Place Your Bets...
Forget ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, John Madden, whatever...If you want to know who's going to win on sundays in the NFL, you come to Drew Gibson. Just listen to what I say, give your money to your local bookie, and relax because I got you covered. This is what week 8 is going to look like (bold teams are my picks to win):
Green Bay @ Cincinnati - The Green Bay offense is minus its top two running backs, primary wide-out, and about 3/5 of an already abysmal o-line. Brett Farve has been hung out to dry and will have to play the role of gunslinger this week, which means a field day for the Bengals secondary. It'll mean 3+ turnovers for the Bengals D plus a triple-triple game from the new triplets (my own term...it means 100+ passer rating for Palmer, 100+ rushing yards for Rudi, and 100+ receiving yards for Chad). Bengals by at least 17 points. I hope Brett gets traded next year to a semi-contender w/o a QB...I dunno, maybe Arizona or Baltimore?
Well, I was right about the outcome (Bengals win 21-14) and I was dead-on with the turnovers: Favre had a career-high 5 interceptions in the game marking the 3rd time THIS YEAR that the Bengals have picked 5 or more in one game
Arizona @ Dallas - Dallas lost in the waning seconds of the game last week to a Seahawk team they should have beaten. The Cardinals will feel the wrath of Parcells...Cowboys win by more than two TDs.
The Cowboys won 34-13...is that more than two TDs? You know it is.
Chicago @ Detroit - An NFC Norris grudge match between the divisions top two teams, both floundering at .500. Someone has to win this division, and it's Chicago's time thanks to one of the best linebacking cores in the NFL. The first team to get to 17 points will win in this battle in the trenches. Bears win by no more than a TD.
OK, I said first team to get 17 points wins, and the Bears won this game in OT after DB Charles Tillman picked off Jeff Garcia and ran it in for a touchdown to make the final score, 19-13...I'm freakin' Nostradamus.
Oakland @ Tennessee - If a game happens between two teams at or below a .333 winning percentage, does anyone care? Not unless you're a Vegas oddsmaker, and this game will have Raiders fans smiling as Randy Moss lights up Tennessee's young secondary.
Randy Moss didn't have a big game, BUT the Raiders still won, so who cares.
Jacksonvile @ St. Louis - The rams will be playing without Marc Bulger, Issac Bruce, or Torry Holt. With the greatest show on turf in the injury ward, the Jags will run right over the Rams in their own house.
My first mistake...The rams won 24-21, I kinda forgot that Stephen Jackson can make defenses look just plain silly...oops
Washington @ NY Giants - The best game of the week. Much has been made of the Giants offense and Redskins Defense, but it'll be on the other side of the ball where this is decided. Look for Michael Strahan and the NY front four to put JUST enough pressure on the lead-footed Mark Brunell to eek out this one by a field goal and give the recently passed Giants Owner Wellington Mara one last sendoff.
OH MY! You talk about honoring Wellington Mara's memory? How about a 36-0 shellacking of the Resdskins at home; Inspired football. And as for that Giants defense I talked up, how does a shutout 5 sack, 2 INT, 2 Forced Fumble performance sound? They allowed 34 yards of offense in the 1st half. That's good D.
Minnesota @ Carolina - After the Vikes last second win over the Pack last week, people are talking about two in a row. Not a chance for the love boat gang. They still have no cohesion on offense and a piss poor defense. Watch Carolina roll over the Vikings in another step towards Mike Tice's firing.
Although this game was a 34-7 rout for the Panthers, Let's have a moment of silence for Minnesota's season, as QB Dante Culpepper is expected to miss the rest of the season with a possibly torn ACL.
Cleveland @ Houston - HOW? How does an 0-6 team like the Texans get FAVORED in this game. They have averaged losing by 18 points a game this year...Cleveland has averaged losing by 4 points. Beyond the fact that the Browns are a better team, I'm taking the Dog Pound gang on a matter of principle.
I guess the oddsmakers knew something I didn't...Texans win 19-16
Miami @ New Orleans - After being conned out of two straight games by bad calls and poor officiating, the Saints and Jim Haslett are pissed. In their first HOME game in Lousiana this year the Saints will make up for lost opportunities.
The saints are now the Ain'ts again...The Dolphins 21-6 win was ugly, but it got the job done> Plus, the NFL's most famed pothead Ricky Williams finally got it together with over 80 yards rushing...I propose a Gov't study: Does marijuana make for better running backs...I know it doesn't, but it'd be funny to watch
Kansas City @ San Diego - I was tempted to take the Chiefs as a six point underdog, but the Chargers offense is just too dominating for KC's improved, but very flawed D. San Diego's 3-4 record is very deceiving, and tomorrow is when the Chargers begin their legitimate push for a wild card spot.
