Whitey's Weekly Word Week 10

November 9, 2008

By Chris White

Last week 9-5
YTD ATS: 61-66-2

Got back on the winning side of the ledger last week with a 9-5 mark vs. the number. Hopefully that is a signal of the type of 'Change' I'm looking for!

Super Bowl Prediction Giants over Tennessee

Denver at Cleveland: The Browns usher in the Brady Quinn era Thursday vs. a struggling Broncos defense. Not a bad spot for the Notre Dame product to begin his career, but you have to wonder how well D.A. would fare against these guys. The Broncos have been one of the worst teams in the league thru October on both sides of the ball, and will face a fired up crowd in Cleveland. That fan support has resulted in a recent 9-2 mark ATS for Cleveland, and I think will be good enough Thursday for the home cover... Browns 27 - Broncos 20.

-Result: Broncos 34 - Browns 30. Great game that early on went as expected. Broncos figured something out late, and could use that towards next week.

Baltimore at Houston: Matt Schaub is out. Houston just can't seem to get over the hump this year, perhaps the 2-6 record ATS vs. winning teams has something to do with that. While both the Texan's defense and offense seem to improve at home, I'll side with Joe Flacco and his Ravens. Baltimore has played very solid football of late, and a chance to get to 6-3 could set them up very nicely in the under whelming AFC for the rest of the year... Ravens 26 - Texans 16.

Jacksonville at Detroit: This week Jack Del Rio told his team captain to go home for a few days, and also laid down a whole bunch of new locker room rules. Usually not a good sign when the coach pipes in on domino playing, but that is the state of the Jags these days. Not very good. The home team is 3-0 between the two, and even though the Lions are crappy against he line in most cases, I'll back them here at home getting a TD (in another losing effort)... Jaguars 20 - Lions 17.

Buffalo at New England: Two teams that lost to Miami this year already. Can the Patriots increase the streak over Buffalo to 10 games on Sunday? I think so. NE returns home after the road loss, with first place in the AFC East on the line. They have been gradually improving offensively with Cassell looking more comfortable each week. The Bills are still a good team, but that defense isn't quite as strong on the road, and the offense isn't putting a lot of points on the board... Patriots 24 - Bills 16.

New Orleans at Atlanta: Saints are a recent 6-2 ATS vs. their division rivals, and have won 4 straight. While they've racked up solid victories against the Chargers and Raiders, they also got their clocks rung at Carolina in between wins. The Falcons have been very consistent this season, and have played well at home. Tough game to sort out, but I'm going to lean towards the home team to be able to control the game's pace with a solid ground attack... Falcons 28 - Saints 21.

St. Louis at Jets: I'm a big Jets fan, but this isn't a team that performs well when they are forced to lay the number. Can't really state it much clearer than that... Jets 31 - Rams 28.

Seattle at Miami: Are the Dolphins 9 points better than anyone? Granted, the Seahawks are 2-6 and going nowhere fast this year, but Miami doesn't strike me as a team that is going to blow anyone out. A good game to steer clear of, since the Seahawks are great at screwing up being bad. Even though I don't like the west coast team playing an early game on the east coast, I'll go Seattle. It wouldn't blow me away if they actually won the game, and I'm hoping the defense at least shows up... Dolphins 23 - Seahawks 17.

Green Bay at Minnesota: Couple of quick trends that favor the Packers here; Green Bay a solid road play, the road team in this series a recent 10-3, underdogs have fared well in this spot, and the Pack looking for their 6th straight vs. Minnesota (won the season opener at home). Minnesota's defense allowing just over 14 points a game at home, so I see a low scoring affair while the trends continue... Packers 16 - Vikes 14.

Carolina at Oakland: While the Panthers defense on the road doesn't sport quite the teeth they do at home, this is the Oakland Raiders we are talking about. They've managed less than 10 points a game over their past three tests. Enthusiasm must be extremely high after cutting DeAngelo Hall this week (who was promptly picked up by the Skins). Does Al Davis think that is going to inspire his guys to play better? The best news you can get as an Oakland Raider is that you are now 'formerly' an Oakland Raider... Panthers 26 - Oakland 6.

Kansas City at San Diego: The Chargers at home have been excellent, they have a new defensive coach (who can't do nearly as bad a job as Ted Cottrell did), and are healthy enough to begin making the 2nd half run to win a crappy AFC West. Huge number for a 3-5 team to lay though, isn't it? The truth of the matter is, the Chiefs of late really haven't played as poorly as a 1-7 record would indicate, and these teams have split the seasonal series the past three years. Until the Chargers can right that defense I'll gobble up the points... Chargers 34 - Chiefs 21.

Indianapolis at Pittsburgh: The Steelers defense is playing about as well as any unit in the NFL, on either side of the ball. That does not bode well for a Colts team that just can't seem to get it together. With or without Roesthlisberger, this game will be decided by Pittsburgh's ability to frustrate Peyton Manning... Steelers 24 - Colts 14.

Tennessee at Chicago: Kyle Orton out, giving the start once again to Rex Grossman. I think Grossman has a decent game, as he really has nothing to lose after being replaced as ‘the man’ in Chicago this year. While the pressure of being undefeated might begin to become burdensome for Tennessee, I think they win and cover here. Unless Grossman is off the hook, the Bears offense is going to find moving the ball difficult Sunday… Titans 23 - Chicago 16.

Giants at Philadelphia: Game of the week, with a pair of teams on three-game win streaks. The Eagles defense at home is always trouble, but I think Eli has seen his fair share of that this year and has risen to the challenge. His G-Men are 8-0 ATS vs. teams with winning records, and they are healthy as well. Hate going against the home team in the big national spotlight, but I'll side with the Champs and take the points... Giants 27 - Eagles 21.

San Francisco at Arizona: Unless Mike Singletary is going to play; the 49ers are a tough team to back. This week on the road, vs. the 5-3 Arizona Cardinals who are 8-3 ATS lately vs. the NFC West. Arizona is putting together a decent month of football while their counterparts have been simply awful. No need for the coin or Magic 8 Ball this week... Cardinals 37 - 49ers 24.

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