Weekly Football Predictions
by Chris Clement

Oh man, oh man ... do I suck at these. It's been brutal this year with picks, even with college which I have made some decent bank on in the past [2-6 last week, 8-20 on the year]. As for the NFL, picking straight-up is tough enough, but against the spread can be too daunting a task. Nevertheless, Paymon has the guts to throw out 7 more games. Time to roll out and see if we can somehow put together a winning week.

New England (-6) @ Green Bay
Mark it down, Tom Brady and Bill Billechick won't lose 3 games in a row. Not this year, at least. While Favre has really toned down the turnovers (7 INTS, 3 FUML), the Green Bay defense might be getting more props for being able to keep their teams in games. A.J. Hawk is rounding out nicely while Ahmad Carroll was addition by subtraction. With that being said, the Pats travel well (all 3 losses were at home this year) and should take out the Pack and cover the points.

Indianapolis (-1.5) @ Dallas
All the Tony Romo love has made the Dallas situation a lot more fun the past few weeks. TO has been relatively quiet and Parcells doesn't look like he wants to jump off of the top of Texas Stadium as much. The Colts, 9-0, dodged another one last week and seem to be riding comfortably. Don't bank on this team looking to lose. They took off the last few weeks last year and definitely lost their edge. Addai is running well in the redzone and Dallas will miss the major contributions that Greg Ellis made (torn Achilles). While TO might be able to keep up with Harrison and Wayne, the Cowboys need a healthy Terry Glenn and a dynamic game from Jones and Barber III to pull off the upset. It'll be close, but I'll take Peyton Manning and the Colts to cover and move to 10-0.

San Diego @ Denver (-2.5)
Substituting for the former Sunday Night game (Colts/Cowboys) is this AFC West showdown that might have the inside track to the #2 seed in the AFC, or better perhaps. Denver has shown up when they needed to, outside of the Colts game, and the Chargers seem to be building behind Rivers and that insane LT guy (15 TDs in the past 5 games, we all know). Plummer seems far too turnover-prone, yet I feel like taking a home team for once. Primetime usually leads to Rod Smith playing well and I'll tab a TD for he and Walker as the Broncos squeak out a win and cover.

Pittsburgh (-3.5) @ Cleveland
Three covers and then a trap game. I avoided the Aints/Stillers game last week for this exact reason. Pittsburgh is tricky. Fast Willie, with 10 TDs in his last seven, can be the focus as Ben calms down the 50+ attempt games for a bit. While Cleveland is riding high off of wins against teams wth playoff potential (Jets and Falcons, 7 and 6, respectively, in their conferences), Droughns won't be able to command the yards and touches against this stout Steelers front line. Unless Braylon can eclipse 40 yards and show why Ike Taylor's benching matters so much, I'll take the Steelers to cover the spread.

Moving along to a formidable college weekend, including 'The Game of the Year'. I won't rant on these, as my expertise this year isn't respectable enough to pretend. As for college basketball, I'll be ready when it heats up. Quick hits for now ...

Michigan @ Ohio St. (-7)
Look for Chad Henne to make a big mistake late as the Wolverines attempt to rally, sealing a two-touchdown victory for the #1 Buckeyes.

California @ USC (-6.5)
USC smells paydirt and will use its homefield advantage, but they won't cover the spread as Cal's rushing attack keeps it under a touchdown in defeat.

Maryland @ Boston College (-7)
The Twerps take a step backwards, as the Golden Eagles further prove that the ACC-elite is nothing what we once deemed it to be.

Enjoy the wild weekend of sensational matchups.