Wild Card Weekend Part 2.

To put it quite simply I don't think I could have been any more wrong on the two predictions I made about Saturdays games. The Seahawks pulled one of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history on the arm of a rejuvenated Matt Hasselbeck and based on one of the best runs I've probably ever seen. The Saints came into the game with two running backs left and by the 4th quarter they were down to a guy they signed earlier this week off the street. Frankly the injuries to their running backs made their offense entirely too one dimensional for anyone to carry even if that someone is as good as Drew Brees. The real disappointment if your the Saints is your defense, you allow 13 touchdown passes all season and then let Matt Hasselbeck get 4 in one game. I don't think the Saints need a complete overhaul next year they're a team they just needs some minor retooling and better health next year. Earlier today I compared this Seahawks team to the 2009 Cardinals team that no one expected to make it past the wild card round, and maybe.......just maybe that comparison could be a little more apt than I first thought.

The Colts Jets game played out more or less how a lot of people thought. The Colts didn't come into that game huge favorites and most people expected a defensive struggle between two well matched teams. Peyton Manning reallly didn't get anything going for almost the entirety of the game outside of a 57 yard pass to Pierre Garcon there were no explosive plays and the Jets did a good job of keeping Peyton bottled up the entire game. All of Rex Ryans talk made me think he'd have an emotional game plan and come out aggressive but instead he did the smart thing and made the Colts run the football, he played 1 and 2 defensive lineman looks and continually dared Peyton to check down to the run. More often than not he wont those match ups, the Colts don't have the runners in the backfield nor the lineman up front to make people pay for having 6 and 7 defensive backs. Its time like these it really hurts to remind Colts fans they could have had Maurice Jones Drew a couple of years ago instead of perennially injured and ineffective Joseph Addai. I don't know what happens with the Colts next year but if anyone thinks theres a chance Peyton Manning leaves I have some magic beans I'd like to sell them.

Baltimore @ Kansas City

Baltimore - 3

This game sort of reminds me of the Saints Seahawks game in that you have a team everyone thinks is coming into the playoffs with an air of not belonging on the field with the team they're playing. The Chiefs played 3 above  .500 teams all year and managed to only beat one of them shocking the Chargers in their opening game. The Ravens on the other hand have played 7 games against above .500 opponents going 4-3 but losing those 3 games by a combined 11 points. The Chiefs lost their two games by a combined 41 points, which would indicate they feasted on the poor teams that littered their schedule and couldn't compete with any of the good teams. Whats even more troubling is that in the last week of the season with plenty to play for and at home they got absolutely blasted by the Raiders who were merely playing for pride at that point. Their vaunted rushing attack was shut down and the Matt Cassel who had only thrown 2 interceptions over the seasons last 11 games unraveled to throw 2 interceptions in a sack filled disaster. I think the Ravens look at the game tape and think that their defensive line can do the exact same thing to the Chiefs. Plus if Matt Cassel can't look off Michael Huff what chance does he have looking off Ed Reed who has an incredible 8 interceptions in only 10 games played this year. On the offensive side of the ball I think the Ravens will give the Chiefs a bit of their own medicine and grind them down with a combination of Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, and Leron McClain. Look for a couple of deep connections to Anquan Boldin in a Ravens road win.

Ravens 23


Chiefs 13


Green Bay @ Philadelphia


Philadelphia - 3

Fun Fact: Aaron Rodgers took the title belt dance from Freddie Mitchel

This is a match up of my two favorite teams still left in the tournament and I'm sad that at the end of this game I'll only have one of them left to root for. I was hoping for these two teams to meet up in the NFC Championship game but hopefully we'll all be treated to an offensive shootout this Sunday. I honestly don't know what to make of the Packers offensively they seem dominant one week to only fluster the next week with their lack of punch. One thing I am certain about is their defense which has rounded into shape the past few weeks to become one of the most feared in the playoffs. They have three of the best defensive players on any team in the NFL with Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, and the untouted B.J. Raji who is having an absolutely stellar season at the nose in their 3-4 defense. When these two teams played earlier in the year Clay Matthews was a man possessed as he gained 3 sacks and harassed Michael Vick all day and despite that when Vick was asked about that game he thinks the Eagles would have won had he started. Michael Vick has been the story for much of this NFL season but  in an incredibly important home game against a Vikings team with nothing to play for they were toothless on both offense and defense picked apart by rookie Joe Webb. If the Eagles defense had this much trouble containing Joe Webb how can they hope to stop Aaron Rodgers. Honestly I don't think they do, but I just don't think Michael Vick will lose a home playoff game. This is the same man who went into Lambeau Field and go the first win there in playoff history and I think he continues to haunt the dreams of Packers this playoffs.

Eagles 31


Packers 27

Tuesday Night Week 15 Recap.

Week 15 Predictions heads up: 8-8

Week 15 Predictions against the Spread: 6-10

Record so far: 111-80

If the Eagles aren't the most exciting team in the NFL I don’t know who is

You wouldn't have punted to him in Madden either

Watching the end of that Eagles game I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a 7 or 8 minute span of football as exciting during a regular season game in my life. The Eagles have the two most dynamic players in the NFL in Michael Vick and Desean Jackson and they were at their most dynamic when their team was in dire straits. Every time the Giants got the Eagles in a 3^rd and long Michael Vick would break off another 20 or 30 yard run, and those are absolutely demoralizing to a defense because it seemed like he could do that pretty much anytime he wanted. Watching Michael Vick now, I think this is what we thought the mobile QB would be, you combine the accuracy and pocket presence of an elite QB with the running ability of a top tier running back or wide receiver and you have Michael Vick. However that wasn’t the kill blow of this game. That is reserved for the 65 yard point return for a touchdown by Desean Jackson. My brother called me after the game and told me that at this point he could be an Eagles fan; a team that’s this fun to watch with players that we honestly want to root for doesn’t come along very often. The last team that I can remember feeling this way about were those late 90’s early 2000’s Viking teams lead by Randall Cunningham and Daunte Culpepper. After this game a lot of people are going to be asking how the punter could kick the ball to Desean Jackson and it’s an absolutely valid question, but this loss isn’t completely on him. It’s on a defense that allowed them to score 21 points in about 5 minutes prior to that. It’s on Tom Coughlin who’s team wasn’t the least bit ready for that onside kick at the 7:30 mark, and it’s also on him for deciding to throw the ball on 3^rd and 8 as opposed to running it and taking at least another 40 seconds off the clock. Honestly though as much as the Giants blew it I don’t really care, this game was about the Eagles absolutely becoming the team I’m rooting to see not only in the playoffs but perhaps win the whole thing.

