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

THE INTRO

Well, this sucks.

When I suck at picking games, the Dime is funny and light hearted and generally self-loathing.

When I kick ass at picking hames, the Dime is informative and generally self-loving.

So what the heck am I supposed to do with 7 – 7?

I mean it wasn’t really my fault (yes, it was). A lot of crazy results this week that no one could have forseen (this from the guy who took KC over SD and Oak over Pit… sounds like a lame excuse to me). Oh well, with my expertise, I should have no problem righting the ship (which is set on a crash course with me at the helm).

Schizophrenia, anyone? Lets just pick some games, win or lose. I’m driving MYSELF insane.

Back to 16 games this week… should be fun.

THE RECORD

Last Week
With the spread: 7 – 7 – 0 (.500)
Without the spread: 7 – 7 – 0 (.500)
$$Money Picks$$: 0 – 3 – 0 (.000)
^^Zen Picks^^: 0 – 0 – 0 (N/A)
**Outright Upsets**: 2 – 2 – 0 (.500)

Season
With the spread: 62 – 60 – 6 (.508)
Without the spread: 82 – 46 – 0 (.641)
$$Money Picks$$: 12 – 14 – 1 (.461)
^^Zen Picks^^: 11 – 7 – 1 (.611)
**Outright Upsets**: 17 – 14 – 0 (.548)

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

Atlanta 14 5 – 2 (-5.0) @ Detroit 30 1 – 6 (+5.0)
Called this one… Wish I’d had the guts to take Detroit outright.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN *Detroit
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS Atlanta

Cincinnati 20 4 – 3 (+3.0) @ Baltimore 26 5 – 2 (-3.0)
Cinci was looking like a SB favorite, now they barely look like they can even make the playoffs.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN Baltimore
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Baltimore

Dallas 19 4 – 3 (-3.0) @ Washington 22 2 – 5 (+3.0)
Dallas frustrates me more and more with each week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS Dallas
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS Dallas

Green Bay 10 3 – 4 (+3.5) @ Buffalo 24 2 – 5 (-3.5)
“Who cares?” just doesn’t quite do it justice.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS *$Green Bay
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS *Green Bay

Houston 10 2 – 5 (+13.0) @ N.Y. Giants 14 5 – 2 (-13.0)
How NYG doesn’t win this game big baffles the heck out of me.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS $N.Y. Giants
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN N.Y. Giants

Kansas City 31 4 – 3 (+2.0) @ St. Louis 17 4 – 3 (-2.0)
172 yards for Larry Johnson… simply too easy against these guys.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN *Kansas City
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN *Kansas City

Miami 31 1 – 6 (+13.5) @ Chicago 13 7 – 0 (-13.5)
Wow, wow, wow is all I can say.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS $Chicago
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS Chicago

New Orleans 31 5 – 2 (-1.0) @ Tampa Bay 14 2 – 5 (+1.0)
Feelings be damned, the better team won here.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS *Tampa Bay
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS *Tampa Bay

Tennessee 7 2 – 5 (+9.5) @ Jacksonville 37 4 – 3 (-9.5)
Just a good old easy one, never a problem with that.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN Jacksonville
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Jacksonville

Minnesota 3 4 – 3 (-5.0) @ San Francisco 9 2 – 5 (+5.0)
Okay, Minnesota, you are officially dead to me as a contender.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS Minnesota
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS Minnesota

Indianapolis 27 7 – 0 (+3.0) @ New England 20 6 – 1 (-3.0)
This is one game that I’m glad to be wrong on.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: LOSS New England
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: LOSS New England

Oakland 0 2 – 5 (+7.0) @ Seattle 16 4 – 3 (-7.0)
No surprises here. I still can’t decide how I feel about Walter.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN Seattle

DAMN, I’M GOOD

Cleveland 25 2 – 5 (+12.5) @ San Diego 32 5 – 2 (-12.5)
San Diego has an outstanding offense, but they are due for a bit of an off game. And while Cleveland isn’t going too blow anyone away with their talent, they do play every game tough. I think they will keep this loss to about 10 points, and win with the spread.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN *Cleveland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN San Diego
– Nailed it.

