NFL Week 6: Welcome to the Bye!

This is a first time in years that I can truly and honestly enjoy the Chargers bye week. So much better to sit and ponder whether the Colts will win one or whether the Cowboys have the cajones to beat the Pats at home or whether Detroit will keep on rolling sitting on a 4-1 start. Never mind that as the season ages, that loss looks even more dumb. Or the fact that each win has been pretty much ugly. And Rivers hasn’t hit his high gear. Or that the Charger have the most breakout season is eating jambalaya now instead of nachos.

No, this week is about the fringe games as teams start to get desperate and locker talk is streaming across the Interweb. Biggest doubts for the season have become the Colts and the Eagles. Here’s my answer: No leadership denotes no recovery. It’s hard to come back and be relevant from 1- 4 or 0 –5 and I don’t see those teams with the leadership they need in the locker room to pull through.

What I’m watching this week? I’m so not on the Giants, never have been. But will the Bills be able to shake off Wide Right to put a substantial fork in the much vaunted Coughlin team? I’m thinking yeah, I’m hearing the wagons and they be circling.

On to the picks!

(And yes, I did, much like the Buffalo Bills after beating the Pats, crumpled last week into a mind-numbing 6 – 7.)

The Picks

After chatting with some MNF buddies about picks, I’m throwing out the complicated thumbs up approach to rating the games to a confidence pick, one high , one so-so , and one longshot. Here we go:

– Falcons over Panthers

– Redskins over Eagles

Bills over Giants – Time to throw those Carrot Top Tissue-dispensing Buffalo Bills helmets away. I think the Cowboys could use them.

– Bengals over Colts

– Steelers over Jags

49ers over Lions – Yeah, I know. I‘m a big supporter of the Lions. And I still think they’ll be great this year. But I’m suspicious they need some motivation served up from another upstart team.

– Packers over Rams

Ravens over Texans – Ravens after a Bye week, rested, at home. Really?

– Raiders over Browns

– Saints over Bucs

– Pats over Cowboys

– Bears over Vikings – ONLY, ONLY because of the Bears defense. But after a Monday night fiasco, and I don’t use that lightly, there ARE leaders on that team that will whip some people into shape.

Monday Nite

– Jets over Dolphins 24 – 21

There’s a lot of chatter about the Jets. My thought? Team reflects leadership. And I’m not sure Ryan is more than a snarly cheerleader. Sanchez needs some mentorship. And Ryan is not it.

Fantasy Island

Who wins the “You Gotta Be Kidding Me!” award this week? I DO! In heads up fantasy play against a player who had Stafford at QB and Lions Defense to my Jahvid Best at RB and Chicago Defense, I thought I didn’t have a shot at winning. Hold Everything!!! Jahvid had an amazing game, twice as good point wise as Stafford and the Detroit D. So shock and awe, I won last week!

This week? I’m scrambling for a QB since Orton is benched (and on a Bye) and Philip is sipping mojitos this week. I wanted Hasselbeck but he’s on a Bye week too. So I snatched up Alex Smith, thinking that the Lions might have an off week. Suh wasn’t that dominating on Monday night. Then, the Tight End merry-go-round continued. I picked up Fred Davis from Washington thinking the Redskins might need the short, middle routes against the Eagles.

Lets’ have a good clean game out there this week. And no shoes in helmets.