Reinspire :: NFL Week 9 Predictions

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.

NFL logo 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
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 27^th 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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Comments

1. Jose - November 1, 2006, 10:42 AM

make sure you use the correct logo for Oakland.

2. Jonathan Eckmier - November 1, 2006, 10:47 AM

Hey Jose, I think I did have the right logo there for the Raiders. I accidentally had “Bengals” written beside the Raiders logo though, but that’s been updated now.

3. web - November 1, 2006, 11:02 AM

The last three weeks in the NFL has just been plain wacky. The wheels have really fallen off the bus for a few franchises (Steelers come into mind) and there have been some upsets.

What isn’t surprising is the Patriots. I mentioned here and else where that Deion Branch, David Patten and David Givens were the by product of good coaching, decent (NOT GREAT) talent and a good system and that it would happen again with these new receivers.

Everyone chalked the Pats up for lost – and here we are now.

The Pats D is one of the most underrated aspects of this team – adversely – the Colts D has hemmoragged lots of points to teams like the Houston and the Jets. Their run defense is spotty and Belichick is somehow working the “under dog” mentality again.

I think the Colts are ready for their first loss – and this team is ready to give it to them. The Patriots will win .. you can bet on it.

I hate to come onto here and only talk Pats – but there one of the best teams in the league and before this current run with Belichick there was not much to talk about (5 years of sub .500 football)

I don’t want to be guilty of not relishing in my favorite teams victories when the going’s good.

I’m sure you understand.

4. Jonathan Eckmier - November 1, 2006, 11:18 AM

web: Well put. And don’t feel guilty for coming here to provide a Patriots fan’s point of view. I appreciate you posting your insight into your team and the rest of the NFL.

I was one who doubted the Patriots at the start of the year, but you have to admit that things looked a little shaky early on. I can’t really say that I’m a Patriots fan though, so optimism for their season didn’t spring eternal for me ;)

After watching how they’ve responded after losing to Denver in week 3 though, I’ll take back any of those doubts that I had about the Pats. They really look to be on pace for yet another great season.

As for this Sunday’s game against the Colts, I think it could go either way really. If the Colts are going to win it pretty much lies on Peyton Manning’s shoulders. He has to have a mistake free game and he’ll need a lot of help from the Colts D.

The same logic can probably be applied to Tom Brady though as well.

5. web - November 1, 2006, 4:52 PM

I love stats – here are some for you.

The Patriots have let up only one field goal more than the Denver defense this year. (3rd in points allowed behind Chicago and Denver)

They also have 2 more Int’s, a safety (Denver has 0) and 5 more sacks than Denver – pretty good D. Nobody talks about it.

Couple that with the 6th best Offense (per points per game) and the only team which can boast similar balance is the Bears.

6. Jonathan Eckmier - November 1, 2006, 7:59 PM

Stats are good, and those are some impressive ones that the Patriots are putting up so far this season. Not many people expected the type of start they’ve had and these next few weeks will go a long way to confirm or refute the negative assessments made before the season.

This weekend’s game against the Colts is huge and 3 weeks later they’re hosting the Bears, so a lot will be determined over the next 4-game stretch.

7. Rockwell - November 3, 2006, 11:34 PM

Jonathan…

Don’t feel bad about the record. I’m still one game behind you.
What are the differences this week? First, I agree with web, the Colts are ripe for defeat and the Patriots are one of the few teams who can deliver the blow. I think the Pats have a better chance at that than the Bears. But that is a bit hashed out… quite well actually… so I will move along.
The Ravens should beat the Bengals. The Bengals are falling apart. Look at how the Patriots ripped them up… then the Bucs… and the Falcons. The Ravens offense finally came alive last week. If that sticks, they will be very dangerous.
And this week, unlike the past few… I have several other departures from your list. You can get the full rundown at: “The Office Pool”. Good luck!

8. Jonathan Eckmier - November 4, 2006, 9:30 AM

Rick,

As I said to web, this game pretty much comes down to a battle of 2 of the best QBs in the league. I’m expecting it to be a shootout and whichever team ends up with the ball last will probably get the W. I could be wrong though ;)

The Begnals/Ravens match-up is going to be an interesting game to watch because you’re right, Cincinnati has really regressed lately. I’ve picked Cincinnati because I don’t think the offensive explosion that we saw from Baltimore last week will continue and because this is as much of a ‘must win’ game as the Bengals will have all year. If they lose this game, they can pretty much kiss their hopes of winning that division good-bye.

The Bengals have a great offense when it gets going and they’ll need everyone to step up against that Ravens D on Sunday.

9. web - November 6, 2006, 10:24 AM

Wow – what a weekend.

The Bears/Dolphins was a sissy slap fight .. neither deserved the win but I’m glad that the fins’ came out ahead.

Thats the 2nd time that the Bears forgot to show up on Sunday. Inconsistent. That shit wont fly in the playoffs. They seem fat, happy and overconfident.

A few notable games – the Boys’ just cant win the close ones. The Bengals are officially done as are the Steelers. The Vikings proved that they are a fluke. And it looks like the Broncos are also a undoubted contender in the AFC what a ride this is going to be.

Other than Tiki the Giants looked helpless on offense. And the Lions over the FALCONS? This is why I cannot stomach people saying Vick is anything other than a running back wearing a quarterback’s jersey. It sure is fitting he is one of the top paid players in the league. Idiots.

Think the Raiders have another win in them?

Oh yeah – and the Colts won. ;)

10. Jonathan Eckmier - November 6, 2006, 10:50 AM

web: Sorry about your Pats man, they would’ve won that game if it wasn’t for the turnovers… Indy couldn’t stop them.

The Bears should be 6-2 right now because (as you said) that’s the second time they haven’t shown up for a game. It’s fitting that in both cases it was against 2 of the league’s worst teams.

The Giants were missing Plaxico Burress on Sunday, which was part of their offensive lull. With Plax in the lineup it spreads opposing defenses out more because he’s been Eli’s ‘go to’ wide receiver.

Michael Vick should be a running back. I don’t understand why Atlanta doesn’t just play Matt Schaub. He would be a starting QB on any other team.

I’d like to say that the Raiders won’t win tonight, but the last 4 weeks in the NFL have been anything but predictable… so anything’s possible I guess.

11. web - November 6, 2006, 2:00 PM

I’m not totally convinced that what happened last night was a bad thing actually – as weird as it may be to hear.

You know that both teams will be in the playoff’s and as much as we would like to consider playing at Foxboro in the dead of winter a “home field advantage” it really is detrimental to both teams. Especially because our secret weapon is now playing for the Colts.

Rookie Kicker + Playoff Pressure + Snow and Swirling wind = Missed FG’s

Belichick did not divulge much of the playbook and we PROVED that we can hang with them .. and win if we play better.

He will be harping on that going on the road to Indy.

Where do you place the bears on your “Best of the NFL” list after that performance? They surely do not play like the best team in the league.

12. Jonathan Eckmier - November 6, 2006, 2:21 PM

Well, after watching them collapse against the Cardinals 3 weeks ago and now lose to the Dolphins, I don’t even know if the Bears land in my top 5 right now. They’re just too inconsistent. If they beat the Giants this Sunday though (in New York), that will go a long way to showing just what kind of team they are.

I totally understand your point about last night’s loss not necessarily being a bad thing for the Patriots. I sort of had the same idea last week when I said it might be a good thing for the Colts to lose to Denver because they won’t have to deal with the distractions of last year about going undefeated. Especially with the Bears losing now, all that talk will surely follow Indianapolis around again.