NFL Week 11 Predictions - Part 1

So my week 10 predictions didn't go too well. Oh well, not to worry. Before we get stuck into this weekends predictions, let me just say a few things about last week. Michael Vick...add a P to the end of his initials, MVP. The man is on fire. He single handedly destroyed the Redskins and has won the NFL offensive player of the week award two weeks running. He is my lead shout for the MVP award right now at this point of the season, despite not starting three games. Lets get to it then, here we go with week 11's predictions, part 1.

THURSDAY NIGHT (1:20am GMT)

Chicago Bears @ Miami Dolphins

Both the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins enter this game on a victory high. The Bears had a very convincing home victory against division opponents the Minnesota Vikings whilst the Fins claimed a home victory against the Tennessee Titans, not without picking up injuries though. The Dolphins will be starting with Tyler Thigpen under center tonight, their 3rd Quarterback on the depth chart. Chad Pennington picked up an injury early last week in the game, shortly followed by Chad Henne. Thigpen came into the game and I must admit, looked pretty darn good. However, he faces a Bears defense that intercepted 4 Brett Favre passes. The Bears offence doesn't look too shabby either. Jay Cutler is finally linking up with his play-maker Devin Hester and Matt Forte is churning out the yards like any good supporting back should do. I see this one a tough game for the Dolphins to win, just for the fact that Thigpen is at quarterback.

Prediction: Chicago Bears 26-17 Miami Dolphins

SUNDAY NIGHT (6pm GMT):

Buffalo Bills @ Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati BUNGALS! Losing two games on the spin now must feel pretty bad for a team that was considered to be a superbowl contender before the season started. They now sit dead bottom of the AFC North with 2 wins and 7 losses. This week they might catch a break in the form of the 1-8 Bills. Having said that, nearly everyone predicted a loss from the Bills last week, but they pulled one out of the bag against the Lions. I still don't have much to say about the Bills because I haven't seen much of them playing yet, but i've seen enough of the Bengals to think that this could be quite easy for them. Chad Ochocinco slightly turned up to last weeks game while T.O. had a week off by the looks of it. If the Bengals can spread the ball around between the two of them, and running-back Cedric Benson, this one should be in the bag for the Bungals.

Prediction: Buffalo Bills 14-19 Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars

This could be quite an interesting contest. A win for the Browns could see them shoot right back into the playoff hunt in the AFC, whilst a win for the Jags will see them contending for top spot in the AFC South if the Colts lose. Also interesting is the running abilities of both sides. The Jags, a top running team from the last few seasons, have kind of gone away from pounding the ball as Garrard has finally stepped up and is playing like an NFL elite QB.Whereas one of the worst sides in the NFL over the past few years, the Browns, can now all of a sudden run the ball. Peyton Hillis is having a monster year for the Browns, and he is being helped out by a little passing threat now in the name of Colt McCoy. This is a hard prediction to make in a game that I think will eventually come down to field goals. In a game thats too close to call, inevitably i'm going to go with the home team.

Prediction: Cleveland Browns 12-20 Jacksonville Jaguars

Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys

Ask me who would win this game 2 weeks ago, i'd have been all over the Lions. Ask me now, with the 'Boys riding high after a big win against divisional rivals, New York, and heading back to Dallas....i'm now all over the Cowboys. The 'cowgirls' insult last week must have cut them deep. They looked very good against the Giants, in the Meadowlands. Dallas, even with Jon Kitna taking the snaps, had a functioning offence, and the defense, which has been there all season, finally had something to support all it's hard work. On the flip side of this match-up, the Lions are coming off of a tough home defeat to the then, 0-8 Bills. They couldn't get anything started offensivly, and when they did start to, it was too late and they couldn't convert a 2-point conversion. As I said...this has "America's Team" written all over it...but what do I know...did I get any predictions right last week???

Predictions: Detroit Lions 7-24 Dallas Cowboys

Baltimore Ravens @ Carolina Panthers

I'm not even gonna write anything for this because it's not need....all that is needed is just...

