NFL WEEK 6 PREVIEW AND PICKS
Buffalo at New York Giants - Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. est
It’s Buffalo that is tied for first place and hoping to keep pace with the Patriots. You’d think the Giants would be the team fighting to stay in first. Then, they throw a clunker like they did a week ago at home against Seattle.
How they match up:
Bills Defense vs. Giants Offense
Defense is obviously not the Bills’ strong point. They are in the bottom fourth in passing and rushing defense. Still, they have 12 interceptions, have killed opposition drives with pick 6’s and seem to come up with the big play at the most important time. Nick Barnett picked two against the Eagles and returned one for a touchdown. Seems that opportunistic is a good word for the Bills’ defense.
Victor Cruz has become one of Eli Manning’s favorite targets. The Giants are scoring points. A week ago, they had trouble with field position. They couldn’t get out of their own end. And when there was hope, the odd turnover or penalty reared its ugly head. Still, the Giants ARE scoring points. And they’re never out of a game with their ability to strike from a distance.
This is sure to be an entertaining matchup. An offense that is prone to throw in a mistake from time to time against a defense that takes the ball away from time to time. But the defense yields points and this offense scores.
Giants Defense vs. Bills Offense
They are 3-2, and have done the things Giant defenses do. They’ll get their sacks and pressures. But they are giving up long drives and points. The Giants are getting turnovers, but they have to defend following their offense’s turnovers too many times. This defense keeps its offense in games usually, but they couldn’t overcome those mistakes last week.
Fred Jackson is doing a great job. Obviously, so is the line. They’re run blocking for Jackson and pass blocking for Ryan Fitzpatrick. And the offense is never out of a game. They’ve come from behind, and gotten caught and stayed upright and come right back when needed. They’ve scored one less point than the New England machine.
If the Giants can get pressure on Fitzpatrick, they’ve got a chance to stop the Bills’, but Buffalo’s O line is really playing well, making all their options selectable.
Who to will cover the point spread?
The Giants are a tough out at home, but Buffalo seems to have no fear. Maybe they just don’t know any better. For New York, they’re certainly in the chase for top spot in the division. So, who’s afraid of who? Are the G-men thinking it can’t happen again? Or are the Bills setting a course for divisional supremacy themselves? To find out which team will prevail in this cross state rivalry, click here and get it for only $20.
San Francisco at Detroit - Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. est
The NFC West was considered up for grabs when the season started. The 49ers have taken control and lead by two games. The North wasn’t. And suddenly, we have a race. The Lions and Packers are both undefeated.
How they match up:
49ers Defense vs. Lions Offense
The numbers say San Francisco isn’t that strong against the pass. They also say the 9ers are strong against the run. Last week, they were just plain strong. They celebrated being home for the first time in three weeks by dominating an offense that seemed to be doing ok. They bent a few times in Philly, but when it counted, they got the ball back for the offense.
The Lion offense has shown that there is no deficit they can‘t recover from. Matthew Stafford has a good corps of receivers and when Jahvid Best gets lose, he can scamper to the goal line. Calvin Johnson has been a top shelf receiver and Best can catch too. Perhaps their best quality is that if they fail on possession A, they will not falter on subsequent possessions. If you can stop them early, you’ve got to stop them late too.
The 49ers are real strong against the run. The Lions like to throw the ball. Seems to say that Detroit will be able to throw. But One dimensional success could play into the 49ers hands.
Lions Defense vs. 49ers Offense
Dallas exposed potential weaknesses in the Lions’ defense. Then, they showed how opportunistic the Lions could be when pressed into action. They kept the Bears from scoring points early, and the offense took it from there. This team plays with anger on the defensive line. And, while they don’t appear to be a top five defense, they are certainly capable of giving the Lion offense a chance to win.
San Francisco’s offense hasn’t lit many fires, but they did the job in the fourth quarter in two of their three close games. Alex Smith hasn’t been a ball of fire, but he’s only thrown one pick and he knows how big a part of the 49ers game Frank Gore is. If Gore can get going, the 49ers are going to put some points on the board against most teams.
Detroit has had a tendency to fall behind. This may not be a good week to do that. San Francisco’s knows how to win from behind and expand a lead if they get ahead early.
Who to pick???
Nine wins between these two teams. Who would have thought. San Francisco may be a bigger surprise than Detroit is. It looks like the 49ers have some play room in their division. Not the case with Detroit. Green Bay will be tough to stay with. But the Lions think they can. And so do the 49ers. If you want to know what the smart money is, click here and receive this pick for only $20.
Houston at Baltimore - Sunday @ 4:05 p.m. est
Houston missed a big chance to take the divisional lead with Tennessee’s loss last week. They couldn’t come through at home. Baltimore got to watch last week. They may not have appreciated the early bye, they were rolling heading in.
How they match up:
Texans Defense vs. Ravens Offense
Except for a track meet against the Saints, the Texans’ defense has kept games under control for the most part. They can get after quarterbacks and have played well against the run. They don’t give up 3rd down conversions and yards are at a premium. Sebastian Janikowski’s long field goals seemed like consolation prizes for the Raiders. Mario Williams is out for the season, that’ll hurt.
The Ravens offense has bordered on powerful. Ask the Steelers and Rams. Still, good defenses have made them sputter. The Ravens beat the Jets without the offense doing much of the heavy lifting. If Joe Flacco has time, he will pick a defense apart. He is also prone to the momentum killing interception. With a nice rest, you would expect the Ravens to come out firing.
Against the Jets, a good pass defense, the Ravens struggled. This is another good pass defense and they can stop the run too. The Texans will want to limit big plays.
