NFL Power Rankings - Week 4
What's that, I went 12-4 last weekend? That leaves two possibilities. One, through my extensive research I've developed the ability to tell what's going to happen in 75% of the games. I'm that good. Oh yeah, and I nailed my College Football parlay last week in Today's Pick. Two, I got lucky last week and you should go back to betting against my picks in what continues to be the safest investment, especially with the stock market the way it is. In all honesty, I'm actually very good at picking what Vegas will set the line at. But unfortunately, that and 50 cents will get me a phone call.
The rankings see another large shake up after how bad the upper echelon in the AFC has performed. I really don't know what to make of half of the NFL. Unfortunately one of my automatic wins is gone this week because Detroit has a bye. Fortunately for them, that means they can't lose this week. At least they fired Matt Millen.
32. Detroit Lions (0-3)
It's tough to figure out how to say the same thing week after week about the Lions. It's like writing birthday cards every year for someone who you don't see too often. You write the same three sentences and change maybe one word here or there. So I'll spare you the redo. The Lions are horrible and they're staying at the cellar until they win, or until the Chiefs lose by 100.
31. St. Louis Rams (0-3)
Operation Bet Against The Rams is now 3-0. I'm kind of scared though. This week they're starting Trent Green. No, I'm not scared about their potentially covering. I'm worried about Trent Green's health. That guy gets concussed tying his shoelaces. I really hope nothing bad happens. Oh, and it's also a good sign when you flat out cut your starting cornerback. And they still have no offensive line and can't stop anyone. Other than that, everything's fine.
30. Kansas City Chiefs (0-3)
In getting blown out by the mighty Atlanta Falcons, the Chiefs are making a legitimate push for 0-16. However, they still have a couple more weeks of putridity to produce if they want to knock the Rams or Lions out of the bottom two spots. The Chiefs merely lose. The Rams and Lions make losing an art. Kansas City has another chance to prove how bad they are this week at home against the Broncos. Keep in mind that Denver has no defense. If Kansas City can manage to get shut out, they have a chance to knock the Rams out of the 31 spot.
29. Cleveland Browns (0-3)
Was this the easiest quarterback controversy to spot in the history of football? You have a random QB get to the Pro Bowl out of nowhere by playing out of his mind in one season. His backup is a first round draft pick who has more advertising contracts than 95% of the league. Combine that with Cleveland's tough schedule, Jamal Lewis' having nowhere to go but down, and Cleveland's wacky front office, and you get QB controversy. They'll lose at Cincinnati this week and Brady Quinn will be starting one week sooner than I had predicted. So close.
28. Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
Sorry, but the Seahawks don't earn anything in the RW Power Rankings by beating up on the Rams at home. Here's how bad it is to be a Seattle fan. I saw this overweight guy sitting with his not so hot girlfriend as they were watching the game in a booth. He was wearing a faded Shaun Alexander jersey and they made out after every Seahawks score, including the extra points. The whole scene was vile and depressing. They're the AIG of the NFL. I want to call them the AIG Seahawks. Someone needs to bail that city out.
27. Oakland Raiders (1-2)
Just depressing. They're the UCLA Bruins of the NFL. What's that you ask? Aren't I a fan of both teams? Why yes, I am. I can't watch either of them. Bring on the Lakers and the Bruins that play in Pauley Pavilion. Although I must say I am a big McFadden fan. My jersey's en route.
26. Houston Texans (0-2)
Ok, so maybe I was wrong about Houston being good this season. They may turn to Sage Rosenfels soon and it's not because of an injury. Granted, they have a ginormous acceptable excuse in all of their lives being knocked off course by a hurricane, and they no longer have a bye, but they're still a bad football team and unfortunately for the Texans, we don't factor misfortune into the RW rankings. So they get a 26 ranking plus my sympathy.
25. Cincinnati Bengals (0-3)
They'll get a short break this weekend at home against Cleveland. They were impressive last week in almost beating the Giants on the road. But how much have things changed from only a year or two ago where that would have been a huge 13.5-point upset? The Bengals are not good though they are showing signs of life.
24. Atlanta Falcons (2-1)
They beat the Lions and the Chiefs, but I'm still giving them some credit because I had 2 as their likely win total for the season. Unfortunately, that's still a possibility. We'll see how good they are this week when they travel to Carolina. Don't forget they have a young O-Line and Matt Ryan at QB. Hint: Don't take them this week.
