NFL Week 11 Picks

Loren and I have been disagreeing on close games this season but he usually comes out on top, and after last week he's ballooned his lead to 5 games.

Washington at Tennessee

Derek - Tennessee. Tennessee didn't look that good last week against Miami, but Washington looked terrible vs. Philly. The Titans have the best RB in the game and a new weapon in the receiving core.

Loren - Tennessee. To much drama for the 'Skins, too much ground and pound by the Titans.

Houston at New York Jets

Derek - New York. Fine I'll admit I was wrong on my Jets won't make the playoffs prediction. Their D is good enough to stop Houston's high octane O. Couple that with the Texans inability to do anything on D makes this a Jets win.

Loren - NY Jets. Another middling year for the Texans in which they unexpectedly beat a few good teams (including the Colts) and lose just as many they shouldn't have. Consistency is a word the Texans need to learn. On the other side of the ball, the Jets have won two overtime games in a row. Good teams win those games and gain confidence from them.

Tampa Bay at San Francisco

Derek - Tampa Bay. I don't like taking teams that are traveling across the county, but the 49ers have played up and down this year and Tampa is finding it's groove.

Loren - Tampa Bay. Tampa's MO this year has been to beat the bad teams and lose to the good teams. They're also 3-1 on the road, so it's not difficult to figure out which way to go on this one.

Indianapolis at New England

Derek - Indianapolis. Very tough call for me. I'll go with Manning. I think he's due for a big game and he's been very good against the Pats lately, plus the Pats D is not as good as they're used too.

Loren - New England. Well, we need to have at least one game we differ on, so why not this one? The game is in Foxborough so the Pats have the crowd on their side. This isn't much of an advantage, though, with Manning's ability to use his hands, legs, Morse code and semaphore to communicate with his offense. But I was very impressed with the Pats D last week, and it looks like Belichick has worked his magic again with an under-performing defense.

NY Giants at Philadelphia

Derek - Philadelphia. Should be a good game too, but I think the duel threat of Vick will be enough to score against a good NY D. The Giants on the other hand will have a tough time running the ball.

Loren - Philadelphia. I really, really wanted to take the Giants here, but with the game in Philly, Vick playing with vicious confidence, and the entire Eagles team focusing on not just winning but destroying their opposition, I have to take Philly. Also, Eli Manning is still the Giants' QB. Yeah, definitely Philly.

Denver at San Diego

Derek - San Diego. Chargers are set to make their late season run.Rivers is on pace to break Marino's single season passing mark, and I don't think the Broncos can defend that.

Loren - San Diego. I wish I could take the Broncos here, but the goal is to win my contest with Derek, not make homer picks. The Chargers lead the league in passing yards (although Broncos are second and Orton is still underrated?!?!) and are only 16th in rushing the Broncos are dead last in rushing defense. The Chargers are also 3rd in passing defense. This adds up to a long day for the Broncos unless they can simultaneously plug the holes in the middle and force Rivers into his 3rd and 4th reads. Yeah, I don't think that's happening either.