Mountains at Keystone
Originally uploaded by athos.


Sunset
Originally uploaded by athos.



Snowstorm
Originally uploaded by athos.

I'd like to share a few pictures from my now-concluding Colorado trip, featuring some mountains nearly as large as my lead in the picks race.

Continuing what's working for me, here are your workman-like picks:

AZ at GB. How do the Packers respond to games where they're favored? I honestly can't remember. GB.

ATL at CIN. Ah, both winners that helped my lead over Chris last week. Who to reward? Let's go with the stonger league. CIN.

BAL at NO. For reasons unclear to me, Baltimore appears to be in trainwreck mode. It's almost like they were expecting to be good this year. NO.

JAX at PHI. Wow, the Jags have exactly one more win than the Packers at this point. Not so hot for a supposed contender. Sorry Lisa. PHI.

SEA at KC. Have you seen the Chunky soup commercials featuring Matt Hasselbeck? Incredibly amusing to see one of the wussiest players in the NFL being trotted out as a tough guy. Sorry I couldn't find the whole clip. Upset Special. SEA.

SF at CHI. Again, I'm sorry for that last clip. CHI.

TB at NYG. Barber bowl? I'd be much more amused watching a haircutting contest. NYG.

STL at SD. I'll give due credit to Chris for his Chargers upset special last week. I'll try to get that game back here, because we all know he picks against the Chargers almost as much as I pick the Packers. SD.

IND at DEN. I still don't think Denver's any good, Ok? This is two years in a row, people - Leave me alone! IND.

NYG at CLE. Thank god I didn't use GIDCAOTW yet. NYG.

PIT at OAK. Congrats Raiders on your truly shocking victory. As much as I'd love to see you force the Steelers to a new low this week, I just can't see it. PIT.

DAL at CAR. Wow, talk about trainwreck mode. Not to be morbid or anything, but I'm afraid Bill Parcells will probably be dead by the end of this year. CAR.

NE at MIN. Now here's something everyone can enjoy! NE.

Due to my excellent results last week, and the fact that I'm leaving for Colorado ridiculously early tomorrow (trust me, all this is making my life seem more interesting than it actually is), I'll stick to my formula from last week: quick and concise picks.

CAR at CIN. Cincy better get its act together soon, or I'm done with them. CIN.

DET at NYJ. Yikes, what a disaster. I somehow doubt Detriot can build on their "momentum." NYJ.

GB at MIA. A real fight for draft position. GB.

JAX at HOU. Chris loves trashing the Jags, so I'll keep taking the wins. JAX.

NE at BUF. Almost went upset special here, but the Bills appear to have regressed since the opener. NE.

PHI at TB. No Gradowski-love here. Not yet, at least. PHI.

PIT at ATL. Third tough call in a row. Atlanta usually is able to squeak by in this kind of game at home. ATL.

SD at KC. KC is the dark horse candidate for "worst team in the league not from Oakland." SD.

DEN at CLE. Denver only beat the Raiders by TEN POINTS last week. Alarms should be going off left and right. Upset special. CLE.

ARI at OAK. If the Cards don't win this one, just give Arizona and all its contents over to Mexico. A nice hand-me-down that has no value anymore. ARI.

MIN at SEA. Ah, the "hutchinson-burleson franchise tag circumvention" revenge game. How's that for a name? Seattle never has to play anyone good. SEA.

WAS as IND. I never understood why people were predicting the playoffs for the skins this year. IND.

NYG at DAL. I never understood why people were predicting the playoffs for the cowboys this year. NYG.

I just got back from Chicago and haven't had the time to extensively research the NFL landscape like I usually do, so I think I'm going to turn in my "abbreviated commentary" card this week.

NYG at ATL: Minor upset special. NYG

HOU at DAL: At least this will show how bad pro football in Texas is right now. DAL

BUF at DET: Detriot is the worst "talented" team in the league, by far. BUF

SEA at STL: If the Rams can barely beat the Packers, what does that say? SEA

PHI at NO: Philly is too beat up. NO

CIN at TB: Good god, I have to play the Gradowski in this game on my fantasy team. CIN

TEN at WAS: Have the Titans turned a corner? Me thinks not. WAS

CAR at BAL: Baltimore really feels like a 9-7 team to me, which means they have some losing to do. CAR

MIA at NYJ: It moved beyond funny and into surreal when Dolphins fans not only demanded Joey Harrington, but got their wish. NYJ.

KC at PIT: A desperate super bowl champion against the "oh yeah, I forgot KC had a football team" Chiefs? Please. PIT

SD at SF: GIDCAOTW. SD

OAK at DEN: Denver will not make the playoffs this year, but I just cannot pick Oakland, ever. DEN

CHI at AZ: Two teams that were often put near each other in expert preseason rankings. CHI

BUF at CHI. Yeah, yeah, yeah ... Everyone on earth now thinks the Bears are the best thing since sliced bread. If someone on ESPN went out on a limb and stated, "I'm not entirely sure that the Bears are a dead lock to win the superbowl", I'm pretty sure they'd be immediately fired for talking nonsense. CHI.

CLE at CAR. Same old Carolina. Will find a way to quietly shuffle into the playoffs and cause misery for an opponent or two. CAR.

DET at MIN. To stir things up a bit (my whole NFL experience seems to be stuck in a rut), I'm going to go against my canonical rule of not picking the Lions in an upset special. Upset special. DET.

MIA at NE. The Pats are an interesting bunch this year. They're not the same team that won two superbowls, and I'm not sure if that is or isn't a good thing. NE.

STL at GB. Harumph. GB.

TB at NO. A win here, but things won't end well this year for the Saints. Good thing their home city doesn't have a problem with alcoholism. NO.

TEN at IND. Nashville now has two minor league teams, my beloved Brewers' AAA affiliate: the Sounds, and the Titans. IND.

WAS at NYG. I miss Steve Spurrier. NYG.

KC at ARI. Anyone who watches football would predict this game to be a high-scoring shootout, thus ensuring a 9-3 snoozer. KC.

NYJ at JAX. I *almost* picked the Jets to upset Indy last week, and they *almost* upset Indy last week, so do I get any extra points? JAX.

OAK at SF. I can't believe I'd ever say this, but San Fran is clearly the better team here. SF.

DAL at PHI. Everyone would like to see good triumph over evil and watch McNabb stick it to TO, but the world's a cruel place, and these games never turn out the way people want them to. DAL, unfortunately.

PIT at SD. Both these teams need the win big time, but I just can't see the Steelers winning much with Ben Roethlisberger, the most hyped lower-middle-tier quarterback the league has ever seen. SD.

BAL at DEN. For some reason, Denver seems to have a knack for upsetting better teams when they're playing at home. And the Ravens aren't that great anyway. DEN.