NFL Week 4 Preview & CSC Pick 'Em League Recap

by Jon Banks on Oct 1, 2011 6:00 AM CDT

Brees thinking: now you've done it. You just made me remember that you're a cornerback, and I'm going to light you up sucker.

The Saints are finally in a stretch of their schedule that we all hope bodes well. The games they play for the next month are "no excuse" games. If they truly are a Super Bowl contending team, they should march through these next few games with little scars. Of course, that may not happen. Who knows?

So what about the official CSC Pick 'Em league? And what about the NFL in Week 4? Well, to see all that and more, make the jump!

Detroit Lions (3-0) @ Dallas Cowboys (2-1) 12:00 PM CST

The Lions played almost exactly as I predicted last week. They started off slow and finished strong. Some say they should have smoked the Vikings, but it's still hard to beat your divisional opponent on the road so give the Lions some props. Still, the best chance for the Lions to shine is in this game that is, essentially, a national game on FOX. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have been in three close games and have shot themselves in the foot more than Plaxico Burress. I think this game is going to be a shootout; between Dallas' inability to cover Calvin Johnson and Detroit's inability to cover Dez Bryant. In a close game, however, always go against Tony Romo.

WINNER- Lions

Carolina Panthers (1-2) @ Chicago Bears (1-2) 12:00 PM CST

I want to say Bears and leave it at that. However, Cam Newton has...surprised me. Though he did poor against the Jaguars, he's going to want to come out strong against the Bears, and with that secondary, he may do that. Still, I'll take the Bears at home over a mediocre team.

WINNER- Bears

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) @ Houston Texans (2-1) 12:00 PM CST

A very good Houston team will be facing off against the poor-looking Steelers. The Steelers may have a winning record, but they got blasted against the Ravens, smashed the poor Seahawks, and barely beat out a Peyton Manning-less Colts team. The same team that Houston destroyed 34-7 without Arian Foster. Now with Foster healed and ready to go, the Steelers chances don't look good.

WINNER-Texans

Tennessee Titans (2-1) @ Cleveland Browns (2-1) 12:00 PM CST

Don't let those records fool you, neither of these teams are good. Gah! I have no idea who I predict to win this one. I'm going to go with the Browns since they're at home.

WINNER- ~~Titans~~ ~~Browns~~ ~~Titans~~ I don't know!

Buffalo Bills (3-0[!!!]) @ Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) 12:00 PM CST

Is...is this possible? The Bills off to a start that is almost better than their final 2010 record? With the defeat of Tom Brady and the Patriots, I'm deleting my rule of "Don't bet on the Bills." So now that there's a competent team in this matchup, you know who I'm going with.

WINNER- Bills?

Washington Redskins (2-1) @ St. Louis Rams (0-3) 12:00 PM CST

Well the Redskins just lost a close one on the road to a divisional opponent last week so they are going to get mad and play the beat up Rams who no one should be picking as the victors due to myriad injuries. The winner here is quite obvious.

WINNER- Rams

Minnesota Vikings (0-3) @ Kansas City Chiefs (0-3) 12:00 PM CST

#suckforluck

Winner-Not the Chiefs. Possibly a tie (to which Donovan McNabb will be more surprised than the rest of us).

San Francisco 49ers (2-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) 12:00 PM CST

Before going into this game, let's have a moment of silence for the Eagles 2011 season.

(farts)

Now, the Eagles may be 1-2 (giggles), but they are good. With a NFC West team in town, expect the Eagles to win in a blowout, get some confidence back, and lose next week to some team that I didn't even know existed.

WINNER- Eagles

New Orleans Saints (2-1) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) 12:00 PM CST

No NFC South team has ever won in Jacksonville. They better hurry up and break that record before the Jaguars move to L.A. The key for the Saints will be stopping Maurice Jones-Drew...which isn't possible. However, I'm fine with completely selling out on the pass and letting Blaine Gabbert try to beat the Saints. So long as Malcolm Jenkins is prepared, I'm not scared.

WINNER- Saints

Atlanta Falcons (1-2) @ Seattle Seahawks (1-2) 3:05 PM CST

Did you know the Seattle Seahawks are 3-0 in their last three home games? Did you know I cherry picked that stat? Did I cherry pick that stat because I want the Seahawks to pay the Saints back for killing their 2010 playoff run? Do I also want the Seahawks to destroy the Falcons season now and not let them recover? The answer to all of these previous questions is, "Why am I still reading this?"

