NFL: Week 4
Going into Week 4 of the NFL season, fans have a better sense of knowing if their team is a contender or a pretender this season, but some still have no idea. Only three undefeated teams remain, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Chicago, but their are also five teams that are still looking for their first win. Dallas, Kansas City, Minnesota and Tampa Bay have byes, so only 14 games this week, but their are some intriguing matchups. More on those in a second.
Last week I went 10-6 in my picks, bringing the my season total to 29-19. Not bad, if I do say so myself. The Bengals won last week, and I did well with my picks. I like to think their is a correlation between the two, but probably not. So, without further adieu my Week 4 selections:
Week 4 Picks:
Atlanta over San Francisco: The 49ers start to the season has not been what everyone expected. They were the favorites in the NFC West and maybe even a Super Bowl threat, not anymore. Atlanta was the first team to knock off the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints, with a win in New Orleans last week, but needed overtime to do it. I like Atlanta at home, but it's hard to believe that San Francisco would start 0-4.
NY Jets over Buffalo: The Jets have been impressive since Week 1 and I thought they would lose in Miami last week, but they continue to prove me wrong. Buffalo almost beat New England last week, but the Patriots defense is no where near as good as the Jets. Jets win big.
St. Louis over Seattle: St. Louis have the same amount of wins as they did last year and its only the fourth week of the season. The Rams played well last week against Washington and just might be starting to turn it around. Seattle was able to beat San Diego at home last week, thanks in large part to Leon Washington returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. The Rams are better than people think and I like them to win a division game at home.
Tennessee over Denver: Chris Johnson will have a big day against Denver in my opinion and I was not impressed watching Denver last week against the Colts. Peyton Manning picked their defense apart and I think Chris Johnson will be too much for them to handle. Denver QB Kyle Orton has played well, so far this season and it might be a shootout down in Tennessee. Titans win though, behind Chris Johnson.
Green Bay over Detroit: If it weren't for the penalties, Green Bay would be undefeated. The Packers just continued to shoot themselves in the foot with dumb penalties, which ended up costing them the game Monday night in Chicago. Detroit is likely to get QB Matthew Stafford back, but Green Bay is the better team. The Packers cut down on the penalties and beat the Lions at Lambeau Field.
Baltimore over Pittsburgh: One of the best games this weekend will sure to be a hard fought battle. Whenever the Ravens and Steelers get together it's always hard hitting and dominated by defense. This week will be no different, as the Steelers look to go 4-0 without Big Ben. Pittsburgh's defense has carried them so far, but they will face the best offense they've seen this year in the Ravens. Ray Lewis and the Ravens-D will be ready to play, but so will the Pittsburgh-D. I like the Ravens in a very close one.
New Orleans over Carolina: No way in the world the Saints lose two in a row. Drew Brees will be in for a big day and Carolina QB Jimmy Clausen will be in for a long one. If he thought last week was rough against the Bengals defense, just wait until he sees all the blitzes coming from the Saints. Saints by at least a touchdown.
Indianapolis over Jacksonville: The Colts have a better defense, a better offense, better coaching, overall better players and oh yeah, Peyton Manning. Need I say more. Jacksonville RB Maurice Jones-Drew has yet to catch fire this season and he might have a big game against the Colts, much like Arian Foster did in Week 1. But still Colts win big, as Peyton probably throws at least two touchdowns.
Houston over Oakland: Houston lost to Dallas last week in the Battle for the Lone Star state, but don't think they aren't as good as the looked the first two weeks. The Texans are a very good football, especially on offense, but the defense must get better if the Texans are to make a run at the playoffs. Oakland should have won last week in Arizona had kicker Sebastian Janikowski not missed three field goals, including the game winner. The Texans have too much talent and will win.
Philadelphia over Washington: The marquee matchup this weekend as QB Donovon McNabb returns to Philadelphia. The Eagles have played really well since Micheal Vick took over at quarterback and Vick has looked better than ever. As for Washington, an overtime loss to Houston and a loss to the Rams has the Redskins 1-2, when they easily could be 3-0. Whether or not McNabb receives cheers or boos from the fans is still a question, but I think that the Eagles are better than the Redskins. The Eagles beat McNabb in his return to Philly.
San Diego over Arizona: The Chargers were shocked, no pun intended, by the Seahawks last week mainly because the special teams allowed two touchdowns. As usual, the Chargers are off to a slow start. No cause for alarm though, as San Diego is still a good football team and they are better than the Cardinals. Arizona is 2-1, but beat Oakland and St. Louis, big accomplishments. Too much talent for the Chargers and they start to turn it around with a win.
