over 0-2 Jaguars

            20-point spreads are normally reserved for college games, but in all seriousness, how high would this spread have to be for you to consider taking Jacksonville?

1-1  Bills (+2.5) over 1-1 JETS

            This feels like the weirdest line of the week. I think Buffalo is significantly better than the Jets.

0-2 STEELERS (+2.5) over 2-0 Bears

            I’ve written how I’m not crazy about the Steelers, but they have enough pride to not get embarrassed two weeks in a row in primetime.

2-0 BRONCOS (-16) over 1-1 Raiders

            This spread probably should’ve been in the 20-point range too.

            Ethan finished two games behind me last week, but still is off to a solid 19-12-1 start. Here are his picks.

Baltimore - I think we see a heavy dose of Bernard Peirce and he shows up big time.

Carolina - Eli is on pace to throw like 60 INTs
Green Bay - I like the direction the Bengals are going but Andy Dalton holds them back from this win.
St. Louis - This will be a hard nose game and Dallas will find a way to lose it.
Minnesota - I can’t remember ever watching Hoyer play and I don’t know who is playing running back for Cleveland so yeah.
Tampa Bay - I don’t get how New England is a 8.5 point favorite, maybe Vegas knows that most Pats fans are too die hard to even pick another team to cover against them.
Arizona - New Orleans struggled to score last week, I like Arizona here.
Tennessee - I have picked Tennessee to win or cover both games this season I am sticking with them.
Detroit - Detroit has to score early in this one. If they can get a quick 10-0 lead, I like their chances.
Atlanta - Without Steven Jackson they are going to air the shit out of the ball.
Buffalo - EJ Manuel looks a lot better than Geno Shit
San Francisco - That is a huge spread but I ain’t scared.
Seattle - The spread could be 28 and I would probably still take Seattle
Chicago - Pittsburgh sucks and I love it.
Denver - People will be scared at half time, but Peyton will score 21 unanswered in the second half.
 

My Week 2 Record = 11-5

Ethan’s Week 2 = 9-7
My Season Record = 16-15-1
Ethan’s Record = 19-12-1
Mine and Ethan’s Thursday Pick = 1-0