Tag Archives: nfl week 9

2011 NFL Week 9 Picks Against the Spread (Online Sportsbook Odds)

NFL Week 9 is almost here so that means its tie for our NFL Week 9 Picks Against the Spread. Let’s find out who I like against the spread in Week 9.

Week 8 Recap: Not my best week as I finished at 6-7. Looking at this week, I’m loving the underdogs. Let’s see how I do.

Home teams are in CAPS. Feel free to mock my picks the comments or challenge me by posting your own picks. The lines are courtesy of the online sportsbook TopBet. Click here for more information.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (+8.5) Over the Atlanta Falcons

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+8.5) over the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

HOUSTON TEXANS (-10.5) over the Cleveland Browns

New York Jets (+2) over the BUFFALO BILLS

Miami Dolphins (+4.5) over the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

San Francisco 49ers (-4.5) over the WASHINGTON REDSKINS

DALLAS COWBOYS (-11) over the Seattle Seahawks

Denver Broncos (+7.5) over the OAKLAND RAIDERS

TENNESSEE TITANS (-2.5) over the Cincinnati Bengals

St. Louis Rams (+2.5) over the ARIZONA CARDINALS

New York Giants (+9) over the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (+6.5) over the Green Bay Packers

Baltimore Ravens (+3.5) over the PITTSBURGH STEELERS

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (-8) over the Chicago Bears

Last Week: 6-7

Year-to-Date: 59-51-5

NFL Week 9 Recap

Another week in the books in the NFL season.  We are now officially half way through the regular season.  Every team has played eight games, except for the Giants and Texans who have played nine.  I’ll have my mid-season awards up later this week, but in the meantime here are my thoughts on week 9 in the NFL:

Undefeateds Hold On

How can you not love those creamsicle throwbacks?

Once again both the Colts and Saints were tested, but overcame obstacles and won.

The Colts got rather lucky in this game escaping because of a missed field by Kris Brown as time expired.  Peyton came out firing and threw 40 passes in the first half with Dallas Clark as the main beneficiary, catching 14 passes.  Matt Schaub was not able to take advantage of the depleted Colt’s secondary and tossed two picks.   Last week’s star, Ryan Moats, was a big disappointment for the Texans.  After receiving 16 carries he only delivered 34 yards and fumbled on the one-yard line into the end zone.

The Saints on the other hand remained perfect after not playing their best game for three weeks in a row.  The Saints got down early, but Carolina could not put them away settling for two short field goals.  The Panther did however expose a possible Achilles Heel for the Saints.  DeAngelo Williams ripped them up, as did Michael Turner last week.  That could prove to be a lingering problem for the Saints.

Giant Loss

The Giants lose once again, this time blowing a six-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.  The loss puts the Giants at 5-4 heading into their bye, on a four game losing streak.  The bye week will let get healthy but they need to get to what they do best; running the football and rushing the passer.  Brandon Jacobs simply isn’t getting enough touches and the trio of Osi, Tuck, and Kiwi need to start playing better.

One of the storylines of this game was the Eli-Rivers trade during the 2004 NFL Draft.  It must have been sweet for Phillip Rivers, who has gotten more than his share of flack, to get some revenge on the team traded him five years ago.  The end provided some poetic justice as the three players the chargers received in the Manning trade all played a vital role in the final minutes.  Rivers threw the game tying touchdown pass.  Nate Kaeding kicked the extra point to give the Chargers the lead.  Finally the game ended on a Shawne Merriman sack, his second of the day.

Bengals Maul Ravens

After looking rejuvenated last week in a dominating rout of the Broncos the Ravens came crashing back to Earth this week.  The loss puts them two games behind the Bengals and in reality three games because of the tiebreaker.  With one of the toughest remaining schedules it looks like the Ravens will be golfing in January.  After this win it’s now time to put the Bengals were they belong, among the AFC’s elite.  They play Pittsburgh next week and if the Steelers lose tonight a win next week would put the Bengals in the driver’s seat in the AFC North.

Cowboys Ridin’ High

The highly anticipated NFC East showdown came down to the wire but the Cowboys came out on top.  A hue win for the ‘Boys who vindicated their late season loss to the Eagles last year.  They are now in sole possession of first place and all of the naysayers of Tony Romo and Wade Phillips have suddenly disappeared.  It still all comes down to December for the Cowboys.  While this win is great they still need to prove they can win late in the season and in the playoffs.