Well I guess he won’t be seeing the end of that contract extension

After looking at the language in Donovan Mcnabb’s contract extension we all pretty much knew there was no way that he would see most of that money but I think most of us thought he had a decent chance of making it out of this year as a Redskin. So not only does Mike Shanahan bench him he sends him all the way to the 3^rd string behind the unquestionably talented duo of John Beck and Rex Grossman.  I have to say Grossman wasn’t terrible Sunday he put together a very respectable 4 touchdown 2 interception performance. I highly doubt he can salvage much from Grossman at this point; he’s a 30 year old QB on his 3^rd team who’s only thrown for more than 3000 yards in a season once. He’s a career back up more or less and you don’t bench a hall of famer in order to give a 30 year old career back up a shot to show what he can do. Or at least I would think you don’t if you don’t want to alienate the rest of your team. On the other hand John Beck is on his 3rd team in 4 years and he's compiled over 500 yards and a touchdown during all that time so he hasn't been lighting the world on fir either and at 29 he's a little too old to be preaching up the potential tree. I’m not saying Mcnabb has been fantastic or even good, but to bench him in this manner for Rex Grossman of all people is an incredible disservice to not only him but also to the respectability of your franchise, what QB would want to come to Washington know seeing how quickly Mike Shanahan will abandon them. This is why the Redskins are the Redskins and even when it seems they've made a number of good moves as far as their head coach and Gm are concerned they still can’t manage to get things right.

Week 14 Preview: Sleepless in Screen and Roll Out

Cleveland @ Buffalo

Buffalo – 1

Cleveland enters this game on a 2 game win streak and with 5-7 record that doesn’t tell the story of how competitive a team they’ve been this year with victories over both the Patriots and Saints. Buffalo followed a heartbreaking loss to the Steelers at home by getting creamed by a Tavaris Jackson lead Minnesota Vikings team.  I don’t know if the Vikings have been inspired by Leslie Frazier, but that Vikings team hasn’t been good enough to blow out anybody this year. For the Bills to follow up such a tough outing against the Steelers with that egg tells me they’re not ready to play a team as tough as the Browns even at home.

Browns 23

Bills 20

Atlanta @ Carolina

Atlanta – 9

Atlanta just keeps winning. They may seem to get quite a few lucky breaks throughout the wins but at the end of the game the dirty birds are on top of the scoreboard. There’s absolutely no reason why that shouldn’t be the case against a dreadful Panthers team.

Falcons 31

Panthers 13

Green Bay @ Detroit

Green Bay – 7

Dear Aaron, See you soon. Love Ndamukong

The Packers put a hurt on the 49’ers last week with pretty much just Aaron Rodgers and nothing else. The Falcons exposed the Packers as a one dimensional team and the 49’ers lacked the talent to do the same. I think the Lions are in the same boat. While they have a borderline fantastic D line lead by Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch I don’t think their offense will be able to sustain enough drives to keep Rodgers off the field. The Packers win this one but only because they have one of the top 5 Qb’s in football right now.

Aaron Rodgers 31

Lions 27

Oakland @ Jacksonville

Jacksonville – 4

Being a Raider fan has been a significantly better experience this year than it has been for the past 8 years of my life, and while I’m very happy that we’re at 6 wins for the first time in 8 years I’m incredibly frustrated by the Raiders lack of consistency. If the good Raiders show up they might be able to slow down Mojo while running over the Jaguars with their two headed running attack of D-Mac and Michael Bush. If the bad Raiders show up the Jaguars will run all over them and dominate the game. I hate to say this but looking at their last two east coast games I think the bad Raiders will show up.

Jaguars 24

Raiders 13

New York Giants @ Minnesota

New York Giants - 3

Well this game has been reschedule to Monday because of the insane snow storm in Minneapolis, and that could have an effect on both teams but honestly I have no idea what that might be. This game is more or less the Giants playoff hopes. They’re 8-4 with games against Green Bay and Philadelphia left. This game is basically a must win with those two coming up. As good as the Vikings looked last week I think they bring Brett Favre back to preserve his starting record and it ends up costing them the game.

Giants 26

Vikings 17

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh – 9

Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore was an absolutely fantastic game Sunday Night. Watching that game in comparison to the games from earlier Sunday it seemed like the Steelers and Ravens were playing at a different speed than the rest of the NFL. A lot of people think this will be a letdown game but I don’t think the Steelers can afford to let up knowing the Ravens are still right on their tail and the 2^nd seed isn’t guaranteed.

Steelers 31

Bengals 20

Tampa Bay @ Washington

Tampa Bay – 2

It sucks but I think the Buccaneers season ended last week against the Falcons. As good as the NFC is I think the two wildcard teams will probably be two of the following 3: New Orleans, New York, and Green Bay. I just don’t think Tampa Bay will elbow its way into that conversation but they can keep their hopes alive with a win this week over a listless Washington team that has seemingly given up on their season. 

Bucs 20

Redskins 13

St. Louis @ New Orleans

New Orleans – 10

The offensive rookie of the year trophy will be going to a Qb for the 2^nd time in history and the first time since Big Ben won it while leading the Steelers to the playoffs, can Sam Bradford pull of a similar feat? Hmmm I’ll say this somebody has to make it out of the NFC West and at this point I have to ask myself why not the Rams? Are they any more flawed than the Seahawks…….enh not really. This line seems a bit high when looking at the early year home performances of the Saints except for the fact that current Saints are on a 5 game winning streak putting up 30 in 4 of them. Well make it 6 straight with 30 in 5 of them.

Saints 34

Rams 20

Seattle @ San Francisco

San Francisco – 5.5

This is how bad the NFC west is. The 49’ers lost by 18 points in a game that wasn’t even that close last week and are 5 ½ point favorites over the Seahawks who won by 17. The reason being pretty much everyone knows that the Seahawks are a team that will just no show on the road.  Yes the Seahawks have been bad on the road this year but their road record is 2-3 which is just mediocre and they’ve beaten a tough Saints team in the superdome. I don’t think the Hawks have been given enough credit for the mediocre quality of road team they are. Mediocre will be enough to beat the 49’ers.

Seahawks 23

49’ers 20

New England @ Chicago

New England – 2.5

Solemn American Heads

I can’t pick against the Pats after that performance on Monday night football last week. At the same time I spent a quick hit last week finally admitting that the Bears were for real. The truth is I still believe both of those things I just think that the Pats are on a different level than the Bears. I think the Pats are at this point are the easy super bowl favorite while the Bears are a strong contender to make it to the NFC championship game at best. I think Tom Brady makes an example of the Bears cover 2 defense using short and intermediate passes as he leads the solemn american heads to victory.

