Week 9 Picks in the NFL

Week 9 has some intriguing match ups that should start the separation of the "playoff" teams and the guys that will fall to the bottom of their respective divisions. The Bills will be hosting the Jets in a divisional match up that could determine the winner of the AFC East, or at least a wild card spot in the playoffs. The Jets have turned things around as of late and the Bills got back to their winning ways last weekend. Fitzpatrick started off his new contract era with a great performance in Canada over the Redskins. I personally am looking forward to this match up.

The Giants will be traveling to Foxborough to take on the Patriots, who are coming off a big loss last weekend to the Steelers. The Giants barely slid past the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. They are playing good defense and Eli is playing extremely well so this should be a very good game.

Some of the other big games include the Packers at the Chargers, the Ravens at the Steelers, and the Bears at the Eagles. The Buccaneers are traveling to New Orleans to take on the Saints in divisional play. Overall this weekend should be exciting to watch around the NFL.

This may be the game of the week. The outcome will have a lot of implications in the AFC East and who will make the playoffs at the end of the season. The Bills are 1.5 point favorites in the match up. The Jets are going to have to play great defense because I don't see them scoring points with the Bills. The Dolphins are already out of the equation to win the division, but the Patriots are always going to be around as long as they have Belichick and Brady. I don't see the Pats missing the playoffs, so I think this game will determine the other team that comes out of the East. If the Ravens continue to falter, we may have all three of these teams making the playoffs out of the East. For this game, I'm going with the home team and the powerful offense. Bills win 20-17.

The Seahawks and Cowboys are both coming off ugly losses. Just when you think the Cowboys are turning the corner they show their true colors and get blown out against the Eagles. Lucky for them, they play a Seahawk team that has no identity, no offense, and question marks at the QB position. It really shows how much Matt Hasselback meant to this organization. They played in probably the most boring game I've ever seen two weeks ago when they lost to the Browns in a battle of field goals. The Seahawks play decent defense with a lot of young players, but I don't see them scoring enough points to keep up with the Cowboys. The boys win this one easily. Cowboys 31-9

As a Browns fan, what can I say. They have a horrible offense. I was one of the guys who fell in love with Peyton Hillis last season. He's a blue collar, hard working country boy that just wants to play football. Well, he's showing his true colors this year missing several games due to illness and injury, saying publicly he could have played but his agent advised him not to, and now he's a no show for a kids event at the Boys and Girls Club in Cleveland. Unless he turns the corner and gets off this ego trip, he's going to lose all his support in Cleveland. The defense plays really well, but they won't be able to score points with the Texans. Houston is 11.5 point favorites, and I think they will honor that spread. Texans win 28-13

I will be attending this game personally, so it should be interesting to watch the Colts get throttled by the Falcons, who are coming off a bye. The Colts defense is very bad and the offense can't seem to move the ball as of late. Through the first six games they were at least competitive, but the last two weeks have just been ugly. Matt Ryan is listed as probable, but look for him to play. Michael Turner should have a great game against that spaghetti like defense. Some how they are only 7.5 point favorites. I see them winning by double digits in this one. Falcons win 31-13

The Dolphins almost pulled out a victory last weekend but fell short at the end. They will get a win this season, but I don't think it will come this weekend. The Chiefs are rolling and playing at home, they should be able to win this game easily. They are only 4.5 point favorites in this one. Coming off a big win against division rival San Diego, their could be a let down. This is a definite trap game for the Chiefs, and with the Chargers playing a tough game that they will probably lose to the Packers, this is a great opportunity for them to take charge of the division. I like the Chiefs in this game. Chiefs 17-13

The Buccaneers owned the Saints a few weeks ago. The Buc's are coming off a bye and the Saints are coming off a humiliating loss to the then winless Rams. I look for the Saints to bounce back this week, but it won't be an easy win with Tampa coming off the bye as well as getting Blount back at running back. The Saints are surprisingly 8 point favorites in this game, primarily because they are playing at home. Sean Payton will have his team ready for this game and I believe they do win this game to keep control of the division. The Buc's are a young team playing well, but they are still not in the same class as the Saints and Falcons, even though they have wins against each of those teams this season. They have to prove they can win on a consistent basis to move into elite status. I like the Saints winning this game. Saints 27-17

