Week 5 Picks: Shouse not satisfied with 9-5 record

By Dan Shouse

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Coming off a 9-5 week last week with my picks, there is definitely some room for improvement. This weeks schedule looks to have some big mismatches however, so picking 10 games correctly should be a given. Now onto the picks.

Patriots 28 Broncos 14

It will be the teacher against his former student in Denver. Belichick gets the nod against his former student, Josh McDaniel, as the Patriots will handle the Broncos with ease. The Bronco defense has been getting a lot of good press, but look at the teams the Broncos played. Games against teams like Oakland and Cleveland will make your defense look good by default. Even though the Broncos played well last week against the Cowboys, the Patriots present a much tougher matchup. Brady will loose "skirt" as Rodney Harrison would say, and light up the Bronco defense.

Ravens 24 Bengals 13

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will not have to complain about the officials this week. If not for Mark Clayton's drop, the Ravens could very well be undefeated. Maybe the Ravens are for real?

Redskins 14 Panthers 10

Has there ever been a more negative vibe around a team that is 2-2 than the Redskins? Once again, the Redskins play a bad team, and once again they will do just enough on offense get the win. With Kansas City next week, the Redskins could be 4-2 after six games. That doesn't seem right. It feels like they are winless.

Browns 21 Bills 14

Eric Mangini will finally get his first win as Browns head coach. Enjoy it Mangini, it could be your only win this season.

Steelers 35 Lions 10

Wow Rashard Mendenhall looked like the real deal against the Chargers last week. Expect more of the same as the Steelers have no problems with the Lions, with or without Matthew Stafford who looks to be out with a knee injury.

Cowboys 17 Chiefs 14

Felix Jones and Roy Williams may both be out on Sunday. This is bad news for Tony Romo and a struggling Cowboy offense. The good news is that the Chiefs are even worse on offense

Vikings 34 Rams 3

Brett Favre and the Vikings stay unbeaten. The Rams are clearly the worst team in the league. The Rams have only put up 24 points the entire season. The Vikings will have 24 or more at the half this week.

Giants 21 Raiders 3

JeMarcus Russell against a solid Giants defense on the road? Can a QB have a rating lower than 42.4? We will find out this weekend, as Russell will not do anything to improve his numbers. David Carr, if he plays in place of Eli Manning, will look like the second coming of Tom Brady by comparison.

Eagles 31 Buccaneers 10

Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook return this week, although the Eagles would win even if they both were still out.

Falcons 24 49ers 21

The 49ers defense looked dominating last week, albeit they played the Rams. Matt Ryan and company will present a much tougher challenge this week. Coming off a bye, look for Ryan to have a big game this week.

Cardinals 38 Texans 31

There looks to be plenty of offense in this one. Give the win to the Cardinals at home. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin outduel Andre Johnson and the Texans.

Jaguars 28 Seahawks 23

Matt Hasselbeck figures to be back, but it will not matter. Maurice Jones-Drew has another big day, going over 100 yards and a pair of TDs in the win.

Colts 35 Titans 21

What has happened to the Titans? Things will go from bad to worse for the Titans this week. The last thing the struggling Titans defense needs to see now is Peyton Manning heading into town. Manning will go over 300 yards for the fifth time in as many games as the Colts continue to look like the best team in the AFC.

Jets 23 Dolphins 17

Mark Sanchez sure looked like a rookie last week. Will he bounce back? I say yes, as the Jets will have a conservative game plan and look to limit mistakes by Sanchez. Rex Ryan's defense will take away Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams as the Jets get the win on Monday night.