Last time these two met, DeAngelo Hall managed to talk his way into a fine and suspension, as the Panthers prevailed in the Dome. He did manage to shut down Steve Smith, though, who has not been himself since he injured his hip. David Carr remains the starter for the Panthers, who are looking for their first win in Charlotte this year. Even though the Panthers are desperate for a win, look for the Falcons, who are playing with much more confidence and running the ball better, to come out on top. Go ahead and take the 4 because they’re giving it to you.
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Bills (-3) at Dolphins
The Dolphins may be the worst team in the NFL since the late 80’s Falcons or the late 70’s Buccaneers. Buffalo has looked much better in recent weeks, with Marshawn Lynch and the rejuvenated Lee Evans being two threats on offense, and J.P. Losman playing better after returning from injury. This would be a great teaser play, because I don’t see the Dolphins winning outright. Maybe they should give the Dolphins an asterisk because of Nick Saban, how about that Shula?
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Browns (+9.5) at Steelers
The Browns may be much improved since a week 1 thrashing by the Steelers, but they’re not that much improved. Pittsburgh should be able to do whatever they want on offense, as Cleveland was abused by the Seahawks last week. The Browns will be able to move the ball somewhat against Pittsburgh, but not enough to stay within the 10. The Steelers are playing some of the best ball in the NFL, but of course you wouldn’t know it because they don’t have Manning, Brady, or Favre, and don’t get any coverage on ESPN.
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Jaguars (+4) at Titans
Two pretty good teams battle in this one in an important game. With both teams in the same division as the Colts a wildcard is probably the only way to make the playoffs. It looks like Vegas think these teams are pretty even, with the Titans being favored due to home field. Vince Young has struggled of late, but continues to win games. A few weeks ago I may have taken the Jags, but they have lost 2 of 3 and haven’t covered in either loss.
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Broncos (+3) at Chiefs
There was a question earlier in the week about whether Jay Cutler would start due to his injured left leg. Fortunately for the Broncos the leg isn’t broken and Cutler is likely to start; unfortunately they are playing some bad football. They have lost 5 of 6 games and have been within a TD only once. The other losses were by 9, 37, 38, and 18. Cutler says the team is embarrassed, but if a team isn’t good and without Jason Elam they might be challenging the Dolphins for the worst record in the league. Larry Johnson is out for the Chiefs, but their strong defense has a great chance to rebound after last week’s performance against the Packers.
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Eagles (+3) at Redskins
Which Eagles team will show up? The consistency definitely hasn’t been there all year. After being humiliated by the Patriots, the Redskins bounced back for an overtime victory last week at the Jets. This game is a little scary because of the unknown. The Skins beat the Eagles 20-12 in week and I think it is likely to happen again this week.
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Rams (+11.5) at Saints
Oh, where have you gone Marshall Faulk? The line is pretty big in this one, but the Rams are bad and this week Leonard Little is out. The Saints are looking for their 5th win in a row. One potential positive for the Rams is the fact that Reggie Bush has missed some practice this week, but he is still projected to play. Look for the Saints to put up a lot of points and the Rams to continue to struggle.
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Lions (+1) at Cardinals
Everyone is jumping on the Cardinals bandwagon this week. I’m not sure considering they’ve lost three in a row. Even Michael Silver’s headline on Yahoo wonders if Arizona will make the playoffs. The only way this team makes the playoffs Michael, is if Leinart stops hanging out with Nick Lachey. And you know Lachey’s not gonna let that happen. Plus, God’s Team is rolling right now. They throttled the Broncos last week 44-7. So I’m not sure how they are underdogs in this game.
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Colts (-3.5) at Chargers
Both teams come off of big defeats, the Chargers at the hands of the Purple God and the Colts at the hands of the Pissed Off Patriots. Actually, the Colts won in the minds of gamblers everywhere as the didn’t allow the Pats to cover the six point spread. Well they cheated to do that by piping in crowd noise and making Brady’s boys deaf, but who cares? This is America’s team right now. But I have a feeling Peyton’s next commercial will be for the Skip Doctor. The Chargers continue to underachieve and Norv Turner continues to suck at coaching. He just allowed Purple Jesus to tear off 296 yards against him (if you haven’t heard, that’s a new single game rushing record). Hey Norv, how about you put 9 in the box and force Tarvaris Jackson or Brooks Bollinger to throw the ball? Did it occur to you that Tarvaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger are the QBs for the Vikings? The Colts might be hungover from the Epic Spectacular last week, but it won’t last long.
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49ers (+10) at Seahawks
Was anyone’s career more affected by the loss of Steve Hutchinson than Shaun Alexander? His career has taken a nosedive since the Seahawks let Hutch walk. But Alexander is likely not playing this week and Maurice Morris will step into the lineup. The 49ers just lost the Falcons. Read that sentence again. Ok, now that the news has sunken in, how bad are the 49ers? There is nothing really redeeming to say about either of these teams, but 10 points is a lot to cover. Good luck with that Mike Holmgren.
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Bengals (+4) at Ravens
The Ravens D is not what it used to be. They have given up a lot of points this year to the teams who can score(Browns, Bengals, and Steelers). Chad Johnson practiced Wed, but then sat out Thursdays with a neck. Either way the Bengals are scoring a ton of points. They also like to give up a ton. I am setting the over-under at a 1000. In other news Chris Henry got in an altercation with a parking attendant .
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Bears (-3.5) at Raiders
What happened to the Bears D? They have given up at least 34 points in 3 games this year. But the Raiders suck like always, they have lost 4 games in a row in which they failed to score at least 20 points in any of them,(only reaching 17 once). Their only wins this year have come against the Dolphins and the Browns. Look for their streak to continue.
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Cowboys (-1) at Giants
This game might as well be a push as far as Vegas is concerned with the spread being +1 home Giants. Both teams are looking good. Cowboys have only lost to the juggernaut that is the Pats, and the Giants have won 6 in a row. Although they didn’t look that great last week only beating the Dolphins by 3 and causing many gamblers to take out a second mortage.
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