NFL Week 10 Preview

Here are the rest of predictions after I managed to get Thursday’s nights score wrong.

Falcons to beat the Panthers
Atlanta should have enough offensive power to beat the Panthers.

Dolphins to beat the Buccaneers
Yes Tampa Bay won last week but let’s face it they are playing a far better team than the Redskins this week.

Vikings to beat the Lions
Again not the most difficult selection ever.

Jets to beat the Jaguars
The Jags have been playing better the last couple of weeks but the Jets should win this coming out of the bye week.

Bengals to beat the Steelers
The Bengals have played well versus their divisional rivals and I think they win again.

Saints to beat the Rams
Please no one expects the Rams to win their second game of the season here.

Titans to beat the Bills
The Titans have been playing much better these last few weeks and should chalk up another win here.

Broncos to beat the Redskins
Can’t see the Redskins winning this game though it might be fairly close.

Chiefs to beat the Raiders
Oakland are just terrible at the moment and so I fancy the Chiefs to get their second win.

Cardinals to beat the Seahawks
Arizona to get a win at home for a change.

Cowboys to beat the Packers
This could be a closer game than many are expecting.

Chargers to beat the Eagles
Should the Chargers win this game then the Cowboys should send the team a big case of bubbly since they will have pretty much helped them to the divisional title.

Colts to beat the Patriots
This will be a great game or at least I am hoping it will be a great game.  I’m sure it will be close but I fancy Manning to win it this time.

Ravens to beat the Browns
This could be one of the worse Monday Night games ever.  Really if Flacco and co don’t win this then they are done for the season.

NFL Power Rankings Week 9

1. Colts – They keep winning even though they needed the help from Lady Luck
2. Saints – This team also keeps producing the goods.
3. Vikings – The bye week will have done this team the world of good.
4. Bengals – Huge game this weekend.
5. Steelers – See above
6. Patriots – Brady versus Manning is just going to be fun to watch.
7. Cowboys – Romo is showing some signs of actually be quite good.
8. Broncos – This team needs a win soon to stop the rot.
9. Cardinals – They keep showing that last years play off run away from home wasn’t just luck.
10. Falcons – Atlanta finally have the running game going.
11. Chargers – Rivers and co pulled the win out of the bag last week.
12. Eagles – McNabb and co need to start beating some decent teams and not just the poor ones.
13. Ravens – What has happened to this teams defence.
14. Texans – Houston were so unlucky to not win last weekend versus the Colts.
15. Jets – The defence needs to come off the bye week with all guns firing.
16. Giants – New York is slowly falling apart.
17. Packers – Massive lose to Tampa Bay pretty much ends all hope this team had of making the playoffs.
18. Dolphins – The wildcat nearly worked again versus the Pats but not quite.
19. Bears – How can this team win games by so many points then lose games by so many points?
20. Jaguars – Just keep giving the ball to MJD and then hit Sims-Walker on the play fake.
21. Panthers – This team just needs to run the ball more often.
22. 49ers – Has Crabtree ruined the 49ers chemistry?
23. Seahawks – I just can’t decide how good or bad this team is.
24. Titans – Tennessee has finally gotten the running game going and suddenly they are winning.
25. Bills – Will all this Vick talk distract the team?
26. Raiders – How will Oakland hurt itself his week?
27. Redskins – Washington isn’t far off being the worse team in the league.
28. Chiefs – If Kansas wants to be taken seriously they need to beat team like Jacksonville.
29. Rams – Steven Jackson is still the only plus point in this team.
30. Lions – They need to win a few more games this season to call it progress.
31. Buccaneers – Freeman is a huge plus point for this team and he may turn into this years Aaron Rodgers.
32. Browns – Do you get the feeling their will be a new coach next season.

NFL Power Rankings Week 8

Indianapolis Colts - This team just keeps playing well and winning soso not much more you can say about them.

New Orleans Saints - Another good victory against a divisional rival .  This team most be looking forward to their next three games and a chance to be 10-0.

Minnesota Vikings – Favre will be happy after beating the Packers in their won back yard but now they most keep winning.

Denver Broncos – The actual score line will hurt more than the lose but this team still have a chance to go 10-6 at least.

New England Patriots - It is a good bye week when your main rivals beat up each other and extend your divisional lead.

Cincinnati Bengals - This team is a real threat to someone in the playoffs if they can remain healthy.

Dallas Cowboys – HUGE game versus the Eagles next week.  Romo is looking better though but everyone remembers the last game in Philly.

