We almost lost our top line game last week when the Raiders nearly pulled off the comeback to beat the Seahawks in Seattle. This brings up an interesting point though. As most of you who read this know, I am a HUGE Raiders fan (pause for sympathy). Watching Oakland pulling closer and closer to the defending champs last week, I wasn’t thinking about losing my top line game. The only thing that was on my mind was the potential of my team pulling off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.
Whether it is with your confidence pool or your fantasy team, I think that your actual team should come first. It just makes both the fantasy game and the real game a lot more fun to watch. Use it as justification if you want, but don’t openly cheer for your fantasy quarterback to throw a touchdown against your favorite team. It only sets yourself up for a lose-lose situation.
Alright – Week 10 – HERE WE GO!!!
(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)
13 – Denver over OAKLAND – Once again my Raiders are on the wrong side of the top line. Hard to argue that when they play last year’s two Super Bowl teams in back to back weeks.
12 – SEATTLE over New York Giants – Seattle just squeaked by the Raiders last week. They may just squeak by again, but it is hard to think of a scenario where the Giants come out on top.
11 – ARIZONA over St. Louis – Both teams are coming off of big road wins last week. The luck will run out for the Rams though. The Cardinals are a much tougher home team to play.
10 – GREEN BAY over Chicago – One team spent the bye week giving their coach an extension and one team spent the bye week explaining reports that their coach doesn’t have control of the locker room. Green Bay will be ready for this game, the Bears won’t.
9 – BALTIMORE over Tennessee – The Ravens are sitting in last place in a division without a team under .500. Every win is crucial. Lucky for them they get a home game against the Titans.
8 – Dallas over JACKSONVILLE – The Jags make their yearly trip to London and take the Cowboys with them. Just like last week, this game depends on Tony Romo’s availability. They’ll still win, but if Romo doesn’t play they should be dropped down a few lines.
7 – Pittsburgh over NEW YORK JETS – Logic would tell you that there is no way that Ben Roethlisberger will have a THIRD consecutive six touchdown game…although I don’t think logic realizes that Big Ben is playing the Jets this week.
6 – NEW ORLEANS over San Francisco – A pre-season possible NFC Championship preview turns into just another week 10 game. Not only will the 49ers not make it to a fourth straight title game, but my BOLD PREDICTION is that the 49ers will not make the playoffs this season.
5 – DETROIT over Miami – Calvin is expected to make his long awaited return after the bye week. The Dolphins have been hot as of late but they won’t be able to stop a Lions offense that includes Megatron.
4 – PHILADELPHIA over Carolina – Well, the potential for a butt-fumble sequel has returned with Mark Sanchez filling in for the injured Nick Foles. This bumps the Eagles down a few lines but they should still be able to beat the struggling Panthers.
3 – BUFFALO over Kansas City – The Bills are still fighting for a playoff spot. This will be a close one, but game-manager sensation Kyle Orton should be able to find a way to get a win against a hungry Chiefs team.
2 – TAMPA BAY over Atlanta – Yes, I do realize that the Falcons treated Tampa like a high school JV team in their first meeting. Even with that, there really is just no reason to have faith in Atlanta – especially on the road.
1 – CINCINNATI over Cleveland – The week starts off with a strong AFC North game that both teams need to win. A full healthy offense would give me more confidence in the Bengals, but they should still be able to pull this one out.
