Tuesday Morning Week 9 Recap.

Week 9 Predictions Heads up: 9-4

Week 9 Predictions against the Spread: 9-3-1

Record so far: 63-50

Week 9 was a pretty good week for me overall. I did pretty well on my predictions and the Raiders won their biggest game in 8 years. The Cowboys are now officially without a doubt the worst team in the league and are fighting to become the worst team in Cowboys history. The Patriots lost in an absolute blow out to Bill Belichick's most hated rival. I don’t know if I could ask for much more in a week from football. This week we were introduced to Jacoby Ford, Jacob Tamme, and Seyi Ajirotutu. Speaking of Ajirotutu I don’t know if anybody is playing better football right now than Phillip Rivers this week he went out against the Texans and threw for 300 yards and 4 touchdowns on only 23 attempts which is insane. However if that wasn’t crazy enough for you, he does all that without his top 4 receivers relying on the aforementioned Ajirotutu, and Randy McMichael to dissect the Texans secondary. I have to say as big a man crush as I have on Tom Brady and Peyton Manning Phillip Rivers has been the MVP of the league so far through 9 weeks.

Jerry Jones finally takes Wade Phillips out back with the shotgun

This is hanging on my office wall

Seriously was there a sadder team to watch last weekend than the Dallas Cowboys? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team give up as easily as the cowboys did against the Packers. 45-7 and the game wasn’t even that close as the Packers eased off the gas pedal in the entirety of the 4^th. I assume everyone’s seen the Mike Jenkins play where he’s at the goal line and doesn’t even attempt to make the tackle, a lot of times we talk about teams quitting but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it any clearer than that. As much as Jerry Jones talked about how changing coaches isn’t the thing to do and their isn’t a track record of success from it he had to make this move. If only for mercies sake alone, Wade Phillips needed to be put out of his own misery coaching a team that had clearly given up on him and whatever he had to impart upon them. You combine that with the injury to Tony Romo and a season that already seemed lost was thrown into the abyss. This goes right along with the coaching history of Phillips everywhere he goes it takes around 2 or 3 years for the players to tune him out and for the record to reflect it.  Now where do the Cowboys go from here, the fact it took them this long to fire Wade Phillips doesn’t speak particularly highly of Jason Garrett or anyone else on that staff. However if Jason Garrett were to put together a respectable season he could have a chance at the job going into 2010 however the odds of that seem unlikely. A bigger question to me is whether this team had the talent to compete and not the coaching or do they require more talent as well, as important as coaching is I don’t think a team as talented as the Cowboys are supposed to be can go out and get crushed like they have the past few weeks. Knowing Jerry Jones I see a Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden in the cowboys future at a crisp 7 or 8 million dollars a year.

We can officially welcome the Oakland Raiders back to the land of the living

With 3 straight wins going into the bye week the Oakland Raiders are above 500 this late in the season for the first time since 2002 when they made the super bowl. I doubt any Raider fans have delusions of their team making the Super Bowl but a division crown isn’t nearly as farfetched as it would have seemed this time in august. The AFC West is anyone’s guess right now with the Chargers seemingly righting the ship and Kansas City still a half game ahead but the Raiders have a leg up on both of them with its sterling 3-0 divisional record. However looking at the Raiders schedule the rest of the way and things won’t be easy, if they want to win this division or at least make the playoffs it’s going to be a huge struggle.  At Pittsburgh, Miami, at San Diego, at Jacksonville, Denver, Indy, and the last game is at Kansas City. Looking at those games I would  say that I think the Raiders are only going to win 3 which would put them at 8-8, but as this Raider team has already shown they can’t be counted out as easily as the Raider teams of the past few years. One of the biggest stories of this team that doesn’t get enough attention is the rebirth of the Raider defense, right now they’re only ranked 7^th in total defense and 26^th against the run however in the past 3 weeks they've held teams to 47, 75, and 104 yards rushing. That 104 yard game was last week against the Chiefs who came in with the league’s top rushing attack averaging 190 yards per game and had 3 straight 200 yard rushing performances. Richard Seymour has been a force for the Raiders at defensive tackle so far in 8 weeks he has more individual tackles and sacks than he did in 16 games last year. The Raiders might have finally hit on an offensive tackle prospect with Jared Veldheer out of Hillsdale College; while he gave up a sack to Tamba Hali last week he held his own for a large portion of the game and has come on in recent weeks to be one of their most consistent linemen. It seems the Raiders might have finally learned something the good teams known for a while; you build your team from the offensive and defensive line out. Perhaps all this talent in the trenches can propel the raiders out of the one they’ve been in for the past few years.

Does anybody know who the best team in the NFL is?

Picture unrelated: This blog has gone to long without Mel Kiper's hair

It can’t be the Patriots after they get demolished by the Cleveland browns by 20 points. Is it the Steelers after they squeak by against the Bengals at home? The Ravens who beat a solid Miami team but have already lost to the earlier mentioned Patriots. Maybe the Falcons, but they were a goal line stand away from losing to Tampa Bay this week. Perhaps your team of choice is the Giants being as they've strung off 4 straight wins a few of them in impressive fashion. The only problem with them is how entirely unimpressive that loss in Indy was early in the season.The Packers, they did just beat the Cowboys 45-7 and have played well the past few weeks, but honestly how much is beating the cowboys worth…half a win? A quarter win? We always talk about parity in sports well this is what parity looks like. No dominant teams, a league full of teams who we can all poke holes in. A few teams who seem pretty good, but every week you look at who they play and think that team has a chance. There are so few gimmes anymore in the NFL because so many of the teams are so closely clumped together. There’s the 5 or 6 elite/really good teams, followed by pack of 15 middle of the road teams where 3 or 4 playoff teams will emerge, and then the rest of the league which is pretty bad.  Honestly I have no idea who’s going to win or even make the super bowl right now. There are 8 or so teams I could all see playing in the super bowl right now and part of me is excited in the fact that there’s still so much up in the air, but I’m also disappointed in that no team has really come into this season and taken the league by the reins. 

