The Week 8 Picks!
Last Week: 5-9 Overall: 45-53-6
Denver (+2.5) vs San Francisco (Wembley Stadium)
Two teams with a combined record of 3-11 are heading overseas to London to play a regular season game. Would anyone be surprised if this starts another war with England?
Jacksonville (+6.5) at Dallas
The Cowboys were rolling along on Monday Night, leading 10-0 as they tried to salvage their season. A broken clavicle and numerous Wade Phillips confused looks later, Eli Manning torched the Dallas defense in a 41-35 victory that wasn't that close. And now in comes Jon Kitna, as he tries to recapture the magic of the 2007 Lions with Roy Williams.
Washington (+2.5) at Detroit
Washington invented new and different ways to try and lose last Sunday's game against Chicago. But thanks to Jay Cutler (who provided Washington's offense) and Lovie Smith (who challenges the wrong plays) the Redskins somehow won. If you're a playoff team, you go on the road and beat one of the bottom NFC teams.
Minnesota (+6) at New England
7 TD. 10 INT. 4 Fumbles. 198 yards per game. Brad Childress is probably thinking he could get these stats out of Tarvaris Jackson, and wouldn't have to worry about him tweeting pictures of himself at halftime. Zing!
Green Bay (+6) at New York
Mark Sanchez won't play as well as it gets colder? Tomlinson will start to wear down a bit? Revis isn't at 100 percent? It's Halloween? (Searching for reasons to go against the AFC's 2nd best team after a bye.)
Tampa Bay at Arizona (-3)
Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris says his team is the best in the NFC. Just let that sink in for a little bit. But anytime a coach with Raheem Morris' resume makes this statement, you have to believe him.... right? Right?
Carolina at St. Louis (-2)
After Danario Alexander's 4 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago, fantasy owners rushed to claim Mark Clayton's perceived replacement. Alexander is now out for 2-4 weeks as he prepares for his fifth surgery on his left knee. But as everyone predicted, St. Louis hasn't missed a beat with playmakers Danny Amendola and Daniel Fells.
Miami (+1) at Cincinnati
Can't emphasize enough how badly Miami got screwed last week against Pittsburgh. But more and more it seems like they are the perfect example of a good team stuck in the much tougher conference (W at GB, MIN, L to NYJ, NE, PIT). As for Cincinnati, over/under as to when tensions in the locker room start to boil over? I'll set the line at Week 11.
Tennessee at San Diego (-3.5)
Despite Ryan Mathews' valiant attempts to try and single-handedly kill my fantasy team, I have persevered and am in the thick of the playoff race. And if stats are meaningful, it begs the question: At some point, doesn't the NFL's No.1 ranked offense and No.1 ranked defense have to win a game at home by more than 3.5 points?
Buffalo at Kansas City (-7)
Buffalo is really becoming Detroit 2.0 in terms of the "bad team who always seems to score late to cover the spread." Now last week they played well against Baltimore, but I'm not sure they're capable of putting together two well-played games on the road.
Seattle (+2.5) at Oakland
This game reminds me a lot of the Washington-Detroit game, in that if you're a playoff team, you go on the road and win. Now I was all set to pick Oakland in this game. But last week I went to get lunch at the start of the 4 o'clock games, came back, and saw the Raiders were up by 24 against the Broncos with half of the first quarter remaining. (Convincing myself there is no chance Oakland puts together two straight good games.)
Pittsburgh (+1) at New Orleans
With last Sunday's win over New Orleans, Cleveland has now beaten the defending Super Bowl Champions in three straight seasons. Couple that with a season-opening win vs Boston, and it's the greatest week in Cleveland sports history! But after losing to the Browns, this Saints team has only put it together for one game this season (@ TB) and I think Pittsburgh is the better team.
Houston at Indianapolis (-5.5)
Never go against Peyton Manning at night. Never go against Peyton Manning at night. Never go against Peyton Manning at night. Never go against Peyton Manning at night.
As always, enjoy the games!
tylertomea@gmail.com
