Week 4 predictions.

Well, now that the real NFL officials are back calling the games, maybe I'll get a few more right this week. It's hard to pick when you don't know what the ref situation is going to do to cost some team a game. Without any further ado, here comes the exciting Week 4 NFL picks (minus the Ravens-Browns game, which got it's own time).


San Francisco vs. New York Jets. The 49ers took a surprising loss last week to the Minnesota Vikings and the Jets had a hard fought overtime victory over the Dolphins. This game should be a hard hitting defensive battle as both teams have very solid, hard-hitting defenses. The 49ers may have a little more offense than the Jets and a little better defense. Alex Smith will make the difference in this game simply because he is more unlikely to make a costly mistake than Mark Sanchez is. That will be the difference in this one the 49ers and Smith will capitalize on a late turnover to win this game 13-10.

Seattle vs. St. Louis. The Seahawks Monday night "victory" will be forever remembered as the moment that got the referee lockout over. The Seahawks do have a fast defense and frankly better than I thought they would be, I thought they were overhyped, but after the first half sack attack they put on Aaron Rodgers, I will give them credit. the Seahawk offense however, is not very potent. No one fears Russell Wilson as a passer yet, so teams can jam the box to contain Marshawn Lynch. St. Louis is playing better ball defensively then they did last year, but the offense is not consistent. The Seahawk defense should put pressure on Sam Bradford and force him into some errors. I look for the Seahawks to win this game 23-10.

Carolina vs. Atlanta. This game has potential to be the blowout of the week. Carolina is struggling on defense and I believe that Cam is struggling the sophomore slump, because defenses have figured out how to contain him. Cam Newton gets his game going by making some nice runs, but if you contain him in the pocket and get pressure in front of him, he is not as dangerous as he can be. Matt Ryan right now is elevating his game to a new level. He is starting to put himself into elite status and I've said it already, he will be the MVP of the league this year. Ryan will shred the Panther defense with his whole arsenal of weapons of Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. This game will be another crushing loss for the Panthers as the Falcons win 31-10.

Minnesota vs. Detroit. This is a surprising game, because the Vikings are a surprising 2-1 and did something the Packers and Lions couldn't do and that was beat the 49ers. The Lions quarterback situation is a tough one, personally, I think they should sit Stafford for this game and rest him through next week's bye; but I feel that Stafford will want to be on the field. This is a big game for both teams. The Vikings could open up a big lead on the Lions in the division and the Lions need this to stay close in the division hunt. I have a feeling that Minnesota will come into this one flat after their big upset win last week. The Vikings will have success throwing the ball behind the surprising Christian Ponder and the Lions secondary is porous right now. This will make for a shootout. I look for Stafford to throw on them and lead his team back in the win column. Lions win 38-34.

San Diego vs. Kansas City. San Diego showed that they were not as good as their 2-0 record led them to believe, since the Falcons stomped them on their own field. Kansas City had a comeback victory over the Saints, led by Jamaal Charles going crazy for 233 yards rushing. The Chargers defense is a little better than the Saints, but they are not as good as thier top 5 ranking right now after what the Falcons did to them. This won't be a typical shootout between these division rivals and be more a defensive battle.  I look for the Chiefs to pull this one out in the end with a late field goal 17-14.

Tennessee vs. Houston. Tennessee quarterback Jake Locker looked like an All-Pro quarterback last week against a very bad Lions secondary. Houston went into Denver and lit up the Broncos, showing how for real the Texans really are. Matt Schaub showed some toughness after taking a few late hits, one that was so bad he lost his helmet and part of his ear with it, but he finished the game. Tennessee's defense couldn't stop the Lions offense and they will not stop the Texans either. The Titans Chris Johnson will continue to struggle against the league's best defense and Locker wont have the holes to throw into that he did last week. J.J Watt for the Texans is going to get some serious pressure on Locker and start earning votes for Defensive Player of the year. The Texans roll behind Foster and Schaub as they beatdown the Titans 38-10.

New England vs. Buffalo. The Bills are currently ahead of the Patriots in their division. The Patriots are below .500 for the first time since 2003! The Pats have lost 2 in a row, which doesn't happen often. The Bills are unsure who their starting running back will be after they lost rushing leader C.J. Spiller. The question wil be if whether or not Fred Jackson will be ready to go after a week 1 knee injury. Either way, it doesn't really matter because I do not see the Patriots losing three in a row.  Tom Brady will want to overcome an awful perfomance that he had in Buffalo last season and will lead the Patriots to victory in this one 31-17.

