I slightly improved last week. I went 11-5 which brings my grand total to 21-11 and 66 %. But the season is still young so onto other things.

At this moment I could be playing quarterback for the Steelers. Ben who? Charlie Batch led the Steelers to a victory over the Titans and looked better than…well, past Charlie Batch.

Who would have known we would have been seeing Kerry Collins this early in the season? And without Vince Young having some sort of mental breakdown. Sometimes I wonder why the Titans don’t just let Collins start. So does Vince Young ever start another game for the Titans this season?

It’s all about quarterbacks this week because my main man Kevin Kolb is playing second banana to Michael Vick. And Andy Reid is looking foolish with the media, he seriously looks like some sort of confused security guard. Ah…enough.

Tennessee at NY Giants

Yuck. Is this game watchable? Tennessee didn’t look good last week and their win over the Raiders is nothing to brag about. I’m going to go with the Giants because of homefield advantage and the fact that they have a Manning at quarterback.

Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay

Is Tampa Bay serious? Tampa Bay being 2-0 is a bit strange. I feel like I’m being Punk’d or something. Only one of these teams can remain undefeated and logic says Pittsburgh will win. I think it’s going to be hard for Josh Freeman to look as good as he did the past two weeks against the Steelers and I have faith that even if it’s David Carr playing quarterback for the Steelers they can score somehow.

Cincinnati at Carolina

It’s obvious that I don’t have a good feel on either of these teams so far. Cincy is proving to be at least decent. Decent enough to give fans hope only to crush them but at least decent. And Carolina needs a QB right now. I’m going to have to go with Cincinnati on this one.

Cleveland at Baltimore

Wow Baltimore. Remember when everybody used to think you were good. Like two weeks ago? Ooooh burn. Seriously though, two weeks ago everybody and their mother thought Baltimore was going to the Super Bowl and now we don’t even know if they can win their division. Luckily enough God has smiled down upon Baltimore and given them a chance to bounce back this week by beating the snot out of Cleveland. Baltimore wins this and if they lose by any chance we know that God hates them.

Dallas at Houston

Quick note I didn’t mention earlier: Dan Fouts and that Ian Somethingorother guy that called the Washington/Houston game last week were horrible. They almost ruined watching a really good game for me, CBS why did you send in the B-Team for my game…?

Anyway, this is the game I’ve been looking forward to for a while. If you are like me and you were an Oilers fan and now a Texans fan you hate Cowboys fans. Cowboys fans are repulsive to me. I hate that team with so much passion and I do admit some of it does come from jealousy. Houston is like the quiet honors student without a homecoming date to Dallas’ pretty cheerleader homecoming queen. But guess what, Sunday is like a high school reunion where the honor student is now very successful and has grown into her looks and the cheerleader is stuck in her life ten years ago when she was popular. The Texans should win this one. The Texans offense is amazing and the defense is decent and despite the stats I believe improving. While the Cowboys are in a funk, have coaching problems and a tendency to beat themselves. Reliant Stadium should be rocking and give the Texans a great home field advantage. This game will be great for Texans everywhere. A good football rivalry is always great and the Texans making the Cowboys 0-3 should make Cowboys fans despise the Texans almost as much as we Houstonians hate the Cowboys. Rivalry time!

San Francisco at Kansas City

This might be my pick for most entertaining game of the week. (For fans outside of Houston.) Kansas City has been showing up to games and San Fran is a good team that can’t afford to lose again. My gut tells me to go with KC at home but I think the 49ers have the edge on the coaching front. This will be a good game but I think Singletary and the 49ers go all out to win.

Detroit at Minnesota

Detroit. I’m going with Detroit here. Shaun Hill is not a horrible quarterback and the Lions are looking pretty good. Minnesota does not look good at all. They might as well just hand the ball to Adrian Peterson on every down. It just might work. I’m picking this as might upset this week.

Buffalo at New England

When will Buffalo win a game? Not this week. New England wins.

Atlanta at New Orleans

Why does this pick seem so easy to make? Atlanta is supposed to be a good team right? New Orleans at home just seems like a sure win against Atlanta. Is Atlanta bad or am I not being fair to them? Only time will tell. Or Sportscenter.

Washington at St. Louis

Donovon McNaab looked good and that Kyle Shanahan offense looks great. I hate Clinton Portis and the running game though, however a bad running game didn’t stop the Shanahan offense in Houston. Washington should win.

Philadelphia at Jacksonville

Vick is back and looks almost better than ever. Poor Kevin Kolb didn’t even have a chance. I hope he gets a chance somewhere because I doubt it will be in Philly now. The Jags are good but I don’t think they can stop the Vick fueled Philly offense. I say Philly wins this one but don’t get on the Philly bandwagon yet.

Oakland at Arizona

Here’s this weeks battle of somebody has to win. I’m going with Oakland because they are actually better than Arizona. That’s right Oakland is better than at least one team in the NFL.

San Diego at Seattle

Seattle might be under-rated and San Diego might be over-rated but I don’t think that equates to Seattle winning (even at home). San Diego should win this one by a couple of touchdowns or they don’t deserve to go to the playoffs.

