Dr. Sports had a pretty good week in Week 3. The Coach did not.
But we are progressing forward.
It’s Week 4 in the National Football League. The most intriguing matchups include Baltimore at New England, the unbeaten Jets at the unbeaten Saints, San Diego at Pittsburgh on Sunday night and, of course, Green Bay at Minnesota in the Monday Nighter.
After Brett Favre’s heroics last week, the Lions first victory in 19 games and Michael Vick’s official return to the NFL, it’s hard to imagine anything could be better.
But Monday night, you can bet it will get better. Packers-Vikings. Favre vs. his old team. Monday night at the Dome. Wow!
Fasten your seat belts, Week 4 is going to be a terrific ride.
Remember, the Cardinals, Falcons, Panthers and Eagles all have the bye this week, the first bye week of 2009.
Let’s look a little more closely at Week 4:
1. Detroit Lions 1-2 at Chicago Bears 2-1 (-9.5)
Will magic strike twice for the Lions? Don’t bet on it.
Dr. Sports: Bears to win and cover
The Coach: Bears to win and cover
2. Cincinnati Bengals 2-1 at Cleveland Browns 0-3 (+5.5)
The Browns can’t seem to score and it doesn’t appear as if they’ll have any success this week. Even with Derel Anderson at quarterback.
Dr. Sports: Bengals to win and cover.
The Coach: Bengals to win and cover.
3. Oakland Raiders 1-2 at Houston Texans 1-2 (-9.5)
The Raiders offense is horrible but the Texans defence stinks. Nice combination.
Dr. Sports: Texans to win but NOT cover
The Coach: Texans to win but NOT cover.
4. Seattle Seahawks 1-2 at Indianapolis Colts 3-0 (-8.5)
Close your eyes Seahawks fans. You do not want to see what the Colts are going to do to your team.
Dr. Sports: Colts to win and cover.
The Coach: Colts to win and cover.
5. Tennessee Titans 0-3 at Jacksonville Jaguars 1-2 (+2.5)
This is the week that Jeff Fisher’s Titans finally get their first win. The Jaga are just awful and they play in front of family and friends.
Dr. Sports: Titans to win and cover
The Coach: Titans to win and cover.
6. New York Giants 3-0 at Kansas City Chiefs 0-3 (+8.5)
These teams couldn’t be more opposite. Even though this is the Giants third consecutive road game, they’ll win…by a lot.
Dr. Sports: Giants to win and cover.
The Coach: Giants to win and cover.
7. Baltimore Ravens 3-0 at New England Patriots 2-1 (-1.5)
Tom Brady will hit some big throws, but so will Joe Flacco to keep it close. Taylor loves the Ravens this week.
Dr. Sports: Patriots to win and cover
The Coach: Ravens to win and cover.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0-3 at Washington Redskins 1-2 (-6.5)
Josh Johnson will be making his first NFL start for Tampa Bay. Johnson, a fifth-round draft pick in 2008 who was inactive for all 16 games as a rookie, takes over an offense that managed just 86 yards total offense during last week’s 24-0 loss to the New York Giants.
Dr. Sports: Redskins to win and cover.
The Coach: Redskins to win and cover.
9. Buffalo Bills 1-2 at Miami Dolphins 0-3 (+1.5)
These two teams used to put on a great show. Not anymore. However, it’s still an inter-divisional rivalry and T.O. will be on the field.
Dr. Sports: Miami to win and cover.
The Coach: Buffalo to win.
10. New York Jets 3-0 at New Orleans Saints 3-0 (-6.5)
The great defence of the Jets matching up against the great offense of the Saints. The Jets blitz a lot. Drew Brees eats up blitzes. The Jets — and Mark Sanchez — bubble bursts here.
Dr. Sports: Saints to win and cover.
The Coach: Saints to win and cover.
11. Dallas Cowboys 2-1 at Denver Broncos 3-0 (+2.5)
Dallas is like New England. They’re not as impressive as they should be, but they will win this week.
Dr. Sports: Cowboys to win and cover.
The Coach: Cowboys to win and cover.
12. St. Louis Rams 0-3 at San Francisco 49ers 2-1 (-9.5)
In their last 13, the Rams are 0-13 and don’t look for any improvement here. Coming off a tough loss week to the Vikings the 49ers will be very focused. How ’bout this? The Rams, Tampa and Cleveland all go 0-16 this year.
Dr. Sports: 49ers to win and cover.
The Coach: 49ers to win and cover.
13. San Diego Chargers 2-1 at Pittsburgh Steelers 1-2 (-6.5)
Do you think the Champs are happy being 1-2? Watch for a big win at home.
Dr. Sports: Steelers to win and cover.
The Coach: Steelers to win but NOT cover.
14. Green Bay Packers 2-1 at Minnesota 3-0 (-3.5)
Does it get any better than this? This is more than a football game. It’s an event. For many, many years, when you thought of Green Bay, you thought of Brett Favre. Now he’s playing for the rival Vikings, the team all Packers fans must hate (it’s actually a Wisconsin State law). This is the third biggest game of the year, behind the Super Bowl and when Favre and his Vikings play at Green Bay on Nov. 1. Dr. Sports going to be there live, enjoying the magnificence it all.
Dr. Sports: Vikings to win and cover.
The Coach: Vikings to win and cover.
The Doc is 30-18 this year and 25-23 against the spread. The Coach is 29-19, 22-26 against the spread.