NFL Picks: Week Nine

Not sure whose book this is, I just felt like it was time for a new picture. I also felt like it was time for the return of this column, which as you know took a one week absence.

The absence was for two reasons. One, my picks have been terrible. Two, I have never received a positive comment about this column, as some of my most loyal readers admit they skip through it.

But I come to you this week with a renewed confidence. Last week, I had the total point total in my league, picking only three games wrong (Dal/TB, Jax/Cle, SF/Sea). I'm in the think of the points race with half the season remaining. I'm going to win this thing, and you're going to have the chance to go through that process with me.

Feel free to start skimming now.

This week, I'll talk you through my pick process. The first step is simple. Find out who plays Detroit and Cincinnati, and issue the points accordingly.

14 points - Chicago over Detroit
13 points - Jacksonville over Cincinnati

Following that, find some other teams that are bad, such as Seattle and Kansas City, and then look at the matchups. Seattle plays Philadelphia, and there's no way the Seahawks come out on top in that one.

12 points - Philadelphia over Seattle

I'm not as confident in the Kansas City / Tampa Bay game, so let's knock them down a few points.

9 points - Tampa over Kansas City

So now we need to find some games to assign to the 11 and 10 spots.

11 points - Atlanta over Oakland
10 points - New York Giants over Dallas

There we go. The rest of the games are pretty close, so you have to find some things to separate them apart. Brett Favre is a terrible quarterback, so this one is easy.

8 points - Buffalo over New York Jets

Now this next one is a little interesting. Apparently there is a statistic that says however the Redskins do the week before the Presidential Election determines which party wins. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party maintains office. If they lose, the challenging party takes the White House. Well, I'm an Obama guy, so....

7 points - Pittsburgh over Washington

The next one is interesting, as it's the New England / Indianapolis rivalry renewed. Granted, this year is a little different with the Colts sucking and Tom Brady hurt. The Patriots were pretty convincing last week, and the Colts haven't looked good in awhile. So I want to pick the Patriots, but I'm going with the theory that when you think you know something, you don't know anything. So let's go Colts here, at home.

6 points - Indianapolis over New England

The next four games here are a toss-up, and they are barely for any points. So let's just randomly assign points to teams.

5 points - Cleveland over Baltimore
4 points - Denver over Miami
3 points - Minnesota over Houston
2 points - St. Louis over Arizona

Or, I guess I could have just went with all the home teams.

And lastly, it's the Packers / Titans game in Nashville, which I have repeatedly mentioned I will be at this weekend. Any other week, I'd probably give a few points to the Titans, but this week I have to stay loyal to the Pack. Plus, if the outcome isn't going my way, I can always run out on the field and get arrested to disrupt the Titans momentum.

1 points - Green Bay over Tennessee