NFL Underdogs: Week 6

By Brian Covert
Wed, Oct 11, 2006


Jan. 20, 1986.

I’ll always remember this day as the one that spawned my intense hatred for the New England Patriots.

It all started off quite innocently actually. As the opponent of my beloved ’85 Chicago Bears it was a natural that I would despise the Pats and after Chicago destroyed New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX it seemed the animosity would be forgotten by Monday morning.

But coincidentally that game also brought me into the world of Sunday NFL football and unfortunately I grew up in an area where my local cable station (remember these were the days before FOX and billion dollar cable deals) would pick up the Pats game every Sunday. For the next several years I suffered, watching the likes of Steve Grogan, Tony Eason and Mosey Tatupu plod along and lose game after game.

Needless to say, the hatred stirred…

…and stirred until it hit what I thought was peak with New England winning three of the last five Super Bowls and continually trumping my new favorites the New York Jets season after season.

But no, that wasn’t enough for Bill Belichick and his charges and now it seems the grudge has become personal on their part. Worse yet, they have the NFL’s referees conspiring against me. This became apparent in their win this past Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.

It was midway through the fourth quarter and the Patriots were up by three. New England had the ball on the Miami 26 but the defense was holding strong and the Patriots were now facing third-and-long. The next play Tom Brady steps back and heaves a pass towards the endzone, a pass intended for Doug Gabriel but winds up hitting cornerback Will Allen in the back. Phew, now they’ll simply kick a field goal and the 10-point spread is still safe.

But I should’ve known it was too good to be true. Of course the Pats were going to get the call, they always do, and before I finished cursing the refs, the Pats, Paul Revere and everything else New England related for the pass interference call, Stephen Gostkowski had already kicked an extra point after a one-yard touchdown grab by Heath Evans.

But nobody was hearing any of it and just like that the Patriots win 20-10 and my underdog record drops to 8-6-1 on the season with barely a whimper.

Now I have to wait two weeks to exact revenge as the Patriots, along with five other teams, are on the bye this week. And while that limits the number of dogs on the board this week it gives me two weeks to plot my comeback versus Belichick and the rest of the Pats.

In the meantime here are my NFL underdogs for Week 6. Proceed with caution.

Carolina at Baltimore – Panthers +3

The similarities between DeShaun Foster and Tatum Bell are shockingly close.

Both are fast, around the same size and while Bell’s yards-per-carry is decidedly better, Foster’s 4.2 yards per touch is nothing to scoff at.

And that’s why you have to like Carolina’s chances going into Baltimore this week. Denver controlled the tempo against Baltimore in a 13-3 win Monday night largely because Bell was able to run for 92 yards against a staunch Ravens run defense.

Plus, the Ravens offense has shown it has no ability to take over a game on its own, something that will be especially tough against a Panthers defense that is giving up only 16.2 points per game this season.

Seattle at St. Louis – Rams +3

Guess who had the Seattle Seahawks’ longest run two weeks ago against the Chicago Bears?

No, it wasn’t either of Shaun Alexander’s fill-ins, Maurice Morris or Mack Strong. It was quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, which goes to show the troubles this team is having without Alexander in the lineup.

Don’t expect the St. Louis Rams to give them any free passes this week, especially now that they are showing an increased emphasis on defense under defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. After four games, the Rams have showed a marked improvement in every defensive area, jumping to 20th in total defense after finishing third last a year ago.

And, as if they didn`t need any other motivation, a win Sunday would put them a game up on their perennial divisional rivals before they go on their bye week.

Kansas City at Pittsburgh – Chiefs +7

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d favor a team with Damon Huard at quarterback over a team starting Ben Roethlisberger.

It`s not so much how good Huard has been, but how bad Big Ben has been. He`s thrown nine interceptions versus zero touchdowns in four starts this season. As a result, Big Ben’s QB rating is at a career low 41.7 and the Steelers offense ranks 25th in the league.

This plays perfectly into the hands of the Chiefs and defensive minded coach Herm Edwards, who always has schemed well against the Steelers and coach Bill Cowher. In four games as coach of the New York Jets, Edwards went 2-2 straight up and ATS against Pittsburgh, holding the Steelers to just 13.8 points per game.