It took three weeks and more than 100 entries, but we finally found a winner in the Beat The Blogger NFL pick'em contest. After picking 10 of 14 games correctly, Mark McDowell rolled to an easy win with the Blogger managing just seven correct picks.

For his efforts, McDowell will be receiving authentic signed 8-by-10 photos of LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees and Marshall Faulk.

The prize for anybody who can Beat The Blogger this week will be one signed 8-by-10 photo to the person who can pick the most NFL games (with posted point spreads) correctly and of course, Beat The Blogger in the process.
This week's point spreads will be posted here on Wednesday and the Blogger's picks will be posted on Friday. You can post your picks any time after this week's schedule is up and can get your picks in right up until a 1/2-hour before the start of the first game of the week.

Spread the word and good luck.

Here's the official "Beat The Blogger" picks for this week. Anybody who can correctly pick more winners than the Blogger (factoring in the point spreads) will be eligible to win (3) authentic, signed 8-by-10 photos featuring NFL stars. If more than one person outpicks the blogger, one winner will be drawn at random.

Baltimore -7 over Oakland
San Diego -3 over New Orleans
NY Jets -13 over Kansas City
Buffalo -1.5 over Miami
Dallas -3.5 over Tampa Bay
Philadelphia -9 over Atlanta
New England -7 over St. Louis
Arizona +4.5 over Carolina
Washington -7.5 over Detroit
Cleveland +7 over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh -3 over NY Giants
Seattle +5 over San Francisco
Cincinnati +9.5 over Houston
Indianapolis +4 over Tennessee

GOOD LUCK

Not sure what to make of the latest Brett Favre "episode." I call it that because it seems like everything the aging QB does these days is something that should be airing on the new "90210" series.

On the latest episode, Favre was caught giving away information about his former team, the Packers, to the Lions, the team Green Bay just happened to be playing that week. As Fox's Jay Glazer reported, Favre and friend Matt Millen, the Lions GM at the time, were talking on the phone in the days leading up to the Packers-Lions Week 2 matchup. After some back-n-forth regarding hunting, the discussion turned to what Favre might know about the Packers gameplan that might be able to help out Millen's Lions. It's not clear whether it was Favre giving up the information without any prodding or if Millen had to push him a little to give it up, but either way, the tarnished spot on the Favre legacy continues to grow.

A few days after the story broke, Favre realized his media-darling image was in question again so he realized it was time to start putting his own unique spin on the story. He admitted talking to Millen but said the two never talked about any gamplan-related information. Then in his best good ole boy southern drawl, he switched gears and stated that he didn't call Tony Romo a couple weeks ago either (Favre had reportedly called the Cowboys QB in an effort to get him to play through the pain of a broken finger) which got a laugh from the media contingent on hand at the press conference. The Packers won the game against the Lions and won rather decisively, so it's not clear if the QB-turned-informant didn't provide enough secret information or if the Lions are simply that bad that they can't win despite knowing what's coming next.

While I'm a huge Packers fan and still remain a Favre fan despite all the drama, it's hard to believe the future Hall of Famer when he continually places himself square in the middle of one controversy after another. As far as who to believe in this one, I can't get passed the now-famous e-mail Favre sent out to the media when talk of him wanting to come out of retirement first surfaced this summer. It stated "It's all rumors." About a week later, Favre was sitting in front of the cameras stating that he wanted to come back and play. Who do you believe? You do the math.     

I don't care if Mike Ditka picked them to win it all and I don't care that they're the only undefeated team in the NFL, the Tennessee Titans are not the best team in the league. Sure, they spanked the Chiefs around in Arrowhead, but these ain't your father's Chiefs we're talking about and Arrowhead is about as unpleasant as a trip to Hawaii for opponents these days so let's hold back on the kudos for now.

Let's check back in five weeks and see how the passing-challenged Titans are doing after facing Indy, Green Bay, Chicago, Jacksonville and the Jets in consecutive weeks. As of now, the Titans are 6-0 but have beaten six teams with a combined record of 12-26. While the running game made the passing game unnecessary for most of the game against the Chiefs, when you manage just 123 total yards in the air and guys named Bo, Ahmard and Lavelle are catching passes from a guy named Kerry, it's only a matter of time before your one-dimensional offense catches up with you.

While I'd like to show some compassion for my fellow man when they fall on hard times, it's kind of hard to find the pity when they continually do things that question their intelligence. Reading today how Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain was picked up for drunk driving, speeding and possessing an open container of alcohol in his vehichle while in Nebraska this weekend. He said his actions were "an error in judgement" and I agree with him on that. I can't fault any guy for getting his drunk on in Nebraska because well, I've been there, and Nebraska without a buzz is about as close to hell on earth as it gets.

But what I don't understand is how these high-priced athletes can't simply shell out a few bucks to hire a person to drive them around when they're drinking and need to get from place to place. Chamberlain made more than $500k this past season and will become an instant millionaire when he signs his next contract. You can't tell me he can't afford to hire a driver to be at the ready at all times for $50k a year. In fact, I'd like to apply for the position right now. Joba just give me a call and we can work something out asap. I'm sure his legal fees will add up to close to that amount and driving around an star athlete likely has its bonus perks anyway, right? It's a win-win for everybody.

Just thought I'd chime in on a few topics that caught my eye the last few days and see if I'm the only one thinking Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones panicked in making the trade for WR Roy Williams?

Williams is a former Pro Bowl caliber player and could easily regain that form now that he has a legitimate quarterback throwing to him, but the first post-Matt Millen move made by Detroit has all the makings of a highway robbery. Jones said he has been coveting Williams for the last two years and couldn't get a deal done during the Millen era. Knowing how smitten Jones was with Williams and realizing injuries to Tony Romo, Felix Jones and Sam Herd had decimated the Cowboys offensive capabilities, the Lions simply held out for more and Jones eventually caved. Watching billionaires like Jones get outsmarted like that makes you wonder how they built their financial empires in the first place doesn't it?

Speaking of bad Jones' decisions, it looks like the Pacman experiment was more trouble than it was worth. Seems the trouble-prone defensive back got all liquored up and started a fight with the guy the Cowboys assigned to keep him out of trouble. What? Pacman's issues would probably be more tolerable if he was an elite defender or even an above-average return specialist like many said he was but that has not been the case and now the Cowboys are forced to admit their mistake in giving him a second chance and move on.

When it comes to quarterbacks, one of the intangibles scouts and GMs look for is field awareness. In general terms, this basically means that a guy is always in the game as far as knowing the down and distance, understanding the score, his team's position on the field and most importantly what he can and cannot do with the game on the line. Apparently Lions' backup QB Dan Orlovsky was home sick on the days the team went over such things in Training Camp because his safety in last week's loss to the Vikings was both comical and inexcusable at the same time. Tied 0-0 in the first quarter against the Vikings, Orvlosky took the snap at his own two yard line and dropped back to pass in his own endzone. Minnesota's Jared Allen forced him from the pocket and Orvlosky retreated back a couple yards while scrambling from the pressure and was called for the safety as he appoached the first row of seats behind the endzone. Talk about lack of awareness. This guy was out of the endzone for about as long as the cheerleaders were coming back after the commercial before he realized what was up. Clueless, totally clueless.

And last but not least, how about a shout out to the impressive Rays of Tampa Bay. Not only are they taking care of the defending champs, they're doing it with an offensive barrage like no other. I believe the Sox are rolling out Josh Beckett in an attempt to prolong the inevitable but it might take Josh Gibson to slow down these sizzling bats.