Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Week 11 Predictions

NYJ 24, New England 21- The Jets are on a hot streak and have won three straight... against bad teams. The win against the Bills was convincing, and the Patriots still aren't all that great. While Ty Law is more of a subtraction by addition, as long as Favre doesn't return to his old ways of throwing whenever and wherever he pleases the Jets can get behind Thomas Jones and the power run game. The Patriots front seven....actually, never mind. The Patriots entire defense isn't that good.

Denver 21, Atlanta 34- Denver is just awful. Matt Ryan has the Falcons knocking at the playoff's door. If Brady Quinn can pick the Broncos' defense apart, Ryan shouldn't have any trouble... not to mention Michael "Unstoppable" Turner. Also the time zone effect guarantees a Denver loss.

Detroit 10, Carolina 38- Carolina fans are praying that Jake Delhomme's 4-interception performance against the Raiders was just a fluke. I'm pretty sure it was.

Minnesota 27, Tampa Bay 28- Tampa Bay should game plan to stop the Vikings rushing attack and make Gus Frerotte throw as much as possible. As well as Bernard Berrian has done the past couple of games, I think that's more due to opponent than skill.

Baltimore 20, NYG 31- Baltimore's hot streak should cool off against arguably the best team in the league, and certainly the best team in the NFC. The Giants brutalized the Eagles run defense (that was supposedly a strength) and set the pace from the start. While the Ravens defense is elite, the offense is too conventional and Joe Flacco too inexperienced to beat the Giants.

Oakland 9, Miami 30- Let's not kid ourselves, JaMarcus Russell got benched. Andrew Walter isn't going to win any games either, but what's the point? Like the Lions and the Bengals, the Raiders should already be scouting who they want to take with one of the top 5 picks in the draft.

New Orleans 23, Kansas City 27- One of these weeks Kansas City will vindicate my picking them to win. New Orleans just hasn't looked that great for some reason. Last week they only scored 20 because of a ridiculous Hail Mary at the end to salvage Drew Brees' fantasy day. Meanwhile the Chiefs in the second Tyler Thigpen regime have played almost well enough to win, while Thigpen himself has been one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league. Against the mediocre Saints defense, I'd expect good things.

Philadelphia 29, Cincinnati 16- Philadelphia should bounce back after a tough loss to the Giants on Sunday night. The Bengals are still horrible despite beating the Jaguars, and if Marvin Lewis isn't fired after this season his reputation as a coach has nowhere to go but up.

Chicago 20, Green Bay 33- Chicago can't create nearly the same pressure on Aaron Rodgers as the Vikings did, and at home against a weak secondary the Packers should be able to take advantage and open up the ground game for Ryan Grant. When's the last time anyone uttered the sentence "I can't wait until Kyle Orton gets healthy" ? Bears fans are doing that now. By the way, Devin Hester? Anyone seen this guy on special teams lately? Didn't think so.

Houston 17, Indianapolis 31- Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne kill the Texans.

St. Louis 14, San Francisco 23- Both of these teams are going nowhere fast, and if the 49ers can't give Mike Singletary his first career win as a headcoach against the Rams then I don't know who they're going to beat.

Arizona 30, Seattle 27- Arizona is dominating with Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, and Larry Fitzgerald. The Seahawks are doing their best to make Mike Holmgren not regret his decision to retire, but the possible return of Matt Hasselbeck should help them out.

Tennessee 23, Jacksonville 21- Jacksonville kept their playoff hopes alive by handily beating the Lions (whoop-de-doo...) and now have a chance to pull even with the Colts if they lose to the Texans. Unfortunately they have to beat the league's top team to do just that, and with a weak interior offensive line Albert Haynesworth is going to make life very difficult. With a win and a Colts loss, the Titans are virtually guaranteed the AFC South title. Apparently the Jaguars were laughing at the Lions last week during the game, which is pretty ironic considering the Jaguars are probably out of the playoffs and that the Lions are going to have a better pick in the draft. Who really loses in that situation? The Lions season was over in week 7.

San Diego 21, Pittsburgh 27- Average western division team travels 3 time zones east to play the #1 defense in the league. Tomlinson or not, I don't see the Chargers winning this one, especially after the Steelers are angry about their loss to the Colts.

Dallas 27, Washington 20- It's hard to call this game because as of right now, the status of both Tony Romo and Clinton Portis are in question. One or both of them being out might have a small impact on the outcome... (both out: Dallas 17, Washington 20. Romo out- Dallas 17, Washington 27. Portis out- Dallas 31, Washington 24) At least we can "look forward" to seeing a lot more of Shaun Alexander this week.

Cleveland 27, Buffalo 28- Who thought this would be a good Monday night matchup, even last year? The Bills have dropped all three of their division games (in a row!) while the Browns just lost to the Broncos and let Jay Cutler have a career day. The Bills look like they turned back the clock a year with their anemic offense and shaky quarterback play, except this time Marshawn Lynch isn't making up for those shortcomings by moving the offense on the ground. Apparently Buffalo doesn't accept that they have no other legitimate receiving threats outside of Lee Evans and have yet to figure out an alternative. Brady Quinn makes his second start under center, and unless he crashes and burns a win against the Bills will solidify his status as the starter from now until when the Browns release him.

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