Patriots 27

Bears 20

Denver @ Arizona

Denver – 4.5

In the 3^rd debut of a new head coach this NFL season we begin the 4 game season for Eric Studesville who prior to becoming the interim head coach had been a running backs coach his entire NFL coaching career. I doubt he’ll make much of an impression with this 4 game stint but so far the two interim coaches we’ve had this year have more or less knocked it out of the park in the 5 games they’ve coached.  The thing that was most confusing about the McDaniel’s firing is that the Broncos played hard for their coach in the loss against the Chiefs last week; if they can put together another effort like that they’ll beat a much worse Cardinals team starting John Skelton a rookie QB from Fordham.

Broncos 17

Cardinals 9

Miami @ New York Jets

New York Jets – 5

Wow just wow did New York get smashed last week. The Patriots absolutely went 1990’s Mike Tyson on them beating them relentlessly and not stopping until the bell rung. If the Jets are half the team we thought they were before that game last week they’ll beat this Dolphins team. They’re lead by an incredibly turnover prone QB in Chad Henne who should be just what the Dr. ordered to begin to rebuild the confidence of a Jets defense that has to be questioning itself after Tom Brady just dissected them. However what was more troubling than their defense was the absolute egg their offense laid. I don’t know if that’s as fixable as the defense however.

Jets 19

Dolphins 10

Kansas City @ San Diego

Pick Em

I have two words for you. Brodie Croyle. If San Diego doesn’t absolutely cream the Chiefs in this one they have no one to blame but themselves.

Chargers 23

Chiefs 10

I expect to see this next year with a 12 on it

Philadelphia @ Dallas

Philadelphia – 3.5

It just came down from the king of the NFL scoop Adam Schefter that both Winston Justice and Asante Samuel won’t be playing in the game against the Cowboys. As well as the Cowboys are playing I think that changes this game from a blowout to a close one. The Eagles with Michael Vick are too dynamic for a Cowboys team without Dez Bryant to keep up.

Eagles 34

Cowboys 27

Baltimore @ Houston

Baltimore – 2.5

Baltimore lost a game to the Steelers that will probably come back to bite them in the ass at the end of the year when it’s time for playoff seeding. That game could be the difference between the 2^nd seed and the 5^th or 6^th seed. Houston on the other hand probably had their season ended last week with that loss to the Eagles, doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see who I’m gonna pick here. Expect Joe Flacco to get back on track against that dreadful Texans pass defense.

Ravens 27

Texans 20

Thursday Preview: Lunchtime prognistication

Be on the lookout for the weekend preview this Friday night, but I wanted to make sure I got my Thursday preview up before the game tonight. This was written from my desk during lunch so excuse any missteps. Also Handsome Joe Garcia likes the Texans in this game so either way somebody on my team will get this pick right.

Houston @ Philadelphia

Philadelphia -8

Watch out Asanate Samuel

Houston at Philadelphia should be an offensive showcase this Thursday night as both of these teams have the firepower to take advantage of two defenses that have shown incredibly poorly in the past few weeks. The Eagles defense was torn apart by Jay Cutler last week and it only gets harder having to face a Texans team that gets to take advantage of an unsuspended Andre Johnson;  luckily the birds are at home. The Eagles passing attack is one of the tops in the league and they're facing a Houston pass defense that finally put together a solid game only it was against Rusty Smith a 6^th round rookie from Florida Atlantic. In shootouts like this I tend to take the home team, but the Eagles are getting 8 points in this match up and I don't think they'll beat anybody by that much the way their secondary played last week. However Asante Samuel has practiced all week and he is the best player in their secondary. adding him back to the mix could push this from a close shoot out to a semi blowout in favor the Green American Birds.

Eagles 38

Texans 34

week 11 preview: Saturday Night Fever

There's been a lot going on with Screen and Roll Out in the past week or so. We're back working full time so the posts will be just as frequent but not quite as timely. As such I couldn't update before that dreadful Thursday night game but I don't think I missed all that much. However Look out for a NBA commentary in the season after the 1st month or so which should be happening the next week. Now with that bit of book keeping out of the way lets get into the Week 11 picks. 

Baltimore @ Carolina

Baltimore -10.5

The early games this week aren't very inspiring to say the least. Baltimore @ Carolina should be an easy bounce back game for Baltimore after their disappointing loss to the Falcons last week. Carolina just got waxed by the Bucs and things don’t get any easier against this Ravens team. It looks like another loss in what will probably be John Fox’s last year in Carolina.

Ravens 27

Carolina 10

Buffalo @ Cincinnati

Cincinnati -6

I doubt they're still this happy

A game between two teams whose season’s are already over. Buffalo can try to hang their hat on the fact they’ve been a competitive team but at the end of the day they’re still 1-8 with 1 win over the Lions. The Bengals came into this year with high expectations after the playoffs last year and seemingly improving in the offseason. All those expectations have come crashing down with 6 consecutive losses after a 2-1 start to the season. At this point I can see this Cincinnati team beginning to implode especially with the personalities of Ocho and T.O. in the fold. Carson Palmer continues his spiral to irrelevance with a loss to the Bills at home.

Buffalo 17

Cincinnati 13

Detroit @ Dallas

Dallas -6.5

*Gasp* Could the Dallas Cowboys not be the worst team in the NFL anymore? After finally showing signs of life after ditching Wade Phillips with a win over the Giants on the road they might have finally escaped NFL purgatory. In their place might be the Detroit Lions, they seemed to be finally putting it together with young emerging pieces on both offense and defense however with the reinjury of Matthew Stafford their franchise QB seems to be of the glass variety. Not only is this his 3^rd major injury in two NFL seasons it’s his second separation of his shoulder which seems like a bad omen for the future especially at the QB position. I think both back up QB’s are mediocre guys surrounded by a solid nucleus of talent however I like the Dallas defense I saw last week against the Giants; since they were actually there against the Giants for the first time in weeks.

Dallas 24

Detroit 20

Cleveland @ Jacksonville

Jacksonville -1.5

The battle of the two surprisingly competitive teams, every year it seems Jacksonville ends up being 9-7 10-6ish and makes it into the playoffs to everyone’s chagrin. They’re a team that nobody really wants to watch yet they manage to be competitive more often than not.  Quick question, who has the second highest QB rating in the NFL? That’s right David Garrard. On the other side of the field you have Colt McCoy who is 2-2 as a starter with his only losses being to the Jets and the Steelers. He’s definitely more of a legit NFL quarterback than I thought he would be, but despite those two wins his game hasn’t traveled all that well.

