2008 NFL ATS Pick 'Em: Week Nine

UPDATE: Going to try something different for week ten. One, because I didn't have time to prepare a column this week, and two, because change is good. Here are my picks, and stay tuned throughout the day for MULTIPLE posts regarding your e-mails. DEN, NO, TEN, JAX, HOU, SEA, MIN, NE, STL, CAR, IND, KC, NYG, SF.

Patience is a virtue. At least that is what I have been told since I was a little kid. Sit quietly and wait. Something good will come along.

Tell that to Detroit Lions fans. Oh wait, it just did.

Daunte Culpepper just signed a two-year deal with the Lions. Chances are he will be starting in a week or so. God bless America. “Throw-it” returns.

As for these picks, I have no virtues. I have no patience. Back-to-back sub-par weeks have led me to go elsewhere for my selections. On Wednesday night, members of the BESS group made all of my picks, minus the Mother’s Intuition Pick of course, in an attempt to rebound dramatically from my prior ineptitude. We’ll see how it goes. Smut didn’t make any picks, so my chances of picking winners goes up right off the bat.

Without further ado, here are the 2nd annual Skywalker’s.

MVP - Drew Brees and Justin Whelan. Brees for clearly showing he is the best QB in the league at this point. Whelan for not only winning the last four weeks, but showing everyone how much time and effort he puts in to his picks.

With apologies to … Clinton Portis and Alex Lucius.

Offensive Player Of The Year - Portis. He should get something for how well he is running the ball. Congrats to anyone who has him on their fantasy team.

Defensive Player Of The Year - Albert Haynesworth. He is the best player on the best team on the best unit in the entire league. Enough said.

Game Of The Year - Arizona vs. Dallas. Week Six. Arizona wins in overtime by returning a blocked punt for a TD.

Always Reliable Award - Jake Young. Last year it was Jeff Normand, this year it is Jake Young. Always turns his picks in on time and always provides comments for every single game.

The Three Consistent Amigos Award - Yours truly, Grothaus, and Lucius. All three of us have been in the top eight the entire season. No one else can say that.

The Stuart “Wha-wha’what happened” Scott Award - Matt Barnes. He’s in dead last, four games out of 19th place. He has a long road ahead of him. Did I mention he watches sports for a living? Oh well, at least he has LOST to fall back on.

The Gus Johnson Award (overall best comments) - Kevin Hunt. How could it not be? Have you been reading these things the past two weeks?

Biggest Surprise - Atlanta Falcons and Brian Boesch. The Falcons for winning games and Boesch for finding himself in the top four. What’s the best way to forget about the Indians? Win this pool. So far so good for Boesch.

With apologies to … Miami Dolphins and Josh Florence.

Final Four Prediction - NFL - Titans, Bills, Giants, and Saints. ATS - Justin, Kevin, Lucius, and Devin.

Quote Of The Week

The honor for week eight goes to … Kevin Hunt.

“I think the last time Houston was favored by ten points Earl Campbell was the running back.”

Short, simple and includes a reference to the Houston Oilers. One of the best thus far.

Kevin joins Alex Lucius and Jeff Normand in the two QOTW club.

That wraps up the 2nd annual Skywalker’s. Don’t forget to tip your waitresses.

Onto the games. Special thanks to the BESS club, specifically Hess, Lumpy and Ott. Something tells me that this will be the week I get back into the mix or move even further down into the inevitable abyss.

New York Jets @ Buffalo (-5.5)

For some games, the BESS club left comments. For others, they didn’t. All they said about this game was that Favre was overrated. Works for me.
My Pick: BUF (-5.5)

Justin: “I really like Buffalo here and think they win this one, as they are unbeaten at home. Bills have always been a run-oriented offense, however the Jets are second in the league against the rush. That being said give me these points and I’ll go with the Jets and hope for a close one. Bills 21-17.” Good to see Justin back with his second consecutive week of comments.

Kevin's Ballbuster Pick Of The Week (3-5) : BUF (-5.5)

"Applebee's 2 for $20 commercial was on TV. I went with game #2, the team that has a #20. If they both do, I'm going with the younger of the #20s.

