NFL Week 8 Preview

Giants @ Eagles, Sunday 1pm
Ahad: Westbrook’s injury will clearly hurt the offense. The keys for the Eagles will be simple. Control the Giants run game and the offensive line must play well. I think those two things will happen. Witherspoon looked impressive in his debut, but this game will be a much bigger test. So far Trotter has not made much of an impact. The crowd will play a role in this one with the World Series game that night also. All signs point to an Eagles victory. Pick: Birds
Evan: All signs point to an Eagles victory? Really? I respectfully disagree. I obviously am rooting for the Eagles so I will do what any logical superstitious person would do. Pick: Giants
Matt: The interesting thing about these two teams is that they have compiled most of their wins against the bottom feeders of the league. Each team has a win over Washington, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay, while Philly has a win over Carolina and New York has beaten Oakland. We will find out a lot about both of these teams come Sunday. The Giants are reeling having lost two straight and the Eagles are coming off a ho-hum performance against the Skins. If the Giants can keep the Eagles big play offense in check, I like their chances. Donovan better be prepared for lots of blitzing from Bill Sheridan’s D. Pick: Giants
Mike: The best chance for the Eagles is that the Giants DVR erased the Raiders game. The Giants should be able to frustrate the Eagles offense. The Giants are also the type of team that will make Desean pay for his 1:1 bigplay-to-bonehead play ratio. Honestly, I think the biggest concern here is what we’re going to do with this newly optimistic Ahad. Pick: Giants

Dolphins @ Jets, Sunday 1pm
Ahad: The Jets used the Raiders game to get things moving in the right direction again. Look for them to keep it going. Pick: Jets
Evan: I agree with Ahad. Pick: Jets
Matt: The Jets are looking for revenge in this one. The Dolphins have had a lot of tough losses this year, but they were able to take down the Jets in Week 5. They will keep it close, but the Jets will control the game with their defense and run game. Pick: Jets
Mike: So quick for a rematch. The Jets role to play is if Sanchez will decide to have a pickfest. Last matchup he did not, but he surrounded that game with 3-pick and 5-pick performances. The Jets might have nothing to do with how this game plays out. It likely will be how the Dolphins come out after that devastating loss to the Saints. Here is where coaching matters. The Dolphins were supposed to lose to the Saints, they showed have the talent to beat anyone. Ya know, as long as they stay the whole game. Pick: Dolphins

Broncos @ Ravens, Sunday 1pm
Ahad: The Ravens need this game a lot more than the Broncos do. Look for Ray Lewis and company to take it to Denver. Pick: Ravens
Evan: The Broncos are the greatest team ever. Baltimore’s defense has shown to be a fraud. Pick: Denver
Matt: I am liking this Denver team and they have had two weeks to prepare for this game. Baltimore is a very good team, but they have lost 3 close games in a row. It will be a close, defensive battle, but I expect Baltimore to squeak one out and give Denver their first loss of the season. Pick: Ravens
Mike: The Broncos are still undefeated? Doesn’t make any sense to me. The Ravens have been burning me. They’ve lost 3 straight to good teams. Both teams are coming off a bye, so that’s a wash. I really like how the Ravens finished the Vikings game. Pick: Ravens

Rams @ Lions, Sunday 1pm
Ahad: I don’t know of many people that would willingly watch this game. The loser of this game will be battling the Chiefs for the first pick in the draft. Pick: Lions
Evan: This is the other game that I had picked in the pre-season for the Lions to win (Redskins was the first). I see no reason to change my mind. Pick: Lions
Matt: Is Matt Stafford back for this game? Daunte Culpepper has been stinking it up, but it may not matter against the Rams. Detroit has been keeping things interesting in their games, playing well until after halftime. The Rams, on the other hand, have been blown out mostly except for two close games. I think Steven Jackson will have a big day, but it won’t be enough, like usual. Pick: Lions
Mike: With all the 1pm games, see if you can find the coverage for this one on the map. I like this game because I’m a fan of even matchups. Entertainment can come in two forms in football: scoring and mistakes. Who will make less mistakes? In turnovers the Rams are -7 and the Lions are -4. I was going to pick the Lions anyway, but there’s a stat I can blame when I get it wrong. Pick: Lions

Vikings @ Packers, Sunday 4:15pm
Ahad: I am so sick of all the Favre stories and they are only going to get worse. The Vikings are coming off their first loss and will be focused on getting things in the right direction again. Look for Childress to get the ball to Peterson a lot to take some of the spotlight off of Favre. The Packers will be more concerned about Favre’s return to Green Bay than actually winning the game. This will play into the Vikings favor. Pick: Vikings
Evan: Noise will be a factor. I think the Packers will learn more from their earlier contest then the Vikings will. It’s hard to beat a team twice unless they are a lot worse then you, and the Packers are not a lot worse than the Vikes. Pick: Packers
Matt: The Packers will have no shot in this game if they can’t protect Aaron Rodgers. Jared Allen was a beast with 4.5 sacks in the last game. The Packers should see a heavy dose of Adrian Peterson. The Vikings passed the ball way too much against the Steelers last week and it hurt them with the big turnovers. I see a late Favre score being the difference in the game and he punctuates it with a Lambeau Leap. Pick: Vikings
Mike: I’ve managed to avoid hearing about this game all week. How do I possess this special skill? Here’s a secret, during the week I get very little NFL exposure. I hardly ever watch SportsCenter and haven’t watched NFL Network all year. With all the World Series coverage I haven’t had to face all the front page stories. So what’s going to happen? Green Bay has cruised to their 4-2 record. They haven’t impressed me at all. This game was close last time. Favre is starting to get into the swing of bad turnovers again. Still, as I said, I have not been impressed by the Packers. I’ll be pulling for the Packers, even though I probably won’t watch. If you look at my picks record then you can see I mean that I’ll be pulling for them. Pick: Vikings
(Mike’s Note: I’m pretty sure Favre keeps coming back because he doesn’t want to retire until Ahad learns how to spell his name. I think I fixed them all.)

Standings
Ahad 23-13 (2-3)
Evan 22-14 (3-2)
Matt 20-16 (1-4)
Mike 15-20 (1-4)