Wellness

[gardenman]

And we start out with a Thursday night game this week. Oakland goes to San Diego. I have to think San Diego will win this game pretty easily.

New Orleans goes to Atlanta in what could be the premiere early game this week. Two good, competitive teams in the same division going head to head is always interesting. I'm giving a slight edge to Atlanta in this one since they're playing home.

Tennessee goes to Carolina. These two teams are up and down so it's hard to know who will be up and who will be down on Sunday. I'll give the edge to Carolina for now.

Pittsburgh goes to Cincinnati. I think Pittsburgh's defense will get Andy Dalton's attention and the Bengals will lose.

Saint Louis goes to Cleveland. I've got to give the edge to Cleveland here. Saint Louis managed to win their way out of a tie for Andrew Luck, but I think they'll get back on the losing track now. The Browns aren't a bad team, they just need a few more players. In another year or two they'll be pretty good.

Buffalo goes to Dallas. I think Dallas is the better team and will likely win this game, but you never know which Cowboy team will show up. The turnover differential will be huge in this game. Whoever turns the ball over more will likely lose. I think the Cowboys will win though. (Still, Go Buffalo!)

Jacksonville goes to Indianapolis. This is a game the Colts should win, but I just don't think they want to win. You could call this a trap game for them in their race to Andrew Luck. They could stumble into a win here, but I think Jacksonville will win. The Colts will find a way to lose. All it takes is one or two players on offense and defense to lose a game and the Colts have enough guys with multiple years left on their contract who want a good quarterback behind them for those years to find a way to lose this game.

Denver goes to Kansas City. Once again, two up and down teams. KC has been playing pretty well lately. TIm Tebow is somehow 2-1 as a starter. Playing at Kansas City is never easy however, so I'll give the edge to KC.

Washington plays at Miami. Which bad team will find the way to lose this game? I had earlier pegged this as Washington's sole win in the second half of the season. I'm not so sure now. Miami is actually playing some decent (well, semi-decent) football. That may be enough to beat the Redskins who are playing for a new head coach.

Arizona comes to Philly to play the Eagles. This should be an easy win for the Eagles, but nothing has been easy for the Eagles this year. In last week's game the slot defenders (typically Dominique Rodgers Cromartie though others also played the role) seemed to forget to cover the guy they were assigned to cover. If the Eagles have patched that rather glaring hole then this should be an easy win for the Eagles.

Houston goes to Tampa Bay. Two pretty good teams who are both playing pretty well. I'd give the tiniest of an edge to Tampa Bay since they're playing at home.

Baltimore goes to Seattle. The last time Baltimore played Pittsburgh (week one) they took the following week off and got beaten by Tennessee. I think/hope they learned a valuable lesson there and will play hard and win this game after beating Pittsburgh last week. Traveling across the country is never easy however and Seattle can play well on occasion. This should be an easy win for Baltimore, but they've got to remember to show up.

Detroit goes to Chicago. This should be a good game. I think the Lions have an edge in the matchup with their receivers against the Bears defensive backs , so I'd give the tiniest edge to Detroit.

The Giants go to San Francisco to play the Niners. I want the Niners to win, but I think the Giants will.

The Patriots play at the Jets on Sunday night. I'm thinking Tom Brady will pull out the win this week. (I'm a little worried that Brady may be playing hurt however. He hasn't looked quite right for the last few weeks. I wouldn't be stunned to see offseason elbow/shoulder surgery on Brady's throwing arm for some reason this offseason. I think he's trying to play through something and will get it fixed in the offseason.)

And finally we have Minnesota going to Green Bay on Monday night. This should be a rout, but you never know. My money is on Green Bay winning big however. If I'm Minnesota, I'm handing the ball to Adrian Petersen fifty times in the game and hoping for the best.