Trav's Thoughts

OK, so I'm not terribly creative with the feature titles. We've got Sports Saturday and NFL Sunday.

My Raiders are home today against the Chiefs. The AFC West is an average division, and the 3-3 Chiefs share the lead with 3-3 San Diego as we begin the day. My Raiders are 2-3. Oakland is running the ball effectively and must continue this trend. Pam even said she likes the Raiders to win this week, which is big. She's a Raider despiser, but she has appreciated my attempts to be objective about her Seahawks and she is trying to return it with my Raiders. It's all about the love y'all! I picked my guys this week at home, but the defense must step it up.

The 49ers are at the Giants today. SF started the season with a ton of promise. Despite struggling offensively, they won their first two games against division opponents. But then came injuries to key players, including QB Alex Smith, and SF has now dropped three in a row. Every time we watch the Giants play, we see them as a bumbling team with moments of excellence. QB Eli Manning is a streaky guy. When he's hot, he's among the best in the league. But he's prone to dumb mistakes. I have to go with the Giants today, based on the ineffective play of the 49ers' offense.

The natives are getting a bit restless in the Emerald City. Pam's Seahawks were booed in their home stadium last week. One Super Bowl appearance had this town thinking it had a dynasty in the making. But an objective observer can see that the swagger this team has is just silly. This is not a tough football team, and Pam is not happy with Coach Mike Holmgren. We both think he should have been raked for his poor decisions at the end of last week's game, and his poor play calling throughout the game. Luckily they host the 0-6 Rams today. SL is having a disastrous year on both sides of the ball. I've picked Seattle today because if they can correct some of the bonehead stuff they are the better team on the field in this game. The weather could be a factor as well.

Indy is at Jacksonville on Monday night in another tough division game. Is it me, or has the AFC South become one of the tougher divisions in the NFL? Houston is playing well. Tennessee, with Vince Young, can beat anyone. Jacksonville has thrived against a relatively soft early schedule. And the Colts are defending champs. Indy's defense is improved over last season, and some new additions to the offense are coming on quite nicely. I don't expect the Colts to go undefeated, but I don't think this is the week for the first loss.

This morning we get New England at Miami on CBS opposite SF at the Giants on FOX. Our afternoon game is of course SL at Seattle.

We're pleased to have Pittsburgh at Denver as the Sunday night game. The Steelers are playing well and are the oh-by-the-way team in the AFC right now, behind the Patriots and Colts.

I need a good week with picks. Here are the results so far:

Week 1 = 12-4
Week 2 = 11-5
Week 3 = 10-6
Week 4 = 8-6
Week 5 = 9-5
Week 6 = 7-6

That brings me to 57-32 on the season. I went with home teams this week, except for the three best in the AFC. NE, Pitt, and Indy are all on the road and I picked all three to win. Oh, in case you were wondering why I don't post Pam's picks...it's because she doesn't do them.

Texans over Titans
Lions over Bucs
Saints over Falcons
Bills over Ravens
Giants over 49ers
Redskins over Cardinals
Patriots over Dolphins
Raiders over Chiefs
Bengals over Jets
Cowboys over Vikings
Eagles over Bears
Seahawks over Rams
Steelers over Broncos
Colts over Jaguars

BYE teams this week are Carolina, Cleveland, Green Bay, and San Diego.

Enjoy the games!