Tanking in Oakland?
When Jon Gruden was given the head coaching position in Oakland, the team looked to finally have a solid base of talent that could make noise in the AFC. All that changed when the Raiders traded Khalil Mack to the Bears for draft picks. Once the news of wide receiver Amari Cooper was being traded to the Dallas Cowboys, most people felt that the Raiders were looking for more of a hard rebuild than a possibility of getting back to solid football.
As far as the move for the Cowboys, it certainly gives them another weapon to work with. It will relieve some of the pressure on Cole Beasley, Allen Hurns, and Tavon Austin. The Cowboys on passing offense this season is ranked at 29th in the league, the Cowboys running game has been their staple thus far in the season.
The move for the Raiders could possibly mean that the Raiders are looking to shop Derek Carr around for a 1st round draft pick and possibly more. If Carr gets traded then I could possibly see the Raiders losing 13-14 games this season. A rough way to go when I picked them to go to the Super Bowl. Granted when I made that prediction they did trade Mack to the Bears, I figured that they could possibly get better on defense, not the case (haha).
Trick/Treat
Since Halloween is next week (writing this on the 24th) I figured that I should do a little trick/treat in honor of the holiday. I did this last season and I actually enjoyed it. Here are the teams that have given their fans a trick.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders this season have been abysmal, its reminiscent of the late 2000's Raiders teams that had JaMarcus Russell at quarterback. The Raiders only win thus far was an overtime win against the Browns! The Raiders offense has been sub-par. They rank 25th in run offense and 10th in passing offense. They traded their star players in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper and are looking at a possible 13-15 loss season.
New York Giants
The Giants have been just as bad as the Raiders. They extended Odell Beckham Jr.'s contract. He got paid big time! If you look at the expressions of Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback, he knows he is in a trainwreck of a team. The Giants offense are ranked 30th in run offense and 12th in pass offense, while they are playing better on defense, they just look lost out there.
The idea of Halloween is to get spooked but it is also to get a treat as well. Whether it be candy or you getting the chance to spook someone, Halloween works both ways. Here are the teams that I feel have treated their fans to something great.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs offense is playing out of its mind with Patrick Mahomes II helming the ship. The Chiefs only loss of the season was a close game against the New England Patriots but other than that they have done very well. Kansas City has given their fans a bit of a trick during the later stretches of the season, especially last year. When the Chiefs started out 5-0, they went on a bit of a stretch of bad football but finished with a 10-6 record to close out 2017. Not also to mention that they would lose in the AFC Wild Card to the Tennessee Titans. We will see if the Chiefs can keep up with they way that they're playing but it seems that no one can stop the train.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns this season have done a complete 360 compared to last season. The offense seems to respond very well to Baker Mayfield's leadership and the Browns defense is very underrated (when they don't try to shoot themselves in the foot). If the Browns had a capable kicker for them they could easily be above .500, and they even got to break open this when they beat the Jets earlier this season:
The Saints have been quite good on offense and are #1 in rushing defense so far. The story is of course on Drew Brees has thrown over 500 touchdown passes and has the all-time passing yards record. The addition of Eli Apple from the Giants will give the Saints some versatility on the secondary. Could be an interesting year as they are trying to go for a Super Bowl run this year.
Cool video of the week:
Since I'm in the Halloween mood this week, I felt that this week's cool video of the week should feature a song that is quite spooky and quite memorable. The song is Michael Jackson's "Thriller" from the album of the same title in 1982. The music video is fairly long but the song makes it worth it. Enjoy.
Week 8 Picks
Week 8 in the National Football League will start in Houston, Texas and ends in Buffalo, New York. The week has 14 games on the slate. Teams that are on bye week are the Los Angeles Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, and the Dallas Cowboys. The week features a Thursday night game, a Sunday morning game, seven early games, three late games, a Sunday night game, and a Monday night game. FOX will have the doubleheader and CBS will show the single, regional game. Let's get to the picks!
Miami (4-3) @ Houston (4-3) (FOX/NFL Network): TW: Texans, CV: Texans
The Dolphins lost to the Lions and the Texans beat the Jaguars last week respectively. The week starts with a fairly decent matchup in the AFC. The Dolphins have some stability at quarterback with Brock Osweiler but their defense is suspect. I trust the Texans a bit more based on I like their defense and Deshaun Watson can get the ball to their skill players.
Philadelphia (3-4) @ Jacksonville (3-4) (NFL Network): TW: Eagles, CV: Jaguars
Both teams took a loss last week as the Eagles lost to the Panthers and the Jaguars to the Texans. The game is in London again and it will be a 9:30 eastern time start with NFL network showcasing the game on their network, so if you don't have the channel you'll have to look elsewhere to watch it. The Eagles are still recovering from winning the Super Bowl last year and I just can't trust the Jaguars anymore since Blake Bortles has fallen off the face of the earth since their game against the Patriots earlier in the year. Fortunately no more London games for the rest of the year after this week.
Baltimore (4-3) @ Carolina (4-2) (CBS): TW: Panthers, CV: Panthers
The Ravens took a loss against the Saints and the Panthers got a win against the Eagles last week. The game will come down to whether or not the Panthers offense can do well against the vaunted Ravens defense. If the Panthers running game can keep the Ravens defense on the field longer than they should win.
Cleveland (2-4-1) @ Pittsburgh (3-2-1) (CBS): TW: Steelers, CV: Steelers
The Browns are coming off a loss against the Buccaneers and the Steelers were on a bye week last week. The last time these two teams met, they ended up with a tie. The Browns should've won the first matchup with a field goal but couldn't quite do it. The Steelers still don't have Le'veon Bell on the team so far (CBS Sports still shows an empty space in the starter slot for the Steelers halfback position). Despite all this drama, I feel the rested Steelers can run the ball well on the Browns and if the Browns do Browns things the Steelers should win.
