Ben's Picks

Wildcard

The Rant

        The “O/U’s” have gotten off to an impressive 6-2 start, after back-to-back 3-1 weeks. The lone loser was the disappointing outcome of the Sunday Night match up between K.C. and Oakland. The teams were on track at half time, but forgot to put on their scoring shoes for the second half. 4-0 would’ve been sweet. The “Teasers” made a nice turnaround after a mediocre opening week, going 5-1 and pulling my record up to 9-5 for the year. “HD’s v Opp-Turf” came in at 1-0 and stand at 3-2 for the season.

        My picks went a respectable 3-2 to bring my record back to 50% and 5-5. Washington pulled the biggest surprise by coming back from 13 down, late the 4^th quarter, against the hated Cowboys. Was there any sight sweeter sight than seeing the look on Jerry Jones face after that debacle? Nice way to honor the triplets, Cowgirls. I was disappointed by the fact the Redskins didn’t bring the heat on Drew Bledsoe, but a win is a win is a win. The other wins included Kansas City beating the Raiders in Oakland. The Chiefs slightly improved defense seems to be making a world of difference. Chicago also took it to the reeling Lions. The Bears put the clamps on Joey Harrington and Chicago QB Kyle Orton played a very respectable home game. The Lions are now auditioning QB’s and Mr. Harrington cannot be feeling too comfortable. The losers included Baltimore, in a total beat down by the undermanned Titans. The Ravens are in trouble, at QB, and the bye week could not have come at a better time. New Orleans was a killer loss in their home game on the road. The Giants caught every break in the book, including a fumble on the opening kickoff. The snake bitten Saints moved the ball up and down the field, but couldn’t get out of their own way. The complaining by Jim Haslet and company has already begun and you can’t blame them. Keep an eye on this team, if things start going south it’s going to be a long year.

        The BPR has gotten off to its usual slow start going 0-1-1 and standing at 2-3-1 for the year. Remember the BPR gets stronger as the year goes on and should only be used as a guideline until about week 5. The loser was Arizona, as the Cards left the ball inside the 10 yard line in their comeback attempt versus the Rams. San Diego tied ATS after taking a big lead over the Broncos. Houston, Jacksonville, Chicago, Cincy, San Fran, Miami, Cleveland and Washington were not considered as plays because the closing line did not meet the needed #. Just to remind everyone, I use the closing line as published by the Oklahoma Sport Monitor. You can get those numbers by going to my website benspicks.com. There you can also find many links to FREE info to help you pick winners. Try it, you’ll like it, it’s FREE!

    Remember compare the BPR [Ben’s Power Rating] to the spread and if there’s a difference of 4 points or more, in your favor, then that’s a potential play. Below are the potential plays for this week; I have already added the 4 points. (Check individual game BPR's for any  line movements):

• PHILLY -8 or less

• CHICAGO Even or +

• Jax +4.5 or greater

• MIAMI +2 or greater

• BUFFALO +2 or greater

• Arizona +8 or greater

• PITTSBURGH -5 or less

• SAN FRAN +1 or greater

• Giants +5 or greater

• Kansas City -2.5 or less

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Closing Lines and Final Scores

All trends are ATS (Against The Spread) unless otherwise specified.

Loser - 5* Tennessee v ST. LOUIS --- The Titans easily handled the conservative, defensive minded Ravens in an upset victory last week. Tennessee has faced 2 running teams and stand at 1-1 for the year. It looks like business as usual for Jeff Fisher and Steve McNair, but don’t be fooled. The Titans have an entirely revamped secondary, now S Vincent Fuller is out and DT Albert Haynesworth is ?. Tennessee has not faced a high-powered passing attack and is in for a rude awaking. The Rams embarrassed themselves in San Fran, on opening day, but bounced back nicely in the Arizona desert. Mike “The Idiot Savant” Martz and company return home, and are looking to turn it up a notch on the fast track. The Titans are the perfect team to do it against. The Rams are 11-5 at home and the Titans are 2-5 in domes. This is the perfect match up for St. Louis and the Titans don’t have the offensive weapons to compete. Take the Rams and spot the points.