Jaguars 17

Browns 13

Arizona @ Kansas City

Kansas City -8

Todd Haley might still be a little steamed about the blowout loss last week to the Broncos but he has to move on in a hurry because the Chiefs can’t afford to lose a game like this in a tight division race. This is a Haley’s first game against his previous team the Cardinals since he’s became a head coach. However this Cardinals team is without Kurt Warner or Matt Leinhart instead being lead by Derek Anderson. Arizona got handled fairly easily at home last week against the Seahawks, but I think they match up much better with the Chiefs than they did the Seahawks. The problem is the Cardinals passing game isn’t quite good enough to expose the Chiefs, especially on the road.

Chiefs 24

Cardinals 17

Green Bay @ Minnesota

Green Bay -3.5

This is what ESPN does to you when you're 3-6

Perhaps the final meeting between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers, sadly it won’t be the big game we expected prior to the season as the Vikings are pretty much out of the playoff race at this point with a 3-6 record. The Packers had their bye last week and come into this game needing a win to keep pace with the still surprising Bears who pushed themselves to 7-3 with a win in an absolutely terrible Thursday night football game. I see Aaron Rodgers going 2-0 against Favre this year and officially putting the stake through the heart of the Vikings season and hopefully the tenure of Brad Childress.

Green Bay 23

Vikings 17

Houston @ NY Jets

NY Jets -7

Houston can’t stop anybody through the air; they're the worst pass defense in the NFL by almost 20 yards giving up over 300 per game. Combine that with a Jets defense that hasn’t given up more than 23 points all season and I don’t think Houston will be able to keep up with the amount of points their defense will give up. I think this is the week that Shonn Green overtakes L.T. as their starting running back and Dustin Keller gets back into his early season form.

Jets 27

Texans 17

Oakland @ Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh -7

The Raiders are 4-1 in their past 5 games shaking off a 2-4 start to their year to get to 5-4 and into first place in the AFC West with the Chiefs loss last week. However in order to maintain that first place spot their going to have to win some tough games in their last 6 with games against the Steelers, Colts, and Chargers still remaining. The Steelers were seemingly exposed last week by the Patriots as a team that’s extremely vulnerable to the short passing game, and as a team whose offensive line is in shambles. While the Raiders lack the personnel to attack with the short passing game, their defense is 2^nd in the league in sacks which should bode well for them against a banged up Steelers O-line. Where this game will be decided is in the secondary of both teams, if Oakland can slow down the Pittsburgh passing attack with their pass rush and back 7 they’ll have a chance on the road, but if Mike Wallace gets behind them the Steelers will pull out a close one. Right now the Raiders give up the second fewest passing yards per game, and the second lowest completion percentage and I don’t see Big Ben getting enough time to get the deep ball off in this one. Raiders win a close one.

Raiders 17

Steelers 13

Washington @ Tennessee

Tennessee -7

After the debacle that was the Monday night game for Washington I don’t know what to say about this Redskins team. I do know what to say about Randy Moss however, I think he’s done. After watching him play Miami at half speed pretty much the entire way I think he’s finally decided to stop playing hard period. Even with no Laron Landry I still don’t think he makes the big plays we used to expect from him. Tennessee will win this game but it will be on the legs of Chris Johnson and by the other players in the passing game who get more room because of the space Randy Moss opens up.

Titans 20

Redskins 17

Seattle @ New Orleans

New Orleans -12

"Don't worry Reggie your game checks will be even bigger in the pros"

Seattle finally got back on the winning track after consecutive blow out losses handing the Cardinals a rare home loss. Matt Hasselbeck and Mike Williams are probably the best QB/WR tandem in the NFC West which says a lot about the state of the NFC West but also a lot about how far Mike Williams has come. However they still haven’t come far enough to beat the Saints at home coming off a bye week. Especially when they’ll get back arguably their second most important offensive player back this week in Reggie Bush.

Saints 27

Seahawks 17

Tampa Bay @ San Francisco

Tampa Bay -3.5

Troy Smith has reinvigorated the 49’ers offense with his ability to throw the deep ball combined with his general competence at the position. The 49’ers have put together back to back wins and if they were to win this week they’d be seemingly back in the NFC West race. Josh Freeman doesn't think thats going to happen. Tampa Bay is the classic team who beats the teams you expect them to beat and pretty much no one else, and at this point in the season I expect them to beat the 49'ers and I don't think they'll disappoint. 

Bucs 13

49'ers 10

Atlanta @ St. Louis

Atlanta -3.5

After a sterling performance on Thursday night against the Ravens at home the dirty birds hit the road to face the Rams. The Rams lost a disappointing game to the 49’ers in overtime but would be right back at .500 if they were to beat this Falcons team. Unfortunately for them it’s not going to happen, even though the Falcons are a better home team than road team, they’re only road losses were to the Eagles and the Steelers. The Falcons have been on fire offensively having scored over 30 points in their past 3 games, I think that streak ends but I think they keep on winning. 

Falcons 20

Rams 13

Indianapolis @ New England

New England -3.5

Outside of Michael Vick there aren’t any QB’s I love watching more than Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Both of these guys are absolute masters of the craft and orchestrate their offense no matter who they have lining up next to them. Tom Brady took Jabar Gaffney and a number of castoffs to the AFC Championship a few years back while Peyton is turning Jacob Tamme and Mike Hart into household names this year. These guys show you how important the position of QB is in football, if you  have a great QB you can piecemeal a lot of other things around them and still be a good team. However I think that’s exactly the problem for the Colts, they’re just a good team. They’re too banged up on offense and their defense has a lot of trouble stopping any real potent scoring threat. I think Tom Brady puts a stop to the recent trend of Peyton dominating this matchup. Also as jacked up as Brady seemed last week I can’t imagine him being any less amped for this game.

Pats 31

Colts 27

NY Giants @ Philadelphia

Philadelphia -3

The Sunday Night platter this weekend is absolutely fantastic with this NFC East showdown between the Philadelphia Vicks and the Giants. Michael Vick put up the performance of a lifetime last week while the Giants had a performance I’m sure they’d rather forget against the Cowboys. I honestly don’t know who’s going to stop Michael Vick at this point, part of me thinks he has to come up short sometime but I don’t think it will be this week at home against a Giants defense that was exposed by Jon Kitna. The Michael Vick experience continues its rapid ascension towards the MVP summit.

Eagles 27

Giants 20

Denver @ San Diego

San Diego -10

Denver not only upset Kansas City on Sunday they Oakland Raider’d them going off for some 49 points getting redemption on the wrong team for their home blow out a few weeks ago. They also created a little more AFC West rivalry with the Chiefs by not easing up at all in the 4^th and being a little too jovial on the sidelines for the taste of Todd Haley. San Diego seems to be doing what they do every year have everyone write them off before they get on a 6 or 7 game winning streak that puts them right back in the playoffs and right back on everyone’s list of teams they don’t want to play. I hate to say it but I see it happening again this year. In a QB dual between Phillip Rivers and Kyle Orton I take Phillip Rivers and I don’t even think about it.

