Week 8 Review/Week 9 Preview:

For the Week/Season:
v. W/L: (8-5)/(61-56)
v. ATS: (7-6)/(56-59-2)
v. Aggregate:(4-9)/(62-55)

ATS v. The Loyal Opposition:
ESPN Bill Simmons 62-51-5
FOXSports Peter Schrager 61-56
CBS-Brinson 60-54-3
CBS-Judge 59-55-3
Walter Football 59-56-3
CHFF: 58-55-0
USA Pete O’Brien 56-56-5
CSNNE Rich Levine 58-54-4
Postcards From Nowhere: 56-59-2
CBS-Katzowitz 52-62-3
CBS-Richard 52-62-3
CBS-Prisco 50-64-3

Weekly v. W/L v. PFT, ESPN NFL Experts & USA Today Analysts:

PFT-Rosenthal 78-39
Nate Davis (USAT) 74-43
Mortensen (ESPN) 73-44
PFT-Florio 73-44
Schlereth (ESPN) 73-44
CHFF: 69-47-0
Pete O'Brien (USAT) 68-49
Accuscore (ESPN) 69-48
Pick 'em (ESPN) 69-48
Gary Mihoces (USAT) 69-48
Golic (ESPN) 68-49
Sean Leahy (USAT) 67-50
Jim Corbett (USAT) 66-51
Jon Saraceno (USAT) 66-51
Jarrett Bell (USAT) 64-53
Schefter (ESPN) 62-55
Wickersham (ESPN) 62-55
Hoge (ESPN) 62-55
Tom Pedulla (USAT) 61-56
Postcards From Nowhere: 61-56
Allen (ESPN) 56-61

Week 8 Notes:

It appears that James Harrison reverted to his thug ways after ramming his helmet into the small of Drew Brees’ back last week incurring another heavy fine. At this rate, orderlies will be wiping the pablum from Harrison’s chin before he hits the age of 40—no sympathy.

Everybody’s talking about the Vikings decision to fire Randy Moss only four weeks after his trade from New England. It’s hard to find much sympathy for anyone who purportedly humiliated the staff of a local restaurant that served a post-practice catered clubhouse spread on Friday. Moss is a highly complex emotional figure; that much is certain. The way in which he obsequiously behaved toward his former employer following Sunday’s loss was admittedly bizarre. He can behave like a cretin in one situation and a perfect gentleman in another. Since we’re not mental health professionals (nor did we stay at a Holiday Inn Express), we’ll leave the psychoanalysis of Moss to others who actually have a clue. From a football standpoint, it sure looks like Coach Belichick knew when to sell high on a recalcitrant asset while the Vikings failed to do their due diligence before committing a third-round pick to New England. It’s the kind of stuff that makes ordinary fans shake their heads. “Chilly” may be a terrific talent evaluator and a highly organized professional assistant, but simply does not have the chops to be an NFL head coach. Just look at the bone-headed play calling against Miami and New England. Of course, it didn’t help matters that the team basically sold its soul to keep the OG happy. Favre didn’t have all that bad of a game in last Sunday’s loss to the Patriots before getting carted off the field with a lacerated chin, but if he weren’t on the scene to begin with, all of this prodigal son drama never would’ve happened in the first place. This is what happens when a team places all of its eggs in one (aging) player’s basket.

Moss was claimed on waivers on Wednesday by the Titans, who were in need of a big target after Kenny Britt’s injury, so much for those rumors that had him signing again with New England as a free agent. Patriots’ fans should be grateful that the Titans stepped in to make the claim, as the team has performed much better since he was traded and Deion Branch was reacquired. In other waiver news, the Chargers’ Shawne Merriman will play out the string this year with the Buffalo Bills. This is probably the best destination for Merriman, as he wore out his welcome and San Diego and has a great chance to prove once more that he’s a capable of playing at a high level. Once thing’s certain, the Bills won’t put up with a SoCal playboy trying to get by on reputation. If he makes good with the Bills for a half-season, he’ll be a UFA and can go wherever he chooses. It’s basically a no-lose proposition for both Merriman and the Bills.

Chicago -3 At Buffalo 41

Losers of two straight games in overtime, the Bills have to wonder what it takes to get a win in this League. This week, the Bills make their annual jaunt up the QEW and this game may provide them just that chance to get off the schneid, as no one can say for certain what the Cutler/Martz Express will bring when they arrive at SkyDome. The problem is that the Bills don’t seem to play well in their annual Toronto sojourn. Opponents of Buffalo know that the team won’t quit despite the record and poor performance on defense. Fitzpatrick will have to deal with an opportunistic Bears’ defense and the blitzing Peppers may prove to be just too much.

Projected Final Score: Buffalo 24, Chicago 21 OT

San Diego -1 At Houston 50

We learned the hard way (again) last week that Peyton Manning could take high schoolers off the sandlot and turn them into All-Pros with just a week of practice. Without two of his big guns, Manning systematically picked apart the Texans’ woeful secondary like they were the high school kids. If Manning can do this, chances are Philip Rivers can have the same type of success. Houston’s pass defense is an abomination and after DeMeco Ryans went out for the year with injuries, the run defense isn’t much better. Andre Johnson is hobbled with an injury and none of this bodes well for the Texans.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 33, Houston 27

New Orleans -7 At Carolina 42.5

There’s not a whole lot to analyze here. The Saints have to be feeling good after last week’s home win against the Steelers and will be ready to rip a new body part on the Pathetic Panthers, who lost in uninspiring fashion to St. Louis. This is a divisional game with playoff implications, so the Saints can’t afford a letdown against a bad team.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 28, Carolina 13

At Minnesota -8 Arizona 40.5

Having removed an unnecessary distraction, the Vikings should be well-prepared for Arizona on Sunday. There’s little chance of Minnesota looking at this as a trap game because at 2-5, they need to buckle down and play well every week. Derek Anderson (the gift that never stops giving), threw a horrible pick coming down the stretch that handed the Bucs a gift road victory after the Cards worked so hard to get back into the game. Maybe Max Hall isn’t the answer; it’s too soon to know. But neither is Anderson. The Vikes will rely heavily on AP to move the chain and limit the OG’s wild tendencies while the Cards will look at the Vikes’ tape from last week and conclude that gains can happen against a pedestrian run defense. In the end, this is a game the Vikes need to win.

