Week 9 Predictions

Ok so your girl finished 8-5 last week..not as good as I had hoped but pretty good. Let's get started on this week's picks.

San Diego Chargers (3-5) vs Houston Texans (4-3)

Chargers come in off a good win against the Titans at home last week. However the win cost them dearly. TE Antonio Gates popped the plantar fascia in his left foot during the game and is not expected to play this week. QB Philip Rivers has already thrown for 2649 yds, 15 TDs and 7 INTs so far this season and is the #1 rated passer in the league but with WRs Legedu Naanee and Malcom Floyd battling injuries and doubtful for this game, and WR Buster Davis on I.R. this will be a tough one for the Chargers to win through the air. They may have to rely on their ground game behind RB Mike Tolbert who has scored 7 TDs in his last 7 games. Chargers have a tough defense but they have the leagues worst special teams. Texans are coming in off a big loss to the division rival Colts in Indianapolis. QB Matt Schaub completed 22 of 38 for 201 yds, 1 TD and 1 INT with WR Andre Johnson making 7 catches for 106 yds and Schaub's lone TD. RB Arian Foster had 15 rushes for 102 yds and 1 TD. Texans have the last ranked pass defense in the league but facing the Chargers when they are depleted at WR may work in their favor. Prediction: Texans

Arizona Cardinals (3-4) vs Minnesota Vikings (2-5)

Cardinals come in off a disappointing loss to the Bucs last week. QB Max Hall threw 2 INTs before being replaced by QB Derek Anderson who came in and threw 2 more INTs. Even with a WR like Larry Fitzgerald who caught 2 TDs last week cannot save them from mediocrity. RB Beanie Wells rushed for 1 TD last week but is questionable for this week due to an allergic reaction. Cardinals defense is ranked 27th and offense is ranked 31st. Unless Hall or Anderson dramatically improve they are going to struggle to finish .500. Vikings come in off a loss last week to the Patriots in New England. The Vikes are a disappointment. They released WR Randy Moss after just a few weeks. QB Brett Favre was knocked out the game last week with a laceration to the chin but had thrown no TDs up to that point. RB Adrian Peterson rushed 25 times for 92 yds and 1 TD. Vikes run defense has fallen off this season but still is effective on pass defense. Not expecting a good game out of this one. Prediction: Vikings

New Orleans Saints (5-3) vs Carolina Panthers (1-6)

Saints come in off a win at home against the Steelers. QB Drew Brees finished with a 101.0% passer rating by completing 34 of 44 for 305 yds, 2 TDs and 1 INT. WRs Marques Colston had 6 receptions for 75 yds and 1 TD and Lance Moore had 7 receptions for 54 yds and 1 TD. With both RBs Reggie Bush & Pierre Thomas still out the ground game has been nearly nonexistent. The Saints defense looked great last week against the Steelers and should play much better this week against the struggling Panthers. Panthers are a terrible team. Their biggest problem is a lack of a quality quarterback. They are coming in off a loss to the Rams in St. Louis. QB Matt Moore finished with just 1 TD and 3 INTs. So far this season he has twice as many INTs (10) than he has TDs (5). Their running game has been sorely lacking with both RBs Jonathan Stewart & DeAngelo Williams each only have 1 TD so far this season. They have also been plagued by injuries at the WR position. Panthers defense needs to get some turnovers badly and score. Prediction: Saints

New England Patriots (6-1) vs Cleveland Browns (2-5)

Patriots come in off a convincing win at home against the Vikings. Currently they are the best team in the NFL. Pats play a complete game on both sides of the ball. They will be facing rookie QB Colt McCoy. Browns are struggling badly this season mostly due to injuries. Prediction: Patriots

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) vs Atlanta Falcons (5-2)

Bucs come in off a win against the Cardinals in Arizona. QB Josh Freeman completed 18 of 25 for 278 yds and 1 TD with WR Mike Williams having 4 receptions for 105 yds and Freeman's lone TD pass. RB LeGarrette Blount had 22 rushes for 120 yds and 2 TDs. Bucs defense is solid; last week CB Aqib Talib finished with 2 INTs. Falcons come in off a bye last week. Their last game out was a win against the Bengals at home. QB Matt Ryan has an overal 89.6% passer rating thus far with 12 TDs and 5 INTs with his #1 wideout Roddy White having caught 5 of those TDs. Michael Turner had his best game thus far in week 7 with 23 rushes for 121 yds and 2 TDs. Falcons D has been playing with a fire that may get them into the playoffs. Prediction: Falcons

Chicago Bears (4-3) vs Buffalo Bills (0-7)

Bears are coming in off a bye last week. Their last game was a loss to the Redskins in Washington. They have loss their last 2 out of 3 and QB Jay Cutler threw 4 INTs in that game. Their running game has been flat with RB Matt Forte having just 352 yds & 3 TDs so far this season. Bears defense is solid but need their offense to produce points in the red zone and keep them off the field. Bills remain the only winless team in the league. Despite this fact their offense is playing very well. The problem is the Bills defense ranks last against the run, last in scoring defense and 29th in yards allowed. Can the Bears 29th ranked run offense take exploit this weakness? This will be their chance to prove it. Prediction: Bears

Miami Dolphins (4-3) vs Baltimore Ravens (5-2)

