Haves vs Have Nots

Last week, I was both frustrated and embarassed as I lost money on marginal games while watching good teams (San Diego, Denver) put beatings on inferior teams (Bills, Jets). I'm not going to allow that to happen again. So despite having to lay out a lot of points, my pick of the week is:

Cincinnati -9 vs Baltimore. This is a bounce back game for both teams. The Ravens just picked up a rare win against the Steelers and should let down a little bit for a game they're supposed to lose anyway. Meanwhile, the Bengals should be looking to take out their anger from last week's Colts game on the Ravens. With Jamal Lewis looking like he'd be riding the pine for the penal team in The Longest Yard 3, the Ravens have a very meager running game- and that's their strong point. Chris Simms has not introduced Kyle Boller to the devil yet, so you can count on him to suck. Carson Palmer on the other hand is going to have a field day picking on The Artist Formerly Known as Primetime. This one will be over by halftime.

Other games I like for Sunday:
San Diego -3.5 at Washington. I know the Chargers travelled to New York a few weeks ago and almost blew it. And the Redskins are certainly better than the Jets. But Marty Schottenheimer should be motivated not to go into a shell with the lead in this one. Martyball was only given one year by Daniel Snyder in Washington before Schottenheimer was axed. Marty does forget things, such as the forward pass and that touchdowns are worth more points than field goals, but he shouldn't forget being fired, right? I think he keeps piling on points in the 4th and the Chargers runaway by at least 2 tds.

San Francisco +9 at Tennessee. What have the Titans shown that should make me believe they could beat anyone by nine? I know the Niners' secondary is awful, but McNair only throws the ball 5 yards down the field these days, and to his tight ends at that. The Niners have also been very tough in defeats to the Giants, Bears, and Seahawks. I'm not predicting victory, but I do think that they can keep this one close. Something along the lines of 16-13 is where I peg this one.

...I haven't been posting my NBA picks lately, but I have been continuing to get my ass kicked. I'm now at 7-15-1 on the season. So I really, really need the Bengals to cover Sunday just to be even on the week.