Weekend Rewind

So I did pretty well on my picks, going 9-4-1 overall. You're welcome.

Detroit (+1) over Arizona: Miss - Arizona 31 - Detroit 21 - I don't know why I'm surprised that Detroit isn't ready for primetime, but I am. Kurt Warner Lives!
Cinnciantti (+3.5) over Baltimore: Hit - Cinncinatti 21 - Baltimore 7 - Steve McNair is no longer qualified to be an NFL quarterback. I'm not even sure they'll win another game with him as the starter. Cinncinatti isn't much better though...the Baltimore offense giving up so many turnovers, that you can't take any opposing offensive performances seriously. Also, I hate Marvin Lewis for playing Rudi Johnson over Kenny Watson cost me a fantasy football game. I know, I know, my fault for trusting in a backup.
Miami (+3) over Buffalo. Push - Buffalo 13 - Miami 10 - I didn't watch this game, but by all accounts it was a crapfest. Sometimes when a game is 3-2 at the end of the 3rd quarter, its a hard-hitting defensive struggle. But when Cleo Lemon and JP Losman are the two quarterbacks...crapfest is more likely. Plus for the Dolphins even though they fell to 0-9: their punter averaged over 50 yards per punt on his 5 punts.
Atlanta (+4.5) over Carolina. Hit - Atlanta 20 - Carolina 13 - Easiest pick of the week. Carolina's quarterback is an injured 44 year-old. I watched him limp around Cowboys Stadium 3 years ago. And if both Testeverde and David Carr were healthy, Vinny would be the starter. Tough season for John Fox. He's a good coach, even if his team is full of roiders.
Chicago(-3) over Oakland. Hit - Chicago 17 - Oakland 6 - Daunte Culepepper is washed up. Josh McCown has never been good enough to be washed up. JaMarcus Russell, start your engines. On the otherside, Dirty Rex is back for the Bears and he actually looked pretty nice against the Raiders. The Bears may not be finished this season.
Dallas (-1.5) over NY Giants. Hit - Dallas 31 - NY Giants 20 - There was never any doubt. As discussed in my post-game post, the Giants did their damage against some pretty horrible teams. Assuming no one in the NFC makes a late-season run, the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Dallas.
Green Bay (-6.5) over Minnesota. Hit - Green Bay 34 - Minnesota 0. Green Bay has been a much better team all year long, but Minnesota was coming off their game of the year, which artificially lowered the line. Adrian Peterson had the best day in NFL history. Then Adrian Peterson did was Adrian Peterson does: He got injured. I got so tired watching the talking heads all week chastising the rest of the league for not trading up to take him #1 overall in the draft. Then he promptly showed why he fell: His running style makes him injury-prone. He had an unbelievable freshman year at OU, but followed that up with 2 injury-plagued seasons. He is an unbelievable talent, but he will be lucky to put one (1!) injury free season in the NFL.
Indianapolis (-3) over San Diego. Miss - San Diego 23 - Indianapolis 21 - I can't feel bad about this game. Anyone who could have predicted that Manning would throw 6 interceptions and the Colts would still have a chance to win the game with a 30 yard field goal (but not cover). And Vinatieri missed it. Just a ridiculous game from top to bottom. San Diego looked almost as bad as the Colts. They got 6 turnovers from the Colts and still needed the game of Darren Sproles life (2 returns for TDs) to win.
Kansas City (-3) over Denver. Miss - Denver 27 - Kansas City 11 - The Brodie Croyle era begins for the Chiefs which means the season is officially over for Kansas City. I know the franchise wants Croyle to grab the job and make it his own, but I've watched him play, and its not going to happen. They'd be better served by drafting another one this spring and letting Huard guide them until that time. I don't know what to think about Denver. Up and down all season long.
New Orleans (-11) over St. Louis. Miss - St. Louis 37 - New Orleans 29 - I don't feel bad about this game, because I don't think anyone expected the Rams to break out in Week 10. Speaking as a owner of both Marc Bulger AND Steven Jackson in one of my leagues (both of whom are no longer with me), I'm glad they were able to screw me one last time. Also, we'll have to see if the New Orleans was all hype, or simply ran into a team who finally put it all together.
Cleveland (+10) over Pittsburgh. Hit Pittsburgh 31 - Cleveland 28 - Cleveland ran up a big lead early, but don't be fooled: they only had 163 yards of total offense. 163! Pittsburgh continues to impress.
Jacksonville (+4) over Tennessee. Hit - Jacksonville 28 - Tennessee 13 - The Titans were due for it and it came when they played their mirror image. I know it goes against most people's instincts to pick a Quinn Gray quarterbacked team, but you have to look no further than the Titans to see a team that wins with a punishing defense and a solid running game.
Philadelphia (+3) over Washington. - Hit Philadelphia 33 - Washington 25 - You can always count on a bounce-back game from McNabb. He never lets us down.
Seattle (-10) over San Francisco. Hit - Seattle 24 - San Francisco 0 - Another hideous game. I bet ESPN would like to have that one back.

I'll be back tomorrow with a look ahead to the Cowboys-Redskins showdown back in Big D.