NFL Week 8 Preview

Winners in Bold

Washington @ Detroit= The Lions have been one of the best offenses in the league so far this year with Shaun freakin Hill as their quarterback. They get franchise QB Matthew Stafford back this week, and while they have problems on defense, they have kept every game close so far. Washington has been an enigma so far this year, winning games they have no business winning, and vice versa. At Detroit with Stafford back, the Lions eek one out.

Jacksonville @ Dallas= I'm as big a Cowboys hater as anybody, and they've murdered me in my Pick 'Em League, but there is really no way they lose this week. With Romo out, they will start to lean heavily on Felix Jones, and he's about to go 2009 Jamaal Charles up in this bish. They still have major coaching and discipline issues, but that won't matter against the Jags whose defense has laid down in every game so far this year.

Miami @ Cincinnati= Like San Diego and Dallas, the Bengals are one of the most undisciplined and poorly coached teams in the NFL. But there problems are even deeper than the other two. What in the world has happened to their defense? Miami is mad after getting hosed last weekend, and will make it 4-0 on the road this year.

Buffalo @ Kansas City= Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown 11 TD passes in 4 games as a starter, and his 102 QB Rating is 2nd only to Peyton Manning. The Chiefs pass rush has improved but still struggling. Unfortunately for Buffalo, they can't stop anybody, and the Chiefs have the league's #1 rushing attack with an improving Cassel to Bowe connection. The Chiefs win but I won't get to breathe until the final whistle blows.

Carolina @ St. Louis= The Rams have been great at home so far this year, and will get back on track after a heartbreaking loss last weekend.

Denver vs. San Francisco= America's payback for the Stamp Act

Green Bay @ Jets= The Jets were 5-1 with injuries/suspensions all over the place. Coming off a bye week they are finally healthy, and should be a scary good team if Mark Sanchez and Keller/Edwards keep playing like they have so far this season.

Tennessee @ San Diego= Something that has frustrated me for the past month is the lack of respect for the Titans. In wins over the Giants, Cowboys, and Jaguars, all the postgame talk revolved around how many mistakes/how poorly the other team played. See a common theme? The Titans defense is nasty, ballhawking, and forces you into mistakes. CB Alterraun Verner is making a run at Defensive ROY and I said before the season that Kenny Britt was a superstar in the making. I'm going to say right now, that the Titans WILL WIN the AFC South, and win this week against a team that is a statistical improbability and the kings of mistakes. But then again, this will probably end up being the week that SD finally decides to play mistake free football.

Tampa Bay @ Arizona= Arizona has the worst non LOL JaMarcus Russell QB situation that I've seen in a long time. Tampa is a young and confident team with a great leader in Raheem Morris and a polished looking young QB in Josh Freeman.

Minnesota @ New England= I'm not going to talk about the primadonna Vikings because everyone else is. The Pats D is getting better each week, and Tom Brady will rebound against an injury plagued Minnesota Secondary.

Seattle @ Oakland= The toughest game of the week to pick because you really never know what the hell you're going to get from Oakland. They played one of the worst games all year two weeks ago in SF and then skullfuck the Broncos in Denver which is always a tough place to play. Seattle proved it can win on the road in Chicago, and is clearly the class of the NFC West. BMW is back in a big way, and their defense is playing like it did a couple years ago. Oakland drops an egg this week, and Marshawn Lynch has his breakout game against a porous Raiders run defense.

Pittsburgh @ New Orleans= The Saints are a very flawed football team right now in all three phases of the game, and without Reggie Bush or Pierre Thomas, I just can't see them going on long drives against a Pittsburgh D that knows they can't run on them.

Houston @ Indy= Indy wants payback for the Week 1 debacle and Houston wants payback for a decade of beatdowns. Indy's D will make some adjustments, Houston's offense has been inconsistent at times this year, while it's defense has been consistently bad. Indy wins and wins big.

NFL Weeks 1-5 in Review

Well 5 weeks are in the books, and the 5 worst teams from last year (Rams, Lions, Bucs, Chiefs, Redskins) are all playing some good football a combined 11-10 with the Chiefs and Skins both in 1st place. The two Super Bowl competitors are both 3-2 and each have major question marks. Preseason favorites like the Vikings, Packers, Cowboys, and Chargers are all self-imploding beating themselves in a variety of different ways on a weekly basis. Such is parity in the NFL.

Random Observations

- The AFC is leaps and bounds ahead of the NFC right now and its not even close. In addition to the top 3 teams being in the AFC, the 2nd tier AFC teams are imo better than the top tier NFC teams.

- The Ravens, Steelers, and Jets have established themselves as the 3 best teams in the NFL. Teams like the Colts, Pats, Falcons, Saints, etc. are all in that 2nd echelon but those top 3 are in a class of their own, and the AFC Championship Game will bottom line be this year's Super Bowl.

- Outside of the Bills and the Panthers there really aren't going to be any doormats this season, as even teams like the Browns, Lions, and Niners are playing hard and competing in most every game. The Bills and Niners however, are both really reallllllyyy bad, but I see the Bills "winning" out on the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, possibly taking Harbaugh as well. Even with Luck, I don't know how the Bills will succeed as they truly have so many gaps its unbelievable. That's what happens when you stockpile on fucking running backs and ignore I don't know your entire defense, the QB position, OLine and lack of vertical threat to stretch the field. Truly one of the worst run franchises in sports such a sad fall from the days of Kelly, Thomas, Reed, Smith, etc.