by Michael DeLuca
That’s right, another winning week for the Duke in week 8! That brings the season record to 30-22 against the spread with seven winning weeks out of eight. Last week, I told you the Browns would beat the Jags straight up, let you know that the Giants would beat the Santonio “Panama Red Zone” Holmesless Steelers, and that Tennessee would solidify their #1 Power Ranking with a big Monday Night victory against the Colts. So, once again, forget calling that 1-900 number and pulling out your credit card. Brandon Lang’s got The Duke’s Picks bookmarked at this point. Here come the best picks on the planet…or at least the cheapest. Home teams are in caps, Duke’s Picks are in bold.
CLEVELAND BROWNS -2 Baltimore Ravens – I’ve been riding the Browns bandwagon for several weeks now and it’s been paying off. Their defense is much improved from last season. Shaun Rodgers has been a huge addition, both literally and figuratively. Expect a close one, you’ll probably be walking away with a one point victory against the spread.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS -4.5 Houston Texans – Houston is beginning to look like I thought they might when the season began. Unfortunately, a week one snoozer with the Steelers threw them for a loop, but they’re back on track and Minnesota isn’t blowing anybody away.
BUFFALO BILLS -5 NY Jets – The Bills have several key injuries that will allow the NY Jets to stay close in this one, the most signifcant being DE Aaron Schoebel.
CHICAGO BEARS -12.5 Detroit Lions – In week 5, Chicago won this matchup by 27 points…in Detroit!
TENNESSEE TITANS -5 Green Bay Packers – At what point do Vegas oddsmakers look past the fact that Kerry Collins is quarterback and just realize the Titans are the cream of the crop.
DENVER BRONCOS -3.5 Miami Dolphins – Denver’s defense is ridiculously bad and things are about to get even worse without Champ Bailey.
Atlanta Falcons -3 OAKLAND RAIDERS - Falcons may be playing some decent football, but they still aren’t ready to be road favorites.
Here are my weekly disagreements, one of which will be right, one of which will be wrong (there is a trend):
The Ravens will win and cover. Kellen Winslow is playing. He is like AIDS to the Browns this season going 0-4 when he plays. Anderson will have another crappy game and Lewis isn’t running for squat.
The Raiders suck .The Falcons will run all over them and when they don’t expect Matt Ryan to have a big game.
Tom, you’ve had quite a knack for sniffin out the weak spots of the Duke’s Picks. The Raiders is the game that I’m weakest on out of the seven, but I’m pretty high on the Browns this week and really hoping they cover. Also, I’ve got Jamal in my fantasy league so I hope he runs for a little more than squat.