{"id":371,"date":"2009-09-03T11:52:02","date_gmt":"2009-09-03T15:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=371"},"modified":"2009-09-04T12:08:54","modified_gmt":"2009-09-04T16:08:54","slug":"brys-week-by-week-nfl-preview-week-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=371","title":{"rendered":"Bry’s Week-by-Week NFL Preview: Week Eight"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a very interesting Week Seven<\/a>, where the Eagles lost their first divisional game, the Packers and Chargers were upset, and the Steelers went to 7-0, we are now getting pretty serious, as we enter the month of November and Week Eight of the NFL season.\u00a0 This week also begins the “flex scheduling,” where NBC selects one of the Sunday games to put at 8:20.\u00a0 We won’t know which one it is, but we can guess, right?\u00a0 (Winners in CAPS.)<\/p>\n

On Bye:<\/strong>
\nCincinnati (1-6)
\nKansas City (3-4)
\nNew England (6-1)
\nPittsburgh (7-0)
\nTampa Bay (1-6)
\nWashington (5-2)<\/p>\n

Sunday, November 1:
\n<\/strong>1:00 – Seattle (4-2) at DALLAS (5-1) *
\nThis one looks like a straightforward Dallas win, but it is a lot harder when you think about a couple of factors.\u00a0 One, the Seahawks are coming off of a bye.\u00a0 Two, the Cowboys are coming off a tough win against Atlanta and are looking ahead to a showdown with the Eagles next week.\u00a0 Because of these factors, I had originally picked the Seahawks to win this game, but I have rethought that and am going with the Cowboys because, well, they are just a much better team.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Houston (4-3) at BUFFALO (4-3) *
\nAn absolutely huge matchup between two 4-3 teams.\u00a0 There is such a difference between 5-3 and 4-4.\u00a0 This game really could probably go either way, as well, but I am picking the Bills and sticking with it because of the homefield advantage and the fact that the Texans have the Colts next week, whereas the Bills have a week off.<\/p>\n

1:00 – St. Louis (1-6) at DETROIT (0-6)
\nIt’s all over!\u00a0 It’s all over!\u00a0 The Lions eclipse last year’s win total, as coming off of a bye, they get a bad Rams team at home.\u00a0 Give me the Lions and the 0-16 nightmare is a distant memory.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Miami (3-3) at NEW YORK JETS (0-7)
\nBoth winless teams get their first wins of the year this week, as the Jets beat Miami.\u00a0 This is a bad loss for the Dolphins, who were just showing signs of turning the season around.\u00a0 But, a date in New York against a rival like the Jets, and you can throw out the records. Throw in the fact that the ‘Phins are coming off a tough win over the Saints and have a date with New England next week, and you’ve got yourself a Jets upset victory.<\/p>\n

1:00 – San Francisco (3-3) at INDIANAPOLIS (4-2)
\nThe better football team is also the home team in this one.\u00a0 As much as I like the Niners this year, there is nothing to could possibly warrant thinking that they can win this game.\u00a0 The Colts are too experienced, too talented, and just too good at home to lose to a West Coast team at 1:00.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Cleveland (2-5) at CHICAGO (3-3)
\nFour in a row for the Cutler Bears, as they get a snakebitten Browns team this week.\u00a0 I really think the Browns are actually not terrible, but I cannot find a place in the beginning of their schedule where they can break out–at least not yet.<\/p>\n

1:00 – Denver (3-3) at BALTIMORE (4-2)
\nBoth teams are coming off of a bye week.\u00a0 And, with the game in Baltimore, I think that the rested Ravens will just throw around the Broncos and dominate the line of scrimmage.\u00a0 There is no reason for me to think that the Broncos can come into B-more and steal one.\u00a0 None.<\/p>\n

4:05 – Jacksonville (3-3) at TENNESSEE (3-3)
\nAgain, two teams that are both coming off byes last week.\u00a0 And, again, I think that favors the more physical team, especially when they are playing at home.\u00a0 Just like in the Ravens-Broncos game, I think the Titans will come out and just utterly dominate both lines of scrimmage and win this game rather handily.<\/p>\n

4:05 – Oakland (3-4) at SAN DIEGO (3-3)
\nThe Chargers got stunned in KC last week, and they will not let that happen again this week, in a home game against Oakland.\u00a0 The Raiders split home games with the Eagles and Jets the past two weeks and now travel down the coast, probably to get the butts whipped in San Diego.<\/p>\n

4:15 – NEW YORK GIANTS (4-3) at Philadelphia (4-2) *
\nI think the Eagles actually match up very well with the Giants, but there is something about this game that makes me very uncomfortable.\u00a0 The Birds are coming off a tough loss in Washington on Monday night.\u00a0 The Giants took care of the Cardinals easily last Sunday night.\u00a0 The Giants are probably catching their stride, while the Eagles are sputtering a little bit.\u00a0 Throw in the fact that the Eagles may have one eye on next week’s tilt with the hated Cowboys, and it doesn’t look good.\u00a0 I really, really, REALLY <\/em>hate to do this, but I have to go with the Giants in this one–at the Linc–dropping the Birds to a scary 4-3, overall, 0-2\u00a0against division foes, and last place in the NFC Beast.\u00a0 And, forcing me to deliver<\/em> a case of beer to Stri’s Manhattan apartment.<\/p>\n

