Power Rankings

I think this is probably the most difficult and meaningless (saying a lot) post I could possibly write. But here goes, power rankings heading into the first week of the regular season:

1. Pittsburgh: I'm abiding by the old number-one-until-somebody-beats-them rule here, against my gut feeling that the Steelers are not the best team in the league right now, even with the fancy ring.

2. New England: There are some questions about their pass defense, but they can out-gun any team in the league with Tom Brady healthy, and with Brandon Meriweather at safety, things can't be all bad.

3. Philadelphia: I feel like I've been brainwashed to believe that the Eagles are this good. Their offense is pretty good when they are on, and even without Jim Johnson the defense is still top 15, right?

4. Baltimore: I like any team that can play as physical as the Ravens. And I like their schedule. (AFC West, NFC North)

5. New York Giants: Like the Steelers, the Giants are high because, as of yet, nobody has de-throned them. I don't particularly like Eli Manning, and without a solid receiver, I think he will struggle more than usual.

6. Tennessee: Like the Ravens, they should be able to pound a lot of their opponents, especially early in the year. I'd like to guess that the Kerry Collins era is about to run its course, but I'm usually wrong about things like that (see numerous posts about Brett Favre retiring).

7. Indianapolis: Conventional wisdom tells us that losing a bunch of coaches, chiefly Tony Dungy, and Marvin Harrison would be enough to sink a team before they start. But conventional wisdom also tells us that any team with Payton Manning has a fighting chance. Plus he gets to throw against the NFC West four times.

8. Carolina: Jake Delhomme could ruin this ranking. He struggled mightily in the playoffs at home against the Cardinals, and if any of that carries over, the Panthers are sunk.

9. Minnesota: With Brett Favre, Tarvaris Jackson, or Sage Rosenfels, this is probably a 10-6 team, but they will start out very fast (maybe 5-0 before hosting Baltimore in Week 6).

10. Atlanta: Matt Ryan has to prove that he can do it again, but it didn't look like beginner's luck. If the defense comes together, the Falcons will rise from 10 pretty fast.

11. Miami: See note above; replace Delhomme with Chad Pennington. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams will rush for a combined 2,000 yards.

12. Arizona: The fact of the matter is that Arizona lost eight games last season including the Super Bowl. They made an excellent run at the right time, but they still have a lot of weaknesses that can and will be exploited. And Kurt Warner is a year older.

13. San Diego: Talent, talent, talent. We'll see if they make a go at it this season, though something about them (Norv Turner) tells me they won't.

14. Green Bay: Everybody is the world loves the Packers after that spirited preseason, but they are going to have to prove it in a real game first. It is very hard to judge a defense that just switched schemes by a few quarters against offenses that are spending more time learning their base plays than they are game-planning for Green Bay.

15. Dallas: It's hard to believe that Tony Romo won't lead the Cowboys to eight or nine wins. It is also hard to believe that Tony Romo will play in a playoff game this season.

16. New Orleans: Like the Packers, the Saints will probably be more fun than good this season.

17. Chicago: Jay Cutler is pretty good at times, but he also will lose the Bears a couple games this season. Throw in an aging and declining defense, and I see 8-8.

18. Houston: If Houston can manage a sweep of either Indianapolis or Tennessee, they will win the division. If.

19. Seattle: A lot of folks like Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks this season. And why not? They play in the worst division in the NFC and have a frightening receiving corps.

20. Washington: Washington finished number four on the defensive side last season, and added Albert Haynesworth to the fold. Yes, that's right. The number four defense in the NFL added arguably the most valuable defensive player in the league. The question remains: Can Jason Campbell do enough to help the defense win games?

21. San Francisco: Mike Singletary adds a lot of fire to the team, but they still don't have the

players.

22. Cincinnati: With Carson Palmer healthy they should at least win three or four more games.

23. Buffalo: Ultimately, the young and inexperienced offensive line will be their undoing.

24. Jacksonville: Nice to see Jack Del Rio clean house a little, casting out receivers Reggie Williams and Matt Jones in favor of veteran Torry Holt. Probably won't translate to many wins this season though.

25. New York Jets: Starting a rookie quarterback as a rookie coach worked for both John Harbaugh and Mike Smith last year. Rex Ryan will not join the club.

