Greg’s NFL Week 6 Picks

Estimated reading time: 6 minute(s)

LAST WEEK: 8-6 :: OVERALL: 43-31

Well, our Buffalo Bills are not playing this week, but there are still plenty of interesting matchups to follow in week six. Including a couple in our own division. New England plays at San Diego (both teams just lost to the Miami Dolphins!) and the resurgent Dolphins head to Houston to face a team that, in my opinion, is much better than 0-4.

Plenty to cover… let’s take a look at week six!

Really, did you think before the season started that this would be one of the great games of the week? Carolina at Tampa Bay?? Probably not. But it is now, even with Jeff Garcia starting for the injured Brian Griese in Tampa Bay. Both have tough defenses. Both have adequate offenses, but I think the edge goes to the Panthers. They have a great ground game, Delhomme is playing well, and Steve Smith is… Steve Smith. So, even on the road in a tough place to win… WINNER: Carolina.

Being a Bills fan, I know that desperate teams play tough. The Rams really want to win. But, really… it’s just not going to happen. This should be a blowout. Washington is too good. WINNER: Washington

Same thing here. Detroit may be hungry but we saw Minnesota play a very tough game in New Orleans last week, and I would expect even more from them at home… WINNER: Minnesota

Now, I know I am in the minority here, but I really think Cincinnati is both due for a win, and talented enough to pull it off. The Jets play tough, and smart. But the Bengals still have offensive weapons. Look for a very close game either way, but in the end, the Bengals leave New Jersey with their first win of the season. WINNER: Cincinnati

If you saw the game on Monday night, you’ll recall that the New Orleans Saints have quite a good team this year. And they (usually) play well at home. The Oakland Raiders have a better team than recent years… but are still in disarray. I’d say if the Saints can minimize the mistakes (turnovers) then they win this one by a couple scores. WINNER: New Orleans

Old Baltimore (Indy) vs new Baltimore. A battle of offense (Colts) vs Defense (Ravens). I keep wanting to count the Colts out, but Manning won’t let me. I was wrong to pick against them last week, and so this week, even though they are facing the #1 overall defense… WINNER: Indianapolis

How can Miami be 2-2?? And by only using the same play over and over?? And how can Houston be winless?? They are much better than that. It ends this week. Houston puts it all together at home, and they stop Miami’s one play… WINNER: Houston

This is another interestingly intriguing matchup. All of a sudden, Chicago seems to have some offense. They still have a great defense. But don’t forget that Atlanta went into Green Bay last week and won! That’s impressive. Michael Turner has been great so far this year, and rookie Matt Ryan has matched that greatness for the most part. They have won convincingly at home this year so far, but will be tougher against the Bears. Still… WINNER: Atlanta

If Jacksonville’s running game could be trusted, this game would be really, really tough for Denver to win. Even at home, where they almost always win. The Jags still have a solid defense, a super-efficient passer (though less efficient this year) and two of the best RBs in the game. But Denver is 4-1 for a reason. They are tough, and tougher at home. Should be a fantastic game, and in the end, the home team wins. WINNER: Denver

San Francisco gave New England a game last week, and now they host another team from New England, the Eagles. The Eagles are stumbling, and need to win badly to keep pace with the crazy good NFC East. San Francisco has talent on both sides of the ball, but I’d imagine Philly won’t accept an “L” at the end of this one. WINNER: Philly

Green Bay has got to be pretty mad. They started out 2-0, but after a close loss to Atlanta last week at home, they are now 2-3. Aaron Rodgers played (and did well) last week, but he is playing injured. Seattle on the other hand is getting healthier. WRs are coming back. They are still a good team, despite their awful performance against the Giants last week. I can’t explain it really, I just have a feeling about this one. WINNER: Seattle

Granted, everything changed when Edwards was taken out of the game on the third play last week. But all advantages and disadvantages aside, the Cardinals looked good. They even looked pretty amazing (offensively in the second half) against the Jets the week before. And on the flip side, Dallas has not looked great the past two weeks. They did what they had to against Cincy, but as I predicted here, it was a very, very close game against the winless Bengals. I think this could be a really good game! Both offenses figure on scoring points… 42-41 would not be out of the question. Even though the Cards play so tough at home, still gotta go with the ‘Boys… WINNER: Dallas

The big rematch of the AFC Championship game from last season. But who’d have guessed it would be Matt Cassel behind center for the Pats, and the Chargers limping home from a loss to the worst team from 2007, the Miami Dolphins? The Chargers are better than their record, but you have to question the loss last week. Were they looking ahead to the game against New England? Probably not. The Chargers have a lot of talent, and so do the Pats. But the Chargers are home, and have a little more. Tough game to call, gotta go with the Bolts, though. WINNER: San Diego

The NFL schedule makers are kicking themselves. A LOT. Cleveland has five nationally televised games this season, and they probably shouldn’t have any. New York has continued their late season success of 2007, and remain undefeated at 4-0. Even though they are heading to Cleveland, and the Browns do still have talent, I just can’t even imagine a scenario where the Browns can do enough to pull out the win. WINNER: NY Giants

Some really great games this week! Holy cow! Definitely looking forward to the NE @ SD game. Go Bolts! (They used to be the “Bills West”… maybe easier to root for them?) Dallas at Arizona… really could be more like 63-60! Baltimore/Indy, Jacksonville/Denver, even Chicago/Atlanta could be good.

Ain’t the NFL great???

Enjoy the bye week folks. Go Bills!

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