Chargers 31

Broncos 24

Tuesday Night Week 10 Recap.

Week 10 Predictions Heads up: 7-7

Never Count out Peyton Manning

Week 10 Predictions against the Spread: 5-9

Record so far: 70-57

Every week things are supposed to become a bit clearer, but this year nothing is really clear except we don’t know much. 3 of the teams I would have put in my top 5 lost last week, the Ravens and Steelers losing tough games to other elite teams while the Giants lost to the Cowboys. I don’t know if Jason Garrett has really inspired the Cowboys or if this is one of those fluky new coach one week of excitement type wins. Normally a win against the Browns doesn’t impress anyone, but Cleveland is playing everyone tough this year so for New York to go in there and steal one in overtime was impressive to me. When I think of the top of the league 6 teams jump to my mind, Falcons, Eagles, Giants, Pats, Steelers, and the Jets. I don't know the exact order but if the 2 super bowl finalists don't come from the those 6 teams you can color me surprised. Well unless its the Colts because here at Screen and Roll out we never count out Peyton Manning. 

Michael Vick turned on God Mode

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything more insane than what Vick did to the Redskins on Monday night football, the closest I’ve probably seen was when Adrian Peterson broke the all time rushing record and Bo Jackson in pretty much any Tecmo Bowl. The first play of the game he throws one of the most beautiful deep passes you’ll ever see to Desean Jackson that travels 60 yards in the air before landing perfectly in Jackson's outstretched arms for 6. It would be one thing if he just put on a passing clinic, but he did it all in a way that only a player of Michael Vicks speed, agility, and overall explosiveness could. He ran for 80 yards on 8 carries most of them the “darting away from a defender at the last second to demoralize a defense variety”. The only bad thing about this game was that it was a blowout which means we were treated to blowout commentary by the Monday night football crew, and when  a crew doesn’t have a good game to talk about they typically drone on about everything and anything which takes away from some of the awesomeness of the performance. The fact that this all happened on the night Donovan Mcnabb christened his new 78 million dollar contract had to be especially stinging to the Redskins and especially rewarding for Vick, because if Mcnabb is worth 78 million over 5 years how much am I worth at 5 years younger and better than he has ever been?

Tom Brady doesn’t like the Steelers

Pure Precision

In another QB tour de force performance Tom Brady put an absolute clinic on in Pennsylvania dissecting the Steelers every which way while being about as pumped as I’d seen him in a while. Part of me wanted to believe he was just pumped because it was a big game, except he’s played in more playoff games and super bowls than most people have seen so he knows big games. Then after seeing him spike that ball after his QB sneak I thought he might dislocate his shoulder. I don’t think I’ve seen Tom Tremendous try to stick it to a team this bad since………..the Steelers during the Patriots date with regular season perfection. Except this time there was no trash talk by a mediocre safety coming into the game it was just a matchup of AFC powerhouses trying to establish a pecking order, and the Patriots made it clear however the pecking order stacks up they’re on top of the Steelers.  350 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 117.4 QB rating which doesn’t do his performance justice. The first touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski couldn’t have been throwing a millisecond later or an inch in another direction it was like it teleported off his hand onto Gronkowski's fingertips, truly a masterful performance by one of the game’s best.

Have the Falcons been the best team all along?

The Atlanta Falcons beat the Ravens on Thursday night in probably the best and most exciting game of the week. Matt Ryan lived up to the Matty Ice moniker making a tremendous sideline throw with the game on the line in the 2 minute drill before sealing it with a touchdown to Roddy White. In last week’s preview I picked the Ravens in part because I didn’t believe Roddy White would be himself on an injured knee well count my suspicions as invalid because he was absolutely spectacular as he did what he wanted against a Ravens secondary that had been surprisingly stout up to that point. The fact that their passing offense was that effective when they’re normally solid run game was nowhere to be found makes it even more impressive. Michael Turner who was coming off consecutive hundred yard games was held to a mere 39 yards and they had less than 60 rushing yards total. On the defensive side of the ball the Falcons rely on the pressure generated by sack master John Abraham who is two sacks of the league lead with 8 this year. The Falcons only two losses this year have been at Pittsburgh and at Philadelphia both of whom seem like elite teams in the league. However if the Falcons keep playing the way they’re playing they may not have to travel until they make a road trip to Dallas in February. 

Week 10 preview. Thursday Edition

The Weekly previews are going to be coming out a little earlier now because of Thursday night football. So enjoy a little weekly preview action Thursday as opposed to our normal Friday affair. 

Baltimore @ Atlanta

Pick EM

How this game goes to me depends on the health of Roddy White, it comes out this morning that he’ll probably play but how well he plays will determine how the Falcons do. Without him putting forth something comparable to his normal effort I don’t see how the Falcons can beat a really balanced Ravens team, however with him putting up his regular Roddy White numbers I think Matt Ryan extends his ridiculous home record to 18-1. Roddy White could either have a soft tissue bruise or a bone bruise, a bone bruise obviously being the more serious of the two, I honestly just don’t like betting on guys with knee injuries who aren’t Kobe Bryant so I’ve got the Ravens going into the Georgia Dome and heating up Matty Ice.

Ravens 24

Falcons 20

Detroit @ Buffalo

Buffalo -3

A battle of two teams that don’t quite know how to win yet. The Bills were up by 5 in the 4^th quarter before eventually giving the game away because of their inability to hold on to the ball. The Lions loss was even more inexcusable as they were up by 10 on the Jets in the 4^th quarter with a few minutes left. They had a 3^rd down with the Jets having no timeouts and instead of running the ball and taking 40+ seconds off the clock they pass and get an incompletion. This would be partially excusable if their franchise Matthew Stafford was in the game, because you want to show confidence in your young players, however he wasn’t. Decisions like that make me think the Bills will finally get off the schnide this week even with no Stafford.

Bills 23

Lions 19

Minnesota @ Chicago

Minnesota -1

Has Brett Favre finally turned the corner? Did anybody expect 446 yards to be his career high? That completely blew me away, as long and storied as Favre’s career has been I would have expected him to have thrown for 500 yards at least a few times but apparently he’s never even crossed the 450 mark.  The Bears barely beat the Bills with Jay Cutler throwing no interceptions and the Bills turning the ball over 3 times. I have to say they can’t count on luck so good against a Vikings team still fighting for a playoff wildcard berth. Brett Favre strings two wins together for the first time this year.

