So sad news here at No Credentials…we’re down a prognosticator. Friend of the blog Ethan Hedrick has retired from making picks for the 2013 season (EDITORS NOTE: Actually, he was “distracted” by other events, and neglected to submit them). The good news is he’s alive, and we here at No Credentials are still here to offer up bad football picks.

2-5 Atlanta Falcons @ 4-3 Carolina Panthers (-8)

This is a game the Panthers need to solidify their wild card contention in the NFC.

PANTHERS (-8) over Falcons

1-6 Minnesota Vikings @ 4-4 Dallas Cowboys (-10.5)

Dallas has been an every other week sort of team this year. Minnesota is a good club to catch when you’re trying to continue that trend.

COWBOYS (-10.5) over Vikings

6-1 New Orleans Saints (-7) @ 4-4 New York Jets

The Ryan brothers have cooked up solid defensive game plans for the Saints in the past (that was a big part of the reason Rob Ryan was hired by Sean Payton). I think Rex figures out a way to keep this close.

JETS (+7) over Saints

3-4 Tennessee Titans (-3) @ 3-5 St. Louis Rams

Improbably, Jake Locker has returned just in time before the Titans fell out of playoff contention.

Titans (-3) over RAMS

8-0 Kansas City Chiefs (-4) @ 3-5 Buffalo Bills

There won’t be a ton of points here. Think 17-7 or something.

Chiefs (-4) over BILLS

4-3 San Diego Chargers (-1) @ 2-5 Washington Redskins

San Diego could build itself a solid lead for the last wildcard spot in the AFC with a win and a couple other things happening around the conference.

Chargers (-1) over REDSKINS

3-5 Philadelphia Eagles @ 3-4 Oakland Raiders (-3)

Nick “Pizza Man” Foles returns, and we predict that the two game funk for Chip Kelly’s offense will come to an end.

Eagles (+3) over RAIDERS

0-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ 7-1 Seattle Seahawks (-16)

Seattle will win, but it’s hard to cover a 16-point spread when you can’t block anybody.

Buccaneers (+16) over SEAHAWKS

3-4 Baltimore Ravens (-2.5) @ 3-5 Cleveland Browns

This just feels like a game that the Ravens will figure out by the end of the fourth quarter.

Ravens (-2.5) over BROWNS

2-5 Pittsburgh Steelers @ 6-2 New England Patriots (-7)

Will bet on Tom Brady’s history of typically dominating the Steelers.

PATRIOTS (-7) over Steelers

5-2 Indianapolis Colts (-3) @ 2-5 Houston Texans

Andrew Luck and company would be wise to put their foot on the throats of a division opponent.

Colts (-3) over TEXANS

4-3 Chicago Bears @ 5-2 Green Bay Packers (-11)

At first glance this spread looks really high, but then you have to remember that Chicago’s defense can’t stop anyone.

PACKERS (-11) over Bears

Last Week = 9-4

Season = 60-56-3
Thursday = 0-1 (who gets sacked for a safety in overtime? Redheaded QBs)

Coming off our worst week of the season last week (thanks Saints, Giants, Ravens, and Chargers for choking against inferior teams), No Credentials is looking to bounce back in a big way.

Week 9 Byes = Lions, Vikings, Panthers, Jaguars

Falcons (-7) over COLTS

By my calculations, Indianapolis has only beaten the spread once all season (against Pittsburgh).

Atlanta 31, Indianapolis 14

Confidence Score = 16

SAINTS (-8.5) over Buccaneers

I’m expecting a strong showing by the Saints after their listless performance in St. Louis.

New Orleans 34, Tampa Bay 21

Confidence Score = 11

TEXANS (-10.5) over Browns

I hate laying this many points on the Texans, but it’s never good to bet on a team dealing with controversy. The play of Houston’s defense the last two weeks makes this pick a little easier to stomach.

Houston 21, Cleveland 7

Confidence Score = 12

BILLS (-2) over Jets

If Buffalo follows the game plan Oakland used against New York earlier this season, they will pull out this game.

Buffalo 19, New York 14

Confidence Score = 8

Dolphins (+4) over CHIEFS

Miami has been doing a solid job of making it look like they are trying while intentionally going 0-16 to get Andrew Luck. Look for that to continue Sunday in Kansas City.

Kansas City 28, Miami 27

Confidence Score = 4

49ers (-3.5) over REDSKINS

This game should be a little higher in my confidence list, but San Francisco is due for a clunker on the road at some point.

San Francisco 17, Washington 10

Confidence Score = 10

COWBOYS (-11.5) over Seahawks

Dallas blew out St. Louis (the only non-playoff contender the Cowboys have played all year) two weeks ago. There’s a strong possibility that Dallas is “the good bad team”.

Dallas 31, Seattle 13

Confidence Score = 13

Broncos (+7.5) over RAIDERS

If you have any desire to wager greenbacks on either Tim Tebow or Carson Palmer, consider yourself something that rhymes with “lucked kin ka read”.

Oakland 10, Denver 6

Confidence Score = 3

Bengals (+3) over TITANS

The red head quarterback is starting to win me over. If Cincy covers this week, I’ll actually refer to him as Andy Dalton in next week’s picks. I promise.

Cincinnati 24, Tennessee 23

Confidence Score = 7

CARDINALS (-3) over Rams

The totally unwatchable game of the week, sponsored by “The Green Lantern”.

Arizona 12, St. Louis 6

Confidence Score = 5

Giants (+9) over PATRIOTS

New York’s wide receivers will give New England all sorts of problems. I’m not predicting a Giants win, but am expecting a high scoring affair.

New England 31, New York 28

Confidence Score = 9

CHARGERS (+6) over Packers

When San Diego loses, they typically only lose by a little. They’ll hang with Green Bay before running an awful two-minute drill and losing by 3.

Green Bay 27, San Diego 24

Confidence Score = 6

STEELERS (-3.5) over Ravens

Throw in momentum with a dash of vengeance, and you’ll get a fired up Steelers team on Sunday night. If I’m Joe Flacco, I’m not sleeping well Saturday night.

Pittsburgh 20, Baltimore 10

Confidence Score = 14

EAGLES (-7.5) over Bears

Don’t expect Chicago’s defense to continually fall for counter plays like Dallas did last week, but do expect Jay Cutler to end up on his back. Repeatedly.

Philadelphia 24, Chicago 10

Confidence Score = 15

Last Week Record = 4-9 (yikes!)

LW Top-5 Picks = 1-4 (double yikes!)
Season Record = 59-50-7
S Top-5 Picks = 20-18-2

No Credentials At All

Friday, November 1, 2013

Week 9 NFL Picks