Week 10 Weirdness

It was strange that all teams played in week 10 yet some teams still had a Bye left. It was the result of some odd agreement having to do with the lockout and a schedule change that would allow for weeks 10-11 to be scheduled as such if any of the games, including pre-season, were cancelled. However, that oddness was quickly forgotten after the teams hit the playing field. San Diego started this weird week off by continuing its recent run of poor play by letting division rival Oakland, and only true challenge to the division crown, come into its house and run roughshod over the Chargers. This result irked many Survivor participants. Of course, many of those people turned grief into glee when Philly continued to show its dreamy colors and lost at home to the lowly Cardinals. In the end, the league's most dominant team continued to flex its muscles with an absolute domination of the Vikings. The Packers were the only predictable team in week 10.

Of course, you could cite the Colts and their predictability, but, truthfully, against Jacksonville, you couldn’t ink in that result in advance, especially if you knew the Jags' passing line for the game; 251 total yards. Sadly, the Colts’ stats line was even worse; 212 total yards. Combined, they produced as much offense as Devin Hester did for the Bears. How amazing is this guy (no answer needed)?! Returning to the week's stories of disbelief, how does Denver complete TWO passes and win? Come on, KC, you held a team to two completions at home and lost! So much for that brief run at mediocrity. When is the 2012 draft? As bad as the Colts-Jags game and Chiefs-Broncos games were, the Rams-Browns may have been even worse to witness. The local TV affiliates in these cities have to be in tears. No one wants to watch these games.

Of the teams that are doing good, you will notice that they have found a reason to be successful and they execute it regularly. For Green Bay, it simply means taking the field. For the Bears, it took a paradigm shift to bring success...or at least it took some common sense. Run your offense through the legs of Matt Forte and not the arm of Jay Cutler and you'll be successful. A moderately successful defense and passing game, balanced with a strong running game, leads to success. The Cowboys learned this to be true as soon as they found a solid running back (that stays healthy) and tied their fortunes to his thighs. As much as Rex Ryan thinks he can out-think Bill Belichick, he can't and needs to stick with Shonn Green and LT to bring them wins.

Heck, just look at how Houston has bought into that formula this year and they have been dominant, even though their best defensive player and wide receiver have been hurt. Now that QB Matt Schaub is out for the year, one does have to wonder if that city's football team is cursed. Just look at how close the Oilers came to The Big Game on multiple occasions in the past only to be turned away.

Good thing I stayed away from posting any NFL predictions last week since the picks I posted on the MFSPicks.com site sucked (college was top-notch though). I like Buffalo to right the ship this week, though wait to bet it as the line is moving in Buffalo’s favor (making me wonder if I am the only one who likes the Bills). Miami currently has the least impressive two-game winning streak in recent memory. It is just a step above Denver’s…due to the Broncos squeaking one out against Miami via Divine Intervention. Speaking of Denver, the Jets will beat the Broncos so badly that they’ll be saying Rosaries for months. I am shocked to see the Packers’ line at a mere two TDs. It may have been 14 points the year Tampa won the Super Bowl. Come on! Tampa never has played well in the cold or in Lambeau or when being so completely outclasses in talent. If you can play an alternate betting line and get Green Bay anywhere under 28 ½, bet it…..same goes for New England on Monday night.