Week 8 picks

It's Saturday, which means it's time for the greatest exercise in futility that can be performed in this 2010 season; weekly Picks. Denver Broncos @ San Francisco 49ers (in London, England): I'm not taking the 49ers just because I support them. It's not even because I'm gonna be there cheering. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I paid approximately $179 just for my ticket and coach travel (the programs are about $16 at Wembley) and thus really want to see the 49ers win so I don't feel like I wasted my money. It's actually because of Troy Smith. Yes, Troy Smith. I remember watching Smith in the pre-season and being quite impressed. Then just the other day I saw an interview with Smith and instead of seeing a man who looked rather nervous about what was to come, he instead looked confident. I got the distinct impression that this was a man who was looking forward to the coming opportunity he'd been given, as if he'd been preparing his whole life for it. It may seem odd and it's difficult to describe, but he even sounded like a leader. He sounded like a man you could trust with your football team. Either that or I've just gone into a state of extreme shock looking at how bad the 49ers record is and my brain is desperately trying to block out any obvious negative signs and instead trying to make everything seem wonderful and magic. Either way, I'm taking the 49ers. 49ers win. Jacksonville Jaguars @ Dallas Cowboys: Hmm (yep, one of them already). I hate the Cowboys in this game, but unfortunately I also hate the Jaguars. Without Tony Romo the Cowboys are... just as bad as they were with Tony Romo. At least the Jaguars have their starting QB David Garrard back. On that note, I'm going with the Jaguars. Jaguars win. Miami Dolphins @ Cincinnati Bengals: I like the Bengals. I do. But not against the Dolphins. If they actually played for two halves of football then maybe I could take them, but instead the Bengals seem determined to wait until the second half of every game before finally coming to life. Dolphins win. Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs: I've said before that I like the Bills. I think they're moving in the right direction. So the question is; do I like them enough to take them over the Chiefs? No, no I don't. It'll be tight, but Kansas can do it. Chiefs win. Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions: I'm not buying whatever it is the Redskins are selling. The Bears had opportunities to win the game against the Redskins last week but somehow couldn't take them. When your struggling against the Bears that's bad. Though come to think of it, the Lions lost to the Bears, albeit because of the Calvin Johnson touchdown that didn't count. Ah well, I'm going Lions. I think they're grossly under rated and the opposite is true of the Redskins. Lions win. Carolina Panthers @ St. Louis Rams: Even after winning last week, I can't take the Panthers. They offend the eyes of fans with their shocking play. The Rams meanwhile are pretty good so I see this as being fairly easy. Which is a perfect way to curse St. Louis. Rams win. Green Bay Packers @ New York Jets: I don't really understand the Packers. How can they play so well offensively at times, and yet against the Vikings last week they often looked lost, as if the team had only been playing together for a week or two? The Jets have been an enigma offensively as well; in pre-season they looked horrendous, but during the regular season they have at times looked inspired. And at times they've looked terrible. But I'm prepared to give New York the benefit of the doubt on this one, mainly because the Packers are so banged up. Jets win. Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers: The Chargers have probably been the most entertaining team in the NFL this year. They rack up the yards by putting on a truly impressive offensive display... and then throw games away with their hilariously bad special teams. You couldn't write a more entertaining season. The only people who shouldn't find it funny are Chargers fans, but even then I'm sure some are laughing, even if it's only because that's better than crying. Titans win. Minnesota Vikings @ New England Patriots: No mummy jokes this week. Instead I'd just like to say how sick and damn tired I've been of wandering the web this week and finding four or more Brett Favre related stories on every site. Who -- other than Vikings fans and the mainstream press -- really cares that much about Favre? So his starting streak might come to an end; boo hoo. Right now I'd take Tavaris Jackson over a battered and almost broken Favre. Even better, I'd take the Patriots. Patriots win. Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Arizona Cardinals: Even if I hated the Buccaneers in this game, I'd still take them over the "Cradinals". Buccaneers win. Seattle Seahawks @ Oakland Raiders: It pains me to say that the Raiders are better than they look, but the Raiders are better than they look. It doesn't pain me at all to say how much I hate the Seahawks right now and how glad I am that I believe they're a terrible football team. Raiders win. Pittsburgh Steelers @ New Orleans Saints: One of the more interesting games this week. Especially for me. Last year I maintained that the Saints strength of schedule coupled with some poor decisions by their opponents (plus a dollop of referee assistance) contributed to the Saints going all the way and winning the Super Bowl. I also maintained that if they played a top team then it would end miserably for the 'Aints. This is the perfect chance to test my theory. And I believe it will hold up. Steelers win. Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts: Earlier this year the football world was rocked when the Texans finally put away a W against the Colts. Even more surprising was that after leading the league in passing in 2009, the Texans did it all on the ground with Arian Foster. I'm going to back them for a two in a row against the Colts. I still think the Texans D is more flimsy than a particularly thin slice of cheese, but I also think the Colts defense has trouble remembering how to tackle. Texans win. So that's my picks for week 8. Overall I believe I'm 49-55 on the season so I'm really hoping I can claw back some wins this week. In case you hadn't caught on yet I'll be in London tomorrow, in which case you really should stop scan reading the blog. Hopefully I'll post something resembling a recap on Monday. Till then... do me a brief favour and share the web address with a few friends, family, football nerds that you know. You can also e-mail me at: keepingthechainsmoving@live.co.uk Have a great day everyone.