The Chargers come through with a 28-20 win as Antonio Gates had 3 TD receptions...4-4 and rising quickly. By-the-by, Running back Ladanian Tomlinson threw his 3rd TD pass of the year in his third attempt, which equals the TD count of all the NY Jets QBs over 242 attempts...poor Jets fans
Philadelphia @ Denver - Philly has beaten 3 out of the 4 AFC West teams they've played this year, but 4-for-4 ain't gonna happen. After last week's nailbiting one-point loss to Eli and the Giants, the Broncos are out for blood. And with the Eagles completely abandoning the run-game, McNabb is going to be brutally punished by the best front 7 in the NFL.
Mcnabb was shutdown for most of the game as Denver won 49-21. The eagles still won't run and they won't win.
Tampa Bay @ San Francisco - Oh, how the mighty have fallen! The Niners won their first game of the year and might not see victory 'til next year's opening game. Chris Simms will prove a good enough backup for the Bucs to beat the 12 point spread and destroy the Niners pitiful defense.
5-1 Bucs face the 1-5 Niners and what happens? San Fran wins 15-10, but I can't be disappointed. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Niners fan and am thrilled to see their piss-poor team pull out a win. Their QB situation is so dismal that they had to put in their 4th-string QB in the 4th quarter when 3rd stringer Ken Dorsey got hurt. This 4th stringer? Cody Pickett, and ex-rodeo cowboy who also plays on Special Teams and made a tackle earlier in the game, but all that is moot because he led the Niners to a win.
Buffalo @ New England - Tedy Bruschi's back after his unexpected stroke 10 days after the Pro Bowl. His morale boost alone will give this game to the Pats...Oh yeah, and they're just a much better team than the Bills.
Closer than I thought it would be, but the Pats still win 21-17 as Tedy Bruschi comes back with an insipiring 7 tackle performance in his first game back from stroke.
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (Monday Night Game) - The Steelers running game is back with a vengeance, Big Ben is playing better than ever, and their defense is stifling. The ravens...ummm...they haven't had a player arrested in a couple of weeks, so that's good. Steelers in a ROUT!
Well, it wasn't a rout, but Roethlisberger's 60-yard game winning drive made for some damn entertaining television
If you win any money I demand 15%. If you lose your life's savings, I claim no responsibility and don't know anything.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update after Sunday: Predictions are now accompanied by what actually happened. You should have placed money on my picks...Y'all would be some rich bitches.
My record for this week: 10-4
Green Bay @ Cincinnati - The Green Bay offense is minus its top two running backs, primary wide-out, and about 3/5 of an already abysmal o-line. Brett Farve has been hung out to dry and will have to play the role of gunslinger this week, which means a field day for the Bengals secondary. It'll mean 3+ turnovers for the Bengals D plus a triple-triple game from the new triplets (my own term...it means 100+ passer rating for Palmer, 100+ rushing yards for Rudi, and 100+ receiving yards for Chad). Bengals by at least 17 points. I hope Brett gets traded next year to a semi-contender w/o a QB...I dunno, maybe Arizona or Baltimore?
Well, I was right about the outcome (Bengals win 21-14) and I was dead-on with the turnovers: Favre had a career-high 5 interceptions in the game marking the 3rd time THIS YEAR that the Bengals have picked 5 or more in one game
Arizona @ Dallas - Dallas lost in the waning seconds of the game last week to a Seahawk team they should have beaten. The Cardinals will feel the wrath of Parcells...Cowboys win by more than two TDs.
The Cowboys won 34-13...is that more than two TDs? You know it is.
Chicago @ Detroit - An NFC Norris grudge match between the divisions top two teams, both floundering at .500. Someone has to win this division, and it's Chicago's time thanks to one of the best linebacking cores in the NFL. The first team to get to 17 points will win in this battle in the trenches. Bears win by no more than a TD.
OK, I said first team to get 17 points wins, and the Bears won this game in OT after DB Charles Tillman picked off Jeff Garcia and ran it in for a touchdown to make the final score, 19-13...I'm freakin' Nostradamus.
Oakland @ Tennessee - If a game happens between two teams at or below a .333 winning percentage, does anyone care? Not unless you're a Vegas oddsmaker, and this game will have Raiders fans smiling as Randy Moss lights up Tennessee's young secondary.
Randy Moss didn't have a big game, BUT the Raiders still won, so who cares.
Jacksonvile @ St. Louis - The rams will be playing without Marc Bulger, Issac Bruce, or Torry Holt. With the greatest show on turf in the injury ward, the Jags will run right over the Rams in their own house.
