I write these words 26 hours before I gain somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds. Mrs. Maclone has brined the turkey, the green bean casserole is being prepped, as is the stuffing (turkey sausage and mushrooms make it awesome). There’s a couple of bottles of wine in the fridge, and I believe we’ll have some Guinness, Stella Artois and a variety of sodas.

Thanksgiving is at my house this year, and I’m pretty pumped. I’ll be covering Sandwich-Mashpee in the AM, which I think could be a fantastic football game. After that I’ll behind this computer, in this cubicle, pounding out a 26-inch story about what I hope is a classic contest. I’ll edit a couple of stories as well, the Falmouth-Barnstable, Bourne-Wareham and UCT-CCT games, and should be outta here somewhere around 4.

Somewhere around 5 me, Lyra, Rye, Leanna, my M-I-L, her boyfriend and my brother-in-law will sit down to a feast, of both food and the normal holiday dysfunction.

The tryptophan will kick in around 6, and I’ll set the alarm for 8:15, for Pats-Jets. That sounds like a pretty good Thanksgiving to me.

You my reader, should be thankful for the prose and picks that Matt and I bestow upon you each week. There’s usually one or two serviceable jokes, and some quality picks. Ol’ Eagle One knocked it outta the park last week, going 13-1. I didn’t do too shabbily myself, going 12-2. Good times.

So let’s look at the first completely full slate of games we’ve had in some time. No more bye weeks, the home stretch for the playoffs begins now.

Rich: 109-49-1 (.689)

Matt: 100-58-1 (.632)

Houston at Detroit: This is a really tough spot for the Texans. They’re coming off a crazy come-from-behind shootout win over the Jaguars that saw Matt Shaub have a fantasy game for the ages (67 points in our league). The Lions lost a heart-breaker to the Pack, at home. Rule No. 1 when choosing a winner for short-week games, which team is better. The Texans are clearly the better team, and that’s why I’m picking them.

Rich’s Pick: Texans

Matt’s Pick: Texans

Washington at Dallas: Which team is better? Now that’s a really good question, isn’t it. The best player in the game is RG3, he’s been awesome and is getting better and better. The Cowboys are just plain weird. They probably should have lost to the Browns at home, and in my estimation are among the most disappointing teams this year. They just underachieve. With a national stage, I’m looking for big things from Griffin, and that’s why I’m going Skins.

Rich’s Pick: Redskins

Matt’s Pick: Redskins

Patriots at Jets: After your feast, dessert. A lot has been made of the Gronk situation and him being on the PAT team, and that’s just dumb. Every NFL team has starters on those teams, that’s how they run things. It’s unfortunate that he got hurt, but you have to move on. They can win without him, especially this game. The addition of Talib certainly helps the Patriots defense, it doesn’t make them very good, but better, certainly better enough to keep Mark Sanchez from having another stellar game against them. New York should have won the first game, and didn’t. This time I think the Patriots win an easy one.

Rich’s Pick: Patriots

Matt’s Pick: Patriots

Buffalo at Indianapolis: Indy is a good home team, and Buffalo is an ugly road team. After getting embarrassed last week, I think the Colts bounce back and keep pace for a playoff spot. Andrew Luck won’t be awful like that two games in a row.

Rich’s Pick: Colts

Matt’s Pick: Colts

Tennessee at Jacksonville: What has gotten into Chad Henne? He comes off the bench and becomes a full-fledged gunslinger and makes, dare I say it, the Jaguars fun to watch. This one has video game potential, like 42-38. Tennessee still has an outside shot at the playoffs, and beats teams they should beat most of the time. I’m going to take them, because it’s the smart play, even though I have a feeling that the Jags will score a ton.

Rich’s Pick: Titans

Matt’s Pick: Titans

Denver at Kansas City: KC fans wore black in protest of the Pioli era last weekend. At least they have a cause to rally around, because the Chiefs are the worst team in the NFL. Denver, even sans McGahee, has too much firepower.

Rich’s Pick: Broncos

Matt’s Pick: Broncos

Oakland at Cincinnati: The Raiders are allowing nearly 33 points per game. AJ Green has scored in 9 straight. The Bengals are fighting for the last playoff spot, and this helps their cause quite a bit. The orange and black are going to have a fun day at home.

Rich’s Pick: Bengals

Matt’s Pick: Bengals

Seattle at Miami: Tell me how the Dolphins are going to move the ball against the Seahawks. Teams have figured out Brian Hartline and Ryan Tannehill and Reggie Bush is nicked up. The Seahawks play ugly football, but there’s nothing ugly about winning ballgames, and they do that more than lose. Give me the Seahawks.

Rich’s Pick: Seahawks

Matt’s Pick: Dolphins

Atlanta at Tampa Bay: This might be the tastiest match-up of the weekend. These are two very good football teams, with plenty to prove. Atlanta is trying to bounce back from their first loss, and the Bucs are trying to show that they’re for real. I don’t believe Matt Ryan will be anywhere nearly as bad as he was last week, but still I like this Tampa team and they’re out to make a statement. Give me the mild upset.

Rich’s Pick: Bucs

Matt’s Pick: Falcons

Minnesota at Chicago: I hate picking this one not knowing if Jay Cutler is going to  play. I will guess that he is, and the Bears bounce back from Monday night’s shellacking.

Rich’s Pick: Bears

Matt’s Pick:Vikings

Pittsburgh at Cleveland: The Steelers are down to their third-string QB, Charlie Batch. Just how bad must Charlie Batch be if Mike Tomlin wouldn’t bring him to relieve a clearly battered, bruised and beaten down Byron Leftwich on Sunday night. Leftwich looked like he was passing kidney stones after each play. The Browns are not that bad, and this is the type of game that they can sneak out.

Rich’s Pick: Browns

Matt’s Pick: Steelers

Baltimore at San Diego: The Ravens are going to be the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and they’re just not that good. The schedule gods seem to love them, though. Every week they seem to be handed a gift, and this week’s comes in the form of a Chargers team that looks ready to quit.

Rich’s Pick: Ravens

Matt’s Pick: Ravens

St. Louis at Arizona: Just when we all had written off the Cardinals, they played some downright inspired football last weekend against the Falcons. The Rams looked horrid against the Jets. So why am I picking the Rams then? Simple reasoning. The Cardinals will have a letdown, the Rams will bounce back. That seems to be how things work.

Rich’s Pick: Rams

Matt’s Pick: Rams

San Francisco at New Orleans: I love the dimension that Colin Kaepernick brings to the 49ers offense. He’s fun to watch, and brings a high level of athleticism to the game. The Saints have been playing well, but will they be able to fend off that 49ers defense? San Fran showed me something on Monday Night. That defense is really, really something, and I think they’re going to put a temporary halt to the Saints’ run.

Rich’s Pick: 49ers

Matt’s Pick: Saints

Green Bay at NY Giants: If you can figure out the Giants, please explain them to me. They’re just schizo. But, I’m picking them to win this game because they’re coming off of a bye and I think they’re finally in a place where they know that they need to pick it up.

Rich’s Pick: Giants

Matt’s Pick: Packers

Carolina at Philadelphia: Cam Newton’s Monday Night debut, and Nick Foles’ as well. I made the mistake of picking the Eagles last week, even though I knew that their offensive line was in shambles and they were starting a rookie QB that was clearly overmatched. Not going to make that mistake again.