Philadelphia Eagles – Just like the Cowboys this is a HUGE game since whoever wins it takes advantage in the NFC East with the Giants in freefall.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Slowing beginning to look like the Super Bowl champs.

Houston Texans - Made franchise history this week but if they want to show they can compete with the big boys they need to play beat the Colts on Sunday.

Baltimore Ravens - A good win over Denver last week but they need to start winning on a consistent basis.

New York Giants - Boy does this team need a bye week soon.  The Chargers will love playing against this dodgy defence.

Arizona Cardinals - For a change this team can’t win at home and are great away from home.  Bad defeat to the Panthers on Sunday.

Atlanta Falcons - Coming close to beating the Saints just isn’t good enough at the moment.

Chicago Bears - They need to start winning away from Solider Field.

Green Bay Packers – Their season is over if Rodgers keeps getting beat up like he did on Sunday.

San Diego Chargers - Rivers will be looking forward to the Giants on Sunday.

New York Jets – Why can’t they beat the Dolphins?

Miami Dolphins - Boy did Ted Ginn Jr look good running back kick offs.

Carolina Panthers – Finally the coaching staff remembered to run the football.

Jacksonville Jaguars – Just waiting on Jones-Drew to start complaining about never getting the ball.  come on guys he got over 150 yards on 8 touches and then you decide to let David Garrard win you the game.

San Francisco  49ers – Alex Smith looked good for two weeks running, now he only needs to win a game.

Buffalo Bills – This team needs to start producing results against dgood teams and not just the bad ones in the league.

Seattle Seahawks - Really just not playing all that well.

Washington Redskins - This is the only team that looks better when they aren’t playing.

Oakland Raiders - Still can’t believe they beat Philly this year.

Tennessee Titans - Could this be the start of a run  of results?

St Louis Rams - finally Steven Jackson got some reward for all his hard work.

Kansas City Chiefs – Need a win this weekend.

Detroit Lions – Losing to the Rams is a bad thing.

Cleveland Browns - They could well be the worse team in the NFL right now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - This is one ugly football team.

What we learnt in the NFL during week 8

The Saints and the Colts are still winning games even without playing all that well for the whole game.  This is a good thing if you are a fan of these teams but not so good for teams in their conference.  Have to say I would personally like this to be the Super Bowl since it would be a great game with two great QBs.  The Colts have to stop a high scoring offence next week when they play the Texans but I would think Manning and the Colts are confident about winning here.

The Giants and the Jets both have problems at the moment and need a nice solid win versus someone to steady the ship.  In the case of the Giants not to sure when this will happen since I can see the Chargers coming out throwing next week.

Steven Jackson finally got the reward his good play deserves when the Rams managed to beat the Lions.  This result shows how much both teams still have to go but everyone knew this was going to be a rebuilding season for both teams.

Finally the worst team in the league at the moment is the Browns and at the moment I just can’t see how they are going to win a game.  Seriously at the moment they would be as well as playing Cribbs at QB since both Quinn and Anderson just aren’t performing.   Never mind maybe the bye week will solve all their problems but somehow I doubt it.

Next week I am looking forward to seeing the Texans at the Colts and the Cowboys at the Eagles.  Although in a personal note I’m hoping the Redskins won’t be quite as bad after the bye week.

NFL Predictions week 8

Denver to beat Baltimore

Both teams are coming off a bye week and should be rested and healthy but I can see the Broncos winning this by simply playing Ravens football.  Great defence with lots of pressure and having a QB that looks after the ball.

Houston to beat Buffalo

Schaub and the Texans must be looking forward to playing the Bills even if it is in Buffalo.  Look for Schaub to continue throwing the ball a lot and for the Texans to pick up another win.

Chicago to beat Cleveland

Any team could beat the Browns at the moment and the Bears are actually ok at home it’s only away from Solider Field that Cutler loses the plot.

Dallas to beat Seattle

Romo seems to have finally found someone to replace TO pity it isn’t the man they gave up so many draft picks for.  Austin must be a certain starter on so many fantasy teams this weekend.

Dolphins to beat New York Jets

This could be a close game again but I think Henne and Brown will do enough offensively to handle the Jets good running game.  This game might be decided by who gets the most pressure off their defence.

Indianapolis to beat San Francisco

Peyton Manning will throw for 3 touchdowns at least and the 49ers will probably give up on Alex Smith again once the Colts defence start getting pressure on him.

New York Giants to beat Philadelphia

Just know sure about this game but think the Eli Manning will have enough in his locker to win this game plus he normally plays well against divisional rivals.