Vikings 27

Bears 17

NY Jets @ Cleveland

Jets - 3

Fun Fact. Rex Ryan has multiple wigs always at the ready

 In his press conference this week Rex Ryan put on a blonde wig and put a pillow under his shirt to become his brother Rob who’s the defensive coordinator for the Browns. Rob is looking a lot better than Rex would have you think as the Browns are coming off 2 straight wins over the Saints and the Pats lead primarily by Rob Ryan’s defense. The Jets just scrapped out a win against the Lions in a game they had no business winning without the Lions absolutely handing it to them. I think the Browns don’t hand the Jets anything except the upset loss they should have gotten last week.

Browns 17

Jets 13

Cincinnati @ Indianapolis

Indianapolis -7.5

The Bengals showed some life at the end of their loss to the Steelers last week the question to me is whether that was too little too late. I don’t think they have much shoot at the playoffs at anymore so I wonder whether guys like T.O. and Chad Ochocinco can be counted on to still play as hard as they have been, or in Chad’s case complain as much as he has been. Who would have thought T.O. would be the better receiver of the two of these guys be a mile, as much attention as Chad draws he still just isn’t getting it done. Sure T.O. doesn’t have coverage rolling to his side but he soon will the way Chad isn’t producing and I doubt that will slow him as much as it’s slowed Mr. Ochocinco. The Colts just couldn’t stop Michael Vick although nobody has been able to this year so there’s no shame in that, there would be some shame in losing to the Bengals at home, but they won’t do that.

Colts 31

Bengals 23

Houston @ Jacksonville

Jacksonville – 1.5

Looking at this game I don’t really know what to say. The last time the Jaguars played a pass defense as bad as the Texans David Garrard threw 4 touchdown passes, rushed for one more, and then cured world hunger.  The Texans just got obliterated by the angriest QB around Phillip Rivers to the tune of 293 and 4 touchdowns while he was throwing to junior college rec team. Houston is just a middle of the road team now and on the road I don’t think they’re good enough to beat another mediocre team in the Jaguars.

Jaguars 24

Houston 20

Tennessee @ Miami

Tennessee – 2

Randy Moss= Dolphin destroyer

Apparently somebody on the Ravens spit on Channing Crowder which has him rightfully very upset. The NFL is investigating this but we all know nothing is going to come of it because nothing can be proven. I highly doubt Crowder would make something up, and I have a feeling the Ravens don’t feel bad about it especially with all the trash they talked after the game. I tell that story because that’s the only interesting thing I can that comes to my mind when I see the Dolphins. The Titans on the other hand premiere Randy Moss this week against a secondary he obliterated many times during his Patriot days, after watching him lay an absolute egg against said Patriots my confidence in Moss is shaken. However the Titans don’t need him to be anything more than a decoy to beat the Dolphins.

Titans 17

Dolphins 12

Carolina @ Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay -7

Raheem Morris should probably refrain from calling his team the best in the NFC after that horrendous end of game goal line call he made against the Falcons last week. The Panthers just got spanked by the Saints 34-3 last week and I don’t think things are going to get much better this week. Josh Freeman has been pretty good, but even better have been his two rookie receivers.  Arrelious Benn and the other Mike Williams have been revelations for the Bucs combined with the excellent special team’s play of Michael Spurlock have made this Bucs team a serious playoff threat. The Panthers on the other hand are now down not just DeAngelo Williams, but Jonathan Stewart and Tyrell Sutton. So the Panthers are going to be going on the road with Mike Goodson at starting running back and Jimmy Clausen. Yeah Bucs win big

Bucs 27

Panthers 10

Kansas City @ Denver

Kansas City – 1.5

After a disappointing loss in Oakland Kansas City looks to rebound against a poor Broncos team. Last week the Chiefs had an opportunity to create some distance between them and the rest of the AFC West however with the loss now all of the teams in the AFC West are within 1 ½ games of each other. Looking at Denver I don’t know how many weeks Josh McDaniel has left if the Broncos continue to play the way they have, combine that with his trade of Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn which is looking even worse and worse by the day for the Broncos. As good as Dwayne Bowe can look he still has huge problems with drops dropping what would have been a game sealing catch against the Raiders last week. The once place the Chiefs do struggle is in the passing game and that’s the one place where the Broncos excel. I think the Broncos spring an upset and keep McDaniel’s job safe for another week.

Broncos 24

Chiefs 20

Seattle @ Arizona

Arizona -3.5

After a promising start to the year the Seahawks have lost the past two games by a combined score of 10-74. I think the Seahawks might have seen enough of Charlie Whitehurst to realize he’s not the QB of the future or even the present. Luckily for Seahawk fans they’ll get everyone’s favorite bald QB back against the Cardinals who sport a solid 2-1 home record with their only loss being a very close 35-38 loss to a good Bucs team. Derek Anderson is pretty bad but he’s NFL bad, he belongs in the league except as a backup QB. However against a Seahawks team that can’t stop anybody running or passing I think the Cardinals finally have an explosive day at home.

Cardinals 31

Seahawks 24

Dallas @ NY Giants

Composite drawing of every Cowboys fan

NY Giants -14

Seriously I don’t know if they could make a line high enough for me to not bet on the Giants in this game. The Giants won their last game 41-7 while the Cowboys lost their last game 45-7. I do think the firing of Wade Phillips will make some difference with the Cowboys, but the fact remains they’re just an awful awful team.

Giants 34

Cowboys 14

St. Louis @ San Francisco

San Francisco -6

Frisco finally got their second win of the year over an even more inept Broncos team in England. As  much as Roger Goodell wants to expand the league giving them games like 49’ers vs. Broncos won’t have them begging for more NFL action. St. Louis’ last game was a tough last second loss to the Bucs, but now they’ve had a bye week to get Steven Jackson healthy or at least healthier which should be huge against the 49’ers. However Troy Smith did inject some life into the niners like I thought he would and I think this is the beginning of his run to get them back into the NFC West division race.

49ers 20

Rams 17

New England @ Pittsburgh

Steelers -5

It seemed like a classic trap game for the Pats last week and it was as the Browns demolished them by 20 points on the road. Pittsburgh barely held off a more than game Cincinnati team stopping a last second drive on the goal line to hold on to a slim victory. Both of these teams are trying to stake their claim as the best in the AFC and possibly the league. Big Ben will be without his starting left tackle Max Starks not just for this game but for the rest of the season as was placed on IR. Big Ben is probably  one of the few QB’s who could take a blow like that and still manage to be as good if not better, Roethlisberger has the best QB rating after contact in the NFL and he’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve starting this week against the Pats. Looking at this Steelers team I think while they may not be as tough running the football as we give them credit for their tough enough to pound a Pats team that struggles against the run.

