NFL Week 9 picks

Well my overall lead didn't last long. Loren went 6-0 and I went 3-3. Leaving us with records of 30-18 and 28-20 respectivly.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans

Loren – New Orleans. I don't think the Saints' meltdown against St. Louis last week will have lasting effects. This is still one of the most potent offenses led by one of the top 5 QBs in the league. It will be hard to take them out in the dome, even though TB has had success against them lately. Josh Freeman has been too inconsistent this year for me to feel comfortable taking the Bucs on the road against a good team.

Derek – New Orleans. Couldn't agree more with Loren on this one. New Orleans is too good of a team to lose like they did last week, that was an aberration. They'll regroup and win going away in this one.

NY Jets at Buffalo

Loren – Buffalo. Derek and I have a friend who drafted Fred Jackson in two or three fantasy leagues this year, no higher than the 9th round. That has to be the biggest, and luckiest, steal of the draft. The Jets' secondary might stop Fitzpatrick, might make him look human, but they can't do that and plug the middle. The Bills just have too many weapons for the Jets to keep in check all day.

Derek – NY Jets. Mangold is back at center and you'll see the Jets running game back to where it should be. This will allow Sanchez to concentrate on play action passes and the short to mid range game.

San Francisco at Washington

Loren – San Francisco. I don't know what's going on in Washington, I just know it means a slow, painful, panicky fantasy football death. Shanahan, you coached my Broncos to two Super Bowl wins. I realize you don't have the original Football Jesus, but can you please figure out how to get Ryan Torain 60 yards on the ground, a catch or two, and one TD? Probably not this week against the Niners vicious run defense.

Derek – San Francisco. I know what's going on in Washington. They suck. Rexman played well above his talent level the first few weeks and now is benched for the tepid Beck. If a D doesn't have to worry about the QB passing it they can load up in the box. Smith will have another good game managing the ball and let the 49ers D win the game.

Cincinnati at Tennessee

Loren – Cincinnati. It may not always be pretty, but Cincinnati gets enough help from defense and special teams to let Andy Dalton and the offense make a few mistakes, learn from them, and get better each week. This will be a tough road game, but the Titans loan bright spot in the last four weeks was their not terribly impressive win over the Colts last week. With CJ yet to get his legs under him, the Bengals defense can cheat a little in the secondary and make life more difficult for Hasselbeck.

Derek - Tennessee. Tough call here, the Titans have been up and down and the Beangals are OK, not bad not great. Will CJ get going or will Dalton to Green pick up steam. Don't forget Benson is back running for Cincinnati. I guess I'm going with Tennessee since it's a home game.

St. Louis at Arizona

Loren – St. Louis. Kolb might be out, but the same could be said for Bradford. Regardless, the most important player on the field will be Steven Jackson. If he can display the same form as last week against the Card's mediocre run defense, St. Louis should fairly easily control the game come away with two straight wins, while handing Arizona their seventh, yes I said seventh, straight loss.

Derek - Arizona. Worried about this pick. But I see John Skelton, yes he'll be starting for the Card, just throwing the ball high in the air in the direction of Larry Fitzgerald. I think that'll be good enough to beat the Rams.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh

Loren – Pittsburgh. It always seems the Steelers come away from a loss determined to learn as much from it as they can and reverse the tables during the next matchup. Their coaching staff are masters at spotting strengths in the other team, weaknesses in their own, and devising game plans to address those issues. The season opening loss to Baltimore is a distant though embarrassing memory. They've claimed the division lead since then and last week they proved it's not just the league patsies they can beat into submission. I don't expect Ray Rice to see a sliver of daylight, and they'll dare Flacco to beat them through the air.

Derek - Pittsburgh. The Ravens just don't look like the team they did earlier in the year, while the Steelers look to be improving. I wouldn't be surprised by anything in this game, either team could win a close one or a blow out.