Addi-Sports: The Addiction

Mark Sanchez was the truth, all of like, two weeks ago. Now, I don't know what to think.

Ugh. Last week was just tough on the mojo. This week, we’re stepping our game up. A little late, but never debatable. Here are my Week 7 NFL picks:

Chargers (-6) over Chiefs
God the Chiefs suck. Matt Cassell can’t fix this. He can’t! There, I said it.

Colts (-15) over Rams
The worst team in the NFL is the St. Louis Rams. Yup. And I think Peyton Manning needs one of those Tom Brady games where throws up six touchdowns just to let people know he’s still Peyton Manning and that means weak teams like the Rams are likely to get lit up. I’ll enjoy the blowout, for sure.

Packers (-9 1/2) over the Browns
Why would you argue with this pick while the Cleveland Browns continue to be the circus of the midwest. They’re dangerously close to the Rams level of incompetence. -9 1/2 is more than surpassable.

Vikings (+6) over Steelers
So far, so good in Minnesota. Drinking the Brett Favre kool-aide until the guy throws his first three interception game. It’s possible this week, but that doesn’t mean the Steelers will trump a six-point spread.
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The Jaguars and Bucs are getting on my nerves. How can you not hate them?

Kansas City (+6 1/2) over Washington
The Redskins and the Chiefs suck. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think it’ll be close. In fact, if the Chiefs have any respectability, they may actually win this thing. On the other end, I see the ‘Skins spiraling out of control before I see them getting any better.

Cincinnati (-5 1/2) over Houston
Carson Palmer pleasantly surprised me with his comeback win last week over the Baltimore Ravens, leading to a 17-14 win for what I thought was another bungled Bengals season. He not only beat the spread, he won the game (against my own rumblings). And silently, the Bengals are 4-1, Chad Ochocinco has stayed out of the news (relatively speaking) and Houston (2-3) has surprisingly been in the dumps. Who would you pick, the hot or cold hand? (Hint: I shouldn’t have to ask these dumb questions.)

Cleveland (+14) over Pittsburgh
I know Cleveland is hapless, embarrassing, missing a legitimate quarterback and coach, and is generally the most surprising shitty team of ‘09, but I still think they’re good enough to beat this spread. Even against the defending Super Bowl champs.
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Adrian Peterson is my No. 1. I'm pretty sure it's a consensus.

Surprise me. I dare you.

Vikings (-10 1/2) over Rams
This is one of the three gimmes of the week. The Rams suck big time, and I’m done thinking they can compete in the NFC West on the back of Stephen Jackson alone. End result: Rams go down hard, Peterson has stupendous day. Fantasy upside is huge here.

Cowboys (-8 1/2) over Chiefs
I don’t care how whack Tony Romo can be from week to week, he’s still a talent that has to be reckoned with. Marion Barber may be on the shelf, but this team is infinitely more talented than the Kansas City Cheap. I’m looking forward to the ‘Boys doubling the spread.

Panthers (-4) over Redskins
This may be my dumbest pick of the week. The ‘Skins are 2-2 and the Panthers are a lowly 0-3. It’s like a no-brainer for the guys that are looking at the win column. But methinks that the bye week the Panthers are coming off of will help fix all of the errors of Jake Delhomme and the team’s meager offense. Not to mention, Jonathan Stewart is banged up, and there’s some worry here. But I wholeheartedly believe that DeAngelo Williams is a good back, and with some carries in his back pocket, the Panthers will be in good hands. This is my upset of the week, even when they’re the favorite. How weird is that?
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Tennessee (+2) over NEW YORK JETS
HOUSTON (-4) over Jacksonville
PHILADELPHIA (-7 1/2) over Kansas City
BALTIMORE (-13 1/2) over Cleveland
New York Giants (-6 1/2) over TAMPA BAY
Washington (-6 1/2) over DETROIT
Green Bay (-6 1/2) over ST. LOUIS
San Francisco (+7) over MINNESOTA
Atlanta (+4 1/2) over NEW ENGLAND
SEATTLE (+2 1/2) over Chicago
New Orleans (-6) over BUFFALO
SAN DIEGO (-5) over Miami
OAKLAND (-2) over Denver
Indianapolis (+3) over ARIZONA
DALLAS (-8 1/2) over Carolina

Last Week: 10-6
Season: 19-13

Man, am I late or what? Been slacking on a couple of features here, just trying to catch up on some other stuff. But let me tell you, I’m kickin’ tail right now with these picks, getting 15 out of 16 picks right last week. Yeah, you heard me.

Now as far as beating the spread …. I was a meager 9-7. That 6 1/2 spread for the New York Giants over Washington game was pretty disappointing. But hey, you win some, you lose some.

