Baum's (not so) can't miss picks of the week...October 3rd and 4th edition.

Hello everyone and welcome. Football season is upon us once again and that means time for some guessing and gambling. And because you are busy heating cheese dip and passing out at halftime, we here at PerformanceEnhancedBlogging are giving you five for-sure picks that will allow you to keep your sad and poorly funded little operation afloat for one more week.

The consistency and helpfulness of Baum's Picks has come under fire by some on the blog recently and a challenger has arisen. It is during times of competition and adversity that a man can truly show himself and others that of which he is capable. I trust this will be such a time.

Baum was 2-3 last week and is 9-11 on the year. He will start off 0-0 vs. The Truth.
Peyton Manning turned out to be, in fact, Peyton Manning and the Falcons refused to throw the ball down field. Meanwhile the Pac-10 continues to be a bettors worst nightmare. Here are this weeks picks (Sorry about three ACC picks, The Pac-1o continues to screw me over and nobody really cares about the Big 10...just nothing else I like):

1. Virginia Cavaliers @ North Carolina Tar Heels (-13)*
The Heels are coming of a road loss at Ga Tech. They played the option much better at home last year, but this year they could do nothing offensively or defensively. Expect Butch Davis to have UNC poised and ready to come out at home against Virginia, which largely counts as a Division II school this year. Tarheels will cover the necessary two touchdowns.

2. Virginia Tech Hokies @ Duke Blue Devils (+16.5)
Duke's only chance of covering is if the Hokies let up late. Don't count on Frank Beamer allowing this to happen...Hokies win by twenty.

3. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-6) @ Mississippi State Bulldogs
The Jackets are coming off a 24-7 win vs. UNC where they played their best all-around game all year. Miss State is coming of a loss to LSU where they probably did the same. Tech won this in a blow-out in Atlanta last year, which is all well and good, but that means the Bulldogs have a little more of an idea of what to expect in Starkville this year. I don't like Tech to cover, this one will be decided by a field goal.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (-5.5) @ Cleveland Browns
As a Browns fan, this is not easy...or maybe it is. The Browns have no identity on either side of the ball. The Bengals are a miracle play against Denver from being 3-0 and are coming off a win against the Super Bowl Champs. Derek Anderson is the Browns starting QB, for now, but does it really matter? Bengals will win by the lake easily, take Cincy and lay the points.

5. Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots(-1.5)
The Patriots are still getting favored hear just on name alone I think. They did play the Falcons tough and took care of business, but there defense is less than fearful and with pressure early this year, Tom Brady has been less than stellar. The Ravens on the other hand, might be the team to beat in the AFC. The defense is just as nasty as always, and with Flacco winging it and a three-headed monster of McGahee, Rice and McClain coming out of the back field, the Boston front four will be begging for mercy. Baltimore wins by a field goal.






*Baum's lines are retrieved from Rivals.com through Yahoo!

If You Want REAL Winners; Listen to Me, Not Baum

Over the first few weeks of the season I would glance at my good pal Baum's "can't miss picks of the week" and at times I would just find myself laughing. How do you pick against Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the same week? Those picks might even be worse than the Cleveland Browns performances so far this year. Baum, stop holding out hope. Derek Anderson is NOT the savior.

Enter me. I mentioned to Baum earlier in the year that we should make this competitive. He said no. He was scared. And after an 8-12 start on his part, I can understand why. Beginning this week, I will give you MY 5 picks of the week. Now, I'm not going to give you any guarantees or anything but I can promise you I won't do as bad as Baum. If I do, then I'll just blame the swine flu or Eric Mangina.

1. Virginia Tech (-17) at Duke
Coach Beamer and crew have played well all season except for maybe two quarters. They looked like they pulled all the pieces together last week when they absolutely clobbered Miami 31-7. Don't look for them to fall asleep against Duke this week. Virginia Tech covers the 17 points.

2. USC (-5) at California
Who would have thought that both of these teams are playing in a "must-win" game the first weekend in October? Well this game could very well be one of those situations. California got absolutely rocked last week by Oregon on the road. USC has looked great at times and bad at times. Losing to Washington and struggling in the 2nd half against Washington State. Look for the game to be close but my gut tells me that this is the worst USC team we have seen in Pete Carroll's tenure. However, USC still finds a way to win by 7.

3. Cincinnati Bengals (-6) at Cleveland Browns
This game actually scares me a little bit and I'll tell you why. By no mistake am I saying that the Browns are any good, but they have a chance to win this game. And by chance I mean, as much of a chance as Baum has at beating me this week. The thing that scares me is that it is hard to swallow the fact that the Bengals are legitimate. I want to believe it just seems too much like an oxymoron to me. Derek Anderson will try his best to give the Browns a chance to win. I'm going against my gut here, and am going to say..... Take the Bengals, AND the points.

4. New York Giants (-9) at Kansas City Chiefs
I know I'm picking a lot of road favorites to cover, which statistically is not a favorable choice, but the reality here is the Chiefs are almost as bad as the Browns. They got ran over last week by a Philadelphia Eagles team that is not as good as the New York Giants, especially on defense. Look for the Giants to continue their fast start and improve to 4-0. Giants win by at least 10.

5. Green Bay Packers (+3 1/2) at Minnesota Vikings
As if we aren't all intrigued by this matchup. Brett Favre finally gets his chance to play his former beloved Green Bay Packers. I'm emotionally invested in this game as I'm sure a lot of the fans that will be watching are. This is a toss up. Favre was miraculous last week with his 4th quarter comeback. How will he handle the nerves, and the pressure to win this game? Aaron Rodgers also has a lot to prove in this, did-we-forget, huge divisional rivalry. I'm pulling for Brett Favre to have a performance of the ages, but I'm betting on Green Bay to cover the points.


So there you have it folks. My introductory picks of the season. All I really care about is that I get more correct than Baum does, cause he stinks and he's a Browns fan. FHL.com.

Word.