Week 8 Picks Against the Spread

Another week of NFL football coming up. Can't believe it's already week eight, the season is flying by, and for us New York Giants fans, this season CANNOT end soon enough. After another ridiculous loss this past Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons, the Giants sit at 1-6. This was a team I was super excited about before the season started, too—just an awful, awful season for them.

A couple of quick hitting observations from the game:

Eli Manning can't see the field anymore. He's like a damaged racehorse that needs to be turned into glue. (Or he can just retire. Please Eli. Just hang them up at the end of the year. Save yourself some dignity. As one of the staunchest Eli supporters throughout his career, I beg you Eli.) He missed Odell Beckham Jr. multiple times in this game, and yeah he ended up with over 390 yards passing, but no stat line has ever lied so much about what exactly went on in that game.

The decision to go for the two-point conversion down by 14 was a fine call. The math actually worked out in their favor in that situation. The play design for the two-point conversion was fine too—if Eli threw the ball a bit more to the outside, Odell catches that ball easily. (Are all of you sensing a trend here?) Now, it didn't ultimately matter because the defense couldn't force a punt when they absolutely had to have it.

Down 11 with under a minute left and no timeouts, how the hell do you try that garbage QB sneak from the one yard line—not only once, but TWICE? TWICE?!?! And of course they didn't get it, and then scored with five seconds left, eliminating any chance of getting an onside kick and having a chance to go to overtime by kicking a last second field goal. Seriously, what the fuck was that?!?! I'll tell you what it was, more aggravation for Giants fans.

So now the Giants have gone in to seller mode, trading Eli Apple and Snacks Harrison for draft picks before the NFL's trade deadline. Just disappointing. The only silver lining is that Eli Manning's presence on this team may lead them to get a young QB with a top pick in the draft to pair with two game-changing offensive players in Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham Jr. So, in a sense, he's helping in the rebuild efforts. This is what I tell myself to try and alleviate some anger from this season.

So, why do I still care about this sport where the play is sloppy and coaches don't know what to do in many situations? Bet on the games of course!!!! Because why not.

Last week I had a great week: 4-0-1 against the spread and I am now over .500 for the season. I was so close to a perfect 5-0, but the Cleveland Browns had to act like the Cleveland Browns. So needless to say, I am feeling pretty good.

Without further ado, here are the selections for week eight:

Bengals -4.5 against Tampa Bay: I am shocked this line isn't higher. Tampa is not a good team and the Bengals, despite getting waxed by Kansas City last week, are a solid team. Plus they are at home. It would not surprise me if they won by double digits.

Panthers +2 against Baltimore: Home underdogs have done really well against the spread this year. This Panthers team is weird, but they are solid. I like them in this spot a lot.

Seahawks +3 against Detroit: Maybe it's my blind faith in Russell Wilson. Maybe it's that I do not trust Detroit and never have. I don't love this pick, but it still makes the five for the week.

Colts -3 against the Raiders: This Raider season is a mess. Jon Gruden seems to have lost the team. (Cool story though: Apparently he lost his virginity with the Notre Dame fight song in his head. The guy is a lunatic.) Andrew Luck is really good. Did I mention this Raider season is a disaster?

Cardinals -1 against the 49ers. I think Josh Rosen is good. He wasn't good last week on Thursday Night Football. In fact, he was a disaster, but I think he has a bounce-back week against the Niners. I don't want to see a single highlight of this game because odds are it will be an absolute eye sore.

Good luck to all the gamblers out there this week. Also, in the latest episode of the For the Love of the Game podcast (episode 35) I preview the World Series and pick the Dodgers to win the World Series; currently the Red Sox are up 2-0 in the series and they have won both games rather convincingly. Luckily I pick NFL games better than I do baseball (also fuck Boston as always).

Last week's record: 4-0-1

Season's record: 18-16-2