Fraser's Favorites Week 8

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Arizona at Baltimore

Joe Flacco was absolutely embarrassing last Monday night. Jamarcus Russell, Tim Couch, or Matt Leinart could have been better, even Mark Sanchez. Well, Sanchez is pushing it. However, the Ravens defense is still the Ravens defense and forced Maurice Jones-Drew to fumble the ball multiple times. If the offense did anything in the first three quarters the Ravens would have walked away with that game. Now they get Kevin Kolb who is still not living up to the Cardinals expectations. Ray Rice and the Ravens defense will get them back on track this Sunday. Ed Reed will score on either a punt return or interception return for a touchdown.

Arizona- 17
Baltimore- 28

Minnesota at Carolina

Christian Ponder was extremely impressive in his first start especially given that it was against the Packers. He made his mistakes obviously, but some of the throws he was making, particularly on the run, were special. Ponder still has a ton of work to do and a lot to prove, but it’s always easier when you can turn around and hand the ball to Adrian Peterson. Peterson should get close to 35 carries this week as the Panthers allow close to 135 yards per game rushing. Who would have thought before the season you could call a Vikings win over the Panthers an upset?

Minnesota-27
Carolina- 24

Jacksonville at Houston

That was a season saver for Jack Del Rio. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again; whatever the Jaguars record ends up as and we know it will be a losing record; it is not Del Rio’s fault! He has actually kept them competitive despite inferior talent on his team. Del Rio can’t be on the field with Gabbert telling him to step into his throws and not throw off his back foot. Del Rio can’t be in Jones-Drew’s ear telling him to cover the ball at the one inch line. However, Del Rio can prepare his team for a loss this week against the Texans. The high from last weeks upset win over the Ravens will soon be forgotten as the Texans beat up the Jaguars.

Jacksonville- 14
Houston- 30

Miami at N.Y. Giants

Thank you Dolphins. Only you can make Tim Tebow look like a miracle worker. 90% of what America had to watch on T.V. or read about in articles was Tim Tebow. All thanks to you Dolphins. The drop in Cameron Wake’s play this season is a microcosm of the Dolphins already lost season. The Giants will come into this Sunday fresh off a bye week and finally healthy again. Giants big.

Miami- 12
New York Giants- 28


New Orleans at St. Louis

You could have put a blindfold on Drew Brees and the Saints still would have beaten the Colts by 30 last week. Now this offense gets the Rams. The Saints need to be careful. After walking all over the Junior Varsity teams in the league the last 2 weeks, they need to keep playing hard and not take the next couple of teams they play too lightly. Meanwhile, the Rams are just awful. A team that was a pre-season prediction for breakout team has broken down.

New Orleans- 35
St. Louis- 15

Indianapolis at Tennessee

Peyton Manning doesn’t play defense. I know they miss him and he is unmatchable in terms of his leadership, ability, and knowledge. However, no matter what the record, you can’t let a team beat you by 55 points. That was just embarrassing. This season for the Colts also illustrates that sometimes coaches in the  NFL are simply just figureheads whose success is determined by the ability of their players. Jim Caldwell looked like a great coach because he had Peyton Manning. Without him, he’s as helpless as the Colts are now. We finally get to see the Chris Johnson we became used to the past two seasons.

Indianapolis- 17
Tennessee- 27

Washington at Buffalo

Both of these teams are fading fast. The Bills got off to an extremely hot start as they were 4-0 and had miraculously upset the Patriots, but then lost their last two games before the bye. The Redskins started 3-1 until Rex Grossman imploded, quarterback controversy ensued and the Redskins fell to 3-3. This game will come down to which defense will play better. The linebackers of the Redskins (Kerrigan, Orakpo, and Fletcher) will be difference makers.

Washington- 25
Buffalo-23


Detroit at Denver

The Legend of Tim Tebow continues to grow. How unfortunate. Tebow was absolutely clueless for three quarters. Someone within the Broncos organization has to realize that this is not a quarterback that will ever win a Superbowl. Put him in the Canadian Football league and he won’t win a championship. Put him in the New Jersey State Flag football Championships and he won’t win! The Lions will get back to winning against the Broncos this week and Tebow will suffer his first loss as a starter this season. Thank God. Oops, Sorry Tim….

Detroit- 29
Denver- 13

New England at Pittsburgh

This is one of those games that you look forward to watching all season. These teams match-up perfectly with each other. One of the league’s top offenses in the Patriots goes up against one of the league’s top defenses in the Steelers. Pretty Boy Tom Brady vs Tough Guy Big Ben. This is going to be a classic. Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown will be the difference in this game. The porous Patriots defense will not be able to contain the weapons that the Steelers have on the field.

New England- 24

Pittsburgh- 27

Cleveland at San Francisco

The Browns have managed a .500 record despite distractions from running back Peyton Hillis and limited weapons on offense. Colt McCoy has found ways to win, even if it is setting Phil Dawson up for a couple of field goals like he did last week. Field Goals won’t be enough this week. The cameras will be all over Jim Harbaugh for his post-game handshake after another 49ers victory.

Cleveland- 16
San Francisco- 26

Cincinnati at Seattle

The Cincinnati Bengals cannot be starting the season 5-2. It’s impossible. All of the distractions and a rookie quarterback. They can’t be starting 5-2. They won’t. This is my upset pick of the week. The bye week will actually end up hurting Andy Dalton as his preparation schedule is thrown off. He also has to travel to Qualcomm Stadium which is difficult for a veteran never mind a rookie.

Cincinnati-10
Seattle-14

Dallas at Philadelphia

“Experts” are becoming too caught up in the numbers and statistics about Andy Reid coming off a bye. We hear all of this talk sometimes about crazy statistics like teams after byes coming off a road win playing in a dome on Sundays at 4:15.Like John Madden would say, the team with the most points wins the game. Forget all of that statistics stuff. However, I am sticking with my prediction that the Eagles will be playing in the post-season and I do think Andy Reid will improve to 13-0 coming off a bye. This team is too talented to not be in the playoffs. Expect another Tony Romo meltdown to ruin this game for “America’s Team”

Dallas-31
Philadelphia- 35


San Diego at Kansas City

This is suddenly an extremely important mid-season divisional game in the AFC West. The Chiefs have bounced back from their 0-3 start and the Chargers collapsed mightily against the Jets last Sunday. There is just something I don’t like about Philip Rivers. Not even his quarterback play. I think it’s just his face and his facial expressions. When Jay Cutler first came into the league Rivers was calling Cutler a big baby. It’s really Rivers who can be the big baby. He really struggles when the spotlight is on and his inconsistencies are glaring. The Chiefs magical comeback season continues as McCluster, Jones, and Battle run all over the Chargers.

San Diego-26
Kansas City-27