Tips and Picks: The Week 4 Edition

JW,

I'll admit to getting caught up in Brett Favre's ridiculous game-winner last week in Minnesota, a play so perfectly executed they should send the ball directly to Canton. Sure, I've bitched about Favre from time to time (to time), but I can't deny his (occasional, fleeting) greatness. He actively won that football game, and in the Age of the Rinky-Dink Pass, not many quarterbacks can say that.

Still, some problems remain, namely the continuing glorification of Favre to the detriment of everyone else on the field. Listen to that call again. Not "great catch" but "Favre did it." Forget Greg Lewis's epic positioning, timing, and footwork, we're breathlessly told. This was Favre's accomplishment, and it's his story.

Meanwhile, despite Favre's insistence that revenge won't be a factor when his Vikes meet the Packers on Monday night, you can bet that it will be the chief factor for everyone covering the game, as well as most of the people watching it. Favre's presence in the wake of last Sunday's heroics has so eclipsed the teams themselves that we're forgetting two very important facts: 1) The Vikings appear to be a very good team, and 2) The Packers might not be. As of today, the Vikings are minus-3.5. Give the points.

In other news . . .

Tampa Bay at Washington promises to be one of those games that remind you why too much television is a bad thing. Why not go outside and throw the ball around with your kids? I guarantee you'll have more yards of total offense than the Bucs and Skins.

Tennessee at Jacksonville boasts the highest stakes of any game this week. After all, Tennessee has everything going for them except wins, and of all of the 0-3 teams in recent memory, they seem most likely to rebound. Lose this week in Florida, though, and even I'll be calling for Vince Young, if only to improve the Titans' draft positioning.

New York Jets at New Orleans should salvage an afternoon slate whose second best match-up is NBC's encore presentation of Meet the Press. Unless it's crossed into three figures, take the over.

Baltimore at New England has my full attention, if only because I'm so certain the Patriots will lose. Don't forget, this is a revenge game, too. The Ravens were this close to ruining the Pats' perfect season in '07. (Click here and fastfoward to 4:55 for some Rex Ryan idiocy that's almost too good to be true.) This is their first meeting since.

-GM

GM,

When it comes to picks, I'm not going to share mine with our readers this week. Anyone who's followed my lead knows I've made some poor predictions in weeks past (e.g. Miami over Virginia Tech). Strangely enough, my walk hasn't mirrored my talk, and I've actually had an outstanding season gambling so far. But as my second-favorite band's No. 2 singer once wrote...

"I ain't gonna crawl upon no high horse 'cause I got thrown off of one when I was young, and I ain't no Cowboy, so I ain't goin' where I don't belong." -Mike Cooley, Drive-By Truckers

So let's just talk some amateur football. For those who consider the regular season a playoff, this week has some marquee games that actually help prove that flawed point. In fact, I'll be at the best of them, so let's start with that one.

LSU at UGA: Initials are fine, right? The Dawgs are actually giving 3 1/2, meaning Vegas has absolutely no respect for LSU, the No. 4 team in the nation. The problem, in my opinion, is that Georgia has little reason to be respected either. Based on previous performance this season, both teams would get rolled by the Tide or chomped by the Gators. But yes, I expect Georgia to take care of business at home, mainly because LSU forgot how to run the football, and UGA is figuring out how to stop the homeruns--the only reason the Tigers edged Mississippi State last week.

Oklahoma at Miami: Landry Jones, a redshirt freshman, is starting again for the Sooners because Sam Bradford still isn't ready. Did the Hurricanes get trounced last week at Va. Tech because they're not who I thought they were, or because the Hokies proved that their game against Alabama to open the season was actually a battle of two top-three teams? It's the latter, folks. If you look at who has proven what, it's Alabama first, then VT, then Florida, but of course, Florida is yet to be tested. The Big 12 is overrated; the ACC is underrated; Miami will win, or my name isn't, ehhh, JW.

USC at Cal: It's a shame that both teams will still be respected after this game. The Trojans don't have the horses this year to run all over anybody, so it will be another one- or two-score victory, which will force Cal out of the AP rankings, drop the school to 25th in the coaches' poll, and have half the media talking about how USC still deserves to play for the national championship if it wins out, regardless of who's still undefeated. This is the country we live in. No, no... as another great artist once said...

"This is our country." -You know who.

-JW