Thursday, October 27, 2016

Week 8 Picks

I can be heard making my picks on the Sports on the Hill Podcast at 1:45 minute mark.  You can also listen to hear more about Washington DC sports.  http://bit.ly/2egxTKG

Blake Bortles looks to correct his throwing mechanics
and end Jacksonville's losing streak

Jacksonville (+3) @ Tennesee - Blake Bortles has struggled over the past few weeks.  That being said, the Jaguars will face a relatively weak opponent in the Titans who currently have the 28th passing attack in the league.  The Jaguars will need to protect the edge from Orakpo, who has 7 sacks this season, but their defense is strong enough to slow down the Titans' rushing attack.

Washington @ Cincinnati (-3) -



 Kirk Cousins played well but at the end of the day the Redskins offense has been a little to mistake prone including Matt Jones who fumbled the ball twice, and Kirk Cousins. Cincinnati is 2-0 against teams below .500 but has yet to defeat a team above .500 this season.  Still, the Bengals did get back Tyler Eifert who should help the Bengals redzone offense.  Washington may or may not get Josh Norman or Jordan Reed back.  How the Redskins will contain AJ Green without Josh Norman is unclear.  Jeremy Hill could also have a big game who is currently averaging 5.2 yards a carry and could feast on Washington's relatively weak run defense.

Cardinals @ Carolina (-3) - Arizona's offense is pretty ugly and just lost Jaron Brown with a torn ACL.   Carolina is also coming off a bye and did appear to find some rhtym in the 4th quarter where they scored 23 points in the 4th quarter, albeit in a blowout loss to the Falcons.  This is rematch of the NFC championship game.  Both are a combined 4-8-1 through week 7; last year both were 29-4 for the season.

Justin Forsett goes against his former team.
Detroit (+2.5) @ Houston - The Lions did appear to come away with a win.  Houston QB play has been inconsistent.    Detroit's top corner Darisu Slay could be out which does make them vulnerable to Houston's vertical threats including DeAndre Hopkins and Todd Fuller.

Seattle (-3) @ New Orleans - Seattle is fortunate and unfortunate to come away with a tie in Arizona.   Luckily for them, the Saints defense is nowhere near as good as the Cardinals  and Seattle should be motivated to come away with a win after a dismal performance.  The Saints offense should not be taken lightly as  Drew Brees has thrown for an average of over 400 yards over his last two weeks.

Kansas City (-2.5) @ Colts - Kansas City - Both teams are coming off wins.  The Chiefs will have to contend with Luck and T.Y. Hilton but the Colts offensive line injuries are still troublesome.  Alex Smith might not be able to vertically test the Colts but could do enough especially since the Colts are one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL.

NY Jets (-3) @ Cleveland - Sources: Based on initial MRI, belief is that #Jets QB Geno Smith tore his ACL. Incredible. Players in the locker room are learning about it.

The curse of injured Cleveland QBs continues as Terrell Pryor suffers a hamstring injury.     The Jets in the meantime appear to have lost Geno Smith for the season.  Provided that Ryan Fitzpatrick does not have a turnover fest like he did when he threw 6 interceptions against the Chiefs, the Jets should come away with a win.

New England (-6) @ Buffalo 

The Patriots look to get some tablet revenge.  Last time around the Patriots were shut out but they were also without Tom Brady.  Rex Ryan  vs the Patriots is 9-4 so the Patriots could expect a close game but even so, the Patriots should correct the mistakes that they made last time around.

Oakland  @ Tampa Bay- Oakland and Tampa Bay both came away with road wins last week.  Oakland is looking for its second win in two weeks in the state of Florida

San Diego (+4.5) @ Denver - I like the Chargers here given their ability to come away with quality wins against the Falcons and Broncos. Although they will have to avoid giving up special teams touchdowns like they did in their last matchup.

Green Bay @ Atlanta - The Falcons have a superior offense all around in terms of offensive weapons especially given the injuries that Green Bay has suffered.  Of course Atlanta's defense has been nothing to brag about as they managed to give up lead to the Chargers late although it will be interesting to see how Rodgers can play on the road.

Dallas (-4.5) @ Philadelphia - Dallas is coming off a bye.  While Philadelphia is coming off an impressive win at home against Minnesota, the Cowboys offense should be a tougher test.  Dak Presscot should not be turnover prone, especially with a consistent running game from Elliot. Dez Bryant has also returned to practice.

Minnesota @ Chicago (+5.5)- Jay Cutler is returning with new offensive weapons and look to keep it close in a division rivalry game.

RECORD FOR WEEK 7: 9-6

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