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

Tuesday Morning Week 8 Recap.

Week 8 Predictions Heads up: 8-5

Week 8 Predictions against the Spread: 8-5

Record so far: 54-46

Week 8 had a rough beginning with the early games on Sunday being absolutely terrible. The Jacksonville Jaguars blowing out the Cowboys, Denver and San Francisco being themselves in England, and Green Bay and New York playing an incredibly sloppy game in the meadowlands.  However the 2^nd half of Sunday held up much better with a very exciting Arizona Tampa Bay game, the Saints playing like their old selves against the Steelers and San Diego keeping themselves on life support with a win against the Titans.  Then it was closed out with a masterful performance by Peyton Manning on Monday night reminding us that he could probably win a few games surrounded by a rec team. On to the quick hits.

Doesn't Brad Childress look like he belongs on “To Catch a Predator”

Chris Hanson is onto you Childress

That’s more of a side note to the ridiculousness that is going on right now in Minnesota. So it’s written into Brad Childress’ contract that he has complete control over all personal decisions without having to consult with anyone. So of course since his authority and decision making had been questioned it’s ok to jettison a player they traded a 3^rd round pick for 4 weeks after picking him up, and possibly having to pay his salary for the rest of  the year. This move sort of shows the absolute ineptitude of the Minnesota Vikings decision making process. You go out during the summer multiple times to convince a player who doesn’t want to play to come back. You then trade a 3^rd round pick for Randy Moss and are surprised when he says something controversial in a press conference or when he doesn’t play as hard as you would like him to? This is what Randy Moss does, this is what he’s been doing since he came into the league to trade for him and act surprised when this happens shows a complete lack of foresight on the part of the Minnesota Vikings. Sure nobody liked what he did on that play with pass interference he clearly didn’t even try to make a stab at that ball, but that’s what you get when you sign Randy Moss. To give up a 3^rd round pick for him for a 4 week stay is an inexcusable lack of judgment by what we thought was a super bowl team before the season. It just goes to show how truly important coaching is, a good coach can combine personalities, and can handle the disparate ones, and bad coaches cannot. Brad Childress ladies and gentleman is not just a bad coach, he's an awful one.

Speaking of questionable coaching moves……

The 5th sign of the Apocalypse.

So Mike Shanahan decides to bench Donovan Mcnabb for the final drive of the game, this is a bit problematic if he’s playing bad since you’ve already invested in him with a big trade in the offseason and you want to give him every chance to succeed. However this becomes even more insane when he’s replaced by Rex Grossman of all people, who then proceeds to do what he always does and gives up a sack/fumble on his first play. Ballgame lions win get Ndamaka Suh his defensive rookie of the year trophy. Donovan Mcnabb hadn’t been playing all that terrible going into that drive, 210 yards 1 touchdown and 1 pick, nothing spectacular but nothing bench worthy either. After the game Shanahan comes out and says that Mcnabb doesn’t have the knowledge of the 2 minute offense that Rex Grossman does. Really? That’s the best excuse you could come up with? It’s not like Mcnabb got there late, he was there all offseason from OTA’s on and participated in everything imaginable if he didn’t have the offense down by then he shouldn’t have been the starter. Then a few days later he says that the problem was his hamstring injury and that he’s not in the kind of shape they want him to be to run the 2 minute drill. Mcnabb has run the 2 minute drill 4 times for the Redskins you would assume that if he wasn't in the shape to run it you would have said something after the first one. Mike Shanahan has already alienated one member of the Redskins in Albert Hanyseworth and it didn't bite him in the ass, I don't know if he can do it with their starting QB and expect this season to end any better the previous Redskin seasons. Maybe Shanahan looks at Grossman and see's all of what he saw in Jay Cutler a strong arm that can throw an interception with the best of em, and maintain an insane amount of confidence after 1........2........3........hell even 4 interceptions. I mean honestly how could he resist. The question becomes can Shanahan put his Cutler urges aside and try to guide the Redskins with a competent QB or will his itch get the best of them. Oh whats that.....the Redskins just worked out Jamarcus Russell......may god have mercy upon Shanahans soul.

An Old Fashioned AFC West Battle

If somebody would have told you the week 9 game between the Chiefs and Raiders would have been for the lead in the AFC West would you have believed them? Both teams are run first teams with an explosive playmaker in the run game and an adequate QB behind center. Both teams count on their front four to create pressure for their better than expected secondary to capitalize. The Chiefs have Brandon Flowers coming into his own as a shutdown cornerback and their young draft pick Eric Berry turning into the ball hawking safety they hoped when they drafted him 5th overall. The Raiders have mainstay Nnamdi Asomugha finally getting some help on the other side from Stanford Routt who is finally becoming the player the Raiders thought they drafted in the 2^nd round. Up front the Chiefs count on Tamba Hali to create havoc on the edge and he’s doing it with 7 sacks which puts him in the top 5 of the league. The Raiders go with a pass rush by committee approach with Richard Seymour, Matt Shaughnessy, and Kamerion Wimbley all having more than 4.5 sacks. It will be a battle of the #1 rushing offense vs the #2 rushing offense. A battle of a Raider team that has beat its past two opponents by a combined score of 92-17 and chiefs team on its own 2 game winning streak. Now they face off in Oakland in front of presumably half full Oakland Coliseum for the division lead, whoever stays true to their identity of running the football and getting after the quarterback will come out the victor. 

