I haven't usually been interested in calling the winners and loosers before games. We know how injury prone that sport is. The man assigned to pick these games has a fool's errand. I have been more interested in watch how these things play out in real time.
However, I have grown board with this routine. To try to luster my 2010 season up a bit, I have decided to lay down my predictions regarding winners and loosers. It could be fun. I am interested in testing my perceptions formally. I want to see how accurate I am, and if my accuracy can be improved.
Explanation
This is a pretty easy week. I don't see a lot of nail-biters here. Dolphins and Vikings produced a bit of sweat. Rams v Raiders also produced a little sweat. Patriots v Jets produced a lot of sweat, and is probably the most difficult pick on the board. Right beside that is the Giants v Colts matchup, which is also sweat provoking. I think the rest is pretty much straightforward.
We'll see how big the upsets are this weekend, and there are always a few upsets.
Dolphins v Vikings a is a bit of a tough call. I believe the Dolphins are much improved. I believe the Vikings are down from last season. I think they are meeting in the middle, which makes this a tough call, but I am going with my AFC East favorite: The Dolphins.
Rams v Raiders is a tough one to hadicap. Understand my position: These are two cellar dwellers, non-play off teams, teams that will not factor, organizations that don't have much going for them. With that said, of these two teams with little going for them, I think the Rams have the better Quarterback and I know they have the better Runningback. The Raiders just got royaled with cheese by the Titans, giving the Rams a defensive blueprint of how to deal with the Raiders. Against these factors is the Black Hole. This is almost a pick'em game, but I give the Rams a 0.5 point advantage.
One quick side-note on the Rams: I had to chuckle over the drama raised by one St. Louis sports rag. The writer dramatized the Rams' season as being "on the brink of another disaster" if the Rams lose to the Raiders. Certainly, no one wants to lose to the Raiders, but I must quibble with the drama-queen presentation. What were you expecting in 2010? Were you expecting a 'great leap forward'? Were you expected a 'big turnaround'? If so, you might need drug testing as a prelude to formal therapy. How can you expect that when we did not make any of the real moves necessary to produce such a turnaround?
I wanted to call pick'em on the Patriots v Jets. I believe both of those teams are down a step from where they were last season. I do not think either is a contender for Super Bowl 45. Either or both may make the playoffs, but neither will be a playoff factor. With that said, the Patriots are coming off a solid win, and the Jets are coming away from a 1-point arse-whoooooping. Make no mistake, they got whoooooped by the Ravens. Ergo, I make the Patriots the 0.25 point favor in this game.
Giants v Colts is extremely difficult to handicap. Ultimately I am going with the Giants because I believe the Super Bowl looser's Jinx is on the Colts.