26. Kansas City: It's kind of hard to believe that they thought Chan Gailey was a good idea to start with.

27. Tampa Bay: Starting over. We'll forgive them a couple years to rebuild around Josh Freeman.

28. Cleveland: Like the Steelers and Giants, we're waiting for them to prove us wrong. They could start by scoring a touchdown.

29. Oakland: There's not enough space here to fully explain why the Raiders are the 29th best team in the NFL.

30. St. Louis: Maybe Marc Bulger will bring the Rams back to live after two awful seasons. Maybe?

31. Denver: Hard to like any of the moves they made this off season. Except for benching Brandon Marshall in the preseason.

32. Detroit

Birds!

Confronted by the most compelling conference championship in the history of the NFL (Eagles at Cardinals), I turned and ran to something much more light-hearted, though possibly as interesting. Bird mascots are taking over the league. Cardinals, Eagles, and Ravens, all in the conference finals in one season? Who would have thought?

Last year the same weekend was full of... big men. Patriots, Giants,  and Packers. Neato. The Eagles last conference championship was another one fought in mid-air, against the Falcons. Probably the most incredible thing about the three-bird weekend is that the Cardinals are one of the birds. The Eagles have gotten this far quite a lot since Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb took over the team (this is their fourth NFC Championship game together), but the Cardinals hadn't won a playoff game since 1998 before they beat Atlanta at home two weeks ago. The Ravens, of course, are among the recently crowned, having won the 2000 Super Bowl. 

The Philadelphia-Arizona game seems like a bit of a rip-off; what happened to New York and Carolina, the two running-est and best-loved NFC teams all season? Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh-Baltimore rematch seems almost too good to be true. Here's what needs to be known: The NFC game will be more exciting than the AFC game. Exciting is almost impossible to define in professional sports; some people want a bunch of touchdowns, some want a bunch of defense, and some quit watching after their fantasy football team lost in the playoffs. In this case, it will be a matter of the NFC game staying close, and the Steelers running away from Baltimore.

Baltimore has played well the last month, and won some very big games. They almost beat Pittsburgh last time around, in a heated, controversial game. But the fact of the matter is that the Steelers are the better team, and are much better prepared for this game. They have no glaring weaknesses, and are playing at home. They have a quarterback with a ring. Look, I know I've lauded Baltimore for most of the year, including last week after they beat Tennessee. And I think they will play fine. And they will hit and run the ball and all of that. And they will lose.

The Eagles are match-up problem for most teams because of their aggressive defense. They force teams to change things up and take chances. The Cardinals are a tough match-up because their passing game can beat anybody. Basically, this game will boil down to two things: Kurt Warner staying on his feet, and the Cardinals defense continuing to tackle well and play at a high intensity.

Last week the Arizona defense was as nasty as they are capable of. They were hitting and wrapping up and catching the ball when Jake Delhomme threw it near them. They'll have to do the same. Brian Westbrook hasn't done much in this year's playoffs, and the Cardinals would be wise to keep attention on him. McNabb is playing well. He'll hurt the Cardinals a few times, but they should be able to minimize the big plays. Warner, on the other hand, just needs to find the hot receiver on blitzes (something he has always been known for), and give Larry Fitzgerald a couple chances to make plays. If Warner can do that, the Cardinals can score 30 points.

With that:

Pittsburgh 34-17. Might be a close first half, but eventually Pittsburgh will make the big plays.

Philadelphia 30-27. I can't make myself actually pick the Cardinals, for the third straight week.

Playoff Rankings, Week 2

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: Most impressive win in these playoffs. San Diego got off to a fast start, and Pittsburgh spent the rest of the game asserting their will, as it were.

2. Baltimore Ravens: They just keep beating people up. Pittsburgh is the team best equipped to beat Baltimore (they've done it twice this season).

3. Philadelphia Eagles: Donovan McNabb outplayed Eli Manning. Vast understatement. The Eagles run defense won the game in the second half.

