APC Pick Em Thread: Week 9

I’m feeling a strong love for home teams this week with a couple of exceptions.

The Packers winning on the road (of course). Cincinnati (I can’t believe I’m picking the Bengals on the road) because the Titans defense has been in free fall and their offense ain’t going to carry them. And San Francisco because I don’t have any idea how the John Beck Sack Experience is going to do anything against a tough Niners D.

Jets as I don’t want to see Rex cry this early.
Dal ,even Jerry will listen to the let Romo Roam Away if he loses another to a crap team
Hou,only Tenn in his race and Cj2-0 is waiting for 2012
Atl,need to keep pace with NO and at least a small step ahead of TB
Mia,too stupid and bad to not allow themselves to really Suck for Luck
NO,it’s an up week and revenge game from earlier
Wash,exactly the type of game to bring Handshake Man down a notch
Den,Palmer sucks and always did as with all USC QBs.
Cin,somethings clicking there
Ari,there home and the Rams ain’t
NE,the last time the Pats lost two in a row…
GB,too many reasons
Pitt,no way they get spanked again in the division
Chi,because I still abhor that “Dream Team” crap and watching the lights go out for the Bears later in the season,

My upset pick is the same as arodgb’s, the Giants; Manning is playing really well and the Giants front four will have Brady running for his life (in sloooooooooooooooo-mo). Also, LOLOL at the Tennessee Traitors… CJ bitches about a pay raise, gets it, then doesn’t produce jack! Bud Adams, can you say ‘karma?’

Buffalo, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, KC, NO, SF, Oakland, Tennessee, St. Louis, New England, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia.

Jets – I know the Bills are favored, but I get the sense that the Jets turned the corner going into the bye
Cowboys - coming off an embarrassing loss, the Seachickens are toast.
Texans
Falcons
Chiefs
Saints – ditto for the Saints. They’re going to take last week out on the Bucs and it won’t even be close.
49ers
Raiders – this will be a closer game than people think
Titans – so will this one; I actually think the Titans are just going to want this one more. They need to keep up with the Texans.
Rams – Bradford to Lloyd. All day. Jackson will have another marquee performance.
Patriots – No Bradshaw, no Nicks, no way.
Packers
Steelers close game. I predict the two chokers on either team: Joe Flacco (I see at least two picks) and Shaun Suisam (won’t hit a field goal outside of 36 yards), are going to make this game unneccesarily close and frustrating if you’re a fan of eitehr team.
Bears – my upset pick and I’m even predicting a rout. Matt Forte gets the Bears up early and forces the Iggles to get away from their running game. All of the talking heads who said the Eagles are back this week will be backtracking next week. Suddenly, the Bears start looking like a wild card team.

For some reason, I see the Denver/Oakland game going in favor of the Broncos. Yeah, Tebow sucks, but Palmer’s still shaking off the rust. The New England/New York game… Giants have some key injuries in Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw…. and New England doesn’t like to lose twice in a row and it won’t be to Eli and the Giants. The Baltimore/Pittsbugh game should be a clash of two good defenses, but then ya got Flacco……… advantage goes to the Steelers there. And as far as Chicago against Philly goes, unless they’re going against the Central High School Jr. Varsity (or their NFL equivalent, the Seahawks or Dolphins), I almost always bet against Duh Bears.

Also, FYI, arodgb, KC has scrounged up 4 wins, not 3 (unless you’re counting the SD game as a loss for SD rather than a win for KC, which would be understandable).

Jets @ Buffalo – Buffalo

I like Buffalo to set the pace in this game. The Jets can’t pass the ball much at all and the Bills secondary are ball hawks. That means turnovers on 3rd downs. Stevie Johnson will be caught on Revis Island, but I think the other bills receivers should do alright.

Seattle @ Dallas – Dallas

arodgb’s pick: Dallas

I don’t have a whole lot of faith in Dallas, especially after the beating they took last week but Seattle really doesn’t have much going for them.

Cleveland @ Houston – Houston

Joe Haden aside, the CLE defense isn’t that scary. And Houston seems to have found their stride on Offense. It can only get better if they get AJ back.

Atlanta @ Indianapolis – Atlanta

Atlanta isn’t anything special this year, but Indy doesn’t really have much to offer as an opponent. Even on the road, I expect ATL to roll.

Miami @ Kansas City – Kansas City

KC has really surprised me this year, and Miami is really awful. KC in a rout.

Tampa Bay @ New Orleans – New Orleans

NO looked awful last week and Tampa looks pretty tough this year, but I think NO will rebound in a big way… especially at home.

San Fransisco @ Washington – San Francisco

Washington just isn’t that good. And whether we want to admit it or not, San Fran is tough. I think Washingtons sub-par offense will be exposed by San Frans super tough Defense.

Denver @ Oakland – Oakland

I don’t see the Broncos pulling this off on the road. Oakland is tough and can pound the ball even without Run DMC. Bush is a legit RB, and the passing game could look good this weekend against a poor Broncos secondary.

Cincinnati @ Tennessee – Tennessee

I know that Cincy is the popular pick, but I’m going to go with Tennessee at home for the upset. Home teams are good upset picks and the TEN defense is pretty good. I think they will shut down Dalton and their mediocre passing game.

St. Louis @ Arizona – St. Louis

Arizona’s pass defense has been exploited week in and week out. I expect more of the same as STL may be finally busting out of their shell. They’re a talented team and they could play spoiler during the 2nd half… especially when Bradford comes back.

New York Giants @ New England – New England

New England is just too good. The Giants have been up and down this year, but playing on the road against one of the best teams in the NFL should bring more downs than ups.

Green Bay @ San Diego – Green Bay

A-Rod for MVP. Again.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh

I don’t expect a repeat of week 1. Pittsburgh’s offensive line has figured itself out and Big Ben is finally playing like he should. It will still be a close game, but it will be an emotional one. I like Pittsburgh by a FG.

Chicago @ Phillidelphia – Philadelphia

The home team pickings continue. I just don’t think CHI is fast enough to stop Philadelphia’s dynamic offense.

Or are we just gonna ignore the Thursday game?