Game I Love:

Philadelphia Eagles. I’ll be the first to admit I was way off with my love for the Eagles last week. But you know what? I’m going to double down. A lot of people like the Saints to win handily, but I don’t see it. The Eagles have better talent, especially on defense. The Saints have the worst defense in football and I have to believe Michael Vick can exploit that. If the game was played on a neutral field and played 10 times, the Eagles would 6 times. If the spread was -2.5 Eagles or lower, I wouldn’t touch the game.

Oakland Raiders. The Buccaneers may be without their top two cornerbacks and most importantly, Carl Nicks, the best guard in football. I think the Bucs will have hard time running the ball against a really good Raider defensive line. By good I mean in terms of talent; for some reason they have a stinker every few weeks for no apparent reason. Couple that with Josh Freeman’s mediocre play last week, the Raiders should win 28 to 16.

Upset Specials:

Carolina Panthers. The Redskins defense is bad and banged up; their wide receivers are inconsistent and drop a lot of balls. The Panthers hung in there against the Bears last week and if it was for Newton’s costly INT in the red zone, the Panthers could have beaten the Bears.

Cleveland Browns. The Browns’ defense is a lot better than people think, 11th best according to Grid Iron Rank. Compare that to the Ravens who had 2nd worst defense the past 2 weeks. If the Ravens had a more aggressive offense I would be more inclined to take them, but they don’t. Also, with Joe Hayden matched up against Torrey Smith, Smith will have 2-4 catches for 40 yards. Trent Richardson runs for 150-180 yards with +30 carries. Browns win 14 to 10.