Last Week
Aaron: 9-7Joe:7-9
Current Standings
Joe: 27-21Aaron: 25-23 Cleveland at Baltimore
Aaron: I read that Time-Warner Cableand the NFL Network had reached a deal to finally bring thechannel to MY television -- and presumably to anyone else who's been impactedby the two sides' long-standing impasse, as well. We still don't have it here in San Diego andjudging from this match-up...I'm in no rush. Pick: Baltimore
Joe: Yeah, kind of a harsh blessingthat THIS will be my first taste of NFL Network football. I guess this gamewill be the last hurrah for the replacement refs? Maybe at halftime, theBaltimore fans can give them some nice parting gifts. You know, because therefs obviously stole last week's game from the Patriots and handed it to theRavens. I read it on ESPN Boston! Pick: Baltimore
Minnesota at Detroit
Aaron: No one is putting Lions QB MattStafford in the same category as former Detroit disappointments Scott Mitchelland Joey Harrington, but neither of those guys elevated anyone's expectationswith a professional season like Stafford had last year. So, I'll split the difference and politelyimplore Stafford to stop playing like perfectly serviceable formerLions QBs like Rodney Peete and Erik Kramer! Pick: Detroit
Joe: I'm so mad at this Lions team, Ican't even tell you. I'm pretty sure I'm going to start Vikings QB ChristianPonder over banged up (and AWFUL) Lions QB Matthew Stafford, so congratulationson your first big win of the year, Detroit. Pick: Detroit
Seattle at St. Louis
Aaron: The Seahawks spent a generationin a joint custody arrangement between irrelevance and anonymity, beforeplaying in one of the worst-officiated Super Bowls ever, making the playoffswith a 7-9 record and, of course, last Monday night's..."incident" --all in the past five years (or so). They're the better team here, but I'm amused by the thought of thesad-sack St. Louis Rams playing the role of karma-dispenser. Pick: St. Louis
Joe: Ugh, NOTHING worse than when Camtakes my upset pick before I can. Nothing! Pick: St. Louis
San Francisco at NY Jets
Aaron: In the aftermath, no one willcare that Jets QB Mark Sanchez went up against a ferocious defense that washellbent on taking out last week's loss on someone. I'm not saying there's a LOT of context toconsider, but it might be time to realize that Sanchez can't win by himself,Jets fans. Pick: SanFrancisco
Joe: The one good thing about thisJets team and their fans -- at least the fans KNOW they're being asshole whenthey start to agitate for Tim Tebow. Meanwhile, it was nice to see theUnbeatable Niners bubble burst by the unlikely Vikings, but it's probably toomuch to hope for two in a row. Pick: San Francisco
San Diego at Kansas City
Aaron: The only depressing aspect ofthe Chargers' 27-3 loss to Atlanta last week? The game was blacked out here in San Diego. Kansas City has been a house o' horrors forthe Chargers in recent years -- last Halloween night, QB Philip Rivers famouslyfumbled deep in Chiefs' territory on what would've been the game-winning drive-- but, Kansas City's one win (vs. New Orleans) is mathematically morefraudulent than the Chargers' two. It's math! Pick: San Diego
Joe: I kind of love how tightlyprofessional sports talkers cling to their narratives. Norv Turner's Chargershave started slowly so often that nobody seems at all concerned about thatdrubbing by the Falcons. Oh, they'll figure it out! You gotta trust me, guys:find a running game. Pick: San Diego
Tennessee at Houston
Aaron: Part of me is hoping the Titanscomically mock Houston by wearing throwbacks paying tribute to theirshort-lived tenure as the "Tennessee Oilers", culminating in aglorious heel turn by Houston Oilers legend Earl Campbell who -- from his wheelchair -- willinterrupt the pregame coin toss, take the microphone and blame the concreteturf of the Astrodome for the physical ruination of his legs. He'll close with, "You didn'tDESERVE the Oilers, Houston. And, youdidn't deserve ME!" [Mic drop] Pick: Houston
Joe: First-ever 3-0 start for theTexans! They look legitimately exciting! Isn't it about time for thatseason-devastating injury to strike? Pick: Houston
Carolina at Atlanta
Aaron: So...when did we collectivelyagree to bash Panthers QB Cam Newton for his somber -- albeit melodramatic --postgame comments after Carolina's loss to the Giants last week? Sports Illustrated's PeterKing even used the reaction of Ravens WR Torrey Smith (whose brother tragicallypast away last weekend) as a critical comparison to Newton's, holding it up as,what, deserving of a dirge? Newton is struggling and his biggest fault is caring too much? 'K, got it. Pick: Atlanta