Cincinnati vs. Jacksonville. The Jaguars got their first win last week against the Colts. This has the making for a huge day for MJD. The Bengals run defense has struggled so far this season, so expect Jacksonville to run the ball a lot. It is the strength of their offense. Andy Dalton is off to a great start and should find a lot of success throwing the ball on the Jaguars defense. He's spreading the ball around to all of his targets, which is opening up A.J. Green later in the game, because teams aren't able to keep the safety help completely on Green. Cincinnati is going to have to make the most of their posessions, because Jacksonville will shorten the game with the running game, but in the end the Dalton gang have too much offense for the Jaguars. The Bengals move to 3-1 with a 28-17 win over the Jags.

Oakland vs. Denver. The old rivals battle again. The Broncos have not been as impressive as people believed they would be. Peyton Manning has struggled the last two games, but he should have some relief against the Raiders who have injury issues in the back end of their defense. Expect Manning to put up some monster numbers this week against the Raiders defense, which averages 265 yards passing against per game. Manning will hit Demaryious Thomas for some big plays and the Broncos defense will control the Raiders offense and Carson Palmer. Broncos get back to .500 with a 31-10 victory.

Miami vs. Arizona. The Cardinals are off to their first 3-0 start since 1974 and they are about to go to 4-0. They are winning games with a punishing defense that will lay the lumber to their opponents. Kevin Kolb will get the start again this week and should have a big game against a porous Dolphins secondary. He and Larry Fitzgerald are must starts for fantasy owners, as they should put up some impressive numbers. The Dolphins are just a team that is struggling for any kind of idenity. They have a good running game, but they want to be a passing offense. Unfortunately for rookie QB Ryan Tannehill, he just doesn't have the weapons in the passing game and he won't get any help from the Cardinals defense. Cardinals go to 4-0 with a big 38-3 win over Miami.

Washington vs. Tampa Bay. This will be an interseting battle between two teams that are still trying to learn how to win together. The potential for RG3 to have a big game is high, since the Bucs don't have the passing defense to contain the Redskins prolific offense. RG3 has been very impressive in his rookie year and has made the Redskins a tough to play against. The Redskins defense is also struggling right now, which could make for a good day for Josh Freeman of the Bucs. Freeman has been struggling with turnovers after his rokie season, but this game could be a chance for him to show his worth once again. I like the Bucs at home to pull this one out in another high scoring game 34-31.

New Orleans vs. Green Bay. The Saints are in trouble and may be in the spot of kissing their season goodbye. The Packers are coming off their controversial loss on Monday and they are like a volcano ready to explode. The Saints defense hasn't been able to stop anyone and they won't on Sunday. This should be a field day for the Packers offense. Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood will be all over Lambeau Field on Sunday as the Packers offense will be impressive. It will also be a tough day for Drew Brees as the Packer defense will blow past the offensive line and be pressuring Brees all day. The Packers win this one easily 33-13.

NYG vs Philadelphia. The G-men have been look like Super Bowl champions the past two games and they will continue to show their dominance in the NFC East. The Eagles are licking their wounds after getting their wings clipped by the Cardinals last week. The Eagles have to fix their turnover problem, because now they are playing teams that they can't afford to turn the ball over against, like the Gaints. The pass rushers for the Giants will not make it an easy day for Michael Vick as he will continue to be hit and it will make you wonder how much longer before he is going to be injured. The Giants are playing well in spite of having injuries to key members of the offense and Eli Manning is continuing to show that he truly is an elite quarterback. The Giants will beat up Philly and force them to make more turnovers and the Giants will win this one 27-10.

Chicago vs. Dallas. The Monday night game will be a battle of two of the best defenses in the league. This game will be a test for the Bears and their quarterback Jay Cutler. Cutler is going to have to keep his cool because he is going to get hit a lot in this one. DeMarcus Ware for the Cowboys should get in the backfield at will against the poor offensive line for the Bears. I have a feeling that they will even knock Cutler out of the game. The Cowboys have got to find more stability on offense, however, they will struggle trying to run on the Bears, but Tony Romo should be able to make some plays through the air. It will be a hard-hitting game that will be close because the Bears defense will keep them in the game, but the Cowboys will pull it out 16-7.

Well, here's week 4's predictions, hoping that I will do better than last week, but I still am over .500 for the year with my picks and hope to improve on that mark this week. Enjoy readers and make your picks wisely.