NFL's Week Eight Pick'em

By Derek Lofland

The main games this week will go a long way in determining who will be a contender or pretender. Even though we haven’t reached the halfway point of the season, questions still loom with some teams that are above .500. 

Injuries are mounting at an alarming rate, causing some to go into panic mode, and some are playing abnormally sloppily. This goes with my theory that there is never a dull week in the NFL.

I went 9-4 last week and my 2008 record after seven weeks is 65-36.

 
Arizona (4-2) at Carolina (5-2): I know I wrote that I was on the Arizona bandwagon, but I still think they are a 9-7 or 10-6 club at best and this will be a difficult game for them to win. The Panthers faced the Saints last week. The Saints have the No. 1 passing offense, but the 27th ranked rushing offense.

Carolina used its second-ranked pass defense to run away with a 30-7 win. This week, the Panthers are at home again. They face the third-ranked passing offense of the Cardinals that ranks 28th on the ground. Sounds familiar?

I think Carolina will be able to do the same things they did against the Saints. Control the ball with their rushing offense, put pressure on Kurt Warner and make big stops, and force some turnovers. I'm not predicting a 30-7 victory again, but I think the Panthers get the better of this matchup.
Winner: Carolina

Tampa Bay (5-2) at Dallas (4-3): A couple of weeks ago, I said people needed to get off Dallas's case. They have now gone 1-3 in their last four games, Tony Romo is hurt, the secondary is injured, and the Rams ran right over them. People are speculating that Wade Phillips won't last the season.

This is a team that is not playing very well right now and needs to get out of their early-season funk. Tampa Bay is a very difficult opponent to do that against. They play tremendous defense and run the ball. I like Tampa Bay in this game. Ernest Graham could go for a huge day and I think the Tampa Bay defense will cause a lot of problems for either Brad Johnson or an injured Tony Romo.
Winner: Tampa Bay

San Diego (3-4) at New Orleans (3-4): When you are struggling at 3-4, it would be nice to get an easy team in your building. While the Saints and Chargers haven't show it in their record, they're both tough teams with a load of talent. To make things worse, this game is being played in London.

That is a tough spot, seeing the loser of this game is going to be 3-5 and probably need to go 7-1 or 6-2 down the stretch to make the playoffs. The Saints need this game more, because their division is much tougher. I like the Saints in this game. Even though Reggie Bush is hurt, the Saints have other weapons to help Drew Brees. The Chargers give up a lot of passing yards and that is bad news against Brees.

Furthermore, the Chargers have not been playing well on the road and have done horribly traveling to the East Coast. I can't even imagine how badly they will do in London. Winner: New Orleans

New York Giants (5-1) at Pittsburgh (5-1): This is the Game of the Week. Two 5-1 teams that play physical football. The Giants have been a little inconsistent the last couple weeks. Eli Manning had his worst game of the season in Cleveland, and even though the Giants won on Sunday, Eli went 16-for-31 for 165 yards with a touchdown and one pick.

The Steelers are a very tough home team that is going to be able to put pressure on Eli Manning and force him into some mistakes. The Steelers are first in yards per game allowed, first in passing yards allowed, first in QB sacks, and second in rushing yards allowed.

On the flip side, the Giants are fourth in total defense, fifth in rushing yards allowed, second in QB sacks, and 11th in passing yards allowed. That is key, because the Steelers' offense has been sacked 19 times, which is the sixth most in the NFL as opposed to the Giants, which are the third best in that department, allowing only six sacks.

You could make the case for either team as they are among the top five teams in the NFL this year. You couldn't go wrong picking either team. I personally like the Steelers, because the game is at home and I think they are playing a little better the last couple weeks than the Giants have been.

While Big Ben does get sacked more, he also takes care of the football and makes big plays. Eli is having his best year, but I could also see Eli having a couple picks in this game that could be the difference.
Winner: Pittsburgh

Indianapolis (3-3) at Tennessee (6-0): This is really a must win early in the season, something Indianapolis is not used to. The last time they were 3-3 or worse was 2002 when they started the season 4-4, before going 10-6 and earning a wild-card berth. The problem with picking Indy in this game is that the Titans are...

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