Week 8 Preview

Week 8

Last Week: 7-5-1

Season: 55-47

Bold Picks

Last Week 1-2-1

Season 13-14

RAVENS -3.5 over Broncos

Don’t believe all the “Denver hasn’t gotten credit all year” garbage going into this week. Baltimore is hands down Denver’s biggest test to-date. The Broncos are going on the road against one of the most balanced offenses and aggressive defenses in the league. Baltimore lost in New England (as did every road team this season), in Minnesota (ditto), and a fluke game at home against an inferior Bengals team (as I somewhat predicted). They’re coming off a bye and will be hungry to show just how good they are. San Diego was the closest Denver came to actually being challenged; Baltimore will demonstrate what it really takes to be a part of the class of the NFL. Before you pick this game, ask yourself if you honestly think that this Baltimore team can lose such an important game, staring 3-4 in the face.

BEARS -13.5 over Browns

Chicago has lost consecutive road games, dropping the team to 1-3 on the road. They remain unbeaten at home, even beating the Steelers. Cleveland will not win this game. Lay the points, take the bears. Great survival league opportunity here.

Texans -3.5 over BILLS

This is one of the toughest games to pick this week. On the one hand, you have the Texans, tied for their best start this late in the season in their franchise history- without their best playmaker, Andre Johnson, at full strength, but still showing flashes of how dangerous I thought they’d be in August. On the other hand, Buffalo has put together consecutive wins over middle of the pack teams and returns home to potentially stand at 4-4 heading into their second half of the season (which does include a bye). Don’t forget about Terrell Owens, who is turning out to be one of the best free agent acquisitions of the season. I can’t count that many players who would help Buffalo be a fumbled kickoff return away from leading the AFC East, even amidst so many injuries.

Still, I like Houston to come out flying this week. Schaub has put up great numbers, but running back Steve Slaton is due to crack the century mark and start averaging multiple yards per carry once again. I also really don’t like Ryan Fitzpatrick and urge you not to buy into the Harvard quarterback Yale coach mystique. I can see this going either way, but I’m inclined to think Houston makes a statement here.

49ers +13 over COLTS

I made the bold prediction preseason that the Houston Texans were the team-to-beat in the AFC South. With San Francisco coming off a game in Houston, a game in Indianapolis will be the best test of whether or not I was right. I love the new-look 49ers team heading into this Indy game. With Alex Smith and Michael Crabtree, the 49ers finally have a deep threat. I’m not ready to label someone whose most reliable passing target had been Arnaz Battle a bust quite yet. The 49ers are the closest the NFC West has come to a complete team since the Seahawks cut Shaun Alexander. This game will be a lot of fun to watch, but don’t be surprised if the Colts falter. Peyton is due to look human in one of these performances, and I think this could be it. This is a terrible survival league pick.

On a side note, how are the Colts still ranked #1 on ESPN? Whether or not the Saints will finish undefeated has crossed from taboo territory to a real possibility. In my opinion, the Colts are notably worse than several teams. They’re the one team whose soft schedule has been mysteriously forgotten.

JETS -3.5 over Dolphins

A rematch of the Monday Night game a few weeks back should look awfully different in the Meadowlands. The Jets know exactly what to expect from Chad Henne and the Wildcat formations. The Dolphins have lost some of their coaching advantage because the Jets have seen it all before. I like the Jets to hand Miami their first loss against an AFC East opponent, in a convincing manner.

LIONS -4 over Rams

How bad are the Rams when a franchise who has gone 1-28, for a winning percentage of .034 in their last twenty-nine games against teams with someone not named Damon Huard at QB has to lay 4 points? Truly terrible. This is the first time in a long time that the Lions will take the field against a team that is even worse than they are. It’s going to be fun to watch the Lions defense forcing three and outs. Watching this game will basically be like watching a Sprint Cup Race, with a field limited exclusively to college aged Korean females.

Seahawks +10 over COWBOYS

This is my, “To Hell With It, Keep DJSYKES happy” pick of the week. I fully expect Dallas to win this game, but Seattle has too many weapons on offense to let a Wade Phillips coached team blow them out. Dallas is the better team and at home, but the spread is three and a half points too high. I’d stay away from this game, however. It can end up going either way.

Giants -1 over EAGLES

Oh baby. Here are a few of my favorite NY vs. Philly links: Giants owning McNabb on defense, the Giants Stadium Rocky tribute to Philly, and one of the greatest/luckiest plays in NFL history. The Giants have always been really good at containing McNabb, and will have a huge advantage without having to worry about Brian Westbrook. Andy Reid has not figured out how to use Michael Vick to his advantage. This is the game for the Giants to get back on track. As long as the Giants can use the running game correctly, they will cruise to a very important win and finish the season 2-0 on the road against teams with a shot to win the NFC East. I love facing Philadelphia on short rest. Jacobs and Co. will make that a HUGE advantage.

CHARGERS -16.5 over Raiders

It’s time for San Diego to do what they should have been doing all season. The wake up call happened, on multiple occasions. Oakland’s about to get blown out of the water, again.

TITANS -3 over Jaguars

I don’t like this pick that much for either team. Vince Young makes the Tennessee offense a little more dangerous, enough to the point where they’ll be able to keep pace. The Titans will return back to Johnson and White pounding the ball down Jacksonville’s throat. Tennessee needs to hold the ball for 34+ minutes to win this game. They should do that.

Vikings +3.5 over PACKERS

In one of the five most hyped games of the season, there is almost no question that it will come down to the end of the 4^th quarter. The spread is too much to take Green Bay straight up, even though I’m leaning a little over 50/50 to the Packers. The return to Lambeau will be one of the most memorable games for Brett Favre in his illustrious career. The Vikings had a pretty good advantage over Green Bay last game. If Rodgers has time to throw, the Packers win. If not, we’ll be hearing a lot of envious hatred coming out of some Packers fans.

Panthers +10 over CARDINALS

What a difference a half season makes. Last year the Panthers were the overwhelming favorite in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. This year? It’s the Panthers who are about to upset the home team. I really like this pick. Remember that guy who has the same name as the #2 receiver in receptions and #3 receiver in yards? Steve Smith is going to get involved in the passing game very early. Fox needs to keep Carolina’s offense balanced and not force Jake Delhomme to make plays. I’m picking Carolina to win this one outright.

Falcons +11.5 over SAINTS

The Falcons are a well disciplined and very well coached team. I’m still not ready to go against my preseason bet that they wouldn’t make the playoffs, especially against a divisional rival who is one of the only two undefeated teams against the spread remaining (with Denver). This is one of the four or five games that may very well stand in the way of an undefeated season for New Orleans, but the Falcons will have a much better shot in Atlanta. Still, Mike Smith will not let this Atlanta team show up to New Orleans to roll over. Take the points, and pick Atlanta to keep this one close.