So last week wasn't exactly the finest in Sportszilla history. Only David finished above .500, and John continued his march towards the cellar. While Mr. Schmeelk has claimed that anything less than a first-place finish is unacceptable, I suspect at this point he'd settle for not last.

Meanwhile, while I'm sure it ranked somewhere between the Mets collapse, the Jets loss, and his fantasy football loss to me, at least Ben won our fantasy baseball league, so kudos to him for being the reigning football and baseball champion. You still shouldn't listen to his picks advice though.

As always, picks are against the spread and the home teams are bolded.

This Week

Ben: 2-12
David: 3-11
John: 5-9
Zach: 10-4

Saints -3 vs. Panthers

Ben: Saints. The Carolina Panthers are a mediocre to bad football team that does not believe in David Carr. The Saints are actually the mediocre to bad football team we thought they were last year and in 2007 no one is letting them off the hook. At home and absolutely desperate, I'll take the Saints. Wrong.
David: Saints. I hate picking this game, because the Panthers blow, and the Saints probably blow, especially since Reggie Bush is a wide receiver playing tailback. That said, I can assure Colt Brennan that Charlotte’s a nice town. Wrong.
John: Saints. The bye week allows the Saints to put things back together. Wrong.
Zach: Panthers. Remember, Carolina never does what you expect them to. Right.

Chiefs +2 vs. Jaguars

Ben: Jaguars. Turns out the Chiefs may not be the worst team in the NFL thanks to the emergence of Dwayne Bowe at WR. Or maybe it's just the luck of playing the Vikings and a Norv Turner team back to back. The Jags are inconsistent but I can't pick against them when they have such a large edge in the talent on the field. Right.
David: Chiefs. Free Matt Jones. Wrong.
John: Jaguars. Did the Chiefs suddenly become a good football team? No. Right.
Zach: Jaguars. I'm not buying the Chiefs one bit. Right.

Redskins -3.5 vs. Lions

Ben: Lions. The funniest thing about the Lions is strange the coaching situation is. When people mention Lions' coaching, they never bring up the head man, Rod Marenelli. They just talk about Mike Martz, who seems to control everything regarding the offense including choosing players. So why isn't Martz the coach? I'm just asking. Wrong.
David: Lions. I’ve heard rumblings about who will take over the Chargers next year after Norv Turner gets dumped. Bill Cowher’s name has come up, as has Pete Carroll’s, but what about Mike Martz? It makes all kinds of sense, especially if Martz can land a good defensive coordinator who can run his unit independently, like Jim Mora, Jr. Wrong.
John: Lions. The Skins are a fake good team. The Lions just might actually be a good team. Wrong.
Zach: Redskins. Remember what happened the last time the Lions played an NFC East team? I do. Right.

Titans -8 vs. Falcons

Ben: Titans. Amazing how people are jumping on the Joey Harrington bandwagon. Didn't they learn their lesson LAST year, when Harrington threw an occasional mediocre effort until playing so horrifically he was replaced by Cleo Lemon? I asked Zach why. His response: "Who was Joey Harrington replacing in Atlanta and Miami?" Guess Donovan McNabb wasn't crazy after all. Wrong.
David: Titans. I still believe in Joey Harrington. Seriously, he’s not that bad, currently sitting at 24.9% DVOA. However, Sir Joey can’t make up for the Falcons’ poor defense. Wrong.
John: Falcons. Tennessee isn't good enough yet to give this many points. Right.
Zach: Falcons. I actually like the way the Falcons are moving...the young receivers have started to look like competent players now that they don't have Michael Vick overthrowing them every other play. Right.

Texans -5.5 vs. Dolphins

Ben: Texans. Of course, is there any better case for McNabb than Miami in general? Daunte Culpepper had a history of greatness and had the legitimate excuse of coming off serious knee surgery. Yet he lost his job to first Harrington and then, without ANY competition, to Trent Green. The same Green who is so washed up that everyone and their cousin knows he's done. Everyone except Cam Cameron anyway. Until Cleo Lemon or John Beck get in there, I will not pick Miami this season. Wrong.
David: Texans. Trent Green wishes he could deal with this defense. Also, just to twist the knife a bit for Phins Phans, here are picks 10, 11, 12, and the next WR picked:

Amobi Okoye – 20 years old and coming into his own on the Texans’ defensive line.

Patrick Willis – Probably has the inside track on Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Marshawn Lynch – Already a perfectly serviceable starting running back. Could have been a great RB pairing with Ronnie Brown.

Dwayne Bowe – 4 games, 18 receptions, 299 yards, 3 touchdowns.

Ted Ginn – 4 games, 1 reception, 15 yards. Wrong.
John: Dolphins. Neither is Houston.Right.
Zach: Dolphins. The shine is off the Texans after a nice start. Ronnie Brown is running the ball well, though the fact that Trent Green is still the starter is an indictment of Cam Cameron. Right.

Steelers -6 vs. Seahawks

Ben: Steelers. I think the Seahawks are the class of the NFC West, but that's like saying you're the top team in the Mountain West. It's worth something for sure and you could certainly hang with and beat a top team, but you are going to go down hard more times than not. On the road especially, it's hard to like the Seahawks. Right.
David: Seahawks. No Hines Ward and no Polamalu makes Pittsburgh something something. Wrong.
John: Seahawks. Pittsburgh came back down to earth last week. I still don’t think they are a top five NFL team, so take the points. Wrong.
Zach: Steelers. An early game after a cross country flight, and a match-up against a good team angry after a bad loss the previous week? Um, no thanks. Right.

