Quick Picks: Week 6

Since last week's picks dragged on a little because of the number of games being played and since my fellow bingbonger Steve usually tickles the ivories when it comes to the weekly betting lines, I figured I'd throw you guys a quick article on my picks for some of Sunday's big games.  (Note: these picks are simply who I think will win the game, not cover the betting line...you'd be amazed how many people couldn't differentiate that last week.)

Ravens @ Vikings = RAVENS
-The Vikings are going to try to play mistake-free football with short passes from Favre and good running from AP.  The only problem with that is the Ravens are allowing 76 rushing yards per game and Ray Lewis is now doubly-pissed after being fined this week.  Once the Vikings are unsuccessful running AP and the Ravens get out to an early lead, my prediction -- as somewhat of a Favre expert -- is that he'll panic way too early, try to put the game on his shoulders, and start throwing the ball deep only to find the best receiver on the field: Ed Reed.

Giants @ Saints = GIANTS
-I'll choose defense over offense any day of the week and although New Orleans also has a good D, I'm going with the G-Men.  Eli Manning is playing with an air of confidence that could make him a downright scary quarterback.  I haven't seen the "Eli face" in almost a year now.  Though he'll never be as good as brother Peyton, in my opinion, he'll be better than Brees this week.

Cardinals @ Seahawks = CARDINALS
-I'm still not buying the Seahawks despite a blowout win over the Jaguars.  The Cardinals have to start getting in better sync on offense and know they have to notch a win this week before heading into New York next week to face the G-Men.  Though it pains me to watch Tim Hightower and his impressive career 2.9 ypc, I still stick by Kurt, Larry, and Anquan.  Watching Tim Hightower run is like watching a good runningback try to run through molasses -- god, I hate him.

Bears @ Falcons = FALCONS
-Things are only starting to heat up for Matty Ice and the Burner and they're not going to cool down against the Bears at home even following a bye week for Chicago.  Matt Forte had his typical 100-yard game against a terrible defense so Bear fans still consider him a god, but he should be penciled in for his typical 20-60-0 performance.  Fear not though Bear fans, you guys play the Browns in a few weeks, you can anoint him the next Walter Payton after his big game against them.  Word to the wise for any Forte owners out there: if you have your eye on a fantasy championship this season, you better take a good look at that Forte vs. Minnesota match-up in Week 16.

Broncos @ Chargers = BRONCOS
-I'll admit, I was impressed by the Broncos and McDaniels last week.  Perhaps I spoke too soon on the young coach, but he still has 11 games to go.  The Chargers have been "the team to beat" for the better part of this decade and every year Norv Turner shows his brilliant coaching skills by choking away their talent like Tommy Boy chokes away a sale.  I hope Champ Bailey gets a chance to make Philip Rivers stuff his foot in his big trash-talking mouth.

Lions @ Packers = PACKERS
-Okay, so this isn't a "big game", but what do you want from me?  I haven't had a chance to see my boys play in almost two weeks.  Megatron and Stafford aren't playing, we just re-signed Mark Tauscher, Rodgers hasn't been sacked in 11 days...I'm a little excited.  Besides, if the Packers DON'T win this game...well...you're probably not going to see or hear from me for a very long time.

Fantasy Sleeper of the Week: Bryant Johnson, WR Lions.  I know I'm expecting the Pack to win big this week, but that means there's going to be plenty of garbage time for Culpepper to be tossing the ball around and my boy Al Harris can never be ruled out to get beaten deep at least once.  Expect a line of about 5-80-1 out of the smaller and lesser Johnson.

Fantasy Worry of Week: Steve Smith, WR Panthers.  I love the guy, I just don't think him blowing up against the Bucs is as set in stone as you'd think.  Smith is a game-changer for sure, but John Fox might use him to distract the Bucs D while he pounds the run with DeAngelo and Stewart.  I also don't trust Jake Delhomme like I used to.

Enjoy the games.  I'll see you all again on Monday.

-Dave