By: Stephen Patterson
So, I got off to a slow start this season, and sadly never posted my picks for the first three weeks. But luckily, it's never too late to start so beginning this week, I'll be making weekly picks for all games and keep a tally to see just how bad I am at this. Who knows, maybe I'll knock it out of the part for an 85% call rate and become a millionaire next season betting in Vegas. Yeah, I know, that's never going to happen.
But, nevertheless, I'm going to give it a shot and see how well I can do. There's always so many factors when it comes to picking winners. Who's playing at home? Are there any key injuries? Any long-standing streaks between the teams? Is it a rivalry game? There's a lot that goes into making educated picks when it comes to such a unpredictable sport.
Make sure you leave your weekly picks on the comments and if you enough people contribute, we can start keeping a chart for everyone to see the pick champion is at the end of the season. If there are enough people participating, there may even be some sort of small prize for the winner. But, without further ado, here are my Week 4 picks:
San Francisco 49ers 24, Atlanta Falcons 21
The Niners were projected by many people, myself included, to run away with the NFC West division this season, but so far they have been anything but that team. They were decimated by Seattle in the opener, they played a close Monday Night Football game against New Orleans only to have penalties kill their chances, and were embarrassed by a young Kansas City team this past week. If they don't turn their season around now against the Falcons, their season is basically over. The winner of the NFC West will probably be 9-7 at best, but at this rate the Niners will be lucky for six victories. Mike Singletary won't allow his team to keep playing this way. The Falcons have played relatively well this season, with a 2-1 record, falling only to the Steelers in overtime. But unless they play an extraordinary game this weekend, look for them to come up just short against a very desperate San Francisco team.
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Frank Gore & Vernon Davis, 49ers
New York Jets 28, Buffalo Bills 10
The New York Jets will be playing their second consecutive game without superstar cornerback Darrelle Revis, but they handled themselves fairly well in their victory over the Miami Dolphins without him last week. Their embarrassing beatdown in Week 1 to the Baltimore Ravens has seemed to light a spark under this team, and with such an easy opponent this week in the Bills, I look for them to pull out another victory without Revis. The real key for the Jets to win is Mark Sanchez not only controlling the ball intelligently, but also not being afraid to move the ball downfield efficiently. The Bills will undoubtedly be better with Ryan Fitzpatrick as their new QB after recently releasing former starter Trent Edwards. And with Fred Jackson and explosive rookie C.J. Spiller in the backfield, the Bills do have a legitimate chance to pull off a major upset here. It's just hard to imagine either back having too much success against such a stacked defense. With Buffalo having many holes in their defense, look for the running and the passing game to both be fairly successful for the Jets in this game.
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Mark Sanchez, Jets
Cincinnati Bengals 28, Cleveland Browns 6
The Cleveland Browns were expecting good things this season after finishing last year on a four-game winning streak, but they have looked nothing like that team that finished last season. After acquiring Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, along with drafting Colt McCoy, the Browns thought they had a decent mix of QB's to at least remain competitive this season. So far, they have fallen far short of those expectations with an 0-3 start that very well could drop to 0-4. The Bengals made several big moves in the offseason, including bringing in troubled wide receiver Terrell Owens, who has behaved for the most part since arriving in Cincinnati. Also with the addition of rookie tight end Jermaine Gresham, Carson Palmer has even more targets. If Cedric Benson can have a decent game and open up the field for Palmer, this game is going to be a blowout, perhaps the biggest of the week. The Browns only real chance of winning this game is to completely stop Benson, and force Palmer into making several key mistakes.
