> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Hello and welcome to my weekly article. Last week I went 7-6. For the year, I am at 20-20-3.

I think that this week will have very few dogs covering. Most of the road favorites look good and should cover.

 

SURVIVOR POOL

This week, I like three different teams to win. Carolina at home over Seattle is a great pick and a chance to use a “weaker” team. San Francisco should roll over Buffalo, which can’t stop anyone. The New York Giants have a very favorable matchup against Cleveland. Any one of these three should advance you to next week.

 

SUNDAY’S EARLY GAMES

 Atlanta (-3) heads into Landover to face Washington. Atlanta is one of five road favorites this week and they are one of the two undefeated teams in the NFL. Look for the Falcons to stay that way. Washington has improved over last season primarily due to Robert Griffin III. Atlanta has too many weapons and will exploit a porous Redskin defense in winning this game while putting up 30-plus points again.

Pittsburgh (-3) entertains intrastate foe Philadelphia. Pittsburgh has been pathetic in their running game and look to improve that with the likely return of Rashard Mendenhall this week. The Eagles are not a good team despite their 3-1 record. They are the only team that has been outscored for the season (66-83) and still have a winning record. The Steelers are putting points on the board behind Ben Roethlisberger. Look for Pittsburgh to get back to .500 on the year with a home victory by seven points.

Green Bay (-7) travels to our fine state to face Indianapolis. The Colts have been playing decently their past two games and had a week off to get ready for this game. Andrew Luck will have a hard time dealing with the Packers passing defense. Sorry, but it will take more than a week of planning to defeat Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers should have a very good passing game and find the end zone at least 3 times in leading the Packers over the Colts by double digits.

Cleveland (+9) heads to the Meadowlands to face the Giants. Cleveland has been competive in most of their games this season and I see no reason that they won’t keep this game close. The Giants are having a decent season so far. Eli is putting up points and that will keep you in the ballgame. I like N.Y. to win this game but by no more than a touchdown. Take the nine points with Cleveland and enjoy the cover.

Cincinnati (-4) welcomes Miami to town. The Bengals find themselves tied for first palce in the AFC North with Baltimore. Miami has lost two in a row and both were by less than this line is. This game won’t be that close. The Bengals are scoring this year and Miami is having trouble finding the endzone. Look for Dalton to have two passing touchdowns in leading Cincinnati to a home victory over Miami by 10-plus points.

Kansas City (+6) plays host to Baltimore. The Ravens are having a very good season so far. Kansas City has been erratic so far. On paper, the Ravens should dominate. I don’t like this game and it could be one of those “funny” games that happen in the NFL a few times a year. I am picking the Chiefs here only because they are at home and getting points. Beware of this game and try to avoid it.

 

SUNDAY’S LATE GAMES

Chicago (-6) travels dowN to Florida to battle with Jacksonville. The Bears looked very good last week in defeated the Cowboys soundly. Jacksonville has a very vanilla offense and will have major troubles scoring in this game. Chicago will roll over the Jaguars in a one-sided, low-scoring game. Take Da’ Bears to win this one around 24-9.

New England (-7) gets a visit from Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos. The Broncos are playing good ball right now. Peyton is fining his groove and comfort zone with his receivers. New England’s offense finally came alive last week in the second half exploding for 45 points in the last 30 minutes. This game should be very high scoring and both quarterbacks will have 300-plus yards passing and 3-plus TDs each. This game could end up right on the seven-point line, but I like New England to win by 10.

 San Francisco (-10) gets a visit from Buffalo. The Bills can not stop anybody at all. It is unheard of to give up 31 points in one quarter in the NFL. San Fran should be excited over this matchup. This game could get out of hand early. The 49ers will have another dominating defensive effort enroute to a blow out win.

 

LOCK OF THE WEEK

Carolina (-3) has Seattle coming to town this week. Carolina did everything right last week except win. Seattle is not a good team and will not win on the road this week. Cam Newton is rounding into midseason form and look for him to have monster game this weekend. Seattle will have trouble close in the second half as fatigue sets in on this road trip. Take Carolina to win by double digits while scoring 21-plus points in the second half.

 

UPSET OF THE WEEK

Tennessee(+6) travels up to Minnesota. The Vikings are doing better than I expected them to do this year and in first place NFC North. Matt Hasselbeck takes over at quarterback for the Titans this week. He looked good last week in the fourth quarter. The Titans will get the upset victory in a close game 24-20.

 

SUNDAY NIGHT

New Orleans (-4) plays host to San Diego. The Saints are still trying to get their first win of the season. San Diego may be just what New Orleans needs. The Chargers had a good win last week at Kansas City, but once again, back-to-back road games are difficult in the NFL. Philip Rivers will have two touchdowns but that won’t be enough. Drew Brees will set the consecutive game TD passing record and lead the Saints to their first victory in a high-scoring game.

 

MONDAY NIGHT

Houston (-9) takes a trip to play the New York Jets on national television. Houston is the other unbeaten team this year. Like Atlanta, they will stay that way. The Jets are still a mess and will have issues all season with “Tebow Time.” The Texans are scoring points at will and look for them to score 30-plus again Monday night. Arian Foster could have a field day with 175 rushing yards and three scores. This game will be over by halftime. The Texans win this game big 38-10.

 

Good luck and as always, you may contact me with questions or comments at mrhotshot1964@yahoo.com or at newsandtribune.com.