By Stan "The Fan" Charles

Note: Stan "The Fan" Charles made his pick for the Thursday game before it kicked off.

Picking The Winners

Pittsburgh at Tennessee (Thursday)
Dallas at Baltimore
Oakland at Atlanta
Cincinnati at Cleveland
St. Louis at Miami
Indianapolis at NY Jets
Detroit at Philadelphia
Kansas City at Tampa Bay
New England at Seattle
Buffalo at Arizona
NY Giants at San Francisco
Minnesota at Washington
Green Bay at Houston
Denver at San Diego

*winners in bold

Picking Against The Spread

Cincinnati -1 ½ at Cleveland
Long term, it's hard to imagine anyone could script a run as bad as the one the Cleveland Browns have been on. Maybe it's karma, but whatever it is, this seems like the point of demarcation for the Browns. They know which way they are going, with a quality quarterback and running back to build around. Meanwhile, predicting what Bengals team will show up week to week is like trying to pin the tail on the donkey.
Prediction: Cleveland 22, Cincinnati 16

Buffalo at Arizona -5
The Bills continue to find a level that is significantly lower than the opposition. I read somewhere last week they became the first team ever to allow 300 passing yards and 300 rushing yards during the same game. It probably won't be that bad this week, because the Cardinals will play without running backs Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams. Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb still has a few weapons at his disposal, and he'll make good use of them.
Prediction: Arizona 27, Buffalo 17

St. Louis +3 ½ at Miami
Here's betting that Jeff Fisher's experience as a head coach and the experience he has at quarterback and a few other key positions will cover the spread against an NFL version of a startup. The Dolphins are improved with rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill and head coach Joe Philbin. But it's hard for Philbin to use Fisher's turning down the Dolphins' head coaching job as motivation. Miami will put up a good fight in this one, but the team will fall short.
Prediction: St. Louis 23, Miami 19

NY Giants at San Francisco -6 ½
San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh's team will do its best to avenge a playoff loss last year against the Giants. The war of words between New York offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and Harbaugh won't really matter too much on the field, but it is a sign that Harbaugh is leaving no stone unturned. The 49ers are coming off wins against the Jets and Bills by a combined score of 79-3. The Giants are much better than either of those teams, but all the signs point to a mano-a-mano butt whipping here.
Prediction: San Francisco 27, NY Giants 16

Kansas City +4 at Tampa Bay
Let's be real for a moment. Yes, it's despicable that some Kansas City fans cheered when their quarterback, Matt Cassel, was injured. But, in reality, opposing defenses would probably rather have Cassel in the game. Kansas City's defense is pretty good, and the offense can only get better right now with a new quarterback in Brady Quinn. The bet here is Quinn isn't that good, but he may be able to channel his inner Trent Dilfer and not beat his own team with turnovers.
Prediction: Kansas City 20, Tampa Bay 16

Dallas at Baltimore -3 ½
The Cowboys come into M&T Bank Stadium following their bye week. More than likely, they will be more ready than Ravens coach John Harbaugh's gang, which can have a tendency to start slow at home. Although the Ravens' defense is not what it once was, I'll count on enough organized chaos to fluster Dallas quarterback Tony Romo into making a couple of mistakes. Those mistakes will cost the Cowboys a much-needed win, but it won't cost them the cover. Baltimore rallies during the fourth quarter.
Prediction: Baltimore 26, Dallas 23

Record

53-24 picking winners (11-3 last week)
16-23-2 against the spread (3-6)

Posted Oct. 13, 2012