The Week 8 Picks

I’ve got to get something off my chest.

I was watching last week’s Eagles-Chargers game on CBS, a broadcast featuring the color commentary of Dan Dierdorf. After scoring a touchdown, Eagles WR Terrell Owens caught a touchdown, draped a towel over his arm, held the football up like a cocktail waitress carrying a tray of drinks and paraded around the end zone. By all accounts, it was not the best TD celebration of his career. So after San Diego’s Keenan McCardell caught a touchdown, he did the exact same thing, in essence mocking T.O. Dierdorf said that Owens got what was coming to him, or something like that.

Which got me thinking…

Remember last year when the Eagles hosted the Ravens on Halloween? T.O. scored a touchdown and did Ray Lewis’ dance, and all the announcers could talk about was how Owens was mocking Lewis, disrespecting him as a man. If memory serves me correctly, CBS’ color commentator for that game was…Dan Dierdorf!

So, what is the difference between what T.O. did a year ago and what McCardell did last week?

For that matter, other national media members talked about Owens mocking Lewis, but then didn’t say a thing the following week when Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward did T.O.’s wing flap (not once, but twice) after scoring touchdowns against the Eagles, nor did anyone think it was disrespectful when multiple members of the Patriots (specifically Mike Vrabel and Rodney Harrison) did the same in the Super Bowl.

The message? Guys like T.O. get a bad rap no matter what they do. Makes it understandable when Owens does some of the things he does. The Media will not change their perception of Owens, so he’s basically giving them a collective middle finger.

And I don’t have a problem with that.

I do have a problem with my 4-9-1 record in Week 7 (overall 53-46-3), and will attempt to correct that this week. Straight up, we’re putting up numbers (9-5 last week, 67-35 overall), and the beat goes on.

The Match-up: Washington (+2.5) @ New York Giants
The Skinny: Nice last-second win for the Giants over Denver a week ago. The rival Washington Redskins provide the first NFC East test for the Giants.
Straight up: New York Giants
Against the Spread: New York Giants

The Match-up: Green Bay (+9.0) @ Cincinnati
The Skinny: Talk about going from bad to worse. The Packers are 1-5, and now Ahman Green is out for the season with a ruptured thigh tendon. Two words, Packers fans – Reggie Bush.
Straight up: Cincinnati
Against the Spread: Cincinnati

The Match-up: Arizona (+9.0) @ Dallas
The Skinny: Josh McCown and Larry Fitzgerald pull off the upset of the year.
Straight up: Arizona
Against the Spread: Arizona

The Match-up: Minnesota (+7.5) @ Carolina
The Skinny: As long as Jake Delhomme is fully recovered from the Lindros he sustained two weeks ago, I love the Panthers.
Straight up: Carolina
Against the Spread: Carolina

The Match-up: Cleveland (+2.0) @ Houston
The Skinny: The Texans are favored? Could they finally score their elusive first win of the season?
Straight up: Houston
Against the Spread: Houston

The Match-up: Chicago (+3.0) @ Detroit
The Skinny: The winner between these two 3-3 clubs will finish 7-9, win the NFC North and make the playoffs while two teams in the NFC East will be over .500 and on the outside looking in. Even the San Diego Padres think that’s outrageous.
Straight up: Detroit
Against the Spread: Detroit

The Match-up: Oakland (-1.0) @ Tennessee
The Skinny: Randy Moss played last week and scored a touchdown. Not bad for a guy that was doubtful with bruised ribs, eh?
Straight up: Oakland
Against the Spread: Oakland

The Match-up: Jacksonville (-3.0) @ St. Louis
The Skinny: I know he won last week, but I’m still not betting on Jamie Martin. Between the Jaguars stout defense and the depleted Rams secondary, I’ll take the Jags.
Straight up: Jacksonville
Against the Spread: Jacksonville

The Match-up: Kansas City (+6.0) @ San Diego
The Skinny: How quickly can the Chargers rebound from last week’s heartbreaker? I’d say by the 4th quarter. I can see San Diego coming from behind to win a close game late.
Straight up: San Diego
Against the Spread: Kansas City

The Match-up: Miami (+2.5) @ New Orleans
The Skinny: It’s about time for some breaks to go in favor of the Saints. A couple of weeks ago, they were flagged for holding on a missed field goal, giving Atlanta another shot (which they, of course, made). Then there was last week’s fumble that wasn’t but was returned for a touchdown. The breaks always seem to even themselves out.
Straight up: New Orleans
Against the Spread: New Orleans

The Match-up: Tampa Bay (-11.0) @ San Francisco
The Skinny: I’m probably the only guy in the business that changed his pick when he saw Ken Dorsey was going to start for the Niners on Sunday. Dorsey may be able to keep San Francisco close.
Straight up: Tampa Bay
Against the Spread: San Francisco

The Match-up: Philadelphia (+3.5) @ Denver
The Skinny: The Eagles defense will need to replicate their run-stopping effort against the Broncos this week and put the game in the hands of Jake Plummer, who eventually will remember that he is Jake Plummer and start chucking interceptions again.
Straight up: Philadelphia
Against the Spread: Philadelphia

The Match-up: Buffalo (+9.0) @ New England
The Skinny: I guess you really shouldn’t feel sorry for the two-time defending World Champions, but the Patriots have lost their air of invincibility. Not saying they’ll lose to Buffalo, especially at home, but the Bills could give them a scare.
Straight up: New England
Against the Spread: Buffalo

The Match-up: Baltimore (+10.0) @ Pittsburgh
The Skinny: Speaking of underachieving, I give you the Baltimore Ravens. How do you beat that defense? Run right at them. What is the Steelers’ offensive strength? Running the football. Uh-oh.
Straight up: Pittsburgh
Against the Spread: Pittsburgh