Week 10 Power Ranking Hiatus

The wisest man I know (Mac McCorkle) once told me that variety is the spice of life. Taking this to heart, the weekly power rankings will take a reprieve for this week and will be temporarily replaced with a betting guide for all the intriguing matchups this week. This is in pilot stage, so depending on reader response, your NFL analysis could look different next week.

That said, what a week! One undefeated team, one bully, two coaches in the hospital, and tons of surprises all over the NFL. The playoffs are beginning to loom, and as fans, we have the luxury of being able to look ahead to them.

Weekly Random Observation:

Guess which division did not lose a single game last weekend? You guessed it, the lowly, decrepit NFC East: Cowboys won on a late 4th quarter drive, Philly won thanks to Foles' record day, Washington won thanks to a Chargers choke-fest, and the NY Giants were on bye but are riding a 2 game win streak. Interpret all of that at your own risk.

[Note] Lines as of midday Wednesday.

Thursday Night:

Redskins (3-5) at Vikings (1-7)

How offensive is that Vikings name? On behalf of Minnesota, I apologize to all of our Nordic readers. Also, how fitting is this for a Thursday Night game? Sure to be a real snoozer.

Redskins have looked tougher recently, the Vikings players are criticizing Leslie Frazier, and Kyle Rudolph broke his foot. Vikes only hope is if AP runs for 150+, which could actually happen. Still, take the ‘Skins.

Line: Washington by 1

MIKE SAYS: $ on Skins.

Sunday:

Seahawks (8-1) at Falcons (2-6)

Not a huge fan of either team at the moment, but the Falcons looked just plain bad against Carolina last week. However, Seattle is showing huge chinks in the armor, namely an OT win against lowly Tampa Bay last week.

Line: ‘Hawks by 6

MIKE SAYS: If I’m betting real money, I keep moving, but I’m not. Bet on the Seahawks. I think they wait two more weeks to lose.

Lions (5-3) at Bears (5-3)

Bears have a short week from the MNF game. They’re saying Cutler is coming back for this one? Flip a coin.

Line: Lions by 3

MIKE SAYS: Cutler may be rusty, bet on the Lions.

Eagles (4-5) at Packers (5-3)

Such drama. The Packers have been just decimated by the injury bug this season. They lose the one person they couldn’t, and that is #12. Props to Seneca Wallace for persevering as an NFL backup QB for so long, but let's not get emotional: he sucks.

Line: Packers by 1

MIKE SAYS: $ on the Eagles.

Jaguars (0-8) at Titans (4-4)

Good God Lemon. 13 is a lot of points. The Jags are coming off of their bye week, but Jacksonville has only lost by less than 13 ONCE THIS ENTIRE YEAR, and that was to the Raiders by 10. Justin Blackmon is done too.

Line: Titans by 11

MIKE SAYS: Don’t feel good about this, but bet the Titans.

Rams (3-6) at Colts (6-2)

The line has moved thankfully from 12 to 10, because people know that the Rams aren’t that bad. Seriously if Bradford had stayed healthy, they could’ve ruined a few seasons. But I think that the Colts figure some things out and turn in a dominating performance as they adjust to the Reggie Wayne injury.

Line: Colts by 10

MIKE SAYS: Rams are underrated, but bet the Colts.

Raiders (3-5) at Giants (2-6)

This game is comically bad. Does history really mean that much? Seriously, the fact that the Giants have gone on these ridiculous late season runs in the past is having serious influence here. The Raiders defense gave up 7 passing touchdowns to some guy named Nick Foles coached by a college coach. I think Eli, with a bye week in hand, opens it up and drops some serious points on this bad Raiders defense. When Oakland loses, they lose big. 

Line: Giants by 8
MIKE SAYS: Bet Eli! Bet Coughlin! Bet the G-men!

Bills (3-6) at Steelers (2-6)

Who the heck can interpret what happened in that New England/Steelers game? The Bills aren’t bad, but their starting quarterback is a guy named Jeff Tuel. This may be the worst game of the week.

The Bills may not be able to move the ball at all. Or Spiller and Jackson could run wild (had 241 yards rushing on the vaunted Chiefs D last week), and the pass rush (my boy Mario Williams has 11 this year) may get to Big Ben. I have no idea.

Line: Steelers by 3
MIKE SAYS: Again, if it’s real money I sprint away from this game. Bet the Steelers.

