Week 4: The Auto-Draft

It wasn't surprising that the Ravens
knocked out the Browns. (AP)

It's just me, Stally, this week.  Austen is still in Europe, so he emailed me his picks based on confidence points, so that we could do an auto-draft.

The auto-draft was setup so that each guy always took whatever game he had with the highest amount of confidence points remaining.

Austen's Eight-Point Pick - @Baltimore over Cleveland

Confidence: Austen - 15, Stally - 15

Austen and I both gave the Ravens 15 confidence points this week and were rewarded with a win.  Props to the Browns to keep it within seven, but a Thursday night game with a disparity of talent that favors the home team is an easy choice.

Stally's Eight-Point Pick - @Houston over Tennessee

Confidence: Stally - 14, Austen - 13

I'm completely out on Tennessee.  I still think Houston has some flaws that might be exposed against a better team, but they won't see that in the AFC South.  Austen seemed to share a similar feeling on this game.

Austen's Seven-Point Pick - New England over @Buffalo

Confidence: Austen - 14, Stally - 13

The only reason for pause is that New England lost in Buffalo last year.  That said, it's very tough to see the Patriots losing three in a row, especially since last year's loss was an anomaly in Tom Brady's career against the Bills.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick - @Green Bay over New Orleans

Confidence: Stally - 12, Austen - 10

The Saints are really bad ... really, really bad!  Their defense can't stop anyone and for a Packers team looking to get their mojo going on the offensive side of the ball, this is definitely a good medicine.

Austen's Six-Point Pick - @Arizona over Miami

Confidence: Austen - 12, Stally - 8

Austen seems to think this is a no-brainer.  I do think Arizona is a the clear favorite, but this could be a trap game.  The Cardinals have played far above expectation and the Dolphins were a missed overtime field goal away from being 2-1.  The Cards should win, but this game should come with an upset alert asterisk.

Stally's Six-Point PIck - @Atlanta over Carolina

Confidcne: Stally - 11, Austen - 8

I'm not sure why Austen is so middle-of-the-road on this game.  The league seems to have figured out Cam Newton and Atlanta is very, very good in the Georgia Dome.  This would be a huge upset should the Panthers find a way to win, which they shouldn't.

Austen's Five-Point Pick - Cincinnati over @Jacksonville

Confidence: Austen - 11, Stally - 7

The Jags are a little better than we give them credit, but the Bengals aren't going to feel sorry a team playing that roll, as that's always been their position.  I do think Cincy is the better team, but I hesitate giving them too much credit going on the road against a team like the Jags that could cause problems.

Stally's Five-Point Pick - @Denver over Oakland

Confidence: Stally - 10, Austen - 9

It looks like we share a similar opinion here.  I don't think the Broncos are that great, but I don't think the Raiders are really any good at all.  I'll take Peyton at home in this one.

Austen's Four-Point Pick - @Detroit over Minnesota

Confidence: Austen - 7, Stally - 6

At the beginning of the season, this would have seemed like a lopsided game, but the Vikings just beat a 49ers team that most of us thought was the league's best after it beat the Lions the week before.  Detroit is still the favorite at home, but Minnesota looks better than expected.

Stally's Four-Point Pick - San Francisco over @New York Jets

Confidence: Stally - 9, Austen - 4

Even Austen has to admit that the Jets don't matchup well against San Francisco.  It's hard to see the offensively incompetent J-E-T-S doing much against the Niners stout defense.

Austen's Three-Point Pick - San Diego over @Kansas City

Confidence: Austen 6, Stally - 2 (Chiefs)

As usual, the Chargers are a great team on paper, but they lost 27-3 at home last week.  Kansas City tends to play better at home and they're very familiar with the Chargers, so I doubt Norv Turner's gonna have much up his sleeve to beat the division rival.

Stally's Three-Point Pick - New York Giants over @Philadelphia

Confidence: Stally - 5, Austen - 5

We're both in agreement on this one, which is surprising since we're usually at odds in the NFC East.  The Eagles simply aren't good.  They might be 2-1, but they could easily by 0-3, as both wins came by a single point.

Austen's Two-Point Pick - Seattle over @St. Louis

Confidence: Austen - 3, Stally - 1 (Rams)

The Seahawks are definitely the better team, but the Rams are improved from last year, so they should put up a fight.  I think that Seattle has a huge advantage at home and they're simply mediocre on the road, so I'm giving an upset look at the Rams in St. Louis.

Stally's Two-Point Pick - Chicago over @Dallas

Confidence: Stally - 4, Austen - 1 (Cowboys)

What are the odds that I got both the Giants and the team playing against the Cowboys!?  That's rare considering Austen and I disagree in the other direction on the quality of both those teams.  The Bears laid a Thursday night stink bomb against the Packers in Week 2, but I do think they'll end up being one of the NFC's most complete teams.

Austen's One-Point Pick - @Washington over Tampa Bay

Confidence: Austen - 2, Stally - 3

We both like the Redskins at home, apparently.  That said, aside from RG3, there's not a whole lot going on with this Washington team and the worse the Saints play, the less impressive that Week 1 upset begins to look.  If they were on the road, I bet we'd both have the Bucs.

Stally doesn't get a one-point pick this week due to byes from Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.