NFL Weekend Preview: Week 9

Yes, if you remember these uniforms, you have now lived long enough to see them become cool as retro threads. The Bucs will break out the Creamsicles this Sunday when the Packers come to Tampa. Don't know about you, but that makes me feel old.

There is a good solid weekend of action upcoming in the NFL, and to make it even better the football gods are doing us all a solid by placing the Rams, Raiders, Bills and Browns all on a bye during the same weekend AND there will be no gushing over Brett Favre as he too is on a bye. It's like Christmas come early in the NFL. Here are my best guesses of what will transpire on this glorious weekend of NFL action...

Washington at Atlanta – Word is that Daniel Snyder is trying to work out an extradition agreement with Arthur Blank so that he can punish any Redskins fans in Georgia who come to the game with signs that are negative regarding Washington ownership. Even if he is able to get this, and sources say that it’s unlikely, the bigger problem is that on the football field the Falcons are much better than the Redskins. I will add this disclaimer to avoid litigation from the D.C. area: I’m sure that the reason that the Redskins are an absolute dumpster fire of an organization has nothing to do with the owner/management. The management has assured everyone that the management is nothing short of exemplary! Pay no attention to that man behind the Curtain…I am “The Great and Powerful Dan!” Falcons 30 Redskins 13

Arizona at Chicago – I hate picking Cardinals games. I wish I knew if the tough minded version with Kurt Warner throwing darts all over the field and the defense stuffing the Giants version is going to show up. The other option is that it will be the six turnover, old looking Kurt Warner, letting the Panthers run wild all over you version. Of course, the same can be said of the Bears who have played back to back games against the Ohio teams with vastly different results. The Bengals treated them like a red-headed stepchild and pounded them in Cincy 45-10, then the hapless Browns fell to them 30-6. I’m going to guess that the decent version of the Cardinals shows up and gives the good but not great version of the Bears all that they can handle. Cardinals 24 Bears 17

Baltimore at Cincinnati – What a great game is on tap in Cincinnati! The Bengals can claim a season sweep of the Ravens and at the same time take a strong lead over the Ravens with a win; The Ravens looked great last week, stifling the Broncos offense, and playing efficient on the offensive end for a big win. The Ravens need this one to keep their division hopes viable, and the Bengals need it to prove they are as good as they have looked. This is a killer game! Ravens 20 Bengals 17

Houston at Indianapolis – Houston had never been 2 games above .500 until their victory last week over Buffalo. A trip to Indiana is not the easiest way to get to three games over .500, but the Patriotic Cows have looked quite feisty over the past month. Feisty or not, I think Peyton Manning and the Horseshoes are a bit too much for the Texans. The Colts struggled in a win over the Niners last week, and I don’t think they struggle two straight weekends. It should be close, but Indy wins…Colts 27 Texans 21

Miami at New England – Yet another intriguing game. Over the past two games the Patriots have looked like the team that ran roughshod over the league in 2007. The Dolphins are trying to dig their way out of the 0-3 hole they started in, and a win in Foxborough would go a long way towards making them relevant again. It’s an extremely tall task for Chad Henne and company. I don’t think the Patriots will keep up their furious pace set against the Bucs and Titans, but I do think they win. Patriots 33 Dolphins 25

Ah, it'll be good to see the Creamsicles in action again!

Green Bay at Tampa Bay – A good old fashioned battle of the Bays will go down in Florida this weekend. To really ramp up the nostalgic feelings, not only will the Packers be wearing their classic uniforms that they’ve sported for decades, the Bucs will don the butterscotch pudding throwback uniforms and sport Bucco Bruce on their helmets! The old Bucs uniforms are goofy and unique, but they sure are fun. It’ll bring back memories of my childhood when I got super excited any time the Buccaneers were on television. I got excited because in the pre-internet days I literally never got to see uniforms unless their game was on, and because they were so bad they were never on TV. I loved those goofy colors and the flamboyant pirate on the helmet, so I went gonzo any time they were on TV. It is apropos that the Bucs are wearing those uniforms at this time in their history, as they haven’t been this terrible since the days they regularly wore them. Packers 30 Buccaneers 10

Kansas City at Jacksonville – Apart from a few KC diehards in Missouri and Kansas and the 38,000 people attending in Florida, who will be watching this game? Due to blackout rules and the horrendous attendance at Jags games, it will not be televised locally; I can’t imagine that it will be featured in too many markets other than Kansas City. What if they held an NFL game and no one watched…would it still count in the standings? This one will, although it will count, it won’t matter much as these are two awful teams. Jaguars 17 Chiefs 13

Carolina at New Orleans – The Saints look amazing every week, and the Panthers looked amazing last week. This could be a bit of a trap game for the Saints, but even when they start out slowly, they get it ramped up and win. I’ll take Carolina to look good in the first half and slowly get run out of the building in the second. Saints 44 Panthers 27

Detroit at Seattle – The Seahawks have still only won games when they shut out their opponents. Why not, I’ll say they get their third shutout win on Sunday. Seahawks 21 Lions 0

Tennessee at San Francisco - Vince Young or Alex Smith, which formerly disgraced guy who is in the early stages of getting a second chance has the best chance of sticking? Your guess is as good as mine, but I have a feeling that Young gets a longer chance, but neither of them really grab the reigns of their perspective teams. As for this weekend, I like the Niners but just by a smidge. Remember a month ago when San Francisco was 3-1 and considered legit? Wow have they fallen off. 49ers 20 Titans 19

San Diego at New York Giants - Two teams moving in opposite directions here. The Chargers seem to be getting it together just as the Giants seem to be falling apart. This is it for the Giants, they need to win this game. I think they get it done. Giants 24 Chargers 19

Dallas at Philadelphia - The winner here will have the NFC East penthouse all to themselves. These teams are so close it's almost impossible to come up with a super compelling reason to take one over the other. I'm going to go out on a limb and take the Boys over the Eagles for one reason and one reason only...The Eagles lost to the RAIDERS! Cowboys 30 Eagles 21

Pittsburgh at Denver - I have only picked my Broncos to win on two occasions this season thus far. Well, make it three. I like my boys to take care of business coming back home after getting embarrassed in Baltimore. The Steelers are a stiff test, but I just feel like the Broncos will want to show a national audience for a second time that they are actually legit. I have a feeling this will be a good game with a close finish. Broncos 21 Steelers 20

My Picks Scorecard:

Last Week: 8-5
Season to Date 74-42