Rich’s Pick: Panthers

Matt’s Pick: Panthers

Perhaps the hardest thing to do in the NFL is make it through an entire season upright. Think about it, which NFL team has not lost a significant player to injury for a couple of games this year? They pretty much all have, and the road the Super Bowl usually does not include a pit stop at the hospital. Teams that stay healthy go far, ones that don’t simply don’t.

This week we saw two contenders have their playoff hopes hurt. Sure San Francisco and Pittsburgh will probably both still earn bids into the postseason, but if Alex Smith and Ben Roethlisberger aren’t healthy, they won’t be playing in February. Heck, my fantasy football team had both of its quarterbacks end up on the DL this week. I had Ben and Mike Vick, now I have Sam Bradford and Nick Foles. Needless to say my hopes of winning the championship have been considerably doused.

So, we head into Week 11 wondering which big player gets hurt this week. Jets fans are hoping its Mark Sanchez, but they’re a bit sadistic to begin with.

Last week was a tough one picking games. I went 9-4-1, but it felt like I did a lot worse. Ol’ Matty Boy lost back a game that he had made up in the standings, going 8-5-1. Those ties look weird, don’t they.

Rich: 97-47-1 (.672); Matt 87-57-1 (.603)

Dolphins at Bills: Picking Thursday night games is not easy. You don’t know which team is going to show up, how the injuries from the previous week will play out, and how the game plans are affected by having so little time. Usually I just go with the team that I feel is better. Honestly, I don’t know which team is better, they both stink. I’m taking Buffalo solely because they’re playing at home and the Dolphins looked horrid last weekend.

• Rich’s Pick: Bills
• Matt’s Pick: Dolphins

Packers at Lions: If you only had to play the fourth quarter of games, the Lions would be the most dominant team in the NFL. For whatever reason they simply start slow every game out, and it’s killing them. The Packers seem like they’re rounding into form and I’ll take them on the road to beat Detroit Rock City. Side note, does Detroit still qualify for that nickname? What was the last good rock band they gave us? Maybe The White Stripes, but they’ve broken up and Jack White’s getting pretty weird.

• Rich’s Pick: Packers
• Matt’s Pick: Packers

Cardinals at Falcons: So the Falcons finally lost. The ride wasn’t going to last forever. A new one starts this week. Remember when we thought the Cardinals might be good? No, really, that was this year.

• Rich’s Pick: Falcons
• Matt’s Pick: Falcons

Buccaneers at Panthers: Doug Martin has breathed life into the Bucs. With an honest to goodness running game (sorry LeGarrette Blounte), Tampa Bay is a legit contender and fun to watch. Josh Freeman looks like everything that Bill Simmons once thought he was.

• Rich’s Pick: Buccaneers
• Matt’s Pick: Buccaneers

Browns at Cowboys: Is there a team that fits the description of “mediocre” better than Dallas? They usually beat bad teams, lose to good ones, and are meandering in general. They’ll meander their way to an unimpressive win this weekend.

• Rich’s Pick: Cowboys
• Matt’s Pick: Cowboys

Eagles at Redskins: And we welcome you to the Nick Foles experience. I was at the Patriots-Eagles preseason game and Foles took the majority of the snaps because — wait for it — Vick got injured early. For a kid playing in just his second ever pro football game, I thought he looked okay. He played alright last week, as well. I’ve got a feeling that we won’t be seeing Vick again behind center this year, and the reason starts in DC this weekend.

• Rich’s Pick: Eagles
• Matt’s Pick: Redskins

Jets at Rams: St. Louis might be okay, and we know they’re better than they were in London. The Jets have so many problems that Dr. Drew wouldn’t know where to start with them.

• Rich’s Pick: Rams
• Matt’s Pick: Jets

Bengals at Chiefs: I started following @saveourchiefs last week on Twitter, a feed dedicated to bringing quality football back to the heartland. That feed has over 70,000 followers, which is about how many people fit into Arrowhead Stadium. Coincidence? I think not. KC’s defense looked okay on Monday night, but with a short week, and another loss to consider, I’m going against them.

• Rich’s Pick: Bengals
• Matt’s Pick: Bengals

Jaguars at Texans: Perhaps the worst team in the AFC against the best team in the AFC. Let’s roll the dice and go with the best team. I think that’ll work fine.

• Rich’s Pick: Texans
• Matt’s Pick: Texans

Saints at Raiders: New Orleans is starting to play better. They’ve got their real interim coach in the fold, and have dedicated themselves to actually running the ball from time to time. It’s working out. The Raiders are playing out the string, so it must be November.

• Rich’s Pick: Saints
• Matt’s Pick: Saints

Chargers at Broncos: At this time next year we will be talking about the Jon Gruden-led Chargers. Norv Turner’s days are numbered, and the Chargers are going to be blown out by the Broncos this weekend.

• Rich’s Pick: Broncos
• Matt’s Pick: Broncos

Colts at Patriots: I totally understand how the Patriots defensive coaches must feel. This week I had the Comcast techs out to the house on three separate occasions to try to fix our internet before it finally got sorted out today. Over nine days I tried rewiring my network, unplugging and replugging all of the devices, waited on hold with phone reps for hours, and basically nearly lost my mind trying to get this thing sorted out. Today, around 4 PM, we finally got it fixed (fingers crossed). Coincidentally the Patriots welcome Aqib Talib into the secondary for the first time this weekend. The Pats coach hope that he works out as well as today’s Comcast tech did.

• Rich’s Pick: Patriots
• Matt’s Pick: Patriots

Ravens at Steelers: The Ravens are living a charmed life this season. They haven’t really beaten a good team, except for the Patriots (and that was fishy). This week they should be facing a real test with the Steelers, but Rothlesberger is out of action and they’ll be facing Byron Leftwich instead. It’s starting to feel like the Ravens are destiny’s darlings this year. Time will tell, but this will be easy.

• Rich’s Pick: Ravens
• Matt’s Pick: Ravens

Bears at 49ers: I have no idea which way to go on this one since both quarterbacks left the game with concussions last week. I’m going with San Fran, and crossing my fingers.

• Rich’s Pick: 49ers
• Matt’s Pick: 49ers

Sometimes picking football games feels a lot like throwing darts. You see two teams, cant’ decide, and come up with some random reason that one will win. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’ve used uniform preferences for my selections, but there are times that I go with “a feeling.” Sometimes that makes me look like a genius, and other times I take Tennessee to beat Chicago.

There is no perfect system. That’s something I’ve come to learn. I think I know more about the NFL that the average fan, actually that I’m sure of, but to say I’m as knowledgeable as someone like Bill Barnwell, or even my friend Chris Price, would be laughable. I don’t, I’m okay with that.

I have several “rules” that I pick my games with, and sometimes they’re thrown out the window. At the end of the day, the most important one, I find, is to go with your gut. When you see Team A against Team B, usually your first thought is the way to go. At least if you have a good feeling for the league. Otherwise, you might as well go with uniform colors, team nicknames or Roshambo.

The system worked out okay last week, except for two things that kept me from having an extraordinary week. One, the aforementioned underestimation of the supernatural force that is the Bears defense, and two, not factoring into my picks just how porous the Philadelphia offensive line is. Still, your buddy at the Sports Desk went 10-4, which aint too shabby. Ol’ Eagle one did even better, going 11-3. Good for him.

