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2006 NFL Week 3 Picks

Last week we went a combined 49-15, a win percentage of .766 compared to the ESPN crew’s 95-32 record (.748). The top scorer for the second straight week was Vegas Vinny with 14correct. We’re also going to let the weekly winner of the Sportscolumn pickem contest pick the games as well. Week 2’s winner was Crumb Snatcha with 13 correct and his picks for this week are included below.

The featured games this week are Chicago @ Minnesota, Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh, Jacksonville @ Indianapolis, NY Giants @ Seattle and Philly @ San Francisco. You can download the podcast directly (running time 34 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Week 3 Picks

MATCHUP  Vegas  Vinny  BostonMac  Trevor  RJ Warner  Pickem  Winner*
Panthers @ Bucs Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers Panthers
Bears @ Vikings Bears Bears Vikings Vikings Bears
Bengals @ Steelers Bengals Bengals Bengals Steelers Steelers
Packers @ Lions Lions Packers Lions Lions TIE
Jaguars @ Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts
Jets @ Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills Bills
Titans @ Dolphins Dolphins Dolphins Dolphins Dolphins Dolphins
Redskins @ Texans Redskins Texans Redskins Texans Redskins
Ravens @ Browns Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens Ravens
Giants @ Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Giants
Eagles @ Niners Eagles Eagles Niners Eagles Eagles
Rams @ Cards Cards Cards Cards Cards Cards
Broncos @ Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots
Falcons @ Saints Saints Falcons Saints Falcons Falcons
Prev Week 14-2 (.825) 12-4 (.750) 12-4 (.750) 11-5 (.687) 12-4 (.750)
Overall 25-7 (.781) 21-11 (.656) 21-11 (.656) 21-11 (.656) 24-8 (.750)
LOCKS 1-1 1-1 2-0 1-1 n/a

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

Locks of the Week

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[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: Everybody is on the Minnesota bandwagon because they beat the Media’s Super Bowl pick the Carolina Panthers but they’re not in the same league as the Bears. Last week the Vikings went 2-15 on third down conversions — meanwhile, the Bears are tops in the league on third down defense, stopping their opponents 90% of the time. The Vikings might not make a third down the entire game. The offenses are pretty equal. The Vikings offense is statistically better than the Bears (about 12 yards per game) but the Bears defense will give Rex Grossman a short field with some takeaways. The line at -4 is a little scary because most people expect a field goal game but here’s a trend for Chicago: when they win a game straight up, they are 55-5-2 against the spread so chances are they will beat the Vikings and beat them by more than 4. I’ll put $55 on the Bears (-4) to win $50. (Balance = $995)

BostonMac: I’ll be honest; I hate the lines this week. I like the Patriots at home but I’m not going to touch a 7-point spread, after the Pats barely covered against the Jets. Nor do I want to mess around with the Giants on the road. So I’ll go against my better judgment and take Brett Favre to knock off the Lions, a team he is 21-9 against in his career with 7,726 yards passing, his most against any one team. The Packers put up some decent offensive numbers last week, so look for them to at least cover, even though I’ll take them to win outright against the hapless Lions. $55 to win $50 on Green Bay (+6.5) over Detroit. (Balance = $995)

Trevor F: Every season there is one team that the oddsmakers don’t come around on until about Week 5. This season the 49ers are that team. They are currently 2-0 against the spread and could be 2-0 on the season if some breaks had gone their way on the road in Arizona. The 20-13 win over the St. Louis Rams does not indicate the way the 49ers beat down a Rams team that had knocked off the Denver Broncos a week earlier. The experts are still riding the Philly bandwagon even though they went 6-10 last year and have only beaten the Houston Texans this season (the Texans were moving the ball on the Eagles I might add). The Eagles just took a stomach punch loss and now have to cross the country and play an emerging 49ers team. The key to this game will be the 49ers offensive line. So far this year they have made Alex Smith one of the most well-protected quarterbacks in the league and have also opened up holes for Frank Gore to run through. I think this is a trend that will continue in San Francisco on Sunday. The Five-Time Super Bowl Champions not only cover the six and a half……..but they win 20-17. Niners (+6.5) over the Eagles. $55 to win $50. (Balance = $1,100)

RJ Warner: You’ve got to like Seattle (-3.5) on Sunday over the New York Little Giants. I don’t think the Seahawks have really gotten it going yet this season. They always seem to play at the level of their opponent. I’m not calling the Giants an elite team, but they are the best the ‘Hawks have faced so far, and I think they’ll be up for Eli and the boys big time on Sunday. The Seahawks have won their last 11 games (including playoffs) at Qwest Field, including a rock-solid 9-2 ATS. One of those wins, you’ll remember, was a big one over these very same G-Men. It was the game where Jay Feely missed about a hundred game-winning field goal attempts and Jeremy Shockey looked about as dumb as a Miami stud…oh wait, nevermind. Anyway, I don’t believe it will be as close as last year’s thriller. Seattle’s offense has definitely gotten off to a slow start but look for it to rebound and play a solid, ball-control game with Alexander finally getting past 100 yards. He hasn’t been held under 100 in three straight games in almost three years. So far, it’s been the defense that’s been carrying the defending NFC champs and I believe that will continue. As long as they don’t have an Eagle-esque meltdown, look for Seattle to be comfortably ahead in the fourth quarter. I want to put more on it, but early stupidity has forced me to play catch up; so I’ll throw another 55 to win 50 on Seattle (-3.5) over the Giants. (Balance = $940)

