NFL Week 3 expert picks against the spread – Doc’s locks

Much like Donnie in “The Big Lebowski,” Doc Brown has been throwing rocks and knocking down his weekly picks. 83 percent on the Top 3 locks to start the season, above .500 record against-the-spread, and 63 percent straight up.

Doc will keep the money train rolling in Week 3. Below are his and Del’s expert NFL picks for the week, along with analysis of the Top 3 below.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t a very good team that’s going to win a lot of games. But they’re also not bad enough where they’re going to embarrass themselves. They’re one of those teams good enough to compete but not come out victorious. That’s exactly why the Doc has them locked in to keep it close with the Falcons but has Atlanta winning it. Atlanta’s offense came alive against the Saints but looked terrible against the Bengals. They also don’t have much of a defense. That’s not the best winning formula. Tampa Bay should be able to score on them — everyone can.

The Saints are off to an 0-2 start, yet we all know they are better than that. That’s why they’re favored by 10.5 points. They’ve had a rough schedule in terms of being on the road twice to start the season and 3 times in the first four weeks, so that’s no fun for a dome team like them. But they’ll be in the Superdome this weekend and that will make a huge difference. The Vikings offense has a few playmakers, but missing Adrian Peterson is a HUGE loss. They don’t have him and they don’t have a QB. This will probably turn into a blowout early.

Who really thinks the Broncos have “learned” from last season’s Super Bowl debacle against Seattle? Sure, they may be slightly smarter, but this matchup totally favors the Seahawks. It’s a skill thing. The Seahawks have the players and defense to shut down the Broncos. On top of that, put this at home in front of the 12th man? It’s game over. The Seahawks winning this is one of the Doc’s surest predictions of the season.