NFL picks Week 5 against the spread – Doc’s picks

The Doc struck back last week with a strong week that would have looked even stronger had he been able to change away from the Raiders after learning that Terrelle Pryor would not be starting. But now we know Pryor will start in Week 5, which has affected the pick.

A number of this week’s picks don’t make sense on the surface. Like why would Doc like the Falcons to cover a 10-point spread coming off a loss? Or why would he pick the Packers to cover a 7-point spread against a Detroit Lions team that just beat the Bears at home and looked great doing so? Well, in some of those cases, like they said in Rounders, you just go off feel. Analysis of the top three picks further below.

Two of the top three locks for the Doc have a theme. The Doc has established through four weeks that the Denver Broncos are historically good and the Jacksonville Jaguars are historically bad this season. Better to recognize that sooner rather than later and keep riding the patterns until they burn us. But at the pace both teams are going, we’re going to continue picking the Broncos to cover against whomever they’re playing, and against the Jags regardless of opponent. Both have proven they are that good and that bad.

As for the last of the three locks, both Doc and Del like Carolina. The Panthers are just flat-out a better team than the Arizona Cardinals. They may be on the road, but Carolina is coming off a great win in Week 3 against the Giants and they just had a bye. We love them this week.