Week 6 NFL Picks

NFL

Last Week 4-1

Season: 16-8-2

Lock of the Week: 1-3-1

There is no debating, October is the best sports month of the year. With the NFL season kicking into high gear and playoff baseball, it is an awesome time to be a sports fan. I'm sprinting through my NFL and UFC preview this week.

1) Lions +3.5 over EAGLES

Lock of the Week.... Detroit's coming off a bye week, and are looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Matthew Stafford is throwing the ball for a ton of yards, but the touchdowns aren't there for some reason. If Philly is the luckiest team in the league then Detroit is the most unlucky. I expect that to change here. 

2) Ravens -3.5 over Cowboys

The Cowboys high-powered offense has gotten off to a slow start. Don't expect that to change against Ray Lewis and the Ravens. 

3) Giants +6.5 over 49ERS

The 49ers have been running through teams, but the Giants could be their toughest test to date. I think San Fran wins, but I'll take the reigning champs (with an explosive passing game) getting almost a touchdown any day of the week. 

4) Packers +3.5 over TEXANS

The Packers can't fall to 2-4. The Texans lost an important defensive player, Brian Cushing, for the season, and historically their defense isn't the same without him. 

5) CHARGERS -1 over Broncos

The Broncos have fallen behind double-digits in 4 of their first five games, and their offense is pretty much one-dimensional. The Chargers are a much more well-rounded team, and with Ryan Matthews healthy, they should take this one at home.

Jets

The Jets find themselves in a must win position Sunday against Andrew Luck and the Colts. Indy is coming off an emotional win last week, beating the Packers after learning about Chuck Pagano's battle with leukemia. Gang Green played better than anyone expected them to against Houston, but fell short.

It seems like deja vu, but Mark Sanchez needs to shut up critics with an impressive performance at home against an average Colts secondary. Early reports figure that Dustin Keller and Stephen Hill will be back this week, so Sanchez will have some NFL quality receivers to help improve on his NFL-worst 48.4 completion percentage. Indy has the 25th ranked run defense, so can this be the week that Shonn Greene and company establish a ground game?

Andrew Luck has shown some promise in his rookie campaign (1,208 yard, 7 TD, 5 Int), but he will be going up against the Jets 6th ranked pass defense. Expect Rex Ryan to disguise blitzes to confuse the rookie. Luckily for the Jets, Donald Brown is out, so their 31st ranked run defense may not get tested. 

Prediction: Jets 27 Colts 13

Even Tim Tebow is praying that Mark Sanchez has a good game on Sunday. I don't want to imagine the JetLife Stadium crowd if he gets off to a slow start. 

UFC 153

UFC 153 concludes a four-week stretch with a fight card every weekend. This looks like a fun card on paper, and the atmosphere that Brazilian fight fans give is worth the $55. The main event should be a fun fight, and sometimes UFC fans don't have to overthink things and just enjoy a show that Joe Silva practically pulled out of his ass. 

Since his TUF 1 fight against Forrest Griffin Stephan Bonnar has been a fan favorite for his willingness to stand toe-to-toe against almost any fighter he's encountered in the Octagon. I expect nothing different on Saturday. Anderson Silva puts his 16 fight win streak on the line, since this a light-heavyweight fight his gold belt won't be up for grabs in his home country. You have to wonder how many more fights the 37-year old legend has left in him, and I expect another good performance. 

Big Nog makes his return to the cage for the first time since December when he injured his arm against Frank Mir. Dave Herman will have his hands full against the Brazilian legend. In the second co-main event we get to see the much-hyped Glover Teixeira brings his 18-2 record into a battle with Fabio Maldonado. I'm excited to see how good Glover really is.

Erick Silva has a tough test against UFC veteran Jon Fitch. Fitch hasn't won a fight by KO or submission in five years, and he loves to dry hump his way to victory. Phil Davis gets a rematch against Wagner Prado, after their first fight ended due to an eye poke. Rounding out the card is another good fight between Rick Story and Demian Maia. After going on a 6-fight win streak, Story has lost 2 of his last 3 fights. Maia will be a tough test.

Predictions

Anderson Silva over Stephan Bonnar by KO

Antonio Nougeira over Dave Herman by Submission

Glover Teixeira over Fabio Maldonado by KO

Erick Silva over Jon Fitch by KO

Phil Davis over Wagner Davis by Decision

Demain Maia over Rick Story by Submission