4. Tennessee Titans: They probably could have won that game. Turnovers are rough.

5. Arizona Cardinals: Here comes Kurt Warner! 

6. New York Giants: What happened? 

7. Carolina Panthers: We know what happened to Carolina: Jake Delhomme.

8. Indianapolis Colts: It seems like a safe bet that the Colts will fall a little ways with Tony Dungy gone.

9. Miami Dolphins

10. San Diego Chargers: I still can't believe they extended their season two weeks. 

11. Atlanta Falcons

12. Minnesota Vikings

Shuffle the ranks

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: It is impossible to understate how well they have played against a grueling schedule. Suddenly they can steal the number one seed in the AFC from Tennessee.

2. Tennessee Titans: Albert Haynesworth injured? Terrible news for the Titans.

3. New York Giants: I think they will be OK in a couple weeks, but it would be nice if they could figure it out against Carolina, before they blow home-field advantage.

4. Indianapolis Colts: Not a pretty season for the Colts, but they are going to win a playoff game.

5. Carolina Panthers: Running game is incredible right now, and making Jake Delhomme look good again.

6. Baltimore Ravens: Same story as the Steelers, but they aren't quite good enough to get past this schedule.

7. New England Patriots: Probably too high for the Patriots, but I am impressed by how they just keep staying in it.

8. Dallas Cowboys: Have played well three weeks straight against good teams.

9. Philadelphia Eagles: Storming back into the mix.

10. Atlanta Falcons: Nice division win, but they have to win on the road in Minnesota.

11. Minnesota Vikings: They will miss Pat Williams against the Falcons and Michael Turner, but I think the Vikings offense will win this game.

17. Chicago Bears: Tough game this week against the Packers.

25. Green Bay Packers: Oops.

28. Cincinatti Bengals: What a nice win, even if Washington has completely collapsed.

29. Kansas City Chiefs: Could they be worse in the 4th quarter?

30. Oakland Raiders: Could they be worse?

31. St. Louis Rams: The Rams could not be worse.

32. Detroit Lions.

Pretty obvious how this would shake out:

ESPN.com: MIN-12, CHI-1, G.B.-25

Michael Silver (Yahoo!): MIN-7, CHI-17, G.B.-25

CBS Sports: MIN-8, CHI-16, G.B.-24

Jeff Sagarin (USA Today): MIN-7, CHI-12, G.B.-15

FOX Sports: MIN-12, CHI-13, G.B.-25

Vinnie Iyer (The Sporting News): MIN-10, CHI-17, G.B.-24

No field goal?

This week didn't have a ton of intriguing  match-ups, but the games sure turned out great. After watching about half the games from this week, I'm wondering a few things:

How does Jeff Fisher not attempt a game-winning 49-yard field goal? Rob Bironas is a pretty solid kicker, and 49 yards should be within any kicker's range, especially inside. And, yes, there would have been two minutes left for Matt Schaub to try to get Houston in range for their own field goal attempt, but aren't the Titans among the league's elite teams because of their defense? A really strange move, one that one wouldn't expect from Jeff Fisher. After the Titans failed to convert on 4th down, Steve Slayton sealed the game on the next play with a 34-yard run.

How did the referees overturn the no-score call on that Santonio Holmes catch? It sure was close, and if any of the ball was ever across the goal line, had Holmes gained possession yet? Considering that the call on the field was no touchdown, how did they see enough to overturn that call? I am baffled, and it may have cost Baltimore a first-round bye.

Speaking of Santonio Holmes, how did the Steelers end up with a huge gain on his muffed punt? And how come every time there is a fumble, Ed Reed recovers it?

How come Randy Moss makes a lot of really nice catches, and nobody says anything about it anymore? For some reason Kevin Harlan kept pointing out whenever Randy Moss made a block for Sammy Morris. But nothing about his great grabs. 

How could the Jets look so good while going up 14-3 on Buffalo, and then need J.P. Losman to make one of the worst plays in this NFL season to win the game? Brett Favre has to stop throwing stupid interceptions. This team might end up making the playoffs, but there will be five other better teams in the AFC playoffs.

Are the Packers really this bad? 

How did Washington and Buffalo look so good earlier? They really are this bad.