Week 8 Preview

As crazy as week 7 was with blowouts coming from 2 AFC West teams and 2 high scoring shootouts in the early games we can only hope for a week as good this time around. The AFC is shaping up to be a battle between the big two of the AFC North(Pittsburgh and Baltimore) against the big two of the AFC East ( New York and New England) While the NFC is starting to look like the Giants conference to lose. However we’re only half way there and there are a lot of stories still left to be written.

Randy Moss starring in: The Return

A few weeks ago The Patriots sent Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for a draft pick and nothing else. Now it’s time for him to return to the Patriots who haven’t loss sent they sent him away but have missed the explosive element he added to their offense. The Patriots are looking like the Patriots of old with a collection of small receivers who will work themselves open in pretty much any part of the field.  However the Viking have enjoyed both the deep threat that Randy Moss provides as well as the attention it draws which has opened up space for Percy Harvin to get back to his play making ways of last year. However this hasn’t lead to a drastic increase in wins as they’re only 1-2 since adding Randy Moss.  This has to be the game Randy had circled once he got traded and I’m genuinely excited to see what he does.

Darren McFadden and Mike Williams starring in: Now who’s the bust?

The Raiders Seahawks game stars two college superstars who seemed like busts during the early part of their careers. It’s especially exciting to me because I absolutely loved both of these players coming out of college and was ecstatic when the Raiders picked McFadden 4^th out of Arkansas and was almost as excited when they picked up Mike Williams only to drop him 5 weeks later. McFadden only being in his third year; the bust label seemed a bit quickly placed however Mike Williams ate himself out of the league multiple times after being picked 10^th by the Detroit Lions so the label was more apt. However both players have been rejuvenated this year and are putting together solid years, or in McFadden’s case a pro bowl quality one. The question is who will emerge this game with another sterling performance to add to their 2010 resume. Last week McFadden had 196 total yards and 4 touchdowns while Williams had a solid 11 catches for 87 yards and one visit to the end zone. I doubt either puts up similar numbers but I also doubted either player would be this good this year so we know how much I know when it comes to these guys.

Miami @ Cincinnati

Cincinnati -2.5

“Oh hi there Carson, sorry for saying all those bad things about you all these weeks. We’re still cool right?” On behalf of Screen and Roll out I’d like to send my apologies to Carson Palmer who demonstrated that he is in fact not a corpse and is a real live quarterback. Let’s see if he can put together a performance like that two weeks in a row. The most troubling part of last week’s Falcons Bengals game as a Bengals fan is Carson Palmer has a once in a season game for him and you still lose. The Dolphins can’t win games at home but are currently undefeated on the road.  The Dolphins are the epitome of a 3-3 team not particularly good in any area but not awful in any area either. Something tells me the Dolphins get their first loss of the year on the road this year and I started reading the literature I’ve been getting from the Church of Caron Palmer.

Bengals 24

Dolphins 20

Jacksonville @ Dallas

Pick Em

Say hello to your starting QB Dallas

I really have no idea who to pick in this game. Dallas is absolutely done. Their season is over, no Tony Romo for the rest of the year and they’re 3 games back in their division. Jon Kitna isn’t leading a comeback from the brink of oblivion, but he might lead them to a victory or two during this year. As far as wins go I don’t think you can ask for much more than playing the Jags at home. The only team the Jags have beaten on the road is the Bills and they did that in a shootout. As bad as the cowboys have been and as bad as they’re going to be they’re still better than the Bills. Watching that Monday night game the only thing I took from it for the Cowboys was that Dez Bryant is a legit play maker right now. As bad as Jon Kitna and that offensive line are he still has the makings of 3 go to players at the wide out position in Miles Austin, a rejuvenated Roy Williams, and the up and coming Dez Bryant. I think that’s enough to beat a Jags team that doesn’t know how to travel.

Cowboys 31

Jags 24

Washington @ Detroit

Detroit -1.5

The glorious return of Matthew Stafford at home against a Redskins team coming off a 4 interception day.* Correction a Redskins team with DeAngelo Hall coming off a 4 interception day. He was absolutely ridiculous last week making a 1 handed interception that he took to the house as well as 3 more interceptions of Jay Cutler. Obviously that has a lot to do with Jay Cutler who still wouldn’t avoid DeAngelo Hall right now according to his own words. I think we all want our Quarterbacks to be confident, but when you’ve thrown as many touchdowns as interceptions a little humility wouldn’t hurt. Either way despite those 4 picks the Redskins are still the leagues 2^nd worst team in pass defense so they’ll still vulnerable maybe just not as vulnerable on Hall’s side. The last time we saw Detroit they played what seems like the best in the NFC Giants to a very close game on the road. Combine that with their home beating of the Rams and I like the Lions in this one.

