NFL Week 8 Picks

Week 7 has come and Week 7 has gone and all I can say is that I survived. My distance over the .500 mark has increased, but only in what I would call an average fashion. I did, however, come out on top with two of my upset picks as Buffalo was able to rise above Baltimore and my homer pick, as many would call it, of Denver over Pittsburgh finished Jason Elam style. I finished the week 9-5 bringing my season to 60-43 (.583). However, the perfect week still eludes me. With a shorter list of games this week (13) we’ll have to see if I can’t accomplish this task. Come on 13-0! Here we go, Week 8.

ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Open Date: Arizona Cardinals(3-4), Atlanta Falcons(1-6), Baltimore Ravens(4-3), Dallas Cowboys(6-1), Kansas City Chiefs(4-3), Seattle Seahawks(4-3)

Cleveland Browns(3-3) at St. Louis Rams(0-7) 1:00 PM

The Rams are going to have to win at some point aren’t they? Maybe or Maybe not. Even if the Browns aren’t one of the greater teams in the league they have been putting up a lot of offensive points. The Rams on the other hand have been giving points while not getting many of their own. If the Rams are going to get a win, this is probably one of their chances, but I just don’t see them getting it.

Browns move above the .500 mark

Detroit Lions(4-2) at Chicago Bears(3-4) 1:00 PM

The Lions were able to step up and upset the Bears in Week 4 when they hosted Chicago. This week they will go on the road to Chicago for the rematch. Brian Griese will be the man behind center for the Bears in this match up and the Lions defense has been a little porous. The question will remain whether or not the Bears defense will continue to struggle. With Kevin Jones back for this match, I think the Lions may just take another win.

Lions sweep the Bears

Indianapolis Colts(6-0) at Carolina Panthers(4-2) 1:00 PM

Peyton Manning should hope to have Marvin Harrison more active this week. Even though he hasn’t missed a beat in his absence, Manning will be more comfortable with his favorite target back in the mix. As long as the Colts don’t over look the Panther in preparation for New England next week, this game should go to Indy.

Colts will host next week in a battle of the unbeaten

New York Giants(5-2) at Miami Dolphins(0-7) 1:00 PM (LONDON)

What a poor representation of American Football for London and I’m not talking about the Giants. With the recent loss of Ronnie Brown to a torn ACL, the Dolphins might as well call it a season the way they have played to date. Eli Manning will continue to hit his receivers as Brandon Jacobs racks up even more yards now that he has returned and warmed up. Does anyone besides diehard Dolphin fans think there might be an upset here?

Giants continue to battle for the NFC East

Oakland Raiders(2-4) at Tennessee Titans(4-2) 1:00 PM

Titans came back for an NFL record breaking win last week after letting Houston get back in the game and almost steal the win. It may not be as good as eight touchdowns in one game, but Rod Birona’s record eight field goals made for quite an interesting win. With the possibility of facing the Raiders defense without Vince Young again this week I have to admit I have question marks about a successful week for Tennessee, but even with Daunte Culpepper and an improve offense from last year Oakland has issues.

Titans stay in the ‘Win’ column one more week

Philadelphia Eagles(2-4) at Minnesota Vikings(2-4) 1:00 PM

I have to admit I’m having trouble figuring these teams out. With Adrian Peterson averaging 6.2 yards a carry you would think that the Vikings would have more in the winning column. Then after Donovan McNabb and the Eagles racked up 56 points on Detroit, you would have thought they would have performed better. For this match up, I’m going to have to go with the home team. They have the run and their defense should hold.

Vikings protect the home village

Pittsburgh Steelers(4-2) at Cincinnati Bengals(2-4) 1:00PM

Ben Roethlisberger had the look of panic and fear in the first half of last weeks match up against Denver as their defense stepped it up. However, he regained his footing in the second half as Denver got to comfortable and softened the rush and he was almost able to come back for the win. Big Ben shouldn’t expect any pressure this week as the Bengals aren’t stopping anyone for scoring, leaning on their offense to shot it out with their opponents.

Steelers get back on the winning track this week

Buffalo Bills(2-4) at New York Jets(1-6) 4:05 PM

The Bills won this first match up as they hosted the Jets a few weeks back. This week they take to the road to meet up with Chad Pennington and his company. Will Thomas Jones finally find the end zone in New York? Or do the Bills carry the energy of their win and home crowd over the last few weeks to win on the road? The Jets are getting desperate for a win and will look to take one from their division rival to avoid being swept.

J.E.T.S., Jets, Jets, Jets

Houston Texans(3-4) at San Diego Chargers(3-3) 4:05 PM

Houston started out looking good with a 2-0 start and then a close game against Indianapolis, but has struggled since with only one win against Miami. With Matt Schaub’s injury to his hip making him a question mark and the more than likely continued absence of Andre Johnson this match up in San Diego on the Chargers home field will prove to be tough against San Diego will prove to be tough, no matter where they decide to play this game. Especially since LaDainian Tomlinson seems to be starting to roll.

Chargers gain a winning record

Jacksonville Jaguars(4-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers(4-3) 4:05 PM

Jaguars may not have won last week, but I still believe they are a strong NFL team. However, Jeff Garcia and the Buccaneers have had some shining moments of their own. This week David Garrard won’t be around to lead the charge across Florida to Tampa, but I believe that it will be the legs of Maurice Jones-Drew that will be leading the chaos felt by the Buccaneers defense.

Jaguars stake claim to best team in Florida

New Orleans Saints(2-4) at San Francisco 49ers(2-4) 4:15 PM

At this point, I’m still trying to find out if the Saints have really come out of their funk. After an impressive win over Seattle, they seemed to have a little more difficulty putting away Atlanta. I will give them the fact that Byron Leftwich made his first start against them, and Leftwich is a much better option than Joey Harrington in my opinion. So now Drew Brees and Reggie Bush take their show on the road to San Fran in an attempt to advance their standings at the expense of the offense deficient 49ers.

Saints continue to march on with their win streak

Washington Redskins(4-2) at New England Patriots(7-0) 4:15 PM

Although the Redskins have had some success on the field this year, I simply can’t see anything other than a Patriots victory until somebody can rock Tom Brady’s world. He’s playing with such confidence and such composure in every situation that he seems unshakeable. Why not be confident when throwing to a talent like Randy Moss, at least now that he’s actually excited to play.

Patriots add one more in search of perfect season

Monday, October 29, 2007 Monday Night Football

Green Bay Packers(5-1) at Denver Broncos(3-3) 8:30 PM

Brett Favre and the Packers have been looking hot this season, but it’s been mainly because of their passing game. Their run offense has been a bit of struggle. This week they will match up with Denver who has one of the best pass defenses in the NFL. Their weakness has been the run, but there seems to have been some repair in that area as the Broncos defeated Pittsburgh last week. Dre Bly has somehow managed to stay off the injured list at this point although it was obvious he was banged up. The return of Champ Bailey is unknown right now. Will the Denver Defense hold? I was called a homer last week, but we won. So call me a homer again this week.

Denver wins two in a row at home to stay in the race for the AFC West

Now with Week 8’s picks in the books I’d like to see myself pull off a week of genius with a 13-0 finish, but as Joe Theismann said, “Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.” Thanks Joe, I feel smarter already.