Rich: 88-43 (.672); Matt 79-52 (.603)

Indianapolis at Jacksonville: I’ve come to terms with the fact that the Thursday night slate is less than stellar. That’s okay, I’m good with it. The way I figure, I get home from work usually around 10 or 10:30 PM this time of year on a Thursday, and I’ve got most of the third quarter and all of the fourth to watch. Even if it’s a bad game, that keeps me entertained for most of evening as I eat a late dinner. This week, while I nibble on cold hamburgers and french fries, I’ll be watching Rookie of the Year Andrew Luck pick apart the awful Jacksonville defense. Luck is one of my favorite stories of the year, he’s been awesome. Fingers crossed that Indy makes the playoffs and draws Denver in round one, that would be a blast.

• Rich’s Pick: Colts
• Matt’s Pick: Colts

NY Giants at Cincinnati: The G-men were horrible last week, there’s no other way to say it. That’s par for the course for them. I’ve said it before, they usually show up in games where they feel a statement has to be made, but in contests that they don’t have their collective hearts in, we get a showing like last week. Knowing Tom Coughlan was probably eight shades of red this week, I have to believe that the good Giants show up against a Cincy team that seems to have just two plays in its playbook, deep to AJ Green and run straight ahead into four waiting tacklers.

• Rich’s Pick: Giants
• Matt’s Pick: Giants

Tennessee at Miami: Truthfully, I give up with this Titans team. They rope me back in, and then they spit at me. Chris Johnson has been better, but I don’t have a good feeling about this one (remember, the gut). Miami is battling for that last playoff spot in the AFC. I don’t think that they’ll get it, but they’re better than most people expected, and Reggie Bush has been awesome. Miami at home takes it.

• Rich’s Pick: Dolphins
• Matt’s Pick: Dolphins

Detroit at Minnesota: While the Titans have been Kryptonite for me this year, I’d have to say that for the most part that Detroit has been Matt’s. They’re a team that just frustrates, but they may be turning it around. I mean, they’re in the running for a playoff spot, they’re going up against a team that can’t throw the ball, and has its best receiver on the pine for this one, and Matt Stafford has to find Calvin Johnson for a TD at some point this year. Doesn’t he?

• Rich’s Pick: Lions
• Matt’s Pick: Lions

Buffalo at New England: The Patriots will make Ryan Fitzpatrick look better than he is, but they’ll also put up far too many points for the BIlls to keep up with. The Pats aren’t a great team, but they’re still good, and they’re much better than the Bills.

• Rich’s Pick: Patriots
• Matt’s Pick: Patriots

Atlanta at New Orleans: Let’s not get too excited about what the Saints defense did last week. Falmouth High School’s D-line would have had at least four sacks and a pick against Philly last week. Atlanta has yet to lose, and we will continue to ride that train as long as it lasts.

• Rich’s Pick: Falcons
• Matt’s Pick: Saints

San Diego at Tampa Bay: Doug Martin will see your bet and raise you two touchdowns and 100-yards. The guy has put up back-to-back superhuman games, and the Chargers are a bad football team. Yes, they won last week, but that was Kansas City, and the Bucs are not the Chiefs. If you need one more reason to pick Tampa, this is a West Coast team going East for a 1 PM game, so that’s worth a TD right there in my estimation.

• Rich’s Pick: Buccaneers
• Matt’s Pick: Buccaneers

Denver at Carolina: SuperCam did it last week against the Redskins, and handed me a loss. Will he do it two weeks in a row? I doubt it. Denver s playing very well. Eric Decker catches touchdowns week in and week out and Peyton Manning’s resurgence will continue.

• Rich’s Pick: Broncos
• Matt’s Pick: Broncos

Oakland at Baltimore: Another west coast team going east for an early game. The Raiders hung tough with the Bucs last week, but they’re not much of a road team (1-3 away from the Black Hole). I think that this Ravens team is doing it with mirrors, but they’ll be the worst 7-2 team in the league after this week.

• Rich’s Pick: Ravens
• Matt’s Pick: Ravens

NY Jets at Seattle: If the playoffs started this week, the Seahawks are in. They’re fighting, they’re getting better, and they’ve got a bad quarterback coming to face a good defense at one of the places with an above average home field advantage. Easy pickings, give me the Seahawks.

• Rich’s Pick: Seahawks
• Matt’s Pick: Seahawks

Dallas at Philadelphia: Those “experts” calling for the head of Michael Vick in Philly need to chill. Yes, Vick has had a down year. There’s no question about that. I ask you, how would any top tier QB  be doing with that offensive line? Better? Maybe. Much better? Probably not. I saw Vick take a three-step drop against New Orleans and get hit before his left arm came up to throw. Dallas’ D will enjoy putting pressure on Vick, and find a way to win on the road, believe it or not.

• Rich’s Pick: Cowboys
• Matt’s Pick: Eagles

St. Louis at San Francisco: The 49ers enjoyed a bye week last weekend, and now they have the Rams. Two weeks for that defense to prep for Sam Bradford and his receiver corps of UFL castoffs, I think the 49ers are the safe play.

• Rich’s Pick: 49ers
• Matt’s Pick: 49ers

Houston at Chicago: GAME OF THE WEEK. Sunday Night Football has got a gem this week. The Bears live and die with that awesome defense, but here’s the thing, the Texans don’t make a lot of mistakes. They control the ball, and aren’t afraid to play punt back-and-forth football and wait for a big play to break. Jay Cutler is more likely to make the mistakes than Matt Shaub in this one, I think. I guess it’s a mild upset, since they’re the road team, but I’m rolling with the Texans.

• Rich’s Pick: Texans
• Matt’s Pick: Bears

Kansas City at Pittsburgh: While SNF got a beauty this week, the MNF crew got stuck with beast, and not in the cool Marshawn Lynch kind of way. This game will be U-G-L-Y. The Steelers are pretty good, and the Chiefs are all kinds of bad. Easy pick here, Pittsburgh in a rout.

• Rich’s Pick: Steelers
• Matt’s Pick: Steelers

My good friend Eagle One is sitting at home, enjoying a little bit of a rest today. He hopes to be back on the gun range by the start of next week, and let’s just all cross our fingers and hope that he’s feeling up to it.

While he may not be able to sit in the cruise for the next few days, he was able to send in his picks. Matty-boy actually made up a little ground on ol’ Rich last week. I suffered through an uninspired 8-6 week. My defense, the NFL is weird this year, and one of my losses was in OT, and the other happened on the final drive. That’s the difference between 8-6 and 10-4, and also what picking the NFL can be like this year. It’s not your average season. Teams simply aren’t the same from week to week. EO posted a 9-5 week, so he’s got that going for him, and not much more this week.

Rich: 78-39 (.667)

Matt: 68-49 (.581)

Kansas City at San Diego: The only reason that these Thursday night games even exist is to appease the higher-ups at the NFL and give them programming for the NFL Network. I’m a fan of NFL Net, and watch quite a bit, but if you’re going to force feed us a package of Thursday night games, couldn’t you at least schedule some entertaining ones? Are you going to be huddled around the TV tonight watching Cassel versus Rivers? Me neither. However, I do need to pick a winner, so give me the Chargers, only because I think that they stink less than the Chiefs do.

• Rich’s Pick: Chargers
• Matt’s Pick: Chargers

Denver at Cincinnati: Don’t look now, but the Broncos are red hot. Peyton Manning seems to have figured out how to employ the weapons he’s got, and — more importantly — Denver’s defense is starting to come around. I see this game a lot like the Bengals contest against Pittsburgh from a week ago. Cincy falls in love with its deep passing attack, which leads to far too many three-and-outs, and too many opportunities for the Broncos. Cincy can’t keep up with them in a shootout, but they’ll try to.

