NFL Week Eight Recap

Overall SU: 77-39 (10-3 wk 8)
Week 8 ATS: 6-7
Overall ATS: 53-62-1

The Vacation Ends
Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens
Line: Ravens -3
O/U: 41.5
My Pick: Broncos +3. Baltimore wins anyway 17-16.
Result: Ravens 30-7
Not a huge surprise, although I am a bit shocked that the Bronco defense gave up so many points in the second half. I went against my gut and paid for it. Oh well.

Cowboy Up
Seattle Seahawks @ Dallas Cowboys
Line: Cowboys -9-5
O/U: 46
My pick: Cowboys -9.5. Dallas wins 31-21.
Result: Cowboys 38-17
All of a sudden the Cowboys look much better, and the idea of them challenging the Eagles and Giants for the NFC East crown isn't so ridiculous. Seattle has been far worse than advertised, and I'm not sure what to make of them.

Finally a win!
St. Louis Rams @ Detroit Lions
Line: Lions -5
O/U: N/A
My Pick: Rams win it 24-20.
Result: Rams 17-10
Glad I went with the Rams. These are both bad teams, but now it looks less likely that the Lions 0-16 mark from a year ago will be matched. I'd bet on at least one 1-15 squad though.

Where did the Jets go?
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
Line: Jets -3.5
O/U: 40.5
My Pick: Jets -3.5. New York wins 26-20.
Result: Dolphins 30-25
Granted 21 of the 30 dolphin points were scored strangely, but what in the world happened to the Jets? They weren't supposed to be any good pre-season, but 3 weeks into the year they were the talk of the league. Now they're .500, have lost 3 times in the AFC East (all to crappy teams), and are not even in the playoff picture as far as I'm concerned.

Now that that's out of the way...
San Francisco 49ers @ Indianapolis Colts
Line: Colts -12.5
O/U: 44
My Pick: 49ers +12.5. Too many points. Indy wins 28-17.
Result: Colts 18-14
I figured this would be a close game. As it turns out, this could be classified as "that one game every great team will inevitably have in which nothing seems to work." Peyton threw no TD passes. Addai had one, though, and the defense held, so the Colts survived their "bad week" and remained undefeated. That is a huge testament to Indy, and makes me think that, unless they stumble, they could remain unbeaten.

Brown is the color of the way Cleveland plays every week...
Cleveland Browns @ Chicago Bears
Line: Bears -13
O/U: 40
My Pick: Browns +13.
Chicago wins 21-10.
Result: Bears 30-6
Not sure why I thought this would be closer. My bad.

It was half good...
Houston Texans @ Buffalo Bills
Line: Texans -3.5
O/U: 41.5
My Pick: Texans -3.5. Houston picks up the road win 27-13.
Result: Texans 31-10
Buffalo led at the half, but once the defense began to falter, there was no way the Buffalo O could get them back into it. Consider that the 10 points were all turnover-related, and the touchdown was a simple end-around to TO from the 30 yard line immediately after an interception. The Bills may as well start punting on 1st down to give their defense more chances to score...

Wow...
New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles
Line: 0
O/U: 44
My Pick: Giants +0. New York wins, but it's never easy in Philly. 23-21.
Result: Eagles 40-17
I can't believe the Giants' D has been so bad the last 3 weeks. I'm sure they'll snap out of it, but with such a stellar defensive line you would expect them to put more pressure on the opposition's QB. When they don't, big plays result. Now they are realizing how important Steve Spagnuolo was. Philly is a potentially elite team, but after losing to the Raiders, I never know when they'll show up. Indy survived its bad week in week 8...Philly failed to survive week 6 in Oakland. That says a lot about supporting personnel and coaching. When the stars play poorly, will the coaching staff respond with different looks and will the secondary players step up? In Philly's case, they didn't.

Why can't San Diego Blow Out Oakland?
Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers
Line: Chargers -16.5
O/U: 41.5
My Pick: Chargers -16.5. San Diego rolls again 33-10.
Result: Chargers 24-16
This is pathetic. Everyone else can blow out the Raiders, why not San Diego? Oakland has now beaten the spread against the Bolts twice this year. San Diego made a statement in KC, but needs another. Nobody is scared of the team that beat Oakland by 8 at home.

Finally
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans
Line: Titans -3
O/U: 45
My Pick: Titans -3. Tennessee gets off the shnide with a 23-17 win.
Result: Titans 30-13
Had I known Young was starting, I may have thought about this one a little harder. I guess he just needed the confidence that comes from knowing he's the starter, as he played quite well. You had to know Tennessee was better than the Jags, but it is good to finally see them put it all together.

What the hell was that?
Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals
Line: Cards -10
O/U: 41
My Pick: Cards -10. Arizona continues to click on all cylinders, winning 34-17.
Result: Panthers 34-21
Not only did the Cardinals' D not show up one week after beating the Giants, but all of a sudden Carolina decided not to suck for a week. 34 points? After they scored 9 against the Bills and lost at home? I hate inconsistency. It makes games impossible to pick.

Favred Again
Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers
Line: Packers -3
O/U: 47.5
My Pick: Vikings +3. Minny wins 30-23.
Result: Vikings 38-26
I had a feeling Brett would do well back at Lambeau. The Vikings are a very good team, but they have to stop letting opponents back into games. If the Vikings could shut the door defensively and not let 21-point leads salt away, requiring Brett to go back out and put up more points, they'd be a near-lock for the NFC title game.

Still Perfect
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints
Line: Saints -10
O/U: 54
My Pick: Saints -10. I want it to be a good game, but the Saints are too good. They win going away, 42-27.
Result: Saints 35-27
I was one touchdown away from a perfect pick. New Orleans could only manage 7 points in the second half, which is why I ended up losing ATS. The Falcons' D is solid, and they should be a playoff team, but unfortunately their schedule has conspired against them lately. Now that they have a few easier games, they should get back to winning. I see them at 7-4 after week 12; we'll see where they go from there.