Next up for the Eagles: the New York Giants. Get the picks right and enjoy untold riches (think: Jerry Jones with better taste in football teams). Blow it, and it's back to your prison cubicle for another seven days (think: well, you). Off we go…
We're starting to think that these "NFL experts" are just as clueless as the rest of us when it comes to picking games. Actually, we've known that for a while and if nothing else, it makes for a good laugh. Plus, what fun would all this be if we knew the outcome with some certainty? Here's what we do know: This week, the Eagles face the Giants on Sunday night in front of a national television audience and Michael Vick will be the quarterback. Everything else: to be determined.
ESPN: Last week, 60 percent of the experts at the World Wide Leader liked the Cardinals to win. This week, 67 percent are partial to the Giants. The ESPN robot (more commonly known as Accuscore) and the fan pick 'em pool also like the Giants. Meanwhile, Mike Golic, Adam Schefter and Keyshawn Johnson are picking the Eagles to win at home. The good news: combined, they're 80-64. The bad news: the Eagles aren't playing particularly well.
CBSSports.com: The Eagles get no love from the CBSSports.com crew; seven of eight picked the Giants, though the lone expert to take the Eagles is 29-19 through the first three weeks. So there's that. And there's this: the CBSSports.com robot (Prediction Machine) likes Philly, too. Pete Prisco, meanwhile, thinks the Giants eke out the victory, 31-28. "The Eagles are having big problems with turnovers and Mike Vick is struggling. They are 2-1, but it's been an ugly 2-1. The Giants are rested after playing last Thursday against the Panthers and seemed to get things fixed on defense. This is all about Vick vs. Eli Manning. The way Manning is playing, I'll go with him."
Yahoo Sports: Only Jason Cole's picks were up by Thursday morning (maybe Mike Silver and Les Carpenter are on their bye weeks) and he's going with the Giants, as are the Yahoo users.
What Vegas is saying: The Eagles are two-point favorites but remember: Vegas gives visiting teams three points to account for the home-field advantage. Put differently: this game's a pick 'em in the bookmakers' eyes. The over-under is 46.5 which seems -- well, about right. Depending on which Eli and Vick show up, these teams could combine for anywhere from 24 to 100 points. Some prop-bet silliness: Manning total TD passes: 1.5 (-160 over, +130 under); Vick total TD passes: 1.5 (-115 over, -115 under). Player to score first: Damaris Johnson (+1500), Brent Celek (+1200), Vick (+1000), LeSean McCoy (+600), No TDs scored in the game (+20,000).
Gabe, my 3-year-old yellow Lab (2-1): Last week, I labeled two paper plates "Eagles" and "Cardinals," placed two identically tasty dog treats on each plate, and let Gabe decide. He went with Philly. It was his first loss of the season but he seems unaffected by the setback. This week, he likes the Giants. It's worth noting that he glanced at the Eagles' plate before settling on New York.
My 1-year-old son (2-1): Continuing to work from the theory, "If it's good enough for the dog, it's good enough for flesh and blood," I again labeled two plates "Giants" and "Eagles." I replaced the dog treats with goldfish crackers. My son settled on the crackers that happened to be on the the Eagles plate. He then ate the crackers on the Giants plate. Make of this what you will.
Me (1-2): We have no idea what to make of the Eagles, nor do we know which team will show up from one week to the next. So it's with virtually no confidence that I'm picking Philly over New York, 28-27.
