Sunday, November 9, 2008

Week 10 Picks

Hey everybody. It's been a rough weekend involving a Party Bus, sleeping in a bathtub, a broken iPhone, and my girlfriend's lost purse. Let's just power through this...(Ed. note - I was not on said party bus and feel slighted. Sad face.)

By the way, I'm officially suspending Fantasy Love/Hate until I have a fantasy team over .500

Saints @ Falcons (-2)
Adam: Wow, who would have thought that this late in the season we'd have the Atlanta Falcons favored over the New Orleans Saints? I don't know if I fully agree with that, but apparently enough gamblers do to make the line swing that way. One thing's for sure... everybody is impressed with Matt Ryan is doing. And with him, Roddy White, and Michael Turner, this team has the cornerstones of a very sold offense for years to come. The Saints have alternated wins and losses for their last 5 games, so they should be due to lose this one... but after the bye week and a big win over San Diego in their last game, I don't see it happening. This Falcons defense just isn't quite good enough to keep up with the Saints, and I see Colston having his first big game of the year.
Adam's Pick: New Orleans, 38-27
James' Pick: Atlanta wins, 27-20

Titans @ Bears (+2)
Adam: Oh man, Sex Cannon, back in action. I see a beautiful scenario playing out, where Grossman goes off for, like, 5 TDs against the best defense in the NFL, and then Orton gets healthy, and you see Lovie Smith staring glossy-eyed into the camera while trying to explain who is starting QB is going to be next week. Oh my god, please let this happen.
Adam's Pick: Chicago wins, 35-17
James' Pick: Chicago over Tennesse (fingers crossed) 18-15

Jaguars @ Lions (+4.5)
Adam: If you thought I was excited about Sexy Rexy.... you have no idea how pumped I am to see Daunte Culpepper back in the NFC North. And you can't really blame the Lions. With Dan Orlovsky struggling so much, and the unknown quality of Drew Stanton the only other option, it can't make your season any worse to take a flier on Daunte. Although, the second year on the deal did confuse me a bit. Meanwhile the Jaguars are struggling just as much as I expected them to. Everybody was convinced they'd make the leap into a premier team this year, but I just didn't see it. I still think they'll win today though, because they do have talent and are too proud to lose to this team.
Adam's Pick: Jaguars win, 24-13
James' Pick: Jacksonville beats Detroit, 21-9

Seahawks @ Dolphins (-6.5)

James: And the third biggest favorite during this week's games is...*drum roll*...the Miami Dolphins? When you think about it, it makes sense. It shouldn't make sense, but it does. The Tampa Bay Rays have put on the pressure for the Fins to go from worst to first, and if they can bring a solid game on Sunday, they'll be within striking distance of the Patriots/Bills and possibly Jets. Chad Pennington has been a great fit in this offense; a cerebral quarterback who can do a lot of things to help win games except hurl the ball downfield. As the Jets have seen, throwing the ball downfield doesn't always have great results. If the Seahawks can't win this game, their chances of catching Arizona are slim to none. If Seattle can get the ground game going with Julius Jones and win some clock time, they have a legitimate chance of coming away with this. If they buy into any of the Dolphins trickery and tomfoolery, it'll be a blowout by the 2nd quarter.
Adam's Pick: Dolphins take it, 23-17
James' Pick: Dolphins win, 34-10

Packers @ Vikings (-2)

James: You always know what you're getting into when the Packers and Vikes go at it, and this contest will be no different. Green Bay has to be sore over coming so close to defeating Tennessee last week, and Minnesota is always a tough, physical matchup for anyone. Mix in the bad blood these teams have, and I'm sure we'll see two or three hits that will make you cringe. If either team is going to win this game, they're going to have to find ways to score that might be outside of their comfort zone. Minnesota will rely on more than Adrian Peterson, and Aaron Rodgers will be spreading his passes out. The emergence of Brandon Jackson in their running game may help their cause, but this game, with its divisional implications, is going to be a battle either way.
Adam's Pick: Packers win, 27-24
James' Pick: Brad Childress almost blows it, but Minnesota hangs on 24-18

Bills @ Patriots (-2)
Adam: I'm actually gearing up to head out to this game right now, and I'll be bringing my girlfriend along for her first NFL game. Some guys have a strict no-chicks at games rule, but I think that's dumb. Ive always thought my father was a genius for getting my mom to like football... it's something she gets excited about instead of nagging him when he watches it. This should be a great game to introduce her with, as the winner gets a leg up on the AFC East race. Interesting note: as well as the Bills have played, they still have not beaten a team in their division. I'll be screaming my head off hoping that trend stays.
Adam's Pick: Patriots win, 31-20
James' Pick: New England ends up in their proper place (grr) 24-16

Rams @ Jets (-5)
Adam: I feel extremely confident that the Rams will win this game. For a few reasons. All of them selfish wishful thinking. Reason #1: The Patriots will be alone in 1st place in the division if this happens. Reason #2: I'm starting Kenneth Darby in one fantasy league. Which is probably a horrible sign. But... maybe not? Reason #3: The Jets suck and I hate them. There you go, hard hitting analysis.
Adam's Pick: Rams win, 21-17
James' Pick: Jets stay in first place with a win over St. Louis, 37-24

