NFL Week 8 Preview

Hello all and welcome to Week 8 of the NFL season! (And week 1 of the Bills offseason). We’re nearly halfway through the season and it appears more than two thirds of the teams are painfully mediocre (except you Patriots….I’m on to you). We’re beginning to learn a few things about the league this season. First off we’ve learned the Bills are done (sorry I’ll stop), we’ve learned Peyton Manning no longer has the arm strength and he’s already learned to make it work, we’ve learned that the Redskins are the team you least want to see on your schedule and we’ve learned the Jets aren’t about to roll over on Rex Ryan (unlike another AFC East team I could mention.) Playoff pictures are starting to shape up so undoubtedly something crazy and unexpected is about to happen. So here we go, NFL week 8 picks:

Tampa over Minnesota: They’re winning 27-10 as I’m writing this. It appears as though, after a season of forgetting how to throw that oval shaped object, Josh Freeman is playing like the franchise player people expected him to be. Maybe Minnesota isn’t as good as their 5-2 record indicates and maybe they just played four days ago. Either way nothing can be proven on this ridiculous Thursday night schedule.

Chicago over Carolina (+7.5)- The only thing that would scare me off from taking the Bears over the lowly GM-less Panthers is their lack of explosiveness on offense. They allowed Detroit to cover last week because of their inability to protect Cutler (and occasionally Forte.) Then I remembered that Cam Newton was going to be throwing against Peanut Tillman and this incredible Bear’s D. Yup, I’ll take the Bears here.

Cleveland over San Diego (-2.5)- I think we may have finally reached that point, the end of San Diego’s era of being considered a contender. This may finally end all the preseason talk of “San Diego is the favorite in the West” or “they’re so talented”. They’re neither of those things. They can’t run the ball, the D is average, Rivers is a turnover machine and less time I checked, Norv Turner is still the coach. It’s time for the Chargers to start over. By the way, did you know Cleveland only has a -33 point differential? This is not your average 1-6 team. And San Diego is the perfect 4^th quarter team to steal a win against.

Seattle over Detroit (-1.5)- This is a major test for the Seahawks. If they can’t beat this less than average Lions team on the road, then something strange is going on in Seattle. We’ll find out if they’re just an average team with a major home advantage who could sneak in the playoffs or if they’re a legitimate team. Maybe, the Lions are just bad. All I know is Clemons and Irvin will be a nightmare for Mr. Paper-skin Glass-bones Stafford. By the way, he’s the only QB in the NFL to not have thrown a TD in the first half this season. Last year he threw 41 total td’s, this year he’s on pace for 13 each….quite the drop-off.

Green Bay over Jacksonville (15.5)- There’s nothing fun about betting on a line this big, anything could go wrong really. We’re still unsure of whether or not Gabbert will play….wait that matters? We know MJD isn’t playing and that’s all we really need to know. This Jags offense is about to get all kinds of historically bad. Legend has it that one of their receivers was a college great with enough talent to be a top-three pick (sorry Justin Blackmon). Meanwhile Aaron Rodgers just threw his way back to the top of the MVP favorite list. Don’t look now but number 12 now has nearly a 70%, 2000 yards, and 19 touchdowns to only four picks. With a blowout win over Jacksonville, the Packers will move to 5-3 and back into playoff contention. We haven’t heard the last from the Pack.

Indy over Tennessee (-3.5)- Now I know we all think Chris Johnson is “back” but Kurt Warner could have ran for 100 yards on this soul-less Bills defense. I refuse to take a defense as bad as Tennessee’s to cover by four points. On the other side of the ball, this is a perfect opportunity for Luck to make up for that ugly Jets game and throw all over the league’s worst defense. Take Indy here, look for Luck to make it clear who’s number two in the South.

St. Louis over New England (-7)- I can’t stress this enough. I’M TAKING ST. LOUIS AGAINST THE SPREAD. I still think the Patriots win the game but the Pats haven’t done anything to prove they deserve this spread and the Rams have been frisky as a cat all year. I’m looking for St. Louis to stick in this one all the way and maybe, just maybe squeeze out an upset over this slightly vulnerable Pats team.

New York Jets over Miami(+2)- Somehow the Jets have recovered from the embarrassment against San Francisco to play three solid games in a row. I’m not saying they’re to be trusted yet but I think they’ll do to Tannehill what they did to Luck and Fitz. This defense is solid and if the offense puts out at least a decent performance and Sanchez doesn’t turn the ball over too much, they’ll beat any average to bad team. I’m not downplaying the Dolphins, but I think the Jets will take care of them at home.

Atlanta over Philadelphia (-2) - In what psychotic universe should a 3-3 turnover machine be favored against the league’s only undefeated team? I’m not saying there’s no way the Eagles win but how about some respect for the Falcons? Bold predictions here: Eagles run the ball less than 25 times, we see two or more turnovers and then Matt Ryan does Matt Ryan stuff late in the game. Come on Vegas!

Washington over Pittsburgh (-4.5) - I’m not one of those guys who think Pittsburg is done or that their era is “over.” However, I am one of those guys that believe Robert Griffin is one of the greatest spread killers in NFL history. There’s no way an unproven Steelers team should be giving 4.5 points in this game. I believe the Steelers will win the game but look for the RG3’s to cover.

Kansas City over Oakland (-1)- CARSON PALMER BRADY QUINN! CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT?!?! In a battle of quarterbacks who were on top of the world in 2005, Brady Quinn is a little less awful and has to drink a little less Jack Daniels to fall asleep Sunday night.

New York Giants over Dallas (+2.5) - Eli Manning’s 4^th quarter ability against the Cowboy’s 4^th quarter ability? Ha. Seriously though, are we sure the Cowboys are good? They haven’t impressed at all since their week one win and Romo just hasn’t looked like himself. Pretty safe pick to take the Giants here.

Denver over New Orleans (+6) - Is there some kind of law against Denver playing in the afternoon? I doubt they care though; Manning is possibly the best night time quarterback in NFL history. I’m sure they’d prefer to play game at night. I think this is the game where Denver is recognized as a contender and New Orleans begins to look toward next season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a blowout here.

San Francisco over Arizona (+6.5)- Despite their winning record, Arizona has looked downright awful these past few weeks. The Cardinals offense is atrocious and America’s sympathy for Larry Fitzgerald is at an all- time high. Harbaugh and the Niners just don’t lose games like this.

Well that’s your week 8 preview. Enjoy your Bills-free Sunday!