John's Picks

I guess every day really is like Sunday.

I haven't blogged this week for a variety of factors: I was busy, it took a long time to recover from after my Lawyer's wedding, the hard drive on my Mac crashed and so I'm pretty much computerless around the house.

But most of all, I was just too depressed about the state of the Raiders to really get worked up.

Even the drama is gone now. Remember the week Lance was fired? The Raiders sucked, but they were interesting. Fascinating, even. Al came out of his cryogenic chamber and gave a press conference for the ages.

The 49ers sucked, too, but they were boring. Mike Nolan walked around in a suit and talked a good game but his teams turned the ball over and couldn't tackle anyone. Then he was fired, Mike Singletary was hired, and he dropped his drawers in a locker room at halftime, shit-housed JTO, and now they're most fascinating team of BARFF.

So Jim Fassel wants the job. Jim Harbaugh could have it if he wants it.

Meh.

Anyway, the picks:

The last time the Raiders won a football game in Denver, it was November 2004, in the snow. Earlier that year, I had gone to see the Broncos destroy us 31-3 in Oakland. Today it's just sunny and cool. While I think it will be closer than the Monday Night Debacle (see the parallel?) of 2008, the Broncos are still winning. I just hope it's close. I have no heart left to rip out. 28-10. (Although Jerry comes up with 10 reasons the Raiders can win. Sigh.)

The 49ers vs. Dallas. Dan, I enjoyed your description of the 1990s Cowboys dynasty. I read the first 30 pages or so of Jeff Pearlman's book, where Michael Irvin stabbed that dude in the neck. Crazy. Of all the things I've read about the Raiders teams when they were good, nobody ever stabbed another teammate with anything other than the occasional, accidental boner, when crossing swords. The 49ers (who coincidentally, and speaking of swordsmen, also employed Charles Haley), were much more disciplined and had much greater coaching continuity. But today, the Man who's #1 on the Professor's list will beat the 49ers in a thriller. 38-29.

As for the other games, I like GB on the road vs. NO. Gut feeling. 31-28.

The old Titans vs. the New Titans. Where are the Teen Titans when you need them? I bet Sllaacs knows. Anyway, Tennessee has to lose eventually; it might as well be today, in a low-scorer, 17-14.