Both teams have a #20 -- RB Thomas Jones for the Jets and DB Donte Whitner for the Bills.

There are MULTIPLE reasons why the Jets will now at least cover this spread, and they basically all have to do with me ...

- Thomas Jones is almost seven years older than Whitner. His birthday falls one week after mine every year.
- Whitner is from Ohio State (a team that JUST lost), while Jones hails from Virginia (a team that suddenly can't seem to stop losing, no matter what Wade thinks will happen to their season).
- I could never have the name 'Donte' and be taken seriously. But ‘Thomas’ would work just fine.” Buckle in folks, Kevin is at it again.

Devin: “Eric Mangini is the Jets coach. He first got a job in Ohio. The state of Ohio screwed me last week. Go Bills.” Last Saturday, Devin cleaned out his Sportsbook account by losing several college football games. He picked Texas to cover (-12), Ohio State to win straight up, and USC to cover (-13) against Arizona. He lost them all, and made his entire week nine picks looking to strike revenge against the states that cost him dearly.

Jake: “This is tough, but I'll go with Brett Favre. He gets the ‘T.O., Please Someone Pay Attention To Me Award.’ At first I thought Favre just wanted to come back, but now it seems like he's just looking for attention. It hurts me a lot. The Bills are a close second for ‘Most Surprising Team.’” Props to Jake for joining the festive mid-way atmosphere and dishing out some hardware of his own.

NYJ: Justin, Josh, Shane, Sara, Bursa, Grothaus, Braves, Bart

BUF: Lucius, Brian, Devin, Kevin, Luke, Chewy, Rapking, Polito, Jeff, Curtis, Jake, Barnes

Detroit @ Chicago (-13)

Looks like I will be backing the Bears, which is much better than the alternative in this game. I can not wait for Daunte. Christmas come early this year.
My Pick: CHI (-13)

Justin: “I had Detroit to win last week and they almost pulled off the upset as they led for three of the four quarters, but they are going to continue their streak to 0-16 this week. With a defense that ranks last in points allowed and total yards allowed, the Lions go up against the Bears who rank second in points/game. Bears 31-7.” Looks like Justin has Kyle Orton continuing his campaign for MVP.

Devin: “Lovie Smith is the Bears Coach. He is from Texas. The state of Texas killed me last week. Go Lions.” You thought I was kidding?

Kevin: “Just realized that THIS was the 2nd game on the list. So I am more or less on fire right now. At any rate, I'm applying the Ballbuster to this game as well. This also means that, unless I don't get to the site in time again, I'm forced to put money on these together. Suddenly I hate myself.” Yes, these are my friends.

Jake: “Dan Orlovsky gets the 'You've Played Football How Long and Don't Know What An Endline Looks Like Award?’ He will never live that down. Never ever.” Barry Sanders got out just in time. Another great escape for one of the best running-backs in the history of the game.

Chewy: “Well 13 points is a lot, but Detroit sucks. But I am just going on feeling this week so here it is.” ATS can play nasty games with your head.

DET: Lucius, Josh, Brian, Devin, Shane, Chewy, Polito, Sara, Bursa, Jake, Braves, Bart, Barnes

CHI: Justin, Kevin, Luke, Rapking, Jeff, Curtis, Grothaus

Jacksonville (-7.5) @ Cincinnati

I am still reeling off the worst pick I have EVER made in the history of ATS last week, taking Ryan Fitzpatrick on the road. Luckily for me, the BESS club wasn’t in “chipping golf balls” mode yet. They made the smart pick here.
My Pick: JAX (-7.5)

Justin: “The Bengals are awful and sit at 0-6 ATS as underdogs with the line between 3.5-9.5 the last two seasons. They are last in the league in points/game and total yards/game. However, I am going to be on them this week much like I was last week with the Lions. Jacksonville has had every game decided by seven or less this year.” This is a tough game. Jacksonville doesn’t win by much, but Cincinnati doesn’t win.

