NFLFan's Journal: NFL Week 6

The Fans Six Pack:
1.) The Patriots had another resilient win showing that they are are not done yet, the fat lady has yet to sing, it ain't over until they say it is over, and so on. Sorry, but I still am not buying it. The Falcons without Vick would be like Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr re-uniting and calling themselves the Beatles. Yes, I know that the Patriots have a missing a bunch of key personnel also but with the exception of Seymour all those guys are gone for the year but Vick will play again this year. Besides, I think it was another must win for the Patriots.

2.) Watching the Eagles-Chiefs game last week I was thinking that the Eagles need to run the ball a lot more. The Eagles came back though so I did not say anything. Well since they lost this week, they need to run the ball a lot more!

3.) The Saints are done. Sorry Peter King.

4.) After seeing the Ravens implode against Detroit I think it is safe to say that the Ravens are done. I do not care if Brian Billick won a Super Bowl there, I regard that as a fluke, he should be gone at the end of the year.

5.) The Steelers are very lucky that the Roethlisberger's injury is not serious. All this stuff about about Roethlisberger not being as great as his win-loss record is silly. The guy is averaging 9.2 net yards a pass attempt!!! For comparison, no other team is averaging more than 7.6. Pittsburgh may have a system that allow them to plug-in various players and still win but that should not detract the from player's value. Did I mention that the guy has yet to throw an interception?

6.) That Harrington fumble sure looked like a forward pass.

This weeks picks:
Ouch, last week I went 6-8. Overall, I am 42-34 (.5526). I am embarrassed by the performance of my picks last week and have gone to a more scientific approach to picking my games than pretty much just picking them from the sit of my pants (to be honest, I have been wanting to stats aware for awhile this was just the last straw).

Sunday, Oct. 16
Atlanta at New Orleans, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Falcons. The Falcons are the better team; that simple.

Carolina at Detroit, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Panthers. The Panthers win with good steady offense, defense, and special teams-- nothing great. Great is not needed against Detroit.

Cincinnati at Tennessee, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Bengals. The Bengals need to get that tough loss out of their system and the Titans will not put up much of fight.

Cleveland at Baltimore, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Browns. The Ravens are lost. The Browns are better than people think; it does not help that they had a very tough opening schedule.

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Steelers. This was a tough game for me to pick because although the Steelers are the better team; this is going to be a real tough game for them. It is a short week for the Steelers and they are coming off of a long road trip from San Diego. Nobody really knows if Roethlisberger is going to be able to play and if he does he should be less than 100%. So in short, there are a lot of reasons to pick against the Steelers but they do not often lose two in a row at home.

Miami at Tampa Bay, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Buccaneers. The Bucs and Dolphins are comparable in offense and defense but the Bucs have the better special teams unit and that is going to pay-off big this week.

Minnesota at Chicago, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Bears. Okay, I actually do not like either team but I have to pick one. The Vikes are terrible against the run but who do the Bears have to run the ball? The Bears find a way somehow, just because they are the home team.

N.Y. Giants at Dallas, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Giants.

Washington at Kansas City, 1:00 p.m.
I like the Chiefs. The Chiefs have the better offense and special teams. The Redskins might have the better defense but that is not enough this week.

New England at Denver, 4:15 p.m.
I like the Broncos. The Patriots need to prove to me that they can win two in a row!

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 4:15 p.m.
I like the Bills. While these two have comparable offenses and defenses, stat-wise, the Bills are much better on special teams. It might seem small but it should be enough this week.

San Diego at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.
I like the Chargers. Oakland's defense stinks and San Diego offense can be very good.

Houston at Seattle, 8:30 p.m.
I like the Seahawks. The Texans stink, sorry.

Monday, Oct. 17
St. Louis at Indianapolis, 9:00 p.m.
I like the Colts. I have a real soft-spot for the Rams but even their offense is less than special now-a-days. Besides, I can't pick against Indy yet.

Couple of things

[FortKnox]

Billick will get another year. Chalk it up as new coordinators this year, but another losing record and he's done.

Roethlisburger IS a fantastic quarterback, but the team can win without him... keep in mind that the Steelers are very deep in two positions... RB and QB. Their second stringer, Tommy Maddox, is forgotten... wasn't in a little over a year ago that we thought he was the one we were going to bring us a Super Bowl. The kid is a great gunslinger and can fill in when needed. Their third stringe

Re:Couple of things

[NFLFan]

You are probably right about Billick but it baffles my mind how he has lasted this long.

I did not mean to take anything away from the Steelers backups, I am just tired of all this silliness that Roethlisberger is strictly the product of a good running game. Maddox is certainly above average as far as backups go; the guy is probably better than half of the league's starters. I want to like Batch but I am not sold on him just yet; I just have not seen enough of the guy with the Steelers to have an opinion (

What?!

[Shadow Wrought]

How could you pick my Rams to lose? Oh right, logic. Never mind;-)

This season, more than any other Iv'e seen, is so topsy-turvy that your pick record is excelelnt, I'd say. You watch SportsCenter at the end of the day and ask yourself WTF? for at least half the games. Consistancy is simply a thing of the past.

Re:What?!

[NFLFan]

I would love to pick the Rams but the Colts are too good. With the way the season is going the Rams will probably win. They usually seem to do better when I pick against them.

When I see the results I get the feeling like I don't know who has good offenses, good defenses, and so on. In a lot of ways, that is what the NFL wants-- any team being able to win on any Sunday. Some of it is just early divisional play wackiness also, like the Cowboys and maybe your Rams.

Re:What?!

[Shadow Wrought]

Right after reading your JE, I saw Dr. Z's latest column [cnn.com] which deals with picking teams. I'm happy to report that you're doing better than most of the "experts" out there;-) If Indy stays consistent, then they could very well be spooky good this year.

Re:What?!

[NFLFan]

I think the Colts will keep going, barring injury. I have caught a few interviews with Peyton Manning and he sounds more determined than ever to get home field advantage in the playoffs. He wants to play inside for the big games. I think he looked at their schedule and realized that this might be his best chance ever. James is playing on a one-year franchise contract and I believe Wayne is going to be an unrestricted free agent after this year. Their toughtest games from now until the playoffs are St.