Is Tarvaris Jackson playing well enough to keep Gus Frerotte on the bench the rest of the season? I have hard time believing that Brad Childress will be comfortable starting Jackson in a wildcard game if Frerotte is healthy enough to go. Jackson has played pretty well in his two games back, but he hasn't been asked to do much. Today against Arizona he was given a lead and a great performance by his defense. Personally, I don't think Frerotte has been playing that well anyway.

Top Five, Bottom Five

1. New York Giants: Best team in the league, not even close.

2. Tennessee Titans: One of the easiest wins I have ever seen. They should wrap up the AFC South soon.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers: Toughest schedule in the league, and they just keep winning. Really one of the better defenses in recent memory, at least statistically. 

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I still feel like after Pittsburgh, the next six or seven spots are a jumble. Dallas is really close to getting back into the Top Five. Tampa is playing as consistent as anybody.

5. Indianapolis Colts: An ugly win against Cleveland, but when a team keeps winning, that means they are good.

12. Minnesota Vikings: If they had Kevin and Pat Williams the rest of the way, and could beat Detroit this week, the division would pretty much be theirs. But they almost certainly won't have those two, and without them, even Detroit is not a guaranteed win.

19. Chicago Bears: They have officially come back to Earth. They did a good job up piling up wins before this bad stretch though, and still have a shot at the playoffs.

21. Green Bay Packers: Their schedule is seriously weak, and that is their only hope. Houston, Jacksonville, Chicago, and Detroit are all very beatable, even for the struggling Packers. They'll have to win all four.

28. Oakland Raiders: Not sure what to say about the Raiders. They show up every week, but they aren't that good. Nice defense though. 

29. Seattle Seahawks: Mike Holmgren should have sat this year out. He could have started fresh in 2009 with San Francisco, a team that he might be able to take to 9-7 or so. Instead, he either won't get that year off, or he won't get a shot with the 49ers.

30. Cincinnati Bengals: I think the Bengals and Chiefs deserve some sort of consolation pat on the back for fighting so hard despite never having a chance in 2008. A lot of injuries here, too.

31. St. Louis Rams: The Rams are actually almost as bad as the Lions, if you can believe that. It is too bad for Marc Bulger, who is having an awful year. I would like to see him get a shot on a better team, because he is a legit quarterback, probably could win a Super Bowl with a decent team around him.

32. Detroit Lions: 

ESPN.com: MIN-15, CHI-19, G.B.-20

Michael Silver (Yahoo!): MIN-9, CHI-17, G.B. 20

CBS Sports: MIN- 13, CHI-18, G.B.-21

Jeff Sagarin (USA Today): MIN-8, G.B.-12, CHI-13

FOX Sports: MIN-14, CHI-18, G.B.-20

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): MIN-12, CHI-19, G.B.-21

Glorious Sunday

I wasn't completely sold on Arizona beating the Eagles, but it just didn't look like Donovan McNabb was going to snap out of it yet. He did, in a big way. The Cardinals were never really in that game,  and Brian Westbrook went wild with four touchdowns. The same sentiment accompanied my picking the Jets over the Broncos. The hot Jets at home against a team that never really plays a complete game. And the Broncos crushed them.

The Jets, Patriots, and Bills, all AFC East pals, pretty much refused to win on Sunday. The Jets turned it over twice. The Bills coughed it up just once, but missed two gimme field goals after squandering red zone opportunities and lost to the 49ers 10-3. Meanwhile, the Patriots were fighting it out with Pittsburgh for about 29 minutes, before Randy Moss uncharacteristically dropped a touchdown pass, and then the entire team spent rest of the game putting the ball on the ground. Five turnovers led to a 33-10 loss. The Steelers outscored New England 23-0 in the second half.

The AFC East is now a complete cluster. The Jets remain in first at 8-4. New England and Miami are a game back at 7-5. The Bills are 6-6. We are ready to write off the Bills, but they play each of those teams one more time. Suppose they win all three? They will finish at least 9-7, and that might be good enough. But probably not. 

Almost all of the division races are going to be great to watch down the stretch. In the NFC East, Philadelphia gets to play every body once more, and Dallas will host the Giants in Week 15. The NFC South will see Atlanta travel to New Orleans and Tampa Bay in Carolina this week. After those games, there will be a team alone in first place (either T.B. or CAR), and New Orleans, with a loss, would basically be done. The following week Tampa Bay has to go to Atlanta, and in Week 17 the Panthers travel to New Orleans.

