Week 7 Review/Week 8 Preview

For the Week/Season:

v. W/L:                      (12-1)/ (59-45)

v. Spread                    (10-3)/ (41-63)
v. Aggregate:             (9-4)/(63-41)

 

Bye Weeks: Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston

 

Well…we went back to the drawing board and something must’ve worked as we posted our best week of the season. We accurately predicted the score of the Giants-Redskins game among our other feats of daring-do last week, so let’s hope the machine is on a roll in Week 8.

As all of us on the Eastern Seaboard await the arrival of Frankenstorm, let’s go over Sunday’s games and hope for the best.

 

New England

-7

At St. Louis

47

The annual London game pits New England against the Rams. Didn’t these teams already meet in London a few years ago? Under Coach Fisher, the Rams continue to improve each week, though they might have had a slight setback in their 10-point loss to Green Bay last Sunday. They have a energetic, young defense that will exasperate Brady all evening at Wembley.  For the fourth time already this year, the Patriots blew a double-digit lead within the final six minutes of a game. After McCourty fumbled the kickoff late in the game, the Patriots were lucky that Big Rex played for a field goal instead of going for a touchdown. This enabled Gostkowski to kick the game tying field goal in the final seconds of regulation. But that pass defense is an abomination. When a pedestrian quarterback like Sanchez can pass for over four hundred yards, there’s big trouble with the secondary. Bradford has seen the game film from last week and must feel like throwing the ball against New England is like shooting fish in a barrel. For the Patriots to win this one, they’re going to need to rely on the running game as Quinn and Long will be applying heavy pressure on Brady everytime he goes back to pass.

Projected Final Score: New England 27, St. Louis 24

At Tennessee

-3.5

Indianapolis

46.5

Chris Johnson finally got untracked in Buffalo, rushing for nearly a deuce in the Titans’ thrilling 35-34 win over Buffalo. This week, they look to stay on a roll against an Indy team that’s tough at home but haven’t yet shown the same resolve on the road. This will be a big test for Andrew Luck & Co. to show that they can win on the road. Luck is slightly banged up for this contest. Maybe CJ2K is once more finally living up to his name as Hasselbeck will be starting again this week and needs all the help he can get moving the  chains.

Projected Final Score: Tennessee 24, Indianapolis 20

At Green Bay

-12.5

Jacksonville

Off

Last week, the Jags had Oakland on the ropes but let a healthy lead slip away while losing in overtime. In the process, Gabbard and Jones-Drew were injured and may not be available for this trip to Lambeau. If Gabbert is unavailable,  it looks like Chad Henne and a cast of thousands will show up.  The Pack return home after two straight dominant wins over Houston and St. Louis. They’re on a roll now and look like they’re back to where they were last year, when they flattened everything in their path. Charles Woodson is out of the Packers’ lineup with a broken collarbone but his absence shouldn’t hurt too much as Rodgers and the Pack offense are intent on a scorched earth policy on Sunday.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 31, Jacksonville 13

San Diego

-3

At Cleveland

44.5

The last time we saw San Diego, they coughed up a big lead over Denver and got burned by Peyton Manning. They’re a lot like the Bungles in that every time you think they’ve turned a corner, they find unique ways of falling flat on their faces. This week, they venture out of paradise for a well-needed road trip to the Rust Belt and a visit with the Browns. It may be just what the doctor ordered as the Browns lost 17-13 to Indy on the road to sink to 1-6. At this rate, there’s not much doubt that Cleveland is the worst outfit in the NFL and may already be on the clock for the first-round draft choice. Trent Richardson’s rib injury is worse than originally feared and his limited availability hurts the Browns even more.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 27, Cleveland 21

At Philadelphia

-2.5

Atlanta

47

Why is Philly even favored here? The Falcons are unbeaten and have already demonstrated that they’re not simply the Masters of the Georgia Dome. The last three wins have been squeakers, so maybe they’re due for a tumble. The Eagles haven’t exactly set the world on fire, especially on offense, where Vick has been a turnover machine. Both of these teams are coming off of byes, which actually may help Philly more than Atlanta, since the Falcons were on such a roll that this game may actually be a speed bump. Coach Reid’s teams are 13-0 coming off of a bye. If Philly loses here, they’ll basically be playing out the string. However, if they win they still have a puncher’s chance in the NFC East.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 24, Atlanta 21

At Detroit

-3

Seattle

44.5

The Seahawks gave the 49’ers a real test last Thursday, as they lost by only a touchdown in a low-scoring affair. That defense is for real, as Patriots fans can attest. So we know that the ‘Hawks are capable of putting forth a serious effort on the road. This week, Coach Carroll leads his crew to Ford Field to face a desperate Lions’ team that lost in Chicago on Monday night in a low-scoring, defensively dominated matchup. The Lions appear to have taken a serious step back this year and absolutely, positively have to win here if they hope to salvage something out of their season. The problem with that is Seattle’s defense smells that the Lions are a wounded animal and they will go in for the kill.

