by Darren Walsh
All sixteen teams played last week, and I achieved a decent 11-5 record; not really an improvement from before but still better than most of the other NFL experts. Once again, all sixteen are on, no bye weeks for anyone anymore.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh played Thursday, with the Steelers winning 27-10. Since I was favouring the Steelers, it’s a 1-0 start to the week.
Onto Sunday’s games, and while they may have been a surprise team last year, everyone was ready for the Cleveland Browns this season. Their Pro Bowl quarterback was benched for the last two games, but now Derek Anderson is back due to an injured Brady Quinn. I’d like to think Anderson was involved somehow; maybe running him over or taking a bat to his legs. Anyway, they’re at home to the Houston Texans, who also had high expectations but have fallen short, mainly due to horrendous mistakes in the fourth quarter. Sage Rosenfals; I’m looking at you. Looking at the records, the Browns have only one win at home, surprisingly against the Giants, while the Texans are winless away. I’ll take the Browns to win, but only just, and relying on poor Texans play.
So the Dallas Cowboys got back on track last week, and with a few injuries clearing up should make a push in the NFC. They have a traditional match up this week against the San Francisco 49ers, who may have won last week but it’ll take something special to win this time. Coach Mike Singeltary seems an interesting character; after him being miked up during a previous game I can safely say he’s not a man you want to cross. But all the angry in the world won’t be enough here.
When can a team be 7-3 and still be considered a seven point favourite on the road? When the playing the Detroit Lions of course. Tampa Bay are looking pretty good in their division, tucked in between the 8-2 Panthers and the 6-4 Falcons. They did a good job against the Vikings last week; their defense will have a field day in Ford Field.
The New York Jets are a team I have derided for being too inconsistent, but they look to be curing that now. After a very impressive win in New England, they now have a shot at the unbeaten Tennessee Titans. 10-0 is a pretty good record for a team that was unsettled at QB, no decent wide receivers and no established running back. As for the game, either Brett Favre dons his Superman cape and wills the Jets to victory, or he throws the ball everywhere and ends up with three interceptions. I’ll take the latter and the Titans keep on truckin’.
I’ll admit that I believed in the Buffalo Bills at the start of the season, and sure enough they were proving me right for a while. Now they’re falling further by the week, and while it’s still not too late to make another push, the three other teams in the AFC East have hit form. Surely they can beat the Kansas City Chiefs, who have been playing better in the last few weeks but still have only one win. Strange to think the Bills can be 6-5 after this and be at the bottom of the division.
The Chicago Bears were embarrassed last week against the Packers, and should have a reaction when playing the St Louis Rams. I thought the Rams might be good enough to beat the 49ers; I was wrong. While the Bears are a shadow of two years ago, they have enough in them to beat the 2-8 Rams.
The New England were 16-0 at the end of the 2007 regular season, the Miami Dolphins were 1-15. At the moment they’re both 6-4. Only in the NFL could this happen. And the Dolphins are favourites for this, amazing. Not that I’m picking them, as the Pats are the best in the league at recovering from a loss.
I believe some pundits predicted this as a possible Superbowl match up; instead the Minnesota Vikings are hanging in at 5-5, while the Jacksonville Jaguars are 4-6. Expect a lot of rushing attempts from both teams, and maybe each defense to let them. The Jags keep letting my predictions down, so I’m taking Adrian Peterson to knock them out.
Talking of Superbowl picks, the Philadelphia Eagles were talked about; now they’re looking at the bottom of the NFC East. A measly thirteen points were scored against the Bengals; now we’re facing the Baltimore Ravens who were ran over against the Giants. Obviously the Eagles can’t do the same gameplan, so I’m breaking my own rule and going for the Ravens. I can’t see how we stop the run or manage to score without at least a couple of turnovers.
Just as the Denver Broncos look to be falling away, they have managed to right themselves with two away wins. Now they have it easy against the Oakland Raiders. It’s a sure-fire win for the Broncos, as they set themselves up for tougher tests.
All divisional games are important, but this one can shape a season, as the leading Carolina Panthers go to Atlanta. If the Falcons win, they’ll close the gap and leave the division a three horse race, as Tampa Bay can level it with a win. As much as I like the Panthers, I think the Falcons will pull it out. The NFC South aint a joke. Only the Saints are.
The 9-1 New York Giants are generally regarded as the best team around right now, but I think they face a stern test against the Arizona Cardinals. That would have been a joke for the last 20 years, but now the Cards have just about won the NFC West. It’s surprising that the Giants are seven point favourites against a 7-3 team that are unbeaten at home; I’ll still take them to win but it won’t be easy.
As the Cardinals have risen, the Seattle Seahawks have collapsed. Of course it’s mainly due to injuries, but they should still have more than two wins. The Washington Redskins are trying to stay in contention in the NFC East; a safe mistake free game will see them through here.
The final game of Sunday is a rematch of last years playoff game, as the Indianapolis Colts are in San Diego. The Colts are slowly getting back to form; they should continue that here, as the Chargers have disappointed all season. They do seem to step up against the best teams, but I don’t see it happening here.
Finally, Monday night sees the Green Bay Packers against the New Orleans Saints; both 5-5 and desperate for a win. The difference is that the Packers have an easier division, while the Saints are bringing up the rear in theirs. I expect a high scoring, back and forth game, with the Saints improving their 4-1 home record.
