Don’t call it a comeback!!  Have I mentioned yet that I went 4-0-1 last week?!  The record now stands at 28-32-2 this season ATS.  I’m 1 more big week away from getting back around .500 on the season.  If I can get to or within a game of .500 by week 16 I just may finish this season above .500 afterall.  NOT BAD when you look at how others have done this season.  But I’m going into this week pretty blind.  Haven’t read or listened to hardly any NFL talk this week, but then again last season I seemed to have better weeks when nobody was making me debate my opinions.  So here we go…

 

Tampa Bay at Carolina

Tampa Bay +7.5

While I’m not totally comfortable with rookie QB Mike Glennon having to go against one of the best D’s in the league, I think the Bucs keep this one tight.  In division, the Panthers showed last week that against a lesser team they can lose their focus, and the Bucs despite being 3-8 are hot right now.  Carolina will win the game I’m sure, but I believe it stays within a touchdown.  On a side note, while I still can’t STAND the way Cam Newton acts on the field, credit where credit is due.  Although I feel he is getting a little overrated by the media right now, he still has been stepping up when he’s needed to for the Panthers and they look like they’ll be a tough out in the NFC come playoff time.

 

Atlanta at Toronto playing Buffalo who supposedly is the home team

Atlanta +3

This is where my pick to win the Super Bowl is at.  Last in the NFC South and underdogs in December against the lowly Bills.  WOW!  I know Julio Jones going down hurt, but they were a sinking ship before that.  The D has fallen apart, Matt Ryan looks average at best, and this team needs an overhaul in the offseason.  They’ll be back to a power next season, these type of years happen, but for now they’re terrible.  The Bills on the other hand are on the rise, but the Falcons are more talented, more accustomed to playing in a dome, and the Bills have never played good in Toronto.  So getting points here I really like the Falcons.

 

St.Louis at San Francisco

St.Louis +8

Kellen Clemens has been ok, the Rams pass rush is one of the best in football, and when teams make Colin Kaepernick think the game he has big issues.  So I expect this game to be a total grind much like the Niners/Panthers game was a few weeks ago.  The Niners will win this one, but in division and on a short week I just doubt the Niners run away with this game like the line suggests.

 

Denver at Kansas City

Kansas City +5.5

Love this pick!  The Broncos offense has cooled with the temperature, and while the Chiefs have now lost 2 in a row, I think you can chalk last week’s performance up to not being focused because they were coming off a loss to Denver and had them again this week.  But while they lost, they still are in the driver seat in the AFC West.  They got a favor last week from the Pats, and so with a win here the Chiefs are again leading the division.  I don’t know if they’ll win, but in KC, having seen the Broncos once already, I think this one comes down to a final second field goal.

 

New Orleans at Seattle

Seattle -5.5

Let me clear something up.  I was wrong about the Seahawks entering this season.  I went out on a limb, and said they would fall apart this season, only being a 9-7 or 8-8 team and miss the playoffs.  That’s not going to happen, and in fact they look like they’ll be the top seed in the NFC.  HOWEVER, look at what’s happened this week with Brandon Browner and Walter Thurmond.  Percy Harvin’s off field history.  Bruce Irvin, Marshawn Lynch, Christine Michael, I wasn’t wrong about this team having some big distractions in that locker room that could bite them in the ass before this season is out.  Pete Carroll has a history of trying to sweep these kind of problems under the rug and in the NFL you can’t do that.  Anyway, having said that, the Saints aren’t the same team on the road as at home.  This is an average road team playing against the best home team in the league.  The Seahawks will be jacked up for this game and run right over the Saints.

 

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