Week 3 NFL Picks, Notes and B.S., Cousin Sal

Clearly I should not have changed my Eddie IN THE MONEY Superpicks since my preliminary picks went 3-0 and my final-final picks only 2-1, although 2-1 is still “in the money.” Before getting to the picks and the lines with Bill and Sal, let’s take a look at the current standings:

Week 2 Picks
Sports Gal: 9-5, Bill Simmons: 7-7, Eddie Utah: 6-8

Season Standings
Sports Gal: 16-14, Eddie Utah: 14-16, Bill Simmons: 13-17

Two games back. Time to step it up. And why is that Sports Gal so smart? My money’s on her beating Bill for the third straight year.

Line Predictions (Week 2 and Season Standings)
BS 10, CS 10, EU 2 Way behind here. Gonna need some big weeks. Let’s get going with Week 3:

Lines:

Cardinals at Redskins
Jim Zorn has worked his magic on Jason Campbell. Is the Cardinals defense better than the Saints defense? If this turns into a shootout, I don’t see Washington winning.
BS: Redskins -3.5 CS: Redskins -3 EU: Redskins -3.5 Actual: Redskins -3.5 Score: BS 1, CS 0, EU 1

Chiefs at Falcons
The Falcons were fairly competitive against the Bucs last week. Some guy I’ve never heard of is starting for the Chiefs.
BS: Falcons -4 CS: Falcons - EU: Falcons -6 Actual: Falcons -4
Score: BS 2, CS 0, EU 1

If you didn't attend Coastal Carolina University, you probably haven't heard of this guy either, especially since the school's football program started only 5 years ago. But he's starting for the Chiefs this Sunday. Will he have as much fun with the Falcons defense as his seems to be having with the skeleton?

Bengals at Giants
In spite of retirement and injuries on the defensive line, these guys are still getting to the quarterback. Still waiting for Houshmandzadeh to score me some fantasy points.
BS: Giants -12.5 CS: Giants -10.5 EU: Giants -8.5 Actual: Giants -13.5
Score: BS 3, CS 0, EU 1

Dolphins at Patriots
BS: Patriots -14.5 CS: Patriots -13.5 EU: Patriots -9.5 Actual: Patriots -13
Score: BS 3, CS 1, EU 1

Texans at Titans
A vote of confidence from coach Jeff Fisher will help Kerry Collins have a big game.
BS: Titans -7.5 CS: Titans -6.5 EU: Titans -8.5 Actual: Titans -5
Score: BS 3, CS 2, EU 1

Panthers at Vikings
My apologies to Tavaris Jackson. After watching the full Vikings-Colts game, he was actually much more accurate than I would have expected. The only times he wasn’t accurate were when the Vikings were in the red zone and in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. I love those qualities in a quarterback. Apparently Brad Childress does too, as Gus Frerotte has been named the starter. BS: Vikings -2.5 CS: Vikings -5 EU: Panthers -2 Actual: Vikings -3.5
Score: BS 4, CS 2, EU 1

Raiders at Bills
BS: Bills -8.5 CS: Bills -8.5 EU: Bills -6 Actual: Bills -9.5
Score: BS 5, CS 3, EU 1

Bucs at Bears
BS: Bears -3 CS: Bears -4 EU: Bears -4.5 Actual: Bears -3
Score: BS 6, CS 3, EU 1

Saints at Broncos
BS: Broncos -4.5 CS: Broncos -5 EU: Broncos -5.5 Actual: Broncos -4
Score: BS 7, CS 3, EU 1

Lions at 49ers
In spite of Jon Kitna’s nearly 30,000 passing yards, Mike Holmgren made the right decision in getting rid of him. He knew, as was demonstrated on Sunday, that Kitna can be counted on to throw one or two costly interceptions every game. I think Kitna’s a great guy—he just throws too many picks.
BS: 49ers -3 CS: 49ers -3.5 EU: 49ers -6 Actual: 49ers -3.5
Score: BS 7, CS 4, EU 1

Rams at Seahawks
Koren Robinson has reversed his jersey number from 81 to 18. Will that help reverse the direction of the Seahawks’ season?

BS: 'hawks -10.5 CS: 'hawks -10.5 EU: 'hawks -8.5 Actual: Seahawks -10

Score: BS 8, CS 5, EU 1

Steelers at Eagles
BS: Eagles -3.5 CS: Eagles -3 EU: Eagles -3.5 Actual: Eagles -3
Score: BS 8, CS 6, EU 1

Browns at Ravens
Romeo, as TMQ has pointed out, you really need to stop coaching like such a sissy.
BS: Ravens -4 CS: Ravens -3 EU: Ravens -4.5 Actual: Ravens -2.5
Score: BS 8, CS 7, EU 1

Jaguars at Colts
These two powerhouses of seasons past are suddenly looking mediocre.
BS: Colts -6 CS: Colts -7 EU: Colts -3.5 Actual: Colts -6
Score: BS 9, CS 7, EU 1

Sunday Night Football

Cowboys at Packers
Romo v. Rodgers, part I. This one could be as high scoring as Monday’s Cowboys-Eagles game.
BS: Packers -2.5 CS: EU: Cowboys -3 Actual: Cowboys -3
Score: BS 9, CS 7, EU 2

Monday Night Football

Jets at Chargers
Mo $ and I will be in San Diego for this one. The line may change at the last minute, depending what kind of shenanigans we get into before the game. By the way, why the hell has no one mentioned the laws of physics with respect to Philip Rivers' fourth quarter fumble in last week's Bronco's game? I understand that Ed Hochuli was standing behind Rivers, but he should have been able to figure out...if no one touches Rivers, and the ball goes 3 feet backwards as he attempts to throw, it is physically impossible for that to be considered a forward pass. I'm a little surprised that not even TMQ made mention of that. See below for my email to TMQ.
BS: Chargers -6.5 CS: Chargers -7 EU: Chargers -7.5 Actual: Chargers -9

Final Score: BS 9, CS 7, EU 3

I sorta get the feeling that these guys have been doing this for a while…but hey, I improved from last week.

Picks:

REDSKINS -3.5, FALCONS -4, GIANTS -13.5, PATRIOTS -13, TITANS -5, Panthers +3.5, BILLS -9.5, BEARS -3, BRONCOS -4 (and take the over, no matter what it is), Lions +3.5, Rams +10, EAGLES -3, RAVENS -2.5, Jaguars +6, PACKERS +3, CHARGERS -9

Eddie IN THE MONEY Superpicks:

FALCONS -4 over Chiefs
TITANS -5 over Texans
EAGLES -3 over Steelers

Email to TMQ

Dear TMQ:
I am a little surprised that I didn't hear this from you: Why hasn't anyone considered the laws of physics with respect to Philip Rivers' fourth quarter fumble? His attempted forward pass landed four feet behind him. How is it physically possible for that to be considered a forward pass?

You're still the man.
Best regards,

Eddie Utah (EddieUtah.blogspot.com)