Bengals (6-3) at Ravens (3-5)

Maybe the fact that this is a division game spooks everyone? The Bengals looked bad on Thursday night – who doesn’t – and still probably should’ve won. The Ravens are awful.

Line: Cincinnati by 2
MIKE SAYS: Easy money, bet the Bengals.

Panthers (5-3) at 49ers (6-2) [GAME OF THE WEEK]

Well, well well. Game of the week. The Cowboys/Saints will get more press, but overall, this matchup has better teams. Both teams come into the game with similar situations riding a recent sugar high off of a diet of cupcakes. Both have athletic, quarterbacks and dominating defenses.

Category                     Edge

QB:                            Carolina

Running game:         San Francisco

Front 4:                     Carolina

Linerbackers:           Carolina

Secondary:                San Francisco

Coaching:                  San Francisco*

Special Teams:         Who really knows or cares about this?***

* This assumes that Riverboat Ron Rivera hasn’t fully replaced conservative Ron Rivera yet. It’s one thing to go for it on 4^th and short when you’re playing Tampa Bay. It’s another thing to do it against the Niners.

[Stolen from Grantland: the history of “Riverboat Ron”]

·       Week 3: Carolina goes for it on fourth-and-1 from the 2-yard line against the Giants in a 0-0 game. Mike Tolbert punches it in for a touchdown. Rivera admits that went for it by accident, thinking they had gotten the first down.

·       Week 5: The Panthers go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Arizona 15-yard line late in the second quarter of a 3-3 game. A play-action pass finds a wide-open Brandon LaFell, who drops the pass.

·       Week 6: In a scoreless game, Tolbert bursts through the line for a first down on fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 32-yard line to extend a drive …

·       Week 6: … that ends when the Panthers go for it on fourth-and-1 from the 2-yard line and Newton finds a wide-open Steve Smith off play-action for an easy touchdown.

·       Week 8: With a 14-6 lead in the third quarter, Tolbert busts through the line on fourth-and-1 from the 20-yard line for another conversion. The Panthers score a touchdown four plays later.

·       Week 9: Perhaps exorcising his Falcons demons, Rivera goes for it on fourth-and-1 from the 14-yard line with a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. Again going play-action, Newton finds a wide-open Greg Olsen for a touchdown.

*** Football Outsiders ranks Carolina 14 and SF 15. I’m not going to base my pick on who wins based on the fact that Carolina’s Special Teams are marginally better than SF’s.

Line: ‘Niners by 6
MIKE SAYS: Both teams are pretty equal. I say SF wins, but Panthers cover the spread, and do what they do best: lose a close game. Bet the Panthers.

Texans (2-6) at Cardinals (4-4)

Thoughts and prayers to Kubiak, who had a mini-stroke, and the Texans nearly pulled off a huge upset against the Colts. Also, Foster should be ready to play next week, and Tate won’t have to play with 4 cracked ribs. Cards, on the other hand, are relatively healthy.

Line: Cards by 3
MIKE SAYS: Liked this line more at Cards by 1, but still pick the underappreciated Cards.

Broncos (7-1) at Chargers (4-4)

Thoughts and prayers to John Fox, who had heart surgery. At least Jack Del Rio has head coaching experience. Chargers are so up and down. I flipped a coin and got the Broncos.

Line: Broncos by 7
MIKE SAYS: $ on the Broncos.

Sunday Night:

Cowboys (5-4) at Saints (6-2)

The Rob Ryan homecoming game. Saints are starting to get dinged up: Sproles got a concussion, Colston is out, and Graham has a partially torn plantar fascia. The ‘Boys usually play to their competition, so this should be close. Brees and the boys in the dome against the Cowboys D makes me nervous, but I think Romo keeps it close.

Line: Saints by 7
MIKE SAYS: $ on the Cowboys.

Monday Night:

Dolphins (4-4) at Buccaneers (0-8)

Yuck. How do you bet on the weirdest situation ever? Going to be really interesting to see the real situation once all of the facts come out. I hope that karma takes over for this game. And, the Bucs didn’t look that bad against an overrated yet good Seahawks team.

Line: Dolphins by 3
MIKE SAYS: Bet the Bucs on their first win of the season.

There you have it. Quit your day jobs, go bet the house on these picks, and you can thank me later.