Clement's Football Picks

Wow, I'm surprised Pay still lets me do these. Nevertheless, the NFL season is still relatively young and I have plenty o'time to help out my disastrously-poor record (4-11). I'm going to blame it on early-morning wake-ups (we're talking 6:30am in Richmond some days, folks) for my practicums for student teaching.

It's okay to be jealous. Now, as for football, let's take a look at last week's numbers.

Last Week: 1-4 [Kind of a revolting development.]

Had to take a step back there, but we proceed onward and upward with 5 new games to enjoy.

Baltimore @ New Orleans [-2]
Both teams are fresh off of a much-needed bye, especially for the Ravens. It appears that Air McNair, who might soon be called Grandpa McNair with his limited mobility as of late, wil suit up and play. The fans are more than rabid in the Bourbon City and I like how Sean Payton has this team playing. I might've told you I'd have eaten my shoe if I thought New Orleans would be 5-1 at this point, but here they are. And I'm sticking with the feel-good story as the 'Aints - excuse me Saints - will cover the spread and move to 6-1 at home. Who doesn't love a hometown pick?

Jacksonville @ Philadelphia [-6]
Jacksonville laid one of the bigger non Arizona-based eggs of the season last week, getting stomped by the Houston Texans. Now, while we all love the triplets of Carr/Lundy/Johnson, I'm not buying this Texans team as worthy of stomping anyone of validity. Although the Jags blasted my Jets 41-0, that was at home where the Jags are a completely different team. While I'm not sold on Stallworth being back or being a huge target, it's clear that Reggie Brown is. I hate 6 point spreads, but the Jags are horrendous away from Jacksonville and that leads me to take the Iggles to win and cover at home. 2-for-2 with those home teams. Look out.

Indianapolis @ Denver [-2.5]
Deja vu. First off, the new Denzel flick looks pretty badass. Yet, I feel like I'm having it when I'm picking this game. Let me explain - as in previous picks, I wonder if Denver can score if it absolutely needs to. While Indy's D can often resemble a very mediocre team, Denver's passing game seems to be completely lacking with the Snake. While I love Denver at home, Pittsburgh dismantled this team (with the defense playing quite well, although not up to this season's tremendous standards), and I don't think it'll be cold enough for Peyton to be rattled. I'll begrudgingly take the Colts to win and therefore beat the spread, but I'm anxious to say the least with this idea.

The Side Rant
I have a mini-beef with the hate on the Jets this week. Sure, we have the #32-ranked defense and a suspect #9-offense, but there are worse teams out there. I'm not sure if I buy a pro-Cleveland spread of 1.5, even though they are at home. Let's take a quick look at the Jets wins (@Tennessee, @Buffalo [their home opener], Miami, Detroit] and losses [@New England, @Indianapolis, @Jacksonville]. Obviously, we see four bad teams we beat and three good teams, perhaps excluding those tricky-Jags right now. Yet, outside of the Jags game, we played well on the road and should've beaten Indy. Although we could've easily lost one or two of our wins, it balances out in the end. Nevertheless, Cleveland is a mess and the firing of Maurice Carthon (who inexplicably keeps getting more jobs) won't fire this team up enough. I also don't buy CNN/SI putting Droughns at a 100+, 1 TD game after the Broncos wore him down to a bit last week. While my beef is obviously slanted, why do the Peter Kings of the world seem to dictate the Jets being hated on, soft schedule or not?

Let's move into the college realm before I get carried away.

#8 Tennessee [-4.5] @ South Carolina
I gotta admit I've always had a small place in my heart for the Volunteers, especially since they beat FSU back in 1999 (go Tee Martin) and also since my real Orange (Syracuse) suck so badly. Nevertheless, the Ol' Ball Coach has been known to own (or POWN if you will) the Vols in recent years. While I don't buy Tennessee as the #7 team, or being ranked above #9 Florida, I do buy them taking home a hard-fought double-digit victory over those lovable Gamecocks.

Georgia @ #9 Florida [-14]
Screw the SEC and the NCAA. I'm calling this what it is. The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. That is legendary and should never be stripped away. Nevertheless, I despise both teams for the most part and Georgia never seemed to beat Florida whenever I wanted them to (look above as I like Tennessee). As for this week, I expect Florida to be a bit angry and ready to take it out on the Dawgs. I can't remember the last time I took a non-Texas or USC spread this large to carry, but I am now. Take the Gators, who still have the ridiculous outside shot at the BCS-title game.

Well, it's all I can offer at this point. Here's hoping for only two wrong this week (I'd love to see Denver win and Florida to lose), but everything else can remain the same.

Wait, one more thing. I hate that I wrote this so late in the week. I was all set to call a Virginia Tech whooping of overrated Clemson (who shat all over Georgia Tech and my pick last week). Brandon Ore is a monster and Tech is usually rock solid on Thursdays (yes, I remember the BC-game earlier this year). While I am not a Hokie-fan (remember the Syracuse alliance), I can't believe this game is that much of an upset.

Now I'm done. Until next week ...

-- Clement