Chicago over NY Giants: The Bears could easily be 1-2 if it weren't some calls going their way. Week 1 they got by Detroit because WR Calvin Johnson did not maintain possession of the ball in the endzone and the touchdown was taken off the board. Last week Green Bay committed 18 penalties and still almost one the game. Don't get to wrong the Bears are a very good football team and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz has done wonders with QB Jay Cutler. The Giants on the other hand are a mess and head coach Tom Coughlin's seat just keeps getting hotter and hotter. Bears win behind Cutler and their defense to remain undefeated.
New England over Miami: Another great one on Monday night and if the Dolphins are to make a run in the AFC East, they need to win Monday. New England's defense is a major cause for concern though. Beside the first half of the Bengals game, the defense has played very poorly. Buffalo put up 30 on them last week, after only scoring 22 points in the first two games combined. Despite the Patriots woes on defense, they are too talented on offense. Patriots win, but closer than the experts think.
And...
Bengals over Cleveland: The Bengals have won their last 8 division games and this week they push that number to 9. The Browns have been in every game, losing by only 12 combined points, and they have had the lead in the 4th quarter in all three games. The Browns always play the Bengals tough, but the Bengals are the better football team.
Cleveland ranks 22nd in the league throwing the football and 21st in the league in stopping the run, two things the Bengals can take advantage of. Cedric Benson is the best running back the Browns have faced this season and the Bengals defense is just as good as Baltimore's, who the Browns played last week. Cleveland QB Jake Delhomme should be back after missing the last two games, which is good for the Bengals because he is very turnover prone. In the Marvin Lewis era, when the Bengals win the turnover battle, they win hands down. If Delhomme turns the ball over, the Bengals will take advantage like they did last week in Carolina. Browns RB Peyton Hillis was able to rush for over 100 yards against the Ravens, which is no easy task, but look for the Bengals to load the box and stop the Browns rushing attack. Mike Zimmer and the defense will be ready for whatever the Browns throw at them.
The Bengals offense needs to start getting it into gear if the Bengals are to compete with the Ravens and Steelers in the division. Carson has to play better, because the Bengals need him and any more bad performances might get him run out of the city by the fans. And I think he will, look for Palmer to have his best game of the season. Benson is in for a big day as the Bengals to get back to running the football, something they excelled at last year in division games. As the saying goes, "If it's Brown, flush it down." The Bengals flush down the Browns on the road and improve to 3-1.
Last week I went 10-6 in my picks, bringing the my season total to 29-19. Not bad, if I do say so myself. The Bengals won last week, and I did well with my picks. I like to think their is a correlation between the two, but probably not. So, without further adieu my Week 4 selections:
Week 4 Picks:
Atlanta over San Francisco: The 49ers start to the season has not been what everyone expected. They were the favorites in the NFC West and maybe even a Super Bowl threat, not anymore. Atlanta was the first team to knock off the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints, with a win in New Orleans last week, but needed overtime to do it. I like Atlanta at home, but it's hard to believe that San Francisco would start 0-4.
NY Jets over Buffalo: The Jets have been impressive since Week 1 and I thought they would lose in Miami last week, but they continue to prove me wrong. Buffalo almost beat New England last week, but the Patriots defense is no where near as good as the Jets. Jets win big.
St. Louis over Seattle: St. Louis have the same amount of wins as they did last year and its only the fourth week of the season. The Rams played well last week against Washington and just might be starting to turn it around. Seattle was able to beat San Diego at home last week, thanks in large part to Leon Washington returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. The Rams are better than people think and I like them to win a division game at home.
Tennessee over Denver: Chris Johnson will have a big day against Denver in my opinion and I was not impressed watching Denver last week against the Colts. Peyton Manning picked their defense apart and I think Chris Johnson will be too much for them to handle. Denver QB Kyle Orton has played well, so far this season and it might be a shootout down in Tennessee. Titans win though, behind Chris Johnson.
Green Bay over Detroit: If it weren't for the penalties, Green Bay would be undefeated. The Packers just continued to shoot themselves in the foot with dumb penalties, which ended up costing them the game Monday night in Chicago. Detroit is likely to get QB Matthew Stafford back, but Green Bay is the better team. The Packers cut down on the penalties and beat the Lions at Lambeau Field.
Baltimore over Pittsburgh: One of the best games this weekend will sure to be a hard fought battle. Whenever the Ravens and Steelers get together it's always hard hitting and dominated by defense. This week will be no different, as the Steelers look to go 4-0 without Big Ben. Pittsburgh's defense has carried them so far, but they will face the best offense they've seen this year in the Ravens. Ray Lewis and the Ravens-D will be ready to play, but so will the Pittsburgh-D. I like the Ravens in a very close one.
