Lock: San Francisco (+17 1/2) over Chicago

Sean didn’t have time to explain his picks this week, so Mark will explain what he believes Sean was thinking when he made the picks (Don’t worry: I, Mark, didn’t make the picks, so these should still be safe). I can only assume that Sean picked this game for one of two reasons. 1. Alex Smith is totally awesome and he will tear up Chicago’s defense, or 2. This spread is ridiculously high right now and Rex Grossman cannot count that high, let alone score that much. Not sure which one.

Upset Special:

Jets (+1 1/2) over Cleveland

The reason the Jets are underdogs here is because the oddsmakers are over-stating the impact that Cleveland’s “Dawg Pound” will have on Chad Pennington. What the oddsmakers are forgetting is that the fans do not actually play for Cleveland, and the team’s quarterback went to Akron.

Game 1:

Pittsburgh (No Line) over Oakland

There of course will be a line on this game, and it will be either very high (if Roethlisberger plays) or just high (if the Steelers start Chaz Batch instead). Either way, Sean loves the Steelers and picks them every week.

Game 2:

New England (-2 1/2) over Minnesota

Frankly, I’m surprised Sean picked this one. Minnesota recently acquired Drew Henson, and Henson was a starting quarterback at Michigan, while New England QB Tom Brady was just a backup in Ann Arbor. Maybe Sean sees something that I don’t.