Ravens @ Texans (EVEN)
James: There are many very feasible scenarios in which this could be a matchup of two playoff teams, as my "Hello January!" column showed. Houston's bringing a lot of momentum into this game, while the Ravens seem to be easing in to their offense and putting less pressure on the defense. For the Texans, any game is a must-win, but a victory at home could be the very thing to catapult them into a wild card spot in January. Houston's strengths are Baltimore's weaknesses, so the winner will be whoever can overcome those weaknesses more. Seems obvious, but there is no room for error by either team this game. Can Houston stop the run and keep their offense on the field, or will the Ravens score big early and embarrass the Texans at Reliant Stadium?
Adam's Pick: Texans over Ravens 19-13
James' pick: Houston wins 28-18

Panthers @ Raiders (+7.5)
Adam: The Raiders are an absolute mess. They just cut DeAngelo Hall, they've already fired their head coach, their big WR signing of the offseason couldn't have been more insane or more of a bust. It's amazing how much a team can resemble their owner. The Panthers should be ashamed of themselves if they don't take this one in a rout.
Adam's Pick: Panthers win, 34-12
James' pick: Oakland stuns Carolina 17-14

Colts @ Steelers (-5)

James: Ben Roethlisberger or not, the Steelers are GOOD. I thought the initial reactions to them this season would quickly prove to be wrong as teams found their weaknesses. With Pittsburgh this season, there aren't too many weaknesses. They can hurt you with the run, they can hurt you with the pass, and then if you can stop either of those, you need to score against their rock solid defense. The fan in me is saying "this game is winnable", which it is. No game is unwinnable in the NFL. However, the Colts' chances are slim. They finally someone over 265 lbs at defensive tackle in Antonio Johnson, but he probably won't be ready to play for this matchup. This game is going to be won or lost by Peyton Manning. The defense will be pushed around, that's a given, but they'll need to not miss tackles, get to the ball quickly, and not give a 10 yard cushion (much like their defensive plan against the Patriots). Their biggest strategy on defense, however, is to win ball control. Peyton Manning needs to be a master at the helm for the Colts to win. If we're seeing a lot of 5-6 yard checkdowns to Clark, Gonzalez, and Rhodes/Addai, then we can know that the Colts are playing this game correctly. Even with doing everything perfectly, the sheer physicality of this game is going to make it a tough one to win.
Adam's Pick: Steelers win, 31-27
James the fan's prediction: Indianapolis wins 34-30
James the realist's prediction: Pittsburgh wins 34-18

Cheifs @ Chargers (-4)
James: Nooooo way the Chiefs can upset the Chargers a second time. ...Right? Well, it's highly unlikely, but very possible. This is entirely up to the Chargers. This is the trap game of the year, with Pittsburgh coming up next for San Diego. The Chargers should expect to win this game, but they could very well be thinking about building momentum with a win against the Steelers next week. If the Bolts don't have their head focused on this game, Kansas City could very well take advantage of that and have another strange dominating performance like their first meeting. Jamaal Charles and Tyler Thigpen have a lot more things to like right now than Larry Johnson and Damon Huard/Brodie Croyle. If the Chiefs can stick with San Diego through the first half, they have a great shot to take this game. We'll see what San Diego can bring with an extra week of rest.
Adam's Pick: Chargers win, 34-10
James' pick: Evil Tony Dungy brings the Chiefs to win the season series, 24-13

Giants @ Eagles (+2)

James: My friend Bob is an Eagles fan. He fits into "dudes from New Jersey who associate with Philadelphia teams" category. He walked the entire World Series parade in Philadelphia dressed in a gorilla outfit while drinking Sparks the entire time. Therefore, Bob is the kind of guy you hate to root against. However, this weekend I hope Eli Manning breaks his heart. Every divisional game for the Giants is a statement game, and the statement gets louder each time. Defensive players have nightmares that they keep having to try and tackle Brandon Jacobs one-on-one and wake up just as they're being flattened. Their defense is as good if not better than Pittsburgh's. I think this is the best team in the NFL, and as soon as Tennessee loses, most power rankings should show that. I don't think McNabb and his boys have enough to take the G-Men on.
Adam's Pick: Eagles win, 24-21
James' pick: Giants win in an unbELIable fashion, 31-21

49ers @ Cardinals
James: I can guarantee you the guys on the Niners do not want to see Mike Singletary drop his pants at halftime again. Therefore, we should see some effort from these guys that's been missing these past few weeks. I had a lot of hope for San Francisco prior to the season starting, and I think Singletary could very well turn this season around for them. I don't see them in the playoffs, but a few wins here and a few wins there could put them at 7-9 or 8-8. Arizona has a great opportunity here to put some more space between them and the rest of their division. The Cards brilliant receiving corps and Tim Hightower, maybe the steal of the draft (5th round, overall 149), has reignited the Cards' running game. If the 49ers want a shot at winning, they're going to have to listen to Coach Singletary and play disciplined football. They've had a bye week to prepare for this game, and Shaun Hill may be the answer at quarterback. He also might not be the answer, but it's tough to tell how good a quarterback is when they get sacked more than they complete a pass.
Adam's Pick: Cards win, 48-12
James' pick: San Francisco stuns Arizona 18-13

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