Warning this play goes against the BPR!

WINNER - 5* Giants v SAN DIEGO --- The Giants are riding high, after an opening day blowout of the Cards, and a Monday night beat down of the road weary Saints. The G-Men stand at 2-0. New York is a decent team and Eli seems to be holding his own, but I am not impressed. The Giants have been the beneficiaries, of every break in the book so far this season. In week one, they road 2 kickoff returns to victory. In week 2, their added home game, and 6 turnovers by the Saints, propelled they to the win. They must now, travel to the left coast, on a short week, and face the team Eli Manning shunned on Draft day last year. Now, the shit hits the fan. The Chargers started the season a very disappointing 0-2, after having a late lead, at home versus the Cowboys, and on the road versus Denver. All is not well with Marty Schottenheimer and company. San Diego was a very impressive 12-4 last year and is in desperate need of a victory. The Chargers are a much better team, at home, and there is no doubt to their motivational level. I do not like betting against the BPR, but it’s early in the season and the numbers will obviously adjust themselves after a Charger win. Take San Diego and sit back and enjoy your Sunday night.

WINNER - 4* Jacksonville v JETS --- The Jags lost a heartbreaker, to division rival Indy, in the RCA Dome. The 9 point dog Jaguars stood toe to toe with the Colts, and a gimpy Brian Leftwich almost pulled it out. Jacksonville is a tough team and you better show up with both your pompoms, if you want to beat them. The Jets outlasted the Dolphins, at home, in a must win. The Jets do not impress me. They have a decent defense, but their offense consists of a banged up Curtis Martin and a QB with no arm, Chad Pennington. Defensive coordinators are finally catching up to Pennington and that does not bode well for an injured Martin. The Jags have an excellent defense, they held the explosive Colts to a mere 10 points. Coach Jack Del Rio will put 8 in the box, stop Martin and dare Pennington to throw. I like their chances. Take Jacksonville and the projected 3 points, in a low scoring game, you won’t need them in an outright Jaguar victory.

Loser - 4* Atlanta v BUFFALO --- The Falcons came back down to earth, in Seattle last week, after soaring over the Eagles on opening day. Atlanta spotted the Seahawks a huge lead and almost came back for the win. Michael Vick pulled his hammy and had to leave the game on the final drive. The Falcons must now travel, in B2B weeks, and face the formidable Buffalo defense, possibly without “Ron Mexico”, A.K.A Michael Vick. The Bills were run over last week, when they slammed, head first, into a Cadillac. “Car”nell Williams is a rookie stud and the Buffalo defense ran out of gas in the Florida heat. The Buffalo defense has a lot of pride and will bounce back at home. The Bills will ground the Falcons, with, or without Vick. Atlanta is one dimensional and cannot throw the ball down the field, if the Bills are not afraid of the pass, watch out “Mr. Mexico”. The burden then falls on QB J.P. Losman, Willis McGahee and friends to take advantage of an average Atlanta defense. I think the home field makes all the difference in this match up. Take the fired up Bills at home, whatever the #.

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  (Teasers MUST include key numbers: 3, 7, 10, etc.)

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Closing Lines and Final Scores

Legend is available below.

Information Purposes Only - Not Intended For Anyone Under 21 Years of Age

ATS – Against Spread

aft - after

bfr - before

[BPR] - Ben’s Power Rating

B2B – Back To Back

BOUNCE – Opp. result

D – Dog

Def - defense

DDD – Double Digit Dog

DDF - Double Digit Favorite

DIV - Division

F – Favorite

L - Loss

SAND - Sandwich game

H – Home

HD – Home Dog

HF – Home Favorite

HOME TEAM – In Capitals

LW – Last Week

LY – Last Year

N-DIV - Non Division

O/U – Over /Under

OFF – Offense

R – Road

REV – Revenge

SU – Straight Up

V - Versus

W - Win