Another week, another disaster. The Ravens failing to cover yet still winning was of course the worst possible result for both me and the Steelers. Par for the course I guess. To pour salt into the wound the Ravens were aided by an early whistle on a clear Joe Flacco fumble that would have resulted in a Chiefs touchdown and probable victory. At least the Bengals lost outright to the pesky Dolphins. Not even the undefeated Texans could throw me a bone on Monday night as the Jets sans any offensive skill position talent managed to stay within a single score.
No explanations this week. No thinking. Thinking is getting me nowhere. I'm just going to pick the three teams I hate most in the NFL including a pair of teams that lost for me last week and hope my string of horrendous picks continues.
home team in bold
Best Bet
New England Patriots (-3.5) over Seattle Seahawks
Success breeds contempt. Unless it is the hometown team you have rooted for all your life. I have no more contempt for anyone in football than Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady. So much so that if I ever had to root for another team it would be the Giants because of how Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning have put the Patriots in their place the last two times they met in the Super Bowl. I guess the Rooney/Mara connection could be another reason not to mind the Giants. Of course rooting for Pete Carroll in this game is not easy.
Others
Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) over Dallas Cowboys
Growing up in the 70's the Cowboys used to easily be in my top three hated teams with the Raiders and Browns. I had a grudging respect for the old Houston Oilers. Of course the Browns 1.0 are now the Ravens. The Browns 2.0 and Raiders just elicit pity from me even though the Raiders current penchant for beating the Steelers and n body else is at the least annoying. The Cowboys are exactly .500 for the decade and have won a single playoff game since '96. Not that I like them. Watching pained expressions on Jerry Jones' skeleton-like face is always joyful. It is just hard to care that much about a mediocre team from the other conference. My hatred for the Ravens comes naturally. A consistently good divisional opponent with no players to remotely respect that was stolen from Cleveland, even though I hate Cleveland. Hopefully Ray Lewis won't get his friends to come to my house and knife me.
Cincinnati Bengals (-1.5) over Cleveland Browns
The Bengals haven't had the sustained success of the Ravens. As a divisional opponent they have been good enough for me to hate them anyway.
Last Week
Baltimore Ravens (-5.0) over Kansas City Chiefs LOSS
Houston Texans (-8.0) over New York Jets LOSS
Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5) over Miami Dolphins LOSS
Year to Date: 4-11 Best Bets: 0-5