Top NFL Picks Against the Apread: Handicapping Week 8: Thursday Night
By Bart
Summary of the Weekend: Things went generally well this weekend. I won my confidence pool for the 2nd week in a row, I snuck out a fantasy win, but more importantly, was over 500 again here on Beargoggles. I suppose it was a little crazy to even touch the Buffalo/Titans game, but I thought the Titans would fall flat after a big win against Pittsburgh. I forgot that they were playing the Buffalo Defense though. The Saints look like the Saints of old with Brees putting up a few this weekend. That was an easy point to give up. Despite Pittsburgh not being as dominant as they once have been, they haven’t fallen to the point of losing two games in a row to below average teams. They responded with a nice 7 point win. For the first, I had 2 pushes in a week – the Bears and Cardinals. I think I was lucky with the Cardinals and not so much with the Bears – so overall, I’ll take it. Many people will be disappointed that the Bears gave up a late touchdown and I’ll just refer them to the 2 they may have given up if they didn’t get the turnovers. Don’t worry about point spreads with the Bears – we’ll just take the Ws for now. On to the Week 8 Thursday Night Contest:
Tampa -6.5 vs. Minnesota: When looking at this particular point spread, the most important thing I looked for was Tampa’s rush defense, which is very good (3rd best against run). Vegas is just baiting you to think that the Vikings can easily win at home by 7. I’m going to go with a closer game and the Bucs slowing down Peterson. Minnesota, if not upset, will only win by 3 or 4.
Weekly Pick “3” – 2-1 Upset Special 0-0-1 Beloved: 0-0-1
SEASON: Pick “3 ” – 9-11-1 Upset Special: 4-2-1 Beloved: 4-2-1 Thursday Night 1-2-1