• Rich’s Pick: Broncos
• Matt’s Pick:Broncos

Cardinals at Packers: It’s hard to believe that it wasn’t that long ago that the Cardinals were the surprise team of the NFL and everyone was hopping on the bandwagon. There have been a lot of injured fans jumping off that wagon. The Packers are getting it together, and the Cards in Wisconsin don’t stand a chance.

• Rich’s Pick: Packers
• Matt’s Pick: Packers

Lions at Jaguars: Just when it seemed safe to completely write the Lions off, they stage a comeback against a decent Seattle team and pull out a win. Calvin Johnson is obviously not himself this year, too many dropped balls and not enough athletic plays. Still, Stafford had a good week last week and the Jags hardly strike fear into anyone.

• Rich’s Pick: Lions
• Matt’s Pick: Lions

Bears at Titans: Okay, this is me playing a hunch. The Bears offense has struggled and the Titans seem a little better than we’ve given them credit for. This could be the ugliest game of the week, but I’m going with the upset here and taking the Titans. You’ve been warned.

• Rich’s Pick: Titans
• Matt’s Pick: Bears

Panthers at Redskins: SuperCam against  RG3, if nothing else this game could be very, very entertaining. Griffin is pretty advanced for a rookie, and Cam has regressed since the middle of last season. I’m going with the hot commodity.

• Rich’s Pick: Redskins
• Matt’s Pick: Redskins

Ravens at Browns: The Ravens were in desperate need of that bye, and that’s why I’m taking them here. I think with extra time to prepare for a team that is mediocre on its best day that the banged up Ravens will figure out a way to silence Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden. I know, I’m out on a limb here.

• Rich’s Pick: Ravens
• Matt’s Pick: Ravens

Dolphins at Colts: You know how you look at the schedule and wonder what might be a game that’s a lot more fun to watch than the marquee would indicate? Well, I do that. Here’s the winner. The Dolphins have been playing pretty decent football, and so have the Colts. I believe this is a close one, but the Colts will find a way.

• Rich’s Pick: Colts
• Matt’s Pick: Colts

Bills at Texans: Some beautiful plans showed up online this week for a prospective new Ralph Wilson Field in Buffalo. Totally state of the art, totally beautiful, spacious and spectacular. Just like the Bills hopes of winning this game, it’s a pipe dream.

• Rich’s Pick: Texans
• Matt’s Pick: Texans

Vikings at Seahawks: I give up. I can’t figure out the Vikings. They should be good, they have a great running game, one of the most dynamic receivers in the game, a strong pass rush, decent linebackers. Then they lose at home to Tampa. So they’re a tough group to gauge. I’m running with the home field.

Rich’s Pick: Seahawks

Matt’s Pick: Seahawks

Buccaneers at Raiders: Maybe Tampa is good? Oakland certainly isn’t a good team, but they’re okay at home. Another game that’s just a tough one to figure because the two teams involved seem schizophrenic. I’ll go with the Bucs and hope that the good Josh Freeman shows up.

• Rich’s Pick: Bucs
• Matt’s Pick: Raiders

Steelers at NY Giants: Here’s your marquee afternoon game. I’m going with the Super Bowl champs in a game that should be entertaining for a couple of reasons. One, the Giants seem to show up in big games, and this is one that fits that bill. Secondly, the Steelers have a hard time protecting Roethlesberger, and the Giants pass rush, when engaged, can be relentless.

• Rich’s Pick: Giants
• Matt’s Pick: Giants

Cowboys at Falcons: I made the mistake of picking against the streak last week, and it bit me. Not again. Until further notice, go with Matty Ice.

• Rich’s Pick: Falcons
• Matt’s Pick: Atlanta

Eagles at Saints: How bad is the Saints’ secondary? I’m glad you asked. They’re so bad that I’ve decided to start Michael Vick for my fantasy football team this week and pin my hopes of getting back above .500 on his shoulders. Yeah, the Saints defense is that bad.

• Rich’s Pick: Eagles
• Matt’s Pick: Saints

It seems appropriate that as I sat down to finally write this (hey, give me a break. I’ve had bronchitis all week) that one of my favorite go-to cable movies is repeating on TNT for the billionth time.

“Are you not entertained? Is that not why you are here?”

It’s appropriate “Gladiator” is on the flatscreen because last week’s outcome made me feel like I’d gone to Elysium. That’s right, a perfect 13-0. Perfection. Never before had I dealt a flawless week of picks, and if this week is any indication, it may not happen again for a while.

Matt had a good week as well. Anytime you go 9-4, that’s not too shabby.

Matt and I both had Minnesota on Thursday night. Oh well, such is life. We’re 0-1 to start the week. Onward and upward. “I will win the crowd. I will give them something they have never seen before.”

Rich: 70-33 (.680)

Matt: 59-44 (.573)

Jacksonville at Green Bay: You have to love a lay-up. The Packers are starting to round into the team that we thought they would be. The Jags have lost their mojo because they lost MoJo, Maurice Jones-Drew. Welcome to Blowout City.

• Rich’s Pick: Packers
• Matt’s Pick: Packers

Seattle at Detroit: The Lions are one of those teams that we love to pick because of their offensive potential, but that reality is truly a fantasy. They’re just not that good offensively, and the defense is just inconsistent. I’ve said it before, the Seattle home field advantage is legit. It will be ugly, but the Seahawks win at home.

• Rich’s Pick: Seahawks
• Matt’s Pick: Lions

Carolina at Chicago: Hey, another lay-up. The Panthers can’t move the ball and no one can move the ball on the Bears. This is not rocket science.

• Rich’s Pick: Bears
• Matt’s Pick: Bears

Miami at NY Jets: We may have learned that the Jets may be okay last week. Or the Pats’ secondary couldn’t stop Marshfield High. I’m leaning towards NY being okay, and they’re at home, so it’s green.

• Rich’s Pick: Jets
• Matt’s Pick: Jets

San Diego at Cleveland: The Chargers are in disarray. It’s nuts, but Phil Rivers looked to be officially broken after his last outing. It pains me to roll the dice on Cleveland, because its hard to back a town that God so obviously holds in disdain, but I’ll use up some of my own well-earned good mojo from last week and waste it here.

• Rich’s Pick: Browns
• Matt’s Pick: Chargers

Indianapolis at Tennessee: The Titans might have, I repeat might have, started to figure things out. Chris Johnson sure looked good last week. The Colts aren’t going to get two rushing TDs from Andrew Luck every week, and he didn’t look that comfy last week. Again, a bit of a gamble, but give me Tennessee.

• Rich’s Pick: Titans
• Matt’s Pick: Titans

New England at St. Louis (in London): Saying it last week almost looked stupid, but again, even with the Pats secondary looking exceptionally sucky, ask yourself this. Do you see the Rams out-scoring the Pats? Me neither.

• Rich’s Pick: Patriots
• Matt’s Pick: Patriots

Atlanta at Philadelphia: I had to come back to this game. I finished the whole column, and then came back. I never pick against the streak, and the Falcons are undefeated. However, Andy Reid, for reasons unknown, is undefeated after a bye week. You figure it out. Atlanta has to lose eventually, it might as well be week 8 to Mike Vick.

• Rich’s Pick: Eagles
• Matt’s Pick: Falcons

Washington at Pittsburgh: I nearly went with the Steelers, and a part of me wants to. However, the NFC looks much superior to the AFC overall right now. Also, don’t you see RG3 having a big week. I do.

