Indeed, as I predicted last week, my gloating over pulling off a 10-4 week jinxed me back down to 8-6 again. So with a 60-42 mark on the year, I try to improve…please?

Denver over San Francisco – This game is being played in London, England, so there is no home field advantage. And I can only assume that the NFL hates the UK, because this is a horrible, horrible game. “You give us fried organ meat as food and bad teeth? Enjoy the Niners, motherfuckers!” Denver gave up 59 points to Oakland last week, but I don’t see a repeat of that happening as Troy Smith gets his first start. Also, the Broncos passing game should fare well against a group of defensive backs that bite down on play fakes like Londoners on Bubble & Squeak.

Cincinnati over Miami – This is my upset special of the week. I like the Bengals to do just enough at home to grind out the win here. I don’t entirely know WHY I like that to happen…alcoholism? Drug abuse? Some sort of self loathing expressed through ridiculous sports picks?…but I do.

Detroit over Washington – The Lions don’t have a lot of wins on the ledger, but they’ve played well in almost every game they’ve trotted out for this season. The Redskins have done next to nothing to convince me that their team is more than a few old guys with dwindling talent and filler.

St. Louis over Carolina – Rest easy, Panthers. You have your win for the year. Time to get back to the sucking. They’ve yet again switched quarterbacks (Welcome back, Matt Moore!) which seems to always end up with the new starter sucking ass very quickly. So expect Matt to have thrown about 5 picks by half time. The Rams should run all over the Panthers excuse for a run defense with relative ease.

New York Jets over Green Bay – Two things are going to happen in this game :

1. Mark Sanchez is going to struggle. This is a defense that can give him problems and make him pay for his mistakes.

2. The Jets are going to win the game.

Green Bay has been shredded by injuries and their offense is too one dimensional to do a lot against the Jets defense.

Kansas City over Buffalo – Ahh, the Bills. Somehow they put up 34 on the Ravens last week, yet they still lost the game. Even when their offense shows a glimmer of life, their putrid defense guarantees the loss. I would suggest that any Bills veteran worth a damn not make offseason plans, because they’re just about a lock to be traded for draft picks. Don’t be too rough with them, Chiefs! The rest of the league wants a turn, too.

Dallas over Jacksonville – The NFL quarterback comeback cavalcade tour welcomes Jon Kitna to the stage! With Tony Romo done for the year, Kitna steps back in to a huddle and tries to remember how to call a play. Actually, the Dallas offense didn’t look too bad once he got in there last week (not saying much as they went from nonexistent to barely there). The question is, has their defense rested enough after basically playing for 60 minutes last week? J-Ville cannot play defense at all this year, and David Garrard is a repeat concussion waiting to happen.

San Diego over Tennessee – This is another ‘going with my gut’ pick. The Titans have played well this year, but San Diego’s offense should test a defensive line that is losing starters by the minute. I’m also not a fan of Tennessee’s corners, and the Chargers like to throw. A lot. I smell an upset.

New England over Minnesota – Oh look, Brett Favre’s fractured ankle is now apparently feeling okay! Wait, do you think this whole thing was played up to get the usual media whores to talk about how tough Brett is for ‘staying in there’? After all, he seemed pretty damn limber when he was jumping for joy after throwing that TD to Percy Harvin…then started limping after every one of his picks. Why, you could almost wonder if this is just a built in excuse for him. Seriously, fuck this guy. Why doesn’t anyone in sports media have the balls to say what the real case is here…He’s too arrogant and full of himself to admit he’s hurting the team, and his coach is a spineless bitch who has essentially handed the reins to his old quarterback. I normally don’t cheer for the Patriots, but I will be shouting loudly for them to rip Favre’s leg clean off and then beat Brad Childress in to submission with it.

Tampa Bay over Arizona – God, this weekend is just filled with thrilling games. At least Tampa is a young team heading up. Arizona isn’t even a withered old man…they’re the desiccated husk that used to be the corpse of that withered old man. Changing starting running backs doesn’t mask the fact that your entire team is a disaster area, boys.

Oakland over Seattle – The Raiders aren’t a bad team, and they’re starting to play to their strengths. They can run the ball, they can play defense…just nobody ask Jason Campbell to try to throw anything difficult, cause he’ll totally fuck it up. Seattle is leading the NFC West division, but that’s like being crowned the honours student in a remedial class. The NFC West division is the kids table of the NFL. Welcome to the grown up side of things, Seahawks.

Pittsburgh over New Orleans – I know the Saints are defending Super Bowl champs, but can anyone explain why this game’s odds are dead even? Yes, they’re at home…the same place where they lost by 13 POINTS TO CLEVELAND last week. They haven’t looked good basically all season. Can they score some points on a great Steelers defense? Sure. Can they stop Pittsburgh from scoring more on their often lackluster group? I don’t think so.

Indianapolis over Houston – The Texans won in crushing fashion in Week 1, but NFC South rivals almost always split their season series. It’s just how things work. I don’t foresee that changing.