NFL 2009 Week 11 picks

Bye bye, byes!

We’re done with the annoying off-weeks, so that means your favorite team is playing ever Sunday (or Thursday or Monday or Saturday) from here on out.

I did ok with my picks last week (10-5 week, 96-48 season). This week, I want to do great!

MIAMI @ CAROLINA
This is a sneakily interesting game. (When the hell did Carolina get to 4-5?!) I’m going with the “surging” Panthers mostly because the Dolphins are going to be hurting big time without RB/Wildcat specialist Ronnie Brown (pictured, left) for the rest of the year.

WASHINGTON @ DALLAS
I LOVE how frisky Washington was last week and, even after last week’s bad loss in Green Bay, the Cowboys are feeling a little too good about themselves. A loss at home to the Skins ought to REALLY wake them up.

SAN FRANCISCO @ GREEN BAY
Sorry, but barely (bearly?) beating sorry Chicago at home is not enough for me to hop back on the bandwagon.

PITTSBURGH @ KANSAS CITY
Pittsburgh was going to win this game anyway, but you’ve got to think they’ll be extra annoyed after being totally shut down by the Bengals last week.

ATLANTA @ N.Y. GIANTS
The Giants have already gone through what the Cowboys are about to go through and what the Eagles are going through – the “what is THE MATTER with them?” phase. Watch out!

NEW ORLEANS @ TAMPA BAY
It really is a shame our defense is so horrendous, because that rookie QB can play a little.

BUFFALO @ JACKSONVILLE
To paraphrase my Miami @ Carolina item, when the hell did Jacksonville get to 5-4?! It’ll be 6-4 after they beat Buffalo, led by…whoever’s coaching them now. (Like you’d know the guy’s name without Googling…it IS a guy, right? It HAS to be, otherwise I would’ve definitely heard of the first female head coach in the NFL.)

INDIANAPOLIS @ BALTIMORE
I hate to repeat myself, but I’m just going to go ahead and keep picking Indy until they lose because I like being right.

SEATTLE @ MINNESOTA
Even if Seattle weren’t kinda terrible on the road, I’d take the Vikes.

ARIZONA @ ST. LOUIS
Arizona’s starting to put things together – which is why I’m going with the suddenly lively Rams! (Arizona won’t put the NFC West away just yet, forcing us to pay attention to that horrendous division until the very end.)

N.Y. JETS @ NEW ENGLAND
For the record, I liked Belichick going for it on 4th and 2. He put the responsibility for that game squarely on his shoulders. If he punts and the Colts drive 70 yards for the win, people blame the Pats D, and not the coach. By doing what he did, he put the target on HIS back, despite the fact that there was no law that said the Patriots D couldn’t have risen to the occasion and, you know, stopped the Colts from marching 29 yards into the end zone. Now all the heat is on Belichick, who can definitely take it because it’s pretty clear he doesn’t give a damn what you or I think.

Oh yeah, this game – I say the Pats are a little annoyed and win by a score of about 48-7.

CINCINNATI @ OAKLAND
I WANT to pick Oakland for an upset because the Bengals are primed to get complacent and lose – but the Raiders are just SO bad.

SAN DIEGO @ DENVER
I see Denver has begun their traditional late-season collapse early this year. Is this more or less painful for Broncos fans?

PHILADELPHIA @ CHICAGO
And now’s about the time the Eagles put a nice little run together before Donovan McNabb and company break fans’ hearts in December/January.

TENNESSEE @ HOUSTON
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. I’m going to keep picking Tennessee until they lose! (Ok, so no one has ever said that, but I think they’ll beat Houston.)