NFL - Week Four Preview

The referees are back!
Huh?

Who would have thought the return of the official NFL refs would be cheered by football fans across this great nation of ours?
But that is the case as the "zebras" return tonight when the Baltimore Ravens play host to the woeful Cleveland Browns on the Thursday Night Football game.
The NFL owners and the locked out referees settled their differences last night and the officials are back effective immediately after getting a new eight year contract. Last year, the NFL players got a ten year deal with the league owners following a messy lock out situation.
The fact is, the NFL owners have to knock it off with the lockouts.
The game is not the owners. It is not the players. Nor is it the refs or even the fans.
But it's a little bit of each, blending together to form this game we call football, which features a new episode every week from September to early February.
With all that said, it's kickoff time for Week Four, with the Ravens and Browns going at it on NFL Network's Thursday Night Football.
(Note- Heftyinfo was going to forgo an NFL Preview this week and beyond until the referee-owners situation was resolved because of the lack of integrity of the game the scab officials was causing.)
There are some big games this weekend, even if it is early in the season, as the undefeated Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans will be in action at home. Meanwhile, the winless New Orleans Saints will travel to Green Bay to face a Packers team still steaming following the controversial loss in Seattle on Monday night.
The New York Giants face the Philadelphia Eagles in the prime time Sunday night game and the weekend will conclude with the Chicago Bears on the road against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

Here are the Heftyinfo predictions for this week following one of the worst weeks in the four years of picking NFL games on this site ... (Home teams are listed in BOLD)

Baltimore over Cleveland
Houston over Tennessee
Kansas City over San Diego
St. Louis over Seatle
New England over Buffalo
Detroit over Minnesota
Atlanta over Carolina
San Francisco over New York Jets
Arizona over Miami
Denver over Oakland
Cincinnati over Jacksonville
Green Bay over New Orleans
Tampa Bay over Washington
Philadelphia over New York Giants
Chicago over Dallas


Last Week's Record:  6-10

SEASON RECORD:  26-22