Dolphins come in off a win last week against the Bengals in Cincinnati. QB Chad Henne threw o TDs and 1 INT. RB Ricky Williams had 9 rushes for 47 yds and 1 TD. They will need more production this week to win this game. Dolphins defense has been playing well in their road games. Dolphins are still undefeated on the road and winless at home so this should be a good test. Ravens are coming in off a bye last week. Their last game was a last second win against the Bills at home. In that game QB Joe Flacco completed 16 of 31 for 250 yds and 3 TDs with WR Anquan Boldin making 6 receptions for 92 yds and 1 of those TDs. Ravens have a stingy defense that needs to be prepared for lots of the wildcat formation from the Dolphins. Prediction: Ravens

New York Jets (5-2) vs Detroit Lions (2-5)

Jets come in off a surprising loss to the Packers at home. QB Mark Sanchez had an awful game finishing with 0 TDs and 2 INTs. Jets played solid on defense limiting the Packers to just 3 FGs but they will need this offense to bounce back this week. Lions come in off a win against the Redskins in Washington last week. On his first game back from a shoulder injury QB Matt Stafford completed 26 of 45 for 212 yds, 4 TDs and 1 INT with WR Calvin Johnson making 9 receptions for 101 yds and 3 of those TDs. Lions defense had a great game and need to keep it up to reach .500 this season. Prediction: Jets

New York Giants (5-2) vs Seattle Seahawks (4-3)

Giants come in off a bye last week. Their last game out was a win against the Cowboys in Dallas where they knocked QB Tony Romo out for the next 6-8 weeks. QB Eli Manning has thrown for 1785 yds, 14 TDs and 11 INTs so far this season. His RBs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs have rushed for 3 TDs and 5 TDs respectively. The Giants defense has looked fantastic and playing big when it counts. Seahawks come in off blowout loss to the Raiders last week in Oakland. Unfortunately QB Matt Hasselback is out this week with a concussion. They will be starting QB Charlie Whitehurst who has never thrown a pass in the regular season. They will need to rely on their ground game behind RBs Justin Forsett and Marshawn Lynch. The Seawhawks defense are inconsistent and this uneven play has resulted in their mediocre record. Prediction: Giants

Indianapolis Colts (5-2) vs Philadelphia Eagles (4-3)

Colts come in off a convincing win against the division rival Texans last week at home. QB Peyton Manning finished with a 89.9% passer rating by completing 26 of 45 for 268 yds and 2 TDs with WR Reggie Wayne catching 1 of those TDs. Colts running game has struggled a little with both RBs Joseph Addai and Donald Brown being injured. Colts defense has been badly banged up but has managed to keep things rolling for them but need to work on their run defense. Eagles come in off a bye last week. Their last game was a loss to the Titans in week 7. QB Michael Vick is supposed to get the start this week after suffering a rib injury in week 4. He has 6 TDs and 0 INTs passing and 1 rushing TD so far this season. They are also expecting the return of WR DeSean Jackson who was out last game due to a concussion. RB LeSean McCoy has 477 yds and 5 TDs so far this season so they will need more production out of their ground game. Eagles defense gave up alot through the air in the Titans game and will need to play much tougher against Manning. Prediction: Colts

Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) vs Oakland Raiders (4-4)

Chiefs come in off a win last week against the Bills at home. QB Matt Cassel completed 14 of 26 for 152 yds and 1 TD with WR Dwayne Bowe cathing the lone TD. RB Jamaal Charles had 22 rushes for 177 yds. Chiefs defense is ranked 16 in yards allowed but only have 15 sacks; they need to put more pressure on the quarterbacks they face. Raiders come in off a beatdown of the Seahawks last week at home. QB Jason Campbell completed 15 of 27 for 310 yds and 2 TDs with WR Darrius Heyward-Bey making 5 receptions for 105 yds and 1 of those TDs. RB Darren McFadden had 21 rushes for 111 yds. Raiders defense is banged up this week but have played excellent the last 2 weeks. This should be a good game against 2 division rivals. Prediction: Chiefs

Dallas Cowboys (1-6) vs Green Bay Packers (5-3)

Cowboys come in off a terrible loss to the Jaguars at home. Cowboys are a terrible team and are without their starting QB Tony Romo for the next 6-8 weeks. Last week QB Jon Kitna threw 4 INTs and was sacked twice. Cowboys must find a way to get their ground game going; RB Marion Barber picked up only his 2nd TD this season last week. RBs Felix Jones & Tashard Choice have yet to score. Cowboys defense has crumbled badly this season and their offense looks anemic. Packers come in off a win last week against the Jets in New York. Packers faced a very tough defense in the Jets last week and didnt manage to score a TD but they are facing a Cowboys defense ranked 24th in rush defense and 27th in scoring defense. Their defense has played pretty consistent in all of their wins. Prediction: Packers

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) vs Cincinnati Bengals (2-5)

Steelers come in off a loss to the Saints in New Orleans last week. QB Ben Roethlisberger had his worst game of the season so far by completing 17 of 28 for 195 yds for 0 TDs and 1 INT. RB Rashard Mendenhall had 15 rushes for 71 yds and 1 TD. Steelers still have the #4 ranked defense in the league. Bengals come in off a loss last week to the Dolphins at home. QB Carson Palmer 17 of 38 for 156 yds 2 TDs and 1 INT and WR Terrell Owens had 5 receptions for 65 yds and both of Palmer's TDs. Bengals have been an utter disappointment this year. Their defense has let them down in nearly every game so far this season. They are in desperate need of a turnaround to get to .500. Prediction: Steelers