Indianapolis at Denver

Denver does not have what it takes to beat the football robots from Indianapolis. I doubt Denver’s offense can keep up with Peyton-bot.

NY Jets at Miami

I don’t have a good feeling about this game. Not in a strange ominous way where I think something evil is going to happen but I don’t know who has a substantial advantage. It all depends on which Mark Sanchez shows up to play this week. The average Mark Sanchez or the horrible Mark Sanchez. Nonetheless I’m going with the Jets on this one because I think they have the defensive edge.

Green Bay at Chicago

A good classic old school NFL rivalry…that seems a bit boring at the moment. Monday night seems to bring out the best in teams though. Green Bay will win this one. But what I’m really hoping for is the return of Mike Martz vertical passing game. This would be the perfect time for Martz’ offense to return to form. We’ll see.

As for playoffs, we in Houston can but dream. But the AFC wildcard chase is more crowded than an elevator holding the Patriots offensive line. This might be the best last week of the season in a while. I can’t wait to watch some hardcore, heartfelt football on Sunday.

For those people hoping Belichick will play a soft game against the Texans on Sunday can keep dreaming. There’s no way Mean Ol’ Belichick is going to let another playoff contender just waltz their way to a win. Maybe he might rest the starters if they’re ahead but probably in the fourth quarter. People claim he did it in Miami a couple years back but Miami wasn’t going to the playoffs and Nick Saban is part of the Belichick mafia. Gary Kubiak won’t be so lucky. Kubiak is going to have to outwit the Pats. He’s going to have to play aggressive. He’s going to have to prove that he’s the coach that can lead this team into the playoffs. This is the defining moment of Kubiak’s coaching career in Houston. Houston fans will remember this game win or lose. If he losses, he might be back next season as head coach but no one will respect him and the whole season would be just waiting for him to mess up to kick him out of town. If he wins, he lives to see another day and he might be a hero if we sneak into that last wildcard spot.

Indy over Buffalo.

New Orleans over Carolina.

Cleveland over Jacksonville.

Houston over New England.

Minnesota over Giants.

San Fran over St. Louis.

Atlanta over Tampa Bay.

Pittsburgh over Miami.

Chicago over Detroit.

Philly over Dallas.

Kansas City over Denver.

Baltimore over Oakland.

Tennessee over Seattle.

San Diego over Washington.

Green Bay over Arizona.

Cincinnati over Jets.

Chargers over Titans.

Bengals over Chiefs.

Falcons over Bills.

The Pack over Seahawks.

Texans over Dolphins not because we need it, because I believe it.

Steelers over Ravens.

Giants over Panthers.

Pats over Jags.

Browns over Raiders.

Saints take frustration out on Bucs.

Cardinals over Rams.

‘Niners over Lions.

Eagles over Broncos.

Colts over Jets.

Cowboys over Redskins.

Vikings over Bears.

This was sitting in my folder of drafts…I’m still getting used to this new format stuff. This was to be published on the 12th, I didn’t make any changes scouts honor.

New Orleans over ATL

Baltimore over Detroit

Green Bay over Chicago

Houston over Seattle

Indy over Denver

Miami over Jacksonville

KC over Buffalo

Minnesota over Cincy

New England over Carolina

Tampa Bay over the Jets

St. Louis over Tennessee

Oakland over Washington

San Diego over Dallas

Giants over Philly

Arizona over San Francisco

Chicago over St. Louis.

Cincy over Detroit.

Carolina over Tampa.

Pittsburgh over Oakland.

New Orleans over Washington.

New England over Miami.

Atlanta over Philly.

Indy over Tennessee.

If Tennessee wins this one, I will cry. I’d prefer the Colts to be perfect than the Titans and VY to be on a roll.

Denver over KC.

Houston over Jacksonville.

San Diego over Cleveland.

Giants over Cowboys.

San Fran over Seattle.

Minnesota over Arizona.

Baltimore over Green Bay.

Green Bay over Detroit

Dallas over Oakland

New York Giants over Denver

Atlanta over Tampa

Miami over Buffalo

Philly over Washington

Seattle over St. Louis

Carolina over New York Jets

Cincy over Cleveland

Houston over Indy…please

SD over KC

San Fran over Jacksonville

Minnesota over Chicago

Tennessee over Arizona

Pittsburgh over Baltimore

New England over New Orleans

Miami over Carolina

This is going to be a good game but in the end I bet on the Dolphins run defense and their own running game winning the game for them.

Indy loses to Baltimore

Alright I’m picking their first loss. Baltimore needs to win some games and Indy is showing their weaknesses.

Dallas over Washington

Both of these coaches could be out of a job at the end of the season but this one will show who’s on the hot seat first.

Detroit over Cleveland

Wow, officially the worst game of the season. I’m going with Detroit because they have home field advantage.

Green Bay over San Fran

I’m thinking the Pack will pull through and get a tough one over the ‘Niners.

