NFL Mocks Picks Vs the Spread Week 12

Packers at Lions

The Lions can’t afford to start as slow as they have on numerous occasions this year because the Packers won’t stop scoring. I like the Packers big here, I don’t think the Lions secondary can handle the Packers passing offense.

Jesse is going to lock in the pick of Green Bay  to win more than 6 in Detroit. Detroit has a bad habit of starting slow, but the problem is if they do start slow the Packers won’t stop scoring. Also Stafford has a lot of tunrovers this year and that’s the only way Green Bay stops people.

Dolphins at Cowboys

I think the Dolphins can keep this game close, so my pick will be based on the point spread. I’d be absolutely astonished if the Dolphins won the game though. The line is opening at 8.5

The line is now at Dallas -7 , but, but I still like the Dolphins here. I think this can be a low scoring game between two physical defenses. The Dolphins have also responded well to their head coach this year, and this game means a lot to him. Besides that the Dolphins have been much better on the road than at home the last few years. Big game for the Dolphins as they cover the big spread.

49ers at Ravens

And I’ll be taking the under in this game unless the under is more than 25! Defense, defense, defense. If that’s your thing this is the game for you. Old Ray Lewis will hopefully get to play vs young Ray Lewis (Patrick Willis). Brother vs Brother. The Ravens need this game much more than the 49ers do, who are going to waltz to the division title, but if the 49ers win a lot of their remaining games they will secure a home playoff bye.

I like the Ravens here who play up to their competition.

I have basically picked the 49ers every single week and it’s done well for me, but I’m going to  change it up this week. The Ravens are favored by 3.5 of Wednesday morning and Ray Lewis is possible to play. The 49ers are a good team, but so are the Ravens. The Ravens have played up to their competition all year and I think on  Thursday night game on Thanksgiving the Ravens will come up big. Ravens to cover the 3.5

Bills at Jets

The Jets can afford about one more loss the rest of the season, but the one team they can’t afford it to is the Buffalo Bills. The Jets beat down the Bills in Buffalo and should be heavy favorites here coming off a long week where they get 10 days to game plan for the Bills. I like the Jets here we’ll have to see how high the line goes. I don’t trust the Jets offense by any significant margin.

Right now the Jets are 9.5 point favorites over the Bills. I don’t trust the jets as 9.5 point favorites, I think they will win fairly easily, but I expect an inspired performance by the Bills here considering how many rookies they’ll be playing. I’ll take the Bills to lose by less than 9.5 points

Browns at Bengals

The Bengals have had two rough losses in a row and I fully expect them to take it out on the Browns. The Bengals have a plus defense and the Browns have a pretty bad offense.

7 points it hard for me to lay for a team with rookie quarterback, but I just can’t see how the Browns will score any points on the Bengals plus defense. I’ll take the Bengals to cover the 7 point spread they are currently facing.

Vikings at Falcons

This game will depend on whether or not Adrian Peterson plays. I think the Vikings actually match up fairly well in some areas with the Falcons so any big point spread and I’ll be leaning towards the Vikings.

Adrian Peterson is OUT.

I’ll take the Falcons to win by the 9.5 hefty point spread they are facing. The Falcons have a lot of weapons in the passing game and the Vikings are one of the worst teams in the league defending the pass having already given up 19 passing touchdowns this year.

Buccaneers at Titans

These are the two teams I get wrong the most. The Titans are dependent on whether or not Chris Johnson plays well I actually would like to see Jake locker play here. Hasselbeck left the game on Sunday with an injury and the Titans used Lockers speed and mobility to get him outside of the pocket to make some plays and they were effective. The Buccaneers on the other hand are woefully inconsistent. They played the Packers great, but still lost. Both teams really need this game the loser is probably officially out of the playoff race.

I’ll take the Titans to win by more than three points for the third week in a row after saying I’ll never pick them again! And Chris Johnson, I need youin fantasy now more than ever with Fred Jackson out for the year so pick it up.

But I get these teams wrong all the time so you can almost bank on the Buccaneers winning outright.

Panthers at Colts

I love the Panthers as underdogs, but that doesn’t seem likely here. I’ll have to wait to see how high the line goes, but the Panthers are the superior team anything under 10 points and I’ll probably take the Panthers. It’s crazy how big this spread might be considering how few victories the Panthers have.