Lions 27

Redskins 17

Green Bay @ NY Jets

Jets -6

Don't Blitz this man. Or that mustache

As tough a win as the Packers got last week I don’t know how the Jets aren’t favored by more coming into this game. They’re a 5-1 team that can pretty much do everything and they’re getting a presumably healthy Darrelle Revis back this week.  The Packers on the other hand are 1-2 on the road having lost to both the Redskins and the Bears; neither an overly impressive team. However both of those games were games where the Packers shoot themselves in the foot without a doubt the question becomes have the Packers put those problems to bed or are they still around. With no running game in Green Bay I don’t know how they’re going to get the jets out of their nickel and dime sets or how they’re going to get those 3^rd and shorts that offenses need to get going. I think they’re going to be in a lot of 3^rd and longs which play right into the Jets defenses hands as they’ll bring the house. Here’s where I see the game turning, Aaron Rodgers eats blitzes for lunch, and he prefers his lunch to be the big play variety. Rex Ryan doesn’t change his style for any QB and that will be his undoing this weekend. Pack in the upset

Green Bay 30

Jets 27

Buffalo @ Kansas City

Kansas City -8

After getting robbed against the Texans the Chiefs took out their frustration on an over matched Jaguars team beating them in pretty much every phase of the game on their way to a 42-20 blowout. Dwayne Bowe might have finally turned the corner and put his drops behind him, that toe tapping back of the end zone grab last week was absolutely diseased.  The Chiefs still run the rock the best in the league and stop the run just almost as well being ranked 5^th in run defense. The Bills aren’t looking to run the football they’re looking to pass it early, often, and deep. Ryan Fitzpatrick for all the jokes I’ve made about him has definitely livened up this Bills passing attack, as they’re currently in the top 10 of the NFL. Watching the Bills last week play the Ravens that tight I can’t discount them because I still think the Ravens are a good team. I just don’t think the Bills have learned how to win games yet, and I don’t think they figure it out this week.

Chiefs 31

Bills 30

Denver @ San Francisco

Pick Em

Wow. This sure will get people in London excited about football. Getting to watch two of the worst teams in the NFL play, wow what a treat. For all those 49er fans calling for David Carr they got their wish and then he was just as terrible as anyone who knows football knew he would be. The 49’ers have some skilled players they just don’t have any one to get them the ball. We can’t talk about terrible without bringing up the Denver Broncos and the putrid performance they put together last week, they were beat by 45 points. The game was essentially over in the first quarter as they were down 24-0 at that point however they made it respectable scoring 14 points to the Raiders 59. Games like that tend to be aberrations however I don’t know how you can like the Broncos after what just happened to them last week, maybe they rally around each other and their sense of pride and beat the 49’ers, I just this is going to be Troy Smiths coming out party. How he wasn’t the choice of the 3 Qb’s the 49’ers had to begin with I’m not sure, but I’ve always like that guy and I think this week he show’s me why.

49ers 27

Broncos 20

Carolina @ St. Louis

St. Louis -3

Carolina got their first win last week against the 49’ers which doesn’t say much about the Panther’s that we didn’t already know. The Rams on the other hand are coming off a heartbreaking last second loss to the Bucs on the road. They lost with less than 20 seconds left on the clock, but now they return home where they’re undefeated this season. With no DeAngelo a lot of people would think the Carolina running attack would be less effective but when Williams went down last year Jonathan Stewart was absolutely untouchable leading several fantasy teams (mine included) to championships. The problem is the Panthers passing game hasn’t been good enough to open up lanes for either Stewart or Williams, last week was the exception as Matt Moore managed to get going for over 300 yards. Despite the passing attack they put together last week the Panthers still struggled on the ground. After losing a game they shouldn’t have last week on the road the Rams will recover against a team that still hasn’t put together a balanced offensive game.

Rams 24

Panthers 20

Tampa Bay @ Arizona

Arizona -3

Actually called poor mans Jamarcus Russel

Arizona is back on the Derek Anderson express after Max Hall was knocked out of yet another game. Tampa Bay just got a solid win at home against a very competitive Rams team prompting their coach to declare them the best team in the NFC. Sorry to break it to you Raheem but you’re not even in the best team in your division. However they’ll be the best team on the field against the Cardinals. Josh Freeman is looking like what a lot of people thought Jamarcus Russell would be when he came into the league, a big QB who’s mobile, tough to bring down, and with a cannon for an arm, hopefully that’s the only time I’ll ever use Jamarcus Russell and Josh Freeman in the same sentence if you’re a Bucs fan.

Bucs 17

Cardinals 13

Tennessee @ San Diego

San Diego -3.5

Tennessee can’t seem to lose against NFC teams while the Chargers just can’t seem to beat anybody. However this isn’t a NFC vs. AFC battle this is a conference game where the Titans don’t fare as well. After an absolutely insane performance last week from Kenny Britt can we count on something similar against a Chargers defense that is still getting the job done despite their special teams and turnover struggles. At 2-5 the Chargers are still ranked 1^st in total offense and defense making those stats seem absolutely worthless. Every week seems like the week we stop picking the Chargers but once again they’re the favorite against a 4-2 coming off a solid win. I just can’t pick the Chargers, they may have all the pieces but they just don’t fit.

Titans 27

Chargers 20

Minnesota @ New England

Patriots -5.5

Tom Brady In the two games since the Randy Moss trade he has been mediocre at best, if not outright bad. He has 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions over the past two games, while in the 4 prior to that he had 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. This seems like the perfect opportunity to show the New England what they gave up to the Vikings. It looks more and more likely that Brett Favre will once again cheat injury and manage to play another Sunday. The Patriots have strung together 4 straight wins after their loss in week 2 to an impressive Jets team. They seem to be coming together like the Patriots teams of old with an offense that’s just effective enough to win the game and a defense that will always keep their offense in the game. However I just can’t imagine Randy Moss not going off and putting a nice 150 yard 2 touchdown game on the pats just for the sake of revenge.