• Rich’s Pick: Redskins
• Matt’s Pick: Redskins

Oakland at Kansas City: Who’s worse? Not sure I know. KC has looked okay, at times, at home. The Raiders, to me, seem to be on an upward tick. They’ve played two close games in a row, going 1-1. I think they’ll win this one too.

• Rich’s Pick: Raiders
• Matt’s Pick: Raiders

NY Giants at Dallas: Dallas is just beat up right now, and they’re in a spiral. The Giants are playing well, which probably means that they’ll lay an egg. Still, the champs deserve the pick out of respect.

• Rich’s Pick: Giants
• Matt’s Pick: Giants

New Orleans at Denver: First team to 40 wins. Two horrific defenses and two pretty good offenses. Bet the over, and give me Peyton at home to outscore the Saints on the road.

• Rich’s Pick: Broncos
• Matt’s Pick: Broncos

San Francisco at Arizona: It’s been a really good week for the city of San Francisco. The party continues as they buzzsaw the Cardinals.

• Rich’s Pick: 49ers
• Matt’s Pick: 49ers

I made a huge mistake last week, I acknowledged my confidence. I was feeling good about myself, thought I knew what was going on in the NFL and I said it out loud.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I had my worst week in ages, and I truly believe one of the reasons was that I got too cocky. Of course, it didn’t help that last week was just downright wacky when it came to the games, but I jinxed myself and delivered a result that was Costanza-esque.

Back to basics this week. Step one, admit your mistakes. Step two, try to do better.

For the record, the Thursday night game was picked by both Matt and I and put it up on Twitter to have documentation of it. I went with the 49ers, Matt took Seattle. Last week, I put together a horrid 4-9 record. Matt went a slightly better, 5-8.

Rich: 57-33 (.633)

Matt: 50-40 (.555)

Tennessee at Buffalo: Well, it doesn’t get any easier here does it. Two teams that are very difficult to figure out. When they’re bad, the Titans are awful. When they’re good, they beat good teams. The Bills suffered two horrendous losses in succession, then knocked off the undefeated Cardinals on the road. I’m going with the Titans because the Patriots showed a few weeks back that Buffalo can’t stop the run, and I think Chris Johnson looks ready for a big, big game.

• Rich’s Pick: Titans
• Matt’s Pick: Bills

Cleveland at Indianapolis: I guess the Browns had to win a game this year, and it’s easy to play the second-guess game and say that the Bengals were the prime candidate to be their first victims last week. I don’t believe we’re in a world where the Browns win two in a row, with the second on the road. Give me the Colts.

•  Rich’s Pick: Colts
• Matt’s Pick: Browns

Green Bay at St. Louis: The Godfather Part III is a horrible movie, with one great line that is timeless. “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” That’s how I feel about the Packers. I was ready to write them off as an over-rated, underperforming team, and then they brought the goods against Houston last week. Let’s roll with the cheese.

•  Rich’s Pick: Packers
• Matt’s Pick: Packers

Arizona at Minnesota: The Vikings are this year’s sneaky good team that you don’t think is all that good but somehow they keep winning games. Granted, they lost last weekend against Washington on the road, but I like them at home. They have a good defense and special teams, and who doesn’t love that battle horn when they do something good?

• Rich’s Pick: Vikings
• Matt’s Pick: Vikings

Washington at New York Giants: Big Blue seems to play its best when it feels like it has something to prove. Last weekend against the 49ers, they felt it was a statement game, and they made a statement. This week they’re looking to silence the hype machine around RG3, and I have a feeling that they will.

• Rich’s Pick: Giants
• Matt’s Pick: Giants

New Orleans at Tampa Bay: I don’t believe that the Saints defense is very good, but that shouldn’t hurt them too much here because the Bucs offense is average at best. To beat the Saints you have to be able to score at least 28 points, I figure. Lots of teams can, but I don’t think that the Bucs are one of them.

• Rich’s Pick: Saints
• Matt’s Pick: Saints

Baltimore at Houston: The Ravens lost two of their most important defensive players for the year, emotional leader Ray Lewis, and corner Ledarius Webb. Mike Lombardi, of NFL Network, explained just how big of a loss Webb is against teams like Houston because of the way he helps stop the run for the Ravens. Without him there, I think the Texans will grind one out, ugly like.

• Rich’s Pick: Texans
• Matt’s Pick: Ravens

Jacksonville at Oakland: I just have no confidence in either team, so I’m going to ride the home team and figure Run DMC has a big day against a poor Jax defense.

• Rich’s Pick: Raiders
• Matt’s Pick: Raiders

NY Jets at New England: The Patriots are the most frustrating team in the NFL right now. They could easily be 6-0. However, you are what you are, and right now they’re mediocre. I still believe that they’ll be very good when all is said and done, and let’s not forget this. The Patriots biggest weakness is defending the pass down the field. This week they’re facing Mark Sanchez and maybe Tim Tebow. My 9-year old daughter throws the deep ball as well as those two.

• Rich’s Pick: Patriots
• Matt’s Pick: Patriots

Dallas at Carolina: Neither of these teams inspires much confidence. Something’s wrong in Carolina, though. That offense has no cohesion and Cam doesn’t look anything like he did in the first half of last year. Give me the Boys, by default.

• Rich’s Pick: Cowboys
• Matt’s Pick: Cowboys

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati: AJ Green is fun to watch. Andy Dalton ought to just huck it down the field every other play and hope that Green comes down with it, because the way he plays, he’s more likely than not to do just that. Still, the Bengals as a whole aren’t very good and I don’t think that they’ll be able to slow down Big Ben and that passing game.

• Rich’s Pick: Steelers
• Matt’s Pick:  Steelers

Detroit at Chicago: Right now, on October 20, the answer to the question “who is the best team in the NFL” is the Chicago Bears. Smokin’ Jay Cutler has been efficient and that defense is downright scary. They make plays and plays and plays. They’ll win, and I exepect another defensive TD to boot.

• Rich’s Pick: Bears
• Matt’s Pick: Lions

I have a friend here in Falmouth that runs a little football pool out of his “office” and I know for a fact that he puts in an entry each week with my selections in it, with one exception. He always picks against the Patriots, because he’s a hater. He’s a New Jersey boy and he cannot circle New England a winner on his sheet, regardless of the fact that they’re a good football team.

He’s a typical Hatriot. He’ll make fun of Brady, and Beli-cheat, and blah-blah-blah.

Dude, I know that it’s your money, but aren’t you playing that thing to win money? Had he followed through with my picks from last week, guess what, he would have won. My picks have been pretty good this season, like they were last year. I have a good feeling about the league, and which teams are headed in which direction. Eagle One has a pretty good idea, too, maybe not as good as me, but he’s certainly above average. We watch tons of NFL football, we talk about NFL football, we love this stuff.

And if you’re participating in a pool, you probably love the NFL, and making money. It’s not rocket science, pick with your head not your heart. That’s rule numero uno.

Now, I’m sure that my humblebragging here will cost me a week, so proceed at your own risk. Regardless, I was 12-2 last week, Eagle One went 9-5. Onward and upward, good luck with your profits.

Rich: 53-24 (.688)

Matt: 45-32 (.584)

Pittsburgh at Tennessee: Another rule I live by, even when they’re playing at home, do not pick awful teams to beat good ones. The Steelers aren’t bad, and the return of Mendenhall to the fold is pretty big. He looked much better than I thought he would, especially considering the talk during the preseason that made it seem like he may be an invalid for life going forward due to his knee injury. The Titans are just bad, really bad, and with a super short week to prepare for a team that is that much better than them, they’re staring 1-5 in the face.

