The StatMan  

We are back detailing the weekly picks.  It is the first week of October, Week 5 in the NFL, and here are the picks:

Local Game Picks
Record: 13-2 straight up, 12-3 against the spread
N.Y. Jets (-1.5, at Miami): NYJ win and cover
N.Y. Giants (-15.5, vs Oakland): NYG win and cover
New England (-3.5, at Denver): NE win, but DEN covers
Philadelphia (-15, vs Tampa Bay): PHL win and cover

Big Game Picks
Record: 7-5 straight up, 3-9 against the spread
Atlanta at San Francisco (SFO favored by 2.5 points): ATL win outright
Jacksonville at Seattle (SEA favored by 0.5 points): SEA win and cover
Cincinnati at Baltimore (BAL favored by 8.5 points): BAL wins, but CIN covers

Knockout Pick
Weeks 1-4: New Orleans (win), Buffalo (win), Green Bay (win), Chicago (win)
Week 5: Philadelphia defeating Tampa Bay

Fantasy Start 'Em and Sit 'Em
Season: Starts average 10.5 points per game, Sits average 8.04 ppg
Starts:
QB Donovan McNabb PHL: McNabb returns from injury against a pathetic Buccaneers team.
RB Rashard Mendenhall PIT: Willie Parker is hurt and Mendenhall had a breakout game last Sunday night against San Diego.
WR Bernard Berrian MIN: Brett Favre threw him a TD pass last Monday night on an out-and-go.  Berrian and Favre might be starting to jell.
Sits:
QB Carson Palmer CIN: Baltimore defends the pass well.  Palmer may get yardage, but I doubt he'll find the end zone.
RB Kevin Smith DET: Smith is banged up, as is the quarterback Matt Stafford.  It is not the week to activate any Lions.
WR Ted Ginn, Jr. MIA: This is a Blackjack game, as the winner will have under 21 and will probably sign up for 17 right now.  Ginn has a QB able to throw downfield in Chad Henne, but Ginn will draw Kerry Rhodes deep and Darrelle Revis at the line of scrimmage.

Join us Sunday night at 10pm Eastern time (#28) at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-StatMan.  We'll talk about Week 5 in the NFL.  We'll cover the Patriots-Broncos, Giants-Raiders, Eagles-Bucs, and we'll preview the Jets-Dolphins.  We'll also look at the best and worst of Week 5 and analyze our picks.  Also, we can't forget about the Division Series in baseball and the first full week of hockey.