Denver (3-4) @ Kansas City (6-1) (CBS): TW: Chiefs, CV: Chiefs
Both teams are coming off a win with the Broncos beating the Cardinals and the Chiefs beating the Bengals last week. The previous meeting between the teams was a 4-point win for the Chiefs so it was closer than most people would've wanted. The Chiefs will win it but I feel it will be close to the chest. As long as Mahomes does well enough.
NY Jets (3-4) @ Chicago (3-3) (CBS): TW: Bears, CV: Bears
Both teams are coming off losses as the Jets lost to the Vikings and the Bears to the Patriots. The game will feature two young quarterbacks that love to throw the ball a lot, and some of those passes may get intercepted. I feel the Bears will win based on that their defense will dominate the line of scrimmage and the turnover battle.
Seattle (3-3) @ Detroit (3-3) (FOX): TW: Lions, CV: Lions
The Seahawks were on a bye and the Lions beat the Dolphins last week. The game is a rematch of the 2016 NFC wild-card game where the Seahawks beat the Lions in that game. The Seahawks then are a different team now. I feel the game will come down to the Lions offense vs the Seahawks defense as the key matchup. If the Lions offense can keep Seattle's defense on the field for a majority of the game, they have a good chance for victory. Then again the Lions have been known to do Lions things.
Tampa Bay (3-3) @ Cincinnati (4-3) (FOX): TW: Bengals, CV: Bengals
The Buccaneers got a win against the Browns and the Bengals lost to the Chiefs last week. The Bengals have somewhat been off track for the past few weeks, their defense is banged up a bit. I'm going to put my faith in the Bengals for at least another game but the game is a toss-up. The Buccaneers could win the game off of their passing offense.
Washington (4-2) @ NY Giants (1-6) (FOX): TW: Redskins, CV: Redskins
The Redskins got a win against the Cowboys and the Giants lost to the Falcons last week. The Giants are pretty bad this season and coming into a division game against the Redskins, one would think that they would have to play better at home. The Redskins I feel will win based on their running game and a few big plays. The Giants could get a win too but the NFC East is a pretty terrible division this season, that's for certain.
Indianapolis (2-5) @ Oakland (1-5) (CBS): TW: Colts, CV: Colts
The Colts got a win against the Bills and the Raiders were on a bye week last week. The Raiders are a mess as well. Not a lot of offense to sustain themselves and a defense that can give up points like crazy. The Colts could be affected by jet lag but I'll take the Colts in this game with the arm of Andrew Luck and recent performances of the Colts defense.
Green Bay (3-2-1) @ LA Rams (7-0) (FOX): TW: Packers, CV: Rams
The Packers were on a bye week and the Rams got a win against the 49ers. I'm sure a lot of you are thinking "What the hell are you thinking, Tom?" well I'm supporting my team and I feel the matchup can play into the Packers favor in a few ways. The Packers could win if: Aaron Rodgers is upright, the defense plays well and gets turnovers early and often, and special teams does well. If the Packers do this and more then they have a shot to win. The Rams are the overall favorite and it wouldn't surprise me if they win the game.
San Francisco (1-6) @ Arizona (1-6) (FOX): TW: 49ers, CV: 49ers
Both teams got losses last week as the 49ers lost to the Rams and the Cardinals to the Broncos. The game is officially the "Toilet Bowl" game of the year thus far. Both teams are pretty terrible on both sides of the ball. The Cardinals are a sinking ship with a few of the crew wanting to jump overboard. As much as I want the Cardinals to win, I like the Niners in the game. Both teams could accidentally win the game or end in another tie. Anything is possible.
New Orleans (5-1) @ Minnesota (4-2-1) (NBC): TW: Saints, CV: Vikings
Both teams got wins last week as the Saints beat the Ravens and the Vikings beat the Jets. The game is a rematch of the NFC Divisional game where Stephon Diggs would get the game-winning touchdown to send the Vikes to the NFC Championship game. The will greatly depend on if the Vikings offense can keep up with the Saints offense as the Vikings defense will do Vikings defense things like getting stops but it will depend on Kirk Cousins' arm. I don't feel safe with Cousins but I'll take the Saints in the game.
New England (5-2) @ Buffalo (2-5) (ESPN): TW: Patriots, CV: Patriots
The Patriots got a win against the Bears and the Bills lost to the Colts last week. The week finishes off with a somewhat decent game in Buffalo. The Patriots will win the game based on the Patriots stellar offense and their defense should do alright in this one. The Bills will most likely start Derek Anderson again and he should get better than what he did last week with a few more reps in practice to learn the Bills offense.
Local TV Schedule (via 506sports.com, subject to change):
CBS Single:
NY Jets @ Chicago
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
FOX Early:
Seattle @ Detroit
Kevin Kugler, Ronde Barber, Chris Spielman
FOX Late:
Green Bay @ LA Rams
Thom Brennaman, Troy Aikman
For more information on which game is going to be played in your area, check out: NFL 2018 Week 8 Maps
Records:
2018:
Week 1: 10-5-1
Week 2: 6-9-1
Week 3: 8-8
Week 4: 12-3
Week 5: 6-9
Week 6: 10-5
Week 7: 10-4
Overall: 62-43-2
Cardinal Viking
2018:
Week 1: 8-7-1
Week 2: 9-6-1
Week 3: 5-11
Week 4: 9-6
Week 5: 9-6
Week 6: 6-9
Week 7: 12-2
Overall: 58-47-2
Enjoy the games, have a good weekend, and I'll see you guys on Monday/Tuesday for the week's recap!
-Tom
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