NFL Week 4 Picks

Welcome back everyone! I hope you enjoyed my preview for WWE Hell in A Cell. Today I touch on a different topic, NFL Picks! Here they are:

Cincinnati vs. Cleveland

Give Cleveland this much credit: They've been in every one of their 3 losses this year. But when you have Seneca Wallace as your starting QB, things aren't that great. Coach Eric Mangini has to be on the hot seat, so a win here against his in-state rival would help. Cincinnati had high expectations going into the season, and while being 2-1 is nice, they haven't looked like the powerhouse team people were expecting them to be. Carson Palmer has just seemed off the first 3 games, and Terrell Owens has essentially been a non-factor. With that said, I think Cincinnati pulls off the win here, putting Eric Mangini's job in more and more jeopardy.

Cinncinnati 27  Cleveland 17

Baltimore vs Pittsburgh

This one is going to be ugly. Not ugly as in a terrible game, but ugly as in hard-hitting. These two teams don't like each other. Expect a low-scoring affair as well. Joe Flacco hasn't looked great like expected for the Ravens at QB. Ray Rice is expected to play after bruising his leg last week. Pittsburgh is 3-0 without their star QB Ben Roethlisberger, and Charlie Batch actually looked pretty good last week. The defense has looked stellar as well this season, and that's why I'm picking Pittsburgh in this low scoring affair. While Baltimore's defense has looked good as well, they've also shown that they can be ran on as evidence last week.

Pittsburgh 14  Baltimore 10

Denver vs Tennessee

Two middle of the road teams in the AFC squaring off. Denver lost at home last week to Indianapolis, but Kyle Orton still had a pretty decent day passing. The Broncos are expected to be without starting running back Knoshown Moreno again after re-injuring his hamstring last week in practice. The Titans scored an impressive win last week in New York against the Giants, with the help of Eli Manning of course. Vince Young looked better after being benched during Week 2. I'm going with the Titans in this one. Chris Johnson should be able to find some cracks in the Broncos defense, and the Titans secondary should be able to force Kyle Orton into some bad throws.

Tennessee 23  Denver 14

Detroit vs Green Bay

This is my lock of the week. The Lions will again be without the services of QB Matthew Stafford, and rookie RB Jahvid Best is being slowed down by a turf toe injury. At to the fact that the defense has been torn apart by opposing offenses the first 3 games, and it's a receipe for disastar for the Lions. I expect Aaron Rodgers to have a field day against the Lions secondary, and Clay Matthews will probably look like he is in the Lions backfield all day.

Green Bay 35  Detroit 13

San Francisco vs Atlanta

So remember when the 49ers were suppose to be the top contender for the NFC West? Yeah that seems like ages ago. They've been struggling, and last weeks loss against Kansas City was ugly. They fired their offensive coordinator this week, but that rarely ever turns a team around during the season. Alex Smith needs a good game here to keep his starting job, and so does head coach Mike Singletary, who is all of a sudden on the hot seat. Atlanta finally had a statement win they badly needed last week, going on the road and winning in New Orleans. It was the biggest win of Matt Ryan's young career. I think that while this game will be close, I see Atlanta pulling away late, and the defense will force Alex Smith into multiple turnovers.

Atlanta 24  San Francisco 17

Carolina vs New Orleans

I think Carolina is the worst team in the NFL. Yes, even worse than Buffalo. They have not looked good at all. Yes at least they have a promising young QB in Jimmy Claussen, but that doesn't mean there good right now. As much as I've been talking about coaches on the hot seat, I honestly think Carolina coach John Fox has it the worst. I'd be surprised if he makes it half way through the season. And things aren't looking any better for Carolina this week. They're going up against an angry New Orleans team this week after last weeks home loss to Atlanta. Expect Drew Brees to come out firing to prove that he's ok because some people like to blow his knee "injury" out of proportion.

New Orleans 42  Carolina 14

NY Jets vs Buffalo

Call me crazy, call me delusional, but this is my upset of the week. It may be homerism, but I think I see the Bills pulling this off. The Jets will be without star cornerback Darrelle Revis, and that means Lee Evans should be able to get open against the secondary, which got gashed pretty bad last week by Chad Henne. Mark Sanchez, while he's been playing better this year, is not Tom Brady and will not throw for as much as Brady did last week. Expect a heavy dose of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene for the Jets. In the end, however, I see the Bills pulling this out, probably on a last second field goal.

