There are incorrect picks. Then there's my Miami-Baltimore pick. I sure saw that 40-0 Ravens win coming, didn't I? Pretty much sums up how my season has been going. (BTW, what is Ndamukong Suh's problem? He pushes the guy who push Alonso off Flacco after that cheap shot, then goes after the Ravens bench in the second half? That guy has some serious anger management issues!)
Anyway, we're finally done with these stupid 9:30 a.m. London games after this week. I know the NFL loves them, but four is definitely overkill. Unfortunately, it looks like we're gonna see more London games before we see fewer.
Vikings (5-2) vs. Browns (0-7): Minnesota-Part of my problem with the London games isn't just the sheer number of them, it's that these are the games they put over there. Crappy teams that don't mind giving up a home game. Sure, the Jaguars love London, but I think everyone else goes there because they know the league wants them to. Like Cleveland. At least the good people of Cleveland are spared a week of actually watching the Browns live.
Raiders (3-4) at Bills (4-2): Oakland-For the Raiders, that might've been a season-saving win in Kansas City last week. They sure had enough chances to win it, but they eventually did, and they're very much still in it in the AFC West. Speaking of still in it, the Patriots aren't running away with the AFC East for a change. And a Bills win over the Raiders would be a definite indication that they're in it for the long run. I think Oakland will win, though.
Colts (2-5) at Bengals (2-4): Cincinnati-Indianapolis is a mess. They're not a good football team. The Bengals aren't that good, either. But they're exponentially better than the Colts. And they're at least competitive against good teams. This time they're actually the better team. As a result, I think they should take this one pretty comfortably.
Chargers (3-4) at Patriots (5-2): New England-Ever since their trip to New York, the Chargers have been a different team. They're on a three-game winning streak, which includes a shutout of the Broncos last week. Speaking of last week, the Patriots dominated Atlanta in that Super Bowl rematch. It sure seems like the New England team we're used to seeing is on its way here. The Patriots have two home losses already this season. This week won't be a third.
Bears (3-4) at Saints (4-2): New Orleans-We've been spending so much time talking about the other three teams in the NFC South that we've completely missed the fact that the Saints are in first place. But, New Orleans has won four in a row and looked good doing it. The Bears have been surprisingly good recently, too, notching back-to-back wins over Baltimore and Carolina. Something's gotta give this week. And I like Drew Brees and that offense at home.
Falcons (3-3) at Jets (3-4): Atlanta-It's a good thing the Falcons don't have any more games against the AFC East after this week. Because Atlanta was 3-0 until this four-game stretch against the AFC East, during which they've just looked bad. First they blow it (at home!) against Miami, then last week's unimpressive showing in New England. With all that being said, however, I'm taking the Falcons in this one.
49ers (0-7) at Eagles (6-1): Philadelphia-Seemingly out of nowhere, Philadelphia has the best record in football. Their only loss came against Kansas City, and they were competitive in that one. The 49ers, meanwhile, are perhaps the worst team in the league. Yes, even worse than the Browns. They got slaughtered at home by the Cowboys. Now they head to Philadelphia, where things could be even worse.
Panthers (4-3) at Buccaneers (2-4): Carolina-Both of these NFC South teams are at a crossroads. Carolina looked tremendous in beating New England, then they lost to the Bears and looked terrible. The Bucs, meanwhile, haven't been able to get anything going over the past couple weeks. Although, their three-game losing streak was all on the road, so we'll see if being home treats them any better. It'll be close, but I see the Panthers being the ones to turn their fortunes around.
Texans (3-3) at Seahawks (4-2): Seattle-Talk about blowing something way out of proportion. No, Bob McNair's "inmates running the prison" comment wasn't good. But the Texans players are completely overreacting to something that was obviously said in jest. Especially because he immediately apologized. This should be a non-issue. Except, now Texans players are talking about staging some sort of protest (a different one) this week. What they should be worrying about is trying to figure out how to go into Seattle, one of the toughest places in the league to win, and come away with a victory.
Cowboys (3-3) at Redskins (3-3): Washington-FOX has been overhyping this game very badly. The thing that annoys me about the level of promotion they've done is that they keep calling it the "greatest rivalry in football." Tell that to the Bears and Packers. Or the other two teams in the NFC East. Or the entire AFC West. Yes, it's a great rivalry. But FOX was a little too prone to hyperbole in calling it the "best." Because there are plenty of teams that would disagree. Anyway, Dallas has been good one week, bad the next. They were really good last week, so I'm taking Washington.
Steelers (5-2) at Lions (3-3): Pittsburgh-I'll say this about this year's Sunday Night Football slate, they've chosen some odd matchups. Redskins-Raiders? Colts-Seahawks? Now we've got Steelers-Lions, another interconference matchup. (Are all of these interconference games because NBC has the Super Bowl this season?) If the good Pittsburgh shows up, they should win this game. Especially because the Lions have traditionally not had that much success in Sunday night games.
Broncos (3-3) at Chiefs (5-2): Kansas City-The Monday night game, however, is a great (and important) divisional matchup. The Chiefs were undefeated and riding high...then they lost twice in five days. Yet they've maintained their hold on first place because the Broncos have also lost two straight...to the Giants and Chargers. All the while, they've watched the Raiders jump back into the mix, and we've got a three-team race in the AFC West once again. Which is why this game is so huge for both teams. Kansas City can get away with a loss a little bit more than Denver can. But I also think the Chiefs are more likely to make the necessary adjustments after giving away that game last week (on the fourth attempt). Especially because the teams they lost to were Pittsburgh and Oakland, who are both good.
Thursday Night: Miami (Loss)
This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 9-6
Overall: 62-45
No comments:
Post a Comment