2006 NFL Week 11 Picks

Tough week 10 for us here at Sportscolumn. Trevor went 9-7 but everyone else went 7-9. For the first time in a long time, we lost to the ESPN experts who had 59% correct. Somehow, despite a 7-9 week, Vegas Vinny still maintains the overall lead amongst all experts posting their picks on the web. 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 Seattle @ San Francisco, Indianapolis @ Dallas, San Diego @ Denver, and NY Giants @ Jacksonville. You can download the podcast directly (running time 32 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

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Week 11 Picks

**The weekly winner from the Sportscolumn Weekly Pickem Contest will be featured as the fifth prognosticator. This week’s winner is leifdawg

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: That’s a couple of weeks of Locks correct in a row for me and I’m feeling pretty confident. I’ve been going on teams’ mental state/emotion in making the last two picks but I’m going back to the trends well for this week. First off, the Raiders are 0-10 in their last ten games in the division. Second, they’re a team that’s a complete mess on offense. If you look at the past few weeks, they only can score a TD on defense or when they get a very short field on a turnover. (Roethlisberger throws 2 picks for TDs and Jake Plummer gave them the ball on the 15 yd line.) If the Chiefs can only muster up 20 pts, they’ll cover those 10 points they’re giving. If that doesn’t sway you, the Chiefs are 9-1 against the spread in their last 10 home games. I’m putting $110 to win $100 on the Chiefs (-10) because I need to catch up to Ryan. (Balance = $865)

BostonMac: BROWNS (+3.5) over the Steelers. Every year there emerges a sleeper team who has a rough first half and then inexplicably turns the tide in the second half and starts covering spreads against big favorites and then pulls off some upsets. I think the Cleveland Browns are this year’s team. Never mind the fact that the Steelers are terrible, but they have to go to play an improving Cleveland team (led by my boy Romeo Crennel, of course, and winners of two out of the last three) and knock off the Browns for the sixth straight time. After the Browns beat the Falcons last week, however, look for them to keep improving by ending their losing streak against Pittsburgh. I’ll bet that Cleveland holds down the home field and the Steelers’ cursed season continues. I hit my big $110 bet last week on the Chargers, so I’ll scale it back a bit this week and go $55 to win $50 on Cleveland getting 3 and a half. (Balance = $1125)

Trevor F: In a move that only an experienced gambler would make……I’m going to take the 49ers regardless of the spread and make them my Lock of the Week. I actually think it would be better for the 49ers if
Hasselbeck came back and played this week as Seneca Wallace is in a nice groove. I think there’s a good chance that Hasselbeck would be rusty in a return game. The 49ers are playing great football and winning on the road last weekend was a real shot in the arm. The streak continues at home. I’m stepping it up for the first time this year and putting $110 on the 49ers (NL) to win $100. Prediction: Niners 24-21.
(Balance = $980)

RJ Warner: Am I back on the bandwagon? Well yes, at least for this week. The Steelers love to go to Cleveland and slap the Browns around. Pittsburgh hasn’t won a road game this year, but they’re due. All they have to do is avoid turnovers and they should win and win easily. With Pig Pen at the helm, they have outscored the Browns a combined 65-3 in the Mistake by the Lake. Plus, over the last 3 seasons, the Browns are 4-12-1 ATS after a win, and they beat the Falcons last week. I’ve had horrible luck on my Locks the last few weeks, but I’m going to turn it around here by taking Pittsburgh (-3.5) and putting $110 on it. I know I’m struggling, but Pittsburgh at Cleveland is Old Reliable for the Steelers. (Balance = $425)