The AFC North race is tight. Pittsburgh is 9-3, Baltimore 8-4. They play in Week 15, at Baltimore. The Steelers won the first game this season, so a win there would wrap up the title, most likely. 

The other division races won't be as exciting. The AFC and NFC West divisions have been more or less won, by Denver and Arizona, respectively. The Titans have a three game lead over Indianapolis with four games left—including a Week 17 battle in Indiana. I expect Tennessee to clinch the division by then.

The NFC North could come down to the wire. But there are only three divisional match-ups left, and two of them feature Detroit. Green Bay goes to Chicago in Week 16. A Bears win there would surely end Green Bay's (5-7) playoff hopes. This one will be won outside of divisional games. 

Some random thoughts, mostly from the early games Sunday:

Derek Anderson seems in capable of throwing the ball downfield. He was checking down on almost every throw, and his guys were getting hit immediately. Give credit to the Colts defense.

Braylon Edwards has no confidence in his hands. Even his catches look a little shaky. 

Peyton Manning is going to continue to look like his old self if he continues to get six and seven seconds (slight exaggeration) to throw. How does he fumble on 4th and goal though?

The Packers are giving up a ton of huge plays all the sudden, on defense and special teams. And they sure are soft against the run. 

Panthers color-commentator Eugene Robinson was frustrated with the Packers defensive back's hands-on approach to coverage. Tramon Williams was flagged for defensive pass interference in the end zone in the first half (and a personal foul), and Robinson was exacerbated by the play:

"He held the entire way... His (Williams') left arm was holding Steve (Smith) on the back-shoulder play, prevent him from making a play." He went on for about a minute...

How many times can the Bills have huge, long, time-consuming drives that go for no points?They did it yesterday against San Francisco again. They did it a couple times at home against the Jets, the game that was the turning point in their season. 5-1 has turned into 6-6.

Week 13

Tennessee at Detroit: The Lions probably should not be in this game after the first quarter, but one never knows. Here's guessing that if they come out with some Thanksgiving energy, it will be gone by the second half. Titans 27-17.

Seattle at Dallas: The Cowboys might be getting back on track. This home game will help. Cowboys 31-17.

Arizona at Philadelphia: It is really hard to predict a turnaround in Philly this week. Safe bet: Cardinals 28-20.

San Francisco at Buffalo: San Francisco looks really bad against quality teams. Buffalo is just below that quality line, but they should win Sunday. Bills 21-20.

Baltimore at Cincinnati: I still like the way Cincinnati has shown up to play every week, even if they are 1-9-1. But Baltimore's defense is still nasty, and Joe Flacco can win on the road this week. Ravens 20-10.

Indianapolis at Cleveland: The Colts are back, 27-13.

Carolina at Green Bay: This might be an OK match-up for Green Bay. Carolina's passing game has been wretched of late. Carolina should be able to run the ball and control the clock though. Panthers 20-17.

Miami at St. Louis: St. Louis is playing so bad lately, they are due for a decent game. Miami 20-14.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay: I love this match-up. In Week 1 Drew Brees threw the ball all over against Tampa, and New Orleans won 24-20. I like Tampa's defense against the inconsistent Saints. Bucs 24-20.

New York Giants at Washington: Washington is not convincing me that they are a playoff-worthy team. Giants 24-17.

Atlanta at San Diego: San Diego has played every game close, but this week I like the rock-steady Falcons, 20-16.

Pittsburgh at New England: This is a tough one. The Patriots of old would have snuffed out this version of the Steelers. But the Pittsburgh D (number one against rush and pass) might be able to rattle Matt Cassel. Still, Pats, 20-13.

Denver at New York Jets: Safe pick, again: Jets 34-28.

Kansas City at Oakland: Great match-up... Chiefs 21-18.

Chicago at Minnesota: The winner of this game has no excuse for not winning the division, especially if Green Bay loses Sunday. Vikings 23-20.

Jacksonville at Houston: Who cares? Texans 21-14.

