Week 7: Mr. T Hits the Road in Search of Prime Picks

[inline:trip]Home-field advantage just doesn't mean what it used to. That may make me sound like an old fart, but it's a reality in the NFL these days. With teams selling out for the big corporate bucks with higher ticket prices, regular fans (who actually cheer) can't afford to go. Even Seattle couldn't exert its usual home-field advantage last week as it got torn up by the Cardinals in front of Momma Hasselbeck, who previously held an undefeated record while watching her son Matt play in Seattle. The league office itself doesn't seem to care -- witness the folly that's become the London game (we'll get back to that in a bit). The once famed idea of backing home underdogs has fallen by the wayside as they're covering 46.4% of games this year, proving home field doesn't matter as much anymore. Mr. T has hit the road in October himself, with trips to Raleigh and Oxford, Miss., already in the books and Boston, San Diego, and Los Angeles to come in the next two weeks. As long as the road is good to me, I'll have no problem throwing my money behind the NFL teams that are on it as well. Survivor Pick of the Week: Indianapolis over ST. LOUIS The Colts are a well-oiled machine right now and St. Louis is not ready for the juggernaut. The Rams have serious offensive line issues and the Colts have two of the league's best pass rushers in Mathis and Freeney. The Colts have been unstoppable on offense and the Rams haven't been able to stop anyone. While I hate going with a road team in survivor pools, this seems like the best route for this week. Indianapolis isn't too far from St. Louis, so I wouldn't be surprised if Colts fans make the trip down to fill in some empty seats. If you've got that wandering eye that every girlfriend can't stand, the Patriots over the Bucs in London is another prime piece of ass. There doesn't seem to be much good home cooking this week. Tell your girlfriend to get to work or else you'll keep hitting the road.

Locks of the Week: Indianapolis (-13.5) over ST. LOUIS They really can't make this line high enough. I'd consider betting it at 17 points. Yes, I said that and I haven't been downing Tantrum soda while I've been on my road trips. San Diego (-4.5) over KANSAS CITY The Chiefs have looked feisty in the last two weeks, but before you back them this week, I'm here to give you a Lee Corso "not so fast, my friend" warning. The Chiefs did well against the Cowboys and Redskins, two teams who score less than you did in college. The Chargers' biggest weaknesses are run defense and special teams, two areas the Chiefs can't exploit. Chicago (+1) over CINCINNATI Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals? "Dey" be the Bears, who will take advantage of the Antwan Odom injury and cut up a Bengals defense missing its best pass rusher. The Bears have also gotten our favorite 7th Floor Crew member Greg Olsen involved since the bye week, so expect Big Greg to drop a second strong week in their eyes. In their eyes... Trap Game of the Week: Buffalo (+7) over CAROLINA I can't believe I'm picking Buffalo here, with an untalented genius like Fitzpatrick (Harvard grad) at the helm, but two things stick out. First, the Bills just got Mark Sanchez to throw five interceptions. Second, Jake Delhomme could throw five interceptions in warm-ups. I just can't give seven points in a situation like that. The Rest of the Picks: Green Bay (-9) over CLEVELAND Last week my friend made a prop bet that the Raiders would score more points than Derek Anderson would throw completions. The Raiders are so bad that Vegas even threw in a couple points (Raiders +2 vs. DA Completions) to entice people on the bet. Final Score: DA 9 (completions in 24 attempts), Raiders 13. It makes complete sense that the Browns don't go back to Quinn at this point: Whenever you can have your quarterback complete 26.8% of his passes in a two-week stretch, you gotta keep playing him. PITTSBURGH (-4) over Minnesota Eventually this Vikings dream ride has to come to an end, right? Right??? Even this guy's dream of walking around his house naked ended. What is the world coming to? What better week for a loss than against a team that plays good run defense and has needed motivation since the Super Bowl? New England (-14.5) over Tampa Bay (in London) The only reason I'm not locking this game up is because of the weather. There has been rain during the past two London games and while it's not currently forecasted for Sunday, it's forecasted for all the days around Sunday. If you've ever been to England, you know it always fucking rains! Which brings me back to what I said in the opening about home-field advantage. Does the NFL schedule one bad team in this game every year so it doesn't have to worry about taking too much heat about that team losing a home game from their schedule? First it was the Dolphins, then the Saints, and now the Bucs. You'll notice that the favorites in all those games (Giants, Chargers, and Patriots) weren't the home team. Coincidence? San Francisco (+3) over HOUSTON Michael Crabtree is finally suiting up for an NFL game and it's about three months too late. The kid should be thankful that he didn't sit out the whole year because his stock would've dropped through the floor. We all know Crabtree has a reputation for being a selfish asshole (he used to make Texas Tech team managers get him McDonald's because he didn't want to eat the regular team food), but he must've gotten some poor guidance from his agent. Just because the Raiders are dumb enough to take Heyward-Bey in front of you, doesn't mean you should make more money than him. There's a system in place, Magic Mike. You'll get your money. OAKLAND (+6) over N.Y. Jets Where'd they all go? (Sound of crickets) Who? All those Jets fans that were talking about the Super Bowl have suddenly been replaced by an angry mob of fans looking to throw Sanchez on the spit. Let's calm down a little bit here. You weren't that good to begin with. The Sanchize is just a rookie and let's remember how bad Eli Manning was as a rookie. You just had a little too much swagger in ya'. You've been exposed like an Australia female firefighter. Atlanta (+4) over DALLAS It's amazing how a Miles Austin touchdown and a bye week cover up the fact that the Cowboys almost lost to the Chiefs. Had they done so, it would've led to a nuclear reaction similar to what we're seeing in Washington these days. Wade Phillips would've been woken up from his never-ending slumber with walking papers and Jerry Jones would be raising hell. The Dirty Birds, on the other hand, are off to their best start in years. MIAMI (+6) over New Orleans Remember when the Dolphins almost beat the Colts? They ran the ball, controlled the clock, and would've won had they not been going against Peyton Manning. While Drew Brees is pretty good himself, the Colts didn't win that game by more than six points and you can expect a letdown from New Orleans this week. Arizona (+7) over N.Y. GIANTS The Giants defense misses Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross. It wasn't an issue against the shitty teams, but it showed against the Saints last week. It'll show again this week. Philadelphia (-7) over WASHINGTON The Redskins made a major organizational move this week when they signed Troy Brown as their new wide receivers coach. He was so excited about Sherm Leiws calling the plays that he just had to be involved. It's a shame Troy won't be able to yell out "Bingo... Bingo... We win again!" because the Redskins won't be winning much of anything for a while. Season Record: 45-29 (60.8%) Last week: 8-6 Locks: 8-7 Survivor: 4-1 Please sign up or log in to enter for this contest!