It was another disaster at the Casa de Picks this week as I finished under .500 in both the straight up picks and against the spread. There was no saving grace in Week Five of the NFL season. Nothing I could hang my hat on. My hat just fell to the floor and stayed there. At some point a dog pissed on it. It was a bad scene.
But a new week brings new life and we’ve still got plenty of NFL to go. Here’s how I did.
Last week
Straight up: 6-8
Against the spread: 6-8
Season
Straight up: 43-34
Against the spread: 38-39
As always, what matters most to me is how I stacked up against my peers. It wasn’t a great week for anybody. The best mark was set by Jon Beason from CBS Sports at 11-3. The vast majority of the rest of us were in the 6-8 to 8-6 range so I can’t feel too bad.
The worst marks went to Jack Jorgensen and Cody Williams from Fansided and Trey Wingo from ESPN who all finished an abysmal 4-10. For the season I’m right in the middle of the pack after an off week, but there’s still plenty of time on the clock for me to Aaron Rodgers this one.
Against the spread, Lindsey H. Jones from USA Today had the best week, going 11-3. The worst was Nate Davis, also from USA Today, who finished 4-10. For the season, I’m still in the top 33 percent of selectors. It’s time to make a move.
EARLY WEEK SIX NFL LINES
Thursday
Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers (-3), O/U: 46.0
Sunday
Miami Dolphins at Atlanta Falcons (-11), O/U: 47.0
Chicago Bears at Baltimore Ravens (-6.5), O/U: 40.0
Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans (-9.5), O/U: 46.5
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings (+3.5), O/U: 47.0
Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints (-5), O/U: 50.5
New England Patriots at New York Jets (+9.5), O/U: 47.5
San Francisco 49ers at Washington Redskins (-9.5), O/U: 46.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Arizona Cardinals (+2.5), O/U: 44.5
Los Angeles Rams at Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5), O/U: 43.0
Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs (-4), O/U: 46.0
Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland Raiders (N/A), O/U: N/A
Sunday Night
New York Giants at Denver Broncos (-12), O/U: 40.0
Monday Night
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans (N/A), O/U: N/A
Byes: Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks
There are some intriguing games there. First off, that -5 for the Saints seems steep considering what the Lions can do on offense. The Jets at +9.5 looks like there’s some money to be made there. New York is playing well. I don’t think they’ll win, but the Patriots defense hasn’t stopped anybody this season. The Jaguars favored by 2.5 over the Rams? Ok. We’ll see where that one ends up by the end of the week.
We have a couple of lines and totals that aren’t available just yet. Derek Carr’s status is still up in the air for the Raiders, but I don’t see him playing this week either. Nobody has any clue who will be starting for the Colts or the Titans on Monday night. Andrew Luck practiced last week, but they might hold him out again. Marcus Mariota was day to day with a hamstring and I don’t think that’s changed. The extra day to rest and recover could be a huge one for this one. My money is on Mariota playing for the Titans and Luck sitting out this game.
NFL WEEK FIVE INJURIES
NFL superstars took a serious hit over Week Five. For all the talk about the tole of the preseason, this last weekend really hit teams hard with key guys going down with season ending injuries.
We’ll start with the New York Giants, since they don’t have it bad enough as they sit at 0-5. They lost both Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall in the same game for the season. Beckham and Marshall both suffered severe ankle injuries that require surgery to fix. OBJ had his surgery Monday night and Marshall had his Tuesday. Neither guy will play again this season and, really, Marshall may be done for good.
That's a season ender for Odell Beckham Jr. pic.twitter.com/hp6aO7JeMe
— ethan, who is a fan of well run football teams (@EthanGSN) October 8, 2017
It didn’t end there for the Giants wide receiver corps. Dwayne Harris broke his foot and also had surgery Tuesday. Sterling Shepard injured his ankle as well and is listed as day to day. Who will Eli Manning even throw the ball to Sunday night in Denver. The Giants are about to raid some practice squads. Don’t be surprised to see New York grab a guy like Paul McRoberts off the Rams practice squad. New York will likely call up Marquis Bundy and Travis Rudolph from their own practice team. Roger Lewis was the only other wide receiver on the Giants roster. They did sign Tavarres King Monday.
The Houston Texans lost defensive end J.J. Watt for the second consecutive season, this time with a tibial plateau fracture that will require surgery to repair. Watt went down after no contact to his knee on just a standard pass block against the Kansas City Chiefs Monday night. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Texans also lost outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus for the year with a torn pectoral. That means that two of the teams top three pass rushers will be off the field for the remainder of 2017. Joel Heath will replace Watt on the starting line. Ufomba Kamalu will get the first shot at stepping in for Mercilus.
I can't sugarcoat it, I am devastated.
All I want to do is be out there on that field for my teammates and this city.
I'm sorry.— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 9, 2017
Marcus Mariota will be joined on the day to day list by his best offensive lineman, left tackle Taylor Lewan. Lewan injured his knee against the Dolphins last Sunday. He tried to come back, but didn’t remain on the field long. Dennis Kelly is Lewan’s back up. He was a fifth round pick out of Purdue by the Eagles in 2012.
The Buffalo Bills will be without the services of tight end Charles Clay for several weeks. Clay needed surgery on his left knee for a torn meniscus and an MCL sprain. Nick O’Leary, Clay’s back up, is dealing with an injury of his own. O’Leary was a sixth round pick for the Bills out of Florida State in 2015. He started seven games last year and caught nine passes for 114 yards.
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