3.5 points? Panthers to bully the Colts

Cardinals at Rams

Cardinals are another team that seem to play up or down to their competition. They are a better team than the Rams. The Rams don’t have the defensive personnel  to make Skeleton look as pitiful as the 49ers did.

The Cardinals are the better team AND they are getting points. Now the Cardinals are prone to come out and lay some stinkers so it scares me a bit, but I have to take a team getting points in a division rivalry.

Texans at Jaguars

The Texans caught a break here getting a vastly inferior opponent after coming off a bye with Matt Leinart poised to take over. Leinart hasn’t been seen in live action in awhile so I’d probably stay away from this game unless the spread is low because the Texans can still run. Andre Johnson could also make his return for this game.

I’m going to take the Jaguars here at +6.5 points because I don’t trust Matt Leinart yet. I’m not saying Blaine Gabbert is any good, but maybe it’ll be a low scoring game and the Jaguars stay within six.

Bears at Raiders

As of writing this on Sunday night, there are reports out there that Jay Cutler could possibly be out for the season. The Raiders have been better on the road this year than at home. I’m not going to offer an opinion on this game yet, though I’ve taken the Raiders as underdogs pretty much every time and continue to lose by picking against the Bears.

Jay Cutler is out for the regular season and the Oakland Raiders are favored by 4.

I’ve picked the Raiders a ton this year, every time they were underdogs. They scare me as favorites and I always (as does everyone ) underestimate how good the Bears are, but they can’t possibly win this game with their backup quarterback can they? The Raiders really need this game to start salting away the division.

I’ll hesitantly take the Raiders to win by more than 4 points. Scares me though. Would not advise anyone to bet this game

Redskins at Seahawks

I can’t imagine the Redskins come out and play as well vs the lowly Seahawks as they did their division rivals at home. The Seahawks are underrated. No they aren’t any good, but people think this team is terrible. I’m probably going to take Seattle if they are giving any points, and might even pick them if they are a pick em or favored by three or less.

The Seahawks are better than the Redskins, especially at home. I’ll take the Seahawks to push themselves further away from a franchise quarterback with another win on Sunday.

Patriots at Eagles

Eagles have some life left and this game should be one of a lot of points.

I’ll take the Eagles to cover the 3.5 point spread even with Vince Young, I’m not locking this pick in though until tomorrow morning to see if the line goes up any more with Vick ruled out.

Broncos at Chargers

Biggest game of the week. The Broncos could really make a legitimate claim for the division crown with a win in San Diego. I can’t imagine San Diego will lose that many games in a row though and like the Chargers here, though I’m not willing to give a ton of points (maybe 5 or 6).

Damn you, Vegas. They put the Chargers right at my upper limit of points at 6. The Chargers really need this game I’m going to take the plunge here.

Change of heart: Immediately after posting it I’ve decided 6 points is too many points and I’m going to take the Broncos to cover the 6.

Steelers at Chiefs

I’ll have to see how the Chiefs respond tonight before I consider their prospects in this game.

The Steelers are favored by 10.5 in Kansas City which is too rich for my blood. Now as an owner of both Big Ben and Antonio Brown I’m rooting for a blowout here that happens through the air, but something about the prime time slots usually inspires bad teams to rise up in their play. I’ll take the Chiefs to cover the 10.5 points, but lose and give up three passing touchdowns from Big Ben to Antonio Brown (a man can dream can’t he?)

Giants at Saints

Saints match up well vs the Giants and I could see them beating the Giants fairly easily. It will depend on how high the line goes, the higher the line the more I like the Giants who really play inspired as underdogs. I don’t know if it’s Eli Manning’s character or something because he’s always been “little brother” in his family, but the worse things seem to be the better he plays.

I’m a depressed Giants fans who doesn’t see anyway the Giants can win this game. The Saints are coming off a bye with two weeks to prepare for the Giants, the last time the Saints had two weeks to prepare for the Giants they absolutely blew them out. I’ll root for that to not happen here and be a faithful fan (don’t touch this game though) Giants to stay within 7.