Week 9 Review

Sunday, Nov. 6
Atlanta (5-2) at Miami (3-4), 1 p.m.
Boy, is there going to be a LOT of running in this one. I'm really on the fence here, and for some reason, I'm picking ...
Prediction: Falcons, 21-17
Result: Falcons, 17-10
Only 267 total yards rushing? Oh, T.J. Duckett was inactive. And, as we all know from Michael Vick's little post-game diatribe, he's a real quarterback now because he threw for a little over 200 yards. So he told the press -- the press! -- they can't criticize him anymore. Guess he's not familiar with the First Amendment. I used to think Vick just wasn't a quarterback. Now he's a jerk, too. Otherwise, this was a competitive game, probably more than most people expected, and it wasn't decided until a Gus Frerotte (who may or may not be a quarterback) interception on Miami's final drive.

Carolina (5-2) at Tampa Bay (5-2), 1 p.m.
"Cadillac" hasn't been the same since "Chuckie" burned him out and got him injured. Carolina has TWO running backs. (And a quarterback, and a ...)
Prediction: Panthers, 26-13
Result: Panthers, 34-14
I guess I was the only one that saw Carolina winning this one by more than 10. Everyone else seemed so surprised. Caddy had a big 29 yards on 11 carries. Funny thing is, Carolina went nowhere, except on their scoring drives (59 yards, 32, 90, 16 and 77); non-scoring drives: -6 yards, 8, 9, 3, 1 and 15. Tampa lost two fumbles and two interceptions. Carolina turnovers: 0.

Cincinnati (6-2) at Baltimore (2-5), 1 p.m.
Balitmore is one of only four teams that has yet to score 100 points this season -- last with 88. Cincinnati is NOT one of the other three. Hey, I concluded the first two picks with an ellipsis, which is ...
Prediction: Bengals, 17-6
Result: Bengals, 21-9
Turns out that Kyle Boller's legitimacy as a quarterback is not a point for discussion this season. The scary thing is: He probably really was their best player at that position. This game is a microcosm of the different between this year's Ravens without Ray Lewis and past year's. Last year, it would have been 15-9.

Detroit (3-4) at Minnesota (2-5), 1 p.m.
No Moss, no Culpepper. Nothing you could consider a coach. Could it get any worse? Yet, every time I pick against them ...
Prediction: Lions, 24-3
Result: Vikings, 27-14
... they win. If anyone can explain this team, please post. I'm really interested.

Houston (1-6) at Jacksonville (4-3), 1 p.m.
Think Houston can win 2 in a row? I wonder ...
Prediction: Jaguars, 24-10
Result: Jaguars, 21-14
Houston had several chances to either win or send this game to overtime. They gave up touchdowns on Jacksonville's last three possessions. The last one came one play after the Jaguars fumbled the ball away, but the play was nulled because of a defensive holding call on the Texans. Like several other games, the quarterbacks both threw in the low 200s and each teams' running backs combined for less than 100 yards. Starting to look like the NBA.

Oakland (3-4) at Kansas City (4-3), 1 p.m.
Oakland has been playing pretty well, but ...
Prediction: Chiefs, 38-27
Result: Chiefs, 27-23
For a game that should have been loaded with offense, this was pretty disappointing. Kerry Collins, 175 yards passing. Trent Green, 235 yards passing. Oakland, 101 yards rushing. K.C, 114 yards rushing. Remember those days when Dan Fouts and Dan Marino would throw for 400 yards each? And the running backs for each team would close in on 150 or so? Anyway, this one had maybe the best ending of the year, the teams trading touchdowns in the last couple minutes. Pretty much came down to the last team that had possession.

San Diego (4-4) at N.Y. Jets (2-5), 1 p.m.
Please ...
Prediction: Chargers, 34-9
Result: Chargers, 31-26
I couldn't believe San Diego let New York creep back into this one, ultimately needing a last-second defenisve stop to finish them off. San Diego was in charge all game, as they should have been. The stats show a lopsided game, as it should have been. Too bad about Wayne Chrebet. I always liked him. Seems like a Bill Belichick kind of guy.

Tennessee (2-6) at Cleveland (2-5), 1 p.m.
The games are about to start ...
Prediction: Browns, 17-14
Result: Browns, 20-14
Pretty even game, as expected. Lots of offense. A few turnovers. Reuben Droughns came up big, just under a week following his arrest for drunken driving. Not a tremendous victory for Cleveland, but they have come up on the short end of a couple close games. Maybe this is a turning point for Romeo Crennel's crew.

