Brandon Lang
SUNDAY'S PICKS
30 Dime - Jacksonville
15 Dime - Seattle
5 Dime - New Orleans
5 Dime - Cleveland
5 Dime - Arizona
Can't believe I only got a split with my 15 Dime releases yesterday, winning with Ohio State in hoops but losing with BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. Never in a million years did I think the Cougars would struggle so much against the Bruins.
Time to get back to the drawing board.
There are step up days and there are step up days.
Today is as big a step up day as I have had all year long.
A big day today and it's a winning week. At the end of the day it will be a hard fought goal met.
I love the last few weeks of the NFL season because you can find some gems on the card and I have a few of those rolling out today.
There is not a whole lot left for me to say.
My selections today will do the rest of the talking for me. Enjoy the winning day.
30 Dime - Jacksonville
Question for you: The Jags ran over, around and through the Steelers defense in Pittsburgh last Sunday as Fred Taylor and the guys got 224 on the ground. If they could do that on the road against a decent Pitt defense, what are they going to do at home against an Oakland rushing defense ranked 31st in the league, a unit that allows 144 yards a game (4.7 yards per carry)?
The Raiders had their chance at a HUGE upset last Sunday when they should have and could have beaten the Colts. But they didn't and now they're back on the East Coast where they're 4-11 ATS the last 15 times they've crossed the country.
The Jags are red-hot; they've covered six straight and 10 of 12 and the offense is humming, averaging 28 points the past eight weeks.
The Raiders got crushed at Green Bay two Sundays ago in their last road game. Expect the same here.
15 Dime - Seattle
If you can't beat the Dolphins, how can you compete against the Seahawks in Seattle starting a rookie quarterback (Troy Smith)? The Ravens have lost 8 in a row straight-up and are 2-12 ATS on the year for good reason. They stink. Simple as that. And the defense? It stinks. 31 points allowed per game the last seven games. Look for the Seahawks to rebound from that piss-poor effort at Carolina last Sunday, and based on the Panthers' play last night against the Cowboys, perhaps that game last week wasn't as bad as Carolina is seemingly playing a lot better. Forget about the loss. I know the Seahawks will. They're back home and they're going to score a bunch of points on this bad Baltimore D and put lots of pressure on Troy Smith too.
5 Dime - New Orleans
The Eagles pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the NFL season last week, stunning the 12-1 Cowboys as a 10-point road underdog. But now I believe they?re emotionally spent for this game against the Saints. I just don?t see Philly bringing the same kind of intense, focused effort into the Superdome as it took into Dallas. It?s hard enough to play back-to-back road games in this league. It?s even more difficult to do so when you?re coming off your biggest victory of the season and you have nothing to play for, as the Eagles have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
On the other hand, New Orleans is playing for its life and has to win out to keep its playoff hopes alive. Drew Brees is coming off a huge game against Arizona 26-for-30 for 315 yards, two TDs and no INTs) and I expect him to put up some nice numbers against an Eagles defense that has struggled on artificial surfaces this year (28 points, 385 total yards, 282 passing yards allowed per game).
5 Dime - Cleveland
I was going to use the Browns bigger today, but that weather report for Cincinnati really had be worried. Winds gusting up to 39 miles per hour and rain. That might be worse than playing in last week's blizzard against the Bills. Still like the Browns, though, just not as big. Jamal Lewis rushed for 215 yards in the first meeting in week 2 and he's coming off a big game in the snow last week. Look for him to keep it going against a Cincy defense ranked 24th in the league against the run. Plus, if the Bengals couldn't stop an awful San Fran offense last Saturday, why in the world would anyone think they could stop a Cleveland attack that put 51 points on the board against them in week 2? Ok, maybe the weather keeps the scoring down, but I'll back the better team in the Browns, who are also playing the better defense of late, allowing an average of just 16 points the past four weeks. Plus, hard to deny that Cleveland has made you money as a favorite going 13-3 ATS the last 16 times its being cast as a chalk.
5 Dime - Arizona
Both teams are eliminated, but at least Arizona is playing at home, has some talent at the skill positions, and has a real coach. That's worth 10 points right there. The Falcons have lost 5 in a row by an average of almost 22 points a game. Hey, if the Cards beat them and the Rams next weekend at home, they at least salvage an 8-8 season in Ken Whisenhunt's first in charge, and that alone is a huge step in the right direction for this long-struggling franchise. The Falcons lost 37-3 in Tampa last week. Now they cross the country for their 3rd road game in four weeks. Nothing but bad news all the way around.
