Week 11: Big Deal in the Big Apple

If Austen loved Drew Brees and the Saints anymore,
we'd have to change his nickname to "Elmo."

Stally: Austen is out this week.  The New York City apartment that I visited last weekend was painted this week, and he's helping his parents move everything back in place and clean it up.  Projections from Mama Elmore are that this will be a two-day process.  Needless to say, Austen would rather be sitting around in his ratty, last-place New York Jets t-shirt watching the games.

Be sure to check back after the week is over as he'll do a recap in place of his predictions.

Also, a special shoutout to our Number 1 reader, Gary Chagnon.  I always like when a reader checks to see when the blog will be up, because it means we have at least one person interested in reading it!

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
Denver over @St. Louis

Stally: This game seems like a pretty obvious pick, but as Lee Corso would say, "not so fast!"  The Rams beat the Seahawks at home a month ago, and they've also beat the 49ers and lost to the Cowboys by three this season.  I'm not picking the upset by any means, but St. Louis could prove to be more of a challenge than expected for the far superior Broncos.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@San Diego over Oakland

Stally: It's Week 11 and the Raiders haven't won yet.  Why consider them now?

Austen's Six-Point Pick
@New Orleans over Cincinnati


Stally: Holy cow!  It's official: Austen completely overrates the Saints.  I wish he was on the blog this week, because I'd like some explanation to how he can continue to put so much faith in them.  They're a 4-5 team against a 5-3-1 team.  I honestly had thought about taking the Bengals in this one, but I think the absence of Giovanni Bernard and the poor play of Andy Dalton is enough to get me to switch my pick to the 4-5 Saints.

Stally's Six-Point Pick
Pittsburgh over @Tennessee

Stally: I'm willing to write off the Steelers embarrassing loss to the New York Jets as a temporary letdown.  That team was playing great football coming into that game and the lowly Titans should serve as a confidence rebuilder.

Austen's Five-Point Pick
San Francisco over @New York Giants

Stally: Isn't this the same Niners team that Austen has buried for the last month?  I guess an overtime win against his beloved 4-5 Saints completely changed his tune.  To be fair, he's also been buried the Giants all season.  I also have San Francisco, but this is its second long road trip in two weeks, so New York could certainly pull off the upset.

Stally's Five-Point Pick
@Chicago over Minnesota

Stally: I don't like putting this much confidence in a Bears team that's gone from average to bad to embarrassing.  The Vikings are actually better in the standings with a 4-5 schedule, but that's thanks to a crummy schedule with the Rams and Redskins being their two flex games (both wins).  There's still enough talent on Chicago to make them a reasonable favorite at home.

Austen's Four-Point Pick
@Green Bay over Philadelphia

Stally: As a fellow Trojan, I'm sure Austen would agree that the Mark Sanchez story is a great one.  He's started one game and has now won as many games this season as Geno Smith, who he was ditched in favor of in New York.  That said, winning in Green Bay isn't easy, and the Packers have won five of their last six.  This is a good pick.

Stally's Four-Point Pick
@Cleveland over Houston

Stally: Not only are the Browns the better team, they're also at home, where they've gone 4-1.

Austen's Three-Point Pick
Seattle over @Kansas City

Stally: I like the Chiefs in this one.  Arrowhead Stadium is a tough place for a road team to win and Seattle has struggled on the road.  It lost in St. Louis and won in Carolina by just four.  Kansas City isn't getting the respect it deserves at 6-3, so this game could go a long way to helping earn that.

Stally's Three-Point Pick
@Washington over Tampa Bay

Stally: This is amazing!  The only game which Austen has taken from me is Denver over St. Louis.  I've now taken my 14, 12, 11, 10, and nine confidence-point games.  The Redskins have RG3 back and have had a bye week to work him in after a mediocre game at Minnesota two weeks ago.  They should be able to beat the 1-8 Bucs in Washington.

Austen's Two-Point Pick
@Indianapolis over New England

Stally: Austen loves Andrew Luck, and he'll pick against New England if there's a logical opportunity to do so.  The Colts are showing a lot of potential, but it's an inconsistent performance.  Baltimore and Cincinnati are the best teams the Colts have beat, while they've lost to all the tough teams on their schedule (Denver, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh).  The Patriots have been playing the best football in the league of late and should prevail coming off their bye week.

Stally's Two-Point Pick
@Miami over Buffalo

Stally: And, I continue to pick in order, taking my eight confidence-points pick!  These two teams seem pretty even, but I didn't like the idea of Buffalo on the road on a short week.  The Dolphins rewarded me with a 22-9 win.

Austen's One-Point Pick
Detroit over @Arizona

Stally: The Cardinals have been great, but the loss of Carson Palmer could really hurt.  The Lions have had a surprisingly strong defense, and Calvin Johnson looks healthy and dominant on offense. I agree with Austen on this pick.

Stally's One-Point Pick
Atlanta over @Carolina

Stally: Carolina is 0-4-1 in its last five.  I'm not that into Atlanta, but I'm out on Carolina.  I'll take the Falcons in a game that only has any sort of meaning because the NFC South is so terrible.

Since he's not here to state his thoughts on my picks, it's worth noting that Austen agreed with each of my selections.