Detroit to beat St Louis

The Lions to win their second game of the season and for the Rams to look like a 0-16 team.  Starting to feel sorry for Steven Jackson being stuck in St Louis.

San Diego to beat Oakland

The Raiders let me down last week so they’ll probably do it again to me this week but surely Rivers and the Chargers will win this one.

Tennessee to beat Jacksonville

Yes I am taking the Titans to win this but only because the Jaguars have been so inconsistent.  Plus I just don’t think a Jeff Fisher coached team can be that bad all season.

Green Bay to beat Minnesota

The game everyone will be talking about this week.  Hopefully it will be nice and cold for Brett coming home and the Packers and Rodgers will win it.  Not sure what it is about the Vikings but for some reason I just don’t like them that much so maybe this is wishful thinking.

Arizona to beat Carolina

Warner and the Cardinals will be happy to play this poor team on national TV since it will allow them to show that they can still be Super Bowl contenders again.

New Orleans to beat Atlanta

This is turning into a must win game for the Falcons but I just think Brees and the Saints defence will be too strong for them.  Atlanta must get Michael Turner going soon or this season will be over soon.

NFL Power Rankings after week 6

1. Saints

They look scary on offence with so many weapons and nowadays they have a decent defence with Sharper looking like he will intercept a ball almost every game.  Remind me alot of the Colts on their Super Bowl run.

2. Colts

Manning looks good, Wayne looks good and they have a nice 1-2 running game with Addai and Brown.  Also helps the rest of the division is pants at the moment.

3. Vikings

Nothing seems wrong with this team and they would be 1 or 2 on my list is because Brett Favre has blown up late in the season for the last two years.  This team needs home field advantage in the play offs since Favre doesn’t like the cold weather.

4. Broncos

They are unbeaten, they look good on defence and Orton is winning games without doing anything fancy.  They also have a easy division and should have the division wrapped up pretty soon.

5. Giants

Yes they got spanked by the Saints but they have a banged up secondary and no every team has Drew Brees at QB.  Need to get more pressure from there front 4 so they don’t need to blitz so much.  The next 3 weeks will show for sure if they are a Super Bowl contender or not.

6. Falcons

A big win versus the Bears shows that Matt Ryan can take this team a long way.  Having Tony Gonzalez in the red zone helps alot too.

7. Patriots

Tom Brady and the offence had fun versus the Titans and now they must show they can do this week in and week out.

8. Bengals

Losing to the up and down Texans this week have seriously hurt this teams reputation and losing Odom for the season will hurt them more.

9. Steelers

They have started winning again, Mendanhall is running the ball well and Big Ben is putting up career numbers plus Troy is back on the defence.

10. Packers

There are alot of teams at 3-2 in the NFL and this is probably the one I personally wouldn’t want to be facing.  They have the potential to put up big numbers on offence and a defence that can cause some damage.

11. Cardinals

Arizona are starting to function on offence and because of their division they have a chance of getting in the play offs again with a .500 record.

12. Bears

Surely fans must be asking why they wasted so many picks on Cutler when Orton is winning with a Broncos team that doesn’t seem that much better on paper.  I think that if this team fails to make the play offs this year Lovie Smith is gone.

13. Ravens

They looked good the first 3 weeks and average the last 3 weeks.  Maybe they should have kept Stover has the kicker.  Defence needs to start playing better.

14. Eagles

One week they are destroying teams and next week they are losing to the Raiders.  This lose could come back to haunt them.

15. Cowboys

Romo needs to be more consistent and the defence needs to start making plays.

16. 49ers

Still not sure Shaun Hill is the answer at QB.  The team needed the bye week after being ripped a new one by Atlanta the other week.

17. Texans

So inconsistent it is unbelievable!  Great catch by Daniels this week though.

18. Jets

Sanchez is turing the ball over far too much for this team to win.  They are based on the old Ravens which is a strong defence and a QB who protects the ball.  They lose either of these things and they aren’t going to win games.

19. Jaguars

So inconsistent it is unbelievable!  Maurice Drew-Jones rushed well this week but will he do next week?

20. Dolphins

Henne played well versus the Jets but asking him to play like that all season may be asking too much.  Expect lots of Wildcat for the remainder of the season.

21. Chargers

Rivers and Merriman spend far too much time mouthing off at opponents rather than focusing on their own play.  Norv Turner can’t last another year in San Diego.

22. Seahawks

Just have too many holes at the moment to win on a consistent basis.

