Soldiering On

Piss poor performance from me last week, and not just in picks. Terrible week for me all-around. But it's time to soldier on, get back to the basics, try to eliminate mistakes by not doing anything out of the ordinary. Home teams, defense, streaks, bye weeks. I need to pay attention to the major factors and only concern myself with substance.

College Week 8
Alabama over Tennessee - I'm sure even less than 10% of Tennessee fans are picking against Alabama this week. Pick the better defense on the longest winning streak. Champions until they are dethroned.
Clemson over Virginia Tech - Home team, day game, not on national TV, this is usually the recipe for a Clemson win, plus as shaky as their defense has been, they haven't scored less than 35 points since Labor Day.
Texas over Baylor - the Bears caught a break last year, their best team against Texas' worst team. Now that Texas has a dynamic offense, Baylor's suspect defense won't be able to hold up especially in Austin.
Northwestern over Nebraska - semi-upset special because of how uncharacteristically bad Nebraska's defense has been. Northwestern has enough weapons to make this game scary.
LSU over Texas A&M - LSU has the better defense. More importantly, A&M's defense is no where near as good as LSU's. I know Louisiana Tech is pretty good, but giving up 57 points? Wow. LSU might not be a high-powered attack, but they have more talent and can score plenty if needed.
Texas Tech over TCU - former doormats of the SWC in a game where the winner stays competitive in the Big12. Even though Tech is ripe for a let-down game, I don't think TCU's backup QB can do better than Geno Smith did.
Kansas State over West Virginia - I'll take the team that plays defense, but if the Kitty Kats turn the ball over or score to quickly, this may turn into Baylor-WVU part 2.
Michigan over Michigan State - They may not be at their best but Michigan's only two losses were to teams ranked #1 and #5 in the BCS. They really got rolling against Illinois last week.
South Carolina over Florida - Just like the LSU/A&M game, the Gamecocks have a better defense and Florida's offense is not miles better than Spurrier's.
Cal over Stanford - upset special. Stanford has been terrible on the road... no offensive touchdowns in two road games (depending on how you view their final play last week). Cal has scored plenty of points and in a rivalry game, the home team is going to have the most emotion.

Last Week: 5-5 (34 pts)
Season: 43-27 (269 pts)

NFL Week 7
49ers over Seahawks - Seattle has played solid defense, but mostly at home. The 49ers have the better QB (even if it is Alex Smith).
Titans over Bills - maybe the Titans turned a corner last week. Hasselbeck is back under center and they might actually keep handing off to Chris Johnson.
Colts over Browns - take the home team with the better QB. Only a few guys that you can say Andrew Luck is better than at this point... Weeden is one of them.
Packers over Rams - the Rams defense has a chance to keep them in this game, but they have to keep the Packers out of the endzone. That is not happening.
Vikings over Cardinals - I suggest that the Cardinals run the Wild Larry and snap the ball to Fitzgerald so he can throw it to himself... otherwise what do they have on offense?
Giants over Redskins - We're still two games away from the Giants let down, I think they saw enough game film of RG3 running roughshod on a good Vikings defense to lose this one.
Buccaneers over Saints - Just hand the ball off Josh Freeman, and let the Saints defense do nothing.
Cowboys over Panthers - Cam Newton can put up stats all day, but with the Cowboys playing better lately, can he beat a team with substance?
Texans over Ravens - I expect two things from this game (the game of the week): Houston will be mad, and Baltimore will think they can air it out just like the Packers did last week. I think that puts their defense in a tough spot, one that is made tougher without their leader.
Raiders over Jaguars - my LOCK of the week. Seriously, without the Chiefs playing, I could go against Blaine Gabbert on the road (even if it's the Raiders), take the Patriots and their atrotious defense, the Colts, the 49ers coming off a loss, the Packers shaky offensive line, or someone from one of the 3 toss ups (Min/Ari, TB/NO, Sea/SF). Gabbert is easy money... or in this case, the Raiders are easier money.
Patriots over Jets - I believe that the Patriots don't lose 2 in a row. I believe Brady plays better against the Jets. I don't believe either Sanchez or Tebow is a winning QB. I don't believe the Jets have re-committed to the run.
Bengals over Steelers - I'll take the home team against a struggling defense. The Bengals are balances and AJ Green is always dangerous.
Bears over Lions - Sometime in November we are all going to look at the standings a go "What? The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC is going to go through Jay Cutler's house??? How did that happen?"

Last Week: 4-10 (ouch!)
Season: 52-38