Dave’s Dime
“Because Two Cents Just Isn’t Enough”

THE INTRO

Wooo, my winning percentages are into the .400s! Sure, I’m still a loser (by definition that is, I still think I’m cool), but I’m on my way to fixing that.

My vegan friend Diana has challenged me to be vegan for a week, and to prove to her how cool I am, I’m gonna do it. How does that prove I’m cool? Not sure. How does it relate to football? No idea, to be honest. But there goes 98% of my diet (french fries are still apparently okay!)

Raiders still suck, Trojans still rule. No shockers here, I guess.

Quote of the week: “Maybe if you slept before making your picks, you would do better. Just a thought.” – Gershom.

Maybe, but I guess we’ll never know, because I don’t sleep (Sorry Mom). Anyways, enough off topic jarble, lets get started!

Comment on the Trojans: Were any of you nervous about the game??? I wasn’t. I had money on the Trojans to cover the 22 points, and did not break a sweat, and was not suprised. For those of you that told me it wouldn’t be a blow out, well…

Told ya so.

THE RECORD

Last Week
With the spread: 8 – 7 – 1 (.533)
Without the spread: 8 – 8 – 0 (.500)
$$Money Picks$$: 0 – 1 – 1 (.000)

Season
With the spread: 13 – 18 – 1 (.419)
Without the spread: 15 – 17 – 0 (.469)
$$Money Picks$$: 1 – 2 – 1 (.333)

LAST WEEK’S RECAP OF DAVE’S BRILLIANCE AND FOOLISHNESS
(Usually Foolishness)

Baltimore (-3.5) 10 @ Tennessee 25 (+3.5)
What can I say, I’m the man.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – *Tennessee
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – *Tennessee

Buffalo 3 (+2.5) @ Tampa Bay 19 (-2.5)
Eh, wasn’t quite right on this one. Tampa Bay is looking great, I don’t mind giving credit where it’s due.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – *Buffalo
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – *Buffalo

Detroit 6 (-1.0) @ Chicago 38 (+1.0)
“I think I hold Detroit in too high regards, and Chicago in too low regards.” I sure do. Chicago spanked em here. Sorry for underestimating you guys.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – Detroit
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – Detroit

Minnesota 8 (+3.0) @ Cincinnati 37 (-3.0)
Carson Palmer + Bengals defense = Fun year.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Cincinnati

New England 17 (-3.0) @ Carolina 27 (+3.0)
Carolina loses to New Orleans and than beats the defending Super Bowl champions? I… don’t understand… maybe they are gonna be solid this year after all.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – $New England
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – New England

Pittsburgh 27 (-6.0) @ Houston 7 (+6.0)
I’m sorry, Pittsburgh. This was boneheaded, and I think I knew it when I typed it.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – *Houston
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – *Houston

Atlanta 18 (+1.0) @ Seattle 21 (-1.0)
Seattle wins at home for the 10,000th straight game. Big shocker. Too bad they can’t just ACT like they are at home on the road or something.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Seattle

St. Louis 17 (+1.0) @ Arizona 12 (-1.0)
“I know that Mike Martz is a clown and that the front office is in shambles, but lets get back on the field. St. Louis is a better team that the Cardinals, pure and simple. And I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that lightning WON’T strike twice in this one.” Well said, Dave.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – *St. Louis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – *St. Louis

Miami 7 (+5.5) @ N.Y. Jets 17 (-5.5)
“If Miami plays as well as they did last week, and the Jets play as poorly as they did, the Dolphins would be the simple favorite here. But, I don’t think either of these are gonna happen. At home against the Dolphins, it should be business as usual for the Jets, and they should notch the victory and begin to look more like the playoff calibur team that they are.” – Why am I not always this sharp? I could actually MAKE MONEY if I were…
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – N.Y. Jets
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – N.Y. Jets

