Week 8 of the NFL is quickly approaching, and while the
Bills have the week off, other teams still have games (news to me too)! This
week features some interesting matchups; some between division rivals, some
primed to be one-score games, and also a few potential duds. So lets get to my
picks!
Thursday Night
Football
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
at Minnesota Vikings
This game is almost certain to
be a hotly contested match, with the Bucs coming off a tough loss to the
division rival Saints, and the Vikings coming off a nail biter against the
suddenly not-so-tough Cardinals. The matchups to watch in this one are fairly
clear: Minnesota’s top-10 rushing attack vs. Tampa’s top-5 rush defense, and
Minnesota’s bottom-5 passing attack vs. Tampa’s bottom-5 pass defense.
Something’s gotta give in this one, and I see too much offensive potential on
Minnesota’s offense (Harvin, Rudolph, Peterson) for the Bucs below-average pass
defense to contain, despite Christian Ponder’s recent struggles.
The Bucs
offense certainly has potential as well, but I see this one being won in the
last seconds by the Blair W(alsh) Project. Vikings have home-field advantage,
which I think swings this game. Minnesota
wins 20-17.
Lock Games of the
Week
Carolina Panthers at
Chicago Bears
Quite possibly
the easiest game to call this week, despite Monday Night’s injury to Jay Cutler
on this questionable hit by King Kong Suh. The Panthers insist on letting Cam
Newton turn the ball over and act like a pouty child (similar to another QB in
this game) instead of giving the ball to their $50+ million dollar backfield.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, even if they do change their ways this may be
the wrong week to do it. The Bears have been a force defensively, and have
multiple ways to beat you on offense. This should come in handy against a
Panthers defense that couldn’t stop a nosebleed.
Bears, at
home, win another easy one. Chicago
34-16.
Jacksonville Jaguars
at Green Bay Packers
How bad will the Jaguars be
without MJD and Sunshine Blaine Gabbert? Also, how much worse could they get?
With Aaron Rodgers back to being the best QB since Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, Pack
should put this one away early at Lambeau.
Green Bay 27-9.
New England Patriots
at St. Louis Rams (in London)
You might argue that the Patriots
have just been off this year, and they are facing an upstart Rams team who play
sneaky good pass defense. But did you see
the Patriots drive at the end of the 4th quarter against the
Jets when they needed a field goal to take the game to overtime? This team can
turn it on at any time they want, regardless of what Tom Brady says, and when
it comes down to it, these teams still aren’t on the same level. Not yet at
least.
Patriots
offense proves to be too much for the Rams to keep up with.
New England 28-17.
San Francisco 49ers at
Arizona Cardinals
It’s been
proven before; you just don’t mess with an angry Harbaugh. After the Niners’
dismantling at the hands of the defending champs, they came out last week and
physically dominated the Seahawks, yet only eked out a 13-7 win. Don’t you
think Harbaugh is a little frustrated with the way his offense played? I think
he is, and I can see Alex Smith responding with a solid game this weekend
against a Cardinals team that suddenly (yet not surprisingly) just does not
look as good as their 4-0 start suggested.
49ers get
up for a big Monday Night divisional showdown, and take it to Arizona in
Phoenix. San Francisco 19-6.
Close Calls
San Diego Chargers at
Cleveland Browns
A home game for a Cleveland team
that is slowly gaining some confidence after beating division-rival Cincinnati
and almost beating a sneaky good Colts team. The Chargers, traveling across the
country, looked absolutely awful in the second half against the Broncos their
last time out and seem to have serious deficiencies in the Quarterback and Head
Coach departments. However, Cleveland still plays shoddy defense (26th
vs. the pass, 24th vs. the run), and San Diego just has too much
talent not to pull this one out against an inferior team, even if it is a close
one.
San Diego 24-20.
Seattle Seahawks at
Detroit Lions
As good as everyone thinks the
Seahawks are, check out these stats:
·
At home, Russell Wilson has 6 TD’s, 0 INT’s, and
the team is 3-0.
·
On the road, Russell Wilson has 2 TDs, 7 INT’s, and the team is 1-3.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, this game is on the road
against a surely angry Lions team who were just embarrassed by a division
rival. Expect the Lions to come out firing, and for Calvin Johnson to have a TD
or two despite the tough matchup.
Lions are
too angry to drop this one, and ‘Hawks are too beatable on the road. Lions 17-13.
Indianapolis Colts at
Tennessee Titans
After two big wins vs. the
Steelers and Bills, the Titans are rolling right now despite having a defense
ranked in the bottom half of the league. Chris Johnson seems to finally be back
on track, averaging 113 yards over the team’s last 4 games (with a 100 yard
game against the stingy Texans, so its not all against the Bills). The Colts
rush defense is ranked 26th in the league, so expect much of the
same against the Colts. This game will ultimately come down to which defense
can contain the opposing running game, and as talented as Andrew Luck is, the
Colts running attack is below average.
Looking
forward to a strong effort in front of the home crowd from Chris Johnson and
the Titans. Tennessee 26-21.
Miami Dolphins at New
York Jets
Coming off of three straight
promising efforts (albeit two of them losses) the Jets are proving to be a bit
more resilient than had been previously anticipated after losing arguably the
best defender in the league in Darrell Revis, and their most productive
receiver in Santonio Holmes. It was the defense that squandered a late lead
against the Patriots, and the offensive line that allowed the sack fumble in
overtime to set up the loss, so is it possible that we are putting too much of
the blame for the Jets’ struggles on Mark Sanchez? The Dolphins have a top 10
rush defense, which will be critical in stopping the Jets as most of their
success depends on establishing a strong rushing attack.
