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It will be tough to replicate last week’s picks, it will be really be hard to replicate another week without a miss. But with lots of juicy lines there is still a shot for another perfect weekend. Without further delay here are the picks (HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

AROUND THE LEAGUE

New York Giants (+1) over EAGLES

Well, as predicted here, it was only a matter of time before the Eagles’ luck ran out and they showed their true colours. And boy did they ever. While the first two games of the season for them went down to the wire, in last week’s contest the Cardinals owned the Eagles wire to wire. As for the Giants, they overcame both injuries and the odds (the gambling ones anyway) and handily took down the Panthers on the road. With talk already starting about the possibility of benching Vick things are as bad as they look in Philly. Be smart, take the Giants.

Saints (+9) over PACKERS

Yes, we all know they were robbed of a victory on Monday night, but even if they escaped that game with a win, one must really question what is going on with the Packers offense. Through 3 games this season I have not been impressed in the least with Green Bay’s offense and Aaron Rodgers looks like a shell of his former self. As for the Saints, while they are 0-3, they have still managed to put up points, so even if they lose this game I really cannot see how they lose it by more than 9.

BRONZE PICK

Chargers (+1) over CHIEFS

While the Chargers got torched last week, and the Chiefs escaped with an overtime victory over the Saints, do not expect either team’s luck to remain the same this week. Although the Chargers lost, they are still a fundamentally good team now will probably see some solid play out of Ryan Matthews (as he continues to get healthy) and Malcolm Floyd (now that he got paid). I see San Diego winning this game by a lot, so things look good if you are a Chargers fan (I am not a Chargers fan).

SILVER PICK

Bears (+3.5) over COWBOYS

Again, the Dallas Cowboys are my heart, but there is no way they win a game against a front 7 like the Bears have by 3.5 points. Dallas’ offensive line looks TERRIBLE this year, and the only reason they escaped last week with win against the Bucs because of the terrible play calling of Greg Shianno who for whatever reason he only starts the aggressive play calling when the other team has already won the game (On a side note I see this eventually costing him his job, especially if one of his own guys gets hurt). The Bears looked great against both Green Bay and the Rams, so I have no idea why they are the underdogs against a Dallas team with such an abysmal O-line. If Dallas can win this one, it will be the skin of their teeth. Do yourself a favour and take the points.

GOLD PICK

Patriots (-4) over the BILLS

Well like I said last week if New England were to somehow lose last week against the Ravens, they would be on an absolute tear this week and stomp all over whichever opponent is sad enough to play them. And while the Patriots were nice enough to cover the spread last week in the loss, this week they are poised to absolutely dismantle the Bills. If this spread were 10 I would still take it. Although the Patriots look a little down right now, they are 2 dubious field goals away from being 3-0 right now. BET THE HOUSE ON THE PATRIOTS!!

GOOD LUCK AND AGAIN, PLEASE GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY

After an insane weekend of blown ACLs, blowouts and blown calls, without further ado here are the highlights and low-lights…