Jags over Bills

The Jags should win, but it doesn’t make me happy. A team on the rise in the AFC South could mean the Texans have another team to contend with for a wild card spot. I’m going to pray the Bills will play good football this week.

Pittsburgh over KC

Both teams need a win. Pittsburgh to stay in contention. KC to stay out of the NFL basement.

Minnesota over Seattle

The Vikings are too good to lose to a team that lacks spark.

Giants over Falcons

I’m still sticking with the Giants. They’ve been through a slump but they have to get better…right?

New Orleans over Tampa Bay

The Saints should make easy work of this team, even if they’re on the rise.

Arizona over St. Louis

Chalk it up.

Denver over San Diego

Ooh, this one took a while to pick. It should be a tough game but I’m banking on Denver’s defense winning it.

New England over the Jets

The Pats will punk the Jets for that loss earlier in the season.

Cincy over Oakland

Seriously this game might be more watchable than we think. Are the Bengals a Super Bowel contender? Perhaps.

Philly over Chicago

Just cause.

Houston over the Titans

No bird flipping here. We’ll win this one and it will be just as tough as the first win.

Speaking of mistakes, in my rush to get out of town I picked the Giants to beat the Jaguars. That’s a solid pick…if the two teams were playing this week. The Jags beat the JETS, the other New York team. How did I let that slide? Was I drunk? I’m going to have to take a loss on that one.

This week I went 10-4. Which brings my season total to 91-52 and my winning percent is 64 %. Not bad for a hobby.

Face it, the Redskins aren’t winning any upset games this season. Even though he is talented Jason Campbell is going to lose his job. The Redskins are the most disappointing team in the league.

Bears beat Cards

This is going to be a close game. I think these teams matchup well and the main reason I’m choosing the Bears is because they have home field advantage. Winning in Chicago can be tough for a team that plays in Arizona.

Ravens over the Cardiac Cats

This week five matchup was amazing. The Bengals are a good team and could very well win this game. But I’m going with the Ravens monster offense in this one. The Ravens want this win after getting a game taken from them. My bet would be this game won’t be as close as the last but it will be a good test for the Bengals.

Texans over Colts

Alright, half of my decision of picking the Texans is because whenever I want to pick against them I’m wrong. I think this game could be a shoot out. Matt Schaub and the Texans will find a way to spread the ball around (even with Owen Daniels out). The Texans have a good receiving core and can pass. Peyton Manning and the Colts will be…well Peyton Manning and the Colts. It won’t be a classic shoot out, punters will get some field time but I think it could be a game decided by who has the ball last. It’s going to be good, Go Texans.

Chiefs lose to Jags

Nothing would make me happier than the Jags losing to a bad team but the Chiefs are too bad. The Jags have more talent and should make easy work of the Chiefs.

New England over Miami

New England needs to win this game. Actually they really want to win this game. I think this game could go either way but my money’s on the Pats.

Bucs lose to the Pack

So enter Josh Freeman, the Bucs rookie quarterback, the third quarterback and the second by the name of Josh. The Bucs might be better but probably not this week. This will be a frustrating game for Freeman and Bucs fans.

New Orleans stay undefeated against Panthers

I keep hearing about a Panthers upset, but I’m not buying it. The Panthers defense might be improving and the offense is starting to click but the Saints are amazing and still the better team. The Panthers might give Brees unexpected trouble but I think that’s the closest this game is getting to an upset.

Seahawks over Lions

The Seahawks need a win to get going and they will probably take it against a struggling Lions team.

Giants over Chargers

The Chargers are on a winning streak and the Giants are digging themselves a hole. Not to mention that this is the “2005 Let’s Swap QBs” Bowl. This is going to be one tough fought game. I think that the Giants are the better team so I’m going with them.

Titans lose to ‘Niners

Looking at my picks I’m thinking this is going to be another tough week. Most of these games are too close to call for me. This is another good match up and I’m picking Niners because the Titans defense has been horrible. I want to go with Chris Johnson running  to a win but my gut tells me Niners will find a way.

Philly over Dallas

Hey, let’s get two streaky teams and give them a primetime game! I’m going with Eagles because their defense should fair better than Dallas’. Oh man, I’m going to consult a grammar book but I’m pretty sure that apostrophe is correct there. Harkins? Dallas is tough to pick in games you think they can lose on their own. Who ever wins this game gets to be Division Champ until New York beats them.

Pittsburgh beats Denver

This could very well be a nice good defensive game. I like shoot outs as much as the next guy but every now and then I need a good old school defensive smack down. While I do think Denver is good I’m not sure if their as good as their record indicates right now. I think Pittsburgh takes ‘em down a notch on MNF. Plus Coach Mike Tomlin is 4-0 on Monday nights.

Now let me be clear: I’m not better than Bill Simmons, you shouldn’t use this as some sort of reference to bet and since I’m bragging my picks might be bad for the last half of the season.

I’m going to go to sleep. I feel good about my first half picks and the Rockets beat the Jazz tonight. All you fools who thought the Rockets were going to be some chump team can chew on that. G’night.