Ravens

Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 31-10 Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings

The Packers are heading into this game off of a well needed bye-week. Finally they have had a chance to catch up on all the injuries that they have had lurking around. They will go into this game in reasonable shape, but mainly, with all of their play makers around. The Packers will look to utilize the great passing offence that they have to produce points and hope that their defense can put them in good positions to do so. The real story of this contest is how long it takes before both Brad Childress and Brett Favre lose their jobs. It's about time. The Vikings lost horribly last week, and no-one looked good. They are at home this week, but I find it hard to think that that will help against a fresh Green Bay Packer squad that is one of the best in the NFL right now. This is a game of the week candidate, not just for divisional match-up reasons, but also for sheer entertainment.

Prediction: Green  Bay Packers 27-13 Minnesota Vikings

Thats all for part 1. This week will be a 3 parter, for the simple fact that i'm too tired to type out half of the weeks predictions tonight. So mull over these ones for now, and tomorrow evening you will have part 2 of 3. Enjoy folks 

NFL Week 10 Predictions - Part 2

Wassup world?! Hope y'all enjoyed my first post. I will analyse the weeks games during the week next week just to see how I got on. Just quickly though, I wasn't far off with the BAL/ATL game. Matt Ryan was bloody brilliant. Anyway, lets get straight into the last games of week 10.

SUNDAY NIGHT (9:05pm/9:15pm GMT):

Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

The shock of the season if you ask me. Both sides of this story. The Chiefs sitting at a pretty 5-3 at the top of the AFC West, whilst the Broncos are gasping for air at the bottom with a record of 2-6...so this is a crucial divisional match-up for them. The record doesn't speak for the productivity of the Denver offence. They are ranked 8th for total offence and Orton is having a great year, even after losing Brandon Marshall. But the defense lets them down. They allowed Oakland to run the ball all over them at Mile High before travelling to the international series game at Wembley where Frank Gore had a good day against them as well. And unfortunatly for them it doesn't stop there. Charles and Jones are heading to town on a pretty confident Chiefs team right now and these two could pound the Broncos into submission. Put it this way, Denver's offence will be there, but the defense won't...could be ugly for the Broncos at home.

Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 24-17 Denver Broncos

St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers

MAKE OR BREAK GAME for the 49ers. Wembley could be the turning point for this team. They put on quite the show in the 2nd half in London, but not without the help of the inconvenient truth and the new face of the offence, Troy Smith. He adds another dimension to this offence in his running ability and that is something they lacked with Alex Smith. The NFC West is a disgusting division with no team above the .500 mark. If the 49ers win they will improve to 3-6, which will put them one game behind the Rams. The Rams look good...at home. On the road they suffer from a lack of turnovers and allow offences to put up big yards against them. The 49ers need to stick to what they did at wembley and continue to pound the ball with Gore to set up the pass with Smith. If they do...they could be on track to make a shock entry to the playoffs.

Prediction: St. Louis Rams 9-21 San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals

Wow this division is bad. The 27th ranked Seahawks defense against the 30th ranked Cardinals defense. And both offences are ranked 30th and 31st. Should be fun.............*SARCASM*. So why do I think the Cardinals will destroy the Seahawks? Charlie Whitehurst. Seattle went to a lot of trouble to get this guy and he has not produced. He looked less than impressive in his first start and although the Cardinals defense isn't the best in the world, they can turn the ball over. And when they do that, they are turning it over to Larry Fitzgerald. I know he isn't the QB, but if the ball gets in this guys hands, it can only mean bad things for the hawks. Arizona just need to play smart football, play to their strengths and this game will be locked up.