23. Chicago Bears (1-2)
News flash: You need a QB in the NFL. How on earth do you go the better part of a decade with Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman as your QB's. I don't care how well their defense is playing and how much Matt Forte has come along already. This is not a good team as long as they have a useless QB.
22. Miami Dolphins (1-2)
What the crap was that? Miami killed my survivor pool. Their team is legitimately garbage except for Ronnie Brown and Ted Ginn, Jr. so they directly snap the ball to them and eliminate the QB position altogether. It makes sense but it's completely unfair that they pull that when I pick against them. I think it's safe to say that you're not going to win consistently with that. This is still not a good team, but better than we expected.
21. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
The Kurt Warner never throwing an interception strategy finally unraveled and what was left was a team that can't run the ball or stop the run. That's not going to work. Luckily they're playing the Jets who can't run the ball either. Arizona needs to upgrade at O-Line and figure out if Leinart is their guy or not.
20. New York Jets (1-2)
You're not supposed to call a game "must-win" if you have no chance of winning. Dumb strategy by Mr. Favre who looks completely lost back there. On a happier note for me, whoever invented the In Running Line is my favorite person. After Rivers threw that pick-six to start the game the line got reset to Chargers by 3.5. Was there an easier call all week than the Chargers there?
19. Baltimore Ravens (2-0)
Wow, they beat Cincinnati and Cleveland at home. Start popping the champagne. Willis McGahee got gouged in the eyes last weekend, twice. So how he might not play. I'm gonna guess Willis didn't make too many friends on the playground in elementary school either. I'd take Pittsburgh this Monday even if they threw Leftwich out there and made Charlie Batch carry him to the huddle.
18. New England Patriots (2-1)
I don't care if I'm overreacting by dropping them to 18. That was just ridiculous. The Patriots are like the Vince Young Texas Longhorns except Matt Cassel can't run. Did they know they have Randy Moss? Their offense is completely inept and their defense got beat by the same play about 450 times. I think Bill Belichick is going to figure out a way to get negative hours of sleep to avoid last week happening again.
17. New Orleans Saints (1-2)
I know Denver's offense is good, but at some point you have to be able to make a stop. More importantly, note to Sean Payton: The "Leave Reggie Bush Off of the Field For Big Play" strategy has been tried before. Ask Pete Carroll how that worked out.
16. San Francisco 49ers (2-1)
I really want to rank them higher. The Niners are looking like a solid football team and starting to gain confidence. My friend Jesse went to the game last weekend and said that it was the first time in a long time that the stadium was alive. I'd give you the name of the stadium but who can keep up with the corporate sponsors these days. I like this Niners team to win the NFC West; granted that's not saying much, but still, it's a start.
15. Minnesota Vikings (1-2)
See my Chicago Bears analysis and replace Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton with Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte. Minnesota is truly wasting a phenomenal run game and big play defense. Bernard Berrian looks better than I had thought and Sidney Rice is a great wide-out. It's a shame. They should be contending for the Super Bowl. Oh well, there's always the winter where they get to root on the Timberwolves in the freezing cold up there in Minnesota.
14. Carolina Panthers (2-1)
The magic finally wore off down in Carolina. Fortunately for the Panthers, they get the Falcons at home this week. I think a 3-1 start in Carolina is better than anybody expected. Put it this way, which would have been a more likely story in Week 4 if you had to bet pre-season, Panthers at 3-1 or Panthers Fire John Fox?
13. Washington Redskins (2-1)
The Redskins came up with another W and Daniel Snyder has been rather quiet. Things are looking better in the nation's capital, well, sports-wise at least. By the way, what's the sports equivalent of George W. Bush trying to intervene to thwart an economic disaster? Marty Schottenheimer called in for assistance to determine what to do with a 4th and 5 on the opposing team's 35-yard line in a playoff game? Back to the Redskins. Wait, one more tangent. How is it, in the year 2008, that a team is still called the Redskins? I'm not Native American so it doesn't bother me, but if there was a team called the Los Angeles Short Jews I might take offense. Anyway, the Redskins really seem to be taking to Zorn's approach and could be a little frisky in the Big D this weekend. I was a little surprised by the 11-point spread.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
Like I said last week, they're playing like a Jon Gruden team. They're getting gritty victories and Griese's playing just well enough to win. They'll get another test at home this week with Green Bay trying to get back on track. I still like Tampa to win at home.
