I’m taking Indianapolis -3.0. While there are plenty of reasons to consider Jacksonville here (as these teams always play close and the undefeated season historically is nearly impossible to complete), I can’t take Jacksonville in this spot at only 3 points. It doesn’t qualify as a philosophy pick since it opened at +4 and lots of people jumped on the Jags. I’ll trust Peyton and the Colts to do the same thing he did last year when I was on Jacksonville in a similar spot; find a way to win.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Indianapolis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Indianapolis

Good luck to whoever you are rooting for!

Dallas (+9.0) @ New Orleans (-9.0)
The Saints have made it no secret that they want to go for the perfect season, and tonight’s game against Dallas is their toughest remaining. I don’t doubt that they’ll be fired up and that they are the better team, but I can’t leave this many points on the table. New Orleans makes a habit of letting teams stick around far too often, and Dallas still has plenty to play for, too. New Orleans should come out on top, but I’m expecting a good game down to the wire, not a blowout.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Dallas
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: New Orleans

Good luck!

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

THE INTRO

10-6, hooray!

Law of averages, or talent finally coming through? I’m going to run with the latter, even if the former is more likely.

I always tend to do well to close out the season; after all, this is when Philosophy Santa comes out to give lots of presents to boys and girls that believe in him! While philo-picks tanked last week (0-2), they are still my greatest weapon.

Sorry to cut the intro short; date night with the girlfriend takes priority over coming up with a few more almost-witty lines that will get skipped over by 90% of you anyway!

Hope you all have had/are having a wonderful holiday season!

THE RECORD

Last Week
With the spread: 10 – 6 – 0 (.625)
Without the spread: 11 – 5 – 0 (.688)
^^Philosophical Picks^^: 0 – 2 – 0 (.000)

Season
With the spread: 99 – 107 – 2 (.481)
Without the spread: 142 – 66 – 0 (.683)
^^Philosophical Picks^^: 12 – 7 – 0 (.632)

QUICK RECAP OF LAST WEEK

THE GOOD

Pittsburgh (-11.0) @ Cleveland (+11.0)
Detroit (+14.0) @ Baltimore (-14.0)
Denver (+6.5) @ Indianapolis (-6.5)
N.Y. Jets (-3.5) @ Tampa Bay (+3.5)
Carolina (+13.0) @ New England (-13.0)
Miami (+3.0) @ Jacksonville (-3.0)
Cincinnati (+6.5) @ Minnesota (-6.5)
Washington (-1.0) @ Oakland (+1.0)
Philadelphia (-1.0) @ N.Y. Giants (+1.0)
Arizona (-3.5) @ San Francisco (+3.5)

THE BAD

Green Bay (-4.0) @ Chicago (+4.0)
New Orleans (-10.0) @ Atlanta (+10.0)
Seattle (+7.0) @ Houston (-7.0)
Buffalo (-1.0) @ Kansas City (+1.0)
St. Louis (+13.0) @ Tennessee (-13.0)
San Diego (+3.5) @ Dallas (-3.5)

THE PICKS

* – Indicates Upset Pick
^ – Indicates Philosophical Pick

Let’s get a winning streak going!

THURSDAY

Indianapolis (-3.0) @ Jacksonville (+3.0)
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Indianapolis (WIN)
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Indianapolis (WIN)

SATURDAY

Dallas (+9.0) @ New Orleans (-9.0)
The Saints have made it no secret that they want to go for the perfect season, and tonight’s game against Dallas is their toughest remaining. I don’t doubt that they’ll be fired up and that they are the better team, but I can’t leave this many points on the table. New Orleans makes a habit of letting teams stick around far too often, and Dallas still has plenty to play for, too. New Orleans should come out on top, but I’m expecting a good game down to the wire, not a blowout.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Dallas
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: New Orleans

SUNDAY

Arizona (-14.0) @ Detroit (+14.0)
You know how much I hate these crapshoot type games, but in this case, I have to take the Cardinals in blowout fashion. Coming off of a tough loss against the 49ers and wanting to avoid stumbling into the playoffs or leaving the division door open, I expect the Cards’ best effort this Sunday, which should be more than enough.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Arizona
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Arizona

Cleveland (+2.5) @ Kansas City (-2.5)
Both teams have a lot of guys playing for jobs next season, and somewhat surprisingly, Cleveland has been doing a better job at it of late. Normally I’d take the home team in a toss up like this, but the Browns have played decent enough to warrant a pick here.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Cleveland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Cleveland