San Diego 17 (+3.0) @ Denver 20 (-3.0)
San Diego continues to underachieve and fail to meet expectations. Reminds me of a favorite team of mine………
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: TIE – $*San Diego
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – *San Diego

Kansas City 23 (-1.0) @ Oakland 17 (+1.0)
The Chiefs looked good, but so did the Raiders. It came down to coaching and stupid mistakes, and the Raiders topped the Chiefs by plenty in the stupid mistakes category.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – *Oakland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – *Oakland

N.Y. Giants 27 (-3.0) @ New Orleans 10 (+3.0)
Like I said, I can’t pick these guys. Gotta hand it to the Giants though, who despite my picking against twice, are undefeated.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – *New Orleans
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – *New Orleans

Washington 14 (+5.5) @ Dallas 13 (-5.5)
Yuck. C’mon Dallas, your better than this.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS – Dallas
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS – Dallas

DAMN, I’M GOOD

Jacksonville 3 (+9.0) @ Indianapolis 10 (-9.0)
Vegas suckered me right in with this one. I am sure that Indianapolis is going to win the game, and a blowout is totally possible and maybe even likely. But I respect the Jaguars a little too much to give them 9 points. Look for both QBs to have a big game, and Jacksonville to make it interesting.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – *Jacksonville
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Indianapolis
– So I was off on the QBs, but gotta like the spread and w/o spread victories with seperate teams.

San Francisco 3 (+13.0) @ Philadelphia 42 (-13.0)
9 – 2 – 1. Thats San Fransisco’s career record in Philadelphia since 1975, and that makes me really uncomfortable giving them 13 points. These sorts of streaks always seem to hold up in sports, regardless of the skill of the current teams. However, I will not be pursuaded by this. After losing last week due to his poor play, McNabb has a ton to prove, especially with the extra attention he’s been getting about playing injured. Terrell Owens has plenty to prove too, as he takes on his former team that he has had nothing but ill will with during and after he left. I think a 48 – 3 slaughter is in order, so hell, take your 13 points San Fransisco.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – Philadelphia
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – Philadelphia
– This was freakily accurate. If I could hone these talents in to other games, as stated above in my Jets commentary… too bad I was off by 6 points, huh?

Cleveland 26 (+6.0) @ Green Bay 24 (-6.0)
Javon Walker out for the season is absolutely devastating to the Packers. Last week strengthened my beliefs that Favre is on the sharp decline, and I say Cleveland takes advantage of the floundering confidence and moral by heading into Green Bay and beating the superior team, suprising EVERYONE except for me and you, my loyal reader, because when is my word not gold? (…)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN – *Cleveland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN – *Cleveland
– This ones just a big “Told ya so”, my second of the week.

THE PICKS

* – Indicates Upset Pick
$ – Indicates Money Pick

Atlanta (+2.5) @ Buffalo (-2.5)
Buffalo let me down last week, and I’m not gonna pick them again this week. I think as long as Vick is healthy enough to play (which as far as I know, he’s supposed to be) the Falcons should be okay.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Atlanta
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Atlanta

Carolina (-3.5) @ Miami (+3.5)
Carolina is coming off an emotional victory against the defending super bowl champions. Miami is coming off a momentum breaking loss against the Jets. Oh, and Carolina is the superior team. Do the math.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Carolina
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Carolina

Cincinnati (-3.0) @ Chicago (+3.0)
While I have tended to underestemate Chicago, heres a great way for them to prove to me they deserve respect. I’m loving the Bengals right now on offense and defense, and if they can beat them, I’ll tip my hat to ’em. But I won’t pick them.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Cincinnati

Cleveland (+13.5) @ Indianapolis (-13.5)
Sell your house. Hopefully mortgage rates are solid wherever you are right now. Take that cash, and then go to a trustworthy bookie. Put that money on the Indianapolis Colts to win this game by more than 13.5. Pay me 5% for the advice, and enjoy the new home you’ll be able to afford with all the money your going to win. Peyton Manning is going to have a field day today my friends.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Indianapolis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Indianapolis