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Torrey Smith-Playing with an unimaginable heavy heart Torrey Smith turned into one of the most courageous performances in NFL history. For someone to lose their younger brother hours before game-time and then not just playing, but putting up the kind of numbers he did (127 yards and two touchdowns), is unimaginable. He was the spark that fuelled the Ravens all night and he made clutch play after clutch play all night. For what he did, what it meant to his team and the millions of people of around the World who resonated with his story , it might just be the single most inspirational performance in the history of sports.
2. The Music City Miracle 2.0- The Lions-Titans was not only packed with wall-to-wall entertaining plays for 4 quarters and an overtime, but it was an absolute delight to watch Tennasse turn back the clock and pull from its bag of tricks the old Music City Miracle lateral on the kickoff return. Now while this play is still a sore spot for Bills fans, everyone else must have been amused to the device employed with success once more in Tennasse. Take solace Bills fans, at least this time it was clearly a lateral.
3. The Raiders Comeback- I would like to clarify from the outset, that I am in no way shape or form a Raiders fan. I found the late Al Davis’ later career decisions to be incredibly offensive which included the always classy moves of routinely firing coaches in their first year and calling plays from the owner’s box. Moves like these have cast a dark light on the Raiders franchise and made them largely irrelevant for many seasons now. However, on Sunday the Raiders did something they haven’t done in a long while, played as a team, played with heart and overcame an incredibly strong performance by Ben Rothelisberger and came back to beat the heavily favoured Steelers. I thought that when Heyward-Bey was knocked out of the game on a non-call in the endzone, that the Raiders were done. Well they weren’t, and to my incredible surprise the Raiders came together and seemed to actually play for their fallen teammate. A Carson Palmer touchdown and two Janikoswki field goals later the Raiders had pull it out.
4. New York Giants winning with injuries- After losing to the Cowboys at home and needing a miracle comeback to beat the Bucs, few had given the Giants a chance to win against Carolina (myself excluded). And why not, Cam Newton and the Panthers were just coming off a big win again the Saints, and the Giants, in addition to not playing particularly well to start the season, were all besieged with injuries at key positions. However, not only did the Giants prove the naysayers wrong, they absolutely STOMPED the Panthers in their own house. Say what you will about Eli Manning, but he has a way of bringing the best out of his teammates no matter who they are. Season after season he takes unknowns like Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Mario Manningham, Kevin Boss, (and now Martellus Bennett) and makes them into playmakers with eye popping numbers. The ability to do this is the hallmark of all the greats, and in this department Eli Manning is second to none.

LOWLIGHTS

1. Derrelle Revis’ blown ACL- If you thought the hopes for success this season were on thin-ice before, the loss of all world corner Derrelle Revis sinks this team. Mark Sanchez is at best a mediocre quarterback, Tim Tebow is nothing more than a sideshow, the wide receiving corps is a joke, the once heralded running game is terrible (trust me I have Shonn Greene on my fantasy team), and the defense that was holding on by a thread, much like Revis’ ACL, just snapped with this injury. Why? Well in games Revis plays the defense is able to hold offenses completion percentages in the mid-fifties. Without him that number skyrockets into the 70s. There is no way this Jets squad gets anywhere allowing that. Period. Season over Jets fans, sorry.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers play calling- When a team is down by two scores late in the fourth quarter what do they do? Do they continue to try and run the ball when it has not worked all game or do they turn to the passing game and try to win the game through the air? They throw right, everyone at every level of football knows this. However, for whatever reason the Bucs coaching staff absolute refused to adhere to basic common sense and insisted to ineffectually pound the ball on the ground even though they had no success with it against the staunch Cowboys defense. I know Greg Shianno has been criticized for his decision to blitz his players when the other team has already won the game (and rightfully so, play defense before the last minute of the game moron), but his decision to pursue the rungame despite the circumstances is equally if not more disturbing.
3. All the Missed Hits- This weekend’s aforementioned missed call on the blow to the head to Heyward-Bey in the Raiders-Steelers game was by no means the only missed call of this weekend as Matt Shaub almost had his head taken off (and in fact lost part of his ear) in the Denver game. I didn’t think that things could get much worse after the hit Golden Tate laid on Sean Lee in the Dallas-Seattle game last week, but here we are. It truly is amazing that a league that generates billions of dollars and is probably valued at several trillion dollars, is willing to jeopardize its own players’ safety by allowing its players, the ones that are responsible for the money the league rakes in, to keep taking these vicious hits because they refuse to shell out a couple of bucks to get the best officials possible to be in charge of safety on the field. This situation would be comical if the NFL did not just come out and declare player safety as one of its most paramount objectives, since they did however, its just humiliatingly tragic.
4. The end of the Seattle-Green Bay game- Who would have thought that a virtual non-name like Golden Tate would be in the headlines two weeks in a row, but this is the new look-replacement refs era of the NFL where anything is possible. A week after lucking out by getting away with a dirty cheap shot an Cowboys linebacker Shaun Lee, Golden Tate is back in the headlines in the most talked about NFL game of the season. At the end of the Seahawks-Packers game on Monday night, not only did Tate blatantly shove a Green Bay defender out of the way, an offensive pass interference call made by any competent person alive, but he was awarded a touchdown when Mr. Magoo now working as a replacement referee decided to award him a touchdown despite the fact that M.D. Jennings had already intercepted it. There is not much more I can say about this that has not already been said but I will say two things. First, Golden Tate wherever you are you need to go out and buy a lottery ticket, you are the most mediocre overachiever since Jeremy Lin, so try and cash in while you can. Second, by allowing these incompetent officials to keep incompetently officiating is only going to do damage to the NFL in the longrun. In the short term, maybe not because it is a horrible train wreck that everybody wants to see, but after a while people are going to get tired of looking at the chared wreckage  and the league is going to start losing money. The league will either lose dollars directly due to lost advertising, lost fan attendance or perhaps most obviously having to pay the real refs more due to the loss of leverage the league incurs due to public outcry or indirectly when current and former NFL players and their lawyers start to win law suits based on the NFL’s lack of safety. Either way the longer this goes the worse off the NFL will be.