Vikings 30

Patriots 24

Seattle @ Oakland

Oakland -1.5

As good as Oakland looked last week they could just as easily look as bad this week, but honestly after watching that game and then looking at how the Seahawks put up their points I just don’t see it. The Seahawks are a team that will win most if not all of their games at home but continue to struggle on the road.  The Seahawks have been excellent stopping the run this year ranked 2^nd in the league and this week they will truly be tested against Darren McFadden coming off his best game as a pro. Combine that with a Raider defense finally having success against a legitimate offense and there’s seems to be a lot of momentum for the Raiders. However you could have said the same thing after they beat the Chargers and they proceeded to lay an egg against a winless 49’ers team. However that was also without Darren McFadden who seems to be the motor to this raider offense on the ground and through the air. Raiders make it to .500

Raiders 27

Seahawks 24

Pittsburgh @ New Orleans

Saints -1.5

The Steelers come off a game that they shouldn’t have won against the Dolphins and now go into a battle of the past 2 Super Bowl champs. Both teams seem to be headed in different directions however with the Steelers cruising at 5-1 and the Saints struggling at 4-3 coming off a blowout loss to the Browns. Neither team looked good last week, but the Saints have only been 1-2 at home which is incredibly troubling because that home field advantage was a huge part of what lead them to their NFL championship last year. The saints typically like to get their running game going to set up the play action pass but that’s going to be incredibly difficult against the Steelers defense. 2 of the Saints 3 losses have been against 3-4 teams and they have a lot of trouble blocking schemes that disguise their pressure and that’s exactly what the Steelers love to do. I think the Saints are going to be on the wrong end of two straight AFC North beat downs. Steelers go into who dat nation and crush the Saints.

Steelers 38

Saints 24

Houston @ Indianapolis

Indianapolis -5.5

A rematch of the game that started the year off with a bang, we were introduced to Arian Foster and vulnerable Colts team all at the same time in Houston during week 1.  Has the Colts run defense improved enough to not have a repeat of what happened in week 1? Peyton Manning is so great we take him for granted but once again he’s putting up MVP caliber numbers, so far this year he has 12 touchdown passes to go along with only 2 interceptions. As bad as that week 1 game looked the Colts were an Austin Collie fumble away from having that game within a touchdown. Speaking of Austin Collie, but he and Dallas Clark will be out this week with Dallas Clark being placed on IR. Every week Peyton Manning seems to pull another player out of thin air and make him into a solid NFL player I just wonder who it will be this week. As good as Peyton Manning is, I still think the Colts run defense is terrible and the numbers agree as they’re ranked 24^th against the run. Arian Foster is averaging 5.5 yards a carry and I think it will only improve against the Colts. However if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s this, never pick against  Peyton Manning when the lights come on, he’s money in general but during night games he’s solid gold. Colts win despite not being able to stop the run.

Colts 34

Texans 30

Look out folks. Screen & Roll Out has just joined the likes of Thomas Edison by utilizing the recorded audio format. We just put up our NBA preview for the Western Conference. Enjoy.

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Tuesday Morning Week 7 Recap.

Week 7 Predictions Heads up 7-7 

Week 7 Predictions against the Spread 6-8 

Record so far: 46-41

Wow. As crazy as this year has been in the NFL week 7 was probably the craziest week we’ve had this year. 9 Interception returns for touchdowns on Sunday which was an NFL record by the way. The Raiders basically drop a 60 bomb on the Broncos. Drew Brees throws 4 picks to the BROWNS at home. Carson Palmer decides he’s heard enough of my mouth and goes off for 412 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Refs absolutely blow their whistles too soon and rob the Dolphins of a win at home, and keep the Steelers on top of the AFC. Seriously there are honestly too many stories for this week’s quick hits I’m pretty excited so let’s get to it.

The Autumn Wind is a Raider

Truly the rims of Future Pro Bowler

So could you please raise your hand if you had the Raiders beating the Broncos? Ok thank you that looks like about half the class. So now could you please raise your hand if you had the Raiders beating the Broncos by 45 points? Yeah….didn‘t think so. So I say Oakland’s gonna lose on Sunday, not only do they win, they score the most points in franchise history. This was probably the most dominating performance I’ve seen on all 3 phases of the game in years. This was like watching college football. It seemed like Boise State vs. Nevada or something. Darren McFadden seems to have finally turned the corner and become the elite back the Raiders thought they drafted with the 4^th overall selection. He’s only 3 yards behind Adrian Peterson in yards per game at a sterling 111.4 and he’s averaging an astounding 5.5 yards per rush. He put on a truly dynamic performance reminiscent of some of his more explosive days back in Arkansas. Defensively they shut down the top 3 passing attack of the Broncos holding Kyle Orton to 165 yards total passing, while sacking him 4 times and taking his first pass to the house for a pick 6. The fans in London can’t be too happy about getting to watch that Broncos v 49’ers matchup now, truly a battle of football elites. The question remains, what do the Raiders turn this victory into? Does this become a sign of things to come for the Raiders or does this become an unbelievable anomaly in another forgettable season in Oakland. Watching this team I’m still not sure, I’m hoping it’s the former rather than the later but only time will tell.