Projected Final Score: Minnesota 27, Arizona 17

At Atlanta -8.5 Tampa Bay 44.5

When the pundits panned the Bucs’ selection of Josh Freeman in 2009, he proved them wrong. This kid is going to be a very good NFL quarterback and should have some success throwing against the Falcons’ so-so pass defense. This week, he and his team have a very tough test in the Peach Dome against a well-rested Falcons’ team looking to break the 5-2 tie with the Saints atop the NFC South. The Bucs may have discovered a feature back in LeGarrette Blount, who became infamous last year for punching an opponent at the end of a game while at Oregon. Blount is facing a much tougher run defense this week than what he dealt with in Arizona. Matt Ryan is a much better quarterback at home and has all of his weapons healthy and available. The 8 ½ seems a tad steep, but these are the sort of games in which the Falcons need to dominate if they’re to be regarded as serious contenders.

Projected Final Score: Atlanta 28, Tampa Bay 21

NY Jets -4 At Detroit 42.5

Ndamukong Suh had one of those games (2 sacks, 2 TFL, and a fumble return for a TD) that the Lions’ talent evaluators dreamed of before the team selected him #2 overall this year. Suh is just scratching the surface on what will hopefully be a brilliant career as a dominant defensive tackle. But Suh dominated against a poor Redskins’ O-Line. This week, he’ll line up opposite Nick Mangold and a much better unit with the Jets. Coming off a tough 9-0 home loss to the Packers, Coach Ryan and his team lost their one-game lead over New England and know that the Lions are no longer pushovers. If the Jets had prevailed last week then there would be a chance of them traveling to Detroit cocky and overconfident but that won’t be the case now.

Projected Final Score: NY Jets 23, Detroit 20

At Baltimore -5.5 Miami 40.5

The Dolphins are undefeated at home and winless on the road. Last week, they sent the Bungles into the Realm of Irrelevance (where they justifiably belong) with a 22-14 win and Coach Sparano will have the troops ready to roll at M&T on Sunday. The Ravens are coming off a bye and went to the top of the AFC North at 5-2 with Pittsburgh following the Steelers’ loss on Sunday night. Flacco needs to exploit the weaknesses in Miami’s pass defense in order to set up the powerful Ray Rice, but look for this game to come down to a field goal to decide the winner.

Projected Final Score: Ravens 20, Miami 17

New England -5.5 At Cleveland 44

Forget about the fact that the Browns are only 2-5. They beat the World Champs in their building and will be five miles high when they greet the Patriots on Sunday. This is going to be a hard-fought game from the outset as the Patriots will not view this as a “trap game” and will be very well prepared to give Colt McCoy a number of bewildering looks on defense. The Browns will need to rely on Peyton Hillis to pound the rock and move the chains if they want to have success.

Projected Final Score: New England 27, Cleveland 20

NY Giants -5.5 At Seattle 41.5

The 5-2 G-Men have a one-game lead over Philly in the NFC East, but have rebounded quite well after some early-season difficulties. They’re always the possibility that they travel cross-country and lay an egg in front of the exuberant crowd at Qwest Field and Matthias Kiwanuka is lost for the season, which hurts the pass rush. But the Seahawks are a hard team to figure as they generally play well at home and stink on the road. Last week, they were blown off the field in Oakland and it’s difficult to see a young team rebounding from such a humiliating loss even if they play before the most rabid fans in the NFL. Hasselbeck will be out of this game with a concussion and it’ll be a difficult task for a relatively inexperienced quarterback like Charlie Whitehurst to compete against a wildly aggressive G-Men defense.

Projected Final Score: NY Giants 24, Seattle 16

At Oakland -2.5 Kansas City 40.5

Once upon a time, Raiders-Chiefs were among the nastiest rivalries in football. Both teams have struggled in recent years and it became just another game on the schedule. With the Chiefs at 5-2 and the Raiders just two games behind, the game really counts this year. The Chiefs barely squeaked out an OT win against Buffalo while the Raiders had a dominating win over Seattle. Are the Raiders capable of playing two consistently solid games in a row?

Projected Final Score: Oakland 24, Kansas City 21

Indianapolis -1 At Philadelphia 49

Indy comes off another big home win on Monday night as Manning broke in a new tight end and wide receiver without skipping a beat. The Eagles are coming off a bye and will welcome back Michael Vick under center after being out of the lineup after getting squashed in Washington several weeks ago. Vick’s mobility always presents problems for opposing defenses. Freeney had a big night chasing after Schaub, but going after Vick is a much trickier threat.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 28, Indianapolis 27

At Green Bay -8 Dallas 44.5

This Cowboys-Packers matchup won’t have anyone recalling those great tilts between Lombardi and Landry back in the day. The Cowboys are 1-5 and without Tony Romo for the foreseeable future and the Packers are coming off a shutout win over the Jets.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 31, Dallas 14