NFL Week 9

On to Week 9 we go. It has been interesting so far as he head into the 2nd half of this season. This week provides for some good matchups. Without further ado, let's look at the schedule:

Washington at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Arizona at Chicago (Chicago)
Baltimore at Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
Houston at Indianapolis (Houston)
Kansas City at Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
Miami at New England (New England)
Green Bay at Tampa Bay (Green Bay)
Carolina at New Orleans (New Orleans)
Detroit at Seattle (Seattle)
San Diego at New York Giants (New York Giants)
Tennessee at San Francisco (San Francisco)
Dallas at Philadelphia (Philadelphia)

Monday:

Pittsburgh at Denver (Pittsburgh 24-17)

Bye: Minnesota, Cleveland, Buffalo, New York Jets, St. Louis, Oakland

Houston is facing its toughest test this season when it goes up against undefeated Indianapolis. Payton Manning is having the best season of his career this year. I'm very surprised at how this turned out given their preseason performance. Indianapolis has the 4th ranked offense and the 9th ranked defense (versus 8 and 16 respectively for Houston). Part of the key for Houston to win will be the running game. Indianapolis doesn't have the best run defense where Houston has 2 hungry running backs. If Houston can open up the running game, it should keep the Indianapolis defense off balance. Another key is going to be keeping pressure on Payton Manning. Houston has shown it can get good pressure, even with Mario Williams playing as a one-armed DE right now. This will be a big test for the pass rush and the LB corps. Both teams are in the top 3 for Passing Offense, so I expect this to be a shootout. Owen Daniels was one of Matt Shaub's most dangerous threats, however given that Shaub does know how to spread the ball, the change at TE shouldn't be felt too much. The intangibles are what is going to decide this game. Houston wants to prove that it is no longer among the beat 'em ups in the NFL, and that hunger is going to propel them to victory.

I expect a lot of home team victories this Sunday. A lot of teams are evenly matched (good or bad) and home field advantage is key. Philadelphia, with the exception of the game at Oakland, has been on a tear all season whereas Dallas has been inconsistent. I expect Philadelphia to strengthen their hold on 1st in the NFC East. Miami has been building a more rounded offense as of late, but I expect Tom Brady to take apart their defense this Sunday. The youth movement in Jacksonville is inconsistent, but is still by far better than anything Kansas City has fielded this year. Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Tennessee earn the "Bad Team Will Lose" honors this week. Detroit at Seattle was a coin toss. The New York Giants are hurting right now but should be able to take apart a San Diego defense that just isn't very good. It's going to be on the NYG D-line to disrupt Philip Rivers. Denver is taking on another top flight offense this week when Pittsburgh comes to town. Although it is difficult to win in Denver, I expect Ben Roethlisberger to pick apart Denver defense. And finally, Joe Flacco has been inconsistent at best this season and unable to put together 2 good games in a row. I have to play the numbers here in predicting Cincinnati winning over Baltimore.

For this Sunday's menu I'm going to have a pan-seared sirloin steak salad with a red-wine and shallot vinaigrette and some parmigiano-reggiano crusted carrots thrown in for good measure. This should be an exciting day of football (for me at least). Now, let's see what Mardi's picks are for this Sunday.