Where do I begin? CLE played w/zero emotion @ hm & were completely embarrassed by HOU w/a so-so performance from 1[SUP]st[/SUP] time starter Mallett. In-gm injuries to Dansby & Sheard helped sustain the blowout, but CLE’s “O” went away from what I predicted would be a run heavy attack to keep HOU’s vaunted pass rush @ bay. Instead Hoyer attempted 50 passes (comp 40% w/1 INT) as CLE ran only 21 times. Hoyer almost duplicated his horrendous gm vs JAX. Sometimes coaches outthink themselves & this is the result. Then Peyton craps the bed in STL to take down my teaser. Hindsight is 20/20, so I obviously should’ve went w/either GB or ARI as my POW as they took care of business @ hm against conference powerhouses.
POW 7-4, Teasers 4-7, Overall 29-24-1
NE (-7) continued their dominance last wk since their embarrassing loss to KC way back in Wk 4 (6-0; 5-1 ATS). Enter DET, who anchored by a great front 7 have won a bunch of gms in the final seconds of the gm to create a 7-3 record (5-5 ATS). I said last wk that their luck would run out @ ARI, but even that gm was close, as both teams couldn’t muster a pt in the entire 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] half. DET couldn’t register a sack on Stanton there, & NE’s oline IMO is better than ARI’s. The key to beating NE is pressuring Brady. W/Fairley likely out for the yr, DET’s dline has been great vs the run but not sacking the QB as much. NE ran it down IND’s throat, but that is IND’s Achilles heal so that was an easy game plan for Belicheat. DET’s #1 run “D” is a different story this wk, so I expect Brady to air it out, esp to Gronkowski & their RB’s. CIN, IND, DEN, & CHI all faced NE expecting to keep it close but all ended up losing by 22 or more. In fact NE is currently 5-0 ATS vs winning teams. So against Peyton, Luck, Dalton & Cutler, NE has done a great job of containing them enough for their “O” to overpower. However, DET carries the best “D” by far of those 4 teams, so instead of a 40-something to 20-something type score, I envision the score you see below. Stafford is highly overrated w/his inability to make touch passes & relies on a lot of sidearm, straight shot passes to wide open receivers (80 QB rating last 6). HC Caldwell is also highly overrated & will hopefully show it here. DET was fortunate to escape w/wins vs MIA, ATL & NOR, & got handled by ARI & CAR on the rd where they’re a very avg team. This should be no different.
DET 10
NE 27
5 Units
BOL to all, and as always comments are most welcome.
POW 7-4, Teasers 4-7, Overall 29-24-1
NE (-7) continued their dominance last wk since their embarrassing loss to KC way back in Wk 4 (6-0; 5-1 ATS). Enter DET, who anchored by a great front 7 have won a bunch of gms in the final seconds of the gm to create a 7-3 record (5-5 ATS). I said last wk that their luck would run out @ ARI, but even that gm was close, as both teams couldn’t muster a pt in the entire 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] half. DET couldn’t register a sack on Stanton there, & NE’s oline IMO is better than ARI’s. The key to beating NE is pressuring Brady. W/Fairley likely out for the yr, DET’s dline has been great vs the run but not sacking the QB as much. NE ran it down IND’s throat, but that is IND’s Achilles heal so that was an easy game plan for Belicheat. DET’s #1 run “D” is a different story this wk, so I expect Brady to air it out, esp to Gronkowski & their RB’s. CIN, IND, DEN, & CHI all faced NE expecting to keep it close but all ended up losing by 22 or more. In fact NE is currently 5-0 ATS vs winning teams. So against Peyton, Luck, Dalton & Cutler, NE has done a great job of containing them enough for their “O” to overpower. However, DET carries the best “D” by far of those 4 teams, so instead of a 40-something to 20-something type score, I envision the score you see below. Stafford is highly overrated w/his inability to make touch passes & relies on a lot of sidearm, straight shot passes to wide open receivers (80 QB rating last 6). HC Caldwell is also highly overrated & will hopefully show it here. DET was fortunate to escape w/wins vs MIA, ATL & NOR, & got handled by ARI & CAR on the rd where they’re a very avg team. This should be no different.
DET 10
NE 27
5 Units
BOL to all, and as always comments are most welcome.