27 replies on “2006 NFL Week 3 Picks”

PICKS HEY I AM FAIRLY NEW TO THIS SITE, I APPRECIATE THE PICKS BUT I NEED SOME HELP GUYS. I NEED YOU GUYS TO HELP ME WIN MY OFFICE POOL, BUT THEY GO BY CONFIDENCE POINTS IS THERE ANYONE HERE THAT CAN HELP ME SELECT WINNERS? IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRICIATED.

you mean basically you bet points on the games?  

Do you go by the spread or just straight up?

Put a heavy emphasis on the Locks of the Week.  (Except Niners over Eagles this week.. that’s just foolish.)

PICKS HEY BUDDY, THANKS FOR RESPONDING WE ARE PLAYING BY CONFIDENCE POINTS . LIKE FOR INSTANCE THIS WEEK I WILL HAVE TO CHOOSE NUMBERS 1-14 AND NOT USE THE SAME NUMBER TWICE. AT THE END OF THE GAMES AND THE MONDAY GAME THEY WOULD TOTAL THE POINTS AND CHOOSE THE WINNER. I AM USED TO PLAYING THE SPREAD. THIS IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT. CAN I PLEASE GET SOME HELP?

not the way I usually do it but i’ll take a shot…

14    Phi
13    Chicago
12    Balt
11    Ariz
10    Buf
9    Sea
8    Indy
7    Carolina
6    Miami
5    Det
4    Wash
3    Cinci
2    NE
1    NO

Ohhh Vin… Niners over Eagles is foolish you say?? Talk to me Sunday night after the Niners win (and not just by 3 as Trevor predicted…more like 10). Gore: 2 TD’s, 1 defensive TD, one Alex Smith TD…31-21 will be the final.

here’s what’s going to happen Eagles will be up 21-3 at the half…

and then Andy and the team will remember last week’s game and the final score will be 52-3

I agree with you JD I’m quietly confident going into this week.  I picked the 49ers, I made it my Lock of the Week, and I’m sticking with it.  The Eagles are an overrated ballclub.  This isn’t 2004.  The 49ers will line up and run the ball up the middle which will keep the Eagles from blitzing Smith.  The 49ers will win this game.

I HATE the Eagles…. but one thing’s for sure…they WILL NOT LOSE to San Francisco. I agree that they’re overrated right now…but that’s just because sports analysts are half-retarded and LOVE bandwagons! The bad thing is, these aren’t the 1980’s 49ers either. No Joe MO or a filthy D.  The Niners aren’t HORRIBLE anymore, but they definitely aren’t good either. Jevon Kearse being out will hurt the Eagles, but they still win by 17.

well don’t go and jinx it… but I bet that way. This seems to be the only TRUE lock of the week in my opinion. Maybe the Falcons at NO….

Fumble The game turned on that fumble.  If Gore punches it in instead of putting it on the ground and having it get returned for 98 yards, the 49ers are right in there.  It was a 14 point swing which was the final score.

Yeah I’ll use that excuse too becaue it’s legit. But aside from losing, we played well and are much improved from last year’s 42-3 loss to the Eagles. I must admit though deep breath…sigh I was wrong. 🙁

I shoulda’ listened to Vin Vin, I went with you on the Saints pick on Thursday.  Then I heard no less than a dozen “experts” pick the Falcons.  When PTI picked the Falcons I switched my pick.  I wanted to stick with you, but since you put NO at the bottom of your confidence points, I figured you were probably on the fence too.  I learned my lesson.  ALWAYS stick with Vin.

Thanks man.

Well  I did pretty good execpt that damn Denver and New England game that really killed me on confidence points. But overall i was really impressed. Vin’s picks really helped me out. Thanks again. Any suggestions for this week?????

Saints game I felt pretty good personally about it but I didn’t want to screw anyone up with that as a confidence points pick.  Still, I won my office pool. 🙂

you’re welcome glad i didnt let you down.   I still can’t believe Arizona lost to the Rams.  Damn you Kurt Warner!!!

WELL DID YOU HEAR…….. KURT WARNER IS GOING TO PLAY NOW IN ARIZONA. I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO PLAY MATT LEINART. I JUST READ THAT THE CARDS TOLD THE INFO TO ESPN’S CHRIS MORTENSEN.

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