Expect
Cameron Wake to make his presence felt and rattle Sanchez a bunch, but I think
this game comes down to the home field advantage once again. As long as the
Jets don’t stumble out of the gates that is…. A fast start is essential to
winning this game. Jets win a nail-biter. New
York 16-14.
Washington Redskins at
Pittsburgh Steelers
In all seriousness, how good is RGIII? After last week’s
game against the Giants (a game los Gigantes won), Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora had nothing but praise for the rookie, calling him “flat out unbelievable,” and Tuck went as far to say, “I’m
really mad at the football gods for putting him in the NFC East.” I’m not sure
if you remember or not, but this is the team that won the Super Bowl last year,
the team that beat Matt Ryan, MVP Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady in the playoffs.
If RGIII can strike this much fear and uneasiness into the hearts of the
defending Super Bowl champions, what, exactly, will he do to the aging,
slowing, not-as-ferocious Steelers defense? While Ben Roethlisberger may put up
big numbers about a Redskins pass defense with more holes than swiss cheese (32nd
in the league), he may be doing so to keep up with RGIII.
RGIII seems
to be developing into the most dynamic playmaker/quarterback in the entire NFL.
More dynamic than Newton, Vick, perhaps even Rodgers. In my upset special of
the week, I predict the Redskins go into Heinz Field and steal one from the
Steelers. Washington 31-30.
Oakland Raiders at
Kansas City Chiefs
In the matchup of possibly the
two worst teams in the NFL, this game will come down to the Raiders ability to
contain Jamaal Charles. Romeo Crennel seems determined to run Jamaal Charles
into the ground despite coming off a year in which he tore his ACL. The Raiders have a middle of the pack rush defense,
allowing 102.2 yards per game on the ground, and that may not be enough to
contain Charles. If Brady Quinn can open up things a little through the air
(did I really just say that?) then Charles will be too much to handle.
With one of
the best home-field advantages in the league, the Arrowhead crowd will keep
Oakland’s Carson Palmer-led “attack” off balance all day.
Chiefs 20-10.
New York Giants at
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas
looked awwwwfully unimpressive in their near-loss to the Panthers, while the
Giants are coming off a dismantling of the 49ers and a containment of RGIII (an
impressive feat). With the Cowboys continuing to prove their own mediocrity and
lack of good coaching, the Giants may actually run away with this game,
especially with Dallas potentially down their top two running backs. If Tony
Romo has to throw the ball over 40 times, the Cowboys will lose this game.
Considering
the Giants have yet to lose in New
Cowboys Stadium, Eli Manning should do enough to get revenge for week 1.
Victor Cruz and the Giants salsa their way past the Cowboys in this one. Giants 28-20.
New Orleans Saints at
Denver Broncos
Both of these teams pass the
ball a whole lot. Both of these teams have exposable defenses. We could be
looking at an old fashioned Quarterback shootout here folks, and I anticipate
Drew Brees will show up big in this one. Brees’ completion percentage actually increases on the road while his
interceptions decrease. Both teams are coming off big wins last week, and the
Saints look like a team on a mission to recover from that abysmal 0-4 start.
Contrary to the opinions of many, I personally am still not sold on Peyton
Manning and his noodle-armed wobbly throws. He may still be one of the smartest
players in the game, but he is clearly not the physical marvel he once was
(throwing the ball, that is.).
The Saints
embrace the Mile-High air and ride the arm of Drew Brees to their third
consecutive W. Saints 34-28.
Game of the Week
Atlanta Falcons at
Philadelphia Eagles
People may
think Cowboys vs. Giants may be the game of the week, but my football genius
self says no! How often do you get to watch an extremely
exciting-yet-inconsistent team hand an unbeaten their first loss??? Did I just
give away my pick? Oh well. The Falcons may be the most overrated undefeated
team in recent memory (besides the 2008 Bills after week 4), having barely
squeaked out victories (at home, mind you) against the dreadful Raiders and Panthers.
The Falcons only have (maybe) one impressive win on their resume, while the
Eagles have wins over the Ravens (before their defense collapsed) and the
Giants (quite possibly the best team in the NFL). When the Eagles are good,
they’re really good, and when they’re bad, well we all know how that can be.
Since Andy Reid took over as Head Coach of the Eagles, the team is a staggering
13-0 (!!!!) coming off byes. The Falcons have a tough matchup in this one, as
their top receivers face two top-tier corners in Nnamdi and Rodgers-Cromartie.
Matt Ryan will have precious little time to throw in the face of the Eagles
pass rush, and when he does have time, his receivers will be covered (lets not
even entertain the possibility of Michael “the Now-Slow Burner” Turner goes
off. Until he does and I am proven wrong).
If Michael
Vick (somehow) refrains from turning the ball over and doing his best to give
the game away, Andy Reid’s record after byes should jump to 14-0. Looking to
prove something to the home fans, the Eagles hand the Falcons their first loss
of the season. Eagles 24-19.
So that’s it for my week 8
picks! Thanks for taking the time to read and check out all the other fantastic
articles posted on our blog!
rough week for picks eh
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