Here it is, the game I've been waiting for! Its the mighty mighty Dallas Cowboys against the lowly Dirty Birds of Atlanta, let the games begin!
Stat #1: Home teams coming off their bye are 5-1 this so far season.
Stat #2: Atlanta hasn't allowed a sack in its last 4 games, and only 2 all season.
Stat #3: The last team to beat back to back teams coming off of their bye week was the 2004 Chargers (2004 was also the last year the Cowboys lost a game coming off of a bye).
Stat #4 Atlanta is 11-2 in indoor games under second-year head coach Mike Smith and 4-4 in outdoor games. (The roof might be closed Sunday due to thunderstorms.)
Stat #5 Roy Williams (aka our personal bad luck charm) might not play, and Miles Austin will probably start again!
Okay, the last one wasn't a stat, but I'm so excited by it that I couldn't help myself lol.
This could be a statement game for my Cowboys and I think injuries are going to play a major role. Felix Jones, DeMarcus Ware, Marion Barber, and Gerald Sensabaugh are all banged up, but will play. Falcons starting CB Brian Williams obviously won't play. Neither will FB Ovie Mughelli and back-up RB Jerious Norwood who both missed their 2nd straight day of practice Thursday.
Oh, not to mention we now have Keith Brooking, who probably knows the Falcons' defense better than everyone on the Falcons defense. The Cowboys offense has probably been working with him the past 2 weeks to get use to the Falcons' defensive tendencies. That's a huge advantage for my team.
Either way, it should be close, but there's no way I could pick Atlanta here. NO WAY! Cowboys winners, Falcons losers!
2) Saints (5-0) @ Dolphins (2-3)
The worst part about not living in the same city as your favorite team is their game's availability on local stations. Usually that's not a problem because 1) the Cowboys bring ratings so they usually get the nod over most games just because they're playing and 2) NFC games broadcast on Fox and AFC games on CBS. Not this week. This Saints/Dolphins game will be broadcast by Fox, not CBS, so instead of me seeing the Cowboys play at 4:15, I'll be seeing the Dolphins because they're my local team. Awesome.
Normally that offense alone is enough to make me pick against a team BUT I really like this match-up for the Dolphins. The Saints are most dangerous when they have the ball, the Dolphins control the clock. I smell an upset. (An upset I won't be watching because I'm gonna be too busy trying to find a stable website streaming the Cowboys/Falcons game. This situation worked wonders for my 'Boys against Denver when Fox decided to show Dean Martin infomercials after showing the instant classic Chiefs/Giants game instead of our 4pm game a few weeks ago. Great.) Dolphins winners, Saints losers.
3) Vikings (6-0) @ Steelers (4-2)
Speaking up upsets, if the Steelers won this game, would it be considered one?? The Vikes are undefeated, but the Steelers are still the Super Bowl champs. Interesting.
Somebody needs to figure that out for me by Sunday. Steelers winners, Vikings losers.
4) Cardinals (3-2) @ Giants (5-1)
This game is gonna come down to one thing: The fact that there's no way the Giants are going to lose after that spanking they got last week in New Orleans. The G-Men will be ready, but will the Cards?? I think not. I kinda wish they were, but they won't be. Giants winners, Cardinals losers.
5) Bears (3-2) @ Bengals (4-2)
This should be another good one as the 3rd leading rusher in the NFL, Cedric Benson, faces off with the team that sent him packing last year. Benson isn't the only Bears outcast that will suit up against the Bears, Tank Williams is also gonna be there. No real significance to me mentioning that, I just wanted to lol.
Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what the Bengals defense is gonna look like now that 2nd leading sacker Antwan Odom is out for the year.
At the end of the day, I don't trust the "weapons" they've surrounded Jay Cutler with so I'll continue picking against the Bears until they show me some consistency. Bengals winners, Bears losers.
6) 49ers (3-2) @ Texans (3-3)
I'm going to maintain that the 49ers are really reaching by throwing Michael Crabtree into the fire this early, but the Texans are due for a loss this week. Not only have they alternated W's and L's all this season, but they have been since December 14th of 2008. I'm just going with what they've shown me. Niners winners, Texans losers.
7) Eagles (3-2) @ Redskins (2-4)
So Jim Zorn is keeping his job for the rest of the season despite playcalling duties being given up to newcomer Sherm Lewis. Good for him, and great for my Cowboys. Best for the Eagles though because they're the ones who'll get the first crack at the Sherm Lewis Redskins. After pulling a stink job out in Oakland last week, the Eagles will pull a fly by on the Redskins' dead corpse like vultures. Eagles winners, Redskins losers.
8) Bills (2-4) @ Panthers (2-3)
A bit of injury news, Bills starting QB Trent Edwards will be out for this game after suffering a concussion last week and back-up Ryan Fitzpatrick will take his place. Great news if you're a Carolina fan.
Like I have two 6-0 teams losing for the first time this week, I also have a 2nd team that started off 0-3 reaching 3-3. Panthers winners, Bills losers.
9) Patriots (4-2) @ Buccaneers (0-6)
Here's the punk ass overseas game that Roger Goodell insists on having every year. For that fact I thought about putting it last, but after the Pats embarrassed the Titans 59-0 last week, it'll be interesting to see how far Bill Belichick can push it against the Bucs' sorry secondary. They could've scored 100 easily if they kept up their NFL Madden-esque pace, and maybe they'll want to put on another show for the blokes across the pond. Pats winners, Buccaneers losers.
10) Colts (5-0) @ Rams (0-6)
This should be another blowout. Colts winners, Rams losers.
11) Jets (3-3) @ Raiders (2-4)
Things sure have changed fast for New York's old-new darling Mark Sanchez. After 1 win they were already comparing him to Broadway Joe, after 3 straight losses the headline on the New York Daily News called him "Broadway Schmo." It was all good just 3 weeks ago.
I think the Jets get the bounce back they need over the still lowly Raiders. Their win last week was great for me, but do you actually think a team quarterbacked by JaMarcus Russell will win back to back games?? Exactly. Jets winners, Raiders losers.
12) Packers (3-2) @ Browns (1-5)
The Browns are terrible, there's no way they beat Aaron Rodgers and the Pack. Packers winners, Browns losers.
13) Chargers (2-3) @ Chiefs (1-5)
Normally this would be an easy game to pick, but the Chargers are awful. I had a feeling they would be this bad, but I had no idea they'd be this bad. Most of the blame goes to their injury-riddled defense, and the rest can be split between Norv Turner and LaDainian Tomlinson (L.T. has not only lost a step, he's lost 3 or 4). None of the blame should be put on Phil Rivers, he's playing great.
I'll give the Bolts one more week to prove me wrong. Don't make me look stupid guys. Chargers winners, Chiefs losers.
Last Week: 8-6 (.571)
Overall Record: 67-36 (.650)
This Week: 9-4 (.692)
