Here we go kids, here’s my take on the Sunday day games. I’ll tune in later with comments about the night games and hopefully the one OFF game once things are more settled.
Sundays Games
Seattle @ **Baltimore ** 12:00pm ( Baltimore -3.0 )
Not sure how I feel about this game. The Seahwaks have been pretty bad on the road, and they don’t have the kind of run defense that can shut down the one sided Baltimore attack. They do however, have enough firepower to outscore them. RB Lewis hasn’t been as dominating lately, and is probably getting worn out. Seattles WRs have been dropping balls left and right and the odds aren’t good that they’ll cure that against a hard hitting Ravens D. Seattle has to know that this game could be the turning point, a win and they should coast into the playoffs. A loss puts them squarely against the wall. Turnovers will likely be the determining factor, but if Alexander holds onto the ball and has a average day they’ll win. Final Score, Seahawks 20 - Ravens 17.
Detroit @ **Minnesota ** 12:00pm ( Minnesota -10.5 )
I don’t expect the Vikes to keep on losing at home against the Lions, and the matchup favor the Vikes alot regardless of the latest downward spiral they’ve had. Detroit isn’t exactly putting it together. The apparent plan to beat the Vikes is by running the ball up the middle, and the Lions haven’t ran on anyone all season. Also, the Vikes have been turning the ball over a lot, especially last week against a weak Oakland team, and I don’t think its likely that that will continue enough to cost them the game here at home against the lowly Lions. However, all that said 10.5 points is an awful lot, and games this season rarely follow the numbers. I’m not liking this game very much. Final Score, Vikings 30 - Lions 17.
Carolina @ **Dallas ** 12:00pm ( Dallas -3.0 )
Well, we’ve got the two NFC teams that everyone is surprised by, and the two which no one seems prepared to call the best in the NFC regardless of record. The outcome of this game probably won’t clear that up too much. The loser will be called a pretender and the winner will still need to prove themselves. The one aspect about the Cowboys that has been understated, is how incredibly good that defense is. I’d call them the 3rd best D in football right now, and there’s some serious competition for that spot. The only catch is that they are playing what I consider the second best D this week. Hambrick will struggle and Carter will be pressured, so its probably going to require a handful of big plays for the Cowboys to win this one. They won’t be able to do much consistently, so if the deep ball and special teams work, they’ll have a chance. These are also two of the strongest special teams squads in the league right now, which is a overlooked reason why a team wins games. On the flipside, the Panters have been more consistent on offense and can probably grind it out against the Cowboys. Slow and steady should win this race. Final Score, Panthers 17 - Cowboys 16.
Pittsburgh @ **Cleveland ** 12:00pm ( Cleveland -3.0 )
No idea what to make of this. I’d thought the Steelers would get it going last week and they failed miserably. As a result, I’m inclined to think that they might completely implode for the rest of the season. The Browns got real healthy last week against the Cards, and might have gotten a chance to make the offense gel. But, those are alot of mights and maybes. Neither team inspires confidence and the Browns haven’t exactly gotten past the contraversy. The Browns D should be solid enough to keep the Steelers from getting in stride, and I can’t say the same, so I’ll go with the experts on this one. Final Score, Browns 28 - Steelers 17.
Indianapolis @ **Buffalo ** 12:00pm ( Indianapolis -3.0 )
This spread shocks me. The Bills have been inept on offense, and there’s little reason to think that they’ll shut down the Colts. The Bills D is pretty solid and their secondary will force Manning into some tough situations, but I can’t imagine that they’ll stop all the big play chances. Indy has been pretty good about not making turnovers under Dungy, and thet’d be the only way I’d expect them to keep this as close as 3 points. Buffalo has made alot of turnovers lately, and the Colts D won;t fail to capitalize like in years past. Final Score, Colts 27 - Bills 9.
Jacksonville @ **N.Y. Jets ** 12:00pm ( N.Y. Jets -4.0 )
This spread kinda confuses me. I realize the game is in Jersey, and that the Jets have been very good at home. However, the Jags have been playing excellent football lately against top notch teams. They hung tough with Tennessee *in Nashville[/i.]. The Jets however, just got handled pretty well by the Colts, even though they did make a game of it at the end, and the victory over the Giants is looking less and less impressive. I’m not going to claim that the Jags should be favored, but I’d almost have expected this game to be even money or a 1 point spread. Of course, we’ve established that I’m an idiot so far this season. The Jags are a little depleted on offense. Their defense has been respectable for a while. Pennington is clicking big time, and they’ve put up alot of points lately. Their defense on the otherhand has been dreadful. I don’t have a really good read on this game, and I’m laning towards going with the homefield advantage, but I’ll hedge and pick the Jags to cover. Taylor is dinged up, so I’ll revisit this one in more detail in a couple days. Final Score, Jets 34 - Jags 31.
