Week 10 NFL Picks-The Season Begins For Cincinnati

After what I thought was one of the best Sundays of football in the NFL's long illustrious history the saying, "That is a tough act to follow," is apropos. Teams like Baltimore, NY Giants, and Arizona proved "It ain't over till it's over." San Diego fell short of putting their game into overtime against Green Bay, but it was entertaining. The Chargers stand at a crossroads in their division. Cincinnati continues to surprise, but will be tested when they faceoff with Pittsburgh. Chicago exstinguished the fires of Philadelphia on Monday Night Football, but will be jumping into the frying pan against Detroit this Sunday. The line up looks good.

The Bengals success this year covers the huge mistake they made last year, and that was putting Noshow-Cinco and TOed-Owens in the same lineup. Enough said about that. Two rookies have taken center stage in Cincinnati, Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. They have been the catalyst for the offense, but have been supported by a good defense. It has been said their schedule for the first half of the season might have something to do with it, but their first 8 games may have given them the time to prepare for what's coming.

The Pittsburgh game will test whether they can cut the mustard. Pittsburgh had victory snatched away from them by Baltimore and will be looking for redemption or someone to hit. It will be a good game, but in order for Pittsburgh to lose this one, they will have to seriously stumble.

San Diego is in a three way tie in their division. Philip Rivers doesn't like to lose. No suprising revelation in that statement. He puts his heart and soul into every game and when he does lose, you see the disappointment written all over his face. Mistakes have plagued his game play. He has been trying to force the ball into passing situations that backfire. San Diego takes on Oakland Thusday night. Injuries have been disruptive, but good teams overcome. Well, maybe if your not Indianapolis. What may help the Chargers cause, Ryan Matthews is expected to play.

San Diego's injuries will be offsetting because Oakland has injuries of its own in key positions, like running back Darren McFadden, who was having a great year. Michael Bush has been filling in very nicely. Carson Palmer is now calling the plays and is listed as probable. Despite San Diego's woes, the only way I see Oakland winning this one is by their defense stepping up and creating mistakes.

Detroit destroyed Denver before their bye, but Denver is not Chicago. The Lions are a dominate passing team with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. Chicago's defense just shut down Michael Vick and company on Monday. So, Stafford and company will have their hands full, hopefully footballs. If their defense plagues Jay Cutler like they did Tim tebow, half the battle will be won.

Chicago's challenge will be to shut down Stafford and cover Johnson. The easier of the two would be to strike at the point of attack, Stafford. Chicago has the defense that can harrass and disrupt the quarterback via Julius Peppers, and Brian Urlacher dropping back into coverage. Jay Cutler has a rifle arm and if he is in rythmn with his receivers, Detroit will be looking from behind. All in all, if both teams live up to their expectations, it will be a good game. Maybe, one of those down to last minute thrillers.

I don't know what to say about the cleveland Browns. Luckily, they are playing St. Louis in Cleveland. At least they won't be in a hostile environment, but that could change. The Browns defense will have to control Steven Jackson, the Rams main offensive weapon. Unfortunately, they couldn't stop Arian Foster and Ben Tate last Sunday. Both Houston backs had a hundred yard plus day. Jackson will be like a fired up thoroughbred race horse waiting for the gates to open. The Browns coaching staff has finally wised up to using Joshua Cribbs at wide receiver. It's about time. This week the Browns are even giving consideration to using him at the running position.

THU, NOV 10                      TIME (ET)   TV     LOCATION
Oakland at San Diego             8:20 PM     NFL    Qualcomm Stadium

SUN, NOV 13                      TIME (ET)   TV     LOCATION
Arizona at Philadelphia          1:00 PM    FOX    Lincoln Financial Field
Tennessee at Carolina            1:00 PM     CBS    Bank of America Stadium
Houston at Tampa Bay           1:00 PM    CBS    Raymond James Stadium
Washington at Miami             1:00 PM    FOX    Sun Life Stadium
Jacksonville at Indianapolis   1:00 PM     CBS    Lucas Oil Stadium
Denver at Kansas City            1:00 PM    CBS    Arrowhead Stadium
Buffalo at Dallas                     1:00 PM    CBS    Cowboys Stadium
New Orleans at Atlanta          1:00 PM    FOX    Georgia Dome
St. Louis at Cleveland            1:00 PM    FOX    Cleveland Browns Stadium
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati          1:00 PM    CBS    Paul Brown Stadium
Baltimore at Seattle                4:05 PM    CBS    CenturyLink Field
NY Giants at San Francisco   4:15 PM    FOX    Candlestick Park
Detroit at Chicago                  4:15 PM    FOX    Soldier Field
New England at NY Jets        8:20 PM    NBC    MetLife Stadium

MON, NOV 14                    TIME (ET)   TV    LOCATION
Minnesota at Green Bay         8:30 PM    ESPN   Lambeau Field