NFL week 4 picks

Great week last week, for me at least I went 5-1 opening up a 2 game lead on Loren. I’m sitting at 11-7 while Loren is at 9-9. On to the picks!

San Francisco at NY Jets
Loren - San Francisco. The Jets actually look pretty decent so far this year. They do have one glaring weakness, though; run defense. I see SF keeping the ball in Gore's hands and playing it safe. If the Jets cheat up, Smith has enough weapons and confidence to make a couple of big plays thought the air.
Derek – San Francisco. Normally I don’t like taking teams traveling across the country but I think the 49ers will be on the lookout for revenge. I’d be surprised if NY can score more than 2 field goals all game. Their O is terrible. Smith has a solid day and 49ers win by double digits.

Minnesota at Detroit
Loren - Detroit. I'm picking Detroit simply because they're the home team. I don't know what to expect from either Minnesota or Detroit. Neither has played consistently and they both have plenty of holes. I think Detroit will concentrate on shutting down AP and let Ponder have his chances. At this point in his career, I'm not betting on Ponder to carry his team.
Derek – Detroit. The Lions have the better team here. They should be able to score more easily than they have in recent weeks. Can the D stop Peterson? We’ll find out, they should load the box and tell Ponder he’s the one that’ll have to beat them. I don’t think he can.

New England at Buffalo
Loren - Buffalo. This one will probably come back to bite me, but I like the matchup for Buffalo. I know this means betting on NE to lose three in a row, but I can't shake the feeling that Buffalo has the right team to beat the Pats. They lost Spiller but have Fred Jackson back (fantasy backstabber)., and their defense has been much better after their opening game against the Jets. I think we get to see Fitzpatrick really open up against NE's terrible secondary.
Derek – New England. I don’t see this Pats team losing 3 in a row. They played poorly versus Arizona and lost to a good team in Baltimore at the last second. Brady will come out and use the short quick passing game to negate the Bills pass rush. I think the Pats D is a bit better than it has been in previous years and I think they’ll handle what the Bills have to offer.

New Orleans at Green Bay
Loren - Green Bay. With both of these teams throwing out stink bombs, I'm just going to play safe and take the team that's won a game and is playing at home. On the plus side, we may get to see 1400 yards of total offense!
Derek – Green Bay. The Packers have had a rough go of it this year, but not as rough as the Saints. If the Packers are looking to get back on track on the offensive side of the ball they couldn’t have picked a better team to play. Saints score in the 20’s lose by a bunch.

NY Giants at Philadelphia
Loren - NY Giants. Okay, I learned my lesson last week. Yes, the Eagles are better than the Panthers, primarily due to speed at several key positions. It will be harder for NY to stop McCoy and Jackson, but I like the attitude the Giants are bringing. They have renewed intensity and I expect their defense to put Vick on the run, something he hasn't dealt with well this year.
Derek – NY Giants. I’ve been picking them every week. Why stop now? Well ok I did pick the Eagles to win the division but man they don’t look so hot on the offensive side of the ball. How good is Nick Foles? Just kidding, well not entirely. Vick has been getting knocked around and I think the G-men have a good pass rush right? Right?

Chicago at Dallas
Loren - Dallas. Tell me how Chicago is going to win the NFC North after they beat a divisional opponent, or any decent team. Their wins have come over the Rams and Colts, while the Packers handled them fairly easily. I don't see them going into Dallas and playing defense the way Seattle did, taking away the Romo's weapons.
Derek – Chicago. I went back and forth on this one. It came down to this. The Cowboys have looked terrible on offense this year. I think the Bears D can keep that trend going. I expect a close 13-10 game or thereabouts.