Hit another Upset of the Week against the spread with Ravens covering vs. Minnesota, and also had underdog Texans and Chiefs with points. But let's not put a bow on a pig, or, for that matter, a fedora on an Upset Bird. I got beat up last week, both ways. Had complete, embarrassing misreads on Giants-Saints and Cards-Seahawks. Can't beat myself up much on Eagles-Raiders -- who saw that coming? -- but some of those other picks were roughly as successful as the Titans' pass defense against Tom Brady.

Last week: 6-8 overall (.429); 6-8 vs. spread (.429).

Season: 57-33 overall (.633); 45-42-2 vs. spread (.517).

This week's selections:

When: 4:15 p.m. Sunday (FOX)

Line: NO by 6 ½ Cote's pick: MIA 27-24

``AAWWK!'' trills the Upset Bird. ``Homer Simpson, Bobby Thomson's shot heard 'round the waawk, the ancient Greek poet who wrote The Iliad -- none was a bigger Homer than me with this pick. Aawwk!!'' Yes, I know. Undefeated Saints might be best football team on Earth right now. But Miami comes off bye to catch N'Awlins at the right time, sandwiched between last week's huge win over Giants and next week's XXL division test vs. Atlanta. Dolphins, at home, have a Wildcat-festooned, physical ground game to control clock and limit Drew Brees' chances. [Special note: American Idol Season 8 winner Kris Allen will perform before game. Allen credits his success to not being weird like Adam Lambert]. ``Total agreement,'' nods U-Bird. ``About the game, but mostly about Adam Lambert being weiaaawwwk!''

When: 1 p.m. Sunday (FOX)

Line: PIT by 4 Cote's pick: PIT 30-23

It's an NFC/AFC heavyweight bout between teams trying to prove they are Super Bowl contenders. Sounds like a Game of the Week to me! Vikes spent a ton of want-to in last week's fortunate 33-31 win over Baltimore and have the mega-distraction of the much-awaited Favre Bowl in Green Bay looming next. That's all the more reason to like the home team here. 'Burgh has won nine straight at The Big Tomato, including playoffs. I like Ben Roethlisberger out-pitching Favre, abetted by a too-generous Minny pass defense. Pitt's air-D is better suited to limiting Favre, especially since the return of Troy Polamalu. My biggest concern? That if my getting this one right comes down to a late game-winning field goal, Jeff Reed is sober.

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Line: IND by 13 Cote's pick: IND 37-17

The DOTW committee prefers a gutter-scrum between two lousy teams, but occasionally opts for the prospect of sheer lopsidedness. Here we have unbeaten Colts, coming off a bye, led by uber-hot Peyton Manning, versus a winless Rams squad whose pass defense suggests Manning might throw for about 43 miles. To further the disparity, Indy safety Bob Sanders expects to make his season debut. The only hesitation on the rout is that STL showed signs of a pulse last week, and Horseshoes are bound to be on autopilot. Still find it hard to believe that Colts aren't at least two touches better.

49ERS (3-2) AT TEXANS (3-3)

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Line: HOU by 3 Cote's pick: HOU 27-23

Interesting matchup. Great game anticipated. Give Niners a big upset shot off a bye, with Frank Gore healthy and Michael Crabtree debuting. But Matt Schaub is en fuego, especially at home, and has more weapons than most small countries.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@