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

THE INTRO

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Hopefully most of you will be spending your Thanksgiving around friends and family, enjoying a nice home-cooked meal.

Me? Thanks to the kind folks at SBR who decided to fire me with no warning/reason, I’ll be spending Thanksgiving packing up my stuff for a drive halfway across the country this upcoming weekend. At least my Dad is out here to help.

So we’ll be going to a restaurant to eat Thanksgiving dinner. Once again, I can’t thank SBR enough!

Ok, ok, enough bitterness. I haven’t slept well at all this week, anxious about the impending move, so I am, admittedly, cranky.

But I am thankful to be headed home to my loving friends and family, and to get to work on new and exciting business ventures.

I’m also thankful that, despite not being around extended family, I still have the chance to publically humiliate myself thanks to the Dime. What would I do without it?

All kidding aside, I’m also thankful for all of you that take the time to read my stuff every week (or even once every now and then) and support me. It really means a lot to me, so thank you for that.

You’d better not be reading this without a drumstick or some other foodstuff in your hand! And if you are, why on earth aren’t you eating?! It’s Thanksgiving!

THE RECORD

Last Week
With the spread: 9 – 7 – 0 (.563)
Without the spread: 13 – 3 – 0 (.813)
^^Philosophical Picks^^: 1 – 0 – 0 (1.000)

Season
With the spread: 81 – 78 – 1 (.509)
Without the spread: 109 – 51 – 0 (.681)
^^Philosophical Picks^^: 10 – 5 – 0 (.667)

QUICK RECAP OF LAST WEEK

THE GOOD

Miami (+3.5) @ Carolina (-3.5)
Seattle (+10.5) @ Minnesota (-10.5)
Atlanta (+7.0) @ N.Y. Giants (-7.0)
Buffalo (+9.0) @ Jacksonville (-9.0)
Cincinnati (-9.0) @ Oakland (+9.0)
San Diego (-4.0) @ Denver (+4.0)
N.Y. Jets (+10.5) @ New England (-10.5)
Philadelphia (-3.0) @ Chicago (+3.0)
Tennessee (+4.5) @ Houston (-4.5)

THE BAD

Indianapolis (-1.5) @ Baltimore (+1.5)
New Orleans (-11.0) @ Tampa Bay (+11.0)
Washington (+11.0) @ Dallas (-11.0)
Pittsburgh (-10.5) @ Kansas City (+10.5)
Cleveland (+3.0) @ Detroit (-3.0)
San Francisco (+6.5) @ Green Bay (-6.5)
Arizona (-9.0) @ St. Louis (+9.0)

THE PICKS

* – Indicates Upset Pick
^ – Indicates Philosophical Pick

THURSDAY

Green Bay (-11.5) @ Detroit (+11.5)
The Packers are obviously the better team, but Detroit is going to be playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of excitement after the thrilling win over Cleveland. Confidence/excitement may not be enough to pick up the win, but I do think it could be enough to make for a decent Thanksgiving Day game.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Detroit
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Green Bay

Oakland (+13.5) @ Dallas (-13.5)
Trust me, I’m not going to go all “Oakland is good now that they have Gradkowski leading them” on you. That said, should Dallas really be giving up two touchdowns here? They’ve shown very serious issues against press coverage (something the Raiders are capable of applying), scoring only 7 points in each of the last two weeks. This one has the looks of an ugly, low-scoring game to me, not a Dallas blowout.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Oakland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Dallas

N.Y. Giants (-6.0) @ Denver (+6.0)
Denver is done. Whatever cloud they were playing on has dissipated, and after the smoke has cleared, they appear to be the mediocre team we all thought they were coming into the season. The Giants haven’t been anything special, but they have more than enough to win this one by a TD I believe.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: N.Y. Giants
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: N.Y. Giants

SUNDAY

Seattle (-3.0) @ St. Louis (+3.0)
Can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m taking St. Louis. Seattle’s defense is just so bad that even the Rams should be able to put up points (heavy load of Steven Jackson is likely), and they are just to inconsistant to have any faith in offensively. I may end up regretting it, but I’ll take my chances on the lowly Rams.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: St. Louis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *St. Louis

Carolina (+3.0) @ N.Y. Jets (-3.0)
Complete honesty; I have no idea at all what to expect from this game. Two underacheiving teams with plenty of issues and inconsistant QB play. My model says 31-27 Carolina, so I’ll just run with that, and take the points while I’m at it.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Carolina
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Carolina

