We're back for another round of NFL picks against the spread! I'm off to an 0-1 start this week thanks to our San Francisco 49ers looking awful. I said on Thursday that I would pick them because I'm a homer, but that my logical side said they probably lose, and it might be like the Thanksgiving game. What do you know? They lost 20-3, a year after the 19-3 loss. So, there's that....
For the second straight season, I am back for the LVH SuperContest. SB Nation's partners over at Odds Shark are sponsoring my entry again. The contest requires selecting 5 games each week and picking them against the spread. This year's contest is expected to have nearly 1,400 participants, including myself, Matt Ufford and Eric Sollenberger from SB Nation. Everybody picks their own five games and there will be a running leaderboard HERE. You can follow my standings under the name "Fooch".
Last year, I finished 39-45-1. This year, I'm off to a decent start. I put together three straight 4-1 weeks, slipped to 3-2, bounced back to 3-1-1, and then went 3-2 last week. The toughest loss on that one was the Colts getting the back-door cover against the Patriots. Those are just the worst! My best win was the Browns covering against the Broncos thanks in part to a late pick-six. I am currently 21-8-1 through four weeks. Again, the cushion remains for my inevitable fall! I went 5-9 overall ATS with my picks. Somehow I lucked into three of the five correct ones. I don't imagine that lasts much longer.
Here are my SuperContest picks for Week 7:
CHIEFS (-1.5) over Steelers
COLTS (-4.5) over Saints
CHARGERS (-4) over Raiders
PANTHERS (-3) over Eagles
CARDINALS (-7.5) over Ravens
I'm not exactly overly enthused about taking five home favorites this week. It smells a little bit like a recipe for an ugly week. That being said, I just was not overly enthused by a lot of the road favorites or various underdogs. The Falcons were intriguing, and a huge majority of the SuperContest is taking the Jets at +9 against the Patriots. This Jets team is much improved, and Chris Ivory could guide them to a cover or even outright upset, but I'm just not sure.
This might be the only time I pick the Chiefs this season. Ben Roethlisberger is listed as questionable, but odds seem slim that he plays. If he does not go, I'm betting mostly on Landry Jones not being able to positively build on his impressive work against the Arizona Cardinals. The Chiefs offense is pretty awful, so if this does work out, I'm sure I'll be sweating it.
The Raiders coming off a bye were actually pretty tempting, but I also decided I would rather bet against their defense. They have beaten some bad quarterbacks, or just bad performing quarterbacks (Peyton Manning), but I think Philip Rivers can do some serious damage to them. Rivers is dealing with a lot of offensive line injuries, but I'll take my chances.
Here are all my picks for Week 7
49ERS vs. Seahawks (-6.5): 49ers - Loss
JAGUARS vs. Bills (-5.5 - London): Bills
RAMS vs. Browns (+5.5): Rams
CHIEFS vs. Steelers (+1.5): Chiefs
DOLPHINS vs. Texans (+4): Dolphins
PATRIOTS vs. Jets (+9): Jets
LIONS vs. Vikings (-2.5): Vikings
TITANS vs. Falcons (-4.5): Falcons
WASHINGTON vs. Bucs (+3): Washington
COLTS vs. Saints (+4.5): Colts
CHARGERS vs. Raiders (+4): Chargers
GIANTS vs. Cowboys (+3.5): Cowboys
PANTHERS vs. Eagles (+3): Panthers
CARDINALS vs. Ravens (+7.5): Cardinals