While it seems that the entire NFL is backwards right now, what with the Patriots losing at home to Arizona, the Saints losing in back-to-back weeks,  a Peyton Manning led team getting blown out against an NFC opponent and the New York Jets imploding before our eyes (ok, maybe that last one is not so surprising), I am confident that this week the NFL will start to re-gain some order. Below are some of the juicy lines and picks I note for your amusement but remember THESE PICKS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY,

AROUND THE LEAGUE (HOME TEAM IN CAPS)…

Texans (-1) over BRONCOS

Although Peyton Manning looked great in week 1, in week 2 he looked just like you would expect a 36 year old quarterback coming off a myriad of neck surgeries and a year out of football, to look like. The good news for the Broncos is that they are playing at home with the mile high advantage (i.e. oxygen deprivation for anyone not acclimatized to the altitude). The bad news? The Texans are 2-0 and are looking dominate despite sub-par performances from Andre Johnson and Matt Shuab and if Peyton Manning plays anything like he did against the Falcons this one will be over early.

ARIZONA (+3.5) over Eagles

In back-to-back weeks it looked as though Philadelphia looked like it was going to lose to opponents who looked better than them for the majority of the game. That is until the last 5 minutes or so of each game, when Philadelphia suddenly woke up, got the benefit of some dubious calls and pulled out a win in the game’s final opponents. Can Philly do the same in Arizona or win handily? Well of course Arizona has the roster talent to compete against anyone, but it has been a long time since Philadelphia has lived up to the hype. Furthermore, although it is a total mystery how the Cardinals are 2-0 given their suspect roster, they have been playing with incredible grit, especially against the Patriots. Arizona is at home and the points are with them, it might be time for karma to give Philly one of the losses it deserves.

THE PICKS…

BRONZE PICK

Giants (+2.5) over CAROLINA

If you had told me in the preseason that that the World Champion Giants would be the underdogs against a team that went 6-10 last year, I would have called you crazy and lined up to place a bet if I had to. But looking at the first two games of the season for each team, and it is no surprise. The Giants got beaten badly by Dallas and were losing badly against Tampa Bay before coming out with the win late, while the Panthers having been playing their opponents really well despite their suspect roster. However, after a couple of weeks to get things right and the internal flame that must have been sparked after Tampa Bay’s antics at the end of last week’s game, the Giants seem poised to get back into winning form. I might shy away from this game only because of the injuries to the Giants, but if they don’t scare you and you have confidence in Andre Brown filling in for Ahmad Bradshaw and the rest of the Ginats receiving corps sans-Hakeem Nicks, have at this one.

SILVER PICK

Buccaneers (+9) over COWBOYS

If you know nothing about the NFL in the last 10 years, there are only two real truths you need to know. As a Cowboys fan I can sadly tell you that the first is that, whenever Dallas is expected to win a big game or is favour by a lot, have confidence in betting against the other team. Until I see otherwise, Dallas’ defense cannot win a ball game when it counts. Period. For the Cowboys to have gotten beaten so badly last week in Seattle and be favoured to win this much even at home is puzzling even for the most passionate Cowboys fan. Do yourself a favour and bet Bucs. And hey if you are a Cowboys fan and lose this bet, you can take solice in knowing that at least they won a game they were supposed to for a change.

GOLD PICK

Patriots (+3) over RAVENS

In the preceding pick I spoke about the only two truths you as a prospective NFL gambler need to know. If the Cowboys losing a game when it counts is one of them, the Patriots bouncing back from a loss and winning is the other. Over the last decade, except for the Peyton Manning led Colts, I would say no team has bounced back better after a loss then the New England Patriots. As such, for the Patriots to be given points is your cue to rush to wherever you need to get to and bet on them. I do not care if this game was played on Mars, it is easily one of the most secure wagers around. Of course, if the Patriots were to somehow lose, well there’s always next week to bet on the Patriots again.