Denver 31 5 – 2 (+3.0) @ Pittsburgh 20 2 – 5 (-3.0)
This is the only Zen pick I see this week; and I’m not going to take it. Two aspects; A) What is Vegas thinking making Pitts the fave? B) Pitts coming off the embarassing loss, should play their asses off today. Sure. But Denver is completely legitimate in my mind, and one loss to undefeated Indy doesn’t change that. I crunched the numbers, and see this as a very easy win for Denver. We’ll see if I’m wrong in due time.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: WIN *Denver
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: WIN *Denver
– Going AGAINST Zen and winning? Talk about rare.

THE PICKS

* – Indicates Upset Pick
$ – Indicates Money Pick
^ – Indicates Zen Pick

Baltimore 6 – 2 (-7.0) @ Tennessee 2 – 6 (+7.0)
Baltimore is the much better team… plus McNair gets to pick apart his former team in Tennessee? Win by more than a TD? No problem.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^$Baltimore
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Baltimore

Buffalo 3 – 5 (+12.0) @ Indianapolis 8 – 0 (-12.0)
Absolutely no way that Buffalo can stop this passing attack. 12 is a lot of points, and it isn’t necessarily a lock, but it certainly SHOULD go in the books as a blowout.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Indianapolis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Indianapolis

Cleveland 2 – 6 (+8.0) @ Atlanta 5 – 3 (-8.0)
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Cleveland plays tough. And while the smart pick might be to take the angry-coming-off-a-loss Falcons, I’m gonna go ahead and take the points in this one. But unlike last week, Atlanta won’t be losing this time.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Cleveland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Atlanta

Green Bay 3 – 5 (+5.0) @ Minnesota 4 – 4 (-5.0)
Normally I’d take GB, considering they aren’t THAT bad, and they usually play Minnesota tough anyways. But on the contrary, I’ll take Minnesota, because after last week’s complete joke of a loss, they should be totally ready to redeem themselves for the home crowd.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Minnesota
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Minnesota

Houston 2 – 6 (+10.0) @ Jacksonville 5 – 3 (-10.0)
Jacksonville does a pretty good job showing up against teams that aren’t that great, and Houston certainly falls under that category. At home, I’ll assume Jacksonville can do what the Giants failed to do last week, and that is blow out the lowly Texans.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Jacksonville
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Jacksonville

Kansas City 5 – 3 (+1.0) @ Miami 2 – 6 (-1.0)
So Miami pulls off the amazing upset, goes home to a super amped up crowd, and wins this game, too. Perfectly feasible. But you know, they still suck. One game doesn’t change that. And Kansas City has been playing some great football. While indeed the looming potential of an emotional explosion is a tad scary, I’ll take my chances with the better team in this game.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Kansas City
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Kansas City

N.Y. Jets 4 – 4 (+10.5) @ New England 6 – 2 (-10.5)
The Jets are no contender, but they aren’t completely terrible either. While New England may very well blow them out, I don’t think it’s going to happen; 10.5 is a lot of points, and I’ve got the Jets keeping it within a TD.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *N.Y. Jets
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: New England

San Diego 6 – 2 (-1.0) @ Cincinnati 4 – 4 (+1.0)
I took Cincinnati to win the superbowl a month or so ago, and now, they are three losses away from being out of the playoff race. Bad news, Cinci – unless you’ve got something hidden up your sleeve, this is going to be one of the three losses right here. San Diego is just too good on both sides of the ball to pass up on at only -1.0.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $San Diego
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: San Diego

San Francisco 3 – 5 (+6.0) @ Detroit 2 – 6 (-6.0)
Congrats San Fran, you upset Minnesota! Welcome back to reality. Your defense (especially against the pass) is absolutely horrific, and the Lions are going to eat you alive. Yes the 2 – 6 Lions. And yes, -6 points, too.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Detroit
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Detroit

Washington 3 – 5 (+7.0) @ Philadelphia 4 – 4 (-7.0)
I don’t want to pick this game, because I know I’ll be wrong, but here goes. Washington’s pass defense isn’t good. Philly is due for a big, big win. And they should come off of their well-timed bye absolutely flying. Sound good to you? Me too.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Philadelphia
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Philadelphia