Projected Final Score: Seattle 21, Detroit 20

At NY Jets

-2.5

Miami

40.5

The Jets played very well in their overtime loss to New England as Mark Sanchez passed for over 400 yards and had a field day against the Patriots’ woeful secondary. Gang Green’s offense was definitely ahead of the defense, which struggled against Brady. This week, they return to face the 3-3 Dolphins, who are coming off of a well-deserved bye week. The Jets’ players are back to their usual boasting, telling anyone who’ll listen that they intend to knock Reggie Bush out of the game. Based on their performance of last week (and this week facing a division rival), the Jets ought to feel pretty good about getting back to .500.

Projected Final Score: NY Jets 23, Miami 14

At Chicago

-7.5

Carolina

44

Cam Newton needs to shut up, quit his whining and stop pointing fingers if he wants to be regarded as a franchise quarterback. The results have not been there so far as the Panthers lost 19-14 to the Cowboys to fall to 1-5 on the year. They now have the unenviable task of traveling to Soldier Field and a date with the Bears, who soundly defeated Detroit on Monday night, to remain atop the NFC North.  Right now, Cutler and the offense are hitting on all cylinders despite some injuries to the wide receiver corps. Cutler is indeed fortunate that Suh’s drag down tackle didn’t cost him a few games out of the lineup—or worse. Chicago’s defense would make Old Papa Bear proud, so look for them to continue their aggressive approach against a team that doesn’t know which end is up.

Projected Final Score: Chicago 23, Carolina 10

At Pittsburgh

-3.5

Washington

Off

The Steelers are coming off of a hard-fought road win over the Bungles and that was with a lot of key regulars out of the lineup. Even though they were victorious, the Steelers’ defense looked old and slow. They simply can’t afford to play that way against RGIII, whose speed will tear through the line and have the Steelers’ defense grasping at shadows. Washington played well in their loss to the Giants, but lost TE Fred Davis for the year with a torn Achilles. Chris Cooley returns from the scrap heap but there’s no telling how effective he may be in Davis’ absence. The Steelers are generally pretty tough at home but without Polamalu in the backfield to chase down RGIII, this may be problematic. Still, the Steelers should have enough horses on offense to overcome whatever sort of athletic marvels that RGIII may have in store.

Projected Final Score: Pittsburgh 24, Washington 20

At Kansas City

-1

Oakland

Off

If ever there was a time that a team needed a bye in order to refocus, it’s the 1-5 Chiefs. So far, they’ve pretty much been an embarrassment. Matt Cassel suffered a terrible head injury two weeks ago and Coach Crennel has installed Brady Quinn as the starter. That ought to work wonders for the offense…NOT. It’s just a temporary fix until such time as they can draft a franchise quarterback. The Raiders fought through difficulties early on at home against the Jaguars and rebounded to post an overtime win last week. These teams haven’t liked each other since Day One in the AFL. The Raiders are simply a better team on both sides of the ball, but that’s not saying much. For the Chiefs to win, Quinn has to be at the top of his game and still that might not be enough. Despite the records of both teams, this is a rivalry game that’ll have both teams raring and ready to go.

Projected Final Score: Oakland 27, Kansas City 17

At Dallas

-1.5

NY Giants

47.5

Speaking of old rivals, the Cowboys and G-Men usually put on an entertaining brand of football whenever they hook up. The Giants have never lost at the new Cowboys’ Stadium (’10—11).  Both teams are coming off of close victories last week. In fact, the Giants needed a late comeback from Eli Manning and the offense to post the win. The Cowboys had a nice, workmanlike win over the Panthers last week and would like to put forth the same consistent effort in front of a packed home crowd this week. The Cowboys are without Lee on defense and Murray on offense. That’s two of their better players. Sooner or later, a team can only be who they are. In the case of the Cowboys, they’re a good team but certainly not championship contender material. The Giants’ front seven is going to give Romo an awful time.

Projected Final Score: NY Giants 24, Dallas 21

At Denver

-6.5

New Orleans

54.5

Sunday night goes Mile High for the second time this year as the Broncos, fresh off a bye, look to stop Drew Brees and the Saints fresh in their tracks. Two weeks ago, Peyton Manning led the Broncos to a huge comeback victory in San Diego. The Saints have rebounded from their dreadful start to post two straight wins and maybe, they’ve turned a corner. This will be a difficult task as the Saints have to deal with the altitude and they also have a terrible secondary that Manning will exploit all night long. Look for Manning to put up big numbers against his former hometown team.

Projected Final Score: Denver 34, New Orleans 27

San Francisco

-6.5

At Arizona

37

The Cardinals return home on Monday night after losing 21-14 in Minnesota to face San Francisco in a key NFC West showdown. The Cardinals are banged up and have to rely on Skelton to get the job done. It’s a pretty tough task as the ‘Niners are looking to play much better than they did in Thursday night’s 13-6 win over Seattle. The Cardinals’ O-Line is atrocious and the ‘Niners will tee off on Skelton all night. It’s not as if Alex Smith has to do a lot; all he needs to do is hand off to Frank Gore and allow Gore to pound the rock and move the chains. The defense will take care of the rest.

Projected Final Score: San Francisco 23, Arizona 13