I'm going back to big favorites this week. I couldn't quite manage to pick all home teams, so I ended up with one road favorite. The Steelers favored by 3.5 points in Arizona tempted me, but I will continue my tradition of not picking their games. I was also tempted to take 2 points with the Tim Tebow led Broncos in a psuedo-home game for him in Miami. More because of how the Dolphins seemed to roll over on Monday night than anything. In the end I couldn't get past the fact that I would be betting on Tebow.
home team in bold
Best Bet
Dallas Cowboys (-13.0) over St. Louis RamsThere is always the risk that Romo will do something stupid which is why I had to think long and hard about making this my best bet. By long and hard I mean 5 minutes while waiting for a data load to do unit testing of a bug fix. Yes, I am a computer programmer. In the end I came to a simple, immutable conclusion. The Rams are awful.
Others
Oakland Raiders (-4.0) over Kansas City ChiefsThe Raiders are all in on the season having traded their first rounder in 2012 and a conditional first rounder in 2013 (that becomes a second rounder if they don't win a playoff game) for Carson Palmer. They don't have a pick until the fifth round next year. Losing this game would be catastrophic even if Kyle Boller plays and Palmer doesn't take the field until after the bye.
Green Bay Packers (-8.0) over Minnesota Vikings
Leslie Frazier's switch to Christian Ponder is the right move. I Can't see it mattering in this matchup.
Last Week
New York Jets (-7.0) over Miami Dolphins WINCincinnati Bengals (-7.0) over Indianapolis Colts WIN
Oakland Raiders (-6.0) over Cleveland Browns WIN
Year to Date: 9-7-2 Best Bets: 1-4-1