Week 8 Review/Week 9 Preview:

For the Week/Season:
vs. W/L: (9-4)/83-33
vs. ATS: (7-6)/61-55
vs. Aggregate: (4-9)/67-49

vs. ATS:
CBS Brinson 63-53-0
CBS Judge 63-53-0
Postcards 61-55-0
USAT Saraceno 58-54-4
CBS Prisco 55-61-0
ESPN Simmons 54-56-6
CBS Richard 53-63-0
CBS Freeman 52-64-0
Walter Football 49-60-7

vs. W/L:

Postcards 83-33
ESPN Accuscore 83-33
ESPN Golic 82-34
ESPN Pick 'em 81-35
PFT Rosenthal 80-46
USAT Pete O'Brien 79-37
ESPN Hoge 79-37
ESPN Schlereth 78-38
ESPN Wickersham 78-38
USAT Jarrett Bell 78-38
USAT Nate Davis 78-38
USAT Gary Mihoces 77-39
USAT Tom Pedulla 77-39
USAT Jon Saraceno 77-39
ESPN Allen 77-39
ESPN Schefter 77-39
USAT Jim Corbett 77-39
USAT Robert Klemko 74-42
PFT Florio 73-43
ESPN Mortensen 70-46

Bye Weeks: Carolina, Detroit, Jacksonville, Minnesota

Atlanta -7.5 At Indianapolis 45

Is it possible that Indy fails to win a single game this year? They were skunked pretty good last week in Nashville and now return home to face a nasty Atlanta team fresh off a bye. The Falcons shouldn’t be feeling too overconfident because they’ve been shaky on the road but this is a game they need to win.

Projected Final Score: Atlanta 24, Indianapolis 16

At New Orleans -5.5 Tampa Bay 51

The Saints put forth their worst effort ever in the Brees/Payton Era last week in St. Louis, as everything that could possibly go wrong did. Tampa Bay now comes to town with the proverbial “gleam”, looking to move back into the heart of the race in the NFC South. The Bucs are fresh off a bye from the London trip, but the Saints are darn near unbeatable in the Dome.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 27, Tampa Bay 21

At Houston -11.5 Cleveland 41

The Browns were a mess offensively before Monterio Hardesty was injured. He’s now out with a torn calf muscle and the team has to turn to the oft-injured Peyton Hillis to carry the rock (but he’s out of this game too). The Texans are coming off of a nice 10-point win over Jacksonville and are looking to keep the ball rolling in the AFC South.

Projected Final Score: Houston 31, Cleveland 17

At Buffalo -1.5 NY Jets 43.5

Everytime the public counts out the Jets, they always seem to find a way to make themselves relevant as playoff contenders. This ought to be a terrific matchup as the Jets are fresh off the bye and travel to Western New York to face a tough Bills’ team that just pummeled Washington.

Projected Final Score: Buffalo 24, NY Jets 23

At Kansas City -5.5 Miami 40

Miami once more found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory last week against the Giants. They’re a competitive team for 50-55 minutes each week before things find a way of falling apart. This week, they take their act on the road to KC, where the Chiefs are coming off of a dramatic overtime win over San Diego on Monday night. If the Chiefs kept an explosive Chargers’ offense to just 20 points, how well do you think their defense will do against the 0-7 Dolphins?

Projected Final Score: Kansas City 24, Miami 17

San Francisco -3.5 At Washington 37.5

The ‘Niners make yet another cross-country trip to face the woeful Redskins. So far, Coach Harbaugh’s crew has done exceptionally well playing back east and there’s really no reason to think that they can’t keep things rolling along. The ‘Skins are now in a rough patch as they were shut out by Buffalo in Toronto last week. The ‘Niners are coming off the bye and should be well-rested and refreshed to wreak havoc on Washington.

Projected Final Score: San Francisco 24, Washington 20

At Dallas -11.5 Seattle 43

That was a putrid performance by the Cowboys on Sunday night and now they’re looking to atone against a Seahawks team that has little, if anything to speak of on offense. Michael Vick picked apart Big D’s defense last week and the Cowboys have to feel stung after such a dreadful outing. The Cowboys will come out looking to bury the Seahawks.

Projected Final Score: Dallas 31, Seattle 17

At Oakland -8.5 Denver 44

Tim Tebow had a rough day at the office on Sunday against the Lions as his development as a pro quarterback remains a work in progress. That’s understandable but what was hard to take was seeing the young man mocked for his principles after having been sacked (“Tebow-ing”). This week, the Broncos travel to the Black Hole, where the Raiders still have to be seething over their demolishment by the Chiefs two weeks ago. The plan for Coach Jackson is to trot out Carson Palmer, but he’s barely acquainted with the playbook and it’s hard to see him establishing any sort of rhythm with the offense. Darren McFadden is also probably out for this game, but the Broncos are so bad that it probably won’t make much difference.

Projected Final Score: Oakland 24, Denver 13

At Tennessee -3.5 Cincinnati 40.5

This ought to be a real challenge for both teams. If the Bengals win here, they remain contenders in the AFC North, despite the “expert opinions” that buried them in last place. Last week, Chris Johnson rode the pine while Jevon Ringer got the bulk of the carries in the Titans’ 27-10 loss in Houston. For the Titans to win this week, Johnson seriously needs to get his act in gear.

Projected Final Score: Tennessee 24, Cincinnati 21

At Arizona -4.5 St. Louis 44.5

The Cardinals started out like a house on fire against the Ravens last week before predictably fading down the stretch and losing at the end. Meanwhile, the Rams shocked the football world with a complete two-way domination of the Saints on Sunday. Now it only gets tougher from here, as they’ll be hard pressed to duplicate that effort on the road against a comparable opponent.

Projected Final Score: Arizona 24, St. Louis 17

At New England -8.5 NY Giants 52.5

This just in: The Patriots’ defense sucks. How can Brady and the offense expect to do anything if the defense can’t get off the field? Big Ben had a field day against the Patriots’ secondary, which is the worst in the NFL. Belichick’s defenses usually get better as the season plays out but this year that hasn’t been the case. The Dolphins gave the Giants everything they could handle until Manning threw the winning touchdown pass late in the game. A ball-control offense like the Giants poses big problems for New England as Jacobs and Bradshaw will pound the rock all afternoon.

Projected Final Score: New England 27, NY Giants 24

Green Bay -6.5 At San Diego 53

The Pack had a breather last week and now travels to Paradise for date with the Chokin’ Chargers, who had a chance to win in KC late in the game before Rivers fumbled a snap and with that, the Chargers lost in overtime. Playing the unstoppable Packers after such a deflating loss will be a big test for San Diego, perhaps too much to ask.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 31, San Diego 24

At Pittsburgh -3.5 Ravens 41.5

The Steelers’ offense had a ridiculously easy time of things with New England last week but now face an entirely different animal with Ray Lewis and the Ravens’ defense this week. In Week 1, the Ravens routed Pittsburgh 35-7 and the Steelers vowed revenge. The Ravens didn’t play all that well in their win over Arizona and know that they’ll have to bring their ‘A’ game this week.

Projected Final Score: Pittsburgh 21, Ravens 17

Monday Night Preview:

At Philadelphia -8.5 Chicago 48

After faltering coming out of the gate, the Eagles are finally rolling. Vick and the offense were masterful on Sunday night against Dallas. The Bears had last week off after the successful London trip and are conceding nothing to their NFC North rivals. The Eagles still have their backs to the wall in the NFC East, and apparently play their best football under such conditions.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 27, Chicago 20