NFL Week 8 Predictions

October 23, 2007, 7:14 PM | 7 Comments

Note: Predictions for week 8 of the 2008 NFL season can be found here: NFL Week 8 Predictions.

Alright, so week 8 brings us another 13-game schedule and I’m hoping I’ll do better than the last 13-game week where I went 8-5. Last week I did pretty well though with 11 correct picks, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep that trend going.

One of the big stories this year has been how well the Patriots are doing. Yes, it was expected given their off-season shopping spree, but even “Spy-gate” appears to have made this team stronger. The Patriots are pretty much putting their opponents away in the first half and then setting the cruise control (with the exception of whatever it was that Matt Cassel was doing last week) and coasting to victory week after week. How can any team beat them?

That question may not be answered at all this year, and really the only team that has a good shot of beating the Patriots are the Indianapolis Colts… but that’s a topic for next week’s post. One thing I do want to touch on though is the love-fest going on in the media for Tom Brady this year.

I was discussing it with a friend and after much debate came to the realization that all of the credit that Tom Brady is receiving for the numbers he’s putting up this year is completely warranted. Brady is a great quarterback, there’s no doubt about that. Regardless of the talent that surrounds any QB, they still have to put their receivers in a position to make plays by throwing a good ball and Brady has done that throughout his entire career.

For the record, before that conversation I sort of thought that Brady was receiving a little too much credit. I eventually came to see that it’s really a situation where Brady is getting just the right amount, but his receivers (Randy Moss in particular) aren’t getting enough for the part they play. Twice on Sunday Moss jumped up and stole away 2 passes that against any other receiver in the NFL would’ve ended up as interceptions, and that’s a credit to just how good he is. Packers fans are now seeing what could have been and all you Patriots fans are extremely lucky to be able to watch him suit up for your team week in and week out.

Game of the Week: Packers at Broncos

If the Dolphins were any good this year, I’d be taking their game against the Giants in London as my game of the week, but that’s just not the case and just because this game is making history, doesn’t mean it’ll be a good one. Instead, I’ll turn to the Mile High City where Denver is hosting the surprising 5-1 Green Bay Packers.

Few Packers fans (myself included) could have predicted that the Packers would’ve gotten off to such a good start this season. Their defense really started to blossom last December and has continued that growth right through the pre-season and the first 6 weeks of this season. Now that the Packers are where they are though, expectations have started to rise and I’m really interested to see how the Pack will handle that.

Even though they’ve struggled so far this year, Denver will be a very tough opponent but I think Green Bay’s defense matches up well against them. The Broncos have always been a run-first offense and for the most part, Green Bay’s got a bend but don’t break run defense that should be able to keep Denver’s point total down. Also, if any team is suited to go to Denver at this time of year and deal with whatever weather will be thrown their way, it’s the Packers.

Here are my picks for week 8!

Away	Home	Comments	Pick	Result
Colts (7-0)	Panthers (4-3)	Anyone who expects the Colts to already be looking ahead to next week’s showdown against the Patriots is mistaken. Tony Dungy will have his team prepared and in the moment against the Panthers.
Lions (5-2)	Bears (3-5)	Last week’s win was another character win for the Bears that I think they’ll build on this week. As much as I hate to say it as a Packers fan, the Bears have a chance to turn this thing around with Brian Griese at the helm. Detroit will make this one close I think, but in Chicago I think I’ll have to take the Bears.
Steelers (5-2)	Bengals (2-5)	Another tough AFC North match-up to call. Pittsburgh lost on a last-second field goal in Denver, but were the Broncos really that good on Sunday night, or were the Steelers just not that great? Cincinnati could win this game, they definitely have the talent to do so, but their defense has been a problem all season long, so I’ll take the Steelers.
Giants (6-2)	Dolphins (0-8)	Cheerio! Alright, so it’s a cheesy reference to the game that will be played in London, England this week, but it’ll still be an interesting event. Yes, I said event, not game. I think the Giants will take this one fairly easily.
Eagles (3-4)	Vikings (2-5)	Another game with no clear favourite. Minnesota’s offense didn’t look all that great last week against Dallas, but the Eagles are definitely not at the same level this year. That said, Minnesota has some QB issues and the Eagles really can’t afford to lose this one. I’ll take Philly.
Browns (4-3)	Rams (0-8)	If the Rams are going to get off of their skid any time this season, this is the week to do so. I don’t think it’ll happen though.
Raiders (2-5)	Titans (5-2)	Again, with or without Vince Young, the Titans are still a fairly solid team. Young looks like he’ll play though, so that’s a bonus for Tennessee.
Bills (3-4)	Jets (1-7)	The Jets are really searching for answers, but I don’t think they’ll find them this week. Buffalo has been very good at forcing turnovers over the past couple of weeks and Chad Pennington might contribute to that. I’ll take the Bills again this week.
Texans (3-5)	Chargers (4-3)	It’s going to be a tough week for the Chargers who are practicing in a foreign facility and may have to play their home game in one as well. Either way, they’re a better team than the Texans and still need to win these types of games if they want to build on their recent success.
Jaguars (5-2)	Buccaneers (4-4)	Jacksonville was embarrassed last week by the Colts and will be really pushing hard this week to get back on track. David Garrard’s injury looks bad though, and without him, I don’t think they’ll be able to win.
Redskins (4-3)	Patriots (8-0)	Patriots. 8-0. Coming soon to the Sunday nearest you.
Saints (3-4)	49ers (2-5)	The Saints have slowly started to claw their way back into this thing and I think against the 49ers and their stagnant offense, they’ll get one step closer to respectability this week.
Packers (6-1)	Broncos (3-4)	Coming of a bye week last week, I think the Packers offense will be able to correct the mini-slump they’ve been in over the past 2 games. At the very least, getting WR Koren Robinson back from his suspension will give defenses another solid receiver to defend against. I think this will be another close game, but I’m expecting (and hoping) that the Packers will be 6-1 at the end of next week’s MNF.
Note: the Cardinals (3-4), Chiefs (4-3), Cowboys (6-1), Falcons (1-6), Ravens (4-3) and Seahawks (4-3) have a bye week this week.

As always, here are this week’s ESPN Expert Picks.

UPDATE: WOW! BEST. OVERTIME. EVER. Well, if you’re a Packers fan that is (and I am). Green Bay finally got their running game going against the worst run defense in the NFL. Maybe this will be enough to spark the Packers run game for the rest of the season? Who knows. This week I had a great week going 11-2 with my picks to bring my total up to 81-35. Check back Tuesday night for my picks for week 9.

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