NFL picks

Week 6 predictions for a league that just can’t get enough of Vinny Testaverde. . .

* Two franchises that bailed on Cleveland come together in Baltimore on Sunday. St. Louis has the worst team in the NFC, with fans there proving that disillusionment over awful football is not an affliction restricted to Anaheim. Baltimore couldn’t score a touchdown last week against San Francisco. Cleveland has a baseball team in the ALCS, a basketball team that just reached the NBA Finals and a football team that recently beat the Ravens by two touchdowns. In this group, Cleveland is the place to be.

* Cleveland is the place to be unless you’re Brady Quinn, who continues to sit on the bench while the Browns try to figure out what’s up, or down, with Derek Anderson. Miami had a chance to draft Quinn last April but passed (for lack of a better word), and now the Dolphins are stuck with Cleo Lemon and John Beck as quarterback options. They are also 0-5, with a real chance of going 0-16. (Would that qualify as the second perfect season in Dolphins history?) On second thought, Cleveland is the place for Brady Quinn to be.

Ravens over Rams

Browns over Dolphins

Bears over Vikings

* Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson is averaging 5.0 yards a carry. Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson is averaging 5.8 yards a pass attempt. Jackson also has a quarterback rating of 40. Expect many Vikings handoffs.

Packers over Redskins

* Another week, another possible record for Brett Favre. With his next interception, Favre breaks George Blanda’s NFL career record of 277. Blanda was 48 when he threw his last interception. If Favre plays till he’s 48 and continues his career average of 18 interceptions a season, 450 is within reach.

Patriots over Cowboys

* They are billing this as “The Best Team in the AFC Against the Best Team in the NFC!” And therein lies the problem for the Cowboys.

Jaguars over Texans

* Footnote (so to speak): Washington Redskins kicker Mark Moseley was league MVP in 1982 after converting 20 of 21 field-goal attempts. Twenty-five years later, Kris Brown is 13 for 14 in field-goal tries, including five (three beyond 50 yards) last week for the 3-2 Texans. Jump aboard the Kris Brown MVP Express!

Bengals over Chiefs

* Two of the greatest quarterback names in San Francisco 49ers history are Montana and Brodie. Once upon a time, Montana rode into Kansas City to rescue the Chiefs. This weekend, the Chiefs are starting another quarterback named Brodie. But not that one. Brodie Croyle, to this point, doesn’t do rescues.

Eagles over Jets

* New York sports fans freaking out over bad September baseball flashbacks: “Not Philly again!”

Titans over Buccaneers

* After injuries to “Cadillac” Williams and Michael Pittman, Tampa Bay Coach Jon Gruden joked that his game plan would include a no-back formation. Nobody who roots for the Buccaneers was laughing.

Cardinals over Panthers

* Potential starting quarterbacks in this one: Kurt Warner versus Vinny Testaverde. University of Phoenix Stadium marquee reads: “Return to 2001, a Strange Odyssey.”

Chargers over Raiders

* Six weeks into the 2007 regular season, the Raiders lead the NFL in rushing offense. Clip and save and laminate and pull out from time to time to show the grandkids you were there at that amazing moment in time.

Seahawks over Saints

* If they can dig up George Gipp, why not dig up the casket of 2006 Saints memorabilia New Orleans Coach Sean Payton had buried under the team’s practice field in an ill-advised attempt to “lay last season to rest”? Saints linebacker Scott Fujita helped exhume the casket and put it on display before the Saints’ home game against Carolina. Notre Dame has had better success with Gipp’s memory. New Orleans lost to Carolina, 16-13.

Giants over Falcons

* Byron Leftwich, supposed savior of professional football in Atlanta, debuted for the Falcons last week with a quarterback rating of 2.1.

-- Christine Daniels