11. Indianapolis Colts (1-2)
They just aren't the team that won the Super Bowl a couple of years back. Their defense is still small, but their speed isn't quite making up for it. Things may change when they get Bob Sanders back, but by then it may be too late. This is a good time for the bye week so they can try and regroup.
10. Green Bay Packers (2-1)
I still like Aaron Rodgers, enough to spell his name right now, but I think the Packers proved that they're not ready to play with the big boys of the league like Dallas. They'll still cruise to a division title but I don't see them beating a Dallas or Philly this year.
9. San Diego Chargers (1-2)
Now that was more like what we expected. The Chargers really could be 3-0 right now with the Delhomme miracle and the Hochuli whistle fiasco, but instead they're 1-2. However, because the AFC has played so horribly, they should be able to play their way into a playoff spot if they keep up what they started Monday night.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2)
Now that was an impressive road victory. They could have given up after Peyton predictably drove the entire field for a go-ahead TD, but David Garrard gathered the troops and Josh Scobee came through with a Vinatieri-esque kick. If they hold serve at home against Houston, which they should, the Jaguars will be 2-2 and all of a sudden a force to be reckoned with once more. (Does anyone else see a Houston upset coming now that I jinxed the Jags, again?)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)
Remember when I talked about Pittsburgh's lack of a running game this season due to a shaky offensive line? I was right, if only two weeks late. 9 sacks allowed is never going to cut it. They get Baltimore at home this week and while we all know about Baltimore's D, I think Pittsburgh wins a low scoring game because Baltimore won't score.
6. Buffalo Bills (3-0)
I don't think the Bills can say they were looking past the Raiders to the Rams, but at the end of the season, nobody looks at scores, just at wins and losses. The Bills proved that they can gut one out and they figure to be 4-0 after traveling to St. Louis this weekend. Not bad. After New England proved me wrong, the Bills have to be most people's favorite to win the AFC East now.
5. New York Giants (3-0)
The Giants keep winning, albeit in unimpressive fashion. They should have lost to the Bengals and I don't think anybody will be making the Giants two-touchdown favorites any time soon. They have the bye week and the Plaxico Burress situation isn't helping matters. The Giants shouldn't struggle at home in Week 5 at home against Seattle though. It's hard to say anything too bad about a team that hasn't lost since last year's regular season.
4. Denver Broncos (3-0)
They've come a pretty long way in a few weeks. If you had to put your life savings on a team to score a touchdown from its own 20, I think it would be pretty hard to look past the Broncos. True, they have no defense, but again, does that matter if you can put up 5 TD's per game?
3. Tennessee Titans (3-0)
The team's and media's treatment of Vince Young bothers me a lot. He's being treated like a pariah because he has some issues with depression. Ok, I wrote an article about that already. Back to the Titans. They run the ball. They stop the run. They don't lose. There, I'm done. Good luck to them this week in a smash mouth game against Minnesota where the winner may be decided by the play of Kerry Collins and Gus Frerotte. No, this isn't 1999.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1)
Talk about demoralizing a team. I thought it couldn't get much worse for the Steelers and then Brian Dawkins stripped the ball out of Big Ben's hands like he was Gary Payton in 1990's form. Philly's schedule has been rough and this weekend's trip to Chicago will be no cakewalk. Thankfully for Philly, the QB's in this game are Donovan McNabb and Kyle Orton. The Eagles will need a healthy Brian Westbrook at some point though, or risk a sharp drop in the standings.
1. Dallas Cowboys (3-0)
Here's what I said last week: "They have one of the top quarterbacks, wide receivers, short yardage rushers, tight ends, return-men, and defensive ends in the league. Their secondary is the only weak spot but it doesn't look like Dallas has a problem winning in a shootout if they have to." Do I need to change anything? They'll be here for a while. Get your popcorn ready.
WEEK 4 PICKS
Buffalo -8 at St. Louis
Carolina -7 vs. Atlanta
Philadelphia -3 at Chicago
Cincinnati -3.5 vs. Cleveland
Washington +11 at Dallas
Kansas City +9 vs. Denver
Houston +7 at Jacksonville
San Francisco +5 at New Orleans (WARNING: DO NOT TEASE NEW ORLEANS THIS WEEK)
New York Jets -1.5 vs. Arizona
Oakland +7.5 vs. San Diego
Tampa Bay -1 vs. Green Bay
Tennessee -3 vs. Minnesota
Pittsburgh -5.5 vs. Baltimore
Ok, that should get me back to .500 and restore order in the world.