Ravens Defense vs. Texans Offense
This isn’t necessarily the shut down defense you’re used to from Baltimore, but it’s very limiting. They turned the Jets’ offense into their own best ally. This defense has a habit of scoring points. They forced 3 fumbles and an interception against New York. They haven’t given up a lot of yards either. They haven’t been backing off late in games as they may have done in the past.
If games ended at half time, the Texans would be in first place and undefeated. Early in games, Houston doesn’t skip a beat. Second halves not so much. Arian Foster is doing well since his return. They had a chance to pull out last week’s game against the Raiders, but perhaps the ghost of Al Davis forced an interception just in time for Oakland.
The offense will have some pressure on them to score points for the Texans. And the Ravens’ defense seems to be at their best when there’s blood in the water. Houston has to treat the 2nd half like it’s the first.
Who will cover the point spread?
The AFC South is up for grabs. Tennessee is a surprise participant in the chase for the crown. The Texans have to grasp their opportunity. And that won’t be very easy in Baltimore without their big time D end. The Ravens are in the drivers seat in the AFC North. Is this one of those games that looks like an obvious pick, or is there a surprise behind door #2? Cash in on this NFL pick for only $20.
Minnesota at Chicago - Sunday @ 8:30 p.m. est
When the NBC folks selected this game, better record were expected to be sure. If Minnesota had played just first halves, they’d be fighting for first place. If the Bears could find a way to keep Jay Cutler upright, they may be in the thick of things.
How they match up:
Vikings Defense vs. Bears Offense
Numbers can be deceiving. If you are weak against the pass, and you seem to be strong against the rush, it could be because no one thinks they need to run, since you are weak against the pass. The first few games were scarily similar. This defense was on the field for three total collapses. And they led early third quarter before falling to the Chiefs. The O gets some credit for the collapses, but this side of the ball hasn’t been great.
The Bears did win this division a year ago. It’s starting to look like it was just that Green Bay had a bunch of early season injuries. This offense just can’t sustain much. They’ll have brilliant spurts followed by sack after sack, and more punts than completions. Matt Forte has been their only running back and receiver. Not real hard stopping a one man show. Still Jay Cutler is tough. He needs protection.
The Bears are at home and Cutler seems more capable there. For the Vikings, if the offense gets them a lead, they’ve got to find a way to protect it.
Bears Defense vs. Vikings Offense
They didn’t give up 500 yards against the Lions. Just 358. Not your typical Bears defense. But they did manage to get it back to the offense with short series’ on most occasions. Neither aspect of the defense has done a very good job throughout a game. They limited the Lions to 47 plays. Still, they allowed a couple of big scoring plays. That hurts with the Bears’ offense not holding up their end.
While Donovan McNabb may not be the long term future of the Vikings, he managed to get the job done against the Cards last week. Never mind that much of the positive yardage generated came following a handoff to Adrian Peterson. In fact the Vikes’ passing game is right near the bottom. But if they can get Peterson going, they don’t need to go to an aerial attack.
Vikes strength would normally struggle against a Bears defense. But, not necessarily this Bears defense. The Vikes can score, but can they score enough.
Who will cover the point spread?
This seems to pit two teams who are schizophrenic right now. If you look back a week, the Vikes feel better than the Bears. Further back just the opposite. While the Vikings don’t seem to be in position to make a run at the playoffs, the Bears haven’t ruled that possibility out yet. But, that doesn’t say what will be the difference maker in the Sunday night affair. Get this expert NFL pick for only $20.
Miami at New York Jets - Monday @ 8:35 p.m. est
The Dolphins have played a very tough schedule, have been competitive, but have no cigar to show for it. The Jets appear to be a mess. They’ve lost three straight and suddenly can’t stop anyone.
How they match up:
Dolphins Defense vs. Jets Offense
The Dolphins have struggled against the pass, but they’ve faced three of the best passers in the league. You’d think that would improve against weaker, but there are no guarantees. In the week before the bye week, the Dolphs held the Chargers to field goals on four occasions. Still, those field goals helped prevent a comeback by Miami. The defense may be struggling with confidence.
With a stable of receivers and a maturing quarterback, it would seem that the Jets should have a strong passing game, but it’s been sporadic at best, even against not so strong pass defenses. What’s really hurting the Jets’ offense is a total lack of a running game. The Jet playbook opens up when they can get yards on the ground. After pounding Jacksonville in week 2, it looked like the Jets were on track. The last three weeks have been a slow methodical derailment.
This offense shouldn’t be as tough for the Dolphins to come up with some big plays against. Still, the Jets are home, have had a rough time and Miami may be just what the doc ordered.
Jets Defense vs. Dolphins Offense
This was supposed to be a shut down defense again. And, they’ve done well trying to cover for a generous offense. But, they aren’t shutting down the opposition when they have to. They seemed to have the Patriots on the run, but when he needed it Brady took what was there. They are giving up more rushing yards than you might expect them to. The defense needs the offense to quit hurting them.
This is an offense that nearly stayed right with New England. They’ve stumbled since. Mediocre would be an accurate description of Miami’s attack. Brandon Marshall has been a solid receiver, but they can’t seem to run with any great success. Third downs have been an automatic out. Could be that the bye will provide the freshening this offense needs.
Miami has to put more points on the board if they hope to beat anyone. The Jets defense isn’t always real breakable, and this may not be a huge test for them.
Who will cover the point spread?
The Dolphins may be headed to the wrong place at the wrong time on their flight to New Jersey. If New York still can hope to even be in the playoffs, they’ve got to win games like this. Will the real Jets show up on Monday night? Get this NFL pick for only $20.
As always, you can purchase individual NFL picks for only $20, or you can save money and maximize profits by purchasing a week or season package.
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