Prediction: Seattle Seahawks 10-28 Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

AMERICAS TEAM!!!!!!! ORLY?! I'm pretty sure no-one in the world, let alone American's want to support the Cowboys right now. And it's about to get worse, thanks to the inform Manning brother. Ranked number 2 in total offence the Giants are getting it done. Period. They are running the ball at other teams throats, Manning has brilliant receivers on the outside in Nicks and Smith (although he is out for this game). New York are playing quality football right now...and thats just the offence. The defense is ranked number 1 in the league now, because they have a defensive line that is BALLIN'. Sack after sack, and not even that, just the fact that they are pressuring QB's is doing enough to force them into errors. Now, Cowboys you would worry a little bit if it was Romo that was playing...but worry a lot...because he's not. Kitna will take the snaps again for the 'Boys. Worry worry worry. Taking bets on how long Garrett is the interim head coach? Who has 1 week...1 week anyone. This will be another embarrassing game for the 1-7 Dallas Cowboys. By the way...the Giants...yeah they are the best team in the NFL right now...going up against one of the worst.

Prediction: Dallas Cowboys 14-35 New York Giants

SUNDAY NIGHT (12:00am):

New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers

I'll try to be as un-biased as possible here for this. The "Best team in the NFL"...pfft yeah right. If the Patriots were the best team in the NFL, they wouldn't get pummeled by the Browns. They have a tough test facing them in Pittsburgh on Sunday night/Monday morning. The Patriots offence has lacked that spark this season, whether it's because of the loss of Moss or that they can't run the ball I don't know. But what I do know is that they need to get Welker the ball. His production has dropped this year and it is harming the Patriots offence to the point where the Patriots are hardly scoring. The defense isn't much better itself. They allowed Peyton Hillis of the Browns to run all over them last week and the Steelers will be looking towards top ranked running back Rashard Mendenhall to do the same. If the Steelers get the ball rolling on the ground, Ben Roethlisberger will continue his impressive start to the season after being suspended for the first four games. The Steelers defense is looking a little bit patchy in the secondary with one or two big pass plays getting through, but generally the Steel curtain is still around in Pittsburgh this year. The one thing that might harm the Steelers in this game is the lack of depth in an injury hit offensive line what with Max Starks being put on injured reserve. Flozell Adams will probably be moved back to left tackle now which no Steeler fan wants to see. It will be a tight game that might come down to field goals...which should be interesting, as both teams have had problems with their kickers this season.

Prediction: New England Patriots 16-23 Pittsburgh Steelers

MONDAY NIGHT (1:30am):

Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins

The rather impressive 5-3 Eagles versus the less than impressive 4-4 Redskins. Vick versus McNabb round 2...or will it be. I'm pretty sure it will be but you never know whats going to happen in Washington. This is potentially a huge match for the Eagles. If the Cowgirls somehow manage to provide an upset for Philly, then they will go joint top in the NFC East with the Giants. Mike Vick has the Philly offence going. He looks like he's getting faster, more accurate and generally just a lot better each game he plays. I have no doubts that the offence will turn up on Monday night, but will the defense. They played ok against the Colts, but still look a little dodgy against the run, and the Skins ran the ball well against the Eagles in the first encounter. I'm really looking forward to this game, good old classic divisional football with reputations on the line. What will be interesting to see is what type of play calling the Eagles turn up with both offensively and defensively, and also...if McNabb is benched after 1 series. Either way, this is a candidate for game of the week.

Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles 21-17 Washington Redskins

Ahhh done. Lots of interesting divisional contests this week, and now that we only have 6 weeks left after tomorrow, conference match ups are becoming increasingly more important with the wildcard spots starting to work there way out. I'll be back on either Tuesday or Wednesday with a quick round-up of the weeks action and some news tid-bits from the week.

But for now thats me folks. Enjoy the football tomorrow, whatever games you end up watching.

Peace out!

FIRST POST!...NFL Week 10 Predictions - Part 1

Jeezo, so here it is...my first ever blog post, I will probably ramble a lot, but you know what? I don't care, you'll come to accept it with time. Before I get started on my picks for week 10 of the NFL I just want to make a quite note about today. For those that live under a rock, today is Armistice Day, 11/11/10. Let us all remember and praise every soldier that has ever fought for our nation, without them, we not have the same freedom that we are allowed today. Lest We Forget.