New England (-7.0) @ Buffalo (+7.0)
When you get to this part of the season, I love to bet on bad teams against teams that NEED wins. When the bad team also happens to be a division rival home dog getting a touchdown’s worth of points? Looks like Philosophical Santa came early this year.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Buffalo
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: ^*Buffalo

Miami (+5.0) @ Tennessee (-5.0)
The Dolphins always seem to be the forgotten AFC team. This is a good team on both sides of the ball; not great, but good. And they find ways to win games. The same could be said about the Titans, who will probably edge out the win in this one with home field, but if they do I don’t believe it will be by much more than a field goal.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Miami
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Tennessee

Houston (-14.0) @ St. Louis (+14.0)
St. Louis has killed me all season long, philosophy or not, on their side or against them. But when I see one team riding high coming off of a 34-7 blowout win on the road against a team coming off of a humiliating 47-7 blowout loss, I just can’t help but take the team looking to redeem themselves, no matter how bad they may be.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^St. Louis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Houston

Atlanta (+6.5) @ N.Y. Jets (-6.5)
The Jets defense has really stepped up in the team’s three game winning streak, and with home field advatantage in this one, I expect them to stay hot against the struggling Falcons.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: N.Y. Jets
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: N.Y. Jets

Cincinnati (+7.0) @ San Diego (-7.0)
It’s always hard to think about a game being played when tragedy strikes like it did in the death of Chris Henry, and my condolences go out to his friends and family. It’s difficult to know whether Cincinnati will be too heavy-hearted to play, or if they will burst out with an amazing performance to honor him. I lean slightly towards the latter, and expect Cinci to play a hard fought game and keep it close, even if they don’t come out on top.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: San Diego

Oakland (+14.0) @ Denver (-14.0)
Charlie Frye, huh? As bad as it sounds, I’m actually taking the Raiders with the points here. Hate to do it, but these are the games the Raiders tend to show up for; when all the pressure is on the other team. Denver is the team in desperate need of the win; the Raiders aren’t getting a prayer in most people’s minds. Besides, getting two touchdowns in the NFL against your most hated rival? Worth a shot.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Oakland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Denver

San Francisco (+7.5) @ Philadelphia (-7.5)
I really like San Francisco and would normally jump all over these points; but the short week plus the potential let down after beating a division rival on MNF pus the travel plus the weather… just a lot working against the 49ers this week, and a lousy effort seems to be a very real possibility.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Philadelphia
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Philadelphia

Chicago (+11.0) @ Baltimore (-11.0)
I can’t make any more excuses for Chicago. They don’t deserve any more respect then what they are getting, and they are hopeless offensively. Baltimore’s D at home should feast on this offense, and despite the fact that they aren’t really a “blowout team”, I expect a rout here.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Baltimore
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Baltimore

Green Bay (+2.0) @ Pittsburgh (-2.0)
Okay, so to be clear, Green Bay, who has won five straight games and is 4-0-1 against the spread in that stretch, is the UNDERDOG to a team that has lost five straight, including three of their last four to three of the worst teams in the NFL (KC, Oak, Cle)? Yeah, that makes a TON of sense. Bookies are just praying you’ll be on Green Bay in this one; Philosophy Santa brought lots of presents this week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Pittsburgh
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: ^Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay (+6.5) @ Seattle (-6.5)
Tampa Bay has forgotten how to score, and Seattle, for all of their problems, still has a decent enough team that plays a lot better at home, too. Not much to like about the Bucs here.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Seattle

Minnesota (-9.0) @ Carolina (+9.0)
Much like Tampa Bay (though not QUITE as bad), Carolina doesn’t know how to score. And not many teams do on Minnesota, anyway. Being a heavy road favorite is dangerous this time of year, but the Vikings should take care of business this week as they often do.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Minnesota
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Minnesota

MONDAY

N.Y. Giants (-3.0) @ Washington (+3.0)
“When you get to this part of the season, I love to bet on bad teams against teams that NEED wins. When the bad team also happens to be a division rival home dog getting a touchdown’s worth of points? Looks like Philosophical Santa came early this year.” De ja vu, right? Except this time it is only a field goal’s worth of points. Oh well, you get the idea. Washington has been playing some great football, and this looks like a prime time to pull off an upset.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Washington
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: ^*Washington

THE COLLEGE NICKEL

SEASON RECORD: 41 – 29 – 6 (.586)

*Video with my best bowl bets coming out either Sunday or Monday this week… just check http://www.youtube.com/kingsrule41 sometime Monday!*

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Questions? Comments? Love the Dime? Hate it? Should I cut it down to a nickel?
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