October 31, 2006
NFL Week 9 Predictions
October 31, 2006, 5:28 PM | 12 Comments
Note: Predictions for week 9 of the 2008 NFL season can be found here: NFL Week 9 Predictions.
Last week I had another terrible week of predictions going 6-8 to bring my total to 71-43. I’m still a little ahead of where I was at this point last year, but I’d like to be doing a bit better.
Week 8 in the NFL was another week of upsets and teams losing games that they really should’ve won. I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record around here, but when the Steelers lose to the Raiders, something’s just not right.
Week 9 features some great match-ups including the Broncos at the Steelers, Chiefs at the Rams and the game of the season so far, the Colts at the Patriots (more on this later). I think there are a few teams that are really on the bubble this weekend and need a win to stay in the playoff race. The Cincinnati Bengals are probably one of the teams that needs a win the most.
Also, speaking of the Bengals, Chad Johnson is hilarious.
Monday Night Wrap-Up:
The Patriots pretty much dominated the Vikings in every facet of the game on Monday Night. There’s really not much else to say about their performance, domination.
Vikings QB Brad Johnson looked a little bit lost against the Patriots defense and kept throwing long bombs on third down. His final numbers? 20/33 (60.6%) for 185 yards, 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. The Vikings offense is not built for big plays, they’re built for the run and play-action passes and if Johnson keeps trying to air the ball out, his numbers may not be much different in the coming weeks. Randy Moss left the building a long time ago.
Prior to this game the Vikings were making a big deal about how they’re contenders in the NFC this year. On Monday Night the Vikes proved just the opposite. They’re still a decent team, but they’re definitely not on the same level as the Bears, Giants, Saints and Falcons.
Week 9 Game of the Week: Colts at Patriots.
If you’re going to watch only one Sunday night game this season, this is the game to see.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Colts. First they had to go on the road to Denver and now they’ve got to go to Gillette Stadium in New England to play the 6-1 Patriots who look like their cruising right now. The Colts are 7-0 so far this season and they’re really being tested right now. The good thing for Colts fans is that they’ve passed every test they’ve had this season. It’s been exciting to watch, and even though they’re scoring 29.3 points per game so far this season, they’re usually just squeaking by with thier wins.
The Patriots are playing extremely good football right now. I will take back all the doubts I had of the Pats earlier in this season because now that Tom Brady is getting comfortable with his receivers, they look like they could beat anyone. In recent years the Patriots have frustrated Peyton Manning and his Colts and could very well do the same this week.
However, last year in week 9 the Colts beat the Patriots on Monday Night Football 40-21 with Manning throwing for 321 yards and 3 touchdowns. The difference this year is that the Colts don’t have Edgerrin James, who was also a big part of that victory. Joseph Addai has been doing very well over the past couple of weeks, but I don’t think the Colts will put up as many points this year. I’m going to take the Colts again, but I suspect the game will be a lot closer than it was one year ago.
Anyways, on to my predictions for week 9!
| Away | Home | Comments | Pick | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Falcons(5-3) |  Lions(2-6) | The Falcons are really starting to give New Orleans a run for their money in the NFC South and Michael Vick is taking command of the Falcons offense. | | |
 Bengals(4-4) |  Ravens(6-2) | With last week’s offensive explosion from Baltimore, it makes this game tough to pick. I’m not sure that they’ll have another performance like last week though, and the Bengals desperately need a win. | | |
 Cowboys(4-4) |  Redskins(3-5) | Huge rivalry game between the Cowboys and the Redskins that will be a hard fought battle. The Cowboys really showed a lot of character by bouncing back from their embarrassing loss to Giants and beating the Panthers on Sunday Night. | | |
 Packers(3-5) |  Bills(3-5) | The injuries are starting to pile up for the Packers. 2 straight wins is great, and it’s nice to see Ahman Green starting to play to his potential this year. My guess is a close game, but I’ll take my Packers for the win. | | |
 Texans(2-6) |  Giants(6-2) | The Giants are looking pretty good lately and should be able to roll over the Texans with ease. | | |
 Chiefs(5-3) |  Rams(4-4) | This is another tough game to call because St. Louis always plays well at home. The Rams though are 27th against the run allowing 134.9 yards per game and over the past 2 weeks, Chiefs RB Larry Johnson has averaged 143.5 yards. That doesn’t bode well for St. Louis. | | |
 Dolphins(2-6) |  Bears(7-1) | Until the Bears lose (or stop scoring 40+ points on their opponents in the first half) I can’t pick against them. | | |
 Saints(6-2) |  Buccaneers(2-6) | The Saints were shocked a little bit last week by the Ravens but I think they can bounce back and play like they have been all season. | | |
 Titans(2-6) |  Jaguars(5-3) | Jacksonville has been one of the most inconsistent teams this season so far, so even picking them against the Titans is risky. They did beat the Eagles (in Philly) last week though, so that has to say something. | | |
 Vikings(4-4) |  49ers(3-5) | Even though the Vikings looked pretty bad on MNF last night, they’re still a better team than the 49ers are right now. | | |
 Browns(2-6) |  Chargers(6-2) | Finally the Chargers had the big game we’ve been waiting to see from them this season. The Browns may have beat the Jets last week, but the Chargers aren’t the Jets and should be able to seal this game by the end of the first half. | | |
 Broncos(6-2) |  Steelers(2-6) | How could the Steelers allow less than 100 yards of offense and still lose to the Raiders?! Denver’s defense lapsed last week, but overall they played pretty well against the Colts. | | |
 Colts(8-0) |  Patriots(6-2) | OK, last week I picked against the Colts and got burned. This week I’m going to go with the Colts and possibly get burned again. I can’t pick against a 7-0 Colts team, but this game really could go either way. | | |
 Raiders(2-6) |  Seahawks(5-3) | Good teams need to stop giving away wins to the Raiders. Seattle is still without Shaun Alexander, but Seneca Wallace played very well last week filling in at QB for Matt Hasselbeck. | | |
| Note: the Cardinals, Panthers, Jets and Eagles have a bye week this week. | ||||
So there they are; my picks for week 9. If the last few weeks are any indication though, a lot of those games could go either way. For my own sake I’m really hoping there aren’t too many surprises again this week! Here are this week’s ESPN Expert Picks.
Update: Well, I guess 8-6 is decent for another week where upsets are the norm. That puts my record up to 79-49 (.617). Check back tomorrow for my week 10 predictions.
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