Reid Fischer's World of Rants

You have probably realized by now that I never got around to a recap of the Broncos’ thrilling Monday night win in San Diego.  My apologies on that, but well, with Monday night games it is more difficult to find the time.  The Cliffs Notes version is that the Broncos are making more believers out of everyone each week.  The Broncos won in a place where they had lost in six of their past eight trips.  The defense stepped again, holding the Chargers high octane offense to just three second half points.  How is this for a stat: the Broncos have not allowed a successful second half third down conversion since week two against the Browns, simply incredible.  Eddie Royal’s returns on special teams certainly didn’t hurt either, and Kyle Orton had another terrific game.  More analysis on the Broncos’ amazing start and the still difficult road ahead coming up after the bye week.  For now, on to quickie picks.

Last week: 9-5  Season: 64-25

– Panthers over Bills:  Buffalo got a surprising win last week on the road, but I think it was because Mark Sanchez gave it to them on a silver platter.  Carolina’s running game finally showed a pulse last week, and even though Jake Delhomme is about to be benched and Steve Smith is complaining, I like the Panthers to win this ugly game at home.  If you’re stuck with this game late it’s sports bar time.

– Saints over Dolphins: I do think New Orleans has potential to trip up here following their huge win over the Giants last week.  Miami is tough at home and the Wildcat still seems to be working enough to be effective.  However, in the end I like Brees and company to put up enough points to steal a road win late.

– Patriots over Buccaneers: Right now Roger Goodell is wishing he sent a more competitive game to London.  The Bucs are winless, and the Patriots just rung up 59 points in the snow.  Tom Brady and Randy Moss will get their fair share of yards and points, but the Tampa run defense is awful, and that means Laurence Maroney might (gasp!) have two good games in a row. Patriots roll.

– Raiders over Jets: Upset alert.  The Jets are a mess all of the sudden.  The loss of Kris Jenkinks on the d-line is very significant.  I have a feeling the Black Hole will not be kind to young Mark Sanchez, and the Raiders are strangely enough coming in with sudden confidence after upsetting the Eagles.  A rare winning streak is celebrated in the East Bay.

– Bengals over Bears: Mini upset alert.  This should be a very entertaining game, in particular because Cedric Benson comes in with a big chip on his shoulder.  Benson feels the Bears mistreated him, and he has no shortage of motivation.  Jay Cutler meanwhile has been good at Soldier Field but not so much on the road.  If Cincinnati wants to stay in the AFC race they have to get this, and the atmosphere at late slot kickoff will ride the Bengals to a big win.

– Packers over Browns: Cleveland is missing about a third of its team with the swine flu.  This is not good for a team that is already struggling as it is.  Aaron Rodgers and all his receivers are must starts in fantasy this week.  Green Bay rolls.

– Steelers over Vikings: In the game of the week, something has to give.  Both teams have owned the opposition in the first quarter.  Both teams can run the ball.  Both are good at stopping the run.  Minnesota has pulled out several big wins at home, but this will be their first significant road test of the season.  In the the end this is difficult to pick a winner, so I’ll go with the home team that is used to bad weather in this outdoor contest.

– Texans over 49ers: This is another tough one to pick.  San Francisco has had two weeks to stew over a 35-point home loss to Atanta, and Frank Gore is back to anchor the running game.  Houston is coming off a big road win in Cincinnati, and I actually like them to put points up at home in this one.

– Colts over Rams: Please. Colts win by so much we might actually get to find out who Peyton Manning’s backup is.   Let’s just move on.

– Chargers over Chiefs: This is at Arrowhead, so this pick does give me a little pause.  Matt Cassel has been surprisingly efficient in recent weeks, and the Chargers still don’t really look like themselves.  Still, Philip Rivers has enough weapons at his disposal to score points against that defense, and at some point San Diego has to start living up to their potential.

– Falcons over Cowboys: Atlanta is looking more and more like a team that has what it takes to go deep in the playoffs.  The Falcons have sound defense, and Matt Ryan continues to make good decisions.  The Cowboys have question marks with the health of Marion Barber and DeMarcus Ware, so even though it’s at the Jones Mahal, I like the Falcons.

– Giants over Cardinals: This should be a very entertaining Sunday night game, for the Cardinals offense woke up again last week in Seattle.  The Giants meanwhile will be highly motivated to bounce back from last week’s embarrassment in New Orleans.  I like the Giants here because I just don’t see them losing two in a row, but it could be very close.

– Eagles over Redskins: An unfortunate Monday night yawner with so many other good games on tap this week.  Seriously, why isn’t Jim Zorn just fired already?  He can’t call plays, he’s not involved in any defensive calls either, so he might as well just grab a beer and chill in Dan Snyder’s suite.  Philadelphia has something to prove after last week’s major embarrassment in Oakland.  Eagles should roll easily here.