Sunday, October 9, 2016

Week 5: Brady's Back

This guys is back. Ugh.
Tom Brady is back.  Deflategate is officially over.  All is right in the world.

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

Stally: There is very little chance that the worst of 32 teams in the NFL finds a way to beat Tom Brady in his return to the NFL.  He's been known to lay a whooping on this league when he has something to prove, which has seemed like pretty much every game since he was drafted 199th in the 2000 draft.

Austen: Brady will put on a show and play angry. Browns have no chance.

Austen's Seven-Point Pick
@Minnesota over Houston

Austen: No team has played better the first quarter of the season than the Vikings. I will stick with them at home against any team, let alone a Texans team that has yet to find any consistency on offense or defense. 

Stally:  Despite having lost both their franchise QB and franchise RB, the Vikings are shaping up to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  I can't disagree with this pick at all.

Stally's Six-Point Pick
@Green Bay over New York Giants

Stally:  The Giants have failed to impress, and the Packers are at home and coming off a bye week, so they should be rested and ready to dominate.

Austen: The Packers do not lose coming off a bye, and they rarely lose at home. Don't need to think twice about this game. 

Austen's Six-Point Pick
@Pittsburgh over New York Jets

Austen: Nine interceptions in two games. Multiple blown plays on defense. This is a bad Jets team and the Steelers will take advantage of all the Jets issues.

Stally: In the last two games, Pittsburgh has scored 46, given up 48, and had the games decided by a combined 60 points!  There's a lot of variation in the football the Steelers are playing, but the Jets are consistently poor, so picking against them seems like a good idea.

Stally's Five-Point Pick
@Carolina over Tampa Bay

Stally: Part of me feels like I vastly overvalued the Panthers considering they don't have Cam Newton and sit at just 1-3.  The other part reminds me that the Bucs are just all-around underachievers, and seem to have zero healthy running backs.  The Panthers should win, even if not as resoundingly as I predict.

Austen: This is a little high for a Derek Anderson led 1-3 team, but I do not disagree with the outcome. The Panthers should and will win off the back of their defense (yes, I know they got shredded last week). 

Austen's Five-Point Pick
@Indianapolis over Chicago

Austen: The Colts are bad, but the Bears are worse. I have to think the Colts take care of business at home against one of the worst teams in the league with a backup quarterback. 

Stally: This is two bad teams going at it, so taking the home team seems like a good choice.

Stally's Four-Point Pick
@Miami over Tennessee

Stally: The Dolphins haven't looked impressive, but I'll defend them (for once) a little bit.  They're 1-3 after having opened with road games against Seattle, New England, and Cincinnati in the first four weeks.  Would you really expect them to have a better record?!  They almost beat Seattle, and rallied against New England.  They should be able to pick up a much needed win in a home game against a Tennessee team that has far fewer excuses for its 1-3 record.

Austen: Both these two teams are garbage. Who wins is anyone's guess. I'll stay clear of this game. 

Austen's Four-Point Pick
Philadelphia over @Detroit

Austen: If it were not for the Vikings, the Eagles would be the talk of the NFL. Carson Wentz has been the best rookie of 2016 and this defense is finally living up to its potential. The Lions are coming off a loss to that Bears team I am not very fond of. 

Stally: I like Philly coming off the bye as well.  They looked really good jumping out to the 3-0 record before the bye.

Stally's Three-Point Pick
Cincinnati over @Dallas

Stally: At post time, this game was a pick 'em (no spread) according to Yahoo.  That is odd to me.  The Bengals are good, they've had an added break with last week's Thursday game, and the Cowboys are without Dez Bryant.  It seems that the Bengals should be expected to win handily.

Austen: This is a toss up to me. The Bengals are the more talented team, but the Cowboys have outperformed even their fans' lofty expectations off of the back of their two all-star rookies. 

Austen's Three-Point Pick
Arizona over @San Francisco

Austen: Well, this win is in the bag. The Cardinals are too talented, with anyone at quarterback, to start out 1-4. This was a must win game, and they took care of business against a just terrible 49ers team. 

Stally: I missed this one on Thursday night.  Arizona had failed to impress at 1-3 and I didn't think Drew Stanton was the answer at QB for the injured Carson Palmer.  He still might not have been, but David Johnson had a huge game at RB.

Stally's Two-Point Pick
Buffalo over @Los Angeles

Stally: Ok, so the Bills lost to the Ravens and Jets, but now have wins against Arizona and New England.  It's hard to not at least roll the dice on them being kind of good.  Then again, Los Angeles has been no slouch, also beating Arizona.

Austen: I've been betting hard against the Rams, and that has not done me any favors. I'm going to stop and I'll throw my faith in LA over a Bills team that is all over the map. 

Austen's Two-Point Pick
@Denver over Atlanta

Austen: No quarterback in the NFL has played better than Matt Ryan so far this season. However, the Broncos defense has just been beastly so far this year, so I have to side with the home team, even with a rookie quarterback starting his first game. 

Stally: The Falcons offense has been on fire.  This will be its biggest test, but it just needs to get enough points to beat a team with the backup to its already average QB, and I think Atlanta shocks in Denver.

Stally's One-Point Pick
Washington over @Balitmore

Stally: The Ravens seemingly season-long show versus the NFL's weakest teams continues on.  After squeaking out wins against the league's *stiffest* competition, like the Bills, Browns, and Jaguars, Baltimore lost last week to the big, bad Raiders.  Expect a second loss this week to the similarly *intimidating* Redskins.

Austen: Two mediocre teams? I'll take the home team. Ravens it is!

Austen's One-Point Pick
@Oakland over San Diego

Austen: The Raiders have played lights out in the fourth quarter this year. They have been closing out tight games, like we have not seen from a Raiders team in a long, long time. The Chargers lost Jason Verrett for the year, joining Keenan Allen, Danny Woodhead, and Stevie Johnson. This is a bad Chargers team, that cannot hold onto a lead if their life depended upon it.

Stally: The Chargers lost a heartbreaker at home last week, losing the ball on two late fumbles and the game by a point.  Look for them to bounce back this week with an attitude.

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