Ok we can finally say it………the Cowboys are finished

Even if getting blasted by the Giants on Monday night doesn’t seal it. Tony Romo breaking his Clavicle does. The normal recovery time on an injury like that is 8-10 weeks. So yeah I’m going to go ahead and put a fork in the Cowboys season. I was watching the Monday night game with my brother and I’ll tell you the exact moment I knew the Cowboys were going to lose. They get two interceptions on the first two Giant's possessions, both on tipped passes and they didn’t turn them both into touchdowns. They got the ball on the 6 and punched that one in, but then they got it on the 14 or so and settled for a field goal. That was it for me, you have to put your foot on the gas early and the cowboys don’t know how to do it. Even after the Dez Bryant punt return the feeling still remained the same. They can’t stop the Giants, once the Giants stop killing themselves they’re gonna paste em. All of sudden the Giant receivers stop tipping passes and catch them and its 21-20 at halftime and the game is essentially over. If you get 3 first half turnovers from a team and end up behind at the half you’re not the better team. The Giants proceeded to crush them in the 3^rd quarter before letting off the gas in the 4^th for a 41-35 victory that wasn’t that close. Now here’s the question I have, does this injury save Wade Phillips job? Can he really be blamed for a Tony Romoless team not making the playoffs? I think he should have been gone around week 4 but he wasn’t and now he’s without their most important offensive player for most likely the rest of the season.  I don’t know what Jerry Jones does but I do know that his daughter is absolutely terrifying. Seriously shes like Jerry Jones with a wig. I'm gonna have nightmares.(Google her, I'm not putting a picture in the blog. I have to check this thing once a day)

Well Better luck next year guys.

I knew they were fake just not this fake

Whenever I’m writing my weekend preview I’m always pretty worried about how wrong I’m going to be on stuff and I never fail to be really wrong on things. Observe last week’s Broncos over Raiders pick. However when I picked the Saints over the Browns it was with the caveat that I thought they’d win but I thought they’d scrape it out because something was still wrong with the Saints. I was wrong about them scraping out a win against the Browns. There was a blow out to be seen in the Superdome, the Saints getting blown out by a Cleveland Browns team that absolutely owned Drew Brees. I thought that the Saints hadn’t solved all of their offensive or defensive problems, but Sunday was mostly about offense. The Saints offense couldn’t do anything right. Drew Brees was under pressure constantly, he looked like a shorter Brett Favre out there throwing passes he had absolutely no business throwing. His first interception to David Bowens was a truly Favrian effort. He was wrapped up essentially, but instead of taking the sack and living to see another day he tries to throw the ball away and throws it towards the line; of course it bounces off of David Bowens hands then off of Jahri Evans leg and finally back into Bowens hands for a pick 6. He throws 4 picks total in this game and already this season has a grand total of 10 interceptions, he only had 11 all of last year. On the defensive side of the ball the Saints had trouble stopping a Browns offense lead by Colt Mccoy. I'll give the Browns credit in this, they played to win this game from the outset. They used all the trickeration they had in the books and kudos to them for that. However its week 8 and the Saints just got spanked 30-17 at home by the Browns. That truly doesn’t bode well for New Orleans and their chances of throwing another big bash in the bayou.  

Is this the week that the streak finally ends?

Every great streak in sports eventually ends. The Connecticut womyn’s basketball team will eventually lose a game. Cal Ripken eventually had to hang em up and let his streak go. The all time great UCLA teams of the early 70’s eventually lost to Notre Dame after compiling to me the most impressive team streak: 88 straight victories. The Los Angeles Lakers strung together 33 straight wins before their NBA all time steak ended. It seems that this might be the week that the greatest record in Pro sports finally gets its final number as Brett Favre might have to sit out this week and end his consecutive games streak at 291.  It comes out to an even more amazing 314 if you include the playoffs. Brett Favre has not one but two stress fractures in his ankle. I write this article knowing full and well Brett Favre could easily still decide that he’s Brett Favre and play anyway and be great. I just don’t know how a 40 year old guy with all that punishment on his body goes out there on what amounts to one ankle. To amass a streak like this in the most violent of sports is truly amazing; I think it makes it the most amazing individual streak in all of pro sports. This streak started all the way back in 1992, which comes out to 18 long years. Brett Favre hasn’t stopped playing football since I was 4 years old. As much as we go after Brett Favre here at Screen and Roll Out, if this is the week this streak ends he gets a salute from me because that is truly the work of an iron man. Also I’d like to salute him because Peyton Manning is probably going to break 8 years from now. Sorry I couldn’t help it, I can’t write about Favre without getting a dig in there somewhere. 

Week 7 Preview

The most interesting part of week 7 will be watching how both the players, the refs, and the NFL react to the helmet to helmet gate that was last week. Will refs be over anxious and give out personal foul penalties left and right? Will we see a slew of missed tackles by defenders for fear of getting said penalties? Will the NFL hand out fines and suspend players unjustly knowing that they need to send a message? All will be answered this week…. Or at least some of it will be.

The Colts can’t seem to catch a break

So not only are they down their starting middle linebacker in Gary Brackett, but today they find out their star tight end Dallas Clark is going to be out for the year. Not only that, but they’ll probably be without both Austin Collie and Joseph Addai for the next few weeks. Every time somebody goes down for the Colts another unknown person seems to step and fill their role and they don’t seem to miss a beat. I just think that this year the AFC south might be too good for that to work. The Colts are tied with both the Texans and Titans at 4-2 and I doubt they can afford this many losses in a division this competitive.

