Games of the Week – Divisional Rivalaries Week!

Week 8 is going to have some great games, even Vegas agrees as there are 6 games with a spread under 4 points! This week is, simply put, dominated by Divisional rivalries that always make for must see TV!

New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins
Both of teams don’t exactly have the strongest records in the NFL and there are other games that might be more worthy of being highlighted, Baltimore hosting Denver comes to mind. However, the first two times these teams met it was one of the best games of the year to date. They went back and forth with big play after big play with the Dolphins pulling off the upset. The Wildcat formation that the Dolphins excise isn’t a gimmick. When you as a team focuse over 60% of your offensive practices out of this formation, it’s a way of life and the team has bought into it. The Phins are the number 1 rushing team in the NFL and the two headed monster of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown is tough to stop. The key for Miami, like any team really, is not committing turnovers! If they can do that, they have the firepower to control the game and dictate the game. For the Jets, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will be ready for the Dolphins this time around and they don’t want to fall too far behind the AFC East leading Patriots. This should be a great game and if it’s anything like the first one, it could be an instant classic. In the end, we like the Jets to get revenge and win a good one in the Meadowlands.

 

Green Bay Packers vs Minnesota Vikings
The return of Brett Favre to Lambau Field! That alone is worth the price of admission, never mind the NFC North battle for first place. If the Packers can pull off the win, they to a tie in Loss column and a game back in the Win column. A loss meanwhile pushes them 2.5 games behind the Vikes and gives them control on the division, especially after two head to head wins. The key to this game is going to be two fold. The first and most important issue for the Packers is Pass Protection! In the first game they played the Vikings were all over Aaron Rogers and he didn’t have time to breath. The Vikes, with Jared Allen, have the talent in the front 7 to make your day miserable. The other factor is containing Adrian Peterson. I know that Brett Favre would love nothing more than to go into Lambau and show all those Cheeseheads exactly what they got rid of but if I was Green Bay I would make Brett beat me in this game…so in essence, take away the run. We think the Packers rally around the home crowd and pick up a win and make the NFC North that more interesting!

New York Giants vs Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles had a hiccup out in Oakland, whatever it was – a banged up O-Line, bad play calling, tired from the trip across country or what, they have seemed to right the ship a bit. They went into Washington and picked up a win on Monday Night Football and McNabb made some big plays. Brian Westbrook’s availability will probably be a gametime decision after he took a knee the head and left the game with a concussion. They Eagles could really use his talent and leadership but have a fully capable Running Back in LeSean McCoy. For the Giants, they are on a skid of late, they lost two in a row and their defense has been on the decline since the Saints game in Week 6. The Cardinals were able to go into NY and get a win and the once dominant defense in NY is having trouble against the better teams. The Eagles will pose a big test for the GMen and now is the time for someone to take control of this division especially with the Cowboys surging. We like the Eagles to win at home with McNabb to DeSean Jackson being the difference maker!

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are doing two things, one is surprising and isn’t so surprising; 1. They aren’t running the ball as well as they did a year ago. Anyone that owns Michael Turner in their Fantasy League knows this all too well! 2. They Falcons are awful against the pass and that doesn’t bode well against the Offensive juggernaut of the Saints. The good news for the Falcons is that the Saints seem to thrive off of turnovers, especially interceptions and 2nd year QB Matt Ryan is very smart with the football so that may nullify this aspect of the game. The Falcons have the weapons on offense to keep up the Saints but have been very up and down this year. They had a great win out in San Francisco but then laid an egg last week against the Cowboys. A disturbing trend is that Atlanta can’t seem to beat tougher competition haven’t lost to New England and Dallas, every win on their schedule doesn’t have a winning record. The Saints meanwhile have showed they have what it takes to do it all! They can win in a blowout like they did against the Giants, they can win ugly like they did against the Jets and they can win coming from behind like they did last week against Miami. Drew Brees is playing MVP caliber football and the 3 headed rushing attack makes the offense downright dangerous. The Defense isn’t dominating but they are great at creating turnovers and getting off the field on 3 downs and those are two big keys to success. In the end, the Saints have too much firepower for the Dirty Birds and we like them to go into ATL and get a W and put a strangle hold on the NFC South!