Bursa: “I've tried and I'm through, I can't pick the Bengals anymore. However, they still have the coolest helmets in the league ... style points. Actually, one of my students in Denver has the same reason for being a Bengals fan as I do. When he was a kid, he thought their uniforms were amazing, so he became a lifelong fan. This, my friends, is an ingenious marketing technique on the part of the worst franchise in football." You know that kid in Bursa’s class just wants bonus points on his next test. There is no way someone who is from Denver loves the Bengals. Not a chance.

Kevin: “What if the Jags are down just as much as the Colts this year? Why couldn't the Bengals win this game? If I don't win this ATS pick, I'm having my roommate Jess's dog, Frankie (or Sprinkey, if you're Bart), pick the Bengals games from here on out.” Byron Leftwich is loving this Jags demise.

Jake: “Chad Ocho Cinco gets the 'I Changed My Name For This Award?’ Since changing his name, he has done nothing. I was going to say nothing good, but really, he's just done nothing.” It has been a strangely quiet season for Ocho Cinco. No complaining here.

Brian: “Cincinnati will cost me money in this league. I will finish sixth and finish two games out of fifth. I'm more confident about this than my Cincinnati pick.” He said he was going to keep picking the Bengals until they covered, so you have to credit him with just blind faith. It makes sense however, he is a Browns fan.

JAX: Devin, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Jeff, Sara, Bursa, Curtis, Jake, Grothaus, Bart, Barnes

CIN: Lucius, Justin, Josh, Brian, Kevin, Rapking, Polito

Baltimore @ Cleveland (-1.5)

This pick was all on Ott (aka Big John, aka my dad). He took the Ravens because as he put it, “Cleveland just can’t beat Baltimore.” My response, “come on without, come on within, you’ve not seen nothing like the Mighty Quinn.”
My Pick: BAL (+1.5)

The Promise's Promise (1-5): BAL (+1.5)

"The Browns are an enigma. and I don't like enigmas. In fact, I barely know the meaning of the word. but considering that their offense won't score more than 10 on this Ravens defense, I don't see how they won't give up 14 to Joe Flacco and Willis."

Justin: “Baltimore is 0-4 ATS in last four on the road in the great city of Cleveland, Ohio. Go Browns. Browns 21- 14.” It needs to be said, but all of a sudden the Browns are 3-4. When did this happen? They feel like a 1-6 team, but have won nearly half of their games. Shawn Rogers is good. Really good.

Kevin: “OK, since I wasted my Browns stuff for the comment on the Philadelphia game, I might as well use the Philadelphia comment for the Browns game.

Rogers Hornsby finished his baseball career as a player-manager of the St. Louis Browns. Of the five teams he managed for a significant number of games, his stint with the St. Louis Browns was his second worst, fielding a .401 win percentage.

This is relevant because Tom Hanks's character in the movie, ‘Philadelphia’ is named Andrew Beckett. There are only two men in the history of the NFL holding the last name ‘Beckett,’ Jack Beckett, who played three games over the course of two NFL seasons in the 1920s, and Rogers Beckett, who played for the Bengals and Chargers over five years from 2000-2004. And there aren't many people you could say that had the name ‘Rogers,’ especially two professional athletes.

After all of that, 1) my head is exploding out of my ears, 2) Tom Hanks has AIDS and 3) in games when Rogers Beckett played, his teams had a record of 25-46. Thanks for contributing.” Kevin wins the award for the most ridiculous/random comment for one game. Let’s be honest. The award is named The Kevin Hunt Award. It was his to lose.

Devin: “O-H-I-O.” One of the dumbest fan slogans ever. Hey look at us, we can correctly spell our state. D-U-M-B.

Jake: “For Joe Flacco, the ‘In D-1AA Quarterbacks Can Throw and Catch Award’ after bringing in a 43 yarder from Troy Smith last week.” I’ll give you the catch aspect, but the jury is still out on the throwing for Mr. Flacco.