Season: 27-19-1
Today's Pick: Oregon State +24.5. As far as I'm concerned, 'SC hasn't beaten anyone yet. That's not to say that Oregon State is any good, but 24.5 points on the road and on national television is a lot. I'll take the points. I also like the under. I believe it jumped to 54.5.
The rankings see another large shake up after how bad the upper echelon in the AFC has performed. I really don't know what to make of half of the NFL. Unfortunately one of my automatic wins is gone this week because Detroit has a bye. Fortunately for them, that means they can't lose this week. At least they fired Matt Millen.
32. Detroit Lions (0-3)
It's tough to figure out how to say the same thing week after week about the Lions. It's like writing birthday cards every year for someone who you don't see too often. You write the same three sentences and change maybe one word here or there. So I'll spare you the redo. The Lions are horrible and they're staying at the cellar until they win, or until the Chiefs lose by 100.
31. St. Louis Rams (0-3)
Operation Bet Against The Rams is now 3-0. I'm kind of scared though. This week they're starting Trent Green. No, I'm not scared about their potentially covering. I'm worried about Trent Green's health. That guy gets concussed tying his shoelaces. I really hope nothing bad happens. Oh, and it's also a good sign when you flat out cut your starting cornerback. And they still have no offensive line and can't stop anyone. Other than that, everything's fine.
30. Kansas City Chiefs (0-3)
In getting blown out by the mighty Atlanta Falcons, the Chiefs are making a legitimate push for 0-16. However, they still have a couple more weeks of putridity to produce if they want to knock the Rams or Lions out of the bottom two spots. The Chiefs merely lose. The Rams and Lions make losing an art. Kansas City has another chance to prove how bad they are this week at home against the Broncos. Keep in mind that Denver has no defense. If Kansas City can manage to get shut out, they have a chance to knock the Rams out of the 31 spot.
29. Cleveland Browns (0-3)
Was this the easiest quarterback controversy to spot in the history of football? You have a random QB get to the Pro Bowl out of nowhere by playing out of his mind in one season. His backup is a first round draft pick who has more advertising contracts than 95% of the league. Combine that with Cleveland's tough schedule, Jamal Lewis' having nowhere to go but down, and Cleveland's wacky front office, and you get QB controversy. They'll lose at Cincinnati this week and Brady Quinn will be starting one week sooner than I had predicted. So close.
28. Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
Sorry, but the Seahawks don't earn anything in the RW Power Rankings by beating up on the Rams at home. Here's how bad it is to be a Seattle fan. I saw this overweight guy sitting with his not so hot girlfriend as they were watching the game in a booth. He was wearing a faded Shaun Alexander jersey and they made out after every Seahawks score, including the extra points. The whole scene was vile and depressing. They're the AIG of the NFL. I want to call them the AIG Seahawks. Someone needs to bail that city out.
27. Oakland Raiders (1-2)
Just depressing. They're the UCLA Bruins of the NFL. What's that you ask? Aren't I a fan of both teams? Why yes, I am. I can't watch either of them. Bring on the Lakers and the Bruins that play in Pauley Pavilion. Although I must say I am a big McFadden fan. My jersey's en route.
26. Houston Texans (0-2)
Ok, so maybe I was wrong about Houston being good this season. They may turn to Sage Rosenfels soon and it's not because of an injury. Granted, they have a ginormous acceptable excuse in all of their lives being knocked off course by a hurricane, and they no longer have a bye, but they're still a bad football team and unfortunately for the Texans, we don't factor misfortune into the RW rankings. So they get a 26 ranking plus my sympathy.
25. Cincinnati Bengals (0-3)
They'll get a short break this weekend at home against Cleveland. They were impressive last week in almost beating the Giants on the road. But how much have things changed from only a year or two ago where that would have been a huge 13.5-point upset? The Bengals are not good though they are showing signs of life.
24. Atlanta Falcons (2-1)
They beat the Lions and the Chiefs, but I'm still giving them some credit because I had 2 as their likely win total for the season. Unfortunately, that's still a possibility. We'll see how good they are this week when they travel to Carolina. Don't forget they have a young O-Line and Matt Ryan at QB. Hint: Don't take them this week.
23. Chicago Bears (1-2)
News flash: You need a QB in the NFL. How on earth do you go the better part of a decade with Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman as your QB's. I don't care how well their defense is playing and how much Matt Forte has come along already. This is not a good team as long as they have a useless QB.
