The month of October is every exciting for sports fans in the United States and this year is no different. You have the National Football League regular season in full swing, Major League Baseball getting their playoffs starting (writing this before the NL Wild Card game, Rockies vs Diamondbacks), the National Hockey League starting their regular season (opening night is tonight as I'm writing this 10/4), and the National Basketball Association starting their regular season early on October 17th. Not also to mention that soccer fans get to enjoy the European leagues as well.
Last Sunday going into Monday morning, the nation witnessed a tragic event in Las Vegas. At the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas a shooter would open fire at a concert taking place in the hotel, killing 50+ people, while injuring 500 people at the event. As you read this please keep the victims of this horrifying event in your hearts and minds. Remember that love conquers hate, no matter what.
On Monday, the world also lose a legend in music, Tom Petty. Tom Petty best known for his musicianship as the frontman of his band: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers suffered a full cardiac arrest and would die later after making the decision to be pulled off of life support. The rocker was only 66 years old. In keeping with his memory, here's a cool video of one of his best known songs:
Before last week's action transpired me and Cardinal Viking (my roommate) were 1-1-1 on picks. The week that was Week 4 would prove to be much of the same in terms of record for the both of us. Some games went my way, some games went his way. Let's take a look at our records for the past week:
My record:
My record:
11-5 (I picked Dallas and the Rams won in an upset, and I picked the Cardinals to win against the Niners)
Cardinal Viking's record:
11-5 (He picked the Rams to beat the Cowboys, and he picked the Niners to beat the Cardinals)
So after four weeks of NFL action, we would tie yet again with a record of 1-1-2. The both of us picked the Patriots to beat the Panthers (sorry for doubting you Cam Newton). We picked the Packers to beat the Bears (sorry not sorry Bears fans).
With a quarter of the season over, week 5 will be the first of many weeks for teams going on a bye week. The Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Denver Broncos will be going on a bye week for this week. The 14-game slate begins in Tampa, Florida and will end in Chicago, Illinois. There will be a Thursday night game, 8 early games, 3 late games, a Sunday Night Football game, and a Monday Night game. HERE ARE THE PICKS:
New England @ Tampa Bay: Patriots. The Patriots come off a loss against the Panthers, while the Buccaneers got the win against the Giants. I feel the Patriots will have a bounceback game against the Buccaneers. The Bucs have still key injuries on the defensive side of the ball, and Brady is hungry.
Arizona @ Philadelphia: Eagles. Both teams come off wins as the Eagles beat the Chargers, and the Cardinals beat the Niners in overtime. The game will be a tight one I feel but when it comes down to it which Quarterback will come up big for their teams.
Buffalo @ Cincinnati: Bengals. The two teams are coming off wins as the Bengals beat the Browns, and the Bills beat the Falcons. Tyrod Taylor of the Bills looks good so far this season, and the Bengals offense looks like they're back on track. The game may come down to the defenses, and which defense comes up with the most stops. Vegas pens this game as the Bengals as the favorite by -3, which I can't disagree. The Bengals get the win.
Carolina @ Detroit: Panthers. The two teams in blue and white look to get wins in this game. The Lions won a tough game against the division rival Vikings, and the Panthers got their biggest win of the season beating the Patriots at home (which doesn't happen all that often). I'll be riding on the Panthers bandwagon for this game, and hopefully my renewed faith in Cam Newton will be rewarded.
Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh: Steelers. The Jaguars roll into the Steel City to take on the Steelers. The Jaguars lost to the Jets on the road, and the Steelers got the bounceback win against the Ravens on the road. Did you know that the Jaguars last playoff win was against the Steelers at Heinz Field. That was in 2007 in the AFC wild card game. That was the past, and this is now/future. Steelers get the win.
LA Chargers @ NY Giants: Tie... just kidding... Giants. The 2 of the 4 winless teams meet up this week as the Phillip Rivers-led Chargers roll into New Jersey to take on the Giants. This game normally would give me the heebie jeebies but I feel that Alexandra Daddario would take the Giants. I can't disagree with her.