Chicago (4-3) at New Orleans (2-6) in Baton Rouge, LA, 4:05 p.m.
You never know which New Orleans team is going to show up; or, when the good one shows up, if they're going to get screwed. They could as easily be 6-2 as 2-6 (although I predicted they'd be 0-8). Chicago is in first place, which indicates just how bad the NFC North really is. Aaron Brooks is far from a great quarterback, but Kyle Orton? Orton hasn't thrown a pass in his last 62 attempts. He's due. New Orleans needs to get hold of their turnover ratio.
Prediction: Saints, 24-13
Result: Bears, 20-17
Chicago, who I picked to finish last in the worst division in football, now has a better record than New England, who has the worst record of any division leader. I was reading a recap of this game, and I hardly recognized any Chicago player's name. I don't even know what to make of this game at this point with these two teams. The Bears won on a last-second field goal. The combined running games gained more yardage than the combined passing games. It's just bizarre.

N.Y. Giants (5-2) at San Francisco (2-5), 4:05 p.m.
Think SanFran can win two in a row? I guarantee there is absolutely no way New York loses this game. I'll stake my Keurig single-cup coffee brewer on it.
Prediction: Giants, 42-9
Result: Giants, 24-6
I don't know if I just don't have anything to say, or if these games really were this boring. Outside of Raiders/Chiefs and Jets/Chargers, it seemed like a pretty dull Sunday. At least my coffee brewer is safe.

Seattle (5-2) at Arizona (2-5), 4:05 p.m.
Seattle has had two weeks to prepare for this game -- not that they'd need it. Geez, not too many good games this week.
Prediction: Seahawks, 33-13
Result: Seahawks, 33-19
Looks like, for the most part, I'm still predicting these scores pretty close. I guess that can make up for the lousy games themselves. And not that this is anything new, but you don't really get any good analysis during these 5-minute post-game shows. Used to be they actually talked about the games, and weren't so focused on who got "jacked up." It's horrible. As a result, I have nothing to say about this game.

Pittsburgh (5-2) at Green Bay (1-6), 4:15 p.m.
Pittsburgh has a thousand -- no a million -- injuries. Doesn't matter. The only hope Green Bay has is that Vince Lombardi exhumes himself and brings Curley Lambeau with him.
Prediction: Steelers, 36-24
Result: Steelers, 20-10
I actually watched some of this game, so I can say something intelligent about it. It looked like Green Bay really came to play, at first containing Pittsburgh and limiting the Steelers to 6 first-quarter points. And despite having some guy named Sam Gado running the ball for the Pack, Green Bay marched right down the field. Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu was the story in this one, though, recovering two fumbles and returning one 77 yards for a touchdown. Good thing Lombardi and Lambeau didn't show. They could have tipped the balance.

Philadelphia (4-3) at Washington (4-3), 8:30 p.m.
I can't say what Terrell Owens deserves to have said about him. If there's something worse than "a cancer", that's a good start. Both teams are 3-0 at home and 1-3 on the road. Both teams have given up four more points than they've scored. You can keep throwing stats at this game all day, and you'll never know what the heck is going on. Possibly the most interesting? Philadelphia has the No. 1 passing offense in the league; Washington has the No. 1 passing defense in the league.
Prediction: Redskins, 23-20
Result: Redskins, 17-10
This was a great game, despite the constant talk about the biggest loser in football. Philly jumped out on top and looked like they would be just fine, but you just can't win running the ball for only 45 yards. Even when the Patriots were said to have no running game, they rushed for 70-90 per game. Meanwhile, after several years of chaos and quarterback controversy, it looks like Joe Gibbs has all the Redskins heading in the same direction. They could be your Cinderella dark horse (Cinderella dark horse?) in the playoffs this year.

Monday, Nov. 7
Indianapolis at New England, 9 p.m.
Prediction: Colts, 34-24
Result: Colts, 40-21
No need to beat a dead horse that has been beaten elsewhere. And no more horses.

Open date: Buffalo, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis

Prediction: Drew Bledsoe does not get sacked this weekend. (Actually, he might, but it won't appear on a stat sheet.)
Result: Bledsoe fell asleep on top of someone, whose brothers tied him up in a big burlap enclosure and dumped him in the Hudson River (see Seinfeld episode 7.18). Thus, he was sacked.

This week: 12-2. Did I really break out this time, or were most of these games jokes?
Season: 77-53. That, at least, looks respectable. I'm going to need several more weeks like this for it to actually be respectable.