Week 9 Picks are In
The games for NFL Week 9 have been scoured over and all factors have been considered. Injuries have been considered and the line movement has been analyzed and finally our team of NFL handicapping experts has their selections ready.
Russell Joseph, Ron McCoy, Jimmy Boyd, Dave Price, John Martin, Bill Young and Jeff Alexander have crunched the numbers and are ready to give you their best games of NFL Week 9.
Handicapper: Russell Joseph
Free Pick: Take New England Patriots -6
Simply put the Colts have a defense and a solid offensive passing game, but that’s where the problem lies, the Colts running game is nothing near what it needs to be to keep a balanced threat against the Pats D, won’t happen. The Colts are 7-0 SU and 5-2 ATS this season, they are averaging 32ppg and giving up an average of 15ppg thus far. Believe it or not the Colts average 9ppg less then the Patriots this year. Normally the Passing King, Colts QB Peyton Manning has tossed just 13 TDs on the season, that’s just over 1/3 of what his nemesis has done thus far. The New England Patriots are 8-0 SU and ATS this season, the team is averaging 41ppg while giving up an average of just 16ppg thus far. New England has dominated this matchup, now 8-3-1 ATS over their last 12 meetings with Indianapolis. Patriots QB Tom Brady has already tossed 30 TDs on the season, he’s hitting over 74% of his passes as well. New England has scored 34pts or more in every game this season, they have scored 48pts or more their last three straight games, that includes last weeks 52-7 win hosting Washington. More from Russell
Handicapper: Ron McCoy
Free Pick: Take New Orleans Saints -3.5
I like the Jag’s stuffing a run-dimmensional offense but that’s not the case here in New Orleans where Drew Brees has all the tools required to keep em guessing and move the chains. Brees and company hadn’t been doing it early in the season but are doing it very well right now. More from Ron
Handicapper: Dave Price
Free Pick: Take New Orleans Saints -3.5
Here come the Saints. New Orleans has now won three straight and it will continue its climb back into the thick of things this week. Jags Head coach Jack Del Rio is 0-7 ATS in road games where the total is between 38.5 and 42 points as the coach of Jacksonville. When the books have figured a moderate scoring affair, the Jags haven’t got the job done. With the offensive problems that the Jags are having, we have to go with the red hot Saints here. A terrible passing game will let New Orleans off the hook. The Saints have been very good against the run, only allowing more than 100 yards rushing in one game this season. The pass is where they are susceptible and that’s the facet of the game where the Jags struggle most. More from Dave
Handicapper: Jimmy Boyd
Free Pick: Take Tennessee Titans -4
Tennessee has been winning with defense all season long. They’ll continue to bring a defense which is among the best in the league, but they’ll get some help from their offense this week as well. Vince Young is coming off his worst game as a pro. He is a competitor and we can fully expect him to bounce back with a big game this week against Carolina’s 17th ranked defense. The Titans know they have not played well offensively, and they will be feeling very confident knowing that they are 5-2 despite the way they have played. We expect the Titans to turn it on this week and roll Carolina. Tennessee is 15-5 ATS in their L20 games hosting the NFC. The Panthers are on a 0-4 straight up and 0-3-1 ATS run vs. the AFC. We don’t feel the Panthers can recover from the beating that Indy gave them last week in this one. More from Jimmy
Handicapper: Bill Young
Free Pick: Take Tennessee Titans -4
The Tennessee Titans will take advantage of a poor Carolina offense with QB troubles just as Indianapolis did last week. Vince Young returned as the Titans starter last week against Oakland and it wasn’t pretty, but he got the job done. He will be much sharper in his second game back recovering from injury and this Titans’ offense will pour on the points. The Titans are 14-5 ATS in their last 19 games overall. Vinny Testaverde and David Carr are listed as day-to-day with injuries. Neither guy can get the job done and lead their team to victory against the Titans. Tennessee is yielding just 68 rushing yards per game at home. If Carolina thinks they can pound the ball on the ground they are badly mistaken. This game will become a blowout in a hurry. The Titans are 15-5 ATS in their last 20 games hosting NFC opponents. The AFC comes out smelling like a rose in this ball game. More from Bill
Handicapper: John Martin
Free Pick: Take Atlanta Falcons -3
The Atlanta Falcons are down in the dumps this season but they will come out smelling like a rose against the 49ers at home Sunday. San Francisco has lost 5 straight games, getting blown out by at least 18 points in 4 of those losses. The 49ers are scoring just 12.8 points per game this season because they are easy to stop. Teams just stack 8 in the box, as Atlanta will do Sunday, to stop Frank Gore and the 49ers running games. San Francisco is averaging just 132 yards passing per game. The Falcons are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. The 49ers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games coming off a bye week. More from John
Handicapper: Larry Cook
Free Pick: Take Green Bay Packers +2
The Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs are very even defensively. The Packers are giving up 14 points a game on the road while the Chiefs are yielding just 15.7 points at home. The only thing that separates these teams is the offensive side of the ball. Green Bay is scoring 25.7 point a game on the road while the Chiefs are putting up a minuscule 15.7 points at home. Kansas City can’t hang with the offense Brett Favre runs and the points the Packers are going to score. The Packers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog. Favre loves being the dog in the fight because it brings out the best of him and this Packers’ team. Bet Green Bay Sunday. More from Larry
Handicapper: Jeff Alexander
Free Pick: Take Seattle Seahawks +1.5
The Seahawks are the better team here so we’ll waste no time spending a unit on them. Seattle is 17-5 ATS vs. poor ball control teams, 28 or less possession minutes/game since 1992. The fact that the Browns are a poor ball control team is what makes their defense even worse because it spends too much time on the field while its opponents eat up the clock and where them down. The Browns have relied on quick strikes and poor opponents to get their four wins. The Browns have wins against Cincy, Miami, and St. Louis-teams with pathetic defenses just like the Browns. Cleveland’s defense is giving up over 30ppg at home this year. Seattle’s defense has been fantastic allowing just 15.7ppg on the road. Seattle defense gets the job done this week. More from Jeff
By: Staff Writers – Email Us
More NFL Football coverage from theSpread.com
– Las Vegas Hilton Contest
– NFL public betting chart
– NFL teams
– NFL standings
– NFL schedule
– NFL injuries
– NFL matchups
– NFL stats
– NFL odds
– NFL news wire
– NFL top stories
– Accuscore NFL predictions
– NFL scoreboard
– Expert NFL Picks
– NFL trends
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– NFL Home