NFL Pro Football 2009 Week 8 Picks early games

NFL Pro Football 2009 Week 8 Picks

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Fearless Rick's NFL Week 8 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | November 1-2

All times Eastern - Click here for late games.

Sunday, Nov. 1

(Byes: Cincinnati, Kansas City, New England, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington)

Denver at Baltimore (-3, 42), 1:00 pm - A trip East for the undefeated Denver Broncos lands them in the home of the Ravens, as good a team as can be found in the AFC North. Even though Baltimore is just 3-3, their losses have come against solid teams - New England, Cincinnati and Minnesota - and all but the Cincy loss occuring on the road. Like Denver, the Ravens emerge from a bye week, so both teams will be well-rested and ready to rock.

Are the Ravens good enough to hold up and hand the Broncos their first loss of the 2009 season. Doubtful. Believe it or not, Denver has the best defense in he league, both in points allowed (11) and yards allowed (262.5). Baltimore actually has outperformed the Broncos offensively, but that's of little importance here. Until somebody proves that the Broncos can be beaten, they remain a solid play.

PREDICTION: Broncos 24 Ravens 17

Houston (-3 1/2, 41) at Buffalo, 1:00 pm - The Bills won again last week, topping Carolina, 20-9, which proves that on a given week, the Bills can beat any weak team and can hang with two of the teams in their division (the Pats and Jets). That's really not saying much, even though Buff has come out on the winning side twice in two weeks.

Now the Houston Texans, they are a different breed than those teams that the Bills beat. The Texans have a superior offensive attack, and unless the Bills stop them continuously in the first half, Buffalo is going to find themselves looking up from the wrong end of the scoreboard here. The Texans also can play a little defense, which is all they'll have to do against the struggling Buffalo offense (273.4 yards per game, less than even the Rams!).

PREDICTION: Texans 31 Bills 16

Cleveland at Chicago (-13 1/2, 40), 1:00 pm - In Chicago, everybody's worried about the offense, which has relied almost completely on the rubber arm of Jay Cutler, who has thrown for 1452 yards in just 6 games. The issue with Cutler throwing the football around so much is that he's tossed 10 INTs to go with his 11 TD passes. No, the problem really is the running game, or lack thereof. Matt Forte has looked just about ordinary, gaining 318 yards on 92 carries (3.5 ypr). That's not going to cut it, so Chicago is probably pleased to be back home and playing a team of Cleveland's low caliber. The Bears went into their bye week at 3-1, but came out of it with two straight losses, the last of which - last week's 45-10 pasting at Cincy - has the skeptics up in arms.

Let's face it, the Bears are probably not playoff material, but the Browns, well, they're hardly NFL material. Trouble is, a 3-3 team should not be giving anyone nearly 2 TDs. Take the points. The Browns only have to play defense when the Bears are throwing the ball.

PREDICTION: Bears 21 Browns 17

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Seattle at Dallas (-9 1/2, 46), 1:00 pm - The Cowboys left an indelible impression on the rest of the league after they ran over Atlanta last week, 37-21. They have the ability to score 30 or more points any time they take the field, against any defense, and that's exactly what Seattle has, any defense. It's neither good nor bad, outstanding nor feeble. They're allowing 18.2 points per game, but one must take a closer look at the teams they've played thus far. The two teams they've beaten - Rams and Jaguars - they've shut out. In their other four games, all losses, they've allowed an average of 27 points. Those teams were the Colts, 49ers, Bears and Cardinals.

Guess what? Dallas scores 26.7 points per game, better than all of those teams except the Colts, which leads to the conclusion that Dallas is going to bury the Seahawks somewhere in the vast expanse of Cowboy Stadium. (There's got to be a cemetary in there somewhere. They have everything else.)

PREDICTION: Cowboys 38 Seahawks 21

St. Louis at Detroit (-5, 45), 1:00 pm - when is the last time the Lions were 5-point favorites? 1984? It's sure been a while, but that doesn't mean they can actually beat the Rams, even in the Silverdome, or whatever they're calling it these days.

This game is interesting because of all the teams to beat the Lions in 2008 (13), St. Louis wasn't one of them and this will be their first meeting since Oct. 1, 2006, when the Rams won a 41-34 shoot-out in St. Louis.

The Rams are on a 17-game skid, and closing in on the Lions' 19-game losing streak, the second-worst in NFL history, which was snapped earlier this season when they beat the Redskins. The problem for the Rams is that their offense has been held to 10 points or less in 5 of their 7 games this season. The Lions, however, are giving up more points than even the Rams, at 31,3 ppg.

It's a horrible set-up, but one simply has to take the points if they're actually going to give 5, and hope the Rams find the end zone more than once.

PREDICTION: Rams 20 Lions 16

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NY Giants (-1, 44) at Philadelphia, 1:00 pm - This is a game that some thought might feature two playoff contenders, but either the Eagles or Giants - or both of them - are in danger of having their season dragged out from under them. The Eagles looked pathetic without Brian Westbrook last week, though he's listed as probable this week, and Michael Vick hasn't done anything for the offense. He's actually kind of a forgotten man on the team.

As for the once-mighty Giants, they seem to have troubles on both sides of the ball, and in both cases, it's the line that is having the worst of it. Offensively, they can't seem to protect Eli Manning effectively, and the defensive line doesn't seem capable of applying pressure. Both of those issues have helped the G-Maen drop their last two. Neither team is playing well, though the Eagles will have their full arsenal on offense. These two split last season, and that could happen again, but if there's one everyone is tired of seeing in the playoffs, it's the Eagles, so let's go with the Giants to resurrect their defense and win going away.

PREDICTION: Giants 27 Eagles 13

San Francisco at Indianapolis (-13, 45), 1:00 pm - The Colts are one of three unbeaten teams playing this week, and though the 49ers are on the cusp of becoming a playoff contender, they still are not ready to knock off one of the AFC's elite. Granted, the 13-point line is a bit excessive, but that's the price paid for perfection, which is what Peyton Manning demands of himself and his teammates.

It's pretty clear that Manning is seeking another ring and therefore showing no mercy on the opposition. The average score of a Colts' game this season is 30-13, which is about how this one figures to finish.

PREDICTION: Colts 30 49ers 13

Miami at NY Jets (-3 1/2, 40 1/2), 1:00 pm - What happened when the Jets ventured into Landshark Stadium earlier this season? They couldn't stop the wildcat, the Dolphins outgained them by 100 yards and they lost 31-27. That was less than three weeks ago, and not much has changed, except that the Jets hammered Oakland last weekend to go to 4-3, while the Dolphins tried their best to upend the Saints, but came away with a loss, and are now just 2-4. Does anyone believe the Dolphins need to win this game? A loss virtually ends their season, and it's a little too early for that.

PREDICTION: Dolphins 24 Jets 23

All times Eastern - Click here for late games

Copyright 2009, 2010, 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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