BAL: Devin, Luke, Rapking, Polito, Jeff, Bart, Barnes

CLE: Lucius, Justin, Josh, Brian, Kevin, Shane, Chewy, Sara, Bursa, Curtis, Jake, Grothaus, Braves

Tampa Bay (-8.5) @ Kansas City

Jeff Garcia vs. Tyler Thigpen. This game could be scarier than Saw V, which was surprisingly very good.
My Pick: TB (-8.5)

Jake: “Jeff Garcia gets the ‘Coach Only Starts Me Because He Has To Award,’ only because Chucky seems to be looking for any chance to bench the diminutive husband of the smoking stripper.” Yet this team has a better record than San Diego, Jacksonville AND Indianapolis. I just don’t get it.

Devin: “Tampa is in Florida. UCF is in Florida. The state of Florida beat me last week. Go Buccaneers?” That’s right, I forgot the UCF pick, based solely on the fact that George O’Leary is their head coach. Devin did not have a great weekend.

Kevin: “Continue playing without Larry Johnson, I dare you.” Herm Edwards promptly replies, “you double-dog dare me?”

Justin: “Give me the Chiefs here, who even though they lack offense, sit at 6-0 ATS after allowing 25+ points in back-to-back games. Bucs 20-14.” Justin is like a tall glass filled to the brim with NFL knowledge.

TB: Lucius, Josh, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Rapking, Polito, Jeff, Sara, Bursa, Curtis, Grothaus, Bart, Barnes

KC: Justin, Brian, Devin, Kevin, Jake, Braves

Houston @ Minnesota (-4.5)

Not sure how this one is going to play out, but the BESS club took the Purple People Eaters. Let’s go Adrian Peterson.
My Pick: MIN (-4.5)

Kevin: “I think the big boys on the Minnesota D-line just used the water pill to lose a little weight. They watched tape of Romeo Crennel trying to have sex with a Donatos pizza and understood that sometimes you just need to re-evaluate your life.” QOTW nominee. Only for creating the image. Thanks a lot Hunt.

Kevin (again): “Last week I said Houston was favored by 10 for the first time since Earl Campbell. Little did I know that it was actually fate that the Texans beat up on the Bengals. When I showed up to work on Tuesday and read my day-by-day sports calendar page from Sunday, here's what it said: ‘10/26/80: Earl Campbell becomes only the second running back to rush for 200 yards in consecutive NFL games, leading the Houston Oilers to a 23-3 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals at the Astrodome. The Tyler Rose gains 202 yards on 27 carries today after amassing 203 yards against Tampa Bay last week. O.J. Simpson had accomplished the feat twice, in 1973 and '76.’

That's right, back-to-back weeks with an O.J. Simpson reference. Oh yeah, and last Sunday was Mike Hargrove's 59th birthday. Hope he's recovered from the celebration.” Some of you may be surprised by this O.J. Simpson/Earl Campbell developing situation, but I’ve come to expect it.

Jake: “Mario Williams with the ‘Reggie Bush Doesn't Get Number One Money But I Do Award’ because although he hasn't clearly proved he was the better pick, he does make the money, and isn't that all that really matters?” Reggie does have Kim Kardashian however. Not a bad consolation prize.

Justin: “Coin flip game. Houston’s rattled off three in a row after starting the year 0-4 and the fact that Minnesota’s defense ranks twentieth against the pass, I will take these points and hope for the best. Ultimate deciding factor: Vikes distracted by league investigations surrounding Pat & Kevin Williams for banned substances. Vikings 31-28.” But they are both going to play. Also, they could be distracted from the Coming Out Of Retirement Party they had Saturday night for Culpepper on the team yacht. Cris Carter had a great time.

HOU: Lucius, Justin, Kevin, Shane, Rapking, Jeff, Sara, Bursa, Curtis, Jake, Braves, Bart

MIN: Josh, Brian, Devin, Luke, Chewy, Polito, Grothaus, Barnes

Arizona (-3) @ St. Louis

Kevin: “Here's my rationale behind this game ... hahahaha, had you going there for a second.” Sounds like this is a job for Maxine Florence.

