NFL Week 5 Picks by Otherwise’s Adrian Patrick
Adrian Patrick of the band Otherwise has signed on to make his weekly NFL picks for Loudwire. Every week, Adrian checks the odds and lets you know which teams he thinks will beat the spread. This week, Adrian got his picks in a little later than usual because of a busy tour schedule, so it doesn't include his picks for the Thursday Night game (in which the Packers crushed the Vikings 42-10). Check out the rest of his Week 5 picks below:
Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers
Chicago rolls into Carolina to face the sputtering Panthers and I think Carolina's woes continue. The Bears offense has way to many weapons for the Panthers to keep up in a shoot out and I think the Bears go about things that way. Jay Cutler has a lot of dangerous weapons and I think he finds them enough times to get things done in this one.
The Pick: Bears + 2.5
Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans
Cleveland is still a very underrated team as far as the bookmakers go and I think soon that will change. The Browns are playing balanced football on both sides of the rock right now and Tennessee has been playing terribly. The Browns should be able to exploit the holes on the Titans defense and play stout enough in the trenches to neutralize the Titan offense.
The Pick: Browns +1.5
St. Louis Rams at Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are 2-0 at home this season and with their uptempo offense the Rams should be handily outmatched in this one. The Eagles run a very sophisticated offense that really pushes the RPM's into the red forcing bad decisions on defense due to fatigue and general confusion. The Rams aren't the type of team that is able to deal with that sort of adversity and they are sorely undermanned in terms of big time players to shut down the dangerous Eagle offense led by Nick Foles and LeSean "Shady" McCoy. This has the makings of a rout.
The Pick: Eagles -7
Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants
The Falcons are a mystery. One week they look fantastic and the next? Not so much. It's no surprise that they've been a lot better at home then on the road and I think that trend continues this week against the Giants. The Giants have all of a sudden found the next gear and are rolling. Eli Manning doesn't look lost anymore and a few new weapons such as Larry Donnell at the TE spot. The Giants defense has also played much better as of late. Coming into New York is not the medicine the doctor would prescribe for the ailing Falcons team, but they will enter the hornets nest anyway.
The Pick: Giants -4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints
Tampa heads into the jaws of the beast this Sunday when they take on the New Orleans Saints. Both teams are 1-3 but we all know what team is better. The Saints are and they will prove it on Sunday. The Saints will completely dissect the Bucs defense and Drew Brees will have one of those fantastic days that he loves to have. The Saints will blow the Bucs out.
The Pick: Saints - 10
Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys and Tony Romo seem to finally be hitting their stride. Las Vegas native DeMarco Murray has been an absolute beast for the Cowboys so far this season and has given them a legit threat behind Romo. With the emergence of Murray it opens up the passing game and Romo has been surgical as of late. He has gone through his read like the seasoned pro he is and has made opposing secondaries pay. The Texans are quietly 3-1. They have a great coaching staff and a formula that they stick to. If Arian Foster is 100 percent that is all the better for the Texans. They will need to keep the Cowboys offense off the field as much as possible and with their defense they should do enough to keep it close and cover.
The Pick: Texans + 6
Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions
There is turmoil aplenty in Buffalo with the EJ Manuel situation and rumors of clubhouse infighting. This is never a good thing in sports and unless they get a grip of things soon it could all easily spiral out of control. Buffalo doesn't have the fire power to keep up with the Lions and that will be evident come Sunday. The Lions have mixed things up nicely on offense and with the threat of Calvin Johnson going thermonuclear in any given game, it certainly makes offensive coordinators game plan in ways they usually wouldn't. This is certainly an advantage for the Lions and they will look to punish a mentally beaten Buffalo team on the grid iron Sunday.
The Pick: Lions -7
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts
Baltimore visits the Dome in Indy for a clash of two AFC foes. The Colts are led by all world QB, Andrew Luck and he will have his hands full with the different looks and creativity that is brought by a strong Ravens defense. Luck will have to be able to adjust accordingly at the line and audible into and out of formations to keep the D guessing. I think that Andrew Luck is a great quarterback and that the Colts are a good team, but I see the Ravens as a team trending upwards and I think that they have rallied around each other and the organization in the wake of the terrible Ray Rice domestic assault case. I have to take the road team in this one.
The Pick: Ravens + 3.5
Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Steelers will look to right the ship against the second worst team in the league, the Jaguars. A team with no identity and no direction. They are abysmal. To make matters worse they are boring! At least lose with some swag. The Steelers will tee off on the Jaguars on Sunday taking out their frustration from last week on the hapless Jags.
The Pick: Steelers - 6
Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos
The Cardinals are 3-0 coming into this week and they are looking strong. They've gotten great play from the QB position even though Carson Palmer was hurt and they've also been able to play great defense. That said, they are in for a long day on Sunday. Peyton Manning is going to light them up like a Christmas tree. This should be one of those games where Peyton's stat line looks like a video game.
The Pick: Broncos - 7
Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers
The Chiefs delivered a complete beatdown on the Patriots on national TV on Monday night. It was never close and the underrated Alex Smith performed well once again. While not flashy he manages the game well and makes the plays when he needs to. He has a certain moxy you need from QB's who are successful and he has a knack for knowing when to throw it away or when to try and force it in. The Niners are a lot better then they've shown. They looked good against the Eagles and have proven time and time again that they will not be denied. Frank Gore is playing like a man possessed and Colin Kaepernick has started to make better decisions. I think the Chiefs have been overvalued this week due to their dismantling of the Patriots and for that reason I think the only way to go is the Niners.
The Pick: 49ers -6
New York Jets at San Diego Chargers
The Jets are a bad football team. They have some bright spots on the offensive side of the ball and some really great players on defense but the coaching has let them down once again. Rex Ryan is not the guy to take the Jets to the promise land and it's been proven year after year. He has stubbornly refused to bench Geno Smith in favor of Michael Vick and has paid for it dearly in the win loss column. his week will be another embarrassing one for the Gang Green Faithful when they sojourn to San Diego. The Chargers are going to expose the Jets beat up secondary and Philip Rivers will have a big day. The Chargers defense is good enough to shut down the few weapons the Jets have and that will be enough with the way the Chargers offense should roll.
The Pick: Chargers -6.5
Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots
The Patriots are going to lose two in a row. The Bengals are going to make sure of that. Cincy has played lights out defense this year and the Patriots have looked like a confused, old team. Tom Brady has been sub par for the first time in his career pretty much and one wonders if he has gotten old. The Patriots defense has been pedestrian even with the addition of Darrelle Revis. Look for Cincy to put the pressure on the Patriots and for Andy Dalton to exploit them across the middle.
The Pick: Bengals - 1
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins
In our Monday night tilt to close out the week we have the Seahawks vs. the Redskins and this one could get ugly. The Seahawks are so well balanced and well coached it's tough to find any chinks in their armor. When they make a mistake you have to capitalize. Are the Redskins the type of team that can do that? They've proven that they aren't thus far. The Seahawks are much better at home, but the defending champs will wear the Skins down on Monday night and take this one home in comfortable fashion.
The Pick: Seattle -7
Our thanks to Adrian Patrick for making his weekly picks. Otherwise just released their new album, ‘Peace At All Costs.’ The disc is available to order at iTunes. Check out the band’s tour dates here.