01 November 2007

nfl predictions: week nine [9]

denver at detroit

analysis : basically the broncos have been living life on the edge and their only wins have been pulled out of their collective butt. the lions aren't much better, but their offense will exploit the broncos' shoddy run defense and injured secondary.

the pick : detroit

san francisco at atlanta

analysis : after being berated by bobby petrino all season long, then being benched, only to be back in the starting lineup due to his replacement's injury, joey harrington's morale would have to be similar to that of a hobo who just lost his shopping cart full of rusty nails. in any event, petrino has no idea what to do what this falcons team this year.

the pick : san francisco

cincinnati at buffalo

analysis : for some reason, chad johnson has gone from beloved prankster to perceived clubhouse cancer within a week's time. too bad he can't blamed for their porous defense, which is supposedly marvin lewis' strength as a coach. the bills are a competitive team who play tough at home when the weather becomes intolerable for visiting teams.

the pick : buffalo

carolina at tennessee

analysis : does any team hide their quarterback as well as the titans? vince young had less than 50 yards passing last week and they still won. hopefully soon people will realize the titans win games not because of vince young, but because of their defense. on the other side, the panthers remain of the most inconsistent and underachieving teams in the league.

the pick : tennessee

green bay at kansas city

analysis : the packers will continue to play as one of the elite teams in the nfc [which really isn't saying much], but it's not because brett favre is playing safer or taking less risks. the packers are winning because of their young and talented defense. the chiefs are surprising not the worst team in the nfl [that would be the dolphins], and herm edwards is doing well with what little he has.

the pick : the packers

san diego at minnesota

analysis : the chargers have found their groove from last season and look to finally seize control of the afc west. they will be more than what the vikings can handle on both sides on the ball.

the pick : san diego

jacksonville at new orleans

analysis : when quinn gray is your starting quarterback, this is not a good sign. the saints' offense will have a difficult time against the jaguars' defense, but the jaguars' offense will have a tougher time against the saints' mediocre defense.

the pick : new orleans

washington at ny jets

analysis : eric mangini makes the inevitable move of making kellen clemens the starter. too bad he doesn't have the same caliber of replacements on defense. the redskins are a quality team who will be looking to put a hurting on the jets after last week's beatdown.

the pick : washington

arizona at tampa bay

analysis : the buccaneers have no running game, but the cardinals don't really have much of a defense. fortunately for the cardinals, they have many weapons on offense that should give the buccaneers defense plenty of matchup problems.

the pick : arizona

seattle at cleveland

analysis : are the browns for real? i can't even tell if derek anderson is a legitimate quarterback or a flash in the pan. whatever the case, he won't be the browns' starter next year because brady quinn's contract is next the depth chart. seattle is looking more like annual nfc west winner who will only have 8 wins. it also doesn't help that the seahawks have a running back in shaun alexander who doesn't want to receive any contact from other players.

the pick : cleveland

new england at indianapolis

analysis : this is definitely the game of regular season no matter what happens the rest of the way. the patriots have been simply destroying people like it were rookie difficulty on madden. the colts have been doing their business as the only other undefeated team in the league. i imagine they will give the patriots a tough time, which means that they will only beat the colts by 21 points.

the pick : new england

houston at oakland

analysis : daunte culpepper or josh mccown will be starting for the raiders, which really won't make that much of a difference either way. sage rosenfels will be starting for the texans, which actually might set football back 15 years.

the pick : oakland

dallas at philadelphia

analysis : the cowboys will continue to assert themselves as the best team in the nfc, which isn't saying much since they got destroyed by the afc's best team only a few weeks ago. the eagles may give the cowboys a competitive game, but they just don't have enough to contend with them.

the pick : dallas

baltimore at pittsburgh

analysis : is there anything scarier in life than ray lewis having a personal vendetta against you? i suppose there is, but not much. the steelers remain the afc's third best team, but the gap between them and colts is far wider than the one between them and the afc's fourth best team.

the pick : pittsburgh

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