Reid Fischer's World of Rants

We’ve run into another busy week, so we’ll just get right to the picks.

Last week: 9-5 Season: 56-20

– Jets over Bills: Buffalo looks like a complete mess, so much so that they only scored three points against the hapless Browns.  Terrell Owens is even rumored to be on the trade block before the coming deadline.  The Jets have lost two straight on the road and are thrilled to be back at home.  New York wins easily.

– Patriots over Titans: Tennessee at 0-6?  Seems ridiculous but it will happen.  The Titans got waxed at home against the Colts in their biggest game of the season, and now they hit the road to one of the toughest places in the league to play.  New England is coming off a tough overtime loss so they will be out for blood.  This will not be pretty, Patriots by a lot.

– Bengals over Texans: Cincinnati has won its last four games all in thrilling fashion at the last minute.  This one shouldn’t have to go down to the end.  The Bengals are indeed for real with Cedric Benson running hard (yes that is accurate) and the passing game clicking.  It is their defense especially that has been impressive.  Houston has been a major disappointment especially in the secondary and they will not be able to stop the Bengals.  Houston’s offense could keep up a little, but in the end Cincy wins easily.

– Steelers over Browns:  Is any analysis really necessary here?  Cleveland got a nice win last week but now reality slams them in the face at Heinz Field.  Pittsburgh is running again and they just flat own the Browns.  Pittsburgh in a blowout.

– Vikings over Ravens: This will be a great game.   Baltimore has lost two straight so they will be desperate for a win, especially the defense, which allowed a 100-yard rusher last week for the first time since the Nixon administration (not really but it seems like it).  They will try to slow down Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre, but it’s Baltimore’s offense that could be the key to the game.  I think the Vikings D will slow them down, and I like The Vikings to win in the dome.

– jaguars over Rams: This is, well, not the game of the week.  The Rams are awful and Jacksonville isn’t much better.  I do like the Jags to bounce back offensively after last week’s embarrassment in Seattle, and the Rams, well, they will keep floundering.  Jacksonville wins at home.

– Chiefs over Redskins: Upset alert, sort of.  I say sort of because Washington isn’t very good either, for their two wins have come against Tampa Bay and St. Louis.  In fact, in this week’s best strange but true statistic, the Redskins have yet to actually square off against an opponent who isn’t winless this season.  Even though KC is on the road, I thought they actually showed effort last week against the Cowboys.  I like the Chiefs to win this ugly game, say 6-3.

– Eagles over Raiders: This will be a blowout for Philly, especially now that McNabb and Westbrook are back healthy.  The question is more how many first downs the Raiders will actually get, and could the Eagles hit 50 points?  Find a sports bar if you’re stuck with this one late.

– Saints over Giants:  This is the clear game of the week in the Superdome.  Both teams are undefeated.  Both teams have done it on both sides of the ball so far this year.  The key will be turnovers, and that can sometimes be a crapshoot as to which team will force more.  I think both teams will get points on the board, but since both defenses have played better than expected this year, someone will get that key turnover at some point.  In the end I am at a loss so I go with the home team.  New Orleans wins.

– Packers over Lions: Detroit is actually improved, but it won’t show in this game.  Green Bay is coming off a bye and has had two weeks to stew over the loss in Minnesota.  The Packers will roll easily here at Lambeau.

– Buccaneers over Panthers: I like Tampa to get its first win at home here.  The Panthers were fortunate to get a win last week against the Redskins, but are still nothing close to their playoff team of a year ago.  Tampa Bay is in clear rebuilding mode, but a hunch here says they get it together for one week.  I like the Bucs in the mini-upset.

– Seahawks over Cardinals: Seattle is at home and brimming with all kinds of confidence after last week’s rout of Jacksonville.   A healthy Matt Hasselbeck has clearly made the difference for the Seahawks, and Seattle will score points again this week.  Arizona still doesn’t seem quite the same as the team that made the Super Bowl run last year, and going on the road in a division game is too much to ask for them right now.  Seattle wins.

– Falcons over Bears: This should be a good Sunday nighter.  Atlanta woke up in a big way last week in San Francisco, and now their passing game faces a good test in the Bears’ defense.  I do like Matt Ryan and company to put up enough points to oustscore the Bears, although this could turn into a shootout.  In the end I like the Falcons at home.

– Broncos over Chargers: I know, this looks very much like a homer pick.  Truthfully, I almost did pick San Diego.  The Broncos do not play well there historically (they have lost 6 of their past 8 there), and they also generally stink in Monday night road games (6-23 all-time).  However this looks a new group, and the Chargers don’t seem quite right.  Shawne Merriman has not been involved at all, and that has hampered their defense.  The San Diego running game has also struggled mightily, averaging a horrible 53 yards per game.  That plays right into the hands of a Denver defense that has been awesome against the run so far this season.  The Chargers might be able to make some plays in the passing game with Philip Rivers, but the Broncos also should be able to get some pressure on him as well.  The Denver offense will have Correll Buckhalter back, so that will definitely help them as well.  This will definitely be a very important test for the Broncos, but in the end this team has a special feel to it.  I like the Broncos to hold the Chargers off 24-17 heading into the bye week.