Week 14 NFL ATS Picks

If you hadn't noticed, I hit a bit of a blogging wall after finishing my 2008-09 countdown. As Kevin Hunt suggested, I took some time off from being unstoppable, but after a couple weeks it simply became a case of not getting any ideas to write about. Then, earlier this evening I came up with a good way to kill two birds with one stone and get back into the blogging swing...at least a little bit.

This year, for the first time, I joined an NFL pick'em league. Not just any league, an against the spread pick'em league, commisioned by the one and only Luke Florence. Not only does Luke keep league standings, he also encourages members to make comments for the games each week, posts the best ones on his blog, and has several awards based on those comments. For all the info you could ever want on this league, check out Luke's blog.

The reason I give you that background info is that this entry will simply consist of my week 14 picks and comments. Usually, my comments have no structure and consist of whatever comes to mind when trying to decide who to pick. I have attempted to use themes a couple weeks, such as Halloween candy and 'faces'(Kris Brown face, Jim Zorn face, etc.), but usually I just say something random.

If you happened to check out the most recent standings on Luke's blog, you noticed I'm not exactly lighting the world on fire. In fact, I've had several weeks of poor picks, setting me back near the .500 mark and several games out of the money. I figured a theme week was in order to try and jump start my picks, or at least give me some comment material.

I decided that for each game I would compare the player who wears 13 for each team and pick whoever's team won that comparison, the reason being that I wore 13 during my glory days playing high school hockey. Unfortunately, this didn't go nearly as well as I hoped it would...you'll see what I mean.

NEW ORLEANS (-9.5) @ Atlanta
A very anti-climatic start...Murray State's own Rod Harper, who is on injured reserve, versus no one from the Falcons. Even without Rod, the Saints will probably 'race' around my maimed Dirty Birds.

Denver @ INDIANAPOLIS (-7.5)
No 13s here, but 31 presents an intriguing rookie matchup between corner Darcel McBath and Donald Brown. Edge has to go to Brown though, UConn might've had a real team this year if he hadn't left early...they certainly would have had less trouble with the Bobcats and "Two-Yard Theo."

Seattle @ HOUSTON (-6.5)
13-less again, 31 sees Houston's Bernard Pollard and Seattle's Ken Lucas. Not very familiar with either player, so I'll go with the Texans...Pollard's name at least sounds like one I've heard.

Carolina @ NEW ENGLAND (-13.5)
Starting to get frustrated...31 Brandon Meriweather gets the nod over fellow DB Richard Marshall, not only by direct comparison but also the fact that he'll have Jake Delhomme throwing his way.

BUFFALO @ Kansas City (-0.5)
Bills get this one by default thanks to receiver Steve Johnson. I don't even know what else to say.

Detroit @ BALTIMORE (-13.5)
For this one I'll use Detroit's #11(Daunte Culpepper) and Baltimore's #7(Billy Cundiff), two numbers I've also worn while playing hockey. Even with Culpepper stepping back in to start, I still say Cundiff accounts for more scoring.

CINCINNATI @ Minnesota (-7.5)
For this game I'll use the next prime number after 13, 17. Shayne Graham v. Greg Lewis...sorry Greg, no steakhouse named a dish after you as far as I know.

New York Jets (-2.5) @ TAMPA BAY
No 13s again, but all I had to see was the three punters on the Bucs' roster, one who is named Dirk. Count it.

Green Bay (-2.5) @ CHICAGO
Nobody for Green Bay, Johnny Knox for Chicago. Get owned. I just wish I actually believed the Bears could pull it off.

Miami @ JACKSONVILLE (-3.5)
Why on earth am I doing this failure of a theme...I'll take the Jags for no reason at all.

St. Louis @ TENNESSEE (-13.5)
I guess I'll use lowest number on the roster...Rob Bironas narrowly defeating Josh Brown in an instant classic.

WASHINGTON (-0.5) @ Oakland
13x2=26...Clinton Portis-Stanford Routt...who the hell is Stanford Routt?

SAN DIEGO @ Dallas (-3.5)
No luck here, but San Diego has a rookie defensive tackle who went to college in Ontario...the Chargers can thank Vaughn Martin when they're celebrating in the large dome.

Philadelphia @ NEW YORK GIANTS (-1.5)
I don't know the origin of the name Ramses Barden, but his number is all that matters...G-MEN!

ARIZONA (-3.5) @ San Francisco
FINALLY!!! Kurt Warner and Shaun Hill close the week with an epic 13 matchup! Seriously though, Warner's way better...even with gloves on both his hands.