New Orleans over Carolina: No way in the world the Saints lose two in a row. Drew Brees will be in for a big day and Carolina QB Jimmy Clausen will be in for a long one. If he thought last week was rough against the Bengals defense, just wait until he sees all the blitzes coming from the Saints. Saints by at least a touchdown.
Indianapolis over Jacksonville: The Colts have a better defense, a better offense, better coaching, overall better players and oh yeah, Peyton Manning. Need I say more. Jacksonville RB Maurice Jones-Drew has yet to catch fire this season and he might have a big game against the Colts, much like Arian Foster did in Week 1. But still Colts win big, as Peyton probably throws at least two touchdowns.
Houston over Oakland: Houston lost to Dallas last week in the Battle for the Lone Star state, but don't think they aren't as good as the looked the first two weeks. The Texans are a very good football, especially on offense, but the defense must get better if the Texans are to make a run at the playoffs. Oakland should have won last week in Arizona had kicker Sebastian Janikowski not missed three field goals, including the game winner. The Texans have too much talent and will win.
Philadelphia over Washington: The marquee matchup this weekend as QB Donovon McNabb returns to Philadelphia. The Eagles have played really well since Micheal Vick took over at quarterback and Vick has looked better than ever. As for Washington, an overtime loss to Houston and a loss to the Rams has the Redskins 1-2, when they easily could be 3-0. Whether or not McNabb receives cheers or boos from the fans is still a question, but I think that the Eagles are better than the Redskins. The Eagles beat McNabb in his return to Philly.
San Diego over Arizona: The Chargers were shocked, no pun intended, by the Seahawks last week mainly because the special teams allowed two touchdowns. As usual, the Chargers are off to a slow start. No cause for alarm though, as San Diego is still a good football team and they are better than the Cardinals. Arizona is 2-1, but beat Oakland and St. Louis, big accomplishments. Too much talent for the Chargers and they start to turn it around with a win.
Chicago over NY Giants: The Bears could easily be 1-2 if it weren't some calls going their way. Week 1 they got by Detroit because WR Calvin Johnson did not maintain possession of the ball in the endzone and the touchdown was taken off the board. Last week Green Bay committed 18 penalties and still almost one the game. Don't get to wrong the Bears are a very good football team and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz has done wonders with QB Jay Cutler. The Giants on the other hand are a mess and head coach Tom Coughlin's seat just keeps getting hotter and hotter. Bears win behind Cutler and their defense to remain undefeated.
New England over Miami: Another great one on Monday night and if the Dolphins are to make a run in the AFC East, they need to win Monday. New England's defense is a major cause for concern though. Beside the first half of the Bengals game, the defense has played very poorly. Buffalo put up 30 on them last week, after only scoring 22 points in the first two games combined. Despite the Patriots woes on defense, they are too talented on offense. Patriots win, but closer than the experts think.
And...
Bengals over Cleveland: The Bengals have won their last 8 division games and this week they push that number to 9. The Browns have been in every game, losing by only 12 combined points, and they have had the lead in the 4th quarter in all three games. The Browns always play the Bengals tough, but the Bengals are the better football team.
Cleveland ranks 22nd in the league throwing the football and 21st in the league in stopping the run, two things the Bengals can take advantage of. Cedric Benson is the best running back the Browns have faced this season and the Bengals defense is just as good as Baltimore's, who the Browns played last week. Cleveland QB Jake Delhomme should be back after missing the last two games, which is good for the Bengals because he is very turnover prone. In the Marvin Lewis era, when the Bengals win the turnover battle, they win hands down. If Delhomme turns the ball over, the Bengals will take advantage like they did last week in Carolina. Browns RB Peyton Hillis was able to rush for over 100 yards against the Ravens, which is no easy task, but look for the Bengals to load the box and stop the Browns rushing attack. Mike Zimmer and the defense will be ready for whatever the Browns throw at them.
The Bengals offense needs to start getting it into gear if the Bengals are to compete with the Ravens and Steelers in the division. Carson has to play better, because the Bengals need him and any more bad performances might get him run out of the city by the fans. And I think he will, look for Palmer to have his best game of the season. Benson is in for a big day as the Bengals to get back to running the football, something they excelled at last year in division games. As the saying goes, "If it's Brown, flush it down." The Bengals flush down the Browns on the road and improve to 3-1.
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