Patriots -16.5 vs. Browns

Ben: Browns. I will NOT pick a team with a three score spread. I don't care how good people think New England is. Don't care they covered a three score spread already this year. Too much can go wrong. Let's put it this way- Pats win 30-14- they don't cover. Dominate yes, but no cover. I'll take my chances with the points thank you. Wrong.
David: Patriots. I’m convinced the 2007-08 Pats will end up remembered as the best team since the early 90s Cowboys and 49ers. Right.
John: Browns. Pats get caught looking ahead to Dallas and play a closer one. Wrong.
Zach: Patriots. Yes, it's a lot of points to give. But do you honestly think the Browns can win? Then how can you pick them? Right.

Rams +3.5 vs. Cardinals

Ben: Cardinals. No Orlando Pace, to Steven Jackson, no Marc Bulger. Gus Ferrotte, I hope you don't value your body very highly behind that line. What am I saying? He's the guy who once knocked himself out of a game because he head butted a wall in the dumbest TD celebration of all time. Wrong.
David: Cardinals. Gus Frerotte is starting for St. Louis. The only way ‘Zona drops this one is if Matt Leinart headbutts the wall. Wrong.
John: Rams. They need to win eventually, right? Right.
Zach: Rams. They're the Cardinals. They'll always find a way to let you down. Right.

Giants -3.5 vs. Jets

Ben: Jets. The Giants defense is terrible outside of their pass rush. If they don't get to the QB, they can't stop anyone. The Jets will block well enough to protect Chad Pennington. Besides, the Jets are a better team the G-Men. Wrong.
David: Giants. I like Elisha. You’ve gotta admit, Elisha looks good. I can go on all day about Elisha. Right.
John: Jets. Logic dictates the Giants, but this is the NFL. Neither team is as good/bad as people think. Wrong.
Zach: Jets. Neutral site, I'm taking the points. Wrong.

Colts -10 vs. Buccaneers

Ben: Buccaneers. Last week I typed Colts for my picks, then reneged on it. Big mistake. This week I typed Colts again, and have once again reneged. They may not have Marvin Harrison or Joseph Addai for this one. While I'm the biggest "Manning makes everyone else go, not visa versa" guy around, ten points is a lot to give up when you'll be missing two of your most important players. Wrong.
David: Colts. I refuse to support a starting backfield of Jeff Garcia and Michael Pittman on the road, let alone against one of the three best teams in the AFC. Right.
John: Buccaneers. No Harrison, and the Colts haven’t had many real big wins. Wrong.
Zach: Colts. Don't like the spread, but I can't see Tampa winning. Right.

Broncos -1 vs. Chargers

Ben: Broncos. The classic argument as to proof of racism in the NFL coaching ranks is that certain retreads consistently get jobs despite failing miserably in their prior ones. Norv Turner is THE example of that argument, with his defenders claiming he was just the victim of bad ownership in his prior gigs. So what, pray tell, will be their excuse for this debacle? Wrong.
David: Broncos. Will Norv last the season? I’m guessing that around Week 14, either James Lofton or Ron Rivera will take over on an interim basis to play out the string. Wrong.
John: Broncos. The Bolts are done. Wrong.
Zach: Chargers. Neither team is any good, but I'm making the pick with the assumption that someone in the Chargers organization will replace Norv Turner's headset with one of those foam beer hats and let an actual intelligent person call the plays. Right.

49ers +3 vs. Ravens

Ben: Ravens. David had it right the weekend before the season; the Niners suck. Wrong.
David: Ravens. Baltimore’s the better team to begin with, and Trent Dilfer can’t be expected to perform all that well against a good defense, but now that Jonas Jennings is out indefinitely, the Niners are definitely screwed. Wrong.
John: Ravens. Baltimore needs to rebound in a big way. Wrong.
Zach: Ravens. Mediocrity yeah! Wrong.

Packers -3 vs. Bears

Ben: Packers. In Madden it's rare you take a mediocre team and do worse with them than the actual team does in real life. In Madden '08 I took the Packers out just before the start of the season and went 3-0 to start and then got beat by the Vikings and Bears back to back to fall to 3-2. The odds are very good the real Packers team will be 5-0 after this. By the way, I won the Super Bowl anyway. Wrong.
David: Packers. Brett Favre could throw three interceptions (not out of the question) and the Bears would still lose. Is Ken Dorsey an upgrade or downgrade on Brian Griese? Wrong.
John: Bears. Chicago D is getting healthier and they will turn over Brett Favre. Right.
Zach: Packers. I'm so confident in this pick, I'd bet $50 bucks on it. Oh wait, I did. I love Vegas! Wrong.

Bills +10 vs. Cowboys

Ben: Cowboys. The sign the Jets were going nowhere was their loss to the Bills last week. The Bills are bad team on defense and mediocre on offense with an unproven QB. The Cowboys are going places and should win this one fairly easily. Wrong.
David: Cowboys. I think a lot of people underestimate how poor the Buffalo pass defense is. The Bills are solidly in the bottom five pass defenders, and the Boys’ offense seems well-suited to destroy them, on the road or no. Wrong.
John: Cowboys. The good times continue to roll in Big D. Wrong.
Zach: Cowboys. Enjoy your last week of playing the patsies of the NFL Dallas. Wrong.

Last Week

Ben: 6-8
David: 8-6
John: 4-10
Zach: 7-7

Season Standings

Zach: 42-28-6
David: 35-35-6
Ben: 28-42-6
John: 26-44-6