NY Jets @ Cleveland: Browns. The Jets came off a win against the Jaguars at home last week, while the Browns got curbstomped by their Ohio neighbors, the Bengals. This game normally would be the feel of a "Toilet Bowl" game but the Jets somehow have the same record as the Patriots. The people down at Las Vegas as of right now pen this as a pick 'em as both teams neither are the favorite or the underdog. That doesn't spell well for the Jets, but neither does the Browns. Alexandra Daddario's gut would probably be with the Jets, but I'll go against her on this one and pick the Browns. Is it sad that I have to have Daddario be on this column twice this week already?
San Francisco @ Indianapolis: Niners. Both teams come off losses last week. The Niners lost a heartbreaker to the Cardinals in overtime, and the Colts lost to the Seahawks on Sunday night. The game really could come down to a shootout but the game is putting the Colts as a favorite by 1.5 points. I'll go against Vegas and stick with the Niners who could get their first win of the season.
Tennessee @ Miami: The... Titans. The final game in the early slate puts the Titans and the Dolphins together on the same field. Both teams came off bad losses as the Titans lost to the Texans, Dolphins to the Saints in London. Marcus Mariota will be out of this game and the Titans signed Brandon Weeden to start for this game (somehow a one-legged Colin Kaepernick could play better, oh well) and Jay Cutler is still considered to be a starting quarterback. The game looks awful on paper but I'd rather take the Titans, I hope it ends in a tie or a win for the Titans. Just awful.
Baltimore @ Oakland: Raiders. Both teams came off losses against division rivals. The Ravens lost to the Steelers, and the Raiders lost to the Broncos. The good news is that for the Raiders Derek Carr will miss some time this season, and not the whole season. The Raiders backup E.J. Manuel proved to be a decent backup last week, and the Raiders should win against a bad Ravens team.
Seattle @ LA Rams: Rams. Both teams got good wins last week. The Rams upset the favorited Cowboys at home, and the Seahawks won against the Colts. The Rams are looking to be the biggest story of the season so far, and I feel bad for picking against them last week. Here's a little perspective for you: I turn 29 in November, and Rams Head Coach, Sean McVay, is 31 years old. He must command a lot of respect in that locker room. Keep rolling.
Green Bay @ Dallas: Packers. The marquee game of the week comes as the Packers take on the Cowboys at home in a rematch of the NFC divisional playoff game. The Packers look back to form last week against the Bears for the win, and the Cowboys came off a loss to the Rams. The game will be quite entertaining and should live up to the hype that it did in the playoffs last season. Go Pack Go!
Kansas City @ Houston: Chiefs. The Sunday Night Football matchup features the 4-0 Kansas City Chiefs on the road to take on the Houston Texans. Both teams came off wins last week as the Chiefs beat the Redskins, and the Texans hung 57 points against the Titans. I like the Chiefs in this matchup as the Kareem Hunt vs Texans matchup will be key. The Texans are 14th in the league in rush defense. DeShaun Watson looked good but I feel that Alex Smith will have the last word in the game.
Minnesota @ Chicago: Vikings. Both teams came off losses to their division rivals. The Vikings lost to the Lions, and the Bears to the Packers. The classic Black-And-Blue divison matchup will be prevalent in this game as divisional games always put more energy. The Vikings defense will keep them in the game as the Bears will feature Mitch Trubisky in his first NFL start as the Bears quarterback. The Vikings will win this game I feel regardless of whoever starts as QB for the Vikes.
Local TV Schedule (via 506sports, subject to change):
CBS Single:
Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh
Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh
Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon
FOX Early:
Arizona @ Philadelphia
Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston
FOX Late:
Green Bay @ Dallas
Green Bay @ Dallas
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman
For more on which game will be featured in your area go to NFL Week 5 TV Map
Record:
Week 1: 10-5
Week 1: 10-5
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 11-5
Overall: 39-24
Cardinal Viking, my roommates record:
Week 1: 7-8
Week 1: 7-8
Week 2: 13-3
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 11-5
Overall: 39-24
See you guys next week!
-Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment