Last week was lousy with upsets. We’ll see if the favorites return to form this week as we start the second quarter of the NFL season. The featured games this week are Titans @ Ravens, Redskins @ Eagles, Bucs @ Broncos, and Steelers @ Jagars, which we pick against the spread. Good luck in your office pools.
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NFL Week 5 2008 Picks
| MATCHUP | Vegas Vinny | BostonMac | Trevor | RJ Warner |
| Titans @ Ravens | Titans | Titans | Titans | Ravens |
| Chiefs @ Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers |
| Bears @ Lions | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Falcons @ Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Colts @ Texans | Colts | Colts | Colts | Colts |
| Chargers @ Dolphins | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| Seahawks @ Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| Redskins @ Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles |
| Bucs @ Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Bucs |
| Bills @ Cards | Bills | Cards | Bills | Cards |
| Bengals @ Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Patriots @ Niners | Niners | Patriots | Niners | Patriots |
| Steelers @ Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Vikings @ Saints | Vikings | Vikings | Saints | Vikings |
| Prev Week | 9-5 (.643) | 9-5 (.643) | 9-5 (.643) | 10-4 (.714) |
| Overall | 39-22 (.639) | 41-20 (.672) | 40-21 (.656) | 39-22 (.639) |
| LOCKS | 2-2 | 2-2 | 3-1 | 0-4 |
Featured Games Against the Spread
| MATCHUP | Vegas Vinny | BostonMac | Trevor | RJ Warner |
| Titans @ Ravens (+3) | Titans | Titans | Titans | Ravens |
| Redskins @ Eagles (-6) | Redskins | Redskins | Eagles | Redskins |
| Bucs @ Broncos (-3) | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Bucs |
| Steelers @ Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| ATS | 4-4 | 6-2 | 5-3 | 4-4 |
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Locks of the Week |
[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: The Broncos let me down last week with an inexplicable loss to the Chiefs when they were 9.5 point favorites. So what am I gonna do? Go right back to the well. After being embarassed by the Chiefs, the Broncos will be hopping mad at home this week. Brian Griese got his revenge on Chicago but he won’t be so lucky in Denver. We know that the Broncos have a porous defense but they usually make up for it with offensive fire power. That didn’t happen last week.
This week expect the Broncos face a defense that’s the prototype for the Chiefs defense but I think they will be able to move the ball downfield in the passing game against TB’s 21st ranked pass defense. The Broncos wide receivers match up very well with the Bucs secondary and as long as Jay Cutler doesn’t make any mistakes against the opportunistic Bucs defense, the Broncos passing game will fare well. The key to the victory will be punching it in in the red zone instead of sending Matt Prater out there for 4 field goals. If the Broncos can convert even half their red zone chances, they should win this one. It’s not going to be a blowout but they should at least cover the 3 points. I’m putting $55 on the Broncos (-3) over the Bucs to win $50.. (Balance= $935)
BostonMac: I couldn’t believe when I saw that the Titans were only giving 3 points again this week. Tennessee’s defense is just crushing offenses, giving up 11.5 points per game in leading them to a 4-0 start. While the Ravens looked pretty good and came pretty close to beating the Steelers on the road last week, they are coming up against a confident Titans team that is on a roll. I see this game as coming down to turnovers, and the Titans have caused a league-high 12 turnovers so far. Going up against a rookie QB, especially one who coughed up a huge fumble which led to a Steelers TD last week, should clearly work in Tennessee’s favor. Flacco throws 2 INT’s, the Titans’ running backs carry the load, and TENNESSEE (-3) keeps on truckin’. $110 to win $100.
(Balance = $1050)
Trevor F: People are beginning to catch on to the Titan bandwagon as their spread
against the Ravens opened at the Titans favored by 1.5 and has been bid up
to 3. And you know what? I still don’t think that is enough points. I’m
not getting off the train yet. I have the Titans beating the Ravens 17-10
and making Joe Flacco feel some pain. They win and cover and move to 5-0
on the season and against the spread. $110 to win $100 on Titans (-3) (Balance = $1205)
RJ: By the time the regular season is over, the San Diego Chargers will have traveled over 33,000 miles, and this is the first long road trip of the season, over 4000 all the way to Miami and back. If the Maddening Norvs want to be a real threat and keep pace in the AFC, they had better take care of things in Miami against the rejuvenated (really?) Dolphins. The MN’s haven’t put together that complete game this year, and they need to start strong and put away the Dolphins early, because the schedule and travel gets much tougher. There’s a few reasons why I think this is going to happen. First, LT will have had a full week’s practice for the first time this season. And if the fourth quarter against the Raiders is any indication, it’s safe to say he is back to the LT we all know and love (at least if you have him in fantasy). Second, I don’t think the defense will be surprised by the trickery the way the Pats were two weeks ago. Miami just doesn’t have enough to beat the Chargers (-6.5), and I just can’t see the Dolphins beating last year’s AFC Championship Game participants back-to-back. $110 to win $100. (Balance = $725)