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

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the lack of the usual structure; after a very late evening of bowling and then drinking with four of my absolute favorite people in the world and about a week’s worth of sleep deprivation, it is all I can do to just get my opinions out in writing. Will re-send later with the records and all that good stuff, but for now, here are the games and my take. Good Luck and Happy New Year!

Chicago (-3.0) @ Detroit (+3.0)
For the last few weeks of the season, I play almost any home dog in a division rivalry game. When the spread is inexplicably low and 80+% of the public is on the “obvious” side, I play it happily.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Detroit
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: ^*Detroit

New England (+7.0) @ Houston (-7.0)
With not much to gain or lose this week, resting up for the playoffs makes sense for the Patriots in this spot.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Houston
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Houston

Jacksonville (+2.0) @ Cleveland (-2.0)
The Browns are ending the season on quite a hot streak; might as well finish it up with one more nice win at home.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Cleveland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Cleveland

Atlanta (-1.0) @ Tampa Bay (+1.0)
True, I love to play division rival home dogs, but I believe this spread is way off due to Tampa Bay’s two straight wins including the upset win over New Orleans last week. I think Atlanta picks up the win here.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Atlanta
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Atlanta

Pittsburgh (-3.0) @ Miami (+3.0)
Pittsburgh has picked up the pace in a few close wins over the last few weeks, but hitting the road, I think they come up short against a solid Dolphins team that is looking to follow up last week’s poor effort with a much better one this week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Miami
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Miami

San Francisco (-8.0) @ St. Louis (+8.0)
Division rival home dog, and man do I hate it. St. Louis keeps letting me down, but I have to trust my philosophy picks when I come across them.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^St. Louis
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: San Francisco

Indianapolis (+8.0) @ Buffalo (-8.0)
I’m pretty sure you don’t follow up forfeiting your undefeated season with a strong effort in Buffalo; should be all backups for Indy this week.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Buffalo
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Buffalo

New Orleans (+7.0) @ Carolina (-7.0)
Carolina has been red hot, and New Orleans will be resting Brees with the NFC wrapped up; seems simple enough.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Carolina
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Carolina

N.Y. Giants (+8.0) @ Minnesota (-8.0)
The Vikings have not played well enough to warrant giving up 8 points to an angry team that just missed the playoffs. Minnesota will be playing for the bye they have let slip away, but I still expect it to be close.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: N.Y. Giants
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Minnesota

Philadelphia (+3.0) @ Dallas (-3.0)
In what should be a great game in the battle for the NFC East, I’ll take Dallas; they’ve got home field, and the defense has been lights out.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Dallas
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Dallas

Green Bay (+3.0) @ Arizona (-3.0)
Arizona has more to play for (could concievably end up with a first round bye) and they’ve got home field, too, so I’ll take them in this one.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Arizona
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Arizona

Kansas City (+10.0) @ Denver (-10.0)
While I do think Denver will win this one, we saw what happened when the Raiders headed into Denver a few weeks ago; when bad teams with nothing to lose, especially division rivals, get the chance to play spoiler, they often do a good job at least making it more interesting than it should be.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Kansas City
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Denver

Tennessee (-6.0) @ Seattle (+6.0)
Tennessee has made it clear what they are going to do; run, run, and run some more to try and get Chris Johnson to rush for 2000 yards and beyond. Something tells me Seattle stacks the box hard a finds a way to win their last game at home.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Seattle
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Seattle

Washington (+3.0) @ San Diego (-3.0)
I think San Diego cares more about trying to win the Super Bowl than their season and December winning streaks. With the #2 seed locked up, resting everyone is the wise move here, while the Redskins players are all fightin for jobs.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Washington
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: *Washington

Baltimore (-10.5) @ Oakland (+10,5)
Oakland seems to relish in the role of spoiler against tough teams, and you know how I feel about teams with nothing to lose late in the season. Baltimore should find a way to win, but I expect it to be ugly, not easy.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: ^Oakland
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: Baltimore

Cincinnati (+9.5) @ N.Y. Jets (-9.5)
Even with the Bengals likely conceding the game, I don’t expect the Jets to go crazy on offense; it just isn’t their style. I’ll take the 9.5 points and look for the backups to help me out.
PICK WITH THE SPREAD: Cincinnati
PICK WITHOUT THE SPREAD: N.Y. Jets

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