Hognostications-Week 5

By Hoss | October 4th, 2008

Wow, wasn’t last weekend a great week for football?  Congrats go out to tribeofjudah and Fios for an impressive 11-2 record.  Many spots have changed last week and it’s definitely getting interesting.  Rest assured though, there is a lot of football yet to be played.

For those questioning the T.V. or magazine “expert” picks each week and why they pick one way or the other, here’s a little hint for ya, they’re not experts.  If you really want to see some expert picks, I invite you to take a gander at the hognosticating leaders.  THESE are the true experts.  We have hognosticators with a 70% average or better after 4 weeks.    

That said, here are my week 5 picks:

Tennessee at Baltimore- The Titans (4-0) continue to impress.  Winning soundly last week against the Vikings.  The Ravens (2-1) got their first loss last week against the Steelers in OT.  Look for a close game but I’ll go with the home team.  Pick Titans

Kansas City at Carolina-The Chiefs (1-3) man-handled the Broncos last week 33-19.  The Panthers(3-1) beat Atlanta last week 24-9.  The Panthers will be too much for K.C. this week.  Pick Panthers

Chicago at Detroit- The Bears (2-2) come off their win against the Westbook-less Eagles last week 24-20. The Bears offense and defense is middle of the road.  The Lions (0-3), God bless em, has the league’s worst defense and have lost each game by an average of 18 points.  If the Bears lose this game they deserve to.  Pick Bears

Atlanta at Green Bay-  Atlanta (2-2) has found their groove….average.  They have beaten Detroit(13) and Kansas City(24), and lost to Tampa Bay(15) and Carolina(15).  The Packers (2-2) have beaten Minnesota(5) and Detoit(23), and have lost to Dallas(11) and Tampa Bay(9).  Look for Green Bay to beat Atlanta by 15.  Pick Packers 

Indianapolis at Houston-The Colts (1-2) are coming off a much needed bye week.  They have only beaten the Vikings by 3 points and are hoping to regroup.  The Texans (0-3) played well last week against the Jaguars, but I’m afraid it won’t be enough to beat the hungry Colts.  Pick Colts

San Diego at Miami-The Chargers (2-2) have won two in a row and looks as if they have found their footing.  San Diego is 8th in the NFL in offense, but rank 28th in defense.  Miami (1-2) is coming off their bye week.  The Dolphins rank 13th in the NFL in offense and are 15th in defense.  Can the Phins go 2 in a row?  Nah.  Pick Chargers   

Seattle at New York Giants-Seattle (1-2) are having difficulties this year.  They have lost to the Bills and 49ers… with their only win coming from the lowly Rams. The Giants (3-0) sit alone on top of the toughest division in the NFL.  Look for the ‘Hawks fans to scamper home with a 1-3 record.  Pick Giants

Washington at Philadelphia- The Redskins (3-1) come off an impressive win over the Cowboys last week in Dallas.  Last week was their best team performance and they seem to improve each week.  After this game, all the NFC East teams must come to FedEx Field.  The Eagles (2-2) sit in last place in the division but don’t let that fool you.  With McNabb and Westbrook in the line-up this could be a nail-biter.  Campbell and company will continue to turn heads after defeating the NFL’s 3rd ranked defense at home.  Pick WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Tampa Bay at Denver-The Bucs (3-1) have won 3 in a row against Atlanta, Chicago and Green Bay.  Their only loss came in week 1 against the Saints.  Denver (3-1) is coming off a beating at the hands of the Chiefs.  This should be an exciting game against two top teams and could easily go either way.  Pick Broncos 

Buffalo at Arizona- The Bills (4-0) have a 1 1/2 game lead over the Patriots.  They have beaten Seattle, Jaguars, Oakland and St. Louis.  Arizona (2-2) seem to be up and down this year.  Which Cards team will show up?  Pick Bills

Cincinnati at Dallas-The Bengals (0-4) are in a total free-fall.  Their offense is ranked 31 in the NFL.  Didn’t they used to be known for their offense?  Dallas (3-1) were brought back to earth last week courtesy of the WASHINGTON REDSKINS.  I pity any team who has to face the Cowboys this week.  Pick Cowboys

New England at San Francisco-The Patriots (2-1) come off their bye following an embarrassing loss to the Dolphins.  Their offense is ranked 28th and their defense is 21st in the NFL.  San Francisco (2-2) has improved but are still not quite there yet.  Pick Patriots

Pittsburgh at Jacksonville-Pittsburgh (3-1) seems to be struggling but still do just enough to pull out the wins.  Thanks to their defense, 2nd in the NFL, the Steelers haven’t needed much out of their 29th ranked offense to win games.  The Jaguars (2-2) have also lost a step this year.  Their defense is ranked 18 and the offense 23rd in the NFL.  This could go either way, but the Jags have owned the Steelers recently.  Pick Jaguars

Minnesota-New Orleans- The Vikings (1-3) have lost to Green Bay(5), Indy(3), and Tennessee(13) while beating Carolina(10).  Tough schedule so far for the Vikes. The Saints (2-2) have lost to the WASHINGTON REDSKINS(5) and Denver(2), while beating Tampa Bay(4) and San Fran(14). This should be a close Monday night game.  Pick Saints

Bye week: N.Y. Jets, Oakland, St. Louis, Cleveland

Last week: 10-3

Season: 30-14