By John Otano

Week 9 of the NFL is typically the same time most of us begin to notice the gray hair that has accumulated over a season’s worth of agonizing defeats and nailbiting victories. I grinded my teeth out in Week 7 when the Saints marched on for 22 unanswered points to barely cover the spread against the methodical wildcat bunch formerly known as the Miami Dolphins.

How many Jet fans out there clutched their remote in anger as Ted Ginn ran into the record books with 299 kickoff return yards? We’ve all been there. A key rule of picking NFL football games: Pick from the head, not from the heart.

In this photo taken on Oct. 25, 2009, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (25) reaches over the goal line to score a touchdown during the third quarter of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami. At left is Saints center Jonathan Goodwin (76). Only once, in 1991, have the Saints won their first seven games. That squad lost five of its last nine to finish 11-5, then lost its first playoff game. Finishing strong is what concerns coach Sean Payton, who downplays his team's 6-0 start and perch atop the NFC.(AP Photo/Jeffrey M. Boan)

Luckily, the Jets have a bye week so we won’t have to worry about a conflict of interests when putting the call in for this week’s bets. For my Giants fans out there this week, I implore you to avoid them like the swine flu for the sake of your wallet.

With that said, here are my Week 9 picks that are sure to save yourself a few more gray hairs for at least this week. (Point spreads were taken from bodog.com on Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET)

(+13.5) Carolina vs. New Orleans

The absence of Sedrick Ellis has absolutely killed New Orleans on stopping the run. The Saints have given up a combined 60 points to opposing running backs in the last two weeks. Scott Fujita (calf) did not practice on Thursday and the loss of their leading tackler will hinder the Saints ability to contain Carolina’s one-two punch RB DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Carolina’s QB Jake Delhomme practiced Wednesday despite suffering a chest injury against the Cardinals. Delhomme has been awful this year but his job on Sunday will be primarily to manage the game and hand off the ball to the backs. Injuries aside, Carolina stumbled out of the gate but are winners of three of their last four. The Panthers burnt Arizona for 270 yards on the ground and look for this success to be duplicated on the carpet in the Superdome. Forcing turnovers and controlling the clock seems to be the recipe for defeating the high-octane Saints and look for Head Coach John Fox to follow suit by administering a healthy dose of the dynamic rushing onslaught of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. The two-touchdown spread is too much to shy away from, and look for Carolina to cover easily. Since 2001, Carolina is 3-0 against the spread (ATS) when playing in New Orleans.

(-9.5) Green Bay vs. Tampa Bay

Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers (toe, foot sprain) rested Thursday and practiced on Friday and should be good to go against the winless Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is the only team left in the NFL without a win and look for that dismal trend to continue against the Packers. Green Bay gets to use Tampa Bay as a punching bag to get out frustrations stemming from the loss suffered at the hands of Brett Favre and the Vikings at Lambeau Field last week. Green Bay’s defense ranks 4th in points per game allowed (19.1) and 2nd in total yards allowed to go along with an offense that is scoring 26.7 points a game. Couple that with the fact Tampa ranks among the league’s worst in every offensive and defensive category and you come out with a very long Sunday afternoon for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Find yourself a nice spot to watch this catastrophe and get the most bang for your Bucs and take the points here with Green Bay.

Detroit vs. (-9.5) Seattle

Seattle is playing worse than they actually are, and Detroit is playing just about as good as you expect a Detroit Lions team will play. Detroit has a new QB in Matthew Stafford and the offense under the rookie has gone through some growing pains, but the presence of home-run threat WR Calvin Johnson makes scoring on one play a possibility. Detroit’s defense is giving up a mind-boggling 369.1 yards a game with 251.9 of those yards coming through the air. Matt Hassellbeck (ribs) is expected to play on Sunday and should have a huge game through the air against the Swiss cheese Detriot defense. Eat up the points and expect Detroit to give up a bundle and not score enough to keep up with the Seahawks at home. The Lions are 0-3 AST this year when playing on the road.