Steelers 24

Pats 20

Philadelphia @ Washington

Philadelphia -3

Vick vs. Mcnabb II this time it’s for blood. The last time these two teams faced off against each other Michael Vick was knocked early in the game with a rib injury that allowed the Redskins to come away with the victory. I don’t think the skins will be as lucky this week with Vick not missing a beat last week dismantling the Colts I think he’ll want revenge on the team that knocked him out these past weeks. Looking at Washington it’s a team in disarray, people talk about the coaching issues in Minnesota but their seem to be just as many in Washington and when your starting QB and your head coach don’t trust each other it spells doom for your franchise. I think the Redskins get 4 full quarters of the Michael Vick experience.

Eagles 31

Redskins 23

Week 9 Preview

If you had Randy Moss being picked up by the Titans in your office pool please take a bow. If you had Shawne Merriman being picked up by the Bills in your office pool you should probably seek counseling because you have a gambling problem. A few big games this week for the AFC West and NFC South, and a couple of premieres of once elite players with new teams. I have to be honest with you, they're are only 3 or 4 games this week that I'm really looking forward to. The good thing about sports is that a good game can always sneak up on you and I'm sure a few will this week just like they do every other week.

Randy Moss is a Titan

The first thing I thought when Randy Moss joined the Titans was this, can Vince Young transform into a Daunte Culpepper circa 2003/2004? I don’t think he has the arm strength or accuracy to replicate the ridiculous numbers that Culpepper put up but I think you get my point. The Titans have already shown they’re not opposed to throwing a ball up for grabs multiple times in a game as shown by Kenny Britt’s performance a few weeks ago. You pair Randy Moss with Chris Johnson and you have yourself a pretty dynamic set of players that are a threat to score every snap, every snap Randy Moss feels like playing I mean. So perhaps this will be a good fit for Randy or perhaps he’ll be looking for another team in 4 weeks…….nah that couldn’t happen again could it?

Roid rage personified

Shawne Merriman is a Bill

In a significantly less glamorous story Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman joined the Buffalo Bills. This pretty much tells the entirety of the story, Merriman was once the most feared defensive player in the NFL destroying any team that dared to single block him and exploding through numerous double teams. Now I don’t know if calling him a shell of his former self would be too much praise. He’s recorded 4 sacks in the past 3 years, after having 17 in a 12 game season some 5 years ago. He was clearly never the same after the knee injury, and it’s truly sad because despite the steroid use during at least the 2004 season if not more I still think he was a great player. However it looks like we’re about to turn the lights out on the career of Shawne Merriman.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta

Atlanta -9

The two big divisional games this week are Bucs vs. Falcons and Raiders vs. Chiefs. I doubt many if anybody saw these two games being for the division lead in week 9. Atlanta is a team that has won all their games at home and stole a few on the road. Outside of the San Francisco game the Falcons won their previous two home games handily. Everyone is criticizing the Bucs because they haven’t beaten an elite opponent but they can only play who’s on the schedule. The more troubling thing about the Bucs is the one time they played an elite team they got absolutely blasted by the Steelers 38-7. That same Steelers team struggled against the Falcons at home squeaking out a 15-9 victory. The common opponent theory never really holds up that well so while that seems to say a lot it could end up counting for nothing. However you go to their next game against an elite team and they got blew out by the Saints, that’s enough for me to say they’ll lose once again to a team trying to establish themselves as elite.

Falcons 21

Bucs 13

Miami @ Baltimore

Baltimore -5

The Dolphins remain the true road warriors of the NFL having not lost a game on the road this year; they play a fresh Ravens team coming off their bye week looking to rebound after a disappointing performance against Buffalo. The Ravens didn’t lose the game, but had to eke out a win against a winless team on a questionable Ray Lewis strip in overtime. Looking at Miami you begin to wonder how they’ve won 4 games. They don’t stand out in any one area, they’re normally a dominant running team but this year they’re mediocre being ranked 16^th. Miami is average in pretty much every aspect of the game and I don’t see that being enough to beat a pretty game Baltimore trying to respond after a poor performance.

Baltimore 17

Miami 10

Chicago @ Buffalo

Chicago -3

Looking at the way Da Bears have played these past few weeks I would say that Buffalo is coming into this game looking like the better team. It’s never a good sign when you’re playing an 0-7 team and people like me think you’re not as good as they are. With all that said and as “feisty” as the Bills have been they still haven’t won a game. Chicago’s had a bye week to try to regain some of their early season offensive Mojo, try to get Matt Forte back involved in their offense and teach Jay Cutler that he wants to not throw it to the guys on the other team.  The thing that sucks about this game for the Bills is that it counts as a home game but it’s played in Toronto Canada yet counts as a home game for them. I think the Bears win this game just based on the fact I don’t think Jay Cutler can once again throw 4 interceptions……or at least not throw them all to the same guy. Wait what I'm saying its Jay Cutler. Bills get their first win.

Bills 23

Bears 17

New Orleans @ Carolina

New Orleans -6.5

"All Madden" Get it?? Geez I'm clever

Every time I think New Orleans will finally be exposed they come out with an impressive victory, this time Drew Brees went All Madden in the second half against the Steelers completing 20 of 22 passes to lead the Saints to victory. Carolina finally got their first win against San Francisco 2 weeks ago only to lose against a pretty good Rams team last week. The Panthers however played the Saints really close in a game in the superdome in week 4 only losing 14-16, so the question is can they build on that close game for a win in week 9. I have to say no, the Panthers are about to            re-replace their starting QB with their backup QB in week 10. That’s not the mark of a team searching for answers that’s the mark of a team blindly flailing trying to hit anything in the dark. Combine that with another game missed by DeAngelo Williams and the Saints get two wins straight.

Saints 27

Panthers 13

New England @ Cleveland

New England -4 ½

Just admire those locks in silence

Is this the best team in the AFC? The pats stand above everyone else as the only one loss team left in the NFL. The Pats only loss being to a pretty good Jets team on the road in week 2, and now they head out on the road once again to play a Browns team that gives everyone a battle. Cleveland just had their bye week following their upset of the Champs in New Orleans. The Patriots really seem to have reclaimed the identity of the championship years with Tom Brady at the center surrounded by a number of unsung players who he will get the most from. One of those players is Danny Woodhead a guy who you would think belongs in the stands upon first look. He has been a Swiss army knife for the Patriots doing pretty much everything they could ask of him and sort of replacing the very important Kevin Faulk. Even though the Browns make me nervous, especially with Eric Mangini having 2 weeks to prepare for a Patriots team he absolutely hates I’m still taking Tom Brady and his beautiful hair.