22. Miami Dolphins (1-2)
What the crap was that? Miami killed my survivor pool. Their team is legitimately garbage except for Ronnie Brown and Ted Ginn, Jr. so they directly snap the ball to them and eliminate the QB position altogether. It makes sense but it's completely unfair that they pull that when I pick against them. I think it's safe to say that you're not going to win consistently with that. This is still not a good team, but better than we expected.
21. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
The Kurt Warner never throwing an interception strategy finally unraveled and what was left was a team that can't run the ball or stop the run. That's not going to work. Luckily they're playing the Jets who can't run the ball either. Arizona needs to upgrade at O-Line and figure out if Leinart is their guy or not.
20. New York Jets (1-2)
You're not supposed to call a game "must-win" if you have no chance of winning. Dumb strategy by Mr. Favre who looks completely lost back there. On a happier note for me, whoever invented the In Running Line is my favorite person. After Rivers threw that pick-six to start the game the line got reset to Chargers by 3.5. Was there an easier call all week than the Chargers there?
19. Baltimore Ravens (2-0)
Wow, they beat Cincinnati and Cleveland at home. Start popping the champagne. Willis McGahee got gouged in the eyes last weekend, twice. So how he might not play. I'm gonna guess Willis didn't make too many friends on the playground in elementary school either. I'd take Pittsburgh this Monday even if they threw Leftwich out there and made Charlie Batch carry him to the huddle.
18. New England Patriots (2-1)
I don't care if I'm overreacting by dropping them to 18. That was just ridiculous. The Patriots are like the Vince Young Texas Longhorns except Matt Cassel can't run. Did they know they have Randy Moss? Their offense is completely inept and their defense got beat by the same play about 450 times. I think Bill Belichick is going to figure out a way to get negative hours of sleep to avoid last week happening again.
17. New Orleans Saints (1-2)
I know Denver's offense is good, but at some point you have to be able to make a stop. More importantly, note to Sean Payton: The "Leave Reggie Bush Off of the Field For Big Play" strategy has been tried before. Ask Pete Carroll how that worked out.
16. San Francisco 49ers (2-1)
I really want to rank them higher. The Niners are looking like a solid football team and starting to gain confidence. My friend Jesse went to the game last weekend and said that it was the first time in a long time that the stadium was alive. I'd give you the name of the stadium but who can keep up with the corporate sponsors these days. I like this Niners team to win the NFC West; granted that's not saying much, but still, it's a start.
15. Minnesota Vikings (1-2)
See my Chicago Bears analysis and replace Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton with Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte. Minnesota is truly wasting a phenomenal run game and big play defense. Bernard Berrian looks better than I had thought and Sidney Rice is a great wide-out. It's a shame. They should be contending for the Super Bowl. Oh well, there's always the winter where they get to root on the Timberwolves in the freezing cold up there in Minnesota.
14. Carolina Panthers (2-1)
The magic finally wore off down in Carolina. Fortunately for the Panthers, they get the Falcons at home this week. I think a 3-1 start in Carolina is better than anybody expected. Put it this way, which would have been a more likely story in Week 4 if you had to bet pre-season, Panthers at 3-1 or Panthers Fire John Fox?
13. Washington Redskins (2-1)
The Redskins came up with another W and Daniel Snyder has been rather quiet. Things are looking better in the nation's capital, well, sports-wise at least. By the way, what's the sports equivalent of George W. Bush trying to intervene to thwart an economic disaster? Marty Schottenheimer called in for assistance to determine what to do with a 4th and 5 on the opposing team's 35-yard line in a playoff game? Back to the Redskins. Wait, one more tangent. How is it, in the year 2008, that a team is still called the Redskins? I'm not Native American so it doesn't bother me, but if there was a team called the Los Angeles Short Jews I might take offense. Anyway, the Redskins really seem to be taking to Zorn's approach and could be a little frisky in the Big D this weekend. I was a little surprised by the 11-point spread.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)
Like I said last week, they're playing like a Jon Gruden team. They're getting gritty victories and Griese's playing just well enough to win. They'll get another test at home this week with Green Bay trying to get back on track. I still like Tampa to win at home.
11. Indianapolis Colts (1-2)
They just aren't the team that won the Super Bowl a couple of years back. Their defense is still small, but their speed isn't quite making up for it. Things may change when they get Bob Sanders back, but by then it may be too late. This is a good time for the bye week so they can try and regroup.