GOOD LUCK AND PLEASE GAME RESPONSIBLY

Ok so a bit of a rough start to the season. The Patriots of course manhandled the Titans, but the other two picks were wrong. IN my defense however, I had no idea Miami would totally implode the way they did against Houston despite by in the game for so long and Peyton Manning’s neck actually making it through a whole game was a shocker. Oh any my sincere apologies for not making a make-up pick by posting that San Diego would trounce Oakland. San Diego for a s shaky as Rivers was last season, never losses in September, so my bad.

Anyway, I will vow to do better. Vow. I still made money on the weekend by betting big on the Patriots (and I hope you did too), but there is no excuse for going 1-2 in my predictions {who am I Bill Simmons (what was with him picking Seattle to make it to the Superbowl??!??) or Peter King?? j/k, actually well..}. This is an incredibly tough week in terms of making picks as I did not see any games that hugely jumped out at me, so if you bet I am warning you to bet small…

Anyway here are the picks..

BRONZE PICK

Kansas City +3 over the Bills

I can’t believe the Bills are favoured to win over anyone, especially after the beat down they took last week even if they are playing at home. I know KC has some holes and are playing on the road, but +3 are you serious? Not only that but Nelson is gone for the season, Jackson is gone for 3 weeks and Trent Edwards has something like 19 picks in ten games!! Again not a huge week to bet, but bet this one if you got the gambling itch.

SILVER PICK

New England -13.5 over Arizona

I am glad the experts in Vegas finally realized that the Patriots are back to vintage 2007 mode, but I am never a huge fan of going with the double digit point spread. The Patriots are super solid but what if Kolb actually has one good game in two years, what if whatever running back they are going with comes to play, what if Larry Fitzgerald has some magic late. You can bet that the Patriots will win this game, but -13.5 is tough. Well, not that tough given that the Cards look terrible, but again I am not a huge fan of the double digit point deficit when it comes to the spread. I am betting on the Pats regardless, and if you have no reservations about the spread then by all means bet on the Pats winning big.

GOLD PICK

New Orleans -1 over Carolina

Yes, I was just as shocked as you that the Saints lost week and even more shocked by RG3′s performance. However, the Saints can win this one. I know often when it goes, especially in the NFL, it goes quickly but is the Saints Drew Brees era really gone? Yes Sean Peyton is no longer on the sidelines this season, but I have faith that the Saints will bounce back from the heartbreaking loss last week and come to play this week. If they lose though, watch out Saints fans.

BONUS PICK

Balitmore +2.5 over Philly

To make up for my BS last week, I am offering up this bonus pick. Philly is probably down Maclin and Jackson for this one and Philly looked absolutely brutal against Cleveland last week. The Ravens however appear to be firing on all cylinders and already appear to be in midseason form. I don’t like that this game is in Philly, but its still juicy to get the points because I think Baltimore wins this game outright.

Good luck to all…

Ok, with less then 30 minutes to go before Sunday kickoff it occurs to me that I did not post my picks. Quickly here they are;

BRONZE:

Dolphins +13 over Texans: No idea why a Miami team that finished strong against a perpetually disappointing and injury prone Houston team is given 13 points, but take them. Miami is revamped this year and this game should be a lot closer.

SILVER:

Steelers +1 over Broncos: While the Broncos did beat the Steelers in the playoffs that was an absolute stunner. Pittsburgh is by far the better team even with Tebow out and the ghost of Peyton Manning in.

GOLD:

Patriots -4.5 over Titans: I have no idea how this line is not two touchdowns or more. The Patriots were just embarrassed and coming off a brutal loss (again) to the New York Giants in the Superbowl. They have been stewing for 8 months and have been waiting to take out their frustrations on the first team they played. Those saps are unfortunately the Tennesse Titans. I don’t say this very often, but when I do believe it: BET THE HOUSE!!!!!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL, AND PLEASE GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY (ONCE AGAIN THESE PICKS ARE INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!!!)