I ran my record to 9-4 last week, bringing my overall to 74-56. The cream is rising to the top as mediocre teams begin to distinguish themselves with poor decisions in terms of handling personnel. Let’s see what this week brings.
BAL vs. ATL
This is one of the more interesting games this weekend; the Falcons feature a middle of the road defense and a top end offense while the Ravens feature a top end defense and a middle of the road offense. One of these sides has to give in and I think that will be the Falcons offense. When the Falcons have faced good teams this year, they haven’t shown that they have been able to compete consistently. It could easily go the other way, but I’m going to be logical here. Ravens win.
DET vs. BUF
This is a very difficult game to pick. Both the Bills and the Lions play as hard as any team in the NFL, but both also have a habit of blowing their games. I’m going to make this pick solely on who has impressed me more this season, in which case the Lions should win. It could easily go the other way; however it’s anybody’s guess.
CIN vs. IND
After the disastrous appearance on Monday Night Football this past week, I have very little faith that the Bengals will be able to compete with the Colts. The Bengals have shot themselves in the foot in every game and given the opponents chances that they shouldn’t get. The Colts should win.
NYJ vs. CLE
I’d say this was a mismatch, but then again, the Browns have beaten both the Saints and the Patriots. Given the way the Jets’ offense has been less than stellar these past few weeks, I’m very tempted to give the Browns the victory in this game. However, this game still features a rookie quarterback facing the best cornerback in the league, which gives the Jets the edge. Jets should win.
MIN vs. CHI
Chicago has been surviving on the strength of their defense, much like any great Chicago team. However, their offense has had a propensity to turn the ball over, and isn’t as good as it could be. As much as this could be damning, the Viking have not been able to keep up with their opponents and turn the ball over a lot. I’m going to pick Chicago based on that turnover battle.
HOU vs. JAC
Jacksonville has been surprisingly consistent this season while Houston has fallen on hard times after a fast start. Neither team has a great defense, so this will likely be an offensive battle. If that is the case, I have to give the advantage to Houston, who has one of the best offenses in the NFL right now, and they should be able to outscore the Jaguars on the road to a victory.
TEN vs. MIA
Tennessee is coming off of their bye week and has a new offensive toy to play around with, which should bolster their already top ranked scoring offense. The addition of Randy Moss gives the Titans a big play threat in the passing game, and should help stretch defenses to give more space for Chris Johnson and Vince Young to run. Miami has a mediocre defense and isn’t the most safe with the ball. I’ve got the Titans winning this game.
CAR vs. TB
Carolina has been terrible this season and are rebuilding. Tampa Bay should win this easily.
KC vs. DEN
Kansas City surprised me when they lost to Oakland, revealing that their pass defense is somewhat suspect. That’s a dangerous weakness to have when facing the pass happy Broncos. However, the Broncos have shown themselves to be so utterly pathetic defensively, that I have a hard time picking against the Chiefs. Kansas City should win.
STL vs. SF
Well, I guess I was wrong. I guess that Sam Bradford isn’t going to be a complete failure the way I thought he was. However he is not what has been driving the success of the Rams this season that has been their defense, which ranks 7th in the NFL in scoring defense. San Francisco has just fallen apart this season, and will likely not be able to overcome the strong defense. St. Louis wins.
SEA vs. ARI
Arizona blew a huge led against Minnesota last week, and in my opinion, blew any chance they had of being successful this season. Their confidence is going to be down and now they have to face a Seahawks team that returns Matt Hasselback at quarterback, who is itching for a chance to set the Seahawk’s train back on course. Seattle wins.
DAL vs. NYG
Dallas really needs to just throw Tony Romo on IR and just call this season a wash. With any luck, the Giants won’t knock Jon Kitna out too. Giants wins.
NE vs. PIT *Game of the Week*
This is easily the best game on the docket for this weekend. Pitting the arguably two best teams in the AFC (probably the NFL) against each other, this game could actually be a bit worse than advertised. While I do think this will be a good game, it has more to do with the injuries that the Steelers have been suffering. The Patriots have not looked like the same since trading Randy Moss, even failing to scrape together enough offense to defeat the lowly Browns. It may have been merely a fluke, however I think it would be quite the fluke that would bog down a good offensive team after they traded one of their key components. Also, their run defense has not been great and the Steelers excel at pounding the rock. I think the Steelers win.
PHI vs. WAS
Washington won the first matchup between these two teams. However since then, they’ve fallen on hard times and have forced a quarterback controversy that really wasn’t necessary. The Eagles on the other hand have brought out their offensive potential and gotten numerous key members of their offense back. I’m of the opinion that the Eagles should win easily.
No comments:
Post a Comment