• Rich’s Pick: Steelers
• Matt’s Pick: Steelers

 Oakland at Atlanta: Again, I like riding the hot hand, and there’s no hotter hands than the ones on the arms of the Falcons. All of a sudden Michael Turner being referred to as “The Burner” isn’t ironic and the Falcons are undefeated. Not that you need further prodding, but remember the last time the Raiders came east for an early game, a few weeks back against Miami, they were torched. Expect more of the same.

•  Rich’s Pick: Falcons
• Matt’s Pick: Falcons

Cincinnati at Cleveland: One of the reasons I’m worried about this week is that it seems like too much of a lay-up. For a second I gave consideration to the Browns here. They looked frisky against the Ravens, made life tough on the Giants for a while, but at the end of the day, they’re still the Browns. They are the owners of the worst home field advantage in pro football going back at least 20 years (ESPN.com wrote about it this week). They’re the Browns, we don’t pick the Browns, like ever.

• Rich’s Pick: Cincy
• Matt’s Pick: Cincy

St. Louis at Miami: Finally, an interesting game. The Rams defense looked nearly as good as the Bears last week, sacking Kevin Kolb nine times … nine. The Dolphins are not nearly as bad as you think they are (hey, they’re 2-3), but I just don’t think I’m ready to live in a world where they win two in a row, not yet anyway. St. Louis is a sleeper playoff team, and to win on the road you need to D up, and I think they will again. It’s going to be ugly, like 13-12 ugly, but give me the sons of Marshall Faulk.

•  Rich’s Pick: Rams
• Matt’s Pick: Rams

 Indianapolis at New York Jets: Before you cram yourself onto the Colts bandwagon, take a breath. Yes, the Colts gave a gutsy effort playing for their coach last week, shocking the world and the Green Bay Packers. Now ask yourself, what happens after emotional wins? If you answered letdowns, pat yourself on the back. Also, I’m as anti-Jet as anyone, but let’s not forget that they’re, A, playing at home, and, B, gave the Texans all they could handle last week. Darelle Revis is also supposed to be back in the fold, which is unbelievable. Like I said earlier, we’re using our heads, not our hearts, and my head says New York.

• Rich’s Pick: Jets
• Matt’s Pick: Colts

 Detroit at Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Eagles rank 31^st, out of 32 teams, in points scored so far this year, averaging a paltry 16 ppg (New England ranks first, with more than double that, 33 ppg). Yet, somehow, someway, the Iggles are 3-2 and atop the NFC East. Michael Vick’s new Nike gloves seem to be coated with olive oil, yet Philly has won more than it has lost and will probably take this one too. The Lions haven’t been good, they’re just 1-4. I want to take Detroit, because they’re coming off the bye and should be rested and ready, but Brandon Pettigrew may not play and something is not right with Matt Stafford. I hate picking them, but it’s Philly.

•  Rich’s Pick: Eagles
• Matt’s Pick: Lions

Kansas City at Tampa Bay: Surprisingly enough, good tickets are still available at Raymond James Stadium. If you’re in the Tampa area, and want to see a really big pirate boat in person, and two putrid football teams, stop on by. Because they’re home, and KC played a great defensive game and still lost last week, give me Tampa.

•  Rich’s Pick: Bucs
• Matt’s Pick: Bucs

Dallas at Baltimore: When I sat down to write this, both the Orioles and the Nats were in 2-1 deficits in their respective baseball playoff series. DC Metro area fans will get over it, because the Ravens are really good, and that kid down in DC is a pretty good QB, fun to watch that RG3.

•  Rich’s Pick: Ravens
• Matt’s Pick: Ravens

Buffalo at Arizona: The Bills have given up 1,235,754 points over the last two weeks. Oh, wait, it’s just been 97. It just seemed like more. The Bills are really, really bad, the Cards aren’t too bad.

•  Rich’s Pick: Cardinals
• Matt’s Pick: Cardinals

 New England at Seattle: We’re going to hear about Seattle’s home field advantage, and the athleticism of Russell Wilson, and the Seahawks defense up until kickoff. I believe in all three of those things, but I also believe that the Patriots have finally found their mojo. They’re currently leading the league in points scored, are sixth in passing and third in rushing (no, that’s not a typo. They’re third). Brady and the boys are in one of their patented grooves and a long flight to the land of Vedder isn’t going to spoil it.

•  Rich’s Pick: Patriots
• Matt’s Pick: Patriots

NY Giants at San Francisco: How is this not one of the night games? A rematch of last year’s NFC championship game didn’t garner Sunday Night Football? What is wrong with these people? First, I don’t think it’ll come down to a Lawrence Tynes field goal in this one. The 49ers are rolling, and they have revenge on their mind. Also, how about this little tidbit. Which quarterback currently has the best passer rating in the NFL? Matt Ryan, ummm nope. Tom Brady, close, but no. Ryan Fitzpatrick (maybe if the INTs counted as completions). No, it’s Alex Smith. You think of him as a game manager, but right now he’s dealing and has a league best 108.7 rating.

• Rich’s Pick: 49ers
• Matt’s Pick: 49ers

Green Bay at Houston: I don’t know what the Packers did to tick off the football gods, but something is just not right in Cheeseville. First, there was that game in Seattle, then last weekend the Pack lost to the magic of Andrew Luck and Reggie Wayne’s mystical orange gloves. This week, they just run into a buzzsaw. The Texans, who did lose one of their better defenders, Brian Cushing, for the rest of the season due to an ACL tear, are very good at stopping opposing offenses. They also know how to run the ball, very well. They’re undefeated, and I don’t pick against undefeated teams, even though this is a kitchen sink game for the Packers.

• Rich’s Pick: Texans
• Matt’s Pick: Texans

Denver at San Diego: Three times already this season the Denver Broncos have faced 20-plus point deficits in the third quarter. They’ve rallied each time, but lost each time. Again Noodlearm Manning and the Broncos square off against a team capable of putting up a big number in a hurry. Phil Rivers is quietly having himself a very good year, and Norv Turner finally cost them a game last week against New Orleans, a game that they really should have won. The Chargers look like they’re clearly the best team in that division, so I’m taking them to win, and cause a panic in the Rockies.

• Rich’s Pick: Chargers
• Matt’s Pick: Broncos

It’s been a real tough week here at the sports desk. Last Thursday I found out that one of my best friends, who goes by the name Ace on these pages, was in the hospital and had to have his Gall Bladder out. He pulled through okay, but it was still jarring to see his Facebook profile photo with tubes in his nose and a paper gown on.

On Tuesday I found out that another lifelong friend, Wayne Rose, was diagnosed with cancer. It’s just the tip of the iceberg of crap that he’s had to deal with over the last few years. To read more about what Team Rose has had to deal with I ask you to check out www.teamrosey.org and if you’re so inclined, come to his fundraiser at The Beach House next month. That actually sounds like it is going to be a good time, and he and his family are good people … they’re like family to me. I spent more time in their living room than my own as a teenager, so much so that they lovingly started calling me “Bob,” as in the movie “What About Bob.”

Then this morning, less than a half-mile from my house, former FHS quarterback AJ Fernandes died. He reportedly leaped from a moving vehicle while having an argument with a family member. It’s way too sad, and tragic. He was an excellent kid and had a disposition that made everyone around him smile.

Like I said, it’s been a tough week.