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Chad Ochocinco, Bengals
Detroit Lions 17, Green Bay Packers 31
The Lions have been adding the pieces to become very successful over the next few season, but due to an early season injury to Matt Stafford in the opener, the Lions are once again struggling early in the season. Considering they have dropped 22 consecutive road games, winning at Lambeau with a back up QB doesn't seem very likely. Unless Jahvid Best explodes for 3 or 4 TD's, I don't see any chance Detroit is going to be able to slow down or out-score the high octane offense of the Packers. Even without Ryan Grant, who was lost to a season-ending injury in the opener against the Eagles, Aaron Rodgers is more than capable of leading this team to a division title and possibly deep into the postseason. If Michael Vick, although he has been playing remarkably well, can carve up the Lions' defense, I can only imagine the potential numbers Rodgers could put up on them. Expect the Packers to be playing with a little bit of anger after barely falling to the Chicago Bears on Monday night, dropping them to 2-1 on the season. Also, Clay Matthews has been playing out of his mind so far this season and is definitely an early candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, becoming potentially the second consecutive Packer to win that title (Charles Woodson, 2009).
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Aaron Rodgers & Clay Matthews, Packers
Tennessee Titans 24, Denver Broncos 17
The Titans are a very hard team to decipher. One week they will be blowing out opponents and looking like serious playoff contenders, then the next week they look like they don't even deserve to be playoff discussions. But after a strong performance against the Giants this past weekend, I think the Titans will pull it together and put up consecutive victories. As usual with Tennessee, this game largely rides on the legs of Chris Johnson. If he take care of business on the ground against the Broncos, it will definitely help make Vince Young's job a little easier. While the Broncos have some nice pieces on their team, they are still a few players away from being a serious threat. Also, without Knowshon Moreno, Denver is going to have some major issues moving the ball against the Titans defense. Unless Kyle Orton has an amazing day, and Denver's defense can somehow hold Chris Johnson in check, don't expect the Broncos to pull out the win in this one.
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Chris Johnson, Titans
Seattle Seahawks 17, St. Louis Rams 14
The Seahawks have been horrible on the road over the past several seasons, but if there was ever a chance to begin turning that it around, it would be this game. Both of these teams are in the worst division in the NFL, and I could honestly see them playing to a 0-0 tie if it weren't for the fact that neither team has a defense. Therefore, one of them has to win, and I'm giving the slight edge in this one to Seattle. With the Niners completely bombing through the first three games, this division is wide open, and this is the perfect opportunity for them to grab a needed win. Sam Bradford has shown signs of being a solid NFL QB, but until the team gets him some more dependable receivers, there's not many teams in the league I could pick the Rams to beat. Sadly, that group includes the Seahawks.
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Mike Williams, Seahawks
Carolina Panthers 10, New Orleans 27
I think the loss of Reggie Bush is definitely going to cost the Saints a couple of games during his absence, but there's virtually no chance they are giving up a game to Carolina at home after a heart-breaking loss to Atlanta last week in overtime. There are just too many young and inexperienced players, including Carolina's rookie QB Jimmy Clausen, for them to win in New Orleans. The Panthers are 0-3 so far this season, and with Tampa Bay's every success and signs of growth, Carolina could very well finish last in the NFC South this season. There have been rumors all week surrounding the health of Drew Brees and the brace he was seen wearing on his knee, but even if he was forced to play one leg, I still think they could pull this game out at home.
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Drew Brees, Saints
Baltimore Ravens 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 16
When these two teams meet, it is almost always a solid, hard fought game that usually stays close throughout. I'd expect nothing different in this one. The Steelers have surprised many people, including myself, by starting off the season 3-0 without suspended QB Ben Roethlisberger. While three wins is three wins, you can't forget that it took overtime for one of those victories another came against Tampa Bay, a team that has definitely improved, but is still clearly miles away from being on Pittsburgh's level. The Ravens were my preseason Super Bowl pick and in order for that to become a reality, they need to go at least 3-3 in their division. Considering they already dropped one game to division rival Cincinnati, they can't really afford to drop another division game this early. These two teams boast two of the top defenses in the NFL (Ravens lead in yards allowed per game, while Steelers lead in points allowed per game), and I'd definitely expect this to be a fairly low scoring game. With Charlie Batch leading the way against Baltimore's defense, I think there are going to come up a few points short in this one. Luckily for them, however, this is their last game without Roethlisberger, as his suspension ends after the game.
Steve Sports Guys' Player of the Game: Ray Rice & Willis McGahee