23. Bills

Trent Edwards getting hurt won’t help this team.  Actually surprised how bad this team have been this season.  Yet another coach that must go at the end of the season.

24. Panthers

Too tough a division for a team that is plainly not playing that well.

25. Raiders

Nice win this week but who really cares about this team anymore.

26. Redskins

Zorn is gone soon and so this team needs to find a head coach who is going to stay in place for 3 or more years and make a difference.  They will draft a QB with next years first round pick.

27. Lions

Out of all the teams in with only 1 win this season this is the only one that looks like it has some talent on its roster.

28. Chiefs

Yes they beat the Redskins but this isn’t something to brag about these days.

29. Browns

Cleveland don’t look any better under Mangini.

30. Titans

Jeff Fisher is too good a coach for this team to keep playing this badly.

31. Rams

They had a chance to win on Sunday bit blow it, story of their season so far.

32. Buccaneers

Man this team down right stinks.  The Pats will look forward to playing them next week in London.

NFL Week 6 Predictions

Cincinnati to beat Houston

The Texans are a strange team that can put up big numbers but at the same time can let the opposition have a good day.  The Bengals are good enough and confident enough to have a great day on offence and should get win number 5 here.

Green Bay to beat Detroit

The Packers O-line is terrible but yet Rodgers still manages to put up decent numbers.  This tells you that if the Packers can sort out the 0-line they can be challengers for the NFC North title.  After having a bye week look for them to better but not that much better.

Jacksonville to beat St Louis

The Jaguars have problems but then so do the Rams.  Jaguars are at home so they should win but only if they pound the ball with Maurice Jones-Drew.

Baltimore to beat Minnesota

Ray Lewis and the Ravens are hurting after a couple of big losses and ones they feel were down more to the officials than them (not sure I agree with them mind), so look for them to get a huge win in Minnesota.  AP will have a decent day but not sure he’ll break the 100 yard mark.  Also look for Favre to be under a lot of pressure.

New Orleans to beat New York

The Saints have had a bye week to get healthy and the one thing the Giants aren’t is healthy especially in the secondary.  Yes the back ups have played well but not sure how long that can last.  Look for Brees to throw is usual ton of balls and to put up big numbers again.

Pittsburgh to beat Cleveland

The Steelers are so hot and cold it is frightening but they are playing the Browns so they should win easily.  Big Ben and Mendanhall to both have big games.

Tampa Bay to beat Carolina

Yes the Panthers won last week but it was only against the Redskins.  Yes the Bucs can’t beat anyone but somehow I think this is their week to surprise everyone.

Washington to beat Kansas City

Surely my beloved Redskins can beat the Chiefs surely!  I’m going to say yes but don’t be shocked to see the Chiefs picking up their first win here.

Philadelphia to beat Oakland

The Raiders are glad that the Rams, Browns and Bills are in the league since it keeps attention away from them and just how bad they are.  Sorry to see Russell struggling so badly but then again he shouldn’t have been so greedy and ruined his rookie year.  Eagles will win be 30 this week.

Seattle to beat Arizona

Who knows who will win this game since both teams are hot and cold.  So going to pick the Seahawks since they are at home.

Tennessee to beat the Patriots

I think this is the shock of the week and it better be for Jeff Fishers sake or he is going to make a tough decision about the QB position really soon.  Patriots will lose 2 in a row for the first time in ages or at least it feels like ages.

New York to beat Buffalo

Does anyone think that the Bills will win this one?  Nope didn’t think so.  Easy win for the Jets.

Atlanta to beat Chicago

The Bears to lose a close one and this make the NFC North really interesting.  Plus this lose might get rid of the silly talk about Jay Cutler for MVP.  Falcons should continue on from were they left off last week.

Denver to beat San Diego

The Broncos to win again and this will surely annoy all the so-called experts who wrote they off during the off-season.  The Chargers continue to show that they talk a good game but more often than not fail to show up when really needed.

Predictions for NFL week 5

Ravens to beat the Bengals

Baltimore is playing well but so are the Bengals but I just think the Ravens will have too much for them.  Look for the Ravens defence to play much better after last week.

Panthers to beat the Redskins

Is anyone interested in this game?  Really two bad teams and I fancy the Panthers to win because they are at home.

Bills to beat the Browns

The Browns can’t score on offence and to make things worse they have traded Edwards to the Jets.  Guess they have already written off the season.  The Bills aren’t much better but are at home at least.

Steelers to beat the Lions

Detroit has won one game this season but they aren’t going to get win number 2 this weekend.

