2011 NFL Week 6 Picks: After taking the worst beating in franchise history, things will not get a whole lot easier for the (3-2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers [+6½] as they welcome the NFC South leading NFL Odds favorite, (4-1) New Orleans Saints [-6½] today. This intradivisional matchup is set to get underway Sunday afternoon at 4:15 PM from Raymond James Stadium live on FOX.
The Saints come into this game looking like a strong contender in the NFC. After dropping the season opener to the defending champs, Drew Brees and his Saints have gone undefeated. With victories over Chicago, Houston, Jacksonville and Carolina, the 2009 Super Bowl champs have proven to be a consistent bunch despite their competition.
Looking to make it five consecutive victories, Brees & Co. would love nothing more than to extend its divisional lead by two games over the scrappy Bucs with a road win today. Last week, Sean Payton’s team took the best Cam Newton’s Panthers could throw at them and still mounted a fourth quarter comeback that led to a subsequent, 30-27 win. Although it wasn’t pretty, the Saints will take it.
"A win like (last Sunday's) can do a lot in that it was hard-fought, we had to come back and we had to be resilient," Payton said. "You gain confidence from that."
For Tampa Bay, returning home after being humiliated last week is the best-case scenario for a young team. Being manhandled by the San Francisco 49ers in the Bay, 3-48 could easily shake the confidence of a young, insecure club. How well this team responds after last week will rest on the shoulders of Raheem Morris in his coaching staff.
"He basically said you can go one of two ways," said Bucs signal-caller, Josh Freeman. "You can sulk about it. Or you can decide to stand up and face it like a man. Judging by the response of the team, we're choosing the latter."
Here are just a few of my favorite 2011 NFL Week 6 Picks (Get $50 in Free NFL Picks here!):
Philadelphia Eagles [-1] vs Washington Redskins
San Francisco 49ers [+4] vs Detroit Lions
Buffalo Bills vs New York Giants [-3]
Cleveland Browns vs Oakland Raiders [-6.5]
Dallas Cowboys vs New England Patriots [-7]
Minnesota Vikings [+3] vs Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins vs New York Jets [-7]
