NFL Week 4 picks

By Jeff

The struggle for a winning record continues as I went 8-8 in Week 3. For the season I am a sad 21-24-3.

Before we get into Week 4, I have to ask, why is it the Washington Redskins suck against the St. Louis Rams? The Rams are 4-31 since 2008. Two of those four wins are against the Redskins. The other two teams to fall to St. Louis in that time frame are the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. A perennial loser, and a perennial underachiever. Not exactly the company the Redskins want.

Anyway, my miss of the Week 3 was picking New England to cover. Apparently, Ryan Fitzpatrick did supply the Buffalo Bills with a spark, the offense did get better and the team wasn't destroyed. Can't really miss more than that.

Now is not the time to live in the past, though! It's time to bunker down and get off the snide! Home teams are in all caps, and as always, please share your own picks in the comments section. Byes start this week, so Dallas, Kansas City, Minnesota and Tampa Bay won't be playing.

Denver (+6.5) over TENNESSEE: Eli Manning and the New York Giants killed themselves with bizarre turnovers last week. Manning was attempting a pass with his left hand in the redzone at one point. Expect Kyle Orton to take better care of the ball and a close game here.

PITTSBURGH (-1) over Baltimore: I'm not picking against the Steelers until a team proves they can put together multiple successful drives against them. Joe Flacco has not been the breakout superstar everyone expected this season, and it won't get any easier on Sunday.

*** RANT WARNING ***

Why were media outlets making a story out of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis texting back and forth? I get that the teams are rivals on the field, but that doesn't mean they have to despise each other off the field. As a sports fan, I'd like them to hate each other. Heck, I want them to throw knives at cardboard cutouts of their opponents during the week. But that's not reality, and it's OK. With free agency, players personally know multiple players on every other team. They work our together in the offseason, have the same agents and attend the same charity events. It's OK if they text each other as long as they put those relationships aside when they play. I'm pretty sure Ray Lewis is still going to play his all-out style come Sunday.

*** RANT OVER ***

Cincinnati (-3) over CLEVELAND: What a terrible game. Two teams no one likes from a state no one likes. Honestly, there are no winners here.

GREEN BAY (-14.5) over Detroit: That's a lot of points to give, but I said that last week with the Detroit-Minnesota matchup and was burned. Matthew Stafford still hasn't thrown a ball, Javid Best is hurting and Calvin Johnson probably thinks he's in hell. Aaron Rodgers is going to have a fun day and there will be many Lambeau Leaps.

Remember when Ryan Grant got hurt and fantasy football people swarmed to pick up Brandon Jackson?  I fell for it. I thought he would be a solid player in the explosive Green Bay offense. Well, Jackson failed to break 30 yards in either of his starts (Against the Bills and Chicago Bears) and he is averaging less than 2.3 yards per carry. It's going to be a long fantasy season.

NEW ORLEANS (-13.5) over Carolina: Can New Orleans burn me four weeks in a row? Probably, but Jimmy Clausen looked terrible last week. Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams is going to be bringing the heat all day and I don't see Carolina scoring more than 13 points. Drew Brees is also expected to play despite a knee sprain.

ATLANTA (-7) over San Francisco: 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is on his 107th offensive coordinator  in five seasons. Frank Gore can only do so much. Did you know Gore was in for all of San Francisco's offensive snaps last week? That is insane in the current age of running back by committee. How much longer can Gore keep it up?

ST. LOUIS (+1) over Seattle: I feel bad for anyone watching this game. Could be worse, though. People could be stuck watching Bengals-Browns.

New York Jets (-5.5) over BUFFALO: The Bills get lucky as it looks as if Darrelle Revis won't be playing in this one. Unfortunately for the Bills, the rest of the Jets defense will be playing. Fitzpatrick will be envying Trent Edwards by the end of this one.

Houston (-3) over OAKLAND: Houston is only giving three points? Arian Foster is going to have a field day with the Raiders run defense. Three points? Really?

SAN DIEGO (-8.5) over Arizona: The Chargers have some bad losses this year, but both were on the road and had terrible weather or fluky plays. I doubt the Cardinals will be able to return to kickoffs for touchdowns like the Seahawks did against the Chargers last week. I also have no faith that Derek Anderson will be able to win a shootout against Phillip "The Brat" Rivers.

PHILADELPHIA (-6) over Washington: Donovan McNabb returns to Philly in this one. He actually thinks he will be cheered, not booed? What is he thinking? Philly fans boo Santa. They throw things at opposing teams' family members. They're not nice people. McNabb will be booed loudly and often.

Chicago (+4) over NEW YORK GIANTS: When veteran teams give up on Tom Coughlin, they turn to suck. That's what's happening in New York right now. Meanwhile, the Bears are 3-0 and have big wins against Dallas and Green Bay. Their winning streak will have to end sometime with that offensive line, but it won't be this week.

MIAMI (+1) over New England: I have no idea which New England team will show up. What I do know is that Brandon Marshall is 6 feet four inches tall, and the Patriots have some tiny cornerbacks. Expect Marshall to go off for one of his 15-reception games and take over.

Blue Swede - Hooked on a Feeling