Week 8 = yet another disaster for Del. With half the season in the books, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t starting to worry slightly. For whatever reason, the spread refuses to allow Del to conquer it. Needless to say we’ll be looking for the top-3 success to continue in the second half of the season and a complete turn around in Del’s overall picks against the spread. Here’s to what will hopefully be a new season. As usual, jump ahead after the Week 9 NFL Picks for top-3 analysis and remember to check back later in the week for Doc Brown’s selections.
(ATS = Against the Spread, SU = Straight Up)
Let’s start with the Texans, who could be getting Andre Johnson back as he’s been ruled a game time decision for Sunday. The Browns have not been able to score and will have to keep the Texans offense at bay on the road. Despite Johnson being absent, Houston has not fallen as far as you might expect. Arian Foster looks fully healthy and I expect the Texans to put up a ton of points. Cleveland likely will not be able to keep it close against an explosive offense.
The second team I like this week is the Packers laying 5.5 on the road against San Diego. Mike McCarthy always seems to have Green Bay ready to play after the bye week, and in case you missed it Philip Rivers is coming off the “worst day ever” in Kansas City. At the moment, the Chargers look like the same old choking Chargers while the Packers look like the same old Super Bowl champion Packers. Until that changes, I’ll take Green Bay giving up less than a touchdown any week against San Diego.
Sorry it’s late, but my third top-3 pick of the week is the Giants +8.5 at New England. Part of me thinks the Patriots will come out and blow the doors off the Giants after their horrible showing against Pittsburgh last weekend. Then again, more of me thinks the recipe for beating the Patriots has been laid on the table. Pass, pass, pass, pass. Eli Manning is underrated this season and throwing the ball as well as any quarterback in the league. New England’s secondary is a joke. The Giants will throw all day and should keep it within a touchdown.