Buffalo 24  NY Jets 23

Seattle vs St. Louis

Seattle has looked releatively well so far under Pete Carroll. Their defense still needs some work, but the offense has looked better. And any time you have Leon Washington returning kicks for you, you have an automatic advantage on special teams. For St. Louis, Sam Bradford has looked like he will become the franchise Quarterback they thought he would. He still has some rookie kinks to work out, but he's looked impressive so far. Steven Jackson may miss this game, which could hinder the Rams ability to win. I'm still going with the Rams to win here, and be in a first place tie for the NFC West after Sunday.

St. Louis 23  Seattle 21

Indianapolis vs Jacksonville

Another coach, and now QB, on the hot seat. Jack Del Rio is not safe in Jacksonville. And now with the arrival of Trent Edwards (haha) David Garrard may not be safe as well. Jacksonville has not looked, especially last week in getting demolished at home against Philadelphia. I expect Peyton Manning and company to have a field day against the Jacksonville defense. And if we're all lucky, Trent Edwards will be starting when he comes to Buffalo next week.

Indianapolis 34  Jacksonville 10

Houston vs Oakland

After getting out to a great 2-0 start, the Houston Texans were slowed down last week by a desperate Dallas Cowboys team last week. This week, they may be without star WR Andre Johnson, who is nursing a sprained ankle. But even without Johnson, I expect the Texans to pull out a win here. The Raiders can be run on, and I expect Arian Foster to have a big game against them. I think the game will be high scoring though, as the Raiders have looked good offensively with Bruce Gradkowski at QB, and Darren McFadden is finally playing like the Top 10 pick he is suppose to be. But the Texans pull off the win here, in close fashion.

Houston 30  Oakland 24

Washington vs Philadelphia

Donovan McNabb's return to Philadelphia. He expects to get cheered, I'm expecting a mix, but with a few more boos than cheers. They'll cheer for him more if he and the rest of his team play as bad as they did last week against St. Louis. Philadelphia has looked great with Michael Vick at QB. Who would have ever thought that Vick would look this good when given the chance to play. I expect this one to be one of those classic close NFC East games. I see Philly pulling out a win here, and I'll say with a Michael Vick TD run late.

Philadelphia 27  Washington 21

Arizona vs San Diego

The Cardinals have not looked great this year, and they narrowly escaped defeat last week against Oakland. It looks like Derek Anderson will never regain the form he had when he lead the Browns to the playoffs. They haven't been clicking offensively, and it just goes to show how much Kurt Warner meant to this team. San Diego, meanwhile, is also off to a bad start. There defense got shredded last week by Seattle, and their special teams has given up too many big plays already in this young season. Expect Philip Rivers to have a big game this week as he tries to get the Chargers back on track.

San Diego 35  Arizona 20

Chicago vs NY Giants

Peg me as one of the surprsied people that the Bears are 3-0. I didn't think Mike Martz could have this kind of affect on Jay Cutler and the Bears offense. They got a huge win last week against the Packers. While I'm not a fan of Jay Cutler, I will say he has been playing very well, and it looks like the Bears made the right move bringing back Lovie Smith. The Giants, meanwhile, have not looked great the last 2 weeks. Eli Manning has particularly not looked well. Tom Coughlin is now facing the pressure in New York, especially with people like Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden just waiting in the wings for the right coaching job. I think the Giants pull off the upset here, allowing Tom Coughlin to exhale, if at least for this week.

NY Giants 21  Chicago 20

New England vs Miami

Big battle in the AFC East. This game will be the real test to prove if the Dolphins are for real or not. They can't lose two straight divisional home games in primetime. They looked good offensive last week, and should continue to produce this week against a Patriots defense that gave up 30 points last week to the Bills. The Patriots, however, should also be able to score some points against a defense that gave up big plays to the Jets last week. I expect this to be a high scoring affair, and in that instance, I'll take Tom Brady and Company over Chad Henne every day of the week.

New England 37  Miami 27

Well those are my picks for this week. I'll be back Monday with a recap of Smackdown on SyFy and a Hell in A Cell PPV recap.

Until next time,
Justin C