Half the NFL season has passed us and after winning my office pool for three weeks and finally finding myself in the money after one perfect parlay (note never parlay Patriots vs. Browns it will screw you) I have decided that my picks may in fact not be that bad, I just needed some time to warm up.

If you feel like a stud handicapper than I would suggest heading to www.sportsbook.com it has a perfect parlay game set up where you can guess the spread winners and if you get all of them right you win $100,000. No cost to sign up.

Home teams will be in CAPS, line is from http://www.sportsbook.com, and here we go.

Ravens (Pick) Over FALCONS
Matt Ryan is a ridiculous 17-1 at home and given that this game will be played with a short week for both teams Atlanta already has a distinct advantage. The problem of course is that they are playing the Ravens who unlike most teams in the league are not dealing with many injuries. Surprising given how hard they play defense. Atlanta showed that they can be beaten at home nearly losing to the Bucs last week. I expect Ray Rice to have a good day both running and receiving and for the Ravens defence to be just a little too much for the Matt Ryan experience. The good news is that football is now on three days a week and that means three days I won’t be completely depressed hearing about the Leafs.

Bengals (+7) Over COLTS
I really like the Colts to win this game but for some reason the Bengals manage to stay in games. Carson Palmer continues to look horrible during games but posts decent and even respectable numbers. I am not sure how that is even possible. He has been blessed by someone apparently. The Colts are also dealing with a lot of injuries to their WRs and while I fully believe that if I stepped into that offence I would get 7 catches and 70 yards, I do think that the Colts will begin to wish they had someone who was healthy helping Peyton. Colts win but the Bengels keep it close enough to cover.

JAGUARS (-1.5) Over Texans
I think that the Texans are the more talented team but I am unsure if they have the heart/balls/other unquantifiable intangibles required to beat the Jags. The Jags should be riding the momentum of an abusive win against Dallas and their bye week. Last week showed that most teams playing at home after their bye week did pretty well. Plus the Texans have one of the weakest secondaries in the league which is good news for Mike Sims-Walker and David Garrard.

Titans (-2) Over DOLPHINS
I still think the Dolphins are a very good team with a brutal schedule and that Chad Henne was not their problem. I don’t know why he is being benched for a talented corpse but if that it isn’t a sign that the Dolphins are in trouble I don’t know what is. Plus as much as Randy Moss is Diva-Wide-Receiver he is still so well respected and double teamed that Chris Johnson and Vince Young will have so much more space to run that they may be buying dinner for Randy where ever he wants to eat. Also Randy hasn’t changed throughout his entire career. I don’t know why people keep expecting him to. Its not that difficult to keep him happy either. throw him a couple of deep bombs three or four times a game and make sure they are good throws. Hope Vince has been working out that arm.

Viking (-1.5) Over BEARS
Vikings have a good DL and the Bears have a terrible OL. That will sum up this game. Cutler will get beat up. The Bears have a good record thanks to a missed PAT, a Calvin Johnson non TD, and an easy schedule. They aren’t this good. The Vikings are not as bad as people want to make them out to be Brett Favre is not a bad quarterback no matter how much you want him to retire and while every Viking wants Childress gone they have some heart and want to win. This team is only going to get better when Sidney Rice comes back. Don’t sleep on the Vikings they have what it takes to win.

Lions (+3) Over BILLS
How does an 0-8 team become a three point favourite over anyone. They are playing the Lions who haven’t won on the road since…. its been a while. The Bills have a chance in this game if they can knock out QB Shaun Hill but with absolutely no run game and Suh sacking the bearded Fitzpatrick a couple of times I expect the Bills to be win less again. The Bills aren’t the worst team in the league but the seem destined for that first overall pick and while I think Fitzpatrick is a serviceable QB I really think they need to draft Luck.

Jets (-3) Over Browns
A brother coaching battle! I am very torn on this game. I am not a big fan of either QB and the Browns just demolished the Patriots. I still don’t trust them though. Colt McCoy has won some big games but he isn’t the reason. Hillis is a beast of a running back but I think the Jets have a better defence and should prevail in this game. Expect Revis to have a pick and the Jets to have a non-offensive touchdown to pull out a road vistory and stay first in the AFC East. Although I have lingering thoughts about the Browns

BUCCANEERS(-6.5) Over Panthers
Book it. Josh Freeman is a good quarterback and I have no idea who the third string quarterback that is starting for Carolina but I can guarantee that they aren’t better than Freeman. Also everyone in Carolina is injured and Tampa may be destined for the playoffs. Very surprising.

Chiefs (-1) Over BRONCOS
Bye week be damned the Broncos suck and can be run on. The Chiefs are just as good as the Raiders at running and the Broncos are not very good, even at home. We might see Tim Tebow at some point this weekend which would be quite amusing, quite amusing.

Rams (+6) Over 49ERS
Why is this line so high? The Rams have a good quarterback and a great running back and are coming off the bye week same as the 49ers. Is Troy Smith really this good? I am inclined to think not. The Rams have one bad loss this year and some very good wins. The 49ers have been disappointing this entire season. Even a win in London wont help save the 49ers season. If only Dallas and Minnesota weren’t so bad more people would be talking about how the Super Bowl bound 49ers are the most disappointing team in the league this year and how Mike Singletary should be fired.

CARDINALS (-3) Over Seahawks
Time for two QB inept teams to face off in a meaningless battle. Its so pathetic that we have to watch this game. So pathetic. How is Seattle even in competition for their the division. I am depressed… moving on.

Cowboys (+14) Over GIANTS
Crazy right. Except a new coach always gets one free game that the team plays their asses off in order to see if they are legit. At the very least the Giants have had a hard time blowing out people at home. Overcocky meets nothing to lose. I’ll take nothing to lose and 14 points.

Patriots (+4.5) Over STEELERS
Pittsburgh is beat up on their O-Line. Its actually really bad. That being said Big Ben can take a lot of punishment. Even though Pittsburgh is at home I like the Patriots to rebound after being beat up by the Browns. The points make it even better. Brady won’t be this bad two weeks in a row and should be the top of everyone’s power rankings next week. Sadly.

Eagles (-3) Over REDSKINS
Easy money. Congratulations Mike Shanahan you have lost your dressing room. Mike Vick looked great like last week and McNabb is wondering if he is going to get benched again. Philadelphia is ridiculously talented team and should have no problem wiping out an overrated Redskins team at home.