After posting a 2-1 record in our inaugural week of NFL picks – which should have been 3-0 if the Cleveland Browns did not make Joe Flacco and Ray Rice look like Johnny Unitas and Gale Sayers – we will try prognosticating for at least one more week.
Here are the best bets for Week 10 in the NFL:
Carolina Panthers at Oakland Raiders (+8 ½): The Panthers might be 6-2, but they are only 1-2 in road games and have only scored 39 points in those three contests. Of course, Carolina did not play a team as bad as Oakland in those games. The only other thing going for Oakland is that Steve Smith’s old friend DeAngelo Hall won’t be around to be toasted time and time again on long pass plays. If the Raiders could only muster 77 total yards against the Atlanta Falcons, they might only get 27 yards against Carolina. Just because owner/crazy man Al Davis has all the Raiders on notice because one more bad game could get every high-priced star released like Hall was, that does not mean those overrated millionaires are actually going to play well. Even worse news for Oakland – Carolina is coming off a bye, so the Panthers have had two weeks to prepare for this game. Too bad they likely needed only one hour to figure out the best way to beat the Raiders is to just show up. Prediction – Carolina 25, Oakland 9.
Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots (- 4): Every time you want the Bills to prove to you that they have the makings of a playoff team, they lay bigger eggs than the Easter Bunny. Buffalo lost at Arizona and Miami within the past month and were totally manhandled on both sides of the ball by the New York Jets at home this past weekend. The loss of defensive end Aaron Schobel has really stung the defense, and quarterback Trent Edwards is a one-TD per week manager who cannot win games without plenty of help from his teammates. New England quarterback Matt Cassel is no better than Edwards, and arguably worse, but he has Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to, Bill Belichick coaching him and the home fans on his side. Get ready for the Bills to prove again that they are not ready for a postseason push. Prediction – New England 21, Buffalo 14.
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (- 9): Look for San Fran head man Mike Singletary to streak naked across the field in this one. If he thought things were bad enough during his first game as head coach to pull his pants down, he might be forced to pull out bigger stops this Monday night. Arizona is undefeated at home this season, and along the way the Cards crushed Miami by 21 points and Buffalo by 24 points. Those two teams are a whole lot better and better-run than San Francisco is. The 49ers pass defense is ranked 20th in the league and has to somehow match up against MVP-caliber quarterback Kurt Warner and the best receiving duo in the NFL in Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Oh, and San Fran is trotting out new starting QB Shaun Hill against a pass rush that injured both Edwards and Dallas QB Tony Romo in Arizona’s last two home contests. No treat for San Francisco here. Prediction – Arizona 31, San Francisco 13.
