NFL Week 10 Predictions

November 7, 2006, 7:38 PM | 8 Comments

Note: Predictions for week 10 of the 2008 NFL season can be found here: NFL Week 10 Predictions.

Another week, and another round of upsets and bad teams beating good teams. Last week I faired pretty well, going 8-6 on my picks and bringing my total up to 79-49, but I’d still like to raise the bar a little more.

Week 10 brings us the first 16-game schedule since way back in week 2 now that every team has played 8 games and had their bye week. What that means is that we’re now at the exact half-way point of the 2006-2007 NFL season so it’s time to start taking some polls. We’ll start on a happy note this week with the “best surprise team” poll. So, place your votes and post a comment to let me know why a certain team is your best surprise team of 2006.

My ‘best surprise’ team of the year so far has to be the New Orleans Saints. Even with drafting Reggie Bush and bringing in Drew Brees, not many people expected the Saints to get off to the start that they did. It’s an incredible story and surely gives the people of New Orleans a bit of a distraction from the tragedy of hurricane Katrina that they’re still dealing with every day.

Monday Night Wrap-Up:

Monday night’s game was probably the worst game of football I’ve seen all year. Oakland is every bit as bad as they showed everyone during the first 6 weeks of the season and if they don’t turn things around soon, Art Shell could be without a job very shortly. If not the head coach, I’m sure we’ll see coordinators and assistants dropping like flies.

After watching Seneca Wallace over the past 2 weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few trade rumours circling around him during the off-season. I can think of at least 5 teams where Wallace would be an upgrade at QB over their current starters. (OK, if you really want them… Miami, Oakland, Buffalo, Detroit, and Washington).

As good as Seattle’s defense was last week, they’re going to have to be even better this week if they want to stop the St. Louis Rams. The Rams showed again last week that they can’t stop the run, so this is the perfect time for Seattle to get Shaun Alexander back in the lineup.

Week 10 Game of the Week: Bears at Giants.

My game of the week is on Sunday night again where the New York Giants will be hosting the Chicago Bears who had their bid for an undefeated season upset last week by the lowly Miami Dolphins. Chicago is too inconsistent right now and is making a lot of people back track on their early comparisons with this team and the ‘85 Bears.

The way things are shaping up right now, this game could play a very crucial role in deciding who ends up with the top playoff seed in the NFC, so this game is very important to both teams.

Anyways, now that we’re back to the 16-game schedules, hopefully it’ll start to give me more correct games and I’ll be able to raise my total up to something respectable. Here are my predictions for week 10:

Away	Home	Comments	Pick	Result
Ravens (7-2)	Titans (2-7)	After 2 weeks, Brian Billick looks like a genius now that Baltimore’s offense has come alive. As always, their defense will keep them in any game. Rough day for Vince Young last week, but I wouldn’t expect much better this week.
Bills (3-6)	Colts (9-0)	Peyton Manning is just on fire right now and what a great catch by Marvin Harrison last week. It hasn’t always looked as pretty as that, but the Colts are just getting it done.
Browns (3-6)	Atlanta Falcons (5-4)	Think the Falcons will drop 2 in a row against teams they should easily beat? I don’t, but nothing would really surprise me at this point.
Packers (4-5)	Vikings (4-5)	After getting embarrassed by the Patriots on MNF in week 8, the Vikings responded by losing to the 49ers. So much for being a contender. With that said, they’re still a better team than they’ve shown the last 2 weeks. I would love for the Packers to win this game, but I’m going to have to pick the Vikings at home.
Texans (3-6)	Jaguars (5-4)	It really is crazy how inconsistent the Jaguars have been this year, but I think they’ll start to get that consistency now that David Garrard is taking the snaps.
Chiefs (5-4)	Dolphins (3-6)	As bad as the Bears were last week, credit where credit is due, that was a great game for the Dolphins defense. The Chiefs Larry Johnson put up 172 yards on 27 carries last week against St. Louis and that’s just scary if you’re a Dolphins fan.
Jets (5-4)	Patriots (6-3)	The Patriots haven’t lost 2 games in a row for a very long time. I really don’t expect them to end that streak against their division rival Jets.
Chargers (7-2)	Bengals (4-5)	There is a very good chance that the Bengals will not make the playoffs this season but they need to get Chad Johnson more involved if they expect to win. The Chargers have quietly put up a 6-2 record and are a better team than the Bengals right now.
49ers (4-5)	Lions (2-7)	If the Lions can beat the Falcons at home, they should be able to send the 49ers back to San Francisco with a 3-6 record.
Redskins (3-6)	Eagles (5-4)	The Eagles have been very unpredictable for their past few games, but with 2 weeks to prepare for this game and the Giants running away with their division right now, the Eagles need this win.
Broncos (7-2)	Raiders (2-7)	The Raiders are just a mess. Period.
Cowboys (5-4)	Cardinals (1-8)	After looking so promising in their win in week 1, the Cardinals lost 7 in a row going into their bye week. That’s a dangerous team for the Cowboys to be facing and they’ll need to take them very seriously. This game may come down to another last second field goal.
Saints (6-3)	Steelers (3-6)	It really seems like everything’s going wrong in Pittsburgh. They could beat the Saints, but I have to pick the better team right now. At the half way point of the season, who would’ve thought the Saints would be in the hunt for the #1 seed in the NFC.
Rams (4-5)	Seahawks (6-3)	Tough game to call really because these teams know each other very well and always play close games. In round 1 (week 6), the Seahawks won by 2 points. I’ll take Seattle at home - especially if Shaun Alexander makes his return.
Bears (8-1)	Giants (6-3)	In another great Sunday Night match, the Giants will host the Bears who have been very ‘up and down’ over the past few weeks. This will be a battle to the end, but I’m taking New York.
Buccaneers (2-7)	Panthers (5-4)	The Panthers aren’t where they thought they’d be so far this season, but it is what it is and they’ll need to win this week if they want to turn things around.

After 9 weeks I’m fairing pretty well up against the ESPN Expert Picks, mostly because there have been a bunch of upsets this season that no one has been able to predict.

FYI: I’ll be on holidays next week so I’ll be posting my week 11 predictions early. I guess it’ll add another degree of difficulty by picking the games for week 11 before week 10 even plays out, so we’ll see what happens. I may or may not be able to update the standings and wins/losses before week 11 either, but I’ll do my best.

Update: Well, I’m back from vacation in the sunny Dominican Republic so the team records and games have been updated. 8-8 for week 10 isn’t what I was hoping for, but I really couldn’t have predicted a few more of those ‘crazy upset’ games that 2006 has seen so many of. Congrats goes to the Jets for a dominating performance against the Patriots that puts them right back in the playoff hunt. Running total: 87-57.

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