Now, moving onto this weeks NFL games. And boy oh boy do we have some critical match-ups. So lets not hang around any more, and get straight into the good stuff.

  THURSDAY NIGHT:

Baltimore Ravens (6-2) @ Atlanta Falcons (6-2)

The first game of the week is a banger. Quite possibly the 2 best teams in the NFL face off on the first Thursday night game of the season. Ray Lewis and his Ravens travel to the fortress that is the Georgia Dome. Atlanta are one of the toughest teams to play at home this season, giving up very little in terms of points and yardage. And on top of that, Matt Ryan gets these guys going at home. This will be a tricky test for the Baltimore Ravens. Ed Reed needs to turn up in this game if they have any hope of winning. He has 3 interceptions in his last 2 games, and will be looking to add to that tonight. A lot of people are saying that this is a potential Superbowl match-up, we'll see if it lives up to the hype.

Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 17-27 Atlanta Falcons

SUNDAY EVENING (6pm GMT):

Detroit Lions (2-6) @ Buffalo Bills (0-8)

This is quite an intriguing match-up that i'm actually looking forward to seeing the outcome of. The NFL's worst team at the moment, the 0-8 Buffalo Bills against the worst team in the NFL from the last 2 seasons. The Lions 2-6 record does not reflect the way they have played. The defense is turning into quite the force now and, even though they have more than likely lost Matthew Stafford for the season, the offence can get rolling thanks to a guy nicknamed 'Megatron' (Calvin Johnson). Matthew Stafford' injury is unfortunate. The guy has only started 12 games in his 2 seasons in the NFL. Shaun Hill will step back into the starting role on Sunday against the hopeless Bills. The Bills looked ok against the Ravens 2 weeks ago, but the Ravens played awful and still managed the win. The Bills are in for another tough week and are going to be looking at 9 losses in front of a home crowd.

Prediction: Detroit Lions 24-10 Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers (1-7) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-3)

Hang on, where did this 5-3 Buccaneers team come from?? Oh yeah, they were there last season, just minus a guy called Josh Freeman. Josh Freeman has completely transformed this team. Well not on his own, they drafted smartly to give him an offensive line, but most of the credit goes to him. One of the NFC's best quarterbacks at the moment takes on, in my opinion, the worst team in the NFL. This divisional match-up is really important for the Buccs as they need to stay with the Saints and Falcons, luckily it's against the Panthers. Steve Smith cannot be happy. One of the best receivers in the league is on a diabolical team and can't do anything about it. And it's only going to get worse as Matt Moore has now been placed on Injured Reserve for the rest of the season.

Prediction: ABSOLUTE BLOW-OUT: Carolina Panthers 3-31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minnesota Vikings (3-5) @ Chicago Bears (5-3)

Another interesting divisional match-up in the NFC this week comes in the form of the old man versus the swiss cheese offensive line in Chicago. Jay Cutler has gotta be hurting...and unfortunatly for him, this week, the pain is gonna hurt a lot more. Now I believe that the Vikings defensive line is over-rated, but they are still good, and you don't even have to be good to get pressure on Cutler with the protection he has in front of him. Cutler is going to get hit A LOT in this game, and he will turn the ball over. What remains to be seen however is the old-man and what he can produce on offence. We saw a glimmer of magic last week, and he tends to play well in Chicago. The Vikes got rid of Moss because of "team relationship issues"...fear not...Sidney Rice could be back this week, and if he is, the Vikings will score, many times.

Prediction: Minnesota Vikings 24-7 Chicago Bears

Houston Texans (4-4) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4)

Another tasty divisional match-up, this time in the American conference. Houston is great passing the ball, not so great at defending the passing of the ball though. Ranked 32nd in the league in pass defense this is definatly a team to pass the ball on, and that is exactly what the Jags will do. Jacksonville, who are coming off a bye after destroying the Cowboys, are going to look towards Sims-Walker and tight-end Lewis to try and help them beat the Texans and take a step closer to the Titans and Colts a-top the AFC South. Houston this week are going to need a, "you can score as much as you want, we'll always score 1 more" attitude on Sunday. Schaub is gonna have a tough test this week down in Florida, but if any QB-WR combination can get the job done, it's Schaub and Johnson...........not this week though.