Joe: Yeah, it really seems like peoplewere waiting for Cam to struggle a bit so they could haul out those old collegegrudges. It would be nice to see him really air it out against the Falcons, butAtlanta's defense really does seem much improved. Pick: Atlanta
New England at Buffalo
Aaron: If we're to believe ESPN.com'smost popular online personality, the ending of the Patriots' loss to the Ravenslast week was on par with the Green Bay/Seattle game from this past Mondaynight -- even though the Baltimore field goal looked pretty damn good, aftermultiple replay looks. The same ESPN.comguy also believes the Pats could be 3-0, if not for those meddling
Joe: You and me both. I know betterthan to get my hopes up for a team that beat two bad teams and lost to onemediocre one, but New England looks about as beatable as they have since theMatt Cassel season. Still ... nah. Pick: New England
Cincinnati at Jacksonville
Aaron: Yeesh. Well, I like that the Jaguars can run theball. And, since the Bengals' rundefense has been pretty porous in the early going, let's use the ol' "pickthe team who has the best player between 'em" tactic. Pick: Jacksonville
Joe: Am I crazy, or do the Bengalslook like they could frustrate teams enough to make a run at a wild card thisseason too? Pick: Cincinnati
Miami at Arizona
Aaron: Maybe weshould hold off on printing playoff tickets until dueling QBs Kevin Kolb andJohn Skelton can consistently channel the spirits of Kurt Warner and...I can'tthink of another decent Cardinals QB. But, here's a fun fact: in 1994, the Cardinals started Steve Beuerlein(7), Jay Schroeder (8) and Jim McMahon (1) at QB...and went8-8! Pick:Arizona
Joe: Can NO ONE remember Neil Lomax??Anyway, I am a definite believer in that Cardinals defense. But ... but ...4-0? I can't. Maybe I'm just hoping for a suicide-pool-busting result here, but... Pick: Miami
Oakland at Denver
Aaron: I'll take credit for pickingthe Raiders' upset win last week, even though I missed wildly on thespecifics. RB Darren McFadden has hadsome huge games against the Broncos over the past few years and Carson Palmercould go off here, but the Raiders are still REALLY weak in the secondary. Broncos in a shootout and Peyton Manning lookslike Peyton Manning in the final two minutes. Pick: Denver
Joe: YOU try making sense of theseintra-AFC West matchups. Pick: Oakland
Washington at Tampa Bay
Aaron: The Bucs have been pretty spryin the early going. The defense looksrespectable and the offense -- at least against the Giants, two weeks ago --looked good. Redskins QB Robert GriffinIII still has some bank from his week #1 performance in New Orleans, but atsome point, he's going to have to that again. Pick: Tampa Bay
Joe: Tampa's not going to be an easyout for anyone this season, but the Redskins have their backs against the wall,and for the first time in forever, they have a player with the goods to harnessthat desperation. Pick: Washington
New Orleans at Green Bay
Aaron: Yes, it was bad call(s) at theend of last Monday night's game. But, the officiating atrocity that wasunleashed on the Packers and their fanbase's hokey small-town sense ofself-worth was like watching the referees crap on every speech at theRepublican National Convention. So...win? Pick: Green Bay
Joe: Okay, can we talk about howhilarious the State of Emergency SportCenter after last Monday's game was?Everybody adopted that pitched-but-sorrowful tone that is usually reserved fora Munich Olympics-like disaster. "Our greatest hopes and our worst fearsare seldom realized," Steve Young intoned to Mike Tirico. "Our worstfears have been realized tonight. They're gone. The Packers' chances of going15-1 with no running game and a surprisingly porous offensive line are allgone." Pick: Green Bay
NY Giants at Philadelphia
Aaron: My friend Tom has a meticulousset of rules for seemingly every intra-division game involving NFC Eastteams. I'm assuming "Mike Vick haslooked like sh*t this season" is, like, rule number one. Pick: NY Giants
Joe: True enough! Plus the Giants looklike a team that took seven quarters before they remembered that they're reallygood. Pick: NY Giants
Chicago at Dallas
Aaron: Since I'm stealing theprognostication methodology of others, I might as well mention that Joe offeredup an interesting "win one, lose one, win one..." idea for theCowboys' fortunes a few weeks ago. Imean, I was going to pick Chicago anyway, but now it's more like betrayal. Pick: Chicago
Joe: Damn, I thought I'd be able topick one up here. Pick: Chicago
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