NFL Week 4 according to the Milton Pigskin Prognosticator

Rex Grossman rides the pines this week as the Bears take on the Lions
Oakland at Miami (-4)
Dolphin LB Joey Porter has boldly guaranteed a win for this week, I just wish he’d guaranteed covering the spread as well – then I could hold him accountable for my pick. However Porter’s prediction does not seem like a wise investment – the winless Fish will be playing a Raider team coming off a big win last week, with QB Duante Culpepper making his second start for the Raiders and definitely motivated to feed it to his old team.
Raiders
Houston (-3) at Atlanta
Texan’s QB Matt Schaub is looking forward to his first game back where he played last year – and brings in a much-improved 2-1 Houston team. The woes continue for Atlanta, and this weekend will be no different!
Texans
Baltimore (-4.5) at Cleveland
The Ravens beat the Browns in both of their meetings last year and they should have no problem racking up the points against the weak Brown defence in this one. Furthermore the Browns will be facing their toughest pass defence yet – so look for their QB to struggle.
Ravens
Chicago (-3) at Detroit
The Bears’ benching of QB-monstrosity Rex Grossman is the best play they’ve run all season. Furthermore, their back-up Brian Griese showed during his last starting role stint with Tampa Bay that he’s matured into a QB that controls the ball and avoids costly turnovers, while Grossman would throw INT after INT. If Griese plays safe and lets his defence provide the offence with great field position than the Bears will win by at least a TD. The Bears beat Detroit both times last year by 27 points and 5 points.
Bears
Green Bay (-1.5) at Minnesota
Packer QB Brett Favre is 5-10 lifetime playing in Minnesota and Minnesota is 1-2 this season thanks to losing each of the last two games by just a field goal – but both of those games on the road. The dominant Viking defence, who have 11 sacks in the first 3 weeks, will help get the Vikings back on track this weekend.
Vikings
St. Louis at Dallas (-13)
Thus far, the Rams have lost all 3 of their games by an average of 12 points per game, while Dallas has won all 3 of their games by an average of 17 points per game. Factor in that this is by far the best team St. Louis has faced this season and the fact it’s a home game for the Cowboys and you have yourself the recipe for a nasty spanking!
Cowboys
N.Y. Jets (-3.5) at Buffalo
These teams split their series last season – the big difference this season is simply that the Bills are 100% worse than last year. Sure it would be great for people stuck living in Buffalo to have one good reason to live – but the result of this Sunday’s game will not provide that answer. The Jets only have one win this season, but their two loses are to teams that finished with 12-4 and 13-3 records last year.
J-E-T-S
Tampa Bay at Carolina (-3)
This game pits the top two teams in the NFC South, with Carolina yet to face a defence the likes of the Bucs – which has been solid this season. Factor in that Panther QB Delhomme will miss this game with a bad elbow and be replaced by lack-lustre David Carr who has yet to start for his new team and you’ve got Tampa Bay more likely to win than just simply beat the spread.
Buccaneers
Seattle (-2) at San Francisco
San Francisco swept this series last season, and they’re a better team this season, yet to get into their full stride – but definitely ready to make a mends for their poor turn-out last week in Pittsburgh. Seattle has underperformed so far this year, so playing away from home against a team that swept them last season should keep this game tight.
Niners
Pittsburgh (-6) at Arizona
Pittsburgh has had convincing wins in their first 3 games, however this will be the best team they’ve played so far this year. Arizona is still likely to make a name for themselves this year, and have had three VERY close games this year, with each game decided by just 3 points. Watch for the Steelers to slip in the fourth quarter – they’re used to only having to play 3 quarters and coast through the last one so far this season.
Cardinals
Kansas City at San Diego (-12)
This game is just what the doctor ordered for the Chargers afer starting 1-2 versus three strong teams, however their offence has struggled – especially their running game the past two games, so don’t expect them to win by more than a TD. KC will enter this game with more confidence after getting their first win last week against a tough Viking defence.
Chiefs
Denver at Indianapolis (-9.5)
The Colts are in Super Bowl form again this season with a 3-0 start, averaging over 30 points per game - oh, and did I mention this week’s game is at the RCA Dome?. Denver has been sloppy and had to squeak out their two wins against two horrible teams (Bills and Raiders) – as a result they won’t be able to contend in this match.
Colts
Philadelphia (-2.5) at N.Y. Giants
Who will show up to this game – the two teams that started the season 0-2 or the two teams that bounced back with strong wins last week? You’ve got to like the Eagles, they’ve got more strength on both sides of the ball, with 56 points scored last week and the Philly D racking up NINE sacks last week.
Eagles
New England (-7.5) at Cincinnati
Are you ready for a shoot-out, this has all the makings of a high scoring game – with these two QB’s ranked 1st and 2nd in the league for TD passes and for passing yards in the AFC. QB Tom Brady will feast on the Bengals 31st ranked pass defence while the other star QB in this game, Palmer, will have it a bit tougher with more focus on defending him with RB Rudi Johnson out of this game.
Patriots
Survivor
(Pick one team to win outright each week, the goal to put together the longest streak of consecutive winning picks, while not able to pick any given team more than once during the season.)
I’m a survivor and taking Dallas over St.Louis should guarantee that this will continue – as these two teams are going in two completely different directions – with the Cowboys obviously on the right road while the Rams are lost on some back road.
Here’s a summary of my correct picks in the first three weeks:
Week 1 - Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Now Milton, what do you think?
September 30th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Lucky penny says:
Cleveland
Detroit
Green Bay
Atlanta
Jets
Miami
Dallas
San Fran
Carolina
Denver
San Diego
Arizona
Giants
New England
Survivor pick is San Diego (previous Seattle, Indy, NE)
I’m off again today. Vacations are great, too bad we don’t live in Australia where they get 6-8 weeks on average or some European countries with the 4 day work week…
September 30th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Okay, here we go:
Raiders (+4) over Miami
Texans (-3) over Atlanta
Ravens (-4.5) over Browns
Bears (-3) over Lions
Vikings (+1.5) over Packers
Cowboys (-13) over Rams
Jets (-3.5) over Bills
Bucs (+3) over Panteros
Seahawks (-2) over 49ers
Cardinals (+6) over Steelers
Chiefs (+12) over Chargers
Colts (-9.5) over Broncos
Eagles (-2.5) over Giants
Patriots (-7.5) over Bengals
Survivor Pick: Cowboys to beat St. Louis at home.
Previous picks: Steelers, Jaguars, Patriots.
Take it to the bank, kids!
Peace, out.