Which brings us to the land of fun and games, and the distraction is a welcome one to say the least. The NFL is my favorite time-waster every week and this is certainly a week where it will come in handy. Both Eagle One and I had solid weeks last week, as we both posted records of 11-4.

Rich: 41-22 overall (.651)

Matt: 36-27 (.571)

Arizona at St. Louis: At first glance I wanted to run with the undefeated Cards. Then I thought about it a little and changed my mind (which is rarely a good thing, going against your gut is usually frowned upon around here). The Rams have been very good at home, have a solid home crowd and are a good home team. They beat a pretty decent Seattle team last weekend at home. The Cardinals have been winning games, but their offense has been mediocre. With a short week to prepare, I like the home team.

• Rich’s Pick: Rams
• Matt’s Pick: Cardinals

Miami at Cincinnati: Here’s another one that looks like it should be obvious, only it isn’t. The Dolphins are just 1-3, but they’ve played better than that. The Bengals really aren’t all that good. Again I’m going against the grain here, but I just feel like the Dolphins find a way to pull off an upset at home.

• Rich’s Pick: Dolphins
• Matt’s Pick: Bengals

Green Bay at Indianapolis: Finally, a lay-up. The Packers on the turf are going to have a fun time running and gunning. The Colts will keep it close for a little while, but in the end they don’t have enough firepower to keep up with the Pack, who are due to go on a run.

• Rich’s Pick: Packers
• Matt’s Pick: Packers

Baltimore at Kansas City: Seriously, just how bad are the Chiefs. I gave them the home field credit last week — which was stupid — and they got trounced. Matt Cassell better have put away that money he made from his signing bonus because there’s a good chance he’ll be looking for work next season, and at a discounted rate. On an aside, if you haven’t seen “Broke” yet on ESPN’s 30 For 30 series, you really need to. It was enthralling, and the ultimate in schadenfreude.

• Rich’s Pick: Ravens
• Matt’s Pick: Ravens

Cleveland at NY Giants: If the Browns go winless this year, would you be surprised? Me neither. They’ll win a game at some point, and destroy two-thirds of the remaining suicide pools in America in the process. Even without Hakim Nicks — again — the Giants will bounce back from last week’s disappointing loss to the Eagles.

• Rich’s Pick: Giants
• Matt’s Pick: Giants

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh: Holy Moly the Eagles have been doing it with mirrors. They could easily be 1-3, but somehow they’re 3-1. The Steelers are coming off of a bye and I think they’ll win this one in lopsided fashion, which is why I’ll be starting Big Ben over Mike Vick on my fantasy team this week.

• Rich’s Pick: Steelers
• Matt’s Pick: Steelers

Atlanta at Washington: Matt Ryan really showed up big time when it mattered most last weekend against the Panthers, pulling one out that his team should have lost. They’re red hot, and I’ll ride the streak, even if my son’s favorite non-Patriot is clearly RG3. It’s gotten to the point where we’ve considered changing our nicknames to RM3 and RM4.

• Rich’s Pick: Falcons
• Matt’s Pick: Redskins

Seattle at Carolina: Holy Ugly Game Batman. This one is the ultimate coin toss. The Panthers are due to win a game, and the Seahawks have not been very good away from home. It pains me to do it, but I’m going to roll with SuperCam and the Panthers. They played very well last weekend in Atlanta (they should have won) and that’s definitely something they can build on.

• Rich’s Pick: Panthers
• Matt’s Pick: Panthers

Chicago at Jacksonville: I’m sorry Blaine Gabbert, but you just are not ready for the Bears defense.

• Rich’s Pick: Bears
• Matt’s Pick: Bears

Tennessee at Minnesota: Yes, it usually comes down to fantasy football for me. Of course I benched Chris Johnson last week, and of course he broke through with his first big game since he had his grill done. He’s in my starting lineup this weekend, which means the Vikings will kill the Titans, and I will continue to bang my head slowly against the wall.

• Rich’s Pick: Vikings
• Matt’s Pick: Vikings

Denver at New England: Hello Peyton my old friend, you’re here to take a beating again. Manning does not have his fastball anymore, and I don’t care that Dan Koppen signed with the Pats and is giving away all of the secrets he knows. The Patriots look like they’ve kicked things into Us Against The World mode, and that cannot mean good things for their opponents.

• Rich’s Pick: Patriots
• Matt’s Pick: Patriots

Buffalo at San Francisco: Ryan Fitzpatrick, shave the beard. Seriously, what are you trying to prove? You look like a poor man’s Brawny paper towels mascot, and you’ve been throwing the football like a your arm is made of the store brand.

• Rich’s Pick: 49ers
• Matt’s Pick: 49ers

San Diego at New Orleans: I’m a sucker for the Saints. I can’t believe that they’re really this bad. Sean Payton will be in the house, as a spectator, and Drew Brees is going to surpass Johnny U’s record for consecutive games with a TD pass. Norv Turner teams don’t spoil big nights for other clubs, they fade in that spotlight.

• Rich’s Pick: Saints
• Matt’s Pick: Saints

Houston at NY Jets: Okay, we all know that this game is going to stink. The Texans win by a ton, but this could be the re-emergence of Tim Tebow. That right there is enough to keep me somewhat interested, at least until something cool happens on Monday Night Raw.

• Rich’s Pick: Texans
• Matt’s Pick: Texans

Well, our boy Eagle One should leave the writing to the professionals. I give him the steering wheel for one week and he has his worst showing of the year, posting a 4-12 record. That’s not coughing up his one game lead, that’s gagging (editor’s note: Matt attributed his poor showing to the scab referees).

Now that the real refs are back, now we can go back to complaining about them. That will be fun. Actually, for one week at least, they’ll be the most appreciated group in America. Good for the zebras.

With kickoff of a game that no one cares about just moments away, let’s get into it.

Rich’s Record: 30-18, .625% (last week, 10-6)

Matt’s Record: 25-23, .521% (last week, 4-12)

• Cleveland at Baltimore: The Ravens fans have barely had time to wash their mouths out with soap and already they’re back at it tonight with the Browns coming to town. We don’t have to get into too much detail here, the Ravens may be the best team in the AFC, the Browns may not be the best team in Cleveland.

Rich’s Pick: Baltimore

Matt’s Pick: Baltimore

• Carolina at Atlanta: Watching Matt Ryan play quarterback is a lot like watching Rajon Rondo run the point, things are fast and the ball is moving all over the place, and good things happen. Matty Ice will drop plenty of dimes on the Panthers, who are just not very good. Super-Cam needs exposure to the yellow sun, or something else nerdy.

Rich’s Pick: Atlanta

Matt’s Pick: Atlanta

• New England at Buffalo: Will Bill Belichick hug the refs? Will he remember that he’s got the best tight end in the league as a weapon? Will the Pats rebound from a — gasp — two-game losing streak. Yes to all those questions.

Rich’s Pick: New England

Matt’s Pick: New England

• Minnesota at Detroit: The Vikings are sneaky good, no really, they are. Granted they were at home, but they found a way to silence the mighty 49ers last week. I’m feeling a let-down game here, and expect a big game from Megatron if Stafford plays. I think he will, and the Lions earn a win.

Rich’s Pick: Detroit

Matt’s Pick: Detroit

San Diego at Kansas City: Norv Turner is still Norv Turner, right? The Chargers are due for an off day, and the Chiefs play well at Arrowhead and also are officially frisky.

