NFL Week 9 Picks

NFL Week 9 Picks
M.D. Wright
11.1.08

It's Week 9, we're at the halfway point of the season. All the teams have, or will have played half their games after this week. By now, we really know what these teams are, right?

As Jim Mora once said, "you may THINK you know, but you don't know... and you never... will... know".

I agree with Mora, as always.

Here are my picks:

New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Orchard Park, New York

The Jets are playing with fire if they expect to make the playoffs. Although in today's NFL, you cannot label games as "make or break" in midseason, nor point to any particular game as a definiing one. But if there ever was one, this is it for the Jets. For one, the Bills are right at the top of the AFC East with New England. Secondly, the Jets have been scuffling of late, and beating a good team will definitely help their psyche (as well as their standing in the division).

The Bills are playing without Josh Reed, but otherwise offensively, they look pretty good. Will their defense get back to where it was previously? I'm going to go with the Bills at home, because I just feel like Brett Favre is going to throw up 2-3 INTs to the Bills. I CAN FEEL IT IN THE AIR like Phil Collins.

Call:
NY Jets 24
Buffalo 30
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Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears
Soldier Field
Chicago, Illinois

The Lions are the worst team in the NFL. The end.

Call:
Detroit 10
Chicago 31
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Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Paul Brown Stadium
Cincinnati, Ohio

I say it week after week, the Bengals aren't as bad as their record suggests. OK, I'm coming off that nonsense. THEY ARE. Especially with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick "leading" them right now. Marvin Lewis is about to lose his job.

Call:
Jacksonville 31
Cincinnati 21
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns Stadium
Cleveland, Ohio

The Ravens' defense is as sharp as ever, and the offense is finally looking as if it has a life. The Browns will know what they are made of after this one, that's for sure. My bets are they just don't have the mettle to defeat a team with a defense like this. Oh, they beat my Giants, but I just do not see it happening here.

Call:
Baltimore 20
Cleveland 17
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Green Bay Packers vs. Tennessee Titans
LP Field
Nashville, Tennessee

The Packers have a chance to take control of the NFC North lead. They released unproductive Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila this week and activated one of their defensive tackles. They understand the importance of stuffing the run vs. Tennessee and forcing QB Kerry Collins to beat them. The Colts did a good job of this for the most part on Monday, but they could not get out of their own way. QB Aaron Rodgers is playing better than Peyton Manning, however.

I really believe the Packers can go into Nashville and do what the Colts couldn't, with better defensive personnel.

Call:
Green Bay 27
Tennessee 21
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri

Yawn.

Call:
Tampa Bay 17
Kansas City 3
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Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams
The Edward Jones Dome
St. Louis, Missouri

This is a pivotal game in the NFC West. The Cardinals are coming off a tough loss at Carolina last week and are 4-3. The Rams appear to be resurgent, but the Cards are still superior to them (again, the week in-week out "IF" is can they protect QB Kurt Warner).

And with that fact in place, along with the opportunity to wrest the control of the division away from Seattle's long-time grasp, the Cards will pull it out.

Call:
Arizona 38
St. Louis 17
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Houston Texans vs. Minnesota Vikings
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Texans are getting back to where most of us who picked them in the preseason. Going to Minnesota used to be a tough road game, but with 38 year-old stiff Gus Frerotte at the helm, and the Texans playing very good offensively themselves (the defenses pretty much cancel each other out) they appear confident enough to pull off this win and get in position to get one of the two playoff spots that will remain once the division winners get their spots.

Call:
Houston 30
Minnesota 20
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Miami Dolphins vs. Denver Broncos
Invesco Field at Mile High
Denver, Colorado

Hmmmm... more wildcat offense? The Broncos are very suspect at defense right now; and that was before CB Champ Bailey was ruled out for at least the next month with an injury. Denver has not been able to run the ball of late, either. While Cutler is not struggling necessarily, it is going to be tough to keep up with the multiple looks that the Dolphins feature. I really believe they will go to Denver and win.

Call:
Miami 27
Denver 24
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Atlanta Falcons vs. Oakland Raiders
McAfee Coliseum
Oakland, California

The Falcons got jobbed vs. the Iggles last week -- let's face it. The refs gave the game to Philly. But that aside, there will be no letdown here. They still have a chip on their shoulders, with something to prove, still.

The Raiders have not been able to sustain a running game and JaMarcus Russell continues to look awful. These are rookie mistakes, so he gets a pass. But not a win, unfortunately. Their defense is solid, but stays on the field far too often because of their lack of offensive continuity.

Call:
Atlanta 37
Oakland 20
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Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Football Giants
Giants Stadium at the New Jersey Meadowlands
East Rutherford, New Jersey
***GAME OF THE WEEK***

The Cowboys appear to basically be throwing their towel in and just trying to make it to the bye with head still above water. Starting QB Brad Johnson is asking for a beat-down, and although the Cowboys looked MUCH BETTER defensively against Tampa -- that's just it -- it was Tampa. The Giants still lead the NFL in rushing yards per game.

Same with the defense, the Giants get more pressure on opposing QBs than any other team and lead the NFL with 26 sacks (one ahead of the Steelers, who they passed after Sunday's game last week).

Unless QB Eli Manning has one of his Cleveland Browns games, this will be a good opportunity for the Giants to put some distance between themselves and Dallas and in a position to watch the Steelers potentially beat the Redskins on Monday Night (and thereby further solidify tiebreaker positioning due to common opponents).

Call:
Dallas 14
NY Giants 31
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Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks
Qwest Field
Seattle, Washington

In years past, this was a tough road game for NFC East teams. Now, Seattle looks like they did in the early 1990s.

Call:
Philadelphia 41
Seattle 13
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New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts
Lucas Oil Field
Indianapolis, Indiana
***SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL/GAME OF THE WEEK, PT. II***

Simply put, the Colts MUST win this game if they have playoff aspirations. The only thing I can say is they should be glad Tony Dungy is their coach and not Jim Mora, because they look eerily alot like that 2001 team before Mora went on his "PLAYOFFS?!?!?!?!" rant. They get Bob Sanders and Joseph Addai back, but lose Marlin Jackson. This is a HUGE (or YUGE, as Mike Francesa would say) game for the Colts.

The Patriots are without Laurence Maroney and Rodney Harrison for the rest of the year. The Colts have not fared well against the run, but they are surprisingly good against the pass. That actually bodes well for them. That, along with the fact they MUST win and the Patriots' age and injuries are going to start catching up this week.

Call:
New England 21
Indianapolis 34
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Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins
FedEx Field
Landover, Maryland

The Steelers are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Giants, but they are getting healthy (despite losing CB Ryan Clark last week). The Redskins look to put themselves in better position to catch the Giants and solidify their stance as the second-best team in the NFC. We will see. The ULTIMATE pick 'em game.

Call:
Pittsburgh 20
Washington 21
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More on Tuesday...