Week 13 expert NFL picks against the spread – Doc’s locks

Week 12 was an absolute disaster zone for Doc Brown. 5-11 and 0-3 on locks is utterly shameful. That is not how Doc represents his great name and this great site. Much better results lie ahead in Week 13 (so he hopes).

One thing to note about the picks this week is that the spreads listed below are from Yahoo and differ greatly from the ones currently being offered at many books. For instance, Doc likes the Steelers to beat the Colts soundly, but 10 points just seemed a little too heavy. Also, the Bucs/Falcons game is really a pick ’em, but taking Tampa Bay through Yahoo you have to give two points. The Browns are getting more points in real life than they are here, nevertheless, Doc still likes them. What, none of you think very highly of Austin Davis? The dude actually is quite capable as a quarterback and Doc likes him more than Manziel. He did go 3-5 as a starter with the Rams last year.

A few notes about games. Both Sam Bradford and Nick Foles — players who were traded for each other — will be back. Both teams should be better off with the old guy back in there at quarterback. Not that Philly’s defense will be much better, but the offense should get much better production with him in at QB over Mark Sanchez. Plus with New England’s star offensive players injured — Gronk, Edelman, Lewis, etc. — they might not be able to pile up the points (luckily Amendola may return). So beware of the big spread in this one.

One game Doc does like is the Saints at home getting seven against the Panthers. Carolina has been killing everyone, covering spreads left and right. It truly has been impressive. But if ever there was a time to not cover one, it’s on the road in New Orleans where the Saints are pretty tough at home. New Orleans is coming off a bad loss to the Texans and will look to turn it around in their passing game.

The Giants totally crapped the bed against the Redskins. It was a pathetic showing. But with Darrelle Revis out for the Jets, expect Eli Manning and Odell Beckham to go to work on the secondary. Eli will have a nice bounce back game after his poor three-pick game against Washington. He needs to.