Week 8 picks

Now do you see why I call this the lazy eye of sports? Well its more on account of my heightening depression with every Phillies victory in this World Series. Perhaps I can drown my sorrows in this edition of the picks. Have no fear young’ns I’m coming back with my rankings on Tuesday. This much I promise.

Baltimore (-8.5) over Oakland- If last week was any indication, the Oakland Raiders are the epitome of this turbulent season. A team that can rise to most occasions but you can never tell when. Also, at the moment that Sebastian Janikowski stepped on the field I was convinced that he was going to make that field goal no matter what the distance was. You just get the feeling that the guy was going to hit that field goal from the parking lot. The Ravens should be able to force turnovers against a quarterback that apparently is not allowed to throw a pass beyond 5 yards because of the Cable guy’s fear of the pass. They have the personnel to make this interesting, but the Ravens should let the defense just carry this game which should be fine by Ravens personnel.

San Diego (-3) over New Orleans- Last year’s trip across the pond produced one of the wettest and duller games thanks to the conditions of the pitch (what the Euros call grass). So this year the NFL decided to send a more exciting product with more offense than most could ever fathom so that Roger Goddell and the NFL can convince themselves that building a franchise there is a viable and smart financial decision. Can anyone say 18 game schedule? Unfortunately, like last year, both teams are struggling and don’t look like the exciting and important match up that they had hoped. But it IS important in the sense that it is between two teams fighting for a playoff spot. The difference here is that Drew Brees doesn’t have Reggie Bush and the Chargers DO have LDT and Darren Sproles. I don’t need to elaborate anymore do I?

New York Jets (-14) over K.C. Chiefs- The return of the big Chief Herm Edwards brings along many other storylines. Like, what’s going on with LJ? Two years ago he was a certified beast, but now he’s a beast for very horrible reasons. The Jets should be able to rewind themselves and get back to what they know and that is let Brett Favre do his thing. Thomas Jones should be able to run all over the Chiefs interior D which means Favre’s patented play action passing all day.

Buffalo (+1) over Miami- Is there any more injustice than what Las Vegas is doing to this Buffalo team? Even I’m convinced that this team should be included in the discussion about the best teams in the NFL. But apparently Miami and the wildcat offense has poisoned the vegas heads that it is more powerful than this Buffalo Bill team. Let’s see.

Tampa Bay (+1.5) over Dallas- All my good news this week had to do with the demise of America’s team. Only a team with the kind of ego that Dallas has, is it even remotely joyful to see a team struggle like this. But it’s a tribute to Jerry Jones ego. You throw money at a problem you would figure it would fix it huh Jerry? Gee, we haven’t see this in any other sport have we? I like Tampa by almost 2 touchdowns.

Philadelphia (-9) over Atlanta- Reverse Jinx anyone?

New England (-9) over St Louis- Did we see Matt Cassel grow before our eyes last week? New England better hope so, if the reports are true and Brady has an infection on his leg, he could miss another season which would be horrible.

Arizona (+5) over Carolina- I like the Arizona defense, and their offense needs no introduction to me, a Madden aficionado. While the Carolina defense should be good enough create turnovers, I see Arizona’s team playing more confident.

Washington (-7.5) over Detroit.

Jacksonville (-7) over Cleveland- What’s wrong with pointing out your team’s faulty medical practices? Its embarrassing. How Kellen Winslow expected to spit out that diatribe and not have to swallow something in the process is beyond me. Although that lat sentence is also beyond me. You get what I’m saying right?

Giants (-3) vs Pittsburgh- I know the rule of thumb is NOT to pick your team. Especially in big games like this. There’s a lot of talking about how this is a Super Bowl preview. Lets get this straight, this is not. Not to say it can’t happen, but the premature talk is usually to heighten one’s expectations of both teams. Meanwhile, the Steelers are missing a lot of key pieces (Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall and Santonio Holmes) and a lot of their offensive philosophy is based upon the running game which means trouble. The Giants meanwhile are healthy and have a WR who is ready for a break through game against the team that didn’t really welcome him back when they had the chance to. Should be good but I like the Giants in this one. I hope I don’t live to regret this pick.

49ers (-5) over Seattle- No Matt Hasselback which spells trouble.

Bengals (+9) over Houston- I’m not thoroughly convinced by the ESPN sleeper pick here. The Bengals have the offensive fire power to keep up with most teams but their defense had a horrible loss with Keith Rivers their rookie LB being out for the season.

Tennessee (-4) over Indy- while its easy to pick the defense here in this match up I just think the Tennesee Titans are just so much more dominant than the Colts. Should be the coming out party for Chris Johnson.

Last Week: 5-9
Season: 51-49