Cowboys to beat the Chiefs

Chiefs need to get a win soon but I can’t see it happening this weekend versus the Cowboys.  Look for the Dallas defence to play well and for Romo to have a slightly better game than he has been having.  Though it is nice to see Romo getting found out for what he really is a decent QB rather than this superstar people were making him out to be.

Vikings to beat the Rams

Peterson to get over 200 yards? Wouldn’t put it past him or for Favre to have a big game.  The Rams are probably the worse team in the NFL at the moment.

Giants to beat the Raiders

Oakland just isn’t that good and won’t be when they have a thug has head coach or a nut job as an owner. Manning and the Giants look good and should make it 5 – 0.

Eagles to beat the Buccaneers

McNabb is back and they defence is playing well whereas noone is playing all that well for the Bucs.

49ers to beat the Falcons

San Fran is playing well and I thing they will have enough to beat the Falcons on Sunday.

Cardinals to beat the Texans

I can see both teams putting up a lot of points this weekend and also look for Fitzgerald and Johnson to have big games.  Fancy the Cardinals since they are home.

Broncos to beat the Patriots

Broncos are playing well which isn’t good news for all the McDaniels haters but something I’m personally not shocked about.  Orton is playing well enough to win games and the defence is finally showing how good it can be.

Jaguars to beat the Seahawks

Just not sure about this game since both teams aren’t that great but the Jags are slightly better.

Colts to beat the Titans

When you are winless the last team you want to play is the Colts on fire and Manning playing as well as he has for a few years.  Peyton is already MVP favourite and quite rightly since without this team would be average at best.

Jets to beat the Dolphins

Two young inexperience QBs in this game but the difference is Sanchez has a great defence to get him the ball back a lot.

MVP favourite

Washington Redskins

I finally managed to get back online and instead of posting anything I have been busy playing with my new son.  Today though I thought I had to blog something especially after the Redskins lost to the Lions.

For all my faults the Redskins are my American Football team and each year they seem to get worse.  Long gone are the days of deep play-off runs and Super Bowls but surely they should be handling teams like Detroit and St Louis.  I’ll cut them some slack they did manage to beat St Louis but only just. 

Detroit though are a totally different team, even with 340 yards from Jason Campbell (who normally gets the blame) and 178 yards from Santana Moss (who usually goes missing) they still failed to beat the Lions.  Two people are to blame for the terrible start to the season Jim Zorn and Clinton Portis.  Zorn for poor play calling and Portis for failing to move the chains often enough or even to get a 100 yards on the ground very often. 

Washington had a chance of being 5 – 1 going into week 7 but instead they are going into week 4 1 – 2 which isn’t could enough. If Zorn lasts another two weeks I will be amazed but I actually think he will be moved down to QB coach rather than sacked.  Personally I think Mike Shanahan will head up head coach but that might not be till next season.

Anyway I need to get over the Lions beating the Redskins and focus more on watching the Colts beating the Cardinals tonight.

In other NFL news, the Titans have problems, the Jets look good defensively but are still frail on offence, the Chargers can’t run the ball and Miami have the wildcat and not much else.

New York Jets the 27th Best team in the NFL

The Jets have made properly the best coaching appointment of the summer and this was due to the fact that they were the first team to hire a coach in 2009.  In Rex Ryan they have a defensive guru who in time will be held as one of the best of all time but now he needs to show that he can take the next step and become a great head coach.

Ryan is one of the lucky coaches who actually inherited a decent team but has the problem of replacing last years starting QB.  But I think that getting rid of Brett Favre is a good thing since he was such a distraction to the team last year and choked at the end of the season.  Though when you look at the replacements they have on offer, Clemens and Sanchez, there can only be one winner and that is Mark Sanchez.  Sanchez turned out to be the most wanted QB in the 2009 draft with the Redskins, Jets, Broncos and a few other teams looking at him.  In the end the Jets jumped up the draft board and gave up a lot to get him and only time will tell if it was the right thing to do.

 Other plus points for the Jets this season are the presence of a decent running game in the form of Thomas Jones who in my opinion is one of the most underrated running backs in the NFL.  Let’s not forget that the Bears fell apart when they got rid of Jones to the Jets but then they did try and replace him with Cedric Benson.  The Jets also have a decent defence and should hold there own during most games this season but I think the lack of an experience QB will affect them this season and will mean the team with a losing record.  It actually surprised me that they never made a move for someone like Leftwich or Garcia but they obviously believe in Clemens and Sanchez.

For this reason I think that the Jets will end with a record of 5 – 11.