NFL Week 9 Picks

Can you believe the season is half over? Anyway, another 5-1 week for me puts me up 6 games once again. I’m standing tall with a record of 32-16 while Loren is pulling away from the .500 mark with a 26-22 mark.

Miami at Indianapolis
Loren – Miami. Indy is just too inconsistent to afford picking them, even at home. Miami, meanwhile, seems poised to have a mediocre year. This is a vast improvement over what most people thought they would do so, you know, good for them.
Derek – Miami. Both teams are a surprise at this point I’d imagine. I think the Dolphins D will be able to control the game enough to walk away with a win. Think low score here. First one to 20 wins, in fact lets make that 17.

Denver at Cincinnati
Loren – Denver. Wow, Denver looked really sharp in dismantling the Saints. Most people do, though. This will be a much tougher test for them against a decent defense. Denver should still prevail, but this team goes as far as its defense take it. Manning and Co. will take care of business, but can they get consistent run stopping?
Derek – Denver. The Broncos took apart the Saints D and now face another poor D in Cincinnati. Only difference here is the location of the contest and it’s not nearly a big enough difference.

Minnesota at Seattle
Loren – Seattle. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Minnesota takes this one, but I have to go with the home team. If you’re going to beat Seattle’s D, an aerial attack is the way to go. I don’t see the Vikings as likely candidates to safely throw the ball often enough to score points.
Derek – Seattle. Seattle has a great D, they even ratchet it up a notch at home. I don’t expect the Vikings to score more than 10 points and wonder how Ponder will do getting hit every other time he drops back to pass.

Pittsburgh at New York Giants
Loren – New York Giants. The Giants make me nervous every week, but they keep finding a way to win. Once again, I see NY’s D line breaking through to harass the QB. The question is, though, can the Giants take advantage against a really strong defense. In a close game between strong Ds, this could come down to who can hit their field goals. Home team advantage, once again.
Derek – New York Giants. I won’t be surprised by the winner of this game, I can see it going either way in a close one or a blow out. Anything can happen here. Despite the Steelers last game, they haven’t been too consistent this year, while the Giants know how to win, plain and simple.

Dallas at Atlanta
Loren – Atlanta. Every week you have to ask yourself, “Do I trust Romo against X defense.” So, do you trust Romo against Atlanta’s D? Neither do I.
Derek – Atlanta. I’ll be interested to see the Cowboys improved DBs versus Jones and White. The Falcons haven’t relied on the run game much, but haven’t had to. Eventually they’ll lose and this could be that game, but until they do, I’m not going against them.

Philadelphia at New Orleans
Loren – Philadelphia. The Saints have a really tough road the rest of the season. Unfortunately, they shown no signs that their defense is ready to step up. The Eagles have such a balance attack and can score in so many ways, their D just needs to make a play or two to keep this one out of reach.
Derek – New Orleans. I don’t see either teams D slowing the opposition down. But I don’t think the Eagles are that good of offensive team. So I’m going with the team I know can score 30.