Mother’s Intuition Pick Of The Week (1-1): ARI (-3)

There you have it. No specific reason, just her intuition.

Jake: “Jim Haslett gets the ‘I Only Coach Well Under Adversity Award’ for bringing this team back from the dead and having his other great season be with the Saints in the wake of Katrina.” True story.

Justin: “Love the home underdog here. This line is being pounded by the public and has not moved. Arizona is clearly the better team here and it is going to take a lot for the Rams to hang with the Cardinals offense. Cardinals sit comfortably at the top of the NFC West and the Rams will continue to play hard for Haslett. Rams 28-21.” Kurt Warner versus his former Super-Bowl-winning team. Could someone please get Dick Vermeil a tissue?

ARI: Lucius, Josh, Brian, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Sara, Curtis, Grothaus, Braves, Bart

STL: Justin, Devin, Kevin, Rapking, Polito, Jeff, Bursa, Jake, Barnes

Green Bay @ Tennessee (-5.5)

Here we have our first disagreement. I love the Titans at this low point spread, but the BESS club felt differently. Apparently Hess was thinking like me, but was talked out of it by Lumpy, who said “Green Bay is coming off a bye week and Tennessee is coming off a short week.” Only time will tell who was right.
My Pick: GB (+5.5)

Devin: “Jeff Fisher born where ... California. This pick sucks, this game sucks.” I was waiting for the Michael Grothaus collapse, but right now it looks like Devin is taking his place.

Kevin: “Back the Pack cause the Pack is Back! (at least to cover).” Sing it if you know it. “Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation, with a black-haired flamenco dancer.”

Jake: “The Packers secondary gets the ‘We're Almost As Injured As The Ohio Bobcats Award’ for having basically everyone suffer some sort of injury.” The difference is the Packers still win games. The Bobcats? Not so much.

Justin: “Obviously Tennessee is for real and I know I should take them until they prove me wrong, but I like Green Bay to at least cover this one. Packers sit at 8-0 ATS off non-conference games and will be gunning to knock off the unbeaten Titans. Titans 20-17.” Maybe Lumpy is on to something. All of a sudden, I feel a lot better about this pick now.

GB: Justin, Josh, Brian, Devin, Kevin, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Rapking, Polito, Jake, Bart

TEN: Lucius, Jeff, Sara, Bursa, Curtis, Grothaus, Braves, Barnes

Miami @ Denver (-3)

All BESS members were in agreement. Denver is the pick here because, “they are at home off of a bye week.”
My Pick: DEN (-3)

Kevin: “My pick was based solely off results from this pee-wee football game ... http://www.losbanosenterprise.com/120/story/31539.html.” I don’t know how you found that Hunt, but job well done.

Jake: “Ronnie Brown gets the ‘I'm Not A Tiger Anymore. Just Call Me Wildcat Award’ for leading the biggest gimmick offense of the 2008 first half.” Kevin would be so proud.

Chewy: “Well I asked my magic eight ball if our defense would show up this week and the little triangle said ‘no’.” That magic eight ball must have watched the last couple of Broncos games. The Broncos might have the worst defense in the entire league, which has the legions of Lions fan breathing a sign of relief.

Justin: “Denver is too inconsistent, dropping two straight to put them at 1-5-1 ATS this season. I’ll take the surprising Dolphins who are 5-0 ATS in their last five against the Broncos and 4-1 ATS in their last five overall. Sure this streak will have to come to an end, but not this week as I see Miami continuing to surprise us all. Broncos 0-12 ATS if total is between 42.5-50. Dolphins 24-20.” I’m not sure how to comprehend all those statistics, but based solely on the political campaigns, where facts are usually misconstrued, I think Justin is a socialist.

