2006 NFL Week 10 Picks

Things are back to normal as we picked a combined 66% last week. Vin and Trevor went 10-4, RJ went 9-5 and Ryan went 8-6. The top expert on the web got 11 right so chances are if you went with Vin or Trevor’s picks last week, you won your office pool. If you want to see how we stack up against all the experts, check out a very nifty expert picks compilation spreadsheet by our buddy Tokar.

The featured games this week are Kansas City @ Miami, San Diego @ Cincinnati, St. Louis @ Seattle, and Chicago @ NY Giants. You can download the podcast directly (running time 38 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

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This week’s pickem winner was MDFAN and his picks are below.

Week 10 Picks

**The weekly winner from the Sportscolumn Weekly Pickem Contest will be featured as the fifth prognosticator.

Locks of the Week Sponsored by:

[Editor’s Note: This year, we’re making the Locks of the Week a little more interesting as we have a side bet amongst the four experts. The person with the most money at the end of the year in Locks betting takes home all the money. Disclaimer: The amounts discussed are for illustrative and entertainment purposes only. Gambling may be illegal in your locale.]

Vegas Vinny: OK folks, it’s time to play spot the emotional letdown team. It could be the Dolphins but it’s definitely going to be the Colts. Winning in Foxboro is always big and they will take a breather this week against the lowly Bills. Remember that the Colts tend to play down to the level of their competition this year. Against the Jets they were favored by 8.5 and only won by 3 on a last minute drive. Same thing against the Titans the following week when they were favored by 18 points and needed another Manning lead drive to win by 1. The Colts are favored by 13 this week. They should win but they won’t cover. I’m putting $55 on the Bills (+13) to win $50. (Balance = $815)

BostonMac: I’m going to pick against the Bengals again and ride the wave of their 24th-ranked rush defense going up against virtually the league’s leading rusher, LaDainian Tomlinson (2 yards behind Tiki Barber). Two weeks ago I hit my lock with the league’s best rushing offense, the Atlanta Falcons, taking it to Cincy, and look for more of the same as the Chargers roll all over the dysfunctional Bengals this week. I know that it’s a little risky taking essentially a rookie QB in Philip Rivers on the road, and Cincy might be fired up in fighting for their season, but it looks like their hopes are already in the dumper. The Chargers have the top defense in the AFC, and though they will suffer a bit without Shaun Merriman, they should have enough in the tank to beat this team. Don’t expect Martyball to suffer the same over-coaching fate that the Patriots and Bill Belichick suffered last week; there is no chance that Marty decides to unleash Rivers’ right arm, so let’s ride LT’s legs to another cover. I’m looking to create some separation this week between the haves and have-nots of our panel, so I’ll put $110 to win $100 on the CHARGERS (-1.5) to cover against the Bengals. (Balance = $1025)

Trevor F: I’m going to take Kansas City and give the 1 point against the Miami Dolphins. Essentially, I am picking Kansas City to win the game. The spread to me seems lower than it should be and it is definitely because of Miami’s incredible win over Chicago last weekend. I see Miami having a letdown in this game and losing decisively to the Chiefs. Right now you can make an outstanding argument that Kansas City is
playing the best football in the AFC. Their offense has been humming with Damon “Don’t Call Me Brock” Huard at the helm. You play the game to win as Herm Edwards says and KC scores the W in Miami. Chiefs (-1) for $55 to win $50 is the play. (Balance = $1035)

RJ Warner: I don’t like to just pick covers, but I’m taking the Bucs with all those points against Carolina. I guess the oddsmakers are still confusing the Panthers as a Super Bowl contender right now, and I think this line is just a little over inflated. Bruce Gradkowski won’t lead the Bucs to the upset, but it should be a closer game than anyone expects. Carolina hasn’t hit their stride yet; only in December do they become a dominating football team. Plus, consider the trends: the Panthers are only 1-3 ATS at home this year and 3-5 overall ATS. They showed two weeks ago against Dallas that they can be shaky. Tampa Bay isn’t nearly as good as Dallas but they played the Panthers tough back in Week 3. And remember, it’s a division game, so always expect a tough battle, even if the Bucs are out of the playoff hunt. I’m just getting back from vacation, so I’m broke. I’ll put a measley $55 on the Bucs (+10) to win $50 on this one. Stop the bleeding from my 0-4 losing streak on locks (which I’m sure is a 4-0 winning streak for some lucky listeners out there). (Balance = $480)