THE BIRD BLOG

Week 7: 8-6
Season-to-date: 48-22

Week 8 Predictions:
Arizona over Buffalo; Big game for Larry Fitzgerald, the All-World wideout from Pitt (alma mater!). The Cards are looking respectable ... what's up with that?
Green Bay over Washington; the Redskins playoff hopes will likely be dealt a fatal blow with a Packers win to even their record at 4-4. The Redskins should be five games behind the Eagles and essentially finished after Week Eight. Another coaching move from Daniel Snyder?
Tennessee over Cincinnati; ugh. What happened? These have to be the two most disappointing teams in the NFL.

• Indianapolis over Kansas City; rematch of last year's offensive showdown will be won again by the Colts. I have no idea how the Chiefs laid the smack-down on the Falcons, but the Colts are too tough. They actually can play defense. Chiefs are outmatched.
• Minnesota over New York Giants; big victory for the Vikings. This game will essentially make the NFC playoff chase a two-horse race for the two slot between the Vikes and Eagles and the rest of the pack sturggling to catch up. Vikings are too explosive for the surprising Giants, who are starting to play more like the sub-.500 team they are.
• Jacksonville over Houston; the battle of the surprising teams in the AFC South ... I like the Jags because of Byron Leftwich. Sean Salisbury was right: he's got "it", that special quality a top-flight player has. I like David Carr too, but Leftwich is something special. Slight edge to the Jags, but the Texans could make the playoff race interesting with a victory.

Cowboys over Lions; Gotta go with the 'Boys. They are playing a little better than the Redskins right now. A mild upset here.
Carolina over Seattle; Losing to Arizona? Ouch! The Seahawks look like they've given up faster than the Iraqi Army in the Gulf War I.
Broncos over Falcons; Nothing says "pretender" like getting annihalated 56-10 to a 1-4 team.
Chargers over Raiders; Chargers I guess. I'm surprised that the Chargers are playing so well ... I am not surprised to see the Raiders sucking wind.
49ers over Bears; ugh, someone has to win it ... the less said the better. Quick prediction: Mike Holmgren will coach the 49ers next year. It was the job he was born to have.

Game of the Week:

• Patriots over Steelers; these two teams have a combined record of 11-1 going into this game. I'm tempted to pick the Steelers just assuming that the Patriots will eventually have to lose, but it won't be this week. Tom Brady & Co., will out-play Big Ben and win a close one here at Heinz Field. The Steelers are good, but the Patriots are too cohesive and they'll be prepared to take on a rookie QB.

New York Jets over Dolphins; I'm sure that the NFL thought this would be a decent game when they scheduled it. Whoops. Jets in a blow-out. They are clearly the better team.

Eagles 24, Ravens 3; I bet the Ravens will be held under 200 yards of offense. They honestly might be better off going with the wishbone or something because they look utterly incapable of throwing the ball downfield.