Written by Chris Hutchison

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My apologies to the masses out there expecting the usual debonaire satire - life has prevented me from it this week.

Thus, without further ado, I present to you the current NFL rankings.  The Browns fell a spot in absentia.

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	WP	Avg_PF	Avg_PA	Diff	Rank_PF	Rank_PA	Rank_Final
New Orleans	7	2	0	.778	29.44	18.11	102	2	5	1
Seattle	9	1	0	.900	26.50	15.90	106	6	3	2
Kansas City	9	0	0	1.000	23.89	12.33	104	14	1	3
New England	7	2	0	.778	26.00	19.44	59	8	7	4
San Francisco	6	3	0	.667	25.22	17.22	72	10	4	5
Carolina	6	3	0	.667	23.78	12.78	99	15	2	6
Denver	8	1	0	.889	41.22	26.44	133	1	25	7
Indianapolis	6	3	0	.667	24.67	21.44	29	12	9	8
Cincinnati	6	4	0	.600	23.40	18.60	48	17	6	9
Detroit	6	3	0	.667	26.44	24.00	22	7	18	10
Green Bay	5	4	0	.556	27.22	23.56	33	5	17	11
Chicago	5	4	0	.556	28.78	27.44	12	3	27	12
Dallas	5	5	0	.500	27.40	25.80	16	4	23	13
San Diego	4	5	0	.444	23.56	22.44	10	16	13	14
Philadelphia	5	5	0	.500	25.20	24.40	8	11	20	15
Tennessee	4	5	0	.444	22.22	21.78	4	19	10	16
Baltimore	4	5	0	.444	20.89	21.00	-1	21	8	17
Arizona	5	4	0	.556	20.78	22.00	-11	22	12	18
Miami	4	5	0	.444	21.44	23.22	-16	20	14	19
St. Louis	4	6	0	.400	22.40	23.40	-10	18	16	20
Cleveland	4	5	0	.444	19.11	21.89	-25	26	11	21
Washington	3	6	0	.333	25.56	31.89	-57	9	31	22
N.Y. Jets	5	4	0	.556	18.78	25.67	-62	28	22	23
Pittsburgh	3	6	0	.333	19.89	24.22	-39	25	19	24
Oakland	3	6	0	.333	18.44	24.78	-57	29	21	25
Minnesota	2	7	0	.222	24.44	31.00	-59	13	30	26
Buffalo	3	7	0	.300	19.90	25.90	-60	24	24	27
Tampa Bay	1	8	0	.111	16.22	23.22	-63	31	14	28
N.Y. Giants	3	6	0	.333	18.33	27.00	-78	30	26	29
Atlanta	2	7	0	.222	20.67	27.89	-65	23	29	30
Houston	2	7	0	.222	18.89	27.56	-78	27	28	31
Jacksonville	1	8	0	.111	12.78	32.33	-176	32	32	32

As for the selections, much more successful this week.  Both BT and MO hit their locks (Philly over GB), mine was a split (ARI won but hit the 3 on the nose), whilst poor DJC missed on the UCF selection (win but not cover).

Last Week:

BT: 5-1

MO: 5-1

Me: 3-3

DJC: 1-5

YTD:

BT: 31-29

Me: 29.5 - 30.5

MO: 28.5 - 31.5

DJC: 22-38

This Week's Games:

MSU -6.5 at Nebraska

Texas Tech +27 at Baylor

Stanford -3.5 at USC

ATL -1.5 AT TB

NYJ +1.5 AT BUF

DET -2.5 AT PIT

WAS +3.5 AT PHI

SD -1.5 AT MIA

BAL +3 AT CHI

CLE +6 AT CIN

OAK +7 AT HOU

ARI -7 AT JAX

KC +8 AT DEN

MIN +12.5 AT SEA

SF +3 AT NO

GB +5 AT NYG

 

BT:

Stanford -3.5 at USC - USC is still not goood without Kiffin.  Lock.

PIT +2.5 vs DET - Pittsburgh... paper Lions.

MIA +1.5 vs SD - I like the fish.  Chargers flying east is never good.

CHI -3 vs BAL - Da Bears - McCown is good... or at least a good journeyman.

NO -3 vs SF - Brees at home.  Say no more.

LOCK - Stanford

DJC:

Texas Tech +27 at Baylor - That coach is very handsome.

USC +3.5 vs Stanford - Stanford letdown.

OAK +7 at HOU - I think OAK will cover.

DEN -8 vs KC - Never bet against Peyton.

NYG -5 vs GB - I can't imagine Scott Tolzien is the answer.  Lock.

LOCK - NYG

MO:

Stanford -3.5 at USC - trees fall on Trojans

Nebraska +6.5 vs. Michigan State - don't ask. Call this a hunch or a gut pick. Nebraska has a nasty habit of rising up at the end of the season and dumping a turd in the punch bowl. 

NYJ + 1.5 at BUF - conference game so what, back on my NYJ / NE experiment.

CLE +6 at CIN - am I allowed to pick the Browns? My competition probably thinks this is a NYJ/NE//CLE thing.  Was tempted to make this my lock, but I will spare myself from the calls for my head. 

NO -3 vs SF - the Saints are tough at home - can they keep it up, I think they will (Lock).

LOCK - NO

Me:

TB +1.5 vs ATL - Tampa is playing good right now and I'm not sure how the Falcons are getting points against anyone.  People just can't believe Atlanta's this bad.  Believe your eyes people!  They blow!

CHI -3 at BAL - The Ravens are not good, and the Bears are functional enough with McCown to take this one.

CIN -6 vs CLE - No, I'm not attempting some "if I pick the Browns, they'll lose, so I'll pick against them" internal psychological warfare.  My little calculations tell me Cincy should be favored by 9, which is more than 6, so that is the entire basis of this selection.

OAK +7 at HOU - What is it that people see in Houston for them to give that team a 7 point spread?  Lock.

KC -8 at DEN - Spread is too large in a lower scoring game, especially after Manning gets hurt.