4:15 – CAROLINA (4-2) at Arizona (2-4)
\nThe Cardinals are coming off of a tough, physical Sunday night game with the Giants.\u00a0 The Panthers are coming off a nice win over Buffalo.\u00a0 But, this is not why I’m picking the Panthers on the road.\u00a0 The Panthers are based on a great rushing offense, while the Cardinals really struggle to stop the run, at times.\u00a0 But, this is not why I’m picking the Panthers.\u00a0 The Cardinals are 2-4 and are hearing all sorts of talk about Super Bowl Loser Curses and whatnot.\u00a0 But, this is not why I’m picking the Panthers.\u00a0 Football is a game of emotion.\u00a0 It is the most physical of the major sports and can be turned by emotion much more than any other team sport on the planet.\u00a0 This is why I’m picking the Panthers.\u00a0 They were EMBARRASSED last year by the Cardinals in their own building in the biggest game of their season.\u00a0 You don’t think that the Panthers have had this game circled on their calendars for, oh, about 10 months or so?\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 And, I trust John Fox to get these guys ready to play and very, very fired up.\u00a0 I love the Panthers in this one.<\/p>\n

8:20 (flex)\u00a0–\u00a0Minnesota (5-2) at GREEN BAY (4-2)
\nTime for Aaron Rodgers to step up and shine.\u00a0 And, I believe he will do it.\u00a0 I think this might even get ugly.\u00a0 The game of the week–a reunion for the Vikings quarterback to a place he used to play–or something like that, I don’t know.\u00a0 Either way, I think the Packers are too good of a team and too proud of an organization to allow this one to slip away.\u00a0 Ps…is there any chance whatsoever<\/em> that NBC does not pick this game as their flex game?\u00a0 Any?!?<\/p>\n

Monday, November 2:
\n<\/strong>Atlanta (2-4) at NEW ORLEANS (3-3) *
\nThings just are not going right for the Falcons this year.\u00a0 I don’t really have anything against them.\u00a0 I am concerned with the workload of Michael Turner, but I’m not worried about a sophomore slump for Matt Ryan because I think he is the real deal.\u00a0 I just think that this is yet another game that is probably going to go the other way for the Dirty Birds.\u00a0 The Saints offense is spectacular, and the defense usually shows up enough in primetime games, for some reason, especially at home.\u00a0 I like the Saints here to deal the Falcons’ playoff hopes a pretty severe blow here and send them to a 2-5 record.<\/p>\n

To go to Week Nine, click here<\/a><\/p>\n

STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 8:<\/strong>
\nNFC EAST:
\n<\/strong>6-1\u00a0\u00a0 Dallas
\n5-2\u00a0\u00a0 Washington
\n5-3\u00a0\u00a0 New York Giants
\n4-3\u00a0\u00a0 Philadelphia<\/p>\n

NFC NORTH:<\/strong>
\n5-2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Green Bay
\n5-3\u00a0\u00a0 Minnesota
\n4-3\u00a0\u00a0 Chicago
\n1-6\u00a0\u00a0 Detroit<\/p>\n

NFC\u00a0SOUTH<\/strong>:
\n5-2\u00a0\u00a0 Carolina
\n4-3\u00a0\u00a0 New Orleans
\n2-5\u00a0\u00a0 Atlanta
\n1-6\u00a0\u00a0 Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

NFC WEST:
\n<\/strong>4-3\u00a0\u00a0 Seattle
\n3-4\u00a0\u00a0 San Francisco
\n2-5\u00a0\u00a0 Arizona
\n1-7\u00a0\u00a0 St. Louis<\/p>\n

AFC EAST:<\/strong>
\n6-1\u00a0\u00a0 New England
\n5-3\u00a0\u00a0 Buffalo
\n3-4\u00a0\u00a0 Miami
\n1-7\u00a0\u00a0 N.Y. Jets<\/p>\n

AFC NORTH:<\/strong>
\n7-0\u00a0\u00a0 Pittsburgh
\n5-2\u00a0\u00a0 Baltimore
\n2-6\u00a0\u00a0 Cleveland
\n1-6\u00a0\u00a0 Cincinnati<\/p>\n

AFC SOUTH:<\/strong>
\n5-2\u00a0\u00a0 Indianapolis
\n4-3\u00a0\u00a0 Tennessee
\n4-4\u00a0\u00a0 Houston
\n3-4\u00a0\u00a0 Jacksonville<\/p>\n

AFC WEST:<\/strong>
\n4-3\u00a0\u00a0 San Diego
\n3-4\u00a0\u00a0 Denver
\n3-4\u00a0\u00a0 Kansas City
\n3-5\u00a0\u00a0 Oakland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a very interesting Week Seven, where the Eagles lost their first divisional game, the Packers and Chargers were upset, and the Steelers went to 7-0, we are now getting pretty serious, as we enter the month of November and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[748],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl","tag-nfl-week-by-week-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}