FRIDAY FOOTBALL PICKS!

Last week I was 14-7; I am now 131-79-1 for the year.
Let's go:

NFL PICKS

Pittsburgh at Atlanta.  My pick:  FALCONS   30-27.  Who knows with either of these teams just who will show up?  The Steelers have been up and down.  They were up last week; so now they're scheduled to be down.

Washington at NY Giants.  My pick:  GIANTS   27-10.  Both teams have had problems.  The Giants' issues have been well-documented.  But last week's win in Tennessee showed--New York is still playing for their embattled coach.  I think they'll play this week, too.

Miami at New England.  My pick:  PATRIOTS   31-10.  New England is very, very tough at home.  Last week's win in San Diego, where for a good while they shut down the Chargers' offense, shows their defense is coming around, too.

Oakland at Kansas City.  My pick:  CHIEFS   24-14.  The Raiders have improved a bit under Tony Sparano.  But the Chiefs are tough at home, still have something to play for, and won't make the mistakes the Niners did last week.

Houston at Indianapolis.  My pick:  COLTS  24-20.  I expect this to be a close, tough battle.  Houston's defense is tough.  J.J. Watt is an amazing player.  Houston's playoff chances are kind of slim, but they continue to play hard.  They gave the Colts a real battle earlier this year in Houston.  But--expect Andrew Luck again to find a way to pull another game out.

Jacksonville at Baltimore.  My pick:  RAVENS  28-7.  I don't expect Baltimore, with it being crunch time for the playoffs, to allow the Jags to give them too much trouble.

Green Bay at Buffalo.  My pick:  PACKERS   21-17.  Again, I expect a tough battle here; this game is in Buffalo, and the Bills have a very tough defense, capable of pressuring Aaron Rodgers.  But you just have to think that Rodgers and his many weapons will prevail here in a bruising game.

Tampa Bay at Carolina.  My pick:  UPSET ALERT--BUCCANEERS  27-21.  The reason:  Tampa Bay is still playing hard.  They have weapons at wide receiver in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans.  Carolina had a big win last week on the road.  But now--letdown?  And I would be shocked in Cam Newton plays; I expect he won't due to his injuries.  There's going to be an upset somewhere this week; this could be one spot where it happens.

Cincinnati at Cleveland.  My pick:  BENGALS  20-16.  Who knows with these teams?  Again, up one week; down the next.  I know--Cincy had a bad loss last week at home.  Cleveland whipped them on the road earlier this year.  But--the Bengals, yes, had a bad week last week.  Expect them to bounce back and play better.  They've done it before.  And if Johnny Manziel starts for Cleveland?  Remember--he's a rookie.

NY Jets at Tennessee.  My pick:  JETS  17-10.   Because the Jets seem to be in slightly less of a mess than do the Titans.  Someone has to win!

Denver at San Diego.  My pick:  UPSET ALERT:  CHARGERS  31-27.  I know, San Diego lost last week.  I know, Denver has been winning.  But--something seems slightly off with Denver's offense, especially the passing game.  The execution isn't quite there.  Remember too--Philip Rivers has a history of giving the Broncos' defense fits.  Look for Rivers and the Bolts to pull the upset.

Minnesota at Detroit.  My pick:  LIONS  31-21.  The Lions have a formula for games like this, against lesser teams:  throw the ball to Calvin (Johnson), and have their front four pressure the opposing passer.  I can see it working again here.

San Francisco at Seattle.  My pick:  SEAHAWKS   24-6.  The Seattle defense is flying around, and looking pretty dominant.  On the other side, Colin Kaepernick seems to be in a mess; he's not playing well.  That's a bad combo for the Niners as they head up to the Legion of Boom.  Hard to see Seattle _not_ dominating this game.

Dallas at Philadelphia.  My pick:  EAGLES   31-24.  I think both these teams are good; there's no doubt the Cowboys have exceeded expectations this year.  But I just have a feeling that the Eagles kind of have their number.

New Orleans at Chicago.  My pick:  SAINTS   27-23.  Both these teams have problems.  The Saints were horrible--brutal--last week.  Yet they still have a shot at the playoffs, and I just can't see Sean Payton and Drew Brees allowing them to be that bad again.