Prediction: Houston Texans 21-27 Jacksonville Jaguars

Tennessee Titans (5-3) @ Miami Dolphins (4-4)

Miami cannot win at home....period. That should be this prediction over with, but i'll go with a little bit more detail...just to please you. Miami are 0-4 at home, and 4-0 on the road this season. It must be the stadium name change thats making them lose. Regardless of what is going wrong, the Fins will be tested yet again at home this week when the Titans roll into town with a new shiny toy at wide-receiver by the name of Randy Moss. As if the Titans offence wasn't explosive enough with CJ in the backfield, now they add Moss as a target for Vince Young. This could be the most dynamic offence in the NFL at the moment, and we'll find out just how devestating it can be on Sunday. On a side-note, the Fins have benched Chad Henne who leads the league in interceptions. Trusty Chad Pennington will take the snaps on Sunday, but I doubt much will change for the Dolphins with this move.

Prediction: Tennessee Titans 24-13 Miami Dolphins

New York Jets (6-2) @ Cleveland Browns (3-5)

Rex Ryan needs to thank the Browns. They just dismantled the "best team in the NFL".....pfft and effectively put the Jets on top of the AFC East. The Browns can run the ball...boy can they run the ball, but that was against the Patriots. They are against the Jets this week, one of the best rushing defenses in the league. So don't expect Peyton Hillis to run like he did last week. The same goes for rookie Colt McCoy. He is really starting to shine. He played well against the Steelers in his first start, and had a solid outing against the Patriots. I can see the Browns being very cautious with his plays this week though, so don't expect McCoy to be a big threat. Having said that, one thing the Browns will do this week, is provide a test for a rather lackluster Jets offence. An offence that was rolling before it's bye week, and is now just slow, sluggish, out of sync and boring quite frankly. Sanchez is having a solid season, only throwing 2 interceptions, both of those in one game. The Browns will blitz, no doubt about that, so Tomlinson and Greene will need to provide a threat on the ground so that the Jets can set up the play action passes to Santonio Holmes and, the returning to Cleveland, Braylon Edwards. This will be a closely fought game, despite the teams varying records.

Prediction: New York Jets 17-14 Cleveland Browns

(GAME OF THE WEEK CANDIDATE)

Cincinnati Bengals (2-6) @ Indianapolis Colts (5-3)

Terrell Owens versus the Colts? Seems like that at the moment with TO being the only player on the Bengals team to be doing something. The Bengals as a whole have been a disappointment this season (not that I care being a Steelers fan). I tipped them to be in the AFC Championship game this season, and they are currently one of the worst teams in the AFC. They have no spark, no electricity running through that team, apart from Owens, but one man can't do it all. Having said that, he almost did against the Steelers. The Colts on the other hand have a plethora of guys who can get the job done right now, even with injuries. Yeah they lost to the Eagles, but that was a VERY good Eagles team they lost to. At home this week, the Colts will be hard to beat. Add to that the anger of losing against the Eagles, the Bengals could be in for a very tough night.

Prediction: Cincinnati Bengals 10-35 Indianapolis Colts

END OF PART 1

I hope you guys have enjoyed my rambling for part one. Feel free to follow my blog so that you know when part two is up. Part two will contain the rest of the weeks games and a final analysis for the week. Comment on the blog aswell letting me know of your own predictions and thoughts on mine. Until next time y'all...

Coming up in Part 2:

 Michael Vick versus Donovan McNabb - Part 2....or will it be??

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"Best team in the NFL" New England Patriots versus "Best team in the NFL if they beat the Pats" Pittsburgh Steelers

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Dallas Cowgirls versus the NY G-Men