Week 9: Belichick vs. Mangini, Colts vs. Eagles, Giants vs. Jesus and Vikings vs. Logic

11/11/10 8:45 a.m. - Almost forgot there was a Thursday night game this week. And a pretty good one, too! Just to make it official, I had to get my pick in. BALTIMORE AT ATLANTA: Matt Ryan is a beast at home, accruing a 17-1 record in the Georgia Dome. Loss No. 2 comes tonight for the former Boston College quarterback. PICK: RAVENS

Ouch. I only picked six out of 13 games correctly last week. No good.

Well, I think it’s safe to say I had a better week than the Minnesota Vikings franchise. Woah. I knew things were eventually going to fall apart for the Vikes, but I didn’t quite foresee a week when:

1) They lose to the Patriots, 2) Brett Favre leaves the game after taking a helmet shot to the chin, 3) Randy Moss refuses to answer any more questions for the rest of the season, then sings the Patriots praises while trashing his own coaching staff,  4) Moss, who joined the Vikings four weeks ago and cost them a draft pick, gets waived, 5) Reports surface that Moss insulted the team’s caterers, 6) Reports surface that owner Zygi Wilf considered firing head coach Brad Childress following the release of Moss….and 7) Last but not least, following last Sunday's game at Gillete Stadium, said receiver told said owner that said coach is terrible and should be fired.

When your coach is inept, your top receiver is unstable and your starting quarterback is an egomaniac, as well as reckless on the field and sext-happy off it ….it’s not rocket science: That team was destined to implode.

The Dallas Cowboys are lucky. Any other season, much of the national attention would be on the big disappointment in Big D. But the circus is in Minnesota this year.

WEEK 9 PICKS

CHICAGO AT BUFFALO: The Bills have to win eventually. It only makes sense that it happens in Canada. PICK: BILLS

SAN DIEGO AT HOUSTON: The Chargers are 3-5, but they’re very much in the AFC West title picture. San Diego still has the top-ranked defense and offense in the league. While the Patriots, who own the best record in the NFL, are 19^th in offense and 28^th in defense. Just shows how useless stats are. San Diego is not well-coached, but I still think their talent lifts them over Houston.  PICK: CHARGERS

NEW ORLEANS AT CAROLINA: Big win for the Super Bowl champs on national television over a solid Steelers team. By the way, the Steelers-Saints regular season game drew more viewers than Game 4 of the World Series. Unless the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Mets or Cubs are involved, most of the country is indifferent about postseason baseball.  

I don’t see the Saints slowing up against the one-win Panthers. PICK: SAINTS

ARIZONA AT MINNESOTA: Who would have predicted that, after eight weeks of football, the Kurt Warner-less Cards would have a better record than Favre and his Vikings. I’d love to see Minnesota lose at home and listen to 60,000 fans chanting “Fire Childress, Fire Childress!” Hell, they could beat Arizona and the crowd still might chant it anyways. PICK: VIKINGS

TAMPA BAY AT ATLANTA: I‘ve been cognizant to the fact that third-year quarterback Matt Ryan is a rising star, but I just read a stat that took me by surprise: When playing on his home field, Ryan is 16-1 in his career. That’s Brady-like dominance. PICK: FALCONS

NY JETS AT DETROIT: Can’t tell you how sweet it was to watch the Jets get blanked at home. The Lions are coming off a big upset victory over the Redskins. Momentum is definitely on the home team’s side, but I think the Jets defense is too good for them to drop a game to Detroit. PICKS: JETS

MIAMI AT BALTIMORE: This may be the game of the week. I like the Ravens off their bye week. PICK: RAVENS

NEW ENGLAND AT CLEVELAND: Normally, a date at Cleveland sandwiched in between marquee matchups against Minnesota and Pittsburgh would seem like the perfect trap game. But this is Bill Belichick against Eric Mangini, who, if you remember, is the same Belichick protégé who blew the whistle on SpyGate in 2007. Good luck, Cleveland. PICK: PATRIOTS

NY GIANTS AT SEATTLE: Matt Hasselback is out of the lineup for the Seahawks, which thrusts Charlie Whitehurst (a.k.a. Jesus Christ, SEE PICTURE ABOVE) into the starting role. Whitehurst has never completed a pass in the NFL.  The Giants’ defense has sent five quarterbacks to the sidelines in seven games (Dallas’ Tony Romo, Detroit’s Shaun Hill, Carolina’s Matt Moore, and Chicago’s Jay Cutler and Todd Collins). Let’s hope Jesus channels some of his powers on Sunday. PICK: GIANTS

KANSAS CITY AT OAKLAND: The Raiders have scored 92 points in their last two victories. Romeo Crennel’s defense will bring Oakland’s offense back to Earth, but the Raiders will win a close one. PICK: RAIDERS

INDIANAPOLIS AT PHILADELPHIA: This is a tough one to pick. My gut says Indy, but the Colts are a lot more vulnerable this season. Plus, Philly in front of their nutty fans with Michael Vick back in the lineup…..Ehhhh, got to go with my gut. PICK: COLTS

DALLAS AT GREEN BAY: If you’re a Cowboys fan, look at the bright side: You’re in the running for the No. 1 draft pick. PICK: PACKERS

PITTSBURGH AT CINCINNATI: This also has ‘trap game’ written all over it for the Steelers. The 2-5 Bengals are hosting Monday Night Football, so this is practically Cincy’s Super Bowl. And the Steelers are in between games against the Saints and Pats. PICK: BENGALS

Last week: 6-7

Season record: 70-47