New England @ **Houston ** 12:00pm ( New England -6.0 )
The Pats have been really clicking this season , especially the last couple weeks. Romeo Crennel and Belichick are making artwork on defense. I am hoping to see Crennel get a long hard look from the Bears once Jauron jets pink slipped. Houston has had some glimmers of hope, and the offense has been formidable at home. But, David Carr isn’t playing, so that might really cause trouble for that passing game. Banks is no slouch, but how well prepared can he be for the typical confusion created by the Pats. Plus the Pats run D is tough enough to prevent them from hanging their hat on Davis all game long. The one saving grace is that I just got a call from Bob Kraft asking if I’d be interested in suiting up at WR for the Pats this week. Final Score, Pats 24 - Texans 14.
New Orleans @ **Philadelphia ** 12:00pm ( Philadelphia -5.5 )
What is the deal with the Saints. They never do what they are supposed to, do they? Now that the Eagles are getting back on track most people are already crowning them NFC champs again. I think its crap. Yes McNabb and the offense is going better, but they haven’t exactly played anyone that really pops you in the mouth either. Their defense is still suspect, they are mainly coasting on rep right now, they just aren’t as talented as in years past. The Saints will score points, but they can’t do much on defense. The key to stopping the Eagles is to make McNabb rush his throws and to stuff the run, not strong points for the Saints. If this were in the Vet, I’d take the Eagles to cover, but since its now the Linc, that advantage isn’t as marked. I’m taking a flier here. Final Score, Saints 31 - Eagles 27.
San Francisco @ **Green Bay ** 12:00pm OFF
This one’s OFF, and I’m short on time right now so I’m going to skip it until later. Chances are the’ll have it back on before the weekend.
Chicago @ **Denver ** 3:05pm ( Denver -10.5 )
Too bad the Bears don’t catch these guys until now when Plummer is back. I had been hesitant to crucify Jauron, thinking that most of his problems were a result of simple lack of talent. this isn’t the case here, this is a horribly coached team. The worst part is that this stoic demeanor has the team playing like they don’t care enough. They used to at least be having fun, not any more. Now they take this attitude into Mile High. They’ve shown spunk at home, and while the coaching staff costs them wins, the talent has always kept them in it. On the road it’s been a different story. 10.5 points is a lot, no doubt, but the Bears haven’t been able to keep blockers off the linebackers and they’ve been run on like crazy. Denver excels at it and can run on anyone. Portis is rested and should be 100%. I do think the Bears will run the ball well enough to keep the Broncos from blowing them out. Final Score, Broncos 23 - Bears 13. Oozing confidence, huh?
St. Louis @ Arizona 3:05pm ( St. Louis -8.0 )
Seems like every time there’s a game that could be a total blow out on paper, the weaker team has always been at home giving you pause this season. If it were in the dome it’d be a 14 point spread. Since it’s not, they went with 8 scores. I think that’ll be plenty and that the Rams are going to get rolling this week in a divisional game. The offensive steam the Cards had mustered seems to be all gone, and they haven’t be able to do anything against a above average D. The Rams can stuff the run, and Shipp won’t be enough to change that trend. so, they’ll be putting all their chips on the odds of Blake outscoring the Rams O. No thanks. Final Score, Rams 30 - Cards 16.
Oakland @ **Kansas City ** 3:15pm ( Kansas City -11.0 )
The Rick Mirer show rolls into KC. And guess what, the Chefs are gonna be pissed. The Raiders have been hopeless on the road, and especially bad at Arrowhead. 11 points is alot, it figures this game happens totally making my previous point above look silly. Normally I’d jump on the bandwagon and take the Chiefs to win and cover, but things have been so goofy this year, and games have this tendancy to come down to the fouth quater more times than not. The biggest factor to me is the Raiders stats against the run, they are awful, and a certain Priest is coming home. Final Score, Chiefs 35 - Radiers 18.
Cincinnati @ **San Diego ** 3:15pm ( Cincinnatti -3.0 )
These god damned Chargers have been my achillies all season. I bet money that LT would out score Ricky Williams in fantasy points, a bet which its looking like it’ll end up much closer than it should. T drafted Boston in multiple leagues near the top of the draft. And lastly I haven’t been able to precict their outcomes for shit all year. Seeing Cincy as a Road fave is unsettling, however I don’t see how San Diego’s pathetic D will put up much of a struggle. I expect the Chargers to manage a reasonable point total at home, but not enough to stay in this at the end. Final Score, Bengals 40 - Chargers 27.
Tennessee @ Atlanta 3:15pm ( Tennessee -6.5 )
Well, Atlanta benched Kittner for Doug Johnson. Hold on to your hats folks! I think the Vick situation has been a major distraction for this team. They haven’t had much to feel good about thei year, and things haven’t been helped by that uncertainty. The Titans hung on to a tough game at home last week, and probbaly feel like this game is a sigh of relief. Could be a trap game, but I don’t think that Warrick Dunn will do enough against this really good D to make that happen. McNair will have alot of fun against this secondary. Final Score, Titans 34 - Falcons 17.
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