Week 11 NFL Picks

NYJ 6-3 at N.E. 6-3

The Jets are starting to show some consistency winning convincingly against the Buffalo Bills and Rams in the last two weeks. They now face the biggest game of their season thus far in New England on Thursday night. New England has been proving that life without Brady is still manageable, but I think the Jets steady improvement on defense, solid ground game behind Thomas Jones, and lately less turnover-prone passing by Brett Favre will rue the day.

DEN 5-4 at ATL 6-3

The Falcons are becoming a model of consistency. Their ability to jump out to big early leads is remarkable for a young team. They play at home against the league’s 28^th ranked passing defense and 27^th ranked rushing defense. That doesn’t bode well for a Bronco team playing against an efficient Matt Ryan, and yard-racking Michael Turner. Falcons win.

DET 0-9 at CAR 7-2

Carolina has the luxury of facing a team like the Raiders last week, who even if Delhomme throws four interceptions again to, should still beat. I don’t see Jake tossing that many picks this week. Panthers win handily.

PHI 5-4 at CIN 1-8

With Carson Palmer out again, and the Eagles reeling from a Sunday night loss at home to the giants, the Bengals are set to lose… again.

N.O. 4-5 at K.C. 1-8

The Saints are proving that all they have is a superb passing game that can’t save a running game hovering around mediocrity, and a defense benchmarking at incapability. The Chiefs have not been the walk-in-the-park they were earlier this season losing by one point to San Diego last weekend, losing to Tampa Bay at home in OT the week before, and only losing by four in New York to the Jets the week before that. I’m going with K.C.

BAL 6-3 at NYG 8-1

The Baltimore Ravens are actually scoring on offense these days. In fact, they are becoming a mirror image of the Giants; strong pressure-causing defense, a more than capable stable of running backs, and an efficient and play-making pass offense. Look for a close game with the more experienced Giants coming out on top.

MIN 5-4 at T.B. 6-3

If there is one thing that the Minnesota Vikings have to have learned in last week’s heart attack inducing one-point win to the Packers last week it is the following… give the ball to Adrian Peterson. I believe Gus Frerotte’s passing attempts will be cut down by almost half of last week’s 28. Even though the Bucs are known for solid defense, I will bank on Peterson to run rampant. Vikings win convincingly.

OAK 2-7 at MIA 5-4

Although the Raiders now share the same record as the underachieving Seahawks who came to within two points of upsetting the Dolphins in Miami last week, I wouldn’t count on a similar performance from them this week. The surprising Dolphins will move to 6-4 and second place in the AFC East.

CHI 5-4 at G.B. 4-5

Green Bay should count their lucky stars that they have this opportunity. They get the division leading Bears at home with a chance to get a tie-breaker on Chicago and second place in the division if they win, and a first place tie if they win and the Vikings lose. I’ll take the Packers to clean things up in their passing game this week after Rodgers was a not-so-great 15-25 with only 142 passing yards and no touchdowns. Pack wins.

HOU 3-6 at IND 5-4

The Texans look to make up for the 21 points they gave up in the last seven plus minutes of a week five loss to the Colts at home. However, the Colts have won two straight and look to be getting back in contention. Colts win.

STL 2-7 at S.F. 2-7

This division matchup may not even be worth discussing, but for the sake of fairness let’s do it. The Rams looked back to what they were with Scott Linehan as coach in their 47-3 loss to the Jets last week. On the other side, the 49ers looked more believable as a team with Shaun Hill under center on Monday Night. After the harrowing performance they put on in Arizona, I will take San Francisco to win.

ARI 6-3 at SEA 2-7

The Cardinals have a chance to clean house in Seattle this week with a win. They get to play another one of their weak divisional opponents, all of whom are 2-7 (Saint Louis and San Francisco are the other two). Even though the Hawks are at home, I cannot see the Cardinals having another close letdown like they did against the Niners this past Monday. Cardinals win.

TEN 9-0 at JAC 4-5

The performance of Kerry Collins last week (30-41, 289 yards, two TDs and no INTs) is making the Titans look all the more legitimate as the league’s lone unbeaten team. The Jaguars proved nothing in beating the Lions last weekend 38-14. Titans win easy.

S.D. 4-5 at PIT 6-3

The Steelers blew it last weekend at home to the Colts… or should I say Ben Roethlisberger blew it. History should say that Ben will be looking to make up for his performance, but I’m not so sure about his confidence right now. He has been getting hit too many times, and blew two games to the Manning brothers at home that should have been in the bag. On the other hand, San Diego has hardly been consistent this year. Steelers win convincingly with their number one defense and a better performance from Big Ben.

DAL 5-4 at WAS 6-3

This game marks the return to the Dallas lineup of Tony Romo. This team has been in quite a bind since he left. Look for Romo to have a huge game and perhaps put his team on his back. The Redskins are coming off their worst offensive performance since their week one loss to the Giants after scoring just six points in the week nine Monday night loss to Pittsburgh. Their points came from two field goals after going three-and-out when they recovered and opening onside kick attempt by the Steelers, and another three-and-out after an INT on Ben Roethlisberger. Look for the return of the Dallas high-octane offense along with the defensive play calling of Wade Phillips to take down the Redskins in Washington.

CLE 3-6 at BUF 5-4

The Bills have not been living up to the hype the last two weeks. And the fact that they have lost three of their four to Miami, New York, and New England (in order), who are all divisional opponents, does not bode well. Brady Quinn was solid in his first start going 23-35, 239 yards, with two TDs and no interceptions against Denver last Thursday. However, I’ll take the Bills on the national stage at home.