Week 12 Rankings

1. New York Giants: They just keep on rolling, and beating quality teams in the process. Their next three games are all against NFC East teams. It is possible they will win the division during that stretch, but they might get their second loss either at Washington or at Dallas.

2. Tennessee Titans: The loss won't hurt them in the long run. They will win the division in the coming weeks, when they play at Detroit, host Cleveland, and then go to Houston. They finish with Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, but might have home-field wrapped up by then.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers: New England, Dallas, Baltimore, Tennessee. They will win at least two of these games, but man that is a tough stretch.

4. New York Jets: I will finally put them in the mix up here. Brett Favre has been protecting the ball the last few weeks. If they keep playing this way there is no reason why they can't run the table (DEN, at SF, BUF, at Sea, MIA).

5. New England Patriots: I like this team. Even with Matt Cassel at quarterback, they have a ton of weapons, and their defense is pretty tough.

14. Minnesota Vikings: A nice win for the Vikings, but they will have to be able to throw the ball down the stretch.

15. Chicago Bears: A nice win for the Bears, but they are going to have to beat a quality team at some point.

20. Green Bay Packers: A terrible loss for the Packers. Their biggest strength got dominated. 

28. Seattle Seahawks: Playing better with Matt Hasselbeck, but they are bad.

29. Cincinnati Bengals: Ok, so they play hard every week. Win a game once in a while though.

30. Kansas City Chiefs: Same as above.

31. St. Louis Rams: They look real real bad lately.

32. Detroit Lions

Chicago got a few 15's and minnesota got two 11's and two 16's. Everybody has Green Bay as the third best in the NFC North. Check out Vinnie Iyer from the Sporting News, giving Detroit some respect.

ESPN.com: CHI-15, MIN-17, G.B.-20

CBS Sports: CHI-16, MIN-17, G.B.-19

Michael Silver (Yahoo!): MIN-11, CHI-15, G.B.-18

Jeff Sagarin (USA Today): MIN-11, CHI-12, G.B.-13

Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): CHI-15, MIN-16, G.B.-17, DET-31 (He has St. Louis at 32.)

FOX Sports: CHI-15, MIN-16, G.B.-18

Steelers, Ravens Face Tough Road to Playoffs

How opportune for the NFC North, to draw the NFC East and AFC South in the same season. Each team in those two division has at least three wins already, and at least three of those teams are among the top five in the league in most power rankings (NY Giants, Tennessee, Washington).

While the Cincinnati Bengals(0-8) are a complete mess, and the Cleveland Browns(3-4) are struggling to stay afloat after a terrible start, both Pittsburgh(5-2) and Baltimore(4-3) have fought their way to winning records through eight weeks. Conventional wisdom at the point would probably tell us that Pittsburgh is the clear favorite; I'm not really going to argue with that, or even try to challenge it at all. The interesting thing about this division is that both the Steelers and Ravens are in the middle of one of the most hellish schedules I can imagine.

Here's where the two stand so far:

Pittsburgh has already played won three divisional games, including one against Baltimore. They also beat a tough Jacksonville team. Their sole losses came against stalwart NFC East opponents: the Ny Giants and Philadelphia. Baltimore, meanwhile, is 4-0 against teams with losing records, and 0-3 against teams with winning records. They lost to Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Indianapolis in consecutive weeks. They do have two divisional wins under their belt.

Here is what they have coming:

Pittsburgh will go on the road to face Washington, New England, and Tennessee, and will host the inconsistent but talented Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers. Their remaining divisional games are at Baltimore and home for Cincinnati and Cleveland. Baltimore will travel to face Cleveland, Houston and the Giants in consecutive weeks. That ridiculous road stretch is followed by one home game, against Philadelphia, and then another road trip, this time for a division rival Cincinnati. Their final four games: Washington, Pittsburgh, at Dallas, home for Jacksonville.

So while Pittsburgh is surely a better team than Baltimore so far, and holds a game lead in the division, it will really come down to how they play against other opponents. And neither team gets a break the rest of the way. Cincinnati isn't a scary foe, but a divisional game in the NFL is different, even against an 0-8 team.