The 49ers are the surprise team of the NFC this season. They are off to their best start in a decade, and should continue to roll over the Redskins this Sunday. The Redskins have dropped four straight games and find themselves in last place in the NFC East. They have given control over to John Beck after one bad game by Grossman. The results have not been good. He's 0-3 as a starter this year. All is not Beck's fault though. They've lost their starting running back and top wide receiver to injuries. The niners are picked to win by a field goal, but I don't see it being that close. 49ers win 28-10

Tim Tebow came back down to earth last weekend as he got thumped by a stifling Detroit defense. He'll look to rebound this week against the Oakland Raiders. The last time they were on the field they introduced new QB Carson Palmer and the team was picked off six times in a shut out loss to the Chiefs. The Raiders are a touchdown favorite, and should win this game now that Palmer has a better grasp of the offense. They also signed Houshmenzadeh this week, who is very familiar with Palmer from their days together in Cincinnati. McFadden should be healthy after the long rest, and the Raiders should win this game. Raiders 20-17

The Bengals are the surprise team of the AFC and are trying to compete in a tough AFC North division. A win over the the Titans will go a long way in helping their efforts at a wild card spot in the playoffs. The Titans are 3 point favorites since they're playing at home. They lost ground to the Texans in the South last week and are looking to bounce back. Chris Johnson has not proved his worth yet this season, and fans are starting to get pretty irritated with his efforts on the field. I look for Javon Ringer to start taking on a bigger role in the offense. This is one of the harder games to call this week, but I'm going to take the upset and go with the Bengals. Bengals win 24-17

I'm not sure if anyone is going to be at this game. A battle of one win teams, this has the making to be...well...not much. This game really has no implication on anything apart from draft order in April. The Rams are coming off a big upset win over the Saints, and the Cards nearly defeated the Ravens in Baltimore. Arizona is a field goal favorite in this one. It's going to be another one of those tough games to call, but I like the Rams in this one. Kolb is banged up and might not be able to go, and A.J Feeley is a better back up than anyone Arizona has on its roster. Rams win 14-10

This will personally be my favorite game to watch this weekend. The Patriots are heavily favored playing at home. They are coming off a humiliating loss to the Steelers. The defense had no answer for Roethlisberger and the Steeler offense, and Tom Brady felt the pressure the entire game and wasn't very productive. Eli has been throwing the ball really well, and Victor Cruz has really stepped up for the Giants. I think the Gmen will be able to put up points with New England, but it's going to be tough to win in Foxborough. It's been a long time since the Patriots have lost back to back games, and I don't see it happening any time soon. Patriots win 24-20

The Chargers are struggling. There's no other way to put it. Now they have the only unbeaten team in the NFL, who are coming off a bye, next up on the schedule. The Packers and Aaron Rodgers are playing lights out, and Philip Rivers is playing like Tony Romo. The Chargers are struggling in the red zone, they are turning the ball over too many times, and Antonio Gates hasn't been the same player he used to be. Even though they're playing at home, I don't see them handing the Packers their first loss. Rodgers has too many weapons for the Chargers to keep up with. Packers win 30-20

These teams seem to be going in opposite directions since their last meeting. The Ravens handled the Steelers with ease earlier in the season, but they have really faltered as of late. They only have two losses, but they are playing up and down football on offense and winning ugly games. The Steelers on the other hand have won convincingly in each game, including a big win over the Patriots last Sunday. Playing this game in Pittsburgh, I like the Steelers in this game against a Raven team that is trying to find itself on offense. The Steelers are a field goal favorite, and I think they get it done. Steelers 20-12

The Eagles come into this game as an 8 point favorite after destroying the Cowboys Sunday night. The Bears are coming off a bye, and let's face it; their offense rolls through Matt Forte. If the Eagles can put the clamps on Forte, this game could get ugly as well. Michael Vick looked really sharp, and McCoy is the best back in football at the moment. Playing at home will give the Eagles a huge advantage in this game. I see Philadelphia keeping the momentum and winning this weekend as well to hold that second place spot in the East. Eagles win 28-17