Jacksonville (+2.5) @ N.Y. Jets (-2.5)
Eh, I respect Jacksonville a heck of a lot, so this is a tough game for me. But, I’m riding the Jets bandwagon right into the playoffs, and so I continue this week. J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: New York Jets
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: New York Jets

New Orleans (+3.5) @ Minnesota (-3.5)
Daunte Culpepper: 0 TD, 8 INT. Randy Moss: 10 catches, 257 yards, 2 TDs. Starting to miss him? Just maybe. But I’m not selling on Daunte or the Vikings just yet. Look for the offense to finally click (even without Burleson) and the Vikes to put together enough for the win here.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Minnesota
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Minnesota

Oakland (+8.5) @ Philadelphia (-8.5)
I know in my head that Oakland is going to lose. Philadelphia’s defense is damn good, and they are a much sounder team, and they are at home. My heart tells me the Raiders are gonna pull the huge upset, but, my heart is a bit biased. Philadelphia will win the game. But by 9? I don’t know, I mean its possible, but I believe the Raiders are due for a big game, and they can at least keep it within 6 or so.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Oakland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Philadelphia

Tampa Bay (-3.0) @ Green Bay (+3.0)
One team is doing everything right (TB) and the other team is doing everything wrong (GB). Tampa Bays looking great, Green Bay is looking awful. . Point is, Bucs win.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Tampa Bay
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Tampa Bay

Tennessee (+6.5) @ St. Louis (-6.5)
I don’t know why I’m liking Tennessee so much this year, but heck, they pulled off the huge win against Baltimore last week, and St. Louis is coming off a weak win (but a win nonetheless) against Arizona. But, I’m gonna stick to my guns here. Tennessee again with the upset that puts the icing on the cake of Martz’s inevitable firing.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Tennessee
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Tennessee

Arizona (+6.0) @ Seattle (-6.0)
Seattle is at home? *Check the win. Against Arizona? *Check the money pick. Any questions? Hopefully not. But I’ll give you two sentences to fill space: Seattle always wins at home. Arizona sucks in general. So there you go.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Seattle

Dallas (-6.5) @ San Francisco (+6.5)
A floormate of mine asked me to be kind to the 49ers, and so for this once, I will not bash them. Hell, at least they HAVE a win, more than my Raiders can say. However, whether I’m being nice or not (sorry Paul) I’m still going to have to pick Dallas to notch the big rebound victory out in San Fran.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Dallas
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Dallas

New England (+3.0) @ Pittsburgh (-3.0)
Seeing New England with a plus next to its name is baffling. Not saying I disagree, Pittsburgh appears to be the better team this year. But I’ve been burned far too many times over the years to let go of the past
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *New England
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *New England

N.Y. Giants (+6.0) @ San Diego (-6.0)
If San Diego is going to bounce back this season, they gotta do it fast. And this is the game they will. At least, I think so… the Giants have already beaten me twice after I picked against them. Is a 3rd time in order? We’ll see.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: San Diego
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: San Diego

Kansas City (+3.0) @ Denver (-3.0)
Eh, Denver proved me wrong last week against San Diego, but Kansas City looks fantastic. Sure, the Raiders suck, but regardless, they looked very good against us, and I’m thinking they are real deal this year. Hope I’m wrong, because them going to 3 – 0 and us at 0 – 3 isn’t what I call a great start to the season. But, I’m damn sure Im not wrong, and I’m making this one my 3rd money pick of the week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $*Kansas City
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Kansas City

Enjoy your Sunday and the rest of your week! Email me feedback! Oh, and for past issues of the DIME, I archived them online: Dave’s Dime

MY TEAMS RECORDS
OAKLAND RAIDERS: 0 – 2 – 0
USC TROJANS: 3 – 0 – 0
LOS ANGELES KINGS: 0 – 0 – 0

TROJAN OUTSCORING O-METER
Season:
TROJANS 178
OPPONENTS 47

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