Week 9, as has become the rule rather than the exception, had its share of upsets; none of which could have been more of a surprise than the Dolphins over the Bears in Chicago. Are you kidding me? After almost being upset by the lowly Cardinals, who would have ever figured that the Bears would take a week off against a not-so-intimidating opponent, and at home no less? Other mentionable surprises were Detroit over Atlanta and San Fran over Minnesota. Week 10 brings back the full slate of 16 games, which will help fellow hognosticators either catch up quicker or fall further behind. Here’s wishing to all the prior.
Cleveland at Atlanta
The loss of Kevin Mathis won’t help the Falcons' 31st-ranked pass defense, but the Browns can’t stop the run. They’ll see plenty of it on Sunday.
Pick – Falcons
San Diego at Cincinnati
The Bengals have lost 4 of the last 5, and off-the-field issues are taking their toll. Can Marvin Lewis get things under control? Or can he handle the pressure he has yet to feel in Cincy if they lose 5 of their last 6 and their third straight against the Chargers, who are a talented, well-balanced football team?
Pick – Chargers
San Francisco at Detroit
Two of the upset victors from last week clash. Which one is capable of winning 2 straight? With a win, the Lions will record only their third time in 5 ½ seasons to put together back-to-back wins. That’s just plain sad.
Pick – Lions
Buffalo at Indianapolis
No way the Bills offense can keep up with the Colts' scoring machine. The Colts make scoring a TD look easy against the best defenses in the league.
Pick – Colts
Houston at Jacksonville
The Jags will make the Texans pay for embarrassing them in Houston 3 weeks ago, which was not so coincidentally Leftwich’s last start.
Pick – Jags
Kansas City at Miami
The Chiefs, although playing well and 5-3, are still a game behind both the Broncos and the Chargers in the tough AFC West. Herm Edwards won’t let them forget that they must win to keep pace.
Pick - Chiefs
Green Bay at Minnesota
This is a tough pick. Take the Vikes and their stout rush defense at home against the Pack who can’t afford to be one-dimensional and have Favre throwing on every down.
Pick - Vikings
New York Jets at New England
The Pats are at home and consistently beat teams they’re supposed to beat.
Pick – Patriots
Washington at Philadelphia
And we thought last season’s comeback in Dallas was exciting. What a game of roller-coaster emotions. Besides being oh-so-grateful for the win against the Pukes (that win wouldn’t have been near as exciting against any other opponent) and for memories that will last a lifetime of that unbelievable ending that had my wife and I jumping up and down, hugging and shouting after the game winning kick - I’m thankful that I got to watch Nick Novak’s post-game press conference and learn what a great person he is. There’s no wonder why Gibbs likes the kid. He’s a class act, and anyone who had the chance to see his press conference, who didn’t know that already, knows it now. Oh yeah, that was last week; this week – Philthy. Philthy sucks, go Skins!
Pick – Redskins
Baltimore at Tennessee
The Raisins should have smooth sailing to a divisional title with a two game lead in their division and the easiest remaining schedule in the league (with only 2 of their 8 opponents with winning records and a combined record of those 8 opponents of .390). Billick will have his work cut out for him to keep his team focused, particularly when playing lesser teams such as the Titans this week.
Pick – Ravens
Denver at Oakland
The Broncos will run the ball down the Faiders' throat, and their defense will have no problem with the Faiders' offense.
Pick – Broncos
Dallas at Arizona
Look for T.O. to have a big game against another sub-par opponent. Go Cardinals.
Pick – Pukes
New Orleans at Pittsburgh
Once again, how can the Steelers be favored in this game and by 4 points? Drew Brees gets the Mid-Season Hognostication vote for MVP.
Pick – Saints
St. Louis at Seattle
Another tough pick. The Rams have yet to win since they lost to the Hawks 4 weeks ago in St. Louis. Although Hasselbeck and Alexander remain on the sidelines, the Hawks find a way to win at home in this critical divisional contest.
Pick – Seahawks
Chicago at New York Giants
Ronnie Brown had a career day against the ailing Bear defense in last Sunday’s stunning upset by the Dolphins. Urlacher is gimpy, but expect him to play. The Gnats have injured players piling up, but may learn something in studying last week’s film on how to move the ball on the ground with Tiki. The Bear offense is suspect, and Grossman continues to turn the ball over. The loss of Amani Toomer shouldn’t hurt the Gnat offense, as Tim Carter should fill that void.
Pick – Giants
Tampa Bay at Carolina
The Panthers have had two weeks to dwell on back-to-back losses to the Bengals and Pukes, and to prepare for the Bucs. They beat the Bucs back in week three in Tampa and will do so again on Monday night.
Pick - Panthers
Last Week’s Results: 9-5
Season to Date: 73-55
Hognostications Counterpoint NFL Week 10
The good news: Our software problems are sorted out.
The bad news: At the time this piece is being typed, I still do not have the full stats to give you a preview about movements in the weekly or season standings.
I promise to do an extended piece when we get the Hognostications numbers up-to-date. Obviously, some very significant changes may have taken place. Having landed a heavy load of work on my shoulders recently, I have not had a couple of hours to analyse the stats (even my own). Sorry.
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