Friday, September 26, 2003

PIKER PICKS: WEEK 4

Home Team in CAPS
Piker Picks in Bold

9/28 1:00 PM ET

Philadelphia
BUFFALO -3

Cincinnati
CLEVELAND -4.5

Jacksonville -3
HOUSTON

San Francisco
MINNESOTA Pick 'em

Tennessee
PITTSBURGH -3

Arizona
ST. LOUIS -10.5

New England
WASHINGTON -3

9/28 4:05 PM ET

Kansas City -3
BALTIMORE

San Diego
OAKLAND -7

9/28 4:15 PM ET

Atlanta
CAROLINA -6

Detroit
DENVER -12.5

Dallas
N.Y. JETS -3

9/28 8:30 PM ET

Indianapolis -2
NEW ORLEANS

9/29 9:00 PM ET

Green Bay -4
CHICAGO

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

PIKER PICKS: WEEK 3 RESULTS

The mighty Miami Dolphins finally showed their true Aqua and Orange colors on Sunday night, riding a heroic performance by Ricky Williams and a dominant defense to a resounding victory over the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills. Williams was the consummate workhorse, carrying 42 times for 153 yards and a late, game-clinching touchdown that wasn't signaled until the replay officials concluded that his knee was never down and his forward progress was never stopped. The Dolphin D came up big all night, stymying Drew Bledsoe and the high-powered Bills offense all night until a meaningless drive at the end of the game. The only points Miami allowed came on an interception return for a touchdown that was third receiver James McKnight's fault more than it was Jay Fiedler's. Now the Dolphins can be counted among the best teams in the NFL, most of which reside in the AFC at the moment. (See Piker's Power Rankings Below)

Piker picked pretty profoundly this past week, going 9 and 5 against the spread. On a strange, but not particularly difficult Sunday wager-wise, all the favorites covered in the early games, then all the dogs covered except San Diego in the afternoon. Then the favorites took over again, with Miami covering the three points on Sunday night and Denver easily covering the five points on Monday night.

WON: Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Tennessee, St. Louis, N.Y. Giants, Cleveland, Miami

LOST: Detroit, N.Y. Jets, Green Bay, San Diego, Oakland

Piker's overall record for the season now stands at: 17-12-1. Not successful enough to give up the day job, but respectable enough to buy a stack of CD's at Amoeba or Aron's.

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

PIKER'S POWER RANKINGS

(After Week 3)

1. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

2. TAMPA BAY BUCS

3. DENVER BRONCOS

4. MIAMI DOLPHINS

5. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

6. BUFFALO BILLS

7. MINNESOTA VIKINGS

8. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

9. TENNESSEE TITANS

10. PITTSBURGH STEELERS

11. CAROLINA PANTHERS

12. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

13. NEW YORK GIANTS

14. BALTIMORE RAVENS

15. WASHINGTON REDSKINS

16. OAKLAND RAIDERS

17. ST. LOUIS RAMS

18. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

19. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

20. ATLANTA FALCONS

21. CLEVELAND BROWNS

22. GREEN BAY PACKERS

23. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

24. DALLAS COWBOYS

25. HOUSTON TEXANS

26. NEW YORK JETS

27. ARIZONA CARDINALS

28. CINCINNATI BENGALS

29. DETROIT LIONS

30. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

31. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

32. CHICAGO BEARS