WINNER- Seahawks

New York Giants (2-1) @ Arizona Cardinals (1-2) 3:00 PM CST

Losing to a bad team on the road? Who does that? The Giants do.

WINNER- Cardinals

Denver Broncos (1-2) @ Green Bay Packers (3-0) 3:15 PM CST

And so, they brought the sacrifical lamb before the gods of football, in order to please them by blowing them out. This act is carried out every year.

WINNER- Packers

Miami Dolphins (0-3) @ San Diego Chargers (2-1) 3:15 PM CST

The Dolphins started their potential game winning drive, last week, at the 50-yard line...and still lost with nearly two minutes left. The Chargers don't like winning but their opponents like winning even less than they do. I'm picking the Chargers in a close one.

WINNER- Chargers

BONUS- Tony Sparano's locker room comes out against him and firing rumors come out of every nook and cranny in Miami

New England Patriots (2-1) @ Oakland Raiders (2-1) 3:15 PM CST

I predicted the Raiders to win last week. They did, and I got points for it. I predicted the Patriots to win last week. They didn't, and I didn't get points for it. Am I being vindictive? Yes. Prove me wrong Brady (Don't...please, I know you can).

WINNER- Raiders

New York Jets (2-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (2-1) 7:20 PM CST

Wow! A Sunday night matchup that doesn't make me question my fanhood in football. I like the Ravens to win by, at most, five points. Expect a defensive showdown and two quarterbacks who are hyped like gods, and play like busts. Still, the Ravens look like the team that could challenge the Patriots for the Super Bowl spot in the AFC.

WINNER- Ravens

Indianpolis Colts (0-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)

Why!? Why!? Why does this game exist!?!?!? Why don't they allow flex scheduling before Week 10!?!? I don't want to see Curtis Painter throw the ball five yards with all his might. I hate all of life for making this game possible.

WINNER- Buccaneers, Those who don't watch

CSC Pick 'Em League Recap

Before we begin, I want to talk about the delinquency among our group. A lot of people are not participating, some going back as far as all three weeks. Seriously people, this is getting ridiculous. You have all week to make picks and place confidence points on this. Just take five minutes out of your time, while checking your fantasy rosters, and make your selections.

Now, for the Drew Brees Award for Pinpoint Accuracy, which goes to GC Panic. GC Panic had a record of 14-2 (120 points). The only two winners he/she didn't predict correctly were the Pats and the Eagles.

Now, just because you're the most accurate doesn't make you the best in the league. That honor, and the Super Bowl Swagger award, goes to cowboys (124 points). Congratulations to you sir/madam.

Should've put money on it Award: All but one picker correctly predicted the Chargers to beat the Chiefs

The "We're dumb" Award: Only nine people correctly predicted the Bills beating the Patriots and the Seahawks beating the Cardinals.

Sippin' on the purple drank: thisiscnn22000, Sean Payton's Brass Balls, GEO Ballers, AZ Refugee, KilnBill, Hellspawn, Canberra Girls High and Big Eazy all put down the maximum 16 confidence points on the Saints to beat the Houston Texans. Kudos for sippin' on the drank.

"Should be Ashamed of Yourselves" Award: GWUColonial, FlintDizzle and our winner cowboys all thought the Texans would beat the Saints. Have you no shame?

Sean Payton's Brass Balls Award: GEO Ballers was one of nine people to pick the 8.5 point underdog Bills to win over the Patriots. However, GEO Ballers put down 9 confidence points on the Bills. About -16 more than I put on the Bills to win. GEO Ballers imitated Sean Payton and took a risk.

Sean Payton "Obvious Playcall is Obvious" Award: This award was easy to hand out. As Big Eazy was the only picker who took the Chiefs. Big Eazy was clearly going for the Sean Payton's Brass Balls award. However, when Payton's ballsy plays don't work, they're just obvious.

The "1970's New Orleans Saints" Award: Instead of giving this award to the pickers who won't show up anymore, I'm just giving it to the person who scored the least amount of points, which is NOLAnyc, who only put confidence points on the Cleveland Browns. Got to put points on all 16 games NOLAnyc.