Per Usual Parity Reigns Supreme

The NFL is a league based on parity and every year we have several examples of it. This year whether you look at the Rams having as many wins this year as they had all of last year, or the Cowboys being 1-4, or nobody having more than a 1 game lead in their division it’s no different. I honestly don’t have any idea who’s going to win any division right now in the NFL. We have a solid idea of the teams who are going to be in the playoffs but nothing is written in stone. This is part of what makes football great. I wrote about it a few weeks ago, but it still remains true pretty much everybody has a chance.

Cincinnati @ Atlanta

Atlanta – 4.5

Probably threw an interception

The Bengals just might be my favorite team because every time I write about them I get to write about how terrible Carson Palmer is.  There was a pretty good article on sportsline about how he gets a pass and it captures my feelings on him pretty well. All that being said Matt Ryan isn’t nearly in that territory but I don’t think he’s as good as we thought he would be coming out of his rookie year. Looking at the 4 Falcon wins two of them honestly should be losses, one being the Garret Hartley 29 yard field goal miss and the other being the Nate Clements interception fumble. Thinking about the Falcons that way makes me a lot less confident in them going into this game against the Bengals. But then all I can think of is Carson Palmer throwing interceptions and I laugh. Falcons cover the spread

Falcons 30

Bengals 17

Buffalo @ Baltimore

Baltimore -13.5

Baltimore lost in overtime against New England in a tough game last week but still seems to be among the class of the AFC if not the entire league. If you go on the road against the Jets, Pittsburgh, and New England and win 2 out of 3 you’re a pretty damn good team. Playing the Bills has been a recipe for blowouts for pretty much every good team that's faced them. The only real close game they've had was a shootout they lost against the Pats in week 3. I think the division familiarity helped them more than anything in that game. Ravens Big

Ravens 31

Bills 10

San Francisco @ Carolina

San Francisco -3

This is the classic example of a game that somebody has to win. I said I wouldn't pick the 49'ers again 2 weeks ago so of course they go out and beat my Raiders the next week. Carolina gets Matt Moore back this week, how much good that will do them is anybody's guess. The 49'ers did a good job stopping an offense that relies on the running game with an incompetent QB last week I think they can do the same this week. The Panthers defense is pretty solid and they do a good job stopping the pass. If they can pressure Alex Smith and put him back in his weeks 1 through 5 form they have a chance. If he looks like he did in Oakland last week the 49'ers get back to back wins. I think Alex Smith doesn't look as good as last week but he looks good enough.

49'ers 17

Panthers 10

Washington @ Chicago

Chicago -3

Chicago just lost to the team that never wins on the road and now they play a Washington team that manages to keep pretty much every game close but can’t seem to win most of them. Chicago has big issues protecting the QB and they’re going to be facing one of the premier pass rushers in the league in Brian Orakpo. Watching the Colts Redskins game Orakpo can be absolutely unstoppable the only problem is that he gets winded relatively quickly as drive wear on. If Chicago can get their running game going they can take Orakpo out of the game and keep Jay Cutler upright. Looking at the Redskins with the worst overall defense in the NFL I think they manage.

Bears 27

Redskins 21

Jacksonville @ Kansas City

Kansas City -2

Jacksonville was embarrassed in front of a national audience in a home game Monday night losing 30-3 to the Titans. The Jaguars seem prone to getting blown out. Every year it seems they lose at least 2 or 3 games via blow out no matter what their record is. The Chiefs don’t really have the firepower to blow out many teams but I do think they’re good enough to beat Jacksonville especially at home where the Chiefs are even better and Jaguars are notoriously poor. The Chiefs got absolutely robbed last week against the Texans and they’re looking to avenge that loss and stay ahead in what’s shaping up to be a putrid AFC West. With no David Garrard and possibly no Trent Edwards I don’t know how the Jaguars are going to go on the road and beat the Chiefs. Maurice Jones Drew is an amazing player but he’s not good enough to single handedly win a game and that’s basically what the Jags would need this week.

Chiefs 20

Jags 13

Pittsburgh @ Miami

Pittsburgh -3

Mike Wallace apparently asked for the Reggie Bush

Watching Pittsburgh last week I think the rest of the league might be in trouble. Big Ben comes off not practicing or being around his team for4 weeks and comes out in his first game with pretty much no rust. This doesn’t bode well for a Dolphins team that relies on its running game to really open up its offense. The Steelers are the best team in the NFL against the run while they’re just mediocre against the pass. I don’t think Chad Henne is good enough to carry team just on his arm however. I think we have a short lived QB duel as Big Ben puts the Dolphins down in Miami. Fantasy wise I'd count on at least one deep pass TD to Mike Wallace and his Mohawk/speed line in a Steelers win.

Steelers 24

Dolphins 17

Cleveland @ New Orleans

New Orleans -14

New Orleans looked like their old selves against the Bucs last week putting up a 31-6 victory. The Browns were competitive in all their games through week 4 but in the past two games against the Steelers and the Falcons they were beat convincingly. The Browns seem like a team that can stay close with the mediocre teams but lack the talent to compete with the truly elite teams in the NFL. They have to like what they saw out of Colt McCoy last week in the loss to Pittsburgh. He played a solid game taking what they gave him, he made a few mistakes but it was against the best defense in football so it’s forgivable. I think this game will tell us a lot about the Saints. If they can’t blow out an overmatched Browns team at home perhaps they truly are having a super bowl slump. I think the blow out of the Bucs was more an aberration than a sign of things to come. Saints still win, but they don’t win convincingly.