No other comments necessary, other than you’re coming up on some dough if you follow my winners. Here’s my week 2 NFL picks with the home teams first:

SAN FRANCISCO (-1 1/2) over Seattle
Oakland (+3) over KANSAS CITY
ATLANTA (-6) over Carolina
Minnesota (-10) over DETROIT
GREEN BAY (-9) over Cincinnati
TENNESSEE (-7) over Houston
New England (-4) over NEW YORK JETS
New Orleans (even as of 9/17) over PHILADELPHIA
WASHINGTON (-10) over St. Louis
Arizona (+3) over JACKSONVILLE
BUFFALO (-5) over Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh (-3) over CHICAGO
Baltimore (+3) over SAN DIEGO
Cleveland (+3) over DENVER
New York Giants (+3) over DALLAS
Indianapolis (-3 1/2) over MIAMI

Last week: 9-7
Season: 9-7

Oakland (+3) over KANSAS CITY

I’ve completely changed my mind about the Raiders in one week. I think their relatively strong finish last year (3-3) was a sign that they wouldn’t be the pushovers that everyone expected. Oh sure, they’ll find a way to lose most games, but this team is on the right track. If only they had drafted Brady Quinn. I say the Raiders cover and win here.

TENNESSEE (-6 1/2) over Houston

Houston is god-awful, and the Titans covered for me last week. The Jets, with a rookie quarterback, beat the crap out of them on their home field. Now they go to Tennessee. Good luck with that. I would’ve taken the Titans -14.

New England (-4) over NEW YORK JETS

Why do the Patriots bother to win if they’re not going to win big? Save the last second heroics for the postseason, fellas. I gotta take em again though, figuring Belichick will harass and confuse the hell out of Mark Sanchez. Brady looked a little cautious early on in his first real game back from injury. That offense got rolling as the game went on, and that will carry into week two.

Cincinnati (+9) over GREEN BAY

I’m one of the few that still sees the Bengals of three years ago with a high-powered offense. That was a long time ago. I’m still not ready to change my view. I’ll give em one more week. I don’t expect them to win, but let’s say it’s a 28-24 win for the Packers.

DETROIT (+10) over Minnesota

The Lions are going to win this game. I guarantee it. Or at least, they won’t lose by 10 or more. Yeah, that much I guarantee. They’re due for a win (obviously) and even though that’s a lame reason to pick a team, sometimes that’s the way things happen in the NFL. They should get run over, Minnesota should cover the spread, but I’m going to assume that some crazy, lucky shit happens for the Lions instead.

New Orleans (+1) over PHILADELPHIA

I love this pick almost as much as I loved picking against the Eagles last week, and I was about 40 points off on that one. The Saints going to show how bad this Philly defense can be when they don’t have Jake Delhomme’s eight turnovers. McNabb had some 70 yards passing as they put up 38 points. That’s a deceiving total. Whether he plays or not, New Orleans wins this one.

Carolina (+6 1/2) over ATLANTA

The Lions are due for a win, and Delhomme is due for a game with three or less turnovers, isn’t he? He can’t do this every week, even if that means he has to get benched to knock it off. I’d have more confidence in recently acquired A.J. Feeley right now. The Panthers are going to get a big running game going and Delhomme cuts out the turnovers. He might have only 50 yards passing, but if he doesn’t throw five picks then I’m fine with that.

WASHINGTON (-10) over St. Louis

I don’t think Washington is all that good, but I do think the Rams are that bad. They better get used to being huge underdogs.

JACKSONVILLE (-3) over Arizona

Super Bowl hangover continues for the Cardinals. They’ll be lucky to go 7-9 this year.

Seattle (+1 1/2) over SAN FRANCISCO

Another favorite pick of mine. Seattle is so underrated right now. Does nobody remember when they were holding open tryouts for receivers because of all the injuries? Now they’ve got em all back and added Houshmandzadeh (spelled it right on the first try). They’re going to win this division, and it would be wise to take these bets before everyone else realizes it.

BUFFALO (-4 1/2) over Tampa Bay

The Bills deserve it after a heart-breaking loss to open the season. Most importantly, they showed what they were capable of in nearly beating the Patriots. Had Leodis McKelvin kneeled down for a touchback, they would’ve had it. Things will be a little easier against Tampa.

Cleveland (+3) over DENVER

And the Broncos don’t deserve it. I hate hearing that Kyle Orton is 1-0 and Jay Cutler is 0-1, even though we all know who outplayed who.

Baltimore (+3) over SAN DIEGO

It’s always tough early on to know whether a team like the Chargers played a terrible game or if the Raiders played their best game. I was pretty impressed with Oakland, so I’m assuming that the Chargers will struggle like they did last year. Going 8-8 in the worst division in football and winning one playoff game shouldn’t make you a trendy pick for the Super Bowl. The Ravens defense should shut down the Chargers.

CHICAGO (+3) over Pittsburgh

I like the home field advantage in Chicago, and they did cover for me in week one. This is another one that should at least stay close, but they’ve got a better chance of winning with a need to not go 0-2. They might even find a way to put Roethlisberger out of the game. What worries me is if Aaron Rodgers can have that comeback touchdown, how easy will it be for Ben?

DALLAS (-3) over New York Giants

No way the Cowboys lose their first game in their new stadium. Of course, I said the same thing about their last game in their last stadium, but this time they’ve got a big ass TV to distract the other team.

Indianapolis (-3) over MIAMI

Not sure why this line is so low. The Colts edged out a win over the Jaguars, but that’s always been a tough game for them. They shouldn’t have a problem with a Miami team that was most likely a fluke last year.

Last week: 9-7
Season: 9-7