NFL 2015: Week 9 Picks
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| Carolina, New England, Cincinnati and Denver, your remaining undefeated teams. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN) |
The four unbeaten's have gotten where they are in a variety of ways. The Patriots and Bengals have been lead by MVP caliber play by their quarterbacks.
Carolina has done it with both defense and running the football. Cam Newton has played a large role as well in the Panthers being undefeated. Finally, the Broncos have done it with defense, a defense that is in the conversation with the '00 Ravens, '02 Buccaneers and '13 Seahawks defenses as one of the best in the league since the turn of the century.
The Patriots and Bengals are the two most complete teams of the four in my opinion, but half the season is still left to play. Should be interesting to see who
As for the MVP race, might last well start engraving Tom Brady's name it now. The race is all but over in this fans eyes.
Now, for my picks for this week's slate of games.
Week 9 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
CINCINNATI over Cleveland (Thursday, 8:25 p.m. ET, NFL): QB Johnny Manziel will get the start for the Browns tonight and don't expect him to play well. Last year in Cleveland, Manziel went up against the Bengals and played awful. Johnny Football was 10/18 for 80-yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, was sacked twice and had a QB Rating of 27.3. If I'm the Bengals, I load the box to stop the run and make Manziel thrown from the pocket, something he does not excel at. The Bengals are third in the league in scoring at 28.3 PPG and the Browns defense gives up 27.0 PPG, 26th in the league. Cincinnati will put up a lot points forcing Cleveland to throw the ball, which should result in some Manziel turnovers. Bengals win big as MVP candidate Andy Dalton has a great game.
Green Bay over CAROLINA (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Two tough road games in a row for the Packers, but I don't expect them to suffer the same fate as they did last Sunday night. Aaron Rodgers was held to just 77-yards passing against the Broncos, a stat I cannot believe I'm typing. Carolina has a solid defense too, but they're not as good as Denver. I just can't see Rodgers and the Packers playing poorly on offense two weeks in a row. I like Green Bay in a close one.
NEW ENGLAND over Washington (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): The Redskins have had two weeks to prepare for Tom Brady, but it's not enough time. In fact, they could have an entire year and still not be able to come up with a way to beat Brady and the Patriots in Foxboro. Patriots win big.
NEW ORLEANS over Tennessee (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Tennessee just fired their head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, and the Saints are coming off a 52-49 win over the Giants in which they totaled 608-yards of offense and QB Drew Brees threw for 505-yards and tied and NFL-record with 7 touchdown passes. With all that being said, I think I'll take the Saints at home.
BUFFALO over Miami (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Buffalo destroyed Miami back in Week 2 41-14 and although I don't expect the same kind of dismantlement, I do expect the same outcome. Miami has been playing better since Dan Campbell took over as head coach, but I still think the Buffalo has a better team, especially with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Taylor is expected to return under center for the Bills and he'll be the difference in the win.
MINNESOTA over St. Louis (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX): Big game in Minnesota Sunday afternoon. Both the Rams and Vikings could find themselves in playoff contention at the end of the year and the winner of this game will have the tiebreaker if these two are close in the standings in early January. I love what I've seen from RB Todd Gruley and the Rams, but the Vikings have the second best scoring defense in the league. Tough, physical game that I see Minnesota winning.
NY JETS over JACKSONVILLE (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): Ryan Fitzpatrick will get the start at quarterback despite having a torn ligament in his non-throwing thumb that he suffered early in last week's game against the Raiders. Jets did not play well under Geno Smith -- I often wonder how he's still in the league at this point -- last week, but with Fitzpatrick back, they should be alright against Jacksonville. The Jaguars are miraculously only a game out of the AFC South lead at 2-5 and even with a loss to the Jets, they still will be in contention.
Oakland over PITTSBURGH (Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS): The Raiders? That's right, the Oakland Raiders have a very good football team and I'm jumping on the bandwagon. QB Derek Carr and WR Amari Cooper lead the eighth best scoring offense in the league and the ageless CB Charles Woodson is the heart and soul of the defense and currently leads the league with 5 INT. I was not impressed with the Steelers last week, QB Ben Roethlsiberger still looks hurt and they will miss RB Le'Veon Bell who is on IR with a knee injury. This should be a close and physical game at Heinz Field and I like the Raiders to get the win to improve to 5-3. When was the last time Oakland was two games above .500 in November?
NY Giants over TAMPA BAY (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): Eli Manning threw for 350-yards and 6 touchdown passes against the Saints last week and the Giants still lost. In a game for the ages, the third highest scoring game in NFL history, Eli and the Giants offense did more than enough. However, the defense let them down. New York is giving up a league worst 427.5 YPG and that number has to come down if the Giants are to make the playoffs. I'm still not a believer in Jameis Winston, but I am a believer in Eli Manning. I like the G-Men here.
Atlanta over SAN FRANCISCO (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): 49ers have traded TE Vernon Davis and have benched QB Colin Kaepernick for Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert has a career QB Rating 66.8 and has thrown more interceptions (24) than touchdowns (23). He is not the answer in San Francisco and with him at the helm, the 49ers may not win another game the rest of the season. Falcons win big.
Denver over INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS): The Denver defense held Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense to 10-points, 140-yards and held Rodgers to 77-yards passing. Let me say that again. Aaron Rodgers threw for only 77-yards against the Denver Broncos last weekend. I'm still stunned. That is one of the greatest accomplishments a team could have in the NFL today and no matter how Peyton Manning is playing, with that defense, Denver may not lose a game. The Colts can't beat anyone outside of their division and if Rodgers and the Packers struggled that much against the Broncos, I can't imagine how bad things will be for Andrew Luck Sunday afternoon. And Peyton Manning has a new weapon on offense, TE Vernon Davis comes over from the 49ers in a trade. He should be a nice addition to an already great team.
Philadelphia over DALLAS (Sunday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBC): Dallas got the better of Philadelphia back in Week 2, but that was with Tony Romo starting at quarterback and the Eagles having their worse game of the year on the offensive side of the ball. Sam Bradford threw two interceptions and the Eagles managed just 226-yards of offense back in late September, but I expect a different outcome Sunday night. The Cowboys are 0-5 without Romo and although they've lost by a combined eight points the last two games, I'm afraid they'll fall to 0-6 W.R. (Without Romo).
SAN DIEGO over Chicago (Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Bears are in trouble without RB Matt Forte, not to say that they were in it with him. Chicago is 2-5 and with Minnesota and Green Bay playing so well, they are all but out of it. San Diego too, for all intent and purposes, is out of it as well. Two talented rosters and two disappointing teams. With no Matt Forte and Philip Rivers tied for the league lead with 344-yards passing/game, I like San Diego to get the win on Monday Night Football.
Bye: Arizona, Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Seattle
Last Week: 10-4
Overall: 74-45 (.622)
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