NFL Survivor Pool - Week 5 Pick

We took a calculated risk last week taking New Orleans on the road but they beat Jacksonville easily as predicted.  So far, Arizona, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and New Orleans are off the board.

This week is another tough one.  There are a few picks for people who like to gamble but luckily there is also one pretty safe play.  Here's what I'm looking at for week 5...

• Oakland at Houston - I was surprised to see Houston as a 6 point favorite in this game with Andre Johnson sitting out with an injury.  In fact, I think the Texans are in for a bit of a surprise and will have a tough time with Oakland on both sides of the ball.  The Raiders D has improved a lot as has their passing game.  The running game, led by Darren McFadden who is the league's top RB right now, is still strong.  I think Oakland will pull out a win in this game on the road.  But I'm not betting my Survivor life on it...

• Patriots at home vs Jets - This was another surprising line - Pats by 9.5?!?!  Sure they're at home but against a division rival who's beaten them 3 out of 5 times since Rex Ryan took over as coach?  Bottom line is that the AFC East teams always play each other well.  Patriots will have last year's playoff loss on their minds as well as all the bulletin board material the big mouths on the Jets will give them to fuel their fire.  Jets are intent on stopping Brady and Welker which, if they can do so, could lead to problems for the Pats.  I think the Pats win this one with a balanced rushing attack (Ridley getting more action this week), and Brady hooking up with Welker, Branch, and Gronkowski.  They will score enough to make up for their defense getting shredded by Tomlinson (he will have a big game), Holmes, and I'm also expecting Burress to have a good game since he has a huge size advantage over the Pats meager secondary.  If you're a gambler, take the Pats.  I'll wait...

• Giants at home vs Seahawks - This is the cupcake for the week.  The Giants made mincemeat of the Eagles a few weeks back, then survived Arizona last week.  This week they're home against one of the worst teams in the league that will be traveling cross-country from the West to the East.  That's something we love in NFL Survivor.  Giants win easy.

The official pick is...