On another schedule topic, the 0-7 Lions have a really good chance to go defeated the rest of the way. Their final nine games feature nine teams with at least three wins. Their four road games all figure to be bad losses: at Chicago, Carolina, Indianapolis, and Green Bay. Their only hopes may be against either the 3-4 Jaguars or the 3-4 Vikings, both games at Ford Field.

Week 9

New York Jets at Buffalo: I have a hunch that Brett Favre is going to throw a few picks. Buffalo does well against lesser teams. Bills 24-17.

Detroit at Chicago: One of these weeks Detroit is going to break out, and surprise(embarrass) somebody. Probably not in Chicago though. Bears 31-10.

Jacksonville at Cincinnati: Jacksonville needs this game, and the Bengals come up at a nice time in the schedule. Jags 24-16.

Baltimore at Cleveland: I have been down on the Ravens quite a bit. I think they will over come the Browns offense and win a third straight game, 20-17.

Green Bay at Tennessee: Been dead wrong about the Packers nearly every week. The Titans look real though. Titans 30-21.

Arizona at St. Louis: Uhhhmm. Rams 34-28?

Houston at Minnesota: The Vikings do best against teams with losing records, which means they will be down in the 4th quarter, and barely win. Vikings 24-23.

Tampa Bay at Kansas City: The Chiefs continue to show flashes, but they just can't complete games. Bucs 27-13.

Miami at Denver: Jay Cutler should be able to move the ball this week, and as long as Miami doesn't rush for 250 yards, the Broncos should be able to out duel them. Broncos 34-27.

Atlanta at Oakland: It will be interesting to see if Matt Ryan has one terrible game this year. Falcons 24-10.

Dallas at New York Giants: Unfortunately, this game is going to come down to Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger, and that means the Cowboys are going to lose. Giants 31-21.

Philadelphia at Seattle: The Seahawks are still terrible, sorry. Eagles 28-13.

New England at Indianapolis: This could either way, since both teams are Jekyll and Hyde. Pats 27-21.

Pittsburgh at Washington: The Steelers schedule is brutal. The only good thing for them is that Baltimore's might be even tougher. Steelers over Washington 20-13.

Week 8

There some really intriguing match-ups this week. As usual, it will come down to which inconsistent team shows up and which one lays an egg. Who knows this year?

Tampa Bay at Dallas: Brad Johnson has to start again this week. Brooks Bollinger is number two in Dallas. Please refer to this 2006 Vikings-Bears game, when BB filled in for BJ after four interceptions. Note that neither quarterback finished that game. Bucs 20-9.

Washington at Detroit: Don Banks thinks the Lions just might go winless this season. I'm not sure about that, but they will be 0-7 in a few days. Washington 31-17.

San Diego at New Orleans: could go either way, any way. Saints 41-31.

Buffalo at Miami: The Dolphins have snuck up on a few teams with the "Wildcat" offense, but Baltimore seemed to have in under control last week. Buffalo continues to win any way they have to. Bills 24-21.

St. Louis at New England: The Patriots are the most up and down team in an up and down league, so it is near impossible to guess what will happen when the Rams come in, hot off two big wins against good teams. I'll go with Bill Belichick, 27-24.

Kansas City at New York Jets: Ah, the long-awaited Chiefs-Jets match up. Uh.. Jets 34-20.

Atlanta at Philadelphia: Flip a coin. 

Oakland at Baltimore: There is no doubt that the Raiders play hard every week, but Baltimore should win this. Ravens 20-10.

Arizona at Carolina: Flip a coin.

Cleveland at Jacksonville: Jaguars 27-17. By the way, if three of your players have staph infections, and you are suspending them for talking about it, there is something terribly, terribly wrong.

Cincinnati at Houston: Probably will be one of the more exciting games this week. Texans 31-27.

New York Giants at Pittsburgh: Probably the best match-up so far of the NFL's elite. Neither team will suffer much from a loss here, but it is a chance to assert themselves. I love the Steelers balance, and I love Plaxico Burress on 3rd downs. I'll go with the home team, 27-20.

Seattle at San Francisco: Not sure I care... 49ers 31-21.

Indianapolis at Tennessee: There is no reason why the Colts can't win this game... if they actually show up this week. Tennessee is due for some humble pie, but the Colts aren't the team to serve it up. Titans 34-21.