NFL Week 11 Picks

I love Sundays. Every week, I look forward to the weekend. And every weekend is punctuated with American football analysis, newscasts, games – not to mention constantly updated Fantasy Football scores – from 11 am until midnight. By now, bye weeks are done. Every game is a must-win. The Giants are in the driver’s seat in the NFC East. And now, Thursday games are starting as a way to punish every fan who doesn’t have NFL Network (they are said to have 91 subscribers in total.) On with the picks… (Spreads as of Thursday, picks in bold)

At New England -3 NY Jets
Man, Brett Farve picked a great year to come and play for the Jets. Last year, they would’ve been clawing for a Wild Card spot, this year, with Tom Brady out, they’re gunning for the top spot in the newly tough AFC East. Who knew the Dolphins would even be relevant at Week 11?

At Atlanta -6 Denver
I know, I know. Denver’s Defense sucks. And I know, Matt Ryan has looked like Dan Marino. But I dunno, I like Denver with the points here. Michael Turner will have a nice day, and Matt Ryan will too. But I think Denver scores a lot of points and flummoxes everyone pegging them as a disappointment this year.

At Miami -10.5 Oakland
Al Davis took away offensive play calling duties from Greg Knapp this week. They released a guy they paid 11 million dollars and gave up a second round draft pick for, too (DeAngelo Hall). The Raiders are the worst franchise in the NFL. Ahhh! It's Freddy Kruger!

At NY Giants -7 Baltimore
This is scary. I’m a Giants fan, as I’ve said before. They’re not going to finish the season with just one loss, we know that. Baltimore is a tough team and their D is downright scary. I’ll take the Ravens with 7, but the Giants win 24-20.

At Indianapolis -8 Houston
So Alec has a problem with my picking against the Colts. In his/their defense, they pulled out a solid W in Pittsburgh last week and moved to 5-4 in the division. However, they’re 1-3 in their division and have managed to score the fifth fewest points in the AFC. I think Houston keeps it close, and I think the Colts win, but not by 8 points.

Tennessee -3 At Jacksonville
Tennessee, like the Giants, have to lose sometime. I just don’t think that sometime is against this consistently inconsistent Jacksonville team. Kerry Collins – nice gray beard, man.

At Green Bay -3.5 Chicago
Green Bay lost a heartbreaker in Minny last week, so there’s no way they lose back-to-back division games, especially one at home. The Bears have looked good, but an immobile Kyle Orton (or even a fully healthy Sexy Rexy) is going to get worked by a tough Packers D.

Philadelphia -9 At Cincinnati
Philly looked very ordinary against the Giants last Sunday night. Westbrook was a non-factor. However, the Benglas are not the Giants. I think they’ll run through Cincy at home causing even more sad Bengals fans to sell their tickets.

New Orleans -5.5 At Kansas City
Tyler Thigpen is one of the hotter names in the Fantasy circuit – and no I don’t mean football fans J-ing O while watching game tape of him. I think KC plays New Orleans tight and is energized by last week’s near defeat of an overrated Chargers squad.

At Carolina -14 Detroit
Carolina is a playoff contender. Detroit is really, really bad. For real.
Dear Lions Management: You shouldn't have let me retire based on bogus newspaper reporting. I hate you. The fans hate you. Love, Barry
At Tampa Bay -3.5 Minnesota
Tampa will be thin at RB this week with both Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn nursing injuries. On the bright side, Cadillac is back! Carnell Williams, derailed last year by a torn patellar tendon (it’s when your knee cap shoots up like a slingshot into your thigh because nothing is anchoring it anymore. Yikes) is back and ready for game action. On the flip side, Adrian Peterson is a freak and will likely have a nice day. Gus Frerotte, this game will be won or lost based on your performance.

At San Francisco -6 St. Louis
Mike Martz’s play calling on Monday night sucked. A halfback draw from the 3-yard line with 2 seconds left and the halfback isn’t named Frank Gore? What are you doing? But despite that loss, and a litany of penalties in the game, I still think SF can beat the Rams.

Arizona -3 At Seattle
Kurt Warner is tight with J.C. He won’t need any help from the Lord to truck Seattle this week. I think Arizona wins by 20. I’ll even say in print that this is the lock game of the week.

At Pittsburgh -5 San Diego
Tough game to call. These teams have a nice history of tough match-ups recently and I think Phillip Rivers is playing very well. Willie Parker is supposed to be back for this game and Big Ben practiced all week. I don’t see the Steelers dropping 2 games in a row.

Dallas -1.5 At Washington
Call me crazy, but I think Dallas doesn’t have it in them to rebound. I think Washington plays them really tough, and have already won in Dallas earlier this season. I like The 'Skins at home, even without the paltry 1.5-point cushion.

At Buffalo -5 Cleveland
Brady Quinn is the answer! We’ll see if he can be perfect in the pocket again this week. Expect Kellen Winslow to have another big game with this favorable match-up against the Bills. Tough game to call, but I take the points in this one.

Last week: 6-7
Overall: 13-14