Game Balls

Josh Freeman

It’s not often a quarterback completes 14 for 31 and winds up in the Game Ball section but Freeman was a different case.  In the throwback creamsicle uniforms (which were awesome by the way) his first start he passed for three touchdowns, leading a fourth quarter comeback and gave the Bucs their first win 11 games.

Kurt Warner

Redemption for Warner this week, who landed in the Lame Duck Section last week.  His five td passes tied a career high as the Cards picked up a huge win on the road.

Chris Johnson

Johnson ran for 135 yards and two scores leading the Titans to their second win a row.  He is a threat to score every time he touches the ball and had a 80 yard td called back.

Lame Ducks

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers did account for three touchdowns but killed the Packers with his three interceptions.  He was also sacked six times, bringing his league leading total to 37.  While the Packers o-line isn’t great by any stretch, Rodgers has to take some blame for holding on to the ball too long.

Kris Brown

The usually reliable kicker missed a 42 yarder as time expired as the Texans failed to force overtime.  A crushing loss for the Texans, who now face an uphill battle to make the playoffs.

Stat of the Week:

The Buccaneers, who hadn’t scored more than 21 points in a game this season, tallied 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

Stat of the Week 2:

The defensive touchdown the Saints scored on Sunday marked their eighth defensive score of the season.  The Cleveland Brown on the other hand, have only scored five offensive touchdowns this entire season.

Quote of the Week:

Redskin’s cornerback, DeAngelo Hall, talking about Falcons coach Mike Smith after a late hit by LaRon Landry on Matt Ryan that resulted in a melee on the sideline:

“After that, coach Smith came over to me, talking (expletive) to me, saying they were going to kick my (butt).  I stay in Atlanta during the offseason, so if Mike Smith wants to see me, he can definitely find me.”

He went on to say:

“I’m going to get on the horn with commissioner Goodell and we’re going to figure out a way how to nip this in the bud.  It’s different with me coming in trying to break stuff up and as a strength coach, if you coming at me and you’re trying to get licks, that ain’t how you do things.”

Quote of the Week 2:

NFL Week 9 What to Watch For

Week 9 is approaching fast and it looks like a good one.  We have six team on a bye again (Buffalo, New York, Minnesota, Cleveland, St. Louis, Oakland) but next week is the last week of byes and only two teams have one next week.

The best matchups this week as divisional bouts: Philadelphia vs. Dallas, Baltimore vs. Cincinnati, and Houston vs. Indianapolis.

Here’s what you should watch for on Sunday:

1. Is Houston a Playoff Team?

Johnson and Schaub will need to be huge if the Texans want to spring the upset.

The perennial sleeper team, the Houston Texans, may have finally awoke this season.  After a slow start the Texans have won three in a row and stand at 5-3 and are fighting for a playoff spot.  The task this week though, is the undefeated Indianapolis Colts.  The Colts have had the Texans number historically and if the Texans want to be considered one of the best they have to beat the best.

The season ending loss of Owen Daniels hurts the Texans but luckily the Colts secondary is severely hurting.  They lost Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson for the season this week in addition to Kelvin Hayden who will be sideline for at least another month.  It will be interesting to see how Gary Kubiak shuffles his running backs this week.  He comes from the mike Shanahan tree and has been Shanahan esq this week only saying he will play all three of his backs.

2. Baltimore looks for Revenge

In Week 5 the Ravens lost 17-14 to the Bengals at home on a late touchdown inside of two minutes.  This week these two teams meet again this time Cincinnati in a huge AFC battle.  The Bengals currently sit atop the division, a game ahead of the Ravens, and a loss for the Ravens this week would put them back to .500 and 3 games behind the Bengals because they would lose the tiebraker.

As big as last week’s game for the Ravens was this one is even bigger.  Last time these foes faced off Cedric Benson broke the Ravens streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher in 29 straight games and I’m sue that will be in the back of the minds of Ray Lewis and Co.

3. New England gets another shot at the Wildcat

It was Week 3  of the 2008 season in New England when the Wildcat was unleashed.  The Dolphins ran for over 200 yards and Ronnie Brown ran for four scores and threw one in the air.  On Sunday these team return to the scene when it all began.

The Patriots have had an extra week to prepare for the Dolphins but the ‘Phins are the one team that has given Tom Brady fits his entire career.  Brady has throwin 13 interceptions against the Dolphins, the most he has against any team.  The Dolphins may be only 3-4, but are 3-0 in the division.