Saints 27

Browns 20

St. Louis @ Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay -2.5

One of the match ups I’m most interested in seeing this week is a matchup of the young upstarts of the NFC. These teams have a few things in common: Young Quarterbacks being ahead of the curve, opportunistic defenses that create pressure and turnovers, manufacturing a passing game with no elite talents, and both have 2^nd year coaches that were defensive coordinators prior to getting the job. Where the differ is in one place really; the running game, the Bucs have none to speak of while the Rams have one of the most if not the most consistent running back in football in Steven Jackson. I think that’s where this game is won, the Bucs can’t stop the run and Steven Jackson is going to run all over them on his way to passing Eric Dickerson as the Rams all time leading rusher. Rams get their first win on the road this year.

Rams 27

Bucs 20

Philadelphia @ Tennessee

Tennessee -3

A matchup of two teams coming off big wins last week, the titans beat the Jaguars convincingly on Monday night while the Eagles put a whooping on the presumed NFC favorite Falcons. I have to say that the Eagles win is still the more impressive to me just because the Falcons seem like the more legitimate team of the two. However the Titans win is impressive because they kept Chris Johnson in to run up his yardage at the end of the game. Also because he has a signature touchdown dance called "the choppa city juke". The Eagles are on the road this week and while this may be a detriment to some teams the Eagles are still undefeated on the road this year.  The Titans are actually 1-2 at home with one of those losses coming to an unimpressive 2-4 Broncos team. The reason they lost that game was because they couldn’t stop the Broncos air attack and I think they’ll lose to the Eagles for the exact same reason. If Kevin Kolb ends up being the starter for the rest of the year in Philadelphia people will look back at this game as the game that sealed it.

Eagles 34

Tennessee 24

Arizona @ Seattle

Seattle -4

We have a terrible NFC West battle and a terrible AFC West battle this week. The Seahawks are at home which would normally be enough for me to pick them. You combine that with their solid win on the road last week against the Bears and them facing an undrafted rookie QB in Max Hall and a Seahawks victory seems all but certain. But then I look at the Cardinals and I think hmm how do they perform on the road. Oh wait they lost 7-41 to Atlanta and 10-41 to San Diego. Yeah Seahawks win

Seabirds 20

Arizona 6

Oakland @ Denver

Denver -6

An AFC West battle between two 2-4 teams that feel that they should be 3-3. The Raiders because of a missed Janikowski 32 yard field goal, and the Broncos because of a pass interference call on 4^th and 8 against the Jets last week. The winner of this game will be the team that manages to put their disappointment behind them and realize they’re still very much in their division race and need to win every game they can. The Raiders haven’t shown a consistent ability to stop the run or the pass and facing the high flying Broncos offense that isn’t a good thing. The Broncos are a middle of the road defense that has trouble stopping the run. However with the showing of Jason Campbell last week and the news that the Raiders may be starting Kyle Bowler I think that’s too much for them to overcome on the road.

Broncos 24

Raiders 13

New England @ San Diego

San Diego- 3

Has the AFC West replaced the NFC West as the worst division in football? Are the Chargers the Seahawks of the division; able to blow out teams at home but struggling on the road to get wins. The Patriots got a rather impressive win at home last week against a Baltimore squad I was ready to declare the best team in football. The most impressive part of that win was their much maligned defense finally showing signs of life, while their numbers might not look impressive with the game on the line in the 3^rd and 4^th quarter they forced 5 consecutive Baltimore punts. I think the streak of San Diego dominating teams at home ends this week as do their hopes of winning their division this season.

Patriots 24

Chargers 17

Minnesota @ Green Bay

Green Bay -3

Brett Favre returns to Lambeau for the first time in 2010 to a Packers team as desperate for a win as the Vikings. Early in the season it seemed like the Packers or the Bears might run away with this division but after 2 losses in the past 3 weeks for both teams the Vikings are right back in the race.  Aaron Rodgers is looking for his first win against Brett Favre; this being his 3^rd stab at it. The Vikings are looking for back to back wins for the first time all season, after a win in the panic bowl they’re in a similar situation facing a desperate Green Bay team. However looking at the injury report it looks like this Green Bay team is going to be without Clay Matthews which is a pretty big blow to a defense that relies on him a great deal to generate their pass rush.  Without that pass rush I don’t think the Packers have the ability to cover Randy Moss over the top or Percy Harvin underneath, especially not if Adrian Peterson gets going.

Vikings 30

Packers 24

NY Giants @ Dallas

Dallas -3

On Monday night it looks like a matchup of the NFC East’s best and worst teams. However that doesn’t really mean much in this division where pretty much every game comes down to the wire. The Cowboys lost the panic bowl last week and come into this game looking to salvage their wild card hopes and try to keep their division within grasp. The Giants look to bury their division rivals in week 7 putting them in a seemingly insurmountable hole halfway through the year. The Giants seem to have all the things you want in an elite team. They have offensive balance with Eli and his trio of explosive wide outs and 2 backs that can get it done in different situations. On the defensive side they have a front four that can generate pressure without the blitz allowing their defense to be aggressive in coverage. The Cowboys problems on the offensive side of the ball all seem to stem from the offensive line. They don’t generate enough push for their running attack or provide Tony Romo enough time to be error free or at least less error prone than he is now. When you match up one teams weaknesses against another teams strength I tend to side with the team with the strength, combine that with the fact that the strength weakness matchup occurs at the line of scrimmage and I think the Giants make a statement in the Jerry Jones Mausoleum.

Giants 31

Cowboys 20