NFL Pro Football 2008 Week 10 Picks early games

NFL Pro Football 2008 Week 10 Picks

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Fearless Rick's NFL Week 10 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | November 6-10

All times Eastern - Click here for late Sunday and Monday night games.

THU, NOV 6

Denver at Cleveland (-3, 46) 8:15 PM - Well, here we go again with the NFL Network, the insistent league-owned operation that fans and cable outfits love to hate. Most will not see this game, unless they've made arrangements in advance (especially with Comcast) or have satellite. In any case, the Browns have benched starter Derek Anderson in favor of former Notre Dame star, Brady Quinn. At 3-5, the Browns need help and what better place to break in a fresh face than against one of the league's softest pass defenses (243 yards per game).

Just in case you haven't noticed, the Broncos are still, amazingly, on top of the AFC West, the weakest division in the league, by far. The four teams have a combined 10 wins. The Broncos are 4-4 and they're not very good, losing 4 of their last five and three straight. Browns get a win here and both teams become 4-5, which, in the oddly depleted AFC, puts them both in playoff contention.

Prediction: Browns 30 Broncos 20

SUN, NOV 9

Jacksonville (-6 1é2, 44 1é2) at Detroit 1:00 PM - At the very bottom of the league, Detroit has the dubious distinction of being the only team in the NFL without a win. They had the Bears on the ropes last week, but melted down after taking a 20-10 lead in the first half, losing 27-23. The Lions have three quarterbacks who could start this game - untested Drew Stanton, recently-signed Daunte Culpepper or injured Dan Orlovsky. There is no good choice for coach Rod Marinelli. Jacksonville isn't exactly drilling opponents, at 3-5. They've lost their last two to Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but two bad teams can often produce a good matchup. This one probably won't, but it should be close enough for the Lions to actually win.

Prediction: Jaguars 23 Lions 20

Tennessee (-3, 39) at Chicago 1:00 PM - All alone atop the AFC South at 8-0, the Titans had to go to overtime against Green Bay - at home - in order to reach the mid-way point of the season with an unblemished record. Their defense has been sensational, allowing 12.9 points per outing. However, they've allowed 21 and 16 in their last two games, more than in any back-to-back events this season. That could be a problem against the Bears, a team that's supposed to have a good defense, but is allowing 21.5 ppg.

Surprisingly, Chicago does have the fourth-highest scoring offense in the league, though, clicking at 27.9, a stat that really sticks out here. The Titans are going to lose somewhere, and a game on the road against a division leader really fits the bill. Kyle Orton may start for the Bears, but if not, Rex Grossman was adequate in the comeback win over Detroit last week.

Prediction: Bears 20 Titans 17

Baltimore (-1, 42) at Houston 1:00 PM - Houston has played just well enough to lose five of eight, but they've been competitive in almost every game. They have to good fortune of getting the Ravens at home, but this is a rescheduled game, courtesy of Hurricane Ike, which wiped out what was a week 2 matchup originally.

The bad part about the rescheduling is that the Ravens have improved as the season has worn on. This is their second of three consecutive road games, also thanks to Ike. The good thing about Baltimore is not their usual stellar defense, which is having a solid year, at 17.1 ppg, but the offense is coming together. The Ravens have scored 27, 29 and 37 in their last three games, all wins.

Prediction: Ravens 34 Texans 28

New Orleans at Atlanta (-1, 50 1/2) 1:00 PM - Toughest call of the week. The Saints, without Reggie Bush, are doing it with mirrors, though the team's success can largely be attributed to the brilliance of Drew Brees, who is having an All Pro season with less than the usual quality at the wideout positions. At 4-4, however, the Saints are marching in at the bottom of the NFC South.

Atlanta, 5-3, has been the surprise team of the season, and rookie Matt Ryan is blowing up the conventional wisdom that says quarterbacks need a year or two of seasoning before being effective. The Falcons are playing with passion, and the home fans will be loudly cheering them to victory.

Prediction: Falcons 30 Saints 24

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St. Louis at NY Jets (-9, 44 1é2) 1:00 PM - This line must have been dreamt up by a fan of Brett Favre or who thinks the Jets are actually capable of making the playoffs this season. They may be right, and the Jets are 3-1 at home this season, but they manage, somehow, to play down to their competition. They beat the Bengals by 12, but lost to Oakland and squeaked by the Chiefs two weeks ago, 28-24. They are coming off a big, emotional win at Buffalo last week, and may be a bit drained coming into this one. St. Louis is certainly nothing special, but they do have a decent pass rush and are hungry for wins. Could be the upset of the week, as the line is large.

Prediction: Jets 27 Rams 23

Buffalo at New England (-4, 41 1é2) 1:00 PM - A very serious game for the lead in the AFC East. The Pats, Bills and Jets are all 5-3, so the loser here will automatically be a game behind at least one of the other two. Buffalo, and especially QB Trent Edwards, has not looked good in their past two games, both losses to divisional foes, Miami and the Jets. The Patriots, against whom the Bills have not had any recent success, should complete the trifecta.

Prediction: Patriots 28 Buffalo 16

Seattle at Miami (-9, 43) 1:00 PM - Not much going right in Seattle, while the Dolphins have a lot of reasons to be optimistic. A win here would keep them no worse than a game behind whichever team - the Jets, Pats or Bills - ends up on top of the division at the end of the day. 4-4 is much better than this team figured to be at midseason, and who thought the Seahawks would be a sorry 2-6. In a game that could be a blowout, the Dolphins will have their way with the travel-weary Seattle squad.

Prediction: Dolphins 24 Seahawks 0

All times Eastern - Click here for late Sunday and Monday night games

Copyright 2008, 2009, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.

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