Denver 6 – 2 (-9.0) @ Oakland 2 – 6 (+9.0)
Oakland is back to sucking, and all is “right” in the world. Denver takes care of business and, unlike last time, covers the spread this time while they are at it. (Depressing, I know… but what do you want from me? If this were a Madden game I could win it for the Raiders, but as is, I’m helpless).
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: $Denver
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Denver

Dallas 4 – 4 (-6.5) @ Arizona 1 – 7 (+6.5)
Gut feeling, coupled with the fact that Dallas is a disaster. While they certainly should win this game, I’ll go the other way; Arizona is due for that 2nd win, and its at home coming off the bye. Dallas is exactly the kind of self-imploding team that the oft-self-imploding Cardinals need to pick that win up. And so they do, in Week 10’s wild upset.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^*Arizona
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Arizona

New Orleans 6 – 2 (+4.5) @ Pittsburgh 2 – 6 (-4.5)
Ok, Public: PITTSBURGH ISN’T A WORLD CHAMPION ANYMORE. THEY ARE NOT A GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM. THERE IS NO MIRACLE TURNAROUND IN STORE. New Orleans is NOT the underdog. They are the better football team and they absolutely will beat Pittsburgh outright.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *$New Orleans
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *New Orleans

St. Louis 4 – 4 (+3.0) @ Seattle 5 – 3 (-3.0)
Tough game to pick, but I’ll take Seattle at home with the mobile QB and Matt Morris against a pitiful St. Louis run defense. Wouldn’t be surprised if St. Louis actually showed up for this game – but I’ll take my chances.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Seattle

Chicago 7 – 1 (+1.0) @ N.Y. Giants 6 – 2 (-1.0)
Chicago gets embarassed and humiliated on Sunday and chewed up and destroyed by the media all week and you think they aren’t going to come out fired up in this one? Chicago shuts the Giants down and gets back on track this week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *^Chicago
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Chicago

Tampa Bay 2 – 6 (+9.5) @ Carolina 4 – 4 (-9.5)
So neither team has the defense it once did. While Carolina is indeed the deserving favorite, they have only won 4 games this season, and those have been by 2, 3, 8, and 2. They haven’t won a game by double digits yet this year, and I don’t think they are starting this Monday night.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: *Tampa Bay
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Carolina

THE COLLEGE NICKEL

RECORD: 22 – 21 – 2 (.511)

1. Wisconson Badgers (-2.0) @ Iowa Hawkeyes (+2.0)
I don’t understand this spread at all. Even at home, Iowa still isn’t quite as good as Wisconson is… I don’t see this being a blowout or anything, but it should certainly be a Badgers victory.

2. Cal Golden Bears (-13.5) @ Arizona Wildcats (+13.5)
Cal let up on the last drive of the game to let UCLA score a “meaningless” TD to screw me out of the pick and money last week. However, Arizona’s offense is nowhere close to UCLA’s, and Cal should be able to pick apart this secondary and cruise to a blowout.

3. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (+37.5) @ Hawaii Warriors (-37.5)
Don’t fix what isn’t broken. Hawaii has cruised to 68 – 10 and 63 – 10 victories over the last two weeks, and Louisiana is right on par with the two teams that Hawaii crushed. 37.5 is a whopping amount of points, but Hawaii loves to score, and 63 – 21 would still cover the spread.

4. Navy Midshipmen (-15.0) @ East Michigan Eagles (+15.0)
Very unflashy pick here, but Navy should have no trouble running the ball against the Eagles, and should be able to beat them by about 3 or 4 TDs easy enough.

5. Ohio State Buckeyes (-23.5) @ Northwestern Wildcats (+23.5)
Ok, so Ohio State had one lackluster week. Big deal. In this tune-up game before the big Michigan showdown next week, look for them to win by their standard 35 – 7 margin.

HONORABLE MENTION (12 – 12 – 0):
Purdue Boilermakers (+3.0) @ Illinois Fighting Illini (-3.0)
Miami Florida Hurricanes (+3.5) @ Maryland Terps (-3.5)
Alabama Crimson Tide (+18.0) @ LSU Tigers (-18.0)
Oregon Ducks (+8.0) @ USC Trojans (-8.0)

YOU SAID IT!

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MY TEAM’S RECORDS
OAKLAND RAIDERS: 2 – 6 – 0
USC TROJANS: 7 – 1 – 0
LOS ANGELES KINGS: 5 – 10 – 3

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