Blaine's Saints go marching in, but his season still a Fright Fest

"There's no doubt in my mind that the winless Saints are going to whip the Seahawks tonight," Blaine said Sunday morning. "People will be calling it a big shocker, but it won't be any surprise to me." New Orleans was a 6½-point underdog going into Seattle after lackluster efforts in its first four games.

With New Orleans up 21-0 in the second quarter, play-by-play announcer Al Michaels substantiated Blaine's prediction by saying: "It's a stunner in Seattle with the Saints by three touchdowns." At halftime, NBC's Bob Costas commented: "The Saints, almost inexplicably, lead the Seahawks 28-10." In the fourth quarter, analyst John Madden said: "This is a totally different Saints team than their first four games." Even Mark chimed in with his own comment to Blaine over the phone during the game: "You bastard."

The Saints marched to an easy 28-17 victory, giving all but one Picks member a tally in the loss column. "I gave New Orleans a zero percent chance going into that game," said analyst Chris Collinsworth on NBC's postgame show. Apparently it was a bit of a shocker.

You'd think with that kind of foresight Blaine would be dominating the Sunday Football Picks this year. But his weekend was an all-around Fright Fest as he visited Halloween-themed Six Flags Great America on Saturday, and dropped into dead last in the Picks on Sunday. His overall record of 42-39 is a dozen games off the pace of league-leading Trevor. Now that's a Giant Drop, which always makes him spew profanities. Better plug your ears.

Blaine's Fright Fest on Saturday included two haunted houses, white-knuckle rides on the American Eagle and Viper roller coasters, a horrifying plummet on the Giant Drop, several brushes with a variety of eerie creatures (one wielding a chain saw), and a family visit with Mayor Slayer in creepy Necropolis. Blaine's Fright Fest on Sunday included Minnesota's Ryan Longwell kicking a career-long 55-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Bears 34-31; the Redskins fumbling the ball to the Packers who took it all the way for the game-winning touchdown; the Cardinals letting a rusty 43-year-old backup quarterback overpower them in the fourth quarter at home; and the talented Bengals continuing their surprising slump in Kansas City.