My first mistake...The rams won 24-21, I kinda forgot that Stephen Jackson can make defenses look just plain silly...oops
Washington @ NY Giants - The best game of the week. Much has been made of the Giants offense and Redskins Defense, but it'll be on the other side of the ball where this is decided. Look for Michael Strahan and the NY front four to put JUST enough pressure on the lead-footed Mark Brunell to eek out this one by a field goal and give the recently passed Giants Owner Wellington Mara one last sendoff.
OH MY! You talk about honoring Wellington Mara's memory? How about a 36-0 shellacking of the Resdskins at home; Inspired football. And as for that Giants defense I talked up, how does a shutout 5 sack, 2 INT, 2 Forced Fumble performance sound? They allowed 34 yards of offense in the 1st half. That's good D.
Minnesota @ Carolina - After the Vikes last second win over the Pack last week, people are talking about two in a row. Not a chance for the love boat gang. They still have no cohesion on offense and a piss poor defense. Watch Carolina roll over the Vikings in another step towards Mike Tice's firing.
Although this game was a 34-7 rout for the Panthers, Let's have a moment of silence for Minnesota's season, as QB Dante Culpepper is expected to miss the rest of the season with a possibly torn ACL.
Cleveland @ Houston - HOW? How does an 0-6 team like the Texans get FAVORED in this game. They have averaged losing by 18 points a game this year...Cleveland has averaged losing by 4 points. Beyond the fact that the Browns are a better team, I'm taking the Dog Pound gang on a matter of principle.
I guess the oddsmakers knew something I didn't...Texans win 19-16
Miami @ New Orleans - After being conned out of two straight games by bad calls and poor officiating, the Saints and Jim Haslett are pissed. In their first HOME game in Lousiana this year the Saints will make up for lost opportunities.
The saints are now the Ain'ts again...The Dolphins 21-6 win was ugly, but it got the job done> Plus, the NFL's most famed pothead Ricky Williams finally got it together with over 80 yards rushing...I propose a Gov't study: Does marijuana make for better running backs...I know it doesn't, but it'd be funny to watch
Kansas City @ San Diego - I was tempted to take the Chiefs as a six point underdog, but the Chargers offense is just too dominating for KC's improved, but very flawed D. San Diego's 3-4 record is very deceiving, and tomorrow is when the Chargers begin their legitimate push for a wild card spot.
The Chargers come through with a 28-20 win as Antonio Gates had 3 TD receptions...4-4 and rising quickly. By-the-by, Running back Ladanian Tomlinson threw his 3rd TD pass of the year in his third attempt, which equals the TD count of all the NY Jets QBs over 242 attempts...poor Jets fans
Philadelphia @ Denver - Philly has beaten 3 out of the 4 AFC West teams they've played this year, but 4-for-4 ain't gonna happen. After last week's nailbiting one-point loss to Eli and the Giants, the Broncos are out for blood. And with the Eagles completely abandoning the run-game, McNabb is going to be brutally punished by the best front 7 in the NFL.
Mcnabb was shutdown for most of the game as Denver won 49-21. The eagles still won't run and they won't win.
Tampa Bay @ San Francisco - Oh, how the mighty have fallen! The Niners won their first game of the year and might not see victory 'til next year's opening game. Chris Simms will prove a good enough backup for the Bucs to beat the 12 point spread and destroy the Niners pitiful defense.
5-1 Bucs face the 1-5 Niners and what happens? San Fran wins 15-10, but I can't be disappointed. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Niners fan and am thrilled to see their piss-poor team pull out a win. Their QB situation is so dismal that they had to put in their 4th-string QB in the 4th quarter when 3rd stringer Ken Dorsey got hurt. This 4th stringer? Cody Pickett, and ex-rodeo cowboy who also plays on Special Teams and made a tackle earlier in the game, but all that is moot because he led the Niners to a win.
Buffalo @ New England - Tedy Bruschi's back after his unexpected stroke 10 days after the Pro Bowl. His morale boost alone will give this game to the Pats...Oh yeah, and they're just a much better team than the Bills.
Closer than I thought it would be, but the Pats still win 21-17 as Tedy Bruschi comes back with an insipiring 7 tackle performance in his first game back from stroke.
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (Monday Night Game) - The Steelers running game is back with a vengeance, Big Ben is playing better than ever, and their defense is stifling. The ravens...ummm...they haven't had a player arrested in a couple of weeks, so that's good. Steelers in a ROUT!
Well, it wasn't a rout, but Roethlisberger's 60-yard game winning drive made for some damn entertaining television
If you win any money I demand 15%. If you lose your life's savings, I claim no responsibility and don't know anything.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update after Sunday: Predictions are now accompanied by what actually happened. You should have placed money on my picks...Y'all would be some rich bitches.
My record for this week: 10-4