Let's see how I did shall we? If I got the game right, I'll mark it green. If wrong, red.
Chargers over Jets:
I think this is a no brainer. Top ten rushing AND passing offense of the Chargers, against a bottom five rushing defense on the Jets (good pass defense though). On the other side, the Jets are a bottom ten passing and rushing offense (31st in rushing) vs. the second best pass defense (only mediocre on rush defense though).
I was surprised by this one. The Jets really played a great game offensively (though a sloppy one).
This really could have been a redskins win. Stupid mistakes, turnovers, not capitalizing on good drives; turning good drives into field goals not touchdowns...
Chicago vs. Tampa Bay:
Honestly I'm having a hard time calling that... maybe a slight edge to Tampa Bay because their offense is better.. but something gut level says Chicago.
Skins over Panthers:
Two mediocre teams (Carolina isn't as bad as their record suggests. They've got a solid offense, but a crap run defense); but Washington has a little less negative and a little more positive.
Detroit over Atlanta:Wow... there could have been worse third down conversion... somewhow... Every detroit drive ended up a 3 and out so... can't really win that way.
Not even a question. Detroit is just playing better than Atlanta by far (even after Sundays RIDICULOUS loss to one of the worst teams in football).
Cleveland over Seattle:6 to 3? Was this a football game or a soccer match? No touchdowns for either team, with Seattle going 2 for 12 on 3rd down, and 12 for 30 on pass attempts.
On the pure numbers they're almost even... But I think Cleveland has a small edge on offense, and Seattle has a crap pass defense.
Denver over Miami:An epic, battle royale of shit vs. shit, into OT. They went toOT not because of great play, but because of how bad both teams are.
Shit vs. Shit, but Miami is stinkier shit.
Houston over Tennessee:In a 41-7 blowout, Tennessee makes me a liar; because their defense didn't even show up... and neither did their offense. Lessee a 5-1 first down advantage, 3 to 1 (almost 4 to 1) third down conversion advantage, 3.5 to 1 total yardage advantage, 2 to 0 turnover advantage... Frankly it's a wonder it was only a 34 point victory.
I realize that Tennessee is technically ranked over Houston, but I think Houston is the better team (barely). Tennessee has NO rush at all; while Houston is decent on both the pass and the run. Tennessee has a solid defense though.
Oakland over KC:Lessee... don't score any points at all... that's bad... Get two touchdowns scored on you off of the SIX interceptions you throw... that's worse.
Two good rushing teams with crap pass offense and mediocre defenses... It's going to come down to morale, and it's a hell of a lot harder to play in Raider nation; and that Oakland has better run blocking.
Pittsburgh over Arizona:Arizona played surprisingly well; fighting back and forth much more than the score suggests... they just couldn't produce, and Pittsburgh did.
Not even a question. Good team vs. crap team. Best defense in the NFL vs. crap offense. Solid offense vs. mediocre defense. Not even a question.
Green bay over Minnesota: Great team vs. Crap team.Surprisingly close. If it weren't for the 91 yards in penalties and two interceptions...
This one isn't even a question either. Though Green Bay is a weird team. Spectacular passing record, great run defense; but they have no rush, and the worst pass rush in the league. Minnesota on the other hand has no passing at all (second worst in the league), but a great running game, and a great run defense. Unfortunately, they have one of the worst pass defenses, against one of the best passing teams.
Dallas over St. Louis:Nothing surprising here at all
Yeah... St. Louis is quite possibly the worst team in football, Dallas is... not. I'm not going to say they're great, but they did almost take the Pats, and their three losses this season have all been by less than a toughdown.
New Orleans over Indy:Wow... 62-7... That's.. epic suck. 11 first downs to 36. 252 total yards to 557. 12 completions to 31. 49 yards in penalties to 10... and that's hard to do when you have so little time of posession (only 22 minutes vs. 38)... Oh and 3 turnovers. What a perfect example of how an NFL team can't play without an actual NFL quarterback.
Uh... yeah, not even gonna bother explaining this one.
Baltimore over Jacksonville:I think this one was a shock to everyone; with the Jags defense holding the Ravens to just one score; and with four offensive fieldgoals... Both teams going worse than 20% on third down conversions. Both teams with less than 20 first downs. Total yards combined from both teams under 350... I'm not sure what this was exactly... It was a win though and that's what counts.
Again, one of the best teams, vs. one of the worst teams. There's nothing particularly outstanding about Baltimore, but they do everything pretty well, and don't do anything particularly badly. They've got a top ten defense, a top half offense... one of the best run defenses in the game. J'ville on the other hand doesn't do anything well but run (worst passing game in football this year).
So, I went 8 for 12... not bad; and three of those games were... freakish outliers shall we say?
Actually, this whole season is kind of a freakish outlier. Week 8, and there are still three teams with 0 victories... And one of them is the Colts... And given the schedules, and the teams performances thus far, it's entirely possible any of them... perhaps even all three... go winless for the whole season.
Meanwhile, Green Bay who have been very inconsistent in the post Favre era (going from 6-10 in 2008, to winning the superbowl last year on a 10-6 record)... they're 7-0 coming into a bye week, and then what should be three breezers against San Diego, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay. They don't have a hard game coming until thanksgiving vs. Detroit. We may see them go undefeated into week 12, or 13. Hell... It's possible, given the rest of their schedule, that they may run the table this year. It's unlikely, but it's possible.
What a season
