One New York Life

L/L/W – Ravens +3 over Titans, 13-10, Titans cover. Under 34.5: Full disclosure: I missed this game. I was out and about in Boston and we didn’t get home until later. So… I’ll assume it’s what I should have expected. That is — Kerry Collins again getting his soul wholly owned by the Ravens Defense. Although, I’d like to congratulate the NFL on being heavy-handed in their assists this year. They’re really up front about who they want to move through the playoffs.
Joe: Titans cover. Over 34.5.: L/L/L
Cam: Baltimore outright. Under 34.5.: W/W/W

W/W/L – Cardinals +10 over Panthers, 33-13, Cardinals outright: I can’t take much credit for this pick because it wasn’t matching up the teams and finding a favorable match-up. It just fit with the theme of this season and the relative craziness that’s gone on in Saturday night games. That said, should any of us really be surprised Jake Delhomme handed in an epically bad performance in a big game?
Joe: Panthers cover. Over 48.5.: L/L/L
Cam: Cardinals +10. Under 48.5.: L/W/W

L/W/W – Eagles +4 over Giants, 23-11, Eagles +4, Under 40: So, I was right about the game plan. Brian Westbrook only gained 36 yards this entire game. Unfortunately, McNabb was somewhat up to the challenge, picking apart the secondary on third downs. One 3rd quarter drive featured conversions on 3rd and 20 and 3rd and 10. If you’d told me that the Giants defense was going to shut down Westbrook and grab two picks from McNabb, I would have assumed the Giants easily won. The offense, on the other hand, had nothing. The Eagles defense simply let the Giants’ wide-outs run whatever routes they needed to in single coverage and had the safeties ready to stop Jacobs when he broke through the line. They gave up multiple double-digit runs to Jacobs but just sat back and waited for Eli to pass. Also, the Giants decided to have a guy who can’t make field goals consistently over 40 yards try to kick field goals over 40 yards in to the wind. They should have just went for it and saved the 10 yards of field position. This goes back to what I said about the Dolphins last week — When something works all season long, why do you change it in the playoffs? I expect the Giants PR machine to go in to hyper-drive over the next few weeks about how “everyone deserves a second chance.”
Joe: Giants cover. Over 40: L/L/L
Cam: Giants cover. Over 40: L/L/L

W/W/L – Steelers -6 over Chargers, 35-24, Steelers cover, Under 38: Can we pencil in B-Roth as the toughest quarterback to come in to the league in recent memory? No real shock here — the Chargers weren’t good enough to beat the Colts without an assist from the officiating crew. Good game for next week.
Joe: Chargers +6. Over 38: W/L/W
Cam: Chargers outright. Under 38: L/L/L

Standings
Straight Up
Cam: 1-3 (4-4)
Tom: 2-2 (3-5)
Joe: 1-3 (1-7)

Against The Spread
Cam: 2-2 (4-4)
Tom: 3-1 (4-4)
Joe: 0-4 (0-8)

Over/Under
Cam: 2-2 (4-4)
Joe: 1-3 (3-5)
Tom: 2-2 (2-6)