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It can be heart-wrenching to watch early success ruin young men.

Neil Barnes went 15-1 and took home the Gridiron Green, so he thinks he doesn't need the Guru anymore.

"I don't put much stock in what he says," the upstart from Ignacio told me after beating Durango's Elwin Johnston in the tiebreaker last week.

Alas, the Guru had another pedestrian week at 10-6 overall - 8-7-1 against the spread - but let's see how your picks are doing when you've survived 13 major shifts in the world order, Mr. Big Shot.

Cowboys at Broncos - The Dallas defense answered critics in a 21-7 win against Carolina on Sunday night, but the undefeated-against-the-spread Broncos deserve more love than this from Sin City. New England, San Diego, Baltimore and Pittsburgh are on deck, so Denver may need to be 4-0 just to tread water in the AFC West. Guru: Denver 31-27; Vegas: Cowboys by 3.

Ravens at Patriots - Bizzaro universe: The Baltimore offense is outgaining New England 430 yards per game to 395, while the Patriots' defense is holding opponents to 16 fewer yards than the Ravens. Guru: Baltimore 17-13; Vegas: Patriots by 2.

Buccaneers at Redskins - After last week's loss at Detroit and a two-point win over St. Louis in Week 2, two teams that lost a combined 31 consecutive games combined to beat Washington 26-23. Get this: Tampa Bay has lost seven in a row. Guru: Washington 19-17; Vegas: Redskins by 7.

Titans at Jaguars - Tennessee is in the middle of a five-game skid and still is favored in Jacksonville. Hmmm? My scalp itches. Guru: Jacksonville 24-21;
Vegas: Titans by 3.

Raiders at Texans - Remind me why Jeff Garcia isn't Oakland's starting quarterback? Oh, that's right, Al Davis didn't want Raiders Nation chanting Garcia's name while JaMarcus Russell's $60-million dollar arm consistently throws interceptions. Guru: Houston 24-9; Vegas: Texans by 9.5.

Lions at Bears - Like your heralded Guru, Barnes predicted the end of Detroit's 19-game losing streak.

"That one felt real good," Barnes said. "They had to win one sometime."

And this week?

"Chicago for sure," he said.

Iagree.

Guru: Chicago 34-6; Vegas: Bears by 10.

Bengals at Browns - The Dawg Pound hasn't sniffed an offensive touchdown since Nov. 17, 2008. Guru: Cincinnati 31-10; Vegas: Bengals by 5.5.

Seahawks at Colts - Matt Hasselbeck and Dwight Freeney both are unlikely participants, but the possibility of either's reappearance keeps this one off the books. With or without Vegas, I'll field an educated guess `85 Guru: Indianapolis 42-17; Vegas: Off.

Giants at Chiefs - So much for parity in the NFL. The Chiefs have lost seven in a row overall and seven consecutive home games. Guru: New York 35-26; Vegas: Giants by 8.5.

Jets at Saints - Both are 3-0, but nobody's come within 18 of the latter. Guru: New Orleans 37-23; Vegas: Saints by 7.

Bills at Dolphins - Chad Pennington is out for the year, and backup signal caller Chad Henne will need to keep the turnovers to a minimum, or there'll be two hanging Chads in Miami. Guru: Buffalo 28-7; Vegas: Bills by 2.

Rams at 49ers - Frank Gore won't play, but St. Louis is conceding 148 yards a game on the ground. Expect Glen Coffee to have a "venti" day. Guru: San Francisco 21-10; Vegas: 49ers by 9.5.

Chargers at Steelers - Two tough road losses will have the Steelers fired up - bad news for the Broncos' AFC West rivals and their favorite quarterback to pick on. Guru: Pittsburgh 20-0; Vegas: Steelers by 6.5.

Packers at Vikings - I predict you might hear a thing or two about this game - something about some guy who throws footballs to awkwardly landing receivers in Levi commercials ... used to play in Green Bay, then he retired, wanted to come back, went to the Big Apple, then he retired, wanted to come back, went to Minnesota, now he's hosting his old team - something along those lines. Guru: Minnesota
38-31; Vegas: Vikings by 3.5.

This week marks the first bye week of the season for four teams:Arizona, Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia.

After watching the old man get chased around the pocket Sunday night, Iimagine Kurt Warner could use the vacation.