Top 5 CSC Pick 'Em League

Rank	Pick Set Name	Total Pts	W-L
1	cowboys	332	36-12
2	Dan39465...	313	33-15
3	Server	312	35-13
4	Gridiron Nostradamus	307	34-14
5	ingramania	307	33-15

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Comments

This week was tougher

to make the picks. Although there were a few that seemed easy, including Saints over Jags, there were quite a few I’m not sure about. Good luck everyone.

by Valmo on Oct 1, 2011 6:36 AM CDT reply actions

"They better break that record before they move to LA" How orginal.... You should have your own HBO special you commodeian..

"POUND THE ROCK MOJO!!!"

by SALTWATERJAG on Oct 1, 2011 11:31 AM CDT reply actions

Cardinals over Giants?, Seahawks over Falcons?

"POUND THE ROCK MOJO!!!"

by SALTWATERJAG on Oct 1, 2011 11:36 AM CDT reply actions

I think the Giants beat the Cardinals.

And the way the Falcons are playing, I agree that the Seahawks will win.

by tommy v on Oct 1, 2011 12:59 PM CDT up reply actions

No way.. Atl. is ifinitly more talented even if they are playing like shite...

They bounce back this week and trounce Seattle..BOOK IT! :-)

"POUND THE ROCK MOJO!!!"

by SALTWATERJAG on Oct 1, 2011 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions

7th to 24th

This is the beginning of my “Slow Decline”™

by HB-NOLA on Oct 1, 2011 1:39 PM CDT reply actions

6th to 16th

Falling like a drunk on Bourbon Street.

INGRAMANIA equals LOMBARDI 2012

by cajuncommando58 on Oct 1, 2011 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions

I thought this week was kind of tough too. Took a chance on Newton. Stand 11-4 heading into Monday

Pick’em:

Season Total : 30 wins, 18 losses

Last Week: 10 wins, 6 losses

Average: 10 wins, 6 losses

Last Year: 157 wins, 99 losses

Best Year: 170 wins, 86 losses

This Week’s Picks:

Saints over Jaguars – This should be the most lopsided game you’ll see this weekend. Confidence – 16, Best Bet.

Atlanta over Seattle – I just don’t see Seattle doing anything worthwhile in this game. Matt Ryan is taking a beating like Jay Cutler and Mike Vick, and for good reason: they are trying to force the downfield explosive plays instead of establishing the run and picking their shots. They’re too much in a hurry to play with all the toys in the passing game. Regardless, the Seahawks aren’t known for their pass rush and really have no offensive identity other than sucking, so I’ll go with the Falcons with a confidence of 15, best bet.

Green Bay over Denver – If Orton played with half the confidence of Rodgers, I’d give Denver a much better chance. The one thing the Broncos have going for them is the Packers porous pass defense. Good thing, because Green Bay is 1st in the NFL at stopping the run, and last I checked, Denver doesn’t have much of a rushing attack. Root for the Broncos, but Confidence of 14, best bet.

Tampa Bay over Indianapolis – The Colts have a lot of pride on the line. I have to think this is the week Indianapolis lays it all on the line. Maybe a full game of Painter is better than anything Collins has to offer at this point; the leaders on the team have publicly stated so. Tampa has started slowly each week, and this could be a pick I’ll later regret, but I’ll take Tampa with a Confidence of 13, best bet.

San Diego over Miami – I thought Miami had its best chance of getting off the snide against Cleveland last week. I picked the Dolphins to be the worst team in the NFL this week, and they might reclaim that title from the Chiefs or Vikings. Too much drama is going down between the ownership, the head coach, and the QB. I’ll roll with Phillip Rivers who for the first time will get off to a fast start with a Confidence of 12, best bet.

Baltimore over NY Jets – While this week is a tough one to pick, this game isn’t. The Jets do not have an identity on offense. They are flat out horrible running the ball, and their passing attack doesn’t compare to that of the Ravens. Rex’s defense might rebound against the run, but it won’t be enough to stop Flacco from abusing anyone not named Revis. Confidence of 11.

Buffalo over Cincinnati – I really like this new look Bengals team. They got rid of most of the drama and have a young hungry bunch who the fan base should be happy with. Ryan Fitzpatrick scored 35 second half points to get the win over the Bengals in his revenge game last year, and the Bills have beaten the Bengals 10 consecutive times. I don’t believe that will change. Confidence of 10.

New York Giants over Arizona – This is a dangerous game for the G-Men. They focused all week on avenging that ugly loss to the Eagles from last year, much the same way the Ravens laid it on the line in week one to exact revenge against the Steelers. Will the Giants face a similar emotional let-down the following week? Good thing Arizona’s running game isn’t quite healthy and Kolb is still learning. I’ll take the Giants with a Confidence of 9.