10. Green Bay Packers (2-1)
I still like Aaron Rodgers, enough to spell his name right now, but I think the Packers proved that they're not ready to play with the big boys of the league like Dallas. They'll still cruise to a division title but I don't see them beating a Dallas or Philly this year.
9. San Diego Chargers (1-2)
Now that was more like what we expected. The Chargers really could be 3-0 right now with the Delhomme miracle and the Hochuli whistle fiasco, but instead they're 1-2. However, because the AFC has played so horribly, they should be able to play their way into a playoff spot if they keep up what they started Monday night.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2)
Now that was an impressive road victory. They could have given up after Peyton predictably drove the entire field for a go-ahead TD, but David Garrard gathered the troops and Josh Scobee came through with a Vinatieri-esque kick. If they hold serve at home against Houston, which they should, the Jaguars will be 2-2 and all of a sudden a force to be reckoned with once more. (Does anyone else see a Houston upset coming now that I jinxed the Jags, again?)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1)
Remember when I talked about Pittsburgh's lack of a running game this season due to a shaky offensive line? I was right, if only two weeks late. 9 sacks allowed is never going to cut it. They get Baltimore at home this week and while we all know about Baltimore's D, I think Pittsburgh wins a low scoring game because Baltimore won't score.
6. Buffalo Bills (3-0)
I don't think the Bills can say they were looking past the Raiders to the Rams, but at the end of the season, nobody looks at scores, just at wins and losses. The Bills proved that they can gut one out and they figure to be 4-0 after traveling to St. Louis this weekend. Not bad. After New England proved me wrong, the Bills have to be most people's favorite to win the AFC East now.
5. New York Giants (3-0)
The Giants keep winning, albeit in unimpressive fashion. They should have lost to the Bengals and I don't think anybody will be making the Giants two-touchdown favorites any time soon. They have the bye week and the Plaxico Burress situation isn't helping matters. The Giants shouldn't struggle at home in Week 5 at home against Seattle though. It's hard to say anything too bad about a team that hasn't lost since last year's regular season.
4. Denver Broncos (3-0)
They've come a pretty long way in a few weeks. If you had to put your life savings on a team to score a touchdown from its own 20, I think it would be pretty hard to look past the Broncos. True, they have no defense, but again, does that matter if you can put up 5 TD's per game?
3. Tennessee Titans (3-0)
The team's and media's treatment of Vince Young bothers me a lot. He's being treated like a pariah because he has some issues with depression. Ok, I wrote an article about that already. Back to the Titans. They run the ball. They stop the run. They don't lose. There, I'm done. Good luck to them this week in a smash mouth game against Minnesota where the winner may be decided by the play of Kerry Collins and Gus Frerotte. No, this isn't 1999.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1)
Talk about demoralizing a team. I thought it couldn't get much worse for the Steelers and then Brian Dawkins stripped the ball out of Big Ben's hands like he was Gary Payton in 1990's form. Philly's schedule has been rough and this weekend's trip to Chicago will be no cakewalk. Thankfully for Philly, the QB's in this game are Donovan McNabb and Kyle Orton. The Eagles will need a healthy Brian Westbrook at some point though, or risk a sharp drop in the standings.
1. Dallas Cowboys (3-0)
Here's what I said last week: "They have one of the top quarterbacks, wide receivers, short yardage rushers, tight ends, return-men, and defensive ends in the league. Their secondary is the only weak spot but it doesn't look like Dallas has a problem winning in a shootout if they have to." Do I need to change anything? They'll be here for a while. Get your popcorn ready.
WEEK 4 PICKS
Buffalo -8 at St. Louis
Carolina -7 vs. Atlanta
Philadelphia -3 at Chicago
Cincinnati -3.5 vs. Cleveland
Washington +11 at Dallas
Kansas City +9 vs. Denver
Houston +7 at Jacksonville
San Francisco +5 at New Orleans (WARNING: DO NOT TEASE NEW ORLEANS THIS WEEK)
New York Jets -1.5 vs. Arizona
Oakland +7.5 vs. San Diego
Tampa Bay -1 vs. Green Bay
Tennessee -3 vs. Minnesota
Pittsburgh -5.5 vs. Baltimore
Ok, that should get me back to .500 and restore order in the world.
Season: 27-19-1
Today's Pick: Oregon State +24.5. As far as I'm concerned, 'SC hasn't beaten anyone yet. That's not to say that Oregon State is any good, but 24.5 points on the road and on national television is a lot. I'll take the points. I also like the under. I believe it jumped to 54.5.
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