Rich’s Pick: Kansas City

Matt’s Pick: San Diego

• Seattle at St. Louis: Don’t expect a lot of points in this one. Somehow the Seahawks are 2-1 after that abomination on Monday night. I showed my wife the game-ending play. “So what? The Packers intercepted the ball.” She then nearly lost her mind trying to figure out what the refs were thinking, and that in a nutshell is how she learned about the replacement refs. No replacement refs, and the Rams are solid at home.

Rich’s Pick: St. Louis

Matt’s Pick: Seattle

• San Francisco at NY Jets: What do you get when you combine a ticked off elite defense against the Sanchize/Tebow combo? Lots and lots of whiny calls to WFAN on Monday.

Rich’s Pick: San Fran

Matt’s Pick: San Fran

• Tennessee at Houston: Hi, my name is Rich and I own Chris Johnson in my fantasy league. At first I felt betrayed, then angry, then more angry, and now I’ve just accepted that he stinks. He’s on my bench, and I know that he’ll probably go nuts and have a great game this weekend and kill me and then make me put him back in and then he’ll go back in the tank …. Had to get that out of my system. Houston’s good, the Titans have already had their miracle, and they don’t happen in back-to-back weekends.

Rich’s Pick: Houston

Matt’s Pick: Houston

• Oakland at Denver: Peyton Manning is due for a good game, and the Raiders don’t win on the road much. It won’t be pretty, but the Broncos will succeed.

Rich’s Pick: Denver

Matt’s Pick: Denver

• Miami at Arizona: The Cardinals are one of the best teams in the NFL right now. The Mayans are laughing.

Rich’s Pick: Arizona

Matt’s Pick: Arizona

• Cincinatti at Jacksonville: I don’t know what to make of this Bengals team. They seem to be able to score, but can’t stop anyone on defense. Teams like that are poor picks when they’re on the road, and Jacksonville is nearly interesting. A win here and they’ll be worth watching out for.

Rich’s Pick: Jacksonville

Matt’s Pick: Cincy

• New Orleans at Green Bay: New Orleans defense is atrocious, really really atrocious. The Packers have a very good offense and a chip on their shoulders.

Rich’s Pick: Green Bay

Matt’s Pick: Green Bay

• Washington at Tampa Bay: Okay, I love RGIII as much as the next guy, but he’s still a rookie going on the road to play against a team that can play defense. The Bucs are better than you’re probably giving them credit for.

Rich’s Pick: Tampa Bay

Matt’s Pick: Washington

• NY Giants at Philly: I want to take the Giants, but I’ve got a pheeling about Philly. I don’t feel very confident about it, and I fully expect Namish and Aku to laugh at me about it, but give me the Iggles.

Rich’s Pick: Philadelphia

Matt’s Pick: NY Giants

• Chicago at Dallas: Da Bears are once again an elite defense, and Smokin Jay Cutler is usually pretty good in prime time. Tony Romo has had some of his worse moments at night, on a football field. Give me Chicago.

Rich’s Pick: Chicago

Matt’s Pick: Dallas

I didn’t lose a bet, but have turned over control of the column to our buddy Eagle One for the week. Why not, he almost understands the English language and his spelling is slightly better than my nine-year old’s. I proofread this before posting it just to make sure that my good friend didn’t offend anyone other than me. It’s not half bad, which means it’s a little better than half good. Enjoy, as much as you can at least ….

Rich’s Record: 20-12 (last week, 10-6)

Matt’s Record: 21-11 (last week, 10-6)

Eagle One here with a Gentleman Jack in one hand and my week 3 picks in the other – but first I digress…

It may seem to the untrained eye that Rich and I do not differ too much on our picks.  Some may think that we sit down together and reason out what our picks will be.  HECK NO!!!  You see, I have a very high IQ, while Rich’s intelligence rates on the same level as a chimpanzee.  He couldn’t pick his nose without an instruction manual.  I think logically about my picks while Rich asks his wife what team colors she likes better.  It’s just coincidence that our picks are very close.

Last week was tough.  Teams that looked good in week 1 were lousy (yes Patriots, I am talking about you).  Parity is abound in the NFL and it is showing it’s lovely head early in the season.  You’ll notice that I don’t guess on what the final score will be…it’s because I don’t care.  A win is a win, whether it’s by 1 point or 100 points.

• NY Giants at Carolina – Panthers D made Drew Brees look bad, and he is way better than Eli Manning.  Combine that with Cam Freaking Newton and I’m taking the Panthers at home.

Matt’s pick:  Panthers
Rich’s pick: Giants

• St. Louis vs Chicago – If I was J’Marcus Webb, Chicago’s starting left tackle, I would become a turnstile on the first pass play and let Jay Cutler get his head torn off.  That guy is a bonehead.  He’s a mediocre QB on a good day.  I think the Rams go on the road and score the upset.

Matt’s pick:  Rams
Rich’s pick: Bears

• Buffalo at Cleveland – The Who Cares Bowl.  Buffalo just happens to have more “weapons” (man I am using that term loosely).

Matt’s pick:  Buffalo
Rich’s pick: Buffalo

• Tampa Bay at Dallas – Dallas is one of those teams that looks good one week, then looks bad the next week.  It’s their turn to look good.

Matt’s pick:  Cowboys
Rich’s pick: Cowboys

• NY Jets vs Miami – UUGH.  As much as I want Miami to win, I think they stink.

Matt’s pick:  Jets

Rich’s pick: Jets

• San Fransisco at Minnesota – San Fran looks good early.  Should be able to go on the road and stifle AP the the Vikings.

Matt’s pick:  49ers.

Rich’s pick: 49ers

• Kansas City at New Orleans – Just no stinkin’ way that the Saints start 0-3.

My pick:  Saints

Rich’s pick: Saints

• Cincinnati at Washington – I am quickly becoming an RGIII believer and I’m chasing the bandwagon!

Matt’s pick:  Skins

Rich’s pick: Cincinnati

• Detroit at Tennessee – Megatron goes 14/187 and 2 scores.

Matt’s pick:  Lions

Rich’s Pick: Lions

• Jacksonville at Indianapolis – I think this one becomes a shootout because both defenses are weak.  Luck leads a game winning drive late.

Matt’s pick:  Indy

Rich’s pick: Jaguars

• Philadelphia at Arizona – I loathe the Eagles.  Zona played the Pats tough defensively.  Mike Vick gets hurt and Zona pulls the home upset of the self proclaimed “dynasty.”

Matt’s pick:  Arizona

Rich’s pick: Arizona

• Atlanta at San Diego – Atlanta jumped to a big lead against Denver.  They almost lost it.  Now they have a short week and go across country.  Smells like a loss to me.

Matt’s pick:  Chargers

Rich’s Pick: Chargers

• Houston at Denver – No way Peyton has a game like he did on Monday.  He forced the ball too much and that won’t happen two weeks in a row.  Time for Houston to return to the real world.

Matt’s pick:  Denver

Rich’s pick: Texans

• Pittsburgh at Oakland – The Raiders lost to Miami.  That’s bad.

Matt’s pick:  Steelers

Rich’s pick: Steelers

• New England at Baltimore – Defensive battle.  Neither offense gets going and Gostkowski gets redemption.  I will pick the score of this one.  Pats 16-13.

Matt’s pick:  Pats

Rich’s pick: Ravens

• Green Bay at Seattle  – Aaron Rogers will do the “Discount Double Check” dance many, many times.

My pick:  Packers

Rich’s pick: Packers

Now I have a real job so do not expect this every week from me people.  I do intend to grace you with my fabulous presence a few times during the season, but I will keep you guessing as to when so you will enjoy it more when it comes.

Eagle One