Devo's Picks (7-9)

I spent last week trying to jinx the Cowboys and the Eagles by picking them to win. Whoops, both teams did just that. But my record still sucks. Not Favre-against-the-Chiefs sucks, but not good. Onto the picks!

Dallas (+8.5) over GIANTS

Unless two of your best friends are Steeler fans, this is clearly the biggest game of the '08 regular season for every Giants fan, and it could not have come at a better time for the Giants. I'm not even sure if the Dallas water boy is healthy. I'm not big on war analogies, but the Cowboys secondary, with the loss of Anthony Henry, Pacman, and Roy Williams, is spread thinner than the US military, starting rookies at both corner slots. The Cowboys still have Demarcus Ware, arguably the best pass rusher on either team, but that's pretty much it on defense. On offense, it's impossible for me to not worry about Roy Williams/Aaron Ross and TO/C-Web, but Brad Johnson makes it much easier. Marion Barber 3 is still healthy, but the Cowboys don't like to go to him for more than 15 touches per game. Usually, this involves giving Felix Jones some touches. But with Jones hurt, give credit where credit's due-the Cowboys are stubborn enough to still give Marion Barber 3 his 15 touches, and instead of handing off to a lesser back, they generally just throw the ball a lot more. But Brad Johnson isn't much of a match for this offense.

Oh, and the Giants? Um, they're still damn good, and nothing's gonna change. They were annointed as the well deserved best team in the NFC. But this is Dallas and not Cleveland; the Giants won't take this game lightly. This game stays close simply because NFC East games aren't generally blowouts, but won't be as close as the score says.

Final Score: Giants 24-17.

DENVER (-3) over Miami

A trend in the NFL-once someone gets a lot of credit and publicity for their stellar play, they usually have a lousy game sooner than later. Everyone is saying that Pennington is one of the bigger surprises in the NFL. And they're right, so far he is. But that ends this week. Everyone talks about how tough it is to travel to the West Coast, but traveling to Mile High is tougher. That's going to prove more true than normal for this young team.

Final Score: Denver 31-17