NFL Picks: Gearing up for Week 4

What went down last week, and how can that help us with our Week 4 NFL Picks?

SJ takes a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Sunday's action in the NFL.

Gear up for Week 4 with the free NFL picks on offer at SBR.

Saints slip to 0-3

The season is still very young but the Boys on Bayou are now reeling after blowing an eighteen point lead late in the 3^rd quarter and getting blanked the rest of the way by the Kansas City Chiefs. I had opined prior to the season that the culmination of protracted, and at times acrimonious, negotiations between Drew Brees and the club as well as the cumulative effect of Bountygate would indeed put the team on their heels. It appears I was right. When you're a Monday morning quarterback that kind of thing is contagious.

But that doesn't mean the Saints are doomed. They still have the weapons on offense though their defense has been and continues to be their Achilles heel. The 27-24 overtime loss to the Chiefs put the Saints squarely in the cellar of the NFC South and with a date at Lambeau Field looming next week and then a showdown with the Chargers in Week 5, New Orleans could be winless headed into the sixth week of the season. Shocking stuff indeed! 

It continues to become clear just how important Sean Peyton was to this team.

Cardinals 3-0 for the first time since 1974

Two Sundays ago the Arizona Cardinals headed into Foxboro for a date with the New England Patriots as fourteen point underdogs and stunned the defending AFC champions. After their 27-6 drubbing of the Philadelphia Eagles, in which Arizona's opportunistic defense recovered three fumbles and converted one of them for a 93 yard return into the endzone, the Cards are now 3-0 and in command of the NFC West. 

With wins over the Seahawks, Patriots and now the Eagles the Cardinals must be taken seriously. Their offense won't strike fear into the hearts of defensive coordinators around the league but they refuse to make the same mistakes as their more prolific adversaries. Factor in a stubborn and opportunistic defense and you can see why the Cardinals are suddenly making noise around the NFL. Will it last? Well, I hate to be a party pooper but I cannot see an offense as pedestrian as the Cardinals vaulting over last year's NFC West champs the San Francisco 49'ers but that defense is definitely the real deal. Stay tuned as the Cardinals have four very winnable games coming up against the Dolphins, Rams, Bills and Vikings.

Falcons and Texans undefeated as well

After the Falcons disposed of the Chargers 27-3 and the Texans withstood a furious rally by the Broncos at Mile High to score a 31-25 decision, both teams enter the fourth week of the regular season undefeated and coincidentally have an identical +46 point differential. 

The pundits believed that the Falcons might struggle against a staunch Chargers defense but Matty Ice has been stellar under pressure and has honed his play action calling to an art form thus far this season. But as good as Ryan and his 3 TD performance was on Sunday, it was the defense that ruled the day. The Falcons limited the Bolts to just three points which was their lowest offensive output at home since October 24^th, 1999 in a 31-3 loss to the Packers.

Meanwhile, Matt Schaub made you look positively Belichickian if you decided to start him this week on your fantasy football roster. All the Texans' quarterback did was toss for 290 yards and 4 touchdowns which led Houston to a 31-25 victory over Peyton Manning and the Broncos. It was the first time in the Texans 11-year franchise history that they have started the season 3-0. Houston has the luxury of one of the premier running backs in Arian Foster and one of the finest wide receivers in Andre Johnson. Factor in one of the toughest defenses in the league and this is a team that could very well be playing in early February. 

Sunday shockers

Okay, we will start with the bona fide shockers because we don't want to be accused of false advertising but we also have some games that may not qualify as stunning upsets but were certainly worthy of an arched eyebrow or two. 

The biggest upset of the day was without a doubt the Vikings 24-13 domination of the San Francisco 49'ers in front of a raucous Minnesota crowd. Christian Ponder did not let the swarming Niners' defense bother him as he tossed two TD strikes to tight end Kyle Rudolph and even exploited a seam which led to a 23 yard scamper into the endzone. If you want one of the Vikings keys to victory it could very well be the cool, calm demeanor of Ponder who defeated the heavy rush of the 49'ers by completing 9 of 13 passes and one touchdown to his credit when executing a seamless play action. The Vikings travel to the Motor City next week where their defense will face a much sterner test against Matthew Stafford and company.

Jamaal Charles is a stud and I have screamed it from the mountaintops and backed up my ranting by reaching up and taking him in virtually every fantasy football league I am in this season. He's been hurt for a long time and been generally ignored. But I ask you how do you forget about a guy who has one of the highest yards per carry in the history of the league? Charles broke a franchise record with a with a 91 yard touchdown run while amassing 233 yards on the ground and 55 yards through the air in Kansas City's shocking 27-24 OT victory over the Saints. 

SBR's own Peter Loshak and I reviewed the Pittsburgh Steelers/Oakland Raiders game earlier last week and we both agreed it looked like a trap game for the Steelers. It was one of those games that the newbies would be getting down early and often on the Steelers, while the guys like Loshak and myself who have been around the block a few times, recognized that a dog at home has a tendency to bite back. Despite a magnificent day by Big Ben, 4 TD's and 384 yards, the Raiders rallied and sent the Steelers back to Pittsburgh with a 1-2 mark.

Until Next Week