MARLBORO, NY – Okay, so I had my first losing week after boasting about not having one of those through the first three weeks. But nobody really cares after what Joe Girardi did or really didn’t do in Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday night. The Yankees can rebound although my chances of righting the prediction ship are infinitely better than the Bombers winning their series. With the season record at an even 8-8, here are Cheesy Bruin’s Week 5 Free NFL Picks.
FAVORITE: It’s not every week you see an NFL team get tuned up for fifty-seven points but that’s the number the Houston Texans hung on the Tennessee Titans last week. Jeez, how does a team forget an effort like that? I don’t really have an answer for that but it’ll take some creative coaching by Titans Head Coach Mike Mularkey for his team to do so. The equation is facilitated by the fact that they are facing less pressure in a road non-conference game against the struggling Miami Dolphins. The Fish are playing some horrendous offensive football through three games and come into this one after posting a zero in last week’s London affair with the Saints. There’s a tall task ahead for the Fish moving forward and I don’t think they stop the bleeding versus an angry Titans squad. The Pick? Tennessee -2.5 over MIAMI.
UNDERDOG: Another lackluster team in this early NFL season who seem to be dragging their feet are the Arizona Cardinals. The Desert Birds are lucky to be 2-2 but are a more telling 0-4 against the all important point spread. They were life and death in pulling out wins against the mighty Colts and 49ers, while folding against better opponents in the Cowboys and Lions. Today, the West Coast Cards travel for the dreaded 1:00 start against a competitive flock of Philadelphia Eagles. Things appear to be going Buddy Diaz’s team’s way but something tells me this one doesn’t and we might be looking at an outright victory for the underdogs. The Pick? Arizona +6.5 over PHILADELPHIA.
OVER: I have struck out in this category and am wearing the Golden Sombrero after an 0-fer-4 start picking the OVER. When will the Pittsburgh Steelers offense wake up? Four games in and four straight ‘Unders’ – way under the total in each. The Jacksonville Jaguars have been quite the opposite for wanting to be a smash mouth team while going ‘over’ in three of four and even let the New York Jets score 23 points. The Steelers can do better than that even if Antonio Brown continues his tantrums. The Pick? Jacksonville/PITTSBURGH OVER 42.5.
UNDER: The saving grace or saving face of my weekly picks segments have been finding the ‘under’ each Sunday so far. I’m 4-0 with these so you may want to pay close attention here. Oakland is without QB Derek Carr as E.J. Manuel fills in. Baltimore has a lately ineffective Joe Flacco. Go to sleep if you are forced to watch this one. This just reeks of a low scoring game with a few capable defenses and incapable QB’s. The Pick? Baltimore/OAKLAND UNDER 39.5.
That’s it for me today. Come back tomorrow for DJ Eberle, a man who likes the smell of Tyrod Taylor’s farts. And please follow us on Twitter – @CheesyBruin & @MeetTheMatts, @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
