2012 Week #9

Your friendly neighborhood prognosticators are under the weather.  Jason e-mailed his picks with no detail whatsoever because he's getting over a bug, and I requested the e-mail instead of getting the detail over the phone because I have no voice right now.  So I am playing hurt, but I'm here with our picks for Week 9 as well as my detail for my selections.

	Thu. Nite
SD (3-4)	9	KC (1-6)	SD 31-13		SD	KC
	Sunday
WASH (3-5)	3	Car (1-6)			Car	Wash
GB (5-3)	10	Ariz (4-4)			GB	Ariz
Det (3-4)	5	JACK (1-6)			Jack	Jack
Chi (6-1)	3½	TENN (3-5)			Chi	Chi
Den (4-3)	4	CIN (3-4)			Den	Den
Bal (5-2)	3½	CLE (2-6)			Bal	Bal
HOU (6-1)	10	Buf (3-4)			Hou	Hou
Mia (4-3)	1	IND (4-3)			Ind	Mia
SEA (4-4)	4	Min (5-3)			Sea	Min
OAK (3-4)	1	TB (3-4)			TB	TB
NYG (6-2)	3	Pit (4-3)			NY	Pit
	Sun. Nite
ATL (7-0)	3½	Dal (3-4)			Atl	Atl
	Mon. Nite
NO (2-5)	3	Phi (3-4)			NO	NO

• We start with a head-to-head battle, as Jay will go with Robert Griffin III over Cam Newton in a contest of dissimilar black quarterbacks.  Griffin's wiry, fast and has his head screwed on, Newton's massive, egotistical, and seems to have a screw loose.  But I'm calling for the end of the ongoing soap opera that is Cam's Crisis of Confidence.  If Cam hasn't been licking his chops all week at the thought of coming into DC against the last-ranked pass defense in the league, then he really has lost his mojo.  But I think he knows that he's gotta do work versus this team.  Washington's lack of a pass rush has not stopped RG3 from collecting 3 wins, but it should really sting the Skins on Sunday.
• Interesting that Jason's taking the Cardinals to cover at the Pack after what Arizona did this past Monday night.  I wish I could ask him why, but he'd probably just say "Eh, it's a hunch."  I know Green Bay was less than impressive against Jacksonville.  Arizona is playing way worse than Jacksonville, and think about that for a second.  This is my Lock of the Week.
• And the Jaguars get to host the league's most undisciplined team, the Detroit Lions.  Guess we were both impressed with the Jags last week.  Well, I'm also influenced by the Detroit effort last week, and I'll take Jacksonville to win.  Calvin Johnson is very iffy for Detroit, and since they can't run, they need all the weapons they can get.
• This would be my lock if not for Green Bay.  Chicago struggled last week against a clearly inferior Carolina squad.  They've been grilled by the local media all week.  Fans are wondering how real they are.  The Titans are the perfect opponent at the perfect time.  They should trounce Tennessee by two touchdowns.  LP Field should be ringing with cheers from inebriated Bears fans.
• Can't pick the Bengals because they're playing a team that's not made of 53 scrubs.  Denver's also led by Peyton Manning, who's playing on another level right now.  He's the guy you want to lead your team into a tough road battle, because his focus and commitment won't be an issue.  Oh, and he's 7-0 lifetime versus Cincinnati.
• We could pick Cleveland again, but neither of us is trying his luck.  I just feel that if Baltimore is any good, then coming off their bye they fire off against the Brownies.  And Jason and I both picked Baltimore to win the Super Bowl, so they gotta come through here, because any team beaten by the Browns I don't think can win the Super Bowl.
• If Houston's any good, they roll over the Bills by 10 or more.  By the numbers, it's the worst run defense the Texans maybe have ever seen, and Arian Foster is poised for a monster effort.  He might run for 200 yards easy.
• Andrew Luck and the Colts will provide a big test for a Miami defense getting credited for their wins.  I don't think they can pass the test.  Luck knows to avoid a bad running game when he has to, and the Dolphins rush defense has been stout.  That leaves Luck to find a way to win with his arm, and he'll gladly accept the challenge.  Miami is trotting out a banged-up QB in Ryan Tannehill and a less-than-impressive group of receivers.  Reggie Bush could have a huge day running on the Colts, but I don't think it will be enough.
• I am completely gobsmacked that Jason is taking any visitor in the Meat Grinder, his nickname for Seattle's home stadium.  I'm even more stunned when I realize he's taking the Vikings.  Last we saw Minnesota, they were getting crucified at home against Tampa on a Thursday night.  The long rest between games shouldn't hide the hell that Minny feels walking into CenturyLink Field.  Pete Carroll at his rah-rah best should eke out another home win.
• We both have Tampa Bay to travel to Oakland and knock off the Raiders.  This one may be all about the pass rush.  Josh Freeman, the Tampa QB, seems to really be gaining confidence as he torches bad secondaries for big yards, and Oakland is near the bottom of the league in sacking the QB.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Oakland led late and gave up the pussy to Freeman in the final minute.
• The Steelers-Giants pick is easy to me:  Pittsburgh couldn't use the hotel they had reserved in New York thanks to SuperMegaStorm Sandy, so they're flying to the game on Sunday morning, then playing Sunday afternoon.  There's not a lot of precedent for old veterans flying to a city and playing an NFL game.  But I gotta think that's not going to go well.  I mean, flying on gameday and playing against the champs??  That seems insurmountable to me.  But now that I went on and on about it, Jason will win this pick.
• That must be a lot of money going on the Cowboys to make the undefeated Falcons only a 3½-point home fav.  But we'll back Atlanta anyway.  Should be no coming out flat on a national-TV stage for the Dirty Birds, plus the other team is employing Tony Romo as QB.  Even if he plays great because he's going to have to carry the team since they are lacking healthy RBs, he'll still find a way to lose.

And Monday, we both have the Saints knocking off the woebegone Eagles.  Easy pick for me--I can't trust Michael Vick.  I have to go against Philadelphia  until further notice.  I even cut him from my fantasy team.  He's having his own Crisis of Confidence, but he should be beyond that at his age.  Drew Brees and the Saints should make Juan Castillo getting fired a couple of weeks back a good thing for Juan, because this particular beatdown won't occur on his watch.