MIA: Justin, Kevin, Jeff, Bart

DEN: Lucius, Josh, Brian, Devin, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Rapking, Polito, Sara, Bursa, Curtis, Jake, Grothaus, Braves, Barnes

Dallas @ New York Giants (-8.5)

There is no question the Browns got the short-end of the Cowboys stick this season. Cleveland had to face a fully healthy and un-suspended Dallas squad. Needless to say, Dallas is not nearly the same team. Which is why looking at schedules BEFORE the season is a tad pointless.
My Pick: DAL (+8.5)

Kevin: “The Cowboys defense finally at least made somewhat of a presence. I see this as a low-scoring game. In other news, Brooks Bollinger might see time as Dallas QB (see note for Philly-Seattle game).” I’m not quite sure when, but somewhere along the lines Hunt’s comments turned into a “turn-to-page” book.

Jake: “The Giants D-Line gets the ‘Michael and Osi Who Award?’ for playing unbelievably even after losing arguably its two best players.” Eli Manning Face.

Justin: “No mercy game for the Giants. I see this one being a blowout against a beat up Cowboy squad. Giants 31-17.” What about payback for Dallas? This game means more to the ‘Boys than it does the G-Men. The G-Men have nothing to prove. Should be a good one.

DAL: Lucius, Brian, Kevin, Luke, Shane, Rapking, Bart

NYG: Justin, Josh, Devin, Chewy, Polito, Jeff, Sara, Bursa, Curtis, Jake, Grothaus, Braves, Barnes

Atlanta (-3) @ Oakland

I like Oakland here. The BESS club likes Atlanta. Looks like I’m taking Atlanta.
My Pick: ATL (-3)

Justin's Triple H Candlestick Lock (0-1): OAK (+3)

“Two weeks ago I had the Raaadiers knocking off the Jets out west and it hit. I’m going to be on them again as this line is favorable. This is a great spot for the Raiders taking on a young Falcon team making their first trip out to the west coast. (Two seasons ago Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Knapp was coaching in Atlanta) Raiders 27-24.” Have to agree with Justin here. Don’t think the Falcons should be giving points on the road.

Kevin: “Falcons on the road AND traveling to the West Coast. Taking the points.” In the same week Kevin picks games because of Roger Hornsby, Tom Hanks, and then actual NFL knowledge. Sounds about right.

Jake: “The Falcons get ‘Feel Good Story Of The Year’ for turning into a legitimate team just a year after the Vick and Petrino fiascos.” League conspiracy. It’s the same reason the Saints made it to the NFC Championship game two years ago. Us Browns fans are still waiting for our conspiracy season.

ATL: Brian, Devin, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Rapking, Polito, Jeff, Curtis, Jake, Grothaus, Braves, Bart, Barnes

OAK: Lucius, Justin, Josh, Kevin, Sara, Bursa

Philadelphia (-7) @ Seattle

Since the Seahawks are all but done, at least the fans in Seattle have the Supersonics to fall back on. Oh that’s right. My bad.
My Pick: PHI (-7)

Kevin: “I might change this pick if Charlie Frye becomes the starter. On a related note, where the hell did Kelly Holcomb go? I want to see a 'cross generational' quarterback controversy. First it was Couch-Holcomb, then there was Frye-Anderson and this would bring Frye-Holcomb. Along those same lines, do you think Couch would have even been worth a six-round pick had he been traded after one game in his final season with Cleveland? Well, he didn't start out the year and the Browns lost to the Colts (9-6) and the Pats (9-3) by six combined points. How the times have changed.

Did I really just go on a Browns tangent with the Eagles-Seahawks game? Wow.” I have no words.

Jake: “Mike Holmgren with the ‘I Came Back For This Award?’ for possibly retiring a year too late.” You know he wants that San Francisco job.

Justin: “With the public pounding Philly at 95% of 23,000 bets, I’ll go with Seattle here. Eagles 21-17.” Going against the public. What a great move. Justin is going to be hard to track down folks.

PHI: Lucius, Josh, Devin, Kevin, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Rapking, Polito, Jeff, Sara, Bursa, Jake, Grothaus, Braves, Bart, Barnes

SEA: Justin, Brian

New England @ Indianapolis (-5.5)

“Indianapolis NEEDS this one.” I concur.
My Pick: IND (-5.5)

Maxine Hunt Pick of the Week (1-7): IND (-5.5)

“She took game #13 because she was at the bank cashing a check for $13. And she took the Colts because of Phyllis Hays (I believe they have family there?).

