NFL Morning Games

It’s already week 4 in the NFL. Time sure flies when you are having fun. Once again, I will run down the morning games and give you my quick take. I’m kind of mixed on the morning NFL action. There are some good games to watch, but nothing that I would say is can’t miss football.

Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons were embarrassed last week when they lost to the New Orleans Saints 23-3. The good news for them was that all attention was on the Saints and the first game back in New Orleans since the tragic strike of hurricane Katrina. Side stories aside, the Falcons looked horrible—and it wasn’t all due to emotion. If there’s one way to get on track, it’s to play a poor team at home.

Pick: Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys at Tennessee Titans

Unless you are dead—no pun intended—you know that there was a media circus this week involving T.O. and his alleged suicide attempt. It appears to have been a poor mixing of prescription medication and an allergic reaction. It’s uncertain whether the incident will hurt the Cowboys. On the other side of the ball is an 0-3 team that’s packing it in for the season. Tennessee announces that Vince Young will start this week. Their season is going nowhere, so they minds well bring in the rookie and let him get tossed around.

Pick: Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets

Chad Pennington is healthy and the Jets are once again the talk of the town. It’s pretty simple this week. If the Jets win, the media bandwagon rally will begin. If the Jets lose, they will be forgotten. The Colts continue to be a one-dimensional team and continue to win. The Jets, despite being at home, probably won’t pose much of a threat to the high-powered passing attack of the Colts. The Colts are at the soft spot in their schedule. They have the Jets this week, Tennessee next week, a bye, and then the Redskins. They won’t be looking ahead since there’s not a huge matchup on the horizon.

Pick: Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills

Last week’s Bills game can be boiled down to one statement. J.P. Losman is incapable of making good decisions. The Bills had a shot to tie the game last week, but Losman made one bad decision after another. Perhaps some of the blame is on the offensive coordinator, but I don’t see anything to like in Losman. Sure, he has an arm, but so what. How many QBs have come and gone in the NFL that had good arms? What makes a QB stick is their accuracy and decision making ability.

Minnesota lost a tough game to Chicago last week. They should have won. How many times are we going to say this about the Vikings this season? This week is about proving they are a playoff team. The Bills are at home, but they are not a playoff caliber team. If the Vikings can’t go up to Buffalo and take home a win, they don’t belong in the playoff class either.

Pick: Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers

The 3-0 Saints head into Carolina to face the Panthers. This is the week that the Saints begin coming back to reality. They are not a top team and here’s where it begins to go wrong. After facing Carolina, they take on Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. If they are still feeling in the playoff hunt at that point, they get to finish up against Atlanta, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington, N.Y. Giants, and Carolina.

The Panthers are once again in a must win situation. They practically handed the game away last week, but got lucky to come away with their first win of the season. If they go 1-3, their season could very well be over. The Saints should have an emotional let down and it will be back to business as usual.

Pick: Carolina Panthers

San Diego Chargers at Baltimore Ravens

The Chargers had an early bye last week and could be a little out of sync. Just how good is this team anyway? Should we even begin to think they are good just because they beat up on Tennessee and Oakland—who happen to be two of the worst teams in the league? This week will be their first real test. They have to go into Baltimore to face a Ravens team that’s 3-0 behind their vicious defense. Phillip Rivers will be tested.

Just like the Chargers, the Ravens haven’t been tested. They have been tested a little more than the Chargers, but this week also represents their first real test—unless you count Cleveland as a test. McNair will need a solid game on Sunday to help his Ravens get past the Chargers. I think the Ravens defense will get to Rivers and cause a couple of turnovers.

Pick: Baltimore Ravens

San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs

Do I really have to watch this game? Sorry, 49ers and Chiefs fans, but this game is a sleeper. Aside from it being my job, I can’t think of one real reason for non-fans to watch. Green will be out once again for the Chiefs. The 49ers can make themselves feel better by winning and running their record to an even 2-2. The Chiefs are pretty much done for the season. To keep any hope of playoffs alive, they must win today.

Maybe you can tune in to see if Gore, for the 49ers, fumbles. Perhaps you can tune in to see if the Chiefs offense feels like scoring a TD this week. Both of these defenses are mediocre, so the offenses should look much better than they really are. There could be a fair amount of scoring. That might be the best reason to watch.

Pick: Kansas City Chiefs