4. Can Dallas Win on the Road?

Dallas has been getting a lot of media hype these past few weeks as they have enjoyed a nice 3 game winning streak.  Too bad the teams they have beaten have been the Chiefs, Falcons, and Seahawks, whose combined record is 7-14, and the one decent team they’ve beaten, the Falcons, came at home.

This is a big statement game for both teams, but ever more so for the Cowboys.  They need a signature win and have to amend their humiliating 44-6 loss in the finals week of the ’08 season in Philly, with the playoffs on the line.  Romo has been turnover free the last threee games but the Eagles secondary is a lot better than what he’s been facing.

5. Flashback to 2004 Draft: Eli vs. Rivers

The much talked 2004 NFL Draft centered around one player Eli Manning.  Manning publicly said he didn’t want to play for the Chargers, but they selected him anyway.  They ended up trading him to the Giants in a deal in which they Phillip Rivers among other players.  Now five years later these two quarterbacks meet.

It’s fair to say this trade worked out great for both sides.  The Giants of course, won a Super Bowl behind Manning while Rivers has put up great numbers for the Chargers and they also received Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding in the deal.  This game has greater implications for both teams rather than the history.  The Giants are on the verge of collapsing if they drop a fourth straight while the Chargers need a win to keep pace with the surprising Broncos.  This game very well could coe down to which quarterback plays better and fewer mistakes.

6. Will Ryan Clark Play?

NFL Week 9 Suicide Pick

I picked the Bears last week and they easily cruised to a 30-6 victory, extremely close to my predicted score of 28-6.

Last week was fairly upset free except for the Panthers topping the Cardinals but I doubt many, if any people took the Cardinals in your suicide pool.

This week is no different from any week so far this season, with plenty of options for your suicide pick. Now onto this week’s pick:

Teams already used:

Week 1: Seattle Seahawks: Win

Week 2: Green Bay Packers: Loss

Week 3: Baltimore Ravens: Win

Week 4: New York Giants Win

Week 5: Dallas Cowboys Win

Week 6: Pittsburgh Steelers Win

Week 7: Carolina Panthers Loss

Week 8: Chicago Bears Win

The pick for week 9 is the Atlanta Falcons

After a promising 4-1 start the Falcons have taken a step back the past two weeks and now stand at 4-3.  There really is no shame is the recent skid though because they have lost on the road at Dallas and New Orleans, two of the leagues premier teams.  This week they get the perfect remedy for their woes, the Washington Redskins

It is no secret about the turmoil going on the nation’s capital now.  The team is in complete disarray and despite winning two games is no question one of the worst teams in the league.  Their two wins have come against the win less Buccaneers and the one win Rams and they have given the Lions and Chiefs their first and only win of the season.  The decision to give play calling duties to Sherman Lewis proved no difference against the Eagles and Lewis can’t suddenly make Jason Campbell into a quality starting quarterback.

On Monday Night Football last week we saw the Michael Turner of last season for the first time.  He looked fast in getting to the outside and displayed his power, shouldering through multiple defenders.  He has scored a touchdown in six straight games and that streak should continue this week.  The ‘Skins rank in the bottom ten of the league in rush defense and we could see Turner run wild against them.

The Falcons gave the Saints a run for their money last week and for a while there it looked like they were going to pull the upset.  I see the Falcons getting back on track here and they easily dismantle the Redskins.

Final Score: Falcons 35 Redskins 10

In case you have used the Falcons here are some other teams I like this week:

Packers over the Buccaneers- The Pack would be my pick if I hadn’t taken them before.  Rookie Josh Freeman makes his NFL debut this week.

Seahawks over the Lions- At home against the lowly Lions.

49ers over the Titans- Played the Colts very tight and need to win this game.

NFL Quick Hits (11/4)

Were now at the half way point of the season already.  I’ll have my mid season awards next week after which every team will have played eight games.  To help you get through this hump day here are some the best reads from the football blogosphere.

• Darren Sharper for MVP? (NFP)

• Flashback to the ’04 draft.  Rivers and Manning square off on Sunday. (NFL Gridiron Gab)

• Is Chris Johnson overrated? (Sports Data Hub)

• Mid Season Awards. (TD Dance)

• Who will Detroit look at in the 2010 draft? (Rumors and Rants)

• Less practice has led to poor tackling. (Shutdown Down)

• It only gets worse for Tom Cable. (BlitzNation)

• Hines Ward voted the NFL’s dirties player. (KSK)

• Big changes in the Brown front office. (Read and React)

• Is this Cowboys team for real? (NFL Touchdown)