Patriots 20

Browns 13

New York Jets @ Detroit

Jets -4

Boy o boy did the Jets lay an egg last week on the offensive end. If you’re the Jets defense and you hold the Packers to 9 points you have to think that you’re going to win that game.  Mark Sanchez seems to have lost all of the good will that he built up in the first 5 or 6 weeks of the year with his past 3 performances, where’s he combined for 4 interceptions and only 1 touchdown. The Lions have had 3 straight solid performances, a 44-6 win against the Rams, a close 28-20 loss to the giants, and a 37-25 win against Washington. Ndamukong Suh has been playing like a man possessed, and leading a good Lions defensive line along with Kyle Vanden Bosch. You combine that with Matthew Stafford coming back and looking great throwing for 4 touchdown passes and I like the Lions in an upset at home.

Lions 17

Jets 14

San Diego @ Houston

San Diego -3

The Chargers are like Frankenstein or Dracula or perhaps even Blackula, they just refuse to die. Every time you think they’re going to finally die they win a game you don’t think they’ll win and you look at the schedule and realize they could still end up 10-6. Houston on the other hand is officially back in the middle of the road. Early in the year it looked like they’d finally taken the next step from the perennial 8-8 team to a playoff contender, and while looks can be deceiving the sure look like an 8-8 team now. Now is around the time when the Chargers string off 6 or 7 wins straight and get the whole league scared of all their talent again, and I thought this year wouldn’t be the time they do it but then I look at the schedule after this Houston game its Denver at home, Colts on the road, Oakland, Kansas City, and San Francisco at home, followed by Cincinnati and Denver on the road. I could easily see them winning 6 of those 7 games. First things first though they need to beat the Texans on the road where they have continually looked terrible all year. I’ll just leave it at this, Phillip Rivers vs. the 31^st ranked pass defense in the NFL. I’ll take Rivers

Chargers 38

Texans 27

Arizona @ Minnesota

Minnesota -8

This is a battle of really bad teams; the Cardinals at least have played well at home in a few games while the Vikings have been bad pretty much everywhere. Brett Favre plays on basically a broken ankle and ends up leaving not because of the ankle but because he busts his chin open on a hard hit late in the game.  I still can’t get over the fact I ever thought the Cowboys or the Vikings could make it to the super bowl, their coach are Brad “to catch a predator” Childress and Wade “Teddy Bear” Phillips.  But this week isn’t about making the super bowl it’s about beating a Cardinals team that’s terrible on the road and I think the Vikings are good enough to do that.

Vikings 20

Cardinals 9

N.Y. Giants @ Seattle

N.Y. Giants -7

Seattle was the latest victim of the runaway Oakland Raiders freight train to the tune of 33-3. That seems to be par the course for the Seahawks; once you get them away from Quest field they seem to be easy pickings for pretty much any competent team. However this week they’re not away from Quest field they’re back home, but they’re playing more than a competent team, they’re playing the best team in the NFC the Giants. I think the Seahawks run defense was exposed last week against the Raiders and I think the Giants continue the trend pounding them on the ground with a combination of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs.

Giants 24

Seahawks 17

Kansas City @ Oakland

Oakland -1

When we look back at this season will this be the game when the west was won….. The AFC west that is. I don’t know that but I do know that both of these teams can run the football against pretty much anyone when healthy. You combine that with a rainy day and it seems the perfect formula for a tough grind it out game between AFC west rivals. The Chiefs are 5-2 with the number one rushing offense in the league and the most explosive running back this side of Chris Johnson in Jamal Charles. If there’s one thing the Raiders love to do it's give up big runs they’ve given up the most 20+ and 40+ runs this season. On the other side of the ball Kansas City struggles defending the Air and Jason Campbell has put up 500 yards 4 touchdowns and no interceptions in the past week. However the Raiders will be without their top wide out In Louis Murphy and might be without their best pass catcher in Zach Miller. That combined with a gimpy Nnamdi Asomugha probably sitting on the bench make it a much tougher matchup for the Raiders. But I just can’t pick against a team at home with their first sellout in over a year, especially after they won the past two games 92-17.

Raiders 20

Kansas City 17

Indianapolis @ Philadelphia

Eagles -3

Laser Rocket Arm

This just in, Peyton Manning doesn’t care who he plays with they will play well because he’s Peyton Manning damn it. No excuses. I have a 5’8 Mike Hart at running back that has 70 yards coming into this year? He’ll get 84 in the game. I lose arguably the best tight end in the game Dallas Clark? I replace him with Jacob Tamme who has 6 career catches and get him 6 in the game.  It doesn’t matter who Peyton Manning plays with he’s still Peyton Manning. He may already have 4 MVP’s but he’s just as deserving to win it again this year. The Eagles finally get Michael Vick back after 3 games and a bye week a middle of the road colt’s defense that struggles against the run. However the one thing the Colts can do is rush the passer and Michael Vick seems to get hit more than any other QB. The difference is with the Colts those sacks just aren’t sacks, they’re sack fumbles and I think the Colts ultimately use those to win the turnover battle and the game.

Colts 27

Eagles 20

Dallas @ Green Bay

Green Bay -7

Aaron Rodgers finally gave Brett Favre his come uppins on behalf of the Packers and the city of Green Bay. Now that’s he’s slayed one proverbial Dragon it’s time for a rest as the packers go into the bye week…..oh what’s that it’s not their bye week? Oh sorry they’re playing the Cowboys; I tend to confuse that and a bye week. So How bout them cowboys? Worst team in the league? Perhaps, especially after getting pounded by a mediocre at best Jaguars team. Since Tony Romo went down a team I didn’t think could play much worse has absolutely called it quits on this season on defense. Doing that against Aaron Rodgers is a recipe for disaster.

Packers 27

Dallas 10

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati

Pittsburgh – 4 ½

This game is Cincinnati’s season more or less; they’re currently 2-5 and 4^th in the division.  A win here would put them at 3-5, but 2-1 in their division so there would still be hope but a loss puts them at 2-6 with a game against the Steelers on the road looming. As far as the Steelers go they lost last week to a surprisingly game Saints team lead by a rejuvenated Drew Brees. I think there’s not a lot to garner from that game, sometimes good teams lose and I still think the Steelers are a good team. However if you get the ball on the 1 inch line and can’t punch it in with 3 tries perhaps you’re not playing the tough hardnosed Steeler brand football that we’ve come to expect. That won’t hurt them this week however.

Steelers 23

Cincinnati 13