Scott Garceau: Best Of NFL Week 9
Over half of the NFL teams have 2 or 3 losses (17 of 32). 11 of 16 teams in the AFC have 2 or 3 losses. Only Green Bay and San Francisco have less than 2 losses. So I guess what we've learned in the first half of the year isn't much.
Sure, the Colts aren't quite as good without Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers and the Super Bowl champs still look like the Super Bowl champs, but most teams are still part of this good but not great logjam. It's time to start separating the men from the boys.
4 of the best match-ups from week 9.
*Jets (4-3) at Bill (5-2) CBS 1:00
The Jets coming off a bye have won 5 of their last 6 against the Bills. The Bills are coming off a 23-0 win over the Redskins, sacking the Skins QB 9 times! The Bills are 4-0 at home and lead the AFC averaging over 30 points a game. I like the match-up Ryan Fitzpatrick, Fred Jackson and a solid Bills offense against Rex's defense. Jets don't have much wiggle room if they drop to 4-4 with a loss.
*Giants (5-2) at Patriots (5-2) Fox 4:15
Both teams coming off bad games. The Giants 4th quarter comeback avoided a home loss to the winless Dolphins and the Patriot got worked over in Pittsburgh. The last time these two met was the David Tyree Super Bowl 42.
The last regular season meeting came the final game of the same season. Down 12 in the 2nd half the Patriots pulled out a 38-35 win to finish a perfect 16-0.
New England has won 31 straight regular season games at home Brady has won 18 straight at home. They're home and the Pats get a bounce back win.
*Packers (7-0) at Chargers (4-3) Fox 4:15
Green Bay coming off a bye, the Chargers coming off the dropped snap disaster Monday night in KC. Turnover ratio says a lot about these teams Aaron Rodgers has thrown only 3 interceptions and 20 touchdowns his team is plus 8, Philip Rivers has struggled this season and the Chargers are minus 5 in turnovers.
Including last years playoffs Green Bay has won 13 straight the longest winning streak in franchise history. If Green Bay is a 14-2 team this might be one of those two. I won't pick against Aaron Rodgers but the Chargers are traditionally good in November (8 straight wins).
*Ravens (5-2) at Steelers (6-2) NBC 8:20
Prime time! Why not, it's currently the best rivalry in the NFL. So the Ravens kick the Pitt out of Pix-Burg in the season opener and they're UNDERDOGS this time?
Could be the odds makers were watching that Monday night disaster in Jacksonville and noticed the Ravens were down 21-3 to the 1-win Cardinals last Sunday.
After getting whipped 35-7 in the opener the Steelers have won 5 of 6 (4 straight) and looked like the defending AFC champs last Sunday shutting down the Patriots.
The Ravens won at Heinz Field last year when Flacco hit Houshmandzadeh with 34 second left in the game, but including playoffs that's the Ravens only win in their last 6 games in Pittsburgh. Home field and Big Ben give the Steelers a field goal edge.
NCAA BONUS
They're billing LSU/Alabama the game of the century (don't we hear that about every 2 years) how big is it? I wonder if Ozzie Newsome would admit it's bigger than the Ravens/Steelers.
By some estimates, Alabama vs. LSU will have more betting action than last year's BCS Title game! Bama is about a 5-point favorite but 72% of early bets have been on LSU.
