Week 7: More Backups

The Titans will be one of the many teams starting a backup
quarterback this week. Is this the face of a winner?

Zach Mettenberger, Landry Jones, and Matt Cassel all will get their first start of the season this week. There have been an astonishing amount of quarterback carrousels going on this season due to injuries and this adds an even bigger wild card aspect to these matchups. Here is how we see these games shaking out.

Austen's Seven-Poin Pick
Atlanta over @Tennessee

Austen: Coming off of a crushing loss to the Saints, it would be unfathomable that a team that started 5-0 would lose against a Zach Mettenberger lead Titans team. The Titans lack any sort of identity even with Marcus Mariota, so it would take quiet the effort to knock off one of the most talented teams in the league.

Stally: I agree.  The only thing Tennessee has going for it is that Atlanta plays better indoors, but I'm grasping at straws on that one.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
@New England over New York Jets

Stally: There are a couple Patriots traditions in the five years of this blog: 1) New England gets drafted in the first round of the season-long draft, 2) New England gets picked with max confidence points at home against the Jets.  Sure, it's a lot of point to put against a Jets team that's looking quite strong, but I'm picking the winning team, so who really cares how much spreads, lines, and confidence points?  New England will win.

Austen: I do not have a ton of confidence in the pick, but I am putting my faith in the Jets this week. They have been one of the most efficient teams in the league on both sides of the ball. After being plagued by poor offensive line play, their OL has allowed just two sacks all season, which is four less than the next best team. Chris Ivory has been the best running back in the league so far this season. Branon Marshall has had over 100 yards or a touchdown in every game this season. Eric Decker has scored a touchdown in every game he has played in this season. After rolling out one of the worst offenses in the league for years, the Jets finally have the pieces on offense to keep up with the Patriots. 

Week 6: Blowouts and Coin Flips

Don't make Tom Brady angry ...
you wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Austen is headed to Green Bay to watch a potential blowout, while Stally will be sitting at home on the couch, hoping to see the same out of the Patriots in a big revenge game.  However, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of this weekend's slate, there are also a lot of games that are tough to call.  Even the Thursday night game was a big miss for the OXen.  After all, this is the NFL.

Here are our picks for the weekend.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick
New England over @Indianapolis

Stally: The Colts aren't a bad team, but the Patriots seem to own them.  I wouldn't be a true fan if I didn't take them in the Deflategate Revenge Game.

Austen: Let's simply this. The Patriots might be the best team in the NFL. The Colts might be the best team in the AFC South. There's a big gap between those two designations. If the Pats don't win by double digits, it will be surprising. 

Week 5: The (Quarter) Year of Freeman

This little known running back leads the NFL in
touchdowns through four weeks of the season.

It is hard to believe that we are already a quarter of the way through the 2015 season. It always goes too fast! Lots of surprises so far this year. I mean who saw Devonta Freeman leading the league in touchdowns after four weeks!

As always, the SOBs are here to give you our expectations for the week. Let's see how we do.

Austen's Seven-Point Pick

New England over @Dallas

Austen: It makes no difference that this is a road game for the Patriots. The Cowboys just lost to a horribly banged up Saints team that had yet to win a game. This should be an insane blowout. 

Stally: I'm all for picking my Patriots and coming off a bye, it's hard to see them not being ready for Brandon Weeden's Cowboys.  That said, this game is in Dallas, so I wouldn't have taken it first because of that reason.

Stally's Seven-Point Pick

@Atlanta over Washington

Stally: Good team at home versus bad team on the road.  It's hard to see the Redskins challenging the Falcons in this one.

Austen: The Redskins have put some good game tape together, at least compared to what everyone thought they could bring to the table. Still, the Falcons are one of the hottest teams in the NFL and Matt Ryan always brings his A game in Atlanta. Good bet this game does not stay close for long.

Week 4: The Gimpy Quarterbacks

With no Andrew Luck, Stally still has the Colts
trampling the Jaguars in Indianapolis.

I simply cannot remember the last time there were so many injured quarterbacks to start out the year. Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Jay Cutler, Josh McCown, and now Andrew Luck will all have missed games due to injury in the first quarter of the season. That is crazy.

With so many injuries, it is hard to predict what will actually happen in these matchup but here we go!

Stally's Eight-Point Pick
@Indianapolis over Jacksonville

Stally: The Colts are at home.  The Jags are terrible.  This is a blowout waiting to happen.

Austen: Andrew Luck is out. Matt Hasselbeck is in. That is no bueno. Stally will regret this one when the Jags knock off the Colts..... maybe. 

Austen's Eight-Point Pick
Green Bay over @San Francisco

Austen: Did anyone watch Colin Kaepernick last week? It was one of the worst quarterback performances of all time. That will not change trying to play catchup against an improved Green Bay defense. Did I mention that Aaron Rodgers is good? 

Stally: I don't know if I agree with taking a road team this high, but especially since San Francisco only gave up three points in its only home game.  But, I can't disagree that the Packers are a clear favorite.