The good news for those of you who like to follow Doc and Del’s picks at LBS is that we agree on 5 of our 6 combined Top 3 picks. The bad news is we differ on quite a few others against the spread. Here’s a look at Doc Brown’s week 6 picks against the spread and straight up (analysis below).
(ATS = Against the Spread, SU = Straight Up)
So Philly burned the Doc last week by losing at Buffalo. Their defense is suspect and that is a major concern. However, they also committed five turnovers — four picks and a fumble. The Redskins will pressure Vick but it’s difficult to envision the Eagles making that many mistakes again. Ryan Torain should run all over them, but the Eagles will put up enough points to win. I think they’ll begin turning it around finally.
As much crap as we’ve given Tony Romo for smiling after losses, and choking away leads, their offense can put up points. This will be the first game where he should have all his receiving weapons available (aside from the opener where Dez hurt his quad). With Bryant, Austin, and Witten, Dallas’ offense will be one of the best in football. They should be able to compete with the Patriots, especially given New England’s weak pass defense.
The Jets are 2-3 and have not looked like a playoff caliber team after losing three in a row. However, consider that they lost all three games on the road, including games at Baltimore and New England. That’s a difficult stretch. Their offense has struggled, and there’s dissension in the locker room. That’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a nice Monday night win over a poor team. Miami is going with Matt Moore as its starting quarterback. He’s not very good. If he were good, he wouldn’t have been behind guys like Jake Delhomme and Chad Henne on depth charts. The Jets defense is not as intimidating as it was the last two years, but they’re good enough to give seven points and cover.
A few other notes. Even though the Packers should blow out the Rams, St. Louis’ two biggest problems have been pass protection and pass defense. Though a lack of talent is an issue, those are issues that can (and should) be fixed during a bye week. We’ll see if their coaches are worth anything, because the Doc is putting his trust in them on this one.
Also, the Doc is hesitantly going with the Falcons and Buccaneers. The Saints are much better than the Bucs, but Tampa Bay tends to play much better in divisional games. They’ll forget last week’s debacle against San Francisco and play much better in this one. Atlanta likewise has not played well this year. They should run the hurry-up offense more frequently and get a win.