Philadelphia over San Francisco – I still hate the Niners, and I’ll still pick against them though I think they have a prime opportunity to cause Andy Reid to do a bit of soul searching. Here’s why-Frank Gore isn’t healthy and Alex Smith is still QB. All the Eagles have to do is stop trying to force the ball deep and rely on Shady McCoy. Let Jackson and Macklin turn short passes into long ones. Get the ball out quick. Shhh, don’t tell Atlanta, with a Confidence of 8.

New England over Oakland – I would really, really love to pick the Raiders, but I don’t have brass balls. Like 96% of the nation, I’ll be taking the Patriots and hoping I lose this pick. Oakland has a great running game, and a defensive line who can hit Brady in the mouth. If I was confident they could minimize the mistakes, I’d roll with da Raiders, but they’re not, so Mr. nose in the air with a Confidence of 7.

Houston over Pittsburgh – I picked the Steelers to have an “off” year in the pre-season, and this lack of identity they are displaying is precisely why, along with a suspect offensive line and aging defense. The popular thought is that Tomlin will unleash the fires of hell after the close call in Indy; I think it’s all talk and Big Ben is a big idiot who doesn’t stick to the script and winds up costing his team, with a Confidence of 6.

Washington over St. Louis – Upset #1 – How picking a 2-1 team to defeat an 0-3 team that hasn’t looked good is considered an upset, I don’t know; ask Vegas. The Rams should be the most desperate team, but Mike Shannahan staked his reputation on Grossman. I was dead wrong about the Rams and Bradford in the pre-season. All the injuries they’ve incurred haven’t helped, but nothing they are doing looks close enough to call “almost”. With the Chiefs, you can at least say the just about had their act together in week 3. The Rams look shell shocked, and while I think “let’s send 3 all out blitzes in a row while trying to keep Dallas from getting into field goal range” Jim Haslett is an idiot, I’ll give the Redskins the not with a Confidence of 5.

Minnesota over Kansas City – This is probably the toughest game to pick, but at least one of these teams will come away with a win (unless they tie). I’m wanting to pick the Chiefs in the worst way because they looked so close against San Diego, but the Chargers are a division opponent they know well, and they don’t exactly have the defensive line of the Vikings. Minnesota learned an important lesson last week-keep feeding Adrian Peterson the ball. 3 weeks in a row, he’s been a beast in the first half; 3 consecutive weeks they’ve forgotten about him in the second half and blew a double digit lead. Here’s the week they pull their head out of their wazoo with a Confidence of 4.

Detroit over Dallas – Upset #2 – Vegas must really love the Cowboys, because Detroit looks like the more complete team to me. A miniscule hole in the lung that heals two days later is not a collapsed lung. A cracked rib hurts like hell, but pain killers make it manageable. Jason Garrett is another fool infatuated with his passing toys to the detriment of his running game. Up till last year, Dallas’ offensive line was tailored to run the ball, yet Garrett forgets he had the ability. That qualified him to become the head coach. Anyways, I don’t see how the Cowboys secondary can defend against Stafford. They’ve gone on record saying their gameplan is to stop Detroit’s rushing attack and rely on their pressure to get to Stafford. Let me help you out Dallas: Detroit has no rushing game and Stafford gets rid of the ball much quicker than Grossman and Alex Smith. Good luck with that, Lions with a Confidence of 3.

Tennessee over Cleveland – Upset #3 – Cleveland should be much more formidable with the return of Peyton Hillis, but I think Chris Johnson nullifies that effect. The loss of Kenny Britt is a huge one, but Hasselback should have a much better time throwing to no-name WR’s than Colt McCoy by virtue that he’s been doing it longer. Titans with a Confidence of 2.

Carolina over Chicago – Upset #4, Upset Special – I’m officially drinking the Cam Newton kool-aid. He couldn’t throw that well during a tropical storm last week, but I’m betting he has a big game against da Bears. Carolina gets surprising play out of its defensive line, and Culter pouts. The NFC South has a big week with a Confidence of 1.
__________________

Stop wearing a wishbone where your backbone ought to be. Would you be convicted in court of being a Christian? Happiness is shared, and comes from sharing.

by Preston J. Gary, Jr. on Oct 2, 2011 10:35 PM CDT reply actions