Week 9 Previews:

Week 9, already? We’re already starting the second half of the season this week there are a number of interesting match ups for your consideration.

At Minnesota -4.5 Houston 45

The Vikes are coming off a bye to host Los Tejanos, who have won their last three. Matt Schaub has picked up his game in recent weeks and Houston’s passing game is now 5th overall. While the Vikes still don’t have much in the way of a quarterback, they do possess the talents of Mr. AP, who ought to have a successful day running against Houston’s fair-to-poor run D. Minnesota needs to win this one badly to keep pace in the division.

Projected Final Score: Minnesota 24, Houston 20

Jacksonville -7.5 At Cincinnati 40

After last week’s loss at home, there ought to be sufficient motivation on the Jags’ part to play much better. They’re 3-4 so far and have been a big disappointment for a team that was picked to be a playoff contender. Now? They’d be lucky to grab a Wild Card berth unless they smarten up soon and start playing some consistent football. They have a golden opportunity in Week 9 to begin that process. As far as the Bungles go, it looks like another lost year in Cincy. Look, they’re dead last in offense, but their run defense isn’t all that bad. The problem is that Garrard can pass the ball as well as he hands it off.

“Abandon hope all ye who enter…”

Projected Final Score: Jacksonville 23, Cincinnati 14

Tampa Bay -7.5 At Kansas City 37.5

Taylor Thigpen had a pretty good day against the Jets, but will quickly learn that the Bucs’ D is a much tougher foe, presently at #5 overall. Jamaal Charles is going to have a long day trying to run, so Thigpen will need to have success throwing. Like Jacksonville, Coach Chucky’s team lost a game that they could’ve won and ought to be feeling pretty mean come kickoff time. The Chiefs’ run defense won’t make anyone remember the days when Buck Buchanan flattened any runner that dared cross his path. The Bucs’ game plan ought to be simple: run, run, run.

Projected Final Score: Tampa Bay 23, Kansas City 14

At Cleveland -1.5 Ravens 36

The Old Browns come back home to face the New Browns in hat ought to be a pretty good AFC North showdown. The Ravens are a much easier team to read than the Browns. You know that the defense will be tough and the run offense predictable and their offensive output in the last two weeks has been progressing steadily. No one can predict with any reasonable degree of comfort which Browns team will show up on Sunday. If they play as well as they did last week, it ought to be one terrific ball game. To make this happen Jamal Lewis needs to have a big afternoon. That’s not going to be an easy job. It may be as equally probable that the “Bad Browns” appear, so it may be a tough afternoon at the Dawg Pound.

Projected Final Score: Ravens 23, Cleveland 21

At Buffalo -5.5 NY Jets 42

This is crunch time for the Bills, after losing on the road they’ve allowed New England back into the AFC race. The Jets pulled out a last-second win at home last week against a weaker opponent and they certainly haven’t called it quits yet. A win here and they’re suddenly back in the hunt. But the Jets haven’t been a model of consistency this year. Both teams are fairly close to each other in terms of total output, so the Bills need to play a more consistent brand of football to prevail. Playing at home usually helps in that regard.

Projected Final Score: Buffalo 23, NY Jets 16

Arizona -2.5 At St. Louis 48.5

The Cardinals return to one of their former hometowns with a two-game divisional lead to face the rejuvenated Rams, who played very well in a close loss to the Patriots without Steven Jackson. It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for King Kurt as well, as he’ll be looking to remind the crowd of the glory days of the Greatest Show on Turf only this time he’ll be dressed in Cardinal and White. While there should be no pretense about Arizona’s offensive approach, Tim Hightower has been getting more carries each week as the team tries to adopt a more balanced approach. The Rams played very well last week and won’t be rolling out the welcome mat for the guests as they look to gain ground in the “anything goes” NFC West. The Rams’ problem is the lack of an effective pass defense. Warner reminds the old crowd how much fun things were back in the day.

Projected Final Score: Arizona 27, St. Louis 24

At Chicago -12.5 Detroit 43.5

The Lions played a competitive half last week before being overwhelmed by Washington. Maybe they’ll win a game one of these weeks, but no one should expect it anytime soon. It is very sad to see the wreckage Matt Millen left in his wake, although their last three defeats were within six points. The Bears are coming off a bye but the defense hasn’t exactly been a juggernaut this year, having given up 41 points in their last outing. Chicago Bears’ teams simply do not behave this way. Kyle Orton has performed quite well this year and he ought to have a productive afternoon against the worst defense in the League. There’s one problem, though, and it’s the 12 ½…no can do.

Projected Final Score: Chicago 24, Detroit 14

At Tennessee -5.5 Green Bay 41

If there was a week for the Titans to falter, it may be Week 9. They’re coming off a dominant home win against Indy on Monday night to face the well-rested and rarin’ to go Packers. After a good run in the opening weeks, the Pack dipped a little only to rebound in Week 7 in Seattle. They’re now coming to Nashville looking to knock the mid-season kings off their pedestal. The Titans can run the ball and have a tough as nails defense. Rodgers has done pretty well so far but this will be a tough test. Titans go 8-0.

Projected Final Score: Tennessee 24, Green Bay 20

At Denver -3.5 Miami 47.5

Denver proved that they’re pretty much pretenders after having been routed in Week 7 at New England. But they’re home this week, where they always play like worldbeaters, go figure. The Dolphins have been a wonderful surprise through half a season and have beaten some quality opponents along the way. The Mile High advantage suggests another upset is not in the cards for Big Tuna’s boys.

Projected Final Score: Denver 27, Miami 23

Atlanta -2.5 At Oakland 41

The Matt Ryan Experiment hit a bump in the road in Philly last week but the Falcons should be genuinely excited by this trip to the Bay. They’ll have a chance to reconnect with D-Hall and Ryan will throw heavily in his direction. The Raiders did not play well on Sunday, but West Coast teams that go East have not won at all so far. They’ll play much better this week in the Black Hole.

Projected Final Score: Oakland 23, Atlanta 21.

At NY Giants -7.5 Dallas 41

Big D comes to the Big City in a world of hurt, as it looks like Brad Johnson is on a short leash and the third-stringer may step in on Sunday. The G-Men are coming off of an emotional road win in Pittsburgh and are looking to run away with things in the NFC East. The problem is that teams who have played the Steelers this year are 1-5 the following week. If Dallas loses, they’ll find themselves in an awful hole out of which to climb, but the G-Men are playing at the top of their game and Coughlin will exhort the troops to a convincing win.

Projected Final Score: NY Giants 28, Dallas 20

Philadelphia -6.5 At Seattle 42

It looks like Philly may have righted the ship last week at home, but now has to make that long trip West to face the injury-ravaged Seahawks. Seattle hung tough last week, winning on the road and regardless of their injuries have not elected to throw in the towel… The Eagles remain in the thick of the hunt for a Wild Card spot, but a sub par performance on Sunday would just make things more complicated and difficult coming down the stretch. Seattle is always a tough environment for visitors to win, but this week McNabb & Co. get the job done.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 27, Seattle 20


At Indianapolis -5 New England 44

This is not rocket science but more like cat n’ mouse between two teams that have been at this game for so long. Indy’s strength is the Patriots’ weakness. Despite the disaster in Nashville, Manning can still throw the football around and New England’s pass D will have a hard time trying to compete. Bob Sanders is expected back and he is the catalyst for Indy’s defense. To succeed, the Patriots need to effectively run the ball and control the clock to keep Manning off the field. On defense, they need to employ a variety of blitz packages. It’s not going to happen.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 27, New England 16