NFL Week 8: Overseas And Back Again

An average 7-6 record puts the overall mark at 55-40 (58%). I’m really starting to lag behind all the previous years’ pace. I need a couple of big weeks and I need them now. Also…last week I was 6-6-1 (thanks to the Bucs) against the spread, so that record is still a respectable 50-42-3. Please don’t use the following for any gambling purposes.

SUNDAY

Oakland Raiders (2-4) vs. Baltimore Ravens (3-3)(-7)
1:00 p.m. M&T Bank Stadium
This is an important game for the schizoid Ravens. With several more road games in the upcoming weeks, Baltimore must win at home against the Raiders. Positive note for the Ravens: West Coast teams have yet to win a game on the East Coast this season. I believe they are 0-8.
Pick: Ravens

San Diego Chargers (3-4)(-3) vs. New Orleans Saints (3-4)
1:00 p.m. Wembley Stadium in London, England
Ok, this game was cute last season when the Giants and Dolphins went to England. But how many more years is this going to happen? I got no problem with the Bills playing in Toronto. I have no problem with games in Mexico. And I really don’t have any problem with the occasional game overseas in Europe or Asia. But this better not be an every year thing. The novelty will wear off quickly.

Anyway, speaking of schizoid, neither one of these teams can play consistently well from week to week. The Saints are the ultimate roller-coaster team so far. You don’t see too many teams go from winning by 31 points one week to losing by 23 points the next. This game is far more important to New Orleans. The rest of the NFC South is slowly starting to pull away. The Chargers may be able to go 10-6 or even 9-7 and hold off Denver in the AFC West. Since the Saints have no Reggie Bush, and Deuce McAlister is still not close to 100%, I’ll go with the less unpredictable Chargers.
Pick: Chargers

Kansas City Chiefs (1-5) vs. New York Jets (3-3)(-13.5)
1:00 p.m. Giants Stadium
As obvious as the Jets losing in Oakland should have been, I completely missed it last week. I think I’ve been giving Brett Favre too much credit. He’s been spending way too much time on the phone lately and not nearly enough time practicing. Herm Edwards makes his less than triumphant return to the swamplands with a team that is awfully close to not even showing up on Sunday. If we are ever going to see an NFL team forfeit a game, it will be Kansas City sometime this season.
Pick: Jets, Chiefs cover

Buffalo Bills (5-1)(-2) vs. Miami Dolphins (2-4)
1:00 p.m. Dolphin Stadium
This one reeks of a Miami upset. It even reeks of a Miami blowout. The Bills are really full of themselves after last week’s dominant win over San Diego. Despite the record, I still don’t think the Bills are that great of a team. Something about playing teams with a combined 15-22 record doesn’t impress me a whole lot.
Pick: Bills

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) vs. Dallas Cowboys (4-3)(-3)
1:00 p.m. Texas Stadium
Say what you will about the Redskins loss to St Louis. At least the Redskins didn’t manage to make the Rams look like the Rams from 1999. If you didn’t realize it by now, the Cowboys are in real trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised if they found themselves in the cellar by this time next week. Right now, I’m not touching them. With three games against the Bucs, Giants and Redskins coming up, the Cowboys would be lucky to get to Thanksgiving at 5-5.
Pick: Buccaneers

Atlanta Falcons (4-2) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (3-3)(-8.5)
1:00 p.m. Lincoln Financial Field
Since losing to the Redskins, the Eagles have had two pretty good weeks. They’ve watched each team in the NFC East lose once and the Cowboys lose twice. During that span, the Eagles had their actual bye week and an unscheduled bye week by virtue of playing the 49ers. It seems the best thing Andy Reid’s team can do is stay home. I’ve always thought Reid was a better coach when his team wasn’t on the field.
Pick: Eagles

St. Louis Rams (2-4) vs. New England Patriots (4-2)(-7)
1:00 p.m. Gillette Stadium
If you have any clue how this game is going to go, then you are lying. If you have a hunch, please let me know. I have no idea.
Pick: Patriots, Rams cover

Arizona Cardinals (4-2) vs. Carolina Panthers (5-2)(-4.5)
1:00 p.m. Bank of America Stadium
Despite having two weeks to prepare for this game, I don’t think the Cardinals have a chance to win this one. They have looked terrible in their two other East Coast games this season and have a poor history on the East Coast throughout their franchise history. The Panthers are simply a better team and the wake up call for Arizona will be too early.
Pick: Panthers

Cleveland Browns (2-4) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3)(-7)
4:05 p.m. Alltel Stadium
I don’t care what the record says, the Browns are not as bad as their 2-4 record indicates. The defense I saw last week against the Redskins was outstanding. They swarm to the ball and get plenty of pressure on the quarterback. It is not easy to pass on them (running is a different story). Unfortunately, Cleveland’s schedule doesn’t get any easier this week. They go on the road to face a pretty good team coming off a bye week.
Pick: Jaguars

Cincinnati Bengals (0-7) vs. Houston Texans (2-4)(-10)
4:05 p.m. Reliant Stadium
Look, I don’t care how bad the Bengals are or how well the Texans have played the last three weeks. Houston is not 10 points better than any other team in the league right now.
Pick: Texans, Bengals cover

New York Giants (5-1) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-1)(-2.5)
4:15 p.m. Heinz Field
You really have to start taking into account who the Giants have played so far. Other than their win against the Redskins (and that was the week 1 Redskins…a team that bears no resemblance to the one we’ve seen since), the Giants have beaten the Rams, Seahawks, 49ers and Bengals. Those four teams are a combined 5-21. They have played a grand total of one division game. They have played no division road games. Their schedule is about to get brutal in the next few weeks. It’s funny how no one mentions this before crowning the Giants as the NFC’s best team. These next three weeks will tell us a lot about New York.
Pick: Steelers

Seattle Seahawks (1-5) vs. San Francisco 49ers (2-5)(-5.5)
4:15 p.m. Candlestick Park
In the toilet bowl game of the week, one team has a coach that’s resigning at the end of the season while the other team has a coach they just fired. Despite the cheap suits, Mike Nolan was certainly not the answer in the Bay Area (something I’d been saying for years). Mike Singletary may be a better long term option, but I can’t see a team that’s had a new coach for five days beating another NFL team. Even if it is the MASH unit Seahawks.
Pick: Seahawks

MONDAY

Indianapolis Colts (3-3) vs. Tennessee Titans (6-0)(-4)
8:30 p.m. LP Field
The Colts just can’t make up their minds. They had a very winnable game against the reeling Packers last week, and they looked like a very old team. Certainly not the Colts team we’re used to seeing. I don’t think Peyton Manning’s knees are the problem anymore. This was a team that I expected to have one or two more good seasons before sailing over the hill and into rebuilding mode. It seems that the Colts trip down the hill has already started. That’s not to say they aren’t a dangerous team. But this is not the Colts team that we’ve seen since the late 90’s. As for Tennessee, I’ve seen their “vaunted defense play a couple of times, and I’m not all that impressed. Statistically they look good (especially last week against the Chiefs), but I think a lot of their success has been because they’ve faced poor offenses or teams that just missed taking advantage of several opportunities. Tough call in this one.
Pick: Titans

Bye Week: Chicago, Denver, Green Bay, Minnesota

The Redskins play the winless Lions before the schedule starts picking up again. Hopefully their egg against the Rams will serve as a warning. More on that later.