Tampa Bay (+12.0) @ Atlanta (-12.0)
Tampa Bay’s defense is horrible, and Atlanta should come into this game plenty angry and plenty motivated. It has been a disappointing season in Atlanta, and this is not only a game they need, but a game I think they will enjoy after the frustrating OT loss to the Giants. I’m expecting a fairly one-sided affair.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Atlanta
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Atlanta

Miami (-3.5) @ Buffalo (+3.5)
Everything about this game screams Miami, they are clearly the better team and they just proved they could go out and win on the road against a similar looking team in Carolina. But for whatever reason, this just strikes me as “one of those games”. Buffalo always seems to be just a play or two away; maybe this week they make those plays.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Buffalo
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Buffalo

Washington (+9.0) @ Philadelphia (-9.0)
Washington has proven, in my opinion, that they deserve a little more respect than this after the win over Denver (fallen from grace or not) and the near-shutout of Dallas. Philadelphia hasn’t exactly been dominant this season. I expect them to pick up the win, but I’ll take the points.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Washington
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Philadelphia

Cleveland (+14.0) @ Cincinnati (-14.0)
Much like Atlanta, I expect Cinci to be a team possessed this week after letting that Raider game slip away. Cleveland’s offense has been useless up until that last game; and it WAS Detroit. Expect things to return to normal for both teams this week, and this one to be a lot less interesting than the first meeting between these two teams earlier in the season.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Cincinnati

Indianapolis (-3.5) @ Houston (+3.5)
Houston has lost their last two games 20-17, and Indy has been sneaking by teams by very slim margins. This one just feels like another 3 or 4 point victory for the Colts, meaning this spread was, in my opinion, set perfectly. I’ll go with the score landing on three and take the Texans.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Houston
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Indianapolis

Jacksonville (+3.0) @ San Francisco (-3.0)
The Jaguars have actually, against my will, made believers out of me. Maurice Jones-Drew is always a force, and the team seems to be picking up some confidence. I like them to upset the 49ers here, who still seem to be just a small step behing where they need to be.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Jacksonville
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Jacksonville

Kansas City (+13.5) @ San Diego (-13.5)
Toss up here, but I can’t imagine Kansas City matching their effort from last week. San Diego is red-hot, and I’m too scared to pick against them at this point, even with all these points dangling in front of me.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: San Diego
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: San Diego

Chicago (+10.5) @ Minnesota (-10.5)
Yes, Chicago is bad. Yes, Minnesota is outstanding. I’m still not willing to give up 10.5 points in what is always a physical, smashmouth rivalry game. Chicago just kept it close against Philadelphia, and I’ll be looking for them to do the same against the Vikings.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Chicago
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Minnesota

Arizona (+3.0) @ Tennessee (-3.0)
The Titans, and more noticeably Vince Young, are back. Young has pumped the team full of energy, and they have responded extremely well on both sides of the ball. While it will likely end up being too little too late, I wouldn’t tell that to the Titans right now; and i wouldn’t go against them at home right now, either.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Tennessee
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Tennessee

Pittsburgh (+2.5) @ Baltimore (-2.5)
Even if Big Ben plays as it appears he will be, I don’t expect him to be at 100%. Baltimore has been so close all season to getting over the hump, and this is their chance. I expect them to take it with Polamalu out and Big Ben nursing a concussion.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Baltimore
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Baltimore

MONDAY

New England (+2.0) @ New Orleans (-2.0)
Wow, what a great game this should be. Will be a lot of fun to see just how good the Saints are, and will also be fun to see how the Patriots’ defense responds to this opportunity to prove themselves. The Pats have been winning big games like this for almost a decade now; the Saints, not so much. I’ll take the Pats, but it does look like a good ol’ fashion coinflip.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: New England
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *New England

THE COLLEGE NICKEL

RECORD: 37 – 29 – 6 (.561)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS: Check out the website I run with my best friend Sam, http://www.allpac10.com!

Week 13 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5FEK5tRgBQ

Rutgers -3.0
Central Florida -3.0
Nebraska/Colorado Over 38.0
Nevada/Boise State Over 70.0

Good Luck This Week!
———————
Questions? Comments? Love the Dime? Hate it? Should I cut it down to a nickel?
EMAIL ME FEEDBACK!

Comments are closed