I'm not arguing, but who writes a check for $13? Maybe if this game wins, I'll start doing something on the 13th of every month. Suggestions are welcome and encouraged.” Two part response. First, as a bank teller for a solid three summers and winter breaks, I feel I am qualified to say that there are a TON of people who cash checks for odd amounts. On top of that, sometimes, when I cashed them they wanted really specific bill and coin denominations. For example, a $13 check would be cashed with a five-dollar bill, two one-dollar bills, three-dollars worth of quarters, two-dollars worth of dimes, and one-dollar worth of pennies. You think I’m kidding? Then you have no idea. Second part, my immediate response to what you should do on the 13th was to order a Donatos pizza and give it your best Romeo Crennel impression. As our favorite Sociology professor would say, ‘do with this as you will.’

Jake: “Bill Belichick gets the ‘Damn, Brady Made Me Look Great Award’ for maybe not being quite as good as he made us believe.” I respectfully disagree Jake. Belichick was the last Cleveland Browns Head Coach to win a playoff game. That takes a special something in my book.

Justin: “Tough game to pick here, but I’ll continue to believe in the Colts for some reason. While it seems like this is the end of Peyton’s decade of dominance, the Colts are 8-0 ATS off back-to-back ATS losses. Colts 27-17.” Has it really been a decade? Getting old sucks.

NE: Josh, Brian, Devin, Rapking, Curtis, Jake, Bart

IND: Lucius, Justin, Kevin, Luke, Shane, Chewy, Polito, Jeff, Sara, Bursa, Grothaus, Braves, Barnes

Pittsburgh @ Washington (-2)

I absolutely loathe Dave Wannstedt.
My Pick: WAS (-2)

Devin: “I am sure George W. Bush had something to do with my demise last week. At least Dick Cheney that evil bastard. Go Pittsburgh.

Side note: Dear W and President Cheney, what I said before was a joke. Please forgive me in case you are reading this.” If we never hear from Devin again, we all will know why.

Chewy: “Mike Tomlin hasn't lost on Monday night yet. Let's keep the streak alive.” He hasn’t had a team this banged up yet though either. We shall see.

Justin: “As much as I hate this team, I have to take the Steelers. Washington will be over pumped for their first home Monday-nighter in a while and Pittsburgh has the defense to stop Portis. Best possible outcome: Washington wins by one. Steelers 21-13.” On the flip side, no one has stopped Portis all year.

Jake: “Big Ben gets the ‘At Least I Wear A Helmet On The Field Award’ because, after all the hits he's taken, he'd probably look like he did after the big motorcycle crash if he didn't have that Black and Gold helmet.” The Steelers have a horrible offensive line. No running backs, and a QB who has already suffered three concussions this season alone. Yet, the AFC North is so bad they will have that division wrapped up by December.

Kevin: “After the debacle at the top, I decided to head to the bottom and work my way up (that's what she said... or he said?). I don't think the Steelers have enough to keep on keeping on. Good enough to win the AFC North? Probably. But not to win this game.” Best e-mail of the half-year award winner? You guessed it, Mr. Kevin T. Hunt.

Barnes: "Only because a Pittsburgh win means Barack Obama will win the Presidency, according to the way things have gone of late with the Washington Redksins before an election." Thought we would hear more Obama-McCain talk in this league.

PIT: Lucius, Justin, Josh, Brian, Devin, Shane, Chewy, Rapking, Polito, Sara, Bursa, Braves, Bart, Barnes

WAS: Kevin, Luke, Curtis, Jake, Grothaus

We have no Chew On This, Po’s Knowledge Dropping or a Thought Of The Week. Therefore, we here at K.O.A. are going to take this time to remind everyone to go out and vote on Tuesday. Pundits are saying this is the most important election in recent history (even though we believe the one in 2000 was more important). Go out and vote. If you already have, congrats. No matter what side of the fence you are on, everyone needs to vote. Do it to it.

Until next time, “read it, roll it, hole it.”